Tick Tock

It has been almost 8 months since I've posted on here... and I did not forget you were here! So here's what been happening in our house while I was MIA....

1. Ryan started kindergarten and did not like his first day. He has loved it since then!

(He said "mom, all they did was talk and talk and talk about RUULES!") lol

2. Logan has progressed in potty training and is only using pullups at night! (YEAH!!)

3. Logan started Speech therapy and can now say Kiss instead of Tiss.... amongst a long list of other new words. He LOVES his teacher, Mrs. Laura.

4. On New Year's Eve we got one tiny, well BIG surprise... we found out that I am having another BABY!!!! The boys are SOOO excited. I am due Sept. 5th!

5. We made a trip out to Texas to see the fam... and the boys LOVED playing with their cousins Jesse, Jonathan, Justice, Robert, Isaac, Tristan and Elaina... amongst others!

6. Yeah, Ryan turned 6!!! He is also well on his way to reading:) He is reading small words and doing well... although he REALLY dislikes reading. He prefers math and science over reading right now.

7. Has finally registered both boys for school next year... they will start around the same time that I have the baby! Later this week, we will be finding out the sex of the baby... fun times ahead!

Soooooooo... the clock is ticking and I have cakes to make, legos to build, and mouths to feed! These are a few of the moments that have taken my time over the last 8 months, and hopefully I will be back before the next 8 months roll around!

"That's all there is."

Well, as I said before this has been a summer to remember. Some of those fun things included swimming with Aunt Barb & going to the park with Aunt Barb & Jackie. While Aunt Barb has been battling cancer over the last year, the cancer has slowly been winning. At the end of our vacation to Seaside, we received a phone call from Aunt Deb letting us know that Aunt Barb only had a few days left with us. This was heartbreaking news. Not just for us, but for Ryan especially. He LOVES his Aunt Barb. She is always challenging that little brain of his, all while having fun! We had to break the news to Ryan, and Joe mentioned it to him. Not expecting Ryan to understand he replied "I know, and Jackie can come live with me." Joe didn't continue as he didn't want to alarm him. Later in the car I simply leaned over and asked Ryan if Daddy had told him about Aunt Barb. Ryan said "He was just kidding." After a few watery eyes and nervous looks he dropped it and moved on to something else. We decided not to mention it anymore and just see how things unfolded.

Two days later, Barb seemed Ok. While getting breakfast ready, very harsh & loudly Ryan said to Logan "AUNT BARB IS GOING TO DIE!" This was so hard for me to hear. He repeated himself and few times and Logan very loud and angrily said "NO SHE'S NOT!!!". This screaming match went on for about another minute when I finally called Ryan over to me.
This is how our conversation went:

Me: Ryan, you need to be gentle if you say something like that. People are going to be sad that she is dying, but I want you to know she is not sad. She is going to heaven to be with Jesus, and she is happy about that. We will miss each other but she is going to heaven, which is GREAT!

Ryan: I'm going to heaven too.

Me: Oh yeah?! How do you know that?

Ryan: (in his annoyed, you must be an idiot voice) Because Jesus died on the cross.

Me: Why did he die on the cross?

Ryan: For a punishment!!? ( like I am the dumbest person on earth for not knowing that)

Me: What was the punishment for?

Ryan: For our sins, to take away our sins. Like when (pointing to Logan) he's bad.

Me: Yeah we ALL sin right?

Ryan: yeah

Me: Well, you have to ask God to be part of your life and live in your heart if you want to go to heaven.

Ryan: OK, LETS DO IT!

Me: I can't do it for you, that is between you and God. You have to pray yourself and talk to God yourself.

Ryan: GOD PLEASE COME IN MY HEART TO LIVE.

Me: Is that it?

Ryan: That's all there is!


WOW. Now I do not want to be a foolish parent and assume or believe that all is taken care of because he prayed that little prayer. Yet I also must remember that CHILDLIKE faith. It's amazing and it encourages me that trusting HIM is just that simple. WE are the ones who make things so complex.
SO thankful for this amazing little boy God has given me.

TRANSLATION

There are some things in life we all take for granted. It happens. Well, it has happened once again to me. My sweet Logan is growing, and while struggling is really working hard on his speach. So while his speach is improving, there are some things I miss like....

When he called me Monny, instead of Mommy.

There will always be BUNNY MILK for chocolate milk, but I loved when he said TIT instead of Chris.

My other favorites are...

"DIRLIE" for girlie... which is ANY girl.

DEE NIDAS.... is Three Ninjas.

Those are just a few translations around our house, and I miss the "Logan" version often. He is growing and turning into an amazing little boy!

Summer Fun.

So, the pb sandwiches & summer fun have kept me away from here. In doing so, there have been a lot of "moments" this summer that couldn't go without mentioning. With my being home, I have been able to enjoy more little moments, and some not so little.
One of the first this summer was Ryan's first Lemonade Stand. Aunt Deb & Aunt Barb hosted a yard sale at mop mop's (Ry's ggrandma) house and allowed Ryan to have his very own lemonade stand. On the way over, after some discussing, Ryan decided he wanted his lemonade money to go to the giving project of the month at church. Aunt Barb helped him draw up a nice sign, Ry & I both MADE the lemonade, and he did all the hard work... sitting in the sun and waiting for customers. He did well over all... maybe the best of us all. Most importantly, he had fun and we made memories.
One of the BIG moments of this summer so far... is potty training. Logan is now quite proud of himself, and no longer prefers a diaper. (WIN for us!) After a few (or many) messy incidents, he is getting the hang of it with a few (every 15 min:)) reminders. He now calls himself "underwear man like Robin" ( from Batman & Robin).

Along with the many sunny days of summer, we've had MANY rainy days as well. I must mention the cutest conversation I overheard the other day. That would be Ryan's conversation with God.
Ryan: You can make a flood so I can be a fishie. I like to swim.
Me: Ryan were you talking to me?
Ryan: No, Just God. I want to be a fishy, so I want it to flood. That's what I told God.

Ryan is growing spiritually, mentally, & physically. Recently Ryan told Joe and I that he would like to be the voices in movies when he "grows up". He likes to make "frog" voices, as well as many others. OFTEN he will say from the back seat of the van "Dad, can you make this voice?"... and you just never know what that will entail.

Our greatest family time these days is spent at the YMCA. Ryan is becoming quite a good swimmer, and is now working on his technique. He has made it clear that he would like to be on the swim team someday. Logan also really enjoys going "Y". He still wears a bubble, but has NO fear with it on. He will jump right in, all the while holding his arms straight out and yelling "TO INFINITY & BEYOND!"

We are still midsummer, so I'm sure we will have lots more moments this summer. I wanted to post these before I forgot! The boys are sure looking forward to our vacation at the beach with Granny, Nana, Aunt Erica, Uncle Nick, Aunt Ellie & Charissa. Those are the peeps they've been most excited to go to the beach with. Although, I must admit Uncle Nick is Logan's fav these days. He has been referring to the character Chucky on Rugrats as "Uncle Nick"... I assume bc of the red hair?

Well.... until the next list of moments... stay tuned!

Fun with Eggs!

Today we colored eggs since Ryan and Logan will be with granny next weekend.... a fun time for sure. Here are a few pics from our day...

Our Growing Boys...

Some mommy's really anticipate that monthly visit when their baby is first born to see how much they have grown. How much do they weigh, will they be in the 10th, 50th, or 80th percentile? As they grow, some parents mark the childs height with a pencil on the back of a door or in a special place that doesnt get removed.... as we do. Well, I hadn't marked any growth in quite awhile. Ryan recently turned 5, ( I know I havent even blogged about that yet! Bad mommy!) and Logan will be 3 in May. It seems over the last few weeks that Ryan has become AWARE of EVERYTHING, including his growth.
The newest way that growth has been measured in our home:


Ryan: "MOM, I grew - I dont need the stool to pee in the potty anymore!"
ME: WOW. I could've just measured you.


Ryan: "Mom, Logan can turn the lights off now, we dont need you."

That hit me in the gut. "We dont need you".... WHAT??!!!


Im thinking, I'd much rather mark the height on the wall than hear "we dont need you" anymore... but I suppose, they could just mark it themselves, right?!

I love my growing boys, but I wouldn't mind if they stayed right here in this moment.

Artwork of a Preschooler

To interpret - The happy face at the top of the picture is "Ryan" and the sad face below it is "Daddy".... Dad has spikey hair, and the lines below his eyes are tears. Not only that but the little circlish patch below the sadface is "daddy's beard". When asked why dad was sad... Ryan replies "because I beat you in Lego Star Wars with my light sabre." Oh my.