Science Camp

Today was a big day for our little Annalyn.  We sent her off (with only a few tears shed!) to 5th grade Science Camp.  I remember when she was in first grade, and I saw those big busses coming to pick up the fifth graders for their week away.  I pleaded with Anna to promise me that she wouldn't want to go.  I told her that she didn't even have to go to school that week.  That she could stay home with me every day, and we'd have so much fun!  Every year for the past four years we've had the same conversation as we've seen those kids pack up and leave their families behind.  She agreed that she didn't really want to go until last year when she ended up in the 4/5 combo class.  Hearing those fifth graders talk about how excited they were to go, and then how fun it had been when they got back changed her mind (can you blame her?)  So this year, when we started getting all the letters and forms to turn in, and my offer of a week of fun at home was presented once again, she looked at me like I was crazy and said "No thanks, I want to go to camp."

And so, for the past seven months, I've been gearing up for and dreading this day!  And I have to say....it wasn't as bad as I thought.  It was rough packing her up (I had a sick feeling at the bottom of my stomach all day yesterday), and hard this morning getting out the door, but we made it.  She's been so excited, I wondered if she'd be sad about going at all.  Then, walking over to school, she got really quiet, and I knew it was all settling in.  She got a little teary when we got to her line, but it passed quickly when she found her cute bus partner and got caught up in the excitement again.  I took the boys and headed home, but we came back at the 9:00 departure time for a last goodbye.  I did pretty good at keeping my composure until those busses left the parking lot.  Then my tears came!  Only for a little bit though.  I know she's going to have a blast.  They get to do some pretty fun and amazing things up there, so she probably won't even have time to  miss us.  We, however, are counting the hours until she's back with us!

Bye, Anna....have so much fun!!!

Nine Months

My little guy is 9 months old today...WHAT?!  Can that be possible?  Let's take a look at what he is up to lately:

He loves to stand up to everything.  He's been pulling himself up for a few months, but now he is pulling himself up and then letting go for a couple of seconds until he falls.  In other words, he is trying to stand all by himself!  I'm not too anxious to have my baby walking, so I'm hoping this doesn't progress very quickly.  Terrible mother, huh?  Oh well...he's my BABY!

(Anna snapped this cute picture today...)

I love looking at him from behind....although he's so cute, he's never sitting undisturbed for long.  He's probably the most held (spoiled!) baby there ever was.

(Sticker, courtesy of Anna as well...)

Ryan also loves to help anyone and everyone brush their teeth.  He's been fascinated with toothbrushes for a while, so he was SO excited to get...

...this!  For his first tooth, which just happened to pop through on his 9-month birthday!  (We're late-tooth-getters in this family...)

Ryan and Nathan are best buds...I think I've said that before...

Here they are hanging out in the laundry basket (sitting on top of my freshly-washed clothes...)

Nathan always wants to take a "funny-face" picture, but he was so busy making sure Ryan had one, he forgot to make his own!

Ah...here we go-

Remember how Ryan loves to stand?  Really...since he was about 6 weeks old, he has preferred the standing position to sitting.  His latest trick is to stand on my hip when I'm carrying him around.  It is hilarious!  We look like an acrobat circus act (well, that's what I feel like anyway...)  Imagine walking around Target (and to school, and just about everywhere we go) like this:

Some other fun things about this cute boy...

*He loves the song "Fireflies" (the crazy-techno one by Owl City).  If he's crying in his carseat, all we have to do is turn it on, and he quiets right down!  Nice, while it lasts!

*He gives the best kisses.  Ryan will grab your face, open his mouth, and plant a big wet one on your cheek.  It's one of my very favorite things...

*He also gives me hugs by snuggling against my shoulder and patting my back with his hand.  It's so sweet!
*He still loves food...any food...hopefully he'll have gone up a little in his percentiles at his doctor visit on Monday...

Happy 9 months, sweet boy!

Crawling!

We have an official crawler in our house now...

...and he is SO proud of himself!

Guess I'd better get on that "baby-proofing," huh?

Yay, Ryan!

Eight Months

(Ryan enjoying his Easter basket...the bunny ears, not so much...)

This cutie boy is eight months today...yay!  I should be sad that he is getting so big (and I am...), but he is so much fun that I can't be too down about it.  Ryan's been quite busy lately trying to crawl, learning to put Cheerios into his mouth, and getting his first teeth (they are almost through!) that he is wearing himself out.  Which means he's started taking some good naps.  Yesterday he slept for two whole hours in a row.  Woah!

One of my favorite things to watch is Ryan's developing relationships with his sisters and brother.  He lights up when he sees them and reaches his arms out to them to play.  I think he sees Anna as his second mother, Aimee as someone to dance and have fun with, and Nathan....well, Nathan is the best big brother ever.  He is the first one to get to Ryan when he wakes up in the morning, the first one to help him when he cries, and the best one at making him laugh.  They are buddies and absolutely adore each other.  What lucky boys!  I can't believe that this sweet, fun little guy is really ours.  We were so surprised to find out he was coming to us, and somedays I still can't believe that he is here.   

I guess you can grow up little Ryan, as long as you keep getting cuter by the day... :)

Seven Months

Our little Ryan is seven months today! What a big boy...

So, what is he up to at seven months??? Well, first of all, he LOVES food. Anything and everything....even peas and sweet potatoes. I was a little worried at his 6 month check-up because he'd dropped all the way down to the 11th percentile (from about 50th at 2 months!) in weight. Yikes! He ate regularly, but I'm thinking that maybe my body is pretty drained after these four crazy pregnancies, and my milk isn't so hot this time around. The first time we gave him rice cereal, he downed it like it was nothing. Whenever he gets "real" food, we can't shovel it in fast enough. He is chunking up quite nicely now!

When we walk to school on chilly mornings, Ryan sports this cute blue hat. His eyes are super bright blue when he has it on. Love it...

And, our newest addition...the "Johnny Jump Up." Ryan wasn't too sure about this at first, but now it's one of his favorite things. He's puts the "bouncing" in "bouncing baby boy."

And this picture just makes me laugh...

Ryan is growing up too fast, but every day is so much fun with him. We are excited for what this next month will bring. Happy 7 months, Ry!

'Anna' Get Your Gun!

Annalyn got to participate in her class's "Famous American Wax Museum" last week. It was so cool! The kids each chose a 'famous' American to research, do a report on, and then dress like for their wax museum. When their "button" was pushed, they had a little speech prepared telling important facts about their lives. Annalyn decided to be Annie Oakley, "Legendary Sharpshooter." Scott even made her a gun out of poster board (we figured we'd wouldn't risk taking a toy gun and getting her expelled!) It was awesome...definitely came from an engineering mind. Anna was absolutely darling...although I'm going to have to make her dress up again so I can get a shot of her boots:

Aimee and Nathan enjoyed the refreshments:

Now we all want to see the movie...

A Valentine's Trip

Valentines Day this year was spent at one of our favorite places to be...Grandma and Grandpa Jensen's house. They sure know how to make us feel loved, and we had so much fun. Ryan especially enjoyed getting to know the grandpa whom he got his middle name from.

They were pretty cute together.

The kids were SO excited to drive the golf cart...Grandpa is pretty brave to turn the wheel over to them! It's every kid's dream!

The "after church, before everyone changes" picture...

This was an especially fun trip because we had a chance to sit down with Grandpa and listen to his fabulous stories. The kids had a list of questions asking him about his childhood, his courting and marrying Grandma, his time in the army, etc. He also told his stories about Old Nellie, bear hunting, the deer with the cherry tree growing out of its side, and the cat that came home with its head in its mouth. Aimee was concerned that we wouldn't know which of his stories were true. That was a valid concern! We video taped it so that we'll have his stories forever. Grandpa is one great story teller....it was pretty cute. Maybe we'll make him tell us some more on our next trip! We did the same thing with Grandma Yancey (Scott's grandma) at Christmastime. I could sit and listen to their stories for hours. They are the best!

Nathan was pretty devastated when it was time to go home (probaby partly because Grandpa was pulling jelly beans out of his ears like crazy...) I'm grateful the kids know their great-grandparents so well, and that they have fun memories of visiting them.