So we're halfway through January and my annual roundup of 2013's music hasn't made it to publication yet. But this year the rest of the family has joined in on the tradition so we can provide a little teaser! For your reading and listening pleasure:
Ryan's Top 20 Songs of 2013 (Listen on Spotify)
20. Mirrors - Justin Timberlake
19. Out Of My League - Fitz and The Tantrums
18. One More Night - Maroon 5
17. Lucky Strike - Maroon 5
16. Clarity - Zedd
15. Love Somebody - Maroon 5
14. Timber - Pitbull
13. Babel - Mumford & Sons
12. Pompeii - Bastille
11. Demons - Imagine Dragons
10. I Knew You Were Trouble - Taylor Swift
9. Safe and Sound - Capital Cities
8. Can't Hold Us - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
7. Still Into You - Paramore
6. My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) (Album Version) - Fall Out Boy
5. The Monster - Eminem
4. One Thing - One Direction
3. Roar - Katy Perry
2. Counting Stars - OneRepublic
1. Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus
Cheryl's Top 20 Songs of 2013 (Listen on Spotify)
20. Applause - Lady Gaga
19. Slow Down - Selena Gomez
18. Cruise - Remix - Florida Georgia Line
17. Timber - Pitbull
16. Wake Me Up - Avicii
15. Burn - Ellie Goulding
14. Recovery - Frank Turner
13. Still Into You - Paramore
12. Radioactive - Imagine Dragons
11. I Knew You Were Trouble - Taylor Swift
10. Carry On - Fun.
9. Babel - Mumford & Sons
8. Mountain Sound - Of Monsters And Men
7. Just Give Me a Reason - P!nk
6. Can't Hold Us - feat. Ray Dalton - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
5. Come A Little Closer - Cage The Elephant
4. Counting Stars - OneRepublic
3. Pompeii - Bastille
2. A Light That Never Comes - Linkin Park
1. My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) - Fall Out Boy
Yes, we're embarrassed that Miley Cyrus made Ryan's #1. But with some notable exceptions we've had a good time singing with the boy this year!
Eric's list and commentary coming soon.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Thursday, August 22, 2013
The Tooth Fairy's First Visit
We're back for another update on our (not for much longer) five year old!
One morning, the kids were lounging in our bed with us as we tried to grasp at a few wisps of sleep. It's rare that the four of us make it very long, but on this particular morning, I think we were all still in a calm, waking up sort of mode and just chatting about nothing. That is, until Lauren became interested in Ryan's eyes, or as Ryan put it, "Lauren made a one and then poked me in the eye!" He seemed to be far more impressed that she could make the number one with her finger than he was distressed that he had been poked in the eye. Talk about being able to do no wrong...
In that vein, Ryan has now on multiple occasions decided that "I want another little sister, but not a little brother". We explained to him that if, in fact, he were to have another sibling that we would just have to be happy with a boy or a girl since that decision gets made for us. He decided that he would pray really hard to God and then maybe he could get what he wanted - who knows, maybe he'd be right! (To be clear, we have no announcement to make.)
While we don't remember a lot about choosing our elementary school friends, it seems Ryan decided to take after his mother and discriminate based on hair. While Cheryl decided on the first day of first grade that she could not be friends with somebody with red hair (they later became pretty inseparable), Ryan chose his best kindergarten friend "because he has nice hair." Who would have thought that one's hair could make or break you like that?
This conversation had us laughing:
Ryan: Mommy, the ant* in my room this morning was really big!
Mommy: Did you kill it?
Ryan: No, I tried, but I couldn't, so I just put it in the trash.
Mommy: Uhhh...you know it probably crawled right out of the trash, right?
Ryan: (stunned) Oh.
*the "ant" in his room could have been any insect or spider as Ryan doesn't tend to differentiate between bugs at this point in his life
We suppose it's good that he's learned that things that go in the trash don't generally come back out.
Ryan has been keeping busy this summer with all kinds of fun. We got an AMF summer bowling pass, of which we have made tremendous use. He visited the spy museum and spent a week at bible school, soccer camp, dinosaur camp and skating camp. Grandma and Grandpa hosted his cousin and him for a week of "camp" and took him on his first cruise! This is a summer he is not likely to forget as he has loved every minute of it.
One of his biggest growth milestones of the last few months, however, is that Ryan lost his first tooth! He was "wiggling it in my bed and it just came out!" He was pretty proud and was able to show all his friends the new space in his mouth before school let out *phew*. He was also thrilled that the tooth fairy left him a half dollar "do you know that they don't even make those anymore?!?"
Can you believe this little man is going to be six soon? *sniff*
One morning, the kids were lounging in our bed with us as we tried to grasp at a few wisps of sleep. It's rare that the four of us make it very long, but on this particular morning, I think we were all still in a calm, waking up sort of mode and just chatting about nothing. That is, until Lauren became interested in Ryan's eyes, or as Ryan put it, "Lauren made a one and then poked me in the eye!" He seemed to be far more impressed that she could make the number one with her finger than he was distressed that he had been poked in the eye. Talk about being able to do no wrong... |
| Best Buds |
While we don't remember a lot about choosing our elementary school friends, it seems Ryan decided to take after his mother and discriminate based on hair. While Cheryl decided on the first day of first grade that she could not be friends with somebody with red hair (they later became pretty inseparable), Ryan chose his best kindergarten friend "because he has nice hair." Who would have thought that one's hair could make or break you like that?
This conversation had us laughing:
Ryan: Mommy, the ant* in my room this morning was really big!
Mommy: Did you kill it?
Ryan: No, I tried, but I couldn't, so I just put it in the trash.
Mommy: Uhhh...you know it probably crawled right out of the trash, right?
Ryan: (stunned) Oh.
*the "ant" in his room could have been any insect or spider as Ryan doesn't tend to differentiate between bugs at this point in his life
We suppose it's good that he's learned that things that go in the trash don't generally come back out.
 |
| This was a good round for all of us! |
Ryan has been keeping busy this summer with all kinds of fun. We got an AMF summer bowling pass, of which we have made tremendous use. He visited the spy museum and spent a week at bible school, soccer camp, dinosaur camp and skating camp. Grandma and Grandpa hosted his cousin and him for a week of "camp" and took him on his first cruise! This is a summer he is not likely to forget as he has loved every minute of it.
 |
| He is already so comfortable on his skates. |
One of his biggest growth milestones of the last few months, however, is that Ryan lost his first tooth! He was "wiggling it in my bed and it just came out!" He was pretty proud and was able to show all his friends the new space in his mouth before school let out *phew*. He was also thrilled that the tooth fairy left him a half dollar "do you know that they don't even make those anymore?!?"
Can you believe this little man is going to be six soon? *sniff*
Monday, July 1, 2013
Picture Update: October-December 2012
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| The Second Pumpkin Carving Adventure |
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| Gotta Love a Happy Baby |
Oh yeah, and if you haven't been in awhile, we also posted Patricia's wedding pictures a few months ago here! Enjoy!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
The Months of Many Milestones
It seems that all the learning Lauren has been doing in the last few months has culminated in her 9th and 10th months with breakthroughs (literally, with her first two teeth) in almost every aspect of her development!
First, we'll talk about gross motor skills. After a few months of wriggling, rolling, and otherwise finding her way around, Lauren began army crawling backwards (exhibit A). This resulted in much frustration on her part as she inched away from her toys rather than towards them. After learning how to get herself from her stomach back to a sitting position (how we now often find her in bed), she quickly figured out how to go forwards, and then how to get up on her hands and knees. Now it takes mere seconds for her to exit her room in hot pursuit of the bathroom trash can when Mommy or Daddy wash their hands after a diaper change(exhibit B). We also have a new game where we stack blocks and she very craftily goes and knocks them over - of course with a grin in your direction for approval. She can also pull herself up to a stand without too much trouble (exhibit C) and make her way up the step between the family room and kitchen with no issues. Look out world!
Next up, fine motor skills, which are best exhibited in the eating of baby crack, I mean, puffs! Lauren, much like her brother, has yet to find a food that she doesn't like to eat. She likes to be very independent about it and is more interested in foods that she can pick up and feed herself than the ones that you feed her. Her pincer grasp isn't just for the kitchen, but also gets a workout finding hair and other delightful items from the floor. She is fascinated by sounds - especially if she makes them herself. She loves squeaky, crinkly, and otherwise noisy toys, which are even better when you bang them together.
Finally, we'll talk a little bit about her social skills. She can wave bye-bye (if she wants to - she's quite selective about who gets this one), give fives, and has recently started sharing. Of course, she generally wants what she shares with you back, but she does get proud of herself. Lauren knows mama and dada now. In fact, one evening, Cheryl and Lauren walked into the office where Daddy was on his computer and she said "Hi Dadada!" using a tone much like Cheryl uses to say "Hi Daddy!". She's still pretty attached to Mommy, but is much happier with Daddy these days too - *phew*! Ryan is still a fantastic big brother and the mutual adoration continues.
We'll leave you with this picture of a happy baby who is finally able to try out some summer clothes!
First, we'll talk about gross motor skills. After a few months of wriggling, rolling, and otherwise finding her way around, Lauren began army crawling backwards (exhibit A). This resulted in much frustration on her part as she inched away from her toys rather than towards them. After learning how to get herself from her stomach back to a sitting position (how we now often find her in bed), she quickly figured out how to go forwards, and then how to get up on her hands and knees. Now it takes mere seconds for her to exit her room in hot pursuit of the bathroom trash can when Mommy or Daddy wash their hands after a diaper change(exhibit B). We also have a new game where we stack blocks and she very craftily goes and knocks them over - of course with a grin in your direction for approval. She can also pull herself up to a stand without too much trouble (exhibit C) and make her way up the step between the family room and kitchen with no issues. Look out world!
Next up, fine motor skills, which are best exhibited in the eating of baby crack, I mean, puffs! Lauren, much like her brother, has yet to find a food that she doesn't like to eat. She likes to be very independent about it and is more interested in foods that she can pick up and feed herself than the ones that you feed her. Her pincer grasp isn't just for the kitchen, but also gets a workout finding hair and other delightful items from the floor. She is fascinated by sounds - especially if she makes them herself. She loves squeaky, crinkly, and otherwise noisy toys, which are even better when you bang them together.
Finally, we'll talk a little bit about her social skills. She can wave bye-bye (if she wants to - she's quite selective about who gets this one), give fives, and has recently started sharing. Of course, she generally wants what she shares with you back, but she does get proud of herself. Lauren knows mama and dada now. In fact, one evening, Cheryl and Lauren walked into the office where Daddy was on his computer and she said "Hi Dadada!" using a tone much like Cheryl uses to say "Hi Daddy!". She's still pretty attached to Mommy, but is much happier with Daddy these days too - *phew*! Ryan is still a fantastic big brother and the mutual adoration continues.
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| This face is full of delight! |
Friday, May 3, 2013
Ryanisms: Are You Ski-fat?
Here is another round of Ryanisms! Read and ROFL...
A five-year-old's perspective is fun, though, and now that he brings home writing from school, we get even more insight into it. They had a writing prompt, "When I'm 100 years old..." which Ryan completed with "I will be in bed." complete with a picture of him in bed. While we hope otherwise, that's probably not too far from the truth!
This next conversation got Ryan some bonus points from Mommy...
Mommy: I'm old.
Ryan was looking through his Halloween candy (yes, we still have a lot of it in the house...maybe Lauren will be a candy eater?) and came across some Tootsie Rolls. He's not terribly fond of them, and he proclaimed "Ewwww...Rolly Pollies!" Ew, indeed.
In Sunday school this year, Ryan learned about lenten sacrifices. He decided to give up cookies for Lent, and was very good at keeping to it! On Ash Wednesday, he informed Cheryl "I'm not having dessert because I'm doing a sacrifice for God. And I'm also full." Despite the additional motivation, we're still pretty proud that he put some thought to sacrificing.
One morning, Ryan and Eric were up getting ready to head out and Lauren and Cheryl were still peacefully napping. Cheryl awoke to a sing-song "Yoohoo, Daddy!" "Yoohoo! Daddy!" being repeated quite faithfully, without any hint of impatience. It continued throughout Eric brushing his teeth, and when Eric finally asked "Yes, Ryan?" he simply asked for help tying his shoe. Mornings like those are ones to treasure.
While on our way to see one of our pregnant friends, this conversation happened in our car:
Ryan: I want to have a baby too!
Parents: Sadly, you can't because you don't have girl parts, but if you grow up and get married and you decide to have a baby, your wife could have one.
Ryan: But not if I marry a boy!
Parents: True, but then you could adopt.
Ryan: Or, if he died before me, then I could marry a girl.
Problem solving at its finest.
And a little more about girls, one night Ryan said:
Ryan: I think I'm a girl.
Mommy: Why is that?
Ryan: Because I really like thinking about girls. Like in bed, at night.
Ahh, Ryan. Clearly this means the opposite.
And a little more about girls, one night Ryan said:
Ryan: I think I'm a girl.
Mommy: Why is that?
Ryan: Because I really like thinking about girls. Like in bed, at night.
Ahh, Ryan. Clearly this means the opposite.
This next one could have happened on any day as 5-year-olds seem to have trouble making up their minds.
Ryan: No, I don't. Yes, I do. No, I don't. Yes, I do!
Mommy: Ryan, are you schizophrenic??
Ryan: Not right now!
A five-year-old's perspective is fun, though, and now that he brings home writing from school, we get even more insight into it. They had a writing prompt, "When I'm 100 years old..." which Ryan completed with "I will be in bed." complete with a picture of him in bed. While we hope otherwise, that's probably not too far from the truth!
Another conversation out of the blue:
Ryan: Was Mackajulia a president?
Mommy (baffled): Who?
Ryan: You know, the person on the coin!
Mommy: Ohhh... Sacajawea?
Ryan: Yeah!
We've been thinking we might have to move this summer, so we were preparing Ryan who has no interest in moving from the only house he knows. One evening, he decided "Ok, but if we have to move, I want to bring my books and stuff." We assured him that it was only the house we were leaving behind and that our things would come with us. We also went out open house shopping, and he decided that he would be ok with living in "Mary's house". It took us a few minutes to realize that Mary was the realtor showing one of the houses we saw.
This next conversation got Ryan some bonus points from Mommy...
Mommy: I'm old.
Ryan: No, you're not!
Mommy: Whatever, I'm 31 today, that makes me old!
Ryan: You are? (sounding shocked) Well, that doesn't mean you're old. You're only old if you're more than 56 or something.
...but he lost them all with this last one.
Ryan: We have a pretty skinny family. Well. Except for Mommy. She's ski-fat; halfway between skinny and fat.
Hope you've enjoyed this round - a Lauren update is coming your way soon!
...but he lost them all with this last one.
Ryan: We have a pretty skinny family. Well. Except for Mommy. She's ski-fat; halfway between skinny and fat.
Hope you've enjoyed this round - a Lauren update is coming your way soon!
Monday, February 25, 2013
Picture Update: July-September 2012!
It turns out that having a baby inspires a renewed energy in the photographers around these parts, so the July-September set posted here has 132 pictures and 7 videos! The slideshow version (almost 10 minutes long!) is here.
Highlights include Cheryl with a watermelon-sized stomach, Lauren's early visitors, Ryan's first day of school and lots of summer fun. Enjoy!
Highlights include Cheryl with a watermelon-sized stomach, Lauren's early visitors, Ryan's first day of school and lots of summer fun. Enjoy!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Halfway to a Year
Yep, that major baby milestone of six months has already passed in our house and we're amazed (for a second time) at just how much humans grow and change in such a short period of time. First, we were just excited to have her around.
Lauren is lucky enough to spend one day at week at home with her Daddy. On Cheryl's first day back at work when Lauren was staying home with Eric, she got upset at one point, as babies do. Eric told her "Don't worry Lauren, I'm here." As a funny coincidence, she paused, said "Ma-Ma", and then continued to cry. Fortunately, Daddy now has a wonderful way to calm her down as she loves listening to him play the piano.
Then, spontaneous smiles turned into plentiful happy grins and priceless giggles.
Now we're watching her every roll and we're stashing tiny toys away as we anticipate a very mobile baby.
We're working to update our pictures, but in the meantime, here are a few anecdotes about our favorite baby girl.
Early on, her sneezes always had this adorable little "ah-hoo" to finish them off. Almost like a sigh. We tried hard to capture it on video, but never made it to the camera quite fast enough, and unfortunately it seems that she's already outgrown this cute phase.
She has acquired several key baby skills - passing things from hand to hand, massive drooling, chewing and sucking on her fingers, getting her money's worth from her diapers, pulling hair and rolling (quickly!) in both directions. Lauren loves using all of her senses to explore - she watches things carefully, touches them to see how they feel, scratches them to see how they sound, and then, of course, puts them in her mouth to see how they taste. She is now eating rice cereal, oatmeal, and a few pureed fruits and vegetables. Just sitting at the family breakfast/lunch/dinner table makes her happy and while her first try of a new food produces a less than impressed face, she seems to be enjoying the new tastes and textures.
We previously mentioned that Ryan adored Lauren, but at this point the admiration is mutual. When Ryan is around, she watches his every move and he certainly elicits the most smiles and laughs. On school days, she already seems to anticipate his arrival home. A good example of Ryan's power over her happened recently on an occasion when her cereal wasn't arriving as quickly as desired. Her wailing went a little like this - waaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!! <turns head, distracted by Ryan> *silence "ooohhh, what's Ryan doing??"* <turns back towards the rest of the kitchen> waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!! <turns head to look at Ryan> *silence "dude, I have the coolest brother"* <turns back> waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!! .... and so it continued.
Lauren is lucky enough to spend one day at week at home with her Daddy. On Cheryl's first day back at work when Lauren was staying home with Eric, she got upset at one point, as babies do. Eric told her "Don't worry Lauren, I'm here." As a funny coincidence, she paused, said "Ma-Ma", and then continued to cry. Fortunately, Daddy now has a wonderful way to calm her down as she loves listening to him play the piano.
Lauren continues to be a bit of a Mommy's girl. Lauren's happy with others, and when Cheryl arrives home from work, she gets even happier. Well, happier as long as Cheryl is quick to pick her up shortly after arriving. If she waits too long (more than a minute), Lauren gets very insulted. Often, when she is upset, all Cheryl needs to do is cuddle her, and she is instantly better - and who doesn't love a little baby cuddle.
We hope you enjoyed the first taste of our little lady!
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