Play Ball!

There is not much that Ryan looks forward to more than baseball.  He plays every Saturday at 8:45 AM and it is about the only thing he is on time for.  We found the activity that Ryan loves! He is focused, tries his best, and listens to every word that his coach says...

Our Favorite Feature

Making Rice Krispy Treats

Fun at the Park

Our New Years Eve Party with Cousins Noa and Ethan.  A rare shot of Ryan on the left! Did I mention Ryan hates having his picture taken?

We've Got Some Catching Up to Do!

Well- it looks like we have about 4 months that we need to catch up on!  First I will let you know what the kids have been up to, and then I will go to town with the pictures...

To start...Ryan is almost done with his Pre-K year. In school, he loves show and tell (figuring out which superhero to bring that corresponds with the letter of the week), playing with his friends, numbers (math), and field trips.  He is getting good at writing and his sight words.

Ryan also started playing T-Ball, which he looks forward to every Saturday morning!

At 16 Months, Sydney is a very active, fun-loving and slly little toddler!  She loves dancing, jumping on the trampoline, babbling, playing outside, going to the park, music class, and eating everything in sight!  She really loves Charlie, and other dogs that she sees.

Most of all, Ryan and Sydney love eachother.  They are always hugging, laughing, being silly, and playing!

Smash Cake!

We had a "Chinese Take Out" theme party for Sydney's first birthday.  The highlight was the eating of the smash cake! Sydney did her signature move...rocking back and forth while eating, and making a "mean" face while breathing deep from her nose.  Sydney seems to know this is funny, and when we laugh, she does it even more!

We finally had the camera.   Not the best picture, but you get the idea...

One Year!

Sydney tuned one today! She sure is doing a lot! This past month, she went to the beach and LOVED going in the ocean and playing in the sand.  She can waive "bye bye" and says it too! Other tricks include shaking her head "no," playing "Where's Sydney?" (she can pull a blanket or towel over her head when we say "Where's Sydney?") She started music class this morning, and loves to dance and clap her hands to music.  Perhaps the strangest thing is that she seems to have found her voice this month.  She went from our sweet laid back quiet girl to our still sweet but VERY VOCAL Sydney! The biggest change is that Sydney started walking this past week.  She was doing it a little bit over the past couple of weeks, but the last couple of days, she really took off.  We are having a great time with our little one year old!



Halloween


We had a great Halloween this year!  Ryan was excited to dress up as Batman, and the best part was that he already had a costume from his dress-up toys and didn't want anything new.  This was great because in the past, we have bought him costumes and he has refused to put them on.  Sydney was a little ladybug.  Since we went to Henry and Claire's this year, Charlie got away with not having to wear his pumpkin costume.  Plus, since he is now considered "geriatric," maybe it's not appropriate for him to dress up...

Sydney tried on her Ladybug costume before school.



Henry (red) and Ryan (blue) survey their loot.

Sydney and Claire (the Watermelon) celebrate their first Halloween!

11 Months

It was very hard to get a picture of Sydney at 11 Months.  It took 2 days, and this is what I got...

Sydney was too distracted by the "monthly sign," the blanket that we were using for the poses, and the everyday distractions of her changing table to bother posing for a picture.  

It was no better when we moved into the playroom.  (All rooms that we tried that had no distractions failed to work as well because Sydney would quickly crawl to the playroom or kitchen).

At 11 months, Sydney is quite active! She is not so easy to bathe or change.  She would rather crawl, cruise and explore than be still.  Sydney is able to stand for a long period of time, and is very proud of this fact.  She has learned to waive bye bye, clap her hands to music, and loves to babble.  It seems like Sydney may be referring to per pacifier as "mama" just like Ryan did!

Sydney has 2 teeth on top and 2 teeth on the bottom.  Teething didn't seem to bother her too much, as she is still a great sleeper at night! 

10 Months!



Sydney is 10 Months Old...and now that we finally got ATT Uverse, we will not have so many delays in posting updates.  If I knew internet could be this fast, I would have switched ages ago! 

So...not too much happened during that month.  Sydney did start cruising though, and trying to stand.  As you can see in the picture below, she still sleeps like a champ.  At school, Sydney is known for being a champion eater.  We observed this first hand as she ate more than most of the adults at Rosh Hashanna dinner!

Sydney's bottom two teeth started to come through, making her a sweet little drooler.

Perhaps what makes Sydney truely Sydney is her unique ability to hit you in the face and smile so that you just can't be mad.  (We are working on that)



Look at my bed head!

Nothing sweeter than a baby sleeping with her tush in the air!

9 Months!

I swear...we did take this picture at 9 months. And then it sat in my camera for a few weeks while life got a little crazy! Poor Sydney...second child syndrome? Nope...we spend so much time loving on her that we don't have time to blog...

So, here is what went on from August 4-Sept 4

Sydney started eating more table food, started crawling, pulling herself up, likes clawing at your face (playfully), is in 75th percentile for height and weight, got her first flu shot, was in her first hurricane (Hurricane Irene)...in Baltimore for cousin Reid's Bar Mitzvah, loves laughing at Ryan and watching him play, dances to music, and still sleeps like a champ.

Hilton Head

We went to Hilton Head! We had a great time, and Ryan discovered Superman Ice Cream!
Sydney was a perfect age to take to the beach. Old enough to sit up on her own, but too young to crawl...

Ryan and Daddy loved playing at the beach together!

And in the end, the parents won!

8 Months

At 8 months, we realized Sydney should probably eat some solid food! She eats saltines, bagels, pasta, and egg foo young! She also loves popcorn, hot dogs, peanuts, honey, and gum. (just seeing if you're paying attention) We also gave up on the infant carrier and gave her the big car seat. She loves laughing at Ryan, and squirms after Charlie. She randomly says "mama" which we like a lot! This month, Sydney went to Hilton and liked playing in the sand, eating the sand, and sharing a stoller with Ryan.

Cleveland

One of the most frequent requests from Ryan is for us to put Sydney on his lap. He just wants to sit and hug her all the time.
We went to Cleveland for Nana's retirement. We had a great time!

Nana dressed up for the "My Fair Lady" theme. We loved her fancy hat! Ryan (being Ryan) refused to take a picture. The trade off is that he sat in the sanctuary for an hour and a half like a perfect angel.

7 Months!

At 7 months, we sure have a lot to report! Sydney is 26 inches long (38th percentile) and is 19 pounds (85th percentile). We are so happy that she is growing so well. Sydney loves her baby food. She gets excited as soon as she sees us take out the bowl! Sydney can also sit up on her own (she rode in a grocery cart for the first time and loved it), and she is trying very hard to crawl. (She does "push-ups, planks, and downward facing dog" and slides backward...but no crawling") Sydney's personality is coming out as well. She is still very easygoing, but she does love the sound of her own voice. She sits there and happily screams. She really loves people, and as soon as she makes eye contact with someone, she smiles at them. She smiles the biggest when she sees Ryan. However, now in second place is Charlie!

Four Years Old!

Ryan turned 4 on June 12, and we had so much fun celebrating! (It took so long to recover, I am just now posting this update...)

We celebrated at Play activity center which reminded Ryan of his favorite TV show, Wipeout.

Here is what Ryan is up to at age 4:

He loves to hug Sydney, go bowling, swimming, play any sport, and really does not like hot weather. Ryan loves to talk

Has an imaginary friend named Ja Ja

Doesn't fall asleep until at least 10pm, no matter how early we start our bed time routine

Loves having company over

Loves being with family

Thinks superheros are the coolest thing ever

Would put Nuttella on carrots if we allowed it

Is not afraid of anything and kills the bugs for me

Helps to feed Sydney her baby food

Loves to watch people jump off the diving board

Favorite food is shrimp, any candy, and "Fire on the Table" (Japanese)

Favorite Color is Red

Favorite Superhero is Superman

Favorite Song is "Baby" by Justin Bieber

Summer Fun

Ryan and his friend William show off thier inner-superhero

Poppo and Nana got Ryan a new bike for his birthday!

What a good big brother!

First day at the pool!

Family time!

Eva and Uncle Brian came back in town! Eva and Sydney shared a night cap before bed.