ebony and ivory

i celebrated my 30th birthday this past weekend and the two biggest gifts i received are captured in the photo above: the piano (you know you're getting older when you love the things you once hated) and a new flash for the camera (now i can take great photos at really small aperture settings). graham made this a very special birthday, full of surprises! now, armed with great new piano music, i am beginning a new dedication (and appreciation) to practicing piano and photography.

our family is taking advantage of the warm summer evenings by doing something every night. from swinging with grandma and grandpa robertson, to going to the park with grandma weddick, to watching grandpa weddick’s favorite disney movie – jungle book, to playing with the neighborhood kids (including ryker taking off with his friend, izzy, out of the cul-de-sac, and around the corner, despite the older kids telling them to go home and the parents chasing them), to wheeler farm visits, we have effectively exhausted ryker – and us.

pause for a moment

birthday celebrations (ryker and max), anniversary (seven years!), doctor appointments (ryker and kate), house guests (mike, laurie, and max), wedding (chris and kami), return to work (me), and more.

it has been a busy two weeks! ryks celebrated his second birthday with a fun party, complete with a bounce house. at his two-year check up, ryker was in the 99th percentile for height (38 inches) and 94th for weight. he says the funniest things like "i just farted" or "i did it!" after he took his new asthma medication through the inhaler. he seems to be constantly on the move. in his world, everything is something he can kick like a soccer ball or hit like a baseball. he is a superstar at dribbling a soccer ball and shooting a goal. kate had her two-month check up and is doing great. she is finally smiling, laughing, and making those wonderful baby noises. and, lucky for this mom who went back to work last week, kate is starting to sleep through the night. as for my return to work, it was difficult to leave my kids. however, they go to a great daycare located down the hall from graham's office. the teachers are smart and caring and the facility is beautiful. plus, it helps that i love my job and enjoy the people i work with.

we had mike, laurie, and max stay with us for the last couple of weeks. they came to town for chris' wedding, max's first birthday, and to visit family. ryker loved having his cousin around but struggled with the concept of sharing his toys. while max was in town, we decided it was time to take pictures of the cousins. regardless of how many adults were behind the camera shouting, making silly noises, and clapping their hands, it was impossible to get these kids to look at the camera. this was the best shot we had (although the others are still pretty cute).

we also managed to get a few pictures of the kids while they were dressed up for chris' wedding. the theme was a vintage carnival so ryker wore awesome suspenders and an oversized bow tie. and, because kate is so tiny, i figured this was the only time i could get away with dressing her in something with this much tulle. she looked beautiful!