dresses

seven months and hundreds of dollars later, and i still think little boy clothes are better than little girls. with one exception - dresses. i love buying kate dresses because she looks perfect in them. here are a few shots of my beautiful little girl in some of my favorite fancy dresses.






while kate and i play dress up, the boys keep busy.

why i don't update the blog

these two are keeping things busy. ryker is playing hard, learning so many new words and expressions, and entering the terrible twos. kate is growing (out and up - seriously, look at those chubby arms and legs!) and loving anytime she gets to play with ryks. kate is a perfect sweetheart. she is almost always in a good mood. she has a beautiful smile and throws her head back when she laughs really hard. kate is starting to eat baby food but isn't a big fan of it yet. she has great upper body strength but her huge belly may prevent her from crawling anytime soon.

ryks is a wonderful big brother. he doesn't always like to play (or hold) kate but he loves making her laugh. ryks is a great athlete. he throws a football in a spiral, does really well dribbling a soccer ball, knows how to properly throw in a soccer ball, loves to kick soccer goals and field goals, and can shout "goal" louder than anyone. when he tries to kick a soccer ball super far, he will put the ball down on the grass, back up (sometimes as far as the neighbor's house), squat down to assess the situation (mimicking golfers), and then sprint to kick the ball. i'm not sure where he learned this routine but it makes people laugh because he is so serious. ryker is very obstinate, as i imagine most kids are. but he can also be loving, showing concern for people who are sad or hurt.

soon, little guy

not too long after we took this photo, ryker stormed the field and tried to play soccer with ellie's team. he made it to the goal on the other side of the field before graham caught up to him. ryks threw a fit when we wouldn't let him back on the field. thank goodness the park had a "monster slide," as ryker calls it

a face to love

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!

beautiful girl

while i work on uploading photos from ryker's super amazing, wonderful birthday party, i decided to post a photo of this beautiful girl.

best friends

i first met tonee in our junior year of high school. she was the beautiful new girl at school who had the best laugh and most engaging personality. her "no drama" approach to high school theatrics was refreshing. we clicked instantly and became great friends. i remember the days we would spend driving around town in her 4-runner listening and dancing to music (e.g., notorious big, ghetto superstar), laughing at our high school history teacher's clothing choices, and talking about boys.

we have managed to keep in touch during these past 14 years and yesterday, we decided to get our kids together. her son geddy is six mons older than ryker and her daughter jennsen is three days older than kate. ryker and geddy hit it off just like tonee and i did so long ago. the kids ran on the playground, played soccer, chased each other on the trails, ate lunch, and more. i think geddy summed up the day best when he told ryker "you're my best friend." and i think ryker, being a man of little words, agreed as he shared his lunch and wanted to keep playing games with geddy.

of course the battery in my camera died so i managed to only get a few pictures. but i’m sure i’ll get more pictures of these adorable kids and their sisters during a future play date .

choo choo weekend

we had a busy memorial day weekend. from lagoon, the zoo, and three barbeques, we exhausted our kids and ourselves. but we had a blast doing it! ryker wasn't a big fan of lagoon (see the heart breaking photos below) until he got to ride the train. then he was a huge fan.










ryker also loved the zoo. during the bird show, we sat under the fly zone so ryker had six large birds fly about a foot over his head. he was laughing so hard. it was hard to get photos of him looking at the camera because he was so busy taking in all the sights. he liked the train at the zoo but it wasn't nearly as cool as the train at lagoon




we celebrated my brother's birthday on sunday. ryker helped himself to the frosting on the cake, while great grandma and grandpa vincent played with kate. what a perfect weekend!