Well, I tried :)

This past week I discovered pinterest: a fun website where you can collect all sorts of recipes, home decor ideas and ideas for kids. I was super excited about some Christmas crafts to do and also some fun things to do with Ryan. Now that I am back to full-time mommy-hood, I have been loving being with Ryan and looking for new and fun activities to try with him. I have found that I struggle with not trying to plan our every minute and also having fun exploratory play. I think that from being a teacher, I am so used to lesson plans, and having a 'lesson-focus' every day, it's hard to not still focus on that. I love to teach and am having fun teaching Ryan his ABC's, numbers and colors. But I am continually reminding myself that he is 20 months old, and that he learns by play. ;) He cannot do color by number yet, and that is OK! :) Anyways, I came across some fun things on pinterest, and wanted to share my findings.

The first was just taking a colander and putting pipe-cleaners through the holes. I thought this would be a great activity for fine-motor skills. And...it was...for about 3.5 minutes. Ryan was interested, but not for too long. But, that was ok. I gave it a shot. He had fun pulling out the pipe cleaners and playing with the colander, but that was about it. Here he is 'experimenting':

The second activity I tried was freezing some ice with food coloring in it. The activity was for bath time...that he would chase the ice around and try to grab it before it melted. Well, pretty much...as soon as Ry touched the ice, he looked at me and said, "no no." I think he didn't like that it was cold...so that was a flop....but I tried! :) 

So, here's to trying to merge my loves of being a mom and teaching: knowing that it may not always work out just like my amazing lessons didn't always work out. :) But, hey...at least I tried. :) 

Our Journey Continues

Well...we are now in the midst of Jason's third semester of law school. This is the hardest semester so far and he is very busy. On Wednesday's he doesn't even come home....well...until midnight. He goes to school from 9 to 6, then has to work in the library from 8-12am. So, Ryan and I have been bringing him dinner at his school and eating in the lounge. It's pretty fun for us to get out, and Ryan loves running around and bothering entertaining the other law students. :) But, with Jason being Jason, he doesn't complain and is doing very well with keeping up with work, his internship and school. He even made honor roll, and we were able to go to the little ceremony and celebrate his accomplishments. Go hubby! :)

I have been adjusting to life again with just being at home. I adore the fact that I am able to care for Ryan 24/7 and love being home with him. He is such a goofy guy, so fun, and just a good little boy. He is still mama's cuddle bug and is great at giving hugs and kisses...and now he hugs and rubs mama's baby (the belly)...so cute! He is talking/babbling away and every day says new words....today he learned how to sign the word pumpkin after teaching it to him twice. I know I'm biased....but he's so smart! :)

We are adjusting to life in San Diego, although I miss home still almost every day. I am thankful for our church community at Mosaic and the dear friends that I have made there. We are hosting a small group at our home, and that has been so fun...and gets me baking it up! :) I also have started a MOPS group this year, and have only been once so far. It's so hard not to compare to the amazing MOPS at The Bridge, but I am looking forward to meeting new moms and seeing what God has through it.

 One thought that seems to keep running through my mind is that Ryan is just such a good kid. So far (now...we haven't hit the two's yet), he listens so well, we really haven't had to do much discipline yet. He is a great sleeper! He sleeps straight through from 7:30-7:30 and then takes anywhere from a 2-3.5 hour nap at noon. He also loves to eat! And some days I feel like I can't get enough food to him....if this is any indication of what his teenage years will be like...we better start saving for our food budget. But, he cracks me up! He used to always be a size bigger with his clothes, and now we are having a hard time with his clothes. He is a size 12 month waist, but size 18 month length...it's driving me crazy! He either has high waters or his pants are falling down. Hopefully when we fully switch to cloth diapers, they will help keep his pants up.

Here are some highlights of what we've been up to:

Some more zoo! Ryan loves the monkeys and the petting zoo! :)

Nice goat! 

He has found a new fascination with Layla's backside....not so sure about this one, but it is funny as he chases her to try to get a look: 

We have been spending a lot of time with our dear friend Carolyn (mom) and Shyla. Shyla is the only other kid Ryan's age at church, and so naturally, his mom and I have become good friends. We love to go the zoo, walk around Balboa or go to the library and have lunch at Ikea. I am so thankful for her. And her sweet little Shyla is awesome! She has the cutest personality and loves to dance. I love that Ryan has a little friend. Here they are enjoying a walk together in the wagon, and also going for a drive to a play group! 

Ryan also had his first popsicle....I was having one as a snack, and of course he wants to try whatever mom has....he did pretty good...and he was so cute eating it! 

I just love this next set of pictures: Ryan was 'hiding' by the coffee table, and I love his expressions: totally shows his personality: 

and I'm off again! 

And then there are the everyday adventures of grocery shopping. Ryan loves going to Vons where he can ride in the car cart. He literally squeals with delight as we're shopping: one of the best inventions! 

Thankful to God for meeting all our needs! Until next time! :) 

The Busy Month of August

Whew, as I was thinking about this past month, I realized that we have had quite the busy month. It was great, but a lot happened. Our month started with lots of visitors and traveling. We had 3 sets of guests in a week and a half and went to Fresno twice in 2 weeks! :) All of this happened during the point where I was feeling the worst with pregnancy nausea and tiredness. But the Lord definitely provides, and we got through it.

We started out the month celebrating Jason's brother's birthday. My sister in law, her husband and brother in law all came down for the weekend. I am so thankful that God has provided a house for us down here where we have the room for guests to come and stay. Ryan loved having his aunt and uncles here for a while. We also announced our pregnancy to them with Ryan's "I'm going to be a big brother" shirt. :) So fun!

A few days later my best friend from high school and her new husband came and stayed a night with us. It was wonderful to see them, and I am so thankful for her friendship. It was great to see her as a married woman and God definitely has provided the right man for her. They didn't get to stay very long, but it was still wonderful to have just a little time together.

We had two trips to Fresno this month! Whew! As much as I love to be home, it is a LONG drive...and during the first trip, they were doing construction on the grapevine. So, instead of taking an hour to get through the grapevine, it took 3! Oh, it's fun to be in traffic with an antsy 18 month old!! ;) Let's just say I broke a rule (shh) I crawled in the back and let him out of his seat. Since we were literally hardly moving, I figured the chance of anything happening was very minimal...and he had a great time standing on the seat and watching all the trucks and wheels. :) Although our weekend plans were thrown off a bit from the traffic, we were thrilled that one of our best friends had her sweet baby boy while we were in town. We were able to go see them and hold little Maddex Zimmerman. That was a blessing to be there during such a cool time in our friends' lives. Here is the sweet little man: 

During this trip, I was also able to catch up with some ah-mazing friends. And when I say ah-mazing....this is like I don't think I would've survived high school without these friends. They are a blessing and I love them so much! Now, one of my besties has two little sweet kiddos, and I love that our kids play together. I didn't get very many pics, but here are some of them sharing a delicious Me N Ed's meal together. :) 

In between trips, we had my Aunt and Uncle (Ryan's Nana and Pa) come and stay a few days with us. It was so great to have them to ourselves, and they spoiled us! They took us out to yummy meals twice, and my amazing decorator of an Aunt helped me finish some shelves that I have been putting off. I think since I was so sick this month, I really wasn't in the picture taking mode...but I did get a few of Ryan enjoying some time with his Pa. :) 

Our next trip to Fresno was super quick! We were only in the city of Fresno for Saturday night. We celebrated a very special lady: Jason's Grandma turned 80 this year, so we had a party for her. :) She is one amazing woman. We stay with her often and have the privilege of hearing about her life and eating her cooking (she was a caterer for 30 years!). The one thing that this woman loves is her family, and she has been blessed with 8 great-grandchildren under 5 years old, and two more on the way. She has enough hugs and kisses to go around and she has a special way of making sure everyone feels loved and special. She is a hero to me. She loves Jesus and others with her whole heart: what else is there to do with life? Here she is in her glory with all her greats! 

Lastly, today my sweet little Ryan is 19 months old! And our little Baby Love is 12 weeks in gestation. :) Ryan is FUN! I feel so blessed and lucky that I am not working this year and can focus on taking care of the family while Jason is working hard to prepare for our future. I have LOVED taking Ryan to the Library, toddler music class, play-areas, parks, and play-dates with friends. The one thing that Jason and I were saying that Ryan is doing that is new this month is how much he 'talks' to us. He says about 15-20 words well, but he loves to babble. My favorite is when he looks at us and just talks like he is telling us a great story, with expressions and all! He also really loves to play with water! He actually fell into a fountain at a restaurant (yes, we are great parents!)....He was playing and was leaning a bit too far, but my fast-moving hubby caught him right as he hit the water. He was scared, but fine! :) We found a water park about 5 minutes from our house, and that is so fun! :) Enjoy the pics of our big boy! 

Thankful for the everyday blessings!