Thankful....

Seeing as we are out of town I don't really have time to write as much as I would like. But, this post, written last year on Thanksgiving sums things up pretty well: THANKFUL! I figure I can easily reuse an old post since back when I wrote this post no one really knew I existed. So, to most of you, this will be a brand new post! But in all seriousness, I truly am so very thankful for all of the wonderful people in my life. I am a very, very lucky woman!

Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for reading!

All About His Daddy

From the moment Ryan was born Matt has proudly and exceptionally taken on the role of Daddy. He is a truly amazing Daddy. He gives hugs and kisses with reckless abandon. He plays trucks better than anyone. He is stern when he needs to be but always gentle. He reads books with enthusiasm. He is a great tickle fight and wrestling opponent. And he loves his little boy more than I think he knew was possible. 

Ryan has always loved his Daddy, but recently he has been particularly enamored with this man whom he looks up to (both literally and figuratively!). He wants to do whatever his Daddy is doing and he just loves playing with him. There have been a few incidents recently that demonstrate just how much Ryan loves his Daddy. 

Most mornings during the week Ryan wakes up after Matt has gone to work. When I go in to get Ryan he says, "Hi Mama! What Daddy doin'?" I explain that Daddy is at work. To which Ryan replies (as this has been explained to him in the past) "Dada be home when we eat dinnah??" And I assure Ryan that yup, Dada will be home at dinner time! Ryan is very aware of when Daddy is home and when he's not and he anxiously awaits his return. And when he is not with his Daddy, he thinks about him and what he is doing.

Case in point: The other day when I was making Ryan's lunch he was riding on his toy car as he often does. He eventually drove up next to me, pulled at my pant leg, and said, "Mama, I go to work. Be back soon!" And off he went....

Ryan has always been an affectionate little boy, and lately he just showers his Daddy with love when he comes home in the evening. He grabs him around the neck and gives hugs. He runs up to him, hugs his legs and says, "Gotcha, Dada!" And last night, he did one of the cutest things he has ever done. Matt was holding Ryan as they were making a smoothie (something they do together most nights). All of sudden, Ryan held Matt's head in both of his hands, turned Matt's face towards him, and kissed him gently on the nose. It was so sweet, and such a spontaneous display of love. 

Ryan certainly couldn't look up to anyone better. Ryan and Daddy mutually adore each other and I hope it stays that way for a very looooooooooooooooong time! 

Halloween Recap

Our Halloween Festivities began on Sunday afternoon when Ryan carved his first pumpkin. Well, let me rephrase. Ryan helped clean out all the gook from the inside of the pumpkin, and then I carved it.

I carved Elmo, expecting Ryan to be VERY excited. He LOVES Elmo. And well, he was unimpressed. He definitely knew it was Elmo, but he didn't care. Oh well. I had fun carving it!

On Monday morning we drove my niece to Preschool and watched her parade. Ryan was VERY excited when he saw Mickey Mouse. He saw him before I did and said, "Mama! Mama! Look! Mickey Mouse!" I guess we don't have to take him to Disney World anymore.

And then, on Monday evening just after dinner the real festivities began. We got Ryan in his Koala Bear costume, and he promptly began trying to take it off.

I distracted him with candy to try and snap a few pictures, and that worked for about 10 seconds.

But then he immediately went back to trying to at least get the hat off.

We got him outside to start the Trick or Treating process as quickly as we could. And as long as he was engaged, he was fine and tolerated the costume. He was especially distracted when the adorable twins that live across the street (whom Ryan seems to have a toddler crush on) came over to say hello!

 But if given more than a few seconds to think, he would immediately start saying, "Take it off!" We went to a few houses in our neighborhood, and then drove over to my brother and sister-in-laws house so that Ryan could Trick-or-Treat with his cousins.Once we got there he was completely distracted and tolerated the costume with no problem. Well, bribery with lollipops certainly didn't hurt. That boy would give his right arm for a lollipop! (Side note: He knows that he gets a lollipop when he goes to Hair Cuttery to get a hair cut. So, when we go out he will often ask, "Mama? Go get haircut? Get lollipop?" He is too funny!)

You can see Ryan here with his cousin Caitlin. She wanted to be a flip-flop, so I made her costume. She looked so cute. And yes, a few people did actually know what she was!

My niece Julia wasn't anything. Well, if people asked her Mom said she was an Eskimo. But Julia was afraid of every single costume that was brought within a 5 foot radius of her. (She was fine if the costume was on someone else. But if it was clear that the intent was for her to put the costume on, she was having none of it!). So, we had a Koala, a Flip Flop, and a Julia.

Matt, Ryan, my brother John, Sister in law Cindy, Caitlin, Julia, and I had a blast trick or treating. Ryan caught on quickly to the concept and when asked to "say it loudly so people can hear you" he would yell "Trickotreat" as if it was one word. He would then (usually) follow it up with a quick "tank you!" The only thing that would have made the evening more enjoyable for Ryan is if less people were sitting outside their houses with the candy. Ryan LOVES to knock on doors and ring doorbells. And most of the people in my brother's neighborhood were outside just waiting for the kids to come by. So, there were very few doors to knock or bells to ring. But he still had a blast!

Desperately trying to knock on any door he could find....garage doors included! :) 

It was a great night!

 I am already excited for next year! Though, I have a feeling that next year Ryan will have more of an opinion about what he is going to be. And that will make me just a little bit sad....he is indeed growing up too fast!

Happy Halloween!