The Kids

From youngest to oldest...

Ryan- He is growing in every sense of the word. I look at him and see a little boy and can't believe I no longer have a baby at home. His personality is definitely shining through. He knows what he wants and he will LET YOU KNOW. He can be so playful and fun and then turn and be serious and intense and frustrated. We call him Jekyll and Hyde. He is verbal without use of many words. He is "talking" all of the time and gets frustrated if you don't understand him. He loves to climb and pound and shake. He likes riding in the wagon and on the little scooter. He likes to color (and eat the crayons). At Diane's he is very protective over his little cousin Drew. He will bring her her pacifier and go to her if she's upset. He loves to rough house and play chase. He loves books and will pick one out and walk over to the couch for you to sit and read with him. He makes animal sounds that are hilarious! On Saturday we went to get our flu shots and he was sitting on Josh's lap. When the nurse went to give Josh the spray, Ryan reached up and batted her hand away, basically saying, "Don't mess with my dad!" Ryan can't wait to see his sister every morning and after I pick him up. I will walk into the room and he will say, "sis! sis!"

Haley- In an earlier post I wrote of a drop off at preschool that was tough and involved tears. Apparently that was a one time thing. There have even been a few occasions when Haley has said, "Mommy, why did you pick me up so early? I wasn't ready to go!" Her teachers say she is doing great and that she wants to do well. She talks about the different kids and the things she's learning. Her favorite part of the day is "practical life" when she works at different stations with hands on activities. Her school has such a great feel. Soccer is going well too. She is the opposite of aggressive. It is so fun to watch her skip around the field and take notice of everything but the ball. She has been very into drawing and coloring pictures of family and flowers. We have been enjoying some chapter books too. She is a great help in the kitchen and often finds herself looking through colorful cookbooks and picking out recipes for us to try. It's been fun! Haley fully entertains her brother. They have become very much like siblings lately as Ryan wants anything that Haley has. They had their first tugging fight the other day over a toy. Yes, it was funny.

The kids are good. Growing every day (is it possible that Haley will be turning 5?). Will post a few pictures soon.