Fridge Fun

Riley and Ryan have discovered the fridge. Each and every time we open the doors, they head in that direction and have become pros at wedging themselves between us and the first shelf before we can blink our eyes. Although we strongly encourage them to "move away from the fridge", I couldn't help but snap a few shots of them busy at working to take out each and every condiment we have on the shelves in the door. (I also realized that we have A LOT of condiments) They are officially into EVERYthing and are more active than ever. It's a lot of work, but it's so much fun to see them developing each and every day. They will be moving up to their 3rd class at Open Arms (Toddler 1) in 2 weeks. They will be in a room with all walkers, so hopefully Ryan will polish his skills and be a full fledged walker by the time they move up. We are really working on it and he's getting better, but he's still not walking on his own.

We went over to our neighbor's house, Marc & Christine, on Friday night to be with the typical crew. Lots of adults and lots of kids. It was one of the first times that Riley and Ryan have really interacted with the big kids. They ate at the table with them and then played outside (it was finally warm enough!) on the deck with all the fun new toys. They had a blast and were wiped out. They went down at 7:30pm and Ryan woke up at 7:30am, the typical 12 hours, but Riley slept until almost 9:00! I have to admit Kevin and I both went up at separate times to check on her and make sure she was still breathing. After sleeping in, Riley was ready for her first mother/daughter birthday party. We went to Ella's (my friend Sheli's daughter) 1st birthday party at their house in Alpharetta. Again, she had a blast playing with all the new toys and visiting with Hayden (my friend Diana's daughter). Ella, Hayden and Riley were all born within 3 1/2 months of one another. They are all very different sizes, but all very spunky and go-getters. I guess we are all raising what will one day be strong women, but for now we will just call them "determined" little girls! :)

Last night we celebrated Lori & Paul's birthdays (they are today and Wednesday) with a nice dinner at our house. Riley and Ryan played with Kat and Paul and Kat even held Riley in her lap to watch a movie. We were all very surprised that she sat still long enough to actually sit in her lap, but she did and I think it made Kat happy to "take care" of her. Tonight Riley pitched an official temper tantrum - I think it was her first real one. We were trying to brush her teeth and she wouldn't let us do it. So we started brushing Ryan's teeth and once we were done he got to hold the toothbrush (as we always let them do). Riley didn't get to hold her toothbrush since she wouldn't let us brush her teeth and I have to say she just about lost it. She was screaming at the top of her lungs and crying so hard. It was hard to watch, but we are trying to teach them that certain actions get certain rewards (and to them right now being able to hold onto their toothbrushes is definitely a reward). She never fully recovered until it was just time for bed. I was glad to see a smile before she put her head down! I decided tonight that I don't like tantrums, but I have a feeling this was just scratching the surface for what we have ahead of us! :)

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090122Fridge#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090124EllaS1stBirthdayParty#

Dancing with Jesus

I keep trying to remember to "record" this and have forgotten to include it in the last few blogs, so I'm going to "record" it right now while I'm thinking about it...

We have started singing a few songs during our night-time routine to calm everyone down just before bed. Usually, while I'm singing Riley and Ryan are sitting quietly in my lap or Kevin's lap. Riley usually has already gotten her "lovey" out of her crib and is holding it close to her face while sucking her thumb. I usually end with the classic favorite "Jesus loves me". The last few nights when I started singing, Riley has popped up out of my lap and started dancing. She moves her shoulders and sways her hips back and forth. She then happily claps once the song is over. It is absolutely hilarious and I think this will be forever imprinted on my brain as a "favorite moment".

PS - the dancing thing is not something new for Riley. She dances a lot. Just about any time she hears music and they play music almost all day at school. They tell me she dances her way through most days at school. I just didn't think I could provoke her to dance to my singing "Jesus loves me". Ryan also likes to clap or pat his hands to the music...he's just not as into dancing as she is! That's all for now...

Markers Anyone?

This was a pretty low-key weekend. Riley and Ryan both had fevers on Saturday afternoon when they woke up from their nap, so we just tried to lay low, rest and drink lots of fluids. We stayed home on Sunday most of the day then went up to visit with Grandaddy and Gramma made them some dinner. Part of how we knew they were not feeling so well was neither one had their usual appetite, but they made a nice try at Gramma's. Today, we were home (Daddy had to work) for the holiday. Riley did great with the spoon this morning (oatmeal) with the little she ate. She's just about got it down. There are some pictures to document the occasion, of course. Ryan is still not so interested, but Riley almost insists on at least having a spoon in her possession any time she is eating. After breakfast we headed to Ikea with Grandaddy. We were there for over an hour, so they just got bored by the end, but overall, they were really well behaved (except for Riley's meltdown at the end) and were very good shoppers. They had a great nap and when they woke up I tried to come up with something creative to do since it was too cold to go outside. I spent about 10 minutes taping down some paper and getting out their markers to have some fun time drawing. I put on the smocks Gramma gave them for Christmas (which they weren't so sure about at first) and put them in their chairs. In about 2.5 seconds they had ripped up the paper, Ryan had bitten off the tip of the marker and Riley had drawn all over her hand. So much for that! I guess it is still a little too early for that project. We will try again later, but that was enough for all of us today. No fever for either one today and they both cleaned their plates tonight for dinner. By bath time Ryan was back to his typical cheerful self....just in time for bedtime. Hopefully this latest illness is behind us and we will have a happy healthy week!

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090117WagonRideAtHome#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090119ReadyForMarkersMaybeNot#

Lazy Sunday

We had a nice weekend of cleaning out closets and clutter - thus only a few photos. We are trying to simplify in 2009, which is always such a hard thing to do - especially with children. We seem to just attract "stuff", but we put a dent in our collection and have 5 bags ready to go to goodwill. We still have much more to go, but it's a great start. Kevin got both swings set up outside, but it has been bitterly cold, so the kiddos have not been able to enjoy them yet. I can't wait until we can just walk outside and swing! It will be great this Spring! We had a fun weekend with of our friends from the neighborhood on Friday night (it was 11 adults, 8 kids and 2 babies not yet here, but only 1 week from their arrival date)! Yes - it was crazy, but we really had a great time. It's fun to watch Riley and Ryan on the verge of being able to really play with the other kids. They ate what the big kids ate and enjoyed watching the big kids run around. Give them a few more months and I bet the jump right in! I mentioned 2 babies on their way...our neighbors two doors down are scheduled to deliver b/g twins on Friday. Jenni is just a few weeks shy of her 40 week due date and is showing no signs of labor, so we are betting she makes it to Friday. We are so excited about the impending arrival day!!! Riley and Ryan will have twin playmates just 15 months younger than them right down the street! We cannot wait! :) After all of our work on Saturday we all took naps on Sunday after church. When we got up Gramma and Grandaddy came over for dinner and bath time. They have had a good couple of days at school, but Riley seems to be fighting a cold or an allergy. When I picked her up this afternoon her eyes were swollen and her face was a little red. She sneezed a lot and has a very runny nose. She seems to feel ok and no fever, but I have a feeling we are on the verge of a cold. Hopefully nothing too serious. Have a great week!

Web Albums Posted:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090111LazySunday#

15 Months Old

Today is their 15 month birthday and we just so happened to have their 15 month check up today. It was a great appointment and they were so brave getting their 3 shots. They were in their arm this time rather than their leg and they did not like it one bit. But all is well now and they are playing nicely (somewhat) in the playroom with Daddy. They would really like to see Ryan start walking in the next 4 to 6 weeks, so we have our assignment to encourage those additional steps over the next month. No real concern, other than it's "just time". Here's the scoop:

Riley
22.3 pounds (40th % - up from 25% @ 12 months)
31.5 " tall (75th % - up from 50% @ 12 months)
18.25" head circumference

Ryan
28.3 pounds (90th % - same as 12 months)
32.75" tall (90th % - same as 12 months)
19.75" head circumference (95th % - up from 93% @ 12 months)

Final Days in California

Kevin and I had a great day by ourselves on New Year’s Day! We were gone for about 12 hours and walked about 3-4 miles – all over Pasadena. We enjoyed the game and the freedom of no strollers and diaper bags…but I was so glad to see the kiddos on Friday morning! Ryan took his first steps on New Year’s Day! I think he had some great coaches! He showed me a few steps on Friday morning, but we haven’t seen any more since then. He was very very proud of himself, but I don’t think he’s totally interested in it enough to keep trying. For now he’ll stick to his (very fast) crawling – it’s much more efficient. Uncle Brad and Grandaddy took them to the park again to swing and play on the slides. From what I hear they enjoyed it just as much the second time. They got out the finger paints and let them play on their high chairs. We have some very funny videos of the event. I don’t know what is funnier – them covered in paint or Aunt Heather’s laughing in the background! What you don’t see in the video is after the camera stopped rolling, Ryan started playing peek-a-boo and got paint in his eyes. He was fussing, so they decided to put them straight into the bath tub to get everything cleaned up. While they were in the tub, Ryan decided to “do some business” – gross!!! Heather & Brad swooped up the kiddos to save them from the mess and Gramma and Grandaddy were the lucky winners that got to clean up the remnants Ryan left behind. All in all it was an “eventful” day for everyone.

We went to see the Rose Bowl floats in Pasadena on Friday and unlike the warm and sunny day we had on Thursday, it was downright windy and cold. Kevin didn’t even have a jacket, but thankfully the rest of us had coats in the car. We didn’t get to see all of the floats, but what we saw was very impressive! I think Riley and Ryan enjoyed seeing all the flowers as well as people watching. They had a hot dog for lunch that they LOVED!!! They kept signing for “more”! After we got home Kevin and I got to sneak out to see the move Marley & Me! We laughed and cried (yes, even Kevin cried). We felt like we were watching our lives on screen and left wishing we could go home to see our very own Marley, Sable! We were able to appreciate how bad Marley was and be thankful that Sable was never quite that bad.

We packed up and headed home on Saturday morning, but only after stopping to pick some oranges (Grandaddy’s wish). It wasn’t a huge area, but there were lots of very tasty oranges. We were able to pick 2 bags full and brought one back with us. Grandaddy was like a kid in a candy store! We checked our bags fine (no extra fees this leg) and made it through security without a hitch. The flight home was much shorter than going out and the kids even slept about an hour each. It was still brutal trying to keep them entertained, but all in all they did great! We arrived home about 10:30pm and the kids went right to sleep. We were all “off” on Sunday due to the time change. I napped when the kids napped and was thankful to catch up on a few hours of sleep. Ryan didn’t want to go to bed and cried for about 3 hours before finally giving up and going to sleep. Every time I went in to check on him, he would stop crying, so we knew he was ok – just not tired. They were back at school yesterday and we were terribly worried about how they would act. They’ve been surrounded by family and had 5-6 adults focused on them for 2 weeks straight. Kevin took doughnuts to their teachers and apologized in advance, but they had a great day – no brats in this pack! We are very proud of them! They went down to bed right on time last night and I think we have all adjusted back to Eastern time. It’s January 6th and my Christmas decorations are still strewn about my house, but we had a great Christmas season with family. The cleanup can wait just a little bit longer! :)

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090101CaliforniaDays67#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090102RoseBowlFloats#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090103OrangePickingHeadingHome#

Happy New Year from California!

Happy New Year! Our visit to California continues to be fun-filled and eventful. Ryan has officially come out of any shell he might have had before he arrived here. He has talked enough for all of us and has been very very active. I think he's about to catch up with Riley as far as activity and entertainment goes. In lieu of exchanging gifts this year, we decided to grant everyone one "wish" for the week, which has turned out to be a great idea! By the time we leave, we will be able to grant everyone's wish. Brad's wish was to go skiing, so on Monday the guys packed up early and headed out for a great day on the slopes. We were all very concerned that one of them might really get hurt, but they did great and only had a few incidents with the ski lift. It was a long day for them, but I think they all had a really good time. The girls and babies rode up to Mt. Baldy to see some snow, but by the time we arrived, both kids were asleep (picture above) and there really was not much snow. So, Heather and I decided to get out to take a look while Gramma stayed in the car with the sleeping babies. We were out long enough to take a couple of pictures and see several people fall flat on their backs on the ice. I decided I had seen enough after about 5 minutes and we headed back to the car. It was very pretty, but icy and cold were not my ideal scenario to walk around. We then headed to Victoria Gardens for lunch, window shopping and PinkBerry yogurt (Gramma's wish)! They call it CrackBerry out here because it's so good - it's addictive and I agree. It was quite tasty and Riley and Ryan loved it too! I can't wait for it to come to Atlanta. While we were there, we went into the Thomas the Train store and played on the train tables. They weren't quite sure what they were doing, but they seemed to enjoy watching the other kids play and participating as much as they could. Most of all they were glad to be out of their strollers for a little bit.

My wish was to go to Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa. So, on Tuesday, the girls (except for Riley) went to the Spa for 4 hours! It was exactly what I wanted and needed and we had a great time soaking in numerous mineral pools and spas and just relaxing. We finished the day with some fabulous frozen yogurt! It was different than the PinkBerry, but just as good! I could just about define that day as perfect! The kids were great for the boys and had fun going to the park with Grandaddy and they even took a 3 1/2 hour nap! I think the boys got off easy on that one. We had our first Bridge lesson (Heather's wish was for Kevin and me to learn to play Bridge) that night and I think we might be able to play at some point. It's basically the combination of a bunch of different games. They have wanted us to learn for years and we finally gave in since we now have more time at home. I guess by giving in to this we are officialy "old"! :) Yesterday was New Year's Eve and we started the day with breakfast at Flappy Jack's. It was a TON of food and Ryan, again, ate and ate and ate. We all came home and napped for a few hours. Rest is good!!! When we got up, we planned to go see the Rose Bowl floats, but realized that we had missed the hours it was open, so we went to a local park instead. The weather was absolutely perfect and I don't think Riley and Ryan knew the difference! They enjoyed playing on the swings and slides as well as digging in the sand. Again, an enjoyable time for them. We went to dinner last night and Ryan's over-eating finally caught up with him on the way.... He threw up twice in the car...yuck! We had to pull over to clean him up and of course didn't have a change of clothes. He went to dinner with a very wet outfit on, but he didn't seem to mind and ate a fair amount for dinner. Riley had to greet each and every person that walked by our table and most everyone spoke back to her. We were not able to make it up until midnight here, but did ring in the new year on Eastern time! Not our most eventful new year's eve for sure, but it was a nice time in a different way. Today, Kevin and I are off to the Rose Bowl Game (Kevin's wish)!!! Riley and Ryan will have a full day with Gramma, Grandaddy, Aunt Heather and Uncle Brad. We can't wait to hear all of the stories! I'm betting we are all very tired by the end of the day! Happy New Year!!!

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20081229CaliforniaDays345#