7 Months!

Ryan is 7 months!  I am filling in this month for Erin, who has done 100% of our blog posts. Time is going very fast, and Ryan is trying hard to learn how to crawl.   He is pretty good about pushing himself backwards or in circles, but hasn't quite figured the forward crawl yet.

Once in a while we take the kids to dinner at a restaurant.  This must be a post-dinner snack because there is a napkin stuck on his face rather than all the food.

Erin tricked me and said it would be fun to take Ryan to swim lessons in Davis.  They are free for kids under 6 months.  Ryan wasn't too happy and seemed to be searching for his Mom the entire 1/2 hour.

Clay learned how to bend his tongue.  These guys like playing together when they wake up, and especially like when it is a "stay home day" aka weekend.

The Farm Show in Colusa didn't disappoint despite about 10 inches of rain during the week.  Clay got to sit on a bunch of tractors, and this is the one that I wanted to take home for our yard.

 Another stay home day with the boys relaxing in their robes.

 Bath time is a favorite for both of these guys.

We bought a new car last month and sold Erin's Honda Civic.  This was a great car for Erin, but just became too small with the two kids.  There was a lot of interest in our Craigslist posting, but still was quite the adventure to get sold - and get our proceeds.

We were pretty excited that UC Davis made it to March Madness for the first time ever!  Ryan wore his outfit and brought the Aggies good luck as they won their first game.

In a long overdue trip, we met up with the Merinos in Santa Clara.  Teo had a game early in the morning so he was lucky enough to get to wear his uniform to lunch.  We enjoyed seeing Jake and Megan Rhodes and their family too.  Now that we all have two kids each, sitting and relaxing in the backyard was the perfect activity.

The next morning, when we were back in Colusa, Clay woke up and told me he wants to play for the Storm like Teo so he can wear the shirt.

The Merinos had a great Easter present for Clay, which included the bunny ears that Clay and Ryan wore throughout the day.

 Ryan is happy.

Erin is helping Ryan learn to crawl by giving him options in every direction.  If he can get his body to go where his mind is, he will definitely go for the bread.

It has been fun to see Ryan wanting to be more in the action.  Clay is a great big-brother, and loves to make Ryan  laugh.

Ready to Eat!

Erin and Clay took a trip to Yountville to see Sharon while she is home from Greece.  Clay got to each a bunch of french fries for lunch, and they brought home some great pastries.

Palm Springs

Another road trip: Palm Springs!  Luke and I had purchased flights down to Palm Springs, but after we purchased our car we were all about road trips.  We packed the car the night before, snacks galore, and set our alarms for 4:30 am, 4:31 am and 4:32 am for a 4:45 am departure.  The 9 hour trip down south was actually easy.  Clay loved it because he was able to watch 7 hours of movies.  Ryan was less jazzed, but he was such a good sport and slept a whole lot for us.

As always, Palm Springs was a dream.  I'm not sure what happened, but I didn't take any pictures while we were there!  We stayed with Cindy and Leo and had a wonderful time.  We were able to spend time with Grandpa Jerry and my parents too, which is awesome.  Maile and Michael and Joey and Alex ended up spending a whole afternoon at the pool with us, which was so much fun.  I can't wait to go back to the desert!

This is just the perfect setting for relaxing.

And eating oreos!

I think Maile is torturing Ryan here.

Are these guys twins, or what?

Tahoe - SNOW!

We were lucky to run off to Tahoe for a weekend with the boys.  We left mid-day on a Friday and traveled through Yuba City and and Grass Valley through Hwy 20 to avoid all traffic on our way up.  It was the easiest two hour drive, ever - in our new car!  We did it.  We bought a 2015 Toyota Sienna Mini Van - steel blue.  I was definitely against getting that kind of suburbia soccer mom car.  But, then we went to the dealership and I sat in that huge car with automatic doors, and I couldn't resist the convenience and space.  Sold!

Luke and I were so excited to take a car up to the snow and test out the family car trip experience and all wheel drive function.  The car did great. Clay happily sat in his captain's chair and watched Planes, Fire and Rescue movie the whole way up.

In Tahoe, we had a blast.  The first night, we cooked dinner at home and relaxed.  Clay slept downstairs in the bunk bed, by himself, and thought it was a party.  We put Ryan in the "dark room," and he did fine in there.  We had fun the next day sledding in the backyard.  I also took Clay to Homewood for an hour of skiing, which SO much fun.  Clay did great.  That night, we ended up going to Sunnyside for dinner, which was fantastic.  

Ryan was bundled the entire time, so I'm not sure he enjoyed the snow all that much. 

Go Clay and Luke!

That's me, walking up the hill, yes, with the baby in the ergo to sled down the hill.

Success!

Clay did such a great job! I was pretty exhausted carrying him up and down the hill.  

Please be good kids so your dad and I can enjoy a cocktail overlooking this beautiful lake!

Half Birthdays!

I still can't believe our boys share birthdays.  Sometimes I wonder if people will think I had Ryan on Clay's birthday on purpose (I didn't).  Half birthdays are such a fun and kind of silly excuse for a birthday cake!  In Clay's 3 year old mind, they are something to look forward to for a whole month, especially when your mom and dad count down to the day in the weeks before.  

I made the birthday hats out of paper and ribbon I had around the house.  For Clay's 6 month celebration, I made the same exact hat (see the Feb 2014 blog entry!).  So, I felt I had to made the same hat for Ryan's 6 month birthday since I love the boys exactly the same.  I didn't think Clay was going to want to wear such a funny looking hat.  Boy, was I wrong! Clay couldn't wait to get his hat on and sit down at the table for the "Happy half-Birthday" song.  We were at Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Leo's house for the celebration.  

Ryan was a bit spooked by the camera flash... and he felt like he should have gotten a piece of cake too.  Other than that, it was just another Sunday evening for Ryan, with his silly brother.

Half Birthday cakes that Clay helped me make.

"I do NOT approve of this photo!"

6 Months!

The "little" baby is 6 months!!! And what a fun baby he is.  At 6 months, Ryan is still a despicable sleeper.  He is sleeping in our room and has become accustomed to nightly feedings.  Ryan prefers to be fed every three hours so that he never has to feel any physical discomfort slightly resembling a hunger pain.  Despite Ryan's reluctance to sleep, he is so darn cute.  He is quick to smile and giggle.  Clay is also becoming more and more interested in his little brother, and so we've been having fun seeing them interact more.  Luke and I talk constantly about sleep training, sleep routines, eating before bed to help his sleeping, etc.  The main thing on our mind is obtaining longer stretches of sleep... We're debating putting Ryan in Clay's room, but so nervous that Ryan will disrupt Clay's pretty perfect sleeping routine (6:30pm - 6:30am).  And so, we're pretty certain that Ryan will be banished to the downstairs bedroom once we have enough guts to sleep train him. . .

P.S. Ryan weighed 18.5 lbs at his 6 month appointment, in case anyone is interested in his physical stats...

Please sleep more, little guy!

Ryan's belly is so huge.  It's the perfect size to blow raspberry kisses. 

This is Ryan's new sippy cup.

He loves it!

I'm having the hardest time getting Clay to give me a nice smile for my camera.  As soon as I get my nice camera out, Clay's face seems to melt and he becomes affected with the sillies.

Or, Clay forgets how to smile, like in this picture.  

But, no matter what Clay does, he has an interested audience of 1!