11 Months

Ryan! And yes, we know he needs a hair cut. 

My mom called Ryan "Turbo" the other day while we were in Redway.  She noticed that when he has a long runway and somewhere to be, he puts his head down and crawls forward really fast.  He has his normal crawl speed, and then this turbo speed to get around.  Turbo - what a funny nickname!  

So, Ryan and Clay are 11 months and then 3 years and 11 months.  Ryan is definitely becoming a fun, interactive little person.  He says, "Mama" and "Dada," and he also says, "Hiiiiiiiiiiii."  Ryan has a couple party tricks, which include waiving and clapping. Ryan loves clapping.  In fact, he cannot resist a good clap.  Once, when we were driving and he was crying, I played a kid music CD which started with, "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands."  Ryan immediately stopped crying and started to clap his hands.  We've also noticed that Ryan has this adorable affinity for stuffed animals.  When we were in Redway, his Auntie Maile had some stuffed animal that she gave Ryan, and he wrapped his arms around it and pulled it close to his face.  She gave him another, and then another stuffed animal, and Ryan did the same thing with all of them.  It was like he loved them all, and couldn't get enough of them!

I told Luke that I was having the best summer of my life.  We went to Redway with my family, Russian River for my friend's wedding, Butte Meadows for a couple weekends, and then July 8th weekend we are heading to Oakhurst for Luke's cousin's wedding, with a stopover at Yosemite National Park.  I feel like I'm just having fun every weekend!  How lucky!

Clay was very proud of the tower he built behind him here. 

For Father's Day, we were in Butte Meadows.  We brought up this bike trailer that we rarely use, to put both kids in for the first time! Luke and I enjoyed the cuteness overload, but I think Ryan thought it was torture. 

Clay thought it was fun! Ryan couldn't lift his head up, and so he couldn't see much.

My friend, Jess, is pregnant with her first baby. We had her, along with Rachel and Gabrielle and Jess' sister, Crystal, up to Colusa for a relaxing day!

Silly Clay and Silly Mama

Jess' sister, Crystal, visited for the day from Paradise. 

Mornings in Redway! Here is Grandma Beth with her favorite grandson.

Just some kids with their shirts off. 

Smores!

Clay approved!

Joey was a master marshmallow roaster.

One morning, I brought the kids down to the river to find rocks that we later painted.

Ryan enjoyed sitting on the shore, picking up rocks, and trying to catch ants. 

Maile and I had dueling sunbrellas.

What a cutie!

Another ham!

We went to Richardson's Grove one morning.  At the visitor's center, we went on a tour of the famous redwood grove - 2,000 years old! We learned about bats, the fragile ecosystem, and more!

Did you know redwood trees are fire resistant?

Maile and Luke were good learners. 

Fleishman Family Photo!

This was the Redway sleeping situation.