Ryan turns FIVE.

I can’t believe Mr. Ryan is FIVE!  He’s turning in to quite the little boy.  He has really matured in the last year and I sure do love his personality. 

- He’s still as goofy as ever.

- He’s the BEST big brother.  He adores Janie and is always aware of what she’s doing.  He still wants to go in her room and climb in her bed with her every time she wakes up.

- He is athletic and loves all sports.  He finally got his turn to play soccer and he’s loving it.  He’s a pretty coordinated kid.

- He’s still a boy of extremes.  He’s either fabulous or a train wreck.

- He enjoys school.

- He loves crafts and to make things.

- Loves to play outside.

- Is beginning to try new foods which is such a wonderful thing.

- He is the best bed-maker in our house.

On his birthday, he went to school . . . we met friends at the park . . . he got to go to the Bartlett Bike Rodeo . . . and then he had a fabulous Lightning McQueen cake for dessert!

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Since we have Disney passes this year, I thought it’d be fun to for-go any gifts and do a trip to Disney for their birthday.  JUST them.  I highly recommend it.

Wes & I planned a day to take Ryan to Disney.  We had to make it a day trip with our schedules and we knew driving up and back in one day was not a wise choice.  So we flew!  And it was so great. 

I could not have asked for a better day.  Ryan got ALL the attention from his parents {that never happens}.  I got to spend a day with Wes without a bazillion distractions {that never happens}.  And we just got to have fun with our little FIVE year old without Nate & Janie.  He felt pretty special all day.  And he loved all that time with his dad.

We got to Disney before it opened & the lines were super long to wait for park to open.  So Ryan and I went in to the Downtown Disney store to get his Mickey Ears and we sent Wes to stand in line.  Well, lucky for us Wes got in the “Magic Morning” line without knowing it and we totally got in early!  It was great.  The park was busy that day so it was great to get the dreaded Rockets and Buzz {a fav} done in the magic morning!

One highlight of the day was Ryan was brave enough to try Jedi Training and he got picked!  So he trained as a Jedi and defeated Darth Maul.  So great.

Love this boy and loved spending a day with him for his birthday!

Janie @ 12-14 months

Oh wow . . . time is flying by.  Janie is now 15 months old so we’re going to go with the old adage of “it’s better late than never” and try to record as much about her as we can!

Just like her brothers, Janie wanted nothing to do with walking on her first birthday.  She could walk super steady holding on to one finger but would-not-take-a-step without holding on.  We knew as soon as she was brave enough to try it, she’d be off and running.  And that’s just how it happened.  She became a sturdy walker real quick and loves to waddle her way around.

She mastered climbing up and down the stairs rather quickly, too!  Thank goodness.

She’s quite communicative.  She is not afraid to try to say words and she can sign the basic communications like please, more, thank you, all-done.  She says: stop, hi, bye, that, up, book, woof, mom, dad, papa

She loves her brothers.  When they stop and give her their attention she is in heaven.  She especially loves to sandwich herself between them on the couch to watch TV.  She doesn’t stay there for very long but she sure does think it’s neat.

She loves a thrill.  The boys will literally run down the street pushing her in her little red car and her arms are flying around with a huge smile.

Loves her binky.  Loves the tub.  Loves to eat.  A lot.  Loves sugar – she has a major sweet tooth.  She loves her pink elephant, Ellie. 

She can find a pen or marker just about anywhere in our house.  And she loves to color. 

A pretty good sleeper. 

Her demeanor is pretty funny.  She does not like to be confined – she is not a fan of the car or a stroller or a shopping cart.  But she’s pretty content if she can run around and play and explore.

She’s just like her great grandma Florence in her love of shoes.  She finds them all over and wants to put them on.

It’s amazing how little girls just know what to do with accessories.  She will fling a purse over her shoulder, put a bracelet on, hug and kiss a baby doll, etc. 

She loves babies and dogs.  She wants to squeeze them both to death any time we see either.

Her hair is something else.  Right out of the shower I have to comb it and put some product in it and it looks really cute with those curls.  But then she takes a nap and the front loses the curl & it’s a total afro.  We’re working on it.  She had her first little trim at 15 months to try to contain the wild mop. 

She loves books.  We often find her just sitting in her room with a stack of books.  And we read a handful of books every time she goes to sleep.

She’s obsessed with hair.  And ears.  When she’s tired, she just wants to run her fingers through my hair.  And if Wes or the boys have her, she just holds on to their ears!  It’s hilarious.

She loves music & she loves to dance.

When she turned one, she only had a few teeth.  And month or two later she had a mouth FULL.

She is a little lady with a ton of personality.  She’s spunky.  She’s loving.  She’s cuddly.  She’s fiesty.  She can hold her own.  She’s sweet.  We sure do love her!

 

12 MONTHS

 

 

13 MONTHS

 

14 MONTHS