Ryan's first few steps

Ryan has finally done it. Well, at least three steps in a row. We are very excited that he is starting to walk. He won't walk to Amy or me but if there is a ball he will chase it down. I guess it started on Sunday and he keeps trying and the steps are growing each day. We love our little Ryan and hope he enjoys his new found mobility.

Our little Climbing Koala Ryan

Amy has always given little names to each of our boys. She has always called Matthew our little Matthew monkey and she has been calling Ryan our little koala bear. In particular the way that Ryan hangs onto Amy almost makes him the perfect little koala.

This week Ryan started to climb up everything. It is like he started to become the koala bear that Amy wanted him to be. In the picture above you can see the second time that Ryan climbed up his car seat. The first time the car seat was not at such a step angle and he walked all the way up to the top and was ready to take the next step in to the armoire.

Ryan has also decided to master the stair climbing. He can now go all the way up the stairs in about a minute. Obviously, we had to put the gate back up at the bottom of the stairs. The problem is we taught Matthew how to open the gate and he thinks that he is supposed to help Ryan open the gate whenever he wants to go up the stairs. So we have told Matthew not to let Ryan go up the stairs. Let's hope he listens and obeys.Family home evenings, or family home evening treat night as Matthew calls it, is always an adventure. Matthew loves all the pictures and learning about Jesus. Matthew has the Book of Mormon reader and loves the stories. Sometimes we hear him talking about the Nephites, King Benjamin, or some other person from the Book of Mormon. It is amazing what he remembers.

Matthew also likes to play the piano. Sometimes he plays along with dad but he is very particular about the songs he plays. Of course he can't read so the songs are the pictures. His songs usually describe the pictures on the pages of the Children's Song Book. Here are some other funny things that Matthew has said or done this week: One day as Matthew was getting dressed he pointed to his chest and said, "Look mom, these are my breasts. They have milk in them." When Amy told him that only mommies have milk, Matthew quickly responded, "But I have milk swimming in my tummy!" Matthew also likes to go around and ask people if he can see their happy face and then their sad face. It is kind of funny that when you need a smile he will ask, "Can I see your happy face?"

We are getting ready for Matthew's birthday and we are looking for ideas. One day I was looking at ToysRus and Matthew was sitting next to me. I believe I had returned a search for about 600 items and as I scrolled down the page Matthew kept repeating, "I want that. I want that. I want that." Several times I encouraged him to just indicate what he didn't want but he just kept saying, "I want that. I want that!"

Matthew is always very helpful. Sometimes he is too helpful. The other night we had put the vaporizer in Ryan's room, Both Ryan and Amy have a summer cold this week, and Matthew felt like he should plug it in. Even though Matthew knows he isn't supposed to do that he did it anyways. We quickly sent him to time-out and when he came out he said, "Sorry, I plugged in the plug when I shouldn't have." Wow, apologetic, and he admitted his faults. Wonderful. Matthew has also taken to climbing trees. I guess we have a tree that he really likes to climb. Personally, I think the tree is getting the best of Matthew because every day I come home from work he has a new wound from climbing the tree. Matthew is also very good at placing an order for a meal. We are pretty sure that Matthew thinks Amy is a short order cook. This morning after a bowl of cereal he announced, "Now I would like a pancake with butter and syrup and a glass of milk."

Ryan loves balls. He will chase a ball around for hours. Ryan also loves Matthew's bike. If the bike is out Ryan can track it down. Ryan is really a pleasant boy. He has learned to shake his head from side to side, clearly indicating his disapproval for your actions. He is also starting to babble long stories and he no longer likes to have his food served to him...he will do it himself. He can also say "mama" very clearly but won't try to say "dada" yet.

This week was also stake conference. We had it at the Provo Tabernacle. The first part went really well, but after about one hour and fifteen minutes the place seemed to erupt with activity, i.e. crying, fussing, squirming, and wiggling kids. It is amazing that we have our children trained to sit still for the amount of time a sacrament meeting usually lasts and that they know when the time has gone over. It was really kind of funny.

Ryan's 9 Month Pictures

We finally got Ryan's 9 month pictures back. We have copies for the family and we hope that you enjoy them. We sure do think that Ryan is a handsome little baby.
Ryan is always smiling and you can always get a big smile out of him. But it took almost the whole time to get these two wonderful pictures.

Go bug your brother

Well this week has been very exciting and a lot of fun. Shortly after our last post I had to move Matthew into another part of our living room so I could vacuum. When I put Matthew over by Ryan I told him to go bug his brother...so Matthew went over to Ryan and said: "Buzzz Buzzzz Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz." It was really cute and really funny.
Last Saturday Matthew was pretending to be asleep but he had to take a nap with mom. So here are the pictures of Matthew and Mom taking a nap on a Saturday morning.
Ryan and Matthew continue to be a handful. Ryan wants everything that Matthew has. Ryan also likes to chase Matthew on his bike. Finding a successful way for Matthew and Ryan to play together usually involves the gate.

Earlier this week Amy heard Ryan just laughing as hard as she had heard in a long time. So she went over to investigate. What she found was Matthew holding on to Ryan's feet and dragging him around the living room on his tummy. Ryan thought it was a hoot but mom put a quick stop to the dragging of others. A few weeks ago we bought some tootsie rolls and Matthew calls them "Quincy rolls." We are not sure where he got it but it is cute.

Ryan had another good week. He is getting very active and he is climbing up more stairs. He loves to get into the bay window and bang on the shades. He also loves to crawl under the dinning room table and pull on the computer cords. In fact he loves to pull on any cord. He is quickly becoming an escape artist and we have to be really careful to hold on to Ryan tight. In fact the other day Amy and the Boys were drawing with chalk on the sidewalk and blowing bubbles. Amy thought she had a good grip on Ryan but in less than a second he had wiggled free from her grip and tumbled down into the tick-seed bush. Ryan enjoyed the soft fall and was interested in a second try.

Matthew is enjoying driving around in Daddy's smaller car this weekend. We sent Amy's Camry to the paint shop to get an old scratch fixed...so we get to drive the boys around in the Prizm. Matthew must get bored in the Camry because he noticed the difference in the upholstery. He told Amy that he loves all of the colors on the seat. Matthew has started reading the Book of Mormon. Last night during prayer he prayed that the Nephites would be safe and make good choices so they would be happy. It is amazing to see that he somehow gets that.

Grant me patience to deal with my blessings

This week has been very enjoyable. On Monday Amy and the boys went to play group at the park. Matthew and Ryan both had a lot of fun playing in the park. Unfortunately Matthew was subject to a little potty humor from the other boys and is now concerned about droppings falling from the trees. Silly boy. On the way home from the park Matthew told Amy the following: "Mom, when I get big like you I will drive the car and you can sit in my seat."
On Tuesday Amy attended the Relief Societies "Chat and Chocolate." I'm sure glad that Amy has the chance to interact with other mothers. Being in the Primary takes away that opportunity. Also Matthew has started asking if there are animals in his room. After Amy says personal prayers with Matthew she has to do a room inspection to make sure that their aren't any: Lions, Alligators, and Bears in the room. Funny kid.
On Wednesday the family went to the Veterans memorial pool in Provo. The temperature showed that it was around 95 degrees but it actually felt a little cold. Matthew loved going down the water slides. This time he was actually excited to have Amy take him down the slide. It was funny the last time we went down the slide Matthew was shaking so bad he could hardly walk. But he still wanted to keep going down the slide. Matthew also went to the potty and it was fifth time so he got the "Sheriff" as a reward. Amy and I both think he still isn't interested.

On Thursday Matthew was in a mischievous mood. He is finding new ways to get into trouble every day. As a result of Matthew's creativity we had to tie the picnic table to the Bannister so Matthew couldn't use it as a stepping stool or a lunching pad. We have also resorted to putting the gate up between Matthew and Ryan so that they don't steal each others toys. Sometimes Matthew will come into a room and ask, "Excuse me, is this the "E" room?"
Ryan is growing up so much. It is neat to see how mobile he is becoming. Ryan is a little attached to his mom and chants uMM, Mum, or Mumum until he finds her. He and Matthew are starting to play better together but they still are learning how to share and play nice. The love to wrestle and it is kind of funny to see Ryan end up on top. Ryan also gets mad when you take something away from him and he will bury his head into the floor. It is funny to see how early they learn to pout. The boys appear to be a little too smart for their own good. We are trying to get Matthew to stop throwing fits when he doesn't want to do something. On Friday we asked Matthew if he wanted a snack before he went to bed. Normally this would be grounds for a fit but surprisingly he said "No, Thank you." Lets hope he is learning.

Matthew will also have long conversations about all kinds of random things. During his conversations he likes to say: "Look at me Mom." "I was talking." "I'm just trying to tell you something." Amy and I were both impressed by the quote that is in the home of the Herrin twins. It reads: "Grant me patience to deal with my blessings." I think that is a great way to summarize being a parent.

Winnie the Pooh Video and July Pictures

Every night as we put Matthew to bed we have to 1) read him a story 2) sing a song 3) say our family prayer. Most nights Matthew wants to sing "Winnie the Pooh." Last night we were able to capture Matthew and Ryan singing "Winnie the Pooh" (high speed) (dial-up). Our favorite part is when Matthew says, "Kanga and little Wooooo." I have also updated the the photo album to include the pictures from July 2007. You can check them both out on our home page. Click on the big red button on the top of the page and then browse to the "Photo Album" section or the "Video Highlights."

Kids Workshop August

Today we went to the Kids Workshop at Home Depot. Matthew always enjoys hammering the nails and then coloring the wood when we get home. Today was even better than normal for Matthew because we built an "Art Caddy" and there were lots of nails to hammer. It was extra special because it came with a box of crayons!
I wonder if the projects are more fun for me than for Matthew. My sister Vickie has been taking her boys for a few years and she is always more excited than her boys. I guess it is part of our family genes.