Some pictures of Ryan....

I take a lot of pictures of the little guy but for some reason he is always making strange faces which I believe he gets from his Daddy's side of the family. I can't bring myself to post them but here are some other ones.

I really like the ones where his face is circular not square. I am blaming those on his cheeks!

A little girl time

The boys went golfing this morning and so Alyssa and I spent the morning with Sophie and Jackie.

It is so different to be around kids that you don't parent or see a lot. oh boy. for example, while we were eating lunch Jackie decided to pick the gum off the bottom of the table. So gross.

Sleepover with Amelia

So last Friday the girls decided that they didn't want their week to be over yet so Alyssa asked if Amelia could sleepover. I really couldn't think of a reason why not so sure!





They spent over an hour playing in the tub. It was nice for me while they were in it but man did I have a mess to clean up afterwards. I should have known what they were up to when it got really quiet and then a lot of laughter and squeals would follow. Dumping the water out of the tub yields quite a good time.....apparently.

Lyssa got quite the lecture Saturday morning after Amelia left. Then on Monday morning when we saw Amelia, she got the lecture only it was from Alyssa not me. Ha! At least Alyssa got the message though.

Bonfante Gardens

this one is blurry because her car is going so fast. ;)

Noelle and I took the kids to Bonfante Gardens. It is an amusement park but I believe it started off as a place where the guy grew pretty cool trees and then the rides came after. The place is huge, we spent over 3 hours with the four little ones and only managed to ride 11 out of 46 rides. I would love to go weekly but the drive is over 30 minutes and you have to pay to park. Our Great America passes get us in free but still. Plus, it is usually at least 10 degrees warmer down there from San Jose which makes it not as fun. Alyssa also likes the speed of the Great America rides a little more because she would often ask " is this all it does? or 'I want it to go faster". The rides are designed for 5 and younger where as Great America has a pretty cool roller coaster that Alyssa LOVES. That ride is much more up her alley but still, Bonfante was fun.

Summer picnic at Church

Every year the Church opens up their pool for a little fun in the sun. This year Ryan and I sat back and watched the fun but next year we will be there!

Tyler wasn't feeling well so he stayed at home.

Horse ride at Target

Nothing better than getting errands done and pleasing the girls with a horsey ride at the end. Although, it leads me to wonder what I will be able to bribe the boys with in a few years...

Alyssa's train ride

We spent the afternoon taking a train ride around San Jose and then off to dinner in Downtown Campbell. Unfortunately, this was the only picture I took because my battery died. Ugh.

So it wasn't really a train ride because the smoke was so bad at Vasona Park that we couldn't go there so we took the city light rail around San Jose. The outgoing train wasn't so bad but the train going back to Campbell was down right nasty. Thank Goodnesss we own cars!

Ryan's first bath

Ryan lost his cord at two weeks of age and we celebrated this by taking a bath! Of course Alyssa wanted in on the action but looking at the first pic I am not so sure Ryan was okay with sharing the spotlight, guess they will have to get used to that, huh?

This isn't the best picture of him in his towel but it was the only one I was able to get on that day...with him not screaming.

Happy Father's Day!

Alyssa woke up with a little tummy bug this am so we spent the morning at home instead of church. We then went to my Dad's house for a family BBQ and the kids spent a lot of time in the pool.

The above picture is Daddy's idea of watching Ryan so Mommy can shower.

Alyssa made handwrapped gifts for Daddy.

Two pieces are only allowed when given from a friend and only in the backyard...or in the case, Papa's backyard.

I realize his cheeks are big but come on, does everyone have to tell us that???

Ryan turns one week!

We are in heaven. It is such a pleasure snuggling with our little love bug all day and night. We took him for his one week check up and our holistic PD said that he was 21 1/2 inches long (an inch shorter than he was at birth) and 11 pounds and 15 ounces. Our allopathic PD said that he was 12 pounds and 2 ounces and 22 inches long. ha! What do they know? We know that he is perfect and that is all that matters.

The jaundice was a 15.2 which slightly increased in the 24 hours that we had him at home. However both PD's said that his coloring is perfect and there is no need to test him again. Wahoo!

Our allopathic Dr. is concerned with his weight which surprises me because he knows how our kids are with their weight...small but he still wants us to come in next week for another weigh in. Dr. Song didn't even comment on it but we are to see her in 2 weeks.

So far, both Rob and I have been good at dating each of our kids. It has worked out well and I am sure we will continue to do it this way. Now if only we had time to date ourselves?!?

The only thing that I had forgotten about newborns is the amount of laundry they require and a boy has ten times more because they spray like the whales do. High and mighty. My laundry has even increased. But isn't he worth it??

Big sister loving little brother....or getting her picture taken. I think it might be a toss up. ;)

First picture of the three of them.

Ryan's birth!

Will write tomorrow. loading pics took awhile but I knew Mary Beth took some for you Suz. Will also download the ones from today and his first DR. app.

Hard to believe that Ryan is almost here

I went to my Dr. appt and everything is looking really good. She said that if I go in labor again to embrace it and call her as opposed to meditating and trying to relax. I think I would have gone to the hospital last time if my mom was here as we need her to run the house while Rob and I are on vacation. :D

We are all ready for him and so excited to meet him. Alyssa is over the moon and loves to kiss my belly and talks to him. A few times she has read to him and it is so precious. I cannot wait to see her interact and love him without my belly in the way.

She continues to talk about the purple and pink sparkly bear that Ryan is going to give her at the hospital. I am not sure if I wrote this before but when we went into Build a Bear about a month or so ago she saw the bears and went to my tummy and asked Ryan to give it to her. It was so cute. Although for Ryan's sake, he had better bring her those bears!

The nights are the worst for me. I just can't seem to stay asleep and I don't have the energy to bake or cook at night so I just sit on the couch watching the time go by. At least with Ryan here I can make myself useful by caring for him when I am awake.

6 more days and counting down...

Church on the Hill's Spring Fling

Back in February, Alyssa was asked to participate in a special dance that was going to be debuted at the Preschool Spring Sing. This is the first time Alyssa was selected for anything and boy were we proud! Only two kids from each class was asked. Every Thursday for 45 minutes the kids would practice their performance. Rob took the still pictures and I took the video. We will transfer it on DVD as soon as I get some more DVDs which should be this weekend.

Alyssa and Jenn's daughter, Tea. (the one who gives her all the special clothes)

Happy Hollow with the Rideout girls

Melissa and I took the kids to Happy Hollow and we all had a blast. It amazes me how much Alyssa loves the rides even the fast ones at Great America. Rob took the kids to Great America last Saturday for some Daddy time and we ALL enjoyed that afternoon.
Lyle's 5 year old sister Ava, Amelia, and Alyssa riding the lady bugs.

Nothing better than feeding goats....


Ava, Lyle, Amelia, and Alyssa

The two girls wanted their pictures taken...