Kindergarten Graduate

Ryan is now a Graduate.  

Yesterday was the last day of school and his graduation.

He was SOOOOOO excited about the big program.

And super proud that he had read 77 CHAPTER BOOKS this year!!  

This is just a small snippet from the ceremony.  

It was hard to catch with all the adult heads in the way... but HELLO, how cute is he?

I missed the first few seconds (and the last few), but his class all voted on things that made each of them special.  Ryan's were:

He can run SUPER FAST,

he's SUPER COOL, 

the TALLEST, and

fun to play with.

He told Miss Penny that his favorite thing to do this year was the Count to 100 worksheets.  

(Which makes total sense, because most of our commute he sits in the back and sees how high he can count.)

I can't believe that he's moving on to first grade!    

And while we have a few weeks left, I will miss his daycare!  They've cared for him since he was 8 weeks old, and have always been phenomenal.  Now, I have to learn to trust someone else!  

First Day of Kindergarten/Learning to be a Master Builder

AND NO PICTURE!!!

My children hate me.

Now, Ryan at least has an excuse... his daily routine barely changed... he goes to kindergarten at his daycare.  They take a BIT of a break for the summer, keep a fairly regular schedule, but have free toy day every day. 

And they have  a two year program, so he started Kindergarten LAST YEAR... it's OLD news.

BUT STILL!!! 

This picture was taken the night before... He was very very excited about his building project... a hoverboard/submarine for the Flash!  It's extra cool because it work underwater. 

(Someone better invent that "pause" button very very soon.)

Turtle Power

Ryan LOVES the Ninja Turtles, so when we saw this hoodie while school shopping, we had to try it on.

 

They didn't have his size, but we had to at least take a picture!  

What Ever Makes Him Smile

My dear friend Joanne went to Disneyland last month and brought Ryan back a little prize.

She said I had to make him cookies with it.... but so far, he's been just been enjoying using it to coral his favorite snacks!!


And since it makes him smile and giggle, I'm all for it!!

Silly Boy

Ryan opened a box from his Grandma, pulled out the sheet of those air pillow cushions, squealed with excitement and declared, "It's JUST WHAT I WANTED!!!!"

To be young...

Hello Marshmallows.

I had to work on Black Friday... so Mark took the boys down to Manti to visit family and play in the mountains.  

They came back with a gift from Grandma Rie... A bag of mini-marshmallows! 

Now call me a bad mom, but Ryan, at 4 years old, has never had hot cocoa with marshmallows.

I'm pretty sure I can never go back to just normal hot cocoa.

Mostly he eats them by the spoonful, then asks for more, and ends up leaving about half of the cocoa because "he's all full"... unless I give in and pour more marshmallows in!

This little boy...

 

Is in THAT stage...

 

The one where he's still just a little bit toddlerish, but a lot independent.

 

Wants to be part of the BIG BOY world, but still loves his snuggles.

 

The stage where he is learning and growing at amazing speed...  Just last week he was working on learning what a "W" said, and this week he is READING.  BOOKS!!!  ...  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The stage where I want to hang onto every precious bit of the baby he once was, but get excited... butterflies in my stomach and all... as he takes huge leaps forward toward boyhood.

 

It's my favorite stage... even if it is heartbreaking at the same time.



My Hook-er.

Remember, Ryan is a master conjugator (unlike his mother who obviously makes up words).

So, it wasn't really shocking that the phrase, "Uncle Wade, You're my Hook-er." was heard many many times over the last weekend.

And, just for clarification...

THIS is hook-er-ing.  See how Wade is "hooking" on to Ryan's hands??

 

And what do you do once you are "hooked" into position?

 

 

I Spy With My Little Eye...

 

SASHA AND ELSA!!!

 

Who??

 

 

Sasha and Elsa!  Duh!

 

The deer.

 

Not to be confused with the babies in Ryan's belly that are ALSO named Sasha and Elsa.

 

We actually saw 6, all were either Sasha or Elsa.

 

Except for the Spike, he was John.

 

Ryan informed us of their names. 

 

And kept either shushing us so that we wouldn't startle them OR calling for them out his open window.

 

And PS... I so love the names my son has chosen for his imaginary children.  If I had a girl, she would SOOOOO be named Elsa!

 



Boys+Dirt

Mark had some early morning yard work planned... before it got too hot.

 

Just filling in the holes in the bottom of the new fence... evening out a few settled spots in the yard. 

 

Simple. 

 

Dirt, Shovel, Rake.

 

And then Trevor and Ryan looked out the window.

 

And breakfast is over.

 

Getting dressed forgotten.

Look Mom!

No Hands!!

*sigh*

Do you think I'll be able to keep up with him much longer???

We Have Entered the Intense Coloring Phase...

 

 

This Handsome Little Man...

Is FOUR today.

And I have mixed feelings.  

This is the tough year... the year where the baby starts to slip away and the little boy emerges in force.

The year when they stop sitting in your lap... and saying you're their best friend, and instead have *gasp* friends their OWN AGE!!!

The year when their independence grows by leaps and bounds.

And while I welcome him growing, it's hard to say good bye to that adorable babyness without a little nostalgia creeping in.

Petting "Zoo"

One more aquarium post... While the eel display might be the funniest... this exhibit is the COOLEST.  They have a petting pond.  

And it's full of sting rays, itty bitty sharks, starfish, urchins and other sea life. 

This little shark LOVED to be petted.  He would swim right up to the little hands and rub against them.

Morning Picture

Ryan and I have a little tradition...

It started a few months ago, when he was going through an attachment phase.  It was soon after Mark and I got back from Cleveland, and transitioning back into our normal routine was hard for him.

Each morning, as we snuggled in the rocking chair at school for the last few minutes of our time together, I pull out my phone, and we take a picture. 

They usually aren't the highest quality... or the most flattering... most have cheesy smile, stuck out tongues or crazy eyes... but, they are some of my most precious photographs.  

Vroom *Snore* Vroom...

He's pretty cute... he can't help it. 

A few nights ago, I told Ryan he could snuggle in my bed and watch a show before it was OFFICIALLY bed time. 

The condition was that he had to lay still and rest.

I came in a few minutes later to see this.

The fake snores immediately replaced the car noises I had heard when I was standing just outside the door, which was cute... however the half closed eyes and the inability to wipe the sneaky smile off his face was the killer!

Alligator Wash

Here in town, there is a car wash called "Gator Wash" that opened a few years ago.

During the winter, it's usually where I clean the salt off my car... and Ryan LOVES it.

He says the Alligator is EATING us... the big green cloths are the tongue, the water is gator spit... and the blowers at the end... FARTS!

It takes about 3 mins to go through the automatic wash, and the whole while he "screams", "It's EATING US MAMA!! IT'S EATING US!!"

Hey!  It's cheap entertainment!!

A Little Creepy... and a Lot Cute...

This year's Blue and Gold for Evan's pack was "Old West" Themed.  There were cowboy hats, saloon doors, cacti and, well, self adhesive mustaches.

While simply adorable... this is just a little disturbing!  

And Evan would NOT allow me to take a picture of him with his on... .

Nighty Night Daddy

For whatever reason, Mark was laying on the floor with his feet up on the couch.  And Ryan thought that meant he needed to take a nap...