Catching up

These two have a lot of catching up to do since they have only met once. I was afraid that Ryan would have trouble adjusting but he knows who his daddy is:) His face lights up when JR walks in the room and he squeals in excitement. There are not words to express how good this feels. We are all having a lot of fun playing catch up this week. To keep us busy we are preparing our house to rent out while we are in Oklahoma. We look forward to the change although we will miss our home and our friends in WA.

Best Father's Day Ever, Daddy's Home!!

So this year Father's Day was extra special because JR started his journey home from Iraq on Father's Day. He made it in on Tuesday June 22, 2010. It is so great to have him back in our lives. We have missed him so much every day and have waited a long time for him to come home. We are so thankful and feel very blessed to have him return to us safe and sound. My boys are back together again and we are back to being a family!

Washington, we are back!

Grant was quick to hit up his old friends for a visit and to dive into his toy box since we came back to WA. This is his uniform his dad bought him in 07. It is so small but he loves wearing it:) He is very excited to welcome his dad home from Iraq soon and has been working very hard on his Welcome Home banner. I can say I'm just a little excited myself!

The week of many firsts

Well we survived the long flight home to WA. Ryan has had many firsts this week to include an airplane ride which I forgot to take pictures of. This was his first time riding solo in a shopping cart and he loved it. It is making shopping so much easier now! This picture doesn't capture much but he is now rolling over from his back to his stomach! He first did this at Julie, Joel, and Bennett's house on Friday but of course I forgot my camera and didn't think to grab my phone. He is a pro at it now!

Miss Madeline

One of my favorite things about being a sister, is becoming an Aunt. Madeline is so beautiful inside and out and I love her to pieces!

Playing at the Park

These two get a little bored during the games so they sneak off to the park near by. They like posing for the camera just a little.

Ava's game

Ava worked really hard at her T-ball game. She looks so cute out there:)

Last outing with the Wilson family

Aunt Nicole is always quick to snatch up Ryan to get some loving in. We had a lot of fun watching Ava at her T-ball game and the girls got in some time with Ryan as well. They are so good with him and love holding him.

We call Madeline Momma Maddie because she takes to babies like a pro!

More Goodbye's

Mama Cindy will probably have the hardest time dealing with us leaving. We have been staying at her house since last October and she has been a second mother to my children since they were born. Bradley is the oldest grandchild who will be welcoming his new brother (we think his name will be Brody) in October. Mama is taking comfort in knowing that we will be returning very soon!

Saying our goodbye's

Grant and his Aunt Michelle wearing there funky Halloween teeth:) They had to get their last smooches in before we took off to Washington. We tried numerous pics with PaPa Dennis but this is the only one with Ryan not crying. We hung out all afternoon and went out to eat for lunch before saying goodbye. We have a couple of more houses to hit but two in one day was enough to make mommy tired:)

Pool Time

The last time that Maddie and Ava came out to stay the night they had a lot of fun playing in the pool. The water was freezing so we found them on the deck most of the time. Here is Ava being blinded by the sun. Seeing them all together brings back great memories of when we lived here and they were babies. They were always up to something.......

Like seeing who can spit the furthest off the deck:)

Practice, Practice, Practice

I have never been that great at taking pictures so I took advantage of Ryan's long afternoon nap to get some practice time in. It is kind of addicting:)

.

All tuckered out......

Today was Ryan's first time in the swimming pool. Normally he cries as soon as I dip his toes in the water but today was different. He acted like he enjoyed getting his toes wet so I hurried up and got both of us changed into our suits. He had a blast in the pool and loved splashing his hands in it. We were out there for about an hour before he acted like he was done. I don't have any pictures for obvious reasons but here he is sleeping away just minutes after he got done swimming. My mom and I kept checking on him over and over because he napped for over 3 hours!

Just another Saturday morning;They are the best!

I usually bring little man into my bed for his morning bottle and we snuggle. This morning Ryan woke up extra early for his bottle so I put him back in his crib to sleep. I woke up to the sounds of him playing with his crib toys and hearing his cooing and laughing. This is the best way to start my weekend!

We still are working on him taking a Binky instead of his fingers but we are not getting very far. He usually sucks on these two fingers and occasionally his thumb. If he ever decides to try a Binky we have a surplus waiting:)

5 Months old and counting

Ryan has been hitting many milestones since he turned 5 months old. Today he walked forward in his walker and has been doing it all day. He crawled backwards and learned how to turn himself around in a circle on the floor. Here are a few pics of Ryan and Grant hanging out today.

Summer Fun.....

Grant has been having a blast playing in his grandma's pool. I cannot believe he got in the water today considering it rained all morning and the sun didn't come out. His lips are purple!

He enjoys splashing around as much as he can because when I get in with him to lay out on the raft I have a "no splashing mommy" policy......that policy gets broken often:)