Stephen the Builder, Stander and Peak-a-Boo-er!!

Stephen has found a great interest in our big building blocks.  Today, we had a (very) mellow day because I have mastitis again (!!!).  We did a lot of books, puzzles, stickers, Chutes and Ladders and blocks.  This morning I thought I would put on a kids show to give me some time to lay on the couch and rest.... of course when I turned the TV on, our signal was out! :)
While I was reading books to John, Stephen played with our blocks.  At first he had a hard time figuring out how to lift the (big) red ones, but once he figured it out- he was a stacking king! :D  I was so excited for him!!  He can stack 3-4 all by himself. 
These are the blocks we have- love them!
Toddler Cardboard Stacking Blocks

Last night we were playing on the porch, and Stephen was standing alone

He isn't able to lift his head up yet- he quickly looses his balance if he does. :)

It was super funny/cute because the whole time he was screaming and laughing- he didn't know which to do!

I am not ready to have two babies walking!  Eeek, I am thankful for everyday that SJ hasn't taken that first step yet! :)  My days are numbered.... I wish he could stay a baby forever. <3 

Another fun thing SJ learned is peak-a-boo-  While we were driving to and from the cabin last weekend, I sat in the back with the boys, mostly reading to John and singing songs.  But, Stephen played peak-a-boo with me!  We used his blanket, at first I was moving the blanket up and down, and then he grabbed it and did it.  He thought it was hilarious! I was laughing so hard just from all of his laughing!! :D Such a silly guy! So, in between pages from the book I was reading to John, I was doing a peak with Stephen-- did I how carsick I was?! LOL  Good thing it is only a 2 hour drive! :)

Father's Day 2011

I woke up early and headed to Granny Doughnuts (Ryan's favorite guilty pleasure!) for some blueberry doughnuts.  Then to Rainbow for eggs, bacon, salsa and OJ.  I got home just as the boys were all waking up.  I made breakfast and then we hung out.  Ryan was begging for a day of "nothing"  He is just so busy with work, school, the 2 councils he on/leads and all that is included with the upkeep of the house while we are trying to sell it. 
We took a family nap around 11am! HA everyone was tired still from the cabin on Saturday.  We went grocery shopping, cleaned the house and hung out.  The little boys made Papa and Bopa cards so we went to deliver them. :)  Bummer, I forgot to take pictures of them.... they were finger painting and hand prints, pretty cute if I do say so myself!
We went to Patrick's first, played there a bit had dinner and played some more. 

Trying to get a father's day shot of Ryan and the boys. 

Clearly it wasn't working..... BUT it does capture what our life is like these days! :D

Steve was golfing, so I didn't get a picture with the four Patrick men... BUT, I did have this nice shot from the cabin! :)

Then we headed to my parents house with their cards -

My parents had Kelli, Dan, Mark, Sara, Ed Shinbach and Alan Pritz over for dinner.  We got there at the tail end of dinner... just in time for dessert! :D  The boys played in the backyard while everyone finished their dinners and then we had banana cream pie. Yummy!

Stephen and John opened their birthday gifts from Sara- a sensory ball for John, and a Cars book and shirt for Stephen.  :) Thanks Sara! 

Stephen wearing the sunglasses my mom got for John. :) 

We took a couple pictures in the front yard by the famous tree....

Then it was home for baths and bed! :) 
Love you Ryan, Dad and Steve!  I sure have 3 amazing dads in my life, XO <3

Father's Day at the Cabin

This year for father's day we headed to the Patrick's cabin.  Ryan wanted to spend time as a family and simply relax.  On Saturday morning I had signed Ryan up for a golf lesson with the head coach at T&C but it was raining and gloomy out so we rescheduled it for a weekend in July.  We had a lazy breakfast instead and got a late start to the cabin.  On the way up there, we sang many rounds of songs for the boys and got to chat with each other too. When we go tot he cabin it was already after 12, so we had a quick lunch and headed to the beach.  John and Stephen played in the sand and then John did some exploring on the boat and laid on the dock watching the water and fish swimming around.  Auntie Lauren was after a (huge) muskie she caught earlier in the day but just as she got him to the dock, her line snapped! Oops!  John wanted to fish of course too.   So, we got out his pole that he got for Christmas and put on a bobber, sinker and hook.  Ryan, Bopa and I went to the boat hoping that John would be able to catch his first fish.  Bopa threw the line out a couple times and we had a couple bites, but weren't able to snag one.  There was a fish hanging out next to the boat, so we dropped the line right next to the boat and bingo- John caught the fish!! :)  He was a rock bass, and Bopa named him Rocky. 

John kissing Rocky! :D 

We threw Rocky back.... and he stayed ...belly up.... I guess John and Rocky bonded for a bit too long.  Oops, sorry Rocky. 

Stephen took a long cabin nap and John spent the afternoon running around, exploring everything.  We started running out of activities he was interested in.... other then the painting that Bopa was doing.  John wanted to help Bopa paint a new bench seat/bed on the porch.  Instead, we gave John a bucket of water and a brush- he went to town painting the deck.  :)

John painted, Stephen slept, Ryan and Steve enjoyed Saturday afternoon/Father's Day cigars and beers.  It was a lovely afternoon! I tried to nap John at the cabin because he was extremely tired but that was an epic fail.  Nana rocked him, held him, sang to him, I rocked him, held him, sang to him, swung him in a swing.... nothing worked.  So, we went for a boat ride while Johanna and Ryan water skied.  Last year the boat ride was not something John enjoyed but this year, I think he thought it was pretty fun or he was at least neutral about it. But, he sure wanted to ski too! :)  So when we got back to the dock, John skied....

 

Finally little Stephen woke up! :) When we got back from water skiing Nana was playing with him in the cabin.  He came down by the lake to watch John collecting "slime balls" (Slime balls are the coolest kind of seaweed I have ever seen! They are like jello balls filled with water.) 

John and Ryan took hot showers and then it was dinner time! Burgers, grilled veggies, salad, potatoes- YUM!   We had dinner with the Joyce family, chatted a bit and then it was time for these Patrick's to hit the road.  The boys were tired, Ryan and I were tired and we knew sleeping at the cabin was out of the picture.

I have to say, I love our long car rides together.  It isn't often Ryan and I get to just simply chat for 2 hours at a time! :)  XXOO

Look Who's Talking!

Both boys are making huge strides!  John has come such a long way! It was just a short 6 months ago that his vocabulary was maybe 20 words tops.  Now, he has hundreds of words he can say!! Woohoo- I would even go as far to say that sometimes he doesn't stop talking! HA  He is like a broken record at times. :)   He is working on saying 2-3 word phrases.  We are still going to Miss Molly fr speech 2x weekly, and boy does John love her- he is starry eyed for Miss Molly. ;)  We will continue with Miss Molly for until he turns 3 and then re-evaluate his progress and possibly take a 3-5 week therapy break.  John uses 2 word phrases 75-85% of the time and 3 word phrases 25% of the time.  Ryan and I are learning we need to be careful about what we say around him because he is repeating a most words he hears! OOps!  There are still many letter sounds that are too hard for John still but he is making great strides to say the words anyways- usually he just pronounces the word and omits the sound(s) he cant do.  Ex. Prize = Pize.  When you ask him his mane, he will simply say, ME!  The J sound we haven't mastered yet.  John has also been very interested in songs and singing.  We sing in the car and before bed.  He will request one of the many songs he knows and then will sing the last word of each line.  He can also do the hand actions to a few songs too. 
His favorite songs to request are:
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Wheels on the Bus
On Top of Spaghetti
Found a Peanut
Mary had a Little Lamb
Little Bunny Foo Foo
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
He has also been learning his numbers- his favorite number is 8.  The answer to everything is 8.  :)  He will count bites of food at meals, puzzle pieces and how many of something he gets. (ex. 3 stickers) I say the number first and he will repeat. 
I am thrilled with the progress John is making!!!! <3

Stephen has started to talk too!!!  I have been shocked at how he has started to pick up on some words.  Mom, Bye-Bye, Num-Num, Dada, Night-Night.  I can't wait to see what life will be like with 2 talking kids!! :D 

Ready to go for a walk on a breezy evening. :)

Scrabble?!

A...F...T...V....W...T...H...O..M....R...S...G...H...X...Q....D....S...G....K...R...B...Q...Z...P...N....

John, Stephen and I played Scrabble this morning.  I bet you can imagine how successful that was! HA 

John loves "playing games" so I thought that would be a good way to expose him to more letters and turn taking.  I set the board up and explained that there was a "magic bag" full of "magical letters" :)  we each took turns taking one letter out of the bag and then saying what the letter was.  Then, John got to put the letters on the board and Stephen took them off the board.  If John picked out a "B" I would sing the song, B, B, B says bee, every letter makes a sounds and B says bee.  And, the game would continue. 
As I started loosing momentum, I decided to add colors to the mix.  Ex, I picked a K- K, K, K says kay, every letter makes a sound and K says kay.  Now, put the K on a blue square.   And so forth....  A good game for John, he was excited becuase he got to "play" a grown up game.  :)  Gotta love being 2!  XO John!

Health Update Since ENT Surgery

I thought I would do a little update on both boys since their surgeries....

John: This was the answer to (a lot of) your health problems!! :)  You were running a fever almost daily (4-6 days a week) and since you had your adenoids removed you have not had one!!!!  I am so happy to report that fever wise you are 100% healthy! Yahoo!!

Stephen: You have been 75% better since you had your adenoids out and tubes put in.  You have not ran a fever since you had surgery, but you have had 2 ear infections, quite the runny nose and you still have the stinky "after surgery" breath.  I took you back to Dr. Malone and she was not too happy that I was saying you were still sick and looking for advice.  I got shouted at.....  "Mrs. Patrick, I am the best ENT you can find and your pediatrician does not know what an ear infection looks like because there isn't one! His ears are red because you are holding him too tight while I look in them!"  Ummm... needless to say, I will never ever step back in that lady's office.  She is rude and arrogant! I took SJ to a different pediatric ENT at Children's hospital in Minneapolis.  I loved the Dr we saw!  He talked to me a long time about how some kids do still get ear infections (no matter how tight you hold them!) even when they have tubes.  He said that if/when he gets an ear infection again I should bring him back and he will do a betadine wash in the OR.  So far so good!  No other ear infections, the runny nose is still here but I can deal with that~   :)

Memorial Weekend = PURE Family Time!

We had a jammed packed weekend of family fun!!  Friday afternoon we loaded up the boys and headed to Danbury, WI to spend the weekend with Jana and Steve at the cabin.  The drive up was nice, not much traffic and lots of kids songs .... sang by yours truly... Ryan and I! Haha! ;)
We played outside, dug in the sand, explored outside and inside.  We had John's favorite for dinner, (all beef) brats, pasta, steamed broccoli and watermelon.  SJ chowed down!  He loved his cabin dinner in the wooden high chair.  JR did pretty good at dinner- he sure loved the Alfredo pasta, I think he had 4 servings?!  We played outside some more and then Ryan and I gave the boys a bath.  We read some stories and then the challenge set in......  getting John to sleep.  First Ryan tried to lay with him in his bed while I nursed SJ to sleep.  He was quickly down for the count!! :)  John was all about the word, "Morning!!"  Umm, no honey.... Nighttime!  SO, we drove John all around the back country roads.... for about an hour and a half.  He finally fell asleep!  Then, I carefully and quietly carried him from the truck to his bed, laid him down and didn't breathe as I tip-toed out of the room.  Yahoo! He wasn't moving!  It was time to enjoy a glass of wine with Jana and Steve.... Umm.... Nope! All the sudden, MORNING!! Morning Woof!!! (as he squatted down yelling in little Sabo's face...waking him up) Morning Nana!! Morning Bopa! Morning Mom! Morning Dad! Morning Beef?!   John was up running around! Haha  We thought it was pretty cute and funny too.  He seemed more awake then ever, that 5 minute power nap did him wonders! However, Ryan, being the rational and realistic dad he is decided this wasn't going to work to stay at the cabin overnight.  I was pretty torn, I knew John wanted to stay so badly.  Jana and Steve both tried to get him to sleep, singing, books, rocking... nothing was working.  So, Ryan packed up the truck and we headed home.  SJ slept the whole way home, and JR fell asleep around Tobies... everyone transferred successfully from the truck into bed.... at 1am! Woof!
Saturday we we hung around at home, unpacked and then headed to the farm!  My cousin Luke was having his graduation open house.  We had some storms in the afternoon but it turned into a perfect evening!  It was so nice for John to have tons of room to run, sheep to see and trampolines to jump on!  SJ was just a little ham, enjoyed his dinner and wanted me to hold him- check!  
Sunday we took the kids to Jana and Steve's and then walked to a park near their house.  It was a pretty hot day!  They loved their time at the park, slides, swings, tag and falls! ;)  haha  We walked back to J&S's for a chicken dinner.
On Monday, we played at home.  We had Carlson's over for lunch of homemade grilled pizzas.  Yummy!  Then it was family nap time!  After we all had a nice long nap we played in the water table in the backyard and then headed to a park with the boys.  (Oh, but first we went to Best Buy to get a new camera disk... my last one got wrecked....hence the lack of pictures!)

Stevie Joe played with Ryan at the park- he crawled in the sand and grass, swung on the swing, went down the slides and played peek-a-boo with his daddy! <3

While I played with ran after John! :)  We swung! John was not able to get on the swing himself when we got to the park, but by the time we left he could do it alone!!! 

John loved the slides! There were 2 really high ones (enclosed and safe!) It was nice because the slides went slow... so JR could sit as he went down.  (Usually he will lay on his tummy and go feet first because he loses his balance going so fast) 

John climbing in the "Itsy Bitsy!  He named it all by himself- I was quite impressed!  This was not the safest thing to climb on at his age, but I was watching very close and saved a few slips. While he was climbing, he sang the whole time-- "Itsy Bitsy, Itsy Bitsy"

Water table fun in the backyard!

Love you John! XO

On Tuesday, Ryan decided to stay home one more day!  We were just having so much fun spending all of this time together we were not ready for it to end yet.  So, we packed the boys up and headed to the MN Zoo.  It was a BLAST! 

While John was walking on this ledge, he came across a snake! Yuck! Ryan and I are not snake people....

We saw tons of animals outside, had our picnic lunch we packed in the farm area, and played at the park in the Zoo.  I think John's favorite part was the cows. (ahhh, the way to his mommy's heart) He was so excited about them, fed them and pet their heads...right between their eyes. 

I love family time!  That weekend was the best ever!!!!!  I know none of us are looking forward to Ryan's classes starting again.... 



Stephen's Stats at ONE

I took SJ to his well child Dr visit on Tuesday.  He passed all of the development questions except the clapping part!  They asked my at his 9mo appointment if he was clapping... no.  Then again...no, he still isn't! However, I am not worried about his development at all! Clapping will come...we will just need to do more "Patty Cakes" :) 
Weight: 20lbs 14 oz (21%)
Height: 29 inches (24%)
Head Circumference: 18 inches (29%)
Weight for length ratio: 55%
He is a solid little boy, but growing just perfectly! The Dr ordered some labs to check a few things that were off at a prior appointment. 
Re-checked his lead levels, still slightly elevated but they have come down from what they were.
Iron: Still very low, we are upping his iron Rx to a higher dosage.  I hope that helps.
His hemoglobin was good (11.4) but one of the "agents" was too low... so that needs to be re-checked again. 
(always something!)

Eating:
Stephen eats whatever we are serving for a meal.  He will eat anything and everything. He has a very healthy appetite and rarely isn't hungry.  Some favorites:
Breakfast: YoBaby yogurt, blueberries, strawberries, eggs, wholewheat waffles
Lunch: deli turkey meat, cheese, fruit, avocados
Dinner: homemade grilled pizza, enchiladas, steak, mashed potatoes
...and the list goes on!  He does a little "happy dance" while he is in his chair waiting for food!  I have been impressed at the fact that very little food falls on the floor, he rarely will pick up his plate and spill it.  All in all, meal times are a success with Stephen!

Nursing:
I DID IT!!!!  OK, We did it!! ;)  I made it to a year! When I was feeling very overwhelmed with the whole exclusive nursing I wanted to just, "be done" but, I pushed through and decided I would nurse in the morning when he woke up, after lunch and before bed.  Much more do-able!!!  I started giving him formula mixed with some whole milk around 10.5 months for meals.  Then, as it warmed up and he seemed more thirsty, I have been giving him water in between meals.  He is a thirsty fella!  I tried a bunch of different sippy cups and the best ones I have found are the 'Take and Toss' cheapies at Target.  I love them! 
As long as Stephen is happy nursing, I plan to continue nursing him 2-3 times a day.   And, as of now he is an addict! hahaha  Ahh, what a sense of accomplishment for me-- I am very happy I pushed through and did it for him.

Sleeping:
Stephen is a very easy baby! I simply lay in him his crib awake (after he is done nursing) put a little receiving blanket over his legs and tummy and sing him a little song while rubbing his belly.  "Nighty night little Stevie Joe, nighty night.  Shhhhh. Shhhhh.  Night Night, mommy and daddy love you.  Playing time will be here soon.  Close your eyes, night night little Beef"   Then he turns his head to the side and goes to sleep.  ~AmAzInG~  When SJ wakes up he is always smiling for ear to ear and jumping in his crib. So nice to wake up to a cheerful baby!
He goes to bed at 8pm and will sleep until 6:30/7:30am.  Then, most mornings he will take a nap around 10-12 and then again from about 2:30-4.  OR if we are not home in the AM for his nap, he will just take one nap from 1-4. 

Talking:
He has been a pretty quite baby, but in the last 2 weeks he has learned "MOM" Now, he says it all the time, and with authority too! It is loud and he means business!  He also says, "Num Num Num" when he wants to eat or is eating.  I have heard him say "dad" but he hasn't been using it yet consistently or directly at Ryan yet.  Soon though!!  :) 

Walking: 
Not yet! YAY! I don't think I am ready for 2 boys that walk (in different directions) yet.  Since we have been outside playing all the time lately, SJ isn't a huge fan of crawling on his hands and knees in the grass.  So, he crawls up on all fours, it is quite funny to watch!  In the past week he has started to stand up all alone!  I was shocked the first time he did it and it only lasted a couple seconds.  But, now he is able to stand for close to 20 seconds (before he falls or John pushes him over! haha)   It will be soon that the walking begins....eeek!

Stephen LOVES to play with toys! He will sit on the floor and play with a toy for a looong time.  I am always so surprised at how content he is to be playing and exploring toys.  He isn't one to rip everything out of my kitchen cabinets, he will look on them, and only pulls out all of the towels/dish rags.   He got a little drum for his birthday and he bangs on and does a little booty dance to the music.  Super cute!
SJ is a mommas boy and I love it! I remember handing John to other people and he wouldn't even react about the possibility of me leaving.  I would joke around that I should start pinching him so he would cry. ;P  With Stephen he cries whenever I put him down or hand him to anyone else.  He wants to snuggle with me all the time, or at lease be in a close distance.  And, I am fine with it! :)  I know it is good for him to get used to other people which I make sure to have him exposed to other family members and Ryan (Of course!!) but I like that I am his "lovey" instead of a blanket or a tootsie.

Stephen turns ONE~!

I didn't realize how much different it would feel to have SJ turn one then it did to have John turn one.  I am much more sad about the fact that my baby is no longer a baby... he is ONE.  Now, when people ask me how old my kids are I need to say, 1 and 2.  That also means I can no longer use the I am still working on loosing my pregnancy weight.... umm... hello! Your "baby" is one! That excuse has officially ran its term.  I have no excuses left, I just simply need to get back to my pre-pregnancy self.  And, boy am I ready!  It is draining in so many ways to be over weight.  Ugh.  Oh wait!! This isn't a weight blog, it is a blog about Stephen!!!!

We planned a birthday party for Stephen on his actual birthday, June 3rd.  We invited all of our immediate family, spouses/GFs/BFs, and Ryan's grandparents.  Almost everyone came to our house on that hot Friday night!  Ryan L and Jinette came early and helped me wash chairs, set up the table in the backyard, pick up the cakes, watch the boys, bathe and dress them! I thought I was "ready" HA little did I know I needed their help! Thank you!! 

The party started at 5:30 and everyone staggered in as their work week ended.  :)  Sara stayed home because she had a cold and didn't want to spread her illness to SJ because he had surgery this week (Again!)  Alana was working at St. Olaf for their reunion weekend.  She was cleaning dorms to get them ready for the alumni to come and stay in them.  And, Grandma and Papa Brown stayed home at the last minute because of possible sever weather in the western suburbs.  Other then that, it was game on!  Jana provided dinner for everyone of brats, fruit salad, potato salad and baked beans.  The perfect meal for a hot summer night!  John served 'ice tea' to everyone, even if they didn't ask for it.  Stephen was so cute, he wore a shirt that said "Birthday Boy," enjoyed his dinner and loved his cupcake!!!  We opened presents....John opened everyones gifts and sat around and chatted.  It was a perfect night.  Happy Birthday Stephen! XO

Birthday Boy Stephen!

Nummy!  SJ waiting for his "smash cake" A cupcake...

First bites... NUM NUM NUM

Birthday kisses form mommy. I love you Stevie Joe! 

Momma and her boys!

SJ was a little 'heat struck' and full of sugar from the cupcake and frosting.

Washing it all down with cold milk

Big brother John enjoying his cupcake too! 

SJ and his Godfather, Mark.  (With Auntie Jinette in the background!)

John "helping" Stephen open his gifts...

Gifts all around! ....

Grandma and Popa Lais: Wheelbarrow, bath toy and Button puzzles

Kelli and Dan: Elmo Camera and Drum

Mark: Sock and Shoes

Grandma and Bopa Patrick: Swim shirts, Beach Bags, and Professional pictures of the boys

Lauren: "Patrick was a saint, I AIN'T!" Shirt

Alana:  Pat the Bunny Book

Glennie Ann: Card and money for his college fund

Grandma Evie: Card and money for his college fund

Mom and Dad: Sand and beach toys and a toy truck to play with outside.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR COMING AND CELEBRATING STEPHEN WITH US!  FAMILY MEANS EVERYTHING TO US!! XXXOOO

Getting behind...

To all of my mommy blogging friends:  Don't let yourself get behind!! 

I feel so overwhelmed about being behind, I think all day about what I need to type on here so that the boys have an 'up to date' "baby book"  .... BUT, finding the time to catch up is daunting!  I would need to be blogging all day for about a week to update the blog on all of the exciting cute things that are happening at the Patrick's.  Boring for you? Maybe.  But, I love this treasure I have been creating.  It will be something I hope the boys will value as they grow up and start their own families. 

Here is to catching up!!  Jana has John at the MN Zoo today while Stephen and I have a day at home.  I did 3 loads of laundry, cleaned the house, made dinner and now that my 'chores' are done.... BLOG TIME! :D

We're BAAAACCK!!!

We took a break from the Internet at our house... it was a long 3 weeks.... but a good three weeks! :D 

I have tons to update on, and Mr. Stephen is turning 1 this Friday!!  Stay tuned!!  ;D

TWIN'S GAME!!!!

Steve and Jana were on a trip to NYC so Steve gave Ryan and I two of his season tickets- WOWIE!  They are second row behind the Twins dugout.  Right in the middle of the action!! 
It was a cold, windy, rainy morning.  Ryan went to work extra early because he was leaving early for the game.  I was home wondering if the game would still go on with the yucky weather conditions.  I called Ryan to ask what he thought, your kidding right?  Caroline, it's Minnesota! Dress warm! hahaha  Not 2 minutes later, Alana texted me asking if the game would still be on with the weather-- I was glad I wasn't the only one thinking about how frozen and wet I would be in a matter of hours! :)
My mom came over to watch the boys and Ryan and I headed to Target Field! YAHOO!  Steve and Jana treated us to the seats and my parents treated us to the parking and food.  It was prefect!  All we got had to do was enjoy our day together.  :)  Thanks to both sets of moms and dads. 
We parked forever away because we are the worst at navigating through Minneapolis especially through traffic ...  As we were walking to TF, a girl in a big tan truck hollered at us.  I was a bit confused... then I realized it was ALANA!! haha  she was still looking for parking--
Ryan and I got lunch, a steak sandwich and a cheese burger.  Ryan ate most of both of them- they were huge!  I was just trying to watch for the ball I was planning to catch, since I didn't catch the one thrown to me at the last game...!! ;D   Alana and her friend got to our seats about 1/2 way through the 3rd inning.... parking was terrible!  We had a great time!!!  Lots of laughing for us sisters to do.  :D  The boys in front of us caught ALL the balls, and they were not willing to share- I even asked.  lol
Ohhh, AND the weather got soo much better!  There were even peaks of sunshine! :)  I still needed my jacket and blanket for the wind and random rain drops.  I also won't get into who won or lost... it was pretty bad.... but we didn't let that wreck our prefect day out! :)

Guacamole through a ... STRAW???

Alana was home for the Easter weekend, her and Steve were going to grab burritos at Chipolte so Ryan called Steve and invited ourselves along. ;)  It was fun to see Alana, since she is away at school we cherish our get-togethers!  On our way out the door, I noticed the mail man came. Ryan has been waiting patiently for his CPA letter of final approval and I noticed it was in our mailbox!  We were in a bit of a hustle out the door, but I grabbed his letter.  The first thing Ryan said when we got in the car was, did I get my letter yet?? I told him it wasn't there, just bills!  Once the kids quited down, I pulled the letter out of the stack of bills-  Ryan was THRILLED!  And, I was SO happy to be there to see his face as we opened his letter and read it together. 
We go to Chipolte, Ryan and Steve ordered and Alana and I played with the boys.  As we ate, John was very interested in his guacamole- avocados are a staple at our house.  He was sitting between Steve and Alana, so he knew it was game on! haha Ryan and I were not in direct reach.  ;D  John took his straw from his cup of water and plunked it right into his cup of guacamole and started sucking.  We all laughed because his face was turning darker shades of red, but he persisted.  All the sudden, the guacamole began traveling up the straw... and he grew a huge smile of accomplishment.  Oh John, always doing things a little different!  ;) 
Dinner was quick and to the point, the boys last a matter of 10 minutes on a good night!