Our Little Monkey

Ryann learned to climb the stairs today. It's terrifying but we think it's better to let her practice with us than have her sneak by herself and get hurt. We have a gate but it's not always up. She's quick. She's gotten there ahead of us a few times. She's got the "up" part mastered but the "down" is still a little shaky. The best part is how she pants like a puppy and talks to herself when she does it. :0)

Doctor Visit

Ryann went to the doctor today for a routine well-baby visit. She weighed in at 22 pounds, 4 ounces and 31 inches long, I think. I might be a little off on the length. At any rate, the doctor said she falls within the 30th percentile for weight and length. Dr. Ring also broke it to us that Ryann probably won't be a NBA star. She said Ryann will probably end up like her mother, on the vertically challenged end of the spectrum. I guess it hasn't hurt me at all so we'll love her anyway. :0) Apparently her height at this age indicates how tall she'll be as an adult. I think that's crazy to think. I'll hold out for a few extra inches and give her lots of milk to grow big and strong. :0) In the meantime, we've ruled out basketball as a scholarship option to WSU.

As I'm sure Ryann would agree, the part we could have lived without was the series of shots. It was time for more immunizations and her flu shot. She cried, I teared up, and then we went home and had snacks to feel better. The pictures show her pretty band-aids on one thigh and her in the high chair, healing.

The Big Picture

I posted pictures of a few of the interior rooms of the house but this is probably what you're more interested in seeing. Here is what our house looks like from the outside. It sits at the end of a culdesac. Behind the house is a park. It's a great location for a family. We really like it.

This picture shows our brand new sod, just put down on Wednesday. Luckily, it rained that evening to help the sod get its start.

Spaghetti

I believe every child needs some spaghetti pictures. Therefore, as Ryann was pasting it in her hair, on her clothes, and everywhere in between, I ran for the camera. She tries to be very independent and loves using her fork. I think it's really cute. I'm not sure her daddy thinks it's that cute. I had to take her directly to the bath after dinner. Scott was on clean-up duty. :0)

Moving...Ugh!

On Friday, August 22nd, we closed on our new house. It was quite a nice birthday present for me. We had planned to do a ton of painting and start moving some things over that weekend. However, we were very disappointed to find out that we couldn't get our keys until Monday, August 25th. Grrr!

Plan B was to paint only the necessities and move all week. Scott and I both had to work so it was to be quite a challenge. Fortunately, my father-in-law came to the rescue. Actually, he was already planning to come help but he got more than he bargained for. :-)

Monday, Dad packed while we worked. Then we all went to get the keys and go to the new house, paint in hand. We started with the loft, our new office. We knew we wouldn't want to move bookshelves, our desk, etc. once we were moved in. So, we painted into the night. I took Ryann home to go to bed while Scott & Dad finished up. The color is "Brown Bag." I think it looks like, well..... a brown bag. I like it, though.
Tuesday, Dad packed again then we moved stuff when we got home. We worked late into the night, again. On Wednesday, the real magic happened. Scott took the day off. We had movers come for the big furniture while Scott, Dad & our friend, Marc, moved a ton of stuff. On my way home from work, I wasn't sure where to go home to. Wednesday was the first night we spent in our new house. Ryann seemed to like it. She'd been a little grumpy with the chaos of packing at the old house.

Thursday and Friday, Scott was off again so they did the rest of the moving, assembling, and annoying phone calls to utility companies. Thursday night, I went to our old house to grab odds & ends and clean. I was there until midnight, knowing I was out of time. Friday, the carpet cleaners were at the old house. Our tenants moved in on Sunday. We were glad that there was no vacant month but we were scrambling to get it all done in time.

We started Labor Day weekend with boxes piled high in most rooms. Luckily, we had Monday off. Now, we still have a mess but it's starting to come together. Ryann is super helpful, unpacking boxes, eating unknown objects, and just getting into trouble. She slows progress down a bit but she's the reason we're here in the first place. We're so excited to have a house big enough to raise our family. The backyard is dirt for now but it's big and our plans for it are even bigger.

Here are some pics of the new pad. You see the dining room, kitchen and family room.
I'll post more pictures as we get settled.

Patience Paying Off

For all those who repeatedly suggested that I cut my daughter's hair, this is what I was waiting for. This is her first big girl pony tail. Granted, it falls out too easily to actually let her try to wear it all day, but I did it. :-)

Yes, she has resembled a sheep dog frequently over the past few months but my quest to avoid bangs and create a pony tail has been successful. Isn't she such a big girl now?
She seems happy about the whole thing.

Blogging 101

This is my first attempt at blogging. I've decided that maintaining a blog will be much easier than trying to keep everyone up-to-date through e-mail or phone calls, especially since I'm the worst "phone caller" on Earth. :0)
A friend of mine does a blog fairly regularly and for some reason, I'm drawn to it almost daily. I hope it will be the same for those of you who want to keep up on what's new in our household. I am always anxious to share things that are going on in our world. We constantly have so much to share about Ryann, work, our new home and lots of other things. Hopefully, I'll have this blogging thing down soon and you'll be able to check in on us any time.
Here goes bloggin'.....