Beach Day

We took a trip to the beach with some friends one day, and it turned out to be lots of fun. This time we tried out the north shore which turned out to be a much better beach for babies. Much of it was rocky, but we found this nice sandy part. And the waves were small and perfect for the kids to play in. Last time we went to the beach with big waves Crew was so scared he didn't want anything to do with it. But this time he ran and splashed all over the place. Which is why I didn't get any good pictures, he was too preoccupied with everthing else.

A Dad in our Fam

My friend Lori had the idea to make these onesies for "the Dad's" of our kids for Father's Day. It was a fun activity, and cute for Crew to wear on Father's Day. Unfortunately, the onesie has sort of ruffly sleeves (he normally wears it underneath his other clothes), so it looked slightly feminine. And I finally got a picture right before bathtime so it was a little dirty by then. BUT, on the positive side, you can see Crew's two little teeth in that grin. His only two so far!

Its not very often that Crew falls asleep on one of us. . . Ryan was just enjoying the cuddling time while he could. And lastly, Ryan was injured in a freak "construction" accident the other day. He was hit by a flying piece of wood right in the eye. Luckily the bleeding stopped so he didn't need stitches, they just glued it back together. We were glad it didn't actually hit is eyeball, cause that could have been bad. This is a couple days after the fact . . . it was definitely more purple the first 2 days. And really, the picture doesn't do it justice. . . its pretty ugly. But it will give everyone something to look at during his talk in church tomorrow!

Bronx Zoo

On the Saturday after Crew's birthday we went to the Bronx Zoo with some friends from church to celebrate. We had a really great time! We started out with the baboons, and headed over to the polar bears. I wasn't sure if Crew would really pay attention and look for the animals, but I thought he might. His favorite book is the one with pictures of real animals, not cartoons. And as I mentioned, he loves dogs, and always points out the birds. He really liked it so that made it fun.Some of what we saw at the zoo: tigers, lots of monkeys, giraffes, brown bears play fighting, lots of birds, buffalo, deer, alligators, and fish. Kim brought some birthday brownies and candles for the kids to blow out. Ella is Crew's friend who turned 2 on the same day that Crew turned 1. And Henry is Ella's boyfriend. And honestly, Crew doesn't mind being the third wheel :)

Sweet Ella. She says the cutest things, so I always have one ear tuned in to try to hear what she is saying. Some of these pictures are courtesy of Kim Hughes Photography, Inc which I stole from her facebook. I really loved this one she took of Crew. Oh, the cheeks, and the eyes.

We gave the kids a moment to play in the grass. It was so funny how they were all playing with this sign.
Henry and Ella were walking and holding hands, and it was really cute. And then they invited Crew to join in. Henry has a good grip, because they walked like this for a little ways before breaking up.
We had a really fun time at the zoo. I love it when we actually plan and do something on a Saturday. Its too easy to just get stuff done around the house, and then have the day be practically over.

Eating Cake

Crew's Birthday

Our baby turned 1 on June 10th. I can't believe he is a whole year old! He loves swinging on the swings, so we took a trip to the park that day to let him swing. We are lucky to have a park that is walking distance from our house.
That night Katie & Josh and Kim & Seth came over for cake and ice cream. We weren't expecting presents. . . but Crew got some good stuff! This toy is so cool, it plays music and shoots balls into the air. Its really fun, and Crew LOVES it. He got a box that had shredded paper in it - perfect. He was grabbing handfuls and rubbing it in his face. I think he liked the attention all on himself, because he was carrying everything he got around in circles in front of everyone. He made quite the mess with the paper all over the living room floor.I was actually attempting to get a picture with him next to the cake, but realized that was impossible without having him stick his hand in it.

He destroyed his piece of cake while we sang Happy Birthday. Had a few bites, and then he didn't want anything more to do with it. We fed him dinner not too long before cake. . . maybe he wasn't hungry? I don't know. Whatever the reason, he apparently did not receive my "chocolate loving" gene.

At his 1 year appointment he weighed 23 lbs 12 oz and was 31 inches tall. He is getting so fun, and I feel like in the last few weeks I have noticed how much he really understands what I say to him. I tell him to go get his duck (which is sitting next to the bunny and the monkey) and he successfully retrieves the duck (most of the time). He brings it back to me. I tell him I want to give him kisses and he holds it out for me to kiss. He knows what to do when I ask him if he wants to read a book. Its just fun to see him learning new things.

Some things for us to remember about Crew at 1 year old:

• He loves grapes and strawberries, and hates cheese.
• He has his 2 bottom teeth and no signs of any others.
• He dances when I turn on the music. . . It started as bouncing from the knees but has graduated to waving both hands in the air . . . hand flapping?
• He loves it when we sing any song to him. . . but he especially loves "If you're happy and you know it". I sing it when I'm changing his diaper to get him to hold still. Or to distract him while he's eating.
• He loves bath time.
• He LOVES swinging at the park.
• He LOVES animals. . . any kind - but especially Dogs. He is not scared of any dog no matter the size. He walks right up to them and and tries to put his hand in their mouth, or pat them on their body. And he always laughs if they lick his face.
• Places he wants to go most in our house: Jared's room, the bathroom, the refrigerator, and our food pantry. The places where we keep the doors closed. If he gets close to actually getting into one of these places and we catch him and remove him, he stomps his feet and grunts.
• He walks all over town, and is getting pretty fast but he still can't crawl. He is adamently stubborn about it. I still try to help him sometimes, but he refuses to put his knees underneath him on the ground. He gets angry, pushes his legs out so he is on his belly and rolls over.

One down, Three to go. . .

One YEAR down, three YEARS to go. Ryan finished his first year of medical school on tuesday. I don't feel like I constantly gush over how wonderful my husband is, but I'm going to take a minute to brag now. We are very proud of him, and very grateful for him. He has had a lot on his plate this last several months, and has juggled everything very well. Not only did he get great grades (either honors or high pass in every class) he somehow managed to come home to his family every night and have the energy to help out doing dishes and bathing babies (well, one baby). He has also had callings at church either teaching sunday school every week or being a counselor in the elder's quorom (working with the men), and faithfully gave of his time to serve the Lord as well as spent time working on extra-curricular research projects.

More recently he was selected to be on the admissions committee for the entering med school students, which he is really excited about. He was chosen by his classmates as one of the top 15, and then after an interview process, was selected to be one of 7 to participate. He is really excited to be a part of it, so we are happy for him.

And through all he has done, he has dealt with me. The (only sometimes) needy wife. And I'm proud of how hard he works. And guess what the best part is. . . he is FREE until AUGUST 23rd! He's home with us all day now. And we are just excited to have a splendid summer together and spend time with our families!

A Visit

Scott, our brother in law was in town and stopped by good old Ronkonkoma for a visit. Again, I didn't take many pictures. We spent alot of time talking and stayed up late both nights. We also went to the beach, and went out to eat, and the boys watched a movie (I made it about half way through, whats new?) Crew was feeling a little under the weather, but was still really good for us. We really enjoyed having Scott here, and it made all of us really miss everyone in Utah. We can't wait to be back for a visit in a few weeks.

Jared's Birthday & the Bird's Anniversary

Dear Jared turned 21 on the 31st of May. He seemed to have plenty of activities to do during his birthday weekend, so we celebrated on Sunday with a birthday dinner. It was nice and cozy, just us. The three of us and Crew feasted on ribs, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and cheese fondue. And as Jared requested, strawberry cake. And the boys played guitars together as we allowed our food to digest. Which is something they have actually never done since Jared has moved out here. It was a delightful evening. We love having Jared here, and are just trying to enjoy the rest of our time together before he heads back to school!

We also happen to share our anniversary with Jared's Birthday. Since we stole Jared's birthday 2 years ago, we did not steal it this year. Jared went out with a friend, and we got a babysitter for the evening. Ryan and I went to his school and continued our eternal battle in ping pong. He told me as we walked in, that his ideal for the evening would be for me to try my very hardest, but for him to still beat me. I told him that it was impossible for me to play my best game and have him win. But in the end, Ryan prevailed. He actually win by a lot. With all the time he has on his hands, he somehow has had some time to play with classmates at school. I am usually a really poor sport when I lose, but I still had fun. Then we went out to eat before going back to pick up our son. We had a really fun time, but didn't end up taking any pictures.