7 kids under 5

Today, Ryan, Charlie and I got together with some friends from college. Together we had 7 kids between the ages of 4 1/2 years and 6 months for a total of 5 1/2 hours. Whoa, you would think... "what a day!" But actually Ryan really impressed me! She was very independent, held her own with the boys, and played, played, played all day. No whining, no tears, and said please and thank you for everything to all the adults. I could have stayed there several more hours with that behavior. But then there's Charlie... oh, Charlie. No need to say more! Let me break down the kids
Erika (top pic, far left) = Grant (30 months), Jack (6 months)
Lisa (top pic, middle) = Elyse (4 1/2 years), Cole (18 months)
Kendra(not pictured) = Luke (29 months), one on the way
Me = Ryan (28 months), Charlie (9 months)
It was great that Ryan and the 2 older boys were so close in age and Charlie was close in age to Jack. It was great to watch them all interact. And fun to see my friends too!

ryan on time out

#1 - Ryan on time out but look who's coming...

#2 - coming a little closer...

#3 - "Hello, big sister."

Ryan is supposed to be on time out! Hmmm.... I'm not so sure about that! Not only does she have her "bar-bar" in hand and her milk but you can also see that a little someone does not want her to be alone. The ironic part is that the reason she is on time out is that she hit Charlie upside the head. Charlie forgives quickly I guess!

slumber party

Carson and Ryan are in their jammies, ready for bed! Last weekend the Smith Family spent the night after a long day of golf for the daddies. The girls had a great time playing together until the wee hours of the night (you know, 8:30ish) We loved having the company guys! Thanks for staying with us.

recycling is a good thing

I know that title sounds like a quote from Martha Stewart but it is so true. This is gift that Ryan got from Nonna and Grandpa Kudron for her first Christmas. We put it away when she had outgrown it (so we thought... The pictures prove otherwise). Basically, we have been doing that with all of her "baby" toys, putting them away until Charlie is ready for them and then pulling them back out, cleaning them up, and recycling them to Charlie. Well, what we have found more often than not... is that Ryan loves her toys now just as much as she did then. Charlie does too though so it has been so much fun bringing out each new recycled toy.

great gifts everyone!

Really these pictures were taken to show our lazy summer days around the house but when I started looking more closely, I noticed something much more fun about them! We have the greatest friends and family in the whole world (and the best gift givers too)! In these two pictures alone, I can spy with my little eye a ton of gifts that the girls have gotten in the past from all of you. Thank you all so much for all the wonderful things you've chosen for Ryan and Charlie. We really do have the best friends and family!

Let's see how many I can list... (Top pic first) Charlie's outfit is from Tim and Sheila Smith. Baby Hugs is from Godmommy Katie. ABC Book (on shelf) is from Ryan and Michelle Smith. Growing Up Grace (on shelf) is from Dana and Bryan Sullivan. And the pink bunny book (in left corner) is from Gigi and Papa Grace. (Bottom pick) Ryan's outfit is from Erin and Vince Clougherty. The easel is from Uncle Jeff. And the yellow squishy monkey (in the toy chest) is from Nonna and Grandpa Kudron. Not bad for two random pictures.

ryan's summer haircut

Ryan loves to get her haircut~ I know you can't tell by the look on her face but she kept saying, "Momma, I'm es-cited for my haircut. I'm es-cited Mommy."

Hmmm... maybe it's not the haircut she is excited about but all the toys to play with afterward.
What a doll she is!

"get after it, charlie!"

Another example of how the apple doesn't fall far the tree... Mommy and daddy are big fans of the "red solo cup" for just about every type of beverage. Daddy enjoys his diet 7up daily in the red solo and sometimes on weekends mommy enjoys her... well... you know, her "mommy's juice" (as Ryan calls it) in her red solo. Apparently, Charlie likes to get after it too sometimes! Literally, she chased and chewed the red solo for about 15 straight minutes and in mommy time, that's heaven! Take notes my mommy friends~

good work babysitters

Patrick and Lauren babysat for the girls while Steve and I enjoyed our very first entire weekend away. They did a great job. You guys are welcome to do it again anytime~ You name the date and we'll FIND somewhere to go, something to do. Ha-Ha. Here are a few pictures to prove the endless work they put into it! P.S. I don't know why this is coming up underlined and nor do I know why the pics are so small. I hope you all can see them!Patrick with Charlie after a bath. I hope their were no torpedos! Patrick is smiling so I suppose not.

Ryan doing crafts with Lauren. Must have been fun to clean up Lauren! Ha-Ha. Ryan typically like to paint her hands more than the paper. We did, however, get 4 beautiful pieces of art to hang on our fridge.

Lauren taking Charlie for a little walk out front. I think Ryan was at a playdate with Kendall next door.

I'm sure potty time was the highlight of the weekend. Ryan likes to take her time and be alone. But not too alone or you'll have brown artwork on the walls! God bless you Lauren and Patrick!

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Thanks again you guys. We truly had the best time knowing the girls were in great hands!

dinnertime

"Prunes, yummy!" Charlie struggled with her first experience with the exciting new entree selection. Trust me, I'd struggle too. You know we didn't put her through that misery without a good reason, right? Thank goodness, it's starting to work it's magic (TMI, I know, sorry). Although, you gotta admit, she does look cute with a goatee. Almost like an ar-teest from au Fraun-say!

abc's & 123's

Charlie is certainly ambitious in learning her numbers and letters. Ha-ha! More likely... she's just a good climber. That girl can climb up to standing on anything. The high chair, her crib, my leg, anything. Here, she has taken a liking to the magnetic easel. She sees big sister Ryan playing with it all the time and has finally figured out how to play with it too. Up until now she could only whine and watch her sister with envy.

ryan and mommy's special day

Today, Ryan and mommy had a special day together at Disneyland and California Adventure. We went with Aunt Nancy and Cousin Katie. Ryan had a great day. She wan't scared of the rides and followed directions all day. I almost forgot she was two! She and Katie had so much playing together too.

Today was opposite. Ryan got to be with mommy and Charlie stayed at Renee's.

Ryan on the merry-go-round. One of my all time favorite pictures of her I think.

We went to a show starring the Playhouse Disney characters. It was perfect for toddlers. Watching the girls dance and sing was definitely the highlight of the day.

I meant for this picture to show up last but sometimes this blog thing still boggles me. Anyway, the caption should read... "Goodbye Di-nee-lan"

Here are Aunt Nancy and Cousin Katie on the "The Bug's Life" Ride. It was one of the those rides that goes up in the air and around and around (and around and around and around). Surprisingly, Ryan thought it was great fun. Mom, on the otherhand, a bit nausious for the rest of the day. Wow, the things that change as you get older.

"good morning ryan!"

Lately, Ryan has been "sleeping in". Not really sleeping but when I go into her room to get her out of bed, she says, "Still sleeping Mommy." She likes to have a little time to "wake up" before starting her day. She asks for a few books and particular stuffed animals to read to or snuggle with and then I leave for another 10-15 minutes or so. Well on Friday, Charlie just couldn't wait that long. She crawled into Ryan's room, climbed up to standing holding onto Ryan's crib, and started talking to her. Ryan couldn't resist the coercion tactics or her little sister and willing got out of bed. I will have to remember this trick.

sick day

Ryan stayed home sick today (and actually most of yesterday too) with a 102 fever. We think that it has finally broken. Yay! The funny thing is that there were not any other symptoms. We did go to the doctor because I was afraid it was another UTI but luckily, it wasn't. Anyway, we've had a lot of girl time playing, just the three of us. Ryan is very fond of all her dolls and insisted that they must nap at the same time she did, so she set them all up in a line for a little shut eye. I thought it was the cutest and most clever thing that I had ever seen. Notice the second one from the right. She put her doll inside her block box for a bed. So creative.

poolside

Well, it's not exactly the Ritz but Ryan and mommy had a fun morning hanging out poolside at Casa de Grace Spa and Resort Sunday. The barhand (Steve) offered to deliver cocktails out to the pool but mommy regretfully declined after a tough night on Saturday. We had a dinner party with the neighbors and one couple brought over fancy martini recipes. As the hostess I felt like I needed to indulge in the festivities!

addicted, are you?

Ryan all dressed and ready to go to daycare...

Just another day in the Grace household. But apparently we have some blog viewers who are a bit addicted (hint, hint Aunt Casey)! That's okay by us. We love that you check up on our girls on a regular basis. I'll be posting more frequently soon, but I am in the middle of getting prints made of all my digital photos. My memory stick in full and I don't want to delete all the great pics until I get back my hard copies! I hope this will get you the fix you were looking for in the meantime. I promise to get back on the ball.