Ryen's Room: July 2006

July 30, 2006

Social Butterfly

Whenever we take Ryen anywhere, she runs up to children, throws her arms around them, and says, "Hello boy!" or "Hello girl!" We were at the park the other day and she saw these little girls sit down together... so she just waltzed right over to them and plopped herself down as if they were old friends. No child is a stranger to Ry and she embraces them all with open arms- quite literally. We love our little social butterfly!

July 27, 2006

The Aquarium

The Outer Banks

We just got back from the Outer Banks. We love going out there for a few nights every now and then so the kids can play on the beach and visit the aquarium. This trip was certainly an adventure! We left to meet Sonny out there on Tuesday evening and on our way, the tire blew out. I tried so hard to change the tire myself, but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be and some kind stranger took pitty on us. After he helped me with the tire, we were on the road again. Either while I was changing the tire or while I was driving, I got bit by a spider on my toe. It's totally swollen, itchy, and painful. We were happy to finally make it to our hotel!

We spent all day Wednesday swimming in the pools and playing on the beach. We did a little shopping and went to the aquarium. We also lounged in our hotel room and ordered the movie "Curious George" for Ryen to watch. It was fun and relaxing and the kids had a total blast! Then, that night, as we were snuggling down with the girls, Madelyn puked the mother of all pukes! Sonny called the front desk to get new bedding and I gave poor Maddie a bath. Just when we were all set again, she threw up all over the bed again. Ryen was so loving and concerned for her little sis and took excellent care of her. We decided it would probably be best to just pack up and drive home- so the girls and I left the hotel at around midnight. Poor Maddie. They both slept the whole way home and continued to sleep until 4:00 pm today! Nothing is ever ordinary around here! Still, we are grateful for our little vacations and the fun memories we are able to make.

July 22, 2006

Sunflowers

We planted four different kinds of sunflowers this year with the girls. We have loved watching them bloom and grow taller and taller. Ryen thinks the seeds we planted are magical because of the beautiful flowers that have grown from them. I think she may be right.

July 21, 2006

Giraffey

With Ryen's imagination, I knew it was only a matter of time before she made an imaginary friend. I should have known it would be an animal- a giraffe, to be exact. Two days ago, I was desperate to get Ry to play downstairs so that I could take a shower and get ready for the day. So I told her there was a giraffe in the hallway who was lost and needed to be escorted downstairs. She happily took the job and led him downstairs... where she introduced him to her little sister and got him a drink of water. She later escorted him to the store and out to lunch with us at McDonald's- where she took excellent care of him when he bumped his head on the slide. (He bumps his head a lot.) Yesterday, she seemed to forget about "Giraffey", but sure enough, he is back today. When I asked her where he had been, she told me he was on a date. I can only assume that is because whenever Sonny and I go away, we are on a date. I hope things don't get serious with this girl giraffe he's seeing because I don't know how many of them we can house...

Bath Buddies

Ryen gets the biggest kick out of helping Madelyn in the bathtub. By "helping", of course I mean dumping water on her. Madelyn doesn't seem to mind at all though, and squeals over all the attention from her big sister. They both LOVE their baths together!

Dance Fever

Ryen is no stranger to "getting jiggy with it". She owns quite the CD collection and is often turning on her little CD player and blaring it as loud as it will go. She loves music and loves to dance. She got lots of presents on her 3rd birthday, but one of her favorites was a package full of dance clothes representing her enrollment in dance classes. They start next month and she is so excited!

July 17, 2006

Ready & Waiting

I've been getting an early start on Ryen's fall and winter wardrobe. Every year I buy her WAY too much and she only wears half of her clothing... and even those things she only wears once. I'm trying to be better this year, but so far it's not going very well. :) Ryen has been loving it though! When she saw this sweater I bought her, she hugged it and put it on right away. She hasn't taken it off since! I've tried reasoning with her, but she just likes her sweater and hat and has informed me that it makes her look cool. We've been getting some pretty funny looks, but I figure this form of expression is much easier to deal with than permanent marker on our furniture and walls. And hey, at least it's not the Santa dress again. Still wrong season, but right direction. Ryen loves the winter! Even at the beach, she always lays down and tries to make snow(sand)angels. She can't wait for winter to come (especially now that she is probably sweating to death)! I think we'll have to throw a little Christmas in July party to tide her over.

July 12, 2006

Washington

Ryen tenderly refers to our washing machine as the "washington". Whenever something gets dirty, she just shrugs her shoulders and says something like, "That's okay Mom... we'll just throw it in the washington." Today, I was catching up on laundry from our trip to Michigan and I had one of our suitcases sitting in front of the washer. Ryen climbed up on it and said in a very serious tone, "I have been thinking about this for a very long time." Then, she peered inside the washing machine to see what the inside looked like. After checking everything out thoroughly, she looked at me and said, "I'm very disappointed."

July 11, 2006

Ahoy, my name is...

I took the girls out to lunch at McDonalds and got Ryen the only thing she'll really eat there- a cheeseburger happy meal with milk. The toy that came with her meal was a little stuffed pirate. On the side of the happy meal box was an eye patch, a medalion, and a pirate earring. Ryen LOVED them and has played with those little "treasures" for the past few days. On another side of the happy meal box was a little game to figure out your pirate name. You start with your middle name, then add your favorite color, then your favorite fish. I played the game with Ryen and her Pirate name is Olivia Yellow Guppy... respectfully. For days, if I try to call her Ryen she will scream, cry, jump up and down, or just plain ignore me. "It's Olivia-Yellow-Guppy!!!" she will demand. Thanks Ronald.

July 9, 2006

Happy Birthday Madelyn

Today is Maddie's birthday! We celebrated it in Michigan, but today is the actual day. What a beautiful and blessed year it has been! We're so fortunate to have Madelyn in our family. We love you Maddie!!!!!

i loveeyou madelyyn love ryen

Michigan

Our trip to Michigan was so much fun! The girls had a blast spending time with their cousins and aunts and uncles! Ryen and Maddie adore their Grammy and even got a chance to spend a little time with Grandpa Tracy. We swam in Lake Michigan, built sandcastles, saw fireworks, went to a petting zoo, took the kids rafting, and even got to celebrate Maddie's birthday. What a fun 4th of July we had with the people and places we love!