Progress

We checked one more boring thing off our "to do" list this week and FINALLY got the garage painted (ignore the dirty floor... it has been rainy... and cleaning it is another boring "to do" list item).

It has been almost a year and a half since we put the cabinets in (I cannot believe it was that long ago!)... and we may FINALLY finish the garage. Hooray!

Next we just need to finish selling a few things, put up our grid system on the walls (for bikes, strollers, tools, etc), and then both of our cars will FINALLY get to park inside again.

We ended up going with a light gray/grey (which one?) paint. Once the guy finished we were both underwhelmed... but then we remembered that it is just a garage... how exciting can painting a garage be? So then we spent the rest of the night looking at paint colors for Ryan's soon-to-be new room and our master bedroom/bathroom- WAY more fun! :)

Hooray for a FINISHED painted garage! We are great at starting projects and not awesome at finishing them (I get distracted/unmotivated), so it is nice to have this project one step closer to being complete!

Party for the Little Man

A few sweet friends organized the most adorable party to celebrate the arrival of Ryan earlier this week! There were yummy treats (all chocolatey- my favorite), cute decorations, and adorable gifts for the little buddy.

Ryan was all wide eyed as the center of attention and had fun cuddling with almost everyone at the party.

He even tried on some things.

I loved having a night to hang out with friends! I cannot believe Ryan is now ONE MONTH old! Crazy how fast the month has flown by!

Black Friday Birthday

My birthday was wonderful as usual this year, and considering I turned 33 (and I thought I turned 33 last year), it wasn't too traumatic of a day. ;)

My mom flew into town on Friday afternoon and we hit the ground running doing our usual Black Friday shopping spree. We went to downtown Walnut Creek and the nearby mall (mostly so that we could get Mrs. Fields cookies).

We don't do early or crowded, so our Black Friday shopping trip was quite pleasant.

Ryan tagged along and was pretty cooperative... other than several scream fests in the car.

My favorite deals were at Janie and Jack and Lu Lu Lemon (though everything is a deal when you are being treated to a shopping spree). I love Catie's newly purchased Christmas dress and the boy's outfits that coordinate along with my new lulu running pants and top.

After a late lunch at Boudin (grilled cheese and tomato soup- yum!), we met the kids and husbands downtown for the annual "Lighting of the old oak tree." I fed Ryan in the car and then met up with everyone. They were underwhelmed with the event this year (very crowded), so then we just trekked back to the car to go home. We did manage to visit with Santa though, so that was the highlight of the night.

Cute cousins!

Andrew made sure to let Santa know that he wants a real rocket for Christmas.

While babysitting all the kids all day, Dan and Kevin still managed to cover all the bases for our birthday celebration. Dan got us an ice cream birthday cake and Kevin got us a Mrs. Fields cookie cake and we drank peppermint hot cocoa and enjoyed the night all together with loads of treats!

Andrew was very proud of the card he made me (with a rocket drawing inside) and the bouquet of flowers he picked for me too. He told the florist I like lots of pink!

Ryan got lots of cuddles during the partying... especially from Maddie who might be his number one fan.

After everyone headed home, Andrew helped me open the last of my gifts. I was so excited to discover a new lens for my camera along with some earplugs from baby Ryan.

What a phenomenal birthday! 

In addition to all of the sweet gifts from my parents and siblings, I got so many thoughtful notes from friends and have continued to get little gifts throughout the rest of the weekend/week. I am so lucky to have so many kind friends! 

We plan to continue the birthday celebrating all week long since Catie turns two next Saturday!! Crazy!!

Cat's Baby Shower

On Saturday we got to celebrate my sister in law Cat at a darling baby shower thrown by several of her good friends (and her sisters)!

The decorations were adorable and the food was delicious. It was fun to see so many people come together to show their love to Cat (&Scott).

Cute Cat

Cat and her beautiful sisters

My mom and Elise were in town, so they got to join us too. We all loved hanging out together.

(mom, Jessie, Cat)

Cat was showered with loads of gifts... and I'm excited to shower her with even more once we know whether she is having a boy or a girl! Baby Ryan got to hang out with us and was very well behaved. He is so excited to meet his new little buddy within the next week or so.

Congrats Cat and Scott! We love you guys!

(Jessie, Cat, me)

3 Weeks and Photos!

Baby Ryan is over 3 weeks old. I can't believe it! It has been a very busy few weeks and I am getting depressed thinking about Kevin going back to work next Monday... so I'm trying not to think about it too much. I have been utterly spoiled!

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At three weeks Ryan is such a sweet little boy. He is getting more and more observant and aware of noises and his little siblings love to show him things and bring him blankets, pacis, and toys! Andrew loves to ask to hold him and is so gentle! When our friend Meghan took some photos of Ryan a week or so ago, Andrew was the perfect big brother and was so careful with Ryan. Didn't Meghan do such a great job? I have so many pictures to pick from that I'm not quite sure which ones are my favorite.

 photo credit

My friend Wendy also took some photos of Ryan as a baby gift to me a week or so ago and Andrew was equally as sweet in them. Ryan looked so handome! Once I choose my favorites from that shoot I'll share them here too.

Ryan is pretty alert these days, has rolled from his front to back a few times, and occasionally likes tummy time. He is starting to fill out his newborn clothes more and more and loves to nap cuddled up with either me or Kevin (or really anyone else who will hold him). We just moved him into size 1 diapers since he likes to fill them up so much and so often- exciting times at our house! ;) He also has taken his first few expressed bottles of milk successfully and I managed to escape last week and go to an uplifting meeting for 2 hours all by myself. Considering Catie didn't take a bottle for 9 months... I am so happy Ryan was cooperative this early on!

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Little dude is still very much a newborn with his sleeping patterns- very inconsistent. I'm getting better and better at surviving on very little sleep and not being too emotional about it... though the 3rd week is usually the hardest for me because the adrenaline rush of having a baby goes away and I am just plain tired! Shari came into town just in time to help entertain the kiddos, do dishes, hold Ryan, and help Kevin and I have a bit of a break. I'll post more about her visit soon.

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I have to say that in the wee hours of the morning when I am snuggling with little Ryan (sitting on my glider in my bathroom... because that's Ryan's temporary "nursery" these days) I rarely feel annoyed that I am awake and instead just can't believe how lucky I am to have such a precious little baby. With our third, I recognize how short lived this cuddly helpless stage is... and pretty soon little dude will be a toddler (like Catie) who wants to do everything "himself." I am totally going to enjoy every snuggly little moment with him for as long as I can! The next few months are going to fly by!

Little Man is 2 Weeks Old!

Ryan spent his second week of life hanging out while Mom and Dad bulldozed through the house and tried to de-clutter and re-organize as much as possible! We are on a roll... and have lots to do still! It is amazing how much more energy I have now that I am not pregnant!

Meanwhile Catie and Andrew attempted to undo all the organizing and pull things out of the trash or donate pile. It definitely kept things entertaining!

We had a family trip to Fuddruckers with G&G Smith and Ryan had his first (and second) trip to Mrs. Fields all in the course of two days. One might wonder if I purposefully bought the wrong thing at the Apple Store for Kevin JUST so we had an excuse to have a family mall trip on Saturday ;)

Ryan also had his 2 week appointment and we were happy to see that he's back above his birthweight and is now 7 lbs 9 ounces (or 10... if you go with the scale and not the nurse). He still feels SO TINY since all our other kids started out at almost 8 pounds. I am loving my itty bitty cuddly baby!

Ryan got lots of cuddle time with G&G Smith and Aunt Jessie

And even some cuddling with Catie who absolutely adores her baby "lion" and is always helping bring blankets and pacifiers to him. She loves seeing what he is up to and says hi to him when she sees him. It is so adorable!

Ryan has spent a good part of this week sleeping, but is having more and more alert time too.

Andrew and Catie also loved all the time they had with G&G Smith this past week! They watched shows and played games on the iPad, went to McDonalds for breakfast, went on walks, rode bikes, went to the park, made rockets, and just played and played!

 

(getting ready to go "look" around the toy store)

What lucky kids to have such fun grandparents!

Little buddy still sleeps in 2-3 hour stretches at night, wears newborn clothes, and is a fan of his big green pacifier!

We think he is adorable and are having fun getting to know his personality more and more as he grows!