Ryan Turns Three!!!

I'm not quite sure where all of the time went, but our rarely-quiet, firecracker Ryan celebrated his third birthday last week.  I frequently call Ethan "Ryan" because it feels like he should still be my baby.  Yet, Ryan is proud to call himself the "middle man" now, is mostly potty trained (except over night), and is learning to write his letters.  He prefers to do most things himself, and while it scares me, he is usually fearless and ready to take on the world!  :o)

 

Ryan was very excited the morning of his birthday party - Pop-Pop brought him a special birthday boy crown, which he loved, and some Batman balloons.

Helping to make his birthday cake.  I thought a fork was a better option than the hand mixer... 

 The finished product for our shark-loving boy.

 A little pinata action.  Poor Sponge Bob...

 And time for some presents!  Don't be fooled by the tameness of the photo - the surrounding kiddos quickly inched in and offered their suggestions for how to unwrap the rest of his gifts.  :o)   

 Showing off his new Mickey jammies - a perfect fit!

Name that Baby...

 Because I like to do weird things...  here's our three boys wearing the same outfits.  Can you tell who is who?

Silly dudes pulling everything out of the dress up basket and making their own outfits with hats, capes, and swords.

It is a little hard to see, but there's a man in the tree cutting off the limbs (he is right under the bundle of limbs), and then eventually dropping the entire tree.  And, of course, we were spectators in this crazy event. 

Ethan sensed danger was near...  (waiting for the heel prick for his newborn screening) 

 Post-bath bundle of cleanliness.

 

And the answer to the pictures above - they are in reverse birth order.  The top picture is Ethan, second is Ryan, and the last Evan.  Kudos if you can tell the difference!  As I look through old blog photos, they definitely resemble each other in the first several months!



Awesome August

Ethan on the ride home from the hospital.

 Big brothers on entertainment duty.

Josh took the two bigs to the beach for a day of fun.  They enjoyed digging with their shovels,

 catching waves in their buckets,

 and running in the waves like crazy people.

 Ryan took a minor face plant in the water.

Being silly in one of the shops full of stuff you don't need. 

 And of course, they are their father's sons, and were amazed by the candy store.

 Their selections: gummy sharks.

On a surf fishing excursion with Pop-Pop, they caught a little shark. 

 Andrena, our go-to photographer, attempted to take some new family photos and baby pictures for us.  Ethan was not a fan, but here's what we came away with:

We removed Ethan from the picture and came away with an awesome one of the two big brothers. 

The boys of the family. 

 And me, trying to soothe Ethan into sleep so we could attempt some close ups, but no dice...

 Modified tummy time, since the poor little boy cannot keep his food in an upright position.

 Same pose.  (Fear not, Pop-Pop was not actually sleeping while holding a baby and the beer that didn't make the picture...)

 First trip rolling three wide in the van!

 And because it's funny...  :o)  Not sure which is funnier, though - the face or the outfit!

Welcome Ethan!!

We welcomed Mr. Ethan Jacob into the family on August 1 at 5:49 pm.  He weighed in at 8 pounds 4 ounces and measured 21 inches long.  Hello, Little Man!

The little peanut. 

 Ryan waltzed into the hospital and immediately put his arms out for Baby Ethan.  He was definitely ready to be a big brother.

 My boys!