Did you help us celebrate 9 years ago?  It’s amazing how many family and friends whom we cherish now were not at our wedding.  A lot has changed in 9 years, but there are also many people who were there that we are even closer to and only a few that we wish would leave us alone…. NO!! Just kidding!  It was a perfect day, one of the best of my life.  Definitely the most beautiful day of my life…the days I gave birth just weren’t all that glamorous

He also got sunglasses (amongst other things) which he also wore most of the day as you will see in these pictures!

After gifts, Ryan quickly realized that he was the luckiest boy ever to have a birthday on the best day of the whole week… garbage day! He and Nathan spent a half hour sitting at Ryan’s bedroom window watching the garbage trucks drive through the neighborhood. Nathan gave a thorough commentary on the details of the trucks and the driver’s ability to load the garbage properly and they both squealed when the big dumpster was lifted and emptied into the truck (there are probably more technical terms for all that which Nathan could educate me on, but he’s in bed).

Then, since Ryan loves to go for rides in the trailer behind our bike, we planned to take a bike ride to a nearby park. Nathan being the helpful kid he is, managed to lock us out of the house, so we proceeded with our bike ride, but then spent much of the afternoon dealing with being locked out of the house. Thankfully, our house gets cleaned a couple times a month and this just happened to be the day, so the cleaners let us in to our own house, but not until after 3:00. Then we loaded up our stuff and visited a local water park where both boys enjoyed an evening of swimming, soaking, sliding and lazy river-ing.

When Michael asked Ryan what he wanted for his birthday dinner, Ryan answered, “bread, cheese.” So we went out for pizza, where Ryan ate off everyone’s plate except his own.

We were supposed to have a pediatrician appointment this afternoon, but that had to be canceled when we realized our car keys were locked in the house. So those stats will have to be presented at a later time. I can tell you that Ryan is talking like crazy. He says whole sentences, much of which we can understand. Some of his favorite phrases include, I did it!, Give it back! (a product of being a second child, I think!), and I pooped! (which does not necessarily mean his diaper is dirty). He has recently started jumping and getting both feet off the ground. He has an amazing ability to find dead or nearly-dead flies around the house and proudly bring them to me (Ick! Ick! Ick!). Maybe we should have gotten him some chop sticks to practice catching flies Mr. Miyagi-style. He also loves coloring, mostly on paper, but a little on the table, random toys and a bit on the couch… who knew crayons would show up on a navy blue couch?!?!  He’s a happy, mischievous little guy who keeps us on our toes.  I can’t believe he joined our family only two years ago and yet, it seems like he’s always been here.  We asked Nathan tonight if he could remember life before Ryan and he said yes, it was much better.  When we asked why, he said, “Because then I didn’t have to do so much tattling.”  It’s tough having a little brother around

These next two are the view out our window…

We drove to strip one night and saw the gardens and fountains at the Bellagio. We generously donated to the upkeep of those fountains and gardens via their slot machines

We had a late flight home so we had time to drive to the Hoover Dam. We were too late to catch a tour, but we did walk across the dam and decide that the dessert is a rediculous place for humans… Far to hot!  Since we missed the tour, I can’t tell you why there is a very distinct white line on the rocks…. anyone know why???

We took the red-eye flight back home Thursday morning, but thankfully my luggage and I arrived at the same time.  I’m happy to say I’ve been to Vegas, but don’t need to ever go back

I told Nathan he could plan what we did on his birthday.  Michael and I were both off today and Ryan went to daycare for the day.  Here’s Nathan’s itinerary for the day:

*As soon as we wake up– Open Presents!!
*Kayak on the Huron River
*Picnic lunch
*See “Toy Story 3″ at the theater (and a little surprise for Nathan… his best buddy from preschool met us there!)
*Eat dinner at the Pancake House and get dessert!
*Have a campfire in the backyard and make s’mores

Nathan begged for a bike with training wheels for his birthday.  He was so happy to get it, he had to take it for a spin around the block in his pajamas.

Nathan and Michael manned the two-person kayak, while I was in my own.

Whew!! It’s been a busy day!  We are all exhausted, but we had fun… I even got Nathan to look at his baby book with me during the campfire and remember this day five years ago.  He’s headed off to bed with his final birthday wish… a piggy back ride from the living room to his bed.  What a happy birthday!

1) Finally kindergarten is settled!  Nathan will be attending the Lincoln Multi Age Program in the fall.  For all the work we put into researching schools, getting on waiting lists and going to Kindergarten info meetings, college should be easy!  He will be in a class with kindergarten and first graders for the next two years.  We feel pretty good about the school, so hopefully, it will work out well for Nathan (and Ryan in a few years since siblings are guaranteed a spot in the school).

2) Our good friends Chris and Jenny and their son, Eliot, came from Chicago to visit us a while back and we had a great time catching up and running around Ann Arbor.  Unfortunately, we didn’t catch up with President Obama who was in town for the U of M Commencement   Chris and Jenny are expecting baby #2 any day now.  We are looking forward to visiting them soon and meeting the newest addition to their family. 

3) Nathan’s preschool teacher organized a Mother’s Day Spa.  Nathan soaked, washed, and moisturized my feet and then painted my toenails.  It was all very sweet.  Here is a picture of him making the whirlpool tub by blowing into a straw in the water around my feet:And here is his finished work.  I still have the polish on my toes… love it

4) My mom had some really crappy luck not too long ago.  Her beautiful Great Dane buddy, Lexi, died unexpectedly over Easter weekend and my mom lost her job just a couple days later.  That was quite a blow… fortunately, my procrastination in posting does allow me to report some good news.  My mom recently found a new job which is looking promising.

5) Last weekend Nathan and I drove down to Nashville to see my mom, brother and nephews.  Nathan was the best traveler– he had very few complaints even when the ride back took us 12 hours!  We got her moved into a new place in the rain.  Of course, rain is not what Nashville needs now, but that’s what they got all weekend.  The devastation from the floods was terrible, it’s amazing the power of water!   Speaking of water, my mom’s new place has the biggest tub I have ever seen in my life!

6) My mom has a cat, Sammie, that made friends with Nathan right away.  She followed him around and played with him all weekend.  My mom does, however have one other cat that is also very sweet, that she is trying to find a home for.  This cat was given up by his previous owners because they had a baby and believed the cat would suck the breath out of the infant (total crap, in case you were wondering… those southerners will believe anything!) So, if you know anyone looking for a great family cat, let me know.

7) I got a bike ride in this afternoon… doesn’t sound like that big of a feat, but sure does feel like everything has been working against me to get rides in.  I had a flat tire already this season, lots of rain, and construction keeps changing my routes and today, my brakes wouldn’t work… so I took them off.  I rode my 25 miles with no front brakes… no big deal, really, but I’ll have to get them fixed at some point… Hopefully, my riding luck will turn around soon!

8 ) I did laundry this weekend and it included cozy feetsie pajamas and swim suits… love that Michigan weather!!  And no the swim suits were not from Nashville!

9) I’m writing this post while watching the season finale of Lost.  Very odd… I still have a lot of questions.  Michael is very ticked off by the whole happy-ending-ness of it all.  He’s a big fan of sad, everyone-dying endings… which he kind of got…. but he’s not happy

10) Nathan and Ryan were playing with a toy parking structure, but Ryan kept stealing the cars Nathan was parking.  I tried to help by suggesting that the cars were leaving and therefore had to pay, so Nathan would be rich!  He didn’t miss a beat when he said, “Yeah, except today is Sunday.”  (Most parking garages in Ann Arbor are free on Sunday.)

On to other lists…..