whatcha doin' ?

cookin' in the kitchen

eatin' watermelon

for the first time

lovin' it!

spendin' cooler mornings

outside

swingin'.

mama losin' her mind

runnin' 2 miles in mud

and over obstacles.

lovin' rockinryans

Herzogfun

The next morning we headed out to the Herzogfest.

My parents asked us what "Herzogfest" meant.

I don't know, it just sounds like fun!

My sister and I hit the ground early,

running in the 5k.

I thought it would be good practice for the

big race.

And I somehow forced asked her nicely

to torture herself enjoy an early morning run

with her sis.

It went well, but I never realized

Victoria Kansas had so many hills!

Our excited kiddos met up with us for the parade.

Big guy is really getting the hang of this

collecting candy stuff!

Not sure who enjoyed the park the most....

First face painting!

Attack of the grand-sons.

I think they are still adjusting to the

tackling, running, loudness

of boys!

Time for a little polka!

So,

big guy will not

ride on a children's train,

bounce in a moon bounce

or run wild on his own.

But,

he didn't even flinch

when he held

and pulled the trigger

of a gun

bigger than him....

this boy is full of surprises.

I had never heard of

pink heals kansas.

But they were at the fest

and are a wonderful cause.

Visit their page for more information.

My name is on that pink fire truck!

We thought the kiddos would crash

after the fest,

but they were wired

so,

swim time!

The next day did catch up with them.

They were exhausted,

so we just took it easy

with some games

and cuddles.

I think we all had good naps

that afternoon!

love, the rockinryans

Carnival!

My family came to visit

for a fun packed weekend.

We started at a Carnival

sponsored by our Church.

Ummm....

are you related to Santa?

 Big Guy was not into the train,

or bouncers.

But Sydney loved it all!

He has always been afraid of these things.

He ran in and out.

Long enough to get a pic.

That's it!

Sydney was a wild woman,

bouncing with the big kids!

But, you will be surprised to see what he wasn't

afraid of doing tomorrow...

They both enjoyed

the games

and junk food.

And we all enjoyed being outside

in the not-so-blaring heat!

Big guy cracks me up because

he is so wild and loud at home.

But out and about at public events

he gets nervous

and quiet.

It takes him a while to warm up

to overwhelming surroundings.

He didn't want to participate

in much at the carnival

but he is still talking about

"The Carnival!"

a week later.

At least I know he did enjoy it

since he keeps talking about it!

The next day.... 

Herzogfest.

Can you guess what he did

that completely threw us off?

Something we thought would scare him....

he loved!

love, the rockinryans



5 months

You are one awesome 5 month old!

You are talking up a storm,

laughing at everything.

Always smiling.

We can not sit in Church anymore

not because you are crying.

But because you think it is social hour.

You are singing with the music~

that's great, but you continue into the sermon!

Then you are talking with everyone sitting around you.

So, we are sitting in the nursery

until you can go to Sunday school with your brother.

Now that you have discovered food

that is all you want.

You are still in love with your big brother.

You love to grab his ears, hat, nose

whatever you can get!

 And the two of you are starting to enjoy

wrestling together.

 Your little body is getting strong.

You can sit in the tripod position

until you reach for something too far away.

You are still laid back,

when you fall you don't care.

You are beginning to show signs of wanting to crawl.

Those arms are strong,

now those knees are trying hard to push up the other half.

You are so much fun.

How did we get so lucky

to call you ours?

Can I slow time down.... please?

love, the rockinryans

my brain

went to mush

the first trimester

of my first pregnancy

and

has

never

been the same

again.

When people would ask

how I was feeling

while pregnant

I could only describe it as

"This little life

is sucking the life

right out

of me!".

I had never been

so forgetful

clumsy

careless

hungry

or tired.

Now

its pretty much the same.

My brain is not the same

as pre-babies.

I forget

I am clumsy

I lose stuff.

We were talking about this at work

and other mommies agreed

they felt the same way.

Then one of my co-workers said

"They steal our brains when we are pregnant

then become our brains

when we get older!"

How true.

We left the gym last week.

I told big guy we needed to stop at the car wash

before going home.

We pulled into the garage

and big guy says

"Car wash Mommy!"

Oh yeah, I forgot on that really long 5 minute drive!

During dinner I tell big guy he needs to take his vitamin.

Guess who always forgets?

I miss my organized memory-enhanced

fast acting brain.

But, I am glad I gave it up to two

good-causes.

They can keep me in check.

And they enjoy

filling up those brains too!

Its been amazing watching baby

begin to interact with the world around him.

And big guy is still pining for school.

I love watching them grow

and learn.

And I am so glad

they can be my brains!

love, the rockinryans

dramatic apples

We are constantly amazed at the differences

between our two boys.

From the start of my pregnancies

they were different.

The day we brought baby home

we knew we had a boy

completely different from our

big guy.

The biggest difference is that

baby is so laid back

about everything.

It is pretty hard to get him worked up

about anything.

A great example

came with starting solid foods.

No one can forget this classic video

of big guys first taste of apples.

VERY different

from a couple of weeks ago.

Here is baby's reaction~

Yeah,

those videos

pretty much sum up

their personalities!

Dramatic

or not.

We love them both!

love, the rockinryans



training in session

There are still 51 days until our race.

But you guys are so amazing,

we have already reached 50%

of our fundraising goal.

Thank you so much to those of you

who have donated.

We have been going to the gym regularly

and also getting in shape at home.

Here is a little peak into one of our training sessions.

As you can tell,

we are having a great time

preparing for our big day.

You are welcome to join us,

or visit our page

for more information.

thank you for your support!

love, the rockinryans

school bus

Finding things to keep busy during the heat

can be challenging.

But with the school supplies out

I decided to start "school" for big guy.

He loves to be quizzed and questioned.

So, we collected some school supplies,

sharpened our pencils

(look what just happened to be in our garage?!)

And started school.

He loves school time.

We always tease that we will be called

the first day of kindergarten

due to over active sunshine-ness.

But with his love of learning

he does actually sit still for school.

After school time he packed all his supplies

in his bag and said

"School bus, bye bye mommy!"

And walked to the door.

I told him he couldn't go on the school bus yet.

Total melt down.

It actually broke my heart.

Poor guy,

he is very excited to ride that bus!

So, I told him he must complete 3 things to ride on the bus.

1. Learn his alphabet.

2. No more binkies. (don't judge!)

3. No more diapers.

Hope his love for learning continues.

love, the rockinryans