A Day At The Beach

We went to Holland yesterday and spent some time at the beach with some friends of mine from college. It was a beautiful day. 

Right off the bat, we knew we were in trouble with Evan. It's totally not a surprise that he is the type to charge the waves, but I did not expect him to do so THIS summer, as he's been tentative in pools up to now. We walked up to the water with both boys and "showed" them how the waves work, and just like that, Evan was off. As I chatted with my friends and Ryan played in the sand, Burke pretty much spent the entire time making sure Evan didn't drown.

Burke plays defense.  

Mama's turn to play defense. 

Live Action Beach Fun!!

Playing in the sand, digging a hole.

Burke said they were both sitting for about 1 second before they got up and going again. He luckily got a picture of it.

Like the chairs in the above picture, this little cart did not belong to us. Our boys have yet to learn that not everything belongs to everyone. It's very hard for Ryan to resist anything with wheels. Luckily, my friends were very gracious about sharing.

Me and my sorority sisters/friends. 

Our kiddos joined us for a picture. This could have been difficult to coordinate, but they all did so well!

Evan meets Anna. Evan's about 3 months younger than her. 

I usually plan things pretty well, but for this beach adventure I dropped the ball. We didn't bring bathing suits because I did not expect the boys to be interested in the water. I didn't even bring a dry set of clothes for the boys. What was I thinking?? By the end of our beach time, Evan was caked with sand and drenched from head to foot. So, Burke did his best to clean him off. We put a new diaper on him. Poor little Evan had to drive home wearing only that diaper. (Burke thinks this picture is funny because he looks naked in a car seat.)

He fell asleep almost instantly. Running on the beach was a lot of work. 

What a fun day! 

Laptop

Ryan is destined to have an inclination toward technology. Not only are today's youth inundated with it, but it's also in his blood. (Burke is a little bit of a techie. Lolo is too, for that matter. Actually, so is G-gpa.)

I'm sure that many 3 year-olds are doing similar things with technology, but Ryan's aptitude for it impresses me (and scares me too).

Father's Day 2011

The boys like to "play silly" with Dada. (Mama doesn't "play silly." Mama "plays gentle.") I'll tell you, these little guys do not go easy on their Dada. It makes me nervous to watch sometimes, but I know it's good for them for many reasons. There's always lots of climbing, rolling, tickling, stomping, bouncing, running, chasing, tackling, and more. 

Evan and Ryan have a wonderful Dada! 

Happy Father's Day!

Ryan

A few of the many faces of 3 year old Ryan...

(Again, great pics taken by Burke.)

Evan

Some more great moments captured by Burke. Evan is not easy to photograph. But Dada got a couple really great shots of him in this series. 

This is what Evan looks like when he says "cheese" for the camera. 

This is just precious. Not sure why he stopped mowing to strike this adorable pose, but I'm glad he did. 

Close up!

An absolute fave! This one's getting framed. 

More Big Boy Bed Fun

Now that Burke is on summer break, he has a little more time to do such things as use the camera. Here are some cute pictures he took of the boys while they were playing cars on the new big boy bed, which continues to be a novelty. Evan now knows and says the word "bed" because of it.  

In the last post, I didn't include a full view picture of the bed. So, here it is! 

Big Boy Bed

About a month ago, Ryan started asking for a big boy bed. I'm not sure where he got such notions. He sleeps in full size beds at hotels and when we visit my parents, but we had never really mentioned that we'd be getting him his own big boy bed. Even though we hadn't really mentioned it to Ryan, we were planning to begin the process of getting all the components for a big boy bed. But not quite yet. Once he started asking, though, we felt we should speed up the process. 

First we got the bed rails. The mattress came next. We got him some bedding. But there was a delay on receiving the box spring we wanted. Finally, last Friday on June 10, we had all the pieces. Burke put the bed together between a rehearsal and a performance (because he's such a good dad!). And at this point, Ryan has been in his new big boy bed for 4 nights. 

Exploring the new comforter a few days before the bed was assembled. The reverse side of the comforter is a series of roads, so both boys played cars on it. 

Bye bye, toddler bed.

Ryan and Evan "help" Burke carry the toddler bed parts out of Ryan's room.

Putting the frame together.

Mattress and box spring in place.

Bedding on - now it's cozy. 

Ryan got a hold of my camera. Before I realized it, he had taken a few pictures, including this one. Artistic, I think. 

Settling in for his first good night sleep in his big boy bed. 

And just like that...another milestone. 

Good night!

One is Not Enough

If one is good, two is better - at least as it applies to apples and suckers. 

On Wednesday, we went grocery shopping and both boys got an apple to snack on as we walked around the store. Ryan grew tired of his, so Evan took it. He gnawed on those apples with diligence for quite a while, until only the smallest piece of core was left...on BOTH apples. 

Later that same afternoon, Ryan had a doctor appointment. To keep him in positive spirits, I told him when he was done, he could have a sucker. When we got home, I thought I better have a sucker ready for Evan too, because when he sees Ryan with one, he'll want one for sure. Shortly after arriving home, Ryan grew tired of his sucker, and it got passed off to Evan. He enjoyed them for a while, but ultimately gave up on them. I'd rather have him finish 2 apples than 2 suckers, I guess.

He's a little guy with a big appetite!