Waste Not... Want Not

Ryan doesn't waste... but he does want another apple.

Russ took this picture last night of Ryan's apple (left) to show what he does to his apples. He refuses to bite them from the side - he starts at one end - top or bottom and just works his way down... core and all. I tried to grab some of the seeds but I have no idea where some of them went - but we have a pretty good guess. If we try to correct him or take the apple he just pulls back and says "My apple." "My" and "Mine" are his two favorite words!

Nana... Mess

This is a few months old but I couldn't figure out how to upload the video. Thanks Jack and Bella (ok, their mommy) for teaching me :)
I was busy cleaning one day and couldn't get Ryan to stay in the kitchen with his banana so I sat him on the island to eat it. I walked out to see that he had made a complete mess - so of course I hollered for Russ to grab the camera - he shot a great video of it... As you can see, his speech is really picking up - he can say nana, mess and NO. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyDKFaabFNk

Ryan in a dress

Can you tell I don't have a whole lot going on at what's left of my job right now :) I've been meaning to stick these pictures on here for a long time. Everyone always asks me where Ryan's blonde hair comes from and I've honestly never had an idea. WELL... Cheri is getting married in August and I've been scanning in pics of her and Jerry growing up for a video... and wouldn't you know - she looked exactly like Ryan. That's right - he doesn't look like her, she looks like him. Because I am convinced that she looked like a boy until late into grade school - sorry Cheri :) Anyway, attached are two pictures of Cheri from Aug. '77 and Sept. '77 (18 months old) and pics of Ryan from July '07 (12 months), Jan '08 and Feb '08 (18 months old) - don't they look alike?

These are Aunt Cheri...

And these are Ryan...

Mommy guilt

Most of my best friends know (cause most of my best friends are working moms)... that I struggle with that thing called "mommy guilt." You want a successful career but always second guess whether you're being a good mom. When you take time to do more with your family, you wonder if it's at the risk of your career. Yep, it's inevitable so you just balance life and deal with it. We all manage through it and we all have better days than others.

So, onto my story. The other night I had to help Reid fill out his evaluation for school. Here's how he responded.

1. What do you like best about school? everything

2. What do you like least about school? nothing

3. I wish my teacher ________lived with me_____

Yep, we have a true teacher's pet in the making :)

Then, daycare was closed today so I took Reid into school. As we walk in his classroom there is a large sign outside their class that they made for Mother's day. Each student wrote something nice about their mom. Reid said "I love her and I play with her a lot when she's not working."

Pictures attached - cause of course I had to capture that moment - after I called all my "working mom" friends laughing :)