RyanAndShelsy.com

Two videos of crazy Evan

2013-09-25T18:50:00.002-04:00

Here are two videos of crazy little Evan from our visit to Pennsylvania this month. The first is Evan exploring the cornfield at Shelsy's family's house. The second is Evan exploring a stream at my family's place. This kid is all boy and loves getting dirty and exploring new places.

Amber meets the fairies

2013-09-02T15:12:00.001-04:00

We visited Magic Kingdom this weekend and Amber requested to go see the fairies, which is rare for her. She used to be semi afraid of the characters at the theme parks, only wanting to see them from a distance. But lately she's asking to see specific princesses or characters, and this time it was Tinkerbell.

She's visited Tinkerbell at the Magic Kingdom before, but it's been a while. Here she is meeting Tinkerbell and Vidia.

Evan playing with a fork

2013-03-03T13:56:00.002-05:00

Here's Evan, playing with a fork at Sweet Tomatoes. He was really making us laugh, and it was too cute not to share. :-)

Amber's tricycle

2013-03-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

Here's a video of Amber riding her tricycle outside. She loves it, and asks to ride it almost every time we're out there.

Backyard tree swing

2013-02-12T18:01:00.000-05:00

For Christmas last year, I told Shelsy that one of her presents would be a custom-built swing for the tree in our backyard. Well, a month and a half later, the project is finally done. I think it looks pretty great, if I do say so myself. Shelsy likes it, and both kids are really enjoying it, too. Here are some pictures!

Trick or Treating

2012-11-07T21:18:00.000-05:00

By: Shelsy

Jasmine and Aladdin

This is the first year I took the kids trick or treating. It was quite an adventure. Amber was really excited but Evan ran straight down the driveway to check out the mailbox, which is his latest obsession. All he wants to do is open and close it and then throws a tantrum when we finally tear him away. So we started off right away with a little meltdown when we moved on from the precious mailbox. I strapped him in the stroller and we headed to our neighbor's house. Amber was really excited about the candy but they had one of those motion sensor skulls that moves and talks. Amber was not a fan. But, we brushed it off and headed to the next house.

As soon as we got to the driveway about 15 older kids ran up and pushed past us. Most of them were wearing scary costumes. And this guy's house was totally decked out. He had the creepy music playing, ghosts and skeletons everywhere, lighting effects, everything. Amber never made it past the driveway. She totally chickened out. At this point I realized that I never really prepared her for the scarier parts of Halloween. She's only just starting to get scared of things, so it didn't really occur to me. And I forgot to warn her about all of the other kids' costumes. Double mom fail.

So then we got to the next house, and the guy answered the door in a scary mask. I pretty much lost her there. She never really recovered. We made it to one more house before she was ready to call it a night and head home.

So we headed back and at this point Evan had managed to slip out of the straps and was standing up in the stroller. So I let him down and he immediately sprinted into the street. I had to abandon everything and chase him down. I finally got both of them back in the house and no sooner did we walk in the door when Amber announced, "Okay, I want candy now." At this point I realized, belatedly, that after the first house I told her she could have some candy when we got back home. The entire reason she wanted to come home was so she could eat a piece of candy. [facepalm]

I asked her if she wanted to have a piece and then go back out to more houses. Nope, she was done. Then about 15 minutes later she asked if she could put her costume back on and go back out and get more candy. By then Evan was already in his jammies and ready for bed, so no dice. Our trick or treating was over for this year.

Between the two of them they got about seven pieces of candy. We were out for maybe ten minutes and made it to three houses. It was pretty sad, really. But, that's okay. I didn't expect to get very far with them and that's how these things go with little ones. And I think that now that Amber understands the concept, next year is going to be a totally different story!

Evan Trying to Talk

2012-09-01T21:17:00.000-04:00

Here's a video of Evan saying a couple of new words:

He also occasionally says "up," "down," and "sit."

Recent videos

2012-08-09T10:16:00.000-04:00

Here are two recent videos of Amber and Evan. Enjoy!

Random pictures

2012-05-17T10:53:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since we've posted. We've been super busy unpacking, doing assorted projects around the house (I love saying that!), and more unpacking. Here are some pictures I've taken from the last few weeks:

New house!

2012-04-29T09:18:00.001-04:00

Well, folks, after lots of effort, we finally have a house! The house hunting process was a long and complicated one for us, lasting almost a year with lots of false starts. But this time it worked out and we have a new home that we really love.

The process of moving was equally complicated and crazy, but after lots of blood, sweat, and tears (all three quite literally), we are completely moved in! The whole thing feels even more insane as we look back on it, but it's far too long of a story to write here. Someday soon, I'll write down the whole saga for all of you who have been asking about it.

For now, we're just happy that it's over and that we have a great house we can enjoy for many years.

As for pictures, the whole place is in that typical disorganized state of unpacking, so we don't have many pictures of the inside. Look for those to come later. Until then, here are a few pictures of the outside and unpacking.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for this process. It means a lot and we couldn't have done it without you. Also, huge thanks to Aaron, without whom this whole ordeal would have been quite impossible.

Evan's first haircut

2012-03-23T21:39:00.000-04:00

This post is a couple months overdue, but better late than never, especially on something this adorable.

Back in early February, little Evan got his first haircut! After one too many times being mistaken for a girl, we decided it was high time for a haircut.

Before

So, naturally, we headed off to Disney World. The Harmony Barber Shop on Main Street has a special package for boy's first haircuts which includes the haircut, certificate, and a special pair of "first haircut" mickey ears.

During

Aside from being very distracted by the other activity in the shop, Evan did great and got tons of Mickey stickers. Amber even got to watch a parade go by while we were in there, which worked out perfectly.

After

His new hair looks very handsome and he actually got several comments on it that same day. And for the rest of his life he can say that he got his first haircut at Disney World. How cool is that?

Halloween 2011

2011-10-25T08:29:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the seemingly unending creative talent of +Karen Joseph, Amber and Evan once again had seriously excellent Halloween costumes this year. They were characters from Toy Story, with Amber being Jesse and Evan being Woody. They wore their costumes to Sea World and Magic Kingdom and got crazy amounts of attention wherever they went.

Monster Toes

2011-10-07T21:48:00.000-04:00

By: Shelsy

Another Month

2011-09-29T22:32:00.000-04:00

By: Shelsy

Evan is getting bigger by the day. He's now up to 15.5 pounds. It's practically an Olympic sport to hold him. He constantly tries to propel himself out of my arms and across the room. And he just rolled over today for the first time!

Mom came to visit for a week, which was a lot of fun. Evan loves the awesome quilt she made for him! Shanna also dropped in for a couple of days--one of which we went to Animal Kingdom. Amber had a great time, as always.

My birthday was also this month--I'm 28 now, which sounds old to me. Much more than 27 did, anyway. Other than that, not much difference. :-)

We got a new car! Ryan traded in his Mustang, which served him (and me) so well for so many years. But, it was time. We're old now, and we have two kids, so we bumped up to a minivan. It looks really strange sitting out in the parking lot next to the Lancer. But we're super excited about it. It's awesome to have so much space! Plus, we're planning on driving to PA a couple of times this winter, and this is going to make the trip a hundred million times easier.

It was kind of sad, though, to see the Mustang go. Amber never got to ride in it (I don't think her carseat would even fit in there). I'm not even sure if she knew it was our car--she rarely saw Ryan driving it. But we took a picture of her with it before Ryan drove it off for the last time. This way when she's a teenager we have proof that her dad actually did have a cool car once. :-)

Three Months

2011-08-22T21:06:00.000-04:00

By: Shelsy

I can't even believe it's been three months already. The time is flying by. I blinked and suddenly he wasn't a newborn anymore. He is quite a happy baby. He smiles all the time. He rarely gets upset, and when he does, it's usually because he's sleepy. This child loves to sleep. He gets upset if he wakes up and still wants to be sleeping. He fights hard to fall asleep. He is very different from his sister in this way. Amber, even as a newborn, used to fight hard to stay awake.

He's getting bigger, too. He now weighs 14 pounds, 10 ounces, can hold his head up like a champ, and will probably be rolling over soon. Just the other day he was able to reach for and grab a toy. And he is squirmy! He is extremely difficult to hold. He kicks and pushes and is always trying to move. If we lay him on his back on the floor he can skooch himself around.

Amber is just as in love with him as ever, though her "hugs" are getting a little more intense. She loves to show him stuff: "Look, Evan! Apple, Evan! Fireworks, Evan!" One of her favorite things in the world is to go in and see him when he wakes up from a nap. That also happens to be one of my favorite things too, because he'll lay there and smile at us for at least 5 minutes.

He is such a sweet boy. He makes us all very happy.

Amber's first Bible verse

2011-08-14T15:10:00.002-04:00

Amber has successfully memorized her first Bible verse. She loves reciting it and is (of course) super adorable doing so.

Site redesign

2011-07-14T10:34:00.000-04:00

If you always read our posts via email or in Google Reader, you should definitely take a minute to visit the site itself. Just head to RyanAndShelsy.com to see the complete redesign. It's faster and cleaner, while still maintaining the original design idea of the first site.

Posts are now collapsed, making it easier to scroll through the main page without having to scroll past an entire post to see the next one. Beneath each post is a big, "continue reading" link that will take you to the full post with more pictures, etc. You'll also notice new social sharing buttons below each post, including Google's new +1 button.

Thanks for continuing to read our little blog here. It's hard to believe this site has been up for over 3 years.

Big Boy

2011-07-05T13:13:00.002-04:00

By: Shelsy

Believe it or not, yesterday was Evan's six-week birthday. I can't even believe it's been six weeks already! He weighs 12 pounds, 9 ounces. He can hold his head up, though he's still a little wobbly. He also smiles a ton--so cute! Everyone always asks how he's sleeping, and I'm happy to report that he's an excellent sleeper. He's slept "through the night" (5 consecutive hours) a couple of times now. He generally wakes up 2-3 times during the night to nurse. I can't complain at all.

Amber is a little bit obsessed with him. She loves talking about him, talking to him, showing him things, hugging him, giving him blankets, holding him.... She loves telling people that she's a big sister and how much she likes Evan and how cute he is.

We celebrated Evan's first 4th of July yesterday by going to the Magic Kingdom. This was his second trip there, but the first time was just a short visit. Yesterday we went in the afternoon so we could stay for the fireworks (which he slept through). The kids did great the whole time and we all had a blast. We went on Buzz (Space Ranger Spin), the Transit Authority, and went to the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. Amber's been watching Monsters, Inc. lately and she actually really enjoyed the show. She didn't get any of the jokes, but she had a lot of fun laughing and clapping with everyone. We also went to the arcade and it wasn't crowded so we let Amber climb in all the chairs and "drive" the cars and push all the buttons. That was her favorite part of the whole day.

Welcome baby Evan!

2011-05-24T11:38:00.021-04:00

The second addition to our little family arrived early Sunday morning. Little Evan was born at 1:20am Sunday morning, and was 9 pounds even. Shelsy did great and everyone is doing great.

Evan is adapting well to the real world and seems to be enjoying it. Amber is also doing very well and seems to love having a baby brother. She always asks to hold him, and rushes to give him a kiss whenever he cries.

We'll get a few videos of him up over the next few days, but until then, here are some pictures. :-)

Amber's 2nd Birthday

2011-04-20T20:08:00.001-04:00

by: Ryan

It's really hard to believe that our little girl turned two this month. She's become a total little person now, with a serious personality and preferences that she is clearly able to communicate to us. It's been amazing watching her grow and every day brings something new.

For her 2nd birthday, we took her to the T-Rex Restaurant at Downtown Disney which she mostly enjoyed. Though, whenever the meteor shower (loud noises and flashing lights) would start, she'd bury her face in my shoulder and say, "Scared! Scared!" It was remarkably cute, and a little bit sad.

The room we ate in was the "ice cave" room which would periodically transition from blue to pink as we ate. Amber was a big fan of the room turning pink.

After eating, we explored the other shops where Amber found a snake she liked, and found Mickey and Minnie.

Then we went to Magic Kingdom where Amber got to ride her three favorites: the tram, the monorail, and the train. :-)

Aside from being moderately scared at the restaurant, I'd say it was a success of a birthday. She still talks about eating with dinosaurs. And if you ask her how old she is now, she says, "Two!" while attempting (and failing) to hold up two fingers.

Amber's new bubble machine

2011-04-01T09:20:00.002-04:00

By: Ryan

Amber loves bubbles. She loves chasing them, trying to blow them herself, and asking us to fill the house with them. It's tiring and we've gotten dizzy more than once from blowing bubbles. So Amber got an early birthday present this week, and she's been enjoying it even more than we thought she would:

Yep, she now has a real bubble machine. It sits on the ground and fills the area with a rather insane amount of bubbles. Amber loves it, of course, and asks for it every time we go outside. She especially likes taking her plastic fork and saying, "Poke! Poke!" while popping bubbles.

Here's a video and a few more pictures. Look for another post this weekend about her actual birthday. We think she's gonna have a blast. :-)

click here to watch in HD

Baking with Mommy!

2011-02-10T21:48:00.002-05:00

By: Shelsy

Amber helped me make a chocolate cake today because mommy had a craving. :-) I think she had a good time:

The final product--we're just going to have our Valentine's Day dessert a few days early.

Baking day is complete with chocolate handprints on the dishwasher...

and just about everything else in the house.

Quick update

2011-02-09T10:16:00.001-05:00

By: Ryan

Watching the fountain

Hey all, sorry for the lack of posts lately. Between the new job, prepping for the new baby, and our other blogging efforts, we have neglected to update this site. We will be returning to our regularly scheduled posting-of-updates soon, but for now I wanted to share a quick update on what's been happening.

First of all, as most of you already know by now, I have a new job! It's the full-time job we've been praying for since moving to Florida and we couldn't be more excited about it. With the new little guy coming along, our desire to buy a house sometime soon, and all that, the job couldn't have come at a better time. It's going great, too, and I'm definitely enjoying it.

Shelsy is doing great with the pregnancy, too. It's a boy, which I'm sure everyone knows by now, but I don't think we ever actually posted here. Very exciting! Still several more months to go, so you'll be hearing more about that soon.

Amber's been learning new stuff every day and surprises us all the time with how much she knows. She's started putting two or three words together to form basic sentences, too. She's a big fan of Disney World, too, and knows that the ball is at Epcot, and that we see fireworks at the castle. She's figured out how to use our phones, how the TV remote works, and how to help put groceries in the shopping cart. She's quite a smart little kid and it's hard to believe that she's almost 2.

Not much else has happened that's worth writing about. Amber's learning so much and gaining new skills by the day, so it's hard to recap how much she knows now. People ask me questions like, "how many words does she know," and I just answer, "all of them" because it's practically true. :-)

So again, you can look forward to more regular posting here about what's happening in our little part of the world. If you're interested, you can check out my blog, or the Android blog Shelsy and I write together. Until next time, thanks for sticking around and being our loyal readers.

.

Amber the Halloween butterfly

2010-11-04T14:03:00.001-04:00

Amber had an excellent Halloween costume this year, painstakingly made by her grandma. She really seemed to enjoy showing off her pretty wings, too. We took her to Seaworld and Downtown Disney, and her costume was by far the best costume present (my opinion is, of course, not biased at all).

Amber Has An Announcement:

2010-10-27T16:23:00.000-04:00

A few details:

We just found out, and I'm already 14 weeks. Yay for getting through the first trimester without even knowing it.
I'm due April 24th, Easter day.
If you ask Amber what's in my belly, she says, "baby."