it was bound to happen

Ryan is a darn good bike rider.  Maybe too good, because recently he's started testing the waters a bit.  Doing funny tricks, like swerving back and forth, purposely hitting the potholes, etc.  Well yesterday he was a bit too daring, swerved a bit too hard, and his face got up close and personal with the pavement.  He was wearing his helmet like always, but that didn't help because his chin and face broke his fall.  Ouch.  Once we got the bloody mouth washed out, and the scrapes wiped up, bandaids put everywhere that we could reasonably put bandaids (figured they wouldn't stick to his teeth so well), and once he finally calmed down, like a true 4 year old kid he was ready to go meet our friends the Porterfields at the playground.  So we went, and he had a great time.  Sorry we were a bit late Laura and Andy!

Later that day, back at the ranch we call home, I had a little more time to look at his front tooth, and realized he definitely chipped the two front teeth (oh well, that's why they are baby teeth, right?) but was mostly worried about his gum being all scraped up.

So this morning, instead of the preschool field trip to visit the farm animals which we were planning on doing, we took another trip to the dentist.  Luckily, Ry was a trooper and sat in the chair to take an X-ray, he opened his mouth when he was asked, and didn't even flinch when the dentist pushed on his teeth.  So for now, we are looking good.  Just need to go for another X-ray in 6 weeks to make sure all is well.  Thank goodness!

in the X-ray chair.  He really is still just a little boy!

showing off his war wounds, the chin and his fingers are what hurt the most

Sorry for the graphic photo below, close your eyes if you are faint at heart...

After all was said and done, and since Eddy was with us today after working the weekend, we decided a lunch stop at Fenton's was in order.  And of course, a meal at Fenton's is always followed with some ice cream.  We were all happy campers, especially little miss K, despite this face she gave us after every single bite of ice cream we gave her.

November birthdays

We had my parents over on Saturday, they came to help us out and babysit the kids while I worked and Eddy went to the Cal game, but then they stayed for a birthday celebration dinner.  For Ryan, and for Dzia Dzia.  The two November birthdays in the family.  It's not every day you get to share your birthday cake, chocolate frosting and sprinkles of course, with your cool Grandpa.

they explored Benicia State Park during the day, and Kaitlyn apparently befriended someone else's dog (like she does with any 4 legged friend she sees)

The birthday celebration at home...

they managed to blow out all 4 candles

Kaitlyn needs a lesson on this, as she actually ate part of her candle.  Wax is good for you, right?  

a great shot of my parents, not so much of my kids.  Oh well, 2 for 4 ain't bad.  Thanks again for being such great grandparents Nanny and Dzia Dzia!

beach time

That's right….we hit the beach, in November.  Only in California.
Truth is, we knew it would be a long ride home from Disneyland, so why not stretch it out and take advantage of this beautiful place we live?  We took the scenic road home, through LA and Malibu, stopped mid way in Pismo Beach for 2 nights.  And had a wonderful, low key day on the beach.  The kids loved it, there were no lines to wait in like at Disneyland, and it was a breath of fresh air.  And it made the drive home a little more tolerable.

the view from our hotel, looking down on Pismo Beach

so maybe she wasn't dressed too appropriately for the beach, but hey, we were down to slim pickings on her attire given it was the end of the trip

chasing sea gulls 

these 2 pelicans were HUGE, and definitely not afraid of people.  I did not use the zoom to take this photo.  

we are standing at the end of the pier that you can see in the first photo.  Took us all day to walk down here from the hotel, and back, but totally worth it.  

birthday boy

Hard to believe that this little man is now 4 years old.  Ryan has grown so much in the last year.  

He is much more confident in new or different situations, no longer hiding behind my legs for the first 20 minutes but instead running ahead of us exploring everything around every turn.  

He continues to be a fairly athletic little guy, loves to ride his bike constantly (good thing, because on my runs I all but refuse to push his 45 lb self in the stroller anymore), play soccer or t-ball, and is happiest on the playground where he can run, jump, climb, hang upside down and of course swing to his heart's content (for which he is now well versed in pumping his legs to keep himself going on the swings -- something I credit preschool with teaching him because he learned it somewhere and it wasn't us).  

He has started to drop his nap, and is down to maybe 2 or 3 days per week of actual nap sleep, but on the days he doesn't nap he does fairly well at doing quiet time in his room.  His ability to play alone is amazing, as is his imagination.  

He is falling in love with "little legos", building and creating landscapes and worlds with his lego people.  

He knows his ABCs, he can count to 20, is constantly singing songs, and he is learning to write his name...but I have recently begun to realize he may be a bit of a perfectionist, as he gets very frustrated when he writes the letters to his name "but they are not perfect Mommy!".  Oh jeez.  

He still loves loves loves books, loves looking at pictures and being read to.  He has memorized many of his books, and pretends to read them to Kaitlyn at times.  

We were actually in Disneyland for Ryan's birthday, which is a pretty cool place to spend your birthday.  They give you a button to wear, and every employee then wishes you a big genuine happy birthday, all day long.   

presents after his birthday nap (after our last morning at Disneyland) -- check out that bed head!

Legos!!

birthday dinner at the Rainforest Cafe

Kaitlyn even got in on the frog crown action

the huge fish tank next to our table at dinner, made it a little easier to wait for our food

the Beast made out of Legos, in front of the Lego store at Downtown Disney

Ryan got to make his own remote control car (Daddy's birthday present to Ry)

a birthday sundae

love this kid

And finally....I got this idea from my sister in law, Kim, and I asked Ryan a series of questions on his birthday.  So much fun to hear his answers!

1. What is your favorite color?   

              dark blue

2. What is your favorite toy?

              my jet (a small Southwest plane) -- I am certain this answer would change minute to minute

3. What is your favorite fruit?  Favorite vegetable?

             kiwi, and kale (??? really ???)

4. What is your favorite tv show?

            Octonauts

5. What is your favorite movie?

            Cars

6. What is your favorite thing to wear?

            Batman shirt

7. What is your favorite animal?

            Tiger (or Chimpanzee, or giraffe)

8. What is your favorite song?

            "On top of the world" by Imagine Dragons

9. What is your favorite book?

             3 Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot

10. Who is your best friend?

             Kaitlyn (this was totally unprompted!)

11. What is your favorite snack?

             Vanilla yogurt raisins or a Chocolate Brownie ZBar

12. What is your favorite drink?

             Lemonade

13. What is your favorite breakfast?

             Pumpkin spice Eggo Waffles

14. What is your favorite lunch?

             salami and turkey and cheese

15. What is your favorite dinner?

             Breakfast for dinner

16. What is your favorite game?

            Candyland

17. What is your favorite thing to play outside?

            riding my bike

18. What is your favorite holiday?

            Halloween

19. What do you sleep with at night?

           Jack bear

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?

           a baseball player for the Giants

M.i.c...k.e.y...M.o.u.s.e

Yup, we did it.  We braved the almost 7 hour drive, with 2 kids, and one awesome Auntie Dana, and the car packed to the gills (including the double stoller) and off we went to Disneyland.  Eddy really pushed for this trip to happen, and for as hesitant as I was to attempt it with a 15 month old in tow, it was a great great family trip.  We were blessed with amazing weather, and minimal crowds, and since Dana has been to Disneyland more times than she can count we had our own built in tour guide....I mean she even knows exactly where to find every single bathroom throughout the entire park.  Awesome.  We spent 3 days in the park, and pretty much managed to do it all.  Kaitlyn LOVED any character that was fuzzy, Ryan was not at all scared at the idea of taking a photo with Mickey, Goofy, etc.  We all rode on plenty of the rides, Eddy and I even got one night to do all the big scary rides, again thanks to Auntie Dana!, as Dana took the kids back to the hotel for bed and we walked/ran ourselves silly trying to get on every single ride that we knew the kids would not be able to go on.  Space Mountain is still awesome, in case you all were wondering!  It was an exhausting 3 days, but there really is something magical about that place.

Here are some of our favorite moments...

Paradise Pier, at California Adventure

our first official ride of the trip...the carousel, of course

getting ready for the Toy Story ride, 3D glasses and all

Cars Land is one of the newest attractions at Disneyland, and it really was amazing.  Looks exactly like  Radiator Springs in the movie!  And the Cars ride was definitely one of my favorites.

standing in front of the Cozy Cone Motel 

Dana and Ryan found Big Red

and Tow Mater

Eddy and I are in the front row of the blue car, I am in the middle seat and Eddy is on the far inside seat.  Super fun!!

 Our hotel was about a 15 min walk from the park, which was perfect so we could go home and nap for a few hours mid day, and then head back for the "nightlife".  We happened upon a parade the first night, that the kids loved (and Disney does parades just right...they last about 20 minutes, perfect for wiggly little kids and parents).  Ryan and Kaitlyn were waving at everyone who walked by.

watching the Pixar Parade

our first Mickey sighting!
Kaitlyn was in awe, and couldn't take her eyes off him.  Ryan ran right up to him and gave him a high five.  It was precious.  

the kids and our awesome Disney expert Auntie Dana 

love this photo!  

Ry got to drive his first car on Autopia...he was a horrible driver, and loved every bang, bump, and crash

taking a rest on the trolley in Toon Town 

 Disneyland is great.  But there is one minor down side....waiting in line.  The lines weren't terrible when we were there, and Disneyland does a great job of trying to make the waiting entertaining, but there were moments when we had to get creative with how to keep the kiddos entertained.

the family photo with Mickey 

Mickey shaped ice cream bar, and one happy kid

Before this trip, I was nervous that Ryan wouldn't want to do any of the rides.  Only recently has he had the courage to ride any rides, anywhere.  But Ryan surprised me and rode a few roller coasters, even did the Cars Ride and Pirates of the Caribbean (both of which have big dips that he did NOT like), and he really loved the Jungle Cruise, the Buzz Lightyear ride, and running all through the Tarzan Treehouse and Tom Sawyer's Island.  

the Jungle Cruise, a family favorite 

He also LOVED any ride that he could "drive"...the bumper cars, Mr Toad's wild ride, and Autopia.

"I LOVE Disneyland!!!" 

about to set sail on the Peter Pan ride (Ryan telling the worker man that he's 4)

even Kaitlyn got to drive on Mr Toad's Wild Ride

who let these 2 behind the wheel? 

Exploring Tom Sawyer's Island 

we found the Pirate's treasure!

By the middle of day 3, we were all exhausted.  We took the train around the park, just to enjoy it all one last time, and headed back to the hotel for some serious naps.

And as we were walking down Main St in Disneyland on our way out, we realized we had not yet taken a photo of the castle.  So here ya go, with both kids cooperating oh-so-well.  But we know we will be back some day....thanks for the fun Disneyland!