4 Years Old!

Ryan is so excited to be a big sister (and don't you dare call her little) in another month. I, on the other hand, wish she'd stay small forever! She has been a great mix of spunk and cuddle. She prefers to be at home pretending, building, coloring, cutting, pasting, dressing up--but she also finds a way to make life fun grocery shopping, at the gym, at doctor appointments, and helping me work. The job that she's best at is putting the silverware away. But if you ask her to clean her room--she'll basically let Izzy do it all unless she hears you coming then she'll quickly stop playing and act busy (obviously I've caught her in the act a few times).

Sample Ryan Prayer (picture a pretty good lisp on "s" sounds--I love it!): "Please bless Dad on his mission and Grandma on her trip...please help us not to say bad words like stupid and dumb and kill...please bless Dad to look both ways when he crosses the street...please bless the baby in Mom's tummy...I have a testimony of Jesus..."

I'd say her absolute favorite time of the day is early morning or after school--whenever sisters are around! Presently I hear her yelling "I beg for mercy, Lorin! . . . come on Izzy, we've got to run!"

"Dammits," Super Fluff Bunny, and Manipulation

So I was reminded by Kelli the other day that her favorite memory from our Christmas in Colorado was when Ryan called the other kids "dammits." Yes, angry. Yes, knew it was a name she shouldn't be calling kids. No, I have no idea where she heard it.

Ryan headed out of nursery and into primary this month. The first thing her teacher told me after the first day was "Ryan is very smart...and...very manipulative." I cringed a little knowing full well what she meant, but hoping Ryan hadn't given her too hard of a time. I guess Ryan had been using key phrases that she knew would work to get more Coco Roo snacks from the teacher like "I'm getting tired...I think I want to go to my mom." Then at the end when volunteers were asked for to say the prayer, she simply told the other kids "I'm the one that raised my hand, so I guess I get to say the prayer." And she did.
Meanwhile, every day is a new costume. When super batman is at library storytime, it's a big deal! And when Super Fluff Bunny is pushing her own small cart at the grocery store and saying things like "that looks disgusting...I would never eat that," people listen!

I'm happy to report that when she puts her arms around my neck and says "I like you mommy...and I love you too" and then gives me a nicely sucioned kiss on the lips, I don't give in to everything she wants every time :)

I love my Mummy

She has a shirt with this phrase on it and she loved repeating it...she's been wanting to be a scary mummy for a month now. Hallelujah it finally came!

Scared of a Puppet?

Ode to the Texas State Fair! What a riot!




Well, among a fabulous, giraffe-included petting zoo, a professional dog show, a $5.00 a piece amusement ride, and fried cheesecake, Ryan was picked out of the audience at the puppet show. She was raising that hand as high as she could, standing on my legs. Then she got picked...uh oh!! Basically I walked her down there as she whimpered and sat her on the step by the other two volunteers. Her face was priceless and she got a lot of "oooo's". She looked terrified. Each time she shied away from the honestly creepy looking Wizard of Oz characters, the audience gave her more attention. On the way back to her seat she was saying "that was so awesome!" So I guess I'm, once again, not too mean after all.

Good times!

Swimming and Stitching the Summer away

Ryan has gobbled this summer up at her bouncy, fun age. At 3 years old she is swimming like a Texas fish. She is also keeping up with sisters, Utah aunts, and Idaho cousins. I'd say about the only thing she hasn't been up for is 4th of July fire works (don't have any pics of her burying her head in my armpit trying to escape the next bang). Here are some shots of her highlights:

Cooking with her oldest cousin and fellow blondie, Justine.

Playing at the campout with Carter--just 3 weeks age diff.
Quite the great story of Ryan bashing her head open after falling off the back of the couch in Grandma Kofoed's house. Just a routine riot with the cousins that ended painfully (it's amazing more don't really). To make a long story short, she won the nurse and doctor over so thoroughly that they gave me my own staple puller (well, actually a stapler too to practice with). "I think this pink looks kind of really beautiful on me."Cousin Sam taught her all she needed to know about chicken catching and dunking!You should have seen her rolling and braiding her own bread dough at the French Culinary doll party.

And yeah, this happened a lot too :)

Ryan: Mom, can I PLEASE have a waffle with apple sauce and syrup!

Me: Oh man, I forgot didn't I? (I told her I would a bit ago)

~She leaves and comes back to find me doing dishes.

Ryan: Mom, can I have a skinkin' waffle!!

Me: Yes, it just popped up (Ego), now I will make it.

Ryan: Oh my gosh! You are so rediculous!

~Needless to say the girly's got spunk! Luckily she makes up for it plenty with all the love she passes out too!

We had to take this shot. If she can't get her "stinkin' shirt" off, it's a big to-do on a regular basis!

Some of that love I was talking about. Unfortunately her good friend, Evan Baird, moved away recently :(

Happy 3rd Birthday!

So my baby is 3!! We got to celebrate Ryan's birthday with some Idaho cousins--Lindsay, Tyler, and Alli. As you can see with this cheesy smile, she felt like the queen for a day. She has been telling people for a month or two now when they ask her age..."2...and March 27th."

Something I've been getting a kick out of lately is Ryan's night-time potty routine. She usually gets up twice a night and has me go with her to go potty. A few nights ago I heard her scream in frustration, so I went up and said "I think you need to go potty." Her response: "I totally do...I was screamin' like the dickins!" All other nights she just chats my ear off while I'm pulling her pants down, lifting her up, leaning her forward so as not to have any upward projectile, etc. I hear "That's amazing...I'm still potty trained." And "I love thunder, it's nice." (btw: she hates thunder, it scares her.) And "orange juice is so yummy...slurp!" Be it 3 a.m., I still have to smile.

Note the Little Mermaid doll next to her. All other gifts were thrust to the side upon receiving this doll--we promptly went swimming after the b-day and Ariel was a big hit at the pool.
Ryan weighed in at 27.6 lbs (25th percentile) and 34 inches (5th percentile). For such a little squirt she's got a lot to say and do all the time. One of her favorites is puzzles. She can put a 25 peice puzzle together in about 2 minutes--we get a kick out of seeing her all focused and persistent.
This JCPenney photo shoot came out with much better pictures than it felt like we were going to get. She is in the squinty eyes / fake smile stage as well as she got bored of the whole thing really fast.

She's still our little blonde cutie pie--we can't let her grow up :).