Truck Day

The city of Herndon puts on a Truck Show for the kids where they can climb in and out of different construction vehicles. We headed over there to meet up with our friends Brayden, Jack, and Gia (and their moms of course.) It turned out to be a great little trip. Both kids loved the trucks and steering all the big wheels. Ryland still loves wearing his "hard" hat.

They also had a traffic light set up where you could control the lights with switch box. Kylee thought it was pretty neat to change the colors and Ryland thought it was worth dancing and jumping when the colors changed. Then of course it turned into a usual activity for the kids. Ryland running around and Kylee chasing him saying, "It otay Mommy, I got him." : )

Trip to DC

A few weeks ago we decided to head into DC. At first we weren't quite sure what our goal was going to be but it was just a nice day and we thought it would be nice to head into the city. We decided to try the National Aquarium. The kids had a good time looking at everything and seemed to like the alligators and snake the best. The picture of Ryland with the snake reminds me of Harry Potter because it looks like he is "talking" to the snake.

After the aquarium we decided to head over to the mall to ride the carousel. The kids enjoyed the walk over because they could use the "balance beam curbs" on the way. Let's be honest -- I think we all enjoyed that when we were little. : ) Kylee had her eye on riding the dragon instead of one of the horses. Of course there is only one dragon and we were second in line. I thought for sure the boy in front of us was going to for it so I quickly prepared Kylee to choose a horse. We got in and the kid went the other way so we beelined for the dragon and got it! Score!!! Then, the carousel operator told us that both kids could ride the dragon together ... double score! Although this picture shows more confusion than enjoyment, I can assure you that the kids had a good time. : )

Easter

A few weeks before Easter, we went to Frying Pan Farm Park for an Easter Egg Hunt. This was a first for Kylee and Ryland. Although Kylee had searched for eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny at home before this was the first "real" hunt she had been on. They both did a pretty good job. Ryland seemed to enjoy taking his eggs out of his basket as much as he liked putting them in. As soon as Kylee opened them up and saw Hershey Kisses she was hooked.

On Easter morning, we got dressed and started looking for the eggs the Easter Bunny hid. Kylee did a great job and helped Ryland find some too. : )

Finally, it was time for Easter baskets. Both kids seemed to enjoy their new treats. Seems like the Easter Bunny (well maybe his wife!) did a pretty good job picking things out this year. : )

Kylee's 3rd Birthday!

We had a great time celebrating Kylee's 3rd birthday. Great family, great friends, great weather, and great food (if I do say so myself.) : ) Here are some of the pics from Kylee's day.

Thanks to Aunt Amy for the fabulous cake. The magnifying glass even had "bugs" in it. : )

A Trip to Burke Lake

We recently took a little trip to Burke Lake to enjoy the nice weather. It was perfect out -- not too hot and not too cold. Our first stop was one of the playgrounds. Bother kids had a blast climbing and sliding. Ryland also enjoyed driving while Kylee tested out her balancing skills.

After the playground, we took a walk down to the lake. Kylee brought her magnifying glass along with her and was on a mission to find some bugs. We were able to find a few bugs and some worms hiding under the rocks and logs. Ryland just loved being out and about and running through all the leaves. The fact that he would trip on the uprooted trees had no effect on him at all. : ) When we got down to the lake, it was time to throw rocks in. One of Kylee's (and Daddy's) favorite activities. Ryland seemed to pick up on it pretty quickly too and despite what Pete and I thought he didn't end up in the water. Ha! : )

It was a great little adventure and one that I'm sure you will be seeing pictures of again soon. : )

New Water Table

I forgot to add the pictures of Ryland playing with his new water table (his birthday gift from us!) He had a lot of fun with it and we can't wait until the weather gets a little warmer to fill it again!

Ryland's Birthday!

On April 2, Ryland turned 1!!!! In order to get ready for the festivites we had to first get a picture of Ryland in his Birthday T. As you can see ... it is still a little big. : ) After putting Ryland in his t-shirt it took quite a while to get a picture of him. For some reason, he thought that it was the best thing to run around in -- Kylee was also thoroughly amused. Surprisingly, he only tripped and fell once on his shirt too. : )
While we were getting ready I realize that sorting and stacking the plates would be the perfect thing for Kylee to do to help. She LOVED it! It was right up her alley with all of her "organizational" habits. : )

As we were getting ready for the party, I knew that I wanted to try and cut Ryland's hair before the guests arrived. We just figured it would be nice for him to actually see his party (without hair lines in his view!) The party started at 11 so as long as we were ready for guests by 10:30 I felt confident that we would be able to get his hair done. Well, 10:30 came and went ... 20 minutes is enough time I thought but 10:40 quickly left also. SO, at 10:50 we rushed to the back porch with our newly appointed hairdresser Aunt Laura. Even though she said, "I have no idea what I'm doing here. I'm just going to start cutting," she did an fabulous job! Ryland looked so different without the hair in his face and I still kept brushing it out of his eyes the rest of the day just by habit.

After lots of food and playing (and being cramped in our house when the rain came!?!?!) it was time for cake. Unfortunately, the birthday boy had fallen asleep and was taking a nap. When he woke up it was just family left at the house so we sang Happy Birthday and let him dive into his cake (courtesy of Aunt Amy!) He was definitely a fan of the icing ... I'm not sure how much actual cake he got! : )

Last but not least it was time for presents. Ryland did a pretty good job - better than Christmas but he still needed some help staying focused. : ) He got so many great gifts and has been having a blast playing with all of his new things.