Tell it to me straight, is Dad leaving?

Seth was able to make 2 quick trips home before salmon started. He came home for about 4 days, then had to go back for a week and a half and was then back for a week. Now he's back in AK again with the salmon season underway. Let's hope its a good one, we've got a lot of irons in the fire right now and we'll need the moola. The first time we picked Seth up at the Seattle airport, we went inside to get him. Ryker loved the escalators, elevators, and baggage carousel but his reaction to Seth arriving was something I could never have guessed. He saw him coming down the escalator and ran to him just like I was hoping. It was a scene fit for a movie. Seth picked him up and they gave each other big hugs. After that though, Ryker looked away and wouldn’t make eye contact or talk to him. The kid is a complete chatterbox and I sometimes wish for just a moment of silence, but this day, I wanted him to talk to his Dad. I tried to coax some of his favorite words out of him, but he wouldn’t budge. He wouldn’t even give me a smile when I tickled him, just the hint of a smirk he tried hard to hide. He would turn his head in the opposite direction of Seth, but then look at him out of the corner of his eye. If Seth saw him looking, he would turn his head farther like he wasn’t looking at him. He wanted Seth to hold him, he was just giving him the cold shoulder for a while I guess. Who knows what was going through his head. We got to the car and Seth rode in the back with him. It didn’t take long before he was showing off for Seth. He was pointing out everything we passed on the road and showing off his big vocabulary, staring at Seth, and acting like a goof ball. He was overacting everything….clearly putting on a show. We stopped at Dick’s Drive in and Ryker enjoyed his second fast food meal ever….a hamburger. He loved it! Go figure. Ryker was Seth’s shadow the whole time he was home, never letting too far out of his sight. Then came the day to take him back to the airport. We didn’t really talk to Ryker about it before the time came. We were pulling into the airport and looked back to tell Ryker and his little lips were all pursed up and he was fighting back tears. Seth started to tell him that he had to go and Ryker started yelling “no.” Apparently, he is old enough to understand the airport situation now. He wouldn’t even give Seth a hug, because he was crying and yelling no. As we drove away, he was yelling at me “no Mom, git Dad, no go Dad” and pointing at the airport. I’ve wished Seth farewell many times, but this was by far the worst and it didn’t end there. He cried for about 10 minutes as I frantically tried every distraction in the book. Nothing worked. Then he went silent for about a half hour and just looked like he was in a daze. I stopped at a mall where I knew there were rides and a place to play because I felt so bad for him and needed him to snap out of it. That helped and the rest of our ride, we sang songs. It was a long couple days, but then he came around. About a week and half later, we picked Seth up again. This time I told him on the way there that we were going to pick up Dad at the airport. He kept saying plane, port, and Dad all the way there. We got there early so we waited in a parking lot and talked about how Dad was going to call then we were going to get him and where Dad should sit, ect. Ryker wanted him to sit in his car seat but I told him he had to pick a different seat for him. He chose for him to sit in the back, right by him. When the phone rang, he started yelling “Dad, git Dad.” He jumped back in his car seat faster than he ever does even when I bribe him. This time we pulled up front and Seth walked out to the car. Ryker started yelling and pointing to the seat beside him as soon as he saw Seth. Again, he put on a show all the way home and was Seth’s shadow for the week. This time we mentioned to Ryker throughout the week that Seth was going to have to leave again and when the day finally came Seth had to go to the airport by himself. He flew out of Bellingham and left our house at 4 in the morning. There was no way, I was going to wake the little man up to torture him at 4am and potentially have him have a rough day at day care. The night before, we told Ryker that Dad had to go and they said goodbye, then I put him to bed. The next day, he came out and didn’t look for Seth or say anything about him. Much better! The next day, he talked about Seth and made some jokes (Yes, Ryker makes jokes, they just have few words, lots of pointing and actions, and are usually inside jokes that you wouldn't be able to follow if you weren't with him a lot.  It's a lot like playing Charades.) about how I was sitting in Dad’s chair and I needed to move to my spot, then he would laugh hysterically. He also did a similar thing with Seth’s blanket and pillow. Apparently, I give up my chair for one week so Seth can sit by him at dinner and I’m ousted for good and I’m not supposed to be using “Dad’s blanket.” Maybe it was because Seth came back two times quickly so he doesn’t think he’ll be gone so long this time, maybe it was because we gave him a heads up instead of just springing it on him or maybe it was because he got to wake up in the comfort of his own home and deal with it in a familiar setting…..whatever the reason, Seth will be taking the shuttle or getting his own ride from now on. I can’t watch his little heart break like that again. We’re always happy to pick him up!

Sometimes Seth needs to be reminded that when Ryker's up, everyone's up.

A little art project

"I love glitter glue!"

Ryker loves his new chair.  Thanks Grandma Katha.

Ryker gives Seth a tour of "our farm."  (Really the CSA we belong to.   We pick up once a week and hang out with the animals, pick flowers, and produce, but Ryker knows it as the farm.

Seth shows him which strawberries are for picking.

Ryker's job was to put them in the container, but he kept straying toward picking and eating.

Teamwork 

Yummy!

Chacon had some work done at the vet so we put him in the front of the pickup because he had to be put under and was still groggy.  We wanted to be able to keep an eye on him.  He was sleeping peacefully in the front seat when we left him, but apparently opted for a more comfy chair while we were at the farm.  Ryker thought it was pretty funny.  He still laughs every time I show him this picture.  He says, "Chacon, chair, crazy dog."

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

We love and miss you!

Thank you Sakuma's for having a pregnant lady special (or Father's Day) on your berries today!  Only $6.95 for each of these....delicious!

Fun with Dad

Ryker loves to waive at all living things (including slugs and bugs) and his stuffed animals.  Here he is greeting Zoey, the neighbors dog, on the way to the mailbox.

Oh, this boat has been fun.  Inside, outside, this thing does it all.

Ryker exhibiting the proper lifting technique.

Where do you want these plates Mom?

Time for a haircut little man.

Chillin' with a pickle.  This kid will eat pickles all day if you let him.  I was giving him options for breakfast last weekend....banana, pear, blueberry waffles....he opens the fridge and says "pickle" and grabs the jar.  Really, at 6:30 in the morning?  I guess adults have too many rules.  Why isn't a pickle a breakfast food?  It makes sense to Ryker.

Go Bobcats!

Pull up a basket

Waiting for the finch to come knock on our window.....

We have a bird that thinks he is fighting his reflection.  This happens every mating season.  Usually, I am very annoyed because they knock on all our windows all day long starting in the wee hours of the morning for at least 3 weeks.  This year though, it has been entertaining for Ryker so the finch will probably avoid the BB gun.  The ones nesting in the roof of our new house though may not be so lucky.  He runs from window to window looking at it and often runs to his room to get his "friends" Hippo and Monkey to show them the bird.  It has been going on for about 2 weeks though and even he is bored of it now.  He just points to the window, says "bird back" and goes back to what he was doing. 

Ryker experienced his first power outage.  I woke up at 2 am to him yelling "dark, Mom, dark."  He's not scared of the dark but is used to having the nightlight on when he wakes up at night.  He usually just goes back to bed, but apparently, he needed me to know it was dark in his room.  In the morning, he enjoyed playing with the flashlight, but was very concerned about the lights and Barney (if he gets up before I'm ready for work, he watches Barney until I'm ready) being broken.  He had to flip all the light switches and check all the TV's.  We have a well so we had no water either.  He didn't enjoy brushing his teeth with water in a cup.  Going outside was another issue because the garage door didn't work.  He was quite concerned with me standing on a chair and pulling the cord to release it.  He definitly is used to his routine in the morning and this threw him off a little.  That night we were about  mile from our house headed home and he says "Barney broke?"  How the heck did he remember that?  I didn't even remember our lights were out in the morning.  I told him, Barney was fixed and he responded with "lights broke?"  I told him the lights were fixed too, but as soon as we got in the house he started taking his stool from switch to switch, checking all the lights and TV's.  What a character.  He never ceases to amaze me.

Hip Hip Hooray, Dad's Coming Home Today

Seth will be home this afternoon.  I'm curious to see how Ryker reacts this time.  I'm sure he will be very excited.  I haven't told him yet, because I didn't want him confused or excited all day.  I can barely contain myself and make it through the day when I know he's coming.  I'm sure it would be much worse for Ryker, if he even understood.  I'll tell him when we are almost to the airport.  I think he still thinks that Seth is in Bellingham on the boat since that is where we last left him and for days after Ryker would say "Dad, boat."  Seth's only here for a few days, but I'm sure they will be jam packed with dirt digging, bike riding, and running through puddles if Ryker has anything to say about it.  He has a lot of sweet new skills that he'll be eager to show off to his Dad.

Happy Birthday to Me

We had fabulous weather for the weekend.  We spent Saturday at the BEHS baseball games.  Ryker had a great time running around.  We had lunch with friends, then headed home to mow the lawn and play in the dirt pile.  Ryker is going to be very disappointed when all that fill dirt is finally leveled.

Sunday, we had breakfast with Ryker's Grandpa Geoff and Mary.  While we waited for them, we checked out the parking lot and he tried poking me with a stick.  He kept saying "tickle", but he was really just jabbing me with it so I started dodging it and then it became a whole other game.

Next we rolled out to Anacortes for the Waterfront Festival where we met up with lots of friends.  Ryker loaded his wagon with lots of loot.  Here he is launching the boat he made into the pool.

Checking out the other boats.

Ryker and Abby

Ryker, Abby, and Dan.  Notice how the wood pegs on Ryker's boat keep changing position?  He glued them on the bow, but kept completely submerging his boat in the water and the glue wasn't dry so they would come off.  He would gather them all up out of the water and stick them back on somewhere else.

Looks like it passed it's sea trial.  We had to have one more go around in the bathtub once we got home.  He added some bling to the deck with his crayons, then launched it into the tub.  After about 20 minutes, he took it out and drug it around the house.

Favorite Activity of the day #2:  Playing in the water fountain.  Ryker would not leave this thing alone.  Aidan tried to help me get him away, but it was no use.  He'd run right back over every time.

Watching the remote control boats in action.  There was a seiner and a skiff that can actually set a net, but it didn't hit the water while we were there.

I finally had to put him back in the wagon, because he wouldn't stay out of the fountain.  He soon found a way to entertain himself.

What a ham.

Showing off for the ladies.

After two long days of playing in the sun, this kid was out within 3 minutes of hitting his carseat.  He fell asleep with an applesauce crusher hanging out of his mouth. 

Two Wheelin' and a Visit to the Chicken Ranch

We were going to wait until Ryker was 2 to get him a balance bike, but he became pretty obsessed with bikes as soon as the weather got nice and he started seeing cyclists everywhere we went.  I finally just decided to go get him one and the trip to the bike shop was well worth it.  I wish I would have had a video camera with me.  From the second we got out of the car he was yelling "bike" and running toward the door.  He tried out a bunch and tried to roll one out the door before paying.  Once we got his paid for and we were on our way, he had to ride it out and wouldn't let me put it in the car.  He kept trying to escape to the amusement of cars at the stoplight on Commercial in Anacortes.  After a few minutes of trying to explain that we were taking the bike home, I finally just picked him up, bike and all and set them both in the car.  His head was touching the ceiling of the car, because they didn't fit too well together.  He finally decided that with his bike riding shotgun right next to him, it was safe for him to crawl into his car seat.   He patted the seat and played with the wheel all the way home. 

Apparently, this whole bike riding thing is a little too boring for Cosmos.

Ryker disassembled this ham and cheese sandwich and just ate the ham.

Ryker loves the chickens at Liz's house.  The last time we were there, he got to feed them and take home the eggs we collected, minus the one he broke there.

Once we got home, he had to re-examine them again.  I let him play with them for a while, but had to coax him into putting them in the fridge before we had a casualty on the carpet.

Yep, time to put them away!