4th of July Parades

Ryker having a little snack before we headed to the parade in Anacortes.

Oh the anticipation.....What's a parade? 

Still in their matching sweatshirts!

He caught on to the candy thing right away.  We had a sweet spot at the start of the parade with no competition on our side of the street!

Some of Ryker's favorite floats

Who doesn't love the mini ponies?

Dancing and singing....right up Ryker's alley.

Of course, the big tanks were a hit.  There was a whole caravan of army vehicles.  Probably about 15-20.

He also loved the fire trucks which there were plenty of and at the end of the parade a street sweeper came out to clean up and he was loving that too.  I'm pretty sure he thought it was part of the parade.

Flags, ducks, beads, candy, a shirt.....he was loaded up. 

Samish Island parade

I think he had an enjoyable 4th!  He was up until 10:30 (regular bedtime: 8) talking about the fireworks and going saying "BOOM, pop, pop, pop!"  He didn't even get to watch any but he could hear them all night.  He still talks about fireworks when we drive by the stands that sell them.

A Day with Grandma

My Mom came to visit over the 4th of July weekend.  I worked on Friday so she hung with the little man all day.  They had a great time.  It sounds like they spent the whole day outside and I'm sure he showed her every inch of our yard.   He's a man on the move when it comes to the outdoors.

I pulled this picture off her camera from the last time she was here in April.  What a pudge!  He's going to love this picture when he's older......at least I can blame it on Grandma since I didn't take it!

Aahhh, the sandpile.  He's quite the foreman when it comes to divying up the work.  Apparently, Grandma didn't get a break since she was a guest.  She needed to fill the trailers with sand too.  She had to use the small shovel too while he got the big one.  I always take the big one!

This kid ran the show so snacks and meals were eaten outside.  Ryker requested brocolli for one of his snacks.  My Mom asked me what we were doing to him...what kid requests brocolli?  I have yet to find something he won't eat, besides green olives.

Popsicles were my newest trick for mowing the lawn.   Ryker likes to "drive" the lawn mower now, so it is hard to mow with him turning the wheel one way while I'm trying to go another.  I give him a popsicle now and he licks it and basically lets it melt all over both of us and the mower, but it keeps his hands occupied for about 40 minutes.  Grandma taught him how to bite the popsicle so I'm sure he can put one away much faster now.  I either need to come up with a new trick or buy lots more popsicles. 

Sucessful Track Meet? The Jury is Still Out

About a month ago we went to an All Comers track meet in Burlington. We got to the track an hour early and they had music playing and all kinds of cool stuff for Ryker to check out.  He ran around like a crazy man, loving every minute of it.  I didn't get very good pics of him practicing the hurdles because I took a video instead and have yet to freeze any frames for still pics to post.

I had to force him to stop running for a minute and drink some water.  He was all over that football field and track, sweaty and red faced.

Chillin in the stands with Audrey and Abby.  This is his serious for pre-race expression.

So now for the whole story.  He was in heaven at this track meet.  Playing for an hour, climbing the bleachers, practicing the hurdles.....then came race time.  We lined up with tons of other kids.  They were calling under 2 kids so we got up toward the front of the line.  The girls were first and Ryker was excited, clapping and cheering as they ran.  He really wanted to run and I thought the under 2 boys would be next so I was telling him he was next.  Well he wasn't....they went through all age groups of the girls first.  Ryker was mad, sad, freaking out.  Some other under 2 year old boys started crying and screaming too, but they didn't finish with a tantrum like Ryker did.  FINALLY they called for under 2 boys.  He lined up behind the line and was ready to run.  Then they decided there were too many lined up so they were going to have two heats.  Guess who got bumped to the second heat?  Yep, Ryker.  He was MAD!  He kept saying, "Ryker run, Ryker turn."  Another little boy that had been crying dropped out at this point and his Mom took him off the track.  We waited.  It was again Ryker's turn.  Ready....Set....Go!  Ryker slowly walked from the starting line to the first hurdle, kicked it over, picked it up, and began dismantling it.  I couldn't figure out why he was walking and I was encouraging him to run like he had for the hour prior to the actual race, but he had one thing on his mind.  Apparently he was going to take his frustration out on that micro hurdle.  Anyway, I scooped him off the track as everyone was laughing and drug him out of there.  After that, all he wanted to do was get back to the track and run in every race.  Every time I put him down, he took off toward the starting line.  We finally just left and he was whaling all the way home.  He rarely cries and doesn't ever throw tantrums.  He had so much fun in the beginning, but the grand finale trumped that so we haven't been back.  We're going to the last one tonight though, so wish me luck. We're going an hour early again to play, run freely, and listen to the music.  I'll gage if I think he (or me) can handle waiting in line for the races.  Now that I know how they do it, we'll stay toward the back until the girls are done and maybe we'll make it out without hurt feelings! 

Off to Lopez

We went over to Lopez Island last Saturday, July 3rd.  We had to get up at 4:30 to catch the ferry, but Ryker thought it was well worth it.  He was very excited about this big boat.  I thought he might fall asleep waiting in the ferry line, but that didn't happen.  He was all jacked up.

Taking in the view

 

All smiles the whole way.  Notice the matching outfits?  My Mom borrowed a sweatshirt and I gave her the "Eat Fish" one.  Ryker ended up wearing his "Eat Crab" sweatshirt. 

Chucking rocks with the big boys

He pointed out every boat just in case someone missed one

How do I get over there? 

He wanted to know if we could swim.  The water was freezing and no one else was swimming, but apparently he thought it was the thing to do.  Instead his just waded in up to his waist and was soaked anyway.  I had his lifejacket, I should have just let him swim.

Of course, more rock throwing

He was pretty excited about all the shells.  He used them to dig.  We brought a few home for our own sand pile, but Cosmos and Chacon keep dragging them off.

Push up time!

 

Aidan took his shoes off so Ryker had to follow suit.  They scooped water with them and watched them float like boats.  Now whenever Ryker wears those shoes, he tells me they are the same as Aidan's.  He also wants to walk around outside with no shoes on all the time now and has asked to bring his shoes in the tub to make them float.  This kid loves Aidan.  Luckily, Aidan is excellent with him, and doesn't mind Ryker tagging along. 

Alexis is probably wondering how many rocks he's going to throw.

I'm not sure what was going through his head here, but he crawled back up the beach to the sand.  I think maybe the rocks were hurting his feet, but he wouldn't let me help him.

Ryker wanted on the teeter totter with me, but insisted on getting on the back.  I tried to make him sit in front, but he wasn't having it.  Maybe because the baby was already riding in the front, he figured he'd get on back.

He was having trouble hanging on because of my big ol' belly, but he thought it was pretty fun when he'd almost slide off.

Susanna and Aidan constructed this sweet fort and pretty soon everyone wanted in.

Of course, Aidan looked out for Ryker and made sure he got a prime seat.

After everyone abandon it, Alexis headed in to check it out.  When it was time to leave, I had to crawl into the farthest corner of it to peel Ryker out.  He was not happy about leaving and was hiding from me.

Lots of sticks, rocks, and water....what more could a boy ask for?

Long day, but he still had the energy to crawl around every inch of the car while waiting in line for the ferry.

Can you say TIRED?  He was out within minutes of getting off the ferry.