We're Back!

We left last Friday at 4:30am for Colorado...and came home this evening...109 hours later.  The trip was short (although, the drive was LONG), but so much fun!

I may have taken too many pictures...coughanaverageof5perhourweweregonecough...and have to sort through them.  So, posts of the trip will be delayed, but coming.

As I took a quick look through the pictures tonight, I loved seeing the memories we made.  Most likely, my boys will not remember this trip long-term.  I know that I don't remember most trips to Colorado to see family - at least not individually.  But, I remember driving there, and memories made.  And, while I know my camera can be obnoxious at some points (ie, in the swimming pool!), I am so grateful for the pictures.  My Aunt Colleen mentioned that she is so grateful for all of the photos she has of her and her husband, and her family together.  The not-so-pretty pictures with no make-up, bad hair, and on and on. When her husband, my Uncle Mike, died so unexpectedly, it was tragic.  And continues to be.  But, thankfully, she has pictures. Pictures that captured the moment.  Even if she didn't love the picture in the moment then.  She loves them now.  And, that is why I do it.  Why I treat my "big" camera as if it were a point-and-shoot.  Why it is with me most of the times we leave the house on the weekends.  Why Patrick has to keep reconfiguring how to store my (large quantity of) pictures.

It's for the memories.  I hope I never stop.

Me, with my Aunt Colleen.  Just before leaving this morning.  I love that she doesn't hesitate when I ask her for a picture.  Even when I had a dozen other "better" opportunities to get a good one of both of us.

Farmers Market . 07.21.2012

The morning of Ryder's party, we headed to the local Farmers Market to let the boys play for a bit.  We had already stocked up on most fruits and veggies, but couldn't pass up the fresh potatoes and onions!  We fed the boys yogurt and fruit before leaving, and picked up the Breakfast Rolls from Great Harvest once we got there.  As we were eating, my parents heard Ryder laughing, and came over to see us, and play with the boys on the playset.

Eating breakfast, and playing together.

Ryder, playing with Patrick!

Harvick and Jarrett taking turns on the slide with Nana and Papa.

Ryder made a new friend, and had fun running around with him.

This week was the Farm Week, so there were various farm animals on display.  Ryder enjoyed the sheep, but wasn't too interested in the cows.

Finally, Ryder wanted to ride the train (again) before leaving, so just he and I went this time - Ryder's party was later that day, and we needed to get home - Patrick loaded Harvick and Jarrett in the car.

Pioneer Day . 2012

As with last year, Patrick had to work this year on Pioneer Day...and, I wasn't really up for taking all three boys on my own to the parade.  Plus, at the Fourth of July parade Harvick and Jarrett didn't really love the parade.  So, just Ryder and I headed out (while my parents watched Harvick and Jarrett).

This year, we were running a bit late, so I threw the stroller in the back of the car, and left...you know, without a seat/blanket of any kind for me.  AND, without noticing that it was RAINING outside.  AND, without remembering that my memory card was still in the computer...and not in my camera (so thankful for camera phones!).

We were able to park at the south end of the parade route (staging area), and walk a few blocks until we found a seat.  Luckily, I had a towel in the car, and also an umbrella.  Ryder and I sat on the curb (using the towel), and were able to be positioned under a tree, so our umbrella was only minimally needed.

Ryder loved seeing the floats as they came down, and enjoyed getting the candy as it was thrown.  He chose a sucker to be the treat to enjoy as the parade continued, and was quite pleased with his choice - he made it last for nearly an hour!

Although it would have been fun for everyone to go to the parade, it was a fun morning with Ryder.  It's fun to have one-on-one time with each of our boys, and the opportunity doesn't present itself often.

I tried at the beginning of the parade (top) to get a picture together...Ryder was more interested in telling me that horses were walking by.  At the end (bottom), I tried again...only to have Ryder remain uninterested in my photo-documenting attempts.

Ryder . 3 Years Old

These quarterly posts take a long time for me to put together.  I have to sort through the past 3 months of pictures, find ones to share that haven't been used already, and that also represent what has happened in the past 3 months!  So...I'm a little late with this one.  Oops!

As you know, Ryder turned 3 years old recently.  Of course, I can't remember his weight/height measurements at the moment, but I do know he was in the 98th percentile for weight, and the 100th percentile for height!  He is a big boy, for sure.  Ryder is often mistaken for at least a 4 or 5 year old.  He is frequently asked where he goes to school (meaning Elementary, not preschool!).  When the person finds out he is only 3, they are most often quite surprised.

Ryder continues to be a great big brother.  Patrick and I have noticed that Ryder tends to react more positively to his brothers when he is one-on-one with them.  When both try to play with him together, it seems to overwhelm him...and, really, you can't blame him for that...when Harvick and Jarrett want my attention at the same time, it overwhelms me too!

Ryder has adapted to his new "school" (Wednesdays only - daycare) well.  He enjoys attending, and especially love that the school has trains for him to play with when they have "free play".  He took a bit longer to adjust to this school than he did his previous - we think it is a combination between going only once per week, and having left a school so recently with a very different daily routine.  He is now enjoying it, and we receiving regular good reports about him!

I am asked, often, if Ryder's Apraxia of Speech has "gone away" yet.  The answer is no.  And, it is hard to know if it ever will.  There are frequently reported long-term effects for people who suffered with Apraxia.  HOWEVER, Ryder has made tremendous progress.  His verbal expression is still quite limited, but he is engaging in more initiation of speech (rather than waiting to be asked a question), and also has started providing longer answers (combining multiple words to attempt sentences).  My most recent favorite words came the other night - Ryder went walking with me before bed, and as we walked we heard fireworks all around.  I called Patrick when we were nearly home to see if we might have any leftover fireworks from years past...and, thankfully we did!  When Patrick lit off the first firework, Ryder exclaimed "hoe-wee how!!!" (holy cow!).  It took us a few attempts of Ryder repeating the words for us to figure it out, but it made us laugh when we figured it out...turns out we must say that a lot?!

Ryder's current favorite foods are breakfast foods - pancakes/toast/waffles/muffins, eggs, yogurt, and fruit.  He remains a good eater...but, has his days.  He is gaining more independence on what he eats, and exercises his opinion often!  He enjoys almost any snack (minus pretzels), and loves to drink milk (especially with a dash of chocolate milk!), juice (1/2 water, 1/2 juice), and water.

Ryder's 3rd birthday party invitation.

This boy loves to be in boxes...or storage containers...or laundry baskets...

Ryder helped me make cookies (adding chocolate chips on top of pre-packaged dough) as a special movie night treat with his brothers!

Ryder LOVES to be outside!
Ryder came with me to the dollar store to pick up something, and saw the bat - he was intrigued by it, so we picked up one - he is getting good at hitting it, but has a tendency to face forward when he needs to swing!
In an effort to help Ryder not fear the lawn mower, he would sit outside with Patrick (with juice and a snack), while Patrick mowed.  Getting his own mower has also helped!
More outside playing!
The merry-go-round with Patrick and Papa!

Ryder enjoys picking out his own clothes...and the way he will wear his hat when we go walking!

Cute baby boy!

Ryder loves his trains!  He is frequently found on the floor playing with them...or building lego ones when his trains aren't available!

Fun with slides!

Cute boy.

Bath time!

Playing (and feeding) with his brothers!

Ryder loves to read!

Just before Harvick and Jarrett could transition to their forward facing carseats, Patrick put Ryder in the old carseats to just see how big he has gotten.  He was so cute!

For the first year or Ryder's life I photographed him in this chair, with this dog (he would wear a white onesie).  On one of the last weeks we did the same for Harvick and Jarrett, Ryder got in the chair to get his picture taken!

Apraxia of Speech . Week 30

Ryder had Private Speech Therapy today.

He wasn't in the best of moods, but managed to participate...while eating his goldfish and constantly moving back and forth from the chair to the floor.  As usual, his SLP was patient, and willing to let Ryder move around.

Ryder's pronunciation of the "k" sound is improving, and has correctly said "kiss" this past week, as well as "cup" today in Speech Therapy!

While Ryder was busy participating, I snuck in two pictures...

One-step-at-a-time.

Rocking Chairs

My grandpa (my mom's father) built me a rocking chair when I was a toddler (maybe 3?).  When we were over at my parent's house recently, the boys showed an interest in it.  Ryder has sat in it for awhile now, but it was the first time for Harvick and Jarrett.

Thankfully, my grandpa also built Rory a chair, so we were able to have 2 children's rocking chairs available for the boys!

(Ryder, Harvick and Jarrett)

When both babies were sitting in a chair, I tried to get a picture of them together...and...didn't end up getting what I was hoping to capture...

Now, I just need to go through my parent's pictures to see if I can find one of me as a child sitting in my chair!

Ryder's Birthday Party . 3 Years Old

Saturday was Ryder's party.  It's hard having a summer birthday - so many friends are out of town, or have multiple commitments for the same weekend.  Regardless, we had a great train themed party.

This year, as you could expect, the theme was trains.  Patrick and I chose to do a "no presents" party, as our boys already have a lot of things, and we really just wanted a good excuse to invite over family and friends to celebrate with us...so, it was more of a train-themed BBQ with cupcakes!

To celebrate, I was able to find a seller on Etsy who was willing to customize t-shirts for the boys.  Ryder's included his name and age - Harvick and Jarrett just had a train with a "3".  Now...you try to get these boys to sit/stand/lay/anything still for a picture so that you can see their shirt.  Pretty much impossible!

Silly boys.  No one wanted to cooperate - they all thought they were so funny when I laid them on the floor!
(Ryder, Harvick, and Jarrett)

Despite the hot weather, we held the party outside, and just took advantage of the shade.  It was very laid back.  No games.  No real agenda.  Just food and fun!  Even with the best of intentions to take more pictures, it's hard to remember...

Ryder's birthday dessert was cupcakes and cookies.  To display them, we created a train using various snacks, with the cupcakes and cookies as the load for each car.  It was a hit!

At the end of the party, we had Ryder open his gift from his grandparents (including grand) and Aunt Julie - an iPad.  Yes, our 3-year-old has an iPad before anyone else in the family!  Ryder uses an iPad in Speech Therapy, and responds well to it.  While it isn't necessary for us to have this at home, it would be so great!  We have so (SO SO SO) many papers/homework/flyers that Ryder receives regularly - it will be great to put everything in one place!  The iPad was loaded with a few fun apps, so that it wasn't just a blank screen - he enjoyed playing on it immediately!

Opening his iPad.

All in all, it was a fun party.  Ryder loved it!  I know I wrote it on the post about Ryder's actual birthday, but it really is hard to believe he is 3.  He's more than 1/2 way to kindergarten - just 2 more years.

At the end of a long day!
(not too bad with a camera without a flash!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYDER!

Apraxia of Speech . Week 29 . CV Alternating Combinations

To make up for a missed session earlier this month, Ryder had two Speech Therapy appointments this week.

On Tuesday, Ryder's birthday, he did very well.  Of course, "very well" for Ryder does not mean sit still and parrot sounds/words, and make attempts without issues.  "Very well" is more like try one approach, change it when he refuses, do something to engage him, have him repeat a few sounds/words, change the activity, repeat more words/sounds, have a snack (one fruit snack/goldfish cracker/animal cracker/etc), repeat a few sounds/words, another snack, change the activity - and, really, this happens (easily) within the first 3-5 minutes.  Repeat that order of activities 5-9 more times - for a 30 minute session.

As I mentioned before, Tuesday's therapy included a new (giant) train puzzle - the SLP had actually purchased it for Ryder, for his birthday.  Ryder was so excited about his gift!

Today's session didn't go as well.  He still participated, but put up much more disagreement.  Thankfully, his SLP is skilled in working with young children, and has no problem with adapting to Ryder.  This is not something we experienced with PCMC.  The more we attend Ryder's Private Speech Therapy sessions, the more we consider the break from PCMC to last more long-term.

Ryder's verbal speech is improving.  His words are becoming more intelligible to people who do not interact with him frequently.  Just this week, I ran into a friend I haven't seen in 9+ years (but have connected with on Facebook!).  Her, her (identical) twin sister, and I were friends - her only awareness of Ryder's speech was through recent posts on the blog, and at that, I'm not sure she has read too many of them.  She was able to help Ryder with his requests (we were at the Dollar section at Target, and he wanted to touch/hold/see everything).  Now, she is around young children (her own, and nieces/nephews) frequently.  This does help.  But, I walked away from my conversation with her happy with how well Ryder was able to communicate what he wanted with someone who has never heard him talk - doesn't know his idiosyncrasies in his speech. She understood.  And, that, was very encouraging.  She understood.

So, now we focus to increase Ryder's verbal vocabulary.  He is very good at finding easier (for him) ways of saying something.  The other day I told him to put his book in his room - he looked at me, and asked "in my night-night-time?" - it took me a second - he meant bed.  "Bed" is a hard word - in contains both a "b" and "d" - two sounds hard for him to correctly distinguish when speaking.  Really, "night-night-time" seems more difficult to me - but, for Ryder, it is easier.  To do this, we increase the CV combinations, switching the words.  So, instead of repeating "bye" 4(+) times, then "boo" another 4(+) times, we will work to have him alternate between the two words - "bye.  boo.  bye.  boo.".

One-step-at-a-time.

CASNA

Ryder's Birthday . 07.17.2012

Having a birthday mid-week just means we get to celebrate longer!

Yesterday, Patrick and I both took time off in the morning, and took the boys to breakfast.  A local restaurant has become a favorite place for us, so we went there again!  At breakfast, Ryder got to open a small present - two new trains!  As expected, he loved them!

Ryder loved his trains!
And, yes, you are seeing Jarrett (left) and Harvick (center) eating with a fork.  They still use their hands a bit, but have transitioned to primarily using the fork to feed themselves.

That afternoon, Ryder had his make-up Speech Therapy session.  His SLP is quite possibly the best fit for our little guy.  He looks forward to meeting with her, and puts up no argument when we talk about going - something he always did with PCMC.  At therapy Ryder got to play with a new (giant!) train puzzle, and then was surprised when his SLP had actually bought it for him, as a birthday present.

We kept dinner simple - Papa Murphys - so that we would have time to let Ryder open his main present from us, and play with it.

We purposefully didn't put Ryder's new wiggle car together, so that he could help Patrick.  Turns out, all the boys wanted to help!

Can you make our Harvick and Jarrett's shirts?  I found these TRAIN tanks for $1 at Kid to Kid last week!  Wearing them on Ryder's birthday seemed fitting.

After riding around the driveway, and back and forth to the neighbors, Ryder let his brothers play with his new car, and pulled out his birthday present from last year.  And, of course, his brothers had to get in on the action!  They LOVED it!

A birthday treat...enjoyed, of course, on "blue train" plates!

It's hard to believe our baby has turned three.  We can't wait to see what the upcoming year (and the many more to come!) have in store for him!

The birthday boy!

Ryder!

Today, my baby turned three years old.  And, yes, I do call him my baby (or just "baby"), despite the fact that I have two more babies younger than him.  That probably won't ever change.

A 3-year update and a birthday recap post will be published.  But, not tonight - it's been a full day.  Instead, you simply get a picture taken this evening as we played together outside.

Me, and my newly-turned-3-year-old baby!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYDER!

Baby Food

Before Ryder was born, Patrick and I researched everything we could think of in order to prepare for our first child's arrival.  One of the many decisions we made then was that we would make Ryder's baby food.  After researching multiple methods, recipes, etc, we took what we liked from each, and followed our own path.  The book, "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron, was probably our favorite - and one that sat on our counter until just recently.

Although making Ryder's baby food took more prep work than using food from a jar, for us, we were happy that we stuck with it.  We were able to introduce Ryder to many foods that aren't typically in baby food (asparagus, peppers, onions, kiwi, grapes, etc), and we knew exactly what he was eating.

When we found we were expecting twins, we contemplated doing things differently, but ultimately decided to try making their food.  With some planning/organization, we were able to meet this goal!

Some "highlights" of our baby food making experience:

- We would do as much in one weekend as possible.  Sure, our house smelt a bit odd with so many different veggies having been broiled, baked, boiled, or steamed.  But, it was nice to get it done in a short period of time.

- We cooked most veggies first, then pureed.  Fruits were pureed fresh (or canned when not in season).  Once pureed, we would freeze them in ice cube trays (about 1 Tablespoon).  The "cubes" would be stored in Ziploc Quart bags (we found this size was best, as we went through it quickly enough that they didn't get freezer burned, but also it didn't use as many as snack/sandwich bags!).

- We would make fresh "grains" every 3 days, using water to cook them, then extra breastmilk to thin it when pureeing.  Our boys mostly ate brown rice, quinoa, or oatmeal for their grains.

- Breakfast was oatmeal pureed with plenty of fresh fruit, and 2 Tablespoons of plain yogurt (Mountain High)

- For lunch, we mixed 3 Tablespoons of (fresh) grains with 2-3 veggie cubes.  And, 3 Tablespoons of plain yogurt (Mountain High or Greek Yogurt) with 1 Tablespoon applesauce, 1 teaspoon flax seed, and 1-2 fruit cubes.

- Every evening we would prepare the next day (or sometimes up to the next 3 days) meals in divided containers.  Overnight the cubes would thaw, and be ready by lunch.  We would heat the veggie side in warm water until it was room temperature (or a little warmer).

- We used A LOT (A LOT!) of yogurt...immediately, we realized this, and started saving the containers.  We were hoping we might find a use for them, or maybe my dad could use them in his classroom for a project...

What happens when you leave Patrick alone with the containers...

The containers pictured here are 1 quart in size.  They represent the yogurt consumed (not including individual cups in lunches) November-June, just 8 months (at 4.3 weeks per month, that is about 34 weeks).  There are 99 quarts, about 3 quarts per week!

Looking back, making their food was worth it, for us.  Despite the extra work involved!

Farmers Market & Clinton Days . 07.14.2012

What a fun Saturday!

We started our morning with a partial breakfast at home (fruit and yogurt), and treated ourselves to a fresh pastry at the Ogden Farmers Market.  It was opening weekend, and despite getting there soon after they opened, it was so crowded.  And, our TRIPLE stroller isn't exactly the most easy thing to maneuver in a crowd.  The produce selected was limited, and many of the items for sale we already had well stocked at home, although we did pick up some fresh corn.  We let the boys play on the park's playset, which was easily their favorite part.

LEFT: Ryder going down the slide!
CENTER: Harvick LOVES slides, and was so happy to go down over and over.
RIGHT: I tried to get a self portrait of Jarrett and me, but forgot to zoom out first - I like it anyway!  Jarrett enjoys playsets, but not nearly as much as his brothers.

We picked up a treat to share - Strawberry/Blueberry Italian Ice - to enjoy while we watched the "Wild West" Show, but it was a quick show, and quite loud, so we just enjoyed it under the shade of a nearby umbrella.

Before leaving, we, OF COURSE, had to ride the free train around the block.  Ryder was so excited to ride, and was so good to only ride once (something we rehearsed multiple times before boarding!).

Harvick fell asleep before we boarded the train, and even transitioning from stroller to being carried, remained asleep in Patrick's arms.

After the Famers Market we headed to Grandma Jody & Ann's house where Patrick helped Ann with a project, and the boys played and ate lunch.  We went home for naps - and Patrick and I actually chose to rest as well - a rarity for us.  Once everyone was up, we played for a bit, fed the boys a quick dinner, and headed to Clinton Days, for round 2.  Patrick and I had dinner there (who can resist a Navajo Taco?), and picked up some cinnamon/sugar mini donuts for the boys.

(Harvick, Jarrett, and Ryder)

 Before heading to the carnival part, we stopped back at the car for a quick juice break
(Jarrett, Harvick, and Ryder)

Once at the Carnival, we were hesitant to purchase too many tickets, as Ryder has not really experienced doing activities/rides like this on his own.  He is always eager, but in the past has gotten very anxious when it was his turn.  And, after discovering the rides were all $3 (minimum), we just purchased 6 tickets.  First up, a huge tunnel slide, but only after crawling/climbing through various mazes.  Due to the mazes to get to the slide, Patrick went with him...and Ryder LOVED it!

Ryder wanted to go again, but we were able to convince him to try something different...a different slide.  Again, Patrick went with him - the staircase was huge, and he had to center himself on burlap once at the top.  We watched a dozen kids (some with parents, some without) come down before him - every single one was a bit shocked at the speed as they landed at the bottom.  But, Ryder insisted.  And, he LOVED it again!

Before leaving, Ryder asked to ride the cars, so we picked up another 3 tickets, and let him choose this ride as his last.  While Ryder and I waited in line, Patrick entertained Harvick and Jarrett!

I worried a little as Ryder and I watched a few kids before us get anxious and begin to cry before the ride started.  Ryder isn't great with anticipation, but he did awesome!  He picked the green car, and was patient while all the kids got loaded, and then loved every second of the ride!

Clinton Days, round 2, was much better than the previous night (there were NO inflatables in sight!).  So glad we stopped by again!  We skipped out on the fireworks, again - I'm looking forward to the boys being a little older, and getting to go to multiple shows each summer!

Tonight . 07.13.2012

During the week, Patrick and I will typically make a plan for our weekend.  We try to do at least one or two "fun" things with the boys, plus typical errands (always Costco), church on Sunday, and whatever else might be going on.

Tonight...the plan was to go to the Clinton City Park, for their "Clinton Days".  The park is open until 11:00pm, full of carnival rides, vendors (craft and food), and entertainment.  As we got there, Patrick commented it was windy, so we better go to the rides first, as they might get shut down soon.  We decided to not pull out the stroller, and to just let Harvick and Jarrett walk with us.  In the few minutes between unloading the boys, and walking toward the park, the wind started to pick up.  We were just a few feet away from the inflatable slides (you know, those giant ones - probably 20 feet tall, and 15 feet wide) and rock wall tower (20+ feet tall), when it was obvious the slide was getting picked up by the wind.  Patrick had Harvick, I had Jarrett, and Ryder was holding my hand walking.  I literally picked up Ryder by the hand, and Patrick and I ran forward - as the slide was picked up into the air, flipped, and quickly rolling in the wind, it brushed/hit against my elbow/arm.  Ryder says it hurt his knee - we're not totally sure if it hit him, or just scared him.

The rock wall tower fell over (and into the windshield of the person who owned the tower and inflatables).  The slide was picked up by the wind, and carried several hundred feet (we didn't actually see it stop) - rolling over cars, and knocking over Port-a-Potties.  The canopies of the vendors were getting ripped off from the tent bases, and the main (huge!) canopy with several dozen picnic tables underneath was having to be held down.  Police and ambulance arrived within minutes.

Really, it was scary for a couple of minutes.  We stayed (at my insistence) for just a few minutes to see if the wind was a freak storm - when it was evident it wasn't going to improve soon, and that the majority of the vendors would have to shut down for the evening, we packed the boys back up in the car, and headed to Costco (might as well be productive, since we were already out of the house!).

I looked all over online tonight, and don't seem to be able to find it in the news - they mention "high winds" on the forcast, but nothing specific to Clinton.  A few posts on FB seem to indicate no one was hurt.

Ryder; however, was upset all evening about it - telling us repeatedly "slide fell bown (down), OH! NO!".  Not sure if we will be able to convince him to try out one of the inflatables anytime soon...

In contrast, our time at Costco was great.  As we were walking out, we stopped at the Food Court for a rare Costco treat...churros!  The boys LOVED them!!

(Harvick on the left, Jarrett on the right)

(Ryder)

In the end, we still had fun tonight, despite the wind!