Northern Michigan

We are back from our week long adventure Up North in Michigan. Besides traveling to and from Traverse City, the remainder of the trip went well.

It was so fun to take Rylan to some of our favorite places now that he can appreciate them more. It is going to be fun to see him through the years enjoy each of these spots in different ways. I remember how much fun I had when I was a little girl! I think my favorite thing growing up and even on this trip was our visit to the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Who doesn't love a huge hill of sand? It was a blast watching Rylan walking up the hill, running around, and rolling around. He was a tough little guy, because climbing the hill is not easy!

We also had fun visiting our favorite restaurants, going to the beach, hanging out and taking walks near the cottage, attending Glen Arbor's Fire Department Kids' day, miniature golf, and spending time with the family.

Jason and I were able to get away for a couple of days to Mackinac Island for our anniversary. It was very nice to have that time to ourselves. We stayed at the Grand Hotel and were spoiled with a fabulous dinner and fancy accommodations! We toured the island on bikes and enjoyed walking around the town and eating fudge :)!

Thanks Papa and Grandma for the great visit and free babysitting!

...off to Atlanta on Thursday for Meg's wedding and Lake Nottely...then home for good...whew, what a whirlwind summer!!!!

Oh Boy!

Now here is one for the record books. Jason went to get Rylan out of his room from his playtime today and found our 21 month old with the baby powder. Apparently he thought it would be a good idea to retrieve the powder from his changing table and give the room a fresh makeover. There was powder everywhere! All over the floor, his chair, toys, stuffed animals. It was one of those moments that you could not help but laugh. Oh the joys of toddler hood!

Hot Summer Days!

Time keeps ticking away so quickly. It feels like it should still be June and we are in mid-July already...and closer to 2!

Rylan keeps us very busy and on our toes! He is beginning to finally say new words almost every day. I think he is finally "finding his voice" to put it mildly. It seems like each night he gets this wild streak in him and either runs laps around the house, or tumbles over his large blocks in the game room upstairs. The energy is accompanied by yelling and silliness of course. I wish my energy could double every time that his does :)! The past few days he has increased the use of the words pool, water, bowl, balloon, digger, and dirty, to name a few. Mommy is very happy to finally hear more words coming out of his mouth. He is also really into his letters right now. Each day he plays with his Leap Frog magnetic letter machine (that is my name for it). He can very easily pick out the letters R, O, M, and D. He mimics the sounds that the letters make by either listening to me, Leap Frog, or "Super Why." It is cute to hear him beginning to make sense of it all.

We continue to enjoy our pool almost daily. It really seems to be our only source of outdoor entertainment with this heat. Sometimes boredom sets in when we are indoors for a couple days in a row. It almost feels like winter months up north, so I am glad that we at least have the pool to keep us entertained outside.

We are looking forward to some "Up North" weather next week. The three of us will be in Northern Michigan at my parents place for a week. Jason and I are also going to get away on our anniversary and go to Mackinac Island overnight. It will be our first couple trip and night away from Rylan. I am really looking forward to some hubby time and our stay at the luxurious Grand Hotel! Grandma and Papa are looking forward to watching Rylan. Works out perfectly!

Pictures!

Our pictures are in! Check them out at
http://davidmcclainphotography.com/

We're back!

Thursday night we returned from a fabulous trip up to Ohio. We were gone for 12 days and each day was filled with something new, fun, and exciting. I think Rylan averaged about 2.5 hour naps each day because he was so exhausted from all of the activity. He did an amazing job considering how long we were gone and I could not have asked for it to go any better.

There is something to be said for visiting family and friends NOT surrounding a holiday event. It is nice to not have a schedule that revolves around major gatherings and food :). We did not plan on doing anything major (well one thing ;-)), and just took it day by day. I can honestly say that it was probably the nicest family vacation we have had yet!

The first part of the week consisted of projects around the house, family time, EnterTRAINment Junction, and the zoo. Rylan is big into trains right now and EnterTRAINment Junction was the perfect place to take a little boy that loves trains. Not only did they have a huge train display that he loved to look at, but they also had a couple of little train rides that he really loved. He also really enjoyed playing with the wooden Thomas the Train sets that were displayed. We also went of the Cinci Zoo with Jason's buddy Chris, his wife Kim, and their 2 year old daughter Ava. As you will see in the pics and videos, it was a big hit! The highlights included feeding nectar to birds that landed all over you, feeding the giraffe, and holding hands with Ava.

The later part of the week Jason and I were able to go on a little date and we also had family pictures taken. They should be ready pretty soon and I will post a link to them once I get them. I am pretty sure that they will be very cute...can't wait to see them! The one big event that was scheduled was Jason's birthday. I threw a little surprise party for Jason's 30th with the help of J's family and Chris. It turned out really well and he had absolutely no idea. We celebrated at the Eckel house with family and close friends and then ended up at a local bar toward the end of the evening. The little kids had a blast and it was just a great day! Jason said, "it was the best birthday I have ever had." That made me feel really good and I am so happy that I was able to pull it off. I could have never accomplished it without everyone's help, so thank you!

The last few days of our stay were spent with the Wood family in Massillon, OH. Rylan and I took Missi's van and made the 3.5 hour trip on Monday morning. He is a great little traveler. We had so much fun visiting Ashlyn, Katie, and Mike. We went to music class, gym class, and played in the baby pool. Rylan also got a good lesson about feeding baby dolls, having a tea party, and playing "kitchen." I really enjoyed my time with Katie and we miss them already.

Thank you to Missi and Pop, Aunt Jenny, and Katie and Mike for the great vacation. We had a great time and appreciate your thoughtfulness and hospitality. We hope you enjoy the new pics and videos!

My day...

What a day I had today! My Mama came and got me out of bed around 8 this morning. I had my normal milk, pancake, and 1/2 of a banana while watching "Super Why" and "Clifford." I am really learning a lot about letters and the sounds that they make with that "Super Why" show. I keep showing off to my Mama every now and then by picking up a letter and making its' sound :). I really like to keep as much as I can from her to drive her crazy!

Anyways, it was time for gym and she kept giving me this lecture about how I better listen to her and Coach Kerri today or we would leave gym. I think I heard the darn thing about three times and we had not even made it there yet! I got it already! I guess I will try to be a good boy today.

I always get super excited when we pull in the parking lot at gym. There are construction trucks next door working on a new building. I love to see the cement trucks and diggers and listen to them back up and push things around.

When I got to gym, I was happy to see Coach Kerri and my friends, especially Madeline. I have come to really like her. She always gives me a nice big smile and we like to have fun! Gym class went on as usual as we crawled through mats, jumped in the pit, bounced on the trampolines, played on the mountain, and walked on the balance beams. The best part of class is the end though when we get to do bubbles and sing the "Bye Bye" song. I love to chase those things around and pop 'em. They are so little and fun! I also love to get the stamps on my toes, hands, and belly at the very end of class.

My Mama did her usual "give hugs and kisses" as we were getting up to leave. I usually don't listen and give out high fives to everyone instead. I always make sure not to miss anyone either. It is important to be nice to everyone. Today I decided to be different though. I marched right up to Coach Kerri and gave her a big kiss right on the lips. I also walked over to Madeline's mom to kiss her. She tried to turn her cheek, but I followed her lips and made her kiss me right on the lips. I don't know why everyone was laughing so hard. Then they all told me to kiss Madeline. I wasn't so sure about that. She followed me over to the wall and we stood shoulder to shoulder thinking about it. We kept giving each other this weird look. She ended up walking away first, and I followed. Then, you know what happened? She turned around, put her hands on my shoulders, and kissed me. I decided that to be nice, I should kiss her back. What is so funny? You told me I should listen to you today!

What a great day....and it was only 10:15!

Mama posted videos and pictures. Make sure you look at all FIVE on the top row!

This will take some time...

It has been a little over a week since I last wrote and oh what a time it has been. I don't even know where to begin. Last week, my heart broke. One day, I woke up, and all of sudden, my sweet baby boy was no where to be found. It was almost as if someone had replaced him with someone else. My precious, carefree, happy, boy was this constant whiny, tempered, mean little thing. I have NEVER felt ill feelings towards my child, but I tell you what, last week was very frustrating. I perused my baby books, looked for excuses, and prayed that this was all just a little phase that he was going through. Jason and I discussed parenting options daily, progress reports were given each night, and we kept our fingers crossed that this would all go away.

I learned a few things about being a parent last week. First, don't take anything for granted. Rylan is an awesome little boy and we have never really had to "parent" him. I have totally taken the fact that he is so well-mannered for granted. I have definitely not given him enough praise during good, or normal times, and I really had no reason to ever discipline him. Secondly, it is so important to be consistent. I truly believe our consistency in the past has gotten us to where we are today. I thank God that I did not have to face this challenge for twenty months. We are so lucky to have made it to this point. Finally, actual parenting is extremely exhausting. I have "parented" for the past week and a half. That sounds so horrible and I am almost embarrassed to admit it, but my job has been pretty easy up until this point. I now feel like I am constantly having to think on my feet to keep Rylan from getting to the point of being whiny or throwing a tantrum. There is a lot of talking that goes on around here to keep him happy, distractions are given from things that might cause problems, activities created to keep him entertained, and so on. I used to get quite a bit done around here during the day, but not so much anymore. I am exhausted by nap time and I take advantage of that time to get some zzzz's in myself.

With all of that said, I feel like our consistent work over the past week has paid off. Jason and I are a great team and our open communication about Rylan has worked. It felt really good to be away with friends the other night and come home to hear that J had given Rylan a time out as I would have done for a similar situation. The last few days are much better and I think Rylan realizes that the little tests he was throwing at us last week are not going to work. I know we have a long road ahead of us, as any parents do, but I think this was our first real challenge and we made it through with flying colors...thank God!

Through all of that madness, we have also been extremely busy. I have recently taken up jogging as a little "me time" activity in the mornings prior to Jason and Rylan awakening. I have never enjoyed running, but there is something about it at this point in my life that I really like. It could be as simple as getting out to do something for myself, but it pushes me and I look forward to doing it. Last weekend, I ran my first official 5K with my neighbors. It went very well and I look forward to running some more throughout the summer. The icing on the cake was when I saw my wonderful husband and Rylan at the finish line. J had told me not to expect to see them because of projects going on at the house, but there they were. It really meant a lot to me. Love him to pieces.

Speaking of projects, we had a roof extended over part of our patio. We hired a crew to do the framing and shingling. Jason is in the process of completing the electrical and underside. J and I agree that the roof and the pool were the best upgrades that we have made to this house. We love it! It will make Texas summer so much more bearable. Memorial Day brought with it our first real pool party after a hard day of work by the guys. We are going to have so much fun this summer with friends! What a great lifestyle the pool has created for us.

Rylan attended two birthday gatherings this past weekend for his two, two-year-old buddies, Casey and Carter. He had a blast playing at a water park, racing to the car with a storm threatening to ruin the festivities, eating snacks, clapping after "Happy Birthday" was sung, interacting with new people, and doing what toddlers do.

Then there was today: Bayou Wildlife Park in Alvin, TX. Kristen and the boys, Andrew and Casey, picked us up at 9:00. We arrived at the park around 10:15 and almost passed it up because it is literally in the middle of nowhere. We paid our entrance fee at the shack, received two buckets of food, and were given honky tonk directions to the parking lot. After waiting about five minutes for an ostrich to get the heck out of the way we arrived in the parking lot, which consisted of about eight other cars and two school buses. We took the 40 minute tram ride through the 84 acres of wildlife with our two buckets of food. The animals literally come right up to the tram and attack your food buckets. The "tour guide" if you will, instructs you to "hold on with two hands because they will rip the buckets right out of 'em." Absolutely comical! Rylan stood on his seat almost the entire time, except when instructed by the "tour guide" to "hold on tight cause we are going down a hill." Weee... several bumps and jolts later, our tour continued. It kinda felt like a roller coaster. Again, very comical. After the tram ride came the walk to the barn, watching baby kangaroos hop around like crazy, pony rides, petting goats in the petting farm, prying goats' jaws off of Rylan's clothes in the petting farm, lunch, dodging animals to exit the park, and a ride home. What a blast!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful end to your May!

So Sweet!

Check out our new videos on Dropshots. There are five new ones...make sure you look at the last one on the top row (you can't see it so you have to click on "View all five.") I tried to capture us praying on video. It is one of the sweetest moments of my day. Rylan tries to say our friends and families names before I even do :). This was not perfect, but it was close :)

These are Days...

As I was jogging yesterday morning and listening to my iPod, I came across a song that I have always liked. I started to sing along like I always do, and it struck me...and put tears in my eyes. It describes my life PERFECTLY. I have never felt so much love and happiness, laughed on a daily basis, or have experienced pure joy as frequently. Thank you God for the opportunity to be a mother and wife to my amazing family.

These are the days

These are days you’ll remember

Never before and never since, I promise

Will the whole world be warm as this

And as you feel it,

You’ll know it’s true

That you are blessed and lucky

It’s true, that you are touched by something

That will grow and bloom in you

These are days that you’ll remember

When May is rushing over you with desire

To be part of the miracles you see in every hour

You’ll know it’s true

That you are blessed and lucky

It’s true that you are touched

By something that will grow and bloom in you

These are days

These are the days you might fill with laughter until you break

These days you might feel a shaft of light

Make its way across your face, and when you do

Then you’ll know how it was meant to be

See the signs and know their meaning

It's true, then you’ll know how it was meant to be

Hear the signs and know they’re speaking

To you, to you

10,000 Maniacs

Random Moments...new pics and videos (check links)

Fun Times!

Whew! What a busy week! It is Friday and I am NOT GOING ANYWHERE! We had a hectic week of errands, walks around the lake, gym class, a trip to the zoo, and pool time. I'm exhausted and nothing got accomplished around the house this week, but we had a blast and the week flew.

Rylan and I met our friends Cata and Vincent, and Kim and Will and Clare, at the zoo yesterday. Rylan is big into elephants right now, so he was very excited to see them! It has been very warm here these past couple of weeks, so after about an hour, we left the zoo with our bright red cheeked and sweaty children to go picnic in a park next to the zoo. As we were walking around the corner, we noticed that the park also had a splash pad! Whoo hoo! We ate our lunches, stripped down the kids to their diapers, and let them loose! Rylan LOVED every minute of it. After about 30 minutes and a soaked baby with a diaper that was ready to explode, we dressed and drove home. Rylan passed out about 10 minutes into the ride after a very fun-filled morning!

Today we have put some baby toys away in the attic, reaarranged the game room, and moved some toys into Rylan's room so that he can start playing and doing his independent time in his room. Rylan is enjoying the new space in the game room (he is running laps around the furniture as I type :) ). We look forward to a relaxing weekend by the pool!

Goodbye April!

This past month flew by! I am sure with our trip to Florida and our visit with Missi allowed it to just come and go so quickly. It was so fun to be able to see the grandparents this month. Rylan seemed to connect with all of them right away and I know he loved all of the attention. Jason and I also enjoyed the time with our parents. They are all so patient, loving, generous, and helpful. We are so lucky to be so blessed.

I definitely am beginning to see Rylan more as a little boy now instead of a baby. He still is not a huge talker, but he understands almost everything that we say to him and communicates with us by either attempting a word, sign language, or pulling our hand and showing us what he wants. He is quite the little character and still loves his cars (or "bars" as he would say). I could take away every other toy in this house and he would be okay with playing only with his "bars." I love watching him slowly push and line up each one. He plays with them so intently.

We are looking forward to an overnight trip next weekend to Austin to visit with Katie, Mike, and Ashlyn, who will be in town for a conference. We can't wait to see them!

Safety Beads!

My neighbor has come up with a great idea: Safety Beads. Essentially, she makes bracelets out of beads with the child's name and your cell phone number on it. When you go to a mall, park, zoo, or wherever, you can put the bracelet on your child so that if they get lost, your number will be on them. If you are interested or can think of anyone that might be interested, visit her website at www.safetybeads.com

We had a blast!

We just returned from a great vacation to St. Augustine, Florida with Grandma and Papa Shaw. We had a fabulous time and it was so much fun to see Rylan explore new surroundings. The first day we were there, we went to an Alligator Farm. Rylan insisted on walking around himself and loved watching and feeding the alligators and birds. On Easter Sunday, we ventured into Old St. Augustine and walked around the little streets and stores. There was a parade at 3:00 and Rylan sat in his little chair and was mesmerized by the event. He was a real trooper and was so well behaved even though he had not taken a nap. The other days were filled with beach time, collecting shells, playing in the waves, playing with cars (of course), and looking for little lizards. Thanks so much for the great time Mom and Dad!

We arrived home Wednesday and Missi arrived Thursday for some Rylan time. We went to the Children's Museum today for more exploration and look forward to some nicer weather come Sunday...hopefully.

There are hundreds of new pictures online to enjoy!

Fun Times!

This past week brought us tons of fun and entertainment. First and foremost, we were so very proud of our MSU Spartans for making it to the championship game on April 6th in Detroit. Watching the Spartans play for the past couple of weeks has been very exciting, and even though they did not win the final game, they had an awesome run. Go Green! On a side note, during one of the games, Rylan picked up my phone and had a conversation for about five minutes. He was tilting his heading, moving his hands, and making facial expressions while talking. I was laughing so hard I was crying and Jason actually muted the game so we could sit there and try to figure out what the heck he was saying!

Rylan and I had a week to ourselves last week while Jason was in Germany on business. It actually went very well because I kept us busy doing little craft projects at home. Daddy came home with gifts for both Rylan and me, so we enjoyed playing with our new things when he arrived home on Friday afternoon. Jason bought Rylan a couple of truck books written in German, so I used the Internet to translate them. I also listened to the German pronunciation of the words and Rylan was mimicking the sounds the man on the Internet was making. It was hilarious.

We also ventured to the Houston Children's Museum for the first time and ended up buying a membership. We went there with Kristen, Casey, and Andrew, but also met Brandy and Nicholas there. Rylan had so much fun and I can't wait to take him back. There will be things for him to really enjoy over the next few years and he loves to explore new things.

Rylan has been trying some new things out lately. He has managed to go potty on the big boy potty a few times before baths. I know we are a long way off before this happens consistently, but I think it is a good start. Rylan is also climbing things a lot more. The other day I was vacuuming my car out while he was playing in the garage, and the next thing I knew, he was in the front seat! He also managed to climb into his booster seat at dinner last night. Furthermore, Rylan now attempts to actually jump on the trampoline at gym. He bends his little knees and bounces. It is very cute! All of this activity probably is in direct correlation with his 18 month check up in which he grew an inch and a half and lost a pound and a half! "Long and lean is how we like them," said Dr. Harry (80th percentile for height/20th percentile for weight).

To end the week, Rylan and I attended an Easter Egg Hunt. He did well for about two minutes and then he thought the eggs were balls, and started throwing them :) Such a boy! There were also a bunch of activities for the children to do as well. We made a little cross necklace, a picture frame, decorated a cookie with frosting and sprinkles, and gave the Easter bunny high five!

Go SPARTANS!

Happy Birthday!

12 Months...18 Months

Reading the Sunday paper

Happy Birthday!

Rylan turned 18 months on Wednesday! Can it be possible that he is already half way to 2? We had a little birthday cupcake to celebrate. He gobbled that thing right up! My Mr. Picky lately sure did not have a problem with eating a sweet treat. I wonder where he gets that from. I am trying my best not to create a picky eater, making him eat whatever we are having for dinner. Some nights it goes very well, and then there are the nights in which he will only drink his milk and sign to eat more, but of course does not want more of what we are having. I have not given in though. I know he won't starve himself and eventually will learn to eat what we are...hopefully!

We also had fun this week dressing up to root for our MSU Spartans! Go Green! I think it will be a tough road to actually make it to the Final Four, but I am sure Coach Izzo will do his best to make that happen. Rylan already has green running through him. How could he not?

Rylan continues to enjoy the finer things in life: cars, reading the Sunday newspaper (or car and truck advertisements), stopping to smell the flowers, and being chased. He seems to be attempting new words each day, usually getting at least the front or middle part of them. He now says "chee" for pictures, and "ch ch" for trains. Slowly but surely we are getting there!