18 Months

September 3, Cyrus turned 1 1/2. YEAH!

 

Some tid bits I don't want to forget about him at this age are:

 

-Very busy (he NEVER sits still for more than 2 seconds).

-Follows his big brother around.

-Loves to climb (I found him in the sink one day and had no idea how he managed to get up there).

-Everything and everyone is 'dadty'.

-Only has 4 teeth (2 on top and 2 on bottom).

-His hugs and kisses are few and far between but so sweet when you do get one.

-Enjoys riding on Daddy's shoulders while he is mowing the lawn.

 

 

-He'd run away from us if he got the chance and never look back (Where's the stranger danger people talk about at this age?).

-He's good at giving high five and knuckles/bones/pound it (whatever you want to call it).

-Loves other kids.

-Wants to play the trumpet like his Grandpa.

 

-Enjoys putting objects in the toilet (including his head).

-Has been caught eating crayons.

-Very good at making a big mess (Especially when he eats).

 

-Likes to stand at the dishwasher and try to shut it while mom/dad is trying to put dishes in it.

-Drinks ALOT of milk.

-Likes to put lids back on containers, close drawers, doors or anything that is open

-Can say mama, uh-oh, dadty, baah (which means ball).

-I think he'd like to be a chicken because he enjoys hanging out in the coop.

-With as little amount of words he can say he's very good at comunicating with sounds or pointing. If that doesn't do the trick he'll just grab your finger and drag you to where he wants to go.

-Can say 'more', 'please' and 'all done' in sign language.

 

Yesterday I took Cy to his 18 month wellness check up. While we were waiting for the doctor to come in Cy found a cupboard and climbed inside to sit. Then of course Ryker wanted to join in, so the two of them sat in the cupboard while we waited for the doctor to come in.

His stats are...

Weight: 24.4lbs (28%)
Head Circum: 48.5cm (69%)
Height: 33 1/2 inches (80%)

I was totally blown away by his height percentile because he's always been in the 20's and 30's for Weight and Height. I mentioned that to Dr. Reese and so he wondered if maybe he was measured wrong. So he measured Cy himself and sure enough it was accurate. That means that Cyrus grew TWO INCHES since JUNE! That is just crazy. No wonder his clothes have been looking rather small on him.

Homeward Bound

Early Friday Morning the four of us started our journey home. First was the two hour drive from Eugene to Long Beach in our rental car. The boys did great, Ryker watched a movie and Cy just was chill the whole way. He was probably just delierous from us waking him up at 6 in the morning.

 

We made it to the airport and got on the flight with no problems (flying stand by is always a guessing game). The next flight though... from Long Beach to Salt Lake... wasn't looking so good. My mom had put me on a super pass so that I'd be on for sure, but that made it so Jesse and Ryker wouldn't be able to get on. Unless 15 people miraculosly didn't show up.

 

Unfortuneatly our predictions came true. I made it on the flight home, but Jesse and Ryker did not.

 

 Jesse rented a car to get himself around town because they had a half a day and night to kill. Then he called his cousin Sarah and her husband John who live 20 minutes from the Long Beach airport. They were actually on their way to go camping, but they met up with Jesse and gave him their keys to their place so Ryker and Jesse would have some where to sleep. Talk about life savors! They are great people!

Long Beach was unusually hot for this time of year so Jesse decided he didn't want to pass up the oportunity to go play in the ocean. He bought cheap bottoms and towels for him and Ryker so they could go swimming (Keep in mind they didn't have anything because all the luggage was sent with me).

While on my end I was feeling worried that Cy would be super hard to handle all by myself. On the past three flights we had our own row, so that gave him room to wiggle. But on this flight he was confind to my one seat. I was worried he's bother the people next to us. But I think the heavens opened up for a moment beacuse by the time the flight attentants brought us our snacks, Cyrus laid in my arms and fell asleep.

The rest of the flight was jsut peaceful. I didn't care that my arm was falling asleep and it felt like it was going to fall off. He was asleep and I wasn't going to move.

My mom picked Cy and I up at the airprort on arrival. Bless her heart she sent Chantel inside to help me with all my luggage. I already had a handful as it was with just mine and the boys, but I had Jesse's as well. So the extra help was very much apprecited.

It was good to finally get home. Cy was just thrilled as well. Once we arrived the first thing he wanted to do was to go in the back yard. I let the chickens out and Cy just chased them around like he had never done before. Just laughing the whole time.

Jesse and Ryker made it on the flight the next morning. Sing praises! Everyone made it home.

Oregon Coast

Thursday we all debated on what we could and should do. It was our last day so we decided to do something fun. Manda and Jon thought it would be a good idea to take us to see the Oregon coast. And it turned out to be a great idea.

 

Once we got there we stopped and ate a place called Mo's. They mostly serve seafood, so at first I was a little nervous. I've become way more open to eating fish now than I was 8 years ago. So I was a brave girl and ordered the halibut and it was the yummiest halibut I had ever had (I don't have much to compare it to since I haven't had halibut all that much, but I loved every bite).

 Then it was off the the coast. Jon took us to this hike called Hobbit Hole. This trail was about a half a mile down hill through a thick beautiful forest.

 Believe it or not, but yes there is a baby in there. Max is so tiny it looks like Jon is just carrying a blanket.

At the end of the half mile the trail turns into a tunnel of trees (hence the name of the trail). It's this way for about 20 feet then it opens up into a sandy beach. So cool!

It's not your typical beach you'd imagine. The water is ice cold and the air was breezy. But with our light jackets it was perfect to walk along the beach.

 With the water being as cold as it was I thought there was no way Ryker and Cyrus would want to go in. And if they did I thought they wouldn't return. Well I was completely wrong. Both of them were walking through it like it was bath water. I was a baby about it if my toe got wet while they were soaked up to their waste and didn't make one complaint.

 

We eventually made it over to the rocky shore. The tide was down so we were able to look for sea creatures.

 We saw several sea urchins but the boys favorite were the star fish. I love this picture of them. They would have spent the whole rest of the day there if we could have. But we still had an hour and a half drive back to Eugene.



 

The hike back up had a whole new feel to it. I thought it was so amazing that this green lush forest was right next to a beach. It's crazy to go from strolling on the beach to hiking in the mountains within a half a mile. So awesome!



We got home alot later than we'd expected but it didn't matter, it was all SO worth it. Thanks go out to Manda and Jon for a fun day!

After we ate dinner Jon drove Jesse out to the Eugene airport to pick up the rental car. The next morning we had to head home. Darn it. The whole week went by way too fast.

Play Day

Since Jesse and Jon were now home, Manda and I took advantage by doing some shopping without the boys. Of course we brought Max along so Manda could feed him when needed. But he's easy he just sleeps in the stroller the whole time until he gets hungry.

 

We told the guys to meet up with us for lunch once Cy woke up from his nap. So Manda and I headed off to Old Navy where she had some coupons she needed to use. And she was super helpful to me while I was trying to put together outfits for our upcoming family photo shoot. Just another reason why I can't live without my sisters.

 

With in a few hours we heard that the boys were on their way. So we headed over to the restaurant to eat. The plan today was to go to the Science Museum. We thought it would be way fun for Ryker and Cy.

 

So after lunch we followed Jon and Manda over to the Museum.  As luck would have it, the museum was closed for some exhibit change. Darn it!

 

The only other thing we could think of that was cheep was to take the boys to a playground. You can never go wrong there.  

 

We hung out there for a few hours just enjoying the nice weather and each others company. It's so great not having to worry about being some where.



 

 Without fail...Ryker made friends right off the bat.

 Cute new family they make!

After playing hard Jon and Jesse took the boys back home, while Manda and I headed off to the mall to finish up our shopping.

About a half hour into shopping it was time to feed Max. So Manda just stayed in the dressing room and fed and changed him. I think we were in there for a half hour or so. It's a good thing it wasn't very busy or the workers would have probably wondered what the heck we were doing in there for so long. haha. A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do.

Baby's First Outing



Since Manda and I were home alone with the boys due to our husbands off hiking Mount St Helens, we decided to take the boys the a park. We had to chuckle a little bit because we were concerned that all three car seats wouldn't fit in the car together. But would luck have it they all did. 

 Manda is still getting to know the Eugene area so trying to find a park was a little tricky. It was a cute little park that we were able to sit on the bench and watch the boys do their thing.

 Ryker once again makes friends right off the bat. He's always right in the middle of a group of kids. What a social little butterfly this kid is. I love it.

 Cy keeps to himself. I think it could be because of his age but I think once he gets older he'll be just as social as Ryker is.

 Just a little humor for our own sake. Gus didn't really like it so much, but we thought it was funny.

 After the park we went back to the house. I needed to get dinner going so it would be done in time for Jon and Jesse's arrival I was so excited to see Jesse. We had been only apart for three nights. So it shouldn't be that big of a deal, but I was missing him so bad.

Jon and Jesse told us all about their adventure (Post to come) while we all ate dinner.  Then Jesse got to meet and hold little Max.

New Cousins



Cyrus and Ryker were thrilled to finally meet their new cousin Max. I was really taken back by how much Cyrus took to him. 

 We do have to keep an eye him though because of how curious Cyrus is of Maxwell. He'd probably poke Max's eye out if we weren't watching.

I giggled at this picture. Cyrus kept tapping Max's nose. It was so cute.

And the big cousin, Ryker. He loves the little ones. At one point while he was holding Max he was bouncing him so gently. So sweet.

 Look at this cute face. He's a keeper. We all love him.

Oregon Bound

Back in June when Manda and Jon were vistiting we made plans with them to visit in September when their baby boy was born. Jon's dad, David had also reserved some permits to hike Mount St. Helens on September 11.

 

Our plan was to drive up with the boys early Sunday, Sept 9. Then Jon, David and Jesse would head out to the Mountain on Monday night and campout on the base  then wake up early and do the hike on Tuesday.

 

As the trip drew closer and Jesse was applying at South Salt Lake Fire Department he found out that the hiring test was on Monday September 10 at 2pm. So our original plans weren't going to work out so good.

 

With my mom's Jet Blue benefits we were hoping that we could fly out after Jesse's test. But it turned out that the flights wouldn't get him to Portland until way late at night. So Jesse decided it would be best to buy a one way ticket on Southwest from SLC to Portland Monday night.

 

That left me with both of the boys and there was no way I was going to drive 14 hours by myself with them. I figured it would be better to fly there. So after talking to my mom, we decided it would be best to take the SLC to Long Beach flight Saturday night, get a hotel, then take the morning flight to Portland, then rent a car and drive to Eugene. PHEW!

 

My mom was really sweet and came with me to Long Beach. It was SO helpful to have her with me. With two boys, two car seats, a huge suitcase and Cy's booster highchair it was so great to have the extra help. Especially through the airport security.

 

We were shuttled to our hotel where we were checked in to a room. Unfortunately it was on the TOP floor and there was NO elevator. Normally I wouldn't care about that, but when I have as much stuff as I had along with the boys...ugh. Again, Thank Heavens I had my mom there to help me out.

 

We went and grabbed some dinner and then went to bed.

 

We made it to the airport the next morning bright and early. The boys were so sleepy. It kills me having to wake them up. Ryker looked outside and flipped out that it was still dark outside.

Mom helped me get our stuff through security and then the boys and I took the Portland flight at 7:30am. Then mom took the SLC flight an hour later.

Luckily the boys and I got the whole row to ourselves. I was feeling grateful for that because I knew Cy would be a handful and I didn't want to bother someone else. It's a funny thing to watch other people with kids. Some are really sweet and just beam at my cute boys. Others are totally annoyed and are bothered by every noise they make (and I have to admit those kind of people really bother me). So I never know what to expect.

During our flight Cy sat down on the floor and was totally content for a good amount of time.

 Oh man. Do I love these boys!

 Making funny faces...

 ...more funny faces.

 Once we arrived in Portland we made our way (slowly) to get all our luggage and the rental car. I got so many stares and comments from people. I was pushing a stroller with Cy in it while dragging the suitcase with both the car seats hooked to it behind me.

I was very grateful to get that car. I didn't want to have to carry that stuff around any longer.

Once we got in the car I got the DVD player set up for Ryker and Cy fell asleep almost instantly. He slept most the way. It made for an easy relaxing drive.

 After a two hour drive we arrived at the Eugene airport around 12:30pm where I returned the rental car. Manda (and little Gus) were there to pick us up. Cute Cy was SO happy to see Gus.... And I was SO happy that we FINALLY made it.

 That night we walked up to the Duke's to see the chickens and the goats.

 The boys were totally thrilled with the goats. Lisa (Jon's mom) actually milked one of the goats while we were there. Ryker watched so closely. He was very intrigued by the whole process.

We chatted with David and Lisa for a minute and then came back to Manda's to get the boys in bed. It had been a very long day.

Preschool Dude

This little Mr. started his second year of Preschool today. Second years go on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for 2 1/2 hours. So he gets to go more often than he did last year and he stays an extra half hour.

 

I bought him a new back pack this year and he was pretty excited about it. When I was taking his picture he wanted to make sure that I got his back pack in the picture.

 

The preschool he goes to is a lady in our ward that lives right around the corner from our house. She too is the teacher the Ryker took swim lessons from all summer. W have become very familiar with her home/yard. So when taking Ryker over there this morning he didn't even look back. He just went right on in like he owned the place. Glad to see that he was excited and comfortable with going.

 



I know all moms say it but.... He's growing up too fast! Thankfully I get one more year out of him before he goes off to the big school.

Coming Home Present



Once we got home Jesse went to check on the Chickens. He opens up the coop where the boxes are for them to lay eggs and there were 5 EGGS in there.

 

We are probably retarded that we are so excited over these eggs. But they are the first of many. And we have raised these chickens for baby chicks so it's very rewarding.

 They start out really small, but they'll get bigger (or so I've read and heard).

 

 



Labor Day in Moab (Day4)

Last the best of all the game was Tyson and Tayler's day.

 

With the fact that life still had to begin again Tuesday morning T&T made a wise decision to do a shorter day so we could all get home at a decent hour. After getting all the condo cleaned up and everything all packed up in the cars we all headed into town to get some souvenirs and then back to Arches to hike The Windows.

 

It's a mile loop that has several Arches all really close together. Perfect!

 At the last Arch we all ate some lunch.

 I don't know why, but this picture makes me laugh. He's just cute.

 These kiddos just love their grandma. They all ventured over just to sit in her lap or just be by her.

 Leaving Windows.

 On the way out (or in if your going) of Moab there is a HUGE sand hill that some of us wanted to play in before we headed home officially. One last hurrah!

 Jesse, Em, Dad, Ty, Ryker and I made our way up the top. And let me just tell you... it's not as easy as it looks. It's quite the workout.

 ...but we made it.

 Running down it was fun. Going full speed and knowing if you fall there's lots of soft sand to catch you. Jesse and Ty Jumped their way down it.

What a perfect way to end our trip. Unfortunately It went by WAY too fast! I'm already looking forward to next year!