Meeting Atticus

My precious nephew was born this past Thursday, and I could not be more thrilled. Atticus weighed in at 7 lb 14 oz and is as cute as could be. We are so thankful for the safe & healthy delivery of this newest member of our family!

My brother & sister-in-law live about 2 minutes away from us, which is a blessing that I cannot even describe. I was thrilled to be able to go & meet this sweet baby at the hospital on Thursday night. Here he is!

so sweet


this was less than 5 hours after he was born - doesn't Ryan look amazing?

happy family

incredibly proud aunt - can you tell?

Today, Atticus got to come home from the hospital, and our whole family was able to go over & visit. Ryan could not wait to meet his little cousin, but he had an odd series of reactions once we got there.

Here is the first series of interactions - he went right over to see him at first, but fairly quickly decided he needed some space and then for a while watched from a distance:


After a while, he decided he was interested again & wanted to touch his toes:


Here's a photo of Mason holding Atticus for the first time. After a little while, Ryan looked at Daddy & said, "Mommy's turn" - I consider it a very good sign that he doesn't mind me holding a newborn!


my & my precious little nephew. Look at those eyes!


While I was holding Atticus, Ryan decided he wanted to come join us... (but not without his grapes):


...and then he decided that he wanted to try holding him:


Finally, a goodnight kiss for baby cousin Atticus. I guess Ryan's warmed up to him after all!


and a few extra photos of my super adorable nephew:

his first time in the swing & he got lost in his hat! :-)

tiny toes!

Just so you know...

I finally finished posting my series about Ampersand, but I back-dated some of them so that the blog would still be in chronological order... so feel free to go back & check them out! :-)

Best or Worst?

When I found out that Ryan's first day of preschool would be on my birthday, I had to wonder to myself: Will this be the best or worst birthday present?

We've been talking a lot about his turtle class & his teacher, Miss Pam. He had an open house last week, so he had some idea what to expect. He seemed excited, but sometimes, he's hard to read.

I, on the other hand, have been a nervous wreck and not nearly as excited about leaving him 3 mornings a week (2 for preschool & 1 for bible study) as I thought I might be when we signed up months ago. It seemed logical: "I'll be almost 8 months pregnant when he starts, so I'll want the extra rest, and of course once the baby is born, it will be great to have the alone time with him." But I am finding that being away from my baby is harder than it seems. I have been accustomed to spending all day every day with him for the past 2+ years after all!

Regardless, I know it is good for both of us, and so here we go. Today went better than expected - he went right into his room, sat down with some play dough, and when I told him to be good, he said "okay", gave me a kiss, and looked at me like he was ready to go. The leaving was no problem for either of us. Hooray! I definitely didn't think we'd get through that without one of us crying.

Best I can tell, he had a good time. He didn't talk much about it, which my mom tells me I'll have to get used to, having boys :-) And I have to admit that it was nice to have a couple of uninterrupted hours at home to work on preparing the nursery for our next baby.

Here are some required "first day of school" pictures prior to leaving:

classic

not sure what this face is all about


He got distracted by the garbage trucks

There's something innately cute about a tiny backpack on a tiny person


And here he is afterward, flirting with his girlfriend Emma while waiting for her big sister (and another best friend) Sophia to get out of her class. We all went to a double-celebratory lunch afterward at Souper Salad & had a GREAT time. Thanks, Smith ladies :-)


That evening, I got to celebrate my birthday some more with my wonderful local family, who made me feel so special & loved!


me & Ryan, before a yummy dinner at Maggiano's!


... and one (final?) pregnancy photo with my sister-in-law who is due on the 25th. Can't wait to meet that baby & see these cousins grow up together :-)


Thank you to everyone who made my birthday so special & Ryan's first day of school so manageable :-)

Ampersand Wrap-Up

All in all, it was an incredible year at Ampersand. I have so many more pictures that didn't fit into a category really, so here are some more photo highlights of our year:

Here, we went for a little walk in search of tractors/trucks - as you can see, we had some success!

reading with Aunt Monica


climbing on the big rock with Daddy - another one of my favorite things from when I was a child!

the traditional Adirondack chair photo - I can't decide which one I like better

one of Ryan's favorite things was having snack out on the porch in the tippy chairs!

more reading - this time with Uncle Dain

annual 4 generation picture with Nana & Grammie

playing with Mr. Bear

with Aunt Sara - Ryan's newest crush

Marshmallows & Ice Cream

Who can hang out in the mountains for a week without roasting marshmallows over the campfire? Not I! And definitely not with a 2-year-old who's never been introduced to the concept before! As you can see, he enjoyed the experience :)




And another of my favorite Ampersand traditions is cranking home-made ice cream. We've been doing it since I was very small. The rule was always that you had to help crank if you wanted to eat any. That's been relaxed a bit since we grew up, but Ryan had no problems helping out this year! In fact, it took a while before he would even let anybody else have a turn. This year, we made Heath Bar ice cream, and it was one of our more delicious batches. I guess Ryan is a natural.

solo & with Mommy

helping Aunt Debbie & Uncle Kyle

The first tastes... Uncle Avery showing him how it's done!

The Triathlon

For about a decade now, our family has been putting on and participating in the Ampersand triathlon. It consists of about a 1/3 mile swim, 1- 1 1/2 mile (we really have no idea) kayak, and 3 mile run. Compared to a real triathlon, it's pretty tame, but for the average person, it is quite a workout.

We take it pretty seriously, considering that it is all within the family and ultimately doesn't mean a whole lot. But it is great motivation for some physical training throughout the spring and early summer. Everybody has a role, even if they are not competing. It takes a whole day (minus meals & digestion time) because we only run 2-3 at a time. Some of my family may not agree, but to me... it's just a blast!

Here is the photo recap of the 2010 Ampersand Triathon:

Group 1 - Katy & Patrick


Katy in the kayak with Patrick close behind; Ryan watching intently, sporting his ridiculous sunglasses that he picked out; Mom doing her committee duties at the kayak/run transition


Ry was fascinated by the finish line and wanted so badly to run through it too, but he chickened out every time! I guess there's something unnatural for a 2 year old about running into something on purpose (even if it is just toilet paper!)



Group 2 - Dain & Kyle




Group 3 - Mason & Dad


showing off Mason's record-breaking finish :-) Congrats, sweetie!!


Ryan giving his Daddy a high five after his impressive finish. It must have been all of the "Go, Daddy, Go!" cheers that spurred him on to victory!


Group 4 - Debbie, Jim, and Aunt Monica


Uncle Avery taking a rest from his committee duties in between runs


Group Five: Jen & me!


I got a splinter in my foot right before I was supposed to start - bad timing! And they made me start from the water, even with Mr. Snappy potentially nearby - I guess jumping in wouldn't be great for the baby. I was smiling at the start of the kayak because my swim was decent, even though I knew the rest would not be so impressive! I was just happy to finish :-)

Ryan cheering me on at the finish line. So sweet!


The Champions: Mason, Dain & Kyle

Proof that P90X works!



The Participants


Thanks for another great race, everybody! :-)