More Great Falls

Here are a few more from this past weekend that I wanted to share.
I forgot to mention that we had our cousin, John with us on the hike. He turned out to be an expert diaper bag carrier and extra spotter for Lisa as she scrambled over rocks with Ryan.
When we stopped for a snack, Ryan reminded us that he truly is a little boy by getting his face, food and sippy cup covered in dirt.
As we made our way back to the car we saw some really great wildlife....a blue heron and some sunbathing turtles.

Pasta Thief

While recovering from yesterday's climbing adventure, Lisa decided to make some fresh pasta. I guess we should have known that Ryan wouldn't just politely stay out of the way. While Igor sits back waiting for something too fall his way, Ryan goes in for the kill.
It's pretty scary how tall he is getting too.

Super Mommy

We went to Great Falls yesterday to see the sights, wander some trails and spend the day outside. Lisa decided to put Ryan in the Beco instead of the stroller. Little did she know what she was in for....We ended up on The Billy Goat Trail. One hiker told us he had been on the trail for years and had never seen a baby as young as Ryan, another told us to turn back. Lisa persevered, Ryan had a blast, and we all got some great exercise.

The falls were a bit low with the lack of rain...See the blue blaze on the rock in the back, that shows the trail that Lisa carted Ryan across...But the view is completely worth it...After that stretch we stopped for a quick break where Lisa switched to the back carry to scale a steep cliff...
The bouncing up and down was pretty funny to Ryan at times. I definitely think he was a bigger fan of the back carry for some reason.

It's Football Season

When I was growing up, my mother made it very clear that I would never be allowed to play football. Who knows if Ryan will even want to, but with the NFL pre-season well underway, he is getting ready for kickoff.

Truck + Slide = Funny

Who knew that sending a toy careening down the slide would get such a laugh. He had actually calmed down quite a bit by the time I got the camera. I love his look of anticipation near the end.

Wide Open Spaces

We enjoyed the uncharacteristically mild August weekend by spending time outside. There was plenty of grass to run around on and practice walking on a different surface. Thanks to Uncle Tom to grabbing the camera while I was with Ryan.Sumo wrestler in training? The grass was so thick and lush - when Ryan sunk into it, it almost reached his knees.
I think he's proud of himself just for being able to walk through it all.
Sometimes, it is still easier to crawl - especially when trying to outsmart Daddy.

One Year round up

Ryan had his one year doctor appointment on Friday. Essentially, we have an 70 - 80th percentile baby. His head is actually down out of the 90's.
So's here's where we stand:
weight: 24 lbs. 1 oz.
height: 30 3/4 in.
head: 47 cm.

He's a happy healthy boy, full of curiosity. He has a great personality, walks almost all the time and is pretty much down to one nap a day. I am not sure if that's better or worse for Lisa. He likes our phone and TV remote better than any of his own toys and will bolt up the stairs any time he gets a chance. No real words yet, but he always has something to say :)

Hopefully year two will be filled with just as much fun and excitement (minus the cross-country move and drawn out background investigations). Only time will tell...

525,600 Minutes

Its 5:30 EDT - 2:30 PDT - and our baby boy, Ryan Alexander is one year old.

What you see above is the best way for me to sum up the year. It's a representation of my love of family through photography. It's my favorite picture of Ryan incorporating all of my favorite moments in time. His smiles, our trips. His milestones, nature's wonders. Ryan, blending into our lives. For this one, I highly recommend checking out original file. One picture, 2500 parts.

We love you, Ryan, Happy Birthday.

Mobile Zoo

If you've followed the blog during the last few months, you know that we all enjoy trips to zoos/animal farms/parks/locations that house animals, etc...Up until now, these trips consisted of pushing Ryan around in the stroller or toting him in a carrier. That made it pretty easy to keep track of the little guy, risk of escape was minimal. All that has now changed - Ryan is mobile. His new found ability to walk has changed the game completely.
And away we go...Come on, Mommy, you need to keep up...
OK, time to stop for a quick rest on this railing...OOOH, a waterfountain...Let's go, Mommy!!
Is that Daddy over there? C'mon, time to move again...

The Big Cousin

Our niece Catherine is really coming into her own in the role of Oldest Cousin. She has become particularly fond of Ryan the last few times they were together. They had a great tickle fight and his birthday party, and got along like siblings at the zoo.

Summer Spray 2.0

Our little squirt bottle couldn't compete with the heat-relief spray stations at the zoo on Sunday. Amazingly, Lisa seemed just as happy to be spritzed as Ryan was.
Hey, look - Daddy is staying dry. That comes with the territory when you've got the camera.

Happy Birthday Ryan!!

***Warning: Long post with many pictures ahead***

With Ryan's birthday falling on Thursday, we opted to have his party this past Saturday. We are so fortunate that family and friends were willing to travel all the way from New Jersey (some just for the day) to be a part of the celebration. We rounded it out with those from Virginia and had a wonderful time was had by all.

Ryan's favorite book is called "Baby Danced the Polka". It's about a little baby who should be taking a nap but instead decides to dance with his stuffed animals. With that in mind, Lisa made him an amazing cake - all from scratch - including little models of the baby and his stuffed friends...How cool is that? She put so much work into it. Check the SmugMug site for closeups of the animals. They are awesome. My mother-in-law also made adorable banners for Ryan making him the star of the book...As for the party, kids were the center of attention. Ryan's party outfit came courtesy of his Great Grandparents in Florida. It seems that in the hustle of party organization, we forgot to do his laundry. He was still an incredibly happy little guy. By the way, have I mentioned that he has two top teeth now :)

As for his cake, Ryan was pretty reserved. He took a very methodical approach. He peeled off a few polka dots, calmly made his way through the icing and eventually got to the cake. There was no real smashing. I think he spent a solid 20 minutes working on it.



Nothing a quick dip in the sink can't fix...
After all the food and fun, we had the chance for a great Zolandz family picture - Great Grandpa Zolandz with all three kids...Next time well get everyone looking in the same direction...