Pumpkin Patch!

 We looked forward to the pumpkin patch ALL year - and spent the day there yesterday.  This little guy couldn't have been happier

 We started off our day with a wagon ride out to the corn maze

 Our friend Addie was there too!

 These two are the cutest pair

 but getting a picture where they are both looking and smiling is impossible!

 awwww.... sweet daddy-baby moment

 The corn maze is a replica of the state of Washington - the same one we did last year

 This year we took a different route - we started in Clarkston

 Someone took a nice rest through the maze

 Every highway and interstate in Washington is carved into the maze

 and every city is there too

 12 acres of corn to walk through

 Katie took more pictures than me ;)

 fitting.

 When we made our way out of the maze - at "Grey's Harbor", it was time to pick a pumpkin

 Ryland was very particular - and passed up a lot of good ones before he found the perfect pumpkin

 He could barely lift it - but he tried!

 Addie found the perfect pumpkin too - she seemed to love them all!

 Ryland said "Addie!" over and over while picking pumpkins.  How nice to have friends with easy-to-say names :)

 getting a little fresh...

 Haha!

 Brent and his favorite babies

Love this one... Addie is not sure about this guy!

Love fall, the pumpkin patch, and our friends!

18 months old & a trip to Lincoln park

Last Sunday, I took the day off.  I've been working what seems to be non-stop lately. 

We went to Lincoln Park for our first time - it is a block away from Brent's work in West Seattle - right on the puget sound.  It's HUGE, and beautiful.  

 Look closely at this picture - there's a cute baby seal disguising himself as a baby log (he's hard to see, I didn't bring my zoom lens with me this day).  This part of the beach was roped off to give him some space.

 Our baby boy turned 1 1/2 on the 3rd.  

 He is the cutest jabbering 1.5 year old we know.

 His favorite things are:  cars, trains, trucks, buses, airplanes, boats (are ya seeing a theme here?)

He also loves animals - especially dogs, cats, ducks, and hippos (he always points out hippo pictures and toys)

He LOVES going to stores, and gets pretty darn sad when he doesn't get to leave for something.  I think the terrible twos have arrives a little early...  

 He is still a non-stop, climbing, adventurous, curious little guy.  He is ALWAYS busy.

 

He says new things every day - trying to repeat things I tell him.  He's mastered "I wandat" with a big smile ("I want that")

 Our neighbors have this toy - and we've borrowed it several times.  Why?  Because my child can play with it for HOURS.  Seriously - he once sat and played with this van for 1.5 hours before I forced him away from it for dinner.  It's the only time he sits still.  You know what he's getting for Christmas!  Of course he likes the "vintage" model that can only be found on eBay. 

 I love this age.  He shows us so much love.  He greets us with hugs, gives Shelby kisses on her nose, and plops down in our laps when he wants to be close.

 Despite him looking more and more like a big kid every day...

He still looks like a baby when he sleeps.

The Puyallup Fair

 It's been a couple of year since Brent and I ventured down to the fair - we though Ry-Ry might get a kick out of the crazy performers (um, see above!!), the animals, and tasty food.

 If you've seen little Ry in awe before, then you can probably imagine him wide-eyed and open-mouthed for the entire 3 hours we were there. 

 Taking it all in

 Ry-Ry found this pig to be terrifying - this big guy was squealing for some dinner!

 Walking through the barns

 It's called a "Yama" :)

 "Mom, do you see what this guy is doing?  He's nuts!"

 Of course we can't go to a fair without partaking in some greasy-goodness.

 Ry's first elephant ear

 my favorite entry - "head soup"

 He loved the dancers!

 

The saddest part was realizing he was too small to ride this ride - which he desperately wanted to go on.  He was trying to squeeze through the fence to get to those little cars!

And his favorite part?  The mountain boarders.  This little guy was ALL smiles for their show and constantly saying "WOW!" 

Playing Catch-up!

I'm not sure where the past month has gone, my apologies to our family who checks this page religiously for updates (thanks for the prompt, Mamaw!)

So here's a brief update on the last part of our summer:

I'm back in classes (finishing my online certificate program).  Bye-bye free time!

 We still hang out with "Tater" during the day - these little dudes are best buds (and at times they are nemeses...)

 Daddy likes his new job, but he has been working A LOT!  We say goodbye to him by 7am, and he's been making it home around 6 pm. 

 Some of our favorites, Micah and Paige, came for a visit from New York.

 

 

 This little man turned 17 months old!  Check out his beautiful hair color - I'm in love with it (and him)  He has lots to say these days, although he's a little hard to understand and doesn't quite understand my demands for him to "enunciate!" His favorite things to say are "whaadat?" ("what's that?"), "ahwhaaandat" ("I want that") and  "stuck!" ("I would like help getting up on the couch, mom")  He also enjoys making animals noises and we somehow accidentally taught him that cows growl. 

Mama: "Ry-Ry, what does a cow say?"

Ry: "grrrrrrrrr"

He is such a sweetie pie.

Here are some pictures of the past few weeks:

The other big change that's happened around here is:

This mama went back to work.  

I mean, I have been working - here and there - and mostly from home.

But NOW, I'm working with a few new clients just 1-2 days a week (we're talking 14 hour days here).  So I still have 5-6 days home with my gorgeous boy.  This brings my work total up to 22-30 hours per week.  

Oh, and did I mention it's a 1.5 hour commute each way? 

So between doubling my work hours, taking 2 graduate classes, spending hours each week in the car, and trying to be an awesome mom - my life has turned pretty crazy.  I hired an amazing nanny to help us out - the boys m

et her yesterday and they are as in love as I am.  Finding a competent nanny = the most difficult thing I've done in motherhood thus far!

But I am excited to soon be bringing in income for my little family again and begin paying off the nice little chunk of debt we've built up during our college years.  Ahhh, life.

So we're happy and hanging in there.  I think my sweet boy is due for a photo shoot soon.  New posts to come!