Ryan's message for the day: Duke s*cks.

Good girl...

Ian regularly praises Ryan by telling her "good girl" and now she has taken it upon herself to do the same. Repeating "good girl, good girl, good girl" as she does just about everything--tonight as she removed each letter from her alphabet puzzle she spared herself no praise!

Here she is enjoying her bubbles with Dad.

The D-Line...

We may have ourselves a football player after all. Ryan's class recently acquired a dancing Elmo for all the children to enjoy. Our girlie asserted her "ownership" of the class Elmo on Thursday when she noticed during snack time that one of her classmates was playing with him. She proceeded to drop her snack, run at the poor boy full-speed, tackle him to the ground, and take Elmo with her to the safety of the corner. I guess we will have to work on sharing...

Lady in red...

Today we decorated the tree and our girlie was kinda helpful. When the tree was trimmed we had a little photo shoot for our holiday card and here are some of our favorite outtakes.

A brush with the Big Guy...

Today we took our winter girlie to get a Christmas tree, and lo and behold, Santa was there! Tink had no recollection of meeting him last year, so it was a little uncomfortable for all. As soon as our little monkey collected herself, she was all for waving to Santa from across the room. Santa was pleased that Tink allowed him this brief encounter, but that was as close as we came to a Santa sit-down. Tomorrow we decorate the tree, but tonight, we cheer for the Panthers. GO PITT!

The BIG weigh in...

This morning I took Tink for her 15 month check-up with Dr. Manning. Our girlie is right on track and only had to endure three shots this time around. She weighed in at 23 lbs 1 oz (55th percentile) and is 2'4.5" tall (6th percentile).

Fun with yogurt!

Turkey day and 15 months old...

We went over to Nana and Pop's house to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. Dinner was delicious, Ryan and Sophie ran around like little maniacs, and the family photo would have turned out had our girlie not cried every time someone said "cheese." Happy Thanksgiving!

On Friday Tink turned 15 months old and the words just keep on coming. She has now mastered duck, frog, hot, Jack (for every dog--real, stuffed or ceramic), row (as in, row row row your boat), and wow. She has also started to blow on her food--regardless of temperature.

Caught!

Resourceful!




So BIG!

Four Generations...

This past week we had a special visit from Gamma and Great-Grandma Achter. They even stayed a few extra days to watch our Tink when she was too sick to go to daycare. In a moment of delirious energy on Sunday evening Ryan entertained us with her bike riding skills and organized the blanket basket with Great-Grandma. Thanks for visiting!

Trick-or-Treat...

Our little Tink went over to Nana and Pop's house for Halloween tonight. She put on her peacock costume and strutted around in search of treats. Happy Halloween!

14 Months Old...

Our Tink is 14 months old today and she is getting to be such a big girl! Here she is demonstrating one of her newest talents: eating with a fork!

The pumpkin patch...

Today we continued an October tradition started last year with Auntie Annie by visiting the pumpkin patch at Winding Brook Farm. Auntie was in town visiting for a week and able to capture our visit in pictures again. This time Tink was mobile enough to explore the pumpkin patch, ride around in a fun little wagon, and climb through a couple of gigantic fallen tree trunks. Can't wait for Halloween!

Miss Sylvie...

Yesterday we visited the Wahn family and got the chance to meet little miss Sylvie who is just too cute for words! Ryan was as gentle as a 13 month old can be touching the baby's legs and investigating all of her things. One thing Ryan was not so sure about was the dog and I think that the feeling was mutual.

Sophie's Birthday Party...

This morning we made the trip out to Shady Hill Farm to celebrate cousin Sophie's second birthday! Ryan had a fun time checking out (from a distance) the puppies, goats, pigs, chickens and pony. Then we went on a hay ride to the pumpkin patch to pick out one of our very own. Finally we headed back to the barn for pizza and cake. Happy birthday Sophie!

P.S. Thanks for the super cute outfit Auntie Natalie!

"Happy 34th Birthday Daddy!"

One Over Sized Check Later...

Today we made the trip tip to Atlantic City, NJ for Zach's 5K Run and Fun Walk in support of Hunters syndrome. While we did not run or walk, we did enjoy time on the slide and an excellent soft pretzel. After the run Ian accepted an over sized check on behalf of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to fund new research.

On the way home we stopped in Chestnut Hill for lunch at Cafette. Ryan gobbled up some delicious french toast with bananas. Then we headed home for a well deserved nap.

It's a girlie...

Our friends Katie and Steve welcomed little Sylvia (Sylvie) Anne into the world on September 23rd at 4:13 a.m. She weighed in at 7 pounds and was 20 inches long. Tink is thrilled to have another girlie to play with and can't wait to meet her!

A baker's dozen...

Today our special little monkey turned 13 months. We think the worst of the teething is over, as she chatted it up at Nana and Pops while watching the Eagles. Mom had to fly to NC for work so Tink and Daddy went over to eat pizza and watch the game. We miss Mommy already, and hope that Friday comes soon! Until then, our little year plus one month girlie will surely occupy Daddy's time with many MANY toys.

The molars are coming, the molars are coming!

Our girlie has been a bit of a bear this past week and all signs are pointing to more teeth. The next chompers scheduled to come in are molars and they are proving to be the worst ones yet! She wants her nuk, she does not want her nuk. She wants her bottle, she does not want her bottle. She wants to be held, she does not want to be held. She is too exhausted from crying to eat dinner or take a good bath. She wakes up multiple times a night because she is uncomfortable and hungry. Then she gets up at the crack of dawn (4:30 a.m. this morning) wanting to play with her Play-Doh and then falls sound asleep on the two minute car ride to school because she has been up for three hours. And the drool is everywhere! We are hopeful that a little time and another bottle of children's Tylenol will get us through this one?!

The perils of being a young toddler...

For the past three weeks Ryan has been going to the young toddler class at school. The transition has been a bit of a struggle (mainly for Mommy) as she is expected to eat her meals at a table, take her ONE nap a day on a mat, wear shoes all day, and other big girl things.

The peril came into play last week when I received a call at work relaying that Ryan had been bit by one of her overzealous classmates on the face. Yes, it did break the skin and no we did not ask who the little biter was. Auntie Annie exclaimed that she was just so sweet who could resist taking a bite out of her?! While that may be true we are hopeful that this was a one time experience.

Its Fall in Philly!

Just a couple final summer shots of our Tink before we put away the dresses and get out the sweaters. Tink is having a few issues with her teeth, as in, they are coming in and making her cranky. Poor little girlie. In the meantime, her playroom is almost done and ready for playtime!

1st Birthday Party, Take 2...

This past weekend we made the trip out to Ohio to deposit Great Grandma back at home and to celebrate Tink's 1st birthday with family and friends--even Auntie Kissy made it up from Atlanta! Auntie Annie orchestrated a great party on Sunday afternoon with tons of toys for all of the kiddies, a harvest table, and mini food (from burgers to cupcakes). It was a beautiful day and everyone had a wonderful time catching up.

On Saturday we took Ryan for her first boat ride up the Maumee River. Papa met us at the docks and then we were off. Ryan was not thrilled with her life jacket and ended up sitting on the floor playing with the dock ties most of the trip. We did suffer one casualty on the trip when she threw her sippy cup overboard in a fit of anger.

Big thanks to everyone for a fun holiday weekend!

Great Grandma Johansen...

This past week our Tink has been spending tons of quality time with Great Grandma Johansen. She has stayed home from school to snuggle for naps, learn patty-cake, play pizza party (thanks Heller Family for a great gift!), and boogie to the Curious George soundtrack 'til she just can't boogie anymore! We love having Grandma visit and hope that we have not wore her out so much that she never comes back!

My girl likes to party all the time, party all the time...

Yesterday, our girl enjoyed friends, music, cupcakes and being the center of attention at her east coast birthday party at Nana and Pop's house. When she could tear herself away from the makeshift ball pit, she spent her time chasing the other kids around and acting much like the big girl she is. Now, we rest the remainder of the week until birthday party number 2......Ohio or bust! Tink thinks Great Grandma's cupcakes are the best--she gobbled up three of them!

1 Year Well Visit...

This afternoon we made the trek to Chestnut Hill for Tink's one year well visit with Dr. Kline. Ryan is doing great and can now venture into official big girl territory--drinking whole milk, facing her car seat forward, eating strawberries (which turned out to not be a good idea--she broke out in red splotches all over her face), and tasting Great Grandma Johansen's chocolate frosting! She weighed in at 21 lbs. and 7 oz. (50th percentile) and is 26'3/4" in length (5th percentile).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lazy Sunday...

Yesterday we went to Nana and Pop's house for dinner, as family friends Chris and Dave were in town visiting from Washington state. We had a wonderful afternoon catching-up and were treated to some fabulous food from the Italian Market. Tink was a bit skeptical of the newcomers, however she did warm up enough (after a nap and some vanilla ice cream) to allow kisses goodbye. Safe travels home Chris and Dave!

P.S. Happy Birthday Uncle Fernando!