Apple Picking!

We have a great apple orchard right behind our neighborhood. It is within walking distance. They have over 100 varieties of apples that you can pick from the trees. It is so much fun to walk the rows and pick fresh apples. We went apple picking as a family last weekend and then Ryan, his Nana and I were able to go again this past Wednesday. We have had an apple cake and there is hot apple crisp waiting for dessert tonight! YUM! Here are a few pics of our apple picking adventure.

New Skills

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Ryan is constantly amazing us with his new skills. He honestly learns something new each day! He has perfected his "Touchdown Ryan." When we say "touchdown," Ryan throws up the sign. Check out the short video.


He has also started moving around - all the time! He has not quite mastered the art of crawling; however, he has mastered the art of belly scooting. He uses both arms and both big toes to propel himself forward. He has become rather speedy as well. If I would just spray his tummy with a little floor cleaner, he would be a huge help on cleaning day :)


The other, not so enjoyable, skill is learning to pull up to standing. This skill seems to be best performed in his crib. The two major problems with this are...he does not know how to sit back down and he likes to practice during nap time and occasionally in the middle of the night (i.e. 4am)! So, once Ryan has stood himself up, he screams frantically while hanging on for dear life until we go get him. Hopefully soon, he will learn to get back down on his own. This picture is taken during nap time while he should be sleeping and he is a rather sad boy.


We love watching Ryan grow and accomplish each new skill.

Catch with Daddy

Ryan is at a really fun age right now - 10 1/2 months. We have a great time with him each and every day because he brings us so many smiles and so much laughter. Everyday he surprises us with something different - a new skill learned, a new facial expression or a new sound. Recently, he has learned to play catch (or Ryan's own version of catch). Here is a short video of Ryan playing catch with his daddy.

Labor Day Weekend

Over Labor Day weekend, we took a trip to Wisconsin to visit some family friends at Green Lake. They have a beautiful home on the water. We were able to spend 2 full days there, relaxing, boating, and eating! Ryan is a terrific little traveller and we are so thankful for that. Here is the O'Neal family on the boat...


Here is Ryan driving the boat...but as you can see he is not quite sure what to do with the steering wheel-oh well, we have 16 more years to work on that!

Here is Ryan swinging in the fantastic swing Elton hung from the tree for him.