Water Table

Poppy and CC got Ryan a water table last week and Lee broke it out yesterday afternoon and put it together.  We knew it would be a hit....he loves playing in water, and boy he had a blast.  He would stand there playing forever if we let him.  Dipping and pouring, dipping and pouring.  Tons of fun for a little guy.  Here are some shots of him playing last night before bath time.  

Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend the Cox family came to Wilmington to visit.  We had a blast hanging out with them and hope to see them again real soon.  The kids are about 3 months apart in age so they are all in the same stages at the same time.  Fun to watch them all play and interact.    

Ryan has been into giving his friends love lately...either by hugging or kissing, or both.  Here Miss Jillian was eating her dinner and Ryan snuck in at got a smooch.  He's been on a roll lately with the kisses.  We all had to laugh.  Here are the pics and quick video.

(If you get this emailed to you directly, please follow this link to go to the blog to view the video at www.leelaura.blogspot.com.)

Sunday morning we hit the beach bright and early for some fun.  The kids enjoyed playing in the sand.  Jillian loves the water but Jenna and Ryan...not so much. 

This weekend we had a quick visit from one of my buds, Brittany, from back in my younger single days (who was actually with me the night I met Lee and I probably would have never met him if it weren't for her!!!).  We're both married now with kids the same age and it was great to see Brittany, Mike and Delaney (they live in Biloxi).  We haven't seen Mike since they got married 4 yrs ago and had never met Delaney.  A quick visit, but a good one!  We wish we lived closer to each other so we could enjoy each other's company and the kids could grow up knowing each other.  Here are some pics of the kids.

Love at First Sight....

Poppy and CC got Ryan a train table this week and brought it down when they came to visit.  He's been really into train tables when we have been places that have them.  He just loves anything that rolls....trucks, cars, trains, airplanes,etc.  When we have been places where there is a train table, he'd have so much fun rolling and pushing the trains all over the tracks.  He loves it.  His new word is Choo Choo for trains.  He's also making the sound effects for when he's pushing cars or other vehicles around.....vrmmmm vrmmmm, etc.  Using that imagination I guess!!??  He was so cute the night that we got the table set up.  It was like Santa had come and he didn't want to quit playing to go to bed.  We had to take down the single bed that has been in his room and put it in the shed to make room for this big table (good thing we just cleaned out the shed...now it's full again).  But it's so worth it!!  He has started to play more independently without Mama by his side...something we have been struggling with (yeah, I know it's his age and stage to not want to play independently too, but...) but we really want to get him used to playing by himself.  With the baby on the way, Mama is not always going to be able to be his play partner!!  Plus it's just good for kiddos to be able to do that and rely on their own creativity and imagination.  Here are some pics from the night we got the table set up.  He's in LOVE!!
We will be taking the table to Burlington when David and his family come home this summer so his kiddos can enjoy it during their stay in the states.  I know that Tobin will love it too.  When they arrive Tobin will be the age Ryan is right now.  So much fun.  We can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!

Water Day at Anna and Tad's

I had an OB appointment to check on our little fellow today so Anna graciously agreed to watch Ryan for me while I was at the doc.  She had a great idea for the kids to play with water toys today.  Ryan LOVES to play with water so we were excited.  Two other friends came over to play too, both named Sadie.  It looked like lots of fun although I missed the about 95% of it since I was at the doc.    Poppy and CC just gave Ryan a water table yesterday so we are looking forward to breaking it out!  We know he'll love it.    Here are a couple pics from the kiddos playing in the water today.

Family Time in Smithfield

Today after church we headed to Smithfield to visit with Lee's Mom's family.  Lee has one uncle and 3 first cousins.  All the cousins have kiddos so we had a house full today at our visit.  Here are a couple pics from our visit in Smithfield.

The three youngest.  L to R:  Ryan, Ireland and Reese.  We're not sure what cousins the kids are to each other...maybe 3rd or 4th cousins?  (Ireland and Reese both turned 3 recently)

 Ryan enjoyed sitting in the rocking chair with Reese.  He could even semi say her name.  He's really into giving hugs these days to his friends so he and Reese hugged a couple of times. 

Grandy (or as Ryan calls him these days...GeeGee) was reading a book to the kiddos, big and small.  It was super cute. 

 We had a fun time catching up with Lee's extended family today.  We only see them about once a year so it was nice to visit.  The kids change so much in that amount of time! 

Saturday Afternoon at the Park

Yesterday afternoon after nap time we took Ryan to Hugh McRae Park for him to play and run around some.  They have a toddler park and a big kids park so it was nice to have him on the toddler friendly area where the bigger kids aren't plowing him over.  Also, the bars are closer together and he can run on the higher platform area without us having to climb up there with him, plus the slides are small kid friendly.  Here's a few pics from our family outing!

Running up and down the platform all by himself.  So much fun.

Dadda!  Dadda!!

Daddy and Ryan sliding down the bigger slide together.  I think Mama's days might be numbered on going down the bigger slides.  We'll see how I feel as I get bigger!

It's a....

BOY!!!!!

Our little fellow is doing great.  He is measuring about 7 oz right now so he's still tiny.  We got a good look at his hands, fingers, feet, toes, and other limbs.  He was spreading his fingers and toes out for us to see, just like Ryan used to do.  So cute! 

Will it be a BOY or a GIRL?

Tomorrow is a big day for the Crafts!  We have our anatomy scan at the doctor to check on our little one and while they are checking out all of the organs and limbs they will be able to tell if it's a boy or a girl.  What do you think it will be?  As Lee says....there's a 50/50 chance either way!  We'll keep you posted!!!  Saturday I will be 17 weeks.  Wow...it's flying by!!

Happy As A Clam

Ryan has really started enjoying getting on our bed and playing.  It works out for us both.  He loves it and it keeps him in one place for a bit so I can get ready or put make-up on.  He will walk up to our bed and pat it and say "hep" (which at our house means HELP) so I just plop him up there and he's happy as a clam.  Now, we've had to learn about the edges of the bed the hard way....a little fellow can fall off if he gets too close, but he does love it!  Win win for us all!