finally some photos!

Crazy Professor?

I love cookies!

Easter Bunny

Update

I've been back to work since late January, as you might be able to tell from the lack of postings. Steve is currently in week 5 (or so) of his 7-week FMLA leave and I think he's enjoying his time off. He finished the floors and is about to cut down the jungle in the backyard (thanks, Dad Saito, for helping with the front!).

Ryan is now almost 10 months old! His list of experienced food now includes rice cereal, mixed grain cereal, yo baby yogurt, peaches, pears, apples, mangos, avocado, peas, green beans, sweet potato, squash, regular potato, cheerios, happy baby chick chick (yes, this is the name of the meal - it includes chicken, spinach, butternut squash, and green beans. It's actually not that bad), bagel, tofu, ground beef, zwieback toast (holy cow, what a mess!), orzo, shredded cheese (but he doesn't really like the last two). He often crams a bunch of food in his mouth and then gnashes for awhile or cries when he realizes he has to try to swallow all of the bits. He is a very good eater...wonder where he gets that from? No teeth yet, but lots of drool, which has pretty much been the case since he was 2 months old. He's weighing in at about 21-22 lbs. and is about 29" (when we went to the dr., he's average weight and length); his big ol' noggin continues to register in the 9oish percentile.

He's gone on a few outings to places like the SF Zoo (he found the ducks and goats very funny), SJ Earthquakes game (where he managed to fall asleep until I started yelling with excitement), Santana Row, and various friends' houses for get-togethers.

Yesterday he finally starting to do a forward crawl. Up until now, he's been rolling about, backward scooting (and getting really angry about not getting where he wants to go), and doing a drunk man's stagger by holding on to the fingers of whomever is willing to hunch over and take him around the house. He's fascinated and entertained by the animals and has given Montie and Kobee (Grandma Pat and Yeh-yeh's dog) a few snacks (intentionally or not). He still is a very happy little guy and has lots to say to anyone who will listen. Photos coming soon!

First "Airplane"

Here's Ryan zooming around in his first pretend airplane, compliments of Grandma Ann.
Sometimes it's the least expensive toys that bring the most pleasure; in this case, it's the free toy that does the trick (we get our organic veggies/fruit delivered in this box). Ready for takeoff!

Water baby

We just got this picture from the Stachnic's. They invited us over for the last BBQ of the summer and Ryan got a chance to swim (skinnydip!) for the first time. He's about 3 months old in this picture. He didn't cry or anything. To him, it was probably just like one big bathtub. No cannonballs yet, but by next year, lookout!

Coach of the Year

The girls on the Tornados showed up to the award ceremony for CYSA coach of the year. I was so happy to have them there. I think they were happy to get all the free loot from the Soccer Expo ;-).

It felt very weird to get an award for something that I love to do. In fact, I cannot imagine my life without Tornado Soccer. I want you all to know that I'm so very grateful to have you all (past and present) as part of my life. You girls mean more to me than you know. Thank you for changing my life. And remember! We did this together!

Sittin' Up!

Ryan's able to pretty much sit up now, but not for long. We caught him here early enough that he's still smiling. That bib is lookin' pretty soggy too. I think we'll see a tooth soon!

Fixin' Up the House

So now that Steve has a break from coaching soccer, here's what he's doing to keep busy! The true "before" picture of the living room would contain a pool table and a bunch of random stuff (weight bench, dart board, dog kennel) and the true "after" picture would have all of the furnishings (foosball, couches, tv etc.) but at least you can see a bit of Steve's handiwork with the floor. We're currently working on painting the dining/living room area and have ripped up the old floor down to the subfloor. Soon, I'll be preparing to go back to work (semester starts at end of this month) so the house projects will need to be finished by then.