First Steps!

Tuesday morning Ryan and Spencer woke up bright and early and headed to Green Bay. Spencer and Ryan both attended their first share holders meeting. Ryan said Spencer was excited to go to his first meeting and felt very grown up. I think it was fun and special day for the both of them.

The traditional picture.....

They had the mirror ball trophy from Dancing with the Stars.

You can tell Spencer really took a lot in. He's asleep!

Nolan spent the day with Grandma so I could have an Easton and mommy day. We had ice cream for a snack.

Went out to lunch. He is such a busy boy.....

He picked going to the movies for his special day. 

He even got to have quiet time on our bed.

My cousins Darren and Shellee stopped by on their bike. They were in the area and have never been to our house. Easton is our wild and crazy child but it's Spencer that has no fear for speed. He wanted a ride on the motorcycle. First he told Darren to go slow then told him to go faster. They only went around our cul-de-sac but he loved it. He would really like his Grandpa to get one of those.

We had conferences this week at school for all the boys. Here is what each of their teachers had to say....

Nolan:

He does great at throwing a ball, going up and down stairs, drinking out of a sippy cup, giving hugs and kisses. They wrote: We love having him in our Room. He's such a snuggle bunny. He brings smiles to our faces everyday with his silly face's and goofy giggles. In the next couple of months we will be working on walking, vocabulary, feeding himself with a spoon and sitting during circle time.

Easton:

He does great at climbing, understanding prepositions, using 2-3 word phases and sentences, dresses himself, playing with others and imagination play. They wrote: Easton has really come into his own since the last conference. He has made huge strides in his development while still keeping with his stubborn streak. He has a great personality and we cannot wait to see him expand his development even more.

Spencer:

He does great at balance and coordination, throwing and catching a ball, using a writing utensil correctly, putting puzzles together, writing letters (he struggles with the S) communicates ideas, feelings and can use six or more word sentences. He is able to dress himself, wash his hands after the bathroom, throw things away, plays well with others and helps with clean up. He can count past 10, knows his letters and number along with basic colors, shapes and body parts. They wrote: Spencer has matured and grown up in the last couple of months. He is our big helper. He does get distracted by those around him and this can lead to mistaken behaviors. Typically he only needs a few reminders.

Over all their conferences seemed to go well. We were happy with what all of their teacher's had to say. Easton is going to be the star of the classroom for the month of August.

The boys and I decided to visit Ryan at work for lunch. We finally have it figured out. Ryan reserves a conference room and gets our lunch before we even get there. This way we don't totally stand out in the cafe. Also his co-workers can stop in and see us. The boys had fun drawing on the white board and getting others to draw fun animals and cartoons for them.

The biggest surprise was Nolan took his first steps! Ryan's bosses boss was in visiting us. He was playing with Nolan and the next thing we knew Nolan took his first steps toward him. We told everyone that it was his first steps and they all got excited to see if he would do it again. Sure enough he took about 3-4 steps towards Mark. I couldn't believe it. Here we've been trying to get him to walk for weeks and his first steps are to someone that's a stranger to him. Either way I was excited to see him do it. He hasn't really attempted anymore independent steps but he is cruising holding onto things all around the house.

I love Mark's face here.

Our neighbor Nic offered to take Spencer to the park on Saturday with his little girl Peyton. She is the same age as Spencer. I guess they had a blast playing together. Spencer even got to go back to her house to rest. I got a text from Nic later saying Spencer had passed out on the floor. We are lucky to have made such great friends around us.

How cute is this picture?

Ryan went to the Twins game with a few neighbors today. About a month ago a little boy went missing from his home in Ellsworth, WI. After a long search for this little boy, it was my friend Missy's husband and dog who found him in the woods. They celebrated this little boy being ok and Jason for finding him by having them throw out the first pitch. Ryan sent me this text of them on the jumbotron. Jason is wearing the blue shirt.

While Ryan was at the Twins game I had 2 little boys with WAY too much energy. So I took them to a Sky Zone. It's a big room filled with wall to wall trampolines. It was a tad expensive (I had to pay $12 for Nolan!) but well worth it. I figure we can take advantage of this in the winter when we are stuck inside all the time.

Afterwards we were all hungry so we went to my favorite place for lunch, Panera. The boys were very well behaved and ate great. I think they were tired.

Ryan showed Spencer what sparklers are after he found some in the garage so they've been doing a couple each night this weekend.

Nolan loves playing with the washer and dryer.

Ryan and I had a much needed date night on Saturday. The weather was perfect this weekend so we enjoyed a nice dinner out on a patio.

We are getting new neighbors. You may have heard me mention one of Spencer's friends named Sam in past posts. It's his family that will be building on the lot next to our house. We are excited to have them join our cul-de-sac. I'm sure Spencer will be so excited when he realizes who will be moving next door. I don't think he really understands it yet. They also have a little boy that is the same age as Nolan. It will be fun to watch our kids grow up together.

Here is a preview of Nolan's 1 year old pictures...