Halloween 2011

Ahoy Mateys! Happy Halloween from all of us aboard the SS Stoeber. This weekend we went on a treasure hunt for some booty - or as you landlubbers call it, Trick-or Treating. Captain Stoeber (aka Dean) manned the ship with the littlest mate (aka Patrick) while Mama pirate (disguised as a lady bug - you know since females aren't allowed on Pirate ships) ventured out with Pirate Ryan and his first mate, Gizmo. As expected, a great haul was brought back.

Ryan is 3!

This crazy blog software, if it wasn't free, I'd complain even more ;) This picture (above) is supposed to be further down, but because I have no idea if or how to move it, I'll talk my way around it. Since June of this year, Ryan's received occupational therapy (through Early Intervention - details about that program below). This was his therapist Mary. She'd come for an hour every Monday. Ryan loved doing activities with her. They often involved climbing, jumping, using materials with different textures, music, and noise. We'll miss Mary!


Where oh where has the time gone? Ryan is now 3! Silly as always, with a sticker on his nose, here are the two brothers together. Get your Patrick fill now, as the rest of this post is dedicated to the birthday boy!

For the past year, Ryan has been a part of Early Intervention, a program to help kids under age 3 in different areas. Robin (on the left), was Ryan's speech therapist and she visited our house every Friday for an hour. Tiffany was Ryan's developmental therapist (they did more fine motor and some gross motor skills) and she came for an hour twice a month. They were wonderful with Ryan and really appreciated what a sweet, outgoing child he is. We'll miss them!

Meemee and Papa Bernie came out the weekend of Ryan's birthday. Together we went to Stade's Farm Stand/Pumpkin Patch. It was a beautiful day so the place was packed! Unfortunately Ryan was getting the start of a cold, that combined with the overwhelmingness (that's a word, right?) of all the people, some parts of the day were tough. We'll try again next year when he's a bit older and feeling better.

Ryan measured in at 38.5 inches!

I was surprised that he liked feeding the goats! They'd come right up to you and take the food out of your hand. I didn't want him getting knocked down (that'd make the day even more challenging), so I held Ryan.

The spin car ride - fun, right? Poor Meemee, she was the only one small enough to fit in the car (hee, hee) so she was the poor soul who had to ride with a very unhappy Ryan. Fortunately they let him get off after only a few spins around the track.

Ahhh, better times. Blowing the candles out on the Apple Cake. Yum, yum.

At summer camp, Ryan really enjoyed the scooters, so Meemee and Papa Bernie got him one for his birthday, complete with a Spiderman helmut. He's still a bit short and doesn't understand the concept of pushing himself along, but he did enjoy his ride while Meemee did all the work!

Thanks Aunt Julie and Uncle Doug for the Count & Draw toy. Ryan loves all the Leap Frog toys.

Opening more presents!

Now that Ryan is three and Early Intervention is finished, he qualified for the Early Childhood Education program through our school district. He goes to school, on a bus, Monday-Thursday 8:20-11am and on Friday 8:20-10:25. Here's the big boy just before his first day. So far he loves Miss Jessica's class. We'll keep you posted about whether or not he loves the bus. . .

What's up?!

Hi Fans!
It's Ryan, remember our last family posting was told to you from my baby brother, Patrick's point of view, and now it's my turn. Mom has been super busy lately and finally got around to putting this update together.

What have I been up to you ask? Well a whole lot of everything!!! We try to get outside as much as we can while the weather still lets us. But sometimes we have to find things to do inside. I really like to perform, especially in places where I can see myself. This picture is perfect, I can catch my reflection so I can see just what my audience sees.

This was taken my first day of Terrific 2's this fall. My teachers are Miss Stephanie and Miss Terri. I had Miss Terri over the summer with camp. I really like my class. My friends include Geo, Gavin, Jackson, William, Luke, Soniya, and Haley. I like when we sing "The more we get together".

Labor Day Weekend was a chilly one this year. Mommy didn't pack warm clothes for me to wear and I wanted to be outside. Fortunately, Meemee had this Illini tracksuit for me and this fleece hat to keep me warm. My cousin, Ava, received some Zhu Zhu pets for her birthday in August. I had such a fun time with them, that I got one of my own. It makes funny noises and spins in circles, hey I make funny noises and I like to spin in circles too!

Here's me and my bestest buddy, who also happens to be my baby brother! I'm telling Patrick that my birthday is coming up and I'll be 3! With this comes a whole lot of changes. No more working with Robin, Tiffany, and Mary. Instead, I'll be starting a new school! Stay tuned for more about that. Chow, peace, baby!