Racine Zoo

Though weather-wise it was a less than ideal June-day, it was a perfect one to visit a local zoo. Rather than battle traffic and high parking costs of Lincoln Park or Brookfield, we decided to trek north to Racine. Ryan and I visited this zoo last fall and he still doesn't get all excited about the animals, so this one was the perfect size for us. There were a few more exhibits open this time around, so we only took pictures of those.


It's crazy how this zoo is right on Lake Michigan, but has residential neighbors. The lucky people living next to the zoo never have to hire a branch cutter, the giraffes take care of that!

The ASL sign for penguins is this cute little bobble move that Ryan likes to do (and looks hysterical doing so). So in his honor, I took this picture of the penguins. It must've been near lunchtime as they were eagerly waiting by the door.

A pack of about 8 Meerkats lived in this exhibit.

The bird area was the coolest (Papa Bernie would be so proud of me for saying that)! They were selling popsicle sticks with bird food on them for $2, so we got one for Ryan. Upon entering the area, a bird immediately landed on Ryan's head. I wish I would've been faster with the camera. He wasn't afraid of them, surprisingly. They loved "cleaning" our shoes - this is Dean's foot you see here.

Maycation

Where oh where did the month of May go? I've been slacking on my blogger duties again, but didn't realize it until the time came for me to clean up my camera. Looking ahead to June I know that it too will fly by as we have Swim Lessons, Ryan's summer camp, and doctor's appointments for me and baby-to-be making up our calendar. At this point, I'd be shocked if I make it to July 2. There's quite a difference in baby's growth from this first picture (taken on Mother's Day) to one you'll see later taken the last week in May while on vacation.


Mother's Day was quite relaxing. The weather was beautiful. Dean, Ryan, Gizmo, and I headed to a local forest preserve and went on a nice walk. After heading home, I changed into cooler clothes and we were outside the rest of the day. I received beautiful cards and went 24 hours without having to cook a meal! What a wonderful holiday, there should be Mother's Day once a month!
Ryan's class also concluded in May. Unfortunately he missed the last day (and it was a Pizza Party Picnic!), because we were leaving for Daytona Beach. But here he is with his teachers, Ms. Brandi and Ms. Danyelle. We hope he'll have them at summer camp too. Perhaps he'll have Danyelle when he goes back in the fall, but Ms. Brandi is having baby and won't be back in September. We wish her well, she was awesome to Ryan!

While on vacation, Ryan got to see his first baseball game. Daytona's minor league Cubs were having Belly-Buster Monday when we were there. For only $11 a person (Ryan was free), you got your game ticket and all the burgers, hot dogs, pizza, peanuts, and popcorn you could eat. A great time and great eating was had by all. Ryan was exceptionally well behaved - even taking into account that he was up a good 2.5 hours past his bedtime.

Hopefully this is the first of many pictures at Cubs games Ryan and Dean have.

Ryan and Papa Bernie share a special moment. Because Papa looks amused, I'm guessing Ryan didn't just say "Papa, no smoking" which I taught him to do.

Opening Day 2030 2nd Baseman for your Chicago Cubs: Ryan Kennedy Stoeber!

On our last full day in Florida, we headed a bit south to where the Halifax River meets the Atlantic Ocean. It was definitely a hot day, but the scenery was stellar. Here's some kind of bird sun basking on the rocks.

This is the view to the north from the pier we were on.

Poor Meemee probably will need another vacation just to rest up from entertaining Ryan on this one. Between singing "Pony Boy", chanting "Fe fi foe fum", and chasing/playing/carrying Ryan around she had to go to bed exhausted each night. Here Meemee is blowing on Ryan's tummy, an act I don't know who enjoyed more!

Ryan didn't seem to mind the beach too much - as long as everything was done on his terms. Whether it was going in the water, playing in the sand, or walking down the beach while pushing his lawn mower as long as it was his idea he was fine with doing it. This was the one and only time I could get him to wear his sunglasses. I'm glad I had the camera ready for this "Hollywood" moment.

Jumping "big" waves with Meemee and Papa while Daddy looked on.

This is my favorite picture from vacation.

Closely followed by this one. And no that isn't a beach ball shoved up my swimsuit.

A great, relaxing time was had by all. It was nice to get away for a bit to a place where the weather was perfect. It was also nice to see my parents friends, Rich, Bonnie, and Heather Ryan again. We hope we can make it back again next summer with 2 kids!

Park Play and A(nother) Rainy Day

Ryan and I took advantage of one the very few days of nice weather we've had this spring (if that's what you can call this season?!). While out running some errands, we stopped at a neighborhood park a few towns over. It was small and we were the only ones there, but that didn't stop us from having fun! You can tell it was a sunny day because freckles exploded on my nose!

Small fry is growing up! Lately Ryan's been swinging on the "big" swings instead of the baby bucket-style ones. Fortunately, he is very good about hanging onto the chains and we've yet to have a tumble.

Any guesses as to what he is pointing at over yonder? Ding, ding, ding it was a trash can. He has now been interested and talking about them for more than half of his life (it started at 13 months - he's over 30 months now).

Tackling the terrible T-Rex.

Because we've had so many rainy days, I decided it was time to get Ryan a slicker and rain boots. I know I'm biased, but is there anything this child doesn't look cute in (a devil's costume, Oscar the Grouch's trash can, even Green Bay Packer clothes)?! At first he wasn't crazy about stomping in the puddles, but he quickly caught on and liked it!

Here's hoping that our next post is the result of another sunny day of play. Or maybe vacation pictures from Daytona - less than a month until go time!!!

Easter and Daddy's Birthday

This year Dean's Birthday fell on Easter Sunday, so that was a day full of family, fun, and food! Leading up to that day, Ryan and I attended an event at the Round Lake Area Park District. It was very cute, set up with carnival games, a scavenger hunt for Easter eggs, a craft table, a guess the number of chocolate eggs in the jar table (I won!!!), and a picture station with the Easter Bunny - or as Ryan would come to call him, Blue Bunny (hey, isn't that also an ice cream brand?! Can't imagine how he'd know that!). When we first approached BB, Ryan threw his hands over his eyes and proceeded to scream and bury his head into my shoulder. You would've thought I was trying to have him get his picture taken with Freddie Krueger! Gradually he warmed up.

This was as close as I could get him. That poor bunny was so patient and made many attempts to get close to Ryan, but was good about letting him be in control. Ah well, maybe next year.

Forward a couple of weeks to Easter Morning (aka Dean's Birthday). The Easter Bunny did make a stop to Meema (or Meemee) and Meepa (or Papa Bernie) 's house. He left a trail of about 8 eggs to the closet where Ryan's basket was hidden. I think Ryan ate at least one item from each of the eggs. You may be able to tell how puffed his cheeks are here - puffed with candy, that is.

I got the goods!!!

One of the items in the basket was this little wind-up chick. You pressed its head and it would hop along. We'd set it on the desk and it would always hop over the edge. Ryan was in hysterics each and every time!

Back track to the previous weekend - as a surprise to Dean, we went to the Russell Military Museum, which is at the border of Illinois and Wisconsin. It was a cool place with soooo much memorabilia and warcraft from WWI, WWII, Vietname, and Desert Storm. Dean, of course, could tell you the names/types of all the vessels and weapons. I however will leave it at the following:

This is a tank:

Lots more trucks, tanks, and cannons.

The birthday boy and son outside, ummm something.

I sure hope you can view this video, it took many attempts to not only film it, but to upload it. If you can't see it, I apologize. Just know that it is a very cute rendition of Ryan singing Happy Birthday to Dean.

ABCs and 123s

The bathroom has become one of the most popular hangouts in our house. Ryan recently discovered he can pull his step stool over to the sink and perform to his most adoring fan (himself) in the mirror. With his numbers, when he says 14 and 15 it sounds like he's actually saying 16. I guess Dean and I have been saying "Now 16" when he gets there, because as you'll hear that's what he'll say.

No More Horse Room!

Hi Again, Ryan here reporting again on the family blog. Two times in a row, lucky for me mama and daddy overlooked my whining to let me do this!



This time around I'll be talking about my NEW bedroom. It used to be called the Horse Room and was a catch-all space of things and clothes we didn't use much. Half the walls were beige and the other half a dark maroon, with a border of horses separating the two (see picture below). The "noose" you see hanging down is actually the pull to the ceiling fan, though mama used to think that the state of that room sometimes was cluttered enough to make her want to hang herself ;)





This is what the loft used to look like. Someday when I'm of elementary school age, I'll get to sleep in the bunk above and I'll get to do my homework at the built in desk!

Hopefully around Eastertime Papa Bernie will come back to our house and help daddy polyeurathane (that's a big word for a 2 year old to say let alone try to spell) the loft. Mama is worried that someday I may color or spill something on the pretty wood and ruin it.

No more crib (well, at least at nighttime) for me! Here I am on my big boy racecar bed! I am so proud and happy to have it. So what if I sleep with my head at the foot of the bed each night. It's mine - well I do share it with Hoppy (my stuffed frog) and my bears Bubba, Blue, and Harvey. You'll also notice the awesome grey color on the walls now too. It took a little bit of magic, but Papa Bernie got it right!

When you open the door to my new room, this is what you see! I love the blue and red star decals on my wall, I have a great red curtain that when drawn blocks out the sun, and I love my soccer ball chair and my Cars bedding.

In total there are 30 stars in my room! Mama and daddy also put up a shelf so my CD player and electric aquarium could go on it. I guess I was playing with them too much in my old room when I could reach them.

I even get to have some of my own toys and books in this new room! It's awesome! And for now the "noose" has been strung away and the ladder to the loft bed is on the bunk so no climbing for me. I can't imagine why my parents took that away from me?! For now the rocker will stay in my room as I do like to cuddle sometimes. But once that baby brother or sister makes an appearance, it'll go back into the other room.

I have been quite busy at my new class with Ms. Brandi - you remember her from the last time I got to blog, right? I get to display some of my artwork in my new bedroom. Today it's finger painted pictures, tomorrow bikini clad babes (that'll be our little secret!).

Thanks again for checking in with the family. Mama is less on a cleaning/organizing kick now that I'm in my new room. Both her and daddy (Gizmo and I too) are happier that we've been able to play outside. Check back soon for more Stoeber Family Happenings!

February Fieldtrip and 1st Day of School

Hi everybody - it's Ryan here! I've been waiting to write another blog update and finally my mama has said I've behaved well enough to do it again, so here I am! I know last time my mama wrote a teaser that I'd be writing about my new big boy room. Unfortunately she's not finished decorating it yet. She wants to get the full reveal in one post. If I'm lucky, I mean if I continue to behave, maybe she'll let me write that update too!

We're getting at the point in winter where I think mama is tired of being indoors. She seems to make herself busy whenever I want to read "B is for Bear", "Guess How Much I Love You", and "I Love You Stinky Face," likewise she rolls her eyes whenever I ask for my music cds to be put on. I don't understand why anyone wouldn't want to read these books at least 5 times a day or who wouldn't love the same kids songs over and over like I do?! I'll have to ask Meema (who lately I've been calling Meemee) if mama had favorites when she was my age.

In addition to playdates, mama and I try to go on other adventures during the week. But even the library and the grocery store don't seem to interest mama anymore. I can't imagine why. I'm ALWAYS chatting about the doors, fire doors, and potties when we go to those places. Who wouldn't want to have that conversation (time and time and time again). Recently though she took me to the Kohl Children's Museum in Glenview. It was a pretty neat place! Really my most favorite parts were the drinking fountains and bathroom doors, but I tried to do some other stuff there (you know, to make mama happy so it was worth the 45 minute drive and price of admission).

Here I am in the water area. It was great fun getting wet. Silly mama didn't notice there were smocks to keep me from getting my clothes wet. So after playing in this area, I got to spend a good 10 minutes under the hand dryer in the bathroom drying my shirt.
Here I got to push a button that would make bubbles. Then the bubbles would shoot the octopus up in the air. It was a blastt!

I finally got a turn to be in the drivers seat! Captain Ryan, reporting for duty, ready to set sail on the open seas! All aboard for a pirate's adventure!

Mama said she'd miss me too much if I lived on the water. So next she took me to the vetrinarian clinic area. She wanted to test to see if any vet skills were genetically passed onto me. I really liked opening and closing the cages and removing everything from them. Maybe Uncle (Dr.) Dan and Aunt (Dr.) Sherry will let me clean cages someday!

Besides moving to a new bed and bedroom, something new and exciting did happen recently. I started school!!! 2 days a week for 2 hours at a time I get a break from winter sick mama and get to go to school. I've heard that my mama and daddy were both pretty smart in school, so I have some big shoes to fill.

Here I am on my first day! I've got my school bag and am ready to go!

This is my teacher, Ms. Brandi. She is super friendly and lets me play with all the doors and trash cans I want. I also get to paint and play in the tunnel, and have a snack with juice, and sing songs, and hear stories. There are only 3 other students in the class, all of us are boys, and I am the youngest. I still try to act like a big boy though and do a good job of not crying when mama leaves.

That's it for now! Maybe this weekend my room will be finished and I'll get to write about those pictures. Talk to you soon!