Blankies

Ryan was very hard to wake up yesterday morning so I had time to grab my camera and take some shots. Ryan never took a pacifier but he *LOVES* his "blankies" - I wouldn't happen to know where he gets that from ;) It is very common to find Ryan asleep with his blankie in his mouth so I am glad that I got a few pictures for the record. The last photo was taken as we were about to leave for a party last night.

There is some light at the end of the tunnel - Ryan will say cheese and hold a pose for about 2 seconds now (as opposed to 0 seconds ever since he started to crawl) but 2 seconds is still not quite enough for my digital camera!

My Pumpkin

Yesterday we went on a hayride at a local farm and picked up some flowers and a pumpkin that weighs more than Ryan :) Surprisingly, Ryan's favorite part of the trip was watching the wheels of the tractor during the hayride. He also enjoyed pulling the wagon around. I had to include a picture of him in his carseat because he insists on a book everytime he gets in the car but never even turns a page because he is so interested in watching the cars and trucks on the road. The last picture is a shot of his first pre-school project - he came home saying "glue"!

Adventure Aquarium

Today was Ryan's first trip to an aquarium. Our friends Molly, Mark, and their 11 month old son, Zachary, invited us to get in free with their membership pass. We took the Ben Franklin bridge over the river into Camden and Ryan's eyes got really wide! Since the aquarium is on the riverfront in Camden, we got to walk along the river and see the Battleship New Jersey among the Philadelphia skyline. We were very impressed with the aquarium - there was more than just fish. There was an indoor exhibit with 2 huge hippos and outdoor exhibits with penguins and sea lions. Ryan was also touching baby sharks and I am serious when I say there was a stingray that was flirting with him at another touching exhibit. It was so incredibly cute!

Crayola Factory

We met Hayley and Ella at the Crayola Factory in Easton (near Allentown). The National Canal Museum is on the 4th floor of the Crayola building so that was a nice bonus because there were boats and ropes and things to touch and play with. Ryan had more of an attention span than I thought at all of the art stations and he especially liked water coloring. There was an area where balls were lifted up to the ceiling, rolled around on tracks and then fell down to the ground like PLINKO on the Price is Right and I think we have found yet another PLINKO fan - he was MEZMERIZED!!!

Fire Expo and another Touch a Truck

Backyard

I don't think that I have gotten a lot of pics of our backyard this summer so check out Ryan on his swingset, playing in his sandbox with the 2 year old twin boys, Mason & Max, that moved into the house behind us a few months ago, and on his big-boy bike with training wheels. Oh, and standing on the kitchen chair the night of his second day of pre-school singing The Wipers on the Bus go Swish, Swish, Swish - The first official thing he learned at school!

Thomas at The Strasburg Railroad

We would have to say that Thomas the Tank Engine is and has been Ryan's favorite of favorites. Tractors are a close second but trains win almost every time. Thomas's visit to The Strasburg Railroad is very fitting because it is in Lancaster and I believe we will be making an annual trip for the next several years. We invited Grandma and Grandpa Schwarz to join us as their Mother's and Father's Day gifts. Ryan was a bit weary of Sir Topham Hat and besides the meltdown he had waiting in line to ride the individual trains that he pedaled with his arms, he was pretty good. We hit Isaac's for lunch and then went to an indoor model railroad town at the Choo-Choo Barn to finish the day. A great time was had by all!