The Ryska Family

Yosemite

2009-09-04T21:32:00.001-07:00

I LOVE this shot of all my boys. Bacon and eggs for breakfast. And enjoying the great outdoors!
Like father like son, kade loved to be like dad and sport his head lamp. He insisted on sleeping with it on at night.

This car got some serious miles on it during the trip. Doesn't he look hot in the pink?
Words can't express how dirty he was during the whole week. We'd just let him enjoy the day and cleaned up the aftermath afterward. Note: crocks and camping don't mix well.

Turning 2!

2009-09-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

He's 2!

We were lucky enough to celebrate Kade's birthday with family in Fresno, friends in Yosemite and family back in San Diego. T'was a blast and Kade developed a love for Cake.Turns out he was totally stoked to be the center of attention and celebrate his birthday with all our fellow campers. Especially his love, Penelope. First thing in the morning he would ask about seeing Penny!
So making cupcake in the altitude was as challenging as everybody warned me it'd be. Good thing the kids are prejudice when it comes to looks, as they didn't seem to notice.

So excited about receiving Thomas the Tank Engine set from "Papa and Nana", he has barely put them down since.
My mom took Kade to Sea World for a special day together for this birthday. As the story goes, when she wasn't looking Kade got the cake as they were getting settled at the table. He had cake for lunch and I guess a lot of it, what a great day!

Summer Fun and some not so fun

2009-07-09T21:40:00.001-07:00

So since I am so behind on my posting, I lumped a lot of random photos in this post. Hope you enjoy.

Kade showing off his new shirt, he was so excited about all the alligators all over that he insisted on wearing it right away.

I decided to let him just go for the whole painting thing, which he embraced full force. He was so into it that I stepped away for a second to get the dishes done (I know, stupid) and when I came back I found this sweet face smiling at me.

Papa tom, isn't this a great picture? I think so.

Uncle Matt with Levi, aren't they the cutest ever? Both Kade and Levi have a special love for Matt.

Uncle Jason meeting Levi for the first time. He is going to be the best father to his little baby girl who will be here so soon!

I thought I'd better post a picture of Levi's "crib" while he was at Children's hospital. 48 hours in the hospital for a cold . . . who would have thunk. It was quite the experience and it really made me thankful that I have to healthful boys.

Hanging with Levi, his IV took up almost his full arm. We called it "the club" since he could barely hold it up and had no control over it, he kept hitting stuff with it.

The boy's first bath together. In an effort to save water and time, I decided he easiest and fastest ways to get them both clean was to give Levi a dip in Kade's water. Kade loved it and it's hard to tell if it's a smile or wine in the photo, it was a big smile. He was so gentle and loved having company, the next night he was asking for him to join him again!

Bath, Beach and my beautiful Baby

2009-06-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

My beautiful baby boy. The first thing that I noticed when I met him was his cubby little cheeks, I just love them! Note the small red scratch on the top left of his head. This is the first official wound inflicted by his brother. There have been many since. He takes 'em like a champ!
The first trip to the beach at 5 days old.
Levi and a tired mom after his first bath.
Levi (above) Kade (below). Same age, same outfit : )

New post, Old news

2009-06-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

Levi Daniel Ryska, born May 15, 2009
8 lbs. 4 oz.

So I have lagged BIG time on the ol' blog. Today will be a small attempt to get up to date on the Ryska clan. First off . . . . New to this earth Levi Ryska:

After 7 hours of HARD labor, I had this little guy. Worth the work for sure. Overall labor was about 12 hours, from when my water was broken. All natural again, I am still undecided as to if I'll do another labor without the help of modern medicne.

Kade LOVES to give kisses and hugs to Levi. The only problem is that he likes to apply his whole body weight on top of Levi while hugging.

This is Dr. Rob Bitter, he is the most amazing Dr. in the whole world. I want to get pregnant again just so I can keep seeing him on a regular basis. Thanks to him, and of course my husband, I had a great delivery.

The Flower Fields

2009-04-27T20:07:00.001-07:00

Every year good in our hood these flower displays are open to the public. We had quite the time, Kade just loved the tractors and smelling the flowers.

I thought that even though this isn't the best photo, that I should be a sport and post a photo of my grand old self with my belly full of baby.

Easter

2009-04-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

So I really lagged there for a while on my blog . . . but here's to improvement. Here are a few photos of Kade and the fam on Easter.
Note the dog toy in the basket, Kade's hunting was not limited to eggs. We teach him to keep a very open mind.

Mr. Manners and More

2009-02-22T21:59:00.001-08:00

On a day when Kade actually ate, he insisted on having his fork. Usually he just pokes around for fun in an effort to pass time in his high chair. But today, he decided to make a PB & J with a fork. I was so proud and actually he looks pretty proud of himself too. Since he was dressed all preppy in his polo shirt, I called him Mr. Manners for the rest of the day.

This was the saddest! He was so sick with a fever for days. He just laid like this for the evening, just as sweet as ever.

Dan and I thought it was humorous how many food selections we displayed in front of Kade, just begging him to eat any one of them! I don't know how this kid survives on how much he doesn't eat!

Every once in a while we go the the library for the little group they have. Kade's favorite part is after it is over when we play outside in the Children's garden.

California Adventure on a Whim

2009-02-22T21:46:00.000-08:00

Aw, Grandpa! Kaden just adores him! Can't you see it in his little smirk? We were trying to capture a shot of both of their eyes, since they are the very same unique color.
This isn't the greatest family picture in the world, but it gets the job done. At least Kaden has the sweetest smile ever. This was the greatest day. We thought we were just going to meet up with the fam in Anheim, but it turns out we spent a few hours in California Adventure, which was a fun surprise. We miss them!
Kaden's first ride! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

I love this shot of the 3 generations of Ryska's. They all have the very same eye squints.

Enjoying the Great Outdoors

2009-02-22T21:33:00.000-08:00

January in San Diego had some summer like days, so we decided to head to the beach. Kaden was especially excited about the Birds, one of his favorite words to say. He yells, "Be, Be" whenever he sees one of his feathered friends. Ballons and all other animals also seem to be named the same thing at this point.

Doesn't the expression on his face just say, "This is just the neatest thing I have ever gotten my little hands on!" This photo is taken at the Starbucks near our house, it overlooks the airport's runway, so we sit, drink yummy coffee and watch the airplanes. It's fun for the whole family : )

Christmas in a nutshell

2009-02-22T21:17:00.000-08:00

Best seat in the house! Poor, sweet Tess.

Kaden loved his "Elf" outfit. He got upset when we tried to move him down from the Ping Pong table, so he stayed up there a few rounds. He is just like his Dad, loves to be the center of attention!

Christmas morning! He LOVES this little, yellow dump truck that Grandma Ryska got him.

Thankful for Thanksgiving

2008-12-18T20:41:00.000-08:00

To continue our every other year family camping tradition for Thanksgiving we decided to trek to Yosemite. Wow, long drive when you have a trailer and toddler in tow. What were we thinking with a 15 month old? Kade made it work, and entertained himself the best he could for the drive (see video below.)

It was so fun to see Kade enjoy the great outdoors, even though it was COLD. Kade would play around the campsite for 15-20 mins then return to me (huddled by the campfire) and just look at me with a look that said, "Momma, I can't feel my hands, can you hold me and make me warm again?". So I did, then he'd storm off for more dirty fun.

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk...

2008-11-13T21:42:00.001-08:00

The pictures say it all... don't they???

Turtle Man

2008-11-13T21:16:00.000-08:00

This year for Halloween Kade was a turtle... shell and all! We had a blast with all the other little creatures who came out that night!

Just Getting Started...

2008-11-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody! I have decided it is time to enter the blogging world, so here we go! I will try to keep this updated with things that are going on in our lives- look forward to peeking in on yours too!