~ The High Family ~

Beach Babies

2011-08-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

Sweet siblings sitting on a sunny, sandy shore...

... suddenly sabotaged by a swift salty splash!

BTW-- I won't be winning Mother of the Year this year because I kept snapping photos instead of saving my child right away.

{COMING SOON- more pictures from our first family beach vacation!}

Dear Blog Readers....

2011-07-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

Guess who turned THREE?

ME!

...and so did our little family blog (back in March). I guess this is the part of the post where I apologize for being MIA for the past... ummmm... year or so. My excuse? I don't have one. {gasp}

But I do miss blogging and will be once again adding our many adventures to this little corner of the internet. I ask for patience as I try to back-blog as much as I can. It may take the rest of 2011 to catch up but I am determined! Stay tuned...

Princess Kara

Ryan's Pre-K Graduation

2011-05-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

'Kid, you'll move mountains!
So be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O'Shea,

you're off to Great Places!

Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So get on your way!'

~ "Oh! The Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss

trying to catch up with the rest of class during the Processional

Daddy and Kara watching proudly.

Just received his Pre-K diploma!

Supporting her big brother- YOU DID IT!

Pre-K graduate.

Genesis Preschool Class of 2011

Next up- the big K!

Ryan and Mrs. R.

Ryan and Mrs. A.

Genesis Preschool

Sibling Love

We decided to surprise Ryan with his first "big boy" bike for doing such a great job in Pre-K. He told Chris (months prior to graduation) that he wanted a green bike. This made choosing one easy because the store only had two green bikes. Ryan was very surprised when he walked through the door and saw the bike! He also was really sweet and took the time to read the card and thank us before hopping on the bike to test it out.

The GREEN bike!

SURPRISE!

I created a montage of the videos we took during Ryan's graduation ceremony. I love that we have this memory recorded so we can look back on it when he graduates Kindergarten, HS, College...

Ok. I will stop before the water works start up again! ENJOY.

My random thoughts on the video clips:

Can you believe the Mom who left her child sitting in the middle of the aisle...really?! (rude)
Sorry the picture is very "bouncy". I should have used a tripod and it was hard to stay still when "wiggle worm" Kara was next to me.
I laugh every time I watch Ryan run down the aisle with the tassel attached to his forehead.
I also chuckle watching him turn around to see his teachers during the songs. (crossing our fingers he becomes more focused in Kindergarten)
I wish I had taped him getting his diploma longer but at that point I had a camera in one hand taking pictures and a second camera in my other hand taping. Sadly, I accidentally hit stop on the camera taping thinking I was taking a picture.
I still can't believe my little boy will be starting Kindergarten soon!!!!!!!!!!

The Princess and her Cowboy

2011-01-31T20:46:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year 2011...and Go PENN STATE!

2011-01-01T20:27:00.000-08:00

We started the NEW YEAR cheering for our favorite college football team!

PENN STATE vs FLORIDA at the OUTBACK BOWL!

Go PSU!

We were sad that the Nittany Lions lost to the Gators (37-24), but we can honestly say we are happy that Florida's coach, Urban Meyer won his last game. We are now excited for the 2011 season!

We are ...PENN STATE!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T07:40:00.000-08:00

No

2010-10-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

silly questions with one word answers....

"No" from Bobbi-Jo High on Vimeo.

Sharing is Caring

2010-10-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

Family Fun Day at Weaver's Orchard

2010-10-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

We had beautiful Fall weather this weekend. Perfect for pumpkin picking at Weaver's Orchard!

Henny Penny and Flower Child

sibling love

The Barrel Train is always fun!

Away they go...

....and a cute video of them coming back.

Ryan held her hand the entire maze.

This one makes me laugh!

The correct way to go down a slide...

....and the wrong way!

Kara loves animals but wasn't a fan of the Alpacas.

We ended the afternoon watching Ryan race the Trike Track.

berry SWEET!

2010-09-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

Kara posing with her two main loves (at the moment)...

Minnie Mouse and her shiny red Ladybug Boots!

I had a cute video of Kara that I have been trying to load for the past two days but Blogger (for some crazy reason) is not letting me! grrrrr

Sunday Morning

2010-07-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

I woke up to this....

like father, like son.

Dear Ryan...

2010-05-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Ryan,

I recently read a book called Lift by Kelly Corrigan. It inspired me to write letters or little notes for you to read when you get older. I want to remember everything (good or bad) but lately my "momnesia" (yes I made this word up.) takes over and I forget the cute, funny things you say or silly things you do. So here's my attempt at freezing moments in time for us to enjoy (again) together in the future.

Tonight as we drove to your swim lesson a familiar song came on the radio. Jason Mraz's, I'm Yours. It's your all-time favorite song. You excitingly told me to, "Turn it up! It's my song, Mom!" and then you proceeded to sing along. My heart melted a little because I love to hear you sing. You have a very good voice for being only four years old and I am not just saying that because I am your mama. You have a wonderful love for the arts, especially anything that involves music. I promise to help you nourish this talent as you grow. I also promise to support you with anything you want to do in life. Reach for the stars!

When we arrived at the school you announced that you didn't need help getting out of your car seat. While I love that it's one less thing for me to have to do, I am also reminded that you are growing up quickly. You seek more independence every day and I have to learn to start to let go. Forgive me, this part of motherhood is hard for me.

As we skipped into the lobby, you told me over and over again how excited you were to see your swim instructors. I couldn't help but beam with happiness because your smile is contagious.

During your lesson, I sat in the hallway reading my favorite magazine enjoying the silence. At one point, I don't know what made me decide to get up and peek through the double door windows. I can only say it must be that "motherly intuition" I hear so much about. As I looked through the window, I saw you and the other children in your group start to walk towards the diving board. You held a swim noodle around your waist and walked with such confidence.

I couldn't believe my eyes as you patiently waited for your turn to step up on the ladder. When it was your turn, I could feel my heart start to beat faster as you climbed the steps. I saw how nervous you were and I so wanted to run in and "save" you! Your legs shook in fear as you slowly walked the diving board and stood at the end. I could hear your instructors telling you to jump! Part of me cheered along with them but the other part of me wanted to tell you that it's ok if you don't want to jump. I bit my lip and waited to see what you would do.

You jumped!!

I was so proud of you, Ryan! You not only proved to me and your instructors that you could do it but most importantly you proved it to yourself. Another life lesson learned...you can do anything you put your mind to. Tears filled my eyes as I watched the instructor help you to the side of the pool. You had the biggest smile on your face. I can't tell you how happy I was that I didn't miss this exciting moment in your life.

At the end of your lesson I told you that I saw you jump off the diving board. I couldn't help but tell you over and over again how proud I was of you! You just smiled and told me that it was "cool". You had such a relaxed attitude about it but I could see the excitement in your eyes. I asked if you wanted to celebrate with a cookie at Panera before we went home to see Daddy and Kara. You screamed with delight and asked if we could get a smoothie too! Yet another proud moment for me because you would rather enjoy a healthy snack over a cookie any day.

I want you to know that I love the time we spend together. Just you and me. I look forward to watching you experience more "firsts" in life. I will be on the sidelines cheering you on...with tears in my eyes (sorry, I cry a lot).

Next week Daddy and Kara will be there with me to cheer you on during your last class. I hope they get to see you jump off the diving board too. Great job tonight, buddy!

Love,

Mommy

Mother's Day ~ 2010

2010-05-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

Five years ago, I became a mother.

Mother. Mommy. Mom. A childhood dream come true.

I fulfilled my biggest goal in life with the birth of my two beautiful children. Motherhood.

{picture taken April 2010}

-------------

I had the best Mother's Day this year. It consisted of two things: Relaxation and Family. Thankfully I did not have a repeat of my Mother's Day last year.

My first surprise was a beautiful floral arrangement on Thursday.

The card read:

Happy Mother's Day!
There is not enough room on this card to list all the wonderful tings you do for us every day. You are an amazing mom. We don't know what we would do without your love, hard work, and patience.
Love, Ryan and Kara

Obviously, my wonderful husband wrote these kind words. I had to laugh when I read "patience" because most days I don't think this word exists in my vocabulary. But somehow we are surviving the terrible tantrum twos and horrible attitude fours. We are learning and growing together.

Mother's Day morning I was awoken by two sweet chefs, donning their adorable Penn State aprons, giggling at my bedside. They were excited to show me the pancakes they worked so hard making with Daddy. I have to say they were delish. Sorry no pics, lazy picture day. After breakfast, I received another surprise. The first rose bloom of 2010 from our garden.

The family is one of nature's masterpieces.

- George Santayana

Trail-a-Bike

2010-05-04T18:02:00.000-07:00

Chris has wanted to get a Trail-a-Bike for a LONG time. We finally found a shop that had one in stock and we picked up the bike on March 28th.

Chris said Ryan didn't really pedal at first, so it felt like he was pulling a 50 lb. cart!

Ryan LOVES riding with Daddy!

Ryan giving his new trail-a-bike TWO THUMBS UP!

He calls it his "Red Bike".

The weather has definitely warmed up since then and the boys had their first trip on the Grings Mill trail! Sorry this picture was taken with Chris' cell phone...not the best quality. Ryan got a new bike helmet and he told me that several girls (they passed on the trail) said they liked his helmet and sunglasses! He is tooo cute.

I am so happy to see Chris biking again (he took a huge break from it once we started our family) and I love that he can share his passion for this sport with his son. Ryan has shown a huge interest in riding and I can see the boys enjoying the trails for many years to come.

Ryan's First ER Visit

2010-04-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

Well....we knew the day would eventually come. From the moment we found out we were having a boy, we were told over and over again...

"prepare yourself for ER trips"!

I guess some would say we've been lucky these past 4.5 years. Sure there's been goose eggs and bruises but nothing that required emergency medical attention. Yep, we were the lucky ones alright!

Until...Friday, April 23, 2010.

I can still see the accident run through my brain like a movie in slow motion.

We had just gotten Kara out of the tub and I was drying her off on her changing table. Ryan still had a bit of energy in him and was acting silly while he sang songs to us. I believe I even told him at one point to calm down and stop running around.

He just giggled and started to sing louder.

As I placed a diaper under Kara I saw Ryan in the corner of my eye throw his head back. In a split second, he quickly whipped it forward hitting the corner of Kara's dresser. Hard.

Ryan screamed. I screamed. Kara got scared and started to cry. Hearing the commotion, Chris came running into the room. I just kept screaming, "he hit his head, he hit his head!" Chris immediately scooped Ryan up and took him into the bathroom to check the injury.

This is the part of the story where I say, I am so thankful for my husband and his ability to stay calm. I, on the other hand, panic and can not stand the sight of blood! Chris was able to get the bleeding under control and assessed the deepness of the cut. He proceeded to tell me that he didn't think it was deep enough for stitches. I took one look at he cut (and felt woozy) and told my husband that he WAS taking Ryan to the ER. I didn't think neosporin and a Scooby-Doo band aid were going to cut it. {no pun intended!}

So after a good 15 minute debate, Chris finally agreed to have the cut looked at by a doctor. I am sure all he kept thinking was....Friday Night+ER waiting room= LONG wait! We explained to Ryan that Daddy was going to take him to see a doctor at the ER. He was a bit confused because he thought he was going to see his pediatrician. Ryan has a wonderful appreciation for doctors so we knew he wouldn't be scared. As I put his coat on and made sure he had his Leapster game in hand, I kissed his cheek and told him to be a brave boy. He smiled and said, "it's ok mom. you stay here with Kara. I see you after my head gets fixed, ok?" I laughed and said, "ok buddy. have fun!" I knew he would be fine.

They left around 8:45pm and at 9:45, I got a text from Chris saying he was in a room. Fifteen minutes later, I got another text saying, "good news! they are going to glue it." I didn't know if I should take Chris seriously or not. I had no clue you could glue a cut closed?!! Finally at 10:20pm, I got a text saying, "all done and coming home!" ...along with this picture.

My brave little man.

When the boys arrived home after the quickest ER visit I've ever seen, Ryan was very excited to show me his glued together forehead. Of course I had to document his first injury with pictures!

Do you seeeeee my boo-boo?

Now can you seeeee it?

It really hurts!

Ryan thought his hospital bracelet was neat but couldn't wait to cut the scratchy thing off.

Seeeeee, my hair covers it up!

As much as I hate to admit it, I know there will most likely be plenty more ER visits in our future (especially with Crazy Kara!). We can only pray that all future injuries will be minor like Ryan's first one....and keep crossing our fingers that our luck hasn't run out...yet.

Toddler Bed Adventures

2010-04-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

{3.10.2010}

I will never forget the first week of March 2010. Why? Because it was the week that our 21 month old daughter decided to prove to us that she could climb out of her crib. Not once. Not twice but over and over and over again!

At first, we were shocked. Then completely amazed at this new ability at such a young age. For the record, Ryan NEVER did this! And lastly, scared. Not only scared for her safety but the realization that we HAD to make the transition from crib to toddler bed. I am sure I can speak for most parents when I say that keeping your child in a crib as long as you can is ideal. The children are confined and your sanity is intact. Once they are "free" to roam around, well life as you know it is over.

Here's a video I took of Kara showing off her mad climbing skills. I was not able to catch her "monkey climb" up the side of the crib and our silly camera died before her grand finale of jumping (YES, I said jumping) from the top of the crib rail. She has NO FEAR!

After a crazy week of panic attacks at every thump, I begged Chris to convert the crib into a toddler bed. Like any mother, I didn't want Kara to get hurt and I was positive that her daredevil attempts would eventually lead to a broken arm or concussion.

On Wednesday, March 10th, we converted the crib. As the last screw came out, I couldn't help but cry. Why does she have to grow up so fast? Will she be scared to sleep in a "big girl bed"? Will we be getting any sleep tonight? Thankfully she LOVED her new bed and stayed in it.

By 8pm she was off in dreamland and we were thanking our lucky stars that she was still sleeping when we went to bed at 11pm.

Kara slept until about 3:30am....then the fun began.

The rest of March was a blur. We had a few nights where Kara didn't want to stay in bed. There was also the week where she was up by 4am ready for the day. It was like having a newborn all over again! Somehow we survived those tough weeks and Kara eventually learned that her toddler bed was where she was supposed go to sleep at nighttime.

Nap time is still a work in progress though.

We keep catching Kara napping in the strangest positions and in the oddest places!

Then there is this!

In case you were wondering, I am NOT a fan of this at.all.let.me.tell.you!

Lately, she finds the floor to be comfy for nap time. At first I felt bad and would scoop her up to put her back in the bed. But I quickly learned that it was smarter to just let her sleep wherever she landed. Surprisingly, on this day she slept over 2 hours on the floor!

Here's a video showing the mess that is created on a daily basis in Kara's room!

I keep reminding myself that "this too shall pass" and we will move onto the next phase.

We already have the "terrible twos" knocking on our door.

I know we will look back at this someday and laugh at the craziness of it all.

Blast Off!

2010-04-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

Future Aerospace Engineer?

Earth Day is EVERY day!

2010-04-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

snack time

2010-04-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

Siblings sitting on the stoop in the shade...

...sipping and sharing a small sweet snack.

Smiling silently and soaking in the sensational seasonal sky.

Such a special sunny Spring day for snack time on the stoop.

Imaginative Play

2010-04-19T17:38:00.000-07:00

Any guesses what this could be?

I thought Ryan was being creative with matching up the colors and letters. But when I asked him what it was, he gave me a very imaginative answer....

Here's a clue: Think stop light.

He said, "They are my buttons, Mom...

Red means STOP

Yellow means SLOW DOWN

Green means GO."

So what does the Blue mean?

"BUBBLES, of course!"

Purple Kara Eater!

2010-01-31T19:59:00.000-08:00

....she really does exist!

Question

2010-01-24T21:13:00.000-08:00

Scene: Driving home on Saturday night. Ryan is staring out his window.

Ryan: "Daddy, why are the stars following us?"

Daddy looks at Mommy and they both shrug their shoulders in agreement.

Mommy: "Because we are lucky, that's why."

Silence.

Ryan: oh. ok.

Mommy looks at Daddy and winks.

Ryan Funnies

2010-01-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

Sitting at the dinner table this evening...

Daddy: Ryan, please eat your green beans.

Ryan: I don't want to grow big like you!

sweet siblings....

2010-01-18T18:38:00.000-08:00

...sitting and snuggling on the sofa smiling simultaneously and saying cheessssssssssse!

Happy New Year ~ 2010

2010-01-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

image

We rang in the New Year (as we do every year!) at the Richards family casa along side our good friends, the Gaston's and Wallander's. The children (all seven of them!) LOVE getting together to ~~create chaos~~ play. This year the Richards also hosted our "Friends Christmas Party" that same night and we enjoyed a yummy soup and salad buffet. It was scrumptious! After dinner, we let the children open their gifts from their "aunties and uncles"...

Here is sweet Jaylin opening her gifts. She is obsessed with shoes and purses...such a girly girl and her "aunties" love it!

The three musketeers (Ryan, Owen and Caleb) getting ready to dig into their gifts!

Ryan loves his K'Nex. Mommy is not a fan of stepping on them.

He got the game Hullabaloo this year and it is so much FUN to play!

Kara opening her princess blocks.

Crazy-hair Kara feeding her water baby.

After opening the gifts we got the kiddies into their pajamas and worked on a special craft.

I had heard about these cool 2010 glasses from a fellow blogger, Tara who has the most amazing blog named KIDZ. We decided to give them a try and here are a few pictures of our creative creations!

Ryan thought his glasses were too "pick-rrr-ly" and refused to put them on his nose.

Kara didn't mind and modeled them for us!

Of course Mommy had to join in the fun...

...and Daddy was a good sport and tried on the bigger pair! (this picture cracks me up!)

Here we have Jimmy (aka Mr. Wallander) giving us his best impression of "being gangsta while sporting a knock-off Ed Hardy tee and looking cool in 2010"...this guy is hysterical!

The rest of the evening...into the early morning hours of 2010 was spent doing this...

...we actually missed the ball drop this year because the girls (and Ryan) couldn't get enough of this game! I think we might ask Santa for a Wii next Christmas. (this coming from the one person in this house who said we would NEVER own a game system...ever!)

As Chris and I say good bye to the last decade, we are reminded how many wonderful things happened in our lives since Y2K. We met. We married. We bought our first home. We were blessed with our adorable son and then our beautiful daughter. To sum it up, the past 10 years have been a blessing. We can't wait to see what the next 10 bring us!

Our wish for everyone in 2010 is hope. Hope for a brighter and better future. Hope for Peace...and may you always
LIVE. LOVE. LAUGH.

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. ~Edith Pierce

Darling Duo

2010-01-11T20:03:00.000-08:00

updates on our darling duo are in the works...

HAPPY 2010!

Lucky 7

2009-12-21T13:46:00.000-08:00

December 21, 2002

I Spy

2009-12-13T18:29:00.000-08:00

Ryan decided to decorate the Christmas Tree with his own "ornaments". I SPY are Ryan's favorite books to read.

This picture reminds me of I Spy.

What do you spy in the tree?

supermodel material?

2009-12-06T20:29:00.000-08:00

For the record-Ryan asked me to take his picture (with Kara's sunglasses on) and HE came up with the poses all by himself!

This kid cracks me up!!

Daddy Love

2009-12-03T19:52:00.000-08:00

Ryan's 4th Birthday Review

2009-11-30T21:04:00.001-08:00

invite created by Christy

Can you guess the theme?

On Ryan's actual birthday (11/19), I surprised him with a lunch date at Friendly's! The waitstaff sang a silly birthday song and served the birthday boy a candy sundae. Ryan had a very confused look on his face during their serenade. After they left the table I realized we had never taken Ryan to a restaurant to celebrate his birthday! haha. He was a little disappointed that they didn't just sing the "birthday song" but quickly got over that after the first bite of his sugar creation.

Here's my 4 year old making his new "signature" pose...

Ryan insisted on taking a picture of Kara and me at the restaurant. I have to admit, he captured a really sweet picture.

That evening Ryan helped us make the bugs that would sit on top of his cupcakes.

Then we sang the traditional birthday song...

....and he blew out his 4 candles.

On Saturday, November 21st we celebrated a bug themed birthday bash with family and friends!

Ants, Spiders, Centipedes, Ticks...oh my!
The bug cupcakes turned out great!

Believe it or not, the bugs were a lot easier to make than the our failed attempt with Kara's flower cupcakes!

And what goes well with bug cupcakes?

Dirt Cake of course!

(hands down, the easiest dessert we have ever made and EVERYONE loved it!)

I came up with this favor bag the day before the party. Originally I wanted to just stamp the bag with some sort of bug stamp, but I couldn't find one I liked. My mother-in-law found a large container of spider rings and I thought, hmmmmm...wouldn't it be neat if we could string the spiders on the bags to make it look like they are crawling down the bag?! With some fishing line and a hole punch, we were able to make it happen! (thanks aunt gibby and sahira for helping me with the bags)

SPIDER BAGS!

Our friends and family are always asking why we "go all out" for our children's birthdays. My response to this question is, why not? We enjoy coming up with creative ideas, cooking and entertaining our guests. We only have to host two parties each year (one in June and one in November), so to us it's not a big deal...plus the look of pure joy on our child's face makes all the time spent planning and exhaustion afterwards worth it. :)

The one thing that I do find difficult to do while hosting a large party is taking the time to document the event!!! I always find myself saying, where is the camera? Hey Chris, do you have the camcorder? Shoot, we didn't get a picture of that before digging into it!

Well you get the picture (no pun intended)...

Luckily this year my nephew took some photos for us and I was able to snap a few myself. Here are some of my favorites from Ryan's big BUG day.

I love having a craft for the kids to do together. This year we had them create bugs with little pom-poms. Sadly, I did not get pictures of this craft! I also had planned a few bug games to play with the children, but it turned out to be such a nice day that they played outside instead. Which was fine with all the adults because the boys had a ton of energy to burn off.

I am titling the next few pictures Girls versus Boys.

The girls spent over an hour playing nicely in the sand box AND were able to keep the sand in the box. Amazing.

While the boys spent that hour running around the back yard and wrestling each other!

My nephew Joey turned 5 years old on Nov. 18th. Ryan and Joey are only one year and one day apart. We joke that Ryan didn't want to share his birthday with his cousin so our stubborn boy waited a few more hours to be born!

Here is Joey with the gift we got him....

This next picture of Lily makes me smile. Tired?

I will title the next three pictures Baby Fever because this little one makes me want to have another one!

Meet Emma.

Isn't she the cutest?! Kara really, really liked Emma too. (sorry the silly picture wouldn't turn) We were surprised how nice and gentle Kara was with baby Emma. It gives me hope that she will be a wonderful big sister someday...well that's if we decide to have more.

Just look at that face....sooooo adorable!

Here's an artistic shot of me and my mini me.

I am sad that we do not have a picture of Ryan with us. He was having too much fun playing with his cousins and friends to stop for pictures!

Time to sing to the birthday boy!

All we had to do was announce CAKE to get the children back into the house!

Kara enjoying some sweetness!

Then it was time to open the gifts!

I love this one from our dear friend Luci! Both Ryan and Kara (and mommy too) think this puppet is neat! We sing There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly all the time now.

This talking microscope with bug slides is really COOL!

Bugs, bugs and more BUGS!

Ryan loved that Pop-Pop and Mom-Mom Delp gave him a Leapster! He plays with it every day.

But Grandma and Pop-Pop High surprised him with what he wanted most...

Yep...that's right. Ryan is now the proud owner of his very first guitar!

Happy 4th Birthday to our funny, sweet, bug and music-loving boy!

Ryan + George = BFF

2009-11-25T19:24:00.000-08:00

This is Ryan.

Do you think Ryan is huge fan of Curious George?

We are crossing our fingers that Michelle at My Semblance of Sanity thinks so!

(Hey Michelle...Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas would be a great addition to Ryan's dvd collection, don't you agree?)

Happy 4th Birthday Ryan!

2009-11-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

You are Daddy's little buddy...

and Mommy's little sweetie.

You are a fun Big Brother...

and friend to everyone.

You can at times be naughty...

sometimes stubborn....

but always silly!

You are adventurous.

You make us laugh every day.

We love you to the moon and back....

Happy 4th Birthday Ryan!

The Smoothie

2009-11-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

There is nothing better than a Strawberry Banana Smoothie...

while enjoying it's sweetness from a real cup!

Look Ma...one handed!

mmmmmm.....mmmmm.....good.

and the WINNER is...

2009-11-15T08:04:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in posting this video...(crazy busy day yesterday!)

Without further ado, here are the kiddies announcing the...

that's right... WINNERS!

(sorry the camera battery died, so you only see a snippet of the second winner's name! haha)

Congratulations Lauren.... and Sophie! Please email me your postal information and I will make sure you receive your Lullaby albums!

I wanted to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who entered my very first giveaway. It was fun and I hope to have more giveaways in the future.

Didn't win but would still LOVE to own this amazing album? Don't fret, Jennifer is having a holiday sale over at her website!

Click HeRe to check out the awesome deals!

The Great Lunch Debate

2009-11-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

TO EAT or NOT TO EAT...

(WARNING: Queen of Scream alert!)

famous last words

2009-11-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

Sunday we were invited to Tony D's 4th birthday party.

That morning I got Ryan ready and asked him if he would like to watch a movie or sit in the office with Daddy while I got ready for the party.

He chose to sit in the office with Daddy.

Before I jumped in the shower, I told Ryan not to get dirty and reminded Daddy to watch him.

10 minutes later Chris came into the bathroom to show me this....

I guess I should have ended my sentence with,

"...or create an Indian mask on your face."

Today I am THANKFUL for washable markers.

A Birthday...A Giveaway!

2009-11-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

Could it be? Today I turned 33!

Happy Birthday to me!

This year I decided to celebrate this special day with my very first GIVEAWAY on our family blog. If all goes well, I might just make it an annual event...or not. I guess we will just have to see. I am VERY excited for this GIVEAWAY though and hope everyone enters to win!

Before I get into the details of my very first GIVEAWAY, I thought I would pepper this post with pictures. I know how much you love seeing our smiling faces...especially our dear, sweet Nanie. These are for you! :)

Chris and Bobbi on our 5th Wedding Anniversary (8.21.09). We celebrated 5 years of wedded bliss in the beautiful Finger Lakes (NY) and this photo was taken on our sunset sail on Seneca Lake. (more pics and post coming soon...)

Here's our little ham, Ryan. He makes us laugh every day, can be sneaky at times and is extremely lovable! Ryan turns 4 years old in a few weeks!

And last, but certainly not least! Our beautiful Kara. She is sweet but feisty. Kara loves to dance and be her brother's shadow all day long. One look at her adorable smile and she will melt your heart!

I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful and loving family!

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Ok! Time for the juicy details of my very first GIVEAWAY!

Over the past year, I've met (via the Internet) some very inspiring and special mommy bloggers! One that I would like to introduce you to is Jennifer Thomas! Jennifer inspires me everyday with her creativity and her ability to juggle being a working mom with everything else life throws at her. We have become really good friends and I hope we are able to meet in "real life" someday soon! Jennifer is not only an amazing mommy to her adorable son, Preston (who by the way, is only ONE day older than Kara!) but she is also an amazingly talented composer and pianist!

Jennifer has recently finished her 2nd album titled The Lullaby Album. This album was inspired by her son, Preston, who as an infant had difficulty falling asleep. Jennifer along with her mother, Carolyn Southworth, collaborated to create this beautifully calming 2-disc lullaby album. During the year long process, Jennifer would often ask her fellow mommy bloggers for advice on the songs she was working on. I felt so honored that she allowed me to critique her work. We were a part of this album from the very beginning, so it holds a special place in my heart.

This clip shows Jennifer's creative side (she created the montage), her beautiful family (the photos are of her, her husband Will and Preston when he was just a few weeks old) and of course gives you a taste of what is on the album!

Do you want to WIN a copy of this beautiful 2-disc album?!

Of course you do!

Ok, here are the rules to enter....

First-

Click Here to check out Jennifer's website. Scroll down her home page to find 2 sets of music clips. Listen to them!

Don't forget to let Jennifer know you stopped by her website by leaving her some comment love in her guest book!

Second-

Determine which lullaby song is your favorite...then leave a comment on this blog post stating your name and which song is your favorite!

ie. Bobbi-Jo High: Baby of Mine (Preston's Song)

** For my non-blogging friends...the comment section is at the bottom of this post on the right hand side. You may sign into Blogger or choose to be anonymous (please make sure you leave your name in your comment if you choose anonymous!)

Only one entry per person. You have until 11pm (EST) on Friday, November 13th to enter this contest. A winner will be announced the following day. Good Luck!

mischievous children

2009-11-05T10:01:00.000-08:00

Mommy is making breakfast...

Kara gets stuck in the play food container.

And yes, that's a fake french fry in her mouth.

Mommy makes a quick trip upstairs to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer...

Someone from the RK Alliance creates a new chalkboard on our kitchen wall.

Mommy is making lunch....

Ryan decides Kara's hair needs a few more "accessories".

Never a dull moment here!

Pajama Day

2009-11-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

Halloween ~ 2009

2009-10-31T19:40:00.001-07:00

On Halloween-Eve, we started the holiday festivities with a trip to Weaver's Orchard to finally get pumpkins! Sadly, the weather was horrible the past few weekends causing us to squeeze in some pumpkin picking right before Weaver's closed on Friday evening. This year we did not enjoy a fun hayride to the pumpkin patch or the cool activities that the Orchard has for the children on Saturdays. Instead we raced to beat the sun setting for the evening with choosing what we thought were the perfect pumpkins*.
Here's our weekend in pictures...

What on earth are they staring at?

Oh...just a scary goat on the rooftop!

(yes, that is a real goat on top of the barn roof!)

Kara loved helping Daddy choose the perfect pumpkin*. She inspected them all.

Ryan insisted on picking them up. This one appears to be a little on the heavy side...

....and walking around with them. Any guesses on the phrase of the night?

Kara measuring up against the "medium" hay stacks....they win. :)

Look what we found! GO PENN STATE!

I asked Chris if he could just build one of these in our house?

FYI--We still do NOT know where our bee infestation is coming from. Poor Kara has been stung THREE times in the past two weeks. Thank God she is not allergic like her mama!

After paying for our perfectly picked pumpkins*, some yummy apple cider and a box of homemade sticky buns (Chris added them to the cart at the last minute), we headed home for movie night with Ryan. We watched Monsters vs. Aliens. We give it two thumbs up!

*not so perfect...see below.

This Halloween I wanted to carve a pumpkin. Believe it or not, we have not carved a pumpkin since Ryan was born. I think we just thought Ryan was too young to understand or even help...so why bother, right? Well, this year I decided we must carve a pumpkin.

I found the perfect template online...

Isn't it adorable?! (now we really can't wait for our Disney trip in Nov. 2010!)

Ryan was ready to help while sporting this super silly t-shirt that Grandma High sent to him!

Let the carving begin!

Chris had a cheering section...

"Go Daddy!"

"Carve that Pumpkin!"

We were having a great time cheering for Daddy, but then he lifted the freshly carved lid and we found this...

hmmmm. I know it's been a few years since our last experience with pumpkin "guts" but we are pretty positive that they shouldn't be in liquid form!!!!

Chris took the pumpkin over to the kitchen sink and tried to clean the pumpkin out as best he could...but he accidentally created a small hole on the bottom.

Thus causing this to happen...

The cheering stopped and the gagging started. Yuck!

But we weren't going to let a semi-rotted pumpkin stop us!

Do you see Mickey?

Getting closer...

carving the finishing touches...

And may I present...

The High Family 2009 Halloween Pumpkin!

Once the pumpkin was completed, it was time to take pictures of the kids in their costumes.

Kara the Ladybug

Does this costume look familiar?? Yep, it's the same one she wore last year!!! Click here to see our 2008 Halloween pictures.

Ryan the Bee

LOVE BUGS

Once there was a break in the rain (yep, it rained AGAIN...what a rainy October!), I strapped Kara into the stroller and took the kids around the block. They got A LOT of candy for only doing a block.

This year Candi brought over Kianah and Ava (two out of her four girls) to keep us company and Trick-or-Treat. Ava and Kara were born only three weeks apart but as you can see, differ greatly in height and weight. Watch out Ava, Kara is starting to catch up though. :)

The Ladybug with her Flower!

Happy Halloween!

The Toy Fairy

2009-10-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

The MOST ANNOYING thing about being a stay-at-home mom is this....

(please note-these photos were taken on a mild day)

I clean and they mess.

I organize and they "reorganize".

I tell them to clean up and they look at me like I'm an alien from another planet.

Sadly, Ryan gets the brunt of clean up duty because Kara is still too young to understand that her toys need to be put away after she ~~throws them around the room~~ plays with them. This is something we are working on with her. Ryan is also at an age where he likes to "ignore" and "complain" A LOT when asked to do something. It is very trying on his mother's patience...aka MY patience.

One day I decided enough was enough. I had heard about "The Toy Fairy" from a few friends and decided that she was worth a try. I sat Ryan down and explained to him that the Toy Fairy had called and she informed me that she planned to make a visit to our house to collect all toys left out during nap time that day. At first he just stared at me...again, like I was some alien from another planet. I wasn't sure if he was going to take me seriously or laugh in my face.

I mean, this child is one smart cookie.

Then he asked why she called our house? I told him that she knew that he was giving his mommy a hard time when it came to cleaning up his toys and at times, completely ignoring her requests to clean up. He then said, "OK, I will clean up." and went into the playroom. A few minutes later he ran into the kitchen and said, "hey mom, don't worry about the Toy Fairy. I locked all the doors so she can't get in!" (I told you he was a smart cookie, right?)

I then had to explain to him that it doesn't matter if the doors were locked or not. The Toy Fairy is able to get in because she has special fairy powers.

Ok, so at this point I am ready to throw in the towel because the "little white lie" is becoming way too much work to keep up!

After a little more whining and a desperate attempt at telling me that it didn't matter because Santa was coming soon anyway (seriously where does this child come up with this stuff?), the toy room was left unclean while I scooted both kiddies up for their afternoon nap.

If there is one thing I've learned in the short years as a mom, it's the fact that I have to follow through with everything and always be consistent. So when I told Ryan that the Toy Fairy was going to take ALL toys that were left on the floor...then so be it, the Toy Fairy did just that!

I didn't get a before shot of the crazy mess...here is what was left after the Toy Fairy stopped by. She decided to leave the puzzles and games behind so Ryan had something to clean up when he woke up from his nap. Wasn't that nice of her?

After nap, Ryan came running into the toy room to find that his toys were missing. Curious how he reacted? Well you are in luck, I was able to catch in photographs his many emotions....

Angry Ryan

Sad Ryan

Confused Ryan

Guess what he did next? CLEANED UP the remaining mess!

Holy Canoli, it worked. (yay!)

Soooo I continued my "little white lie" and told Ryan that the Toy Fairy told me that she would return then next day (after nap). She explained that if Ryan listened to his mommy and cleaned up, she would be more than happy to return his toys!

To my amazement, the following day Ryan cleaned up all his toys with only being told once! When he woke up from his nap, he found this waiting for him....

The note says,

"Dear Ryan,
As promised, here are your toys back.
Please continue to clean up your toys every day or I will return. Good Job today! :)
Love,
The Toy Fairy"

Ryan was SO EXCITED to find this bag of goodies! It seriously felt like Christmas in our house as he held up his toys and exclaimed how much he missed each toy.

Happy Ryan

So what did we learn?
The Toy Fairy does exist and she will return...just ask Ryan. ;)

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-09-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today Chris turned 35 years old!

We surprised Chris (aka Daddy) at work with a bouquet of balloons. He really enjoyed taking a break from his hectic day to show off the kiddies! He is one proud papa. :)

Wanna know a secret about the birthday boy?

Chris is a creature of habit....he enjoys homemade waffles for Father's Day and only wants to enjoy a sirloin steak at Outback every year on his birthday. It makes planning his day very easy actually, so I never question his wishes. Chris also loves, LOVES, loves Entenmann's Chocolate Fudge Cake and it has become tradition to get this cake for his birthday each year. (how lucky am I? no baking!) I even surprised him on our wedding day with one because he turned 30 exactly one month later. The pictures of that surprise are priceless...I will post them someday.

This year the kiddies make hand print cards (sorry forgot to take pics of the cards...ooops) and gave Daddy a Penn State plant to put in his office. He will also be visiting Best Buy soon to pick out his birthday gift of either a new Blue-Ray DVD player OR Flat screen Monitor for our desktop computer. Two items he has been itching to get for a while now. What will he choose?

Happy 35th Birthday, Chris!

Ryan singing Happy Birthday to his Daddy and yes, that is a Sesame Street birthday balloon that the kids picked out. Chris was a good sport and kept in his office all day!

Mmmmm....Maggie Moo!

2009-09-20T21:02:00.001-07:00

Peanut...

2009-09-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Peanut Butter...

and Jelly!

Peanut...Peanut Butter...

and Jelly!

Miss us?

Baby You Can Drive My Car

2009-08-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Kara's new obsession is Ryan's BAO car. At first, she thought climbing on the seat and standing was fun but now she likes to actually sit and drive.

Here's a little video showing Kara's driving skills at the tender age of 13 months. If this is what we have to look forward to 16 years from now, we are in TROUBLE!

Warning: Kara's other favorite thing to do is scream...

Vroom...Vroom! from Bobbi-Jo High on Vimeo.

Singing, Dancing and Celebration!

2009-07-28T13:03:00.000-07:00

This morning Kara had an appointment at GenSpan. As we drove down the highway, Ryan said, "Mama, turn it up. This is Ryan's song!"

This is Ryan's song.

Catchy tune, huh? Well now that you have it stuck in you head...watch Ryan sing it below! Sadly, the sound on the video is crappy so you can't hear much. Just watch his lips...he is hysterical!! (sorry it's sideways)

We were pretty excited about visiting GenSpan today! My good friend and fellow blogger (she is the main reason I got into blogging), Christy D'Angelo works there and she celebrates her birthday today! Happy Birthday, Christy! We came bearing gifts to surprise her with and from her smile below...we think she liked them!

Christy D. is one crafty and extremely talented lady. She created Kara's Birth Announcements and her Baptism Invitations for us and we loved how they turned out!

After years of making custom invitations, announcements and favors for her family and friends, Christy decided to expand her hobby into a business and created BRIDES to BOOTIES! Click on the link below to view her samples!

Don't forget to leave her some comment love and let her know you heard about Brides to Booties from me!

And in conclusion, here's Mr. Ryan (this is your final surprise for the day Ms. Christy!) showing us his signature moves in the middle of Toys R Us today! ENJOY!!

Little Girls...

2009-07-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

...are made of sugar and spice...

(it is hard to hear in this video but Kara now says "yes" after questions...sounds more like "yea")

Exploration from Bobbi-Jo High on Vimeo.

....and everything nice?

Rock Star in Crocs!

2009-07-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

Last Fall, I joined a moms group called Connect The Tots. I thought it would be fun for us to get out and enjoy playdates with children Ryan's age. The organizer of Connect The Tots sends notification of different events in our county via email almost daily inviting us to come join the fun! We have gone to at least one event each month and each time is a fun new adventure!

On Sunday, July 12th we attended an event at the Riveredge called ROCK STAR TOTS! At first I was hesitant to go because the admission price was $10 per person (adults, children, even babies who are walking!)...but I just knew Ryan would enjoy this event, so I had Chris stay home with Kara and Mommy & Ryan went on a date. (FYI- Rock Star Tots have since changed their prices. Check out their website HeRe.)

We had a GREAT time! Ryan, my little music ham, danced from the moment we stepped off the red carpet at 2 pm until it was time to head home at 5 pm. Yes, three straight hours of pure FUN! I was extremely impressed with every little detail the event coordinator put into this event. From the Rock Star decorations to the games, they kept the children interested and the music kept them dancing!

The DJ (also the event coordinator's husband) kept the kids entertained with a bubble machine. Who doesn't like bubbles?

Ryan bustin' a move!

There were several areas set up for when the children just wanted to play instead of dance. Ryan really enjoyed the tunnel.

Back on the dance floor, the DJ surprised us all when he turned on a soap machine instead of the bubble machine!! The kids LOVED it!

The aftermath of playing in suds!

I am not sure what this is called but Ryan really liked to ride it.

They had a quiet corner where the children could sit and read....

....or play planes, trains and automobiles!

Each month has a different theme. July's theme was AIR GUITAR! and it was also their premiere. They had a contest to see who could play their best air guitar. Here's Ryan practicing for the contest...

Enjoying a little ball fun...

Playing the STAR ring toss game...

Set up next to the quiet corner was a coloring corner!

And a kiddie party would not be complete without Parachute Fun!

They had an area set up for babies and somehow Ryan crawled his way into it!

Finally it was time for the contest. Ryan lined up and excitedly waited for his name to be called. He was the 5th or 6th name on the list, which I thought was good because he could see what the other children were doing first before getting up in front of a crowd all by himself. When his name was called, he ran onto the dance floor. The DJ asked if he was ready and Ryan nodded his head yes. Then the music started and he...

...pretty much just stood there and played his guitar. HA!! He looked SO SERIOUS and of course cute as can be! His mama couldn't have been more proud.

I even caught a clip of it on video. NAME THAT TUNE. Sadly, he did not place in the contest. The girls beat him out with their over the head guitar playing and break dancing moves! You will get them next time, buddy!

(Christy D. can probably name it after the first few notes!)

Mommy and her little Rock Star hanging out in the VIP area!

Ryan (far left) doing the Hokey Pokey!

Rock Star in crocs working the red carpet!

Rock Start Tots is held every 2nd Sunday of the month from 2-5 pm at the Riveredge. Chantelle, our moms group organizer, spoke with the woman in charge and was able to get our group a nice discount for the month of August. The next Rock Star Tots will be held on Sunday, August 9th. If anyone is interested, please contact me and I will add you to the list!

Who needs toys anyway?

2009-07-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

Like most families, our house is ~~quickly~~ slowly being taken over by toys. Even more so because our two children are each of a different gender, thus causing us to own "boy toys" and now "girl toys". I shake my head when I walk into the mess that is their toy room now.

I fear what the future holds.

Today the children found an empty box. This box created an entire hour of joyous play, I kid you not! It started innocently enough with Kara playing with her little people in the box. Isn't she cute?

Then she decided that she wanted to get into the box with her little people!

Little Miss Determination eventually climbed in and sat for a while...

...until Ryan saw what his little sister was doing! This is what happened next...

Box Fun! from Bobbi-Jo High on Vimeo.

Then a box accident happened!

No worries! Everyone was ok. :)

Snack time in the box seemed like a great idea too. Boy did they love the box...

...so much so they held a top secret meeting in it! Daddy and Mommy later found out what the RK Alliance was planning....let's just say, it wasn't as fun as playing in the box today!

So next time you ask me what the kids need or want, I highly recommend a box. ;)

Crazy Days

2009-07-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, most days are crazy. Just when I think I have everything under control, I am quickly and sadly reminded that I am outnumbered 2 to 1...every.single.day.

So really it came as no surprise when the RK Alliance decided to make an appearance today.

First the R of the RK Alliance (aka Ryan), decided to sneak some of Daddy's cookies and created a scavenger hunt this morning. I am slowly beginning to realize just how good Ryan is getting with setting up scavenger hunts. It seems like every other day I am finding crayons, kitchen items or even food hidden in the oddest places! Ryan likes to wait for a few hours to see if I will notice what he's done and if I don't, then he "tattles" on himself. While most times it's quite comical to play his little game of hide and seek, I have to say the food is starting to concern me because I do not want ants or even worse, rodents to start showing up.

Today's hunt was for cookies. The only reason I knew he had gotten into them is because I caught Kara trying to eat one!!!

So thus began another HUNT...the funniest place I found a cookie today:

I lifted the lid to the piano AND....viola! (silly picture would not turn!)

Here's the mastermind behind all the scavenger hunts. Thanks buddy for keeping Mommy on her toes all.day.long! Don't ya just love his devilish grin?

Next up would be the K in the RK Alliance (aka Kara).

She's sweet. She's petite. She's sneaky too!

Just look what she will do!!

This girl has NO fear! She will climb any and every thing!!! I meant to put their lawn chairs outside this morning and had them sitting by our sliding glass door. It didn't take Ryan long to find them and set them up in the middle of the family room. Then it didn't take Kara long to figure out how to climb up and STAND on them!

Truly, this little girl is going to give me a run for my money!

Even Ryan was SHOCKED! haha.

Hmmmm. Now how do I get down?

Ummm. Nope! Not that way!!! This would be the last picture I took before grabbing her and taking her off the chair completely. Then I placed both chairs outside where they belonged!

I was able (between all the craziness!) to record Kara being such a good Mommy to her baby! But of course, leave it to Ryan and his three year old potty mouth to sour the moment. *sigh*

Awww, Baby! from Bobbi-Jo High on Vimeo.

Sweet Siblings

2009-07-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

so serious.

so silly.

so stoic.

so sweet.

Happy 1st Birthday, Kara! (part two)

2009-07-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Kara's 1st birthday on her actual birthday! Sunday, June 14th. It couldn't have been a more perfect day. The weather was gorgeous (after a week of nothing but rain) and our home was filled with our closest family and friends, all here to celebrate Kara's special day!

It's hard to believe that an entire year has passed by already. It truly feels like it was just yesterday that we bundled Kara up in her car seat and brought her home from the hospital. Now she is a walking, teething, babbling petite toddler!

Before I get to all the pictures and descriptions of Kara's big day, I thought I would give a quick update on her growth. We had Kara's one year wellness visit the Friday following her party, June 19th. We were extremely happy to find out that she has grown a lot since her last visit three months ago!!

Stats for 12 months:

Length: 28 inches (40%) - grew 2 inches!

Weight: 17.1 lbs (still 3%) - gained over 3 lbs!

She is still a peanut but has remained on her "curve" and she doesn't have the doctors worried. They once again gave her a clean bill of health! We find it funny that Kara has always done the complete opposite of what other children normally do. She is just starting to experience growth spurts now while other toddlers her age are starting to slow down. We've noticed her appetite has increased immensely over the past few months and her sleep patterns as well. She takes 2 naps a day and has been sleeping through the night for months now...sometimes over 12 hours straight! Yes, we know just how lucky we are...for now! :)

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Ok, now for your viewing pleasure. May I present to you- the birthday cake!

Let it be known that we did not make this cake. We ordered it from our favorite cake lady at Unique Desserts. BUT, we think an intern created this one because it is WAY too busy to be a Ann Louise creation!! It was cute though and of course oh so YUMMY.

As you can somewhat tell by looking at the cake, we decided to do a Flower Theme for Kara's big day! It wasn't hard to come up with this theme because it just screams summer and girly!

Everyone's favorite table at birthday parties! The DESSERT table!

This would be our pathetic attempt at Sunflower Cupcakes. We got this cute idea from the Hello, Cupcake! book. They have some amazing cupcake ideas! Click HERE to view their blog. I think they turned out cute but wish it hadn't taken us all night to create them! We mixed up four different icings trying to get the right texture. Lesson learned: practice at least once before attempting something new the night before the party!! (just for the record, I begged Chris to practice and he insisted that it wouldn't be hard at all...HA!) I think the adorable ladybugs came out great and best of all, they weren't that hard to make.

Our flower favors! (thanks again Jess for helping me create these!)

I originally wanted to have the children create their own birthday hats inside but they were having so much fun outside, we decided to just bring the craft items out to them. As you can see, this fun and creative project was enjoyed by children and adults alike!

Ryan working hard on his birthday hat!

Kara will have a ton of little girlfriends to play with as she grows up. Especially little Ava (who is only 3 weeks older) and her sister, Evelyn! Ava and Evelyn also have two more sisters (not pictured), Kianah and Ceceila...yes, 4 girls! Candi and Khalil have their hands full and we don't know how they survive with that many girls, we think ONE little girl is enough...for now anyway!

We decided that a summer birthday party wouldn't be complete without WATER FUN, so we blew up the kiddie pools and filled them up! It didn't take long for the little ones to find their way into the pools and boy did they have fun once they did! Alyssa (in pink) didn't even need a suit...she walked right up and climbed in, shoes and all! Watching all the children enjoy the water play was really neat and we were so glad the weather was nice enough for them to enjoy the pools!

Grandma High brought a slip and slide for the older children to use...it immediately became a huge hit...and a nice swampy yard soon followed!

Here my niece, Madison demonstrates for us the perfect technique for sliding! I believe shortly after this picture was taken, someone hit the "bump" too hard and broke it. So sadly, this slip and slide lived a short life...

This is pretty much what our son did ALL day! Run Ryan Run! At one point he thought taking his pants off and streaking in front of all our guests would be a good idea. No we did not get a picture of that, in case you were wondering. His reason when we asked him why: well the boy on the slip-n-slide box was NAKED! (I guess when you have your shirt off, you are considered naked in the eyes of a three year old!).

Mommy's good friend Jen posing with Ryan's good friend (and Jen's daughter) Lily!

Oh Ella, how we love thee and your matching swimsuit and hat! Thanks again for giving Kara her very own cute matching suit & hat too! We love it!!

Eleanor and her cutie patootie granddaughter, Sabina! (love her name!)

Kara has had stranger anxiety for hmmm... all her life! No lie, she wouldn't even let her grandparents hold her until just recently. So we were a little surprised when she let Tina (mommy's old HS buddy) hold her. Especially since it was Tina's first time meeting Kara! I guess we now know who to call when we need a babysitter.

Caleb and Jaylin taking a break from all the water fun to enjoy some yummy bar-b-que food. I love this picture not only because they look so cute sharing a chair, but because I keep thinking this is what our two little ones will look like in 2 years!

Then is was time to sing to the birthday girl!
She wasn't sure about the hat at first, but kept it on while we sang to her.

Kara grabbed the cake as soon as I put it in front of her and then licked her fingers! Ryan was the complete opposite on his first birthday, we had to stick his hand in the cake!

Happy Birthday dear Kara....

We gave her a cupcake to try and she really LOVED it!

May I have some more? (she devoured it within minutes!)

Peek-A-Boo!

Birthday Girl walking and clapping!

At the end of the day, we didn't know who was more tired...

...the sleepy birthday girl or her exhausted mama?

Happy 1st Birthday, Kara!

Mommy, Daddy and Ryan love you very much!

Father's Day ~ 2009

2009-06-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

Today was Daddy's day!

Daddy requests the same thing every year...

WAFFLES!

And every year, Mommy let's him sleep in while she slaves in the kitchen trying not to burn the waffles in the waffle iron. Can you tell my husband is the 'cook' on our family?

I think they turned out quite yummy...and Ryan will agree!

As luck would have it, Daddy did not have a crazy day like mommy had on her day. There were no "accidents" that involved poop on the floor and the kiddies were on their best behavior all day.

We originally had plans for a picnic dinner at Gring's Mill while enjoying a free Summer Concert. But with the unpredictable weather, we decided not to chance it. (of course the sun decided to come out AFTER we changed our plans!- oh well.)

Instead we headed out for a dinner at Buca di Beppo...

...with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop Delp.

If you've eaten at Buca, then you know about the POPE room.

We were lucky enough to get this room. And yes, I think the Pope's head sitting in the middle of a lazy-susan is freaky! haha.

This Father's Day was extra special because my younger sister and her family were up visiting from North Carolina. We haven't seen them in almost a year and her FOUR kiddies have grown so much in the past year. Especially this little guy...

Owen is only 6 months older than Kara and turned 1 in January.

Here are his siblings: Ian, Autumn and Ethan.

Kara seems to really like Buca. Her new favorite "finger food"...lemons.

Aunt Tara and the gang (Madison and Billy) made an hour drive to spend the day with us too! This is a really cute picture of them.

The best surprise was that my cousin Lisa decided to join the fun! We love you, Lisa!

Then my niece Madison asked if she could take some pictures....

...and she did a pretty good job. These shots should make my blogger friends happy. :)

It was also Pop-Pop's Day! But Kara wasn't showing the love....

After dinner (which included an impromptu birthday surprise for the May and June birthdays!), we lined up the kiddies for a group photo. Here are 8 out of the 12 grandchildren!

(Kara was cranky and Ryan had a tummy ache.)

All and all, it was a nice relaxing day (except for the screaming kiddies at the restaurant!) for Chris. I wish I could give him a Father's Day week for all the hard work and love he gives to his family every day. We are so very lucky to have him!

Happy Father's Day...to the one I love!

Happy 1st Birthday, Kara! (part one)

2009-06-14T23:46:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful baby girl on the day of her birth: June 14, 2008.

One year later: June 14, 2009.

Here is a montage I created of Kara's first year in pictures.
(you might want to grab a tissue first...)

Kara Ellasyn High from Bobbi-Jo High on Vimeo.

I will be creating a second blog post, all about Kara's birthday party. Until then, here are a few pictures of the birthday girl on her special day for your enjoyment!

Do you like my birthday hat?

Kara dug into the cake as we were singing!

We gave her a cupcake and she is really liked it...

...REALLY liked it!

YAY! It's FUN to be ONE!

(Birthday Party Post ~ coming soon!)

Walk this way....

2009-06-08T21:31:00.000-07:00

It's official. Kara is walking.

It didn't take her long to go from 2-3 steps to this....

Look what I can do! from Bobbi-Jo High on Vimeo.

I don't if I should laugh or cry. On one hand, I am so excited and proud of her accomplishment...even more so how quickly she was able to learn to go from crawling, to standing, to walking in a matter of weeks. But on the other hand, I am sad to see her babyhood slipping away. She is constantly on the move now...no slowing down!

Walking = Toddlerhood.

Am I ready for this next step? I don't feel like I am, but toddlerhood is filled with many more exciting adventures and I can't wait to see her explore and learn her "new" world!

Watermelon, anyone?

2009-05-30T10:29:00.001-07:00

Mmmmmm.....

....yummy!

Clip, Clip, Clip

2009-05-29T20:00:00.001-07:00

To answer the burning question this week:

To cut or Not to cut?

We cut.

Daddy was sad (yes, he took it harder than Mommy) but he didn't cry (like Mommy did).

Here's a recap of Kara's big day in pictures...enjoy.

Before shot: The Girly Mullet

Before shot: Cousin IT

During: Kara did great. She didn't cry during the actual hair cut.

Saying good-bye to the "TAIL"...

Then the hair dryer came out and our happy girl turned on the water works. What a face!

After shot: Ryan got his hair cut too. He loves to visit Ms. Michele at Kids Cuts. Kara looks absolutely adorable! Ryan did not want to sit still during this picture, so he looks quite silly.

After shot: The beautiful bob. Mommy is happy. Kara is happy. Daddy needs some time to get used to the style. (he is not a fan of short hair on girls...)

After shot: Kara's hair looks so much fuller now. She's just so darn cute!

A Special Surprise

2009-05-28T20:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the day for videos apparently! I actually tried to upload this video last night but Blogger AND Vimeo both gave me troubles. Tonight no issues, so I am playing catch up!

When Ryan turned one (November 2006), Santa brought him a cute little Cars themed push or sit car for Christmas. It quickly became his favorite toy. Even now at three and a half years old, Ryan still rides it and is not happy that Kara has started to take a liken to his beloved car. When she isn't standing on it, she is pushing it. Yesterday, jealousy got the best of Ryan and he insisted on sitting on the car while Kara push/walked behind it. I thought it was cute so I grabbed the camera....

What I thought was going to be short clip of Kara pushing Ryan turned into something bigger within seconds. It was a bittersweet surprise and I am happy that I caught it on film!

Kara Walks! from Bobbi-Jo High on Vimeo.

Caged Animals!

2009-05-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

After my evening yoga class last night, I tried to enjoy dinner before taking the kids upstairs for bath and bedtime. As you will see in the video below, the RK Alliance had other plans...

You will also see just how naughty Ryan can be and how much Kara hates being gated up!

Gated Up! from Bobbi-Jo High on Vimeo.

Ryan Funnies

2009-05-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

Any guesses what this could be...?

Here's a different view...

When we asked Ryan why he left the cars this way...

His answer was..."They are sleeping."

Happy 11 months!

2009-05-24T21:34:00.000-07:00

Hi!

(I think it's hilarious that I keep catching her in this pose!)

Kara turned 11 months on May 14th...so yes, I am a little late getting this post out. Please forgive my tardiness!

A lot has happened in the last month. Our little peanut is not so little anymore!! Kara has been growing like a weed lately and we are excited to see just how much she's grown at her 12 month wellness visit next month.

She has perfected her "pulling up" skills, which forced us to lower the crib finally.

Here's some video of that night....

Just in the last two weeks, Kara has started to really show signs of wanting to walk. She takes about 2-3 steps and then gets down to crawl. With this new found way of getting around, comes the dreaded boo-boo's from falling. Her poor forehead has taken a beating! She also sustained her first boo-boo caused by a plastic egg and her naughty brother.

(the cut near her left eye is from Ryan)

It took about a week but all the marks did finally heal up.

We are starting to plan her 1st birthday party, which will be held in exactly 3 weeks on June 14th!

C0uld someone please tell me where the past year went? I still can't believe we are almost in toddlerhood with our second child...

Pretty girl. Clever girl. Daddy's girl.

So true.

Kara is into everything and anything now that she is mobile! She hates to be "locked up" and wants to explore every inch of the house. She just showed us last week that she is able to crawl up steps! I caught her climbing our kitchen step and that same evening Chris put her on our staircase that leads to the second floor and she climbed the entire staircase with no problems. I hope to post a video showing off her new skill soon..

Here she shows us that reading with our feet is fun.

And why ride the car when you can surf it? She has no fear!

But the biggest question on our minds lately is...

To cut or not to cut?

What do you think? We will have an answer on Friday...stay tuned.

Happy 11 months, sweetie!

I love you just the way you are...

2009-05-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

I would listen to I love you just the way you are, a million times over (I believe I already have listened to it a million times!) just to experience this...

PS- I know I've been MIA lately...sorry. I accept the blame for being completely exhausted and not staying up late creating posts about our exciting adventures....but BLOGGER hasn't exactly been cooperating lately and hopefully their issues will be resolved soon. Please know that there are plenty of fun and picture-filled posts to come! Stay tuned...I have a lot to catch up on!

We Heart Art!

2009-05-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

Join the Three Bay B Chicks, Domestically Challenged and Helene from I'm Living Proof that God has a Sense of Humor as they celebrate art and being creative this week. These three blogs are sponsoring an event called "We Heart Art," which gives you the chance to not only showcase your artwork or creative projects, but also your kid's handiwork. Prizes for children and adults will be awarded to a few lucky winners selected at random.

Ok, so I normally do not post for contests on my family blog...but this one seems like a lot of fun, plus it gives me the opportunity to show off my beautiful and extremely gifted child!

And yes, talk about being last minute... Today is the last day to enter into the contest! Click here if you would like to participate!

There is no denying that our son, Ryan takes after his mama in the creative department. Just scroll on down to see his many "artsy" talents!

He can finger paint Picasso off the books!

He LOVES taking pictures...these candid shots were from his 3rd Birthday Party.

Seriously, could you get more artistic than this?!

With a little help from Daddy, he created this beautiful craft flower for me on Mother's Day 2008...soooo creative!

And what's a post without videos? Here is my talented son showing us that he can....

Play the piano...look out Beethoven!

Dance! He's got the moves!!!

(sorry the video is sideways!)

And finally, he proves that he wants to be just like Mom when he grows up by...

Singing! The voice of an angel!

(once again, sorry it's sideways!)

See? Can't get more "artsy" or talented than that!

I hope you enjoyed the show!

Feed Me!

2009-05-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

Ryan asked me the other morning if he could feed Kara her breakfast.

I said he could and grabbed the camera....

"Open wide Kara!"

" See Mom, I can do it!"

"Kaaarrrraaaa! Open up you mouth!"

Here's a short clip of the messy but cute event.

Happy Mother's Day ~ 2009

2009-05-10T21:14:00.001-07:00

Just a little reminder why I am able to celebrate this special day....

Mommy and Ryan

(December 2006)

Mommy and Kara (6.14.08)--------------------------------------------

Now for my Mother's Day review. (warning: a long rambling vent below, if you would like to skip the venting and see pictures, keep scrolling down...)

Today did not go as well as I had hoped or how Chris had planned. It started with three little words that came echoing down the hallway into our room early this morning. "What IS this?", my husband asked our son. Then he yelled for me to get up and come help.

What? Wait...where is the traditional greeting of hugs and kisses while I stay in bed on Mother's Day? What could possibly be wrong that my husband, who is supposed to be on duty all day, would need my help?

As I walked into the hallway, Chris came out of Ryan's room with Kara in one arm and a trashcan in the other. His expression said it all. One word- poop. Before I continue my story, I need to say that Ryan has been doing AWESOME with potty training the past few weeks. He gets up in the morning and goes potty right away. He rarely has accidents and finally let's us know when he has to go OR just goes to the bathroom when he feels the need. We are extremely proud of him and I can't tell you how much better I feel now that he using the potty.

I reached Ryan's room to find him standing in the middle of the room fully dressed for the day. At this point, I am confused because I do not see poop on him or around him. Also, how could he have an accident when I specifically remembered leaving his door cracked open before I went to bed last night...as I do every night. Just as I was about to ask him why he didn't go to the potty, a gush of wind came blowing through his room and there was my answer. It was VERY windy last night. I left a few windows opened and his door must have closed shut sometime during the night. When he woke up, he was not able to get the door open. So it wasn't his fault that he had an accident.

He tried his best to clean himself up. I could tell he was embarrassed and fearful that we would get upset with him. He even tried to "hide" a huge stain on the carpet by putting a bucket over it. So while Chris steam cleaned the carpet, I got Kara changed, then ran a bath for Ryan. Little did we know this was only the start of a crazy morning!

While Chris gave Ryan a quick bath, I fed Kara. She was full of spunk this morning and thought blowing razzberries with a mouth full of oatmeal was fun and hilarious. She also thought my skin must have needed an oatmeal bath because I ended up with a good amount on me. While I can smile about it now, I have to say I was a bit annoyed at the time. I mean, wasn't today supposed to be my day to relax? Daddy was in charge but it sure felt like any other day for me!

As Kara was finishing up, the boys came downstairs and Chris started breakfast. I spent some time in "the pit" with the kiddies so he could cook in peace. He threw some sweet rolls into the oven and started making my favorite breakfast...eggs, hashbrowns, turkey bacon and sausage. We chatted about how crazy windy it was outside and joked about living in a wind tunnel again. The sun was shining but it was deceiving because it was very chilly outside. About 20 minutes had past when Chris realized he forgot to set the timer on the sweet rolls! So needless to say, the buns were a little crispy...and the hasbrowns turned out a little on the dark side too. At this point, my husband is starting to get frustrated.

What else could possibly go wrong today? It was 10 am and we still hadn't eaten. Sensing Chris' frustration at wanting to give me the perfect day but failing miserably at it so far, I decide to take the kids upstairs to give him some space. I open the door to our office to find yet another casualty of the crazy wind. All 4 cactus plants had blown over and we now had potting soil ALL OVER the carpet. As I turn to go back downstairs, I stub my toe on the doorway and break the nail on my big toe (now I really have an excuse as to why I need a pedicure!). Ouch. Now it's my turn to start getting frustrated...only I am in full PMS mode. (yes, to top it off- my monthly friend decided to make a visit at 1:30am on Mother's Day...just lovely! Sorry if that's TMI but it only made matters worse!)

I make my way back down to the kitchen with Kara in tow to let Chris know about the mess in the office. Bear in mind that I am in pain and getting crankier by the minute. Chris is also still upset about having to clean up poop, give his son a bath and then burning breakfast so far this morning, so you can only imagine his reaction to the news about his beloved cactus plants.

He let out a deep sigh and told me that we will clean it up later. For now he wanted me to head back upstairs and wait for my breakfast. A few minutes later, he arrived with a tray full of yumminess! So I eventually got the traditional breakfast in bed...we just had a few obstacles to overcome first. Then my hubby and kiddies gave me a beautiful flower that they crafted on paper and some very awesome cards. It seems Chris is starting his own tradition of creating beautiful crafty flowers with the kids for Mother's Day...I love it! See my post and cute flower that Chris and Ryan made from MOTHER'S DAY last year HeRe.

I got to relax a little bit after breakfast, or shall we say brunch! Before we knew it, it was early afternoon and the kids needed to be fed lunch and put down for a nap. But they had other plans and the RK Alliance reared it's ugly side. Both refused to take a nap!

Later in the afternoon, we stopped by my parents. It was nice to see them and my grandparents on both sides of the family and my older sister Tara with her family. Tara gave me a beautiful plant and wind chime- thanks sis! We had a lovely visit and packed up to leave around 6 so Chris could cook up my all time favorite dinner: Pot Roast!

Turns out we should have just stayed at my parents and ate pizza because we arrived home to find that the roast was still hard as a rock! It would have taken forever to cook, so we fed the kids something quick and went grocery shopping. It was bedtime when we arrived home, we gave the kiddies baths and tucked them in for the night. Around 10 pm, I finally made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner. Yes, not exactly gourmet or special...but Chris did promise a Pot Roast rain check for tomorrow's dinner.

I will always remember this Mother's Day....the one that was filled with chaos and frustration... but above all, I will remember that my husband loves me so much that he still tried to make my day special even with all the craziness, that I got to see my Grandma Delp have a good day with her Alzheimer's (first time in a long time and she knew Kara was my daughter. I almost cried as I hugged her), that I got to visit with my cousin Lisa (we don't get to see each other very often), and that my children are happy and healthy. What MOM could ask for more?

Now it's time to pepper the post with cute pictures!

My sweet baby girl...
...and my adorable son!
Our attempt at getting a picture of me with my sweet and adorable children. (please excuse my crazy hair, it was the end of the day and I had it just pinned up...I think it's time for some highlights again!)

The cute cards and beautiful craft flower that Chris and Ryan made. Ryan got to glue and glitter everything. I loved Kara's card (it's the one with the little girl on it below). It said, "Are you going to have a happy Mother's Day...(inside)...or am I going to have to throw a little tantrum?" HAHA! It couldn't have been a more perfect card!

Of course, my husband picked a card that made me cry. He is so sweet and this year he surprised me with printing out words that he felt described me and glued them inside my card. It was so thoughtful and it made my heart smile! (the cook one cracked me up because really he is the cook in our family!)

Finally after like 30 attempts, we got a good shot.

Happy Mother's Day!

The Pit

2009-05-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

When Ryan turned 8 months old, we found ourselves quickly having to baby proof the house. It felt (to us) like he had gone from being content with just laying around or rolling a little all day, to practically crawling over night. By 10 months old, he was walking and life as we knew it was changed forever.

Any parent will tell you that "toddlerhood" is filled with excitement, fear and lots of boo-boo's! With Ryan being our first child, we were OVER protective...ok, maybe I was a bit more overprotective than Chris, but we both agreed that we didn't like seeing our baby hurt or in pain.

We spend the majority of our time in the Family Room of our house. This room is located off the kitchen and the garage. We have it carpeted but the floor underneath is made of cement because of it's location with the garage. There is a small step from the kitchen into the Family Room and we also have an entire brick wall with fireplace on the opposite end of the room. So even with all our "proofing" we still had challenges to overcome when it came to keeping Ryan (and now Kara) safe while he played and explored his surroundings.

After many trips to Babies R US and looking at gates in magazines (One Step Ahead is our favorite!), we agreed that the Yard Gate would be the perfect type of gate to use in our Family Room. We were able to bend in into several positions and lock it into a complete circle if we wanted to keep Ryan in one place. I soon started calling the gate (while in it's circular state), THE PIT because that's what it felt like when I would sit in there with him. It didn't take long before Chris and the rest of the family were calling it "the pit" too. The Pit wasn't just an inside gate either, we would take it outside and it allowed Ryan space to explore but it also gave us the peace of mind that he was safe. As Ryan grew, our use of this gate changed as well. We put the extended portion into storage and used the remaining piece to keep Ryan away from the fireplace and TV.

We love, love, LOVE our Yard Gate! Now that our little Kara is on the move, we've had to take the extended portion out from storage and create "the pit" once again. While Ryan was our happy, go-lucky baby and loved being in THE PIT, Kara is the complete opposite. She pretty much hates being locked up and will sometimes cry and cry, and cry until someone "rescues" her. I will admit that there have been times where I've bribed Ryan into climbing into The Pit with Kara so I can wash bottles or clean up without listening to her cry. Which can be a pain too because he isn't always nice to her...and STILL pulls her arms! sigh.

So that's THE PIT story. We highly recommend the Yard Gate to all new and expecting parents...it's worth every penny. :)

And now for your viewing pleasure...

Ryan and the Gate ~ Summer 2006

Kara and the Gate ~ Spring 2009

...and of course, this post would not be complete without a cute RK video attached to it. Enjoy!

Sunny Days

2009-05-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

Last week we had a heat wave....

Kara got dressed up in a cute summer outfit and we went outside to enjoy the sun!

I couldn't resist the side ponytail. :)

She thought pulling the grass out of the ground was fun...

Eating the grass crossed her mind....

....and eventually, she did take a bite. ewww!

It did not taste good at all....silly girl!

My absolute favorite...

Strike A Pose, baby girl!

The cold and rainy days have since return and we sit in the house dreaming of the sunny days again! Ahhhh, please come soon SUMMER!

PSU Blue & White Game ~ 2009

2009-04-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Once again, we packed up our Penn State gear and headed to State College, PA for the annual Blue & White Game!

It was a beautiful summer-like day on Saturday, April 25th and over 75,000+ fans, students and alumni showed up for game. The atmosphere in Happy Valley felt like a Fall football game with the parking lots packed with tailgaters and parties galore!

At the end of the game (we arrived just in time to view the second half), Ryan, Chris and Pop-Pop High went down on the field to walk around. Ryan LOVED it!

Future PSU football player? (he is so little that I think maybe just a punter!)

Isn't this picture the cutest?! The famous TUNNEL. Well ok, it's cute except for the bums of the other fans and the profile shot of the random woman...otherwise, I love this photo of Ryan and his Pop-Pop. Their first time walking through The Tunnel together.

Our trip to Beaver Stadium would not have been complete without a family photo at the JoePa statue. Kara had fallen asleep as we walked out of the stadium. She looks so precious in this photo!

Here is our 2008 photo! I thought I'd include this picture to show how much Ryan has grown in the past year....and how much my tummy has shrunk! I was 8 months pregnant in this photo. Now if only I could get these hips (and the tummy!) to shrink some more! haha...

Grandma and Pop-Pop High decided to attend the game this year too. I convinced them that they needed a photo with the JoePa statue...and I think they will agree, it's a great photo!

We spent the remainder of the day doing a little shopping and walking around the campus. Then ended the day with a trip to The Creamery for a yummy treat!

In keeping with a new tradition, I decided to create a montage of the pictures and video taken from our fun-filled day in State College. Enjoy!

Missed my post about our trip to Penn State for the Blue and White Game last year? Click HeRe to view it.

Jail Bird

2009-04-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

Kara is on the MOVE! She is quick and fearless...

Walking unassisted is just around the corner...

I would love to bottle up her unending energy and use it just to keep up with her and Ryan...

MOMMY. IS. EXHAUSTED.

Here is a video from today showing our ~~jail bird~~ sweet pea doing what she does best....escaping "the pit." (more on the pit later...)