Pumpkin Picking!

Today was the day we decided to do the annual Rivera family pumpkin picking.  As always, we had a really fun time playing around Springdale Farm.  The boys love it there, especially the hay ride to and from the pumpkin patch.

Ryan measuring himself against the big pumpkin...2.25'  

Check out Nathan's sunglasses.  He would not let us fix them.  Here he is measuring in at 3.25'.

 It was a beautiful day for a hay ride.

 

 Ryan wanted to pick them all up.  The one in front is the one we ended up getting.  It's gigantic.

 Nathan wanted to pick a "medium" sized pumpkin.  This is the one he ended up picking.

 Don't mind my hair...it was the best family shot we could get.

 Sign we need a third marshmallow?

On Friday, we went to the annual Moorestown Firehouse Open House.  They teach stop, drop and roll, dialing 911, and what an ambulance is for.  Then we all rode on a firetruck.  Ryan acted like the siren.

Lastly, Randy and I went to see NJ Governor Chris Christie speak at the local town hall meeting on Thursday.  He is an amazing speaker and it was an event we're sure to remember for a while.  I actually asked a question about the housing market and it was featured in a local SJ Courier Post article.  Check out the link below.

Courier Post Article

Gearing Up For Fall

Yikes!  We now have two crazy kids to chase after because Ryan is on the move!  Nathan and Ryan love playing together.  Nathan is teaching Ryan to throw a ball...too bad it's inside the house.

Here's an update on each kiddo.  

Nathan - In mid-September, Nathan started 2 swimming programs and 1 soccer program.  I can't believe that at 3 years old, we already have sports occupying 3 days of our week.  It's nuts.  But he loves it so I can't complain.  Nathan has also been working super hard at school learning to write better.  He is a pro at writing his name and is now moving on to other letters.

Look at this dribbling...

Ryan hasn't learned the "no hands" concept yet.

Here is Nathan at his new swimming lessons at the Moorestown Community Center.  He's learning different skills than he does at the YMCA.  Watch out Phelps...Nathan's coming after you.

We took the boys to the zoo and Nathan rode the camel.

Ryan - In just a few short weeks, Ryan went from walking to running to playing like a big boy on the slide!

And he isn't a baby anymore. Check out his new haircut.  We really think he looks like Nathan now.

The jersey has been passed on.  Ryan wears it proudly.

Ryan's new favorite thing to do is to relax on chairs.  He is so proud of himself that he can get in and out of chairs all by himself.

We had our first fro-yo visit.  I think the owner was regretting putting metal tables inside because Ryan banged on them for 20 minutes straight.

This was the first time I put both of them in the wagon together.  They really liked getting pulled around the neighborhood...and it was a workout for me.

For some reason, posting videos is not working for me.  As soon as I get that up and running, I'll post the vids I had intended to.

Ryan Turns 1!

Our baby is 1!  It has been the most amazing year with a lively and super fun infant.  He has kept us on our toes and will continue to do so as a toddler.  The whole family got together the day before the party to hang out at Hershey Park.  Luckily the weather stayed dry, but we weren't the lucky for the day of the actual party.  The theme of the birthday party was Rubber Ducks.  Nathan and I had fun looking at different rubber duck decorations for the past few weeks.  Here are some of our favorite pictures from the day.

 

Old Toys Are New Again

I pulled this old toy out. Ryan loves it and so does Nathan (again!).

Crazy, Busy Summer

When I last blogged, we were getting ready for our trip to Texas and San Diego.  We had a phenomenal time seeing all the family in Texas.  Introducing Ryan to Nannie for the first time was very special to me.  And meeting baby Hannah was a delight.  She will be grown before we know it.  As I always do with our vacation photos, I've created a slideshow on the right hand side of the page where you can view them all.

So - on to some recent activity.  Ryan started walking (just a few steps here and there) at the end of June but now he is doing a lot more.  Here is a video we captured this week of his achievement.

Ryan also learned something new at school...clapping.  We've had so much fun getting him to clap on cue.  Check it out.

Nathan has been obsessed with the song "Call Me Maybe."  And I finally got him singing it on video.  Love it!

We are preparing for Ryan's 1st birthday party in early September.  I can't believe it's already been a year...where did the time go?  The theme is Rubber Ducks.  Cutest kid ever?????

We actually went to the Jersey Shore for the first time last weekend (I know, we've live here for how many years and never went to the shore).  The boys loved the bicycle we rented.

Here are just some other random pictures of the boys.  Ryan is organizing the juice boxes on the floor...just like Nathan did a few years ago.

 This is how we spend our Sunday morning.  I love watching them play together.

Summertime Fun

I've been a little delinquent in blogging so let's catch up.  Randy's parents visited for Father's Day and Ruben got to experience his first "Donuts with Dad" at school.  

We visited Johnson Farm where we picked blueberries and cherries.  It was so much fun and we can't wait to take the kids back.

The boys recently had some summer school pictures taken.  I guess they couldn't pry that toy out of Ryan's hand.

We recently bought Nathan a chore chart.  He actually likes filling it in and we like less fights over things he should be doing.

How cute?

 This was Ryan's first taste of tomatoes.  Yum!

 We took the boys to see fireworks over the weekend.  Nathan was scared at first but then ended up smiling the whole time.  It was well worth the wait from 7pm to 9:30pm.

Bean Town Visit

We traveled to Boston this past weekend to visit my Aunt Jan & Uncle Ken.  My Mom, Charlie, my cousin Ryan, his wife Jess, and their 2 boys, Evan and Alex, as well as my cousin Paul, his wife Margaux and their son Reed also joined in on the fun. 

Who would have predicted a wild weekend would have started with an accordion lesson. 

Here is Reed (2.5 years old) and Nathan scarfing down on cookies.  That's my cousin Paul in the background.

 This was the boys club all weekend - Reed, Nathan, and Evan (4.5 years old).

And here was the baby club (don't tell Alex I said that).  Ryan and Alex (1.5 years old) had a cage fight in the pack n play.

Although it came out blurry, this is a picture of my Mom opening up "Middle Sister" Wine.  I think it was subtitled "Drama Queen."  Fitting?  Nah.

The boys were enjoying their homemade letter pancakes from my wonderful Aunt Jan.  

And before we came home, the boys decided to watch a movie in the media room.  Ryan/Nathan - don't get used to this...

 I hope we can get all the cousins back together soon.

And I had to throw in Ryan's official 9 month picture.  He is 29 inches and 18 lbs 13 oz.  Tall and thin...just like his Mama. ;)