Ryan - Month 10

Ryan turned ten months old a couple of weeks ago and the excitement just keeps rolling around here :)

• This month, he learned to pull himself up to standing on furniture (and our legs, and his crib, and in the tub, and everything else in the house...)  Pulling up quickly turned to sidling along the couch and ottoman, so he is more mobile than ever now.  It has opened up a world of exploring opportunities for him.  His favorite standing activity is finding papers, the tissue box, and other wonders in the storage box we keep on top of our ottoman.  It has also made us realize how TALL he is!  He is in the 75th percentile for height, but with his skinny little frame, he seems even longer.  We are getting scary close to the walking days here. 

• Christmas happened this month, and while he was too little to "get" it, he did really enjoy a lot of the activities surrounding the day.  It took him a while to get into the groove of opening presents (of which there were many, thanks to the Grandmas).  Which was shocking to me since so many of my unread magazines have fallen prey to the paper shredder that is Ryan!  Meeting Santa (thanks Grandpa!) on Christmas was a real mixed bag for him.  He loved the jingle bells and he looked amazed and amused seeing Santa in his big red outfit.  But when it came time to sit on his lap, he was not so sure and I had to sit with him so he wasn't so alarmed.  Another fun Christmas event was going to the Polar Express up in Williams, AZ (about 2 hours north of here) with our friends the Johnsons and their son.  After work one Friday, we all drove up to their cabin in the snow and hung out for the night by the fireplace.  The next morning, we did a little sledding while the babies napped, and then it was off to the train.  It was a fun time - they read The Polar Express and hand out cocoa and cookies to the kids during the ride, then Santa boards the train and gives a sleigh bell to each of the passengers.  The kids age 5-8 went NUTS for it, and loved the yelling and singing that were encouraged on board the train.  The little ones ranged from apathetic (Ryan) to scared (Zev), but all in all we had a good time.  

Tickle Me Elmo

Family Portrait on Christmas Morning

On the Polar Express

Admiring his sleigh bell

Not too sure about Santa...

• Ryan is just getting the hang of waving goodbye to people when they leave, and he will now (spottily) dole out high fives.  The waving is adorable - he gets really into it and smiles and flaps his arm pretty intensely.  The high fives he is a little more tentative about, but will lightly pat your hand if you hold it up and insist :)
• We bought a membership to the Phoenix Zoo, and after our first trip (at 9 months) I was afraid we had just wasted a lot of money.  He didn't really understand pointing or objects at a far range at that age, so Matt and I basically just wandered around looking like idiots pointing out animals in vain to him.  I took him back during month 10 and it was like a whole other baby!  He loved seeing the animals, especially the monkeys that you can get really close to (since you are IN their enclosure and they are roaming around free - it is awesome!)  While the weather is nice, it will be fun to take him back again and again so he can meet more of the creatures we are always reading about.

Looking at the giraffes

• Lastly, this month we took Ryan somewhere that I loved so much as a kid: Organ Stop Pizza.  It is a restaurant in Mesa that is outfitted with one of the largest theater organs in the world.  A very talented man plays the organ and takes requests, and I remember him being able to play any song you can think of.  There are lights and horns and dancing cat puppets.  It was a magical place, and I always wanted to go for my birthday.  Fast forward to about five years ago, I took Matt there after talking up how great the place was.  Turns out that it is a little cheesy, the songs the organist plays are all Disney songs or music from the 1920's, and the dancing puppet cats are sort of mangy and creepy.  It was a good laugh.  So when my sister Kim decided to re-live the magic herself, we brought Ryan along.  Guess what?  He freakin loved it.  And the mangy cats were his favorite part.  Ah, the tradition continues :)

Handsome Boys

Wheel of Fortune - The Audition

Most of you have probably heard by now, but Pamela and I are going to be on an episode of Wheel of Fortune!  It was such an exciting adventure that I wanted to blog it, not only about being on the show, but the events leading up to it. 

Being on a game show or reality show was a goal of mine for a while.  It was on my 30 before 30 list (just barely missed that cutoff).  Every few months I would check online to see what shows were taping and fill out applications for ones that were open.  In the spring of this year I saw that Wheel of Fortune was coming to do auditions in Phoenix and was accepting video applications.  I jumped on this chance and set out to make an epic application video for myself that was sure to get picked by the casting directors.  Pamela shot the video of me while Ryan was taking a nap and decided to get in on the fun and tape a quick video application herself.  I finished editing my masterpiece together and submitted both videos online. 

Trying to use Jordan's cuteness to my advantage

Only a few days went by and Pamela was contacted by one of the contestant coordinators.  She had been chosen to come out to the audition in Scottsdale!  The invitation was for Pamela but it stated she could bring a friend or spouse and try out as a team.  And Pamela being the wonderful wife she is, decided to take me along as her partner.  The auditions were being held at the Saguaro Hotel in Scottsdale during the afternoon.  I took off from work and Pamela’s sister Liz was kind enough to watch Ryan so we could go. 

Pamela talking about how she always wanted to be Vanna White.  How could you say no to that face!

When we arrived we filled out some info sheets and watched an introductory video before getting into the ‘audition’ portion.  There were about 100 people there trying out and the contestant coordinators picked people randomly to stand up and play a turn of Wheel of Fortune.  They wanted to see who could play fast, smart, LOUD, and all while looking happy about it.  After everybody got 1 or 2 turns they passed out written tests.  This was a full page, maybe 20, different Wheel of Fortune puzzles partially filled in.  We were only given 5 minutes to get as many as we could then they took the first break.

When the coordinators called everyone back from break they made their cut down to about 40 people.  Polaroids of each person or couple were taken and attached to the info sheets and we played a few more rounds of Wheel.  They called us up to the front of the room this time to play a mock game versus two other couples that were there.  We even practiced our “Pat Chat” conversations like they do with contestants on the show. 

After everyone got another two turns playing they called it or the day and we were free to go.  They didn’t announce who was going to be on the show but they said that if you had been selected, you would hear from them within 2 weeks.  If you didn’t hear from them then obviously you weren’t chosen.  We tried to stay reserved about being on the show or not.  Either way, we had a lot of fun at the audition and came home with a signed 8x10 of Vanna White.  The weeks came and went and we were not picked.  Their website says that each year “over a million” people apply and “fewer than 600” are selected to be on the show.  We knew we were up against long odds so we would just have to wait for the next casting opportunity.

Nursery

[This is my last house project catch-up post. After this, I will have to start blogging about (and doing) new projects.]

Gaining an extra bedroom in moving to our new house was great, but we were having a difficult time deciding what to do with it. Our guest bedroom and office stuff moved over piece for piece from the old house. But that left this extra bedroom to just collect random stuff that didn’t have an obvious home elsewhere. This uncertainty didn’t last too long because only a few weeks after moving in, we found out we were going to have a baby. Boom, decision made, that room is a nursery.

It still took months of organizing, painting, buying/assembling furniture, and adding decorative finishes before it was completed. A special thanks goes to Kim for helping me paint the walls. Also, thanks to both of our parents and my sister Liz for sponsoring all the furniture.

Finished in time!  Although he still slept in our bedroom for months before moving in here.

Pamela made this alphabet art

Pamela also made these yarn letters

For storing all his books and toys

More fun storage solutions

Elephant decals hiding all around the room

More hand made art.  Pamela made the giraffes on the left.  Kim made the three to the right.

Ryan - Month 9

Wow - Matt has been on a tear with the Home Improvement blogs!!  But now, back to your regularly scheduled Ryan programming :)

Month 9 was a big month for the little guy, as he learned to crawl!!  Having a mobile baby has been crazy and fun and nerve-wracking all at the same time.  What started as a few hesitant moves forward quickly turned into full-on, fast-paced charging for what he wanted.  And of course, the first things he wanted to crawl for (besides Mom, Dad and Jordan) were the most dangerous things he could find at eye level (the stairs, outlets, the fireplace, etc.)  So Matt really had to step up his baby-proofing to make sure we stayed on top of his safety.  The crawling is so fun because it lets us know what he wants without us having to guess.  If he wants me to hold him, he just crawls over and climbs into my lap.  If he wants a toy, he simply crawls to it.  Awesome!

This month we also moved him out of his little newborn/baby tub and into the real bathtub.  Matt was getting tired of having to clean up the tsunami of water from all of the splashing he did during bath time.  He loves all of the room and the freedom to crawl around a bit, and also loves that multiple toys can fit into the big boy bath with him.  Now I am just excited for when he is old enough for bubbles and bath paints!

A sweet new social development is that Ryan learned how to share this month, and loves to do so as much as possible :)  He will be playing with his favorite duck in the bath, and suddenly get a smile on his face and turn up to Matt, handing him the duck to take a turn playing.  Or when he has a toy or pacifier, he will hold it up to my mouth to see if I want to take a bite too (of course I do!)  Matt's mom, who watches Ryan regularly while I'm at work, taught him to hand things over by asking "Can Grandmom have a turn?" then passing items back and forth between the two of them.  He even tries to share with the dog.  Such a sweet boy - I hope this sharing thing continues.

He also began to choose between things, so we are trying to give him options wherever possible to practice the art of decision making.  When we sit down to read a book, I will hold two up and tell him the titles, then ask him which one he wants to go with.  He looks at one, looks at the other, and then thoughtfully chooses the one he wants and reaches out for it with a smile.  Matt and I are terrible decision makers, so hoping to have someone in the family who can boldly state their preferences.

Lastly, we decided to be bold this month and go on our first family vacation.  We decided on San Francisco since it was a relatively quick plane ride and Matt and I had never been.  That will be the topic of it's own post, but Ryan had a great time and was quite the little traveler.

Pool Filter Backwash Line

This is one home improvement project that was strictly for me. In the division of house chores I ended up with the pool maintenance. The back yard is usually my domain so it’s natural that I would take on this job.  Plus, taking care of the pool isn't that much work as long as you stay on top of the chemicals and keep the pool in balance.  What was turning out to be my least favorite part of taking care of the pool was the regular back-washing. On the few other pools I've worked with, the components were set up so that while performing a backwash, the water would just shoot out next to the filter to the dirt or grass nearby. In our yard, the pool equipment is all tucked away in a corner surrounded by the pool. There is nowhere for the backwash water to go. It would just pool up and make a mess or end up flowing back into the pool.  The existing solution was a 50 foot long vinyl hose that you would unroll to the side grassy area about 40 feet away.

My problems with the hose:

• Time consuming to unroll and roll up the hose.

• The hose was always wet and dirty.

• The hose doesn't last very long. After a few uses and being out in the sun it would spring leaks.

• Sometimes the hose wouldn't stay where I put it.  Lots of water pressure would sometimes send the hose spraying erratically around the yard; over to the air conditioners and one time right back into the pool.

• Once, while keeping an eye on the erratic hose and walking back to the pump I fell into the pool.


With the hose finally full of holes and spraying water everywhere it was time to buy a replacement. Seeing how expensive the hoses were at the store was the final straw for me; it was time to start this project. For only a little bit more money I could make a permanent solution for back-washing the pool. So I went for it and bought up enough PVC and unions to make the run from the filter to the grass area. I like working with PVC, it’s easy to put together plus it appeals to my inner Lego fanatic. I just dug a small trench along the fence line big enough for the pipe, cemented all my pieces together and buried them back under the dirt and rock. My only concern was how the water would go from the pipe onto the lawn. I went over many different solutions and settled on one that mimics our pop-up sprinkler heads. The end piece comes straight up with a notch cut out to send the water spraying out across the lawn. I honestly had no idea if this would actually work and I was completely ready to cut off that end cap and try something else. I was pleasantly surprised when I ran the water through it and sure enough it came out similar to a sprinkler and covered almost the entire grass patch.  No more messing with that hose for me. Back-washing is now simple and mess free. Since back-washing must be done several times a month during swimming season I’m sure to recover the time spent on this project and the cost of a few troublesome vinyl hoses.

No more hose necessary



All the way down to the grassy area...

...and ending with a sprinkler-like nozzle

Completely concealed...

...except for this little guy

It works!!!

Red Front Door

This had been on Pamela’s wish list for a while and after getting settled into the new house, this was one of the first updates we made.  Once Pamela told me she wanted the door painted red I started looking around and noticed that it is a pretty common design choice. Lots of houses in Scottsdale have red doors and it seems that a large percentage of houses on TV shows and commercials have red doors. Keep an eye out for them and you will notice them everywhere.

After

Before

I was a little nervous that I wouldn't be able to do it since this neighborhood has a HOA. Our Tucson house HOA is nuts and they have very strict guidelines on what colors you can and cannot paint your house. Luckily this HOA is much more laid back and obviously I was able to go ahead with it. Although, when I called the HOA to ask about painting the door the guy literally said “Go ahead and paint it as long as it’s not some crazy color like bright red.” It was a little awkward to follow that up with my choice of color, but he was nice and I assured him it would look alright. I guess the red door fad hasn’t really made its way to Chandler.  The color we went with is called Cut Ruby and I would definitely recommend it to anyone thinking of painting their door. It’s a nice shade of red without being too bright like a fire truck. It looks great with holiday wreaths!

Very Festive!

After finishing the painting I looked to see if there was an associated meaning behind having a red door. I probably should have looked this up first in case it was something embarrassing. It turns out that there are several possible meanings behind the red door, the most common among them is simply “welcome.”

[Bonus work-in-progress pictures]

Getting all set up

Rich red color

The first paint stroke

Putting the hardware back

Finished!