Hotel Fun

I'm posting about our Tulsa trip... backwards. :) These photos are from our hotel stay in Liberty, KS (just out of Kansas City) on our way back to Minnesota. We were hesitant that the kids, Ryker especially, would not be happy with our sleeping arrangement for the night but they proved us wrong. Very wrong. They were going crazy! Jumping on beds. Jumping off beds. Rolling on beds. Giggles. Running. Spinning. Just plain ol' craziness!

Goal!

Today was an awesome day for Ryker. He's been such a happy little man, and to top it all off he has finally met one of his goals from feeding therapy! He finally "transitioned" from one sippy cup to another. It is a small step, but we have been working on it for months and months. We have tried to offer him this new type of cup many times and he has not had the patience to figure out how to use it. Most of the time he just throws the cup on the ground and starts a tantrum. Not today. This kid looked like he'd been using this cup for months. We are so, so proud of him for having the patience and mind-set to figure out how to use it on his own.

This is the type of sippy cup he's been using for over a year.

You can't really see it in the next photos, but if you're a mommy you know what type of cup this is. 

It doesn't have the big spout on it.

Appetizer?

Ryker decided to treat himself to an appetizer before dinner tonight! I love how he knows which foods are "his". :)

You Make Me Smile

This picture makes me smile from ear to ear. 

This little girl doesn't know it, but she is a hero in my eyes. She is an amazing daughter and sister. She is going to grow up to be such a great advocate for her brother, and always have his back. I just know it. 

"Mamma's Shoes!"

Makaylin just LOVES wearing my shoes! 

Our Poor Little Guy!

Wednesday evening ended up being spent at the walk-in clinic after Ryker had a horrible, horrible 1 hour tantrum and then all of a sudden he broke out in a rash all over his body. We ended up in the waiting room for an hour- he was NOT a happy camper. If there is one thing we don't do- it's wait. Ryker can't handle waiting. He gets extremely frustrated and hits me (this is obviously because he isn't able to speak) and bangs his head until we get to the doctor's room. Even then he's not happy, but it's much better. Anyway- the doctor couldn't pin point exactly what the problem was, but we are confident that he had a reaction to the amoxicillin he had taken a week prior. I guess the rash can appear up to 10 days after taking it- but of course we'll have to wait until he needs the medication again to see if he has another reaction.

It got worse on Thursday- his back was covered in one big, red, blotch. He has been pretty fussy, but it's really nothing new to us. We know he's uncomfortable and can't tell us what's hurting or what he needs- that would be frustrating for anyone!

It's looking better today and we're hoping it clears up soon- I need some new pictures of him. Neither of the kids have had their 2 year pictures yet!

Go, Car, Go!

Ryker has really loved playing with his car ramps lately! In the last few weeks he has really learned the real purpose of the car ramps, and can even generalize that he can try any car on the ramps. Big step for our little man!

First Summer Project is Complete!

When we moved into this house a little over a year ago, our front porch was adorned with a horrible, horrible, green indoor/outdoor carpet. Needless to say, a renovation of the front porch was at the top of our summer project list and it is officially complete! A big thank you to Adam's parents for all of their help and to Adam's brother, Lance, for letting us borrow his tile saw all the way up here in Minnesota!

BEFORE

AFTER

We eventually want to replace the rod iron railing and do something with the steps, but this is a huge improvement. :) Next up: the backyard! 

Homemade Ice Cream- Check!

At the beginning of June, Adam and I started writing a summer "bucket list". We have 50 things scribbled in a notepad, with good intentions of printing it and making it look pretty so we can check things off as we do them. Maybe by the end of the summer I will have it printed, but we're working on the list, nonetheless! One of the things on the top of our bucket list is to make homemade ice cream. Lucky for us, we didn't even need an ice cream maker- thanks to a good find on Pinterest! The kids both helped and we had such a fun time!

Makaylin smashing the reese's

Mommy helping Ryker smash reese's, too!

 Apparently Adam needed a self-portrait. 

He doesn't get ahold of my camera too often, so I guess he needed to play! 

Mixing it all together...

The end result: Caramel-Vanilla ice cream w/ Reese's 

These two pictures scream "success!" for this bucket list activity! :)

If you're wondering how we made the ice cream, it's SO simple! You need 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and a can of sweetened condensed milk. We used full fat versions of both, but I may experiment with the lower-fat versions next time. Add your mix-in's to the sweetened condensed milk. Whip the cream to stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the sweetened condensed milk mixture and freeze.