Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting....

Ryan decided, after watching Kung Fu Panda for the first time, that all he wanted for his 4th Birthday was a Kung Fu Panda party. At first, I was hesitant because I was having a hard time with ideas. But, in the end it all came together!

We invited all of Ryan's good friends to Pil Sung Do Martial Arts Studio to celebrate his big day! The kids got to watch an action packed, high-flying, board breaking performance by the studios black belt team. Then they participated in mini class complete with punching instruction and defensive moves. And finally, each kiddo got to break a board!

The Birthday Boy!

Before breaking his board, Ryan was given tips on how to pack a big punch!

Success!

Time for a lesson

He enjoyed breaking the first one so much that he wanted to try again

Cake time!

Happy 4th Birthday to our little Dragon Warrior! We love you very very much!

October Happenings

Well, I've decided to try to keep up with the blog again in hopes of putting together a book for the boys on blurb.com.

With that being said...October was so much fun! We all just love the weather, the activities and all that fall has to offer!

We kicked off the month with Ryan's class field trip to a local pumpkin patch. He got to go on an I Spy Nature Walk, feed the animals, pick out a pumpkin, pan for gems and go on a hayride. We left Luke with Grandma so that we could have a special day together-we both had a great time! And it was so much fun to watch him interact with his classmates and teacher.

The following weekend we decided to go apple picking. I think we chose the coldest weekend possible to drive up to Ellijay. It was freezing! But, we bundled up the kids and headed north. They both had an absolute blast! Ryan picked more than he could possibly fit in his bag...and Luke just wanted to eat them.

They had a hayride that drove right through the orchard. It was beautiful...and bumpy!

The boys each chose a tiny pumpkin to take home, so we decided to paint them. I thought giving a paint brush to Luke was going to be the biggest mistake we could make, but he did great! He actually managed to paint his pumpkin and nothing else!

Next up-Boo at the Zoo! We met up with friends to go trick or treating at Zoo Atlanta. The boys loved that they could trick or treat AND see the animals (last year it was held at night so the animals were "sleeping") .

Black Spiderman and his baby arachnid brother

"Flash" Landon, "Spidey" Ryan, "Jiminy" Nicholas and "Pinocchio" Thomas

The next day we were driving and saw a pumpkin patch so we decided to stop and buy a pumpkin to carve. Luke saw the perfect one and was determined to get it into the car!

Ryan was a little more conservative

Carving together

Voila! Our dragon masterpiece. Ryan chose the template...I think it was because it was the closest thing to a dinosaur! :)

On Halloween, we made a quick stop at Publix to trick or treat with "Bumblebee" Gavin and Auntie Jaclyn.

Then it was off to our 3rd Annual Trick or Treat with the "F" Family! Ryan and Landon have collected candy together 3 years in a row now-it's so much fun to watch them grow together through the years!

Flash, Spiderman & the little spider (I didn't get a pic a picture of "Superbaby" Lawson, but trust me, he's adorable!!)

"Trick or Treat"

Happy Halloween from the "Soli" boys!

August Fun

August has been a fun filled month for us! We've been busy enjoying the end of summer before Ryan starts school on September 8th.

We had an amazing time at the West Georgia Hot Air Balloon Festival. Ryan and Luke weren't able to take a ride due to height restrictions, but they did get into the basket and meet the "pilot". It was a hot hot day (in the high 90s) so I decided to pour some water I Luke...I think he liked it

The boys...Ryan, Luke & Gavin, in the basket

Farmer Luke

Ryan entered the tractor race

displaying his prize cow hat

Daddy took a day off of work last week, so we decided to have family fun day. First stop, the park!

Then bowling

And finally, Ryan started swim lessons with Mr. Kyle...which he absolutely loves!

Summer has been so much fun...but, both Ryan and I are looking forward to the first day of school!

1 year checkup

No pictures today...just a Luke update. He had his 1 year checkup yesterday. He is doing great! He's actually dropped quite a bit in weight, from the 80th percentile to the 20th, weighing in at 20 lbs. He's still in the 80th percentile for height and head though.
I discussed the severity of his separation anxiety with his pediatrician and came away with the answers I thought I would get-there's nothing I can do about it. He told me it's healthy for him to have such an attachment to me and that there are different degrees of severity. Unfortunately, Luke's is about as severe as it gets! He said I can look forward to it diminishing as he becomes more independent-hopefully when he's walking!
All in all, he did super and received a clean bill of health.

July Fun

I haven't been diligent with the blog (all of our pictures are now on facebook), but we're having a fun July! We started off the month with a week long visit from our amazing friends from Boston-Tammie, Sienna & Jenna. It was fun to act like tourists for a week! We went to Stone Mountain for the laser show, World of Coca-Cola, Centennial Olympic Park, Chattanooga, Six Flags White Water and even had a spa day. We were sad to see them go...and we hope they come back soon!
That was followed by a week of getting together with friends and then Luke's 1st birthday party! I can hardly believe he's one. He's on the verge of walking, we're working on baby sign language and he's developing his own personality (which just happens to be the exact opposite of his big brother). He's so incredibly happy, always smiling, but he also has his stubborn moments! The year definitely flew by and we're looking forward to watching him grow this year.

OK, so back to the blog...
On Friday, the boys met their good friends Jack, Caroline, Dru, Marley, Riley and Mattie Lou at the zoo.

Ryan's favorite part-feeding the parakeets

He actually got a parakeet to land on his stick, but then it got nervous and flew away (which also made Ryan a little nervous) from this point on, he wouldn't feed any of the other blue birds, only green & yellow.

Ryan, Dru, Jack & Riley loved the see-saw

Soon enough Luke will be playing on the playground with the boys, but until then, he's happy to play the drums

Sunday was a Dora/Princess party at Gymboree. Happy 2nd Birthday, Caroline!

Luke loved it! He could crawl & climb to his hearts content.