Library Pirate Day

On Saturday, September 19th, Ronan's friend, Clayton, invited us to the Eugene Public Library for "Talk Like a Pirate" day.  It was a fun little event!  We didn't have much notice, so the boys didn't have time to dress up in their pirate costumes.  We brought eye patches but they ended up feeling shy about wearing them. (:  There were several projects that the kids could work on and games to play, and then we spent the rest of our time finding books to check out. 
Ronan and Griffin made a pirate flag together:

Clayton dressed up in a cool pirate costume--wig and all!

So focused on cutting out the shapes for their flag.

All Done!

Early Sept Misc.

Here are just a few pictures of what's been happening in the Ruddick household since school started: 

We found a great deal on a hot tub on craigslist, so Josh finished preparing the spot for it in the corner of our little backyard and figured out a way to get it back there.  It fit perfectly and so far it's been a lot of fun for the kids and Josh.  I'm looking forward to getting to try it out when I am no longer pregnant. (:

We've been keeping the water warm (not hot), so the kids don't cook!

Sometime at the end of summer we lost Griffin's precious little monkey. ):  We couldn't find it anywhere, and it was very upsetting to Griffin--well, we all felt bad for him!  Little monkey was Griffin's favorite toy and sleeping buddy.  So, after searching and searching our house without any luck, I decided to look online to see if I could find a replacement.  I found one that looked like the same one and ordered it...and when it arrived, it was just perfect!  Griffin was so happy and surprised, and he's been sweeter than ever with his new little monkey, newly named Monocito (thanks to his newly spanish-speaking big brother). (:

Daddy and Ronan have been riding bikes together to school once a week.  I think it's a highlight of the day for both of them--Josh says that Ronan is so happy and talkative when they bike together. (:

I had the three Temple kiddos over one Friday when their parents were in a jam for childcare.  Ronan was at school, so Griffin got to have some buddies to play with. (:  It was fun and surprisingly easy, thanks to big sister, Grace, who was a great help & such a little mommy. (:

We have had to work on remembering our house rules since school started.  Ronan is loving the fact that he gets to go to school with Tyler and Sadie, and carpool with them--but they all have a hard time saying goodbye & staying at their separate houses when we are back home (especially when the weather is nice!).  So, one day while Ronan was in a timeout for disappearing from our backyard & appearing in the Chase's backyard, he asked for a pen & paper so he could make himself a reminder.  It is taped on the wall by our front door, and it kind of works sometimes... (;

Ist Day of Preschool!

Today was an exciting day for Griffin--his 1st day of Preschool!!  He had been looking forward to going to school for a few weeks, and today was the day!

So proud of his new clothes, shoes, & backpack!

Ronan was excited for Griffin (:

Doing "skateboard" tricks:

We took Ronan to school and then made it to preschool right in time to walk in with cousin Cohen!

Oh So Happy!

We love Griffin's teacher, Miss Debby!

Cousin Finley and Griffin are in the same class!

Griffin had so much fun at preschool!  He made a special star badge and got to decorate his own place mat.  It was really fun hearing all about it from his sweet almost 4 year-old voice. (:

Good job, Griffin!  I'm so proud of you!

We definitely couldn't leave without stopping by the office to give hugs to Grammie!  It's going to be so much fun being at Grace Community Preschool!

Bridge Dedication

On Saturday, September 11th, we went to a celebration of the completion of the new bicycle and pedestrian bridge near Delta Ponds.  Amy told us about it and invited us to come because Brian Slater was going to be doing a stunt at the event!

Brian and his fiance, Sarah, before the big jump.

Their wedding is just two weeks away!

In this picture, Josh's dad is walking toward Brian and the stunt car.  You can see from the back of his shirt that he is Brian's best man in the wedding. (:

A test drive up the ramp before the jump.

He jumped over two trailers and crashed into two.

Safe & Sound!

Afterward we got to see the car up close and talk to Brian.

Not too much damage other than the windshield.

We continued on to the celebration where they had food, games, and activities set up for the kids.

And finally, we walked along the (almost finished) bridge. They are still finishing up work on the railings and light fixtures:

Delta Ponds

1st Grade!

September 8th~ Here is Ronan on his first day of first grade!  What a big day!

We parked at my parents house (because they live right by the school) and then walked hand-in-hand the rest of the way.  I could tell that we were both a little nervous. (:  I got most of my crying out of the way the day before, so thankfully I was actually able to get through the morning without too many tears.  It was very strange for me to think of my little boy being away for 6 hours a day...five days a week!  It seemed like such a big step and I was feeling pretty emotional about it.  The thing that helped so much was that Ronan was excited about going and appeared to have more confidence than he did a year ago when he started kindergarten.

Ronan in front of his new school: Buena Vista Spanish Immersion School--the same school that Daddy (& Aunt Amy) went to!

As we walked down the hall we stopped to say hi to cousins Tyler and Sadie as they were heading into their classrooms. (:

Tyler ready for 5th grade!

Sadie is a big 2nd grader!

We made our way into Ronan's classroom and helped him find his seat...right next to his friend Vanessa  from kindergarten!

We were so proud of our big boy! 

One last picture of Ronan's class and his teacher, Senorita Young, as we headed out the door.

A peek at Tate

August 31st~ I had an appointment at Maternal Fetal Medicine to check on baby Tate's growth.  My mom was able to come with us, and the ultrasound technician really took her time and got lots of extra pictures for Memaw to take home. (:

Tate's profile:

We got to see some great view of his face and the technician was able to switch over to 3-D to get these pictures (28 weeks in utero):

We were excited to hear that in one month Tate had grown from the 18th percentile to the 30th percentile!  The Dr. is still keeping his eye on a few minor things, but overall he was pleased with the results and optimistic about the rest of the pregnancy.