same song, second verse

ryder is a true second born. he is fearless, slightly annoying to his older brother, and developing more quickly than you can say "don't put that in your mouth!" the video below was shot last tuesday, the day he turned 8 months. we are afraid he may be walking well before a year. who could have guessed that isaac might turn out to be our mellow child. God help us all.

one of the uniquely strange things about ryder is that he loves to sit in front of the dryer vent while it is on. i am not sure if it is because you can make his name from the letters found in dryer or if it b/c the warm air covers him in a moist film that attracts all manner of dirt, but whatever the reason he will sit in front of that thing for 15 minutes at a stretch. even when it is not on, he crawls over to check it out.

isaac heard crickets for the first time last night, and now he thinks they are the sound of the moon. as we were waiting outside a party he pointed to his ear to indicate he heard something, which turned out to the chirping of the little insects. soon after he saw the moon, so he associated the noise with the object. tonight he couldn't understand why he couldn't hear the same thing when he found the moon hanging in the sky.

a few nights ago in the bath i found isaac picking his wrist where he had received one of his many minor scratches. i am pretty sure it was itching b/c he would just kind of rub his fingernail over it a couple times ever few minutes. it is funny to watch him experience new things.

another new favorite for isaac is lizards. everytime annie mentions the park he makes the sign for lizards, and does his signature gasp whenever he spots one. today i brought him a plastic one that has been sitting in a drawer at work for years. when i showed it to annie she thought it was real. i am pretty sure i almost got slapped.

thomas party

isaac's second birthday party was last saturday, and since he loves thomas the train so much, we figured it would be a good theme for his party. we are not sure he was even aware of the fact that it was a party, it seemed that to him it was just a bunch of people and friends together at the park eating pizza and cake. regardless, it was a super fun morning, with lots of highlights:

the birthday boy is his "full steam ahead" shirt. never a truer statement about this two year old.

"you mean i get cake and presents? are you sure?"

bradley and ryder get reacquainted

rhiannon helps isaac with his gifts but he is not too sure about letting go of his train.

grauntie, barbara and grammy help isaac with one of the many pieces of new thomas equipment he got that day: a collapsible bridge.

the curry's

brighton shows the camera his secret gills. no wonder he swims so well.

great grandpa herold bought isaac two new trains: emily and toby. he was a little excited about them.

auntie wrangles. isaac shows. ryder pulls.

ryder and grandma chris ham it up

toby!!

the boys with clara laforge who is unfortunately moving to santa cruz in like a week. i had some real hopes for a high school romance between her and isaac. i mean, look at her ogle him while he desperately tries to play it cool. who knows. it could still happen.

isaac wonders if hayden's thomas shirt would fit him, while cam is just happy to be in the picture.

isaac just after he blew out the candles on the amazing cake my sister lisa made him. she is starting a new little company called "hey sweet thing" (heysweetthing@gmail.com) which is pretty much the coolest name for a cake company ever.

isaac and avery check out the contents of the schwag bag. he had a hard time giving them away once he realized there were crayons in them.

the fam including the trains

after nap isaac came down to a new thomas the train table, compliments of grauntie. he has not stopped playing with it since. we have also discovered that ryder is the godzilla of the thomas the train universe, lumbering out of the water and knocking down structures with a wide sweeping motion.

we ended the day with dinner at islands. isaac was in the mood to hug and ryder didn't mind the headlock.

two ain't so terrible

isaac turned two this past friday, and as crazy as it is to have a kid that has been around for that long, it was a very fun day of celebration.

we first went to target so he could choose some toys to spend his money on.  he selected two elephants in slightly different poses.  when we got the register, he howled like a banshee b/c he did not want to let go of them long enough for them to be rung up.  he was practically throwing money at the cashier, well as best as he could throw with his wrists while his hands were firmly clasped around his new pachyderm friends.

next stop was legoland, where he rode the train not once but twice.  he was very proud.

then on to the water, always a favorite with the little man.

the slide/swing was a little hot.

ryder loved watching isaac run around, and demonstrated his approval by showing off his newest skill: clapping

after naps we went to the menconi's for a bbq.

isaac helped me assemble one of his gifts, a new trike.

in this family, if you are on wheels, a helmet is on you.  this was taken before there was a seat on the bike.

i really hope this is the only horse he ever learns to ride.  we cannot afford an equestrian in the family. 

we wrangled everybody together and got them to sit still long enough for a picture.  please note the elephant.

a little behind

so nobody has ever accused me of having a little behind, but i often find myself trying to play catch up with the world. exhibit #3428: our family photo booth picture from the del mar fair this year. taken sometime in june or july, just now got it scanned in and posted. now i just have to get up to speed with pictures from isaac's birthday this past weekend...

Oliver arrives...

Oliver Josiah 

July 9, 2009

the sarkisian family welcomed their 3rd little one this past month.  we are all excited to meet the newest sarkisian.  welcome little oliver!

and the award goes to...

congratulations to the nissan cube for recently taking "ugliest car in the world" honors away from the scion xb. its lopsided backside and solid rims make this car one that any stormtrooper would be proud to drive. jeez...

in other news:

1. ryder is a super legit crawler now, much faster than we sometimes wish he was. annie is pretty sure he will be walking in a couple months. we might need to cut off some toes or something to slow him down just so we can keep up with him.
   
2. isaac cracks us up daily by doing his impersonation of a penguin. arms to the side rocking back and forth. he knows he is cute, and that makes it even funnier.
3. they are becoming better friends most everyday, except for when ryder grabs ahold of isaac's hair with both hands and makes a break for it.
   

2 minus one week

so this past wednesday we had our friend stacy take pictures of the boys at a local park. here are some of our favorites:





they continue to be a constant source of fatiguing joy in our lives. when we are not chasing we are resting.

ryder has had two teeth come through within the three weeks or so. he is not all that excited about and not shy about letting us know. he also eats any piece of paper he can get his hands on, including checks.

isaac has a new phrase: where are you. it sounds more like "air are ooo", but we know what he means. he loves to stand on his plastic slide that sits out on our back patio and yell "awg" (dog) "air are ooo?" to the dogs that live behind us.

sometimes ryder sleeps like a stinkbug, knees tucked up underneath his stomach, butt way up in the air. other times he just smells like a stinkbug. he still pukes way more than i think a nearly 8-month-old should.

isaac ate 5 full slices of cheese tonight...as an appetizer.