Lil' Dragons

Ryan is participating in a weekly karate class through the YMCA called, Lil Dragons. Yesterday marked the halfway point in the class and all the students demonstrated what they've learned so far. Ryan never wants to go to karate (he complains about going every week, although I can still get him there without too much hassle), but he always seems to have a good time once we're there. It was fun seeing how far he's come in just six weeks. He was thrilled to receive a ribbon for his efforts!

Stretching before class. I wish I could reach my toes!

Practicing his punchesDemonstrating knee drives with Sensei and Shihan.

Receiving his yellow ribbon from Sensei.

Newest obsession

Ryan tends to be a bit obsessive about things...Legos, baseball, puzzles and now: football. Once he discovers a new interest, he is completely consumed by it. This is how I found him yesterday morning when I came downstairs:

Here he is wearing Mike's football helmet and clutching his new UW football from his birthday. Later on in the morning, he headed outside with his new Jake Locker jersey and played football for a good hour.

I'm curious to see what it will be next. Perhaps basketball? I'm planning on signing him up to play through the YMCA beginning in December.

Ryan's 5th birthday party

We continued Ryan's birthday festivities with a party for some of his buddies this morning at our house. The kids played for awhile, then decorated pumpkins, had lunch, played outside, and then cake and gifts. It was really nice - and Ryan had a good time hanging out with his friends. Here's a video of Ryan blowing out the candles on his baseball cake (thanks for taking this, Paul!!).

Birthday in the Jungle Room

Ryan celebrated his birthday at school by bringing treats and show n' tell. He picked out Oreos to share with his classmates. For show n' tell, he brought his Build-a-Bear dog, Jack, that he built with Mike in August. Like Caitlin's panda bear, there is a special recording from Mike in the dog's leg that Ryan can play whenever he wants to hear Mike's voice. Jack is named after Jack Hannahan, the Mariner infielder, and has his own M's uniform, complete with cleats.

Here's Ryan's class singing Happy Birthday to him:

Today he's having a small party at home with some of his buddies. The birthday celebration continues...

Catching pop flies and more crazy Caits

Ryan spent a good hour outside this afternoon catching pop flies. He catches about one out of every ten. He is SO excited when he makes a catch!

And another video for Daddy...

Backyard baseball

Ryan is absolutely positively obsessed with baseball. We went to an Aquasox game in early July with Mike's mom and ever since then, he eats, sleeps, and breathes baseball. He plays outside in the backyard when it's sunny and inside the house when it's rainy (more of an intricate imaginary baseball game including a full line-up of stuffed animals!). The most amusing part of his games is the play-by-play he gives!

He LOVES the Mariners and can tell you all of the players, their position, whether they bat right or left, etc. He closely follows the games and can tell you the pitch count, what has happened in each inning, who has hit doubles, homeruns, etc.

Ryan got in a little baseball this afternoon because of the beautiful weather. Here's a little video...plus a special message for Daddy.