Back To School Time...

The end of summer signals Back To School time... I remember when I was young, I had mixed feelings about this time of year... I was excited to see all my friends again, but bummed that summer was over. For my boys, they are in "school" all year long, so it's not much of a change for them usually.

This year, however, Austin was moving up to the Pre-K class at his preschool & he was super excited. He knew that this was a step towards Kindergarten & he is very excited about that. So, after some clothes shopping & picking out school supplies, it was time to become a "Giraffe". (The name of his Pre-K class.) He's done great in this class. He counts 1-100 and can recognize and write all of his upper & lower case letters. He's been counting & learning how to write his numbers. We are very proud of him & his teachers say he's making great progress.

1st day of Pre-K

Ryan is growing like a weed. He's almost 25 lbs & feels like a little tank. He's trying soooo hard to talk like a big boy & knows quite a few words. He says Mama, Daddy, dog, Papa, Grandma (Gah-Ma), Austin (Aw-tin), bubble, apple, thank-you, please & bye! He's at a new daycare & he loves it. He's with 2 other little boys & they have a blast playing together.

Work, school & recovery have taken up most of the past month & a half. Jason's mom came & stayed with us for two weeks to help out & it was a huge blessing. Our neices Tori & Kyra were here also. Ryan had a hard time adjusting to another toddler in the house, but he learned very quickly!

This time of the year has been relatively quite and included a few trips to the park, riding in the wagon & on the scooter & a trip to the LA County Fair. Jason & I took in some Angels baseball (and are extremely bummed they lost out in the playoffs). It's been nice to have some down time before the holidays begin.... once November hits the calendar, it's off & running way past the beginning of the year...! I can't wait!! :)

Scooter/Wagon ride to the park

LA County Fair

Angels Baseball Game

We are blessed that Jason's work is still going strong. They've laid a few guys off, but God has hand His hand on us & he's still working. They've told him he'll be at this job until it's done which should be in April & at that time, the next job should be up & running. In light of today's economy, we are very thankful for this.

I've included a few pictures from the past month & a half... Enjoy & check back soon... I'll be posting pictures of the boys in their costumes & I'm guessing a trip to the pumpkin patch is right around the corner!

Baseball & The Beach

Two of the best past-times of summer... baseball games & going to the beach. We've done both of these the past week & I wanted to share.


A couple Saturdays ago, we went to the beach with our best friends & another family that we are close friends with & their kids. There were a total of 7 little boys... and you guessed it, no girls!! The boys had a great time playing in the sand and surf. Ryan loved playing in the sand... he was only 3 months old the last time we went, but this time, he "dug" right in!! Austin loved splashing in the water, that is until him & Jason got caught by a wave & it knocked his prescription sunglasses off. He was pretty bummed but we promised we'd get him more special dark glasses!! We came home with a pound of sand, a little bit of a sunburn & a whole lot of great memories of a wonderful day!!


The foll0wing week, my friend Heather invited Austin & I to go to a Quakes game (minor league team) with her & her daughter who is a few months younger than Austin. The kids had a blast eating & playing with their huge foam claws. They loved the mascots & ate till their little tummies hurt! I couldn't even tell you who won the game, but I know the kids had a wonderful time! Thanks again, Heather!
Once again, Austin made us laugh (when we really shouldn't) last night... I was on my way to work & was talking to Jason on the phone when I heard him say... "Austin, don't say that!.... I know daddy said it, but he shouldn't have!!.... If daddy says it again, tell him it's a bad word!!"... haha... Apparantly, Jason slipped & said "Dammit" in front of Austin & he started walking around saying it.... it's hard to punish them when your laughing cuz they just corrected YOU!! haha


Ryan is doing great in his new daycare... they aboslutely love him there & he seems to really enjoy it. I hated to take him out of the same location that Austin is in, but they really didn't leave me much option. I'm just so blessed I found somewhere else that is good for Ryan!! He's walking, or should I say running all over the place & doing everything he can to be right in the middle of everything Austin's doing!


Austin starts "Pre-K" next week... he's very excited about it. Jason's been teaching him addition & subtraction & we've been working on memory Bible verses. He's such a sponge & learns things so quickly! We are working hard to take advantage of that & teach him good things each & every day!


As summer winds down to an end, I hope you've had a great one. Check back often for updates on the Adventures of the Biedermann Boys! Loves to all ya'll!

Legoland & San Diego Zoo

This past weekend was our "Summer Vacation"... we went to San Diego & went to Legoland & The San Diego Zoo.... Austin loved staying at the hotel & swimming in the pool. He was upset when we told him we had to go home to stay at OUR house! He wanted to know why the hotel couldn't be where we stayed from now on. Overall, we just had a wonderful time... it was the most fun we've had in a long time! The boys were amazingly well behavd both days & it was just an all around great weekend. Here's a few pictures from our trip. Enjoy!

San Diego Zoo The giraffes were Austin's favorite!

The tiger had just woken up & was a little grouchy at all the people looking at him!

This was on the guided bus tour.

Both boys loved the petting zoo!!!

Legoland

Ryan loved this little sippy cup... he kept grabbing it from me & just laughing!!

Summer Continues...

Seems like during summer, something's always going on... there's so many fun things to do, it's hard to pick which ones to participate in....
We've done our share of keeping busy, though...


A few weeks ago, we took the boys to a place called John's Incredible Pizza... Jason called it Chuck E. Cheeses' on steriods!! It was a huge place... good food & lots of games & rides for the kids... It was a lot of fun... The boys really enjoyed it!

We also hit up the Orange County Fair... My parents watched Ryan & Jason & I took Austin for a day out. He loved the petting zoo & the rides.... He ate & ate & couldn't figure out why his tummy hurt!! Guess that's what's supposed to happen at the fair, right? :)

We plan to go to San Diego this weekend... We've been promising to take Austin to Legoland (and you know he never forgets anything!!) but when we were scheduled to go, Ryan had gotten sick! So, we are going to try & go on Saturday. I've never been there, but it looks like a lot of fun. I'll be sure & post pictures when we get back!


Hope you are enjoying this new "format" of keeping in touch. I sometimes fear the technology age, but it definitely makes it easier to keep in touch. Maybe this way, I'll actually keep up to date instead of it taking 6 months!! Check back often!! :)

The crazy things kids say....

This morning I was getting ready for work & occasionally, we have "theme" days at work... well, it just so happened that today was "Sports" day & I had on my Angels' Jersey... Austin knows all about "theme" days because his preschool has a theme week in March.... so, he asked me why I was wearing my jersy today & I told him that it was because it was "Jersey Day at Mommy's Work"... so his next question was, "Oh, and is tomorrow Pajama Day????" hahaha....

It's moments like these that put the biggest smile on my face! They wrap around my heart like a warm blanket & make anything bad go away!!

Thanks Austin for making Mommy smile!!

What's New with the Biedermann Boys

Okay, so it’s been a while… I'm sure you were wondering what happened to us!! Well, life is what happened... :)

But I've decided to try this in a new format.... I'm going to try this blogging thing instead of email updates.... We'll see how it works out!!

Right after my last update, I went back to work “full-time”… not exactly full time, but I started working in the office at West-Comm so between part-time in the office and part-time in dispatch, it’s been close to full-time. And in May, I also started working part-time at Chino PD… it’s a lot closer to home so even though the pay is a little less, it works out great for us. It has been hectic but it has been good…

In January, Jason & I celebrated our 6 yr anniversary… Our anniversary was on 1/26… My parents watched the boys while we had a night out. We went to a very nice dinner & then just spent some time “alone” together. It was nice to look back over the past 6 years & see how much our lives have changed & how blessed we are.

Austin celebrated his 4th birthday on 2/16… He had a little party at school on the 15th and Grandma Jan, Papa & Grandma Jewell came over for dinner. Then we went to Knott’s Berry Farm on the 16th. Austin wanted his best friend Ethan (our best friends’ son) to come with us and they had a blast! Some of the rides were a little “big” for them, but all-in-all, they had a great time. They even braved the log ride… it was Ryan’s FIRST amusement park ride!! It was a long & very tiring day, but we had a really good time!! It’s been forever since I’ve been to Knott’s so it was a little nostalgia for me too! Then we had a small party for him on the 24th… just a few friends & some food!! My idea of a good party! He started asking almost immediately when his NEXT party was!!

I think Austin’s birthday is the 1st of the “season” because they seem to come about once every other weekend after his… We had his little friend Brianna’s birthday party in the beginning of March then another one of his schoolmates in April.

Easter was especially nice this year… Friday night we dyed eggs… quite a mess, but a lot of fun.. then on Saturday morning we went to my parents for waffles & an egg hunt for the boys… Ryan couldn’t figure out why he was supposed to find these little plastic things… he was much more interested in playing in the grass! Both of the boys got very cute baskets from my parents & grandma… Austin’s was full of dinosaurs, which is still his favorite, and Ryan’s was Mickey Mouse. Then on Sunday, we went to the early service at church & then went to the Queen Mary for brunch w/ Matt & Trina’s family. It was very, very nice…. After brunch we walked around the ship & had an overall very good day! I think that’s our new Easter tradition!!
Spring also brought a few improvements to the house… we got ceiling fans installed in all the upstairs bedrooms & new tile in the kitchen & dining room. What a difference a few little improvements can make. We’ve got a lot more we want to do, but will probably hold off for a little while now.

Jason’s work is going well… but his schedule has been pretty crazy lately… days then nights then back to days…. But, we are thankful he has a job… with such an unsteady economy, we count our blessings every day. Reminds me of the days I was on shift work… you forget if you’re coming or going! Makes for long days for Momma too, but we make it work!

Another milestone that we’ve had was Ryan’s first birthday!! He turned 1 on 4/18… Grandma Biedermann, Lacy, Saralena & Keira came down as did Uncle Mike & Aunt Debbie… His daycare had a little party for him at school and we had his First Birthday Party at our house on the 19th. It was a lot of fun… the bigger kids played outside, it was a beautiful day… Ryan wasn’t all that interested in the cake & decided he wanted a nap instead of to open his presents…. We did save one for him to open & he had more fun with the paper & bow than the actual present. It was a great first birthday & we really enjoyed spending time with our family & friends.
The next day, Mommy & Daddy got to take a long awaited vacation… We spent a week in Kauai, Hawaii while the boys spent the week with Grandma Biedermann. It was a much needed vacation… we had a wonderful time but missed our little munchkins! We are now looking forward to our next trip, with the boys, of course!! When we got home, it was back to the routine!! School for the boys, work for mommy & daddy… trying to catch a little relaxation on the weekends…. May & June were pretty uneventful for us…. Mom & Dad working & the boys going to school during the week… we had a pool day at the Chapman’s house, a campout in our living room & went to an Angels baseball game.
For 4th of July, we went to the Chino Hills Old Fashion Picnic… it was a lot of fun… they had a wagon parade, food, booths & water play for the kids… after a quick nap, we went to our friends Mike & Heather Collins’ house for dinner & then to the City of Chino’s fireworks display. We met some other friends there & had a great time. Ryan even enjoyed the fireworks, but fell asleep on Daddy’s shoulder about ½ way through. Austin is still talking about all the fireworks he saw!

The boys are both doing great at school… Austin has been learning like crazy… he comes home with a new song or “show” every day. He’s getting ready to go to the Pre-K class where they prepare him for Kindergarten. He can write his name, all of his letters & is starting to be able to put letters together. He is such a quick learner… gonna get him in trouble, I’m afraid! Haha…

Austin also reached a new milestone in June… he got glasses. He looks so cute in them & is doing so good wearing them. He says they help him see a lot better! I’m so happy the doctor finally agreed to put glasses on him! Ryan is walking now… he was taking a few steps (4 or 5) before we left for Hawaii and when we came home, he was going non-stop! He’s “talking” up a storm too.. he says Mamma, Dad, Au-tin & Dog… he says quite a bit of other words, we just don’t understand any of them! He’s growing so quickly! He was 21 ½ lbs & almost 30 inches at his last doctor’s appointment. I told Jason the other day, “My baby’s not a baby anymore!” He’s sleeping good & doing well in his daycare class. The teachers ADORE him & argue over who’s favorite he is!! Reminds me of another little boy we all know! He had a rough time last week w/ a stomach bug, but he’s finally over it, thankfully! I forget out tough it is when they are sick & just don’t understand. It’s such a helpless feeling when Mommy can’t make them feel better! But, he’s a little fighter… stayed in great spirits the whole time. Makes Mommy proud! Well, hopefully my next update won’t take 6 months! Summer should be a lot of fun… we have plans to go to San Diego for a few days & probably the beach a few times. Austin’s been asking about Disneyland so we might try & hit that up again too.

Hope this finds each of you doing well. Feel free to comment on this blog or email us at bekahb92@msn.com.