Counting Down!!

Not sure if I am the only one that is crazy enough to have a count down until my husband's safe return but I added another ticker to this blog to share it with all who want to know. Since we are not sure of the "home coming" date I just put the date of 24 December which will be 15 months to the day that Ben had left for Iraq. Now this is just an estimated count down but since we are half way through yet another deployment I thought it was time to start counting down the months until I have my family home for Christmas (with my fingers crossed). This will only be the second Christmas that we have spent together as a family. I find this crazy since we have been married for 4 and half years. It means a lot to me to share our first Christmas together in our house. I have not had a Christmas here at our house because I did not want to share that moment without Ben. So I guess I am saying Christmas for this Ringman Family can't come soon enough. Hope you enjoy the new ticker.

Just another note!

The other day Riley and were balling ball on the floor when she found that her cartoons were more fun to watch. Look at that focus on her face. I can't complain about the cartoons because she has learned some good new words from a couple of the show. And in fact I enjoy watching a couple of the cartoon myself. The Backyardigans are one of my favorites.


Look at that shirt. Think he is going to get teeth soon. With the amount of drool that he is producing you think he would have a whole mouth full by now. We are still waiting. He is a late bloomer next to Riley who at this age already had 4-6 teeth. I am sure that one day I will wake up and his teeth will be there but until then we are wearing bibs and changing shirts twice a day.

!!!Pictures!!!

Riley enjoys dressing up. This is a dress from Aunt Mimi. She calls it her princess dress. Oh and don't forget her fancy shoes. Yes, Riley loves her shoes.

Brenden dressed in his Tigers outfit. Thanks to Aunt Mimi again.

Brenden is walking around the house more and more these days. He is not walking without a little help but this walking toy as helped a lot with his new adverture.

I was unable to catch sissy to get her dressed so Brenden had to help me out. I think he did a wonderful job helping. He loves his sissy. Riley thought it was funny to have Brenden sit on her too.
Now that sissy is dressed she was able to play with Brenden. Both kids love to play with each other during the day. I am sure that will change when Brenden is walking all over and getting into sissy's things. But for now it makes for some cute pictures.

Let's Meet the Backyardigans!!!

For all those who do not know these wonderful cartoon characters, I shall explain. Nick Jr. is a wonderful program set just for pre-schools. They play cartoons all day long everyday. Yes they are all repeats but Riley has fun watching. The Backyardigans are a group of five friends that explore their imagination in their own backyards. They explore the whole wide world. The characters slove problems along their journey. Today we were knights that had to protect an egg for King Pablo. The other characters include Tasha, Austin, Tyrone, and Uniqua. They all had a role to play in this wonderful adventure through the magical kingdom. When the show was finished we were able to meet, Uniqua, Tyrone, and Pablo. Now as you all know by now Riley at the age of three is not going to go and have her picture taken with any of the characters but she would look from a distance. So here are a few of the pictures that I was able to get today.

Pablo

Tyrone

Uniqua

The kids also received a free Backyardigans T-Shirt. Here is a few pictures of us waiting for the show to start and the kids in their t-shirts. And this is how much fun the kids had while the show went on for about 2 hours.

Riley at in the bleachers as Brenden and I sat on the floor. I am glad that we are not mobile just yet or today would have been difficult. (No strollers allowed inside)

Riley being a good big sister and loving on Brenden.

Dancing along with the characters and music.

Brenden slept through the whole show. He woke up just in time to meet the Backyardigans. He knew when the fun stuff would happen.

Over all we had a wonderful day. When we arrived back home we were all very tired and cranky but we made it through the show and all the wonderful people!

Ben at Work

Here are couple of pictures of my wonderful husband at work "on the big plane." He is at dinner with the people of the town they are working in and helping. He was apart of a CNN news story about helping a sick little girl who needs an operation to save her life. The soldiers were giving her oxygen to help her breath better.

Ben is the short one on the left.

This is the local Doctor that was helping the same little girl.

My Job, Your Job!!

Yes another Miss Riley story is about to unfold.


Riley has become a little person who acts all grown for such a young little girl. I have been teaching her when its her job/responsibility to handle an issue or if its someone else's job. Well after today I have realized that she has learned this lesson well. Here is what happened tonight. Riley is watching cartoons and I am getting Brenden ready for bed. I tell Riley that I am going to rock-a-by Brenden in his room and will be back soon. "Ok, Mommy." While I am rocking Brenden, Little Miss Riley comes in the room and begins to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to Brenden. Yes it was very cute. I tried to sing along too but I was told that "Thats not your job. It's my job!" Well I listened as Riley continued to sing. When she was done singing she tells me about the jobs she has at school. She has to put her toys away because its her "job" not Ms. Ella's job.


Riley and I were picking up the livingroom before our friends came over for a play date and she tells me, "Good job, Mommy. We cleaned up because its our job not Jess' job." That's right Riley we have to clean up after ourselves so other and come and enjoy our house too. She is learning that she has to clean up or her things get taken to the trash. She does not like that idea and has now started to tell me what my jobs are and when I complete those jobs she tells me "good job." She is always so positive with her statements. I am very proud of her.

Riley Sweet Riley

I feel that my sweet Miss Riley has been left out of many of the last blog post. Yes this could be explained by her age and not wanting to have her picture taken. Then there is the fact that she is not changing as fast as her little brother. Then there is the guilt of being a stay at home mom with Brenden and being a working mom when Riley was little. So with Riley being Riley here are a few pictures of her being cute and loving. Riley loves her little brother and is a great little mommy to him. Just look at that smile on her face as she hugs Brenden.

Riley is running around not wanting me to take her picture. But as you can see I was able to get a couple that turned out really cute. She was laughing and giggling the whole time.
CHEESE!!!

WOW, I'm 8 Months Old!!!!

We are 8 months old today. Time is flying by and Brenden is growing up way too fast. Here are a couple of videos of him talking and walking. He is learning new things every day and makes Riley and I smile and laugh every chance he gets. It's cute to watch my children play and laugh at each other. I hope you enjoy what I get to see everyday.

If you listen closey you can hear that Brenden is yelling at his "Da-Da" about something. This has become his favorite word. Everything is Da-Da now.

The Learning Never Stops!!!

Brenden has decided that he is not going to crawl for anything. He is trying to walk by pushing toys around the house and pulling himself up onto things including people. But I noticed that he has learned to get what he wants by spinning himself on his butt using his feet. He can make a complete circle and then he is so flexible that he bends just about in half to reach things that sure not be getting into and his toys. I guess he will learn how to move his way. I this to be a good things because it shows me that he will be a strong independent boy/man when he grows up. He is not going to be follower or do as everyone else just because they are doing something. He will find his way of doing it and be proud of himself.

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Riley is still here. I know that has not been much about her or many pictures but she is at the stage that she does not like to have her picture taken for anything. Yesterday was a beautiful day. When the kids and I got home Riley wanted her Barbie Jeep out to ride. So we found our way into that black hole and managed to get it outside. She wanted Brenden to ride with her. She is learning to share. So I put Brenden in the front seat and buckled him in because we can't go any where if we are not buckled. Both kids were ready to go to "Wal-Mart" to get a few things according to Riley. When she stopped and got out and said "Something is not right with this Jeep!" She walks around to the front of the Jeep and opened the hood. Looks inside and smiles. She closes the hood and makes sure that it is closed before go back to the drivers seat. She then takes Brenden for a short ride around the front yard. It was so cute to see Riley taking care of her Jeep and brother. She is always doing something to put a smile on our faces. There is never a moment around this house that we are not laughing or smiling at the kids.

Nana Teaching Brenden to Walk!!!

Poor Nana went home with a sore back. Brenden wanted Nana to show him how to walk all week. So when Nana had Brenden he was not being held but wanted to hold Nana's fingers and walk all around the house. This seemed to help because after Nana and Papa went home Brenden has started to talk with his activity tables and pushes them all over the house. He has even started to change toys in the middle of walking. Brenden is also trying to stand by himself. He does great until he realizes that no one is holding him or he is not holding on to anything. We are off to a good start. Brenden is keeping up with Riley when it comes to hitting milestones at the same time. We are still waiting for those teeth to come through. Hopefully soon.

The Things Young Children Say

Riley is growing up so fast. She is understanding more and more about being a military child and daddy being at work for long periods of time. She shares with everyone that her daddy is at work. When asked where she states on the "Big airplane. Way up high where I can't reach." Then its usually followed by a silly action of trying to reach way up high.


This morning when I was getting ready she was use the bathroom. I could hear Brenden crying because he was all by himself. I ask her if he was ok. "Yeah, he just laying on my bed and I can't make him sit-up." Ok I will finish up and go and get him. Riley then states, "You are my mommy!" "Yes, I am your mommy and Brenden's mommy too." "Ok, but that is my side and that is Brenden side." Pointing to my left and right hip/leg. Then she continues to say that (left side) is the girls side and that (right side) is the boys side. So I must hold my children on the same side when I have them in my arms together. I did not know that each child had their own side of their mommy but according to Riley they do.

Have a good weekend everyone.

BASEBALL!!!

This is Brenden's idea of learning to use a baseball bat. He is dressed and ready to play. But he would rather chew on the end of the bat then use it the correct way. But look at the consintration he has in his face. He is focused.

Success!! I did it mommy. I used the bat to swing and hit the ball.
Using the bat to work out his arms and get ready for a second chance at the plate. It wont be long and Brenden and Riley will be playing ball in the backyard. I know that both mommy and daddy will be playing with them. Can't wait to see them both on the move.

Happy 1st Easter, Brenden

Brenden and the Easter Bunny. Riley could not wait until we went to see the Easter Bunny but when it was our turn she said "NO, Brenden can go. I will wait right here!" She did not want to get too close to the Easter Bunny. She did not have a melt down like she did with Santa Claus so we are getting better. Maybe next year we will have a picture that includes both kidos.

HAPPY EASTER!

!!HAPPY EASTER - 2008!!

Happy Easter to everyone. We woke up this morning to find that the Easter Bunny left two little baskets full of goodies for two very special little children. The baskets were full of candies, eggs, and a special animal for both.

Brenden is a man of my heart he went start for the chocolate.

Riley is looking through her basket to see what new things she has received. She was excepted to see a new note pad and pen.

Sharing an Easter moment together.

After we found our Easter baskets we headed out the door. We headed to Bowling Green, KY to have breakfast with my brother Joe (Homey) and his family. When breakfast was finished we had some time to take a few photos. Yes they were in the back of our truck. Why? It was snowing out. Yes I said it snowing. When the kids and I left Clarksville it was beautiful so my children are in their spring clothes with sandles. We had some funny looks as we were walking out of Cracker Barrel.
Riley, Brock, Jackson, and Brenden being silly.
The kids all cheesing.


When we returned home from breakfast Riley and Brenden had their Easter Egg hunt. Riley was a BIG help to Brenden on this task. The Easter Bunny left sport shaped eggs for Brenden and Princess eggs for Riley. When we were hunting eggs and Riley found a sport egg she run to get Brenden so he could "find" the egg. It was fun to watch her be the BIG sister.
I found it mommy!!!
Brenden found a couple of eggs in his farm truck.
Brenden and his Grandpa George smile.

Riley on a mission to find more eggs.
Getting a little help from "Map" on where to go next.

HAPPY EASTER !!!