well, she was off to a good start

"WHAT HAPPENED?" you've asked. What's up with the lack of posts?

Well, life happened. As most of you know, things got hectic. Especially once I got that invite to Israel last fall. Everything after that was an insane blur of permission, passport, planning and packing. Then I was off.

Back home, there was frantic catching up at work, followed quickly by a visit from my Mom, Dad, Kevin, Tine, Ethan and Noah for Thanksgiving. And then Ry and I headed north for Virginia for two weeks in December.

I've had two or three miserable colds since returning to the US, and I'm finally taking my doc's advice and having the tonsils jerked. I've given some consideration to posting a pretty awesome pick of how the tonsils looked on Thanksgiving Day, but I couldn't figure out how to make it optional, or to hide it behind a black box that you could look in if you really wanted so that I wouldn't cause unsuspecting visitors to pass out. Let it suffice to say that they were a uni-tonsil that day, and that there was no obvious route for any turkey that I might have wanted to swallow to take .

So the tonsils are coming out on Monday. My doc (Ron Moses) seems nice enough, and I've heard and read some pretty good things about him. I promise a post once I'm well enough to turn the computer on and tell you how its going. And at some point, maybe I'll go back (ala those flashbacks in Lost) and post some of the funnier tidbits from Israel. Stay tuned.

Down by the Bay

Ry & I took a quick trip to Galveston late yesterday afternoon with Auntie (Yvonne). Road the ferry, then headed to East Beach about an hour before sunset.

We fed the gulls, then Ry headed for the water. He cautiously walked parallel to the water line, before pulling off his crocs and stepping in. In no time, he was splashing about and running at lightening speed all over the place.

He made a great effort at climbing a huge pile of sand, trying to copy what the older boys were doing.

The sunset was spectacular. And the bumper-to-bumper traffic that we'd passed on our way south had cleared out by the time we headed home.

Wrapping Up Ry's Birthday

Yes, I know. I kind of left you hanging. Let me catch you up on the birthday weekend festivities.

To start with, I got sick. (adenovirus) Luckily, mom flew in on Thursday and (frankly) pulled off a birthday miracle.

We kept Ry home with us on the actual day (Friday, 8/10), which began with his current favorite meal, pancakes. We then kept our annual tradition of a birthday portrait @ the Picture People in the Galleria, before running a slew of b-day party errands.

At some point that afternoon, Aunt Yvonne caught up with us, and later Anthony joined us all back home for a birthday dinner of fajitas and pie.



In case this slideshow doesn't clearly demonstrate the point, Ry LOVES blowing out candles. We did three rounds of flames and singing and blowing before he was satisfied. He opened a handful of gifts (a great indoor sandbox from Jackie that he promptly climbed in, and a bunch of balls from Anthony that made for a rowdy time) before Ant & I broke out the paint to stamp hand and foot prints into the book he gave him for his first birthday.

Saturday brought the party. Our guests included:
- Grandma & Grandpa Silhan
- Nana (my mom) & Aunt Yvonne
- Brian, Lori & Aunt Cindy
- Vincent & Monica (who kindly made us cupcakes!)
- Hernan, Alicia & Medai
- Tina & Adria
- Tia (Cynthia)
- Trish
- Jackson, Beckett, Shannon & Kevin
- Riley, Shannon & Matthew
- Halie, Luke, Jaycie & Aunt Julie
- Elena & Natalie
- Hannah, Colby & Deputy David

To be honest, I was in a bit of a fever-induced fog. I have no idea what memories Ry (or others) will have of the event, but mine include:
- Ryan's sheer panic and extended crying episode over the balloons
- The arrival of friends, friends, and more friends
- My mom in an apron teaching kids to paint with marbles, string, and bubbles
- Paint on fingers, hands, arms and an occasional leg
- Paint on faces and in hair
- Some impressive works of art (yes, some paint actually hit paper)
- On-time pizza delivery
- Kids running inside
- Kids running outside
- Lots of balloons popping
- The graciousness of my friends & family who helped us clean up

Here are some pics from the event for your enjoy/amusement:



Whether you were there or not, consider leaving us a comment to this post to commemorate the event.

xo -

me (& the ry-guy)

Party Pics

While we're on the subject of parties, here's a pic of Ryan chillin' in the ball pit at Vincent's second birthday party on May 5, 2007. He had a ball.