Ridenour Ranch: October 2020

Our baby Tommy Boy turned 3...almost 2 months ago! I think this is the latest birthday post to date. It has been on my to do list all this time, but let me tell you, a full time job is for the suckers! Where did my life go?!? Oh yeah, into a continuous cycle of "Blursdays." But I digress... (that post is for another time...in November when I get my LIFE back!)

Anyway, the baby is three. How can that be? We are THIS close to the end of diaper buying (but for now pull ups can have all our money for bedtime security...for 2 boys still!). His birthday was on a Monday so the day before Grandma and Grandpa Ridenour and the Swindoll family came up to celebrate. Brittany and Bryan and Brynn have been staying in Council Bluffs for about 6 weeks to get out of their tiny apartment in Miami and away from the Covid-19 outbreak there. So it was fun to have a cousin join the party! Look at those two down there together 😍😍😍. Everyone came inside (a new thing in this day and age!) for cake and ice cream and later for grilled steak. We opened presents, played in the sprinkler (thanks Herrick Family!), played everywhere, and ate lots of sugar. It was a great day!

Then the next day on his actual birthday he brought treats to his new daycare, Brooke's House. He likes playing with friends there, but much prefers the days he gets to hang out with Grandma Lori instead! As I write this I have one week left of teaching 4th grade and am greatly looking forward to some Tommy days of my own.

Thomas/Tommy/Tommy Boy/Turd Ferguson/Thomas Koester Ridenour...whatever you happened to be called on a given day you are the life of the party! You are full of energy and pizazz. You run and jump and climb and fall and cry and laugh and smile and tease and wrestle and chase your brothers and lead your calf and do ALL. THE. THINGS! You talk a mile a minute and are always asking "WHY?" You love watching YouTube videos especially CocoMelon and tractor videos. You still come into our room at night to crawl in for a snuggle, but we transitioned your crib into a "big boy bed" and you have been doing better (and are so proud...also the binky was taken away at the beginning of August. It was a little rough, but glad that's over with!). You love Wheels on the Bus and Baa Baa Black Sheep. You break Legos. You love books and everyday at nap time we read "The Little Blue Truck" and "I'm Not Sleepy." You scream your brains out when you don't get something you want or are fighting with a sibling. You don't eat meals worth a darn. You love gum and ask for it constantly. You just learned to put your own shoes on. We are so happy that you are our baby and even that you keep growing and changing and learning. What a blessing you are to the world 💙.