HeyRyan.com Month 33
April 2005
Hi everyone.  Bigs here.  Things are starting to
heat up, so we've been spending a lot of time
outside.  Here I am with Zoe flying a kite for the
first time.  OK, Ok...it was more like "me just
holding the kite for 4 seconds while dad shot a
picture" for the first time, but who's counting?

This was a great month.  I got to go to the Irvine
Train Park twice, visit the beach and the
swimming pool.  Life is good.

Enjoy this month's pics.
Our first Angels game of the season and I get stuck staring
into the sun.  So I whipped out my trusty Thomas The Train
hat to keep the sun out of my eyes.  Play Ball!!!
A game-day tradition unfolds yet again.  Shaking hands with
and then dancing around the Gene Autry statue is something
that I've done with Zoe after every game I've ever attended.
For me, nothing beats a morning spent at the Irvine Regional
Park with my favorite gal.  The "Choo Choo" Park is always
near the top of my list of weekend entertainment options.
I could spend days on end riding this train.  I get very excited
when it's time to board the train and I get upset when we get
off.  And I pretty much lose my mind when we leave the park.
The Choo Choo Park also has a nice lake.  Here I am with Zoe
and mom, enjoying a pleasant paddle boat ride on a nice spring
day...that is until the unthinkable happened...
Don't ask me how, when, where or why (I believe I blacked out
upon learning of my grave error) but somehow my prized
Thomas Train fell into the lake.  Thank God he's made of wood.
One Sunday afternoon, Zoe and I got to visit
Universal Studios to see one of the hottest
bands around, live and in concert.
That's right, folks..."The Wiggles"!!  Here I
am with my commemorative concert shirt,
right before we saw the show.  They rocked.
Shock of all shocks, we got to visit the Choo Choo
Park again.  Here I am pretending to be a super
hero over daddy's head.  Man, check out the guns.
Toward the middle of the month, Papa & Berta came out for a
visit.  And whenever Papa's in town, the Crab Cooker is sure to
follow.  Papa took this shot of us outside the fabled restaurant.
Time to grab a shovel and get busy.  Hey, I
even left Thomas behind (stay away from the
water, buddy).  Mom & Berta are behind me.
We also got to hit the beach during their visit.  
Here I am with Papa scoping out some prime
real estate for some sand castle building.
Sunday morning meant a visit to San Juan Capistrano and
breakfast at The Ramos House.  On the walk back, Zoe and I got
stuck in jail for illegal cuteness.  Now that's funny stuff.
Hey, the sun is setting and it's time to head home and get
some milky.  Thanks for stopping by and hanging out with me
for a while--it's been fun catching up.  Now don't be a stranger.
The chicks dig a guy with a few scars--so I try to
keep a lot of bandaids visible at all times.  But I
go Dora-style, so they'll know I'm still sensitive.
Well, it was a busy month--time for a little R&R at the pool.  
While Zoe works the big pool, I play it safe in the baby pool.  I
like knowing that a shark can't swim in 18 inches of water.
                Bigsy's Quote of the Month
While the little man gets his sea legs on this quote thing, we thought we'd share a little insight on his
freakish obsession with trains.  Here is just a sampling of his countless train-oriented habits, broken
out by time of day.  For those of you with pre-train baby boys, be afraid...be very afraid.

- Morning: Has to watch at least 10 minutes of "Thomas The Train" or he WILL lose it.
- AM Drive: Has to have at least three trains secured in his lap before you can buckle him up.
- School: Sensing his "problem", 2-3 kids will bum-rush him upon arrival with offers to play trains.
- PM Drive: He knows where he left those three trains and they better be there when you pick him up.
- Evening: Within 3.47 seconds of getting home, he'll be on the "island of Sodor" conducting traffic.
- Pre-Bedtime: Refer to "Morning" section.
- Bedtime: Resplendent in his Thomas PJ's, he'll jump into his Thomas bed & snuggle with Thomas.
- 3am:  For the love of god--train wreck nightmares.  "Polar Express" CD usually calms him down.

And you know what, we wouldn't change the little guy one bit.  You go, Bigs!!