First Haircut

We recently gave Rylan his first haircut. He had been needing one for awhile but I just couldn't bear the thought of cutting his cute blonde curls. Bryon finally talked me into it, and I must admit, it did turn out cute. I also must admit that I got a little teary eyed. It once again reminded me of how fast my baby is growing up.

Bryon and I took turns cutting while the other took pictures. We were worried that Rylan wouldn't sit still and we'd end up poking him with the scissors, so we came up with the idea of angling his high chair so that he could see the TV. We put on one of his favorite shows and that's all it took. He was as still as could be during the entire haircut!
And...here's the new and improved Rylan. I'm not sure how happy he is about it, but he sure does look cute, doesn't he?

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was so special this year! I feel so blessed to be a mom and to have such a sweet baby boy! He is the light of my life! I am also very thankful for having such an amazing mother, grandmother, and mother-in-law. God has truly blessed me in so many ways.

Mom, thank you for being a wonderful friend, cheerleader, supporter, advice giver, listener, and role model. Without you I wouldn't be the mom I am today. I am so thankful that you've given me the skills to be a good mother for Rylan. You've always made me feel loved, appreciated, and supported in everything I do. Thank you for telling me you love me on a daily basis and telling me how proud you are of me. Your words keep me going even when things seem hopeless. You mean the world to me!

Suanne, thank you for being the best mother-in-law a girl could ask for. I truly enjoy spending time with you. You are so generous and thoughtful, always giving of yourself. We appreciate all you do for us! We wish you were closer!

Grandma, thank you for your generosity. You are the most giving person I know! Also, thank you for making me laugh. Your humor has a way of brightening my day!

Rylan, you have brought new meaning to my life. Since the day you were born I've experienced a new kind of love. You've helped me notice little things in life and appreciate the small moments. I love our daily rituals; finding airplanes in the sky, searching for flowers on walks, looking at the moon at night, reading stories together, cuddling on the couch, and just hanging out. Every day is a special day with you, even when we never leave the house. I love listening to you laugh, watching your eyes light up when you see something new, hearing you say "mommy", and watching you explore. You've blessed me in more ways that words can describe. I love you with all my heart! I feel like the luckiest mom in the world.

To celebrate Mother's Day, my mom, dad, and brother Jeff, came over for brunch. We enjoyed a breakfast casserole, scones, fresh fruit, and juice. The weather was nice enough for us to eat outside on the deck. We had a wonderful time!
Rylan thinks Uncle Jeff is pretty cool. He kept trying to snuggle with him on the couch. I could tell Jeff liked it too even though he wouldn't admit it. =) Rylan loves you Jeff! He's been saying your name a lot even when you're not around.

I hope all you moms had a wonderful Mother's Day!!!

Diggers

"I love diggers...my favorite is the backhoe."

One of Rylan's favorite books is all about tractors, trucks, and diggers. He especially loves the diggers (construction equipment). He can identify them by pointing and has even learned how to say most of their names. What a smart boy!

18 months

Rylan is nearly 19 months old now, but I'm finally getting around to posting some cute pics of him at 18 months. We recently spent some time at the lake cabin when we had a few beautiful days of 70 degree weather. As soon as Rylan saw the water, he ran straight into it, shoes and all! The water was freezing cold since the ice had just completely melted a couple of weeks ago, but Rylan didn't seem to mind. Bryon and I are going to have our hands full this summer! Rylan will be wearing a life jacket 24/7.

"Don't I look cute? Do you like my new hat and new Crocs? I'm stylin'!"

"I love playing with the sand!"

18 months is such a fun age. Rylan is no longer a baby, but all boy. He is constantly running, climbing, talking up a storm, and has developed quite a personality. He amazes me everyday with a new word or phrase. He absolutely loves to talk and you can tell he feels very proud of himself when he does. He is so smart!!! Here are some fun facts about Rylan at 18 months:

Favorite words or sayings:

"chocolate"- He can't get enough of this stuff...he points to the cupboard where we keep the chocolate and says and signs "please". How can I say no to that?

"Oh man!"-It is hilarious when he says this and he uses it in context too. I've been trying to capture it on video, but he never seems to say it on command.

"heavy"-Anytime Rylan tries to pick up something heavy, he says this word. He uses it with expression too like he's working really hard to pick up the heavy object. I'm trying to get this on video too cuz it's so darn cute.

"truck" and "bus"-Rylan loves going for rides in the car because he loves to look for trucks and buses. He gets so excited when he sees them!

Favorite activities:

*Drawing-He wants to draw about 10 times every day. He especially loves to draw with sidewalk chalk.

*Playing with Play-Doh-He likes throwing it too!

*Eating anything containing chocolate-I don't know how we're going to break this habit.

*Reading stories-He especially likes "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" and "If You Give a Moose a Muffin".

*Watching Caillou-This is his favorite cartoon. He loves this show! Rylan even knows how to turn the TV on now and does so when he wants to watch this show.

*Playing outside-He enjoys kicking around a soccer ball, pusing his lawn mower, swinging in the hammock, and playing in the dirt. He's all boy!


*Cuddling with Mama-I'm loving this and taking advantage of every opportunity to cuddle as I know it won't last forever.Happy 1 1/2 Birthday Rylan! We love you!

Road Trip

Over spring break we drove to Denver to visit Bryon's brother, Brad, and his family. Brad and Robin just had a baby boy in February and we were so excited to meet little Anderson! Rylan loves his new cousin and Bryon and I are so happy to have a new nephew!

Rylan and Anderson
Do you see any resemblance?

Brothers with their boys

Fifteen hours to Denver (one-way) made for a long trip! Rylan has always been a good traveler but had never been in the car for more than five hours. This was quite the test! We had fully anticipated stopping to buy a portable DVD player for Rylan on our way, but believe it or not, we didn't need one!!! Rylan hardly fussed the entire trip. I am so proud of him! He kept himself entertained by looking at books, coloring, looking for cows, trucks and buses, and enjoying an occasional Junior Frosty from Wendy's. Rylan loves trucks and buses and pointed out every single one he saw...I think we heard him say "truck" and "bus" at least a couple hundred times along the way.

While Bryon and Brad were skiing, Robin and I took the boys to a kids play area called Monkey Business. They have all kinds of fun toys, equipment and bouncy things for kids. Rylan loved it! He was all over the place. He accidentally got bumped by some bigger kids a couple of times, but that didn't stop him. He's a very adventurous little boy!

"Look Mama! I climbed up here all by myself!"

While in Denver, we also spent a day at the zoo. It was so fun to show Rylan all the animals we've read about. Here's Rylan and Daddy by the giraffe exhibit.

Rylan enjoyed visiting the monkeys the best, probably because he's quite the little monkey himself. He kept making monkey noises like he was talking to them.

Another highlight was the seal exhibit. They must have liked Rylan because they kept swimming back and forth in front of him.


We encountered some treacherous weather on our trip. The worst part was in Wyoming, especially since 99% of the traffic was semi-trucks and those truck drivers drive like maniacs. We saw many slide offs. I kept visualizing us getting t-boned by a semi-truck...not a pleasant thought. The mommy in me has caused me to be a little more paranoid than usual.

Rylan was very thankful when we stopped at rest areas to stretch our legs. He really likes rocks and thought these giant ones were pretty cool.

Thanks for your hospitality, Brad and Robin. We had such a fun time with you and Anderson!

Go Mariners!!!

As a follow up to my last blog, I felt it was only fitting for Rylan to model his new Mariner's gear. We dressed Rylan in his new outfit for the first home game of the season. Bryon went to the game and Mommy and Rylan watched it on TV. So, I introduce to you the future switch hitter for the Mariner's.
*Bryon claims Rylan will be a switch hitter because, so far, he's ambidextrous.

"Check out my awesome outfit! Better yet, take a look at my Lou Piniella belly."

"Watch out Griffey...here I come!"

We're Back!!!

For those of you who were wondering if we quit the blogging world...we haven't. We just had to take a break for a while due to a couple of extremely busy months. I was working on my National Boards teaching certificate and about the only thing I had time to do other than work on that was eat and sleep (even that was hard to come by). Well now that my portfolio is finished, I promise to be better about keeping you updated as to what our family is doing. I'll start by filling you in on our Easter celebrations.

We spent Easter with Bryon's family. One of Rylan's favorite foods is eggs. He eats them like there's no tomorrow, but he didn't seem too excited about dyed eggs. He had this look on his face as if to say "I love eggs, but eating blue eggs is going a little too far." I guess I'll have to start reading him the Dr. Seuss book "Green Eggs and Ham" to get geared up for next year.

Here's Rylan digging into his Easter basket full of Mariners gear. I'm not sure who was more excited; Rylan or Bryon.

Rylan got as excited about finding chocolate inside plastic eggs as I would about winning the lottery. He LOVES chocolate and ate quite a lot of it on Easter. I was beginning to worry that he'd never eat his veggies again.

Rylan's new best friend; the Mariner Moose. Boy, that Easter bunny sure knows what he likes!

Here's Rylan finding his second Easter basket. Apparently a couple of Easter bunnies left treats for him this year.

Bryon's aunt rented out a park with an indoor eating area. All the cousins, second cousins, aunts, grandmas, etc. got together and enjoyed a big Easter brunch together followed by Easter egg hunts for the kids. It rained most of the day but that didn't stop the kids from playing outside. We had a blast watching the kids race around in search of eggs, getting soaked to the bone in the meantime. Good thing there was an indoor fireplace to warm ourselves up afterward.

I was so proud of my little Ry guy...he was the youngest child participating in the Easter egg hunt, but by no means did this stop him. You should have seem him running around in search of eggs. The look on his face when he found one was priceless. What a joy it is to watch my son enjoy such simple things in life! He teaches me more than I'll ever teach him.

A dozen eggs: $1.99
A little boy in search of those eggs: priceless
"I see an egg! Oh boy, I'm almost there! I'm having the time of my life!"