Rocky Raccoon

A couple of days ago, Daddy and Rylan spotted a raccoon in a tree behind our house. Rylan has a love for animals so he thought that this was especially cool. The raccoon hung out in this tree for most of the day and Rylan kept insisting on going outside to see him. I think we went outside about a zillion times before the raccoon finally left the tree. Even though the raccoon is gone now, Rylan still often looks out the window just to see if by chance he has returned. When he realizes that he hasn't, he waves his hand and says "Bye, bye!" We hope he stops by for another visit soon!

Since the raccoon siting, Rylan has developed a new best friend; our dog Libby's stuffed raccoon named Rocky. He's been in our house since before Rylan was born, but he never noticed until now. Thankfully Libby doesn't play with it anymore, because Rylan and Rocky are now inseparable. They snuggle on the couch together, eat together, and sleep together. I can only imagine what will happen when Rylan spots another animal in our backyard.

Welcome Baby Anderson!

Rylan has a new cousin and Bryon and I have a new nephew! We are so excited to meet baby Anderson who was born on February 9th. Congratulations Brad and Robin! You will be wonderful parents! We look forward to getting our little guys together for play time.

Isn't he adorable?

The Battle of Brushing Teeth

Until recently, Rylan has never liked getting his teeth brushed. It was a dreaded battle that we'd have to endure every night. It would literally take two of us to get the job done. One of us would hold him down and the other would frantically try to brush his teeth as quickly as possible. It was a difficult task to brush thoroughly as he thrashed his head from side to side and screamed. We finally got smart and decided to go out and buy a Spiderman battery operated spinning toothbrush along with some tutti frutti Thomas toothpaste. We crossed our fingers and hoped that it would do the trick. I am happy to say that brushing Rylan's teeth is now an enjoyable event and he even wants to brush himself!

Play Time

We recently took Rylan to Jump and Bounce where they have gigantic inflatable toys you can bounce on, play in and slide down. We've heard so many people raving about this place that we'd been excited for Rylan to be old enough to take him there. He seemed quite overwhelmed at first, but warmed up towards the end and began playing on his own. We'll definitely be taking him there a lot over the next several years!

Daddy and Rylan going down the slide together

Mommy and Rylan in the toddler play area

Rylan and I have been taking a mother-baby music class together called Kindermusik. Rylan loves music and enjoys playing instruments and dancing to the fun songs. Currently, we are doing a unit about dogs which explains why Rylan is rolling over in this video. One of Rylan's favorite words lately is "hot", so you'll notice about half way through the video that he's pointing at the fireplace and saying this new word. Lastly, another one of Rylan's current favorite activities is twirling. He thinks it's funny to twirl and get dizzy, then try to walk. He just cracks me up watching him! I hope you'll get a chuckle too!

Rylan is extremely ticklish under the chin and he most certainly loves to be tickled. You can see just how much he loves it as he signs "more" to Daddy during this tickling session. We love your laughs sweet boy!

Never a Dull Moment

There is never a dull moment in the Talley household. With a 15-month-old on the loose, I'm lucky to get even one second of relaxation before my son is off and running again in another direction. At this active age, I can literally blink my eye and he's gone. Rylan is like a little tornado. He hits ground, hangs out for a little while, and then he's off to another location to have some more fun. I mean this in a good way, of course, because without him my life wouldn't be nearly as wonderful. Every moment is so exciting and fun and I think he teaches me more about life than I teach him. I thought I'd share with you some of Rylan's favorite daily activities.

Giving Libby a treat

Turning on the TV to watch Thomas and Friends (he has a new obsession with trains)

Going for a ride around the house

Modeling his new snow pants and boots (it's a good thing he enjoys wearing this stuff with all the snow we've had recently)

Exploring new things

Playing Hide-and-Go-Seek

Helping us load the dishwasher (he's better at climbing on it than loading it)

Playing with Daddy

Hugging Libby

And taking snoozes in the car

What a life!!!

A Very Merry Christmas

This Christmas was one of the best ever! Rylan made each moment so special. Even though he's still a little too young to understand the whole Christmas thing, he still enjoyed opening gifts, playing with family, and eating yummy treats. What a joy he is! Life wouldn't be nearly as wonderful without him! Thank you Rylan for making Christmas so merry and bright!

This chair was mine when I was little and I have similar pictures of me sitting in it at about this age. It is special that Rylan can enjoy it now!

Rylan loved to look at all the ornaments on our Christmas tree. He particularly loved the reindeer who's mouth opened to reveal a Hershey kiss. Our son loves his chocolate!

Lisa, Chris and Breanne

We spent Christmas Eve with my family. As always, we had a wonderful time! Thanks Mom and Dad for the yummy food and wonderful gifts. We love you!

Mom, Jerimiah, Ty, Jeff, and Dad

My nieces, Ava and Jada opening their gifts with the help of their mom (my sister Jenna).

Dad reading the Christmas story to Ava and Rylan
"You mean Jesus used to be a baby just like me? Wow!"

Auntie Bre and Rylan

Rylan was overjoyed to see Auntie Bre! She's been away at school so we hadn't seen her in awhile. Auntie Bre used to be Rylan's nanny and he sure loves her. He couldn't take his eyes off of her all night.
"Auntie Bre is just so beautiful!"

Ava and Rylan loved wearing reindeer antlers!

"I love my new toy! I'll play with this for hours!"
Rylan got lots of new toys for Christmas. He loves them all and especially enjoyed ripping the paper off the gifts. He's pretty good at it now since he had lots of practice.

Rylan didn't think it would be Christmas without singing Christmas carols, so he hopped up on the piano bench and played us some tunes. We call him baby Beethoven.

"What did Santa bring me this year?"
Rylan seemed more excited about the oranges in his stocking than the toys.

Bryon's parents came and spent Christmas with us too! We were glad they made it here with all this snow. Thanks for making the trip! We really enjoyed your visit!

The day after Christmas we headed to Coeur d'Alene to see all the beautiful lights on the boardwalk. It was a sight to see!

It was so cold outside that we headed in to the Coeur d'Alene Resort to warm up. We sat by the fire, drank Starbucks coffee, listened to music, and enjoyed watching Rylan eat a cookie and wander all over the place.

What a wonderful Christmas! Children make everything so magical!

Winter Wonderland

Those ten inches of snow I was talking about in my last posting was nothing compared to the two feet of snow we ended up getting. It snowed for over 30 hours straight, school was canceled for two days, and everyone was pretty much stuck at home. While most people whined and complained about this treacherous weather, we turned it into an adventure. We enjoyed giving Rylan his first sled ride ever!

"Weeeeeee...faster, faster!


Rylan also enjoyed playing in the snow with his friend Blake.
"Wanna go make snow angels?"

Here's our whole family, including Libby, bundled up in all our snow gear. It sure was a Winter Wonderland outside.

"Don't let go of me Mama, or I'll be buried in snow."


"This was the best day ever. I love the snow! I hope it snows again tomorrow!"