One Word Wednesday

*BUBBLES*

Toes in the Sand

No, we're not as lucky as everyone else and did not get to take a vacation to the beach where we could enjoy the time off work, laying on the beach with our toes in the sand just watching the waves. But what we DID get to do is join the people from work at a park for a company picnic on Saturday where there was a beach and...we got to put our toes in the sand! Ryder loved the way it felt on his feet, I definitely think he's going to be a beach baby. I guess we'll find out next year. But for now, we'll take what we can get! Of course, he shared this experience with Sophia (I think they're in love).

Being shy at first...

Warming up to eachother

She's such a cougar!

And he's such a lady's man!
Oh yeah, it's love!

Me & Sharon with our little lovies <3

When Daddy’s Gone…

Daddy went on a bike ride this weekend, and when Daddy’s away, things get a little crazy around here.

We dress in plaid shorts (too preppy!)…

We hang out with girls (borrrrinnnggg)…

We wear nightgowns to bed that “look like dresses”…

 

And the doggies sleep in bed with Mommy (shhh don’t tell, that’s a big no no)!

Yes, we have been a little rebellious this weekend in Daddy’s absence.  And even though we’ve had so much fun (I guess that depends what you consider fun), we can’t wait for him to come home to give him big hugs and kisses.  But first, we better go get our act together :)   

Busy, Busy, Busy

I can’t believe I haven’t posted since Monday, I feel so disconnected! Everyone in the world must be wondering what Ryder has been up to this week…here, see for yourself:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

So, to sum it all up, Ryder has been talking to Mommy, holding his head up, putting everything he can grab into his mouth, blowing bubbles, and getting tickled by Daddy! What a wonderful life.

A Gift From Grandma

Today marks the 4th anniversary of the passing of Ryder’s Grandma.  She was a beautiful woman, inside and out.  No words can express how deeply she is missed, so I won’t even attempt to write about that.  What I will say is that if I could have just one wish, it would be that Ryder could have met his Grandma and felt the overabundance of love that she would have had for him.  One day…

Until then, her name will live on in our hearts, our home, and our lives.  Ryder will know about his Grandma.  Yesterday we brought him to visit for the first time:

 Ryder’s Grandma passed away August 3rd, 2005.  In October of 2005 a delivery was made to her mothers house (Ryder’s Memew), it was a wooden rocking horse that she had purchased from the Iowa Prison Industries when she was in Iowa on travel for work months before she passed away.  Ryder’s Grandma must have purchased the horse because she thought the kids would enjoy playing with it.  All of these years Memew held onto the horse, and then Sunday after Church she gave it to Ryder to take home.  A gift from his Grandma! 

  

When Did This Happen?

When did my little tiny baby start looking this big and this old?  It just hit me yesterday when I got home from work.  Maybe it’s just because this is the first time he has ever wore a t-shirt (or anything that doesn’t snap at the bottom!).  But it can’t just be the outfit…when did he go from being so tiny in his car seat, to us having to move the straps up to the next level so that he would fit??

 

And when did he start looking so big in his Daddy’s arms?

 

He even looks so much older taking his medicine now:

And look how much bigger he is on his changing table:

And when in the world did he start holding his head up well enough to be allowed to play in a toy like this?!  Oh wait…that was TODAY!  Check this out:

   It’s only a matter of time before you’ll see a post saying “remember when I had to put a box under his feet in his jumper because he couldn’t reach the floor??”

I know, I need to come to terms with the fact that my baby is not going to be a baby forever.  All of these new stages in his life bring new and exciting things, but looking back I can’t help but ask myself “When Did This Happen?1”

Push-ups & Oatmeal

These are Ryder’s two new things.  He can finally use his arms to push his chest up and is doing a great job of holding his head sturdy.  Once he gets his head and chest up he starts kicking his legs and doing all kinds of crazy movements.  I wish my camera wasn’t broken so that I could put a video up, the pictures just don’t do this action any justice!  But, they’re still fun to look at :)

Also, a quick feeding update…we like oatmeal!!  He gets rice in his bottles, so I decided that he might be more interested in eating from a spoon if it was a different taste.  Sure enough, I gave him oatmeal and he actually swallowed a couple bites instead of just spitting it out.  Every time it hits the back of his throat he gags, then swallows.  Hopefully he’ll get the hang of it soon.  I wish you could see me & Alan trying to show him how to chew and swallow, now THAT is entertaining!