Sunday Brunch

This past Sunday we were able to enjoy a tasty brunch with Jeff's relatives from New Jersey.  They came to the area to visit their daughter who lives in the area for part of the year.  Unfortunately the brunch was during Ryan's usual nap time.  I wish I would have gotten out the camera earlier to take a few pictures.  By the time we actually got around to taking pictures, Ryan was ready to get a nap and was not having any of it.  He did enjoy a pancake and cup of fruit though.  

Thank you Charlotte, David and Kay for wonderful conversation and a delicious breakfast! 

Daddy and Ryan

Uh-oh this does not look good...

Happy baby playing...

Shutterfly Pictures

I have finally uploaded our January 2009 pictures to the Shutterfly site.  Please click here to see.  

11 Months (and 3 days)

In less than one month I will have a one year-old.  No longer will I have a baby or infant; I will have a toddler.  It is incredible to me how fast he is growing up and how quickly he is learning about the world.  

I am not sure if Ryan will or will not be walking by the time he is one.  Some days I think he is really close and other days he seems to be content crawling around the floor.  He is getting very good at standing on his own and cruises around the furniture all day long.  I am excited about Ryan learning to walk and taking his first step, but I do not want to rush it.  I want him to stay a baby for as long as possible!  I would be a little excited if he decided not to walk for another month or two.  :)

Ryan still does not have any teeth.  It is funny to me because I could have sworn he was teething at 5 months, then again at numerous different times throughout the past 11 months.  Alas he still has no teeth.  It is precious to see his big gummy smile though.  I can't imagine how grown up he will look once he does actually get a tooth.  

Look Ma, I can push this thing and walk with just one hand!  

Happy (late) Valentine's Day

I am such a lucky woman. This year I had not one but two Valentine's to spend the day with. I must say that Ryan is the cutest little Valentine in the whole wide world. We started our day off with heart-shaped pancakes made by me and finished the day with lots of kisses and cuddles for our wonderful little guy!

Mmmmm Mommy these are good...

Ryan wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a picture of his shirt..

Lately anytime Ryan has a stinky diaper and we make "shoo-wee" noises or act like we are gagging, Ryan laughs hysterically. It is the one sure fire way to get him to actually stay still during a diaper change. Anyway he laughed so hard for at least 5 minutes about our silly noises on Saturday. He actually gets upset at the end of the video because we stop being silly. LOL Enjoy.

Busy Week...

This week we have had something going on pretty much every day.  Actually, the only day that we didn't have a play group was on Wednesday.  We had a few really nice weather days where we were able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine!  I am so ready for spring time weather all the time.  

Jeff and I have been hard at work painting in the evenings when Ryan goes to sleep.  We finally decided on paint colors and will soon complete the painting of our basement followed by our main level.  It is going to be a lot of work but SO worth it in the end.  

Here are a few pictures from the week...

Ryan has learned how to help with laundry, the dishes and now with the vacuuming!  WOOHOO!

Seriously though, he loves the dust buster...

Us being silly...

Ryan LOVES the swing.  He has started squealing with delight when he is swinging.  We went to the park 3 times this week...

Ryan and Zachary...here comes trouble

Play Group Birthday Party!

This past weekend we celebrated the birthdays of all of the January/February babies in our play group.  They are the oldest babies in the group.  We had lots of fun seeing all of Ryan's friends.  I can't believe that the next birthday celebration in our play group will be Ryan's!  By the way there are 16 March/April babies in our group.  Needless to say there will be a lot of cake.  

Crawling contest (Ryan didn't win...he just watched everyone else)...

Most of the birthday babies...

This slinky is cool...(we must get one)

This tunnel is even cooler (we need one of these too - possibly a birthday present?)

This birthday hat is NOT cool.  Ryan screamed the moment we tried to put it on him.  I am thinking we will need an alternative for his first birthday! 

Aunt Jenn and Uncle Alex Visit VA!

This past week Jenn and Alex came to stay with us.  We loved having them here and Ryan really seemed to enjoy them being around.   Ryan really seems to be a people person.  I am not sure if he really remembers Jenn and Alex or not, but he immediately warmed up to them.  The moment he saw them he was smiling and ready to play.  I really hope this is a trait he holds on to throughout his lifetime.  

We were sad to see Jenn and Alex leave.  We have so much in common with them and they are great with Ryan.  They were able to keep Ryan for us for an evening so Jeff and I could hit the town.  I would say that Ryan gave them a proper breaking in as our usual sleep-through-the-night baby woke up and was not happy!  

Hopefully someday we will be able to be closer to Jenn and Alex (as well as the rest of our family)!  Oh and even though they just got married 3 months ago...I can't wait for Jenn & Alex to have babies of their own.  First off, Jeff and I need nieces and nephews.  Secondly they are naturals!  They are going to be such wonderful parents!!!  So Jenn and Alex...get with it! :)  

Ryan and Uncle A playing...

Kisses from Aunt Jenn...

Mommy can they come to play every day????

Spaghetti

Ryan had spaghetti for the first time on Tuesday.  He loved it.  Actually I am not sure if he loved the taste or playing in it more.  He was covered in red sauce from his eyes all the way down to his toes.  I am not really sure how food got on his toes though.  It was a good thing that I suggested Ryan only wear a diaper at dinner time that night.  

Mmmmm this stuff is pretty tasty...

Ryan likes to grab the spoon away from us now, resulting in even bigger messes...

Bath time!  

For the Record...

I have proof of three things. 

1.  Ryan was present for Superbowl XLIII (I hope I got the Roman numerals correct).  He saw Faith Hill and Jennifer Hudson sing, saw the kick-off and then quickly fell asleep.  

2.  Ryan is finally growing some hair.  It is very light and a little wild at times.  

3.  Ryan is cute.  I know that the entire blog has proven that, but hey, I couldn't resist.  

My First Boo-Boo...

Well, I knew it would happen eventually but here is the story of Ryan's first boo-boo, according to Ryan. 

Mommy calls me her little explorer.  When I get going on my expeditions, she usually has to stop me from doing something to tell me no-no and that I could get hurt.  I can't help it.  I want to climb stairs, I want to climb book cases, I want to shake lamps and I want to grab anything I can get my hands on.  Well today I was busy reaching up as high as I possibly could on the book shelf and felt something.  I stretched as high as I could and managed to pull down a picture frame right on my face.  Ouch it hurt.  Then I lost my balance and bumped my head on the book case.  Mommy was running trying to grab the picture before it hit my head but she wasn't fast enough.  Mommy gave me lots of cuddles and made sure that I was alright.  I was fine because I am a big boy and big boys are tough!  I was back to my exploring ways just a few moments after getting my first scrape and bruise ever.  

A Taste of Spring...

As most of you know it has been cold here for the past few weeks.  Very cold.  We have had snow and ice and basically have not gotten out of the house a whole lot for the past week due to the temperature and conditions.  Yesterday we had a little taste of spring when the temperature climbed into the 50s!  We decided to take advantage of the warm weather and get outside and play.  

First we took Ryan's car for a spin around the neighborhood!  He loves his car.  He likes to press the blinkers and jam to the music.  

Looking both ways before crossing the street....

Then we went to the neighborhood park and spent some time on the slide and swing.  Ryan LOVES the play ground.  I know that once he starts walking and when the weather gets warmer he will want to play at the play ground all the time!  Thank goodness we have a few around! :) 

I love how chubby his face looks when he is wearing his hood...

This picture is a little blurry but I think it captures the moment so well...

This is so much fun Mommy...swing me higher!!!!

Ryan was squealing with delight on the swing...

This is one of my favorite pictures EVER.  It brings tears to my eyes.  I just think it is so sweet...

Mommy do we get to go back tomorrow?????

Who Needs a Fancy Walking Toy??

Especially if you have got one of these!!!  Ryan loves to push around his laundry basket.  It is even more fun if it has some clothes to dump out.  If it doesn't have clothes then it is still fun because it slides easily over hardwood floors and carpet alike.  Why spend money on those fancy walking toys when you can use something you already have??  

Daddy's Little Helper...

We got this toy box for Ryan a while back but I never put the back on it because the nails that came with it didn't fit.  This weekend Jeff found some different nails that would suffice.  Ryan's interest was sparked the moment he heard the sound of a hammer beating a nail.  Ryan found his hammer and helped Daddy finish putting together the toy box.  

The Breakfast of Champions?

One of Ryan's favorite new foods is whole wheat waffles.  The other morning, Jeff was getting out a waffle to toast for Ryan but Ryan had other ideas in mind.  Ryan grabbed the waffle and immediately began gnawing on the frozen waffle.  We decided to let him play with it for a while (the doctor did say he was teething after all).  Anyway Ryan managed to eat some before he decided that he prefers his waffles toasted and warm.  

Ok, maybe this is not so great after all...