Dear Ryan (8 months)

Dear little bug -

You are such a happy little man! I love your little 2-tooth smile - it's ridiculously adorable! I love that I get to spend every day with you and can't believe time has already gone so fast.

You are doing really well eating solids and eat them twice a day. You have some oatmeal and a fruit in the morning and then in the evening you have a veggie and fruit. In the morning you are a little more difficult to feed and usually don't open your mouth for mommy. I have to wait for your to smile or sometimes get upset so that little mouth opens and I can shove that food in. Once we get going you are ok with it. At night it is a different story and you are a little eating machine. You seem to eat best when we go out to eat and you sit in a high chair at the restaurant. You want to be just like the rest of us and eat a meal - so cute! Also, the whole sitting in a high chair at a restaurant is NEW too! We no longer have to get a sling to pull up to the table, you sit like a big boy in a highchair! You also sit in the grocery cart at the store and love it. 

We are working on sippy cups and you are doing well. You seem to be able to get the water out of it if I help you hold it up otherwise you just like to bang it around. You still love to grab my tervis tumbler and stick the straw in your mouth. It's pretty adorable.

Physically you are doing well. You are such a chunky monkey and weight about 16lbs but you feel so much heavier!  You sleep on your side or on your belly with your right cheek down (which probably feels good because thats the way you tilt). We are really working on getting rid of that tilt but it has been difficult. I try to lay you on the other side but you whip over so fast and get settled in the way you want. In other big sleeping news you are basically out of your swaddle - yes, we swaddled you until you were 7 months old! Now we just wrap you up in the swaddle and let your arms out and you seem happy with that. We just lay a blanket over you for naps. 

You are a much more of a social baby than you are physical. You give EVERYONE big ol melt their heart smiles. You chat and play and are so content to just sit and are not trying to move around like a crazy man. You are better at rolling over but still only like to roll over the right shoulder and not the left. You do go from front to back and back to front but sometimes your right arm gets stuck behind you and you can't get back on to your back. You love to sit up and you are SO good at it. You don't need your hands to help steady you and are so sturdy! We are working on trying to get you to be able to sit up on your own and of course getting you ready for crawling. We can help you get on to all fours and you rock back and forth (which is the first step).  You have recently taken a liking to standing up with our help. I am sure you will be pulling yourself up in no time!

Thumbs up:

Beads - OMG you love beads. They make you so happy and I love to let you play with them but you always want to put them in your mouth. I try to keep a paci in so that you can't but sometimes you figure it out and then I have to take the beads away.
Remote control
iPhone
Bubbles & toys in the bath tub
Shake Farm (iPhone app) You learned how to shake the phone to make the animals change! You do it really fast so I am not sure you completely understand what you are doing...but it seems like it!
Spinning - not yourself, but you LOVE to spin things now. There is a bird on your activity center, a frog on your jumper and the eye balls of the crocodile that you play with that you love to spin. It makes you so happy!

Thumbs down:

Mommy taking away beads, iphone or remote control. You actually started to get upset when I do this and I think its adorable but also makes me sad when you get upset. Luckily you are still so little bitty that I can quickly entertain you with something else.

Got your lion's tail!

I think this is a "Vassilaros" face...

 Still chewing on everything!

Right now I am most excited for the day when you can give me a hug and tell me that you love me, but until then I will give you lots and lots of hugs and kisses and of course tell you I love you multiple times a day! Love you bunches!

Ryan's first haircut

Does it count when you don't cut the full head? Ryan had some crazy hair on the top and both sides so I got after it today with some scissors and he looks so different!

Long long hair....it's on the top of his head. I am convinced this is why people think he is a girl...

 check out that height!

One chop

What a good looking little man. I am pretty sure no one will confuse him with a girl anymore. He is pretty handsome....I know he was a member of the handsome man club but now he might as well be president. 

Love my neighbors

Kevin and I will have lived in this house for three years this coming April - three years! I can't believe it. For the first two years we basically didn't know anyone in the area but since I have become a stay at home mom with Ryan we have met so many wonderful neighbors - one family in particular (The May's) live two doors down! They have a two year old son and a 8.5 month old girl (just two weeks before the R man!) maybe they will grow up and fall in love one day....lol. Anyhow, Mica and I actually didn't even meet face to face until Square One (which she told me about over email). Since then we have hung out and now that the weather has turned so nice we are seeing a lot more of each other....quick texts to meet up when one of us is going for a walk or playing outside - so fun!

Recently Mica blogged about Down Syndrome Awareness Day (which was 3.21) and I thought her post was really incredible. Her two year old son, Jackson, has down syndrome and I wanted to share her post with everyone so that we could all become more aware.

The May Nest

DOC band Graduation

Today was Ryan's first graduation day! Wohoo! Look at that round little noggin! He did such a good job getting all his exit pictures taken even though it ran into his nap time.

So here are the before and after pictures. You can really see how much rounder his head has gotten and how much chubbier he is!  We still are working on his head tilt and it seems pretty bad in these pictures but I think it is because he was really tired. He has really been improving and we will continue to work on it!

No more DOC band - I think I am going to miss decorating it! Now I need to submit his pictures for next years calendar. I think he would make a great Mr. July! 

Jen & Marc

We had such a fun weekend with Jennifer and Marc! On Friday evening Jen & Marc drove in from Houston to stay with us for the weekend. I think the last time they were here for a visit was almost a year ago for our gender reveal party. They didn't get in until late Friday evening but we were able to have some wine on the back porch and catch up like old times - so much fun!

It was another beautiful day on Saturday so we knew we wanted to do something outside. Ryan also really enjoys being outside with this weather. We headed up to Top Golf to play a couple rounds. It was super crowded but worth the wait. Ryan had a great time too - he watched everyone swinging at the golf balls and would flinch at the sound when the ball made contact with the club. (He often does this flinching when he gets surprised and it's super cute.) He played on the ground with some toys and after playing he was exhausted and he took a little nap.

Ryan and Auntie J Bird

For dinner we went down to the Bishop Arts district and ate at Tillman's Roadhouse - so yummy! We stuffed ourselves but it was so worth it! We thought we were going to go out after but we were all so exhausted so we headed back home to relieve Grandma & Grandpa of their babysitting duties.

And table side S'mores for desert! YUM!

This morning we woke up and had coffee out on the front porch then Jen & Marc had to get on the road. We had such a fun time with them and are so glad Jen was able to take a Saturday off to come and visit! We still have all day left so we are thinking we might head to get some hanging plants for the front porch. We also have plans to get bob a chain/rope so we can tie him up when we go on the front porch. He is such a wild dog running off and chasing everything. Tonight we have dinner with the family! Such a great weekend!

Cups!

Little man loves playing with plastic cups!



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Happy St. Patty's Day

Love my little leprechaun!


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Rest in Peace sweet Jayna

I hate blogging about such a horrible event but I am so shocked and saddened by the news that I feel I must share. It is just another example of how precious life is and it makes me realize lucky I am to have such an amazing family. I am so thankful for our health, safety and the love that we all have for each other.

This past week a friend of mine from ISS passed away. She was the victim of a horrible violent crime and it breaks my heart to know that this has happened to her and that the criminals have not been caught. Here is a link to one of the many news articles: NBC News Washington

I was not a close friend of Jayna's but most of us who went to ISS all keep in contact via Facebook and it's nice to have that community out there. I am sure anyone who has gone to an International School probably knows that you have a special bond with your classmates as you all shared so many nontraditional (and traditional) high school experiences together.  Jayna was in my brother Nicks grade, but we spent time together playing on the school basketball team. (Yup, I played basketball.) Anyhow, her smile was infectious and she had one of those laughs that just made you want to start laughing yourself.  She was one of those people that was always happy and by the activity on Facebook you can tell that she has touched so many peoples lives. A common theme is how she had a zest for life and was such a wonderful person.  My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and loved ones - Jayna will be missed dearly!

Home sweet home

Last week was pretty hectic for us. We got back from our trip last Sunday and we have been on the go ever since. The main reason was because we were having our house painted. The whole process is a little more stressful that one might think - well the most stressful part is selecting the paint color! I think that is my least favorite thing EVER! We thought we wanted a blueish color for our house but weren't 100% so we got a few others to sample as well. After painting seven different color samples up on the house we decided on Storm Cloud - yay, a decision! After the siding was painted we realized we still had to make a decision on a brown (for the porch and brackets). After some more back and forth we went with Kaffe, which we both think looks great. We are super happy with the new colors! It's like a whole new house! I think they still have a little bit of work to do but I am posting pics anyways!

Here are some before pictures of our house:

This was taken in February 2008 when we were house hunting and I fell in love with this house!

Things are a little more green here so I think its spring time!

And here is what it looks like now:

Now we need to hit up a nursery for some hanging plants and flowers!

Ryan's 1st birthday

Yes, I know.... he is not even 8 months yet - but I am so excited about his first birthday party! I have been thinking about it for a while and I can't decide if I want to have a big party or just  a small one with family. Regardless of the guest list I plan on making it super special for the little man and having lots of fun decorations! Since his birthday is right in the heat of the summer it makes it difficult to have a party outside and since our house isn't that big its hard to get a lot of people inside, so I am still trying to figure that out. Anyhow, I did come up with a theme and I can't wait to get started on decorations! I scheduled his 1 year pictures with Cherished Memories Photography for June 25th and am super excited. I love all her work and can't wait for her to capture my little bug! I also contacted Astrid of SIGnature Creations to create a special birthday outfit for him! She is one of Mk's friends and started her business by making fun party decorations such as diaper cakes and diaper wreathes AND now she makes adorable clothing! I sent her my idea of what I wanted and she said she could make it so I can't wait! Oh and I almost forgot to mention the theme! Ryan will be having a "Little Red Wagon" themed first birthday party! I guess that's all I will share so everything else can be a surprise!

Mr. Pinchy

OMG - Ryan has always had quite grip but now he has turned it into a painful pinch. I didn't think much of it until other people started noticing it as well. He really digs into your neck or back of your arm and wiggles those little sweet fingers until he gets the perfect amount of skin then he pinch pinch pinches. This happens most right when he is falling asleep. He likes to make eye contact with you, get a good pinch and then he is out. I guess I need to start working on the word and meaning of GENTLE! Love my pinch-a-saurus Rex!

Hawaii

Aloha! We just got back from an AMAZING vacation in Hawaii.

We were a little nervous about the long plane ride and the time change but Ryan did so well. When we boarded the plane to Maui we were prepared for a long flight and to our surprise it went pretty fast.  I packed lots of toys, some food and we had baby Einstien DVDs for him too. So he nursed, he played, he watched two 30 minute dvds, he ate peaches and bananas, and he even took a couple of naps. When we were landing Kevin and I couldn't believe that it went so fast!

From the moment we landed in Maui everything went seamlessly. We picked up our luggage then headed to pick up our sizzling mini van. It was great having such a large car but it has even further cemented the idea of buying one in Kevin's mind - he really digs them.  I told him he could buy one for himself if he felt so strongly about one! haha we will see! Anyhow, I have never rented a car but it was ridiculously easy ( I just remember it always taking forever as a kid). I went inside to check the board and it had Kevin's name next to a number...which was the parking spot where our ride was parked.  We didn't even have to talk to anyone...way to go Hertz! I was able to feed Ryan really quickly then we picked up my parents and headed to our condo.

We were so pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the Ka'anapali Alii. Our beachfront condo was perfect! We had so much space and had all the benefits of a hotel with maid service and a concierge too - would definitely recommend staying here! I had rented baby stuff from Easy Travel Hawaii the day before and everything I needed was delivered to us. We rented a crib, highchair, bouncer and toys and it was so great. Ryan loved all the toys! Also, the Alii had the largest beachfront and two pools to enjoy! It was also a quick 5 minute walk to Whalers Village where there were restaurants and cute shops.

The weeks went super fast and it was so nice and relaxing. We enjoyed lounging on the beach and hanging out at the pool. The waves were great and we boogie boarded. We were going to try surfing but I injured my foot on some coral so we were unable to. One morning Kevin and I did long boarding which was pretty fun. We also went up to Kapalua and did Zip lining which was really cool. The boys played golf one morning and T, Ryan and I went shopping. And then since it rained all day Friday we headed to the other side of the island to try Mama's Fish House...which was so worth the drive! We went to a luau one night and also made it to the Aquarium before heading back to Dallas.

Ryan absolutely loved the beach. He loved touching the sand and of course he ended up with a fistful in his mouth - which he didn't seem to mind either.  He took naps in the cabana while we laid out and was one little happy camper. There was always a nice breeze blowing so he never got super hot. Since our condo was right on the beach we always kept our windows open to hear the sound of the ocean and it pretty much knocked Ryan out (no need for sleep sheep).

We had such an amazing time and definitely want to go back! Here is a link to all of our pics from the trip:  Hawaii Vacation

And in case anyone was worried about Bob, you will be happy to know that he stayed with our friends Stacey and Jacob. You can check out how he spent his week here : Stacey & Jacob's Blog