Cousins and BFFs

I love watching these girls all together.  They are so sweet and love each other so much.  Haley just lost her two front teeth and I couldn't resist snapping a photo.

Off to the farm

The girls took a field trip to the farm with my mom. Aunt Dianne and her family have a huge dairy farm and they set up a private little tour for Reese & Ryan. The girls had tons of fun checking out the cows with their cousins.

Wide awake

Our baby boy is staying awake for longer stretches of time and when he's awake his eyes are wide open. 
Ryder boy doesn't want to miss out on anything.

Bogusia

We love Bogusia.  She is part of our family and she's wonderful with the kids.  Nothing ruffles her feathers.  She is amazing and multi-tasking which includes crafting and playing with the kids, doing laundry (folding and putting away :), cleaning the kitchen, cooking if I need help with it.  She loves taking the kiddos to the park and playing outside with them.  The girls snapped this photo of her and I'm so happy we have it.  I need to take more of her.

Puppy Mama

Reese loves 2 of Ryder's stuffed dogs and every time I put them away in his room they find their way back into Reese's possession. Today Ryan was at Mimi's house and Ryder was sleeping so Reese and I had some nice one on one time. She got out the big stuffed dog from her room and made all her puppies take a nap. She laid them all out on the ground and covered the up with blankets. Then she got really quiet and laid down with her brood on the floor.

Got milk?

Ryder is a champion nurser and he always seems to be hungry. Today I was feeding him and he was SO happy. He kept smiling while he was eating. It was so sweet. I am so in love with our baby boy. Check out his milk mustache and the milk dripping down his chin. He's a happy camper.

I think we're going to have to mooch....

and have the girls' next birthday party at my aunt and uncle's house. They did pony rides for their grandson's 1st birthday party and the girls loved it. They have the BEST house on over an acre with a pool, playset, and pasture w/ ponies. I told my aunt that we were going to have a party there and she just cracked up. I think she thought I was kidding but I'm not. Watch out come November or next January, the Whytes are throwing a bash at Uncle Mike and Aunt Dianne's house.

Birth announcement preview

Most of you that read this blog will get Ryder's birth announcement in the mail soon but these are a few of the photos we used. The girls are so funny at this age and it's SO hard to get a real smile from them. They love to scrunch up their face and squint their eyes. I still think they look so cute and so does our baby boy. My friend, Kristen Self, took these photos and I'm so grateful to her for capturing some great shots of Ryder and our family.

One of our first family photos together.

I adore this photo of the girls. They LOVE playing in Ryder's room and this was taken while they were playing in his crib.

One of my faves of baby boy

I think he looks so much like the girls in this photo above.

Would you look at those monkey toes? He has a big foot just like Cory. He's already bustin' out of his footie jammies with those long toes :)

Happy Birthday and Valentine's Day

Cory's 36th birthday was today and we celebrated his birthday and Valentine's Day by going out for a date night. It was much needed and so nice to be together. We had big plans of going to a movie after dinner but we just decided to walk around the mall and do some shopping instead. Cory got some new dress clothes with his birthday money. He looks so handsome in his new duds.

We typically go out of town for his birthday. Last year we went to San Diego and the year before that we went skiing. Before we got pregnant we talked about going to Whistler for the 2010 Olympics but obviously that didn't happen with little Ryder's arrival. I think it's going to be awhile before we leave town again, just the two of us, but it's okay because we are so happy with our perfect family of 5. Cory, I love you so much and I hope you enjoyed your birthday. You are the best husband and father ever! Thank you for being you and creating the most wonderful family with me.

Preschool

I signed the girls up for preschool last weekend. They are going to do Apples to Zebras through the city on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-11am. I was excited to get them into the class at Tumbleweed Rec center because that class filled up really fast. After I was done registering them I went into the family room and told them, "Girls, I signed you up for preschool today. It's going to start soon. Are you excited?" Ryan said to me, "I'm scared of preschool. Reesie can go without me." Uh-oh. We'll see how this goes. There may be tears the first day but I think they'll be ready.

Picasso

Look who got into the paint this afternoon.  That's what I get for letting her be alone with paint for 5 mintues.

Where to begin

I have not blogged in over a month and I was starting to feel overwhelmed, like I didn't know where to start because there was so much to blog and post and say. I am going to post date some entries and include Christmas, Ryder's arrival, and our happenings in January. Here we go.....

Ryder's 1 month bday

Our beautiful baby boy was 4 weeks old yesterday and it's been an amazing month. He's starting to do so much already. We've seen a few smiles from him, he's starting to hold his head up, he grabs my hair when nursing, and when he's awake he's so alert. Ryder loves to be held and his favorite spot is tucked into the Moby Wrap like a little kangaroo. I love snuggling with him and holding him. Here are some photos that I snapped of him on his one month bday.