Memorial Day

With the boys of the road for Memorial Day we weren't too sure what we were going to do. We decided we didn't need them to have a cookout and did it on our own. The girls all went to the local Farmer's Market this morning to pick up some fresh corn and then got some burgers and hot dogs for the grill. We brought the table outside to sit at, set the laptop up so we could listen to the game, brought the iPod out to listen to some music, and just enjoyed ourselves. I got a little nervous listening to the game in the ninth inning when Derrik was pitching and had to get out of the inning to sweep the whole series. It was a little rough, but we made it out with no runs! The boys swept the series and are doing amazing! They are on their way home on an eight hour bus ride right now for a ten day homestand! Can't wait :)

Trying to get the flames going on the grill

The dogs trying to get in on the action
Ryder enjoying his lunch

Brit trying to get rid of the dead bird... so gross

She made it across the walkway with one swing of the umbrella

Old Navy flip flops anyone?!

The Girls + Lisa (she took the picture)

9 Months!

Our little man is growing up so fast lately I don't even have to ramble on to make the post have substance... i'll just get right into it!

• About my 8 month update when I said we had a TON of hair... well we did! Daddy loved it, but mommy pulled rank over him and said as long as I am the one stuck with him 99% of the time I get to decide what his hair looks like. We took him to Sports Clips and he sat right on Daddy's lap for his 1st hair cut. I felt as if this milestone deserved a full post of it's own, but I was so busy distracting Ryder with toys so the nice lady could cut his hair that we didn't get any pictures. Here is one from when we got home after our bath to get all the yucky hair off of him.

No more yucky mullet hair

• For some reason the past few weeks Ryder likes to suck in his lips like an old man! He does this ALL the time, and I feel like one of these times his lips are just going to be gone!

• Ryder climbs EVERYTHING and gets into EVERYTHING! He literally needs a padded room with only baby-proof toys in it for me to feel like he is safe. Unfortunately living in a semi-furnished small apartment with another couple and four animals we have a serious lack of "baby space". Our furniture is all cheap, light, and wobbly so the idea that he is learning to pull himself up is completely stressing me out! I do the best I can and am constantly moving things out of his way to make sure he's staying out of trouble. I feel a serious disaster in the making these next few weeks!

• We have officially had to move the infant part of the pack-n-play out and lower Ryder down. I was trying not to do this because it's so much easier to lift him in and out when it's up high, but Ryder proved to me this afternoon that is is DEFINATELY time when I came to get him from his nap....

• Ryder still LOVES LOVES LOVES the pool! I've had him in a couple of times since they opened it up. The pool is still cold even though the weather is gorgeous and I have to take him out when he starts to looks blue. If it was up to him I think he'd just stay in forever! He loves to just splash around like a mad man.
• Ryder all ready for the pool the other day
• If you clap your hands for Ryder he will clap his too! It's the first thing that we have been able to get him to mimick after us and it's so fun :)
• Ryder has learned to shake his head no. I'm not completley sure that he gets the concept that he's actually saying "no" but it sure seems that way. He does it a lot when he doesn't want something, but sometimes he also seems to do it just as a way to respond to people when they talk to him. It makes for some pretty funny conversation when he's constantly telling people no!
• I guess it's time to say that Ryder says Ma-Ma and Da-Da. He has been doing this for about two months now, but for a while it felt like more of a random babble. Now he uses this all the time. The Da-Da is usually more of a high pitched fun voice when he is playing and the Ma-Ma is more of a whiny I want you to hold me voice. Go figure huh?!
• We are still working on the crawling. The army crawl is still the choice method to get around, but i'm sure we'll be there soon enough!

Our little man is just getting so big! We love him so much and just can't ever get enough of him :)

A Visit From Natalie and Finley

Ryder and I got a visit this weekend from an old high school friend of mine, Natalie, and her daughter Finley. It was really nice getting to catch up, talk about old times, and most important... get the kids together! Finley and Ryder share the same birthday and are exactly two years apart. I wasn't sure how interested they would be in each other with a two year age difference, but they really loved each other! We did lots and lots of shopping and the kids were great for it! Enjoy some pictures from the weekend...

On a ride at the mall

Watching Sesame Street in the car
Ryder, Natalie, and Finley enjoying the pool

Bath Time!

The Little Man and Mommy

Nat and Fin

Finley was crying and whenever she did all weekend Ryder started crying... He's quite the emotional one when other babies cry!

Finley playing while Ryder napped and we played on the computer.... can you tell there was no supervision... poor Chloe!

Finley 1st pig tails courtesy of ME :)

Army Crawl Anyone?!

So instead of doing the baby crawl, Ryder has decided to just do the army crawl. It is just as affective to get where you need to go... just involves some nasty looking rug burn all of the tummy.

Ryder is getting SO close to crawling. He has us on edge every day just waiting for all the arm/leg coordination to come together and for him to take off, but for now we get about one leg and one arm movement before he falls to the ground and does the arm crawl...

Enjoy!

Puppy Prayers Please!

Our little pup, Chloe, needs prayers sent her way. She had a small bump on her back that started about a month ago at this point. We didn't think much of it because we live with a puppy who is very playful and loves to play bite Chloe. She gets random little marks on her and we thought this one was just was a little more serious or possibly got infected. We tried the neosporin route, kept the pups separated best as possible, and figured it would go away. After getting back from my trip to Cape Cod it had only gotten worse. We took Chloe to the vet earlier this week, and realized it had nothing to do with all the playing Chloe has been getting in. They are calling it a "mass". She had a mass removal surgery done today, and it is being sent off to be tested for cancer. They removed the whole thing, and we are hoping it comes back clean and we're good to go. Please keep our pup in your prayers. She's awful pitiful looking at the moment!

A Relaxing Mother's Day Afternooon....

Mommy realizes she's not quite what she use to be on the playset

Getting shown up!

Sisters

Grandpa enjoying time with his Chunky-Monkey

Get'em Molly
(Hailey's arm is fine... she was helping Daddy stain the patio set this afternoon)

Happy grandparents with their grand-baby

Love You Girls!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Ally with Molly

My childhood dog Jake... I miss him tons!

Ryder enjoying the fresh cut grass

Play time with Auntie Ally

Lovin' my little man on my 1st Mother's Day

All squeaky clean after a long day

Ryder realizes he can do more then just look at his mobile now! Grandpa lowered his crib before bedtime tonight.... I wish he'd stop growing!

Oh That Laugh... How It Makes Us Smile

Today Auntie Hailey was jumping on her jump rope and Ryder just thought it was the funniest thing in the world.... I hope it brightens your day a little...

Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day

I wanted to wish my mother and mother-in-law a Happy Mother's Day from Derrk and I! We are so lucky to have such great mothers and appreciate you every day of the year for what you did and still do for us! We love you both very much :)

On a side note... After our long day yesterday, I was headed out to the baseball game and got a text from my dad asking if Ryder and I wanted to fly up for the week since Derrik would be on the road. He bought us a ticket for 5am! I got to bed around 1am after the game and packing and had to be up by 3am to get out of the house in time. I'm exhausted, but am so happy to be back at our home... and have four very anxious family members to love on Ryder while I just kick back and relax!

Our Walk for ALS

Today we did our walk for ALS in honor of Chris's father. It was a great event, and I think everyone had a great time out there. We did a two mile walk, and I believe raised just over $700 towards finding a cure! Enjoy some pictures from our day...

Team Mudcats!

The Mudcats Women... They're lucky to have us :)

The Heisey's with Homer

The Cozart's with Champ and Sport

The "Soon-To-Be" Henry's .... 9/26/09

T-Wood with Abby.... Not sure why I have no pictures of Brit :(

The Littliest Mudcat

Kroski, The Daddy, and T-Wood Headed out on our walk....

Hey Da-Da do you have the same number as me?!

Ryder takin a ride on the Cozart's horse Sport

Ryder after the walk... we were tired and he wanted to try to climb the walls!