Monster Jam Video Footage

Sorry the vidoes aren't the greatest, especially of Ryder during the races. I was trying to video and watch at the same time. Always thinking of family wanting to see :)

P.S. - Remember you can always pause the music all the way at the bottom of the blog to listen to videos

MONSTER JAM:

This video is when we were first walking in and seeing the Pit Party. It was hard to video, but you can kind of see his face taking it all in.

BRUTUS:

In this video when you see Ryder waving he's saying "Hi Brutus"

BLUE THUNDER:

When Ryder starts talking he says "Watch this Daddy!" Too cute!!!

Monster Jam

Friday night we all went to bed SOOO excited that Monster Jam was the next day. It seriously felt like it took forever to get here. We had plans the next day to hopefully put Ryder down for an early nap since it would be a long afternoon/evening at Monster Jam, and we didn't think it was a good idea to just ditch the nap all together since we'd be out late. Well Friday night Ryder got up SIX times! Talk about feeling like Landon was here already. Nothing appeared to be wrong, and I figured it was just a bad night. I mean we have nights like that every so often, and we just make do. On the bright side he slept really crappy so that early nap idea just might work. I put him down at noon instead of one. Well 2 1/2 hours later Ryder was still awake and officially had a nasty cold!!! Go figure :( We gave him some tylonel and were on our way. I mean we weren't letting some little cold, a bad nights sleep, and no nap get in the way. It was FINALLY time for Monster Jam!

We got to the stadium around 3 for the Pit Party. We got to go down into the pits to see all the monster trucks and meet the drivers. When we walked in the look on Ryder's face was priceless. Watching him take it all in from up above was so awesome! We took a few minutes to let him check the whole scene out from up above. We made a point to show him where all of his favorite trucks were. He was just in awe!

The view of the pits

(A.K.A. - the baseball field... we can never get away from it!)

Ryder's face when we first got down into the pits
Posing with Blue Thunder - The winner of the races that night

Brutus - Our first monster truck we ever got

Max-D

For those we talk to often... this is the monster truck he gets when he FINALLY goes on the potty again that he is constantly talking about.

Avenger

We weren't really into Avenger before last night. He happened to have a short line at the end of the pit party and totally won us over. He happened to be our favorite free style of the night!!!

The pit party ended at 5:30 and the show didn't start until 7. I was a little nervous what we were going to do with our cranky, nap-less, sick toddler for an hour and a half, but we somehow survived. Between them getting the show set up, some four-wheeler entertainment, food, and walking the steps... we made it!

We found our seats (best in the house by far!)
Watching them clear the trucks from the pits to get the show ready

Anxiously awaiting the show!!!

Once the show started Ryder did so great. Our biggest problem was the fact that Ryder was very obviously getting sicker and sicker by the minute. Add that together with the lack of sleep, and we had a nodder! He would be freaking out during the race and then have a bobbing head from nodding off waiting for the next one to start. It was so sad and pitiful knowing how much he had looked forward to this.

Watching a race with Daddy One of the best races of the night...

Avenger crashing into Madusa to win the race
Two of our favorites
Max-D against Grave Digger

:( He was crying because he couldn't stop sneezing

We did this probably 200 times during the course of the night... or maybe even more

BUT then he'd purk up and have this face... so of course we didn't go home. We were so torn!

(Notice the white on his shirt.. yeah it's dry snot... we had it EVERYWHERE!)

Brutus flipped over

Avenger flipped over... best free style!

Max-D

Love that face!

AND finally... the grand finale.. Grave Digger free style!

After six and a half hours of Monster Jam it was finally just a memory. I was so bummed that Ryder was sick, but I truly think he still enjoyed himself so much. He has talked to us about it all day today, and is doing so many new tricks with his trucks. I love watching his little imagination recreate what he saw. I love that Derrik and I can get so excited over watching monster trucks because of our little man. I never thought i'd be so excited over something like that.

Grave Digger

Monster Jam is finally this weekend! We have been waiting to go now for months since we found out it was coming to Phoenix. We found out about a meet-n-greet at the local UTI campus today. Grave Digger, Ryder's favorite monster truck, was supposed to be there so we made sure Derrik got out of the field early so we could go. I made sure to explain to Ryder today we were going to see Grave Digger. I told him that we would get to touch Digger (as Ryder calls him) and take pictures with it. I told him that Monster Jam was tomorrow where we would see all the other trucks and watch them race. I think I somehow explained it to him wrong, and he decided he didn't want to go. He told Daddy, "go back to work" when he called to say he was on his way home, and told us, "me no see Digger". I don't know if I scared him or what, but we just told him we were going to the store and loaded up in the car anyhow.

When we arrived at the UTI campus we had to walk for a while to find the event. When we did find it Derrik put Ryder on his shoulders to avoid losing him in the crowds. All of a sudden we rounded a corner and could see Grave Digger from afar. I wish I had my camera out at this point because he started screaming "Digger", and put his hands up to his face repeatedly screaming "Oh my God, it's Digger!" He was soooo excited! We waited our turn in line and then got lots of time with Grave Digger. Enjoy the pictures... I hope they can somewhat convey the excitement he had meeting his favorite monster truck today.

Monster Jam is tomorrow night. We are hoping to get some Pit Party passes tomorrow afternoon to get to go meet all the monster trucks! Our household is VERY excited... maybe even more then the night before Christmas!

Happy Birthday Page!

I avoid birthdays like the plague on this blog... I don't like to single people out or take the risk of forgetting someone, BUT after getting this darling picture last weekend while I was babysitting Page and her baby brother Logen I figured we'd save it for her special day to put on the blog.

Ryder would like to wish his best friend Page a VERY Happy 3rd Birthday today!!! We can't wait to celebrate with you on Sunday!

Baby Landon Update: Week 26

How Far Along: 26 Weeks

Size of Baby: About 14 inches and about a pound and two-thirds.

Food Size (According to my e-mail from BabyCenter.com): An English hothouse cucumber... I mean is this a regular cucumber with a fancy name? BabyCenter.com is a little fancy with their fruits and veggie for me these days!

Total Weight Gain: 19 pounds... seems to be going up a pound a week. I'd be very satified with a pound a week finishing off at 33 pounds weight gain. It's those 3-4 pound weeks at the end that get ya! I can't imagine putting on 31 pounds in the next 14 weeks though to match my 50 pounds I put on with Ryder! AHHH

Maternity Clothes: Is loving the large $6 tanks and large $8 v-neck t's at Target!! Thank you for helping me avoid maternity shirts for at least another couple of weeks with all the room you offer in the belly area :)

Gender: It's a BOY! Landon Brennan Lutz

Movement: I'd like to think that he is actually rolling now. It's slightly painful and not as enjoyable as the cute little kicks. He likes to stick his butt up and make my belly look funny (I think it's his butt?), and he has found my ribs! OUCH! While at one of Derrik's basketball games this week he kicked down on my bladder so hard I thought I was going to pee on myself right there in public... luckily there was no damange done! HAHA

Food Cravings: Anything :) My hunny brougt me home a strawberry shake from McDonalds last night... he loves me! Honestly it was because he wanted one himself and knew i'd kill him if he came home without one for me, but he still loves me!

Labor Signs: no comment until third trimester or so

Sleep: Has had two amazing nights in a row of no pee breaks (and no Ryder breaks)! They were amazing :)

How’s Ryder Handling It: I put the swing and bouncer together last week when we got them out of the boxes, and he has been taking his baby and putting him in them. He also likes to pretend to put the baby down for naps... it's pretty cute.

What is the same/different as the last time: I don't remember having such severe braxton hicks contractions with Ryder ever and have been having them for a while now with Landon.

Symptoms: Braxton hicks contractions... hips some... some back pain... but still doing pretty good.

Best Moment This Week: Snuggling Logen and realized i'll have my own sweet little guy to cuddle in about three-ish months! Also.. getting everything we have for Landon all put away and ready. Now it's just time to get everything else we need. At least the first phase of it all is done :)

What I Am Looking Forward To: Un-baby related, but we go to Monster Jam this Saturday and our first little man is beyond excited about this!!! You have NO idea!!!

WE'RE MOVING!!!

Yes... You read that right!!! We're moving!!! Not Derrik, Ryder, and I in particular at this exact moment (we'll be here in Arizona until summer.. assuming my husband doesn't try to go for some world record in rehab), but our "home" is moving. Our home that holds our large pillow top bed, our baby's nursery, our amazing couch we miss so much, our family pictures, our storage containers full of childhood memories and yearbooks, our nice kitchenware (gosh I hate that Wal-Mart plastic nonsense!)... I think you get the point!

Anyhow... Our "home" has been the apartment off of my parents house up in Massachusetts for just about two years. We made the decision to move it up there from our condo in Florida when my parents moved from Florida and I found out I was pregnant back in the beginning of '08. It made sense for them to be able to keep an eye on our stuff for us and to be able to spend time with them when we weren't doing this baseball thing. Unfortunately we haven't truly gotten to spend the time we had hoped we'd spend there due to back-to-back rehabs with the hubby's arm, but it's been there waiting for us.

That however is not the case anymore! I boxed up our stuff while I was home for the holidays, and it is currently being loaded into a truck to head back south. My parents have decided to make the move back to Florida!!! Many factors have played into this... weather, business, friends, quality of life, and Target close by. (kidding about the Target thing... sort of)

I of course am saddened at the thought of not going back to a place we have called "home" since Ryder was born, not spending holidays in the house we've been in since we got married, not having extended family close by, and missing our friends from Larry's P.X., but hold out hope we'll still get our Cape Cod Summers... which we all know is the best part anyhow right?!

I am however beyond excited to return to my "home" where I grew up!!!!!! My parents house in Cape Cod feels like "home", but as far as a town that feels like home it will always be Fort Myers. I can hop in the car and not get lost, I went to high school there, have friends I can make a simple phone call with to hang out, share so many childhood memories growing up there, and just simply feel like that is where I belong. I'm so excited when people ask me where i'm from I can officially answer with, "We live in Arizona for baseball right now, but are from FLORIDA"!!! Sooo excited!

The move is taking place as I type this. One truck is loaded, another I think is full, and it sounds as if a third will be needed. If all goes as planned the Winter Family should be arriving into Florida sometime this weekend. Ryder and I plan on making an appearance sometime around the end of February/beginning of March. Due to the whole giving birth thing we won't be able to visit after that for a while.

I'm probably getting a little ahead of myself, but if Derrik is healthy to play baseball around July-ish (typing it makes me cringe knowing how much could go on to change that)he will go on to play with a team for the final month-ish of the season, and I will go to Florida with the boys for the rest of the summer to stay with my parents. Baseball moves post rehab can be insane and anyone in the baseball world knows it would be pretty much impossible with a toddler and a newborn. We'll camp out there waiting for word from Derrik as to what our fall/winter will hold.

Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers this weekend. This is obviously an extremely emotional time for all of them. One phone call everyone is excited and the next there are tears... I can completely relate to that feeling when we make our moves. Please pray for good weather and safe travels as the trucks make their way down the east coast throughout the rest of the week.

WooHoo... We're Florida residents again!!! :)

Babysitting

On Saturday it was my turn to return the "date night" favor and let Tricia and Steve get a night out on their own. I was sooo excited that they were letting me watch Logen already, but kind of nervous about dealing with Ryder and Page on top of Logen. I knew I could do it, but had such a fear of the kids fighting and Logen crying at the same time. Luckily Ryder and Page were on their best behavior Saturday night, and Logen never cried... so much for worrying! I was in heaven having Logen all to myself to play with. I got to hold him quite a bit the first time we saw them when we got back into town, but everything else has been in passing. I was ready for some serious snuggle time with the little guy.

Logen checking out the swing when he first got here.

He wasn't too crazy about it, neither was Ryder when he was little... hoping Landon is a fan!

When Logen needed a diaper change I took advantage of the opportunity to snap a few pictures of him on my bed

AND... that's about all I got before they found me...

Page was VERY concerned that Logen did not have his clothes on. I tried explaining to her that I had just changed his diaper and that pictures of babies with just their diapers on is really cute, but apparently she didn't get it. She asked me repeatedly to put his clothes back on! So we called it quits and went to make dinner.

Logen slept, well, like a baby, in the bouncer on the counter while I fixed the kids some dinner. I was kind of bummed I wasn't getting any cuddle time. After dinner though they seemed to be playing pretty content so I took advantage and picked Logen up to feed him. He ended up snuggling up on me after his final burp. Ryder came out with his blankies, and I asked if he was sleepy. He told me they were for the baby and covered the little guy up. He was so sweet about it. He then curled right up with us with his other blankie. I love that he shows just enough attention or just doesn't care at all... exactly what we need to avoid chaos in the future!

Such sweet boys to cuddle with :)

Hoping for lots more date nights for Derrik and I and lots more babysitting nights of these little ones. I think we have a pretty good deal going.... date night or snuggling babies... both make me pretty happy!

Baby Landon Update: 25 Weeks

How Far Along: 25 Weeks

Size of Baby: About 13 1/2 inches and about a pound and a half

Food Size (According to my e-mail from BabyCenter.com): A rutabaga (if you know what that is)

Total Weight Gain: 18 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Umm... thinking I might need to budget in a little maternity clothes shopping soon. None of my shirt want to stay over this big belly.

Gender: It's a BOY! Landon Brennan Lutz

Movement: Still lots.. we can really feel him from both sides of my stomach at the same time now. Getting to be a big boy

Food Cravings: I had a mint chocolate chip shake from Baskin Robbins this week... that was a hugeeee down fall of my last pregnancy with Ryder. There was one right at the corner of where we lived and i'd conveniently stop in at least once a week. However... I'm pretty sure I could ALWAYS be craving one of these!

Labor Signs: no comment until third trimester or so

Sleep: I get up to pee about once a night on a regular basis preggo or not... this week though some nights were up to 3-4 times!

How’s Ryder Handling It: Great! He's really coming around. I've been unloading the boxes we shipped, washing stuff, and hanging it up. He loves to point out the baby's clothes and when we ask who they are for he replies with Landon. I also showed him the big brother and little brother shirts my mom bought over Christmas for the boys, and he's awfully excited about this "big brother" concept!

What is the same/different as the last time: No real symptoms right now to be the same or different

Symptoms: Still no nausea meds since we've been back in Arizona. My hips haven't been bugging me too much either. I'm really trying to enjoy this time right now while I feel ok. Although I do feel huge and very pregnant, I really don't have too many complaints. I know they are coming in the third trimester so i'm trying to just enjoy it!

Best Moment This Week: Getting all of Ryder's old stuff unpacked and truly assessing what it is we need to get to prepare for the arrival of Landon. It's keeping me nice and busy :)

What I Am Looking Forward To: Our two other boxes of stuff got here this today... excited to get them unpacked!

Stream of Consciousness

I somehow manged to scrounge up some pictures off my phone of Ryder to make some kind of blog post. This is the first month ever that is flying by and I don't have any pictures on my real camera. I do have some from a finger painting project Ryder and I worked on last week. The lighting was awful though, and i'm pretty sure they are worthless. We don't have a lot of exciting stuff going on right now to blog about.... just life. No traveling all over, visiting family, holidays, or anything crazy like that... and we are totally ok with it!!!

Soo some updates....

Derrik

Since we have gotten home he has had one day off from basketball minus Sundays (he never works Sundays). That happened to be last night. We were lucky enough to have Ryder go over to his best friend Page's house, and we got to enjoy an amazing dinner together just the two of us. Anyhow... He has been super busy with basketball season (which we love!), and officially started back to rehab yesterday. He has been going in a little before that, but they couldn't really get started until yesterday. His arm is feeling great so far which is encouraging. He starts playing light catch this coming up Monday. Finally a step in the right direction!!!

Ryder

He has a one track mind these days... a countdown to Monster Jam! 11 more days, and he could not be more excited!!! For anyone unfamiliar, Monster Jam is the big monster truck competition that travels the country putting on shows. We watch it on t.v. no less then 3-4 times a day, and he can rattle off the names of almost all the monster trucks. If he put this much time and effort into his alphabet and numbers we'd have one smart boy on our hands.

He is seriously awesome right now! Two years old has got to be the most amazing age ever. I want to just push a button and stop him from growing to keep him this age forever. He is talking up a storm. I truly can't believe I was ever worried about him talking because there is no shutting the kid up. I need to keep reminding myself of this when I worry about his learning ability. He truly just does things the way he wants to, and right now learning monster truck names and watching sports is MUCH more important.

He still is opting to not go on the potty... not one single time! The other day he really had us fooled when he kicked us out of the bathroom and sat on the toilet for a good five minutes before he called us back in, but no such luck. There is nothing more I can do unless they come up with a way for me to push that dang pee out of him. I did buy those ugly underwear that are cotton on the inside and plastic on the outside... we'll see what he thinks of those in the days to come. We also made a "potty prizes" bucket. We intend on putting a few new monster trucks in there as an insentive to at least get things rolling. When he goes he can get one... we'll see how much he really loves those things :) I honestly have NO hope that it'll happen anytime soon, but mine as well keep trying and talking to him about it I guess.

I could ramble on forever about how sweet his kisses are, how awesome he sleeps in his big boy bed, how he's so great at getting things for us these days, and putting things away. I could ramble on about how much he loves his Daddy, ANYTHING sports related, torturing Chloe, and just being down right cute, but i'll spare you the details... just know that we are SOOO crazy over him!

Getting Ready for Baby Landon

Ever since we've gotten back home and settled i've let myself really start getting excited over this pregnancy. I mean i've been excited since the day we started trying, but I think i've really let myself get excited about the fact that in a little over 3 months we'll have a second sweet little baby to love on. The last of our stuff that we shipped out got here today, and i've been washing baby clothes and getting things ready. I am so thankful that we get to re-use so much of our stuff. We managed to get the swing, bouncer, and infant car seat out here. We luckily bought a crib when we moved out here for Ryder (I must have known i'd get really good use out of it). Our biggest thing we are lacking right now is a dresser. Ryder's room is technically a den so he has no closet. That leaves our whole family sharing the closet in our master which is fine but very full! I'm not sure what my game plan is as far as where all these tiny little clothes are going to go, but I need to come up with one soon. I'm pretty sure lining up boxes on our bedroom floor just isn't going to cut it... well I mean it could, but i'll go crazy! It's time like these that I wish I could snap my fingers and have all our stuff out here for rehab. Ryder has such a gorgeous changing table/wall unit... and I want it out here NOW!

Last night on our date night we headed on over to Babies 'R Us to register. I wasn't going to this time around with it being baby number two, but had been asked by quite a few people if we had registered yet. I felt like when we were there we needed so much still, but had to keep reminding myself what it would feel like if we hadn't already had all of Ryder's stuff. Some of our bigger items we had to check out were monitors that will work in both boys rooms (one with two bases) and a double stroller. We found nice monitors we liked, but are at a loss with this stroller thing! We're thinking of one of those sit and stand ones so Ryder can just hop on and off the back, but just don't know. They are SOOOO heavy.

More on him tomorrow with the 25 week update!

ME

I am such a bag of mixed emotions on this baby coming! I am so excited to have him here now. I am so excited to meet him, cuddle him, dress him in Ryder's old newborn clothes, and to watch Ryder become a big brother. I am also soaking up these afternoons of being able to nap when Ryder does, enjoy full nights of sleep, carry just a purse, not deal with a stroller, and the freedom that having just one kid allows. I am sooo ready to dive into this two kid thing, but also know it'll be really overwhelming. It's a good thing mother nature has to take it's course, and I don't get to decide when he comes because I have no clue what I want!

Baseball

Is it fully necessary for me to mention that the first of our close friends will be rolling into town in two weeks and three days with the rest of them following suite in the few days right after for spring training? Because they are!!! I am SOOOOOOOO thrilled that this time of the year has rolled around again and that we get to spend time with some of our favorite friends again.... and meet sweet new babies!!! I know I keep saying it over and over again on this blog... but it's getting REALLY close!!!

And... just a couple more photos

Watching Miss Tricia's Daycare kids for a couple hours last week

The saddest thing about The Eagles loss...

Not seeing my guys in their jerseys every Sunday :(

Baby Landon Update: Week 24

How Far Along: 24 Weeks

Size of Baby: Just over a pound and almost a foot long

Food Size (According to my e-mail from BabyCenter.com): An ear of corn

Total Weight Gain: 16 pounds. I was like 18 when I first got back home, but i've already laid off all the junk food and soda. I've really been beating myself up because my three friends who just had babies seriously gained like no weight. Obviously i'm not one of those people! After dicussing things with my friend Amanda (due two weeks after me) and some other bloggers I'm pretty much right on track with everyone else at this point in their pregnancy. I'm over beating myself up over it.

Maternity Clothes: None this week. We've really only been home and i've been living in my leggings and t-shirts :)

Gender: It's a BOY! Landon Brennan Lutz

Movement: This week for the first time we watched Landon moving from the outside. It was crazy watching my belly move all around. I can really feel his whole body moving all around in my belly now.

Food Cravings: Not really... We've been trying to eat a little healthier.

Labor Signs: no comment until third trimester or so

Sleep: Really great!! I've been enjoying my sleep and naps because I know I won't get them with two kids in a couple months.

How’s Ryder Handling It: He's doing great around Derrik and I, but puts on a show for everyone else. When he's with us he acknowledges the baby is in Mommy's belly now and not his, he will accept it's a baby brother (not sister), and also is saying Landon when we ask him what the baby's name is. If anyone else asks.. it's just "BABY SISTERRRRRRR!"

What is the same/different as the last time: Ummm.. the same this week I guess

Symptoms: Only hip pain this week. I haven't taken any nausea meds since I flew last Friday and have felt fine!!! Finally!!!

Best Moment This Week: Holding baby Logen... if I wasn't already pregnant i'd have total baby fever!!! There is nothing better then a newborn sleeping on you. Also getting settled back into our Arizona home, having the holidays behind us, and finally being able to focus on getting ready for the baby. I've been working on some stuff for Landon i'm excited about :)

What I Am Looking Forward To: Our other two boxes of stuff arriving from my mom's house. Then we should have all the stuff we already have in one place. We can then evaluate what we need to get for the baby. First thing on the list... a changing table or dresser. We have no where to put any of this stuff, and unfortunately shipping our furniture wasn't really an option.

Also... We had a doctors appointment yesterday. We hadn't been since our sixteen appointment (when we had the ultrasound for the sex) the day before we headed out of town. The appointment was very quick and to the point. They said everything looked great, the heart beat sounded good, and my belly was measuring perfectly. He told us they found some weird named syst (spelling?) on the ultrasound that was completely normal considering how early on we had our ultrasound because we were leaving town. He told us to not worry about it at all. He said it was probably already gone at this point, but if we were interested in getting another ultrasound to see the baby it was a good excuse to get the insurance company to cover one. You know I was all over that! He said we would discuss setting it up at the next appointment. We go back in four weeks, and I have to drink that awful drink for the gestational diabetes test. After that we are every two weeks! I can't believe we are already to the two week appointments... it is crazy how quick this is flying by!

A really long catch up post!

Before I write the post... I have to write this before I forget. I'm sitting here watching my boys finally get to play for the first time. We got home Friday afternoon and Derrik has pretty much worked since the second we got home. Ryder is showing Daddy every single one of his old toys because it was like Christmas in itself when we got back for him he was so excited to see them. Anyhow... Derrik sits on the couch and it makes a fart-ish sound. Ryder says, "I hear Dad's butt!" I said what your heard dad's butt?? He tells me yeah and then touches his butt. He is sooo funny with his words right now!!!

Sooo back to the point of this post... We're back in Arizona. We're unpacked, clothes are washed, sheets are changed, house has been cleaned top to bottom, groceries are back in the fridge, car has been washed to get a month and a halfs worth of dust off of it... it feels good!!! Derrik has been working non-stop since we got home, but today it's Sunday and we have no plans but to watch the Eagles game. It's nice... really nice!

Rewind a few days though... We had some sad good-byes to say. I always have a hard time with the transition of our "home" for baseball and our "home" with our family. I think it's getting harder and harder the more Ryder understands it. It doesn't necessarily phase him too much as he just looks at the positive of who is is getting to go see, but I have the guilts of taking him away from the person we are leaving. It breaks my heart to watch family have to kiss him good-bye.

My new years resolution... enjoy the present! I spend a lot of time worrying about leaving family, leaving Arizona, anxiously awaiting spring training, upcoming trips to see family, Landon's arrival, surviving with two kids, what July-August holds for our family as rehab comes to an end, and what our off season has in store, and what even more into the future will hold. I honestly can't tell you what any of that will bring and am tired of ruining some of my days worrying about it and forgetting to enjoy the present day.

Ryder and his Auntie Hailey

Ryder and his Auntie Ally
Ryder and his Gigi
Doesn't she look great in this picture?
(This is who Landon's middle name Brennan is for)
Ryder and the Larry's P.X. Crew
Debbie, Carrie, Brooke, and Jay


Ryder lovesssss Brooke!
He might need to have a little talk that she is his 2nd cousin sometime soon... lol

He posed like this and said "Mom look" and then asked me to take a picture.

Enjoying his old bouncer before we broke it down to put into a box

One last bath in Grammy's sink

What we looked like outside the airport in Pheonix waiting for Daddy to get there.
Imagine a toddler and prenant woman trying to get all this stuff from baggage claim to the pick up area... not a pretty sight!

Side note.. I checked all this stuff without spending anything extra! Jet Blue is awesome!!!
When we got home Ryder jumped right on his potty. I thought this might be our turning point... haha no such luck! Do notice though he has his potty seat that fits on the big potty sitting on his floor potty... he's weird like that.

He also walked around in this for hours while I unpacked. Daddy made him take it off before we went grocery shopping. He's not ready to be that parent with the kid dressed up at the store.

Yesterday we finally got to meet Baby Logen!!! Logen was born about three weeks ago while we were back in Cape Cod. We were so excited to finally meet him, see Page, and of course were excited to see Tricia and Steve too. Yesterday was Tricia's birthday so we went over to their house to watch the games, let the kids play, and most importantly snuggle Logen!

I had a long talk with Ryder before we left about how Page now has a baby brother. How Page's baby brother isn't in Miss Tricia's belly anymore. How Page is a big sister now. He was really excited, and I thought finally was starting to get it. Then as we were leaving he told me we were going to see Page's baby sister... go figure!

Excited to go see Page and give her a Big Sister present

The man himself...

Mr. Logen!!! Such a cutie!!!

Derrik watching some football with Logen.

I think he's ready to snuggle Landon soon :)

Like I said it feels amazing to be back and settled. It was really hard saying bye to my family, but it was time. We all have very excited stuff coming up in our lives and are ready to move onto our new adventures. Of course i'm already planning a trip to see them at the end of February!!! Pretty excited about that.

And since this is already a super long post... why not make it a little longer... A little on Ryder... he is like a whole new kid. This was by far the most enjoyable trip to my parents house. Ryder could go off on his own some, played so great, we didn't really have to make sure he wasn't breaking stuff, watch out for the stairs, and stuff like that. My sisters were great! Ryder wanted NOTHING to do with me if they were around. He loved playing video games with them, dancing, playing computer games, playing with their teck-decks (Sp?... little skate boards), and just honestly getting their attention in any way possible. If they had a friend over you could be guaranteed I wouldn't see him AT ALL! He is talking up a storm now and can really have full conversations with people (he even throws a little chinese in there lol... what we call his jibberish we can't understand). Honestly... people talk about Terrible Two's... I think we had Terrible 1 1/2's... he is amazing right now, and I couldn't love it anymore! He is just sooo fun!!!

And one last thing... to try not to confuse anybody who keeps up with our crazy moves around the country. We had moved our dog Chloe and two cats Hannah and Turbo back to our apartment at my parents house last summer in anticipation of Derrik making moves to be back with a team at the end of rehab. When he got hurt and had to have the surgery again the pets never made it back out to Arizona. It was just a huge expense to fly all three of them or drive a car back across the country. Chloe was on my mom's side of the house so she was fine, but the cats were all by themselves. My family obviously made sure they were ok, but they just weren't getting the attention they deserved. Over Christmas we knew we needed to make the decision to give them away or bring them back out to Arizona. With our life so up in the air in the coming months we knew it just wasn't fair or practical to bring them back out here. Derrik's Aunt Cindy out in Pennsylvania offered to take both of our girls into her home. It was convenient that my Uncle Scott and Aunt Karen were visiting the cape and offered to take them back to Pennsylvania on their way home. The girls have settled in and are apparently doing great. We've gotten a few pictures of them and they look so happy in their new home. It was the hardest decision we've had to make yet due to this rehab, but in my heart I know it was the right thing to do. AND... Chloe to go fly back with Daddy out to Arizona!!! I am sooooo excited to have my baby girl back out here with me! Minus taking her potty down three flights of stairs while convincing Ryder he doesn't need to come with.

That's all for now.... enjoying the day with my boys now!!!