Ryder's 1st Birthday Party

Ahh the much awaited birthday party pictures!

Ryder helping Mommy set up for his big party!

He makes this face a lot lately... it's pretty goofy!

Welcome to our little man's 1st birthday party
One of the party favors for the kids

Happy 1st Birthday Ryder... Loved this banner :)

The Lutz Family the day of the party

Ryder with his mommy and Aunties...

Yes Ally is pretty much taller then me now and is only 11!

Ryder with his Grammy and Grandpa

Ryder and his Papi

Ryder starting to show signs that planning a beach birthday party after three previous days on the beach was a BAD idea!

Amanda and Courtney enjoying the pool

The Birthday Cake

Ryder waiting for his cake... eyes wouldn't stop watering from the sunscreen/sun/exhaustion of the week we had already had....

Dakota and his mommy Nicole

Jack being as cute as ever!

Oh Papi! You are SO goofy!

Auntie Ally's head was too big for the little kid party hats

A candid shot of the birthday hats

Amanda and SoSo

The Birthday Cake.... With Ryder's cake to do what he pleased with....

An attempt at a group shot of the kids

And one Dakota didn't get cut out of...

I'm the Birthday Boy!

Wasn't a huge fan of his cake... I think it had to do with his exhaustion...

I'll prove it to you in a later post :)

We decided to put the cake on the ground and let the kids play in it

The aftermath

Happy again with his paci and his bull-dozer

Papi letting Ryder splash around in the cooler of beer

Daddy comforting his little boy after a long long long day... and weekend!

Beach Photos

Next time I go to the beach I might just leave the camera behind because posting all of these is crazy! BUT I have had SOO many requests to get them up I sorted through and got some of the best ones. (Promise the birthday party ones are next!)

My Little Beach Bum

Ryder with his Grandpa

(he made this face quite a bit from the sun)
Getting a tan with Amanda and Courtney

This is one of a great sequence shot of him crashing the sand castle! He loved doing that!

Ryder with his girlfriend Sophia enjoying the Florida beaches

Just hanging out

Mommy and her Birthday Boy

Papi and Daddy finally made it down to the beach :)

The Winter's and The Reeve's

Ryder getting to show his Papi how much he loves the water

Ally and Erin

Papi we're so glad you came to enjoy the sun and some birthday fun!

See Ya Later Eastern Standard Time...

Last night Derrik and I made it to Gainesville before we stopped to get a hotel room. We have to get hotels rooms at night so we can let the cats out of their cages to go to the bathroom. They travel great and go right into their throw-away litter boxes. I think in our sleepy slumber we forgot to ask how much the actual room was and paid $97.00!! Yeah we were stupid and plan on preparing a little better tonight. We were hoping for a $30-$40 dollar room. We don't want too ghetto, but don't need expensive either. The worst part was that the bed wasn't even good! Go figure!!!

We are still in Florida. This damn pan handle is awful! We did just in the last hour or so realize we crossed into Central Standard Time. Derrik and I are having an argument over the time zones. We know we are in Central right now, but aren't sure what is next. Anyone want to help us out and leave us a comment? Is Mountain Standard Time next? And then Pacific Standard Time? Help us out... we're East Coast people and have never done this before!

I leave you with a picture from us taking one of the final loads of trash to the dumpster last night. We had a full case of Coors Light on the top of the car that Ronnie had left behind. It feel all over the parking lots and cans were exploding everywhere! We both laughed and realized how much Derrik's dad would have been freaking out if he saw his beer fizzing all over the apartment parking lot! So here is a picture for you to ponder on Ronnie :)

On The Road Again...

I come to you VIA our wireless internet card....

The Lutz Family is officially on the road again! We spent all day packing up our two cars, returned the cable box, had our grandparents pick up the borrowed furnitures from Fort Myers, returned the t.v. to Wal-Mart (yes we take advantage of Wal-Marts 90 day return policy so we don't have to travel with a t.v. all the time), picked up the car transport, loaded that up, got showers, packed up the two cats and the pup, and are officially headed to Arizona! We pulled out at 10 pm and our GPS says we should be there at 5:43 a.m..... the NEXT day! We are hoping the trip will take us only three days with our gas stops, sleeping, and trying not to go crazy in the car!

Ryder is doing great up in Cape Cod with his grandparents and aunties. We miss him SOOO SOOO much! He's definitely having a much better time then us though!

We'll keep you updated :)

Fun In The Sun... and an update on our crazy lifes!

My family flew down last Wednesday to Fort Myers to visit for a week and, of course, to celebrate Ryder's first birthday. Ryder and I spent Thursday til Sunday down on the beach with them, while Derrik was a trooper and did lots of driving back and forth to be with us while he still rehabbed. We got to see lots of friends and family, and have lots of pictures. Here are the pictures from Thursday. Derrik had the day off, so we actually got him down to the beach! This day in particular Ryder spent about an hour crawling on the beach, about three hours in the pool, chowed dinner, and went back down to the beach for sunset. He lovessss the beach!

Were on the beach!

Our camera was foggy from the change from the a.c. to the heat

Those waves look pretty cool!
"Hey Dada... This way to the water"

Let's splash around!

Here comes a wave!

Daddy trying to get Ryder back towards the water...

Our little dare-devil

Yes, the bull-dozer made the trip to the beach....

It got put to good use at the beach and pool all weekend!
My hubby throwing the football... with his left arm of course

Auntie Hailey and her best friend Emily hanging with Ryder

Ryder wondering what this thing is.... definitely not a baseball like he's use to

We were changing into a swimmer diaper and couldn't resist...

We figured Ryder was done when he feet shrivelled up like this!

In Moving News:

My family headed home today to Cape Cod and took Ryder with them while Derrik and I pack, move, and get settled. Saying good-bye to Ryder is the most awful feeling in the entire world. I fought back and forth with myself about letting him go because I miss him so much, but I know he's going to have a great time with my family and would be miserable moving and driving across the country with us. Breaks my heart to leave the little man, but we are already counting donw the days until we get to see him again!!!

Derrik and I have begun the packing process. My grandparents are coming tomorrow to pick up the couch and bed we borrowed, lots of packing Thursday, Derriks last day of rehab on Friday, and then off to Arizona either Friday afternoon or Saturday morning!

Let the fun begin!

The Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday dear Ryder

Happy Birthday To You!

We Love You Ryder!

Happy 1st Birthday!

Happy Birthday Ryder

Oh my gosh.... My baby turned 1! How in the world did this happen? I feel like I was just sitting in the comfort of our hospital room having nurses check on us every few hours, staring at my baby in his little hospital bed in awe that he was all mine to love, and having visitors come to see our precious little boy!This past year has been the best year of my life! All I have ever wanted in life was to be a wife and a mommy, and this year I got to have it all. It gives me goose bump when I think about how much I love our little man. He has turned into this little boy who knows just how to work his Daddy and I. Every day I think I couldn't possibly love him any more, and some how I fall even more in love with him every day.

We spent an amazing weekend celebrating the birth of our little boy with friends and family. We have hundreds of pictures... literally. I will try to get a few posts on throughout the week to share our celebration with the blogger world.

Ryder-

Mommy and Daddy love you more then you will ever know. This past year you have completely changed our lives forever, and we couldn't be more greatful!

Happy 1st Birthday Ryder!

We Love You!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy