Our Christmas Tree!

On Sunday, after our trip, I got our Christmas tree up! I love this time of year. For some reason it just makes home feel so much more cozy :)

Hannah loves hanging out on the Christmas tree skirt

Turbo hiding from the vaccum when I was cleaning up after putting the tree up.

Our Turkey Day Trip

Over the holiday weekend we took a trip to Pennsylvania to spend some time with Derrik's side of the family. We headed out Wednesday after breakfast with Uncle Ryan who had flown in the night before. Ryder did a great job in the car only getting out of his car seat at lunch... we found a Chili's of course... and for a quick dinner at McDonalds and to get gas. We hit quite a bit of traffic through New York of course, but the trip wasn't that bad.

We stayed at Me-Maw and Poppy's house which worked out great for us with Ryder. Since she has little boys still she had everything we could possibly need for our little man. We had a bassinet for our room, a pack 'n play up stairs, a boppy pillow, baby bath tub, and a bouncy seat with lights and music that Ryder absolutely loved! It was so nice to have all of that because it made Ryder comfortable and feel like he was at home. He slept through the night two of the three nights we were there. He woke up once the third night and ended up in bed with us around 5am with a cold. Ryder took his first cold like a champ and smiled through it all. He was awfully pitiful with that stuffy nose, but did well.

We spent Thanksgiving Day with Me-Maw's side of the family. We stuffed ourselves with an amazing meal that Me-Maw, Grammy, and Aunt Cindy prepared for us. Thanks Guys :)

After our dinner we headed over to meet up with Papi's side of the family. Our intentions were to head to Maggie's house to say hello and then head to Aunt Gina's to watch the football game, but Ryder had different plans. I think after a long day of meeting new people he had just had enough. We tried calming him down with some cereal for dinner and putting his pj's on, but he just wasn't having it. We ended up having to head out early (and miss part of the Eagle's game which Daddy wasn't too happy about). Ryder had a really good nights sleep and woke up much happier the next day.

Ryder with Uncle Cole and Uncle Dalton on Thanksgiving Day

(Do you know how hard it is to get a 3 month old, 2 year old, and 5 year old to all look at a camera?!)

Ryder with his Papi on Thanksgiving Day

The next day we went over to NiNi and Papa's house to try to get them some time with Ryder once he had recovered from his busy day. Ryder was much happier and layed on the floor with Papi for a few hours smiling and hanging out.

Later in the day when we got back to Me-Maw's house Ryder's second cousin Kaydence was there! She is two weeks and four days younger then Ryder and so much smaller. It is amazing to me what a beefy little boy Ryder is. Also there was Aunt Sherri and Tom's parents to meet Ryder.

Ryder and Kaydence sleeping together

Later in the night we went to Candy Lane in Hershey Park to get into the Christmas spirit. We bundled all the kids up and headed in. There were Christmas lights everywhere and Christmas music playing. It was pretty cold, but a really good time. We got to go on some rides with Uncle Cole and Uncle Dalton, but unfortunately (kind of... it was pretty nice) Ryder slept through the whole thing. He would never even know he was there.

Under some of the lights at Candy Lane

Saturday we were trying to battle Ryder's cold. We got him some cold medicine which seemed to help. We went out and did some quick holiday shopping (since we have no shopping by us in the Cape) and let Me-Maw babysit Ryder for a little bit. After that we went to NiNi and Papa's for dinner and got to spend some time with some family. Ryder ate his dinner and fell asleep not too long after. We got on the road and made it home without a peep from the little man.

Ryder with his second cousin's Taylor and Noah

We had such a great trip and thank everyone for their hospitality!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I don't have long, but I just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has lots to be thanksful for... as I know we do this year :)

Out trip went great! Long but successful. Ryder was such a great baby and hardly fussed at all. We left at 10:30 and got to Pennsylvania around 7:30. Around 11:30 we were settled down and ready for bed. Ryder went right down and slept until 8:30. Told you I was thankful today! LoL

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Love Always,
Derrik, Danielle, and Ryder

Uncle Ryan is Here!!!

The Little Man Turns 3 Months

Ryder's 3rd month has been so much fun with his cute little smile and giggles we get all the time! He has really started to show expression towards us, and it makes us smile every time. I love looking down at him and seeing him just smiling away.

Ryder's favorite part of the day is when we get home from the office and he can just stretch out at home. We turn his t.v. on above his changing table, get him stripped down to his diaper, and just let him hang out for a little while. He's a pretty big fan of getting lotion at this time too! He loves to squeal at the top of his lungs to show us how happy he is. During this time his Daddy and I will get into our p.j.'s and just hang out with Ryder in his room. We love to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" with him as it plays on his mobile. Ryder absolutely loved his mobile that went with his crib bedding, but it broke. Daddy quickly jumped on the internet and found a Philly Phanatic one. It's pretty tacky and doesn't match anything in his room, but who cares because it keeps the boys happy!

Ryder has also started to do some tummy time. It doesn't last too long because he can't lift his head up yet, but the doctor said it is good for him. He is getting good at holding his head up when we are holding him though. I think he'll be there by the four month update.

We are really looking forward to Ryder's fourth month with all the holidays rapidly approaching. Ryder gets to see all four of his uncles in the next day!!! He needs that with all the woman he has in his life. They'll teach him to be tough!

The Stats: The little man doesn't go to the doctor this month, but I know he's still growing rapidly. When comparing with all the other little babies we know around his age he seems to be the biggest and the youngest... not sure if that's a good combo! The other day I weighed myself and then weighed myself with him and it was exactly 15 pounds more. So i'd venture to say he is about that weight... i'm sure it's not too accurate, but it shows how much he's growing.

What new happened: Ryder started his cerceal. He eats about twenty spoonfuls every night. It makes quite a mess, but he seems to love it. Another new thing is Ryder sleeping through the night. I think this started to happen because he has a really full belly at night, but he sleeps from around 7pm until 4ish every night. He eats then adn falls right back asleep. Sometimes he'll sleep a little later, but then doesn't want to go back down so i'd rather just get up at four.

Bottles: Ryder is still only drinking 5 ounces in his bottles. Sometimes he might need more, but other times he wants less so we just stick with that.

Diapers: Ryder is in size 2 diapers and slowly creeping up to the size 3.

Clothes: Ryder is growing out of his 6 months stuff really quick and all of his 9 month stuff fits. We have already put away boxes of clothes that don't fit anymore. It's so sad how quickly he went through them all.

That is about all for now. Ryder is waking up from his nap. We are heading to Pennsylvania for Turkey Day to enjoy some time with Daddy's side of the family. We hope everyone enjoys the upcoming holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love Always,

The Lutz's

It's Snowing Outside

I woke Ryder up this morning and showed him the snow falling on the ground outside his window!!! It's not much... but hey it's snow! You can see it on the ground behind us. I've seen snow in the past years, but never the first snow. It is absolutely freezing outside. I'm not so sure we are going to survive the winter!!!!

A Weekend of 1st

Yesterday I asked Derrik if he could watch Ryder for the day so I could get out for a day of shopping. I haven't really had a day to myself to do whatever I wanted since i've had Ryder so I figured we'd give it a try. After Derrik cooked me his amazing breakfast of eggs, bacon, and breakfast potatoes I meet the girls and my mom to head up to the barn to watch Ally get a lesson. On the way up we picked up Auntie. We drove the hour to the barn and after her lesson went out for some shopping. Their isn't any shopping on The Cape so we have to take advantage of it when we're in the area. We went to Kohls first which I have learned to love because they have great baby clothes for cheap. After that we stopped at a store called Justice to get Hailey some clothes, and then we hit up Target. If anyone knows me well they know I have a serious obsession with this store! With it being an hour away it's not a good thing! The bill never comes up too cheap, but I still love going anyhow :)

We got home eight hours after I had left and figured Daddy and the baby would be a mess! I walked in the door to find Ryder happy as could be in the crib and his daddy folding laundry!!! I was so proud of both of them. I'm not sure if Derrik thinks he did a good or bad thing by doing so good. I was very thankful, but now he knows I trust him and that it will happen again.

Our next big first happened last night. Ryder slept through the night!!! He fell asleep at 7pm after having his cereal and a bottle like usual. We didn't hear from him again until 6:45 this morning. I fed him a bottle and at 7:15 Derrik's alarm clock went off for him to head to hockey. Once he got out of bed Ryder and I cuddled up and took a little nap until 8:45. After a good day of shoppping and a full nights sleep I feel like a new woman!

A New Man

Anyone who knows my dad knows that he is a very superstitious man! After a bad day today he decided it was time for some change to bring on some good luck.... What do ya think?!

Not Much Going On...

There isn't too much going on right now. Just working and hanging out. It's the calm before the storm i'm sure... the holidays always get crazy with two birthdays in the family, travel, and Christmas. I still need addresses for Christmas cards. Please e-mail me!!! Danielle.Lutz@fmps.com!!!!

Ryder sleeping at work in his pack n' play

Close up... so sweet :)
Mom! I'm awake! Come talk to me :)

Ryder was all smiles in his swing last night... until I took the camera out!

Addresses Please!

It's that time of year again to update my address book since it's almost time for Christmas cards! If you could get me yours it would be greatly appreciated. I have a lot of them, but if you have moved since our wedding I probably need it again. Baseball wives.... I need all of yours! And for you lucky people getting to spend the holidays in Puerto Rico playing baseball give me your address there if you have one.

Just leave it in my comments sections or if your more comfortable not posting it for the whole world to see (because we know so many people check my page!) e-mail it to me.... Danielle.Lutz@FMPS.com

Thanks!

Tummy Time

Trick-Or-Treat

It was a little cold on Halloween for Ryder to go trick-or-treating so we decided to skip the festivities and head home. I felt guilty all day because Ryder had outgrown his Halloween clothes (he's growing so fast I can't keep up... fully in 6 month clothes now!) and I felt like I wasn't up to par with my "mommy duties". I decided i'd give him a little treat for Halloween and finally get some solids in his belly. He loved it!!! He has now had some cereal (baby cereal... his aunties thought he was having fruit loops lol)for three nights now. He gobbles it down! I thought this would be awesome and cause him to sleep longer since he has it right before bed, but he just eats it all up and still wakes up... go figure!

Ryder trying out solids for the 1st time!

So full! (you can see his hair that is quickly growing in in this picture)Ryder was not in the mood for pictures on Halloween these are the best I have.. no smiles
Daddy trying to help me get some pictures...

The Little Monster being grumpy

No Derrik isn't in a Halloween costume (we all know he wouldn't want to go out for Halloween!)... he's actually taken hockey back up as a hobby. He played all the way through high school and then had to give it up for baseball. He's always told me how much he missed being on the ice so he decided to try it out again. He played this Sunday morning for the first time and got two goals with one assist. Of course he was exhausted afterwards and complained all day about it. He says he's doing it for the work out, but I know he loves it! He wouldn't wake up at 7:30 am on Sunday morning if he didn't :)

WORLD SERIES CHAMPS

By the way... In case anyone didn't know already...

The Phillies are WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!!

This makes for a very happy Daddy and Baby :)

HaPpY HaLLoWeEn

I hope everyone has a fun and safe time Trick-Or-Treating!

Love,

Ryder

Our Big Boy Got Shots :(

I wish my little man still looked as happy as he did this morning in this picture, but unfortunately Ryder isn't liking his shots too much. He took the actual shots like a champ only crying for a few seconds after each one and calming back down right away. He got eight vaccinations today. One that he had to drink, which he nurse seemed very impressed that he drank it right down without gagging or puking it back up. Then he got two injections into one leg and another injection into his other leg which had a total of five vaccinations in the one. It all seemed a little harsh to me, but I guess they know what they're doing. Ryder had his first dose of infant tylonel right after and slept for quite a while. He has been awake a little bit now and is a little sadder then usual, but we'll give him lots of lovin' tonight and hopefully he feels better soon.

Now for the stats! We have a BIG boy on our hands! Ryder weighed in at 13 pounds 8 ounces which puts him in the 90th percentile for his age!!! He was also 23 1/2 inches long which puts him in the 75th percentile for his age. Looks like we figured out why our two month old baby is growing right out of his three month clothes.

Ryder's next appointment isn't until he's four months old.... safe from the shots for a while now!

Pumpkin Carving!

Last night was pumpkin carving time in the Lutz-Winter household... enjoy the pictures!

Daddy getting the job started

Gotta get the guts out!Ewwww.... Ryder enjoying his first pumpkin carving

Mommy and Ryder

The boys hard at work carving the faces

Ryder pooped out before the job was done

Nice job guys!

The girls with their pumpkins

Happy Halloween

Tonight Could Be The Night!!!

One more game to go and the Phillies will be World Series Champs!!! We can't wait :)Here are some family photos...

Ryder Smiling on Video

Two Months Old

Ryder is two months old already! I feel like I just wrote about him turning one month, and i'm sure the months will continue to fly by. I try to cheerish every moment with him, but every morning when I go to get the little man out of his crib I swear he's grown even more.

-I don't have any updates on Ryder's height and weight at two months yet, but we go to the doctor on the 29th (shots this time... ouch!) so i'll keep you updated. I know he's definately grown a ton because his three month clothes with the feet are already too small and the clothes without the feet are slowly creeping up his legs and beginning to take on a capri look... which doesn't work out too well if this cold weather!

- The biggest change Ryder had in his second month was starting to smile at us :) We love it so so much! He likes to smile the most in the morning after he has had his diaper changed and a bottle. It is when he seems to be the most happy.

- Ryder loves to look around now. I use to have to leave Ryder with Daddy in bed in the mornings while I got ready, but now he loves to lay in his crib and look at his mobile. He will sit on the couch and look around for a good hour before he'll fuss, and loves his toys that we put on his car seat handle. He also loves his little floor mat that we bought for him! It is nice to have a baby that will sit content for periods of time. It lets me get some house work done quicker and then I get to sit and really just enjoy him :)

Ryder on his floor mat

- The move to the big bottles was made more towards the beginning of his second month. He is pretty steady with five ounces of formula. During the night and in the afternoon he guzzles down full bottles, but from about four in the morning until around eleven he will sip on one bottle little bits at a time. No matter how hard we try he only wants about a half an ounce and then dozes off for a little while.

- Ryder's sleep schedule has been slightly fustrating lately. Instead of getting better with age he is just getting worse. As a newborn he slept great, but now it has been a little bit of a challenge. He goes to sleep anywhere from 7-9 p.m. and sleeps until around 12:30-2:30. He use to eat and go right back down after this whether he was still awake or not, but lately he just doesn't like that idea. It's not that he's wide awake, but he only seems to want to sleep cuddled up with me. I always make the attempt to put him back in his crib, but it usually fails and we head up to the couch and cuddle by the fire place to get some not-so-sound sleep. I've read that letting a baby "cry it out" before three months is useless because they can only remember things in the moment, and can't process the fact that he should fall asleep in his crib. So for the next month until he can start "learning a lesson and crying it out" i'll just enjoy our cuddle time on the couch. He'll only be this little for so long so as long as it's not any harm to him we'll enjoy our cat naps on the couch.

- The little man is in size one diapers now.

- Ryder has managed to find his lungs a little more now then when he was one month, and can produce tears really quick! It is the mose pitiful thing, but luckily he still cheers up very quick! We have only had one time that he was so upset we couldn't calm him down instantly and that only lasted about five minutes. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

- Ryder's hair has started to come back in. He had a decent amount at birth, but most of it fell out pretty quick. The hair that is coming back in is so adorable. It's pretty blonde, strait, and fuzzy :) You can't see it much in pictures because it's so light, but I doubt he'll look like a bald baby for much longer. He also has the most gorgeous eye lashes now, and just the last few days i've really noticed his eye brows have come in. It's so funny the little things you don't realize they don't have until it comes in... we'll hold off on the no teeth thing for a while... i'm dreading teething!

- Oh yeah... the biggest news in Ryder's life in his second month is that he gets to watch the Phillies in the World Series!!! Go Phillies. Good Luck Tonight!!!

Still trying to get that smile on camera....

So trying to get this amazing little smile we now have in our lives on camera has proved to be quite difficult. I'll look down and he'll just be smiling away, and the second I grab my phone to snap a shot it's gone. I've gotten two more the last couple days. I don't know why he looks so chunky in them... I think it's the angle, but who knows maybe he's just getting chunky and I don't see it. Enjoy what I can get of his little smile :)

Happy Boy

All Squeaky Clean After His Bath!

Bye Bye Baby Weight...

Derrik and I have been going to the gym now for about two weeks. I didn't want to put a post up about it any earlier until it became routine and I knew i'd actually keep going. For anyone who doesn't know.... I HATE the gym, but what I hate even more is the twenty extra pounds still on my body that apparently weren't a huge baby, and we're actually all the fast food, Baskin Robbins ice creams, and McDonald's shakes I consumed while pregnant (oh yeah! and those amazing nachoes at the Lookouts field... girls you know what I'm talking about!) Luckily we've found a good routine that works for us, and makes the gym enjoyable.

We get up in the morning and get to the gym by 8 (that is when the daycare first opens). There is a really sweet lady named Sandy who runs the daycare. Ryder has only had to come out of his carseat once, and other then that he has slept every time we go. He's only had other kids in there with him twice so it's a great opportunity and we know he's being well taken care of. It's really nice to be able to get out and do something as a couple that is for our benefit. It gives us some time without the baby and to interact with each other. Derrik has been a great coach really helping me figure out what I need to do! He's not so thrilled about going every day, but once we get there he is fine. I think it's because he's not in such a huge need or a workout like I am!

Around 9-9:15 we finish up our workout and head into work. There is a shower at the office which Derrik gets into right away so he can get on the road. I get mine when Ryder decides to doze off for a little bit or Grammy decides to watch him.

It's really a great new routine we have and hopefully it'll get my butt back into shape!!!

1 Down.. 3 More To Go!

What a great game last night! I only got to see the first six innings since I knew i'd be paying for it later if I didn't roll over and go to sleep with Ryder's sleep schedule (I'll stay up once it's getting towards the end!). All that matters is that Daddy got to see it, and is in a great mood because of the win :)

GO PHILLIES!!!

GO PHILLIES!!!

Ryder can't believe it! Less then two months old and he already gets to watch the Phillies in the World Series!! Daddy has had to wait fifteen years for this! Hopefully Ryder can will stay up and watch the whole game tonight..... then sleep 'til morning! (Yeah Right!!!)

Parenting Tip: Don't leave hat on baby while driving

To all my friends out there with babies living down in the warm south who have yet to experience the freezing cold weather I have a little bit of advice for when the winter weather hits you. Don't leave the hat on your baby while driving. When they wiggle their little heads around crying in their car seat it causes their hats to come down over their eyes. Of course we just assume he's crying because he lost his pacifier so we reach back and give it to him again, but once we get out of the car we realize maybe he's fussing because he can't see! Perfect parents we are not.... oh well.. another lesson learned :)

Ryder Smiles :)

Over the last three days Ryder has really started to smile :) He has smiled since he was born, but it was more random and just something he did. Now he is noticing us and smiling at us. I've tried for the last two days to catch it on camera and this was the best I could do. He will be all smiles, but the second the camera comes out it is over. He just get cuter and cuter every day :)

Ryder watching Regis and Kelly... a boy after his momma's heart