my little man...

We just discovered that our little man is ticklish and to hear him laugh is one of the greatest sounds ever. His laugh, combined with his huge toothless smile just melts my heart every time!

Ryder Rae,

I love being with you and being your mom. I am so thankful that you are in our lives and I can't tell you what a delight you are to us. I am so honored that I get to watch you grow...

We couldn't love you more!

michael the mentor

I have been having fun learning about photography by THIS photographer and his website. If you are learning about cameras or photography this is such a fun way to do it on line. If you are interested, check it out, it's free and the teacher is so helpful!

three generations

I came across this picture and I just love it so I wanted to share this with you...

a summer favorite

Our tomato plant just went nut cakes these last two weeks and we are not complaining in the slightest...

quiet moments...

I was so excited to capture this very precious moment between Ryder and his grandpa. He LOVES to be read to and it's so fun for other family members to be part of that.

Eric is reading one of Kit's favorites "put me in the zoo"...

get me to the church on time...

The wedding went so well and I am so proud of Kit. Here are some photos of the day...

The brothers...

The ceremony...

Our grandparents who we could not love more.

Family photos... (It was really bright and little man was very excited that he could use his tie as a toy...) Andrew, thank you so much for taking these...

The bride and groom...

It was a lovely wedding and I must say that I am so proud of Kit. He did an amazing job!

Getting ready...

Our brother's wedding is this weekend and I wanted to make sure that we had everything ready, and that includes making sure that Ryder's wedding attire was ready to go...

We figured that a beach wedding means that barefoot is perfectly acceptable...

gallons of bliss...

Yep, that would be a fish tank and yep, it will be living at our house. The sucker is 24 inches deep and wide and 8 feet in length. Kit plans to re-do the garage and combine his three "smaller" tanks into this one. I have to say that I just laugh... so if anyone wanst to go snorkeling at any point, I have close to 250 gallons in my garage for you to use. As far as Ryder is concerned, he thinks he just got a pool...

Kit Rae, I love watching you get excited about your hobby and so I am in full support of you and your love of fish. Thank you for your commitment that this is the biggest tank you are going to ever own. (Otherwise we will have to turn the jacuzzi into a tank/pond.)

We have a new member of the family...

We are having so much fun learning about photography, which has been such a fun thing to do together... It's on our life to do list to take a digital photography class together so we are one GIANT step closer to that goal. I bet you can't guess what our favorite subject is...

Question to the mama's...

Kit has very graciously given me numerous occasions and opportunities to go have time by myself. It's so sweet of him and I love that he knows it's important, but I will be honest, the last time I went out, I felt uneasy, not that Kit or Ryder needed me, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and so each time I would always tackle and errand or try to check stuff off my list and then ended up just tired and frustrated by the end of my alone time...

So the question to parents out there:

I was wondering what you like to do to refuel when you have time away for a little break? Are you someone who tackles a list, are you someone who finds a quiet place to read or eat a meal or do you like to connect with someone else? Do you work out? (Props to you that do...) Do you go places that have people around or do you really like to be alone...? What are things that you take with you when you are going to be by yourself (Books, journal, I pod, to do list)?

Kit and I talked and I think that I, truthfully would like it better if he LEFT with Ryder so that I could just be home alone, but I wasn't sure if that was the point... I would love your thoughts... I don't want to reinvent the wheel and I always love your ideas...

fleece in the summertime?

Yes, I think that I was a little crazy when I did this little project... Making a fleece blanket when it was in the 90's today made me think that the heat was actually getting to me. Well, in our main living room, we have laminate floors, so now that we are starting to have Ryder do more tummy time and wanting him to be in places so that he can roll over (we are such stage parents...) I got the idea to make a blanket that could go on the floor, that was a little thicker than our other blankets so that it would be more comfortable for him, while also being easy to wash and soft at the same time. I so this is what I made... (This is not my idea, I can't think where I first saw this, but it was really fun!)

I got a yard of fleece, which made (roughly) a 40 in by 35 in blanket. First I doubled the blanket's layers, then I cut strips along the entire perimeter of the blanket, then tied each strip together. No sewing required! The best part is the fleece came to 3 dollars because who wants to buy fleece this time of year, so it was all 50% off! (Plus, you don't need any notions which can add up quickly depending on the project or maybe that's just me...)

Ryder liked it, so I figure that makes it a success...

great-grandparents

We are so thankful that in the first three months of Ryder's life, he was able to meet his great-grandparents. It was so special to have Ryder meet these very special people.

Ryder with:

My Grandma Marie

Our Grandma and Grandpa Pierce

My Nana

We love you all!

burp cloths

Well, the thing that we use most around here are cloth diapers... and we don't even do cloth diapering! My Ryder has some very spitty moments and so we also have at least 4 around at all times.

Well, I have seen people do some creative stuff with burp cloths so it got me thinking. I have been looking at material to add but first, I thought I would give stenciling a try and this is what I came up with:

I really like how it came out and I am excited to try some other words...

It definitely gave our old burp cloths some new life.

Ryder liked it too...

(Note the burp cloth under his head... this little man can not be trusted...)

thank you Costco!

Ryder and I made our first trip to Costco yesterday to actually grocery shop and not just get pictures, and I realize how many of my go to items are from there. Here are some of our favorites.

These brownies are so tasty and I always have these on hand to take to potlucks and stuff like that.

Kit's mom shared this recipe with me. If you combine in a blender equal parts canola oil and butter, you can make your own butter spread. From the blender, we just pour it into a glass container and save it in the fridge. (You do have to put it away when you aren't using it because it will melt faster than butter...)

We have fun making waffles and this is our go to mix. We also make the cheddar biscuit recipe that is on the back panel. They are so easy and have a great flavor and are best right out of the oven.

Happy eating!

crafting...

We put these hooks up in our guest bathroom and love that people can hang towels on them when they come to stay with us. We did notice that when they aren't being used, the wall was missing a little something so I played around with my steel wire and this is what I came up with...

We are going to try them out for a little while and see how we like them.

I look forward to peaceful bath times when Kit has the baby...

this week...

Here is what we are up to this week.

Laundry

One of the biggest changes that I have noticed about house work since Ryder's arrival is the amount of laundry that we do. For being the size that he is, for the fact that he doesn't sweat or get muddy or any of the boy things that I am anticipating, I am shocked at how many loads of laundry I have. I was sharing this with my friend Casey and she reminded me that if I look at laundry like a process rather than a task to complete, it will make all the difference.

Thank you Case for putting it in perspective for me...

Here's to being patient with the process!

Cookies...

I found this recipe and it has become a favorite. Ryder and I have taken them to work for Kit, to our neighbors and have made our stash of dough in our freezer. You might have a recipe of chocolate chip cookies that you always make or you might be like me and always make the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip package, but this one caught my eye and it has become a new favorite. I hope that if you try it, you enjoy them as much as we do.

PS, we don't put the nuts in them...

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Rated: Submitted By: Dora Photo By: Rita Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour Servings: 24

"Crisp edges, chewy middles."

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened 1 cup white sugar 1 cup packed brown sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons hot water 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
3.	Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 7/3/2010

Family Ties...

Our little brother is getting married this month and I really wanted to have Ryder wear a little something special. (We tried to get him to walk by his 3 1/2 month mark to be the ring bearer, but what can I say, he is too busy smiling and laughing and eating...)

So I made this tie using this tie tutorial.

It was crazy easy so I wanted to share it with you. I will be posting LOTS of pictures in his full little outfit when it all comes together...

(The colors of the wedding are black and pinks...)

Get ready for...

...a diaper change.

(Note: Ryder does not have any type of diaper rash...)

Dating...

We recently walked to downtown Fullerton to take Ryder to one of our favorite sandwich spots named The Brownstone Cafe. It was such fun. We love it there and it was fun to sit outside by their fountain in their courtyard and just talk while eating and holding Ryder.

We always get the Matt's special with bacon and a side of their tomato basil bisque. It is a heavenly combination. So if you want to take someone on a date and you are in our neck of the woods, check it out.

Ryder loved it!

Here is the bisque...

happy three months little man!

We love you Ryder!
You are such a joy and delight in our lives. We can't believe how fast time is going...

Celebrations...

Yesterday we had a little family BBQ (as in the three of us) at our house. Our street always has a block party which is a really fun atmosphere and this is the first 4th of July that I didn't have to work, so we decided to live it up. We pulled our grill to our front porch and made Italian sausage and peppers and we got a chance to talk with all of our neighbors, which was so fun for us. Isn't it funny that you live right next to people and you can go days and weeks with out seeing each other? We are trying to get better at connecting with our neighbors.

So here are some of my favorite photos of Ryder's first 4th of July celebration.
(It was one of those holiday memories that was very low key and at home, but I will never forget it...)

Gearing up to visit the neighbors.
Just hanging with his dad.

He is so kissable...
He's just happy to be here...
One of my favorite sandwiches.
Kit grilled the veggies and brushed the bread with oil and garlic so each bite had amazing flavor. So tasty! I hope that this becomes a favorite of Ryder's...

Happy Independence Day!

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.

~Thomas Paine

We are so thankful to all the men and women who serve our country so that we can experience the freedom that we so easily take for granted. May we know what it is to be truly grateful for that gift...