thinking back...

I was watching Ryder play the other day and I realized how fast time goes, even though some days seem so long at times... I watch Ryder and I can't help wishing that I could just stop time, this brief precious time that we have together seems like it is flying by and I so badly want to take it all in and appreciate it's sweetness. Our days are very relaxed (no matter how rushed or stressed I seem to make them...) we get to just be together, and at the end of the day, things get done. I used to ask my friends who had kids, (this was pre-Ryder), what their days looked like and it was always a little hard for my friends to give me a schedule or a set in stone routine... well news flash, they had kids, which meant so many days you go by the seat of your pants.

So for the sake that I love looking back and remembering, here is what a day looks like for us right now:

between 530-6am: Ryder wakes up after sleeping through the night. I change his diaper, feed him and put him back down. (During his teething time, he would wake up at 2am on the dot for a dose of tylenol and some milk.)

9am: Ryder wakes up, I change him, nurse him and then feed him breakfast in his high chair while we either watch his favorite YouTube videos (Lady bug picnic...) or we listen to music while I tackle my first cup of coffee and some toast.

10am: We both get dressed for the day and run any errands we need to get done. (Mornings always works better for us on being out and getting things done. There is usually a trip to Target involved...)

We then come back and play in his room with his blocks and his toys and sometimes I read to him while he plays and sometimes we wants to sit on my lap and interact with me...

Between 1145 and noon: He eats and then goes down for his nap. I clean up after breakfast, do my general clean and straightening, laundry, check emails, and blog. I then will sit with a book or watch favorite TV reruns on our DVR.

230p: little man wakes up, he is changed, I feed him and then give him lunch. We then play in his room some more or we go for a walk or we might tackle another errand that we weren't able to tackle in the morning. We also plan dinner.

6pm: Kit gets home, and we all eat dinner and catch up on our day. It's turned into a tradition where we do this family hug when Kit walks in the door, and Ryder LOVES it! Kit and I kiss and then we will look down at Ryder and he is just one big toothy smile looking back at us...

7p: We finish dinner and clean the kitchen and start the bath. After his bath we will sit with him in his room and talk about the day or we sit on our couches while he plays and we talk. There has been lots of chase and crawling around and that has been so much fun!

830p: he is in bed. Kit puts him to bed and when I do it, Kit feels like I have taken HIS job away...

I love how the days lend themselves to such sweet moments and memories and I am so thankful that I get to be there for them...

the oscars!

Tonight is the Academy Awards and we are really excited to watch! We haven't had a chance to see too many movies but it seems like it is such a fun night for hollywood, between the red carpet and then seeing which movies take home what awards. We also will make a MUST SEE list based on some of the awards outcomes. I know, that sounds a little fair weather but when our chances of seeing movies are so few and far between, I want them to be good. You can connect here to get a ballot and find out about the movies that are being nominated. it's fun to guess and make a game out of it. (It's like playing gift BINGO at a baby shower... you tend to pay a little more attention when you are making a game out of it.)

If you enjoy movies as much as we do, I hope enjoy the show tonight!

breakfast for dinner

Kit has been such a pinch hitter the last few days. This cold really knocked me out. He literally walked in the door from his staff retreat and has been taking care of Ryder and I non-stop. I am so thankful for him. Not only does he do the best job with Ryder, but he made breakfast for dinner and it was really good. (When you can't smell, food just doesn't taste the same...) But something about waffles and omelets just hit the spot.

Kit Rae~

As always, thank you for taking such good care of me.

You love on me so well!

I love you!

sick days...

Kit got back from his retreat yesterday and I was so thankful, for many reasons, but I was particularly happy to hand over care of Ryder since I had a full blown case of sinusitis and the flu. I spent most of last night in our urgent care so that I could get some antibiotics on board sooner than later. I have to say, being sick while taking care of a littler person is so hard! I know that sounds like the most moronic observation, but seriously, I was having a hard time holding my head up from the sinus pressure and realized that I still needed to feed, change and care for our little man. I kept setting up play zones around our house near our couch, and our bed so that he could play while I was laying down. Ryder was such a trooper! He even took THREE naps yesterday... I was so thankful when Kit could take over. I am hoping that this flu goes away sooner than later, poor Kit is having to pull double duty!

Thank you Kit for taking such good care of BOTH of us, and not just when we are sick...

Invites!

Ryder's invitations are done and I am so excited about them!

I am one of those people that loves to journal and scrapbook and keep records of special moments in our family and nothing says LOTS of special moments like having a kiddo! In regards to birthdays, I came across this book and I am realy excited to use it through the years.

If there is a special keepsake record keeping book that you have used for your family, I would love to know about it. I am always on the look out for things like that...

I miss Kit...

When Kit is out of town I miss so many things about him, but the one that comes to my mind most often is what a team mate he is. For example, he not only takes care of Ryder, but he makes dinner AND cleans the kitchen ... it is just so wonderful!

Kit, thank you for making our lives so good! Hurry home, we miss you terribly! (Ryder keeps looking for you... it's sweet how addicted he is to you! I can't blame him though...)

(These moments brought to you by our Beco baby carrier)

getting things done...

Today Kit left for a staff retreat and will get home on thursday afternoon. Last night we were making lists and organizing activities and gift books and finalizing details all while I was trying to finish up Ryder's birthday invitations and feed Ryder dinner and pack for our trip out to see my family. It felt like organized chaos, but it was nice to be doing it all together. At one point I stepped back and all over our little house there were piles and of things that needed to be done or packed and I just had to smile...

how much did your kid cost?

My sister shared this blog post with me and it was so timely to a conversation that my sister had had with an older woman who could NOT understand how my niece could be my sister's daughter. (Wow, now that was a sentence...) It is amazing how insensitive people can be. Please take a chance to read it...

Thank you Single Dad Laughing for sharing this post...

the kings speech

We saw, we loved it, and we hope that it takes home lots of awards...

Thanks Medo for the recommendation!

these boots were made for walking...

I would say that it was around 7 months when I started to enjoy clothes again. Things fit, but everything had to pass my two stipulations:

1. had to be machine washable, easy to clean and pretty much stain resistant

2. I had to be able to...um...feed Ryder with out much difficulty from the apparel department.

(I filtered out the phrase "whip it out at a moments notice...")

So now that clothes have been a little more fun, I have been stepping out of my comfort zone a little bit more and for Christmas, I got these boots from my mom and Kit...

I love them! Shoes have always been a challenge for me due to my size (no comment), and I have never really been a boots wearer but these have been so fun! I have put them with skirts and my skinny jeans and I have to say that they are so comfortable! I am having fun putting outfits together and I am more and more excited about getting dressed up... It feels really good!

Thank you so much mom and Kit for giving me these beautiful boots.

Thank you Target!

Check out what Target has been up to as they have partnered with World Vision. Our niece got one and I can't tell you how cool it is to see something like this out there.

Here is the description:

What if you could change the world just by buying a doll? You can, with Hearts For Hearts Girls dolls! Each doll is a girl that wants to make a difference in her life and community. There are six beautiful dolls to choose from: Dell (USA), Lilian (Belarus), Rahel (Ethiopia), Nahji (India), Tipi (Laos), and Consuelo (Mexico).When you buy a Hearts For Hearts Girls doll, a portion of the purchase price is donated to children's causes in those countries through World Vision, a global humanitarian organization.

I hope you get a chance to check them out.

meal times...

I think that Ryder takes after his parent's in that he is always so happy to be eating. This usually means that he is sitting in his high chair. I will usually put music on as we eat our meals, everything from classical playlists to U2 and the Black Eyed Peas. He is such an easy going little guy, and any one who knows me, knows that Ryder gets that character trait from his DAD...

I had to share a photo that I snapped on my phone that just seems to capture my little guy. He has two teeth on the bottom and top, and he does this laugh where he wrinkles his nose and puts his head back and laughs...

He is just so tickled by the simplest thing... I have to say that I watch him and his little personality and I realize that he is someone that I want to be around. I not only love my baby, but I really like him too! I am thankful for that, because we are together quite a bit.

Little man~

I just could not love you more! I am so thankful that you are my kid. I wouldn't want anyone else...

Valentines Day Recap...

We had a great valentine's day yesterday. Kit got home a tiny bit early with some beautiful flowers and we made our valentine's day traditional meal of king crab legs. We made shrimp and cheddar biscuits to go with it, with a tasty salad and we topped off the meal with my home made apple crisp and a game of bananagrams once the little man was in bed. It was a beautiful evening together...

My little valentine who is just getting bigger and bigger...

The best garlic shrimp ever!

Flowers!

This is one of our favorite traditions. We have done it the last 4 or 5 years and we plan to keep doing it as each valentines day comes around because it is always such a treat...

I hope that you had a wonderful day being with your loved ones!

Kit Rae~

Thank you for being my valentine every year... You are my best friend and I am so thankful to have you in my life. I love the home that you have created for us and I love that you are a man of character and conviction as you lead our family in so many ways. I admire you so...You are by far my favorite person ever! Thank you for living life with me...

Note:

For the record, because I am a big enough person to admit defeat... Kit beat me on our first game of bananagrams... my apple crisp was definitely served with a side of humble pie!

Happy Valentines Day!

Ryder wanted to wish you all a very Happy Valentine's Day!

Enjoy being with people that you love!

We are off to make our annual king crab legs and shrimp dinner...

great ideas...

Kit's mom has gotten me my subscription to Real Simple for the last few Christmases and I just love every time it comes in the mail. There are always fun recipes to try, new uses for old things, gadgets that make life easier, ways to correctly apply eye shadow (I keep trying, but the smokey eye just looks like a hot mess when I try it...), and new books to read, as well as inspiring stories.

I found a deal on a two year subscription to Better Homes and Gardens and I have to say that I have been getting some really fun ideas out of them.

I'm excited to try some of the projects that I found in this article... Oh gosh, valentines day came up quickly didn't it?

Sending a huge thank you!

Mom and Dad~

We just wanted to thank you so much for watching Ryder while we attended the marriage conference... He loves you guys! That was the longest we have left him and it was so great to have our day together. We look forward to doing it again...

And did I mention how amazing your dinner was? We were definitely spoiled!

We couldn't love you more!

marriage conference

We will be at this marriage conference at our church. We are really excited about it! We will be attending the conference with our close friends which will make the conference an even richer experience too!

Ryder will be with my parents so knowing them, he won't even know we are gone...

Thanks mom and dad for watching the little man!

how much wood could a wood chuck chuck...

Well if that wood chuck's name was Ryder, he could chuck a whole crib! I guess that's life with a teether...

Thank goodness we sprung for the baby safe finish on our crib!

(But who could be mad at that face...)

party decorations

With each nap time of Ryder's, I try to plug away at little details for his first birthday party. My family teases me and my party planning "time frame", but I know that it will be here before we know it...

So I made this tiny banner to decorate his high chair the day that he gets to eat cake!

I am really excited to make all the plans to celebrate our little mans first year of life!

(I know that he won't remember any of it, but it is still really fun to do. That's why we will be taking lots of pictures...)

making life a little easier...

Just geting some chores done with a little bit of help from Ryder...

We love our baby carrier. Anything that lets me tackle things on my list AND have hands free bonding time with Ryder, I'm in...

note: I look a little strung out because the little man has a runny nose and didn't sleep that great last night...

baby celebrations...

This weekend we celebrated the upcoming arrival of my cousin Melissa's baby, Olivia. Our mom's are sister's and we were born about 4 months apart. We have grown up, in so many ways like sisters. It is beautiful to have watched she and her husband Cory meet and fall in love and then get to stand up for them in their wedding, and then watch them grow into the incredible people that they are today that will very soon parent Olivia. It is so sweet to watch this new phase of their life unfold and get to share in it with them.

Melissa~

I can't wait to watch you become a mom... Olivia is incredibly blessed to have you and Cory as parents. All our love and prayers are with you as this new chapter of your life approaches...

Sesame Street

Here is a new favorite for Ryder. His arms get going like crazy with the beat.

....the best part is all the puppets dancing!

babies

I recently saw this movie and I loved it. It follows 4 babies, from four parts of the world, for their first year. I am sure that I loved it so much because my baby is in his first year, but I really think that any mom would enjoy it. I finished the movie with a sense of camaraderie that comes with motherhood. At the end of the day, we are all doing our best to love and care for our babies.

note: There is nudity in regards to different cultures as well as nursing, so that you are not surprised.

making party progress

I have been chipping away at Ryder's party. Today I made party favor tags with these paper punches.

I just love planning a party!

I can't believe that our little man is going to be one!

What a big kid we have

dusting off my needles...

I started knitting again today for some upcoming gifts. I haven't knitted since well before Ryder was born, so it was really fun dusting off the needles... I just love these kind of projects!