31 weeks in these pics

Well, I'm almost 33 weeks, and I've started the countdown. This baby is a real kicker (not as strong as Ryken was) and moves around like crazy! The other day I was almost sick it was moving so much. It really is an amazing feeling to have a live little person inside of you. I'm starting to wonder what this baby's going to look like. I'm looking forward to see how Ryken's going to be around the baby. We've been prepping him the whole time, and it's been great to for him to see his new cousin, who was just born last week. I think he's starting to understand the whole idea of this new baby joining our family. We always talk about what to name the baby. We have a boy's name, but have been struggling to find the perfect girl's name. the other day Ryken, out of the blue, stopped and asked me, "if the baby's a girl...do you like the name Kessie?" We'd never talked about a name even close to that, nor has he ever even heard it before. He just made it up! Not that bad actually. It might turn into a nickname for one of the names that we had chosen.

Well, I'm snowed in and Ryken's sleeping, so I thought it'd be a good time to get on the blog again. We had a great Christmas, and visited lots of family. Ryken got totally spoiled, and every toy he got, seems to make noise! Christmas morning, I woke up to Ryken saying, " mom I got a new veggie tales dvd!" took me a minute to register, 'cause I was sure that was one of his presents under the tree. Yep, He had gone straight to the tree, and opened a present. At least it was only one! He learned 3 songs at Sunday school, and performed them in front of the whole church with his class. He did so well! All the words memorized, and the actions were great! He loved to sing all 3 of them to anybody who'd listen. He got a guitar from my parents, and I often hear him from his room strumming away, and singing his new favorite songs. So cute! Throughout the holiday season, I think he may have got a little confused. We went to the flying club to see Santa...who made his grand entrance coming down from a helicopter. We saw a church play, where baby Jesus was really just a doll, and Joseph was played by a girl! One afternoon, leaving London Drugs parking lot, we saw three East Indians crossing the sidewalk. 2 seconds later, Ryken said " mom, dad, I saw the wise men!" Of course! After all, they had the same kind of hats!
Our New Years was a bit of a right off; Ryken came down with a horrible fever, that ended up lasting a week. Antibiotics helped him out, and pretty soon, he was back to his old self. On the 12th of Jan, Ryken was a ring bearer in his Uncle B's wedding! He and his cousins were all involved. He go to walk down the aisle in his little suit, holding a fishing rod, with the ring tied to the end. He did such a great job! He was such a handful afterwards, though, that I got my parents to pick him up, so I could enjoy the reception...without having to run after him! It was a beautiful wedding, and we now have a wonderful new sister in law.
Ryken's been loving the snow, and eating it seems to be his favorite thing to do with it. Then we come inside for hot chocolate. We discuss baby names, and have come up with a few good ones. This baby sure moves around a lot! I've got my nursery all set up, and am feeling great. Few more months to go!

I'm so excited to be at home for a Christmas season. The past 2 years in a row, we've moved on Dec 16th. I've actually been able to decorate! Ryken is getting really excited, and is looking forward to the presents. My mom gave him the Sears wish book to look at, and he would point to every toy, and say " I want this toy, and this truck..I want lots of things mommy." Yeah well, I want lots of things too.
We've been practising our Christmas songs for the Church performance this year. Ryken is in the 2 year old Sunday school class, and is going to be singing 3 songs at the front of the church with all of the other kids. In one week, he memorized all three of them! He loves it, and knows all the actions. So cute. I'll be bringing the video camera.
this is us picking out our Christmas tree. it was quite the all day affair! From picking out the perfect one, bringing it home, putting on the decorations, and cleaning up afterwards, it took us all morning! It was a great experience, one that we'll have year after year.

We took a trip to Vegas at the beginning of December. 4 days, 3 nights. Just long enough to get away, and not too long to leave Ryken with my parents. We had a great time with 2 other couples that we went with, and kept busy doing the tourist thing. Found some great deals at the outlets, and looking through all the amazing hotels, was awesome. we also went to the Hoover Dam...it was huge! We phoned Ryken every morning while we were gone, and the huge snowfall kept hime occupied. the last day we phoned i told him we were coming home to kiss him goodnight in his car bed. He replied "Mom, come home and give me a hug." Awwww...I needed to go home! He was super clingy the first two days that we were back, but then he realized we weren't going any where, and got back into his regular routine. it was great to have one last vacation alone. Might be the last one for awhile!

fall photo shoot

So we went to a church "harvest party" for halloween. We were going to take Ryken out around our cul-de-sac, but with the freaky monsters, and sawed off heads hanging from their homes, we thought it would be better to spend the night somewhere less scary. I bought Ryken a lion costume, and face paint to go along with it. We got him all dressed up and he loved it! He was telling me that he had sharp toes like versace (our cat.) Then i think he got too hot in the house, because he told us he didn't want to be a lion anymore. he took it off, and we couldn't get him to wear it again. So he went in his regular clothes, and we threw a plastic, yellow hat on his head. Construction worker! Anyway he had lots of fun, and got way too much candy. The same week we went to 2 kids birthday parties, and got goody bags with more candy! I think i'll have to help him out with that. ;)

So yes, we're going to have another baby! We've told a few people already. Mostly family and friends, but with the top button of my pants usually open, and me not lookin' so hot lately, I thought it was time to blog about it. We're very excited that Ryken will be a big brother. we've told him about it, and i think he kinda understands. I was talking to Erin on the phone the other night, and Ryken started putting his finger in my belly button. I looked at him, and he said "I'm trying to get the baby out!" He's quite in love with any baby that he sees, but it may be a different story when he finds out this one is here for good. They'll be almost 3 years apart, so i think he'll be able to understand a bit more by then. we've been praying for this one for awhile, and didn't know if it was going to happen. God is good. Every child is such a blessing.

This is the masterpiece, I found after leaving Ryken alone with his felts for 5 minutes. I tried to be stern about it, but I wanted to get my camera! And how could I get mad at that face? With all the colors that were used, he had put all of the lids back on to the right color felt.
Thank goodness they're washable!

Ryken showing off the toys his daddy won for him at the fair. It was a stupid pinball game, and we really wanted him to win that car. The whole time we were cheering "Go daddy, go daddy!" And he won! Mind you the other competitors were an 8 year old girl and her mom. But he won!
Ryken's really shown an interest in letters and numbers lately, so I've started doing preschool workbooks with him in the morning. We were learning our colors and the letters that spelled them. I wasn't sure if he was paying attention, until he recognized to letters in a row! He loved it, and wanted to keep doing more. A few days later, he pointed to my shirt and said, "hey look! Letters! that says mommy." My shirt actually said "Roxy," but was I going to tell him that? No, instead I agreed. Yes, that says mommy. So cute!
I also taught him his phone number. He tells you the number, then says..."trouble...tell sheriff." Who knows? it might come in handy one day. Only problem is, he wants to tell everbody! As soon as he hears someone say a number, he starts rattling off his phone number. I think I've gotta stop that.
We're pretty much done with naps, and he's finally going to bed at a reasonable hour. 8:30pm instead of 10:00pm. When he had naps during the day, 1-2 hrs, he!wouldn't go to sleep at night. it was driving us crazy! I think we'll stick to this routine for awhile and see how it goes. We still have a quiet time in the afternoon for about 1/2 hr. Gives me a chance to do things, while he plays cars in his room.

That was it for summer? It went way too fast, and wasn't nearly hot enough! We did get some sun in Oroville, though. We just got back from a 5 night holiday, and had lots of fun with our family while we were there. We came home through the states, so we could hit the Premim outlets and do some shopping. Wouldn't you know, everyone else had the same idea, and we were stuck in traffic for over and hour. As we were getting closer, I pulled out my makeup bag, to do some touch ups before we got there. Ryken was watching me, and asked me what i was doing. i told him I was doing makeup. After a couple seconds he looked at me and said, "that's enough." i guess he goes for the natural look.
These pics are on ryken's new trampoline! well, not new really, a garage sale find. We set it up, while he was having a nap, and brought him outside as soon as he woke up. He was so excited! we have to jump on it everyday.

My baby is 2. So hard to believe...I think I'm still in denial. He's grown up so quickly and is changing so fast. He makes me laugh with his crazy ideas, and blows me away with his vocabulary. I think he's caught my love of real estate. As we were driving around a really nice area of town today, I hear " nice houses" from the back seat. His party went well. We had 16 kids and their parents over to celebrate, and the yard was done just in time. He was on a major sugar buzz at the end of the day, but we had a fun time.
We're also potty training! He's caught on so quickly, and stays dry even through the night. ( I still have pull ups on just in case.) He's actually started to tell me before he needs to go, so I know we're getting somewhere. Such a big boy, but still my baby. :)

Hey Everyone, yes I'm still here! It's been way too long since I've posted, but with everything going on, it's kinda the last thing on my list. I just finished piano lessons, and I ended the year with a recital for the kids. It went great! We've gone to Oroville again, and stpent 5 nights there with our family. It's always so hot there! Ryken loved driving the boat with my dad, and would sit on his lap, drive the steering wheel, and push down the throttle, while saying "go faster!" The other thing my dad taught Ryken this weekend, was the name of the beer that he drinks. (My dad, not Ryken.) So yesterday in Canadian Tire, I'm paying the cashier for my things. Ryken sees the cooler with all the pop in it and loud and clear in that deep, low voice that he has, says "buuud." I burst out laughing 'cause it makes me look like the beer drinker! Anyway, these past few days have been crazy with dump truck load after dumptruck load of rocks, sand, barkmulch, and gravel, being dumped on our driveway, and hauled to our backyard. We've built a massive rock retaining wall, and hired a few landscapers to help out. I'll try to post some pics of the finished product!

Florida pics

 
 
 
 

 

 

We're back! We had a long restful week, with plenty of sand and sun. Ryken was quite the little traveler, and made sure to say hi to absolutely every person that walked by us. The plane ride went extremely well on the way there. He fell asleep before the plane lifted off the ground, and woke up when we landed. Needless to say I didn't catch a wink, because I was worried if I moved he'd wake up. The first few days were a little cloudy, so we hit the Palm Beach Zoo, and did a little shopping. The rest of the week we went swimming in the pool every day, and built sandcastles on the beach in the afternoon. Rob and I would take turns going to the beach while Ryken napped. We were each guaranteed 1hr. of uninterrupted suntanning every day. It was a great system! The resort room we stayed in had a full kitchen, so we stocked up at the local grocery store, and made all of our meals at home. It was so nice to be able to have meals on hand, and not have to rely on restaurants all the time. Eating on our own watching Bob the Builder, was a lot more relaxing than sitting in a restaurant with Ryken crawling under the table!
Ryken loved the ocean, and stood in awe of the waves splashing on his toes over and over again. Whenever we left for the day he'd say "more ocean, shells, sandcastles."
The flight back was an afternoon flight, and we had to entertain Ryken for 4 1/2hrs. Sitting. With no room to run. Yes, it was a challenge. He actually did surprisingly well. With books, DVDs and songs and rhymes from me, we managed to keep him happy. It was well worth it, and we have lots of new memories to share.
Pictures will be coming!