Good while it lasted

So, I think I was at Earls for 3 weeks. I've decided to hand in my apron. The serving was fun, and the money was O.K., but it was just way too inconvenient to find a babysitter. I though I could rely on family to help out with Ryken, but with these warm sunny days, everyone is on vacation. Both my sister-in-laws are due with their 3rd baby in a few weeks, so I couldn't really ask them to do it. I worked yesterday, and was totally stressed because I couldn't find anyone to take him! I finally got my aunt to take him for the day, which was a huge help. So to get ready to take him there, I had to pack up all his food, bottles, clothes, swimmers, highchair, stroller, carseat, playpen, toys...AGHHH!!! It took me forever to get everything ready, drop him off, unload and set everything up. Then I went to work from 11:00-4:30. Then I had to go get my baby, pack up everything bring him home, and set it all up again! For the $50 bucks in tips, it so wasn't worth it. So I'm happy to say, that my Earls days are over, and my full time job is my son. Nothing else. Well, I guess I shouldn't say nothing else. We picked up our Spanish exchange student last night. Her name is Elena, and she's 17. She's from Spain, and she's so sweet. She adores Ryken, and is so polite. We're going to Oroville with her, for the long weekend. My parents have a cabin on the lake, and we're going to do some water-skiing. Fun, Fun!!

Havin' fun with Papa!

Riding the tractor, was so much fun! I really liked holding on to the steering wheel. My Papa always makes me laugh, and he loves to play with me.

Ryken & Eddie

The happy couple- Monica & Justin

Halellujah!!!

Finally, my sister is engaged! A week and a half ago, Justin proposed to her. They' ve been dating for almost 5 years, so I guess it makes sense that their engagement will only be 2 months long. But it will be a very crazy 2 months! I've been helping a lot, since I am the Matron of Honor (sounds so matronly). We've booked the church, reception, caterer. Monica found her wedding dress. We made all the invitations, and half of them are already sent out. I took some engagement pictures of them, and things are running smoothly. Now they're looking to buy a condo. Busy, Busy! We're so excited for her, and looking forward to having a new brother-in-law.

Say Please!

I'm excited to announce, we have success in some form of communication, with Ryken. I've been doing a bit of sign language for awhile now. More, Thank you, Drink, All done, and lately, I've added Please. We've only been doing "Please" for a few days now, and he just did it by himself! With no sign on my part, I told him to say please for more peaches, and he did the sign! What a smart boy. I can't believe he caught on so quickly. ( I know I'm bragging, but it's just so flippin' exciting !) Anyway, I just had to share.

Earls Girls

O.K. so I'm going back. They say it's the Earls cult. Once you start, you never leave. When did I start there? 6 years ago. Yahh. And my first shift back, since my mat. leave, is next week. It'll be nice to socialize with adults for a change, but I'm a little wary of my fellow servers. With mandatory heels and halter tops, many of them leave little to the imagination. I admit, it's not my uniform of choice, but you can do it right, without looking trashy. Unfortunately, not many of these girls realize this. Oh well, it's now up to me to serve customers with class, and not make the women feel uncomfortable. It is a fun job, and you sure can't complain about the tips. I'll keep you posted!

Hi everyone!

You should see all the things I can do! Wave hello, clap my hands, give you five, kick my feet, shake my head: no, no, no, stand by myself (sometimes) and I'm even learning to walk with my Fisher Price walker...thing that makes music...toy. Pretty soon I'll be running everywhere!

Having fun with my big Cousin Joey!

Ryken absolutely loved going down the slide with Johannah. She would climb back up, he would follow. And back down they slid. Over and over and over....
I think it'll be great for Ryken to grow up with cousins around his age.

Eddie

Sorry about the lack of bloggage lately. It's because of Eddie, our new German short-haired pointer. He's a 10 week old puppy, and has trouble written all over him. He loves Ryken, wants to be with you all the time, and it's kinda like having another baby in the house. Our trainer really recommended this breed. They're supposed to be great with kids, and loyal and protective of their family. He'll probably be the size of a Dalmation. Anyway, we're really busy, but having tons o' fun! He can already sit, stay, stand and down. We're seeing the results, and hoping he'll turn into the perfect family dog.

Puppy troubles

So most of you know we recently brought home a rottie puppy. I haven't posted anything about him, because he was so boring!!!! At first I thought this dog was super calm and gentle (which he was), but it turned into total apathy, and I couldn't get him to do anything. If I went outside to play with him, he would just turn the other way, and lay down in a corner by himself. He literally layed on our deck all day and did nothing. No amount of treats, toys or anything else could get him excited. And ths is a 5 month old puppy, aren't they supposed to be excitable? We had a trainer come assess him, and she tried to put a leash on this dog. Big Mistake. He growled and whined and barked and got so mad he started biting his tongue. Not exactly the tempermant you want in a rottie. Needless to say, this morning I took Hugo back to the farm where I got him. The owner was nice enough to take him back. At the farm, Hugo got out of the car and hid in the shrubs until his little brother came around the corner. They had a face off, as if they were checking each other out. Then with tails high and wagging they ran to meet each other. His mom and other brother came to see him, playing and licking him all over. Hugo came to life, and started play fighting with his brothers. It was like a totally different dog. I think he'll definately be happier there. We're still going to look for another dog, but maybe a different breed. Our trainer is going to help us this time, and maybe she can spot the right kind of dog for our family.

Palm Springs pics.

We had the valet guy take this picture of us, at the Mexican restaurant we went to. Can you say chimichanga?





Here's my little sailor. We had to buy him a new hat, because the one we brought didn't fit anymore. He cut 2 new teeth on our trip, so he wasn't the most pleasant to be around. We did get in a few good days though. This picture of the pool, was taken from the deck off our hotel room. It was a great trip.

Palm Springs pics

Having fun in the sun, with mommy & daddy. Ryken absolutely loved the water. I think he's going to be a quick learner. He was already trying to blow bubbles and put his face in the water.

We're Baaack!

Hey Everyone! We had a great trip but it's so good to be home. Ryken was absolutely amazing on the plane (thanks to a little doctor approved Gravol). Everyone said how good he was, and we just smiled and nodded...knowing he had a bit of help. When we landed the heat just hit you. I think it got up to 99 ºf. Our room at the hotel was huge, with a great poolside view. We had wanted to do a lot of tanning, but you couldn't sit outside for more than 15 min. without completely withering from the heat. And the shopping!!!! Great deals at the outlets. All in all, we had a great time, and good old fashioned family fun. Pictures will be coming!

hanging with Daddy

We like to go for lots of walks, and usually take the stroller. When we walk with Ryken in the backpack he usually stays awake. Oh, well, guess it was too close to bedtime. So we're going to Palm Desert on Fri. for a whole week! I'm starting to get excited, but somewhat dreading the amount of stuff we're going to have to pack around. Ryken's coming too, and it should be a relaxing time for us. Nothing but shopping and lounging by the pool. As if we needed to throw another thing on the pile, we're stopping to look at some puppies on Thurs. night, before we drive to Seattle. ( We're staying the night there, because we're flying out in the morning.) There's 2 males left, and they're about 4 months old. 3/4 rottweiler. I know, I know. Everyone thinks they're super scary. But really if you raise a dog from puppy, I think you will have a reliable dog, no matter what the breed. The one we're looking at is the runt of the litter, and very gentle and sweet. I want a dog that will protect me and my baby. Or at least look like he could protect me!

10 simple pleasures

Jaime tagged me, so here goes:

1. holding my sleeping baby

2. reading a good book

3. puppies

4. waking up to singing birds, knowing summer is just around the corner

5. having the sunroof open while I drive, feeling the sun on my face

6. hearing Ryken laugh

7. when Rob takes care of Ryken on Sat. mornings and lets me sleep in

8. watching Rob play and be silly with Ryken

9. having my coffee and reading the paper in peace, while Ryken watches Dora

10. when Ryken sleeps through the night!

I tag Darla and Sarah.

Like my shades?

Grandma D. bought me these sunglasses at the Gap. I liked them so much, I wore them all through the mall. Everbody said how cool I was!

The things that amuse me

No matter what toy I put in front of Ryken, it seems to be that the most mundane things are the most fun. I guess when everything is new you'd want to check it out. (and be sure to taste it!) He always suprises me. Yesterday, he crawled over to the oven, stood up against it and reached his little hands up as high as he could to grab the handle. He was literally hanging by his hands with his feet off the floor! Went to Canadian Tire with Erin on Fri. and Ryken, even though contained in his stroller, was pulling everything off the shelves, including the shelves! This kid is a little monkey, and I now realize those peaceful, pre-baby days, are definately gone for good. Even though he's a handful, we always end the day with a good cuddle and lullabies before bed. It's one of my favorite times with him.

Swapmeet

I guess there are some conflicting events happening on Tues. Sorry, Leah, I should have thought about this earlier. Unfortunately, I think we'll have to keep it as planned, because my sister has told some people, her friend has also invited some people, and with all my people, this thing is going to be huge! Everyone's planned it for the 25th, so the 25th it is. If you need directions to my place, I think you can e-mail me through my blog. It might be a good idea to car-pool as there is limited parking at my place. It should be lotsa fun! Leave me a comment to confirm if you'll be coming. Looking forward to seeing all of you!

Technical difficulties.

O.K. Seriously, it probably takes 5 attempts in order to write a new post. My computer keeps crashing and it's driving me nuts! Now Picasa isn't working either, so I won't be posting a picture. Not that I have any new ones anyway. Well of course I have new ones I'm just not able to post them. The reason? Our computer doesn't have the brains to accept a USB cord, so I can't upload my pictures directly from my camera. I have to take the memory card out of the camera, go to the Superstore, save them to disk, come home, upload the pictures and go from there. Sounds fun, right? I think it's time to start saving my piano money.
In other news, my baby boy has mastered crawling and is now pulling himself up and standing with the help of any piece of furniture that he can get his hands on. He's also been a bit cranky 'cause his two front teeth are coming through. He's getting so big so quickly, and it's unreal to think he'll be one year old in just three months. They say the first year goes fast, but this fast?