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!

 

After a week of no friends coming over, Ryken was excited to play with his cousins yesterday. We were in quarantine because Ryken had pink eye. Not exactly something you want to be sharing! We went to the doctor last week, because his eye was bright red. She immediately told me it was pink eye, and I had to put drops in his eye 3 times a day. That was fun. Thank goodness for fruitios. "A treat if you let me put your drops in! Open your eye, no don't close it...open...open." He would shut them as tight as he possibly could. Oh well, now we're better.
He's doing great with sleeping in his car bed! About 4 nights ago, he told me "nigh, night's car bed." He slept there the whole night through, so the next morning we said bye to the crib, and we haven't looked back.
We're going to Oroville again this weekend, and the weekend after that, we're off to Florida! A family trip with just Rob, Ryken and myself. Nothing but beaches, and outlet shopping! Rob's already located all of the malls, and printed off the store directories for me. What a great hubby, eh?

 
 
CHEESE!!! Ryken easily smiles for pictures, ecspecially when there's Cars involved! Erin and I went to Target a few weeks ago, and we loaded up with the Cars merchandise. Ryken got his shirt, sheet set(saving for his birthday,) and his new Cars backpack. I figured he was old enough to start carrying around his own diapers. I want to carry my own purse again! The trouble is I load it with so much stuff, that I'm the one carrying it around because it's so heavy. Oh well, it works.
We bought this car bed for Ryken, hoping it would be an easy transition to a big boy bed if it was something he loved. We haven't had him sleep in it yet, we just wanted it set up so he could get used to it for awhile. Well, today he had his first nap in it! I layed down with him for 5 min. and he was out. Rob and I worked outside for about 1 1/2 hrs, before he woke up. The only problem is, he knows how to open doors, so he had wandered out into the hall. He can't really get into anything, but I think he was a bit disoriented. Anyone have ideas about moving from crib to bed? He's just about 2, so I think he's probably ready. I don't want him jumping out of his crib and hurting himself. He hasn't attempted it yet, but ya never know.

Hey everyone, hope you had a great Easter weekend! We went to Oroville, and spent the long weekend at my parents cabin on the lake. It's a quiet little town not too far from here. We went to Kelowna first to visit my mom's "adopted Grandma." You know, those family friends who are so close, they practically become your relatives. Anyways, we had been planning to go visit her this weekend because it was her 100th birthday! Crazy, right? Well a couple of weeks before the big day, my mom received a phone call. The party had been cancelled. My mom prepared herself for the worst. But no, Grandma was fine. The reason for the party cancellation? She is only turning 99! Poor Grandma. Nobody to celebrate her 99th birthday with her. Isn't that awful? So we decided we definately needed to be there to sing happy birthday, and share a slice of cake. She loved Ryken, and he even gave her a kiss before we left.
On Sat. morning, we had an Easter egg hunt at the State Park. The kids were hunting for real hard boiled eggs. No chocolate for these kids. Ryken got right into it, and was trying to carry as many as he could. We didn't have a basket, so he happily dropped them into his cars backpack. He picked up 9 eggs, and was quite proud of himself!
Monica and Justin were at the cabin with us and our parents. It was great to spend time with them, just relaxing and getting away from it all. We're going to spending a lot of time there in the summer. Can't wait!