Christmas Pictures

We had our Christmas pictures taken a couple of weeks ago. Ryleigh did WONDERFUL!!! We were so proud of her. She HATES getting her pictures taken and it's usually pretty stressful. Daddy came with us this time because we were getting family pictures taken and he made her laugh for every picture. They turned out so cute!! Click for the slide show of the different poses.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Here a few pictures of us decorating it. The kids put lots of candy canes on it. Ryleigh loves that part, I think she has probably eaten most of them by now (or stuck them to something, I find them everywhere).

CLICK FOR SLIDE SHOW

Cutting the Christmas Tree

A little late posting....

This year we got a REAL Christmas tree. We went last Sunday (the 30th) to Scheer's Tree Farm to get our tree. We wanted to make sure that Logan was able to be there, so we did it the weekend she came up. It was snowy, muddy and cold, so we hurried. When we got it home, it wasn't as full as we thought it was, but that is ok, it's still pretty. Logan, Ryleigh and I all decorated it. Here a couple of pictures of us getting the tree.

Deer hunting

We went up north over the weekend for deer season. We all had a good time. Daddy went hunting all day Saturday and some on Sunday. Ryleigh and I just hung out at camp with grammy, Aunt Sarah, Andrew and Ella. It was too cold to do much outside. We did go visit family on Saturday night. Ryleigh also shot her pink 22 gauge that papa had given her last year. This was her first time shooting it. Daddy helped her. She only shot it once, but she didn't cry or even move when the gun went off. We have pictures, so I will have to post them soon. Maybe next year she will shot it more.

Papa and Uncle Tim both got a buck. Ryleigh was not too thrilled about the deer hanging from the tree though.

Ryleigh is a real trooper

This is late posting, but here is the update on Ryleigh's ears.

She had tubes put in on Friday the 14th. She did GREAT!! We were so proud of her. They took us back to the room and had us put some yellow pj's on her and they hooked her up the blood pressure cuff and the monitors that go on her chest. I thought for sure she would cry, but she didn't. She sat on Grammy's lap as they hooked her all up and she just watched them. They got all of her vitals and the surgeon, nurses and the anesthetic team all came in and explained everything to us. The nurses carried her down to the operating room. I watched her as far I could see and she never once cried or panicked in any way, she just looked around. The procedure took about 10 minutes and the doctor came to tell us that she did wonderful. She never did cry, when they put the gas on her she fussed a little bit and played with the mask and then fell asleep. After a few minutes in recovery they brought her back to us. She was still really groggy, but wasn't crying and doing really good. After awhile she did start crying like they said she would and it lasted about 30-40 minutes. About half way home, she stopped crying and just sat there. Once we got home, it took her a few minutes to come around. She ate something and then just hung out while we packed the car for the weekend. She slept almost the entire way up north and did great all weekend. We were so very proud of her!!!!!

She did start running a fever again on Sunday, so Monday I took her to the doctor, but they couldn't find anything viral. They ran some blood work to check for anemia and any bacteria infection. The results came back normal. One of them did show some inflammation, but not enough to be concerned about a bacterial infection. Her doctor seems to think that once her body doesn't have to fight off constant ear infections that she will start feeling better.

All we have to do now is get her sleeping in her bed again!!!!!!

Her first sentence

Ryleigh put her first sentence (that consisted of more than 2 words) together yesterday. She had brought me this big stuffed puppy that she has grown an attachment to. She handed me the puppy and then a diaper. So I put the diaper on the puppy and handed it back to her. A couple minutes later I saw her with her wipes and she was walking across the living room saying, "shew we" and she went to the trashcan. She then brought me the puppy without a diaper and handed me a new diaper. I asked her where the other one was so i could put that one on so that we were not wasting diapers. She looked at me and said, "No, Puppy poop." It was so cute!!!!!!

She is really starting talk and put words together. She can pretty much communicate everything through words. I just can't believe how fast she is growing.

MORE UPDATES

This is just another update on the doctor's appointments, I sure feel like I have spent a lot of time at the doctor's office between Ryleigh and I.

I had my prenatal visit on Monday. Everything looks good. The baby's heartbeat was in the 150's. All of my blood work came back good. I have gained 21 pounds so far.... YIKES!!! I start going every 2 weeks now. I just can't believe how fast this is going by and I have nothing done! My next appointment is Nov 24.

Ryleigh is starting to feel better. She is no longer running a fever. She had a cold and a bad cough all last week. Then Friday, things really seemed to get bad. She started running a high fever and her chest and cough was getting really bad. By Sunday, she had ran a fever between 100 - 102.5 all weekend, so we took her to Urgent Care, where they said she had ANOTHER ear infection. Her lungs sounded really good though (which is what we were really concerned about). Her cold that she had last week settled in her ears really quick because we were at the ENT doctor on Thursday and her ears were completely clear. Anyway, she has been on antibiotics for 4 days now and she seems to be starting to feel better. Her cough still sounds bad, but her fever has been down since Monday and last night she finally slept a little bit better. We slept on the couch, but at least she stayed asleep for the most part.

She will have surgery to have her tubes put in on Friday (the 14th) at 8:10 am. I know it's just tubes, but it makes me tear up every time i think about it. Ryleigh will probably be a better sport about it than I will. The procedure will only take about 20 minutes once she is asleep and then once she is awake and doing good, we get to go home. I am praying that the tubes work and we can get her feeling better really soon!!!

UPDATES

We had our follow up ultrasound on Madison's kidney on Tuesday. The doctor called Wednesday morning to let us know that everything looks GREAT!! He said that the dilation of her left kidney has gone down and that the other one still looks great. The doctor seemed very confident 2 months ago that it probably wasn't an issue, but it sure feels good to hear that everything looks good now. She weighed about 2 1/2 pounds!! I did my glucose test yesterday, which is always fun. ;) I have a regular scheduled appointment Monday, Nov. 10. And then I start going every 2 weeks. Little Madison is going to be here before we know it.

Ryleigh saw the ENT specialist yesterday. I liked him and he was good with Ryleigh. Other than the temper tantrums that she let lose in the waiting room, she was a real sport in the doctor's office. She didn't cry or throw one fit. She sat very still for the doctor and talked up a storm to him. We have her scheduled to have the tubes put in on Friday, November 14. They are suppose to call next week to let us know what time and our instructions as to what we are do to. She is having it done St. John's in Washington. We are really hoping that the tubes work and she starts feeling much better. She has been sick with so many ear infections over the last few months. She is fighting a cold right now and so hopefully we get these tubes in before it turns into an ear infection. We will let everyone know how it all goes.

Trunk or Treat

Friday night the church had their Trunk or Treat for Halloween. We (me, mom and Sarah) did a Princess theme. We decorated the back my Expedition to look like a castle. It turned out really cute. Ryleigh dressed up like Cinderella, I was a married Cinderella, Aunt Sarah was Snow White, Andrew was Prince Charming, Gabriella was Tinker Bell, Grammy was a Princess and Devan was Sleeping Beauty. Ryleigh and Andrew had a lot of fun together and they looked adorable. The church had a good turn out. Ryleigh wasn't as afraid as I thought she would be. She DID NOT like Aunt Christa's costume at all!! She was dressed as a chicken and you couldn't see her face at all, Ryleigh and Andrew were both very afraid of her. There was only one other person that she noticed and scared her, it was a boy with an ugly, bloody mask on. Other than that, she did great. She had a lot of fun. Grammy took her trick or treating and took her to play in the corn pit. She was exhausted by the end of the night!!! And so was mommy!!! Standing for that long being 7 months pregnant is a lot of work!! ;) Also, dressing like a Princess Bride at 7 months pregnant will get you a lot of stares!! I don't why, but everyone stared at my belly all night.

Below you can click on the picture for a slide show. There are a lot of pictures of the adorable Prince Charming and Cinderella. Ryleigh had a really hard time keeping her dress on so it looks like she was trying to be sexy Cinderella.

Click for Slide Show

The prettiest little ladybug!

Ryleigh was going to be Elvis for her Halloween party at school today, but the costume still hasn't come in. So this morning before we went to school, we stopped at R&R Ace to see what they had. I couldn't let her go to school without a costume!! We ended finding this adorable Ladybug costume. I dressed her in the parking lot and snapped some pictures of her before dropping her off. She looked so cute!!!! I will have to get some more of her this weekend. Tonight she is going to be Cinderella (incase you are wondering why I didnt dress her in that, we are borrowing it and i didn't want anything to happen to it). Monday I will post more picture of her in both costumes.

Pumpkin Belly

I thought it would be fun to enter a photo contest on ivillage.com. The January 09 Expecting Group came up with this contest. All you had to do was paint your pregnant belly for Halloween and submit your picture. The winner gets free baby stuff. I just thought it would be fun to try and to see what my pregnant belly looks like painted like a pumpkin. And if nothing else, I would have a cute picture for Madison's scrapbook. So, last night I used the mirror in the bathroom and painted my belly. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Here it is, my 27 week pregnant pumpkin belly..... ENJOY

They are so precious when they are sleeping

These two pictures were taken today while Ryleigh was at work with me. She just looks so innocent and sweet when she is sleeping. ;) And of course, as always, she has chocolate on her face!

My Growing Belly

Here are some belly shots that I have taken over the course of this pregnancy. The first one wasn't taken until I was already 18 weeks, so it's hard to really see the change because I already had a belly then. But enjoy anyway. :)

18 weeks ( I put this one in black and white to try to filter out the flash on the mirror)

20 weeks (This has a bad flash and bad coloring too. I took most of these at work with the digital camera here and so the lighting in the bathroom is really bad.)

22.5 weeks

24 weeks

And look at this one, Ryleigh wanted to be in the pic too....

25.5 weeks

Today I am a little over 26 weeks, so not much has changed.

What is your boyfriend's name?

Ryleigh has this little boy at daycare, named Liam, that she plays with a lot. Her teacher said one day that Liam waits for Ryleigh to get to school, that she is his little girlfriend. The other day, all the kids were so excited to see her and the teacher said they had all been waiting for Ryleigh to get there, they all just love her.

Well for a couple of weeks Ryleigh would say this word, the same way each time, but I didn't know what she was saying until one day when I picked her up and she said it while we were talking about Liam. It was Liam that she was going around saying all the time. It is so cute. She talks about him and says his name at home. Well, because I think it's so darn cute I have her say it for people and talk about I Liam being her little boyfriend and because of that, she started saying Liam when you would ask her who her boyfriend is! It's so cute!

The Pumpkin Patch

Click for slideshow

This past Saturday Ryleigh and I went to the Pumpkin Patch with Grammy, Devan, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Matt, Andrew and Gabriella. We had a lot of fun and it was a beautiful day. Ryleigh, Andrew and Devan played in the play area for awhile. They had a slide, corn pit, mazes, a big tractor and hay bails to climb on. They also fed the chickens and looked at the turkeys. We all went on the hayride and throw the corn maze. We all really enjoyed ourselves. On our way out, we had a quick picnic lunch. I have attached some pictures, but you can also see some on Sarah's blog.

Update on baby Madison and Ryleigh

I had my prenatal appointment yesterday. Everything looked good... good blood pressure, good fetal heart rate. I scheduled my follow up ultrasound for Madison's kidney on Nov. 4. My next appointment is Nov. 10 and I will have the results then. Other than just waiting to see how this ultrasound turns out, everything else is going great!! I am at the beginning of my 7th month already!! I can't believe how fast this is going by! I have her bedding, but I haven't started on her room yet. I am excited to get it done, I just can't get my butt in gear!!

Ryleigh finishes her last dose of antibiotics today, so I pray that her ear infection has cleared up and she doesn't get another one before we have the tubes put in! Her appt with the specialist is also on Nov.4 . Hopefully, we can have the tubes put in sometime within those next couple of weeks since she won't be able to take anymore antibiotics if she were to get sick.

We will send out an update.

TWO nights in a row....

Ryleigh slept in HER bed ALL NIGHT!! Since we put the toddler bed in her room on Labor Day weekend, we have had a hard time getting her to sleep all night in her bed. We ended up buying a foam rail that goes under her sheet to keep her from falling out, it helped some. Then we discovered that she had another ear infection, which could also explain her sleeping so poorly. Her sleeping was getting better after the rail and some antibotics, but she was still coming into our bed every night. Then, finally on Monday night she went to bed at 8:15 and we didn't hear a word out of her until 7:40 the next morning when she came into our room!!! Then again Tuesday night, she went to sleep around the same time and slept in her bed until 7:10 the next morning!! We were so proud of her!! And I was really hoping it would stick around, but she ended up in our bed around 3:50 this morning. I think once we get her ear infections under control, she will start sleeping better and we will start seeing her sleep in her bed a lot more!! At least I am hoping!! ;)

Ryleigh went potty in the big girl potty!!

For the last month or so Ryleigh has been wanting to use the big potty. So I (most of the time, since I haven't really started potty training) let her sit on the big potty, but nothing has ever happened. We do it just for fun and just whenever she wants to. Well, for the last few days she has actually tried going potty while sitting on it, she grunts and pushes, but nothing would happen..... until...... Sunday. Sunday afternoon we were downstairs and I said to her, "mommy has to potty, I will be back." But she followed me up there and when I was done she insisted on sitting on the potty. So, we take off her pants and diaper and she sits on the potty. She starts trying really hard and finally she peed!!!!!!!! She just smiled real big and I got all excited and we ran downstairs to tell daddy, who was so proud!! I guess we will see what happens. I don't really plan to start potty training until after 2 because daycare doesn't do potty training in the one year old room, but we will just see where this leads us. In the meantime, it's just all for fun!!

A very important message from Ryleigh

Ryleigh is just reminding all the females in her life to make sure they do their self-breast exams and to keep up with their annual exams and mammograms. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So, remind all those women in your life!!!

Here are some very important and helpful links to breast cancer....

http://www.nbcam.org/

http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/

Our Zoo Trip

Saturday Grammy, Aunt Sarah, Andrew, Gabriella, Devan and Ryleigh and I all went to the zoo for the day. We had a really good time. Andrew and Ryleigh had a lot of fun together. I think Ryleigh's favorite part was riding in the wagon with Andrew. It was a beautiful day to go. When we left the zoo, we had a nice picnic lunch in the park. I don't have any pictures right now, but I will post some when I get them. (maybe Aunt Sarah will post some in her blog and I can steal them!).

More pictures of Ryleigh

I hooked up the scanner at work today, so I have been playing with it and the new program that I downloaded.

So here are two more pictures of Miss Ryleigh

Ryleigh's silly face

Here are two pictures of Ryleigh's "silly face". She is just so darn cute!

Beep, Beep

Just a quick funny story to share about our funny little girl.

Last night after I picked Ryleigh up from daycare, we stopped at the grocery store. Ryleigh was riding in the front of the cart and as we going down the aisle, I came up on a man that was standing in my way. Just as I was getting ready to say "excuse me", Ryleigh shouted, "BEEP, BEEP!". It was so funny!!! I started laughing and continued to say "excuse me", but the guy never did move. I was in Cash Savers, so I couldn't have expected more. Ryleigh sure knows how to make you laugh though.

Our Little Elvis

Well, Tom sure did a good job of getting himself a little Elvis fan! Ryleigh LOVES Elvis and loves to dance to him. She has been doing her "Elvis hand" for a long time now. She does a good job at it too. Most recently, she has learned how to do her "Elvis leg". Here are two pictures I snapped here at work today of her doing her "Elvis leg". I tried to catch her doing her Elvis hand, but the camera went dead and I was able to get it on long enough to upload the pictures. So enjoy!

Oh and she also knows who Elvis is by looking at him. We have a picture frame from Graceland with a picture of Tom and I in it and the other day she noticed it and pulled it down, pointed to Elvis and started doing her hand.

Apple Picking

This is a little late....

This past Sunday we went apple picking at Eckert's Farm with Uncle Terry, Aunt Debbie and Nicholas. We all had a great time. Nicholas and Ryleigh enjoyed every minute of it. They rode the rides (which I couldnt believe that Ryleigh did), played in the Fort, watched the Pig Races, rode the train through the orchard, fed the goats and so much more. We picked apples last and Ryleigh had a lot of fun. She was so cute picking the apples off the trees. We had to try to explain to her that ones on the ground were bad apples. She also loves to eat them!!! If you were to look in our fruit bowl on our table right now, you will find two red apples with bites out of them.

We were all so exhausted when we got home that we all took a nap and then ended up just watching movies the rest of the evening.

Thanks Terry and Debbie for inviting us to come along! We had a blast!

It's a GIRL

Ryleigh is going to have a baby sister!! We had our ultrasound yesterday. She looks great and is cute already! She measured 12 oz. We are halfway there!!!! She will be here before we know it. So another girl for the Wilson family it is!!!

Her name will be Madison Louise (Louise after he grandma Wilson).

COUNT.... 1..2..3

This morning I was putting Ryleigh's shoes on and I said "One shoe" and she held up her fingers like she was counting and finished it by saying, "Two, Three". It was so cute!! I just can't believe that my baby can count to 3 already. We were so excited, we had to call daddy at work to tell him!! He was very proud too!!

Grandparents Day

Ryleigh celebrated Grandparent's Day at school on Friday. Grammy was able to join her. They had a lot of fun. Grammy and Ryleigh had breakfast, made a picture frame together and played for a little while. Ryleigh had also made Grammy a card, a poem and another drawing with her picture on it. (She also made some for Papa and was able to give them to him on Sunday). Grammy said that Ryleigh had to show her all the paintings and stuff on the walls. I know that they both really enjoyed their time. When I picked Ryleigh up that evening, the director said that Ryleigh had a really good time with her grandmother today.

Thank you Grammy for joining me at school for Grandparents Day!!!

They are never to young to learn how to mow!

We had to take a few pictures of Ryleigh on the mower for an ad for the paper. Dad is putting an ad for mowers in there and we are using her. Click on the picture below to see a slideshow. And check out the Sullivan Independent Newspaper that will come out on Tuesday.

Part 2

And this is what happens when she works too hard....

Click for slideshow

A Day at Work with Mommy!

Click for Slideshow


Ryleigh still comes to work with me every Thursday. She likes to help and pretend that she is working. Check out the slideshow to see how busy her day was today.

Pictures of Ry's new bed

Click for slideshow

Big Girl Bed

Ryleigh got a big girl bed Saturday. We are giving her furniture to the baby and I decided to start on switching everything and getting the baby room started, so Ryleigh and I went Saturday to get a big girl bed. I put it together when we got home and she was so excited. She is doing great with it. Her first night she went right to sleep and as far as we know stayed asleep and did not fall out. At her usual time (6:20) she cried, but I waited to see if she would go back to sleep. I never heard anymore out of her and at 7:50 she came into our room. The next night, she woke up pretty early crying. When Tom went to see what was wrong she was standing in her door way shaking the baby gate. She ended up sleeping with us the rest of the morning. Then last night, she did great again. She woke up at 6:30, but couldn't get her baby gate open, so she cried a little bit until I picked her up. She looks so big sleeping in it! We just can't believe that our baby is already in a big girl bed!! See pictures below... they are a little blurry and the lighting wasn't very good.

Ok, well I am having computer problems, I will have to try again in a little bit with the pictures

Only 6 more days

until our BIG DAY!!! Our ultrasound is Tuesday at 8:15. I am very excited and can't wait!!

Ryleigh's big ouchie :(

Last night Ryleigh fell off the concrete steps in our garage. I am not real sure what happened because my back was to her, but it seems as though she fell off the side of the steps. She banged up her belly. I am guessing she did it on one of the corners of the steps. She has a concrete burn and several little cuts and scratches. It looks as those it will get a pretty good size bruise on it too. We cleaned her and gave her bath and then put some medicine on it and gave her some Tylenol. She screamed and cried for a long time. Once I gave her bath and put her pj's on, we sat on the couch cuddled up and she calmed down and fell asleep. This morning she seemed as though it was sore. It was really sad and you could tell that she was really hurting last night. :( She walks up and down those steps everyday, but I guess she just lost her footing.

Ryleigh's eventful weekend

Ryleigh had a very eventful weekend....

Friday night Grammy came over to play and have dinner with us. Ryleigh showed Grammy her new Pink Mustang and her new playground. She wanted to go home with Grammy and was very sad that she couldn't. It was already after 8 when grammy was leaving and Ryleigh would have fallen asleep in the car on the way to Grammy's house, so it would have been pointless. She was very sleepy thanks to the fact that daycare didn't lay her for down for a nap that day. So on Saturday after we cleaned the house, I took Ryleigh over there to stay the night. She had a blast, as she always does. Grammy said they played outside on the swing, took a walk in the wagon with Haley and took a bath. She went to church with Grammy on Sunday morning. We picked her after church (we didn't make it to church, we took advantage of sleeping in on a Sunday). Later Sunday afternoon, Scott and Beth stopped by to borrow our mower and they hung out for a little while. Ryleigh had just woke up from her nap, so she took a while to warm up to Brooke and Jewell, but eventually she did and played with them. However, we discovered that she doesn't do well with sharing her toys. We will have to work on that!

Then, we went to the Block Party at the City Park that the church held. Grammy was there helping so we got to hang out with her. Aunt Sarah, Uncle Matt, Andrew and Gabriella were there too. Andrew and Ryleigh played on the playgound most of the time. They had a really good time. Andrew did get in the Bounce House, but Ryleigh didn't want to have anything to do with. I think, though, they would have been very happy eating the popice all day!! I know that they each had at least two, maybe more. I know they wanted more and kept trying to go back for more. After we left the block party, we went to Aunt Sarah and Uncle Matt's for a BBQ. Thanks for letting us invite ourselves. ;) We had a really good time. Papa was there too. Andrew and Ryleigh played outside and drove the Trekker. Ryleigh always has a such a good time with Andrew. Thanks for the dinner Matt and Sarah!!! Next time we will wait to be invited! ha!!!

It was a very fun weekend and time well spent with family!!!

2 weeks

2 more weeks until the big ultrasound!!!!!!!
I am very excited and can't wait!!!

I can put my shoes on, can you?

A couple of weeks ago Grammy got Ryleigh a pair of pink crocs. Ryleigh thought they were so cool and wanted to wear them all the time. She was even more excited that she could put them on herself. Once she figured out that she could put those shoes on by herself, she started trying to put all of her shoes on by herself. She does great with it. She usually puts them on the wrong feet, but she gets them on there. If she can't get it on, she will get very frustrated and I usually have to calmly (very calmly, if I don't ask her if i can help her in the kindest voice I have, she usually gets more upset and throws a fit) ask her if she wants me to help her. Now all I have to do is say let's get your shoes on and off she goes to find them. Sometimes it's a little interesting what she will come out of her room wearing, but she is just so proud that she do it all by herself.

Our little girl is just growing up too fast!!

Ryleigh's new words

Ryleigh is really starting to pick up on words that we say everyday. She makes an effort to repeat a lot of what we say. Recently bye (or bye-bye) has become a big part of her everyday vocabulary. She learned to say it before she was a year old, but after awhile she just wouldn't say it anymore. Now, she says it all the time. She will pick up a bag or a purse or anything that she put on her arm and yells bye (and something after that, it sometimes sounds like kids and sometimes sounds like everyone). She says bye when talking on the phone too.

She has started saying shoe and referring to her shoes using the accurate wording.

She started saying Archie a long time ago, but it was another one of those words that she stopped saying. Over the last week, I have noticed that she has started clearly saying it again and calling him by his name.

She learned to say baby a while back, but it is used daily now when referring to babies in books or the baby in mommy's belly.

She has a wide range of words that she uses in her everyday vocabulary and it seems to grow daily. She makes a wonderful effort to repeat any word that you ask her too. Last night, she tried saying uh oh spaghetti o's. It was so cute!!

Ryleigh's new playground

Yesterday we worked all day building a play area for Ryleigh. We marked off a big spot with landscaping timbers and filled it with pea gravel. Along the edges that are up against the house we put mulch and plan to put mums in it. It turned out pretty nice, or we think so. There are a few things that we need to finish up, but it's a nice play area. We put her play cube/slide in there and her pool. We hope to get her a sandbox eventually. We also got a swing at Lowe's yesterday (not a kids swing, porch swing) . I think that is Ryleigh's favorite part.

Andrew will have to come over and check it out!!

16 weeks and counting!

We had a prenatal visit this morning. We are at 16 1/2 weeks. The doctor appointment was quick and easy today. Checked blood pressure, it was good. Checked the baby's heartbeat, it was wonderful, in the 160's. The scale moved this time. ha! I gained 4 pounds since my last appointment, but that is ok because so far that is all I have gained. Anyway, everything looked great today. I go back September 16 for my 20 week appt.

And the good news.... we will find out if we are having a BOY or a GIRL in 3 weeks!!! September 9 at 8:15 is our big ultrasound. I am so EXCITED!!!

Mommy's little helper

Ryleigh tries so hard to help me out. She likes to try to clean and do the dishes. She always helps me empty the dishwasher. You can always tell when she put the silverware away. I usually have to wait to load the dishwasher when she isn't around though because she tries to put those away too. She also likes to wipe things down or sweep things up. If she makes a mess she will get the broom and dustpan out. Last weekend, she crushed crackers all over the living room floor. She got in trouble for it and I went in the next room to grab the vacuum, when I came back Ryleigh was in the living room with the broom and dustpan trying to clean it up. I just couldn't be upset with her anymore!

Last night was the cutest though. Ryleigh was sitting with daddy watching an Elvis special on TV and I was doing laundry. I came upstairs with a basket of clothes and sat down on the couch. Ryleigh jumped down and ran over to the basket and picked up some of her clothes and ran to her room with them. Well, seeing as she just wanted to help, I folded a couple of her things and handed them to her. She ran off to her room and came back for more. We did this until all of her clothes were folded and in her room. We watched her as she did this and wondered what she was really doing with them. So when I was done I walked in her room just to check it out and she nicely piled them all up in her diaper bag.

She is just such a great helper. I hope that she will always be like that!! ;)

Animal sounds

This past week Ryleigh has been working really hard on learning some animal sounds.

Puppy (she has actually been doing this one for months) she barks.... woof, woof.
Lion (she has been doing for several weeks and is so stinking cute) she growls the meaniest growl she can.

The next few are the ones we really had to practice because everything was either woof, woof or a growl.

Kitty, she meows. It's so cute. It sounds a little like a sick kitty.
Duck, she says quack, quack. This one is really cute too.
Snake, she still gets confused with this one, but if you remind her she will say ssssssss.

A pig she doesn't understand. She makes up a sound and then when you say, a piggy says oink oink, she grabs your nose and says honk, honk. So we have to work on that one!

We are going to work on learning a few more! She

We have a driver!

When Ryleigh first got her Mustang, she thought it was so cool, she couldn't even wait for daddy and papa to get it together. She played in it and pretended to drive (the battery was charging). The next day when we got home, I put the battery in and she hopped right in. But, as soon as she realized it moved, she was out of it and refused to get back in. We tried everything, we even brought it in the house, but nothing. She would stand on the outside and push the buttons and put her babies in it, but she wanted nothing more to do with it. Friday, Andrew brought his truck over to Grammy's to show Ryleigh that it wasn't anything to be scared of. It took some convincing, but Uncle Matt finally got her in the truck and Andrew took her all over the yard. She loved it!!! She just laughed and smiled so big. Then, Aunt Sarah asked her if she wanted to drive and Ryleigh climbed right over there and took off (well sort of, she wasn't the best driver!). She didn't want to give up her turn, but eventually her and Andrew started taking turns. They had so much fun and I was so excited to see that she wasn't scared. When we got home, I tried to get her in her Mustang, but she still wanted nothing to do with it. It was late and she was tired, so I didn't push it. But I climbed in (and I may not be as big as a house yet, but it wasn't easy fitting my pregnant body into that thing!) and she sat next to me and we just went back and forth in the living room. She was ok with that, but nothing more. The next evening, we took it outside and she climbed in the passenger seat but didn't want to sit in the driver seat. I tried to push the gas pedal with my hand and drive her around, but that was to hard to do. So we got a long pipe and just pushed it with that and took her around the yard. Still, she wanted nothing to do with the driver seat. We were ok with that though because we made progress. On Sunday, we were all outside and her car was in the garage and she hopped in and then eventually moved over the driver seat. We let her know how excited we were and told her to drive it and finally she pushed the gas pedal and took off!! She had so much fun! She drove it all over. Our yard isn't the best place because it slopes so much, so Tom and I walked with her up the road and back while she drove. She really enjoyed it. She is a bit of a scary driver. I believe at one point she may have given herself whiplash. She ran into the garage door steps so hard that she came out of her seat. It was pretty funny though. Finally, she will drive it! It took a week for it to happen! We were so surprised that she was scared of it because she LOVES going for rides on the mower with daddy and she like to ride on the equipment here at work. But that is ok, she now loves it and she looks so cute driving it!!!
GO RYLEIGH!!!!!

So that is where it went!

Last night when we got home from work, Ryleigh was very dirty and needed her diaper changed. So I changed her diaper and took off her dirty clothes. Knowing that after dinner she would have a bath, I didn't want to put her pj's on or any clean clothes. Ryleigh doesn't leave a diaper on if she doesn't have any clothes on, so I just grabbed a pair of bloomers to put on over her diaper. She spent the next 30 minutes trying to get her diaper and her bloomers off. All that work to get her diaper off ended with it completely undone on both sides and the front of her diaper pulled out of her bloomers as far as she could get it, so she had a huge hunk of diaper sticking out the front, but I just left. When daddy got home dinner was just about ready so I stuck Ryleigh in her highchair just as she was. We were having spaghetti, so I got Ryleigh's plate ready for her. We all sat down to eat and a few minutes later I look over and notice that Ryleigh has eaten almost all of her food. I was impressed and she was asking for more. I am thinking that she really ate it because she is usually a good eater. When we finished, I clean up her tray and wiped off her hands, mouth, chest and stomach and removed her tray from her chair and what do I find??? A diaper full of spaghetti!!!!! It didn't go in her belly, it landed in the huge flap of her diaper. I started laughing and laid her down on the floor to change her diaper and I continue to discover all the place those noodles were able to work themselves into!! I never thought I would be picking spaghetti noodles out of that place!! In the end, I am not real sure how much she actually ate!

Is there a baby in there?

Ryleigh is starting to understand that there is a baby in mommy's belly. Now when we talk about the baby in my belly, she will try to look through my belly button to find it!! It is so cute. She also kisses it, pats it and lays her head on my belly. If we ask her where mommy's baby is or where her baby sister (if it's a boy, she may be confused) is, she knows exactly where to look. Today, we were in the bathroom and when I was buttoning my pants, she points to my belly and I said 'yea there is a baby in there' and she just laughed like it was the funniest thing ever. She is going to be a great big sister!!

Her New Ride

Late Sunday morning, Ryleigh and I were in the bathroom brushing our teeth when Tom came in to tell Ryleigh that someone was here to see her. So, she hopped down and went to find out who it was and Papa was standing at the front door. He told her to come outside, he has something for her. In the back of his truck was a PINK BARBIE MUSTANG!!! He took the box out and daddy and papa opened it and started pulling the pieces out. When she realized what it was, she got so excited. They continued to put it together and Ryleigh was so excited that she couldn't hardly stand it. She tried to play in it and help put it together. Finally, it was put together and she hopped in it. She started moving the steering wheel and the gear shift. She found the perfect spot for her binkie, in the cup holder. She took her babies for a ride, well not really, the battery had to charge, but she didn't know any different, it was just as fun to her. She hopped back and forth from the driver seat to the passenger seat. She just thought she was so cool!!!! Tonight when we get home, we will hook up the battery and let her drive it. She needs a booster seat though, her short little legs can't reach the gas pedal.

Thanks to papa and grammy for Ryleigh's cool ride!!!!!!!

Ryleigh and Andrew's playdate

Andrew invited Ryleigh over to go swimming on Saturday. She had a blast, actually they both did. They played for a few minutes inside while I visited with Gabriella. Then we took them outside to swim for a little while. They had so much fun!!! Afterwards, Aunt Sarah made us all lunch and we hung out for a little while and ate. Ryleigh had a lot of fun and I know Andrew did too. We both took a 2 1/2 hour nap when we got home!!!

Thanks Andrew for a fun day!

Ryleigh's Eventful Tuesday

This is a little last posting, but I wanted to make sure I did post it.

Tuesday Tom and I were off (as usual) and we spent the whole day together as a family. We had a really good time. We went to lunch and then went over to my mom's house to go swimming. Ryleigh loves to swim. We spent almost 2 hours in the pool. Ryleigh tried out the arm floaties and she did great with them on!! After we were done swimming, we went home. Ryleigh took a nap, she was exhausted from the swimming. Later that evening, we went to Chuckee Cheese. Grammy joined us. Ryleigh had a really good time. I was impressed with how much she was into the games. She wasn't sure about Chuckee though. We sat at a table near him and she didn't take her eyes off of him. We ate, played some games ( I think her favorite was the Skee Ball) and then Ryleigh picked out her prize. Afterwards, we stopped at Cold Stone for some yummy ice cream. We had a very good day and we were glad that Grammy joined us that evening. Ryleigh was a little chatter box on the way home, but fell asleep shortly after we dropped Grammy off. We were all in bed by 10:10 that night, it was fun, but exhausting day!!

The Big Girl Potty Chair

At Ryleigh's 18 month check up I discussed potty training with Dr. Hammer. We agreed that since daycare won't help with the potty training until she is 2 and with the arrival of the new baby, to wait until I am on maternity leave to begin the potty training process. But she suggested getting a potty chair so that Ryleigh can have a few months of getting use to and learning what it is for. She is afraid of sitting on the big one, so she won't show any interest in wanting to even try it. Well, Saturday at my mom's, my sister and I were talking about potty training and so when I left there to go to Wal-Mart the conversation was still fresh in my head. I had to go back to the baby department to get wipes and we just happened to walk right past the potty chairs. So, I stood there for a moment, deciding whether or not to go ahead and get one. I decided sure, why not, what's the harm. Ryleigh and I picked one out, we got the one that plays music when you pee. When we got home, I took it out of the box and put it together and sat it down. I said to Ryleigh, "See your big girl potty chair?" She immediately started trying to strip down. So we took her shorts and diaper off and she also insisted on her shirt. She sat on it and then stood up and looked inside. Of course she didn't really pee in it. She played with it all weekend. She never did potty in it, but she knows what it is for. She knows what her potty chair is and what she is supposed to do in it. She insists on being totally nude though. She doesn't like it in the bathroom, so she had to keep it in the living room. This morning it was in the bathroom and she pushed it up against the sink to stand on it so she could brush her teeth. (she is so smart ;) ) Anyway, she now has a big girl potty chair and there is no pressure on her at all, but over the course of the next few months, she can begin to understand more and show more interest in potty training so that in February she will be more prepared and ready to start potty training. Unless, of course, she does it on her own before that... ha! I could only hope , right?

Oh and she did pee on the couch after she sat on her potty chair. oops.

A Night with Grammy

Ryleigh spent the night with Grammy Friday night. She had a very good time. She played so hard and swam so much on Saturday that she fell asleep standing up against the couch Saturday afternoon. I know Grammy really enjoyed their time together and Ryleigh did too. And mommy got to sleep in on Saturday morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was the best part! Grammy, we will have to do this more often!

Hello, My name is Ry-Ry

This morning Ryleigh and I were in the car on the way to work and I asked her... "Can you say Ryleigh?" She smiled real big and pointed to herself. And I said, "Yea you are Ryleigh, but can you say Ryleigh?" She looked up at me and says, "Ry-Ry!". It was so cute!!!!

She did say Ryleigh the other day, well, it was more like "Ryee". We just keep practicing. She will probably go to school thinking her name is Ry-Ry!

Good Bye 1st Trimester, Hello 2nd Trimester

My 2nd trimester begins tomorrow!! YAY!!!

I had a doctors appointment yesterday. We heard the heartbeat. The baby's heart rate was 165. Everything looks great and everything is going good!! I am starting to feel movement, just flutters. I wasn't sure at first since I didn't feel anything until I was 18 weeks pregnant with Ryleigh. But the doctor asked me if I was feeling movement yet and said that the second time mothers tend to start feeling the flutters a lot earlier (something I never noticed with Ryleigh because i didn't know what to be looking for) and I will also start feeling kicks sooner too! It's a very cool feeling. I still remember it all so well with Ryleigh and I am really looking forward to it again.

I will go back to the doctor Aug. 18 and then the next appointment will be in September, this is when we will find out if it's a boy or a girl. BTW: I am taking guesses of the gender for my pregnancy journal, add your guesses if you would like!!

How old are you?

Ryleigh is starting to be able to tell you how old she is by holding up one finger. She doesn't do it each time you ask her how old she is, but she can do it and will do it about half the time. It's pretty darn cute when she does do it. We will just keep practicing!

Is that a BUMBLEBEE that I see?

This morning I was in the shower when Tom and Ryleigh came in there excited about something. Tom said to Ryleigh, tell mommy what you saw outside. Of course, she just stared at me. Then Tom said that she saw a bumblebee outside and pointed to it and said "bumblebee"!!! We always have bumblebees out by our flowers and when she notices one, we will say that's a bumblebee. But today she said it all by herself!! It's such a big word for such a little girl. After about a minute or so, she did say it for me and it was so cute.

Her language development has really started to mature over the last month or so. She is adding new words to her vocabulary, though some of them we don't hear to often. Some of the words that she said before have started to become a lot clearer. And her gibberish in general has taken on a more mature sound. Before we know she will be talking in sentences!!!

First "school" pictures

Ryleigh had her first "school" pictures today. They had a photographer come to the daycare to take each child's pictures and class pictures. Ryleigh wore an orange summer dress and looked as cute as a button. She really isn't very photographic, so I am hoping they got a couple really cute ones. She just doesn't like to smile for pictures, I guess she got that one from her daddy because we all know I have the biggest smile in every picture I am in!! ha! The proofs will be back next week and I am really excited to see how they turned out.

Ryleigh is signing

Well, just one gesture, but it's sign language for something. She started gesturing it to me the other day at lunch time. I really have no idea what it means. After talking to Sarah, we are thinking that it means 'more'. I am sure that the daycare has taught it to her, so I need to remember to ask when I am there. But as of right now, I believe that Ryleigh is signing 'more' to us.

Chicagoland Speedway

We are leaving tonight for Chicagoland Speedway for the races Friday and Saturday night. We are just going to stay in Springfield tonight and then get up in the morning and go to Harvey (that's where we will be staying). It will be a very fun weekend. Hopefully it doesn't rain us out!! This should be an interesting first time experience for Ryleigh. We will be back late Sunday. Pray for a safe trip for us and NO RAIN!

I guess the toilet water doesn't taste bad.

These are two examples of how toddlers do not find anything gross.

A couple of weeks ago Ryleigh was in the hall bathroom and I was walking to the bedroom, as I walked by I just happened to glance over and catch her dipping her binkie in the toilet and sucking the water off of it. I yelled out to her and ran over, closed the lid and took her binkie and tried to tell her how gross that was. Of course, being only a year and half, she doesn't understand that, to her it was fun and it must have tasted good.

My little lecture about how gross the toilet is didn't do any good because yesterday morning I caught her dipping her tooth brush in it and sucking the water off of it.

Oh the things kids do...

Oh the poop....

Lately, Ryleigh has just been taking a shower with me in the mornings. It seems to be easier and more convenient and she doesn't mind at all. But for whatever reason, this girl has decided that it is ok to poop in the shower. She never once pooped in the tub as a baby, not once! Instead she waited until she got older and started taking showers with me to poop in the tub. This morning was about the 5th time she has done it to me.

The shower isn't the only place that she likes to poop either. If she isn't wearing any clothes, she will not keep her diaper on. So the other day, I am downstairs doing laundry and she stayed upstairs. I could hear her laughing and talking up a storm, was just as happy as could be. She had stripped down just prior to me going downstairs. I am assuming that she is playing with all the laughing and talking I can hear. But much to my surprise when I reached the top of the steps and looked over towards the windows in the living room, there was Ryleigh totally naked, squatting on the floor and underneath her was a big pile of poop. To make it worse, we had all been battling the flu and she still had diarrhea. Yep, all over the carpet and her since she thought it would be ok to sit in it.

I am still working on the stain....

18 months old already!!

Ryleigh was 18 months old this past Sunday. She had her 18 month WCC on Monday. She is doing fabulous!!!!! She FINALLY reached 20 lbs! 20 lbs and 3 oz to be exact!! She has now dropped to the 3rd%, but the pedi doesn't seem concerned at all. She has always been on the lower end of the scale and since 9 months has gradually dropped from the 10th% to the 3rd%. She eats well, so I am not sure where it goes. She is finally at average height, 31 1/2 inches. I guess I can still call her shorty though! ;) She only had one shot and will get one more at 2 and then she is done until she is 4!!!! YAY!

She is certainly a toddler with toddler behavior. She has developed a lovely attitude that takes a lot of patience! ;) Along with this scream that makes you wish you had ear plugs. Overall, though, she is a very sweet and good little girl. She is so lovable and hilarious to be around. The toddler stage takes a lot more energy to keep up with than the newborn who wakes up every 2 hours and doesn't let you sleep. She is learning so much and developing so quick. We are really enjoying her and feel so blessed that God gave us such a blessing.

We are preparing her for the new baby, but she is so in love with babies, that I am hoping that sticks around and adjusting will be a breeze. We will see when the baby is there all the time.

Oh, and a very well pronounced "MOMMY" has become her favorite word!! I love it!! She has called me some sort of version of mama or mommom for a long time, but it really melts my heart to hear this little tiny voice that sounds so grown up call me mommy (and other people and things sometimes).

Ryleigh's new words

Ryleigh has two new words..... night-night (actually it sounds like nigh-nigh) and mine. I think daddy taught her to say mine!!

Ryleigh got to see her baby brother or sister!

We had our first ultrasound on June 18(that is also our 3 year wedding anniversary!). Everything looked wonderful. The heartrate was 174. The baby measured about a week behind where they thought I was, so they changed my due date from January 25 to Feb. 2. However, I do not believe that due date is very accurate, it's too late considering all that plays a role in this. So I am just going to stick with what I calculated, Jan 30 , and the doctor can stick with whatever he wants!! LOL! Anyway, little baby Wilson looks great and he/she will be here sometime at the end of Jan/beginning of Feb.

1st Doctor visit

We had our first prenatal visit on June 4. They just did the usual blood work and exams. We get to go back on June 18 for an ultrasound. They kept the same due date they gave me before, Jan 25. Which makes me 7 weeks 1 day pregnant today!!!! Everything is going good. The morning sickness seems to have went away for the most part. Atleast it's not bad and it's not all day like it was. I just have moments here and there. I am very excited and really looking forward to doing this whole pregnancy thing again!!!!!!!!! I loved being pregnant with Ryleigh and I know I will with this one too. We will keep you updated next week on our ultrasound.

Ryleigh is going to be a big sister!

We want to announce that Ryleigh is going to be a big sister at the end of January. So far, everything is looking good and we just keep praying that this one will be a healthy pregnancy. They gave us a due date of January 25. My HCG levels were at 72.5 which is great compared to 16 in March when I had the miscarriage. My progesterone levels went from 15.9 on Saturday to 22.5 on Wednesday, which is excellent!! We go for our first prenatal visit on June 4. We are very excited! We thank God for blessing us again and we just keep praying for everything to be healthy this time around!

Baby Ella

Here is the link to her pictures on Web Nursery, please check it out! She is a cutie!!
http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=58da812f-c456-4751-8acc-a5ea99020489&babyid=e3aa6972-030b-4b00-9a29-d123e2f30ec5

Ryleigh's new word

Ryleigh has recently started saying "night-night". It actually sounds like "nigh-nigh". We know there are other 'words' that she is saying, we just haven't really figured out what she is really saying. She has also said another 2 word sentence a couple of times... "Hi Archie". She is going to chattering up a storm before we know it!!

Gabriella is here!!!

Gabriella Ruth was born yesterday, May 7 at 8:33 am. She was 6 lbs 15 oz and 20 inches long (just 2 oz bigger than Ryleigh and it is so hard to remember Ryleigh being that tiny). She has really dark brown hair (not red this time). She is so beautiful!!! Sarah and the baby are doing great!! Andrew is a VERY PROUD big brother!!! Mom, Andrew, Ryleigh and I were at the hospital yesterday visiting. Sarah checked in at the hospital at 1 am to be induced and so mom and I had planned to go and hang out with her and wait for baby Ella to be born, but Ella was in a hurry and didn't wait for us to get there! ;) Ryleigh is a proud cousin too! She loves babies and thought Ella was pretty cool.

Congrats to Matt, Sarah and Big Brother Andrew!!! We love you!!!

Pictures added

I added pictures of Ryleigh and I that were taken at her baby dedication... check out that post below. I will get more up.

How Many Words???

Ryleigh's List of Words...

Words she says often
Mama, Mom, Mommy and MomMom... she usually calls me mommom
Dada, Dadd-ee
PaPa
Hi
What's that?
Outside
Ball
Book
Stop
Bad
Huh?
Uh Oh
Ow
Hey
Wow
Yea
Bird

Words she can say, but doesn't very often
Downstairs
Aunt Sarah
Balloon
Archie
Bye-Bye
Down

Words that she has repeated but shouldn't say
Shut-up
Sh*t (yep that's right and more than once) she can even say in context. But I don't really count that as words she can say. ;)

Ry's first day...

I dropped Ryleigh off at daycare at 8:20 this morning, it went ok. When we got there, they were just sitting down to eat breakfast. I tried to get her to sit down with the other kids, but she wanted no part of it. She was starting to get a little clingy so I told the teachers that I better not stick around or it will be hard to leave. So I handed the teacher her things and kissed Ryleigh good bye and walked away and she started crying. I had to fight back the tears myself. As we shut the door and I hung her jacket and bag on her hook, I could hear her crying. It made me so sad. I had to finish up the paperwork and get my fingerprint in the system and all that stuff, so I was there for a few minutes. Her teacher came out and I asked her how she was doing, she said she was warming up and was getting ready to sit down to eat breakfast.

I picked her back up at 11:30. She had just got done eating lunch. She was so excited to see me. They said she did fine and was good. They really didn't say a whole lot. I guess I am just expecting to much from them, I don't know. But we will see how it goes. We went by to see daddy afterwards. She fell asleep about half way to work. I was hoping she would stay asleep, but no, she slept for about 20 minutes once we got to work. So, she is very crabby and whiny. This may be a bad day! ;)

Overall, I suppose her first day went ok. We will see how it goes next week.

Get to know Ryleigh

Here is a little about Ryleigh....

Her firsts...

Tub bath at 3 weeks... she hated it!
Smiled at 4 weeks.
Cooed at 4 weeks.
Rolled on side at 7 weeks.
Grasped an object (her binkie) at 10 weeks.
Sat up without support at 4 months.
Laughed outloud at 4 months.
Ate cereal at 4 1/2 months.
Rolled from front to back and back to front at 5 months.
Said "Mama" at 5 1/2 months.
Pulled herself into a crawling position at 5 1/2 months.
Pulled herself up at 6 months.
Slept through the night at 6 months (later to realize this was a vary rare occassion and didn't actually start sleeping through the night until she was 14 months old and I weaned her).
Crawled at 6 months.
Said "dada" at 6 months.
Fed herself with a spoon at 6 1/2 months.
Waved bye-bye at 7 months.
Walked with support from her push toy at 7 1/2 months.
Clapped at 8 months.
Stood alone at 8 months.
Took her first 2 steps at 8 1/2 months.
Got her first tooth at 8 1/2 months.
Said her first words other than mama and dada... Archie and hello (neither of which she really says anymore) at 9 1/2 months.
Walked alone at 9 1/2 months.
Ran at 10 months.
Kicked a ball at 10 1/2 months.

Ryleigh's dislikes...

Being told "No"
Sitting in a cart at the stores.
Sitting down to eat.
Scarecrows
Deviled eggs
Potatoes unless they are french fries
Her hands being dirty
Having her diaper and clothes changed

Ryleigh's likes...

Dancing
Music
Hugs and kisses
Food, especially anything bad for her.... cookies, chocolate, soda, candy...


Being outside
Being read to
Cuddling
Playing peek-a-boo
Singing songs... The Itsy Bitsy Spider is her favorite
Watching TV with daddy
Picking the toe fuzz out her toes after you take her shoes and socks off
Being naked
Sticking her tongue out and making faces

Favorites...

Food - Cheese, any pasta with red sauce, peas and carrots, bananas
Snack - Cookies of course and fruit cups
Drink - Milk (well it would be soda if she was allowed to drink it when she wanted)
Toy - Her babydolls, purses (or anything else she can carry like a purse), dollhouse, cell phones and remote controls
Book - Boots (dora) and Give Bunny a Kiss

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's off to school we go.......

As you all know I have had the privilage of bringing Ryleigh to work with me since I came to work for my dad. When I went back to work after a 2 month maternity leave, I went back to Barreth 5 days a week for just 2 weeks. During those 2 weeks Ryleigh stayed with Mandy. At 10 weeks old, I started working for my dad 3 days a week and I brought Ryleigh with me everyday. I eventually went to 4 days a week and continued to bring her everyday. I loved it!! I didn't have to leave her with someone else and I could be with her everyday and I didn't miss a thing. As she got older it became really difficult to bring her to work with me. She got bored and therefor she became very grumpy and would misbehave. It was hard to get any work done and keep my sanity. I finally came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to work out anymore. So, back in January we hired Katie, a very lovable and sweet young girl, who watched Ryleigh 2 days a week and cleaned our house! It was great!!! It couldn't have worked out better, I could still bring Ry with me 2 days a week and I had 2 days a week at work by myself and I came home to a clean house!!!! Katie has been a Godsend, she is wonderful with Ryleigh and has helped me so much with housework. Having her clean the house two days a week has helped me more than I think she will ever realize and I am so grateful for her. But after much consideration, we have decided to send Ryleigh to daycare. This has been a very hard decision for me to make. She will go to daycare Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She will only come to work with me on Thursdays. I am just not really ready to give it all up. I couldn't be more appreciative and grateful for the chance to spend as much time with her and still work as I have. She is almost 16 months and has never really been around a group of children or the type of environment the daycare will provide for her. This way she will get the social interaction that she needs, as well as, the learning and one on one attention that I can not give her during the day when I am working. She is going to love it and it will be very good for her. I have shed a lot of tears and I am very nervous about sending her, but I know it's the best thing for her. So, she will go for a couple of hours tomorrow and Friday and then start full days on Monday. We will update you all and let you know how it goes for her.

Oh and let's hope she doesn't go around kissing all the boys. When we stopped by there to pick up the paper work and look at the daycare, she sat down next to a little boy and leaned over and kissed him! It sure was cute!

Spirited Toddler

Ok, I will go with that..... according to this fun little quiz that is what Ryleigh is!

http://quiz.ivillage.com/parenting/tests/whisper.htm

Spirited ToddlerThe Spirited Toddler is extremely active physically, often willful, and may be prone to temper tantrums. She is very social and curious and will point to objects and reach out for them and for other kids early on. This child is the consummate adventurer; she will have a go at anything and is very determined. She displays a great sense of achievement when she accomplishes something. At the same time, she needs very clear boundaries so that she doesn't act like a steamroller, trampling anyone or anything in her path. Once they start crying, Spirited Toddlers have stamina and staying power, so you're in for a long haul if you don't have a good routine going. Given good guidance and an outlet for her energy, however, a Spirited Toddler can become a leader and very accomplished in whatever area interests her.

Walking to save babies!

Sarah and her Stroller Strides group walked in the March of Dimes March for Babies on Saturday, April 26. Their team raised about $1850.00!! Which is awesome!! Ryleigh, grammy and I also joined in the walk on Saturday. It was a lot of fun and the weather was great! It started out a pretty chilly, but by the time the walk started the sun was shining and it had warmed up. Ryleigh fell asleep about 5 minutes into the walk and slept the ENTIRE time!! Overall, it was a great day and a wonderful experience. Sarah did take some pictures of her Stroller Strides mommies, daddies and babies.... I will post some soon.

Check out the link to March of Dimes
http://marchofdimes.com

How many teeth????

Ryleigh is finally getting some teeth. She was 8 months old before she got her first tooth and then for months she only had her 2 bottom teeth. Well, over the last couple of months she has starting getting a mouth full of teeth. She now has her 2 bottom teeth, the bottom right tooth, all 4 top teeth and now she is working on her one year molars. I think her bottom left tooth is coming through, it's hard to tell right now. Her one year molar on the top right has poked through the skin, the other side is just swollen. It's crazy because she went from 2 teeth to 6 (that are all the way through) in just a matter of time.

HI DADDY

Ryleigh said her first 2 word sentence on Monday evening. Her and I were in her room picking toys up and when daddy walked into her room, she said "Hi Daddy!". It was so cute. She has been saying hi a lot lately. I think it has become her favorite word. But to hear her put two words together was pretty cute. And of course, daddy felt pretty special!!

Ryleigh's Baby Dedication

Ryleigh's baby dedication was yesterday, Sunday April 20. Tom and I commited ourselves, as parents, to raise Ryleigh in a Godly way, to bring her up in a Christian home and to teach her to know Jesus and to love Jesus. The ceremony went well. We attended the 10:45 service, followed by a lunch and then the dedication. Grammy and Papa, Aunt Sarah, Unlce Matt and Andrew, Aunt Christa, Dennis, Dean and Devan, and Ryleigh's babysitter, Katie all joined us. Aunt Sarah took some pictures for us, so I will post them sometime soon!!

15 Month Stats

Since I usually send out emails to update everyone when she has her Well Child Check-ups, I thought I would post those as well. She had her 15 month WCC April 7. She is doing wonderful and moving right along with her development. Her stats: Height 30.5 inches (50th%). She has grown 2 inches since her 12 month WCC, I believe this was probably her biggest growth spurt. Her weight is 19 lbs 4 oz (5th%). She has gained 1 lb 4 oz since her 12 month check-up. Her next WCC will be when she is 18 months old.

Easter 2008

We had Ryleigh's Easter pictures taken the same day we had her Birthday pictures taken. As usual, she did not want to be there and she certaintly did not want to smile. But she is just as cute as ever and looks like a little lady with her purse!!! We hope you enjoy!

Ryleigh's Birthday pictures

Ryleigh turned ONE on January 6. I know that these are a little late, but we didn't get around to getting them taken until she was 14 months old.

Starting Ryleigh's blog

I thought that maybe this would be a fun and easy way to update everyone on Ryleigh and send pictures. I can't believe how fast she is growing! The time just goes by way to fast! I hope everyone enjoys reading all of her updates.Come back and check it out any time!