The Secret Mission

Ryker and I are going on a secret mission today while Daddy is at work. We shall tell you all about it when we get back. Wish us luck! :)

It's Not About Me

Since becoming a wife and mother, I have learned a lot about selflessness. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't totally gain a full testimony of this until Joe and I had Ryker. I've learned that it is NOT about me. Sure, I need to take care of myself and love myself, but ultimately it's about others and serving others. It wasn't until we had Ryker that I realized how selfish I was at times. So what if I have spit up in my hair, I'm wearing raggy clothes, and have no make up on? I'm doing what I love and that is taking care of my little family. I was laying in bed last night thinking about all my many blessings. I've thought about how much I've been blessed when I know I truly haven't deserved it. I am so grateful that my Heavenly Father gave me an amazing family. I love my hardworking husband and our sweet, funny little boy. I'm so happy He sent them to me. I feel nothing but joy when I can do things for them. I love that Ryker relies on his parents to do almost everything. I'm getting very sad for the day that he won't need us to do most things anymore. Oh, I love life, I do! :) This is one of my favorite pics of my boys. Ryker was maybe 2 weeks in this pic. I love it because you can tell how much Joe adores his son! :)
And here is one of the many cute portraits that Ryker got done yesterday...just 5 days away from turning 5 months old! :)

A Little Game called Catch Up!

Our Very Handsome Boy!
It has been a while since I've updated everyone on the little Gebhardt family. We are doing well, and we have been up to a lot. Joe started his new job on June 6, so he has been working a little bit over a month now. It has been going well. There are pros and cons to his new job. His schedule is like this:
Work Wednesday and Thursday one week.
Work Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday the next week.
So, he alternates weeks. It's kind of like a nurse's schedule I think. This week is what we call his short week. He only had to work yesterday and is working today. The pros are that he technically works half a month if you think about it, and he has a lot of days off to be with his little family. Also, his job has GREAT benefits, which is just terrific! :) Also, he carpools with his Aunt and Uncle, which saves us a lot of gas money since it's a 40 minute commute. Also, it is great to finally have some good income, so we can start paying off a few of our small school loans and save some money up!
So, the cons: He works 12 hour shifts, from 7a.m. to 7p.m. Basically, he is gone 14 hours on his work days, so when he comes home, he basically gets ready for bed to get up at 5 the next morning. Another OBVIOUS con is he has to work every other Sunday. BOO. However, we know that this is where he is supposed to be and that everything will work out for good in the long run. Plus, he gets 3 weeks vacation, so he will take some Sundays off so he can go to church. :) Ryker definitely misses his Daddy when he is gone because when Daddy gets home from work, he cannot stop smiling and laughing at him. It's such a sweet thing to see. :)
Okay, moving on. So, it's really nice to finally have good health insurance. It's also finally nice to have dental and vision insurance, so that we can go to the dentist and finally get our eyes checked out. I hadn't been to the eye doctor in almost 4 years, and same with Joe. We finally got to go. The lady at the front desk told us that we have a special vision insurance (really good) because we get both contacts and glasses under this insurance. It is grand. So, we took full advantage and ordered ourselves some nice glasses. I was surprised to find out that neither of us had any change in our vision. I'm very grateful for that. Also, it covers $500 of lasik. Joe is really trying to get me to get it, but I'm a little nervous. We might do it in a couple years.So, here are the frames I picked out. They are ruby and I like them a lot. They are Bebe brand. The only Bebe brand anything I will ever own.
Of course, everyone wants to know about our little man. Ryker is doing wonderfully. He is so smart, and he is getting so big. Too fast. It's been fun to see his personality continue to blossom. He's such a funny little boy. Here are some things that he loves to do (or just does):
-stick his tongue out and move it all around in his mouth. He's a fish.
-drool
-blow bubbles
-try really hard to roll over
-lift his butt of the bed and push his body up
-scream happy sounds
-smile and laugh
-sit up with help
-play with daddy and mommy
-there is never a time that he doesn't smile at his Pappy (Joe's dad)
-be fed by his Mimi (Joe's mom)
-be held by his Uncle Ricky, Uncle Stevie, and Aunt Liana
-stand up on his legs when you try to burp him
-shove and rub his face in your shoulder
-look at himself in the mirror and smile
-swim (went in for the first time 2 days ago, and loved it. Not a peep out of him except for happy screams and laughter)
-scoot around in his bed in the morning until mom wakes and comes to get him for breakfast
-his binky (only when it's nap time or bed time)
-stare at his hands and holding burp rag or a small cloth
-bath time
-play next to mommy while she works out
-ride in the car
-try to get out of everyone's arms even though he can't go anywhere. haha
-ride in his stroller, as you can tell from below. HAHA
Ok, that list is plenty long. I could add more, but I don't feel like it. The point is is he is very fun and we love everything about that little boy! :) Can't believe he will be 4 months in a week and a half. We got him a bouncer. He is going to love that thing when his Pappy puts it in the doorway for him.

Also, I got a part time job at the CEC (Childhood Education Center) at the YMCA. It's just 3 hours a day, 5 days a week from 11-2. They are going to pay me 12 bucks an hour to basically cover for people's lunch breaks. It will be a lot of fun because it will be in my field of study. Preschool. I'll be with the Kindergarten ready children though, I think. Also, I get a free membership at the YMCA which is great because I can go there and get rid of my baby weight, hopefully. They have babysitters to watch kids too. Pappy is going to watch Ryker while I work. Unfortunately, they don't have room for him in their infant lab, which is fine with me because I don't want anyone touching my infant without me there to watch them (ok, so I'm a little paranoid, but who can blame me), unless, of course, it's family or people I can trust with him. duh. But ya, I start Monday, and I am very excited to make a little extra money, so that I can help pay off my student loans and perhaps get a pedicure. haha Jk about the pedicure. It should work out well, I hope.

Well, that's our update! :) Heavenly Father has a plan for us, and we have no clue what that plan is, but we know we are in the right place right now. We have truly been blessed with this job and my in-laws for letting us live with them for a little while. He has blessed us with a healthy, sweet little boy. We are a happy family. :)Ryker and his Daddy on the 4th of July!HAHA. Funny.

New England LINGO

Living in Massachusetts these passed (almost) couple months, I have learned a little bit about the New England lingo. Here are some words that I have always known to be and the New England versions. I started a list and hope to continue to add to it. HAHA
Purse is no longer a purse, it is a Pocket Book.
Tennis Shoes are no longer tennis shoes, they are Sneakers.
Garbage is not garbage, it is simply Rubbish!
Soda is not soda anymore, it is Tonic instead... what is that word tonic anyways?
A Stroller is called a Carriage.
A Shopping cart is also called a Carriage.
A Shake is not a shake, it is a Frap.
Chocolate chips are Chocolate bits.

Now, since I've known Joe, I have heard some of these terms before, but I added a few that I recently learned about. It's kind of fun!

Massachusetts

Well, we moved to Massachusetts. It was unexpected and FAST. Well, we knew we were moving there, but we didn't think we'd be moving there Saturday. We felt really bad because we were out of there quick, and the only people that really knew were Joe's parents and the people in my Dad's house. It was Friday afternoon, and we found out that the only flights that were really open were this past Saturday and the Saturday after that. So, we had to go this past Saturday. We still had so much to do. We had so much to do that we had to ask Luke and Logan to feed the baby while we were packing and getting a few more boxes ready to ship. I had to run errands to go cancel some things and such. I could not believe how quick it went and then we were gone. It's been crazy, but this new step in our lives will be an adventure. Joe's parents are ecstatic to finally be with their very first grandchild. He is being showered with so much love (not that he wasn't before because he was), but man, there are constantly people playing with him and watching him lay there and so on. Joe's sister and brothers think he is the best thing since sliced bread, and it has just been great. I have been a little bit homesick, but the good thing is is that Joe's parents are so kind and just spoil me as much as they spoil the grandchild, and it really helps me feel loved and welcome! :) For now, we are just unpacking and settling in. Ryker is sleeping great at night. I think this time change helped with that a lot! Joe starts his job June 6, and we are just on a hunt for a car. It will be nice to finally have some good income and to be able to save and raise a family and just have insurance for once. :) Well, for those of you who had absolutely no clue we were moving, we apologize. It was nothing against anyone. It was just so fast and unexpected! We love you all. We are definitely missing the Vegas weather. It's been a little cold and damp here... too humid! Yuck, but it's warming up so that's nice. Ryker did excellent on the plane. Everyone on the plane was complimenting him. He is such a sweet little angel. He slept almost the whole plane ride and played a little bit, but didn't fuss a peep! Even when the plane made a bang and started shaking (and the dumb flight attendant said for everyone to put their electronics away because it was an emergency) We were so mad about that by the way... how is a little bit of turbulance an emergency? The woman made everyone think we were going in for a crash landing... lame. Anyways, Ryker is doing great with his new big boy crib (aka not a tiny little bassinet). Well, we love you all! We are so grateful for all that Heavenly Father has blessed us with. He has done so much for us, and He has showed us that through all of you. :) Thank you!
This was Ryker's first night in his big crib.
I just thought that this froggy sleeper was so cute!
I don't know why this uploaded sideways, but this is him pooping haha. He is wearing one of my favorite onesies of his.
My Little Monster :) He's such a cutie! (Don't know why it uploaded upside down, how annoying.)

Ryker's Two Month!

On Wednesday, Ryker went in for his two month appointment. He did very well, and he also did great with his shots! Here are his statistics!

weight-14 lbs (95th percentile)
length- 23.75 in. (80th percentile)

He sure is a big boy! He keeps getting cuter! :)

8 Weeks Old

I can't believe Ryker is 8 weeks old today! That's two months! He is changing so much and he gets cuter everyday. His personality is really starting to come out and he's starting to smile a ton. We've been getting a lot of videos of him these last couple of days. It's been so much fun! We love our Ryker! I can't believe he's getting his shots next Wednesday. I can't wait until that is over. I can't believe how chunky he has gotten. We love that sweet little boy! :) Last night he only got up once to eat. That was weird but amazing!... and then he peed on me when I changed his diaper. I couldn't help but laugh because it's so cute. It's almost like he knows what he is doing and so he smiles. He smiles when he pees on me and when he spits up on me. It's too cute! :) Love love love him! :)Newborn Ryker... I think he is just a few days old in this pic.
I believe he was just about a month old in this pic with Uncle Matt. :)
Two month old Ryker