We Have a Toddler! (Long overdue post!)

Doesn't Ryker look so spiffy in the below pic? :) (This was a week after his birthday)

This post is long overdue, but late is better than never right?! Ryker turned one year old on March 18th! We cannot believe that we have a young toddler already! He is so funny and smart and we love him to death! We can't imagine our family without him! At 12 months, Ryker weighed almost 26 pounds (75th %ile) and was 30.5 inches tall (75th %ile). I guess we have a big boy! He started walking at about 9 and a half months, and since then has been a ball full of energy! So, here are some things about Ryker at a year old!

He loves books! He loves turning the pages and pointing at pictures.
He loves to babble, especially when there are other young children to talk to.
He loves kids! He loves going up to other babies or kids and hugging them and giving them a kiss.
He is obsessed in girls with dresses :)
He's a Momma's boy!
He does the sign for "more" and we are working on the sign for "all done."
He's pretty stubborn.
He still loves doors and cupboards and opening and closing things. If we aren't careful we might wash something or throw something away that isn't supposed to be because he sticks things into laundry baskets and trash cans. :)
He loves to give kisses!
He likes to play the drums on anything he can.
He loves to be chased and will run and scream and laugh. It's so cute! :)
He smiles or giggles and looks at Mommy and/or Daddy when he knows he is doing something he shouldn't be doing...in other words, he's testing us.
He loves legos, blocks, pushing buttons, shoes, socks, and feet. He thinks that feet are so funny especially when you move them or you wiggle your toes.
He loves brushing his teeth (and knows what it means when I say, "brush teeth?"
He understands what "go bye bye" means. He walks over to the door when we say it.
He understands "milk" of course
Still loves cheerios, goldfish, and yogurt
He understands "upstairs" and "downstairs"
When I say "where's daddy?" he walks over and hugs Daddy's leg.
He loves going outside
He loves to play peek a boo
Every now and again it sounds like he is humming a tune
When he throws a ball he makes this surprised look on his face and gasps!
He knows how to say help (egh). The only reason I think he means help is because I used to always say "help" when he wanted help and now he says that when he wants help.
He knows what "open" and "close" mean.
He is no longer a fan of diaper changes. He cries when I lay him down for a diaper change. GOOBER! Love our little man!
We had a little shindig for his birthday on the 17th of March. We had a lot of family and friends come and celebrate Ryker's first year of life! It was a lot of fun and we celebrated by visiting, eating pizza and cake of course!This is one of our decorations--pictures of Ryker for every month of his first year.
My very professional looking (NOT!) cake. :)
He ate cake for the first time. He was more interested in playing in it like it was dirt. Although he did eat a little bit of the chocolate cake. :)
Here is Ryker (half cut off) with some of his second cousins!

A Full Heart

My heart is very full this Sabbath day. I have so much to be thankful for. Who am I to think that I might have it hard? I have the gospel. I have the truth. I have the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. I have a faithful husband who holds the priesthood and who takes care of our little family. I have a healthy little boy who brings our family so much joy. We have income. We have a roof over our head. We have food on our table. We have amazing family filled with good, loving people who do so much for us. We have friends all over the world. There is so much to be thankful for, and if I ever start thinking otherwise, all I have to do is think of this, and my heart is happy.

The last two weeks have been amazing for our ward. Two weeks ago we had a girl get baptized and then last week we had another girl get baptized. Both baptisms were so amazing. I felt the Spirit so strong. I felt like I was at my own baptism. It's so amazing to see people become converted to the gospel. You see enthusiasm and you see joy and happiness in them because they found what can truly make them happy! I just love it! I wish I could go to a baptism every week.

At church today, we had more investigators come. A husband and wife and three children. In Gospel Principles class, you could see light and understanding in them. I could just tell they wanted to be there and to learn about what we were learning about (Priesthood Organization). It made me very grateful that I have this gospel. To raise my children in. I am and will always be grateful for my parents and their activity in church. Thank you mom and dad for taking us to church every week and for teaching us good values. Thank you for your examples to me. I think that I have always taken it for granted that I was born and raised in the church and had most extended family in the church as well. My heart aches for people who have had the gospel placed right in front of them and rejected it or didn't even give it the time of day. What a wonderful blessing to miss out on. I see Joe's heart ache all the time when he just wishes that he could get his family and friends to understand what an amazing thing it is to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Days Saints is...to have prayer, scriptures, service, and most importantly of all Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in their lives. I'm kind of starting to get a feel for how hard it is to be the only member of the church in your family. This isn't an easy thing for Joe and I, but we are grateful that we have each other, a ward family, and that we can raise Ryker and our future children in this gospel. To teach them that we do have a Heavenly Father and a Savior Jesus Christ who love them so much. They have a family that love them and support them. They are on this earth for a reason. They can be a good example and make a difference in the lives of so many. Families can be together forever. I am so grateful that my husband and children can be with me forever. This life and the life after this. The Plan of Salvation is very comforting and it brings me a lot of joy!

I just wanted to write this all down. It's a little bit jumbles, but my heart is full. I love this gospel so much! I love it, I do!

And just because I love this little man so much (and because he's so darn handsome), here is Ry in his Sunday best today! :Sad it's a little blurry, but the flash wasn't on. His eyes are watery because he was crying because he didn't like trying to walk in his shoes.

This is blurry too, but he is just so sweet!

Our Baby is 11 Months Old!

Yesterday Ry turned 11 months old! We cannot believe how fast he has grown! He is such a smart sweet little boy! Ryker has been walking since 10 months old, but recently he is starting to so fast that he's almost running! It is so cute to watch him waddle around the house! He is having so much fun walking and discovering things. He has started this thing where he points at everything; it is totally cute. Sometimes I am not sure if he knows what he is pointing at! He is also doing this thing where he likes to put things back (take it out, put it in; take it off, put it on) where they were. We think he might be a little OCD, but it's cute. He knows what it means to "go get another book." When his grandma reads to him, she says that and he waddles over and grabs another book and goes back over to her. It's so cute! He enjoys climbing up the stairs, climbing into things, and climbing onto the door of the dishwasher when I am trying to do the dishes. He is a great little helper. He likes to help with the laundry (take clothes out of the basket). If we put our hand out, he will stick what he is holding into our hand. He is learning to share. ;) He loves carrying things around, specifically things that are kind of big or heavy or awkward. Kinda silly! He has curly hair, and we think it's about time for a trim! It's getting crazy in the back! When he gets mad he throws himself back (as do most kids) and sometimes he'll lay on his stomach on the floor when he's tired or taking a break (haha). He is such a fun little bundle of joy and we are excited to continue to see him learn and grow! We love you Ryker Thomas!

So I forgot to get his 11 month old pics until after he was already bathed and ready for bed, so oh well!

walking down the hall

I had to grab him. He was headed downstairs. Yikes! Isn't he handsome?!

Birthdays and Valentine's Day

Joe's Dad's birthday was February 1st and mine was the 3rd, so we celebrated our birthdays together on the 13th (after Joe's parents got back from their two week cruise). It was nice because on my real birthday I had strep throat, so by this time I was feeling much better! It was a lot of fun to have family over, and everyone spoiled me, I must say. :)

Pretty sure Ryker thought everyone was singing "Happy Birthday" to him! Haha!

I got a hungry 25 pound baby for my birthday! ;)

Family shot!

Joe's brother and his fiance got me a nook gift card! Yes!

Joe's mom got me some skinny jeans! This is me modeling them with the tag and untied shoes. They are way comfy!

Joe's sister and boyfriend got me this necklace. It's way cute, and this pic does not do it justice.

We had a nice Valentine's day. We don't usually go all out as some people do, but we did got out to eat at Legal Sea Foods with Ryker and shared a meal (because that place is pricey!). It was a nice time! :)

Joe got me a rose and one of my fave snacks flamin' hot cheetohs!
Guess what Joe got for Valentine's Day? Red Sox tickets for April 14th against the Tampa Bay Rays!

In January

So there was this one time in January...we took Ryker to Chuck E. Cheese. It was fun! And there was also this one time when we went to Ryker's friend from church, Jenna's first birthday party! In that order! Except the pictures aren't in that order, and I didn't feel like putting them in order. :)

Handsome at Jenna's party.

Playing with toys with the other kids.

Jenna and her cake (they didn't really give her that whole thing. They cut a piece out of it).

Ryker studying a ride at Chuck E. Cheese

Ryker and Chuck E. This was one of his faves. This ride took their pic every time you rode it!

Ryker isn't shy at all... He was waiting for him to "honk!" When he squeezes our noses, we say "Honk!" So, we thought this was pretty funny!

Ryker being a big boy!

I just wanted to throw this one in! Ryker in his Sunday best (except not his Sunday shoes)

Here's Ryker on the Carasoul. He did so well on it!


He loves riding Clifford!

10 Months Old!

Well, our baby boy is 10 months old (yesterday)! We cannot believe how time has flown and that he will be a year old in two short months! As you can see from the above pic, his 10 month old pics were taken in his diaper. I thought it was appropriate since he loves being in his diaper... I think he misses those Summer months! (haha) He has really grown up so fast and just in this last month, I have seen his personality blossom even more! He's such a sweet funny little guy!

Ry at 10 Months:
loves walking (especially when he has an audience to clap and say "yay Ryker!"
loves getting into cupboards and loves doors
loves anything that makes noise
is really enjoying feeding himself table foods (he loves Cheerios)
loves his family (they are his favorite and best friends)
is a beaver (literally, he tries to bite his way through his wooden crib haha)
now has 6 teeth (with 2 more on the way)
loves babbling
loves singing and dancing (check out video below)
knows what "no" means
points at pictures in books
loves looking at books (and turning pages)
wants whatever Mommy and Daddy are eating
is so pleased with himself when he accomplishes something (He walked from one couch to the next--about 6 feet apart--and when he made it he just smiled and laughed and got so excited)
waves his arms around when he is excited
does this cute little fake laugh when he hears an adult laugh

He loves chords (as all babies do!) He has such a funny personality!

He enjoys pulling his diapers off of his diaper changing table. I put them back up there, and then I enjoy watching him throw them off one at a time. :)

Well, you know how Ry is kinda tall? Well, now that he's walking around, he loves pulling things down that he can reach

He is obsessed with opening and closing doors...he just loves doors so much.

His hair is just like BAM! It's really starting to come in. I'm afraid his first haircut is right around the corner. I love how it is curling up. It looks like he has wings on both sides of his head.

Ry has most recently developed a clingy-ness to his mommy. He'll crawl (or walk) over to Mommy's legs and look up to be picked up. When others are holding him and Mom comes into view he will lean toward her. I'm pretty sure it's because he spends most of his time with her though!

I just thought this pic was funny! He is wearing Daddy's Boston Red Sox beanie! Go Sox! (haha)

Here is Ryker walking a few days ago


Here is Ryker dancing during snack time (when we say "dance, dance, baby!" he usually dances)


Didn't even notice until today that he was dancing to the same exact song in his room. This was yesterday--10 months! Also, if my sisters would please check out his onesie! :)

Videos

This is a video of everyone clapping for Ryker after he opened some books from Santa. He was looking at everyone like "what the heck?" Funny!



Ryker is now taking steps! :)