Ryker Recap

Mmm. . .my handsome littlest man. . .you are yummy! From your kissable cheeks, to your baby smell, I just love you! At 2 months old, and a whopping 14 lb and 22.75 in,

you have become much more content. Giving us smiles and coos. . .

You were none too fond of your stay in the hospital nursery, getting gunk suctioned out of you, etc. Crying in your carseat on the way home should have been a warning that you would dislike. . .er, despise the thing. I suppose part of it was because we just stuck you in there when we needed to go places, whether you were ready or not. But thankfully, you are doing much better in it. . .see, that is YOU, SLEEPING in it!You LOVE being swaddled, and are most often found in my Moby Wrap. That thing always calmed you the first few months when you were, what I liked to say, "picky" or how Dr.Z put it, "particular." When I do set you down, on occasion, you like the boppy. . .You have tummy time on it, you sleep on it, you give me funny faces and stretch on it, I play dressed up with you on it, And then you say, PLEASEPick me up because I'm hungry!! Feed me! (You are often found nursing ;) Thus the 6 lb gain in 2 months )
You LOVE bathtime. . .guaranteed smile and splashes when I set you in there. . .

And I love myself a freshly bathed, lotioned, sleepy baby to rockabye!

Eyelids getting heavy, about to doze. . .
You have been enjoying your swing recently. . .

and continue to protect yourself

from your many big siblings who are full of "love" for you

I am not the only one who takes your picture, makes sure you're healthy, and, I wish I had a funny caption for this photo. . . initiating you into the band of brothers?
The next pic is for the lady at the store that said my baby needed a hat. . .

that's how you feel about hats ;)

Ryker Matthew, I adore the rolls on your wrists and the wrinkles on your forehead

You are growing so much!

I often take just you with me when I run errands, go Christmas shopping, go to Bible Study, etc and you have gotten lots of cute comments and looks these first few months. I love to tell people that I have 3 more at home ;) One of my favorite comments is your perfectly shaped head. . .yeh, I haven't set you down much :) but am starting to more. God has chosen you to be our son, and us to be your parents. I pray that we will raise you, while looking to Him for guidance. We love you!

And now it's off to a gingerbread house making party. . .

Christmas at Grammy and Grampas 2010

A few quick memories we made this Christmas were. . .

1. Laughing lots with my sisters and mom!

2. Holding baby Ryker

3. the Wisconsin Badgers onesie. . .We did set Ryker down briefly to get pics in his new onesie since GooF said, as always:), "Try it on!"

4. Playing in the snow with Willow while Grammy got dinner on. . .

5. Sledding. . . (thanks Gramps for the lift)

6.Rolling down the snow hill. . .

and for #7.

Swinging in the snow ;) . . .

Thanks mom and dad for all the stocking stuffers, gifts and time spent together making memories with your grandkids aged 7,6,5,4,3 and 2 months!

"All I want

for Christmas

is my two
front teeth!"

Not only is Miss Ainsley working on growing her two front teeth, she is becoming a wonderful writer! Ainsley's spelling assignment today was to write a story with some of her spelling words in it. She loves reading mystery books and did an excellent job writing her own ( I did help with punctuation and some spelling)! She used the words book, looked, good, took and foot. . .

One afternoon, I was reading a book. It was good. It was a princess fairy book. I was reading in my room, when I heard mommy and daddy call, “We need some detectives!” So Porter, Trey and I ran into the living room. We saw mommy and daddy but no baby Ryker. “Where is baby Ryker?” we asked. “That is the mystery,” said mommy and daddy. So we looked and looked for clues. Finally, we found a clue. It was footprints in the snow. I said, “I’m cold. Let’s go inside for hot cocoa.” So we did. We took off our snow clothes and drank hot cocoa. Then we put on our snow clothes and went outside and looked and looked at the footprints again. Finally, I said, “I know who made these footprints! Grammy and Grampa!” We ran inside to tell mommy and daddy. While we drank hot cocoa we told mommy and daddy that Grammy and Grampa took Ryker! “Oh I remember, Grammy and Grampa offered to watch baby Ryker today,” said mommy. So we all went to Grammy and Grampas house. “Oh, I totally forgot that it’s Christmas at Grammy and Grampas house I said!” We ate supper and then opened Christmas presents. The end!

I love the line, "Oh I remember, Grammy and Grampa offered to watch baby Ryker today," said mommy. Like I'd forget ;) And love the line, "Oh I totally forgot that it's Christmas. . ." Like she'd forget ;)

I have a "Ryker Recap" and "It's beginning to look alot like Christmas post" in my head but we'll see if I get it blogged. . .

Diaper Duty

With baby #1, I used a diaper genie. With babies #2 and #3 I used a garbage can. With baby #4?

Wonder what I'll do if there's a #5? That's all I've got time for today. . .I have diapers and such to clean up ;)

The football hold

When we had our third child, our pastor at the time told us we were no longer playing "man to man defense," but "zone defense" instead. As we headed out for supper the other night I informed Ryan that we needed a game plan. . .who was going to help which children get their food, etc. There is most definitely a lot of football talk going on around here.

Giggling Girls

Uncle GooF drove Ainsley and Taetum to ballet tonight and I guess there was a LOT of GIGGLING going on in the back of Uncle GooF's car :) I am so thankful these girls have each other! Ainsley says that God gave her Taetum :)
I spent a long time looking at old photos tonight and came across some super cute ones of these girls through the years. I also noticed a lot of similarities in looks between Ainsley and Trey, and then between Porter and Ryker. We shall see as they continue to grow and change. . .

Here to Save the Day!

I love this photo because it captures a bit of what our house is really like right now (well, if there was dirt/food on your faces and toys/crumbs scattered about in the background but that's besides the point) :)I just overheard you big boys talking about what you want to be when you grow up. . .it is always something heroic. . . like driving a firetruck, etc. Today, Porter, you said when you grow up you want to be in a Navy submarine and fight bad guys. You asked me if I will count on you :) Trey, you say,"when I'm a daddy, I want to be. . ." and today you want to fly fighter jets I believe. I love that God made you boys with the ambition to save the day. . .to protect. . .to be heroes! And I am glad that you are also learning of His love and forgiveness. . .today Porter, you accidentally hurt Trey and I heard you say you were sorry all on your own. . .and Trey, I heard you say, "I forgive you," all on your own. And then you boys decided if you held Ryker you'd feel better. Lucky you, Ryker :) I need to remember to pray often for you little heroes as you will be young men someday! (And hopefully by then you will have learned to clean the dirt/food of your own faces and pick up your toys but that was besides the point, right?!) ;)