Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Rolling with Laughter!

Well everyone it's official! We have ourselves a rolling baby!! :)


Ryder is also quite the talker and full of smiles and laughter! We love this little guy so much!!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Month Number 3!

Well this month has been quite busy, as you can probably tell from my lack of posts this month. I apologize for being so behind on updating things here, but I will try to fill you all in on everything we have been up to this month right now!

We started the month with a trip to Myrtle Beach, and by "we" I mean Ryder, me, my mom, and sister along with several of my sister's friends from school and their lovely moms. Ryder was the center of attention from the start of the trip and he loved being the only boy on an all girls' trip!



He also loved the sound of the ocean and slept for a great deal of the trip in the arms of whoever was willing to hold him, which was pretty much everyone! :) But we definitely missed daddy!

When we returned home from the beach, we got a visit from Tyler's grandparents and Ryder's great-grandparents as they made their way to Florida for the winter.  I'm so glad they were able to stop in and that Ryder was in such a good mood to meet them!



The day after their visit, we celebrated Halloween with our little cowboy, Ryder! We went trick or treating at Nana and Grandpa's house, and grandpa was thrilled to spend some time with Ryder-man since mom and Caitlyn had already spent four straight days with us!




Ryder has become quite the little talker this month. He coos and smiles almost comstantly while awake, and squeals with delight when anyone talks to him. He lights up every day when daddy gets home from work, and that little smile just melts your heart!! He is quite taken with his Aunt Caitlyn and keeps his eye on her whenever she's in the room!

Daddy dressed me :)






The biggest accomplishments for us this month are that Ryder is now on a schedule and sleeps without being held during naptimes, and even more fun, Ryder is learning to roll over! It took us about 3 weeks to get Ryder on a sleep schedule, but it was very necessary and has made for a much happier baby and mommy!!
Ryder's two favorite things now are his blankie and paci, and we don't go anywhere without them!



 
Ryder now rolls onto his side with ease and then with a little more coaching and coaxing can move to his stomach! It takes time, but it won't be long before we won't be able to let Ryder lie on our bed or the ottoman anymore without someone being right there beside him!

We ended the month with one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving! We are truly thankful for our special little blessing! He has changed our lives forever, but in such a wonderful and happy way!!




Up next month, Christmas, parades, presents, and lots of pretty lights!! :)

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

No Naps for Ryder

So it appears that I am significantly behind on updating my blog, but I blame this on a certain two and a half month old thay I have nicknamed "No Nap" Ryder-man. Ryder has been going through a new phase the past three weeks of not napping more than 45 minutes at a time during the day for three nap periods. He is still a good sleeper at night, although the past three mornings he's started rousing between 4:30 and 6am. Thankfully, he sleeps until 7, but after that all bets are off on getting him to sleep more. Ryder talks, plays, and smiles for hours on end. When he gets sleepy I feed him and put him down for what I hope will be a solid hour or longer nap, but in the end it usually only ends up lasting about 45 minutes. While I am extremely happy for a happy baby who sleeps through the night, his lack of sleeping during the day is tiring and trying since I can't seem to get much done around my house. It's also complicated with the onset of the holidays and my need to do some Christmas shopping, but with a baby who hates being in his car seat, shopping is not really possible. As for now, the only guaranteed way to get Ryder to sleep is to let him lie on my lap, so that's exactly where he is right now, and hopefully where he'll remain for another hour or so. It's not ideal, but if it helps him to get the rest he needs, then it's what we'll do.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Two Months Old!!


Well, once again I am amazed at how quickly time is passing! Ryder is now 2 months old, and I feel like it was just yesterday that I was at the check out line in Target in tears because I had just left the doctors office and had been told it could possibly be another week until Ryder arrived, and I was so disappointed (that poor cashier, I can't imagine what she was thinking). Boy was my doctor wrong! My water broke that night and I had a beautiful baby boy in my arms 24 hours later!

This month has been full of even more changes! Ryder is growing and trying all kinds of new things and visiting lots of new places! We couldn't love him more!!

This month he had his first bottle.

Visited the apple orchard to go apple picking.

Cheered on Aunt Caitlyn at several volleyball games.


Went to homecoming at LU.



And went to the pumpkin patch with friends.

We aso added some new toys to his list of favorite things like his swing,


his bouncy seat that he sometimes falls asleep in,




and his bumpo seat.

We braved Ryder's first cold and learned how to use the suction bulb. Thankfully, after two weeks, the congestion is gone and we have a happy, healthy baby once again! Ryder is also learning to sleep much better! He sleeps at least 6-8 hours per night but now takes several naps throughout the day to keep him growing strong! He's still taking medicine for his acid reflux, but he seems to be eating much better and feeling better. Mommy and daddy are so glad to see our little man feeling better and sleeping well!

He has also learned to coo and smile, and especially when he's playing with his favorite toy, his mobile!



 We're also working on tummy time, but Ryder's not a huge fan of it yet!


We can't wait to see what's in store for us this next month!!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Football Fields & Pumpkin Patches

The last two weekends have been busy ones for our little family. Two weekends ago, we headed up to Lynchburg for Liberty University's homecoming! We had a lot of fun reminiscing about our college days and the early days of our dating relationship. Liberty has changed so much since we both graduated and it was amazing to see the growth and development that's taken place there! It was also nice to see several of my former students at the game and hear about the memories they're now making at LU. 






We met up with some good friends and had a good time watching the football game with them! Ryder was fascinated by the stadium lights but not all that interested in the game, which is fine with mommy since she would prefer him not to be a football player! :)




It was quite the adventure to pack up for a day away from home with a newborn. Gone are the days where a purse and waterbottle would be sufficient to hop in the car with and head out of town for the day. No sir, we needed lots of diapers, a change of clothes just in case there was a wardrobe malfunction, bottles, a stroller, the baby bjorn carrier, toys, blankets, and the list goes on. Despite the loaded down car, we had a great time seeing friends and reminiscing!

This past weekend, we packed up and headed out once again, but this time not quite as far away and not for as long, so a little less packing (a little less). This time we went to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins!



We saw farm animals.



Took a long hayride.



Manuevered our way through the corn maze.



And caught up with some sweet friends!

It was a fun day, and Ryder was even awake for some of it!! :)


Our sweet little pumpkin!
Coming up this weekend, Ryder and mommy will be travelling to the beach with Nana and aunt Caitlyn and some other family friends and then coming home to meet Ryder's great-grandparents from Massachusetts. :)