VA-CA Day 1

Thursday Night we drove half way to Myrtle Beach, which happened to be Augusta, GA.  My mom was supposed to drive down with us, but had an ear ache so decided to wait another day to ride with my dad.  It probably worked out for the best on our end as well considering the ENTIRE car was full of Ryder's supplies. 

Here is a picture of the packed car.  I have to give Michael props on his packing abilities. 

And here is my little man ready to go on an adventure... too bad this happy smile didn't last for long.  But I'm not going to dwell on that!

First UT Game

Ahh... the car is unloaded, most stuff is put away, the mail has been sorted, and the first load of laundry is in the washing machine- It's great to be home and more importantly to be back with my puppies!  I have a TON of pics to post from Ryder's first beach trip but I have a few things to catch up with.  First, here are a few pictures of Ryder "watching" his first University of Tennessee.  Tennessee played Montana and had a pretty easy win.  On a side note, Ryder is holding his toes a lot, which is pretty darn cute.

Smash Book

I used to love the "old school" scrapbook!   Remember when a scrapbook was a place where you kept all your, well, scraps- ticket stubs, receipts, doodles, etc?  You might have some photos but they were more for all the extra stuff you couldn't part with.  I've always missed that type of scrapbooking.  I am so glad that the "old school" way is making a comeback!  Check out the video below about the new smash book.

This video was made by K & Company, the actual maker of the Smash Book, but there are lots of other videos on You Tube showing how to make and Smash Book and even just people sharing theirs. 

I literally learned about this new product this morning on a scrapbooking blog that I follow, and I've already ordered 2 with some fun accessories!  Now, I know you could make one of these with any old composition book, but if you truly want to keep it forever, it is worth the extra money.

Here are just a few of the ideas I have for my Smash Books.
1) Day-to-day Memorabilia- things I want to look back on day-to-day: ticket stubs, random snapshots, menus, quotes I come across, crafts I would like to make, etc.
2) Recipes- Cut recipes out of magazines
3) Home decor ideas- paint samples, fabric cuttings, clippings from magazines
4) Baby Journal- a quick place to organize and remember all of Ryder's milestones to put on here when I actually have the time!

I can't wait to start smashing!

Ryder is Rolling Over!

Okay, so I have to admit he's already done this a couple of times in the past week, but this is the first time anyone has actually seen it happen.  He's already kicking his arms and legs like crazy, which means crawling won't be far off.   He also completely turned himself in a circle!  I guess we need to get all that baby proofing stuff out...

Laughter

There is nothing and I mean NOTHING that I enjoy more than hearing my precious baby laugh.  I don't think laughter is the correct way to describe it.  I laugh. Michael laughs.  Ryder radiates happiness.  He has the cutest giggle that I could listen to 24 hours a day!  I can't help but start laughing as well.  Ryder will giggle at me a little bit, but it's usually Michael who gets him going for longer periods of time.  For some reason, I started making a snoring noise at him the other day and he just giggled and giggled!  Luckily, I caught some of it on video to savor for many years to come.

Squash

It's official Ryder enjoys squash a lot more than peas!  He takes after his mommy and daddy!  It's amazing how much more interactive he seems to be getting each day.  I'm loving it, but I can't help but wish time would slow down just a little bit.  I'm definitely having the best time of my life!

Ryder Eating

First Solid Foods!

Ryder's 4 month doctor visit was last Tuesday, August 23rd.  He weighed... 19.8 lbs and is 27 inches long, which is about the 97th percentile for both!  Yes, he continues to be a big, healthy boy.  But even more exciting than that was our doctor told us to start feeding Ryder solid foods.  He said to give him cereal in the mornings and veggies and fruit at night.  Wednesday morning we started with the cereal and Thursday night with the food.  I made peas, carrots, and squash.  We decided to start with the peas.  I'm not sure how much he liked them.  You be the judge.  :)

Room

Every once in a while, a book comes along that you immediately want to pass on.  Room is one of those books.  This story is so compelling.  I'll be honest, I have no desire to read Jaycee Dugard's memior.  Yes, I know these horrific acts happen in our world, but sometimes the more we know, the more scared we live our lives. I don't want to be naive, but I'd rather live life optimistically. Now that I'm through with my rant, you might be wondering what the two have to do with each other.  Room is about a girl who is captured and kept locked in a room for 7 years at the age of 19.  During this time, she has a son, who is the narrator of this book.  Room lets you see the horrible consequences and psychological aspects of abduction.  It's interesting to read not only about how the mother copes with her abuse, but also how she tries as hard as she can to give her son a normal life.  I mean, how normal can a life be having never been outside of one room?  I am thankful that Room is more focused on the consequences of living in a room for 5 years instead of the abuse itself.  You still learn from it, but it isn't haunting.  I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone.  It gives you a lot to think about and the story goes way beyond the obvious.

Hanging Out with Hudson

In reality, Hudson Stewart is a month younger than Ryder, but he was born 15 weeks early, just over 2 pounds.  He should only be a week or two old.  We are so thankful that this little guy is finally home with his parents and continue to pray for his progress! We are looking forward to watching them grow up together!

Ryder's 4 Month Pics

We were so lucky to have my wonderful cousin, Laura Coby, take Ryder's 4 month pictures.

Elise's Sweet Shoppe!