The 2009 Holiday Season

So much for my New Years resolution to blog more regularly! Maybe my resolution should have been to shower at least every 48 hours! LOL. I have come to realize that Rylan totally dictates my schedule from meals, to showers, to free-time (if any), to errands and everything in between. Unfortunately all those things come before blogging on the priority list...so you'll have to settle for as often as I get a chance. :) Since my last post was from Halloween, I obviously have alot to catch up on (which is a warning that this will be a fairly long post).

All during the fall we talked about how excited we were to celebrate Rylan's 1st holiday season. Although Halloween was fun, as an 8 month old Rylan was not really able to participate in the festivities. Thanksgiving and Christmas, however, were a different story. Since Rylan has been eating table food for awhile now, he was able to eat Thanksgiving dinner with the family. He ate a little of everything, including turkey, green beans, potatoes, mac & cheese, rolls and even a little dessert. While its safe to say that half of his meal ended up in his high chair, he did a good job eating all of his food. He even fed himself most of the time! After dinner we watched the football game, took a walk, and watched Rylan take a nap on my lap (so sweet). It's always good to catch up with family!

After Thanksgiving, we started preparing for Christmas. We were eager to see Rylan's reaction to all the decorations. Rylan was in awe of the tree! He really seemed to love the lights, as well as the presents and the stockings. During the month of December, we made and effort to take Rylan to do "traditional" Christmas activities, including looking at Christmas lights, visiting Santa and singing Christmas carols. One of Rylan's favorite Christmas activities was going to "Prairie Lights" in Grand Prairie, TX. "Prairie Lights" is a drive through light display with over 4 million Christmas lights! Since we were driving super slow (like 2mph), we took Rylan out of his car seat and held him in our laps with the window rolled down. He loved it! He looked like a puppy with his tongue sticking out, lapping up the breeze. While he was a fan of the lights, he was not as kosher with Santa. He screamed, to be more exact. Maybe he'll like him a little better next year.

With so many family members in town for the Christmas holiday, we were a little stressed about how we were going to accommodate everyone as well as celebrate our own family Christmas all in one day. Yet, it turned out that there was no need to worry, as Mother Nature determined our Christmas Eve/Christmas Day plans. It started snowing on Christmas Eve around lunchtime. We had gone to lunch and were heading to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for Christmas morning breakfast (which I don't suggest doing on Christmas Eve--it was a nuthouse) when the snow really started picking up, so we headed home. As the day continued, the snow kept coming and by nightfall we had around 4 inches.

Since we live an hour from where our parents live, we decided that trying to drive to Christmas Eve service might not be the best idea. Instead, we stayed at home and lit a fire, watched SMU whoop Nevada in their bowl game, read Rylan the Christmas story, baked cookies for Santa, listened to Christmas music and went to bed at a decent hour. The next morning we awoke to the ground covered in white! It was beautiful! The first white Christmas in Dallas since before I was born, and it happened on Rylan's 1st Christmas! It was very special. I made a breakfast casserole and we sat together and opened our stockings and presents at a leisurely pace. Once the sun was out and the snow began to melt, we headed to Paul's parents house and then my parents house. Rylan was a trooper and made it through the day relatively happy, but without a nap he was pretty exhausted by dinner. We made it home around 11pm and we all crashed. It took several days to unpack, open and sort through all the presents. Half of Rylan's room was covered with Christmas goodies! We had a mountain of cardboard boxes on our fireplace for at least a week.

Now Rylan has all the toys that little boys should have. Trucks, balls, trains, you name it! It's amazing how much more active he became after he had all these toys to look at and crawl after. Once all the toys were in his room, he pulled himself up every morning to stare at them. Unfortunately, he was also teething at Christmas, so in addition to pulling up, he completely chewed up the side rails of his crib. The perfectionist side of me was a little upset, but the mom side of me is happy to have a healthy beautiful little boy that is able to chew on his crib. Some things are just more important.

Halloween at the Fort Worth Zoo

Since Rylan is not old enough to enjoy trick-or-treating (and Mom and Dad don't need the extra candy in the house), we decided to do something else that we thought Rylan would like. So, we all piled in the car and headed up the road to the Fort Worth Zoo. For those who have never been, the Fort Worth Zoo is beautiful. This zoo attempts to make its visitors feel as though they are actually walking through jungle (or plains or whatever terrain applies). Although Rylan didn't gawk at every animal or exhibit, he seemed to enjoy the animals as well as being outdoors on what turned to be a beautiful day. Our trip also turned out to be quite a workout! When you're pushing a 30lb stroller with an 18lb kid sitting in it up and down inclines you get a little winded! My favorite exhibit was the gorillas...we got to stand inches away from one (with plexiglass in between of course)! We'll definitely be returning as Rylan gets older!

After the zoo, we drove to Coppell to see Nana, Popy, Grandma, and Grandpa. After dinner Rylan put on his Halloween costume. He was a very cute and ferocious lion! We walked by a few neighbors houses to show him off. He lasted about an hour in his costume, but probably could have gone longer had it not been so hot! The costume was very warm, and since it is still close to 80 here (unusual even for Texas) it was to hot for him! Although we didn't go trick-or-treating, Rylan still came home with some goodies! He got some Puffs, a stuffed pumpkin, and some Halloween books. That's about all you can give an 8 month old. :) Thanks Nana, Popy, Grandma, and Grandpa! We can't wait for next year!

Fall Family Pics

On the Move

Rylan started crawling two days ago! He's not on all fours yet, but he's definately making progress! I've heard it called scooting, creeping, and commando crawling. It's time to baby-proof the house! :)

Oct-o-Brr!

It's been almost a year since I've started this blog. This time last year I was newly pregnant, wondering what the next year of my life would bring. What a year it has been! I admit I haven't been the best blogger in the world. But, I've done the best I can and I hope the more we get out as he gets older, the more things I'll have to blog about. The fall weather has finally arrived, and unfortunately it has been accompanied by lots of rain and gloomy days. It's been awhile since we've seen the sun.

September was a busy month around here. We attempted to take Rylan to St. Ann's carnival for the first time, but it rained NON-STOP the entire weekend from midday Friday to some time the following week. So his first carnival was a wash...literally! We also celebrated my 26th birthday. I got to get back to the spa for my bday and got my first massage since the pregnancy. It was the best! I really needed that, especially after carrying around an infant all day! I don't feel older when birthdays roll around, but what does make me feel older is seeing people like my sister turn 21! People seem to freeze at a certain age to me...even those you see alot. And when you see someone you haven't seen in a long time (like a 4 year old who is almost 15 now) or see your sister hit a "milestone" age, it makes you feel really old!

Rylan is coming up on 8 months this week and it is a painful reminder of how fast the time has flown by. I see baby shows on tv now and think that the babies on the show are so small! Its hard to believe Rylan was that size. He has outgrown his infant carrier and is moving into a big boy car seat. He weighed in at 18lbs, 1oz at the pediatricians office this morning, and was a very brave boy for his flu shot. He didn't even cry! He just looked at me like he was waiting for a lollipop or a bottle or something. While he's not quite ready for lollipops yet, he has eaten his first bites of REAL solid food! He likes the Gerber Graduates Puffs and Lil' Crunchies (kinda like Cheetos Lite). He has also tried rolls, tortillas, strawberries, Cheerios and a couple other random things. He's becoming an excellent chewer, and now has the help of his one and only tooth! This tooth has been "coming in" for quite some time, but right before it broke through, Rylan started chewing like crazy! He chewed on his fingers, his sleeves, toys, teething rings, food, and even his toes again (he hasn't done that in awhile).

I'm excited to have our first real family portraits taken this weekend. We went and bought Rylan a particularly cute winter outfit for the pictures, complete with matching beanie and handsome loafers. I'm also excited for the Pumpkin Patch and Halloween. Part of the fun of having children is participating in these events and seeing it through their eyes, making it a whole new adventure. I'll post pictures as soon as I get them.

And now I must be turning in for the night. Tuesday are "go in the office" days, so I have to get up earlier than usual to drop Rylan off and commute to work. I am going to finish my book before I head to bed. I have started pleasure reading again for the first time in about 20 years. "Forced reading" at school kind of ruined the pleasure reading for me, but during the last year I have slowly started reading again and can see why so many do it as a hobby. It is a relaxing way to wind down at the end of a long day. Sweat Dreams.

Nursery Pics and Almost Famous

Since Rylan came a whole month early, the nursery was not complete when we came home from the hospital. We had the walls painted and the furniture in, but the little details were not complete. It took 4 months after he was born to complete it. Below are pictures from his nursery...

The Changing Table

The Closet/Window Corner

The Rocker/Reading Corner

The Convertible Crib

The Dresser

The bedding is from www.babybedding.com. I love it. They have lots of cute prints and designs and you can custom create your own color/print combinations using their vast fabric selections. The furniture is from Babies R Us. It scratches easily but other than that, we're happy with it. We hope it will at least last into his teens! There is a sign above his bed that reads, "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray thee Lord my soul to keep."

It didn't take long for Rylan to become somewhat of a "celebrity." Tommy at 360 Wraps (who wrapped Rylan's DOC Band) started a NPO for his free wrapping services called Wrap Buddies (formerly DOC Buddies). He featured a picture of Rylan on the front page. Check it out! The link is www.wrapbuddies.com

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin

We've hit the halfway mark! People said this time would go by fast, and they weren't kidding. He is literally changing on a daily basis. The biggest change as of late is his mobility! Rylan can now roll from his stomach to his back and vice versa. He has also started grabbing everything, including hair, clothes, jewelery and things on his changing table. It's like he became independent overnight! Well, not quite, but he doesn't seem like a baby anymore!

His 6 month appointment went well. The doctor feels like he is catching up developmentally and gave us the go ahead to explore more foods. He is still measuring tall and skinny. He is also still going for weekly visits to the DOC Band clinic, but they told us on Friday that he only has to wear it two more weeks! Praise God! It hasn't been bad at all, but it is causing some skin irritation. It's probably harder for us than it is for him; we miss our little boy's head! Everyone has been so receptive of his helmet, and I am grateful for that. Luckily, we still get to live life as normal...including an end of summer trip to the "Hurricane Savannah" pool (our friends' community pool that I compare to Hurricane Harbor because it is the coolest pool in a subdivision I've ever seen.) Below is a pic of our day of fun in the sun.