6 Months Old

Sunday Rylin turned six months old! Wow, time flies. He now weights a whopping 20 lbs and is almost 29 inches long! He loves to smile, giggle, roll, scoot, reach and jump, and he is doing pretty well at sitting up by himself. He still hates baby food and rice cereal, but I'm not too worried about malnutrition at this point:) He likes to splash in the bath tub, take walks in the stroller, and always wants to be moving.

He played till he dropped...

an example of messy meal time
more on the table, Rylin, and me than in his mouth!

A Little Family Vacation

Three years ago my parents decided that instead of giving us money for Christmas, they would pay for a little family vacation weekend. It has proved to be a little crazy, but a lot of fun. This year was no exception with the addition of another grandchild. We set off on Friday for Cedar Creek Lake, where my parents had rented a cabin for the thirteen of us (grandparents, both my brothers families and us). The house was really nice (and big) and was right on the lake. Each couple had their own room and the kids shared a bunk room. We spent the weekend fishing, hanging out in the hot tub, playing domino's, pool, horseshoes, and a creative family game of "guess who's nose" thought of by yours truly.

My brother Richie and my niece Emily

My brother David and nephews Mitchell & Luke

excited about our big catch...54 keepers!

hanging out on the deck

Wiped out after a long day

All the grandkids

Luke and Emily showing Rylin the Nintendo DS

(a major source of disagreement between the grandkids though you couldn't tell from this picture!)

Increased Mobility

Jordan's Nana and Aunt Jan were so nice to give Rylin a walker, and he is finally getting a chance to use it. So far, he's not quite sure how he finds himself at one end of the room or the other, but is definitely catching on that Duke can be tracked down or blocked out! Here are a few pictures of his new wheels.

Rainbow Cake

Those that know me are aware that I have a tendency to go overboard when it comes to creativity. Please understand that this is not always a good thing. It's the type of ambition that either turns into something fantastic, or something dreadful.

For Easter, I wanted to bake something special. I saw a cake several months ago on another blog that I occasionally read, and knew that I was up for the challenge. I am happy to say that this risk turned out well. Although I spent most of the Saturday before hoarding my Mom's kitchen (to the dismay of my egg coloring niece and nephew), squeezed through two boxes of food coloring, and had to drive to church to find space in a refrigerator to hold the 10" high art piece, everyone loved it and that made it all worth it! So here is the link to the recipe...if you dare, and a few of the only colorful remains!

the four drops from the recipe was a joke...apparently I used a weak food coloring:)

colors not found in nature...but tasty when covered in cream cheese icing!

beginning assembly

my M&M mosaic

Easter in Leroy

Easter in my family has always been a big deal. It is definitely our largest family and friends gathering, and I have many great memories from my childhood of the holiday. Beginning with coloring eggs the Saturday before, going to church Easter morning in a new dress, having a big pot luck lunch, and the traditional Easter egg hunt where everyone (adults included) set out to find the dyed egg with their name on it. There are some legendary stories of eggs being buried, put in craw fish holes, and even a rumor of an egg of a certain deceased great aunt being found! Easter in our family is definitely fun. So you can imagine my excitement in getting to share all this with Rylin & Jordan. Here are a few pics of our weekend. I've posted more on our Shutterfly share site here.

Rylin in the bluebonnets

Mommy & Rylin
Daddy & Rylin (two sharp dressed men)

Grandmother Wines & Rylin

Rylin got lots of love from family this weekend, but he also got to meet his cousin Bonnie for the first time. You may remember me talking about her arrival here. Bonnie is two months younger and much more dainty. She is a real cutie, and I'm sure they will be curly headed pals.

Rylin & Bonnie

Our little Easter Bunny who loves to hop these days!