Fair Day

Rylin's birth mom Tess had her sister in town this week, so we decided to get together for a fun outing. The weather has been unbelievable in Dallas, so last night, after a scrumptious dinner at their favorite Mediterranean restaurant (Tess's Mom's family is Lebanese), Tess, her mom, her sister, her sister's boyfriend, and the three of us headed to the State Fair.

Rylin was unimpressed by Big Tex, but quite enthralled with a giant pig they had on display. He jabbered the whole time we were at his cage! Then I hesitantly shared the story of how I used to raise and show pigs. (a fun fact I typically don't tell people when I first meet them...for obvious reasons!) I'm pretty sure they didn't hold it against me, though.

Then we headed over to the petting zoo, where we enjoyed visiting with the goats, cows, zebras, camels, kangaroos and even a giraffe. As I've mentioned before, Rylin has a thing for trying to kiss Duke with an open mouth. I was quite horrified to notice him attempting the same thing with a goat. Not sure what to do with this boy!

We then took a ride on the big ferris wheel. I don't think Rylin even realized what we were doing because it moves so slow, but he does look worried in this picture!

Tess's Mom Nanette, Sister Oren, and her boyfriend Jordan

Tess, Oren, and Jordan rode a crazy spinning ride that we were happy to sit and watch from afar. I think Rylin was relieved he was too short for this one!

After a lot of contemplation, we settled on some fried Oreos and fresh squeezed sugared up lemonade, and called it a night. Rylin was gassed since we pushed his bedtime back to nearly 10, but was a trooper the whole night and we had a lot of fun.

11 Months Old

This picture about says it all! On Saturday Rylin turned eleven months old! In less than one month we will have a one year old! It still seems unreal to me. In the last month he has grown so much and is definitely a full on toddler. He now gets around on two feet very well and is in to just about everything he's not supposed to be. His favorite "no-no's" are the dog bowl, telephone(which he's dropped out the doggy door more than once), remote(we couldn't find for 3 days until I did laundry and discovered it hidden away in a basket), and kitchen and bathroom doors and drawers. We have been feverishly trying to get child locks on everything...or should I say, Jordan has been! He jabbers ALL THE TIME now in a language all his own. It sounds a little like German, though I'm sure the Germans would beg to differ! He has four teeth and eats all kinds of grown up food. His favorites are still blueberries, chicken, and beans of any kind. He has a happy disposition and likes to smile for just about anyone, but gives the biggest grins to his Daddy. He loves Duke and has added something sounding like "duck" to his vocabulary this week when running in his direction! He also says "bye, bye", "dada", and "momma". His favorite toys are wooden blocks and puzzles, which he mostly just chews on and then leaves in various random places around the house. He has figured out how to clap in the last week, and frequently gives himself a round of applause! He is great at showing affection and loves to give hugs and kisses to us and his little friends (who don't always appreciate them). He is a cuddler when he is sleepy and hard to resist! What would we do without him?!

green bean cigar

clapping

his "I'm up to no good" face

Out & About With Daddy

Surprisingly I have managed to have more on my plate these days than I did when I had a paying job. Last week was quite hectic for Mommy, so Rylin got to spend a lot of one on one time with Jordan. He made his first trip to the park (besides in a stroller) and experienced his first swing. I hear he loved it...so much, they returned a few days later!

Other Daddy excursions included several trips to Home Depot and Half Priced Books.

Overdue Update

I feel like I have been running behind this week. You know, when you have so much to do but as soon as you do it other things pile up. I suppose this just means I need more discipline and probably to wake up earlier. (yuck...did I just say that?) ANYWAYS, I've been getting heckled by my family for an update so here she is...

For those that don't know, I've been keeping Rylin's buddy Atticus on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They are getting to be great playmates and are already good at getting into trouble.


Rylin loves to try and stick his fingers in your mouth or nose. He has already caused some injuries to Jordan, and in this picture, has him hooked like a fish!

You may remember this picture from almost a year ago. Jordan was so proud of his little Cowboy. This jersey was a gift from one of Jordan's friends and was a little big last season...

But now it fits quite well! Here is Rylin before the first regular season game last weekend.

Since Rylin started walking, we decided it might be time for some "real" shoes. I ordered him his first pair of Toms last week. I wasn't sure if I really liked them at first, but I think they are growing on me, and they have proven easy for him to walk in. If you haven't heard of Toms, you should check them out. For every pair of shoes purchased, a pair is donated to a child in need. Here he is breaking them in...doing quite well!

Westfest Weekend

Every Labor Day weekend as long as I can remember has been filled with Czech food and dancing...and heat! This weekend was the same except for the unusually cool Texas weather. For those that don't know...I grew up close to West, Texas (West comma Texas not the west Texas full of tumble weeds and Red Raiders). On Labor Day weekend, the town celebrates its Czech heritage with a huge festival full of authentic food, polka, pivo(beer), a parade, arts and crafts, a tractor pull, a 5K run(where you actually get Kolache's at the end), and lots of cool stuff for kids. This year Rylin got to experience his first Westfest! We came in Friday and my brother fried the fish we caught on our family weekend along with homemade onion rings and hush puppies. On Saturday morning we started out the day with the Westfest parade. Not exactly comparable to Macy's Thanksgiving Day extravaganza, but fun none the less. Rylin loved that people on floats were waving at him and his little hand was surely tired by the end because he waved back at everyone!

His cousins caught more candy than they could ever eat, and I know it won't be long before Rylin is right there with them.

After the parade we headed over to the fair grounds for the kids to enjoy some carnival rides. Rylin got to go on his first merry-go-round and he loved it!

Rylin loves his Uncle David...especially his prickly beard!

We then sat down to eat some yummy sausage, sour kraut, and potatoes and even a funnel cake. Rylin came down with some crazy rash on Friday and had not been wanting to eat; however, he would not let the sugar coated breaded goodness go to waste!

After a nap at home, Jordan and I, along with my brothers and sister-in-laws went back out to Westfest while MiMi and Papa kept the kids. We ate some more great food, watched the end of the tractor pull and horseshoe tournament, and ended our weekend with a crazy polka to Brave Combo(the best Polka band ever)!