Merry Christmas!

Woody Wagon Make Over

I've been collecting all kinds of things for Rylin's Christmas presents (trying not to go overboard) for several months. He recently discovered a Tiny Tikes Cozy Coupe at Attie's house and was all over it. I couldn't help but think I had to get him his own. I scoured Craig's List and found a rare edition woody wagon for a good bargain, though it was in need of some work.

I should tell you that this was a special find because growing up we had a brown woody station wagon that embarrassed the crap out of me. I remember sitting in the front seat on the "hump" (the middle armrest) so I could see out the window. I remember my brothers fighting and farting in the back seat. I remember the little flower my mom painted on the front seat to disguise a tiny spot one of us left in the vinyl. I was never so happy to see that thing go, though my parents replaced it with an almost equally embarrassing silver Buick station wagon. So when I saw the tiny wagon online, it brought all those memories back. And I laughed. I was determined to make Rylin's woody wagon a lot cooler!

A few cans of plastic spray paint, my own homemade stickers, Jordan's handy work repairing the faux wood panels, and I thought twice about taking it for a spin down the block myself!

I know Rylin will be excited when he sees it under the tree tomorrow morning...though he could probably care less about our little restoration job!

Santa:Take 2

You might remember Rylin's first trip to Santa that I blogged about here. Well, gone are the days of sleepy smiles! Last week, Bethany and I took Rylin and Attie to see the Santa in the mall. Atticus loves everyone, so he had no problem smiling on his lap. Rylin was another story. He puckered his bottom lip and the tears began to flow! Luckily the photographer was taking some time to get set up so I had a chance to calm him down and wipe his face. After a little poking with a hand puppet, we managed to get a cute shot.

He refused to look the bearded man in the face, but he kept a death grip on his finger. It cracks me up every time I look at it cause I can totally hear Santa saying "hey, pull my finger". Ha Ha! Can you tell I grew up with brothers?!

Getting Ready for Christmas

I know I've been slacking lately in updating the blog, but it is for good reason. (Don't I always say that?!) December always seems to be crazy filled with parties, traveling, and holiday events. This year is no exception, but we have been careful not to overload our schedule too much and miss the important things. We are excited about making new holiday traditions with our family and teaching Rylin about why we celebrate this season to begin with. As I've mentioned in the past, Christmas was a big deal in my family, and it began with setting the mood early in December. A couple of weeks ago, Jordan, Rylin and I did just that. I had hoped to visit a tree farm to cut our own down, but after a busy weekend, opted to visit our trusty Home Depot instead.

Rylin quickly learned to say "tree" and probably pointed and repeated that word over a thousand times...and who knows how many times since that night! We picked a nice fat one for our living room, and Rylin helped me put on a few of his ornaments from last year. Notice the stockings are hanging higher this year!

Now a gate safely keeps our tree from some tiny fingers who would like to disassemble it one needle at a time! He still gets excited every time I plug in the lights and I love seeing his big cheesy grin.

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

I just read my friend Kelly's post about how much she loves Christmas cards, and I can't help but agree. I love getting cards from friends and family. It helps me get in the mood for Christmas, and I enjoy seeing how their families have changed over the years. I also love making my own cards because it's pretty much another excuse for me to get creative. I like pictures most and here are a few from my past Christmas cards.

Feliz Navidad!

You'll notice that Duke was our cute little subject for our early married years. He was pretty much our baby (and a cute photogenic one at that). But last year he got trumped (though he was mentioned)!



This year I decided to combine my two cuties. Here are a few of the pictures I got. You'll just have to wait for the Christmas card to see my favorite:)

Active is an understatement

I am literally wiped as I type this. It seems that in the last two weeks Rylin has gone into hyper drive. This boy doesn't stop! He is constantly moving and getting in to EVERYTHING. He has figured out how to crawl onto the bed, sofa, fireplace, entertainment center, and open drawers and get in or use them to reach on top of things. He runs like a sprinter (especially with items he's not supposed to have in his hands...i.e. oreos, leaves, my phone, the remote), grabs at anything within reach...cords, outlets, books on shelves, table top accessories, opens all doors, drawers, boxes, bangs on all surfaces, drags what he can't pick up, pulls down what he can't reach, and generally terrorizes all animate or inanimate objects in site. I hope it means he's going to be healthy and active...ha, ha. All that being said, we had quite the busy Thanksgiving holiday with family. Jordan instituted the "zone defense", which he forced all family members to comply with. Whoever's "zone" he fell within was instructed to keep him from danger or destruction. I think we had a few tired grandparents by the end of the weekend!

With all this new action has also come quite the personality. Rylin still loves giving out kisses (now with a "mua" sound added) and has started blowing them too! He is always hugging and kissing everyone and everything. Even the characters in books (including tractors), Duke or any dog he sees, the sofa, his toys...everything! He is repeating a lot of words now, but consistently says things like "hi", "hair", "hot", "duck"(duke), "Attie"(his buddy), "daddy", "momma", "cheese"(as in cheese for the camera), and today has been on a kick of "thank you". He also said "papa" this weekend, much to the dismay of Mimi! He loves dancing to music and stopping to do the Rylin shuffle (as we now call it) when he hears a commercial on TV that has a soundtrack he likes. He loves for me to read him books and will bring me his favorites (Peekaboo, Tractors, and Brown Bear). He hands me the book and then plops in my lap ready to turn the pages. He's also learning what different things are used for. Last week he grabbed my brush and started combing his hair (with the wrong end of course) and this week he has started holding the phone to his ear, putting on Jordan and my shoes, pointing the remote at the TV, and clicking on the computer mouse. Such a smart little boy...but oh so busy! He never ceases to keep us on our toes and smiling!

Getting into trouble

Who says grocery shopping is work?

loving on Duke

first Turkey Day dinner

Some wagon time with our friends...

Henry & Rylin

Attie and Rylin
making Attie do the work...

Formula Freedom

I'm sure we will find something to replace it, but this month we are celebrating a little extra $$ left in our bank account. Rylin is officially off formula! It was Jordan's idea to keep all of the containers (which have taken over the storage in our garage) and have a one year photo commemorating this big event. I think the recycling truck driver might kill over when he gets to our house this week!

So for you nerds out there, here are all the facts...

In one year Rylin has consumed:

101 containers of Similac (25 liquid, 76 powdered)

around 2,000 bottles

over 10,000 ounces

almost 65 gallons

and the big one...

roughly $2,000 worth of formula!

Fall Festival

Since Rylin was a bit young for trick-or-treating this year, we opted for our church's Fall Festival as our dress up opportunity (never mind the fact that we are our Sunday school class directors and had to be there anyways). You probably know that I am the type of crafty girl who would whip up a creative little costume for my one year old, but you might be surprised. I found Rylin's outfit at a consignment sale back in August and couldn't resist. I was relieved that it still fit him and that it ended up being a pretty cool night so he didn't sweat to death in it. We got all kinds of compliments on our little elephant and he really played the part...grinning and shaking his ears at anyone who paid him the least bit of attention!

Rylin and Atticus in the Zoo game booth

Pumpkin Patch

This afternoon, my friend Bethany and I decided to take Rylin and Atticus to a pumpkin patch to get some cute fall pictures. Owen's sausage has a farm close to us with lots of animals and plenty of pumpkins. The weather was great and the boys had fun feeding goats and riding on the tractor pulled hay ride.

1 Year Old!

On Monday Rylin turned one! Hard to believe we have a toddler! He is now 24 pounds and 31 inches long. He loves to RUN everywhere and get into everything! His newest accomplishment is climbing on top of the fireplace hearth. His vocabulary is increasing too. In the last few weeks he has added, "Attie"(Atticus) and "Hi". He still says "Daddy" the most, though he goes on kicks of "Mommy" and "Bye, Bye". He LOVES Duke and looks intently for him whenever he wakes up. Usually he finds him quickly because he's always somewhere snoring! Duke is becoming more tolerable as I think he has decided that the attention of a one year old is better than none! Rylin has a big appetite and will eat just about anything. His favorite is still blueberries, though cheese is a close second.

Rylin & Attie

For his birthday, Jordan and I made him a water table. And by Jordan and I, I mean Jordan made it. It was my idea, though! Yes, it is getting cooler here, but Rylin loves to play in Duke's water bowl, so I decided we could make him a table to play with inside. So far it isn't too messy...though, I know that could change:)

1 Year Birthday Party

I love planning a good party, so it should be no surprise that I started getting the creative juices flowing for Rylin's 1 year celebration almost six months ago. I know that I only have a few years before he has an opinion of his own about such things so I was really excited to put together something that I thought was cool...and that he could care less about! I decided that being close to Halloween, a Creepy Crawly birthday would be the perfect little boy theme.

Though my plans were perfect for a nice patio party, the weather had other plans. An hour before show time the sky opened up and unleashed a nice dousing of rain. I almost had a meltdown myself, but held it together and pushed on. I did manage to get a picture of the entry before the thunderstorm, so that's all that matters right?!

Each guest stamped their finger print and turned it into their own creepy crawly for Rylin's scrapbook. I think it will be a great way to remember everyone who came.

The end result

The birthday boy

My mother was my saving grace this week, as she came up Monday to help me get things ready (which translates into: she babysat!).

I had a fun time planning our snacks which included; ants on a log (peanut butter and raisins on celery), frog eyes (grapes), lizard tongues (fruit roll ups), insect shaped pasta salad, dirt cake (in a bucket with trowel), and creepy crawly shaped sandwiches.

I made a photo collage wall of Rylin's monthly pictures and photos I took with my phone spanning the length of his first twelve months.

My mom also worked hard on our table decorations that included all kinds of plastic insects in jars.

Jordan named the cake Murphy. He was quite the challenge for me to construct. Fondant is not for the faint of heart. I nearly pulled my hair out, but the end result was worth it. I'm pretty sure the guests will be seeing blue for a week, if you know what I mean:)

Rylin enjoyed his own little cake that he tested slowly at first.

It wasn't long before the sugar took effect!

Rylin had lots of his friends join him on this special day. Here are just a few.

James and Henry

Adelay

Luke and Mitchell showing off their bug keeper arm bands

Rylin and Mimi

Daddy, Rylin, & Gramps

Valerie and Bonnie

Emily enjoying Murphy!

Tess and her friends Leah and Ashley

After cake, Rylin opened lots of fun presents. He was more interested in eating the tissue paper, but I know he was appreciative just the same!

After all the guests left and Rylin had a good nap, he began to discover that he had a lot of new toys. He played for over an hour in one spot. Every direction he turned, there was something else exciting. Jordan and I couldn't believe how grown up he seemed.

Daddy showing him his fort from MiMi & Papa

Playing with the barn from Tess

Sitting in his basket of sliceable wooden food from the McFarlands

We had a lot of fun celebrating one year! Can't believe our little man is growing up so fast!