Happy Birthday Daddy!

Jordan turned 28 yesterday! We all got dressed up and went to dinner at one of our favorite places in Richardson, Amore. Family dinners are definitely getting a little more exciting these days, but we managed to finish without too much destruction and mayhem. Rylin loves his Daddy (as you can tell) and he always gives him the best grins. Not long after this picture, Rylin spit up all over Jordan's shoe! Happy Birthday!

My Buddies

We LOVE that we have great friends so close to us. This week Rylin got to hang out with a couple of them. On Monday, we ventured to the Farmers Market with Henry and his mom Erin, in search of some fruits and veggies for my picky eater.

They both passed out soon after we left...

Then today, Atticus came by to visit for a couple of hours while his Dad ran some errands. He and Rylin rolled around on the floor, tried to steal each others pacifier, and had a little bounce off. They couldn't have been any cuter!

Final!

We had Rylin's finalization yesterday morning and he is now officially an Everhart! Our day started out with sleeping through the alarm clock and running around like mad trying to get ourselves and Rylin ready. Our families beat us to the courthouse, where we met our lawyer at 8:15 A.M. (yuck), and the actual time in the court room was around 5 minutes. Our lawyer read to us the order of adoption and we had to answer some questions in front of the court acknowledging our role as Rylin's parents. Then our judge was nice enough to take a few pictures with the whole family! It was all very surreal but a big relief to be complete.

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