Lots of Firsts!

Lots of "firsts" happened this week. With the suggestion from our Pediatrician, we introduced Ryan to a sippy cup. One of my friends recommended that I get one with a rubber top so he can chew on it. I am thinking to myself, "Why would he chew on the top if it's a sippy cup"? Well, that's exactly what he's been doing. He just chews the top and is pleasantly surprised if he gets a few drips of water in his mouth.






Ryan also had his first taste of vegetables this week. We started him off with carrots and will eventually offer him squash, sweet potatoes and green beans in the next few weeks. Here he is trying his first bite of carrot (specially steamed and pureed by his mom). Of course, he also wanted to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR by wearing his festive hat while dining. . .

A Day Full of Doctor Appts

Ryan had his 6-month check up with his Pediatrician today. All looks well! He weighs in at a whopping 17 lbs 9 oz and 26 inches in height. Both measurings fall around the 50 percentile. His developments are right on target: rolling over both ways, smiling, laughing, following objects with his eyes, reaching for objects, etc. The doctor told us he is early for sitting up on his own -- typically babies don't master this skill until 7 months old. YEAH RYAN!

Here are a few pictures taken before the nurse came in to give him his immunizations. He was referred to as the "happy baby" from both the nurse and doctor. We can't argue with that!

Onto our next appt and that one was for Bobby. This was considered his 2-week check up for his ankle. We were given good news and bad news. Good news -- they took off his dressing in exchange for a lovely new boot. This allows Bobby to take a shower -- no more baths!

Bad News - He cannot put any pressure on his ankle just yet. So, he will continue to need crutches to get around. We go back on Monday, January 4th to get his stitches taken out and that marks the beginning of Physical Therapy 2-3 times a week for 4 weeks. No fun!

Merry Christmas!

What a great surprise to wake up on Christmas morning and see snow on the ground! I ran upstairs to get Ryan but momentarily forgot that Ryan has no clue what snow is. So, I woke up Bobby and all I got out of him was a groggy "Merry Christmas, now can you shut the door behind you so I can go back to sleep for a little longer". Oh well, I guess I was the only one in my family that appreciated the beauty of snow on Christmas morning.

We had a fun-filled Christmas Day with both sides of the family and ended the day with a wonderful dinner at our house. In the morning, my side of the family came over for breakfast and opened presents. Then, the Weilbacher Family came over in the afternoon.

Mommy has Ryan dressed in his "Very 1st Christmas" outfit. Note to self, do not buy a baby anything that is made with 100% polyester. Yes, it was freezing outside but my boy was burning up in that thing. Got a few pictures and quickly took it off him . . .

My mom had the idea of putting Ryan in my Victoria Secret box donning a bow on his head. What a sweet looking present! Also notice the 2nd outfit change of the day and by this time it's only 10am.

Ryan hanging with Nana, Kristen and Brooklyn before opening up our presents.

Ryan getting his bottle while we open his presents in front of him


Brooklyn and Pops

Mommy modeling her new robe. For the record, I've only had my old robe for 5 years.

Ryan checking out his new book. Notice this is the 3rd outfit change - we are back into our 100% polyester get-up for when The Weilbacher Family came over.


Grandma Weilbacher with one of her favorite gifts.

Ryan on his 4th outfit change - you can see why we are moving on to our 5th outfit.

Drool anyone?

The 5th and final outfit change. . .wait, he's naked. Never mind!

This morning, we had to try out all our new toys. This sing along toy was just Ryan's style. As you can see it has a mirror -- he's in heaven!

Had to give Bobby props for putting it together. Check out the crutches - yep, he's still using them. He's going to the doctor on Monday with the hopes that he won't need them anymore

Santa gave Ryan a jumper for Christmas. I thought he would be a little hesitant at first once we put him in it but instead he immediately started launching himself. So cute!

Love highchair toys - this one kept him entertained for a good long time!

Merry Christmas to All!

Christmas Eve

Last night, we went to Aunt Tara and Uncle Brandon's house for a Christmas Eve Party. The Weilbacher's safely made it there and back despite the crazy blizzard weather we were getting. We all had a great time - wonderful food and great company. Of course, mommy took plenty of pictures of Ryan in his festive sweater and him socializing with the other guests. . .

What a great Christmas sweater, Ryan!

Ryan and his cousin Brooklyn

Nana and Pops with Ryan. Check out those cool Christmas socks!

My sister Kristen and Brooklyn posing with us

Mommy, Daddy and Ryan

Of course, I thought it was only fitting to end the post with this picture. If you enlarge the picture by clicking on it you can see Ryan had just about had it with all the picture taking. One can only smile for so long!

Santa Is Coming To Town!

Bobby and I debated for weeks whether we should introduce Ryan to the jolly ole' man. I factored in his stranger danger anxiety and Bobby factored in "all the germs" that must be on Santa. So, we ultimately decided to pass on the introduction this year and aim for doing it next Christmas.

That being said, Bobby and I decided to bring Santa to our house instead! I must say this is the cutest little Santa I have ever seen . . .

Ryan turns 6-months old!

This week, Ryan turns 6 months old! It's amazing to think back at the earlier part of this year, Bobby and I were busy taking our "baby preparation classes". We thought we were all set to welcome this sweet baby into the world. Why didn't anyone tell us that you can't be taught to be a parent? All the "techniques" that we learned in class were thrown out the window on June 25th and since then we have stuck to our parental instincts instead.

We will cherish those moments in the beginning. Examples: Bobby trying to put his very first diaper on Ryan. Giving Ryan his very first bath in the kitchen sink. Mommy trying to "master" breastfeeding -- it only took me 5 visits to a lactation consultant! How we learned to swaddle him within a good 5 seconds. All these memories have been building blocks to where we are now.

We have a beautiful, full of life, caring little boy. He loves to do so many things right now. Here is a short....well, its a rather long list of the things that we love most about our sweet Ryan.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ryan! From, your Mommy and Daddy.

1) Ryan loves to play in his jumperoo. He sometimes bounces so hard that it startles him

2) When we feed Ryan his cereal, he almost thinks it's a game. He'll laugh and smile in between bites.

3) Ryan makes these grunting noises when he wants out of his car seat or he's finished playing with a toy. Its almost like his way of telling us he's done

4) When we try and kiss him he reaches up and grabs our face to get even closer. It's sweet until he digs his nails in your face or gets a fist of your hair.

5) At night, Ryan loves to have quiet time. I can read or sing to him for an hour and he still doesn't get bored.

6) I love how everytime I sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" - Ryan always laughs especially at the part where the spider gets washed out.

7) Ryan loves to play with his feet all the time. He can hoist those things in the air making it nearly impossible to change his diaper or clothes

8) Oh how this kid loves to look at himself in the mirror. He smiles especially big when we stand him up naked on the bathroom counter to see himself. We might have issues later on down the road with this one!

9) Ryan has finally noticed that we have a dog in the house. He watches Oliver intently and sometimes gets close enough to yank on Oliver's beard. Poor Oliver!

10) Ryan loves going on walks but he hates the wind. If the wind blows in his face, he makes a fish face, blows tiny bubbles and holds his breath all at the same time.

11) Ryan's favorite book has a little hand puppet that looks like a Panda. Thankfully, this book is not from the library. Because Ryan has the need to put the puppet in his mouth through the entire reading.

12) I love Ryan's crazy hair - it really has a mind of its own.

13) To his parents, Ryan looks like the perfect Gerber baby. A gummy smile along with those skin rolls and rosy cheeks. It melts our heart - he's just so dang cute!

14) When we bathe Ryan, he loves to open his mouth to get a quick drink of water from the shower head. He knows its naughty but he does it anyway.

15) When Ryan is hungry you don't have much time to prepare a bottle. When you walk with Ryan to go feed him on the couch, Ryan will try and grab the bottle from your hand and stick the nipple in his mouth. He has no patience when it comes to eating

16) Mommy has at least 10 nicknames for Ryan -- kiki, bootsy, Ry-Ry are just to name a few. Don't ask how I come up with them - I have no idea! When he learns his real name, he is going to be so confused!

17) When we come downstairs in the morning to start our day, he will curl up in a ball while your holding him and squeal in delight. He gets so excited to start his day. This happens every morning.

18) As soon as I turn on his bedroom light in the morning, Ryan will sneeze 2 times in a row. Who knows what causes it but it still makes me laugh

19) Ryan almost acts drunk after he has his bottle. His head sways back and forth and he looks far off in the distance. As soon as he gets a burp out, he is back to his normal self.

20) Lastly, Bobby and I love that Ryan has the best traits of both of us. We are so blessed to have this wonderful boy in our lives and we are looking forward to watching him discover the world one day at a time.

Hanging with Dad

We are on our 2nd day of Bobby's recovery -- only 12 days to go! But, who is really counting?
Bobby is doing very well -- getting lots of rest and drinking plenty of fluids. Ryan loves to be lazy with his daddy -- here they are watching the Cowboys Game. Of course, Oliver always needs to be in the middle of all the action . .

Bobby's Surgery

Back in June of this year, Bobby was wakeboarding and severely sprained his ankle. Bobby likes to jokingly blame this incident on his buddy Tommy for driving the boat "wrong". When in actuality, here is what he was trying to do! You be the judge . . .

From June to November, he was wishful thinking that it would get better on its own. Unfortunately, his ankle is still swollen and continues to hurt him. It has also caused him terrible back pain because he's been walking differently to help keep pressure off his right ankle.

He finally bit the bullet and had surgery yesterday afternoon at Baylor Medical Center in Frisco. The Orthopedic Surgeon removed several bone chips in his ankle - the entire procedure lasted close to 2 hours. Bobby and I had no idea what the recovery process looked like until now. . .

A) 2-weeks of absolutely no pressure on his foot AKA walking with crutches

B) Has a dressing on his leg that cannot get wet . . . again for 2 weeks!

C) Must keep leg elevated when sitting or laying down

D) Taking an assortment of pain pills, antibiotics and anti-nausea medicine - roughly every 4 hours both day and night.

Happy Holidays!

Look What I Can Do!

This week, Ryan started to sit on his own without any support. He kind of hunches over but can hold it for at least 10 seconds until he either nose dives into the floor or falls backwards. Of course, Mom tries to catch him before either of those dismounts happen.

Here are a few pictures of him sitting on his own. I think he should get extra credit for doing it naked, don't you think?

Oliver And His Crazy Antics!

I walked in the door last night from running a few errands and usually I am greeted by Oliver wagging his tail and licking my shoes. Well, he didn't greet me as usual last night. So that prompted me to ask Bobby if he'd seen Oliver lately. And it occuried to both of us at the same time that Oliver might have casually "slipped out" of the house. We frantically looked all over the house yelling "Do You Want To Go Bye-Bye" - that usually always gets him out of his hiding spot. This time it didn't work. Bobby went upstairs to look for him and thankfully found Oliver in the guest bedroom.

Oliver had found a bag full of his Christmas presents AKA "Dog Toys"! He was in doggy heaven for a good 30 minutes before we caught him in the act.

We gave him one toy to play with last night. Since then, he has been frantically trying to bury the toy in the carpet or in the couch so Bobby and I won't find it. I never proclaimed that we have the smartest dog!

Here he is hard at work . . .

My 2nd favorite babysitter!

A few postings ago, I mentioned how much I love our Christmas Tree and the fact that it offers free babysitting is definitely a plus. Well, I found my 2nd favorite babysitter and that is a bag of Christmas bows.

Ryan and Oliver wanted to help me wrap presents this morning. I gave a bag of bows to Ryan so he could admire the pretty metallic colors. Next thing I know the entire bag of bows is ripped open with bows landing every which way. This "game" kept him occupied long enough for me to wrap a few gifts.

Dear Family & Friends - you might get a present that has a soggy or ripped bow to it. That was Ryan's creative touch!

Birthday Fun

This weekend, Ryan attended a birthday party for his cousins Payson, Madison and Hayden. Ryan did very well with the partygoers (twins, triplets & quads were in attendance!) and even got a little crazy and let a few family members hold him.

Ryan is still going through a normal stage of anxiety with people he does not recognize. We know when he is feeling overwelmed and nervous because he will stick out his bottom lip almost like a warning signal. So cute and sad at the same time!

Here we are getting ready for the party. We are giving Ryan a little "pep talk" before we get in the car. You can tell from his facial expression he's thinking.. . ."I'll be cool, folks! No worries! I got my lucky reindeer hat on!"

Here are the birthday kids! What a yummy cake!

Kristen (sister), Brooklyn (niece), Ryan and me

Nana and Ryan

Aunt Jacque and Ryan

Can you believe Ryan is big enough to stand up in one of those cut outs?

Mommy and Ryan. . . my arms were killing me after 30 minutes of carrying a 18 lb baby.

Here comes Daddy to the rescue with the baby carrier.
I promise Ryan likes his carrier but in this picture he's on the verge of breakdown #5. See the bottom lip?