Ryder- 18 months!

Oh my sweet little Ryder, where do I even begin.

This little boy is one spunky kid. He is so fun and full of energy.

The past 6 months have seen Ryder change from a baby to a toddler (& it is breaking my heart!)

Ryder stats:

Height: 32 inches

Weight: 21 lbs

Long and lean. I'm thinking he'll be the tallest of his bros.

Ryder loves:

Running- Everywhere.  He went straight from walking to running and hasn't looked back. Well, except to taunt me into chasing him. Of course.

His brothers - they are his favorite people ever. He laughs at them, he chases them, he's chased by them. Tickles, screams, wrestling, stealing toys. It all happens with his bros. It is magical and wonderful. I love it.

Books - This kiddo loves books. He will find one, back into my lap, and insist that I read it right then. And I do. 

Snuggles - He is a snugglebug to the max.  He grabs his blanket, lays it on my shoulder, and cuddles in. I am so glad that as busy as he is, he still likes to be held and cuddled often!! 

Binkie & Blankie - The sound pretty much the same when said with a toddlers vocabulary! He loves them, though, and can't sleep without them. 

Toothbrushes - He can reach into the bathroom drawer now when he stands on his tip-iest toes. He grabs his toothbrush, my toothpaste, and brings it all to me to brush his teeth.

Baths - He especially thinks that splashing is the funniest thing ever. Just like outside, he can't get enough of playing in the water!!

Being outside - Rare is the day when Ryder asks to come in. Usually I am dragging a (literally) kicking and screaming toddler back into the house. No amount of time running, exploring, and having fun outside is ever quite enough for him. 

Ryder facts

He has 10 teeth (I think, I'll check when he wakes up!) and eats pretty much anything we eat.

He has recently gotten really picky, but will try most things once. His fav. foods are cereal, oatmeal, apples, most fruits, carrots, and anything sweet (which we try to limit).

He sleeps great:  1 nap a day for 2-2.5 hours. And then bedtime at 7 -730 pm until about 7 or 730 am. 

He recently became attached to his blue stuffed dragon. SO adorable.

He is good at making everyone in our family feel loved. He rotates pretty equally between wanting me or Jeff. But when he makes up his mind, that is the only person who will do.

He is a super happy boy but when he gets mad, we ALL know it! He's very vocal when he's angry. ;) 

He is an excellent climber and thinks standing on tables, climbing over the couch, and jumping on the bed are the coolest tricks ever. (hmmm..wonder who he got that from...W&T?!)

He started folding his arms during prayer time (when he was about 14 months old) and loves to 'say' the prayer.

Ryder says:

He has started saying more and more words. We love hearing him express himself!!

Mama

Dada

Please (signs this)

Thank you

More (signs this)

Come here(and does a hand motion to get boys to follow)

Binkie/Blankie (sound the same)

Bye

Hi, hi, hi, hi (he usually repeats this when he sees the phone or to anyone in the store)

Eat and Drink (dink)
All Done (a-non)
No (sounds like net and shakes his head, cutest thing ever)

Ball (one of his favorite toys)

Weston, Tave, Ryder (these are all kind of jumbled, but he tries)

Love you

We love YOU, our sweet adorable Ryder!

I took his 18 month pics outside. Probably not the smartest, since he wouldn't slow down ONE BIT!! He also wouldn't look at me, he was having too much fun running away!!

Here he is checking to see if I was following:

 And now he's running away:

He loves to walk the perimeter of the playground (who needs slides when you can keep moving...)

Finding something interesting:

He stopped climbing the stairs for one sec to give me a grin, LOVE THIS BOY:

Name updated...AGAIN!

What can I say, I'm obsessed with figuring out a name for this guy. :)
We've officially narrowed it down to three.  Two from this list and one that I had forgotten how much I love. SO, take a sec to vote for your fav. :)

VOTE HERE!!

Thanks!

Girls Weekend in Texas

Jeff has had a pretty crazy semester with school and work. This doctorate thing will be worth it, but it sure is hard!!  He wanted to make sure I had a fun girl's weekend before the baby gets here. With his school schedule this semester, January ended up being the best time for me to go. So I was able to escape the Utah winter and head to beautiful Texas for a weekend with my Mother & Sisters (in-law). 

It was SO MUCH fun and such a wonderful wonderful break.

I had a great flight and was able to READ the whole time. Oh how I love books.

Mom (Jeanne), Amanda, Amy, & Rachel all picked me up and we headed to a hotel in downtown Fort Worth. After we checked in we went straight to dinner at Joe T. Garcia's.  It has the coolest atmosphere and is the BIGGEST restaurant I've ever been to. We have a picture of all of us in front of a fountain that I need to get from someone...I'll post it later! 

But here is the restaurant from outside:

Then we went back to the hotel, freshened up a bit and headed out to check out the town. Here's the view from our window:

After browsing the shops (and Barnes & Noble, LOVE) we headed back to the hotel where we celebrated Amy's & Rachel's Birthday with Nothing Bundt Cakes. Mmmmm.. Heaven on a plate.  

Then, of course, we stayed up late talking & laughing and talking & laughing. 

It was awesome!!

Since we were on the 10th or 13th (or something like that) floor, we had quite a few elevator rides.  So we had some fun with the elevator's ceiling mirror:

Saturday there was a rodeo in town, so we were able to watch a bit of the parade after breakfast:

And then we walked through a bunch of the shops. We had to get a pic in some cowboy hats, so fun:

So my jacket looks like a duster with that hat! Oh well...

We also went to the movies, shopped, and had a wonderful day together!!  

That night I stayed at Joe & Amanda's. Amanda & April through a surprise birthday party for Amy. It was a lot of fun to visit with friends and talk about books, all in celebration of Amy. We love you!!  

Sunday was nice and relaxing. I'm bummed I didn't take any pictures, but I had so much fun with Cole & Owen. They were super cute and had drawn me some pictures. Then, while I was getting ready, Cole had painted another picture and slid it under the bathroom door. Love it. :) I had so much fun playing games with them. I only wish my boys were there for the fun, too!!  

Sunday night I stayed at James & Amy's. They had all the family over for dessert. It is always so good to get to visit with everyone:

Joe, Amanda, Cole, & Owen

Cute Ava(we did some coloring and painting on Monday together. She is such a hoot, love this girl!):

Sweet little Nora was in bed, so I took this the next day (and got my fill of girl cuddles in while I could!):

The kids had so much fun playing with Guy & Sharon:

Love Grandpa & Grandma Dean:

Guy & Sharon:

Jonathan & Rachel stayed to hang out after the rest of the family went home. We played Just Dance on the Kinect and laughed our heads off. Pretty much the funniest night ever:

Watch out! Prego-lady busting a move (kind of scary!)

Monday was another fun day. We went to the Half Price Bookstore (love that place!!) and then met Mom & Dad for lunch.  Then we headed over to Jonathan & Rachel's cute new apartment.  They gave me a Cliff's Donut that I saved for Jeff (yes, this is important!!  And then we left for the airport, where I got in some more reading. ah, bliss. :)

It was a whirlwind trip that was such a great break and a wonderful reminder of just how much I love family. It was just the weekend I needed to recharge and gear up for this next semester of craziness!!  

I am so lucky to have such an amazing family on both sides.  I truly truly wish we lived closer  to any or all of them.  We had a few years close to siblings (the last ones leave in the spring, boo)...you don't realize, until everyone is far away, how much it meant to have them close.  We miss the visits, the quick stops to say hi, the babysitting swaps, the birthday parties with tons of family, and just having people around who you can rely on because they are family. Families are meant to be there for each other. Maybe for some people being far away is better, but not for me. I need family and it is has been so hard to have that slowly go away.  

In the meantime, we will especially enjoy our trips like this. 

They are jam-packed full of everything great & remind us just how much we love each other. 

Okay, mushiness over. 

I couldn't have gone on this awesome trip, without this man's help. The boys love Love LOVED their Guys' weekend with dad. They had a slumber party in the living room, tricked dad into TWO nights out to eat (Weston's doing), and were spoiled with his TIME. They have missed having him around, so it was an especially sweet weekend for them.

Thanks, babe, from every bit of my heart. 

It wasn't nearly a big enough thank you, but he did enjoy EVERY SINGLE bit of that Cliff's Donut!

Name update!

We haven't really narrowed it down, but we did take one off (Crew) and add a new one. 

So here's the new Final Five with his middle name:

Jace (Joseph)

Jett (Joseph)

Canon (Joseph)

Cam (Joseph)

Callen (Joseph)

Thoughts and suggestions are always welcome. :)

Sunday Best

Sunday was a big day for us. 

Weston moved up classes in Primary and Tave joined him in Primary!

They were both so cute when I told them Tave wouldn't be going to nursery anymore. Tave got a little nervous, but as soon as I told him he would go to Primary where he could see Weston, nervousness turned into excitement and all was well!  Weston has had a really hard time going  but I think this is really going to help. He said he would give Tave a hug and wave to him from his chair.
They were each dropped off, no tears were shed, and they both said they loved it afterwords. 

YAY!!  

Both boys got new suits and wore them. They look so adorable and grown up, sometimes I can't stand that they are growing bigger. But I just adore their sweet personalities and who they are becoming. 

West:

Tave:

Ryder:

Ryder went to his first, official day in Nursery. It was AWESOME!! He's gone a few times before but we usually stayed with him for part of it or picked him up early since he wasn't quite 18 months yet. 

He'll be 18 months on the 20th but we are starting the year out right (plus I had to teach RS) so it's all good!

He was absolutely, so stinkin adorable in his vest set. And so happy, too. But he just wanted to play or be held by me...no standing still for photos, hence the sadness:

And here we caught a quick grin:

Oh these sweet boys just melt my heart over and over again.

Snow Day!

Saturday morning the boys and I looked out the window to find a world of white! Weston immediately started chanting 'snowball fight' and Tave was calling 'snowman'.  So I promised them fun in the snow... once dad came home. :) We had a busy afternoon but I couldn't ignore my promise, so right before the sun set we headed out. It was getting dark, but we had a blast! 

Ryder couldn't decide what he thought. He loves stomping in little piles, but a whole bunch at once made him a little leery.

Making snowballs with dad:

And throwing snowballs at mom:

oh my cute munchkin!

Snow angels are a must:

Sled rides from dad:

Since the lighting was so poor (and I don't know how to take good pictures at night!) I had to do some creative editing...I love how this one turned out:

It was pretty much dark, but the boys talked us into letting them go down the hill on the sled. Ryder was getting cold by this point, but he really loved going with Jeff:

Weston couldn't get enough:

And our cute Tavester:

Tave had the only casualty of the night... he was a tough guy!

We'll definitely be spending a lot more time in the snow this winter since my kiddos LOVE it (where did they get THAT?!) I hate the cold, but I love seeing them have SO.MUCH.FUN- that makes it worth it! almost.

Latest Posts...catching up!

More October Fun

Family Photo Shoot (November)

Mother-son date night!

November Moments

Thanksgiving Week!

Setting up the Christmas tree.

Christmas Celebration

The Great Name Debate...

For those of you who follow our blog, you KNOW we have a hard time with boys' names.  
This time around,  we're just sticking with our previous lists, narrowing it down, and choosing our fav. We may add a new name or two, but if it has stuck around through two lists, it's probably a keeper. (we didn't have a list with Weston, I just kept saying the name until Jeff agreed, ha!)

Top 11 name list with Tave: (click the link to go to original 2008 post)

• Asher
• Bridger
• Camden
• Jace
• Jett
• Rayner
• Rowan
• Ryder
• Tallan
• Canon or Tannon
• Ty

Top name list with Ryder: (click the link to go to original 2010 post)

·                 Griffin
·      Ryder
·      Canon
·      Ender
·      River
·      Rainer
·      Ronan
·      Rowan
·      Ridge
·      Maddox
·      Madsen
·      Teague
·      Cruise
·      Jett
·      Gage
·      Hunter
·      Tallan
·      Luke

     

      During our long car ride to CA, I was determined to come up with a list that we both liked, so hopefully this little man will get named sooner rather than later! 
    The first thing we did was put the two lists together and bolded/highlighted any names that were on BOTH lists. If there was a name we really liked and wanted to add it was added. We also left off names we didn't care for anymore:

  Jace

Jett

Rayner

Rowan

Tallan

Canon

Luke

Hunter

Callen

Crew

Teague

Griffin (Finn)

    Then we took out any of the names that had the same first letter as the other boys. We really like each boy to have his own initial. Which might seem funny, but it's a nice way to narrow things down. So that took out any W, T, & R names. Then we took off any names ending in 'ER' since Ryder's name ends in that and we also wanted a change.

  Jace

Jett

Rayner

Rowan

Tallan

Canon

Luke

Hunter

Callen

Crew

Teague

Griffin (Finn)

   


     After that, we each had veto power over another name on the list. Jeff had already chosen the middle name (which I am so happy with) so then, we put it through the middle name test: How does it sound with ________.  A few great names were left and here is our final five:  

  Jace

Jett

Canon

Luke  didn't survive the middle name test

Callen

Crew

Griffin (Finn) way too popular due to Glee, darn it.

     I guess we're loving j's or c's this time around!  We each have our favorites. Jeff's are Jace (which was his top choice with Baby #2 until we came up with Tave), Canon, & Jett and mine are Canon & Jett.  So we'll see. We are most definitely still open to any and all suggestions!!  

     Whew, I'm impressed with anyone who has made it through our complex, naming game!  

     Thoughts are welcome. :)

Merry Merry Christmas to YOU!

We are thrilled to announce...

We couldn't be more excited!!

Christmas fun

Jeff's parents had left their Christmas gifts for us at our house and we patiently waited to open them until a little closer to the actual holiday. We didn't want to haul it all to CA, though, so the Sat. before we left we had a mini-Christmas. :) Jeff was done with school (BYU, not work) so he was actually home on a Sat. morning. It was awesome!

The kids were SO excited to get to open gifts early and even more thrilled with what was inside:

 We had fun playing games together all afternoon.

We went out for dinner and then went to see Santa at the Riverwoods. 

If you live in UT, and have never seen the Riverwoods mall at Christmas, we highly recommend going. He is the nicest Santa and it's fun to actually go 'inside' a little cottage.  And to top it all off, the lights are AMAZING!! It was so much fun and the kids LOVED finally telling Santa what they had been hoping for. :)

It was so cute, the entire drive home the boys kept saying what a great family day it was.  They were beyond thrilled to have Daddy with us ALL DAY LONG!!  

Christmas Celebration in UT

Since most of us would be in CA for Christmas, we had an early celebration with Chelsea & the kiddos!  

We had a delicious brunch at Shawn & Abby's, the kids played, exchanged gifts, and had a great time. 

We don't see Chels near enough, the boys were so sad to say goodbye to their cousins!  

Uncle Shawn is always a hit, the kids sure love wrestling:

Sweet Tanneah, she wasn't too pleased with my camera flash:

Aydrien, Tave, West, & Syanne reading to open gifts:

Ryder & Jeff

Chelsea & Tanneah:

Reverie:

The kids were all so thrilled with their new toys! Gift giving success:

Shawn & Abby

My beautiful sisters:  

(we missed you Shar!!)

What a great way to kick off the holiday season!!  

I sure love family. It is such a blessing to live by siblings.

I want to make sure to soak up as much time as I can with them before they move on to another place!!  

We definitely miss those who are already gone and the ones we haven't gotten to live by yet. 

In my perfect world, we will ALL live close enough to visit each other often, help out when needed, and share in all the fun memories of family. :)  Someday.