Ryder at 10 Months

 Ryder at 10 Months: I love this month photos of Ryder. He has such animated expressions and seems as though his smile may get stuck like that from smiling so big at times. Ryder is leaving baby behind lately. He's a crawling machine, trying to pull himself up onto his knees, and he's riding in a big boy car seat now. Ryder has two bottom teeth and has started weaning off of his bottles and insisting on more solid foods. While it seems that he is growing up, he will still crawl over to me as I stand at the sink washing dishes and head-butt me saying "Ma! Ma! Ma-Ma! Mama!" until I pick him up. He is my cuddle bug and always has been. I cherish his snuggles. Attachment has become an issue with him lately and he has a difficult time when I leave him in the church nursery for bible study and on Sunday mornings. Thank goodness he has Lexi with him most of the time and we are told that she is very attentive to him.

Ryder at 9 Months

 Ryder at 9 Months: Our boy is growing and changing in so many ways. Ryder has the army crawl/inch worm down perfectly and gets around with speed these days. He has taken to solid foods very well and no longer prefers purees. Some of his favorites are Cheerios, yogurt melts, Ritz crackers, bananas, steamed carrots, and chicken noodle soup. He has begun "talking" a lot more and lets us know when he wants our attention. Alexis is his best friend. When he sees her come down the stairs in the morning he smiles and squeals with excitement. He still takes three solid naps a day and sleeps like a champ at night. He is well into 12 month clothing and some 18 month pajamas. I'm afraid that our baby boy is leaving a lot of "baby" behind.

Ryder at 8 Months

 Ryder at 8 Months Old: Our little Ry guy has been very busy this past month! He can sit up all on his own now and has begun crawling! I was anxious for the sitting up stage, but was no where near ready for the crawling, but I guess technically it's more of an "inch worm-army crawl" that he does. At any rate, he is getting around! Ryder has also tried some tasty new foods recently. Cheerios, Puffs, yogurt, apple "slices" and Cuties have broadened his palette. To top off his busy month, we moved into our new home the day before he turned 8 months old. We can't wait for our children to make memories in this house.

October in Review

Well, I have not been great at blogging. I have said it before, but wow is it difficult to find free time with little ones around! We had a busy and fun October enjoying the gorgeous fall days that the Lord continued to bless us with.

 We had a birthday party for Lexi on the morning of her actual birthday. Her close friends came over and with the great weather we were able to play in the yard most of the time!

 How cute are all of these littles? I am so thankful for all of these kiddos and their parents who are raising them to know our Lord and Savior. Alexis will have not only have close friends, but brothers and sisters in Christ!

 I don't know how often I told myself that we weren't going to spend more than $25 on a birthday gift for our girl. "She doesn't need anything big or fancy" I said. "She wouldn't even notice if we didn't get her anything at all" I said. Then we make one trip to Toys R Us and Daddy talks Mommy into a quad. Wow. She is one LUCKY girl. I justified it by telling myself that Ryder will get use out of it too and it will be perfect for the kids to ride around the campsite when we go on riding trips. After seeing the pure joy on her face while riding it, I felt a little better about spending more than $25... not a LOT better, but a little...

 The weekend following her birthday, we had a family party. Another beautiful, fall day!

 Family friends of my parents let Lexi and Macie come to their house and pick a pumpkin from their garden! I find it hilarious that the girls are choosing pumpkins in sandals and shorts! Proof of our unseasonably warm Autumn weather.

 I took the kids to a pumpkin patch with my Grandma Adams and cousin Macie. Bauman Farms is a great place just outside of Woodburn. I highly recommend it, a lot of things to do for kids of all ages.

 Alexis was in tears on the hayride, but calmed down when she realized it wasn't going to speed up anymore.

 We of course we had to bring our costumes and get dressed up with cousin Macie the day before Halloween!

 Our little monster and leopard. Although, Alexis insisted on being called a "tiger". I purchased the costumes on clearance the year before and had no clue that Lexi would be so into the show Daniel Tiger on PBS a year later. At least it resembles a tiger haha. Whenever I said, "Lexi are you a leopard?" She would reply, "No leper Mommy. I tider."

Ryder at 7 Months

 Ryder at 7 Months: Greg and I were talking about how 7 months seems SO much older than 6 months. Our little guy is now less than half a year away from being one year old! How? Seriously, how? Ryder is such a happy baby, I am so in love with his crooked smile and joyful squeals. He enjoys butternut squash and carrots for dinner now and hardly breastfeeds anymore. It was a difficult decision to make, but he's never been a great nurser and began having such frustration during feedings it made us both happier using the bottle. You honestly don't understand what you have until it's gone. I miss our nursing times together so much it makes my heart hurt. Ryder is such a sweet, loving, cuddly boy that I cherished those times when we were together and I could feed and nourish him. But, ultimately he's healthy and happy so that's what matters. He can hold his bottle all on his own! He enjoys the pacifier more these days, but still goes to sleep just fine without it. Ryder naps three times a day and continues to sleep through the night (yay!) He has begun interacting more with Alexis. He will reach for her or lean over to her when she sits by him. At first she wasn't so sure about him grabbing her, but now she giggles and says, "Oh! Ryder!" It's going to be so fun to see them grow up together... I just don't want it to happen too quickly.

Alexis at Two Years Old

Alexis at Two Years Old: Our sweet girl is now two years old. A full blown toddler. She brings us so much joy. She is a wonderful big sister and helper to her brother and a kind, fun loving daughter to Greg and me. I am blown away on a daily basis by how smart and funny she is. She still takes one nap a day, normally 2-3 hours long and hits the hay at night around 8pm and sleeps until about 8am. Alexis enjoys watching Disney movies and Daniel Tiger on PBS. Her favorite Disney movies for a while were Frozen and Tangled but recently it alternates between The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. She still enjoys anything Frozen and yells, "Anna Elsa!" whenever she sees any of the characters. Alexis still likes to help with laundry and dishes, but has now started helping Mom cook and bake. She likes to pour ingredients into the pot and help stir the food.

Words and phrases: She is speaking so much lately but has a few key phrases that I want to remember. "I hiked it Mommy"- I like it Mommy "bess you!" - Bless you. She says this whenever she burps or sneezes or coughs, and when anyone else does as well. "I help you please" - She normally says this when I am doing something she'd like to be a part of. "Mommy? Abcd Mommy?"- She loves it when I sing the ABC's. "I soddy Mommy. I soddy."- Unfortunately, time out has become a regular occurrence in our home and she starts to apologize the minute I set her on the step for time out. "Daddy wort. I wort too okay?" - Each morning when we wake up she asks for Daddy and I tell her that he is at work and she responds with that. "Tire Mommy? I tire too." - Whenever I close my eyes on the couch or let out a sigh she asks if I'm tired and if I say "yes" she tells me that she's tired too.

Favorite foods and snacks: Cherrios (she drinks the milk from her bowl afterwards which is hilarious because I don't do that with my cereal), hot dogs, yogurt, Macaroni and Cheese, Chicken noodle soup without the chicken, fruit, crackers of any kind, green beans and corn, cupcakes (well the frosting off of the cupcakes), and dum dum suckers are a big favorite "suhters".

Favorite books: Are You My Mother, The Story of Christmas, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, any Disney Princess books, and Red Hat Green Hat.

Favorite Song: Abc's, If You're Happy and You Know It, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Shake it Off by Taylor Swift.


As I write this, she is standing at the couch looking through books with The Little Mermaid on in the background, wearing little grey leggings and a lavender shirt. Her hair is messy from her nap and I think I smell a poopy diaper. Speaking of the diaper, that's my cue to get up.

Ryder at 6 Months Old

 Ryder at 6 Months Old: Can this guy really be half a year old? Time is flying and our super boy is growing up. Unfortunately our big guy has been losing weight so we are working with the pediatrician over the next month to figure out how to get our boy back on the right track. Maintaining weight would be fine, but losing it is a tad worrisome. I hope that by incorporating solids and supplementing with formula more we will see weight gain. Ryder still won't sit up on his own, but I know that he is fully capable. He just loves cuddling and being held as well as laying around. I think he is determined to stay a baby as long as possible. He's sleeping like a champ and has been sleeping through the night for the past few weeks. Ryder has also taken well to pacifiers and loves to have his binky. I don't give it to him when he sleeps so he takes advantage of his thumbs in those cases. He recently had a blast with lots of family around for Lexi's birthday. Hard to believe that Ryder will have a birthday of his own in 6 more months!