Happy Birthday to Me?

Last week felt like my birthday. I worked in New Mexico for 3 days and when I came home there was a present neatly wrapped in pink and purple polka dot paper laying on the entryway desk. On the top it read in Sharpy marker, "Happy Mother's Day..." with a sweet note following. (This was a week and a half before Mother's Day by the way. He obviously couldn't wait.) I looked at my husband who had pulled Rylan out of daycare early to welcome me home and he just smiled and said, "It's just a little gift. It was only like 10 dollars. " I looked at him suspiciously as he eagerly placed it in my hands and asked me to sit down and open it. I have to mention that this was one day before Matt's birthday. Matt always seems to give me gifts around his birthday. I'm not sure why. I think he simply gets more pleasure giving than receiving. Anyways, so I slowly unwrapped the gift wondering what he could have possibly gotten me for 10 dollars when I see the word "NIKON" across the box!!! What??? I have wanted a really nice camera since we got married 5 years ago and here it was in my hands! I couldn't believe it! Matt got me a Nikon D5000 and photography classes to go with it!

And just when I thought my day couldn't get any better I get a text message from my girlfriend Adrienne that read something like this, "Call me!!!! It's about Oprah!!!!" I called her right away to find out that she had gotten tickets to the Oprah show and we needed to book flights for Chicago immediately! Five days later I'm on a plane to Chicago for two days! It was an amazing, once in a lifetime experience. We ate Chicago style deep dish pizza, toured most of the city on foot, saw the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" three months prior to it's release date (thanks to Oprah!) and sat about 15 feet from Oprah Winfrey as she interviewed one of my favorite actresses of all time Julia Roberts. So cool!

Our Little Prince

Fiesta is a big celebration here in San Antonio. Rylan's daycare asked me to bring a white onesie on Monday so they could bedazzle it for the Fiesta Parade later in the week. Rylan was going to be a part of the Royal Court. I thought this was absolutely hilarious and couldn't wait to see some pictures of this big celebration. Parents, family, and friends were invited to come to the parade but unfortunately I couldn't make it. Matt was able to go though and said it was a blast to see how excited the parents and kids were. When Rylan's buggy made it's grand entrance into the parade Rylan got a huge smile across his face from all the attention and excitement. Here are some pictures from the day. Apparently Rylan ate his crown right before the parade, so that's why he's the only one without a fancy crown on.

Jumperoo!

BABY

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JUMPEROO

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LOVE

The Best Age

Rylan and Dad at Rylan's 6 Month Appointment

People have always told me that 6 months is the best age. So far, every stage has been even better than the last, but I'm really starting to believe that it can't get much better than 6 months. Rylan is such a happy baby and just laughs, smiles, babbles, cuddles and plays with us all day long.

Rylan's stats from his 6 month appointment: 18.45 lbs (70%) and 28 inches long (90%). Another milestone to note: Rylan's first tooth broke through yesterday and it came with only a slight fever and a little fussiness. Phew! One down, um.... (how many teeth do we have?) lots more to go:).

Chew Time

Rylan is at the age where he wants his hands on everything in sight. And man oh man is he quick! I was holding him on my lap in church the other day and as I reached for the program he grabbed it out of my hands quicker than I could react. And what does he do with it once he's got his death grip on the object? It's in his mouth in no time flat! No wonder kids are always sick. I set Rylan down on the living room floor and left him for literally two minutes. When I came back he had rolled across the room and had Matt's dirty shoe in his mouth. Nasty! Some of his favorite things to chew on: His own hands and feet, socks, paper, wet washcloth from bath time and feeding spoons. Do you notice a trend? None of these objects are actually intended to chew on. Who would have thought Rylan would rather chew on a sock than an actual chew toy. Whatever makes him happy is fine by me (as long as its not a shoe).

Mr. Handy Man

I was pretty lucky to grow up with a dad who could literally do anything when it came to home projects. He was Mr. Handy Man. So when I sought out for a husband, being "handy" was a must. Well, I did it! Matt can do it all. Plumbing, electrical, tiling, woodwork, framing, landscaping, etc. You name it and he does it. The other day we had a big plumbing leak and "BAM!" a couple hours later it's fixed. Clogged tub drain? No problem. Custom judges paneling? Easy. I should probably learn how to do that sort of stuff myself but I think I'll stick to painting for now. I'm one lucky girl. Thanks Matt for being the best (and best looking:)) Mr. Handy Man I know!

So I know that I said we were done with the home projects, but I lied. Matt is going to convert our 100 square foot covered patio into an open office. The office will pretty much be an extension of our living room. This will free up our current office and give us a third bedroom. I can't wait to get my hands on our third bedroom to do a little makeover.

Before: from the outside

Before: From the Inside

Daddy's Little Helper

Belly Laughs

One of the sweetest sounds in the world is that of a laughing baby. I love the fact that nearly any grown adult can turn into a total goofball when they get in front of a baby, making the silliest sounds and faces just to get a smile or giggle in return. I could probably spend hours upon hours just watching a baby laugh or, even better, making a baby laugh. It never gets old. The deep belly laughs are my favorite. Here's a video of Matt getting some good belly laughs out of Rylan during a little game of "peek a boo".