Birthday Fun

I have to admit that I wasn't going to do anything for Rylan's birthday other than maybe bake him a cupcake and enjoy a nice little dinner with mom, dad, and baby. I thought that was a reasonable, sensible way to celebrate a one year old's birthday. "He's one" I thought, "He doesn't even know it's his birthday." Then I realized just how much I would regret it if I didn't throw Rylan a 1-year birthday party. So with a week to plan, Matt and I quickly threw together a grocery list, guest list, and to do list and made it happen. Rylan didn't fully understand why our house was full of fun decorations, kids, cake, and gifts, but he sure did love all the attention. The cake was his favorite part (he has a sweet tooth like his mother). I allowed him to have way to much cake in fact, but I just loved how much he loved it!

Birthday at Grandma Jorgensen's

Birthday Party

Numero Uno

Depsite my efforts to keep my baby a baby forever, time is working against me and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. You'd think I'd be totally thrilled about my son turning one but I can't help but think that in 17 short years (we'll see if those turn into long years by the time Rylan's a teenager) he will be leaving home, then serving a mission, getting married, and starting a family of his own. This sounds a bit dramatic I know, but those of you who have kids can relate. Having a baby turned me into a baby. I'm an emotional wreck when I think about how dearly I love my son and how time is passing way too quickly. So unless someone can tell me how to stop the clock and allow me to enjoy my sweet baby boy just a little longer then I guess I better just learn to accept the inevitable and enjoy every waking moment. With that said, happy birthday son! Your mom and dad love you more than you'll ever know.

The Big Apple

Back in March my boss brought me into her office and asked me if I would be willing to leave Rylan for a few days and go on Labatt's annual company trip. This year's destination: The Big Apple! Of course I eagerly accepted the invitation. Anyone who would turn down an all paid vacation is crazy! Labatt is celebrating 100 years in business so I knew that this trip was going to be nothing short of spectacular. Well, we weren't disappointed. We were totally spoiled and pampered the entire trip and enjoyed every minute of it. Matt and I have visited NYC on several occasions, but never have we seen the city like this before. Here is a day by day snapshot of the vacation's activities:

Thursday:

• Arrive in Newark and take private tour bus to Katz deli for lunch. All you can eat knishes, pickles, sandwiches, potato salad, cole slaw and cheesecake. I think this was the best cheesecake I've ever had before. YUMMO!
• Check-in at the Ritz Carlton Hotel across from Central Park where we stayed for 3 nights. I could not wait to catch up on some much needed sleep in this luxurious hotel.
• Walk in Central Park
• Four Course filet mignon & lobster dinner at the Lincoln Jazz Center. I immediately recognized this famous venue as the set of the Ellen Show while she taped from NYC. It had incredible views of Washington Circle from it's gigantic all glass wall, the perfect backdrop for our dinner entertainment. Juilliard students performed song, dance, and instrumental pieces throughout the evening.

Enjoying some lunch at Katz Deli

View of Central Park from our hotel room

Dinner backdrop from Lincoln Jazz Center

Friday:

• Eating Tour through Yiddish Town, China Town, and Little Italy. On the menu: Candy, knishes, soda bread, black and white cookies, pickled everything, cannelloni, gelato, dried fruit, and much much more.
• Empire State Building with VIP Express passes. Our guides told us to waive the Express ticket every time we saw a line and we'd be escorted right past the 3 hour wait and straight to the top. I don't think people waiting in line were very happy with our group, but heck there is no other way to see the Empire State Building! There's no way I'd wait in that line for a 15 minute birds eye view of the city. It was pretty sweet though.
• Dinner and Yankee vs Red Sox game from 5 private suits. This was an incredible, once in a lifetime event! We enjoyed a catered dinner and dessert in true Yankee baseball style with unlimited ball franks, short ribs, mini sliders, peanuts, popcorn in every flavor, drinks, and an ice cream sundae bar (amongst a lot of other good food). Final score: Yankees 3, Red Sox 6.

Delicious bakery in Yiddish Town

Labatt's Heinz Rep, Karen, her husband, and I enjoying some Yankee Stadium ice cream. Matt and I had a blast hanging with this couple on the trip.

Saturday:

• Meatpacking District Tour. This was the most interesting part of the vacation for me. Our tour guide educated us on the history and transformation of this once dilapidated meatpacking district to home of the trans sexuals & whore houses to upscale Chelsea Market and Greenwich Village. Now it's the home of high end clothing boutiques, world famous restaurants, and specialty food vendors. The transformation is amazing! This is definitely where I would live if I could afford one of the $25+ million dollar homes in the area. Of course we sampled lots of food on this tour as well: fresh breads, New England clam chowder, fresh pasta, chocolate milk and cookies, cheese & crackers, biscuits and fruit spread, and more.
• Private dinner at the New York Zoo and South Pacific Broadway Show. I've always wanted to see a broadways show in New York and I finally got to do it. We even got to enjoy it from the third row. I was so impressed by the entire performance. The actors and sets were even better than I had anticipated.

Famous sugar cookies from Eleni's. I had to try them and compare to my own sugar cookies. Eleni's cookies may look better but mine win on taste!

Meatpacking Tour Guide with some fresh lobsters from the seafood market

Dinner at NYC zoo

Broadway

Sunday:

• We enjoyed breakfast with one of our vendor's and his wife. I can't remember how we got on the topic, but Matt and I actually talked to them a lot about the church and what we believe. It was a neat and unexpected missionary opportunity. Before we parted ways for the airport they actually said that they feel like they should invite the missionaries over for dinner if they come across some in their neighborhood again. I thought that was so cool! I loved getting to know other Labatt employees and our vendors on a more personal level during this trip. I think you can truly understand a person when you see them in a more relaxed and fun environment, especially when they are with their spouses.
• Home to see our favorite little baby in the whole world. Michelle surprised us and brought Rylan to the airport to welcome us home! What a sweet surprise!

Back to Our Roots

Although Texas is our home now, Matt and I will always have a special place in our hearts for the Central Coast of California. The moment we stepped off the airplane in Santa Barbara Matt took a breath of the fresh ocean air, tilted his face up towards the sun and said, "This is what people pay the big bucks for." The weather was ideal. Sunny and warm with a slight breeze. My friends and I would call this the perfect, "no temperature" type of weather. Not too hot, not too cold, but just right. So I think I've stated the obvious here and that's that I sure do miss the weather sometimes, especially when we're dead in the middle of summer. A few other things I miss are the mountains, ocean (just to look at and not actually to go in), endless outdoor adventures, Farmers Markets, fresh fruit, and of course my family.

Now moving on to our vacation..it was perfect! We saw everything and everyone that we wanted to see, ate at all our favorite restaurants, and spent plenty of time relaxing with friends and family on this vacation. It's not very often that my entire family can get together anymore because we're so spread across the country. Gary and his three girls made a special trip down from Idaho and I'm so glad that they did. We had a lot of fun staying at my parents house together and playing all day long. It was neat to see most of the grandkids all at once and watching them interact. The most exciting part of the trip for Matt was seeing old friends at his 10 year High School reunion. What a trip that was! He was pleasantly surprised to know that many of his friends were now married and had children just like us. We had a great time getting to know them again and reminiscing about old times. Overall it was a great vacation and I can't wait to do it again!

This may have been the funniest part of my whole trip. These two are 6 months apart and were absolutely cracking each other up for almost 5 minutes straight. I'm convinced that babies have their own language. It was amazing to watch these two cousins, Rylan and Brooke, interact and relate to each other so perfectly. Absolute sweetness!

The oldest and youngest grandsons

Kerra, Maddy, Megan, and Rylan

Rylan and Dad on Rylan's first airplane ride

Rylan's favorite toy on the trip, Grandma's dog Lucy. This dog is truly amazing. She would let the kids pull her hair and roll on top of her without flinching.

Most of the van den Eikhof grandkids.

Three silly sisters and their dirty feet

Fresh picked peaches

Mommy and Rylan at the pool

Kerra and Katherine taking a dip in the pool

Rylan at the beach for the first time. He's not too keen on the sand.

9 Month Check Up

Rylan did great at his 9 month wellness check up. He didn't even flinch during his shots and actually seemed quite intrigued by the blood samples that the nurse kept squeezing out of his heel. Rylan weighed in at 21lbs 15oz and measured over 29 inches. That's 70% in weight and 75% in height. In my mind he's just right! Our little man is scooting all over the place, can pull himself up to standing position, and has discovered how to open doors and drawers. This has sadly resulted in a few smashed fingers and lots of bruises, but nothing that a few hugs and kisses can't make better.

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