Funny Boy

I love my son's sense of humor. I didn't realize that small children could have a sense of humor, but I'm learning that they definitely do. Rylan loves to be silly, laugh and make others laugh. He has taught me to lighten up and enjoy life a little more. I just love how much you can learn from a child and this is one of my favorites. Life is just more fun with Rylan in it!

Show me the Water!

What's the best way to cool off from the extreme summer heat? Water! I am such a baby when it comes to Texas summers and the only way I can bear the heat is by spending my time in an air conditioned building or by the water. If there is water nearby then I want to be wading, floating, swimming, or sunbathing in it. Now that I am a stay at home mom we are really taking advantage of all the water activities that Texas has the offer. And it's a good thing Rylan is a water baby. I don't know what I'd do with myself if he didn't like the water. So far we have been floating down the Comal River, boating at our friend's lake house, gone to the Sea World water park, and spent nearly half of our days at either the gym or neighborhood pool. We also had our first Schlitterbaun Water Park experience a couple weeks ago. I don't know how Matt and I have gone 5 years without spending a day at the #1 ranked world's best water park, but the time was now. Going to water parks was one of my all time favorite activities when I was younger. We left the kiddo at home and felt like kids again! Matt likes to say, are you ready to "Schlit it up!" That always brings a good laugh. We are hoping to get to one of the nearby beaches this summer too. I guess it's just hard to find motivation to drive between 2.5 and 5 hours to get to a beach when they were so accessible, only 15 minutes to the nearest, from my childhood home. I never knew how much I loved the beach until I didn't have it nearby anymore. Nonetheless, we are still having a great time with or without the beach. Here are a few pics from our summer's water adventures.

Just some pictures that I like

I've always enjoyed taking pictures and would love to enroll in some photography classes to help me become a little more familiar with my camera. Maybe I will actually take the time to do this sometime before baby #2 comes. Oh and if you didn't know that we are pregnant and due on December 24, now you know! Surprise! We are super excited to add another little Jorgensen to the family. So back to the photography. I do have an adorable subject (Rylan) at my disposal almost 24/7, so I should have no problem getting some good practice in. Here are some of my favorite pictures that I've taken since I got my camera. And let me just say that the camera should be given all the credit for these ones because I haven't got a clue what I'm doing.

Rylan pulled the stickers off Matt's birthday card and placed them all over his body, including his foot.

Some fun at Fiesta Farms with some friends. This peacock was beautiful, but no need to tell him. He strutted his stuff for about an hour with his feathers full span.

Soaking in some California sun this last summer.

Bathtime

Cousin Taylor on Valentine's Day

Winter in the Park

Cousin Taylor's Temple sealing

Feeding the ducks with Lily

Just having a snack.

Baby Peyton Morrey's newborn photo shoot.

Rylan and Luke sharing a kiss

Should they stay or should they go?

Matt and I have really struggled with whether or not to find a new home for our dogs. Luke and Bella have been a part of our lives for a long time which makes our decision that much harder. Luke was our first baby and Bella came just 1 year later. They have been a LOT of work but have also brought us unconditional love and taught us some valuable parenting skills and responsibilities in preparation for having a human baby (as opposed to a four legged one:)). The dogs have been worth all the work up to this point but now we are really starting to think that it may be best for us and the dogs to send them to another family (if we can find the right fit of course). Luke has this incredible insatiable appetite for anything, including non food items. Recently he ate a baby wipe and Matt actually had to assist Luke while he was trying to pass it!!! That was one hilarious moment I will never forget. The look on Matt's face was classic! So with a toddler who is starting to open doors and leave bedrooms and bathrooms open to Luke and Bella's destruction I feel like there is just no resolve for this problem (among a few other minor issues that we have with the dogs). Here is a picture of them taking a time out after trying to eat my lunch. We would feel terribly sad and guilty for giving them up, but feel like its time to do whats best for us and them.

Catching Up

So I have a legitimately good excuse for being absent from the blogging world for the past couple months. My blog wasn't letting me upload or do much of anything for several weeks. I just had to wait it out until blog decided to work again and thank goodness its up and running and we're back in action. The past couple months have been just a tad busy to say the least. We survived, and actually enjoyed it too, an entire kitchen overhaul. I'm talking floor to ceiling gut and rebuild. We now have our amazing new kitchen that's everything I've ever dreamed of! The kitchen is the center of our home and where I spend probably half of my waking hours. Can I just say that double ovens, six burner gas range with pot filler, and soft close drawers and doors have made the life of the family cook tons easier and not to mention really fun too. I'm in love with my new kitchen!

Out with the old...

...in with the new!

We are still missing the cabinet knobs and the hood range parts in these pictures, but this gives you a good idea of how it turned out.

We also enjoyed a nice Easter weekend. My best friend Jill wanted to be with us for Easter so she flew all the way here and lived amongst the kitchen remodel mess just to be with us. Rylan loved playing with Jill and being totally spoiled with attention, hugs, and gifts from her. Easter was extra special because she was here to spend it with us. Thanks Jill! Oh and should I mention that Rylan is pretty much obsessed with anything sugary, so he just loved Easter and all the yummy sweet treats associated with the holiday. He went crazy over the Easter egg hunt. What could be better to an 18 month old then games and candy all in one! I tricked him and put some dried pineapple and fruit snacks in most of them, but he didn't even know the difference.

Animal Sounds

Rylan has been learning and practicing his animal sounds every day. Here's a clip of him telling us some of what he knows.

Mommy Son Vacation

Rylan and I took our very first mommy and son vacation to visit family and friends in California and Utah. Of course we would have had even more fun on our trip if Matt went, but he decided that it would be best for him to stay home since he would be really busy with the business. So Ry guy and I flew into SLO for 5 days and then my dad drove us 9 hours to St. George, Utah where my brother Steve and his family lives. Rylan has been to California once before but he was really too young to enjoy much of the outdoorsy stuff that I wanted to do with him. He was the perfect age to take him this time. Now that he walks, talks a little, and can understand a lot of what we say he just loved this vacation. We went on lots of walks and bike rides, played at the beaches (the sand was Rylan's favorite), went to Avila barn and fed the animals, saw my niece Hannah perform as the "Umpa Loopma" in the Willy Wonka play, got Rylan's ceramic handprints done, and ate some yummy fresh produce and wholesome foods. Rylan saw lots of animals and learned about them and the sounds they make. I just love, love, love when he makes his animal sounds! Here are some pictures from California.

My dad wanted to get Rylan's handprints done for us. I had my handprints done when I was 1 year old, so the owners wanted a picture of this second generation imprinting.

Rylan's first encounter with the beach sand and water. He ran all the way down to the water and fell flat on his stomach into the water. He didn't cry but I think he was in shock at how icy cold the water was. From then on he would run towards the water and as it came close to him he'd turn around and run the opposite direction saying "no, no" under his breath.

The sand was much warmer than the water. Rylan would lie down on his belly and take in a nice mouthful of sand, hence the sand mustache. The sand was definitely his favorite...

And seeing horses on the beach was his next favorite. He loves animals so he was just ecstatic when he saw these large animals pass so close by him. He pointed and screamed "neigh, neigh!" at the horses in this picture.

Grandma and Grandpa with Rylan at the Avila Barn. Rylan obviously wanted no part of the picture taking. All he wanted to do was feed some animals.

Grandpa and Rylan watching the Tsunami come into Shell Beach after the Japan earthquake.

Some of the tasty food that we enjoyed on this vacation. Man how I wish we had more vegan restaurants in Texas. Isn't that spring roll just pretty? It was even more fun to eat!

All the California cousins

Rylan and cousin Brooke sharing a kiss. They are the closest cousins in age at just 4 months apart.

It was nice to break up the trip by going to a new place. The drive to St. George wasn't so fun with a busy 18 month old who really doesn't like to be contained for more than a few minutes at a time. But with that considered, he actually did fare pretty well on the drive. Steve and Christina and their three kids are so much fun. This was their first time meeting Rylan and they just loved and adored him. It was great to see. Of course, Steve and Christina some fun activities planned for our visit. We went on a bike ride through Snow Canyon, off road Geo Cashing, took a 3 hour each way back road trip to the Grand Canyon, and of course ate at Cafe Rio twice. Yum! Rylan and I had such a great time in both California and St. George. Can't wait for our next visit.

Geo Cashing/treasure hunting with Steve and Grandpa.

Bike ride through Snow Canyon. And yes those really are bright orange mountains and sand.

Hundred year old school house out in the middle of nowhere.

Ride to Grand Canyon in the open Jeeps. We went through some pretty spectacular terrain to get there. None of the roads were paved and we saw only a couple people on our 6 hour round trip journey through the dessert and mountains. This was an amazing trip. Check out how dirty everyone is in those pics!