Lake Day

Brandon and I had the opportunity to head to Canyon Lake earlier this week for a relaxing day out in the sun. My parents volunteered to watch Rylie for the day so that we were both able to go. Good friends of ours, the Buchanan's, had their boat and a jet ski and we took our boat out. This was the first time that Brandon and I loaded and unloaded the boat completely on our own, so we were pretty proud of ourselves by the end of the day! :)





It was definitely warm out there, but we had a blast tubing and just crusing around on the lake. Hopefully, we will be able to use the boat a lot more next summer when Rylie is a little bit older because we always really enjoy ourselves when we are out there! It was also really good to spend the day just the two of us as a couple...I think we both needed the time away and together!







We had one tired puppy by the end of the day...but she definitely loves the boat and swimming in the lake! She almost puts on her life jacket herself because she knows that once it is on, she gets to go in the water.

Belly Laugh

We got Rylie's first real belly laugh on video! As I'm watching it I realize that part of it sounds like she is crying...but she really wasn't, she was all laughs! Of course it was at her Daddy...she definitely is a Daddy's girl :)

1st D-backs Game

Rylie finally got to go to her first Diamondbacks game! I was super excited to take her, as this is my favorite baseball team (she needed to be exposed to the D-backs since she had already been to a Dodger game and to Angel stadium...I don't want her to be confused at who she should really cheer for :) ). We decided to take the light rail to the game...and I think we learned our lesson. While it is cheaper than parking at the game, the travel time is a lot more and it is pretty crowded. Rylie did great on the way there, but on the way home she was way over tired and therefore was not a happy camper...not to mention that she also threw up all over the place. Not the most pleasant experience!

The game itself was great! My friend works for the D-backs so she always gives us really good seats. I only had to take Rylie out into the breezeway for one inning and we left after 8 since the D-backs were losing by so much. I can't wait for these games to become a family tradition as Rylie grows up!



Waiting for the light rail...now that she can face out in her Baby Bjorn, she is a super happy little traveler!







So cute in her D-backs gear!



Happy little baseball fan!





The two D-Backs fans in our family :)

Liberty Market and More

Laura introduced me to this great place this week...Liberty Market! I know, I'm a little behind...but now I've been there and I love it. It will definitely be added to my list of return restaurants. I thought that this picture of Rylie and Laura turned out very cute...and I can't believe how blue her eyes look!



I was doing some laundry later in the day when Brandon had me come in to see this:



Rylie figured out how to roll from her stomach to her back this week, so now she really doesn't mind tummy time as much as she did before...I guess she likes to be in control :)



Both of our babies :)



I just thought her outfit was too cute...our little ladybug!

Dedication Photos

Well, let's try this again...



Rylie in the gown that my dad was baptized in and I was dedicated in...it's over 50 year's old.









Our family





We are so blessed to have such supportive family around us.





Rylie did so great up on stage. She was wide awake the entire time and then just started smiling at our pastor when he was talking to her.



Rylie was dedicated at the same time as my good friend Shannon's little boy, Boston.



My mom made Rylie's tutu that she wore at the party we had for her afterwards.

Rylie's Dedication

Psalm 127:3 - "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord..."
We had Rylie dedicated at church today. It was so amazing to look down from the stage and see all of the people that love and care for her that had come to celebrate this day with us. She wore the gown that my dad had been baptized in and that I had worn on my dedication day, so it's about 54 years old. She was a trooper, because it was miserably hot and humid today and the gown is long and hot. She was wide awake and smiling during the dedication. Pastor Phil did an amazing job challenging us as parents to raise Rylie to love and honor God and to always be praying for her. He also challenged all of our family that was there to walk with us and set and example for Rylie to follow. He then annointed her head, hands and feet with oil and spent time praying over our family. Another fun fact about today is that the other child that was being dedicated was Boston, our good friends Mark and Shannon’s little boy. After the service, the group headed over to my parents house for lunch and an afternoon of hanging out and enjoying each other. We are so blessed to have so many family and friends around us to help us raise our precious little girl! (For some reason, Blogger won't let me post any pictures right now, so I'll try that part again soon!)

2 Month Appointment...Already!

I cannot believe that we just had Rylie's 2 month Dr.'s appointment (she actually is closer to 3 months now...but that's how summer schedules go!). Here are some of the things that have happened in the last month.



*We decided to get her tongue clipped. When she was born, they told us that she was borderline tongue-tied but probably wasn't a big deal. Well, I was having pretty extreme pain while nursing still 8 weeks later, so we decided to get it fixed and it worked great! It was a pretty simple procedure and was over in a minute...and Rylie did awesome.

*She weighs 12 lbs 6 oz and is 23 1/2 inches long. Her head is still in the 95% for size, but it has stopped growing at an abnormal rate, so we are good for now!

*She had her first actual tear that rolled down her cheek...and it almost made me start crying myself!

*She giggled for the first time, and it was at me! I finally got one of her firsts!



*She slept through the night! It is not every night, but currently she has done it 3 different times. The other nights, she will go about 6 hours, wake up and eat, and then go 3 more hours.

*She loves her food! She eats 4-5 oz every 3 hours during the day, and she is ridiculously on the dot when it comes to those 3 hours!

*She is super active. As soon as we lay her down on her mat, she starts kicking her legs and moving her arms all over the place. She makes it pretty clear when she gets a little over stimulated with the things hanging from the mat. She loves the mat until we put her on her stomach. She hates tummy time!



*She finally found her thumb, and let me tell you, she has been working hard for that! It still takes an extreme amount of concentration for her to get it to her mouth, but she loves it when she can.

*We are working through the fact that she very likely has a milk allergy. She started having a little bit of blood in her diaper, so the pediatrician is having me go completely dairy free (this is not easy for me...I love my milk and cheese!) to see if this is the culprit.





Daddy and Mommy love you so much baby girl!

Mid-Summer Classic

The MLB All-Star game is always something fun that Brandon and I enjoy watching every July and this year's game was in Anaheim. We found out while we were in California that Brandon's Mom's boss had given her tickets for the Legends and Celebrity Softball game that happens the Sunday before the All-Star game. So we decided to stay one more night so we could go to the game. I hung out with Rylie in the breeze way for a little while until the sun went down and then joined the group to watch the game. It was a blast and again, Rylie did amazing! She has become quite the little traveler!



It was a little hot at the beginning of the game, but that's what great about California because as soon as the sun dropped behind the stadium we all had to put jackets on!









This is how Rylie was for the majority of the game...just sitting on Gammie's lap looking around!









Beautiful Angel Stadium after the game.



So on Tuesday night, the actual All-Star game took place...and Brandon wanted to make sure that Rylie got into our tradition and watched the game (she was dressed in Dodgers gear at the beginning...until she threw-up all over it! That's mommy's girl!).

I wish they all could be California... :)

We were headed to California the day after getting home from Pinetop...so instead of driving home, unloading, unpacking and then repacking, loading and driving to California the next day, we just decided to make the drive all in one day. Our lovely 9 week old daughter did AMAZING on our 10 hour drive! So we made it to beautiful Southern California for a week of fun and relaxation.



Gammie bought Rylie her first baseball hat...and due to her semi-large head, the toddler hat almost fits her now! :)



We spent a relaxing day shopping at Fashion Island Mall and at the little shops on Balboa Island. I have to admit, I added this picture because I absolutely love Rylie's outfit that Gammie bought her!

I have been super excited to take Rylie to the beach, but we didn't go the last time we went to California because I couldn't put sunscreen on her yet...but she's over 2 months now so to the beach we went! (I know that sunscreen on a 2 month old is a bit controversial, but the pediatric dermatologist at the large children's hospital here in Phoenix has said that the risk of skin cancer is worse than any of the risks from the chemicals in sunscreen, so 2 months it is for us Arizonians!)



Rylie on her way to the beach...she was as excited as I was! :)



So that whole issue about sunscreen...not really an issue at all due to the fact that it was FREEZING the entire time we were there and I never took Rylie's warm-ups off of her. Guess we'll have to wait until next year for a fun in the sun beach day!







She really did have her bathing suit on!



Rylie on her way home from the beach... :)



Another day of shopping! Rylie has become quite the shopper and now seems to love her stroller even more since she can sit up and look out at everything going on around her.