Fun Weekend

Brandon's Mom and brother, Blake, drove in on Thanksgiving night so our holiday continued throughout the weekend. My mom, Helen, Rylie and I went shopping on Black Friday (we really didn't have anything specific to get, so it was actually pretty fun!) and then Brandon and I went to the ASU vs. UCLA football game while Helen babysat Rylie. We absolutely love taking her with us...but it was very nice to enjoy the game and not have to worry about her (especially since the Sun Devils won!). On Saturday, a bunch of us got together and with Helen's help, we made tamales (more about that in a later post). Today was spent cleaning up from all of our fun and finishing decorating the Christmas tree.


At the mall with her Grandma and her Gammie on Black Friday...she is a great shopper!


Opening her first present of the season...Brandon's aunt Kathy made her the cutest "I Spy" quilt. I'll post a pic of it later. She loves it!


Hanging out with Mom on Sunday while I decorated the tree.

The other big project for the weekend was that Brandon made Rylie a high chair (yes, I said made). It is beautiful! I think it is so cool that Rylie will have something like that that her Daddy made for her. Did Imention that I am married to a very talented guy? He came up with the design, drew it out and then made it. He didn't get a pattern or anything...just did what he imagined.

So Thankful

I know it is kinda cheesy, but I really have a lot to be thankful for this year! I have an amazing husband that loves me so much and shows me that every day...and not only is he an amazing husband, he is an unbelievable daddy. And then there is Rylie. Who would have ever thought that something so little and helpless could bring so much joy and laughter into one house! She is such a blessing and I am so thankful for her health and what she has brought to our marriage and our home. Brandon and I have quite a few friends and aquaintences who have lost babies this year through miscarriage, stillbirths, and even a tragic accident. My heart just hurts for those who have lost and makes me remember to be thankful for Rylie not just today but everyday. God has really blessed our family this year.

We spent Thanksgiving this year here in Arizona. We headed over to my aunts house for a day of spending time with family and eating a whole lot of good food! After our Thanksgiving feast at lunch, some of us sat around a bonfire (it was one of the coldest Thanksgivings on record here in AZ!) and others watched a lot of good football. It was really fun to have all of the cousins and little ones together and the day was really pretty perfect!


Rylie's Thanksgiving dinner consisted of pumpkin, sweet potatos, apples and green beans (well, at least that is what she ate throughout the day)...not a bad first Thanksgiving! :)






Grandpa and Grandma with all of their great-grandkids




Snoozing by the fire







So my cousin Ashley's little boy, Cayden, is 6 weeks older than Rylie (You might remember him from this hilarious photo). We thought it would be fun to get some pictures of them together at their first Thanksgiving. It turned into a pretty entertaining event to say the least! All Cayden wanted to do was get Rylie's bow off of her head and Rylie was obsessed with chewing on Cayden's shoes. All in all, it made for some pretty funny pictures!







In the end, we did end up getting a couple of cute ones!

Go, Fight, Win!

Brandon is coaching basketball this season and he just had his first game this past week. To get into the spirit I made Rylie an adorable little tutu in his school colors that she can wear to cheer him on. She looked pretty cute sitting up in the stands! She also discovered the cheerleaders...or more specifically the cheerleaders' pompoms. Boy did she love those! Maybe she will follow in her Mommy's footsteps in the future! :)


Brandon with his team.


Watching the cheerleaders at half time.


Love those pompoms!

So Fun

I just had to share how much fun Rylie has been lately. She is very happy most of the time and loves to make adorable facial expressions. You can't help but smile when you see her :). I love this video of her and Brandon...she loves to imitate him! (You might have to listen kind of closely, as I didn't realize that the TV would be quite so loud in the background).

Lions, Tigers & Bears...Oh My!

I was given a great gift at one of my baby showers...a gift card to get an annual pass to the Phoenix Zoo! It has taken me this long to get one because I didn't think Rylie would enjoy the zoo when it was a furnace outside! :) So my mom and I bundled Rylie up on Friday morning and headed to the zoo. Now, if you know me, you know that I love all animals and really love zoos, so I was very excited to take Rylie. She loved just crusin' in her stroller and she seemed to really like the animals if they were moving enough that she could see them. She even liked petting the goats in the petting zoo :) (Definitely like mother like daughter).


The monkeys in this exhibit are loose as you walk around. Rylie got to see them very up close!




I have a lot of pictures on this very same bridge from when I was a kid at the zoo!











We had so much fun at the zoo on Friday...we decided we had to take Daddy back on Sunday! :)

6 Months

Well, our little peanut is not so little anymore! Rylie is now 6 months old...as in half a year! That is so crazy to us...time really does fly. Here are some of the fun things that she is doing right now-

*She is stitting completely by herself for very long periods of time. She is very happy with this, and makes our job a little easier since all she has wanted to do for a very long time is sit or stand and now she can without our assistance.

*She weighs 17 lbs 2 oz...which puts her in the 75%. She is 26.5 inches long (also the 75%) and her head is 18 inches...which is off the charts :) They are still watching that big head of hers!

*She is wearing mostly 6 month size clothing.

*She is super verbal! She has this super high pitch shriek that I think Brandon and I could do without, but hey, I'm sure that I will miss it someday :)

*I would say that she is definitely teething, but I probably would have said that months ago as well. Everything goes directly into her mouth and she is constantly sucking her thumb (or her entire fist...whichever she is in the mood for)...but no teeth yet! Her other cute mouth thing is that she curls her bottom lip under her top lip...makes for one adorable facial expression!



*She loves her food! So far she has eaten peas, carrots, sweet potatos, green beans, bananas and avocado. Her favorite is definitely sweet potatos and she probably would prefer to never eat avocados again :)

*She has started to reach for me occasionally...and it melts my heart everytime!

*Her favorite book in the entire world is still the fingerpuppet "Little Ladybug"...she will literally lunge out of your lap to get to it if it is anywhere within reach...even if you are reading another book. Too bad it's only like 6 pages long, so needless to say that Grandma and I have it memorized.

*She also loves this little ball with a smaller ball inside of it that Gammie bought her. She will play with that longer than any of her other toys.

*She still absolutely loves the dogs! Cherokee (one of my parents dogs) might be her favorite because they seem to chat with each other (hopefully, I will get this on video soon!).




I know that it is cliche...but I really can't believe she is 6 months old! We are loving watching her learn and grow and can't wait to see what she comes up with next

Peter Pan & Tinkerbell

Rylie's first Halloween was a complete success! We got her and Wrigley in their adorable costumes (yes, Wrigley also had a costume), loaded them in the car and headed for a block party in my parents neighborhood. After seeing all of the neighbors, we loaded back up and went to my aunt and uncles house for a bonfire and hanging out in their cul-de-sac. It was so much fun! Rylie and I went trick or treating with my little cousin Cayden and Tatum. She was super happy the entire time...just kicking and wriggling in my arms while she checked everything out. I have to say, I think she was the cutest little Tinkerbell that I have ever seen (but I may be a bit biased)!




Getting a picture of the 2 of them where they would both look at me at the same time proved to be impossible!




Goldilocks and Tinkerbell


Really not sure what to think of the Minnesota Viking (aka Uncle Jeff)


Tinkerbell and Baby Bear


She may not have known what to do with him, but she certainly loved his horns!