Ryker's First Birthday

It's hard to believe that an entire year has passed since our little miracle boy was born. A year ago his fate was uncertain as he was hooked up to numerous machines, being fed through a tube, facing surgeries and only weighing in at 1 lb, 11 oz. Today we are blessed with a handsome, affectionate, crawling and intelligent little boy who has overcome physical, mental and medical obstacles. Not a single day goes by that I don't think about how lucky we are.

Cake would've been a little much for an "8 month" old and even though we shouldn't have, we gave him a few bites of vanilla ice cream and some raspberries for dessert.

He was focusing hard trying to figure out how to pick up those slippery raspberries.

Coloring & Diaper Munching

Our little artist hard at work.

Ryker found himself a snack and was very happy to attempt to devour it.

Little Fashionista

Kynzie looked oh-so fashionable in her jean skirt and sweater ensemble.

Hair Cut By Daddy

Kynzie's bangs were starting to get a little long. But instead of hassling with a trip to the salon for an over-priced trim, Daddy volunteered to do the cutting. He did a great job and Kynzie cooperated better than she would have at a salon!

His Very Own Jungle Gym

Ryker has discovered the kitchen table and since declared it to be his very own jungle gym, climbing over the chair supports.

He thinks it is so much fun.

Texas

Ryker and I flew to Texas to attend my NaNaw's funeral. Although it wasn't under the best circumstances, it was great to get to introduce Ryker to his Grandpa, Grams and lots of other family. We only got to stay for three days, but Kynzie and Ryan sure were happy to have us home.

Uncle Terry bought this silly hat at the store. Ryker was dying to try it on.

Halloween

I'll admit that we procrastinated a little on getting Kynzie a halloween costume. But lucky enough on Halloween day we found the perfect costume- little red riding hood. We decided to take her trick-or-treating in Ryan's parent's neighborhood.

"Trick-or-treat! Thank you! Okay, next house" she'd say.

She was so excited she was nearly running, pulling us along.

She didn't last very long...we probably only went to 10 or so houses. She wanted to go back to Grandma's and check out her huge candy stash.

She ate more candy on hallowen than she's probably had in her whole life.

We ended up going back out for a little bit and she got even more candy! By the end of the night, she was exhausted.

Our First Family Trip To The Pumpkin Patch

We made a last minute trip to the pumpkin patch. Kynzie had so much fun.

"Look at all the punkins!" (She can't quite get the pronunciation right)

She was running all over the field.

"Uggghhh!! It's too heavy!" Kynzie decided every pumpkin was too heavy (even if it wasn't).

After an hour in the field, these pumpkins inside the market are what Kynzie decided she wanted.

On another note, this is our 250th blog post!

Eating Banana

He still loves playing with those tootsies!

We decided to give the baby mesh self-feeder a try. Ryker sure loved it, although I had to hold onto it for him.

Ryker's Silly Sounds

Playing Peek-a-Boo With Ryker

He Found His Feet

Ryker found his feet a while ago but had opted to hide his skills from the camera. He has yet to figure out that they make a good snack.

"Take a picture of me!" said Kynzie.

Ryker's Very First Time Eating

We decided to feed Ryker some banana. He's started to grab at food and watch us eat, so we figured he might be interested. Unfortunately it didn't go so well, as it seems that he still has the baby "tongue-thrust reflex". Although, he really seemed to enjoy it!

Hysterical Ryker

Ryker is one ticklish boy!

Ryker's New Toy

The big kids were playing with little Ryker.

This is Ryker's new seat. He's not supposed to be in the jumpy activity-centers since they can worsen muscle-tone issues that he already has. This is a nice alternative. He really enjoys it!

Though it appears that Ryker is sitting, Ryan had only let go of him for a second while I snapped this picture. His balance is getting much better, but he can only manage this for about half a second.

Playing Play-Doh

During a trip to the store Ryker kept himself entertained with his links.

Kynzie loves play-doh. See the R2D2? It's a play-doh stamper.

"Look Mommy! I made R2!"

She always wants me to do all the playing while she watches. "No, Mommy do it" she'll say.

Snuggling with Daddy before it's time to put pj's on.

Screamin' Little Man

Blurry picture, but look how good he is at getting up on his arms!

I was laying down next to him and he was trying to grab and pull my shirt.

Drawing In The Bathtub

Our little artist spends about half her day, if not more drawing. She has special bathtub crayons. The drawings behind her are snails.

She drew a house.

And an airplane and a circle.

Laughing Ryker

Sibling Bath Time

Kynzie was insistent that Ryker take a bath with her. "Ryker take a bath with me" she said. He wasn't too keen on the idea.

He was a happy boy after his bath!

Scary Music

Kynzie loves music. A few months ago we were flipping through our cable's music channels and Kynzie kept telling me "different music." She was only satisfied when the metal channel was on. Where does she get this? Not a clue...we don't listen to metal. So today when I asked her if she wanted to listen to music she said yes and almost immediately upon putting it on the pop channel she said "No Mommy, scary music!" So I complied. And she got very excited. "Yay! Scary music! Scary music" she exclaimed.



I'm not quite sure why she decided to draw on her baby dolls. But she was at least nice by telling them to hold still. Maybe there was a picture of a tattooed person on the TV? She is awfully imaginative.

Smiley Boy & Bucket Head

Family Time At The Park

It was a beautiful day to go to the park!

She wasn't too sure about these stepping stone type things.

She's gotten very good at walking down steps.

She always likes the steering wheels at parks.

And of course she still digs the slide.

We stopped and got ribs on our way home. Kynzie had barbecued chicken and managed to make quite a mess.

"Dadddddyyy!!! Clean my hands!!" She doesn't like her hands getting being dirty.