Livingston Trip

We headed up to Livingston a few weekends ago to visit Nick's mom. We left on Friday afternoon when Nick got out of work, and we got there just in time for a delicious dinner. After playing for a bit with Ry, Daddy put him to bed so Beth and I could visit. We all watched some TV before bed. Fun stuff.

That night we were woken up by Ry soon after we were asleep. I'm not sure why he woke up, but he did. I got him to sleep again multiple times, but he didn't want to stay asleep when I laid him down. He was up from about 11:30 to 2. It was a LONG night for me. He finally went back to sleep, and I was able to get some sleep in before he got up.

Saturday morning we all headed out to trade days. It's basically a flea market with some homemade craft type items. I bought a new overnight case and a cart with bag for upcoming craft shows. After that, we headed back to the house with some lunch from Nell's burgers. Beth and I put together some pizza dough for dinner that night too. Once Ryker was down for his nap...Nick and I napped too. We really needed it. Beth and I left after my nap to check out an ice cream parlor/antique type shop in the neighboring town. It was a pretty cool place. I bought a couple gifts in there and some wax for my wax warmers. We also stopped at Dollar Tree and Wal-Mart on our way back to the house. Beth prepared an amazing pizza for dinner, and we all had dinner together. Beth gave Ryker a bath after dinner, and Nick and I worked on making Ryker more comfortable that night. We made sure the bedroom we were staying in was cooler and that the pack and play had some extra padding (we used an exercise mat). We really wanted Ry to sleep better that night. Beth, Nick, and I played dominoes after Ry was down, and it was very fun. I don't remember ever playing that particular game, and I hadn't played dominoes in ages.

Luckily, Ry only woke up once, and I rocked him right back to sleep. Sunday morning we were up early to get ready to attend church with Beth. The church was a lot bigger than I expected. Livingston is such a small town, and I wasn't expecting that big of a place. I decided I would let Ryker go to the nursery. Man...it was SO hard to leave him with someone he doesn't know in a place he didn't know. All the babies are assigned a badge when you check them in, and they will flash your child's number on the screen in the church if you need to come check on or get your child. I was worried most of the time about what Ry was doing and how he was doing in there. The church service was about an hour and 40 minutes, which is definitely longer than I am used to, but it was nice. I enjoyed it, and I was very happy to go get Ryker afterwards from the nursery. Once we were back to Beth's house, we finished packing and had lunch before we headed back home during naptime.

It was a good trip, and we all enjoyed it. Even the dogs had fun, and I know Beth did. We plan on going back in a couple months. Maybe Derek and Amy can join us then. :0

Ry loves playing in this chair when we visit.

Beth has SO many animals that come eat in her backyard. These squirrels were eating birdseed off the ground.

BLUEJAYS!

Our dogs enjoying the couch!





June SA Trip

We headed to SA about a month ago to help celebrate Bella's (one of my best friends Maya's daughter) birthday and celebrate Father's Day with my dad.

The Bradens were recently re-located to San Antonio so Maya could be closer to her mom. Since the Bradens have been in San Angelo for the last four years it had been awhile since we had been able to make it to a kid party or visit their home. We went to see their new house and have dinner Friday night. Maya made some delicious food, and we were able to get in some good visiting. Their house looks so nice.

Bella's party was at Pistol Pete's Pizza. It was Ryker's first time in a place like PPP, and he was so overwhelmed he didn't know what to look at in there. He did like some of the little kiddy rides...like the merry go round and this little car. Otherwise, he just watched what we played and ate pizza and dessert. It was fun!

Saturday night we had our FD celebration with my dad at my parent's house. We decided to play beer pong while we grilled all the meat. My mom also baked potatoes, made salads, and watched Ryker in the swimming pool. We had to use a metal tub under the pool liner since my mom's dogs chewed some holes in the pool. Totally redneck, but hey...it worked. After dinner, we played multiple rounds of poker, and Val and Dad stole ALL our money (like usual). Nick and I may be done with that game with my family. :)

Sunday we left at naptime to come home. We had a good time. I LOVE going home for visits. <3



RYKER turns ONE YEAR OLD!

Ryker's first birthday party was on Saturday, June 9th. We had a wonderful time! He did so well...we were so proud of him! His theme was baby barnyard animals. We invited friends, family, and neighbors. We served hamburgers and hot dogs with all the fixings and of course cake. He loved digging into his smash cake, and he kinda seemed into opening presents. The only time he acted weird was when everyone sang "Happy Birthday." He got shy. :) It seemed like the kiddos who were here had fun too as well as the adults. Here's some pics from his party. I didn't post any pics of presents...there were just too many.

We spent Sunday, June 10th, (his actual first birthday) with family. It was a nice, relaxing day. Nick and I greeted him that morning in his crib singing "Happy Birthday." SO cute! He ate it up! We then spent the morning downstairs playing with and unwrapping all his new toys. Mid-morning we all went down to the pool for awhile, and then we were back for lunch and naptime. My parents & Val and Michael all headed home, and Nick and I spent the evening hanging and playing with him. He had some more cake and singing, and then it was bedtime. Totally low-key and just what we wanted. Here's a few pics from that day:

The next day he had his one year check-up. He was into EVERYTHING at the office. Seriously. He is so nosey sometimes. He weighed in at 20 pounds & 7ounces, and he was 29 1/4 inches. He measured in the 16th percentile for weight and the 33rd percentile for height. He's still a smaller guy, but growing just fine along the growth chart. All appropriate developmental milestones were met, and he is doing just great. He did receive 3 shots that day and a blood draw. All of that was horrific. :( I felt so bad for him, like I always do with that stuff, but even more so that day since now he is so much more aware of what's going on. And man...he is STRONG! He recovered fairly quickly though, and we don't have to go back until 15 months. THANK GOODNESS! He also took his 12 month pics that day, and he got a BIG BOY carseat the next weekend. Our little one is growing too fast!