My Big Boy

Ryder's first tooth

Ryder finally got his first tooth in on Friday. Poor kid was so unhappy, couldn't put him down for a week. But, I am happy to say that the past two days he has been playing on his own and a happy baby. Probably helps that he is on antibiotics for his ear infection too. Anyway, as soon as I get a picture of his one and only pearly white, I'll make sure to post it.

The worst Christmas ever!!!

Made you look!!!! How can Christmas be bad when you have these two adorable little boys to share the day with.

This Christmas was the 5th Christmas that Kib and I have been together for. In keeping with tradition, we got sick. This year (and only this year) it was completely my fault. I caught a bug Tuesday and was nice enough to bring it home and share it with Kib, and our exchange students, and now the boys. It's awful. We were so sick Christmas day we almost postponed it. That was the plan, until Zane woke up and started saying "Merry Christmas" all the way down the stairs. How cute is that? So we had a quite Christmas, and unfortunately, very few photos. Never fear, I plan to still take our traditional "family in front of the tree" photo before we take the tree down.

I really wish we got a redo for Christmas this year. Not only was Christmas a downer for Kib and I (hopefully not for Zane). But I also had to cancel my trip to NY. Between my stomach bug and Ryder having a double ear infection, first tooth, and a little baby asthma, there was no way we were going to hop on a plane for 8 hours. Oh well, there's always the 15 year.
Really, in the end, all that matters is that Kib and I spent Christmas with our two adorable boys (and our neighbor fed us all our meals Christmas day:)

Kib's new job!

In an effort to keep the family float, Kib found a really great paying job!!!!
Just kidding, Kib went on a ride-a-long today with one of our friends, Dave. He is a DPS officer and works the immigration, smuggling, etc. The two of them caught a couple of guys with a few hundred pounds of drugs in their car. It was very exciting for Kib, maybe not so much for Dave, it's all in a days work for him. Either way, I am grateful for their friendship and am thrilled that Kib did something fun and exciting. It was much deserved.

Dear Santa,

All Zane wants for Christmas is a motorcycle.

Zane's Christmas Performance

Tonight was Zane's first ever performance. We had his preschool Christmas performance tonight and it was certainly a night to remember. When we first got there Zane was so excited, he went straight to his chair and sat there with his arms folded for almost 20 minutes until the preformance began. Kib and I couldn't believe it, we just kept looking at each other saying "this isn't going to last long." Well, we were right. About 4 songs into the performance Zane said "mommy" and he got up from his chair and started to walk towards me. His teacher stopped him and told him to go sit back down. He did, and as soon as his bum hit the chair he let out a wail "I want my Mommy" it was so cute. He just started balling. He ended up spending the rest of the performance sitting on my lap. It was a fun night, the first of many performances. Despite the breakdown, it was just as wonderful as could be.

Our Christmas Newsletter

Make a Smilebox greeting

Only in Phoenix

Tonight was a wonderful night. The four of us went for our nightly walk into town and back, but this time we changed it up a bit. On the way home we took a long walk through some neighborhoods looking at all the Christmas lights. Zane really loved it. He was all wrapped up in blankets in his stroller, and Ryder was snuggling with Daddy. It was about 60 degrees out so it was pleasantly chilly. We had so much fun. In between houses Zane would yell "run, run, Mommy" and I would run, pushing the stroller, to the next house with lights on outside. It was a wonderful night, and hopefully a wonderful new tradition.

An update

While we have been so incredibly busy that I can't seem to find time to sit and update this blog, I can't for the life of me tell you what we ahve been doing. Or worse yet, what new and wonderful thing the boys are doing. The above picture, as horrible as it is, is of our 2 lovely exchange students who are staying with us again this year. Their names are Aimee and Jessica and they are sweet and wonderful girls that are hear from South Africa on a work exchange program and they are delightful to have around. I really look forward to seeing them each night and hearing how their day went.

AS for the boys, well, Ryder is still the ity-bitiest little guy ever. He only weighs about 17 lbs and is still in 3-6 month close (he will be nine months this weekend). I secretly love the fact that he is staying so small, it helps me to hold on to his infancy just a little longer. Anyway, he is so busy getting into things and talking up a storm, I just can't get enough.

Zane is a whole other ball of wax. He is such a smart little busy body. He has been learning Christmas songs at preschool that he sings all day longs (especially jingle bells). He is getting bigger and smarter and sassier by the minute. I just adore my big guy to the ends of the earth and back. I don't know how it is that Kib and I have been so blessed with two amazing boys. I can't wait to see what wonderful experience each new day brings.

Beep, Beep

Another day of firsts.

I love this age, not just Ryder's, but Zane's as well. Kib is out of town this week and called yesterday to say hi to Zane. For the first time, they had a converstation on the phone. Kib asked questions, and Zane responded with sentences. It was so cool. I also asked Zane yesterday to please put on his underwear, he turned to me and said "those aren't underwear, mom, they're pull ups." What a smartie-pants.

As for Ryder, well, as you can see, he helped me empty the dishwasher yesterday. He loved it, and was very helpful. He also discovered oranges. Zane was nice enough to share his orange with Ryder, and he loved it. He devoured two of them in one sitting. I couldn't believe it. My boys are getting so big:(

Thankfully the boys are great friends so far. Whenever Zane comes into the room Ryder gets so excited he starts bouncing up and down and smiling. It's precious. Zane seems to return the admiration for Ryder, as he always asks where ryder is whenever he gets up from naps, or comes home from school. They are just such good friends. Let's hope it continues.

Chloe and Andrea's visit

Andrea and Chloe came for a visit this past Saturday and stayed all the way until yesterday. It was awesome!!!! Chloe has grown up so much and she was absolutely delightful to have around. She and Zane had a great time playing with one another. It is always so fun and relaxing to spend time with Andrea. I am so grateful that we get to see each other as often as we do, but my selfish side wishes we still lived in the same city. Oh well, I'll take what I can get. It will be a few days before Zane stops telling me that he wants to play with Chloe, but that's OK, I think it's adorable that he likes her so much and had such a good time. What can I say, LIFE IS GOOD.

Our Thanksgiving!

Today waqs Ryder's first Thanksgiving. That being said, I all but forgot to make a big deal out of it and take a bunch of pictures. I took a few, but nothing like for Zane. Sorry kiddo, you're number 2.
We started off our morning with a Turkey Trot around our neighborhood. It was the first annual Maricopa Turkey Trot and an amazing 75 people participated. I couldn't be more impressed with how well my friend Jen pulled it off. The best part is that it was a canned food drive for our local food bank. Way to go Jen!!!

We spent the rest of the day with our friends, the Mix's. Kib said it was the best holiday we had ever had, and I tend to agree. We were were welcomed with open arms by the Mix's and their extended family. It was so nice to be in a place where Zane and Ryder could run wild and no one minded. Fun was definitely the word of the day. We played games. Lots, and lots of games. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!! This family clicks in every way that I hope ours will as our kids grow older. They are a family worth mirroring our own life after. I am truly grateful for the friendship that we have fostered with the Mix's and look forward to many more wonderful times together.

So what am I thankful for this year?

1. My kids, duh.
2. Kib, for giving me, and helping me raise, our kids.
3. My family, cuz their great.
4. My friends, all of them mean more to me than I can ever tell them
5. Our comfortable life.
6. Our great country.
7. And so many other things, the list just goes on.

Hope you all had as wonderful of a day as we did. We love you!!!!

Rainy Day Fun

It's not often that we get a rainy day here, especially not one pleasant enough for Zane to play in. Today it rained, and it was great. Zane played outside for what felt like forever. Playing in the rain, splashing in the puddles, and just having a great time. I'm not suggesting that I wish we had more weather like this, but I wouldn't complain if it happened once a month.

Nough said...

Zane and the roll of toilet paper

So this is what happens when you ask a two year old if he needs help in the potty, and he says"NO." He was right, he didn't need any help at all getting into the toilet paper and making an outfit out of it. What a cutie. It's a good thing I have a sense of humor:)

My boys are so cool!!

I hope that everyone enjoys reading about my boys. This week has been so much fun. Ryder started giving kisses this weekend. If you kiss or nuzzle hiw cheek he turns around, and mouth wide open, plants one on your cheek. It's very wet and slobbery, but so stinkin cute and wonderful. Zane learned how to dribble a basketball. Kib taught him on Sunday, and yesterday I ended up taking the ball away for a little while cuz the (bounce, bounce bounce) was driving me crazy. But he is good, really, really, good.

This is cool!

I love my friend Jen, she has the coolest blog, to which I steal all her great ideas. I never knew you could do collages in Picasa, and thanks to her, I am now an addict. So thank you to Jen for giving me one more thing to keep me busy:)

As for the photos, they're just a few to make you smile. I am amazed every day bu how much my kids grow and change. Zane was able to help Daddy this morning by using his Apple/pealer/Corer. This is a big deal since just 2 months ago he didn't have the dexterity to turn the handle by himself. I just stood there in awe as I watched my baby grow up before my eyes.
We can't forget Ryder and all his milestones. He pulled himself up onto his bouncer today, and proceeded to walk around it. He's been pulling himself up on everything he possibly can for the past week, but walking along it was new. Between that and his new love of "peek-a-boo" we have a lot more to look forward to.

Some fun photos of the boys!

Zane is just the cutest little bugger. This evening after dinner (more like during dinner) he decided to get a chair from the dinning room table and clean the dishes. How cool is that? It cost me more in water than if I had just replaced all the dishes, but he was so sincere and cute that I had to let him just go with it.

As for Ryder, well, we just get such a kick out of his crazy hair. He is really started to develop the most wonderful personality. What can I say, we are 2 for 2 when it comes to having wonderful kids.

Just a few fun photos

Kib's Surprise Weekend

It's sad, but true, Kib will officially be 30 in 3.5 hours. Every year I try to "one up" myself and this year, I did. For the past six months I have secretly been planning a fun weekend for Kib and his friends to celebrate his 30th birthday. It all started Friday afternoon when our friends Kelly and Kevin came in from WA. They spent Halloween with us and then I sent Kib off to the airport to pick up Ziff and Nicole (kib's brother and sis-in-law). Saturday morning everyone headed to the river to go kayaking. I spent the morning with Nicole getting ready for his surprise party that afternoon. With the help of my dear friends (Cheryl, Virginia, Kelly, and Jen) we were able to pull off an awesome surprise party. When Kib walked through the back door at Cheryl's he was greeted with Silly string, he was such a good sport. We went with a Mexican theme which included a pinata, virgin margaritas, and quesidillas for lunch. We really had a wonderful time and ended up hanging out until about 9:00 that night. (don't laugh, that's a late night for us). My thanks to all of our friends for coming out and supporting Kib on his big day. We love you, and as very grateful for your role in our family's life.