Iowa State Fair and then some...

Everyone who's anyone knows the Iowa State Fair is in August every year here in Iowa. Ryker of course went last year in a cozy spot in moms belly. This year however, he had a better view.

We spent about 10 hours total that day cruising the fair. We had a wonderful time, Ryker did amazing as well. I had been back to walking for a couple weeks so this was a big test for my leg. I did pretty well, very sore after and swollen...but overall..made it. My mom was in town for a few weeks during this time. She joined us that afternoon also.

Ryker turned 10 months old on Aug 13th. I cannot believe how close he is to the big 1! He is really growing too fast. He is walking around everything and starting to stand all on his own, He LOVES to climb the stairs.

He also now has 4 teeth. Such a BIG boy!

As you know I started watching Gabby a few weeks ago. I am so lucky to be able to see Ryker and Gabby grow up together. Its wonderful . Today she was playing with uncle Brian and laughing up a storm. Too cute!

Growing too fast

When we were on our way home from Ohio a few weeks ago, we stopped by to see Grandma and Grandpa Spihlmann. They live in Illinois right on the way from Grandma and Grandpa Williams. They surprised Ryker with this very cool rocking horse. He is a little small for it at the moment, but in a short time, I know he will LOVE it.

Here is Rykerman on the 4th of July, with his 4th gear on. He had a fun day.

Today Ryker wore his first "big boy" jammies. They are spider man and o so cute on him. I almost cried when Brian brought him down in them after his bath. He really is growing up too darn fast.

Ryker also started actual crawling in his 8th month. He is EVERYWHERE and in EVERYTHING, but, we love it. He also has started pulling himself and taking steps around things and behind his walk behind toy. As you can see he likes his (what we call "hand skates"), he pushes himself around on them all around the house, very quickly I might add. It is so funny to watch him on his "hand skates."

Every morning when he wakes up this is how we find him. We love the mornings. He is just happy as can be, how could this not make your start to a day a good one?

I started watching our niece Gabby 2 weeks ago. ( I know, how lucky am I every day?) Ryker is doing very well with her, he gets a little jealous, but overall he does great. They love to sit and smile and laugh at each other. It is very precious to watch.

Miss Gabby is growing like a little weed as well. She is now 3 months old and cute as ever. We love her very much and I am so lucky to be able to watch her grow up.

It has been a while

Well, now that it is after the 4th of July and I have not posted anything since mid April, I figured I should. Ryker is now just about 9 months old(July 13th). He is crawling, pulling himself up, holding his bottle, has TWO teeth, and just growing WAY to fast all around. He is about 22lbs and chunking up more every day...I love it. Alot has happened since mid April around here, some good, some bad. One of the good things, I mean GREAT things has that happened, was that we welcomed a beautiful little girl into our lives. I FINALLY have a niece to spoil! Her name is Gabby and she was born on April 25th, 2009. She is perfect in every way, and we are very blessed to have her in our lives. She is the most stylish (now) 2 months old little girl you have EVER seen.

One of the bad things that happened was that I broke my leg, dislocated my ankle, and ...tore the ligaments in my ankle on May 31st. It was one of the most painful things I have ever had happen and I don't recommend trying it for anyone. I had to have surgery just a few hours after arriving at the ER. They put a 6 inch or so plate in my leg, along with 2 screws to hold it in place. I spent a total of 3 days in the hospital. It was NOT fun. I get my toe-knee cast off July 15th and it cannot get here soon enough...trust me. Then I will have to have a big black boot on for a few weeks after. Thankfully, Brian has been home due to his lay off. Other wise I would not know what we would have done with a baby and a person that cant walk.

Recently Ryker, Brian and I went to Ohio to visit my parents. It was a very nice, much needed trip. While visiting Ryker went swimming for the first time ever at my parents pool. He LOVED it very much. I cant wait to be able to take him myself as soon as I get this cast off of me. Ryker had his first driving lesson with Grandpa Williams...I think it went well. Over all, things are well and I cannot believe Ryker will be 1 in 3 short months. It really does fly by.

Keeping busy

Since our last blog, Ryker has turned 6 months old, started eating level 2 foods and he is seconds away from crawling. We also celebrated St. Patricks day by going downtown and watching the parade. Ryker LOVED it. He is extremely active, and extremely vocal. He LOVES to sing to the any music that is on around him. I must say. The 6Th month range is my favorite so far with Ryker. He is just very curious and reaching milestones daily. I love to watch him learn, hear him laugh, and see him smile all the time. It IS amazing.

We also just celebrated Rykers first Easter. Here is a couple pictures of him with his first Easter basket from his Grandma and Grandpa Spihlmann. He had a fun time digging through all the candy and toys.

Ryker also had his first live private concert. I entered a contest with a local radio station to meet a band(saving abel) and get a private performance. I won the contest. Ryker went with us and was the actual star of the show. haha He loved the 3 songs that they sang for us. It was alot of fun. Of course however, Rykers only fussy moment was during the picture with the band.

Alot to catchup on....

In February Ryker, Mandy and I went to Ohio to visit my parents. We spent almost 2 weeks with them. We had a wonderful time and Im pretty sure grandma and grandpa didnt want one of us to go yet. It took about 11 hours to get from door to door. One of those hours we did stop over in champaign and saw grandpa Spihlmann. All in all, I think it went pretty well with a baby and a dog for 600 miles...on my own. Ryker did wonderful on his first roadtrip, he did AMAZING until about the last 45 min of the trip, at that point he basically lost it. I think he had enough of being in the car seat. Very understandable....it is a looong drive. While in ohio Ryker turned months old and started eating rice cereal. He liked it.

Here are a few pictures of Grandma and Grandpa enjoying Ryker.

Ryker also had his first bath in a the sink while at grandma and grandpas.

One day my mom and I went out to run some errands. Knowing how much quicker things can get done without having a baby with you, we convinced my dad to watch Ryker for a few hours. This is what we came home to. We walked into ryker laying on the floor perfectly fine and happy...just had a little problem. It appeared that grandpa had put the diaper on...but put it on backwards. My mom and I found this extremley amusing.

After we got back home Ryker then started to eat level one foods. He LOVES his bananas.

My grandpa Frederick purchased his first highchair..here he is in it for the first time.

The other day it was 73 DEGREES here. We went for a 2 hour walk. It was so nice to get out for such a long amount of time and enjoy the fresh air. Here are a few pictures from that day.

Yesterday I took his (almost) 5 month pictures. Here are a few that were pretty cute. Enjoy.