Ry

I've done a post about my brother (payback for his teasing about my blog :-)) and about my dad, but I have yet to do one about the hubby - my main squeeze, my best friend, daddy to my favorite little girl.

One of our first summers up north together...we started dating in June and by August, I knew he was the one...he proposed the following May, and we were married 6 months later. :-)

Engaged, and happy!!

I wish I knew Ryan when this picture was taken - I would have loved to have been his cheerleader in the stands... I love how serious he is in this picture - it is one of my favorites :-)

My favorite things about Ry...
~ the dimple on his left cheek when he smiles,
~ he is the perfect height for me, tall, strong and a good hugger
~ watching him play sports - football especially...I'm married to the quarterback of the flag football team :o)
~ his curiosity and knowledge, I would be on his Trivial Pursuit team any day, and I am always impressed when we watch Jeopardy together
~ his love of God
~ the way he loves his little girl and takes such good care of her

Here is a picture of Ry, Taylor and his newly framed degree - go Ry! Taylor is excited, too!

Taylor loves Ry as much as I do, and gets so excited when he comes home from work each day.

Daddy where is your tongue?

There it is!

Being silly together...

I love you, Ry!! Here is to MANY more years together of fun and happiness!!

One year stats and such...

Friday afternoon we headed to Dr. S. to have Taylor's one year check-up. A finger poke, ear cleaning, and five shots later we were out the door with a thumbs up for growth and motor skill development, an ear infection diagnosis, and a prescription for antibiotics. The past few days Taylor's afternoon naps had been more of a battle, but I figured it was just a little phase, and didn't even consider that she might not be feeling well! But at least we know it now, and after a day on the medicine she seems to be doing better! If only she could kick her cold as well...but I am hoping that warmer days are coming soon.  It is in the mid-30's out there right now, which feels somewhat "warm" compared to what our temperatures have been.

One year stats:
Weight - 20 lbs 3.5 oz (25th percentile)
Height - 28.8 inches (25th percentile)
Head - 46 cm (50th percentile)

Now that we have a toddler, we are going to work to kick the bottle habit (she gets a bottle in the morning at daycare), and move on to sippy cups only, and also continue trying to incorporate more finger foods into her diet.

On Taylor's first birthday, she also won a gift card to a cute baby boutique store through a giveaway on facebook - lucky girl! We got her some cute Robeez shoes to wear when she starts walking, and she also picked out new stuffed animal/blanket to love on... as soon as we handed this super soft little tiger to her, she started cuddling it, and wouldn't let go. :o) We named him "Tony".

Sleeping with Tony...

One last thing, I HAVE to post a few pictures of Taylor and Brady during their last play date (pictures courtesy of Sarah - thanks, Sar!!) We were getting close to leaving, so we had put Taylor in her PJ's in case she fell asleep on the car ride home, but I still think they are super cute together! :-)

Hoping that Taylor feels better soon, and that warm weather is not too far away!!

Wordless Wednesday

Another one? Yep! Party time...part 3

Taylor's birthday celebration with my side of the family was this past weekend. We stayed in Battle Creek for a couple of days, and had lots of festivities, fun and food! The sun was out the whole day, too, which made for a beautiful day on Saturday to celebrate!

We got the table all set up with our monkey theme for her birthday lunch...

Taylor and Grandma mem checking out the decorations

Yum....munching on apples and red pepper - tasty!

Daddy and the birthday girl with her special shirt on "This little monkey is ONE"

The four generations! Love it when we are all together!

Getting ready to open gifts (dad is all set up in the recliner - recovering from shoulder surgery just two days prior)

Checking out her gift from Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jen - loves the bows and ribbons :o)

First set of blocks!!

Digging into her baby Gap gift from Great Uncle Scott - LOVE Gap!

Here is a picture of her wearing part of her gift today - too cute, love this sweatshirt!

The last gift she opened was from my parents - a bead maze/activity block from B. toys. She was SO excited about this gift, and kept dancing and bouncing up and down while standing next to it - we all got some good laughs out of her response :-)

Taylor also got a few more contributions to her college fund, which we set up after Christmas, and even though it is not something that she can play with now, 18 years from now it will be a wonderful investment!!

Of course, no birthday celebration is complete without cake!
Love how this one turned out - especially with the swinging monkeys on the side. The bakery did such a nice job with both of her monkey cakes!

She ate almost her entire "cupcake" - yum!

It was a fun weekend!! It is rare to be able to have such a big family gathering on my side, other than big holidays, because we are all so spread out, so it was extra special to celebrate Taylor's first birthday with so many people!

It was a busy week with celebrations, but a LOT of fun! :o)