Memorial Day Weekend...

Happy Memorial Day to everyone!  Although my first thought when I think of Memorial Day is that it's the kick off to Summertime, we must also remember that, in reality, Memorial Day is a celebration of our veterans and the men and women who have died, fought, struggled, and tirelessly championed for the freedom of our nation and people, and continue to do so.  My father was a veteran. He fought in WWII.  He was a Paratrooper. It will be 10 years ago this September that he went to be with the Lord.  He died at the age of 75.  I was 3 months shy of 30.  Although he died too soon for me, he did leave me with a strong sense of family, a desire to show kindness and respect to others, and a love of backroad drives in the country.  My only sadness now, is that Rylie will never get to meet her Papa Joe.  But I know my father is up in heaven looking after her, as he is me and the rest of his family. 

I dont visit his gravesite as much as I probably should, but not a day goes by that I dont think of him for some reason or another.  He was such a strong figure in my life from the day I was born to the day that he died.  I will always have fond memories of my dad and will always carry my love for him strong in my heart. The graveyard he is buried at has a wonderful Veteran memorial. They have their annual flag ceremony and the grounds always look amazing no matter what time of year it is.  We failed to take a cool picture of all the flags waving, but you can get the idea from the background of some of these photos. 

My dad, 1971, when my sister and I were born.

Me with my mom and dad, college graduation.

Showing Rylie where her Papa Joe is buried.

My sister showing off her continuing-to-grow pregnant belly!

Nana and Pops bought Rylie a sandbox crab as an early birthday gift.  She loves the sand, but hasn't quite realized that she shouldn't put it in her eyes and mouth.  She enjoys splashing in her pool too.  The water was still a bit cold and she was uneasy about getting in, so daddy had to get in with her so she would know it's okay.  

Notice the Nutt men in the background putting together our new swing.  Which we LOVE. Thank you Nana and Pops!

Finally, after all these years, our yard finally looks GREAT!!  Thank you True Green Lawn Service. You guys really DO know what you are doing with all that weed and feed stuff.

Later that weekend....How about a day on the lake boating it up?

Rylie went to town on her macaroni n cheese that i ordered for her at the restaurant on the lake. Is there anything cooler than pulling up to a restaurant in your boat?  As for this summer, i'm struggling to think of anything cooler.

Rylie loves her kisses from Pops!

A day out on the water is enough to wear out even the best little boater.  She napped on the bench seat this time, with direct supervision to make sure she ddidn't roll off. I've since made this easier by buying her a little bed for the boat. You'll see in an upcoming post.

Happy Memorial Day to all....and here's to Summer!!!!

"Gone Nutts"...

We bought a boat!  It has always been a desire of both Brian and I to buy a boat someday. We love the outdoors and have always enjoyed playing at the lake each summer on our Sea-doo.  We always joked that we wouldn't be able to keep a baby in tow with us while on the Sea-doo and that once we start having kids our goal would be to find a good used boat.  We kicked it around more seriously this year and ended up finding what we wanted for a price we could afford.  It needs just a bit of cosmetic work, but it runs great and there's enough room to spread out and allow Rylie to play.  It will make for awesome memories this summer and many summers to come.  We already have 2 very cute and very pink life jackets for our baby girl.  She will be a water baby by her first birthday!!

We named our boat "Gone Nutts"!  Very appropriate, I'm sure you will agree.  We took the boat out a few saturdays ago when it was still really too cold to be out there, but we wanted to get the name on the boat and familiarize ourselves with the surrounding coves and landmarks.  We didnt stay out long because it was just too cold, but I think we poked around enough so that we dont feel too much like "new boaters" when lake season really kicks into gear this summer.  :) 

My First Mothers Day...

And what a WONDERFUL first mothers day it was!!!  I am so blessed to have such an amazing daughter!  I thank God for her everyday and I hope someday she knows how deep my love for her is.  She warms my heart with every little thing she does and every little thing she discovers.  She is truly an amazing gift from God.  I am so proud to be her mommy. 

Nana and Pops came to Tulsa for the weekend and we had lots of fun. It was an activity filled weekend and the weather was beautiful.  On Saturday we went to the Zoo with some family friends, the Pikers. They live in Arkansas close to Ken and Janet. Their kids and grandkids are about the same age as Brian, Rylie and I, which made it that much more fun for all of us to be together. I have a feeling we will be doing more family outings with the Pikers as time goes by. 

At the Zoo...

 

 

  

I absolutely LOVE this photo below. Pops and Rylie were looking at the monkeys behind the glass and she was listening so intently at what Pop's was saying to her.  It warmed my heart to watch them. I know that as Rylie gets older she and Pop's will share many many more moments like these. 

 

Green bean anyone?  Really, I'll share!

 

Amberly and her son Maddox. Maddox is just a bit older than Rylie and walking. He's such a cutie!! Rylie kept wanting to touch his hair and he didnt much want to have anything to do with her.  Rylie is chasing boys already...run Maddox, run!

After a short break of going our seperate ways to freshen up, we all met back up at Los Cabos for dinner.  Before I had a child of my own, I used to dread the thought of being out at a restaurant with a growing, curious, screaming, food-slinging infant.  That all changed once Rylie came into my life as I cant really imagine doing anything without her, much less enjoying a meal at my favorite restaurant without her. I LOVE taking Rylie along with us whatever it is we are doing and I enjoy teaching her and guiding her in her experiences.  SO, to all the parents out there, I do not feel sorry and embarrassed for you anymore, as you keep bending over to pick up the spoon your child in enjoying waving around and tossing back onto the floor.  I do not roll my eyes as I watch and listen to your little one scream in excitement over seeing something new...or scream in frustration from being bored or overstimulated.  I applaud you, I raise my head high to you, and I bend over with you, 50 times, to gladly pick up that entertaining spoon Rylie has just again dropped on the floor.   

 

We ordered Rylie her own bean and cheese kids burrito with rice. She loved it!  Which i'm not surprised, as I pretty much lived on mexican food during my pregnancy! 

 

 

 The proud grandparents and the little ones. A great picture to wrap up a great day!

 THEN ONTO SUNDAY...MOTHERS DAY...

My sister had made reservations a while back for the annual Mothers Day Brunch at Philbrook Museum of Art. After church we headed that way and had time to take pictures in the back garden before our table was ready at the restaurant.  This museum is the former home of an old Tulsa Oil tycoon. The property is amazing, inside and out. And the back garden is breathtaking in the spring!

 

 

 

 Happy Mothers Day Moms!

Me, my mom, and Rylie. Three generations, each exactly 39 years apart in age!

My sister is 4 months pregnant and will be a mom soon herself.  She has quite the growing belly and it is too cute!

Happy Easter...

Rylie's first Easter. I didnt expect her to light up like she did when she saw her Easter baskets, but she did and it was adorable!  She enjoyed pulling her new things out and examining...tasting...each one. Nana and Pops came to Tulsa to spend Easter with us and we had a very nice time, even though Rylie was feeling kind of puney and the weather was cloudy and rainy. It was a good weekend to stay in doors and play with the our little Easter angel. 

 

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

I Am SO Ready For Spring...

Wow, what a long blog break I took...almost a month. How time flies!  I must have some winter depression, I KNOW i have sun deprivation for sure!  Now that I've changed my blog background to a fun springy looking thing and I'm back at the gym regularly, i think I'm out of my short winter funk.

I've never been much of a winter person. I enjoy digging out the jeans, the long sleeves and the warmer shoes for a short while, maybe a week (ha!), but when the calories I gain each winter, due to the big holiday meals I eat, start to catch up with me, those extra pounds start getting me anxious for the outdoor spring season.

I'm ready for the new life of spring to start growing, blooming and becoming known to all. I've got three plants that I've brought in-doors for the winter. I'm trying very hard to keep them alive. I've always been terrible keeping in-door plants living for long, but my mother has always had a knack for it so I'm sure it's in me somewhere. Instead of letting them die with the weather change, I brought them in with the full intent of paying enough attention to them that I will be able to keep them thriving through the winter and until I can plant them back outside next year. This will prove to be an interesting goal for me, we'll see how I do. I did talk myself out of thinking my Japanese Maple was dead. My mom pointed out that it will too lose it's leaves just as the ones outside and although my little twig in the pot looks dead, it may just be dormant for the winter. I just need to make sure it has the right amount of sun and water while it's living in my kitchen right now.

Brian and I planned our first vacation of the year. We are going on a 7 day cruise with Jeremy and Amy in early March. We cant wait. The theme of this cruise is "KAH!", Kids At Home.  Yes, we are leaving Rylie for a week. I'm ignoring my feelings of anxiety about it, as it's going to happen, so why inflict the suffering caused by my thoughts of how much I'm going to miss her while we are gone. I'll probably miss some major milestone, like first steps or something. :(   But, my mom is going to stay at our house and take care of her all week, so I know she'll be in good hands. And Lord knows Brian and I need a good adult vacation right about now.  6 weeks and counting....KAH!

Rylie is doing well as we go into 2011.  She caught the flu a couple weeks ago, but got over it quickly and is back to her normal cute self.  She had her 6 month appointment last week too. Her stats were:

Length - 28 inches (96th percentile)
Weight - 17.12 pounds (71st percentile)
Head size - 44.25 centimeters (85th percentile)

Rylie has started on Stage 2 baby foods and enjoys trying everything mommy and daddy are eating. We give her tastes of things all the time so she can try out new textures and tastes.  She loves the vegetable baby foods and absolutely loves carrots. When she's done eating, she likes to hold and play with the spoon.

Here are some recent pictures. We had an amateur photo shoot in the living room one Sunday afternoon and I captured some really good "naked baby" shots. Thank you Photoshop for your help on removing the backgrounds and making my wrinkled white sheet look a bit better of a backdrop.