Weekend Gettaway

       I began work last week with new teacher orientation. I was off on Friday, so we headed out to spend the 3-day weekend with my parents and Mary and Bailey. We had such an great time. It felt really good to get away and spend some time with my family.

       We got there just in time for lunch on Friday. After lunch, Rylee laid down for a nap and my dad and Mary each had to head to work. After Rylee got up from her nap, my mom took Bailey, Rylee, Ryan, and I to a local park. The girls had SO much fun together. We ended up staying at the park for 2 hours! They just ran around and played and played until they could play no more. It was so much fun watching them play together, and we all played with them, too. After we finished playing at the park, we headed to the restaurant where Mary works and had dinner. They were pretty busy, and it was fun to see her in action. I was pretty impressed. The food was good, of course the service was GREAT, and the girls even behaved themselves.

     Saturday, Mary, Bailey, my mom, Ryan, Rylee, and I headed to a nearby state park that has a beach and swimming area. The girls had a lot of fun playing in the sand, and even more fun in the water. After we swam, we had a lunchable picnic at the park. It was a lot of fun. Both girls passed out on the way home. When we got home, Mary had to go to work and my dad was already at work, so we had a quiet night in and watched some TV while the girls played and played. They played so well together this whole trip.

      Sunday morning, my Aunt Shannon and Uncle Rod arrived from New York. It was their first time meeting the girls. They came bearing gifts, so the kids warmed up pretty quickly. We spent the morning catching up, and the girls played some more. After lunch, it was time for us to head home. We were sad to go, but we had a great time.

     Today I started teacher inservice. I am so excited about meeting my class next week! I cannot wait to see what this school year has in store. I know my kids are going to do great, and I know that even if I don't do great at first, I will learn! :)

End of Summer Review

      Tomorrow I begin new teacher orientation, and my summer break officially comes to an end. I feel like this summer has FLOWN by, but I also feel like so much has changed over the summer, that I need a review just to keep track of it all. Rylee has changed so much over these few short months. She's grown some physically, but her personality has changed much more drastically.

       Here are a few ways in which Rylee has changed from the beginning of May to the end of July:

• She will let me leave her side without a huge meltdown. She will even stay in the church nursery with complete strangers without getting the least bit upset.
• She stands up for herself. She always let Kaden be the boss when they played, but now if she wants something, she will fight for it.
• She willingly interacts with other children. She is becoming more social and more affectionate all the time.
• She will drink from a hard spout sippy cup and give it to herself. We've always struggled to keep her hydrated, but now she will drink about 3-4 full sippys each day, and she will hold them herself.
• She is becoming slightly less anxious about trying new foods.
• She no longer sucks her fingers to go to sleep.
• She has learned to more often use her words than throw a tantrum or cry.
• She is becoming increasingly fearless. She will try new things, climb, run and experiment in ways that she was too timid to before.
• She is so amazingly intelligent! Okay that hasn't changed, but she blows me away with all the things she knows. She talks in sentences and has something to say about everything. She notices so much about the world around her, and she picks up on things extremely quickly. She knows her alphabet, she can count to 10, she is learning letter sounds (she knows sounds for s, c, k, t, and h), she speaks a few words of Mandarin, she knows most of her colors and shapes, she knows and can verbally label almost any animal or food that she sees, she can label several of her body parts and can specifically tell me where something hurts if she is in pain, she labels her emotions (happy, sad, mad, scared, and excited), she can sing pretty much in tune, and so much more. Like I said, she blows me away!

      I love having breaks where I can be a stay-at-home-mom with my Rylee. I am going to miss spending all my time with her, but this year it is not nearly as hard going back as it was last year. Last year, I had to be in Memphis 4 nights a week, I'd much rather work 5 days a week and get to be home with her at night. I am thankful that I have a job to go to and a sweet family to come home to. It also makes it easier for me to go back right now knowing Rylee will be home with Ryan while I work. I think it is a blessing in disguise that he hasn't yet found a new job. The right one will come along in God's perfect timing. When Ryan does find a new job, Rylee will probably have to go to daycare, and that will be a whole new adventure in itself. I am just a little relieved that I don't have the added stress of her starting daycare right now as I start this new adventure of being a teacher. I have faith that Ryan will find a good job soon, and everything will work out fine.

Rylee's First Haircut

      Today we took Rylee to get her first haircut. She just needed a trim to cut off the thin little baby hairs at her ends. I have been putting this off because Rylee used to be horrible with new situation, but lately she has been better about it, so we thought it'd be a good time to go get it done. Plus, her hair really needed it.

       Her hair looks a million times better after the trim. It looks so healthy now! Kaden went and got his first cut today, too. Liz was tired of his hair always being in his eyes. Both kids did pretty well. Rylee had to be held by me the entire time, but she was god about staying still and she didn't cry or pitch a fit or anything. Kaden didn't want to be still, so Mrs. Amanda had to chase after him to get his cut done, but it turned out fine.

     After their haircuts, we treated the kids to lunch at McDonald's for being such good, big kids. I am so proud of them. And doesn't their hair look fabulous?!

Rylee the Picky Eater

      Ever since Rylee first started eating table foods, she has been a picky eater. When we introduced baby foods, we never had a problem. She would eat all her fruits and veggies and anything that was offered to her. We introduced table foods slowly, just giving her bites here and there at first. She would try anything. Then she slowly began to turn down more and more foods. Foods that she had eaten and seemed to enjoy several times before, like green beans, were suddenly "Yucky!" It just kept getting worse.

       We tried to keep encouraging her to eat a variety of foods, but she just became more and more adamant that she was not going to eat anything she didn't want to. When her growth started to suffer, we decided we would feed her whatever she would eat just to keep her growing strong, and we'd stop trying to force her to eat normally for a while. The foods she would eat were micro mini ravioli (they had to be micro mini and not just mini or she wouldn't eat them), biscuits, garlic Texas toast, tomato soup, grilled cheese, fries, baby food sweet potatoes or squash, apple sauce, yogurt, chocolate pop tarts, and a variety of snacks such as teddy grahams, goldfish, or animal crackers. That's it. She wouldn't even try anything else. We fed her what she liked to keep her growing strong until she turned 2.

     Around the age of 2, every child's growth slows. They just don't grow as quickly as they did as infants. Therefore, their caloric needs decline. This led us to believe that now is the right time to start being hard on Rylee about eating. We put a new policy in place shortly after her 2nd birthday. If we are at home at night, we have a family dinner and we all eat the same thing. Rylee is offered what we are eating and if she doesn't want to eat it, that's fine. We don't make a fuss over it. We let her down from the table without trying to force feed her, but she is not given any other options. I place her dinner on her small table where she can eat if she changes her mind. The progress hasn't been miraculous or anything, she is still picky, but she has not gone to bed hungry yet. We have tried this same strategy before when she was younger and she would literally starve herself. I think it is working better this time because she can communicate with us better and she understands what is going on. I don't know if she will always be a picky eater, but at least now her diet is becoming slightly more well-rounded. :)

Rylee and Her Silky

      I haven't written a post about Rylee and her love for her silky yet. Since the whole reason I even have a blog is to record our family memories, I thought I definitely should record this memory. Rylee LOVES her silky. She will not sleep without it. She carries it around with her most of the day, and she definitely has to have it with her in unfamiliar or uncomfortable situations like the church nursery or a doctor's office. It is her security blanket. She has 3: a pink one, and off-white one, and a white minky one. She doesn't like them as much just after it's been washed, she likes them best when they are a little dirty. Haha. I like that she has something that can comfort her in pretty much any situation. I don't let her carry it everywhere, but I want her to have it when she might be scared or unsure.

     This is Rylee this morning. This is how she eats her breakfast every morning. She has to have that silky. :)

4th of July

      Happy Independence Day! We had a marvelous holiday with lots of people we love!

      We started out the day by swimming over at Nonna's and Granddaddy's. Liz and Kaden came to swim, too, and Brandon even stopped by for a minute. We had lots of fun in the sun! Then Liz and Kaden went home, we laid Rylee down for a nap, had some lunch, and got back in the pool until Rylee woke up. It was a blast.

      Once Rylee got up from her nap, we headed home to freshen up, and then we headed over to Granny's and Paw Paw's for a family BBQ! We has way too much delicious food. Afterwards, we were entertained by Rylee who was being a little ham as usual.

      Once it got dark Ryan, Rylee, and I headed back over to Nonna's and Granddaddy's to shoot off a few little fireworks. We had fun, but Rylee really didn't like them, so she went inside to lie down and watch cartoons as we finished up outside.

      We really had the best kind of day. I love spending so much time with family. I am incredibly grateful to have so many wonderful people who love us and sweet Rylee Love unconditionally. It is so valuable to me.
     By the way, did you notice that I am a brunette? I just decided it was time for a change. So many things are changing in our lives right now, I thought. "why not?" I have dyed my hair darker before two other times, but I lightened it back to blonde within a few months each time. I don't know if I will go back blonde anytime soon, I am liking this new color. It just seems right. :)

2 Year Check Up

      Today we went for Rylee's 24 Month Physical and Check Up. We had to go to the health department since my insurance won't kick in until October, but Rylee didn't mind. She loved playing with this big toy in the lobby. She doesn't need any more shots until she's 4, but they did take some blood to check her iron levels today, which were fine. She was 23.4 lbs and 34.25 inches tall. That puts her in the 10th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. She lost some weight last week because we were so busy, and she doesn't eat well when she's off her routine. I'm sure she'll gain it back soon, and the nurse said it's fine for her weight to fluctuate now that she's out of the infant stage and into the toddler stage of development.

      Rylee still has 18 teeth, but she is teething, working on her last two 2-year molars, and then she will be done with teeth for a long time. She wears size 2T clothes, but I'm buying size 3T shirts for the fall, her torso is long, and she needs bigger tops than bottoms. She wears size 6 shoes. She's in size 2T-3T Easy-Ups. We're being casual about the potty-training thing, but on days that our schedule allows us to be consistent with it, she does very well. Our final goal is to have her completely potty trained by age 3. She will DEFINITELY be trained by then!

     She is so full of life. "Terrible Two's" have hit a little. We've had 2-3 big tantrums per day, but it isn't all that terrible. She gets over them very quickly and goes back to being her cute little self. She is so smart. She knows all of her letters, capital and lowercase. She can count to 10. She knows the shapes: circle, square, rectangle, triangle, oval, star, crescent, cross, hexagon, and octagon. She's learning her colors: she knows green, pink, and red consistently, and she's learning the others very quickly. She has a wonderful vocabulary. She picks up on new words and phrases every day. She sometimes speaks in complex 8-10 word sentences. She's slow to warm up to unfamilar situations, but once she warms up, she can be quite rambunctious. She is definitely one of a kind, and I'm so glad to be her mommy.

Rylee's 2nd Birthday Party

      Today was Rylee's birthday party. It turned out to be such an amazing day. I couldn't have hoped for any better. The weather was gorgeous, the food was wonderful, the cake was fantastic, and of course we had such good company! Everyone had a blast!

      Rylee looked adorable in her party outfit. Of course I had to get her something special tow ear for her big day. The theme of her party was monkeys because she is my little monkey-baby. And, yes, she is still MY baby! Even if she is 2!

        We have had a very busy week, so I wasn't sure what kind of mood Rylee would be in at her party today, but she had a great time. She has a bit of social anxiety, but she did well with all the guests. She had fun opening gifts and eating sweets! She got soooo many great gifts. She is going to have lots to play with.

       I love my little princess so very much. I still can't believe she's already had 2 birthdays, 2 parties. It seems like I was pregnant only yesterday, but now I have a toddler! Time surely does fly! I wouldn't trade a single moment with her. She entertains us, surprises us, makes us so happy, sometimes frustrates us, but always makes us better. She has changed me for the better and I love being her mommy. I can't wait to see who you become, pretty girl! Mommy loves you!

Rylee is 2!

      Today my Rylee Love turned 2! This week has been CRAZY, and today was no different! Monday, Wednesday, and half-day today, I had professional development workshops. They were very interesting, but tiring. Tuesday we went to Chickasaw State Park to spend the day with my parents. We had a lot of fun! Tomorrow we are going back to spend another full day down there. I am excited! Saturday is Rylee's birthday party. This week is busy, busy, busy, but filled with fun!

      Rylee seemed to have a great birthday. She played with Bailey this morning while I worked until 11:30. Then when I got home I gave her a Popsicle because they are her favorite thing right now. Then she took a nap. While she napped, Bailey and I made her cupcakes for her cupcake party this afternoon and Ryan put together her big birthday gift so she could have it today. We are keeping the rest of her gifts for her to open on Saturday. Her big gift was a vanity with lots of stuff to play dress-up with. She LOVES it!

      After we gave her her gift, we had some family over for cupcakes so everyone could wish her a happy birthday. Then Ryan, Rylee, and I, Liz, Brandon, and Kaden, Mary and Bailey, and Mel headed to Memphis to Incredible Pizza. We pigged out on the pizza buffet and then spent the next 2 hours playing games. Everyone had a lot of fun.

    I can't believe my little princess is already 2 years old! I love my little family so much and would do anything for them. As this week nears the end, I am becoming more and more tired, but in a good way. I am glad to be making so many memories with the people I love.

Father's Day

     On Tuesday, Rylee and Kaden had a play date, and we decided to have them make their Father's Day gifts to their daddies together. They turned out sooooo cute and both of their daddies loved them! :)

      Rylee was so cute bringing the gifts to him. She was so proud of her picture and she had to show him the glitter and tell him all about how she used her hands to make the crown. I also picked up a game for Ryan to surprise him with an extra gift. Rylee ran up to him and told him, "It's a game!" before he even opened it. Haha! He was very happy with both of his gifts!

      This morning I let Ryan pick what we had for breakfast, so I ended up making him cinnamon rolls and iced coffee. After breakfast, we headed to church. Ryan won a prize for being the youngest father at church today! Haha! Rylee was good in the nursery. She is getting better and better at staying places without me there. We heard a good sermon about the top ten attributes of a perfect father. I'd say Rylee is pretty lucky because she has one OUTSTANDING father who loves his family and does whatever he can for them at all times. I am so thankful to call him my husband! Happy Father's Day, Ryan! :)

Potty Training: Waiting Until She's Ready

       We dedicated this week to try out potty training. Rylee is almost 2, she has shown several readiness signs, and we didn't see the harm in trying. We decided we would stay home for a full week to try to give Rylee the consistency she needs to get the basics down. We used a strategy that involved having her wear panties, not pullups, taking her to her potty every 20 minutes, and have her sit and try to go. She's not expected to go every time, but when she does she gets a sticker to put on her sticker chart and we sing a special potty song and she dances. This technique is supposed to get her basically trained (with a few accidents now and then of course) within a week or so, IF she is ready to be trained.

      What we have found out this week is that she is NOT ready, and that's okay. I know a lot of children are potty trained around or even before the age of 2, but I also know a lot of children that are trained closer to 3. I know that each child is different. Rylee just did not seem to understand it at all. We used this potty training technique for 6 full days, and 2 half days before that, and she got no closer to being trained. She began to get very frustrated with it all and so did we, so we decided to call it quits for a month or so and then try again. We know that she will get trained eventually, so we aren't going to push her if she's not ready. I'd rather enjoy my summer break with her without stressing her (and myself) out about this! She's still so young. :)

We're Home

       Our last day in Destin was marvelous! We spent a fun morning on the beach, came in so that Rylee could have a nap, and then we went on a Dolphin Cruise that night. It was such a wonderful experience. Rylee was obsessed with the dolphins. She talked nonstop while we could see them.

      Wednesday, we made the LONG trip home. I was amazed with Rylee yet again. She is such a well-behaved little lady. She adjusted to the whole trip very well. She was good on the drive and she was great at the condo. I am very proud that my toddler behaves so well even in unfamiliar environments.

       Now, it's back to the real world. I need to balance the checkbook, get my background check done, sign my contract for the upcoming school year, and get the apartment back in order. But today, I didn't feel like doing any of those things, so I headed over to Liz's to do Rylee's 2 year pictures. They turned out amazing. Tomorrow, I will get all of those things done.

      Tomorrow we start a new adventure: potty training! Ah! We've introduced the concept to Rylee, but now it's time for the real deal. This whole thing is very intimidating! Wish us luck!

Rylee's First Vacation

       Early Saturday morning, Nonna and Granddaddy pulled up to our apartment and we headed towards Florida. After a long day in the car we finally arrived in Destin around 5 pm. It was well worth the long drive to see Rylee's face as we crossed the Bay Bridge and she saw the ocean for the very first time. I am so very proud of her. She was in the car for over 10 hours on Saturday without a single meltdown. She has adjusted to being in a new place so easily. She has been very mellow and happy. I just can't believe how smoothly this vacation is going.

      Yesterday morning, we took Rylee in the ocean for the first time. I made her wear a life vest because I am a very protective mommy, but she loved the water nonetheless. She loves to hop over the waves with her daddy and splash wit her mommy. She loves to play in the sand and enjoy snack time on the beach. Of course, I am taking tons of pictures. I always do. I want to remember every moment with my Rylee Love. She just grows so quickly.

     Tonight, after a day at the beach and a wonderful dinner at Fudpucker's, we went to The Track. It's an arcade/fun park here in Destin. Rylee rode the rides in the kid's park all by herself. I cannot believe my baby is old enough to ride amusement rides all by herself! She rode the swings, a teacup-type ride, and a mini Ferris wheel. She loved them all. She's such a big girl!

      Tomorrow is our last full day in Destin; then we are heading home Wednesday morning. Tomorrow night we are taking a Dolphin Cruise. I know Rylee will love being out on the ocean on a big boat. She has loved every aspect of this vacation thus far. It is funny to me how we are on vacation, but all I care about is that she is having a good time. Her happiness makes me happy. I love showing her new things and allowing her to have some great new experiences. My world completely revolves around her now and I wouldn't have it any other way. Going on vacation with a child is a lot different that going before you become a parent. I don't want to do things that don't involve her and I don't mind giving up those things. Being her parent and watching her learn and make new connections is the most fun I could imagine having.

I'm a Teacher!

     Wednesday, I had an interview at Ripley Primary School. The interview seemed to go well, and at the end of it, Mrs. Treadway told me that if I got the job I'd know by Friday. Well, I didn't get a call yesterday, so this morning I was pretty nervous wondering if I would get a call today or not. I basically stared at my phone all morning. Then, around 10 it finally rang! Mrs. Treadway offered me a first-grade teaching position, and I accepted. I have to submit some paperwork to the board and sign my contract, but as soon as I do that, she's going to give me the keys to my very own classroom!!! Ah!!! This is all so surreal. I love summer break, but I almost want to fast forward to August and meet my babies! I'm going to have my very own class full of first graders!!!! Yay! :)

Some of My Crazy...

     Lately, I have been pretty stressed out and it seems like it just keeps getting worse, so I thought writing about it might help. I have gone back and forth about it because I am not sure how much of my crazy I want to let out onto the world wide web, but I do not think that I am feeling anything that every other person has not felt before. Everyone gets stressed, everyone gets disappointed, everyone gets sad from time to time, so I figured sharing could not hurt.
     So... What has me so stressed out? Let's see.

1. Ryan got laid of from work and unemployment checks are literally half of what he was making, never mind that we lost benefits, too. We have some savings, but our lifestyle has to change drastically in order to make them last. 
2. Rylee has been going through a defiant stage. This can be a good thing, she is learning to be independent and make her own choices and trust herself, but it's hard to remember that this is a good thing when she is opposing me on every little thing throughout the day.
3. I just graduated college which is amazing, but that also technically makes me unemployed. That scares me. I have had some good leads on hopeful teaching positions, but obviously no contracts have been signed this early in the summer, so it makes me slightly nervous that August will find me jobless. It's also a possibility.
4. Next week we are taking Rylee on her first vacation with Ryan's family. I have no idea how she is going to react being in a brand new place with little to no alone time, which she has begun to desire more and more of. I get the feeling it's going to be anything but relaxing.
5. I am feeling a lot of pressure to be perfect. I need to have a better body before going to the beach, so I cut out some of my favorite foods and vamped up my workout. I need to be the perfect mom, so I feel so guilty when I lose my patience with Rylee's strong personality. I need to be the perfect wife, so even though Ryan knows how I'm feeling, I feel like I shouldn't talk about it too much, so I keep it in.

     But I don't want to end this on a bad note. There is a lot of good going on in my life, too. Rylee went to the nursery at church today and for the first time ever, so played and didn't cry. She's learning so quickly and becoming so smart. I can't wait to see what the future holds for this very special little lady. I am excited about taking Rylee on her first vacation and showing her the beach and the ocean. It might be crazy, but it's also going to be a lot of fun. I also am very blessed to have a place to live, a family I adore, 2 vehicles that run, and food on our table. And no matter how scary this all is, I KNOW that God has a plan for us that is better than we could ever imagine. It's just the waiting to see how it all unfolds that can be a little tough.

3 Years Strong

      Today, Ryan and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary. We got married on May 16, 2009 at 2 pm. I can't believe three years have already gone by since that beautiful day. So much has changed and our lives are more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. Living in a home that is filled with love is so much better than anything else one could desire.

      Getting married at 19 was a risky decision, but we made that decision 'til death do we part. As young and stupid as we were back then, I will never ever regret that decision even for a second. Everything turned out exactly the way that it should be. We found out we were going to be parents a little over 4 months into our marriage. That really changed everything. Rylee wouldn't be here now if we hadn't chose to get married so young, so I'm very glad we did! I love my little family so dearly!

    Since December, I have lost a little over 20 lbs and over 12 inches combined. I think it shows in this photo. My face looks thinner now than it has in over 2 years. All I can say is: it's about time I lose this baby weight! Haha! I'm almost there... :)