Good Times...

This past week seemed extremely busy for us, but in the end Jared and I were able to spend lots of one on one time together which was definitely needed. I was able to put Ry's hair in her first (actually second because Grandma did the first) ponytail...her hair is getting a little too long for the mohawk, but still a little short for a ponytail. It worked, though. Ryah has also mastered the stairs this week which keeps things really busy during the day. She thinks it's rather fun. Toward the latter part of the week, I was able to attend the Time Out For Women conference with my Mom and Grandma Jeanne. It was so much fun and a nice break. Thanks to my mother-in-law and Jared for arranging their schedules to take care of Ry. There were speakers and musical performers speaking on the theme "Sweet Assurances." I came away from the event feeling refreshed and reassured it's alright I can't do everything. I don't know about others, but I'm my worst enemy when it comes to being a mom, wife, etc. There's always more I feel I should be doing. I was enlightened and uplifted, it was the perfect "time out." My favorite speaker was a husband/wife team. They were absolutely hilarious. Their motto is, "If you can laugh at it, you can live with it." My favorite musical performer was Michael McLean. I love his arrangements and The Forgotten Carols production he does around Christmas. He did an awesome job.

On Friday night, my mom treated Jared and I (yes, it was a treat for us) to a Grandma/Ryah sleepover at her house. It was nice to have the whole night to ourselves. I was a horrible date, so my apologies to my hubby. We went to dinner, then decided to rent some movies. We came home and about ten minutes into the show (around 8:30) I fell asleep. I know...pathetic, huh. I couldn't believe it. Being the great guy he is, he didn't get too mad. :) He would never get mad actually. On Saturday, my sister came up and we all went to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and then to the Jazz game. Thanks to Chicka Benita for watching Miss Ry!!! Sorry, she was such a pill. Thanks to my hubby for walking clear around the Energy Solutions Center to bring me Dippin' Dots!!! I think I have an obsession, and it sure isn't a healthy one. :) Sometimes we'll go to the events at the Southtowne Expo center not even interested in what's going on, but so I can get Dippin' Dots...pretty sad, I know.

I was so excited I was able to spend both weekend nights with Jared. That probably sounds silly, but it makes a difference having kids, at least with us. As much as we love spending time together, it seems we don't take the time because we enjoy being with Ry so much and just enjoy our time together when she's in bed. It was fun to get out and go do something out of the ordinary.

She looks so big to me without her headband.

Ryah playing the top hand, while mom plays the bottom hand...:)

She thinks she's so big when we let her play the piano.

This picture is of us at dinner before the Jazz game. We forgot to take pics at the game.

Thanks everyone for the good times!!!

Swimming

Last week my mom, sis-in-law, and I took Ry swimming at the Bountiful Rec Center. She absolutely loved it. She liked to go to the fountains on the playland and stand right on top of them...I thought it was funny because most kids don't like water splashing in their faces at her age. She also liked the shallow spots where she could walk around, swimming on her tummy, floating on her back, going around the lazy river, pretty much anything as long as she was in the water. At one point her chin started quivering so I figured we should get out because I didn't want her to be cold, but as soon as we got out she was trying to go back in. What's funny is after we went swimming is when she started using the bathtub like a swimming pool. Now she moves back and forth on her tummy and doesn't like to get out; she thinks it's pretty fun.

Here are some pics from our adventure:

She was always trying to drink the water.

Thanks mom and Jeni for going with us!!! We had a great time.

Soooo BIG!!!

It seems this last week Ryah has transformed into a BIG girl. I'm sure it sounds crazy, but all the sudden she's crawling all over, eating "human" food, pulling herself up on everything (I even caught her attempting the stairs the other morning), swimming in the bathtub (she loves it), growing out of all her clothes overnight (I swear I put on three different outfits a day and none of them fit), and her two bottom teeth are breaking through. The hard thing is all she wants to do is run and she can't even walk yet. She wants you to help her up, but then gets frustrated if you don't let go of her so she can take off. Everytime she falls, but just wants to get right back up and try again. Jared's mom gave her a stroller for Christmas, so that's what we let her push around, but we can't be close by her because she wants to be independent. It's kind of funny.

I can't believe how fast time is flying by. I was holding my sister's little baby today and had a hard time remembering what Ry was like when she was that little, even though it was only 6 1/2 months ago. She seemed so big compared to him. She sure is fun though and is so happy. As much as it wears us out, it's worth it.

This is how I found her on the stairs. She was frustrated because she's still a little short and couldn't raise her leg high enough to get her anywhere.

She likes to sit by me on the floor while I cook dinner; however, she always wants to play with the dishes and bang them on the floor.

Here she is on the coffee table. She started pulling herself up on Monday and has it perfected. She loves to walk from corner to corner. This is the smile I get when I look at her and say, "Ryah, what are you doing?"

This is when I noticed one of her teeth broke through. She was playing and I noticed red on the carpet, so I looked at her and she had blood on her shirt, hands, and face. I thought maybe she cut herself, but upon further investigation it was coming from her teeth. I'm not sure if it's normal or not, but she acted like nothing was happening.

I was cooking dinner and went to check on her and this is what I found. She realized there were more toys on the side of the couch so went over there and decided she wanted to stand and play while one hand was on the couch and one playing with her toys.

Here she is pushing her stroller...without help. She wants to do it by herself. Doesn't she act like she's so big??? It's so funny to watch her. The scary thing is, she's quite good at it. I think she might be walking before I know it.

This has pretty much been our life the last week or so...just watching Ry grow up. She sure has brought a joy to us and we absolutely love having her.

How Time Flies...

I still can't believe Christmas has come and gone. It seems the older I get, the faster time goes by. We had a really good Christmas this year and it was fun with Ry. Christmas Eve started with breakfast at Granny Anny's in K-town with my fam. Then we went to the matinee Four Christmas's; the movie idea is a tradition we started long ago with my cousins and I really enjoy it. However, they have been absent the last few years...what's up with that Chris??? JK For the evening, Jared's family does a big dinner and gift exchange with the cousins. Ryah got a cute cell phone and some movies. I thought the cell phone was a fabulous idea since she loves mine, but I've come to learn they still like what you have even if they have their own. Christmas morning we got up and opened some presents. Jared and I decided we were only spending a set amount (rather small) on each other so we could help out two other family's in need. I feel very fortunate we were able to help them since you never know what each year will bring.

As for Ry she got two toys. I figured it was pointless to get anymore. I don't have any pictures of her during the morning either :( Retarded us, we took a lot of video footage and no pics. One day we will have it straight.

After opening presents we headed to my parents for my dad's traditional Christmas morning omelets, they were fabulous!!! We met at Jared's parents for lunch and a gift exchange, then headed home for a while so Ry could nap. That evening we went to my parents for dinner and a new tradition started this year...the CHRISTMAS AUCTION!!! The way this worked is my mom bought a bunch of presents (they consisted of wants and needs) which were to be auctioned off by the auctioneer none other than the infamous Faja Edwards; however, in order to participate in the auction we needed "money." In order to earn this money, we first had to build gingerbread houses. When it came down to judging time we were informed of the categories...some were most childlike, most creative, most colorful, and the one the Jeridan's won was most likely to be purchased by Larry the Cable Guy. I bet you can guess who came up with that category...Faja. The funny thing is, is he gave that one the most money. (Yay for us!!!) Here is a pic of our house. It's hard to tell, but we built it upside down.

The other games we played to earn money were the Newlywed Game and the CLR game where you pass money left, right, or to the center. After the games were done my dad pretended he was an auctioneer and away we went on 30+ presents. Jared and I came away with money, restaurant gift cards, hair stuff (which I love because then I don't have to go buy it), Jeff Foxworthy tickets, Harlem Globetrotter tickets, a nice label maker (I was really excited about that one actually, our filing system looks a lot cleaner), camping chairs, and more. It was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to our date nights. Thanks mom and dad for everything!!!

Here are a couple pics of Ry we did get on Christmas...thanks to my sis-in-law. And cute baby Jett.

We were also able to attend the annual family Christmas party on my mom's side a couple days after Christmas. My grandparents always rent out the Layton Classic Skating Rink ever year because my mom has such a large family. It's so much fun to see everyone. Here are some pics from the night.

Ryah riding the horsey carousel.

Ryah doing the Hokey Pokey with Grandma. She looked so big out there. I can't believe how fast she's growing.

Ryah and Grandma. She was so worn out by 8, we had to leave because she wouldn't stop whining. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the fun night!!!

I was sad we weren't able to see the Edwards fam over the holidays. Ry and I were sick some of the time so we didn't make it down there. We hope you all had a great holiday!!!

As for New Years we didn't get any pictures, but I wish we would have. Watching me do the Hula on the Wii would've been pretty hilarious. I couldn't get it for the life of me. Thanks to Steve and Kirsten who let us rain on their parade!!! We had a great time.

I've never really been a "resolution setter" for New Year's, but with some life changing events happening last year, I want to serve more and always remember what matters most. Life's too short to sweat the small stuff.