Droolette Rylee B: April 26, 2010

Nowadays it's hard to snap a picture of Rylee Girl without drool coming out of her mouth or saliva all over her chin. It feels like the second we wipe her mouth, she's already got spit slipping out.

And so it seems, the teething process has begun! While her teeth probably won't come through the gums until she is 6-8 months old, they have started traveling upward. Apparently the reason she is drooling so much is because when her teeth begin traveling through her gums it catalyzes saliva production. Aha!!

So please don't mind the drool as you look over these pictures... :)

Rylee & the Tele: April 25, 2010

We aren't sure when it happened, or even how. But at some point, Rylee B discovered the TV. From what I've read, she has no idea what is going on (obviously) but is mostly attracted to the colors and light changes. We won't wait long to break this habit, so we thought of taking a few pictures to capture the moment.

Apparently Rylee finds Jessica Simpson quite entertaining. She was throwing her arms around and clenching her fists, hardly containing her excitement!

Our Adventure Girl: April 22, 2010

I seriously can't believe how fast this is all happening. Not long ago, she was just a little tic tac in my belly. Then she was a little bean in our arms. Now, she's like a toddler running around the house. Okay, not quite yet, but the lady at Babies R Us told me that isn't too far off. And I could see why- Rylee was trying to bust out of her carseat like it was nobody's business the whole time this lady was talking too me. "Uh oh Mamma," she said. "You're going to have an adventuresome little one on your hands. Enjoy the peace and stillness while you can."

Rylee is gripping everything she gets her hands on. It used to just be my hair but now its everything. My clothes, the burp cloths, her toys...all of it. Here are some pictures of our happy girl.





And here's a picture of our little one with her Burt. You should see how she lights up when she sees his face everyday. It's hilarious & she's slightly possesive of him:

Tippy Toes: April 19, 2010

Life with Rylee is getting so fun! She is starting to enjoy her toys and we are loving all the new ways we can entertain her. Today she had a blast playing in her ExerSaucer.





Just a few more inches and those tiny toes will be able to touch down...

Spring Bean Rylee B: April 15, 2010

Rylee is growing stronger everyday. When she's on her tummy, she can lift her head, shoulders and neck off the ground. In fact, when we put her into her crib for bed at night she often lifts her head and looks around for a bit before lying her head down to sleep. She's super into our black & white bedspread too.



Ryan & I have also noticed how much more aware Rylee is of the world around her. She loves watching her bee mobile or staring at her own reflection in a mirror.



Hope you are all having a great week.

April 14, 2010

Why play with this...



When you can play with this...

Staying Mini: April 11, 2010

Well, Rylee won't stop growing. I told her it would be fun if she wanted to stay miniature her whole life. She didn't really seem to like the idea so to convince her, I wrote a list of all the pros to staying mini forever:
1. You never have to feed yourself. Hungry? Shove your little hands in your mouth, squint your eyes and you'll get all the food you need!
2. You don't have to walk anywhere. Got a leg cramp? No worries- we will carry you all day long!!
3. You won't ever run late to work or school in the morning because you can't decided what to wear. I'll pick out your outfits (and matching headbands) everyday!
4. sleep. sleep. sleep. As much as you want! No homework, no chores- just lots of sleep.
5. Privacy. Since you're too little to write a diary, or call your boyfriend or make a Facebook page, you won't ever have to worry about mom&dad snooping into your personal life. We will give you all the privacy in the world.
6. The longer you stay mini, the longer you will stay innocent. The longer you will be happy to see us in the morning, the longer you will miss us when we're not near you, the longer you will cuddle in bed with us each morning and the longer you will think Mom & Dad are the two absolute greatest people in your little world.

I really thought I'd get her with #6 but alas our smiley rylee decided she'd like to grow up. And here she goes:

Yes that's her, sitting up, holding her head all smiley in her 3 month old outfit.

Little Miss Shopper: April 8, 2010

Rylee is becoming super animated and is learning to use her face to communicate. In the beginning, she used to stuff her hands into her mouth and squint her eyes to let us know she was hungry. And then, usually in the mornings, she would start to smile really big to let us know she was well-rested. And now, when she recognizes her mom or dad, she smiles really big and even lets out happy outbursts. These have all been fascinating and exciting for us to watch. Here is a picture of one of her big, smiley outbursts:


And just when I thought it couldn't get any better than this, she blew me away. Today we were running some errands. As most of you may know, Rylee isn't one for sitting in some dumb car seat while we are out and about. She always wants to be held so she can look around. I assumed she was a people watcher and was interested in her surroundings. But today I learned that the only reason she wants to be held is because she is shopping too.

As we were perusing the baby aisle, I noticed that she was super giggly. When I turned to see what she was looking at, I saw this. When I pointed at it and asked her if she liked Minnie Mouse, she tilted her chin down and let out a side grin. A friggin' side grin that said "Yes Mommy. I do like Minnie Mouse and I will be so good to you today if you let me bring her home." I honestly couldn't believe the look this girl was giving me! Had she already learned that a sweet little side grin would melt my heart into buying her whatever she wanted?! Well, luckily for me, she was an understanding little girl. After I explained to her that she already has like 27 security blankets (& that they don't offer any real kind of "security" anyway), she backed down and returned to her usual people watching. I know I got lucky this time, but I'm cautiously awaiting for the side grin/chin tilt move to show up again on our next trip...

Happy 8 Week Birthday Rylee B: April 3, 2010

On Friday we celebrated Rylee's 8 week birthday. We threw her a surprise party again, complete with frosted cookies! It seems like we were just celebrating this a few days ago. I can't believe our little one is already 8 weeks! Here are a few photos from the celebration. NOTE: Ryan isn't choking her, she's just THAT comfortable in daddy's arms. :)

Happy Easter: April 3, 2010

someone wasn't happy that her mother decided to forego a trip to the Easter bunny and decided to take pictures at home...ooops!!!

Beauty of Friendship: April 1, 2010

There's a lot of history behind the sweet hat on Rylee's head. Let me share it with you.

In 2001 I graduated highschool and my best friend moved to Oceanside. While it was pretty hard getting used to, it was a great blessing in disguise. Not that I would want my best friend to leave, but if she hadn't, four wonderful girls may never have become the friends they did. This story might get a bit confusing so I'm including a picture to make it a little easier:



Not only did my best friend move to Oceanside, but so did Eri & Aim's and so did Kel's. And so there we were. Four girls who lost their best friends to some city by the ocean. It didn't take long, but we became fast friends. We did pretty much everything together: we laughed, we cried, we had sleepovers, we went toilet papering, we got bagels together each Sunday, we borrowed each other's clothes, we took LOTS of pictures, we made nicknames for each other, we tried starting a magazine, we were basically inseparable. And after college, we all grew up and got married. Eri & Aim stayed in touch (obviously, they're twins!) and Kel & I stayed in touch.

A little over a year ago Eri & I got in touch again. Not long after, she told me she was expecting a little girl. And a few months later, I had the same news to share with her. And here we are now with gorgeous little babes. Emrie is almost 5 months and Rylee is almost 2 months. Although the two have yet to meet (we live on opposite sides of the state!), the date isn't too far off. Emrie sent Rylee the sweet hat last week and a friendship has begun. I can only hope these two little girls get as much out of life and friendship as her mama and I did!