First hair cut

Ryan had is first hair cut a few weeks back.  We were sad to say goodbye to those baby curls, but they were starting to look matted no matter what we did.  We cut it ourselves with the clippers.  I think they scared him, though, because he was really upset once we were all done. He is growing up so fast.  Each day he is looking more and more like a little boy and less like a baby.

Before:

 After:

This last one makes it look like he as nothing on top, but he really does.  It's just really blonde.

O Christmas Tree

This year we decided to hold off on putting our Christmas tree up this year since we knew Ryan would love to play with it.  We usually put it up the day after Thanksgiving, but this year we put it up mid-December.  For me, this is what kicks-off the Christmas season.  We listened to music, drank some eggnog and admired our humble, but lovely tree.  Here are some pictures:

Ryan helping...

This is the first year we've had a star on top of our tree

Finally, Christmas has begun

 

Since then Ryan has done a little bit of rearranging of the ornaments:)  Luckily, he hasn't tried to open the presents.  I'm sure that will come next year.

Mealtimes

Mealtimes have been a lot of fun lately, not to mention VERY messy.  Ryan has gotten to that point where he doesn't want Mom or Dad to feed him anymore.  He gets really frustrated when we try to help, and he insists on holding the spoon himself.  So we have relented and begun teaching Ryan how to use a spoon.  It's a messy process and it stresses me out a little because I don't like messes, but he's a little boy and is going to get messy. I just need to get over it.  Most of the time I'll gently hold his wrist and help guide his spoon into the bowl.  He's pretty good at getting it in his mouth, but misses occasionally. 

Another fun development during mealtimes is he will often copy us when we say "Mmmmm."  The other night him and Clayton were going back and forth, laughing the whole time.  It was one of those really fun moments.  Ryan just thought he was being so funny.

In other news, Ryan has been a little sick lately:(  He's had a bit of runny nose and cough, although he seems to be feeling better today. Now, I don't enjoy having a sick baby, but there is one perk that comes from it.  Ryan is a very active little boy, but when he's sick, he cuddles with me a lot more.  He's never been a very cuddly baby, so when I get the chance I try to make the most of it.

Snow

So it FINALLY snowed in Parker.  I'm not going to pretend that I didn't enjoy the warm weather, but it just didn't feel like Fall.  But finally the cold is here, and I think it's here to stay.  I doubt we will be seeing the 70's until next Spring.  Now this wasn't Ryan's first snow, but this is the first time I took him out to play in it.  He wasn't sure what to think.  He just watched it and hesitantly reached for it with his gloved hands.  What a cute little Eskimo we have:)

One year ago...

I can't believe that Ryan was born one year ago, today.  Here are a few pictures from that very special day.  We are so grateful for him and that he has joined our family.  I can't imagine life without him.  

Ryan's Birthday Party

We had a lot of fun today at Ryan's party.  It had a rough start because birthday boy was so tired.  

But once he got some cake and ice cream, he was feeling much better.  

We tried to keep things pretty simple, but we had a few of his friends over and, of course, some cake and ice cream.  Thanks to all of you who came and your generous gifts.  I am so lucky to be blessed with such wonderful friends. And Happy Birthday to Ryan!

Honey Bear Explosion

We had the missionaries over for dinner last night and made some honey mustard chicken.  It was really yummy but not without some casualties.

I was making the sauce when there was a knock at the door.  It was my wonderful visiting teachers dropping off a plate of Halloween sugar cookies.  I asked Clayton to finish the sauce while I talked with them for a few minutes.  A key ingriedient to honey mustard chicken is honey.  Clayton thought it would incorporate better into the sauce if it was warm so he place the honey bear into the microwave for 15 seconds, thinking that was safe amount of time.  When the 15 seconds was up, he opened the door and grabbed the honey bear filled with boiling honey.  The small amount of pressure from his fingertips caused the plastic container to BURST.   Luckily Clayton has quick reflexes and was able to move his hand out of the way before too much boiling  honey got on him, but he did get burned, and it was beginning to blister a little bit.

So, the moral of the story is: be very careful when putting honey in the microwave.

Priorties and To-Do lists

Every once in  a while, I get to a point in my life where I feel I need to re-evaluate my priorities.  Some of the symptoms that warn me that it's that time again are feelings of inadequacy, lack of interest in daily life activities, and moodiness.  Well this hit me for the first half of the week and gave me cause to stop and reflect.  After some prayer and contemplation, I realized that I need to re-focus on the important things: God and Family.  To help me keep my focus, I make a To-Do list at the beginning of the day.  I make sure to include things like reading my scriptures and reading books with Ryan.  I also put items that I do every day like showering and getting ready to make me feel like I've accomplished a lot.  I have noticed that when I do this I feel more accountable to myself and am more likely to get things done.  Another benefit is that the TV doesn't come on as often.

Another realization that I made this week is that I do a lot, and I shouldn't feel inadequate.  I don't say this to brag, but just to reassure myself that my day is filled with worthwhile activities.  I am a full-time mom, I work part time, I am actively involved with my church, I cook and bake, and I keep a reasonably clean home.  I think is a common thing for women to belittle the activities that fill their days, but we have a very important and divine role.  I think our biggest fault is that we forget this too often.

Hay Maze

We took Ryan to the maze on Mainstreet in Parker.  We got some really cute pictures and had some fun.  I wasn't sure how he would respond to the hay, but he didn't seem to mind.  He, especially, enjoyed watching the other kids running around.

It's getting to be really pretty in Parker.  You can see some of the leaved starting to change in these pictures.  From now to the end of the year is my favorite time of the year.  I love the holidays, the smells, the food, the family, the nip the air, hot chocolate...Welcome to the Fall!

In other news, Ryan cut two more teeth this week, bringing the grand total to four teeth.

New Hobby

So I've picked up a new hobby: Jewelry making.  I'm having a lot of fun learning about it.  I checked out a really good DVD from the library.  It teaches a lot of the basics, which is nice, but then it gives a variety of projects and ideas with each basic technique.  I'm getting really excited and beginning to form some of my own ideas in my head.  So far I've made two necklaces and one bracelet.  They are still very basic, but I will hopefully have some more intricate designs to post soon :)

Scentsy

I hosted a Scentsy party the other night. It was a lot of fun. For those of you who don't know what Scentsy is, it's a company that sells "wickless" candles. It's a system that consists of really cute warmers and super yummy smelling wax.


I've heard really good things about them and thought it would be fun to host a party. It was a fun filled night of food, girlfriends, and smelling wax samples. Some of my favorite scents were Winder Wonderland(a minty scent), White Sand( a mild flowery scent), and Baked Apple Pie(yes it's as yummy as it sounds). Here's a picture of the warmer that I got. I think it will look really nice in our home.

Cookie Monster

The other day I was eating a yummy chocolate chip cookie and set it down for a few seconds so that I could do something that required both hands. I turn around to find that Ryan has slobbered all over my cookie. I decided to let him finish it off. Apparently he likes cookies:)

General Conference

This weekend we had the chance to listen to to the leaders of our church give us council and direction. More accurately, we were able to get instructions from Heavenly Father, through the promptings of the Holy Ghost. It was a wonderfully uplifting weekend. I felt the spirit bare testimony to me of the truthfulness of the words. I know that these men are called by God to lead us on the earth today.

One of my favorite talks was by President Monson in the Sunday morning session. He spoke on gratitude. It was a good reminder to me to be grateful for what I have, instead of focusing on what I lack. At this stage in my life, I feel like I am lacking a lot of things. Money is tight and I am not able to work much, so it seems that sometimes we go without the frivolous things in life. We do however, have everything we need: food, shelter and clothing. I need to show my gratitude to the Lord for everything that He has given me. Each day I need to thank him for the bounteous blessings that I have. There are so many people in this world that have less than I have.

I also liked President Eyring’s talk on putting our trust in the Lord and his servants. Sometimes I find it difficult to do everything that I’m supposed to: Go to church, read my scriptures, pray, family history, write in my journal, spend time with my family, keep my house clean….You get the idea. But the Lord gives us commandments, and he will give us the help and strength to accomplish them.

I really enjoyed President Packer’s talk on the family, but what I enjoyed most was the church’s very clear stance on homosexuality. I had a conversation with a member recently about homosexuality. She felt that in some cases, you are born gay. She had known a few men in her life that had struggled with homosexuality, and she felt that it was innate and that they were born that way. I was so happy that President Packer clearly stated that no one is born gay. Heavenly Father loves his children too much to do that to them. Clayton and I were talking and I think that some men have more feminine-like tendencies, but that doesn’t make them gay. They always have a choice.

I’m pretty sure Elder Bednar gave a really good talk too on the Holy Ghost, but I only got bits and pieces of it since Ryan was running around wreaking havoc:) But I will definitely go back and read that one.

Ryan Walking

We were able to catch Ryan walking on camera today. We are so proud of him!

First steps

Ryan took his first solo steps yesterday, and I couldn't be prouder. It is so much fun to see him get more and more independent as he learns to do new things. Yesterday's steps were "falling with style" but today, he took a step, made sure he had his balance, then took a few more quick steps before falling down. What a big boy! He also starting to look older to me, too. As I placed him down for a nap the other day, I noticed that his face is starting to look different, older.

I am convinced that being a mom is one of the best things in the world. I thought my heart was full when I married Clayton, but now I think it has grown to make room for all this love that I have for Ryan. I'm sure that it will grow bigger with each child that we have. It's funny how I can't imagine my life without these two amazing boys(well maybe one's a man:) in my life.

Bountiful Basket

This last week I participated in a Co-op called Bountiful Baskets. It's great because you contribute $15 and that money is used to buy a bunch of produce wholesale. This means you cut out the middle man (ie. the grocery store). The food is then evenly divided between the contributors and you pick up your fruits and veggies at a designated location on Saturday morning.

Here's a picture and a list of everything I got. It was enough to fill an average sized laundry basket:

6-Corn
5-Tomatoes
5-Nectarines
4-Bananas
2-Heads of Cabbage
2-Heads of Leaf Lettuce
1-Bunch of Grapes
1-Giant Butternut Squash
1-Honeydew Melon
1-Carton of Mushrooms

I've been having a lot of fun looking up new recipes to use up all of this produce, but if any of you have some yummy or easy ways to use these, please let me know!

10 Months!

Ryan is 10 months old today! I can't believe how quickly the time flies. He is one busy little boy. He is a pro at crawling now and gets into everything! I can't take my eyes off him for very long unless I want to come back to a BIG mess. He's also a very vocal little boy. If it's too quiet, he takes it upon himself to fill the void. Like at church...when its really quiet, he starts talking/shouting at the top of his lungs. It's not a grumpy or an angry cry, just talking. We trust him to let us know if things are getting too quiet.


He is getting better at standing too. I doubt it will be too much longer before he starts walking. For your viewing pleasure, I have included a video of him pushing a laundry basket around the house. Who needs to go out and buy one of those baby walkers when you have a laundry basket.

I love my family

I love my family. I think they are the greatest! I am so lucky to have them. We've had a fun summer, despite Clayton being in school. Here are some of the things we've been up to:

We took a trip to see family. Here are some pictures of Ryan with various family members.

This is Ryan with Grandpa Wheeler at a baseball game.

Ryan with Uncle Josh who is now on a mission in Spokane, Washington.

Ryan with Aunt Karen, whom he LOVED!

Ryan and his cousing, Isaac. These two had so much fun playing together

Ryan and Grandma Shaw having so much fun watching the fishies.

We also went hiking with one of Clayton's mission buddies. We went up to Devil's Head Lookout. Apparently it's one of the last, if not THE last fire lookout in Colorado. It was a pretty short hike, but you could see in ever direction for at least 100 miles.

In other news, I quit my Baskin Robbins job and started working at Massage Envy. Similar hours for twice the pay...plus I get to use some of that education that I have. So far it has worked out pretty well and I think that it will work out for the time being.

Clayton has a few more days of finals and then we're off to Missouri to visit Clayton's brother. We are really looking for a little get away.