General Conference

Here is what General Conference looked like at our house:

We moved one couch up closer to the computer monitor & it felt like we were just watching General Conference on TV at my parent's home in Utah. :) The other couch was utilized to block the computer (since Ryan has figured out where the on/off button is)

Ryan loved going up the computer monitor and watching whenever the choir was singing. I would try to set him on my lap, especially whenever President Monson spoke & point, saying "prophet." His attention span was about 1 second long before he would squirm out of my lap and down to his toys. But I won't stop trying. :) I keep hoping that one of these days he will figure out how to fold his arms for just a split second even; I am also really hoping that we can keep him in the chapel during all of sacrament meeting this coming Sunday. Wish us luck.

I hope you all enjoyed General Conference. It was truly amazing! I am looking forward to studying the talks. Oh, and do you all have a copy of the October 2011 Ensign? It is all about The Book of Mormon. It is absolutely amazing!!! I'm looking forward to studying it as well. I haven't fully perused it yet. Incredible though, incredible.

 As I listened to conference I felt like several of my questions that I have been seeking answers to were answered. By the end of conference I felt like my eyes were opened a little to understand some things that I needed to understand, including some changes I need to make. I want to be a better person after watching conference. It was truly what I needed. How thankful I am to be alive at a time when the gospel has been restored in its fullness & there are living prophets on the earth again. I feel so lucky.

Play Time

A few pictures of Ryan at play:

 He has grown a love for this basketball. Still hasn't figured out how to roll it to you, but he will pick it up and bring it back to you & wait for you to roll it again. So cute!

 He found our boogy board in the laundry room. Now whenever we go in there to do laundry he pulls it out of the laundry room & drags it around the house with him.

 He loves to get inside the cupboards! Most of them have locks on them...but not the tupperware, cutting boards, or pots & pans. He probably gets inside the cupboards a few times a day.

When you play hard you just might get a little sleepy. You might try to resist it...but try as you might (read: "hold on to that foot as tight as you can") you just might have to give in.

Ryan's 1st Birthday

A few pictures from Ryan's first birthday:

I wanted it to be memorable for us as well as Ryan's grandparents and other relatives. So we had a Skype party. They picked up birthday cakes from Target and we all ate cake together and opened presents during our "Skype birthday party." It was fun. Ryan loved it!

I wasn't sure that I even wanted to give him any cake. But really wanted to decorate a mini one for him & get a picture. He ate a few bites & he loved playing with the frosting. Never too young to start playing with food, right?

 

 Then we went to Ocean Drive for a quick walk along the bay.

This was the best picture I could get of Jeff & Ryan (with Ryan looking at the camera). Unfortunately Ryan untucked Jeff's shirt & the wind thought it would pull a little prank on Jeff & make it look like he has quite the belly - which is not the case. I love that their facial expressions are so similar in this picture. So cute!

 We figured we would give him something a little healthier than cake for lunch (sweet potato, bananana, & avocado). He actually liked it much more than he did the cake.

Jeff called a few friends to come over for cake and ice cream. Somehow I missed getting pictures of our friends and all of the cute gifts they brought with them. It was so incredibly nice of them. It wasn't a planned "birthday party" by any means - just a last minute, "hey, do you want to come over for cake & ice cream?" They made him feel extra special & gave him lots and lots of attention.

We love little Ryan so much! What has happened to the last year? Where did it go? In some ways it feels like a dream that he was ever a newborn. I keep thinking, "This is my favorite age." Then I realize that I think every day and every stage is my favorite. Just recently we tried playing "hide & seek" with him. He loves it & has really caught on. It is so cute & so much fun.

Jeff told me once that his dad said, "Jeff, if you do it right it just gets better and better." Now those are true words. I love being a mom.

Future Texas Rodeo Star

Video of our little walker

Our Fourth of July

I realize that when people are as behind as I am with blogging they just start from where they're at...but not me. I really do plan to print this blog eventually - since I'm not into scrapbooking & there never seems to be enough time to journal.

For the 4th of July we went to the home of some friends in our ward. We had a barbecue and got in the pool ("we" meaning Jeff & Ryan got in the pool). It was Ryan's first time in the pool.





He seemed to like it, but wanted to drink the water - so it didn't last long.

He really needed a nap while we were over there. They said we could use their daughter's crib to lay Ryan down...I seriously think he must be 1 part Beaver. He decided to eat the wood on the rails instead of napping. I was mortified. Since then he has gone to town on his own bed. It needs much more than a little staining now. He has literally scraped 1/4in. into the wood with those teeth. Crazy! Do all kids do that? I seriously think he might have pica. He has an insatiable craving for paper, cardboard, board books, wood, Styrofoam, & dirt. But will his pediatrician test his iron level again (tested once at 9mths)? No. Whatever. I tend to exaggerate, but I'll insist that he be tested if it gets worse.

Anyway, we gave up on the crib idea after we discovered the little Beaver hard at work. :) He is a cute little Beaver though, wouldn't you agree?



I really do love Corpus Christi. The people that we have gotten to know are amazing. Our ward is full of navy, coastguard, marines. I'm so thankful for all those who are willing to sacrifice so much for our freedoms. It is true that sometimes holidays seem a little quiet with both of our families in Utah. So I'm also thankful for good friends who invite us over on holidays. It always helps when they feed you amazing food and let you play in their pool. :)

Happy 4th of July! (2 &1/2 months ago...weird I know)

The Cinnamon Roll Saga

Ryan is napping...time to update the blog as quickly as possible. :)

Starting with the sad stories first - the cinnamon roll saga.

So I love looking at this blog: ourbestbites.com. They have amazing recipes on there. In all honesty I haven't tried many of them yet. I found a recipe for overnight cinnamon rolls on there, they looked amazing- thought I'd try it. The dough was soft and raised so well; then I rolled it out.

I think I pressed way too firmly while rolling. Not exactly sure what it was - but they turned out hard & didn't raise well. I was so bummed after dreaming about cinnamon rolls on Labor Day as a fun new tradition. Jeff ate 1/4 of one of them and then ate ketchup and mustard on eggs. I guess that is one way to loose weight. I hate to waste food so I put the middles of all the cinnamon rolls in the freezer with the other 6 loaves of bread that like the cinnamon rolls, taste amazing, but didn't rise.

I always dream about being amazing at baking & often have a book on baking wheat bread checked out from the library. I guess I realized this morning that I really don't have the knack for baking. Perhaps I should move on and pick a new hobby. Not to diss myself but it really is time consuming, wastes ingredients, & perhaps it is just too hard for me to learn from books & blogs. I would put pictures on but we are having a computer, printer, and ant saga in this house as well.

Oh...the adventures.

I hope that all of you are having a happy Labor Day. If you happened to make hard cinnamon rolls too don't let it ruin your day. :) Look at the bright side - we are stimulating the economy by keeping businesses like Pillsbury going & someday when we have paid off the house we will buy the expensive wheat bread, the good stuff like the stuff from Great Harvest. For now we will settle for the stuff that tastes a little bit like perfume. :)

What do you know - I did figure out how to download a picture...This day is getting better & better. We're going to the beach now. I'll post more exciting things (like pictures of adorable Ryan on his first birthday) later. Happy Labor Day!

Told you we would go to the beach :)

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures!

Life has been pretty busy since April...

Jeff has had some condensed classes with his "Maymester" (only 2 weeks in May), and his summer semester. He is enjoying all that he is learning in the MBA program. He is also busy mentoring (unofficially) the new hires at work while working on his other projects. Not to mention being a daddy and a husband. :)

Ryan is busy cruising around all over the place. He loves to hold on to the back of my legs and walk with me. Sure slows things down a bit while trying to do normal household cleanup and such, but is oh so much fun! He is testing his limits and seeing how much his little body can do. He follows me around everywhere. I love that he loves me. It is definitely a mutual feeling. :)



I have been busy keeping up with Ryan, trying to do the normal daily stuff, and keeping up with the Young Women. Back in April the Bishop asked me to serve in Young Womens...so much fun!!! And busy, yes.

And now for pictures...

APRIL

Wheeler Farm (Aunt Carrie, Grandma Dana, and Aunt Robyn with Ryan)


Carrie - somehow you got squished behind me...sorry


Carl Bloch Exhibit in Provo (Aunt Tara and Grandma Karen)

The blossoms on the trees were sooo pretty! And the exhibit was awesome!

Cousin Luke with Ryan

Aunt Carrie

Aunt Tara and Uncle Ben

Aunt Alison and Uncle Darren with cousins Luke and Edison


My mom is so cute with her grandkids - she was under the table with them, eating popcorn. Periodically she would reach her hand up and pound on the top of the table and playfully exclaim, "The monsters are coming! The monsters are coming!" All the kids would laugh, scream, and run away...they had so much fun! Ryan's only complaint was that he didn't get to eat any of the popcorn :) This was all before her two visits to the hospital for hernias that needed repair. My poor mom. She is a trooper. And she is amazing! I'm glad she is feeling better...Although I don't know that she should crawl under the table and eat popcorn anymore (at least not for a little while)

Playing with Jenga blocks with grandma Dana. He had lots of fun with grandma Dana as well

Silly Ryan...don't eat them :)


MAY
In May we found out that the Grahams (Ronnie and Tiffney), our good friends from down the street will be moving :( They adore and spoil Ryan. They bought this little red car for him. He loves it!


Jeff and I celebrated our birthdays. Somehow I didn't get a picture on Jeff's birthday. Sorry sweetheart

Some good friends, the Bumpas family, were sealed in the temple in San Antonio in May. It was so neat to be there! We love them!!!

Like I said...Ryan is my little buddy these days. He helps me with all of the chores. Lets hope his love for doing dishes and laundry sticks with him throughout his life :)



JUNE
We got toilet papered for the first time (I think it is how the Young Women show their affection):)

Jeff's mom and sisters came into town in June. It was SO nice to have them here! We had so much fun AND they were a huge help while I had girls camp going on.


Ryan turned 10 months...crazy! (A good excuse to eat cake...some day you'll get some Ryan)


Ryan has maintained his 19.8 lbs for a few months it seems...and the rolls haven't gone anywhere. My favorite roll is the one above his knee
(Adorable, isn't it?)

A trip to the beach




We let Ryan put his feet in this time and he loved it!

The Aquarium


As you can tell - we have been having lots and lots of fun here. Hope everyone else is doing well and having enjoying all of the great and wonderful things this life has to offer. We love y'all! :)