Ryan the Lion

Halloween was tons of fun. Ryan seemed very comfy in his warm fleece costume that my friend Melissa so graciously let us borrow. Can't beat hand-me-downs when it comes to something your child will only wear once! We selectively trick-or-treated at friends and families houses around town and Ry was so cute I wanted to eat him up! I think by the day's end he was pretty worn out!

Doesn't he look ferocious??

First Birthday Bash

The Birthday Boy!


The invitation and birthday cake


Smash cake!


Ryan was very dainty with his cake. He was tentative at first, then once he realized what it tasted like, got into it...kind of

With Grandpa Dhein


Birthday mayhem in the playroom!

From Baby....

...to little boy!

Today we took Ryan to get his first haircut. I think we could have waited longer, but the back was getting so long that he was growing a mullet. Besides, Grandma and Grandpa Brown were in town, so I thought it would be good to do it while they were still here. He was a very good little boy, and he got to sit in the cool car and even hold a fake cell phone! And yes, he lost his baby curls but I am hoping some more will grow back! Here are some more photos from the haircut...
"excuse me...can you take a little more off of the sides?!"


Ryan was not sure what to look at...the car he is sitting in, the woman behind him holding scissors next to his head, or the baby Einstein video playing in front of him...sensory overload!!!

I also have tons of photos from Ryan's first birthday party which was a blast. For some reason when I tried to download them yesterday, I couldn't do it. I will try again soon...stay tuned!

Happy Birthday, Lubbins!

I absolutely cannot believe that it has been almost one year since Keith and I were blessed with our beautiful boy. In fact, it is nearly impossible to believe. What a year it has been. I had no idea how much Ryan would change my life. Everyone tells you "a baby changes everything", but until that baby crosses the threshold of your home, you can't possibly fathom HOW.

I vividly remember the night Ry was born. The first time I laid eyes on him...well, they fill up with tears just thinking about it. The entire world paused for a moment. I thought he was absolutely perfect and could not believe that this day had finally come. I had this inexplicable feeling when I saw him, like I recognized him even though I had never seen him before. And he looked at me exactly the same way. When I held him he stared at me so intensely as though he knew that I was his mother. I was finally a part of this "club", this magical, wonderful, exhausting, emotional and rewarding club called Motherhood, a club I wasn't sure I would ever be granted a membership to.

What I remember the most about our first days at home with Ryan are the times when I would hold him and he would just stare at me. When he would wake up in my arms, and those little dark blue eyes would squint as he tried to focus on me, and I felt this overwhelming need to protect him for the rest of his life. Then my head would fill with thoughts such as, "he is going to grow up too fast!", "someday he is going to leave me!", and even,"God help the person that ever tries to f*#k with him, they will have hell to pay!"!!! Total Mama Bear. And then I would see a school bus driving down the street and shed a tear for the day that he would be old enough to ride that school bus.

I think I have reached a balance since then. Yes, I will struggle with the fact that Ryan is not a baby anymore, but I am excited for what is next. Soon he will be walking, and talking, and running, and learning all kinds of new, exciting things. He is a mellow kid who loves to observe, with an eagerness for new things. When we drop him off at school he immediately starts to play, and is like "Mom who?" when I leave. As hard as it was for me to adjust to going back to work, I love that he can be content without me.

On the flip side of that, I really love and cherish our alone time together. I love kissing those chubby cheeks and twirling him around while singing made up songs. One day he will be thoroughly embarrassed by my made up songs, but now they make him giggle. His giggle is permanently etched in my mind, the look of pure joy he has while unknowingly displaying the cutest gap between his two front teeth. Some of my favorite names for him are Lubbins (a Buck Wheat version of Lovins), Boopsy-Loo (i think our days are numbered with that one), Apple Dumplin', and Stinka/Stink-a-Link. I am sure once he starts to get a better command of the english language he will not approve of any of these names!!

Happy first birthday, Lubbins! No matter how old you are, you will always be my baby.

Fall Festivus

Last weekend some friends invited us to their cabin in New Buffalo, Michigan. We had a great time doing all of the fun fall activities like apple picking and pumpkin patching. The weather was a bit nippy, but we still managed to have fun. Ryan loves a new adventure and he enjoyed taking it all in.


Ryan did not like the scary black kitty!


He was much happier in the safety of his stroller...


So much for a family photo!

My Boys

Look at this darling photo of Keith and Ryan. Keith wanted a picture of Ryan with his little CU hat on during our photo shoot. Ryan kept taking it off the second Keith would put it on his head, so we assumed that Sarah wouldn't get a good shot. But I think she captured a terrific father/son moment here. It really illustrates how Keith takes everything in stride, even when they don't go the way he imagines. This is one of the million reasons why I married him.

This post coincides perfectly with Keith's birthday, which is tomorrow. Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!

Ryan's Gift To Me

On Saturday morning Ryan gave me the best gift. He woke up early, around 6am, and was struggling to get back to sleep. Tossing and turning and occasionally fussing. I decided to leave him be, but by 6:30 he was outright crying. Ready to get up, I thought. So I went in to get him. On weekends I always volunteer to get Ry in the morning even though Keith often offers to get him so that I can sleep in. I take every opportunity I can to see that smiling face in his crib on weekends because on many weekdays I am out the door before he even wakes up. Anyway, it is about 6:30 on Saturday and I pick him up, and he is clearly still so tired. I thought to myself, this will never fly, but I am going to try to rock him a bit so that he can slowly wake up before I change his diaper and dress him. Low and behold, he was a little dish rag in my arms. No squirming and trying to break free, no reaching for his books on the bookshelf, just resting his head on my shoulder, cuddling Robbie and trying to catch some more zzzzzzz's. It was heaven on earth. Completely unexpected. He actually slept until 8:15 cuddling with me on the rocking chair. I can't even remember the last time he slept in my arms. It was priceless, and not something that I take for granted. Love to feel like my baby still needs me like that!