Our first taste of the holidays ... And I am loving every minute of it!

Elf on the Shelf joined our family 2 days ago.  His name is Dash.  And Ryland is so enthralled with him.  At first we did not know how he would react ... if he would even care about him or get upset because we would not let him carry Dash around.  But he really seems to get it ... at least the part about having to find where in the house Dash landed each morning and how he cannot touch or play with him.  We have been reading him the "Elf on the Shelf" book each day and throughout the entire story Ryland points out every picture of Dash and reminds us that he is downstairs. 

Here is Dash's portrait ... Look at those blue eyes ... Just like Ryland's bright blue eyes!

His first "landing" was on the shelf in the foyer ...

And currently he is hanging upside down in the garland on our mantle. 



This is going to be such a fun month leading up to Christmas!  We cannot wait to share in all of the excitement and joy with Ryland! Our Christmas tree is up but not fully decorated yet.  We definitely wanted to maximize the amount of time that we get to enjoy all of the holiday spirit in our house ... the Christmas boxes came out the morning after Thanksgiving!  More to come soon about all of our holiday celebrations. 

Lots of Books & Leaves!

Our day started out with reading A LOT of books ...

And ended playing in A LOT of leaves ...



Randoms ...

Tab and Ryland eating chinese noodles ...  They had so much fun!

Ryland lined up all the cars in a straight line ... and all facing the same way. 





Happy Thanksgiving ... 2011

We had a great Thanksgiving!  A lot of food, a lot of good family time, a lot to be thankful for and a lot of fun!  We went out to Douglasville for lunch with my parents and grandmother.  And then after lunch we walked up to the Garbade's to say hello and hang out.  Ryland went all day with no nap.  And was sound asleep within 3 minutes of us heading back home.  Luckily I packed some pajamas and we gave Ryland a bath in Douglasville before we left and we put him directly in his bed once we got home.  He never woke up!

Here are some pictures of us going up to the Garbade's house.  Ryland rode in his wagon - one of his favorite things to do in Douglasville.



Lately ...

Ryland loves to sing his A-B-Cs.  He can get to G and has a really good voice :)  All letters after G kind of all run together but we are working on them.

Ryland loves to play with his cars and trucks ... especially the ones that are on temporary loan from his friend Jack!  And he loves for us to play with him ... but only on his terms.

Ryland has a memory like no other!  If we try to sneak one by him (like distracting him and then quickly hiding something ... or putting something up once he goes to sleep) he always catches on. 

Ryland is pretty good about listening to us ... but he can definitely throw a fit if he does not get his way.  The good thing is that they are usually quick and then he moves on to the next thing.

Ryland loves to give hugs and kisses.  When you ask him for a kiss when he is in the middle of playing, he leans in for a kiss but does not stopping whatever he is doing.  I love the "Mommmmm, do I really have to right now? Can't you see that I am busy?" attitude :)

He understands everything that we say.  And always says "Yes" by shaking his head.  And always says "No" by saying the word.

He is starting to show the first signs of being ready for potty training ... talking about it, asking to have his diaper changed, understanding that the toilet is for going potty, etc.    But I still think that he is far away from being ready.  Maybe he will surprise us and start soon :)

I cannot believe that we are less than a month away from his 2nd birthday!  It is crazy how time flies!

Vroom .... Beep ....Honk !!!

It is almost here! 

I cannot believe how fast the past 2 years have gone by.

Good Morning SURPRISE!

Tab and I were in the bathroom getting ready for the day this morning ... and Ryland was still sound asleep (with his monitor was on and volume up).

All of a sudden I turn around and see Ryland standing in the bathroom doorway looking cute as ever holding his big firetruck! That mister climbed out of his bed without making a sound, found his fire truck and walked to our bedroom to see if we were awake!

It looks like we have a new phase on our hands!

Halloween Party at School

The Friday before Halloween, Ryland's class had a party to celebrate. All of the kids wore their costumes and they got to eat a snack that was full of cupcakes and sweets! And since we do not let Ryland eat many sweets he loved every minute of their party.

Cupcake #2 .... he could not get enough!



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And of course Tab attracted all of the kids! They were all running wild after eating all of the sweets showing all of the parents what they could do. And Tab suddenly became their jungle gym .... running circles around him and under his legs. And also being picked up as they jumped high in the air like frogs. It was funny to see Ryland react to all of the kids wanting to play with "his" dad. He did not like it at first but then realized that he was not being ignored and just went with it!
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And then Tab decided to try to work while they ran around his legs ... that did not last for long!
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Halloween 2011 .... E-L-M-O

Ryland wore all of his Elmo stuff for Halloween this year ... red Elmo Tshirt and red Elmo shoes! It was the only thing even close to a costume that he would put on. So we decided not to fight the battle and go with what he wants to wear.

Tab was out of town for work on Halloween night so my parents came out to go to the neighborhood Halloween parade and trick-or-treating. We all had so much fun. Even Codi got dressed up for the occasion!

Ryland was playing hide and seek with Big Bear before we left for the parade.



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On our way to the parade. We got there a little early so we were able to hang out with everyone before the fire truck got there.
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Ryland is trying to put the glow-in-the-dark necklace on. It did not stay on him long!

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Ryland was not too sure about some of the costumes. He was a little afraid of all the boys dressed up as Spider Man!
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When the fire truck got there Ryland did not know what to think. He was very hestitant to go near it. So needless to say all of the pictures of him near or on the fire truck did not turn out!

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What a little angel! Ha!

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Ryland and Pops walking to the next house for trick-or-treating!

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Ryland had to check out all of his goodies once we got home. He climbed up on his table and emptied out his pumpkin bag on the kitchen counter.
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The next night we let Ryland have one piece of his candy ... Twix! He loved it!
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What a great Halloween!

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