Oh My.....

SUPER FLY! Yup, Ryan is kickin' it old skool in her Puma track suit, heading to watch the ballas from Georgia Southern take on Stephan Curry (lets face it- he IS Davidson). Unfortunately we lost by a million, but at least my child was freshy fresh!

Brusha, Brusha, Brusha!

Ryan loves to have her toofies brushed and not only that, but my girl (who aged overnight it seems), now likes to brush them herself. So this got me thinking, what else can I get her to do by herself-change her own diapers, the litter boxes, laundry, make dinner, pick up groceries???? All in due time I suppose!!
I apologize for the poor pictures, my other camera wasn't cooperating, and neither was this one!

Ready Set CRAWL!

The day we have been waiting for (or dreading) has arrived. Ryan crawled!!! And she did it in sneaky fashion too. Jamey had to go to an early weights session as punishment for his girls skipping study hall (more of a punishment for us, but whatever) and she picks the one morning he is gone to unveil her biggest accomplishment to date (although he should probably get used to missing stuff). I was in the kitchen getting chicken out for dinner, making her breakfast and left her on the living room floor (usually safe-she never went anywhere before) when all of sudden I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye and it was Ryan crawling into the kitchen like she had been doing it for months. I turn around and gleefully say, "Well, look at you!" then I had to quickly grab her becuase Steve's breakfast must have smelled good to her cause she made a beeline for it and about got a handful of dog food! AND SO IT BEGINS...the chase is on, the endless stream of "no's", "put that down'", "dont pick that up", "dont put that in your mouth"-I'm exhausted just writing about it. I never really said "No" to her before, but now I found myself saying it more and more...the funny part about that is, as soon as I say it-3 animals and a baby stop whatever it is they are doing and at least 2 of them were doing something wrong anyway! Now I can hedge my bets.
This is fun time though, but she is fast and only getting faster, I have to step up my workout just to keep up!!

"Lessons From a Baby"

A writer friend of mine and has started her latest book titled: "Lessons From a Baby".
She asked all of us new moms to tell a story about the one lesson (of many) that we learned from either our pregnancies or raising our babies. I chose this lesson and here is the story I told her-lets hope it will be in her book one day soon-she is very talented!

Prior to having Ryan I felt fairly certain that I determined my own destiny, created my own chaos and was trapped in a cul-de-sac of self-righteousness, my way IS the right way. I was childlike however in the manner in which I ran my life, doing only what was absolutely necessary to maintain dignity and riding coat tails. When we first started trying to conceive and it wasn't working, my "take action" side kicked into gear- just go through the check list of what they need us to do, show up and do it, and then we will get pregnant. Ok, well, I marked off all the things on their check list, went to every appointment, and took every drug they asked and nothing. For 7 years-nothing! I spoke to friends, family, strangers who would listen, doctors and I was told over and over again the phrases that haunts most who cant conceive-"Just let go.", "Stop trying.", and my personal favorite, "Stop thinking about it". Not succumbing to cliche, I persisted on, trying all new treatments, prayer, hypnosis, the works. Then finally a new doctor told me in January 2007 that this will never happen for us and we should look into adoption if we really want children. Devastated we returned home to a "normal" life and and my husband began to pursue a new job. The search and interview process took some time, but finally he got the job and we decided to put the adoption talk on the back burner until we moved and got settled. The time line consists of him interviewing in May, getting the job in June, and moving August 6, 2008. On August 8th I had a job interview and was getting ready. I had to dig through mountains of boxes to get everything I needed to shower and beautify, and while on my "bathroom" expedition, I stumbled upon an old pregnancy test. I was a few days late, which wasn't all that uncommon, normally all I have to do is take a pregnancy test, get a negative result and it comes within minutes. So thinking I was late because of the stress of the move, I decided to take the test in hopes of "jump starting" my period. It was positive. Say again? It was positive. Right there, in that moment, with the shower running and in the middle of moving boxes, I had an epiphany. They were all right, the cliches were right. Just when we sincerely and genuinely let go of the idea of ever being able to conceive, just when we truly stopped thinking about it, and just when I gave up on having any sort of control over the situation is when the miracle happened. From that very moment, to the pregnancy itself which is a total exercise in letting go, I have learned that none of us have complete control over everything. We can guide ourselves to be sure, we can make decision in our everyday lives that better our situation, certainly. But it is in the letting go when truly miraculous events can and usually do occur.
Jump to 10 months after Ryan being born and she reiterates the point every minute of everyday in a thousand beautiful ways. Plans, with all their good intentions, are thrown out the window because you just don't know when she will sleep, or get hungry, or have a cold, or a dirty diaper. You can't plan when they will say they first words or crawl or walk. You set up the most fabulous photo shoot to capture her lovely face and she cries the entire time only to smile when the camera is down and it isn't until later when casually taking pictures she flashes her brilliance. Now, I will admit, I still try, every now and then to dictate the order of things, usually unsuccessfully, but out of all the lessons she has taught me: the love I didn't know I was capable of, and patience I didn't know I had until now, still my motto remains "Go with the flow!" and that was the best lesson my daughter taught me from the minute she was conceived!

Ryan made a friend...

So Ryan really attracts people every where she goes. I can't explain it. She doesn't make much noise or make large gestures, just sits there and they come to her like a moth to a flame. This cutie pie little girl came over to us while we were waiting for the swings at the playground. She walked right up and held Ryan's hand. If Ryan was bugged or annoyed, you would never know it. She was just as sweet as could be and the little girl helped Ryan out with her paci, it was a very precious and memorable moment.
This actually reminded me I need to tell the story about us picking her up from daycare and when we got there all the kids were circling Miss Linda. I made a comment about her having a captive audience, and she said, "Well, its not for me, its for Ryan" It was only then I noticed Ryan sitting at the play piano with all the kids watching her bang on those keys....truly hilarious moment! She had those kids eating out of the palm of her hands! The song was hideous though...

Who does she look like most???? HMMMMM

Ok, so let me preface this by saying-I don't care either way. I really don't. All I really wanted her to get from Jamey was his laid back kind personality and my sense of humor and clever charm. :)
But there has been much debate surrounding us and for many they are convinced she looks exactly like one or the other!!! It is so funny to hear-Oh my God Jen, she looks just like you!!! Wow Jen I cant get over how much she looks like Jamey. No one seems to say she is a nice blend, or cocktail if you will of each of us. So based on these pictures, what do you think....Jamey or me??? (Just FYI-I think she looks just like Jamey-for the record).

Not many days like this in January...

So we heard a horrible rumor that there was a cold front heading our way and by the end of next week it was supposed to get down in the teens at night! Now, I like to poke fun at these "southern folk" when they tell me it is cold when it is 60, but 18 degrees really is cold!!! So we decided to take advantage of the warm sunny Saturday we had left and we headed to Forsyth Park in Savannah. It was gorgeous!!! About 69 degrees, very sunny and breezy-perfect! We laid our blanket out, gave Ryan a few cookies and a book to keep her occupied for just a few moments while we ate our chicken, potato salad, cole slaw and bread! It was divine. Then it was Ryan's turn for a little chicken noddle lunch with applesauce (homemade) and she seemed just as thrilled. The park was hopping, I can only assume the nasty weather rumor had spread and everyone wanted to get at least one good day in. Can you believe how green it looks in early January?! Awesome park on a perfect day!

Ahhh...Disney at Christmas!

As much as I wanted to take Ryan to Disney for her first Christmas, there was no way I was going to pay like $80 a person for something she wont remember anyway. Yes, yes, I know I would have the memory of taking her, but that is quite a costly memory! Also, my parents live there, Disney is in their backyard, I think we will make it a few time in her lifetime-certainly no rush. However, I do love the Disney/Epcot area at Christmas and did want to go for a visit. So my mom, myself, Jamey and Ryan spent the day wandering around all the resorts (do you know how many resorts there are now? Back in my day, orange groves outnumbered the resorts-now I'm not so sure). Anyway, she got to hit the highlights anyway, the Wilderness Lodge, and then we hopped on the monorail for the resorts on that list (plus you can see the park and the castle). We ended up at the Boardwalk and hung out there for a bit. While she did awesome in all these places, I could tell that it may have upset me if she was so casual about the sights had we actually gone to the Disney...not her fault, but still. She did seem to like all the characters in the stores and people made quite a fuss over her! Our favorite part of the day was when we were at the Wilderness Lodge and decided to hang out by their pool (yes, we crashed the Wilderness Lodge's pool-hooligans) we noticed there were ducks in the pool and all around the grounds were friendly bunnies. Seriously, I dont know how Disney does it, maybe they put something in the water, but how do they make the real animals behave like cartoon characters? Unreal! Only Disney! I do know this, we will go next year, and I will bring more comfortable shoes.....

Seriously, just showing off!

For the love of all that is cute! I really dont have much to say about these pics except I just had to show her off...look at my precious daughter!!! Her eyelashes make me want to cry! AND she even made the octopus smile!

If you HAVE to spend Christmas in Florida....

then why not spend it at the beach? For crying out loud, it was 82 degrees the entire time we were there, not exactly Christmas temps. However, if you must spend Christmas in 82 degree weather, you might as well go to the beach! Being raised a Florida beach girl (I'm actually a Asheville mountain girl at heart) it is important for me that Ryan enjoys the beach. First of all, Grandma and grandpa live here so we will be going quite often, and secondly, I think it is weird when someone says they dont enjoy the beach-I just dont get it. Anyway, thankfully, she loved it-all of it, the wind, the sand, the water (which I was trepidatious about after the last melt down she had after putting her feet int he ocean-of coarse she was like what, 3 months old) but she did awesome! So now it is official, Ryan will have the beach in her veins and Asheville in her heart-just like mommy!

Christmas Day

Ryan's First Christmas Day was about as traditional as they come-wake up, open presents, get ready to go to an NBA game. Wasn't everyone's Christmas like that? I will talk about the game in another post, but opening her presents for her first Christmas was wonderful!! Hard to put into words. She may not be old enough to remember, or even know why all this is happening, but it certainly didn't stop her enjoyment of it all. She somehow knew how to tear off the wrapping paper (is that something we're are all born knowing how to do?) and would squeal with delight before we could even get the toy out of the box (note to self-next year bring a chain saw for getting the toys attached to the boxes-ridiculous). It was tons and tons of fun watching her play with all her news toys, but just as much fun watching her try to take down Grandma's tree. Pretty strong girl for 9 months and she nearly had it (that garland had it coming anyway). There was one point she was sitting in the center of all her millions of toys and didn't know what to play with next, overwhelmed, she chose to play with the box instead! Silly babies! All that fun and it was just the start of Ryan's big day-the game was next!!!

Also, Aunt Judy, as you can see Ryan is no longer afraid of the cow...Carol the Cow to be proper. :)

Orlando vs. New Orleans- A Fan is Born!

Those who know me know how I dreamed of playing in the NBA. Now, those who also know me know I am a wee bit over 5 feet tall (damn genetics). While I may have a sick fade away jumper, my plan may just be a pipe dream. So instead I settled for being a super fan of the game! I feel fairly confident that Ryan's fate will be the same, so we decided to start her fan ship early by taking her to her first NBA game Christmas Day AND it happened to be our beloved Orlando Magic (thanks to my little brother Jeff for the tickets!!). As a side note for all you parents out there, how wonderful of an excuse to do cool things than to use your child...just sayin'. We dressed her in Orlando's finest attire-yes that is a #12 Dwight Howard jersey that she is wearing! Even though Dwight is a bad ass, she looked ridiculously cute! I anticipated a few melt down moments with the noise factor (the line up announcement alone was insanely loud) but she sat so quiet and watched every minute. After sharing Grandma's beer (not really everyone-calm down) it was game on and she went into "Full on Ryan cuteness"; cheering, entertaining the people behind us, and her usual general merriment. Having a bottle (milk) at halftime, a nap during the third quarter (I think the entire arena, including the Magic took a nap during the 3rd) and back to cheering in the 4th-she brought the Magic a victory (or it may have been Dwights 21 pts, 11 rebounds). Needless to say-A Fan Was Born!!!

Oh Good Grief...Just Put the Camera Down!

I'm through apologizing for the thousands of photos I take of this girl...well except to her of coarse (I think her expression in the first photo shows her true feelings on this subject). I am well aware I've gone overboard, and frankly I dont care! I can promise that once we get though the holidays it should slow down dramatically. Now, after that preamble, on to Ryans "1st of 3 of her very First Christmas". Huh? It breaks down like this...this blessed child gets not one, not two, but THREE Christmas' (is that proper for plural Christmas?) Anyway, Nana and Papa Joe Newsome came to town and they could have used a sleigh to carry all the presents they had for this child. She may look like me to some and more like Jamey to others, she may roll her eyes like me, and laugh like me and be stubborn like me, but her patience she got from Jamey! She was in no hurry to rip open these presents....of coarse it helps she doesn't know what presents are and what is underneath the paper and ribbon....but still..her precision was familiar. But once all the paper was torn and ribbons were eaten..by either her or my cat Moe, it was play time and she had a blasty! She adored all of her new toys and didn't really know what to play with first. I think I made a comment that we were going to have to move just to hold all her toys (and that is not all that far off from the truth...sadly)! But it was a wonderful day, and despite having a KILLER stomach virus (that story has no place here) she had an awesome day! Many many thanks to the Newsomes!!! They braved the bug and came anyway-keeping my fingers crossed they don't get sick!
Here are a few videos from the day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tt_ZLUsxx8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZerfI7LMHCA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeNhhH4o01k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLPCMwW9Ls4

Videos, videos and more videos!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyLUqupwilw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeYbzeGfdUs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Dxs6DFOCw

A little bit about these videos (I always feel like i have to defend myself for some reason):
The first one is of her trying to crawl...she doesn't, so if you were expecting to watch 5 minutes and 30 seconds for her to heroically crawl at the end-you would be wrong. But she does rest her head on the ground in exhaustion! Riveting!

The second one is just her giggling at Steve. I keep this video around for evidence as to why we dont get rid of Steve when people ask (and they do ask). Just when we are on the verge of throwing him out the door into the cold we watch this video. The fact is, she loves this dog....it sucks for us!

The last one I really have no defense. I shot this and never even noticed that the branch of the tree kept poking her in the eye. Not real sure how that slipped past me. So which is worse, being aware and kept shooting because it is funny, or not even noticing at all??? I didn't know until I watched the video myself....this poor child! So while you are watching this and keep asking yourself, "why doesn't she put down the camera and move poor Ryan away from the tree?" I DIDN'T KNOW!

The Insane Pressure of the 1st Christmas Card...

Who would have thought the process of picking a picture for Christmas cards would be so unbearable. Actually, Jamey probably had a clue this wouldn't be easy for me, and maybe Rachael had an inkling. But for most people this process should be fun, easy, and memorable! But there is so much pressure I have placed on this stupid card that I am tempted not to send one at all, take that family, though it really isn't their fault that I am making this so difficult!
And it really isn't a bad problem to have, I have about 10 cute shots, of which I cannot decide between. Then there is the issue of the card itself, what color, how many photos to use, what to write, who to send them to....ARGGGGG. But what I need to remember, and what Jamey and everyone else who is normal and reasonable keeps telling me, is 1: it is just a Christmas card-people will LOVE it just because Ryan is on it and 2: IT IS JUST A CARD! Ahhh, nothing like a little perspective!
I just wanted to publicly say for all those who are trying to help me, I hear ya.... I'm listening and just give me a few more weeks to look these pictures over and then decide to go in a different direction entirely!

The Obligatory Thanksgiving Post

I feel like I am obligated to tell Ryan's first Thanksgiving story, for historical purposes only. Thankfully, it was a fairly uneventful trip and this should go quickly! We started the week prior kind of rough-Steve needed his vaccines in order to board, which caused a reaction, and a subsequent night spent getting fluids, the next day he was fine...Whew! Then on Tuesday we get a call from her daycare informing us to come get her she has a fever of 102.5, again. What??? So after a phone conversation with her doctor, it is determined that she has a cold...Whew again! Now we are packing-which I thought I hated packing before having Ryan, it has now become my nightmare-the bane of my existence if you will. It is Sucky Suckerson (forget it-too long to explain). Needless to say, we have to pack the entire house for an 18 pound little baby. And no matter how great my efforts are to pack "only what I need" the effort is futile. I ALWAYS over pack, and now, not only am I over packing for myself, but now my daughter has 25 outfit for a 3 day trip for crying out loud. Somehow we jammed it all in, the Jeep is loaded and we are ready to go, and only 1 hour behind schedule-not that we really have one of those anymore. The drive was fine, with the exception of Ryan developing a cough that kept waking her up and the anticipated traffic on Hwy 77 out of Charlotte. But we got there safe and sound, if only a few hours later than we thought (5 hour trip took 7). Now on to the main event (which I will explain in pictures-I don't have to write that much, you wont have to read that much and lets face it, they are prettier to look at!)

Thanksgiving Day! Some of Jamey's family members have met Ryan before (of coarse she was only a few months old then and WASN'T wearing her fancy new dress) so I was excited for them to see her all grown up (hee hee-the girl can't eat real food, or walk/talk, but she is grown up). Anyway, the day was perfect! I couldn't have scripted it better if I wanted to, she was STELLAR!!!!! She cooed on command, smiled when directed, ate ALL her dinner (which I will get into later), laughed when it was appropriate (which is unusual-she normally laughs inappropriately), rubbed her eyes when she was tired all cute like, napped when needed, woke smiley and basically charmed the hell out of the entire family! But enough of her-the best part-the food. Besides the peas (sorry-had to through that in there Nana) everything was wonderful (from the turkey to the broccoli casserole to the cheese muffins to the stuffing) and I ate my weight in it all-way more than I should have (which is normal right?) and Ryan followed suit: she had pureed turkey and gravy, sweet potatos, green beans AND applesauce for dessert. The best part is, she ate it all...not real sure where she put it!! But I guess she wanted to be just like mommy-fat and happy and SLEEPY!

It was a lovely day all around and soooo nice to see everyone again! Thanks so much to Nana and Papa Joe for the yummy treats and always feeding us so well!! We love you!

It is normally very pretty in NC during Thanksgiving and this year was no exception. The best part about these pictures is the back stories. In the first one, the pile of leaves was too enticing to pass up, however, I did not anticipate her sinking so quickly to the bottom and almost being swallowed up by the monster pile! And in the last picture, what you dont see and something we also failed to recognize was just how wet and dirty the bottom of the pile would be. Once we picked her up, her tights were filthy and her feet were all wet! Not to mention that she picked up a leaf with an enormous stem and immediately put it up her nose and that ended the photo session pretty fast!!!

Ahhh.....PEACE. Nothing brought her more happiness than her newest present from Nana-Pat the Puppy...or Patty the Puppy (whichever you feel like saying).