We love

running

and piling

and laughing

and falling

and smiling

and throwing

and jumping

and sunshine

and cousins!

love, the rockinryans

8 months

You are so handsome!

Still Mr. Smiley,

but starting to show

you can have a temper too!

Once you tried "Big Boy" food

there was nooooo going back,

you scream if I even attempt to give you

a bite of baby food.

You love to eat

and are still a great sleeper.

You still loooove your Bubba

in fact,

that is all you can say~ "Bubba,bubba, bubba"!

The two of you are inseparable.

But your playing is becoming a little more

rough and tumble.

You like it,

but mama is having a hard time

watching my baby

rough-house,

although it does

make me happy

to see the two of you

want to be together

all the time.

When Big Guy does get too rough

I remind him that

in only 6 more pounds

you will be bigger than him.....

The day you turned 8 months

(you really like to milestone on your b-day!)

you pulled up to standing

and haven't stopped since.

You are still not the smoothest crawler

but just tonight started taking steps

with the lion.

In fact, you only want to stand now.



"Look Ma, one hand!"

You are still
a blast to be around
and we are excited
to spend your first
Holiday Season with you!
love, the Rockinryans



A Fishie Tail

Around a month ago

we moved Baby

into the crib

which meant Big Guy

had to go to his

big boy bed.

Big Guy

asked if he and Baby could share a room.

So we left the crib

and bed in the same room

and they love it!

But, Big Guy is afraid of the dark

and we were leaving his closet light on.

We thought it would be fun to add

some new pets

and have some light at night

so we got them a fish tank.

We followed all directions carefully,

picked out our fish

and even named them.

It is so funny to ask Big Guy

questions.

His answers often

make me laugh out loud.

When I asked what he wanted to name his fish

he quickly replied

"Yogurt Bites!"

For those of you who don't know

"Yogurt Bites" are these~~

A beloved favorite

snack for both my boys.

I say "bleh",

but hey,

they have helped us through

many shopping trips and church mornings.

So, anyway

Yogurt Bites lasted

one week.

One evening we walked into their room to get ready

for bed and Big Guy yelled

"OOOPPPSSS! He dead!"

I got teary eyed,

but he was blunt about it.

So we said our prayers,

talked about how the Fish went to Heaven

and are with Jesus.

We agreed we could get more.

He was handling it well.

I was glad to be honest.

Then Daddy walks in

looks in the tank...

"Ahhh, what happened? Daddy can fix them"

wink, wink.

"No", I said "He knows they are in Heaven".

Daddy dumps some "medicine" in the water

I leave and about 10min later hear

"Mommy, fish fixed!!"

I go in the room,

and there is one of the fish

"swimming"

and Big Guy grinning

"Daddy fixed him!!"

I even had to take a second look,

then realized

the fish

was only going

"belly up"

but caught in the wake spinning on his way to the top.

I return to buy more fish

only to see signs on 90% of their tanks

"Quarantined"

and mostly belly up themselves.

Seems they are having issues with

customers getting their own fish

and spreading "ick" all around.

So, we waited patiently

for fresh (hopefully healthy) fish

and are now on round two.

They love their new "Fishies"

and the

evening glow

of their tank

is a perfect nightlight.

Hopefully they will

love us a little longer

this time!

love, the rockinryans

Fall Harvest

Fall Harvest

is in full swing

(in between rain and snow).

Big Guy

has been waiting

and waiting

to get in the combine

with Daddy.

Remember this summer?

Well, he was ready to

"Be a big boy now"

and

"Not be afraid".

And he wasn't!

After a picnic lunch

(Yippee, outside in November!)

He jumped right on that combine

and rode with dad until

"He got hungy".

(Ummmm, we are having issues

with little brother stealing his food)  ;)

"Hey guys, come back!

You forgot me!"

Watching half my family

drive away

was hard.

Knowing my boys are growing so fast

and that soon

my little buddy

who waited with me so patiently

this year

would probably

be on that combine

next year,

leaving me alone,

made me sad.

But knowing

I am so so so proud

of my husband,

his hard working character,

being passed on

to our sons.

Makes me happy.

I love the fact that

when they see their daddy

their faces light up

they giggle

and reach for him.

They are interested in what he does

and who he is.

Great job again Ryan boys!

Maybe someday you will teach Mommy,

or maybe I will just bring a book!

love, the rockinryans

mommy inventions

Two of the BEST inventions

that make Mommy-hood

just a tad easier...

1. A super smooth

shopping adventure!

2. Happy Hour!

(Will do anything for Slushee...)

(shhhhh, don't tell....I still like bribes!)

#1 WORST invention EVER

torturing Mommies for days

every year...

TIME CHANGE.

1. How to explain to these two

exhausted boys

they still have another hour

before it is even close to bed time...

can someone please bring ME

a slushee???

love, the rockinryans

Pardy Hardy!!

This boy has been

obsessed

with all things birthday

ever since

his 2nd b-day party.

He is constantly

singing

"Happy burfday",

pretending to bake cakes

and wrapping up his toys as "presents".

So when he found out

his best girl,

Tay-Tay was having her birthday party

he was thrilled!

And bowling....

even better!

He had a blast,

did great bowling,

Loved being

the only

boy

at the party!

And spending time with Tay.

Happy Birthday Tay-Tay!

We had a blast at your

paarddy!

love, the rockinryans



Happy Hallo-ROAR!!

We started our celebrations

at a huge party!

Really,

there were so many kids,

no one dare count!

We had a great time!

As shown

by this tuckered out

little guy.

He passed out before we

left their driveway!

Daddy and the boys

prepared the jack-o-lanterns.

Big guy

still wasn't

keen on "getting dirty"

so daddy once again did most the work alone.

We made some yummy

eyeballs

for supper...

"MONSTER EYES!!! WAHHHAHAH"

And got our candy ready

to pass out.

We went outside

to check on our

jack-o-lanterns

and look what walked

right in front of us!

We knew this was

a sign of

good luck!

We went back inside

and baby got attacked

by a ghost!

Big brother to the rescue....

Some friends came over...

guess who we caught sneaking candy.

(We knew the quiet had to mean something!)

Time for costumes!

I wasn't going to push Baby

into wearing his.

He really doesn't like clothes,

getting his coat on is a wrestling match.

But he LOVED being a lion!

He was gurgling and giggling,

so proud of himself!

(WHY don't I get my VIDEO camera out? UGH...)

Big Guy practiced his biggest

Dino-ROOAAAR!!!!

And they were off

to get some candy

of their own.

The lion and the lady

hung out together

dreaming of the day

when they get candy!

When the big guys returned

they counted their loot,

ate some lots

and crashed

with dirty faces

and sticky fingers.

We would count that

as a very great Halloween!

love, the rockinryans