Good Luck Daddy!!

So the high school cheerleader in me came out tonight when I went down the candy aisle at the grocery store. Tomorrow is Cody's first football game as a coach at GHS and I always have some kind of little "good luck" gift for him each year before his first game. Well, when I was a cheerleader in high school we used to make these candy posters for the football players. You use the names of candy bars to write out some kind of good luck note. So...here is what Rylan and I came up with tonight for Cody.

We love you daddy, and no matter if you win or lose you'll always be the best coach ever in our eyes! We'll be there tomorrow night to cheer on the Lions!!

Haircut

We are EXTREMELY fortunate this year that Cody now works for an athletic director that is a great guy who knows the importance of family time. For the last 3 years when Cody was at TCHS he would leave the house at 5:00am and not get home until 10:00pm most every night. Plus, he was having to go into work for 10-12 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. It was ridiculous! Well, now at his new job he leaves the house at 7:00 (the same time Rylan and I leave) and he gets home about 7:00. And...no more working on Saturdays!!! He does have to go in for a few hours on Sundays, but it really doesn't interfere with church or family time.

So, since Cody was off Saturday we took Rylan to get his hair cut. His "official" first hair cut was a few months ago. Cody's grandma (Nanny) has done hair for years so she gave Rylan his first cut, but there really wasn't much to cut when she did it...just a little trim on the back. Well, the last few months his hair has grown like crazy. We took him to Sharkey's Cuts For Kids which is the cutest place ever! He got to sit in a rocket ship chair and watch a Veggie Tales movie while he got his hair cut. Now he looks like a clean cut little boy.

We are officially in full swing "back to school" mode. We are a well-oiled machine in the mornings at our house. Cody gets Rylan fed while I get ready and then I take over and get him dressed and ready to go while Cody is getting all of his stuff together. It's been a pretty easy transition going back to school this year...other than actually having to leave my baby of course.

Trying out the motorcycle seat at Sharkey's

Ready in the rocket ship for his haircut

"This isn't so bad when you're watching Veggies Tales!"

We Made It!!

Well, we made it! Both Momma and Rylan survived the week. Rylan FINALLY made it through a morning without screaming when I dropped him off. He has been having a great time playing with the other kids when I pick him up each day. His teachers are all so sweet and we are so glad we made the decision to put him at Bearfoot. He's literally about 1/4 mile down the road from me each day which is comforting. For now I am just excited that I have the weekend to be with my baby!

How Can You Not Love This?!

Rylan has the most contagious laugh I have ever heard. I absolutely love it when he gets to laughing this hard. I could be in the worst mood in the world and this laugh can change my whole day!

Please Tell Me It Gets Easier

Today I had to go back to work which meant I had to drop Rylan off at his new school. Let me just say IT WAS HORRIBLE!! When I tried to hand him over to his teacher he started screaming and clinging to me. I heard him scream the entire way down the hall and out the front doors. It broke my heart and I started crying before I got to my car. The thought actually crossed my mind to quit my job and run back in there and get him. I had to drive around for a while to stop crying before I went into work. I did call and check on him at lunch and I got there to pick him up as fast as I could at 3:30. He was a happy boy when he saw me, and I was a very happy momma!! I know tomorrow will still be hard, but I'm hoping each day will get a little easier for both of us.

Eating breakfast before his first day of school

All dressed in his new outfit

Finally back home with momma!!

A Little Family Get Together

We spent the day in Graham, Texas with Cody's side of the family. It had been a while since his mom's side of the family had all been together. Rylan had a great time playing out in the yard and giving the dogs, cats and the horse SEVERAL mooches. He was definitely outnumbered by all the little girls there, but that didn't stop him from joining in and squealing with the girls while they played chase...his daddy was so proud. :-) We really enjoyed getting to see everyone again and hopefully it won't be too long before we're all together again.

Giving the kitty a little more love before leaving.

The whole gang

Baby Steps

You all know that I have been shall we say, OBSESSED with what I let Rylan eat. However, I am perfectly fine being "that" mom if I instill healthy eating habits in my child. I see way too many overweight kids at my job and I have made up my mind that there is no sense introducing bad foods to Rylan at such an early age. He will have his entire life to eat cookies and candy and drink cokes. But for now he has no idea what a cookie is and I intend to keep it that way for a while longer.

Rylan was a great "baby food" eater. He LOVED every single jar of baby food they make...yes even the nasty meats. However, he has not transitioned to table foods very well. I'm not sure if it is a texture thing or if he's just being stubborn...probably a little of both. He will eat bread, cheese, raisins, and fruit from the table. Other than that...nothing!! I have even given in a little and tried all the usual kid foods like hotdogs, mac n cheese, pastas, etc. with no luck. He won't even try them. He is just happy having his jarred meats and pureed veggies. I realize he's only 16 months old and he won't go to Kindergarten still eating jarred baby food (knock on wood) but I am really ready for him to start on more table foods. Needless, to say I have sought out advice from several sources (friends, relatives, our pediatrician) and I think we are finally on the right path. This week Rylan has started eating baby carrots, peanut butter on his bread and more fruits. To most of you, this probably seems like incredibly boring news, but for me this is HUGE! The best came tonight when he actually ate an entire turkey and cheese sandwich on whole grain bread. Plus, he ate a whole bowl of fruit! I know it will take some time, but hopefully he will be on all HEALTHY table food within a month or two. For now we're happy with baby steps.

That's right folks, that's a sandwich in his hand and he ate the whole thing!!

He also ate every bit of his fruit bowl...good job Rylan!

In other news, I go back to work Monday so Rylan will start at his new private school. I am DREADING dropping him off that day. I almost start crying just thinking about it. Does it EVER get any easier to leave your baby??

Give Me A Sign

Forgive the poor quality of video since this was done with my digital camera and not the actual video camera. This is video of Rylan going through most of the signs he knows. I have been really big on teaching him signs and it has been a GREAT way for him to communicate with us while he is learning to speak the actual words. I think he stated doing the signs for "more" and "milk" when he was about 9-10 months old. He also knows the signs for train, thank you, and my mom's worked with him on signing I love you.

Such Big Shoes To Fill

One of my favorite things about Rylan is the fact that he LOVES to imitate his daddy. He also likes to put on his daddy's shoes. This morning he was trying to walk in Cody's shoes across the living room and it made me laugh, but it also made me appreciate the fact that Rylan has the best daddy in the world. I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather have my little boy imitate. I know he will become a great man just like his daddy, but he sure does have some big shoes to fill.

We Love The Aquarium!

We decided to spend the day at the Dallas World Aquarium since daddy didn't have to go into work today. This was Rylan's first trip to the aquarium and I think he really enjoyed it! It was pretty crowded so he didn't get to walk much, but he did get to see a lot of "fishies" which was all it took to make him happy.

Rylan and daddy having some fun together

Rylan really liked looking at the tank of stingrays and ducks. He did his best to "quack" when the ducks came by.

Loving the baby leash!!

Rylan and daddy checking out the waterfall.

This was probably Rylan's favorite part of the day. He stayed there watching the big cat for a good 10 minutes.

These dancers were putting on a show about the Mayan Indians. Rylan had a death grip on Cody's shirt for this picture. I don't think he was too sure of the Indians.

Rylan and momma

Momma wasn't too excited about being that close to sharks, but Rylan sure loved watching them.

Rylan's Lion Onesie

Last year I made Rylan a onesie for football season at TCHS. We of course were the Cougars and our colors were black and gold there. Well, now we are Lions and the new colors are red, white, and black. So...Rylan needed a new onesie to start off this season. Here is what I made him tonight. We are taking pictures tomorrow for the football program so hopefully I can get a good picture of him wearing his new onesie.

This was Rylan just a year ago...where did that year go?!!

It's All About The Hat!

First, I have to say thank you to Valerie for making our new blog header. Valerie is also a coach's wife that I met through a friend. I guess when your husband is always gone coaching you just automatically bond with other wives who go through the same thing. Anyway, thanks Valerie!

Lately, Rylan has become quite the "hat freak"...even when we aren't going out anywhere. He wants a hat on all the time! These are just a few of the pictures that I took tonight with Rylan and his hat. The last picture is the best!

Yep, even in the bath he wanted his hat on. What a goof ball!

First Night Away

On Saturday my mom (RoRo) came into town so she could stay with Rylan while Cody and I went to stay the night at The Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Sundance Square (Fort Worth) and just have a date night. I had never been away from Rylan for a night, but I knew that Cody and I needed some time alone since football season was starting up. We got over to Fort Worth and ate dinner at Ricsky's BBQ and then went to an improv comedy show at a place called Four Day Weekend. We have never laughed so hard in our lives and we can't wait to go back to another show with a group of friends. After the show ended we walked to Chili's for some late night dessert before heading back to the hotel for the night. It was such a fun, relaxing time! Of course I gave my mom strict instructions to send me a couple of picture mails of Rylan throughout the evening. That made it a little easier to be away from him. I do have to say that I slept so hard that night knowing that I didn't have a baby monitor to listen for. Rylan of course did fine with RoRo while we were gone. They went to the store to get watermelon, walked around the neighborhood, and just had a great time playing. RoRo said he was good entertainment for her and he kept her laughing the entire time. We came back around lunch time on Sunday and I was super excited to get some much needed "mooches" and hugs from my little boy!

Thanks RoRo for taking such good care of Rylan! We love you!