Mirror, mirror on the wall...

Rylie loves to climb up and sit infront of the mirror and squeel at herself!

Annex Girls Weekend

This past weekend the Annex had our girls weekend. We took 40 students up to the mountains of Wyoming, to a classic dude ranch. It was INCREDIBLE. Horseback riding (of which I could not do because of baby on board), snowshoeing, games, sledding, a great speaker...and the best home cooked meals. We were spoiled and we had so much fun. I must admit...staying up past midnight each night playing, makes me realize my age. I am now 16 years older than the Freshman class! They were born when I was a Jr. in High School. Wow.

Here is a shot, at the ranch, of the Annex girls staff, whom I get to walk with this year. They are stellar. They are what make my job so wonderful. I love you 7!!!

Here's looking at you babe!

Here are a few photo's from our 17 week ultrasound. (We are now 21 weeks...) Ain't she sweet!?







And, we think she has a name!!! She'l be the first to know though! Ha!

Music mice, and a potty!

Rylie is excited about everything. We so long for her to maintain her sense of wonder. What a priceless quality in children!!!

She is talking and singing ALL OF THE TIME. And there are so many moments we wish to caputer on film. Here is Rylie's second blog debut as a singer, singing, "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," with back up singer Aaron!



Chad called me at work last night to inform me that Ratawoowee had returned for a second visit. Fortunately he was outside. Rylie fed him a fishy cracker...and by the sounds of it, she was totally excited about the visitor!




We bought a potty on Monday!!! And, to our surprize Rylie immediately went potty on it right when she got home...two times in a row!!!! What!? She then proceeded to push it around the whole house, put toys in and out of it...and just wanted to sit on it a lot. She certainly is not afraid of the idea. We just need to figure out how to teach her that the potty is not a toy (I guess the fact that it is a froggy potty does not help.) Let the potty training begin! Way to go Rylie!

Rocks

Just another activity Rylie enjoys doing on a regular basis: throwing rocks into the lake across the street.

A hunting we will go...

We found an ugly bug on our porch yesterday...which Rylie was so intrigued by. So, today we decided to go out and hunt for bugs, in hopes to take one home in our "bug drum." Out the door we went, a hunting we will go. It took a while (which seems funny because they seem to be easily found when you do NOT want to find them!) Lo and behold, after looking in and out of bushes and up and down the grass, we found Ruby the ladybug. She is now Rylie's first pet!





After we "rescued Ruby" from her tree and brought her into Rylie's "bug drum," Rylie took Ruby for a walk in her shopping cart. She is a little rough on Ruby...pounding on the drum (hence the name of the aquarium we made), and turing it upside down, etc. By the end of our walk, she was a bit through with Ruby...leaving her on the side of the road. (I hope this is not any indication of what Rylie will be like when we take her baby sister home in February!) We did get Ruby back to our home...and perhaps tomorrow there will be a new interest in her.

Pumpkin Patch!

Tonight was a night full of pumpkins and pizza! What a great combination...and toss in dear friends Derek, Molly and their two boys Conor and Ryan, and it is nearly ideal. It was a beautiful evening, strolling through the patch! Rylie's favorite things were the wagon, and sitting at the wheel of the tractor. I think we will hit this patch one more time for play, before the season is out. (They also have the best grown corn! We'll be back!) One cute moment: when we were leaving the pizza parlor Conor was crying our for Rylie over and over because he did not want to leave his friend. We loved it.

Small group!

We had a BBQ with my small group Bible study this last weekend. This group is full of the most wonderful women...and it is a joy to get to know the families over time. It is amazing to think that when we began meeting 5 years ago...there were really not any kids yet...and most were still single! What a blast to walk with you ladies!



(Libby and Kim...we are sorry that we did not get you and your families in this shot!!! Next time!)

Happy Fall!

We love Fall! The air is crisp, the leaves are crunchy, the colors are incredible, and the sky is blue. The weather has just started to turn this past week and it is so much fun anticipating drinking hot cider, carving pumkins, warming by a fire...and of course jumping in big piles of leaves.

To ring in the season we did a little art project! This is one of Rylie's very first creatons!

Everyday moments...

Rylie reached a milestone today, and was quite proud of herself. She put on her shoes all by herself! I heard her from another room yell, "I did it!" And I went in...and she certainly had...even if they were on the wrong feet! Way to go Rylie!




Johnny-boy and Jean...this picture is for you. Here is the ADORABLE outfit you got Rylie a few months ago. I love saying that you got it in France! I am so happy she is big enough to wear it now...and that it is cold enough! Perfect timing! Thank you!



Here is Rylie bursting into song at the dinner table tonight. She sang this "bit" over and over, and over, and over. What a treat to have her at the table!



As a previous video shows, Rylie LOVES corn on the cob. She got so excited when she saw me shucking it tonight before dinner. Once she started to eat it, she kept on calling it "popcorn." Close!