Category Archives: Ryder’s Monthly Posts

hangry.

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Life has been busy the past few days and I’ve been trying to get into my new groove.

Over the weekend I was quite grumpy with Andy at random times and the sight of him was just ticking me off.

He had done NOTHING to make me mad. I even got some free time this weekend.

I knew I was being irrational but couldn’t figure out WHY I WAS SO ANGRY WITH HIM.

Then it hit me.

I’m hangry.

Hangry = hunger induced anger.

He was still eating the same ole stuff while I was having salads and other various health food and I realized that for some reason I was so mad at him about the whole thing subconsciously.

Women are quite hard to deal with after all.

We get mad at you and WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY, which is totally rational.

So, after my revelation, I tried to be less hangry with Andy.

I’ll let you know if this continues or if the hanger takes over again.

Anyways.

In the midst of the New Years/Christmas stuff, Ryder turned 18 months old.

How? Why? How?

I seriously can’t believe it!

I will do a more formal 18 Month post if I ever get some good pictures of her. That’ll be my goal for the week.

I did get a little video of her talking, though!

Because of the crazy flu outbreak this year, Rory’s Christmas program ended up being rescheduled to yesterday. I was so glad because we thought we missed it while on the cruise!

Rory’s class were little bunnies! They were SO cute!

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I got two videos of the program- Rory is on the front right most of the time. Hope you can find her!


Hope you liked the videos! Happy Wednesday!

Happy 1st Birthday, Ryder!

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I am ONE YEAR OLD today!

As you can see, I have started pulling up! Mommy and Daddy had to lower my bed!

I have had the best couple of weeks with Mommy AND Daddy at home! I’m really starting to love on Daddy more and not be such a Momma’s girl.

I started really crawling the past week or so. I still scoot a lot, but if I really want to go fast (like when I try to get away from mom and dad!), I will get on all fours and go!

I’m a mischievous little stinker like my big sister, Rory. My favorite word is “no” and I think it is so funny when someone tells me “no”. I think mom and dad are scared!

Here are my stats for one year:

- 18 lbs and 31 inches long! I grew FOUR inches since 9 months! I’m going to be tall!

- Eating like a champ. FINALLY! I love almost all table foods and am such a good eater! Although, mommy gave me refried beans tonight and I screamed and pitched a big fit about it. They were nasty!

- Wearing 6-9 mo clothes. I’m really starting to catch up!

- Size 2 shoe and size 3 diapers.

- Saying “no”, “dada”, “momma”, “dog”, “ball”, “whoa”, “Jers”… and shaking my head “no” whenever someone asks me a question. I think this is hilarious!

- Sleeping THROUGH THE NIGHT 7pm to at least 6:15am. (Hallelujah and amen! Now if we could get Rory to sleep… ha!)

Here I am from birth to 12 months- can you believe how much I’ve grown?!

I can’t wait to see what this next year brings!

Thank you for being there for all of us this year and praying for me! I’m one tough little girl and am feeling so wonderful all the time now!

———-

Dear Ryder,

I honestly can’t believe its been a year since you were born. Time has gone by so slow and too fast all at the same time. When you were little I thought we’d never get to this day, and now I can’t believe we are here, celebrating your first year.

I talk a lot about how hard this year has been, but I want you to know that it has been the most precious year of my life as well. You have taught me so much in such a short amount of time. I have a new sense of faith and hope that I would have never experienced had we not had you. I have experienced a peace beyond understanding, a peace I had no idea existed. When I handed you off to the surgeon, my body was flooded with that peace and comfort because I knew you were God’s child and He was with you and with me in our darkest hour.

Because of you I have experienced friendship like never before as well. People flooded me with kindness and love. Friends prayed for us without ceasing. They were there for me, encouraging me and asking others to pray for you. I realized what true friendship was and also found out what a Christian family really is.

I learned about patience and calmness this year after your birth. There was no other way with you besides to have patience and remain calm in the chaos around me those months before surgery and right after.

I learned how to be a better mom, wife, friend, sister, etc. I learned about letting go of things that hurt me in the past and moving on with relationships to make them better and closer.

And probably the most important lesson I have learned is to let go. That was a hard lesson for me to learn, but as soon as I finally, truly gave you to the Lord everything seemed to come into place. Though it was still so hard to see you so sick, I knew that God was going to take care of our family no matter what. Of course I pleaded with Jesus as you walked through those surgery unit doors to not take you away forever… oh, how I pleaded. But I knew that even if He did that I would be blessed for giving you to Him completely.

I am so thankful that God worked miracles in your life and healed you completely. I am so thankful for the smile He gave you at such an early age (no exaggeration, by one month you were “social” smiling… we have so many witnesses to this miracle) that helped me remain positive and hopeful. I can’t express how thankful I am that even with tubes running out of you from everywhere, you still always had a smile on your face. It surely kept a smile on mine.

Now, at one, you are the most precious, happy “baby” that has ever lived! Your personality has just blossomed and you are so hilarious. You have a major flare for the dramatics and are always keeping us in stitches. You are very strong-willed and independent. I never thought you’d be as strong-willed as Rory, but I think you have her beat now! You and Rory are so much a like, its scary at times! Rory is your best friend, and you are hers, and you two have the best time together. Y’all wrestle, giggle, hug, fight, and love on each other all day long. You both keep me on my toes and I love every second even though it’s so exhausting.

You have taught me and many others so much this year about God’s power and amazing, grace-filled love for us. I wouldn’t change a single thing because I know it has made us a closer family and me a better person.

I promise to never forget to treasure you and to never forget what we went through and overcame by the grace of God. Thank you for giving me the most amazing year of my life.

I love you more than words could ever say,

Mommy

 

 

 

ELEVEN MONTHS OLD!

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I’m ELEVEN months old today and I’m just giddy about it, can’t you tell?!

In just ONE month I will be a whole year old. I’m getting so big!

This month has been a really fun month for me because I’m able to get around wherever I want to go now. I’m a scootin’ fool, y’all! Mommy and Daddy don’t think I will ever really crawl because I am so fast at scooting on my bottom. I’m also starting to try to pull up some too.

Another big new change this month is that I FINALLY have a tooth! I have one tooth all the way out on the bottom but Mommy thinks I have a couple of more coming in right now too. Everyone is so excited that I’m getting teeth and I am too, but MAN do they hurt! I’ve been pretty grumpy about the whole tooth thing!

Daddy and Mommy are always laughing at me because I’m so sneaky. And I am always trying to get in and OUT of trouble. I scoot away as fast as I can if I have something I’m not supposed to. And if they start coming at me to take something away I throw it as hard as I can. Mom and Dad say that I’m going to be a worse stinker than Rory, can you believe that?!

I love to reach and grab people. I pretend like I’m hugging but really I’m kind of mean about it. I pull Mommy’s hair and Rory’s hair all the time. And I pinch Daddy’s face. Mommy has started really having to start getting onto me about it, but it hasn’t slowed me down at all.

Here’s my stats at 11 months:

- I weigh over 17 lbs!!! I’ve jumped up to the 10th percentile! Woohoo!

- I eat 5 oz bottles (well, I’m supposed to but I don’t always eat my bottles)

- I wear 3-6 month clothes and a size 3 diaper.

- I’m eating table food like crazy! Once mommy gave up trying to feed me baby food I have really taken off with my eating and love to feed myself! I love veggies, cereal bars, beans, meat, etc. She will pretty much eat anything you give her.

- Saying “mamamamama”, “daddY” (so stinkin’ cute), “dawww” (dog), “uh ohhhh”

Here is a little video of me and Rory playing. Its a little long (5 min or so), but Mommy wanted to catch me playing like usual so everyone could see!

See y’all next month when I’m ONE YEAR OLD!!!!!!!

10 MONTHS OLD!

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For so long I was naive and believed that my precious, tiny, happy, smiley Ryder would never grow out of me taking her monthly pictures.

Well.

Today she grew out of them.

And there was a lot of attitude involved.

I am mourning the loss of this time.

Anyways!

Ryder is TEN MONTHS OLD today!

Little squirt is still as sweet as ever and this has been a really fun month!

She’s more active and is getting around everywhere.

No, she isn’t crawling, she’s scooting! She scoots on her little butt everywhere. You’ll think she’s so slow and then you leave the room for a second and come back and she’ll be all the way across the room. She’s incredibly sneaky!

Ryder is into everything too and Andy and I call her our little tornado. Her absolute favorite thing to do is to dump everything out of baskets, drawers, cabinets, etc.

Ryder loves to dance these days too. Anytime music comes on she dances away. Its so cute! Rory was always (still is!) the same way when it came to music.

Ryder is so much like Rory in so many ways- her sneakiness, her ability to make everyone laugh, her love for animals, her dancing skills, and her devilish smile.

But they are SO different in a lot of ways too- Ryder is a wonderful sleeper (Rory is NOT), Ryder hates to be touched for the most part and Rory is a huge snuggler, Ryder is VERY meticulous when it comes to eating and at this age Rory just scooped what she wanted in her mouth and threw it down.

Not Ryder though- she picks up every.single.bite one by one and eats every bite without wasting any food from her table. Which is hilarious seeing as we cannot get her to eat a bottle ever and she refused to eat baby food or anything from a spoon.

Ryder has started pulling up some, just on her knees. Isn’t that face hilarious?! She was so proud!

Rory “helped” me get pictures of Ryder today which is probably the reason I got ONE good picture- ha!

Those girls are the best of friends these days. Ryder ADORES Rory and thinks every thing she does is hysterical. Rory has gotten very protective of Ryder too so its a lot of fun!

The above picture is Ryder waving “bye”. Half the time she just sticks her arm straight out like that and says “ba! ba!” without moving her arm. Its hilarious! Miss Anna and Miss Nora have been teaching her to wave though so she’s starting to do that more and more!

Here’s the stats for Ryder at 10 months:

- Weighs 15.8! (Just weighed her yesterday- 3rd percentile)

- “Eating” 5 oz bottles… except that she never takes a full one because she’s too busy. And she doesn’t want anyone holding the bottle for her now. She wants to do it herself! (And I am NOT complaining on that one!)

- Size 3 diaper.

- Size 3-6 month clothes. I’ve been trying to find some shoes for her but her foot is so tiny and skinny nothing at all fits.

- Eating all kinds of table foods! She’s a great eater when it comes to table food. Unfortunately it’s really no caloric value at this point so thats why she’s stalling on the gaining weight for now.

- Saying dada, dog (doh), bye bye (bah bah), no no no, and very rarely mama. (Little butt. ha!) Also waving bye and giving high fives!

Just TWO MORE MONTHS until I’m ONE! Can you believe it?!

Nine Months Old! (and other surprise traditions)

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Time is really starting to fly- I’m NINE months old today!

This has been the best month for me yet! I am happy and playful ALL the time! I always have a huge smile on my face!

Daddy and Mommy call me “the flirt” because I love to smile a flirty smile at everyone I see. I also love to do my flirty smile right before I do something mean like pull hair or pinch you!

I’ve gotten to be quite the stinker myself these days, but I learn from the best- my sister Rory! Mommy and Daddy are going to have their hands full with us two!

I started going to Mother’s Day Out this month and I am LOVING it. Everyone was so worried about how I’d do away from my Mommy since I used to be so attached to her, but I’m doing awesome! Mrs. Nora even said I was the best baby in the room! I love my teachers Mrs. Anna and Mrs. Nora- they are the sweetest ladies in the world!

Going to MDO has helped me so much too. I’m no longer fussy and clingy during the days. I’ve also finally gotten more interested in moving. I’m nowhere near crawling yet, but I’ve been getting on my tummy more and more! And I’m starting to love jumping in my excersaucer! I think its so fun to jump- I just laugh and laugh the whole time!

The other big thing I’m doing this month is eating so much better! I’ve been eating my bottles pretty good and will even hold the bottle all by myself. Mommy loves that I can feed myself so she can do other things if she needs to during my feeding time. I’m also loving table food! I eat lots of soft solids- broccoli, carrots, peas, green beans, puffs, etc. My absolute favorite food is broccoli though!

Here’s my stats for this month:

- I weigh about 15 lbs! I’ve been fluctuating between 14 and 15 lately.

- I am in 3-6 month clothes! Mommy (and especially Daddy!) is so happy because I’m the size Rory was her first summer so I get to wear all her summer clothes!

- I wear size 3 diaper.

- I hate anything on my feet just like my sister!

- Taking 5 oz bottles.

- SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT. Mommy is scared to even say that because she doesn’t want to jinx it but I’ve been sleeping 7pm-7am pretty consistently for about a month. Now if only I could teach Rory to sleep through the night so she wouldn’t wake me up sometimes!

- I say “dada” and “nonononono” all day long. I’m also saying what the parents think is “dog” and I’ve been saying “mama” sometimes too.

Only three more months until I’m ONE year old! Can you believe it?! See y’all next month!

—-

Tiffany here.

On Rory’s nine month birthday I took a pregnancy test that was positive.

In keeping with tradition I decided to take one today just for kicks and grins.

PS: My plan backfired.

PPS: Andy literally had a heart attack. He was telling me he was getting me fixed IMMEDIATELY.

PPPS: I thought he was going to hit me in the face when I said “April fool’s”!

PPPPS: I got you too, didn’t I?

Eight Months Old!

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I am EIGHT months old!

Time is flying by and I’m having so much fun these days!

I am just the happiest baby now and play all the time! I am a MAJOR Momma’s girl though. If she’s in the room, I usually don’t want anyone but her. It wears Momma out, but she loves it too! I loved being around all my family in TN this month though!

I thought I’d show you Rory in this same outfit that I have on…

yes, you read that right- Rory was only three months old when she wore this outfit- ha! Mommy says she didn’t realize how chubby Rory was until I came along! This is Rory’s eight month post if you’d like to compare us. :)

This is a big month for me because it marks six months since my heart surgery! I am doing SO GREAT now and no one would even know I was ever so sick!

These days I’m just super silly and so much fun to be around!

So what’s up with me at 8 months?!

- I weigh 13 1/2 pounds!

- I’m wearing 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes.

- I eat 4 oz bottles, sometimes 4.5 oz.

- I’m eating some solids and LOVE puffs!

- I’m showing a little interest in moving around but don’t like to lay on my back or stomach for long. Mommy thinks I will either just scoot on my butt or go straight to walking instead of crawling.

- Mommy thinks I am starting to teeth some. I like to put everything in my mouth.

Okay, see y’all next month… don’t miss me too much! ;)

Seven Months Old!

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Y’all, I’m SEVEN Months Old!

You’d never believe it, but I had to go to the doctor today, and I have a double ear infection!

Doesn’t keep me from smiling though!

When Rory was seven months old, she had an ear infection too! How weird is that?! Look how chubby my big sister was!

This has been the best month yet for me! Mommy got me a new doctor that I love and got me to see a specialist about my tummy! I’m on a new formula and am feeling so good now!

Now that I am feeling so good (besides cold/ear infection) I am happy ALL THE TIME. Its like a different world all together without pain! I love to play with my toys and especially my sister. I will sit and play on the floor forever all by myself.

I also LOVE to pull my sister’s hair. Mommy gets onto me (because Rory needs to know its not ok to pull hair) and I just laugh and laugh at her. Mommy says I’m going to be as big of a stinker as Rory! Everyone says she’s going to have her hands full with us!

I always hear Daddy and Mommy talking about how funny and sweet I am. I guess they are right about that!

I am a momma’s girl to the max! When Mommy drops me off at the church nursery, I start crying as soon as I see the nursery workers! I don’t like to be away from my mommy ever!

So what’s up with me this month?!

- I weigh 13.4 lbs! (4th percentile)

- I eat 4 oz bottles. I’m starting to eat some soft solids, but don’t try and feed me baby food! I go all lock jaw on mommy everytime I see a spoon!

- I wear 0-3 month clothes but Mommy is making me wear some 3-6 month stuff and just letting it be big, ha! (Rory wore the outfit I’m wearing on her six month post if you want to see how cute she was in it!)

- I still don’t have any teeth and I’m not showing any signs of getting them either!

See y’all next month!

—–

Mommy Interruption: Ok, let me tell you how hilarious it was to take Ryder’s pictures this month. She started doing this “teased” thing where she scrunches her nose and squints her eyes whenever you smile big at her. I swear, y’all, she is THE BIGGEST FLIRT EVER. Andy and I crack up at this all the time.

So, about 90% of my pictures looked like this because she kept doing “the flirt look” as we call it:

And then 5% looked like this picture where she is extremely serious about whatever it is that she’s trying to tell me:

Isn’t she so funny?!

Six Months Old!

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Can you even believe that I’m SIX MONTHS OLD?!

Man, I am the smiliest baby on earth!

Mommy was reading Rory’s 6 Month post earlier and was laughing at how it said they tried for days to get sister’s picture. Mommy and Daddy threw me in the bed today and took pictures for about 2 minutes and called it a day. That’s one of the perks of being the second child! They don’t have that much time on their hands!

Mommy put Rory’s picture and my picture up next to eachother… here’s a comparison of us at the same age:

I’ve been trying out some new formula and I hate it. So the ‘rents have to mix it half and half with the soy formula until I get used to it. They say I’m the most difficult child when it comes to eating and I say to them “hey! you try having your chest cut open!”.

Most of the time I am the most pleasant, easy baby. I smile and laugh at everyone all the time and love to play with my big sister, Rory.

I also started LOVING my elephant toy and my monkey. Well, actually, my MiMi made this monkey for Rory but now I have to sleep with it. Mommy puts him next to me in the crib and I talk to him until I go to sleep. It makes Mommy and Daddy so tickled.

I’m excited about 2012 and that I’m finally getting to go to a doctor to help me eat better!

Here’s what I’m up to at 6 months:

- I weigh an even 13 lbs and am 25 1/2 inches long. I’m in the 4th percentile for weight and the 40th for height!

- I drink 4 oz bottles. Daddy about had a heart attack when he found out my new formula costs $30 for about 1/4 the amount as the other kind does. Pray for him, he has high blood pressure, you know.

- I wear size two diapers.

- I’m starting to be able to wear some 3-6 month clothes!

- My tummy cannot handle rice cereal at all, but I have tried sweet potatoes and squash. And I hate them both. We’re working on it though!

- I sleep from 7:30 to about 12ish and then until 4:30 and then until 6:30 or 7. I was sleeping through the night for about two weeks and then my tummy started hurting again.

- I take three good naps a day.

Happy New Year Everyone! See you next month! Oh and enjoy the video of my eating squash!

 

FIVE MONTHS OLD!

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(The Thanksgiving blogs will have to wait because Ryder is FIVE months old and she wanted to tell you all what she’s up to!)

I’m FIVE Months Old!

I am getting to be such a big girl! Can you tell?

Mommy put this dress on me thinking you all would be able to see my fat rolls. Oh well- I promise they are there if you look really hard!

My Aunt Telena got me this dress for Christmas! Its so comfy and cute! I loved wearing it!

Since we have been home from our fun Thanksgiving trip, I have been sleeping so good! I’m still not sleeping through the night, but I am taking better naps in my crib and sleeping longer periods of time. As long as you swaddle me up in my “snuggie” thing, I’m out!

I love to talk. I’ve been cooing and babbling all day. I talk to Rory and the dogs the most, they are so fun to look at! This is how most of the pictures Mommy took looked because I was busy talking to her the whole time!

I’m such a sweet baby. I smile and laugh all the time. Mommy and Daddy can’t decide if I look like Rory or not- what do you think? Click here to see Rory at five months old.

At five months I’m:

- weighing in at 12.8 lbs!

- eating 3 oz bottles (STILL, yes, I know. Oh well, maybe one day we will get her to eat more!)

- wearing 0-3 and some 3-6 months clothes

- wearing a size 2 diaper

- NOT eating baby food. Mommy gave it to me yesterday and it make me throw up A LOT. Guess my tummy isn’t ready!

- playing so well by myself. Mommy lays me on the floor or puts me in the bouncy seat and I will sit and play for a long while. (This is a huge accomplishment for her!)

Can’t wait to tell you what’s happening next month when I’m half a year old!

PS: Happy Birthday Aunt Tasha!

 

Three Months Old!

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I’m THREE months old today!

Can you believe Mommy forgot?! She’s so crazy!

The good thing about her forgetting though is that she just kind of threw together some pictures and didn’t make me smile for long. She says sorry for the not-so-great pictures.

Mommy said I was a heifer because I smile all the time except when she really wants me to. Heifer is her term of endearment for sister and me, just in case you didn’t know.

As you know, SO much has happened this past month! Two weeks ago I had open heart surgery to make me all better. I’m so glad too because now I can eat without getting tired and I’m not starving all the time anymore!

Can you tell how much weight I’ve gained?! I’m 11 pounds and 23 1/2 inches tall!

I am wearing my 0-3 month clothes and they fit so much better.

I can eat 3 ounces now! My doctors say that’s still low for my age, but I’m working on it!

Daddy wanted me to wear camo for the start of deer hunting season today! And Rory decided to show me how to smile for pictures so she got in on the photo shoot!

I am such a happy, easy baby! I smile all the time and make everyone around me smile too!

And unlike my silly sister, I’m sleeping so great at night. I only wake up once, and sometimes I sleep all night! I’m just so glad they don’t have to wake me up to feed me anymore!

I absolutely love bath time! I even like sponge baths, if you can believe it! After my surgery I couldn’t have real baths until my bandages came off. Mommy got my reaction to my first bath on her phone. I thought it was wonderful!

I can’t wait to see what this next month brings now that I’m all better!

Oh! And thank you for praying for me during my surgery! It really helped Mommy and Daddy feel better about it!

(PS- Happy Birthday GiGi!)