No Pictures, But Fun

For some reason I always feel like I have to have a picture to post with each entry. Things happen, great things, but I don't write about them because I don't have a picture to prove that it really happened! So here's a post, without a picture, because I just feel like documenting the fun I have.

My sister-in-law, Amy recently celebrated her 30th birthday. We decided to have a girls night out on Friday night, and leave the kiddos home with the daddies. The 5 of us girls set out for a night of scrapbooking. Let me just say that I don't really love scrapbooking, but I DO love spending time with my sisters. And, I love the end result of a scrapbook...my pictures together in one place rather than a shoe box or shopping bag. I've probably mentioned before, my lack of creativity and talent for scrapbooking. I usually copy people's pages, and still, they don't end up as I had hoped. As much as I stressed while scrapbooking (it's hard to sit there next to my sisters who produce these amazing pages) I have not laughed that much in a very long time. We all got together at Archiver's which has a crop mania (or scrap mania, or something like that) on Friday nights from 5-11pm. For a small fee you get to use their tables, die cut machines, stamps...whatever, plus they feed you dinner. And of course you have access to the store where you can charge up a bill throughout the night and then experience shock at the end of the night when you have to actually pay the bill. (Don't worry, my bill was small...I refrained which is easy when you don't know what most of the tools and products are!!). They also give out prizes throughout the night...stickers, stamps, ribbon...So anyways, I just laughed with my sisters and enjoyed every minute of our scrap night. We were by far the loudest group there, and we even worried we would be kicked out or asked to never return again. We were just having so much fun, it's hard to hold back laughter when you get together with such nutty family! I even won the grand prize at the end of the night which was a scrapbooking wallet that I have no idea what I'm going to do with! I just love my sisters.

Yesterday we had a Halloween party with Kevin's family. It was at his parent's house and I was in charge of the food. I asked his mom to make her delicious potato chowder, and I bought some pumpkin shaped bread bowls. I spent Sunday night and all day Monday in the kitchen. I neglected Rylan but he was such a trooper and mostly let me get things done. He helped me with a few things, including shaping the Witches Fingers which turned out so creepy that several people refused to eat them. We also made Mummy Pizzas, Monster Eyeballs, Mummy Toes, Pumpkin Brains, Spider Bean Dip, Spooky Sushi, and the list goes on. Sadly I forgot my camera, but Kev's dad snapped a few photos that I will hopefully be able to post later. I absolutely love food. I don't necessarily enjoy cooking dinner every night, but party food is great! Maybe I just love the reaction, especially from kids..."I dare you to eat the finger" or "Ewww gross, Lukey just ate an eyeball". Isn't it great how every holiday has some sort of food related to it? That must mean that we, as humans, live to eat, rather than eat to live, right?? Ok, ok, maybe it wasn't meant to be that way and through so much enjoyment we have just made it that way. But, oh what fun can be had when people get together to EAT! Aubrey and Mary put together some crafts and games for the kids to keep them occupied and entertained while the adults chatted and relaxed. I think I should have a Halloween party every year.

Rylan just woke up from his nap. From the neglect the last couple days I deemed today Rylan's day. We spent a long time at the park this morning, we read books, played outside...what will he choose now? Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll have fun :)

Miss Kirra Grace

Happy Birthday Miss Kirra Grace with such a sweet face!

We celebrated Kirra's 2nd birthday with a Halloween Party. We carved pumpkins, had a bat pinata, decorated monster cupcakes, and ate some yummy ghoulish food. Kirra (in the middle picture, with the dolly) is such a sweet girl. She takes care of Rylan like he is her own baby doll. She even shared her swedish fish with Ry after which Rylan refused dinner in hopes of getting more fish to stuff in his tummy!

Rylan peeked inside each pumpkin trying to find out where that beautiful light was coming from! Forget the spooky pumpkins, he just wanted the candle.

The kids were hesitant about digging out the pumpkin guts, but one dip inside and they were all for the goo and squish. I'm sure next year they will be hesitant again, until they are reminded of how much fun it is to get your hands dirty in that orange slime.

We are having a Doyle Halloween Party at Kevin's parents house on Monday for family home evening. I'm in charge of the food and I'm very excited. I have some great spooky food recipes that will creep everyone out! Now Kevin and I just have to find costumes. He is working late the rest of the week for the yearly convention, so the costume search is all in my hands.

So I've been caught up in reading the Twilight series. I heard several ladies comment on their love for Edward and I laughed at them. Well, I am madly in love with these books! Edward has captured us all! Not that they are the greatest books ever written, but I find myself reading with a big smile on my face. I've laughed, I've cried, and "one more chapter" is never enough. I will get the third book from the library this afternoon, which means my house will be neglected for the next few days while I curl up in a blanket and let these characters take over my life. Of course that will be after Rylan is in bed and Kevin is working late!

Jump On It

We went to Jump On It with Xango to jump to our hearts content. Well, that's only partially true. I had knee surgery (ACL reconstruction) just one year ago, so I was very cautious. I didn't dare try anything more than I was very comfortable with, and even then I was hesitant. So just a few jumps, a bum war with Kevin, and I was finished. But that wasn't enough to fill the desires in my heart. See, I'm a gymnast at heart, and it was painful for me to see the boundless tricks I could do on these many trampolines, but my physical condition held me back. I haven't even been on a tramp for over a year, but the sight of all these trampolines made me dream of back flips and twists and the many ways the human body can move if we just guide it in the right direction. A whole lot of tears were shed last year when I hurt my knee and was out for the volleyball season. It just didn't seem fair to have that taken away from me. But shrieks of joy have been heard this season at our first practice when my serves were right on and my sets were beautiful. It's okay to brag, right? So even though I couldn't actually jump to my heart's content, at least I'll be able to enjoy the volleyball season!


Kevin sadly has a bum knee as well. He also had his ACL reconstructed a few years ago so we were both just fine hanging out in the "4 feet and under" section watching Rylan. Our knees didn't hold us back from endulging in the pizza and cookies either. It's a good thing we find some enjoyment in food, even if it isn't a lasting pleasure, but more of a stomach ache!


As far as I know, Rylan's knees are great, but he was still our cautious little boy. He tested out the waters before he was brave enough to even stand on the tramp with other people there. He didn't really jump, but rather ran in circles on the tramp with that slight bounce that brought no danger. I take comfort knowing he's so cautious and I hope that in the years to come he'll make sure everything is just as safe before he's willing to try new things. Of course it's good to take risks here and there, but for the safety of my son, I'll encourage this innocent caution he has in him!

So Sad

As soon as Kevin gets home from work, Rylan knows it is time to go outside. He loves working outside with dad. Last night, Kevin was going to return some shovels and pics and other items that he has borrowed from neighbors over the last month. He turned on the hose to spray them down and Rylan was in heaven. He took the hose and even though it was freezing outside, he was having such a great time spraying down the patio and getting himself all wet. Well, since it was so cold, and it was dinner time, Rylan's fun didn't last long enough. Kevin turned off the water so I could take Rylan inside, and Rylan was very very sad.

It's all about Rylan

My life really is all about Rylan. He wakes up shorlty after I wake up...either I make too much noise in the kitchen or he smells breakfast cookin! We spend all day together and I have a brief period in the early evening when Rylan gets his daddy time outside playing in the mud. Of course, that's when I'm cooking dinner so it's not really the "me" time I need some days. Then it's time to feed Rylan dinner, and have quiet time before we read books and sing songs and get in our pj's to be ready to get in bed. I find myself staying up later and later just doing the things I want to do but I don't get to do during the day...watch tv curled up on the couch with my hubby, read a book, scrapbook...Then I get in bed just to share with Kevin all the cute things Rylan did that day and I find myself wanting to get Rylan out of bed to give him one last hug! So, this post is yet again, all about Rylan...

Rylan has been surprising me with new things everyday, so here comes many stories about Ry in the last week.

We were reading "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed". As soon as I got to the page with the doctor (the doctor said "No More monkeys jumping on the bed") Rylan started shaking his finger. I don't think I have ever shook (is that a word?) my finger at Rylan so I guess I must do that when we sing the song or read the book! I started laughing, but continued reading the book. Each time the doctor came up, Ry would shake his finger and laugh. He was so proud of himself for catching on...and of course, so was I!

Second story: We were building block towers. I said "knock it down" and he just looked at me. So I tried to show him and I said "do this" as I made a fist and pretended to knock down the tower. But of course, I made my all too famous sound effect to go with it (which is the sound I make for absolutely everything). So what does Ry do? He makes a fist and makes not one, but two punching motions as well as the exact same sound effect! Of course he didn't knock it down either, but he did just as I asked, I suppose!! Ahhh, I love my boy.

We had soup and sandwiches for dinner the other night. Growing up we often had peanut butter and honey sandwiches with a bowl of soup for Sunday lunch. And the only way I've ever know how to eat a can of campbell's soup, is to dip my pb and honey sandwich in my soup for extra enjoyment! So of course, that's how I ate my soup and sandwich that night. Well, Ry had a bowl of soup with just a piece of bread (still avoiding the pb and honey!). I looked over to see him dipping his bread in his soup, just like mama!

Now, this isn't a story I would usually tell, and I hope I don't have many like this in the future. But I admit, I was laughing pretty hard. Rylan was playing on my bed (as I was trying to make the bed...quite difficult). I took a break (making the bed is hard work!) and laid down next to him. He just started tooting away and he had lots of toots in him. I try to never comment on that stuff but after some time, Ry started to laugh. So of course, I started lauging and I said "You tooted!". Rylan pipes up "TOOT"! But he's still tooting (really, I don't know what he ate to cause this) and suddenly he's pointing at his bum and just giggling. I couldn't help but laugh along with him before taking him off the bed and distracting him with something else. Wow, was it funny though!

On Sunday as we were leaving the Doyle home Mark and Heidi were saying "bye" and Kevin and I were saying "bye"...so there were lots of byes going around. Suddenly Rylan perks up "Bye...bye" while waving goodbye. Kevin and I were so excited because he's never said "bye" before. And Mark and Heidi should feel privileged. Rylan would not say it for Kevin on Monday morning as he was leaving for work. But he practices througout the day saying "b b b bye".

Then yesterday Rylan had his towel wrapped around him after his bath. He'll cover his eyes and slowly peek over and I'll say "peeeeek". But when he moves the towel away fast I'll say "boo!". So yesterday he slowly peeks over and before I say anything I hear a little "peeeeek" and then he giggles and does it again. What a goof!

And my last story, is perhaps a motherly favorite of mine. I was saying a blessing before dinner last night. Usually after we pray and open our eyes, Rylan will start giggling. I tend to think that he thinks we're playing a game with him. Well yesterday after I finished the blessing, I opened my eyes to see Rylan sitting there quietly with his arms folded! CUTE! Kevin said he just folded his hands in front of him and had his eyes open during the prayer (shame on him) and when he saw Ry fold his arms, Kevin decided he should fold his own arms. What a good example Rylan already is!

With all this time I get to spend with Rylan I sometimes wonder if I'm a good enough mom or if I'm able to teach him what's right. It's comforting to see him following in our examples whether it's waving and saying "bye" or folding his arms during a prayer. I know Rylan is such a sweet special boy and he will one day being saying his own prayer and it will bring tears to my eyes.

Isn't being a mother so scary, nerve wracking, exhausting, and overwhelming, yet joyful, peaceful, exciting, and fun, all at the same time?

All Giggles!

I sure do love my little boy! He loves to get the miniature hymn books so sing songs out of. He'll bring me the hymn book, open it up, and wait for me to sing. While I sing he just plays and does his own thing, but as soon as I finish the song, he'll come over, turn the page and wait for me to sing again.


Yesterday I decided to take a picture of him with his little hymn book. As soon as I got the camera out he was all giggles. I just kept taking pictures because every time I would hold up the camera, he would start laughing. We had such a great time and I just had to smother him in kisses over and over again because I just couldn't help myself. Just thinking about it right now brings a smile to my face.

After Kevin got home from work and I finished cooking dinner, I left to go run errands. Rylan stayed home with Kevin to play outside. I was hoping to get home in time to put Rylan to bed, but I didn't. I knew by the time I got home Ry would be sound asleep, and I already missed him! It's not very often that I'm not home when he goes to bed, and I prefer to be the one to put him in his crib. Sure, some days I look forward to bed time so I can have some "me" time, but Ry is such a sweetheart that honestly, most days I enjoy getting him ready for bed and prolonging the process...just one more book, one more song. Funny how I spend all day with him and I just can't seem to get enough of my little guy. I just love being his mommy!

Happy Birthday to Camryn!

Happy Birthday sweet Cam. We love you!

Camryn had her 2 year birthday yesterday. We helped her celebrate at her birthday party by eating cupcake ice cream cones and ice cream. The kids ran around my mom's house like crazies, but that's what they usually do. Poor Camryn tripped and hit her head right on the edge of an end table. It split her lip open and she cried for quite some time. That was the only injury and she seemed much better after she ate her ice cream. I was taking a picture of their little family and she kept pulling down her lip to show off her injury. I guess she wanted it documented for her other grandma to see.

Rylan has been having these screaming fits that last couple days, that actually kind of scare me. He will wake up after napping for an hour, just screaming at the top of his lungs. At first I thought maybe he had a nightmare. But a few times I've gone into his room to get him and there's been a little bit of blood on his sheets. So I thought maybe a very painful tooth just broke through and made his gums bleed. I checked his mouth but saw neither blood nor swollen gums. He's had a cold for the last couple weeks and his lips were dry, so I thought maybe his lips split open and bled a little(?). Well, yesterday I was cleaning the toilet while Ry was playing in the loft. Suddenly I heard screaming and came in to see what was going on...I've never figured it out. This morning on our walk he did it again. He just suddenly started screaming. And he goes stiff as a board which is strange. He'll just lay on the floor, not moving, but just stiff and screaming. I got worried and paranoid that maybe he's in pain (the lump under his arm, maybe?) so I called to talk to a nurse. She said it's probably nothing to worry about, until he goes unconscious (duh). She thought maybe it's his way of getting attention. I don't think so, but obviously I don't know what it is. If it really is just a stage, I sure hope he passes it soon, cause it scares me almost every time.
Other than that life is great and we're just enjoying our day to day life. I love October!