embrace the camera

Remember how a few weeks back I said I felt like I hadn't seen MY baby, the real Ry, in a while?  Well no worries.  She is back.  She is crazy, giggly, learning tons of new words, walking everywhere and all around just fun.  I'm so happy she feels good right now.

Side note:  Can we talk about how long my hair was in the pictures I posted yesterday?  WHY oh why did I ever cut it?  Stupid, just stupid.  Please ignore the ridiculous mess on my head in these photos.

She was laughing so hard this afternoon when I was tickling her.  She is the most ticklish under her arms.  Oh I love that girl.

Go forth and embrace my little minions.

sorry, feeling a bit odd today :o)

happy birthday

There are a couple of very special birthday's today.  First, one of our favorite little guys turns one today!  Happy birthday JT, we love you to pieces!

 photo by Anne Pendleton Photography

My lovely friend Christin turns what, 26?  Man you're old :o).  Ha ha.  Happy Birthday!

errr, this picture is old, sorry Chris.  There aren't very many of just the two of us!

And everyone run and hide, my crazy baby sister is turns 21 today.  Happy birthday Lorin, you're a nut, you drive me insane, but I love you.

(apparently my bum makes an awesome pillow)

Happy birthday to all of you!  Have a great one :o).

photo dump

I feel like this is the only way I can share some of the photos I take of Ry.  They are definitely few and far between compared to how many pictures I used to take, but don't worry.  I still get plenty.  So I'll just throw them all at you at once.

First some pictures when we hung out with some other littler ones (and some pretty cool ladies) a couple weeks ago...

Oh how daddy and RyRy love hanging out on the bench.  Whenever they walk outside she starts getting excited and pointing at the bench.

This girl LOVES snack time.  She seriously has a party every time we ask her if she wants a snack.  And how cute is it that she almost ALWAYS crosses her feet when she is sitting in her high chair?

The secret how I convinced Ryann to stand up by herself and start walking?  Leave put her down in the grass and walk far enough away that she couldn't pull up on me.  She isn't necessarily a fan of crawling in the grass.  Ok so maybe this didn't really make her start walking, but it helped a bit.

Ryann was doing laps around the couch.  At one point she didn't come around the corner, and it was very quiet...

she was sad because she couldn't get another one out

I can't get over how cute it is to see her walk outside.  I have a feeling we will be spending a whole lot of time outside this summer.

That is all for now!

march for babies

If you've been reading this blog since Ryann was born, you might know or remember that I was induced at 38 weeks because of pre-eclampsia.  Thankfully both Ryann and I came out of it all just fine.  And she was full term.

oh what a cute wee little baby she was :o)

But I easily could have developed pre-e earlier on in the pregnancy.  I began showing symptoms around 26 weeks.  I'm lucky that my body was able to support the pregnancy as long as it did.  Some women aren't so lucky, and every day thousands of babies are born premature.  I am going to participate in the March for Babies walk to try and do something to help.

I decided to participate in this walk for a two reasons.  The first:  taking care of a newborn is a daunting task, I can't even fathom all of the stress and anxiety that comes with a preemie, and especially one that has to spend a long time in the NICU.  March of Dimes raises money to bring comfort to those families with preemies in the NICU, as well as funding for research to prevent preterm babies.

My second reason is a bit more personal.  Even though my doctor told me it wasn't my fault that I had to be induced, I can't help but wonder if the situation would have been different had I cared a bit more about my health.  What if I had tried to do more light exercise throughout the pregnancy?  What if I had eaten healthier?  What if I had just taken better care of myself in general?  I know it may not have changed anything, but I decided the next time I am pregnant (which isn't now, just so you know) I don't want to have those questions.  And over the last seven weeks I have been working towards a healthier me.  So it seemed fitting for me to participate in this four mile walk (My team name is GetFit, I'm getting fit for babies!).  To help myself, and to help the babies who need it.  We may never personally deal with a premature birth, but I really feel supporting the cause is important.

My goal is for my team to raise $200.  That isn't a lot, but I've never really tried to raise money for something on my own, and let's face it.  Every dollar helps.  I went back and forth about even posting this, because I feel uncomfortable asking for help towards this goal, but this money doesn't support me, it is supporting the March of Dimes and all of those teeny tiny babies who need so much help.  If you would like to support the March of Dimes, and help my team meet our $200 goal, go here.  You will find a donate button on the right of the page.

There are 303 followers of this blog.  If every one of you donated $1, I would kick my goal's butt.  I'm just saying.  :o)  Oh, and did I mention the walk is on my birthday (April 29th)?  Helping me meet my goal would be a great birthday present right?

Ok, I'll try not to bug you anymore (well, too much) about it.  I don't like being pushy.

To round out my McFatty Monday post, I'll leave you with my numbers.  This week I only lost half a pound.  My total lost is now 12.8 pounds.  It was a tough week... I'm getting a little burnt out on running.  And for the first time I actually let myself indulge in a meal, or rather, Saturday we had friends over and I ate chips and guacamole and had a couple margaritas.  That was hard for me, knowing that it would most likely reflect on my weight loss this week (Friday I was at 14 pounds down).  But I would be an unhappy person if I never let myself enjoy the things I love once and a while.  Plus, I'm still losing right?  Not to mention I still met my goal of being down 10 pounds by April 16th.  I am still moving in the right direction.  Still taking better care of myself and my body.  That is what matters.     

Linking up with Heir to Blair!

iphone pics

I felt like I hadn't uploaded a bulk of pictures from my iphone for a while, so I thought I would and share.  Then I realized not only had I not shared any for a while, but I had made another collage of iphone pictures back in February that I neglected to post.  So here is an overwhelming number of pictures from the iPhone.

I can tell that set is old.  I mean come on, she is wearing a hat.  I can't get her to leave a hat on for more than two seconds now (little does she know I will basically be duck taping one to her this summer.  Sorry my little blondie!).

This set basically encompasses the last two weeks.  Minus the few that I realized were missing after I uploaded it.  See below.  Notable pictures in this set... 2nd row 1st column:  We are bouncing between a two nap and one nap schedule.  This particular day I thought we were taking one, but apparently she passed out in the stroller during our walk.  3rd row 2nd column:  She loves to sit on the counter while I do my hair and make-up now.  Sometimes she helps put my powder and blush on :o).  4th row 3rd column:  As much as she hates hats, everything is a hat now.  Especially bowls.  6th row 3rd column:  This week I had to work while Ry was awake (I try to never do that) in order to get a set of invitations done.  She showed her feelings about that by slamming her toys down on top of what I was doing.

I wanted to include these pictures, just because she is cute:

And this picture... this is what was happening while I was trying to pee.  Oh the joys of a box of tampons.

I told you.  Overwhelming number of photos.  I'm a little bit sorry, but not really :o). 

embrace the camera + she's walking!

I really wanted to get a picture of Ry walking to me, because as of this week I would officially consider her a walker.  But it didn't happen.  Are you surprised?  I bet not.  She enjoy a couple of awesome iPhone pics of the two of us, as well as a video of the wee one strutting her stuff.

Oops.  Cut off my face.  But oh those baby blues.  Those blue eyes get so much attention everywhere we go.  They definitely melt my heart.

This is 100% accurate as to how my kisses usually go over.  I lovingly go in for the smooch, she not so kindly rejects me and gives me the stink eye.  I still love her :o).

And the little missy cautiously playing today!!



I apologize for the awkward half scream in the middle there.  Who knows what that was about.  Isn't she cute though?  So timid.  But as long as she has been walking while holding my hand, I am pretty confident that she is sturdy.  I'm sure she will pick up speed in no time!

a day in the life - kaley

Good morning blog world, I hope this Wednesday treats you well.  Let me introduce Kaley, who blogs over at rogue poags.  I hope you enjoy getting a peek in to her life!

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hey! :) i am kaley from rogue poags and welcome to a day [or something like that] in my life! my husband and i have been married for almost five years, have a 22month old son named kullen and are expecting another baby boy in september! our typical day is pretty lame considering both me and adam work and spend the majority of the day away from kullen. that being said, i am taking you through a typical weekend.

[we are from the dc/metro area and are HUGE Washington Capitals fans!]

kullen wakes us up bright and early at 7am faithfully. we grab a quick breakfast, choke down some coffee [decaf for me, bleh] and get ready for our day! 

someone has crazzzzy hair first thing in the morning! ;)

9am - MyGym time! he is SO rowdy and loves that he gets away with it here! he also enjoys the company of other kids his age and learns to interact well with them.

11:15 - swim class! kullen absolutely loves the water! the only struggle we're having this year is his independence. he doesn't want mama to hold him anymore :( little does he know, he isn't grown and can't swim yet!

12pm - swim is over. typically we grab lunch and run errands but this particular weekend we had birthday parties on top of errands! we hustle around this afternoon and hit the birthday parties and get a few errands ran as well!

kullen grabs naps in between activities! must be nice, right!? :)

usually kullen spends everyday with this little girl at her house but this weekend, she came to visit us! gianna is one of kullen's babysitters children and he is absolutely in love with her!

after the hustle and bustle ends, we have dinner together and enjoy the 'just us' time! on the menu - fajita chicken with peppers, black beans, and cheese! i have aspirations of being a 'super healthy, organic' mama - but until then, this is normally the type of stuff that we eat! 

after dinner - hub cleans up and i throw [not literally!] kullen in the tub! one of his favorite parts of the day!

after his tubby - we get in our PJ's and cuddle in mama's bed for a while. another favorite part of the day [specifically mine]! after a long weekend, it doesn't take long for little man to pass out :)

questions:
1. What is the most surprising thing to you about being a mother?
how easy it came. pre-baby i was so nervous that i wouldn't be a good mom, or that i wouldn't know what to do. once he was born, all those fears went out the window. it's amazing how something so small can capture a heart so quickly. i'm also surprised at the amount of patience that i have. sometimes i want to rip my hair out but then he flashes a quick smile and my heart melts and i forget why i was mad/upset in the first place!

2. What are some tips you would give to new moms, or soon to be mommas?
BLOG! time goes SO quickly and i wish i would have started blogging sooner so i could keep a journal/diary/record of my little mans happenings when he was young! also - take pictures and video's! 



3. What are your top three baby products?
1. JJ Cole Diaper Caddy. the BEST present that i was ever given! it was SO nice to not have to walk up the stairs to get supplies for a diaper change. 
2. the Bouncer seat! kullen had one that vibrated and he LOVED it. he wasn't big on the swing but he would sit/lay in the bouncer for hours!
3. boppy! we used it for everything! feedings, changing, tummy time, 'sitting' - we both loved it! :) 

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Thank you for sharing your day with us Kaley!