Halloween

Last night was Halloween and Ryker had a great time! He was dressed up as a Train Engineer, and he looked adorable! He wasn't real excited about the hat or bandanna, but he got used to it after wearing it for a while. Mamina and Pa came over to go Trick-or-Treat with us, which was a lot of fun. We went to about 4 houses, then Ryker was done. He was scared of people in masks so we couldn't go to far. Mamina and Pa gave Ryker a little goodie bag and in the bag there was a pen that would light up when you hit the Pumpkin on the end of the pen. Ryker thought this was the coolest thing. When we went to our neighbors house to Trick-or-Treat, Ryker proceeded to walk in their house and show them his "pumpkin patch pen". They got a kick out of him. Jason, Lisa and Vince came over later and we let the boys play for a bit before we put them down for bed. We had a great time. Check out the pictures of our little Engineer.

Go DAWGS!!!!

This evening Ryker and I were sitting on our front porch having a snack. We have a GA Bulldog on our front porch, that Ryker likes to talk to and feed. He was trying to feed the cement Bulldog some french fries. Luckily I was able to stop him before he tried to wipe ketchup on the Bulldog, as this would not be too easy to get off. Anyway, he was "petting" the Bulldog when he decided to "ride" the Dawg. He said, "Look Mommy ride a horsey", then he said, "No ride a doggie." I grabbed the camera and this is what I got.....

He is the funniest kid! He keeps us laughing all the time.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Pumpkin Patch today with Jason, Lisa and Vince. Ryker was nervous when we first got there because he didn't like all the scary decorations, but he warmed up quickly. They had an area with a lot of little jumpy things (made for 2 kids) and it was perfect for Ryker and Vince. We bought tickets to the Jumpy Land and let them play for a while. They were jumping around and wrestling with each other, it was really cute! Then we went on a hunt for our pumpkin. We bought a really big pumpkin to carve and Ryker picked out 2 little pumpkins for himself. We probably let his pumpkins stay inside so he can play with them until Halloween. He really liked the pumpkin patch. He has really been into "punkins" this year so he had lots of fun checking out all the cool Halloween stuff.

On another note, last week was his 2 year doctor appointment. He did excellent and we didn't have to get any shots! He weighs 30 lbs even and is 36.5" tall. He is in the 70th percentile on weight and the 91st percentile in height. We have been concerned lately because he has not been eating well, but the doctor told us that he is growing well and on track with everything so not to worry, it's a 2 year old thing. When she was looking in Ryker's mouth she gave Ryker 2 of the wooden sticks to hold so he wouldn't grab hers and when she gave them to him and said, "Thank You". The doctor turned to me and said she had never had a 2 year old tell her Thank You without being told to do so. I was so proud!

Vacation and other new stuff

Sorry it has been such a long time since I have posted, but we have been so busy! We went on vacation the week of September 20th and we had a great time! Ryker is such a little water bug. He loved the pool and wanted to have his floaties on with no one holding him. He did very well with the floaties and he just swam around on his own. We were suprised at how well he swam on his own. As for the ocean - he loved it! Again he wanted to go into the ocean without anyone holding him. We did not put his floaties on him in the ocean, and we did hold on to his hands while in the ocean to keep him from getting hung up in the current. He thought the waves were fun and we spent a good amount of time in the ocean. The weather was beautiful and the ocean was crystal clear. There were some huge Jelly Fish, but they were few and far between and you could see them so it didn't deter our fun in the ocean. He also enjoyed playing in the sand, which he calls "playing sandals". He and Da and Papa made tunnels for his trains and spent time just digging in the sand. He also had a blast with Madison and Kellen. Madison is his buddy and she is really good with him. She swam with him and also helped make castles and tunnels in the sand. Kellen wasn't too keen on the pool or the beach, but he and Ryker played a lot inside with all the toys. We all had a great time at the beach!

After we got home from the beach we went straight to see the new baby in the family - Brennan Marie Lowe (Stephen and Stephanie's daughter). Ryker didn't want too much to do with her, but he did come over to her from time to time to show her the trains he was playing with. A couple days after our first visit with Brennan, Ryker and I went back to bring dinner and he was again not too interested, until we left. When we were saying goodbye Ryker looked over a Stephanie who was holding Brennan and he said, "come on baby Brennan". He wanted her to go home with us, it was really cute! Of course I asked him if he was ready for a baby sister and he said, "OK Mom", but he says OK Mom to almost everything. Don't get excited, there is no baby sister planned for the immediate future, but we'll see what happens down the road.

Once again Ryker is just excelling at everything. He loves to sing and he sings pretty darn good for a 2 year old. We sing in bed at night and he just sings anytime he feels like it, which I love. He also loves books. He got a lot of new books for his Birthday and we read about 6-7 books a night before he goes to bed. I think some of it is to keep from going to bed, but he is really into every book, so we keep reading. He is talking a lot more too. Just this morning I came down the stairs and he said, "Hi Mom, what's up?" - OMG my 2 year old is turning 12!! He is almost too smart for his own good. He likes to give "family hugs" which Jason and I love. He puts one arm around Jason and one around me and we have a "family hug". After we hug he pushes mine and Jason's faces together to make us kiss. He does this about 2 or 3 times and laughs. It's so cute and something we do almost every night. He is still into Thomas the Train, almost more so now than before. We bought him a new train yesterday (Gordon) and he was going crazy. We were in Wal-Mart and he was going, "Look, Gordon!" to everyone we passed. He is so funny and animated, it makes giving him gifts so much fun. Speaking of gifts, Aunt Tracy, Madison and Brett came over last weekend to give him his Birthday present. They gave him a deluxe box of Mr. Potato Head (it contains 3 potato heads of different sizes and all the accessories you can think of). When he opened it, he laid on the floor and cried for Thomas. We thought it was so funny. Of course after Madison started playing with the Potato Heads, he started to get into them and now he really likes them.

Monday we got out our Halloween decorations and put them in the foyer to make sure everything was working. Ryker really liked them and he kept saying, "Punkin, Punkin". He also likes this little "spooky tree" we got from the Hallmark store last year. It sings a little Halloween song, but he's still a little spooked by stuffed animals that move, so he won't touch the tree, but he likes to stand away from it and watch it sing and dance.

Each day he continues to make us laugh, fill our hearts with love and shocks us with new sayings and ideas. He is such a special little boy.

Ryker's Birthday Party

Yesterday (9/14/08) we had a Birthday Party for Ryker's 2nd Birthday. He had a great time! Vince, Ethan, Grover and Kaylee came to help Ryker celebrate. The boys played really well together. It was so cute because all the little guys wanted to help Ryker open his gifts, which was fine by Ryker since he really doesn't care much about opening presents, he just wants the toys inside. We ordered a Thomas the Train Birthday cake from Publix and it was great! It looked just like Thomas and Ryker thought it was a Giant Thomas for him to play with. He was frustrated for a little while because he could not figure out why we would not let him play with the cake. He got over that quickly once his buddies showed up. He got a lot of great stuff (Thomas the Train trains, Mr. Potato Head, Books, Puzzels, Remote control car, step stool, Thomas the Train play hut, Curious George Train, clothes, DVDs, Airplane, balls, Wonder Pets Fly Boat, race car - just to name a few). It looked like Santa had been here, and he's not done yet. We will be at the beach for his actual birthday (9/22) so we are having a small party for him there with my family, so he'll get a little more stuff. WOW what a lucky kid to have so many people love him so much!

New stuff

We have been so busy lately and Ryker has been changing so much lately! He is talking so well. He is able to carry on a conversation with you full of questions and funny comments. Last night we were laying in bed with him reading stories and singing (our usual bedtime ritual) and he was really tired. We turned out the light and he was laying there, then he started saying, "My eyes, my eyes, turn on the light". The next thing we know, he was fast asleep. Apparently his eyes were tired and he wanted us to turn on the light so he wouldn't go to sleep - smart boy! Last week Aunt Hollie and Uncle Collin came by for a night (they had to evacuate NOLA for hurricane Gustav). Ryker was excited to see Hollie again, and he was even friendly with Collin. He showed off a little by singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and running around like a little goofball. He was happy to see them, as were J and I.

Some of his other new sayings are: "Check it out!", "Jason Da", "Thomas Train Track", "My favorite", "No". Some of his favorite songs are: the theme song to Bob the Builder, the Friends song off of his church CD, Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABC song. He still loves Thomas and recently told J and I that he did in fact Love Thomas the train. He also likes race cars of any kind, and our dog Benson. He loves to read books and listen to music and dance. He is such a great kid, J and I are so blessed to have such a wonderful child.

Next weekend is his 2nd birthday party, which will be a lot of fun. We are having a small party for his friends and his grandparents, as we will be at the beach on vacation on his actual Birthday (9/22) where we will have a family party with my family. I know he is going to have a great time, so look out for the next post as I'm sure I'll have some great pictures to share.

Two Pacis

Ryker is still addicted to his pacifier (paci). We have several around the house. Yesterday he came to me and said, "Mommy two pacis!" He was so excited. The next thing I notice he has both pacis in his mouth at one time, grinning from ear to ear. He cracks me up!

He has also learned a new song recently, Shake Your Booty. J and I were laying in the bed with him singing night night songs (our normal bedtime routine) and I just started singing Shake Your Booty. He thought it was hilarious, so he started singing too. He just keeps on amazing J and I every day!