Girls Weekend!

Dan and the guys went to Bristol, TN last week for the NASCAR race; his mom and the Carpenter family were in Indiana; and Auntie Beth and her family went up North for the week, so we were daycare-less for a few days. I had already planned on taking a week off work over Labor Day and didn't want to use more PTO if I didn't have to, so my mom came to spend a couple days with Rylie. Everyone left Wednesday afternoon, so my mom watched Rylie during the day Wednesday and Thursday while I was at work. They made numerous laps walking around the yard, with Rylie leading the way, and picked up all kinds of pine cones...and played in a little dirt too. It was a short visit though as my mom had to head back to La Crosse on Thursday after I got done with work because they already had Larryfest/camping plans that weekend. I took Friday off, so I got to have all kinds of just Mommy and Rylie time from Thursday evening until daddy got home on Sunday...and I LOVED every minute of it. We went shopping, had a play date with Carter, went to the park to swing, went for walks and just did a lot of playing. Here are a few pictures from the her play date and the park.

Walking

I'm not sure how/if these can be rotated...so they are both sideways. The first one is from my cell phone, so it's a little fuzzy...

I'm not sure if she was mad that she had to walk all the way to her toy...or if she was mad that I was taking a video of her doing it.

Grandpa's last visit (for a while)...

Grandpa starts his busy football season at the end of August, followed by his really busy basketball season, so it was the last weekend he'd be able to visit for a while. My parents hadn't been to the zoo since Patrick and I were younger, so we decided to spend a day there.

More parties...

Michael turned 6 at the end of July, so we all went to his final baseball game and then over to Chris and Leslie's house for the party. We look for excuses to put Rylie in a party dress...just so she has a chance to wear them all at least once before the end of summer...yes, that is how many she has!

party dress

the 6 year old

all the kiddos


We also attended my work summer party at the WI State Fair. They reserved Saz's Hospitality Tent for the event. Lots of great food in the tent, which kept me from eating anything on a stick.

Ry and her buddy Carter

checking out the cows


one week old baby pigs

the cutest little lamb ever



The UH mommys:
August 2009

One year later...

Everything I want to catch on video...

The video camera comes out...blank stare. Kind of like when she's talking away and you put the phone near her so grandma can hear...blank stare. One of these days, I will sneak up on her to catch all of this on video.

The last couple of weeks, Rylie has been taking steps on her own. She started with a half step a couple weeks ago and is becoming more and more daring each day. She has gone as many as 10 steps on her own so far. The strangest part about this-she has to be carrying something in her hands to do it. Today...it was one of grandma's sandals in each hand...not flip flop sandals, but heavy sandals for someone as petite as Rylie. SO, I'm waiting for that moment where I can catch her walking on video.

She LOVES exploring the yard on her feet...it's a whole new place for her. She didn't really care to crawl on the grass, so she hadn't made it very far before.

In addition to her old tricks of clapping, waving and "so big", she also shows you how old she is, shakes her head no, shows you where her nose is and points out her ear, hair, teeth- with an "ahhh" sound- and her bee-bo (if you know the Sandra Boynton books, you know this is her belly button). She also likes picking up mommy or daddy's cell phone and holding it to her ear...remote controls work for this too. I'm pretty sure I witnessed and actual conversation once. SO, I am also waiting to get most of this on video and hope to post it soon. In the mean time, there are some new pictures coming.

Celebrating in La Crosse...

Since it was Rylie's 1st Birthday, we wanted to make sure she got to celebrate with her La Crosse family too, since her great-grandparents don't really travel. Here are a few pictures from her La Crosse party along with a few other random pictures...


More cake smashing:






Great Grandma LaVonne


Great Grandpa and Grandma Jenks


I see you Grandpa

Giving daddy love

Again showing mommy and daddy that she doesn't need toys...laundry baskets are fun!

The climber:

Approving her new seat!

The last of the background pics...

Rylie had her 12 month check up the Monday following her birthday. She somehow managed to not even gain 1 pound between her 9 month and 12 month appointment...thanks to all of the moving! She has a really good appetite, but she just burns it all off because she can't sit still! So she weighed in at a whopping 18 pounds and is 29 1/2 inches long. We also had the ok to go ahead with whole milk, so we made the switch and I don't think she even noticed the difference. Also at some point in the last two weeks, Rylie's 1st tooth, yes her first tooth, popped through. The second doesn't appear to be too far behind.