ALL BOY

Ryan is hilarious these days. He has SO much energy, is all about trucks, buses, balls, rough housing, etc. Tuesday mornings when the trash man comes is a weekly highlight. He's figured out how to make "gas" noises and we think it's pretty funny. Potty humor warning. He's also begun this scream/yell that reminds me of the Raptors in Jurassic Park. I'm not a big fan and you'll get a little dose in the video. However, he's also such a sweet and loving boy. He gives hugs to all his friends. He's so much bigger that sometimes it becomes less of a hug and more of a tackle, but we're working on being "soft." Today my friend's 11 month old was sitting on the floor while we were chatting. I turned around to see Ryan sitting behind him holding him and Carter (our friend) leaning back into Ryan. They were both loving every bit...until Ryan accidentally knocked Carter over when he stood up. It was cute.

Halloween 2009

I LOVE Halloween! It was a favorite holiday at my house growing up. I have a long way to go before I can keep up with my mom, but we still have a good time. Ryan was Tigger which we were very excited about since he LOVES Tigger and if you ask him what Tigger says you get a cute little, "Hoo hoo, hoo hoo!" followed by some "bouncing." Unfortunately this video was the best we got of said cuteness.










Spencer and I did pretty well this year too. We even managed to win an award at our church party. We dressed as some dear friends who moved away just 2 months ago. I had the wig which is her excat hair cut and her husband's signature fashion statement is a pink tie so... it was pretty fun! A few people even thought I was her from across the room and wondered if they were back in town! Mission accomplished.

Pumpkin Land

Last week Ryan and I went to Pumpkin Land with my friend Erin and all but 1 of her 4 boys.  Ryan LOVES the Mays.  He holds Erin's hand and just adores playing with all the boys.  It's great.  Pumpkin Land was perfect.  We walked through the corn maze, saw lots of animals and birds, found some rocks, got a pumpkin and went out to lunch afterward.  What could be better on a beautiful fall day?

 

 

Wrist update

All I have to say is that when a Dr. tells you that it's "No big deal."  It is in fact a BIG DEAL!  I am just now getting to the blog because I can finally type moderately well again.  Trust me, that's the least of my issues.  It is getting better daily, but I have very little range of motion, lots of sensitivity and some remaining numbness.  They told me I wouldn't need physical therapy, but they also told me I'd be fine just 3 weeks post-op.  So, off to physical therapy I go.  Bummer, as I have neither the time nor the $ for said therapy.  Oh well.  I am finally feeling that my life is no longer spinning out of control.  The house is clean again.  The laundry is manageable and I worked out 2x this week.  Not bad in comparison to the last 2 months.  Also, my toe is FINALLY healed so that meant I could put my running shoes on.  I also managed to wear heels to church!  Woo hoo!  Ahh the little things you appreciate.

Anyway, I'm feeling good that life is getting back to normal.  Too bad it snowed this week and I missed the beautiful fall running weather.  Time to swim at the indoor pool.  Which I LOVE by the way.

Grammy to the RESCUE!

So my wrist surgery really did me in more than anticipated.  THANK GOODNESS for an awesome Mom who came and saved the day.  Originally, she was coming to help out for a week.  We then asked her to stay an additional week since Spencer had to go out of town on business and I still couldn't change a diaper.  So, she left on Friday and by Monday, Ryan and I were on a plane to CA for another week with Grammy.  Yep, I needed full time help for THREE weeks!  THANK YOU MOM!!!  Here are some fun pics.  I also should mention the fact that I had serious with drawls.  After spending 3 weeks with my mom and being so well taken care of it was a little tough to come home and be the mom again.  Spencer does a great job helping, but it was so nice to get a little (ok a LOT) of TLC from my mom who is my second best friend (besides Spencer) in the whole wide world.  Ryan was in heaven with her too as you'll see in the pictures.

What Grammy get's in the box?!  My mom.  Spencer, Ryan and I came in from the garage to find my mom hiding in the box.  Of course Ryan had to join her and they had a ball making a giant mess.  So fun.

I love how much he loves her.

Again, what Grammy let's you jump on her bed AND joins you in the fun?!  Grammy Robin sure does.

 

We found a GIANT preying mantis in my mom's garden.  So cool.  Ryan wasn't too sure though.

Props to Uncle Luke for being a great uncle.  Ryan loved playing with Luke and thinks he's hysterical.  I've taught Ryan how to "Body Slam" just so he can get Luke the way Luke used to get me.  It's pretty cute.

And of course and big thanks to my dad and Luke who pretty much gave up my mom for 3 weeks for Ryan and I. 

Thanks again family for all the help.  Mostly for playing with Ryan when I couldn't.  Love you all!

Where I live

I can't believe I am saying this, but (gasp!) Utah is growing on me.
We had a great summer here and fall has been gorgeous. It snowed a bit today, but I am ignoring that for the sake of a positive post. These are some pictures I took over the summer just down the road. I LOVE living by the farms. I think they are so beautiful and to top it all off I hardly had to buy vegetables all summer. I got all our veggies from my friend's farm garden. It was great. I'd come home with bags of beautiful fresh produce with the dirt on and everything. LOVED IT. Hopefully winter will be fun and not too cold or too long.  Here's to hoping!

About my wrist....

OK. Some of you may remember that lovely black accessory that I wore on my left hand FOREVER.


I finally got steroid shot that was supposed to fix it. There was 15% chance it would come back...it came back. So, surgery was my only option. I had what is called deQuairveins tendonitis. It's an acute tendonitis in the wrist and thumb that I got from holding Ryan who has not been a small baby. The surgery was on Tuesday and went well. My mom is here helping out because I am pretty much useless for another 6 days. Then? We'll see. They told me I'd be fixed and good to go. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Right now I am very grateful for pain pills and my mom and husband. BTW, my toe is doing better too. :)

Newport Beach with the Hills

I'm not really able to do a great post right now, but I just wanted to get some pictures up. I'll re-cap when I have more than one hand to type with. (I had surgery on my left wrist yesterday.)

Broken

Look what I did today...

I haven't been to the Dr., but I'm pretty sure it's broken and what are they going to do but tell me to stay off it? Ugh.

Banana

Before I get to the beach stuff here is a funny video of Ryan saying "Banana" and other "words." He just cracks us up these days and seems to pick up a new word almost daily. I'd say he's doing pretty good for 15 months!

Back in the Saddle?

My cousin Dana got married last month! Soon after she got engaged she called and asked if I'd do her engagement pictures. Of course I said yes and offered to do them and her wedding day as a gift. It was a small wedding so I knew it wasn't going to be super stressful. I actually really like to do weddings. I've done 6 or 7 and as far as I know everyone was happy because they all passed my name on to others. I've never really advertised myself as a photographer. All my jobs have been word of mouth which I take as a huge compliment. To this day I still don't have a website and when I started my photo blog 2 years ago I didn't know anyone who had a photo blog. Now all that's changed. I still don't have a website and I haven't updated my photo blog in 2 years. The truth is that I've been on "hiatus" (that's what we say in the film industry when you're not working...you know...I'm on "hiatus" wink wink). I had a quiet but booming little business in LA with most of my clients overlapping with swimming lessons. It was perfect. When we came to UT the plan was to be here for 2 years and then high-tail it outta here. Well, that is not happening and I find myself enjoying the life I have here in "Happy Valley." (I really shouldn't say that out loud.) There are things I miss about CA. Ok LOTS of things, but I've got great friends (see post below) and a little townhouse that I love, Spencer is loving the work he is doing and Ryan loves to see cows and horses everyday. Couldn't get all that in LA.

ANYWAY, it was GREAT to do pictures for Dana and Adam and be behind the lens again. I am contemplating getting things rolling again. (Words of encouragement would be appreciated.) Here's the thing: I am an old school, film trained photographer. Digital is rocking my world and I don't like it. With film I always knew EXACTLY what I was going to get based on what film I was using. No checking the LCD, setting the white balance and NO Photoshop. I'd take my film to my favorite lab and voila! beautiful pictures. Perfect exposure, perfect color, perfect framing. Thankfully digital hasn't changed my ability to compose a shot. However the color and exposure aspect is extremely irritating. I DO NOT like to edit/process photos on the computer. Honestly where is the craft in that (no offense to anyone). I believe that if you know your craft you don't need a computer. Enter the Digital Age. UGH! Needless to say I am learning Photoshop and I do think some of the stuff is cool, but it will never, never look as good to me as a true film print. So here is my debut using Photoshop on a job. I'd like to know what you think. You can check out my photoblog here. None of the pictures have ever been edited. Some are film and some are digital and there aren't very many because I got tired of scanning and digging up photos.

My '80's Birthday Party!

Meet Erin! This is Erin, she is the reason I am happy to still be in UT. She seriously is an answer to all my lonely UT prayers. I'll post an "Ode to Erin" soon. Being the fabulous friend that she is, she threw me the BEST 30th Birthday Party I could have asked for. She gathered some of my favorite girls for a "30 going on 13" themed party. We called it '80's but it's a little stretch if you do the math. Honestly, who wants to dress like we did in 1992? So we did our hair and make-up together at Mandy's salon, piled in the car for dinner at P.F. Chang's and followed dinner with some good ol' bowling. (I think I actually went bowling with my family for my 13th birthday.) Then it was back to Erin's for chocolate cupcakes and chocolate covered strawberries. Yum! We had a FABULOUS time. So many people commented on our outfits and how fun our party looked. My thoughts were, "Only in UT valley would this go over so well." It was great. We even did a chinese firedrill! Juvenile? Yes. Totally RAD? For sure!

Thanks Erin such a fun Party!

Thoughts on 30...
I like 30. I was kindof excited to turn 30. I like being a grown-up, I like being a Mom, I like feeling secure in my identity and in my own skin. I also like that life it lots better now than it was at 20. I don't like that after an evening of playing volleyball I feel like I got hit by a train or that I have lots of grey hairs or that I have wrinkles. But, what can I do except enjoy where I'm at with a fabulous husband and a son who make me laugh and keep me young. For me, at 30, life is pretty dang good.

Here's a slide show of the party.

Ryan, Ryan, Ryan...

This post accidentally got deleted. So if you made a comment already, I'm sorry I probablly didn't get to read it. So this is my re-peat:

Lately one of Ryan's favorite games is to be tossed around in the blanket we keep on our couch. Almost every day he brings it to Spencer or I saying "This, this, this, this..." He LOVES it. Recently, however, he has begun some major protesting when the game is over or if we don't get started fast enough. I couldn't help video taping it. We also have put the blanket away to avoid further episodes like the one you are about to watch. Enjoy!

Ryan's 1st Birthday - May 28, 2009

After all of our vacationing it was good to come home. We had a little party planned with some friends here to celebrate with us on Ryan's birthday. Unfortunately, Ryan got a fever the day after we got home that lasted a few days and we had to cancel/postpone the party. In stead we had a quiet day just the 3 of us. I opted to buy cupcakes rather than make a whole batch just for us. Ryan even managed to blow out the candle by him self! (We'd been working on blowing.)

We took him to Toys 'R' Us to get his birthday present which was a "Water Table." (Great idea Mom.) He loves it and we play outside with it daily. He's such a water kid and we are not a bit surprised. He loves everything water. I couldn't be happier as I love everything water too.

Here he is trying to dip his face in. He's a swim teacher's dream! :)

As I think back on the first year I have so many emotions. I am so glad we made it through, but a little sad that my baby is growing up. I'll be honest and say that it was one of the toughest years of my life and though things are a bit more stable there are still challenges. Sleeping continues to be our trial. However, motherhood is great and I love my baby more and more everyday.

Ryan, we love you. You have brought so much joy and laughter into our lives and into the lives of your friends and family. Everyday is an adventure and you never cease to amaze us. Your jolly nature puts Santa Clause to shame. The most frequently asked question about you is, "Is he always this happy?" The answer is always, "Yes!" You have an infectious smile and laugh and love to share with those around you. You are very friendly and outgoing. Sometimes it makes us nervous. You love other kids and babies and animals. We are so grateful that you came to join our family. We love you!

Love,
Mom and Dad

Here are the stats from his 12 month check up:

Height: 32 3/4 inches = 99th percentile
Weight: 27 lbs. even = 96th percentile

Words he's usuing: mommommom, daddad, ball, duck, keys, please, this, meow, moo, quack, balloon, dahdah=done, tweet tweet, bug, bird and books. I know there are a few other, but I can't think of them now. Oh well. I'll just add them later.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Ryan's 1st Birthday Party (and my 30th)

We had Ryan's Birthday party at my mom and dad's in Walnut Creek. My sisters came from LA and Spencer's family came up from Sunnyvale. Spencer's Grandpa even flew down from Portland to join us. The Mannions came from Sacramento and Steve and Leah Bonner came too. There was too much wind for swimming so we played volleyball, jumped on the trampoline and ate yummy food. Ryan loved all the people and all the attention. We had a duck theme because Ryan was obsessed with ducks at the time. The obsession has passed but he still loves them.

I took TONS of pictures so here is a slide show. I did manage to cut some out. :) Thank you everyone for coming and for the wonderful gifts.

Memorial Day Weekend

After Palm Desert we headed up to Walnut Creek for Memorial Day to celebrate Ryan's 1st birthday and my 30th with our families. (The party will be a different post.) It was great! My sisters both came up from LA and is was so fun to see them. We missed Max. Ryan loved seeing his Aunties, Uncles and Grandparents. We spent lots of time outside and went for walks everyday. I LOVE to walk with my mom. It's one of my favorite things and Ryan loves it especially when Rex (the dog) comes too.




OK- how cute it that kiss on his cheek and how hot is my sister?! Lots of love from Auntie Laurel.