Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, all you mamas out there! I hope you had a wonderful day. I did! I woke up to see the smiling faces of my sweet husband & my beautiful baby girl, greeting me with a pink rose & a handmade card, along with a gift certificate to a local spa! They treated me to breakfast in bed & it was wonderful! After I finished my coffee, I shuffled into the kitchen, where Rylie was perched in her booster seat (she has recently opted to boycott her high chair) chowing down on a buffet of muffins, eggs & sipping on her "elmo juice"(juice box with Elmo's picture on it) served in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish! Pretty funny what Daddys can come up with when they are in charge! No complaints here...it was a great day. We got ready & went to church. I got a cute thing from Rylie that she made in the nursery....a butterfly made by tracing her hands & feet! It is proudly displayed on my fridge. The message/sermon was on Mary's role as Jesus's mother....good message. It got me thinking how blessed I truly am....Just have the privilege of being a mother. I had no idea how much you could love someone until I had my daughter. Now I can have a greater appreciation on Mother's Day for my mother. Stewart & I are both blessed with godly mamas & step-mamas who love us. I have received a few emails lately in honor of Mother's Day, talking about the highs & lows of motherhood & how we are so important in shaping a young life. This is true, but most important, God has entrusted me & Stewart to guide Rylie to know her heavenly Father.....to teach her how great God's love is for us. We are so blessed to have this little girl to take care of & to love & to have her love us. As I write this, I hear her in the other room saying "EEE-OOO" (translation "video") trying to coerce her Daddy into yet another viewing of a Baby Einstein DVD. Each moment is precious......I praise God for each one. We prayed & prayed for a child & God did truly give us what we asked of him. I hope that He will bless our family with more, but even if that isn't his will, I thank Him for already blessing me with so much more than I deserve.

What has Rylie been up to?

I am sorry that these posts are getting few & far between, so I thought that I would bombard you with some new pics today! Rylie is now 17 1/2 months old......she is growing so fast! She has had a cold this week, so we have been stuck in the house watching Elmo & Barney.....those are her picks from the library. I am so glad we live so near one branch of the library. Rylie loves going to story time on Wednesday mornings (Mrs. Betty is great!). We usually get a few books & a DVD for Rylie. Fun for free!

The picture above is Rylie, Kaylen & Jonah....some of her best buddies! We had dinner with their families at Santarita's last week. The kiddos had so much fun playing together & giving each other hugs & kisses!

This is when Aunt Melinda, Haleigh & Breanna came to visit. We took them ice skating....Rylie & I observed while they skated, but here Rylie tried to get out on the ice!

Haleigh, Melinda, & Bree

Just a' swingin' with Pawpaw in our backyard! For 2 days after this visit, when Rylie would go to the backdoor & say "Pawpaw?" as if he was waiting in the backyard to swing with her! So cute!

This is a very belated picture of us at Mimi & Pop's for Easter!

Playing in the water on a hot, spring day!

Check out the pig-tails!

One of Rylie's favorite past-times..."Codor" (also known as "color")

Taking time to smell the roses,... er, whatever those flowers are!?

Falling asleep in her highchair after a hard day of playing....priceless!

The Break-in

O.k...........Stewart, Rylie & I were out of town for a few days & upon our return, we were greeted with a house that appeared to have been vandalized/burglarized. Lets start with the kitchen....garbage strewn for days, 2 ENTIRE SHELVES in my pantry had been emptied of all but a box of trash bags, a previously-used wet diaper shredded to bits (this diaper shredding extended down the hall way to the bathroom, how courteous of him) and miscellaneous unidentifiable pastas, hot cocoa in powder form & other debris. The sofa had clearly been used to veg on & partake of various cheez-its & crackers & Rylie's bean bag was defiled as well. Our bedroom had been used for a springboard for muddy paws & a snack of graham crackers had clearly been partaken of on our bedspread. Stewart's office had clothes in the floor that had been pulled out of the closet.....but the worst was saved for Rylie's room. Her WHITE daybed had muddy paw prints & Houston (the culprit in this debacle) had thrown up all down the back of the bed! I was so angry I forgot to take a picture. Why this act of random violence???? We do not know. He had not been abused up until this point in his 7 year lifespan. So, if you see the previous pics on eBay, pleading for someone to take him to a good home, with compensation....you will know why!

Spring is here!

Here is our little doodlebug with her Easter basket full of eggs! We had a practice egg hunt at Jonah's house earlier this week!

Jonah & Rylie comparing their eggs! They would only put their own eggs in their basket.....no mixing! It was fun to watch!

" 'mon, 'mon" (translation "Come on, Come on!)

Stopping to smell the tulips!

Rylie's new found past time.....digging in the dirt!

My little Parrot

IT has been a while since I have been able to post......after a brief stint in rehab, our little computer has made its way back home, restored in it's new & improved glory. So, without further ado, I will try to catch you up on the goings-on of the weeks since my last post. A week & a half ago, Stewart underwent knee surgery, & came through with flying colors (Praise be to God!) Thank you for your prayers! He is a strong willed & independent man, so the news that he couldn't be up putting weight on his knee for 3 weeks didn't sit well with him (no pun intended!). He called 3 people (Dr., nurse & phys. therapist) to confirm that it was in fact 3 weeks! So, he has been hobbling around on crutches since the surgery & has been patient with me as I "gently remind" him not to be doing things! He is a trooper!

Now, for the pictures. Rylie got to see snow for the first time & she was so excited! At first, she didn't know what it was & just stood at the back door looking out, but then we made snow balls & we had to pick her up & make her come inside because she was freezing but didn't want to stop playing! Above, she has a snowball in her hand & is eyeing Houston. (she calls Houston "soo-noo". Stewart said it reminded him of the Saturday Night Live skit with the Danish couple named Nooni with the weird chairs & the white house that can't pronounce normal names like "Mark" or "Janet"......if you have seen the skit you will agree....hilarious!)

Rylie's first time to hold puppies.....my sister's neighbor had 5 newborn chihuahuas & Rylie & my nieces had so much fun playing with them!

Rylie loved jumping on the trampoline with Haleigh & Breanna! When she saw this picture she said "jump, jump!"

Future sushi lover (like her mommy & daddy!) We went to a Japanese steakhouse for my mom & grandfather (Pop)'s birthdays & the little girls all got chopsticks, too. Amazingly, Rylie ate her eggs with them! She was showing up some of the adults! We couldn't believe it....she ate better with them than she does a fork!

This is the reason I labeled this entry "my little parrot". Rylie has quite an extensive vocab, probably because I have been known to talk in excess at times. She has taken to repeating everything she hears (even repeating "its alright" when Brook White sang "Here Comes the Sun" on American Idol tonight!).......sometimes this can be bad! On this particular day we had a visit from her Mamie & Papaw & wouldn't you know it, she came out with "Oh, my, gah!" spoken with a bit of a Valley-girl flair! She got a laugh & continued to say it over & over! I didn't realize how much I say "Oh, my, gosh!" until that moment! I am going to have to keep my slang in check or it may reappear at the most inopportune times, say in the line at the grocery store or worse....in the church nursery! Yikes!

What's new?????????

This is Rylie performing "Bitsy-bitsy" or as you & I would call it, "Itsy-Bitsy Spider". This is on her list of current faves, along with "Twinkle-Twinkle" & "Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes"! She is Ms. Betty's biggest fan when we go to story-time at the library! Other favorites are: The Doodlebops, books (Peek-a-boo Baby & On Top of Spaghetti still get rave reviews from the littlest Fox:) & Baby Einstein videos.

Rylie & her little cousin John Gavin playing in the bubble bath !

Here is Stewart's latest project......rebuilding his jeep! Yes, the same jeep he has had since he turned 16! As you can see, it is in many pieces. Where are they, you ask? Why you ask? And more importantly, how are we getting into the attic????? Mysteries......In this picture, Stewart is removing the motor, transmission & transfer case, single handedly! He is so smart!

**As a side note, Melinda, Kenon, Haleigh & Breanna came to visit on Saturday. We all went to the park & had a picnic, but ended up having to eat in the back of the SUV because we didn't realize gale-force winds were blowing in from Antarctica! Unfazed by this, we headed to the playground, where Rylie braved the big slides for the first time with Breanna & Haleigh. It was all fun & games until they headed into what I like to call the "tube-of-terror", a plastic tube that kids can crawl throught to get to the next level of platforms. As Rylie & Breanna entered the tube, Rylie took a nose dive & emerged with her first bloody lip! After the wailing ceased, her lip swelled so that she looked a little like Rocky Balboa. She was a trooper! We all went home & made Valentines & grilled hamburgers & had a great time! I will have to get pictures from Melinda, because I left my camera at home when we went to the playground!

Mini-kitchen-makeover!!

We finally did it.......painted the kitchen! After weeks of mulling over what shade it should be, I decided on a color & my sweet (patient) husband helped me. O.k......he pretty much painted the whole thing. I did the initial base coat, but he knows better than to leave me alone with a paint brush (that spells DISASTER), so he took over, doing the tedious trimming & the all important final roll coat. Here is a shot of Stewart putting on the final touches!

Before..........

After!

I love the color........sort of a pear green. The picture doesn't do it justice. I loved my red kitchen, but I need a change. I have all red kitchen-aid appliances & they look so cute with the green!

Our little helper, caught in the act! She kept climbing up & down the ladder. Stewart & I were both concentrating so hard on keeping her out of the bucket of paint while we were painting that we failed to notice that she was underneath Stewart, rubbing her hand on the freshly painted wall! Her whole hand & part of her sleeve was green! I didn't get a picture of that!

Our sweet little helper!

Another "after" picture!