Jeep! Jeep!

Is she Stewart Jr. or what? We scored this jeep at a garage sale & the battery wouldn't hold a charge, so naturally Stewart souped it up with a battery he had on hand....twice as fast! He has to run along beside her as she speeds through the yard! He took her out yesterday & she had her first wreck...she hopped a curb! She escaped with only a busted lip & she was ready to ride again! She loves it! Definitely her daddy's child!

This is Rylie speeding by as I snap the pic....note Stewart RUNNING behind!

Mamie & Pawpaw came to visit....here is Rylie getting some sugar from her Pawpaw!

Rylie & her Mamie!

This is Jonah, Kaylen & Rylie after a day of riding the carousel at Bridge Street & playing in the fountains downtown....they had an impromptu game of ring-around-the-rosies! So cute!

4th of July

Here are some pics from our family beach trip for the 4th. It was a nice week at the beach , and an exciting one because Melinda & Kenon got engaged! Congrats, Mel & Kenon!!

Here is the gigantic fish my dad caught in the ocean from his KAYAK!! It was crazy big & drug him way down the beach & when it got tired, dad reeled him in! All the other men fishing from the shore were green with envy!

I just love this picture of Breanna, Melinda, Haleigh & Kenon....so sweet!

Rylie & Stewart building castles in the sand! Every since we went on the trip with Haleigh & Bre (our nieces) Rylie has been calling him "Uncle Stewart" because she heard it all week from the girls!! Don't worry, she still calls him "Daddy" too! (Although that could be weird if the wrong person heard her say both....we are from Alabama!)

Breanna, Haleigh & Rylie!

Grandmom giving Rylie a pedicure! All week Rylie would say"pretty nails" & show us her toes!

Rylie & Mommy

The Fox Family

My dad always sits like this, so the girls took the opportunity to mock him! Too funny....even Rylie did it!

Daddy's Big Helper

I meant to post this right after Father's Day, but if you know me, it sometimes takes me a little while to get around to all my ideas. Rylie is such a daddy's girl, as you will note in the following pictures! She is his little sidekick & loves to "help" him with all his handy-man projects around our house. Last night they came in from the garage & Rylie was FILTHY....complete with dirt smudges on her face & grease under her nails. I asked Stewart what they had been up to & he said they had been working on the Jeep! He promptly took her to the bathroom for a bubble bath!
I love this picture of her little hand....it is dirty, because she just helped daddy pot some plants.

Daddy teaching Rylie how to use a hammer & drill.....hmmmmm? Useful skills for a 19 month old to have! I will have to watch her ever more closely now! Did I mention that we got a Jeep power wheels at a garage sale on Saturday? It was a steal, a bright blue wrangler complete with KC lights! We went home & plugged the battery, but the next day it still wasn't running. Not to be discouraged, Stewart & Rylie headed off to the garage & after some tinkering, Stewart yelled, "IT's working". Now for those of you who know Stewart well, you will know why I became a bit wary when I heard this. I went outside & me fears were confirmed, because her power wheels went from your run-of-the mill battery to one TWICE as fast....thanks to her daddy's master rigging skills! Rylie literally burned rubber taking off in the jeep with Stewart frantically running after! Don't worry....it is all on video for your viewing pleasure! Rylie had so much fun riding around the yard & doing doughnuts in the driveway! She is just like her dad!

A sweet picture of Rylie & Stewart on the boat.

Story time with Daddy right before bed each night. Stewart asks her how many stories she wants to read & she always says something like "nine stories" & they negotiate a smaller number! It really doesn't matter how many they settle on because she always suckers him in by holding up one finger & saying "mooore 'tories".

I am a slacker....here are some random pictures!

It has been waaaaay too long since I have posted! I have so many pictures to post that it will take a few posts to update you on all of them! Disregard the dates on the pics....they say Jan., but I am not that far behind! I just left the battery on the charger a bit too long & it resets the date & I didn't notice until I had taken a zillion pictures. I love this one of Rylie....she has her Daddy's big brown eyes & curly hair!

This was lunch at Victoria's with Grandma Fox & Mamie. We had a great time & Rylie entertained our fellow diners with a dance!

This is a shot of Rylie & her cousin Haleigh getting ready to take on the sprinkler! They had a blast running through the water!

Our good friends, the Roberts, gave us this cute table & chairs....it used to be Keely's. (Thanks again, Keely!). She LOVES it! She has tea parties with her babies & whatever friend is over at the moment! Here is her "Elmo bear" having a chat with her at her table....she calls him that.

Once again, Rylie showing her love for all things Elmo! She loves her Elmo shoes & her Elmo bear! (Note: this time for some reason the date says Feb., but it is really May!)

Rylie & Grandmom hanging out on the boat! This was a fun, relaxing day on the water.

Rylie & Grandmother posing for a pic after church!

Rylie & Aunt Haley & Aunt Lakyn....not sure where Aunt Alaney was? Anyway, we couldn't get Rylie to smile or look at the camera! I have very pretty sister-in-laws!

I love this picture of Rylie & her daddy on the trampoline! They had so much fun!

Daddy's big helper! Stewart calls her that & she will say "big halper, big halper!" He is getting her started early on the power tools!

More posts soon!!!!!

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!