thank-ful-ness

We have many things to be oh so very thankful for.....
1. Great friends...for example those who encourage us to get up and out of the house early-ish on the best eating holiday of the year, to do our own version of a Turkey Trot and make room for the great food to come.  So as to save a few bucks this year, we opted to create our own course for the Turkey Trot, and had just as much fun as if we would have paid for an organized race.  AND we got to do it at our own chosen starting time so we didn't have to spend too much time in the cold this morning!

Ryan is ready for the cold stroller ride -- snow suit over the pj's, hat and mittens too!

turned out to be a beautiful morning, and not entirely as cold as we anticipated

 2.. Great food and wonderful Thanksgiving traditions like pumpkin and apple pie.

hard to believe that this....

 

 so easily turned into this today.... 

(and it really wasn't all that hard to make!)

 this was our contribution to the delicious Thanksgiving day meal that Eddy's family provided for us this afternoon.  All of it was so good!

 3. Healthy bodies, happy hearts, and smiling souls.  Oh, and don't forget the laughter.  Lots and lots of laughter. 

This kid is excited about everything he sees.  He helps us appreciate the little things too. 

 4. Family.  Both near and far, it's SO nice to have such a loving family.  We truly feel blessed and are so thankful for such wonderful people in our lives. 

yes, Ryan is sitting in cousin Alexandra's pink highchair. Good thing he doesn't notice these things yet. 

although not sure of each other yet, we know Alexandra and Ryan will become good friends

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope your day was wonderful too!

12 month photos

This may be the last time we go somewhere to get photos taken, for a little while anyway.  Ryan seemed to be interested in anything but staying in one place, and that makes it a little bit hard to get his smiling face on camera.  

After the photo shoot, he and I had a lunch date.  The first time, I think, that I've taken him to a restaurant by myself.  It was full of great conversation, as you can imagine, and the highlight for Ryan was watching the little birds nibble the crumbs from nearby tables (yes, in California we still dine outdoors this time of year). 

 

a rough few days

In the last few days....

• Ryan's fever lasted 48 hours, and then he broke out in a rash that looked just like a mild case of the measles, and is finally (5 days later) starting to act like himself again. 
• Ryan sprouted 2 new teeth, which I think are his first molars.  It has not been very fun.
• Eddy had an incident with a motorscooter, that ended with him face down on the pavement in the middle of Berkeley on his way to the Cal game, luckily with nothing more than a few scrapes and a painful hand.  So he sat through the game with his hand in a bucket of ice (a true fan he is!), and the next day decided it was painful enough to get an xray to make sure nothing really bad had happened.  Which was true, nothing really bad had happened.  But it still hurts, only now he gets to wear a wrist splint and get sympathy points from anyone who will give them.
• I had to work the weekend in the hospital.  So although not really bad, it was a beautiful weekend that I spent indoors.  To me, that's bad.  

On a happier note...

• Ryan is starting to show some serious interest in feeding himself with a spoon.  Not sure how ready I am for that to happen, as I'm anticipating great messes and really not wanting to have to do a bath 3 times per day
• He is also showing big interest in drinking from a real cup.  It started with the cups in his bath, full of bathwater.  Today I let him hold the cup by himself in the kitchen and 80% of the water ended up on the kitchen table, himself, and me.  But we're working on it.
• He is becoming a big fan of stacking things, and putting things inside other things (such as his sandwich bites go inside the lid on his sippy cup, his arm goes inside the rings in his bath toys, etc).  And his favorite is trying to hold as many things in each hand at one time. 
• He has not been willing to really spit out the words and just start talking yet, although over the last few days he has definitely been repeating things we have said.  He will hold the phone up to his ear and say "aye", and this morning he looked me straight in the eye and repeated what I had just asked him..."poopy?".  So I think we're close.

Needless to say we haven't done very many fun things recently, but here are a few pictures from the week.

A lesson in climbing...

 

love these overalls

an awesome fall day at the park

it really is so hard to stay sitting in the bathtub

 Snack time always calls for something in each hand, while walking around mom and dad's bedroom

this is one kitchen drawer full of things just for Ryan

I love this squat pose!

a look back

On the 5th of every month for Ryan's first year of life, we did a little homemade photo shoot.  Early on, it was hard to catch him in a good mood.  Later on, it was just hard to catch him...period.  He is so hard to pin down these days!  Anyway, here is a look back at Ryan through the months...

I think the bunny must be at the other end of the crib, but I couldn't pass on this cute of a face

8 months....the pictures in the crib weren't so good this month

10 months

11 months

On a side note, Ryan had his 12 month check up today.  He weighed in at 25 lbs 11.5 oz (80th percentile) and is 31.5 inches tall (90th percentile).  All in all, a great checkup.  However, with the 12 month well check comes the 12 month vaccinations.  Ryan has not had one bad reaction to any vaccine yet, and he actually has never had a fever in his entire life.  Until today that is.  The poor kiddo got 5 injections this morning, and by 1 o'clock he had a fever of 102 degrees.  I thought a dose of Tylenol and a nap would help, but by 6 pm his fever was up to 103.5 degrees and he was crying uncontrollably.  Thank goodness for Baby Advil, within 45 minutes he was almost back to his regular self, a little worn out and much more snuggly than normal, and finally got to sleep.  Our fingers are crossed that tomorrow is a new day. 

first birthday party

This boy loves to party!  He had a blast with all the people, loved all the presents, and had no problem chowing down on his first cupcake (and first taste of chocolate...he loved it!).  I think his favorite part...the balloons! It was a great day, and many thanks to our family and friends who were with us to help us celebrate. 

the invitation

the photo banner

just the beginning of the presents

Auntie Kim and Uncle Derek made it down from Seattle for the weekend

is it time to open these yet???

Happy Birthday to you!

going after the chocolate

hmmmm, wonder what happens if I stick my finger here? 

proof that kids don't need toys, they just need the boxes that the toys come in

this bike is awesome, thanks Auntie Dana!

 

well, what else do you do with balloons the day after your birthday party?