Happy Holidays!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was so much fun to have Rylee at all of the holidays events. She was the hit of all the parties. Lance and I hardly saw her at all. We hosted our annual Christmas eve party and then went to grandma and grandpas for Christmas day. The day after Christmas we went to celebrate with the Sequim Craigs. Rylee was a little angel!

Rylee in one of her Christmas outfits

In her Christmas jammies

Family photo

Another Christmas outfit

Over the river and through the snow...

Taking a ride with Grandma
2 weekends ago we took a road trip (our 2nd one) down to Corvallis to visit Grandma J. We spent one night and 2 days there. Our days were spent visiting, shopping, going out to eat and drinking lattes! Rylee was a little angel and did wonderful with all the driving. She loved meeting her Grandma for the first time and can't wait to see her again!

We have been trying to establish a bedtime routine with Rylee. We feed her, get her in her jammies and then read her a couple of stories. She does pretty good and normally falls asleep soon after the stories. Of course there have been a few bad nights!! She is now sleeping 10-11 hours a night... and usually she sleeps straight through the night! We are very lucky (and well rested) parents!!

Rylee LOVES the Christmas tree! She loves staring at all of the lights. I can't wait for her to spend Christmas with us! It will be the best one yet.

Last weekend Rylee (and us) went to the beach house. Saturday night the Christmas boats went by (about 10-15 boats all lit up with Christmas lights). That was really fun to see. Sunday was a beautiful day (the first half anyway) so we were able to walk on the beach and throw sticks for Coulee. Later when it rained we baked cookies while the boys watched football. It was a great weekend!

Michelle's wedding pics

Just got pics from Michelle's wedding on 10/11/09. Wanted to share them with you.

Tania and Michelle
At the alter

With their dog Lily

What a beautiful bride!

Our new family of three

We had only been home from the hospital for one day

Rylee was only 9 days old

Proud dad

The group (minus the bride and groom)

Still growing

Wendy, Tania and me on our annual X-mas trip to the Tulalip Casino

The girls all dressed up

Last weekend I went with my girlfriends (minus Michelle W. who was sick) to the Tulalip Casino. We do some kind of overnight trip together every year at this time instead of buying each other Christmas gifts. It was really strange to be away from Rylee for so long. I missed her! But it was also really nice to get away and catch up with my friends. Lance did a great job taking care of her and I think he enjoyed the father-daughter bonding time!

Rylee had her 2 month check up yesterday. She is growing so fast, still in the 95th percentile in both weight and length. She weighs 13lbs 5 oz and is 24 1/4 inches long. She is still wearing her 3 month clothes but I think is close to fitting into her 6 month old stuff. I'm excited for her to start wearing some new things! She can hold her head up alone for quite a while now, and is becoming so interactive. She loves to be talked to, read to, and sung to. She really loves answering questions with a smile and giggle. She is generally very happy and I feel so lucky for that. Sometimes I still wonder how Lance and I could make such a beautiful little angel!

I start back to work at the end of this month. I have some anxiety about this. I think we have found a good daycare for her, but I still worry that she won't be given the care and attention she needs. I can't imagine being away from her for 3- 12 hour days!!! I am trying to enjoy our last couple of weeks together and not worry too much about it.

Thanksgiving weekend

Here are some pics from our Thanksgiving weekend. We started off the weekend in Bend with Lance's family and then came back on Sunday and had another turkey dinner with my Grandparents, parents, sis and Jon.

Jon gave Rylee Mandy's ring!
Family pic

Rylee in her bear outfit

Jessica and Rylee

Rylee and Molly the chihuahua

Uncle Peter, Jessica, Ace and Rylee

My precious girl

Jessica loves Rylee!

Uncle Aaron, Ace and Rylee

Aunt Tamara and Rylee

Grandpa Tom, Ace, Rylee and Molly

Daddy and tired baby

Grandpa Tom and all the grandkids

Uncle Aaron and Rylee

Cousin Jack and Rylee

Her first smile!

Playing cards with Great Grandma, Willis and Grandpa
Meeting Great Grandma Arlyss for the first time

Resting up before a girls shopping trip

My smiley Rylee!

The month of November has been very busy for us. My 30th birthday, visits with new Great Grandparents and other family, and Thanksgiving (2 of them)!

During all these busy times, Rylee gave us her first smile! I was playing peek-a-boo with her one morning, and poof- there it was! It was so amazing to see her smile her little toothless smile at me... looking so happy! Since then she has smiled more and more every day, and has even started to giggle a little! I can't believe how fast she is growing. It's amazing to see things change every day.

Rylee met her Great Grandma Arlyss and Great Grandpa Willis this last week when they drove from Minnesota to visit. We have been bust shopping, playing games, and visiting since they arrived. Needless to say, Rylee has not been put down since they arrived!

We drove down to Bend for Thanksgiving weekend to visit Lance's family. Rylee was such a good little traveler. She slept almost the whole 6 hour drive (with the exception of lunch time), and slept very well during the nights. It was so great to see the family again. Rylee got to meet all of her cousins and spend lots of quality time with her Grandpa Tom, aunties and uncles. Pictures to come!

What a big girl!

In her princess outfit
I love overalls!
She is Daddy's little monkey!

"Hello? Is anyone there?" (She likes to talk on the cell phone!)

Rylee had her second doctor's appointment today. It went really well! The doctor said she is perfect. She sure has grown though... she is getting to be such a big girl! She now weighs 10 lbs 13 ounces and is 23 inches long! She is in the 90th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for length! She will be a tall girl just like her mama! Her eyes are starting to look more blue (I am crossing my fingers they stay that way) and she is keeping eye contact longer. She loves to look at lights. She is becoming more and more vocal (even when she is asleep)! She absolutely loves being naked and didn't cry at the Dr's office today at all until she got a shot. It is so fun to watch her grow and learn more every day. I can't believe she is a month old already!

Ewe!!!

Yesterday Rylee, Coulee and I ventured out to have lunch with Lance. We had sushi and then went back to his office so he coule show off his precious baby girl! She slept through the entire lunch (of course)!

Rylee has been a night owl lately. She likes to sleep most of the day and then once 9:00 p.m. comes around she is like, ding! Wide awake! And usually stays awake until midnight or 1:00. Then she'll sleep a few hours and be up again for a couple hours. Not fun for the parents who want to sleep! Hopefully that won't last too long!

Rylee finally lost her umbilical cord 2 nights ago! She's got a cute little outtie belly button! Yesterday morning I woke up to Coulee eating something off of the floor. When I finally realized what it was it was too late... she ate Rylee's umbilical cord. Ewe!!!! I was so disgusted but laughed so hard!!

New things

She looks so tiny in our big bed!

We've been trying to walk but it's hard with all the rain!

Naked baby- she hasn't lost her cord yet!
Sleepy time Rylee and I went to see the lactation specialists last week. Much to my surprise, the appointment went very well. They weighed her first and she weighed 9.7lbs. That is 13.5 ounces more than she was when she had her first doctors appointment. The nurse said this is very good (almost a 1.5 ounce weight gain per day), and that she is definitely getting enough milk from me. I was very relieved to hear this, as I was concerned I wasn't producing enough milk. She reassured me that Rylee is just a hungry girl and needs to eat very frequently. I feel so much better hearing this! Rylee has been eating well since the appointment, and is starting to get a little chunky!! (well... just her belly and face. She still has skinny little legs and arms!) She is growing like crazy. She has almost outgrown all of her newborn clothes and is starting to wear the 0-3 month size (although they are still pretty big on her). She is becoming more and more active every day. She is constantly moving her arms and legs around. She loves her hands and has to have them free and close to her face at all times. Her eyes are still gray (although I think they are starting to look a little blue). We are anxious to see what color they will be! She is also becoming very vocal. She is constantly making cute little cooing noises. She is still a very good baby and only cries when she is hungry or has a dirty diaper.