My baby girl is finally walking! It has taken her much longer to grasp the concept of this than her brother, and has completely frustrated both of her parents. Now that they day has come where she toddles about more than she crawls I realized I have never videotaped her crawl, and it is something that needs to be documented. I have no idea why she crawls this way, but this is pretty much the moves she's been making over the last several months to get where she wants to go.

My

Alyson's Birthday Party

The big 1 year Old!

The beginning...

...the end.

Jessie.. the perfect gift for his little sister!

One. That is the age that my baby girl just turned. I thought that the first year went by fast when I had my first baby, but with the second baby it seems to have gone by even faster! I know she is still so small and innocent, but she has changed so much in just the past few weeks, not to mention the past year. I could list all of her achievements during the first year of life but that would be pretty much everything she's done so I will just highlight some of my favorites.

1. Alyson is such a happy baby. She rarely gets fussy and even then it's only because she's hungry or tired, or usually both.

2. Her smile. I love her smile, when she smiles at me it makes me love my life as her Mom just a little bit more. And if you can get a laugh our of her it's just priceless!

3. Bathtime. Alyson goes crazy whenever she hears the bath water start and stands at the edge of the tub doing her little "tub dance" with her feet until you get her undressed and in the water. I know it sounds kind of funny but she equally loves to get back out of the tub.

4. Alyson is a good eater. She has a much wider variety of foods that she will eat compared to Ryker. She especially loves french fries and ritz crackers. Her favorite - Dad's nightly dessert of ice cream and oreos!

5. Alyson enjoys her nap time. I think she needs the solitude of her crib once in a while to escape the craziness of her brother!

6. I know I've said before that she is not much for cuddling but she is finally giving us "kisses", or at least the Alyson version of a kiss. She just puts her forehead to your lips and waits for you to kiss her, she loves this and finds minutes of entertainment in it.

7. Alyson loves to be outside and she is not afraid to get dirty! She goes in the backyard every afternoon with us and crawls all over the backyard, gets completely filthy and could care less!

8. Alyson wants to know what's going on around her. If she can't see what's happening she moves until she gets a better view of the situation, and when people are talking she's listening. I think she might make for a nosy little girl but for now it's super cute.

9. Alyson LOVES her big brother! They are so perfect together. She wants to do whatever Ryker is doing and be wherever he is. Her favorite spot in the house to play is in his room with his trucks. She lights up whenever she spots him!

10. And best of all she is perfect and she is all ours. We love you pretty girl!

Nap Time

Alyson is a sleeper. She loves to take her morning and afternoon naps right on schedule. She has always been a really good sleeper, which for our family is a really big change from her brother. Ryker never took naps as a baby. Believe me I tried, and I tried but he just refused to take naps unless he was being held and cuddled the entire time. Even now Alyson sleeps through the night and has done so for months, while you can usually find Ryker cuddled into my bed sometime between bedtime and morning time. There have been very few nights where he has slept through the entire night. But that's just how they are - Ryker needs to be cuddled and loves the security of lots of blankets, while Alyson just wants to be laid down. She does not like to cuddle! Ever!! While this makes me pretty sad at times because I just love to hold my sleeping babies but the amount of free time that I have to do things during those precious napping hours are well worth it. I just love me some sleepy babies!

Well.... it has been a long time since I have even thought about my blog but with the new year has come a new desire to journal the life of my kids a little better. I hope to at least capture the BIG moments, and maybe a few small ones along the way.

Thinking back on the past year Ryker had a really BIG change - he became a preschooler and he loves it! After weeks of worrying about how he would do, what trouble he would get into, if he would have any friends, if he would hate it, if he would hate me for sending him, and mostly if he would cry everyday we dropped him off my fears were easily forgotten as he adjusted to the change HaPPiLy. He absolutely loves preschool! He asks to go on the days when he doesn't have class, and there are some of those days I really wish he had class too. He loves to go and play with his friends, and do all their projects, and paint and play and I think he loves it the most when Alyson comes with me to pick him up!

This is the Buzz backpack that Ryker and his Grandma Haycock went shopping for before school started, which he thinks is the best!

This is what my fridge looks like now most days

And this is probably the number one reason he loves preschool. He gets to go and play with his cousin Claire and he loves it! They have become the best of friends.

Ryker turned 3 on April 2nd and he was one excited little boy! To start off his week we surprised him with the arrival of his new baby sister Alyson getting to come home from the hospital, and then his Uncle Shane surprised him with tickets for him and his Dad to go to the Monster Truck Jam show with his cousins and he absolutely loved it!! He is still talking about it. Then he had his birthday party which was a simple little cake and ice cream get together at our house. We surprised him with an itouch (i know it's a little much) which he was super stoked about until he realized he wasn't going to get the TV/DVD combo for his room "just like Claire's".

Ryker is such a wonderful little boy who amazes me everyday! The other day he said when he grows up he wants to be a doctor just like the ones who helped Alyson feel better. See why I love him so much? He is smart, adorable, energetic, funny, a major clean freak, crazy, loving, sensitive, imaginative, a little cuddle bug, naughty at times, and loves to play anything and everything. He is Mom's little helper, a great big brother, and his Dad's best friend! We love you Bugga.

My friend Monica who is an amazing photographer came over a few weeks ago and took some newborn pics of Alyson. She did such a great job. I absolutely love the photos of my new baby girl!!