happy summer in July

well this past month was awesome! it started out with the 4th of July. we went to the park to have a picnic. Ryker loved it. he had so much fun at the park. it was great. It was crazy hot. But we still had fun. but it means we didnt stay for too long. thats okay. conveniently we could use our kids nap time as an excuse haha. when we came home we played in a little pirate pool we got for ryker and rylie. the water was a little chilly so ryker didnt actually want to get in. but he wanted to play with it all. we have played with it since. but he is still scared that the water is cold. we will work on that... then ended the night with poppers and sparklers with the kids. since it doesnt get dark till like 11 here they were definitely not going to stay up and watch the fireworks. happy 4th of july!

then next came justins birthday. happy 28 to him! its been a crazy year of moves, babies and more. he still had to work dang it. but we went out to fudruckers for his birthday dinner and then came home for cake and ice cream. i made the cake earlier that day. it turned out amazing if i do say so myself. haha. ryker was so helpful using my spatula to help cut the cake. well he more stabbed it and then licked off what came out. then stabbed it again. still cute. we still ate it... haha. Justin was lucky enough to reach his goal weight from our diet earlier in the week so that meant he got his big reward for his birthday. he wanted to get an air compressor. so i went and bought it on thursday and hid it in our storage room. he thought our plan was to go get it once he got home from work friday. so i got to surprise him by already having picked it up. i cant surprise him with gifts much anymore because he is very specific with what he wants. but i sure can surprise him by picking it up already! haha. he was very excited and we got a few attachments so he could play in the garage that evening.

we went to the state fair a week or so ago. it was fun! ryker loved the kids clubhouse. he could play and it was air conditioned. so nice. we saw some pig races and just looked around a bunch. man it made me wish i still wasnt dieting. i havent craved a hot dog or burger and funnel cake so bad in years. haha. but i stayed good! and we got ice cream on the way home haha.

i have been wanting to take some nice pictures of the kids to put up on my wall. its my mom moment of the month. so for a few days when i would get rylie dressed i took some fun photos. plus a couple extras even though i didnt keep her in that outfit for the day. they turned out super cute! i made a little collage with one big pic and a few smaller ones that i really loved and hung it on the wall. ryker wanted some pictures too so i was happy to oblige taking some of him as well. now i have big pics to show off my kids.

they are both growing up so fast! rylie is almost 20 lbs of adorable. she is almost crawling. but still mostly inch worming her way everywhere. hey when she sees a toy she wants she goes for it. and i often find her coming into the kitchen to find me if im making dinner. i love it. its so cute. she still loves being in the bouncer. it is her favorite activity ever. she could be happy bouncing in there for hours. as long as i stay with her. she doesnt like it if she is alone and im doing something else. but she is getting so big! she was sleeping super great. then had a week where she would get up and extra 3-4 times. ugh those were killer. but last night she had a good night of only getting up once to eat again so lets hope that she is back to her good schedule. those darn teeth make screw everything up as they come in.

ryker is doing great. he is so big i cant believe it. i know i say that every month. but its true. he is learning new words daily. as long as he is not throwing a tantrum he uses them haha. he can tell us his favorite movie he wants to watch and what he wants to eat. he has learned to open 3 doors. some stick so he cant open most of them. im grateful for that. haha. but he is my crazy 2 year old and im loving playing with him everyday. potty training is still a no go. but we try to encourage him often just in case.

both kids are on the same nap schedule which allows me to do a lot. i love it. hence why i can update the blog now. yay!

enjoy all the pics of our happenings.

playing outside in a too small hat. still cute. 

picnic for the 4th!

rylie would not cooperate

our pirate pool!

dad teaching ryker how to throw poppers

yay sparklers!

bathtime!!!!

i know its blurry. but i love this piture. such a stud!

this one is more in focus. he looks snazzy!

this is the candy note i made justin for his birthday. dont read it. its gushy. haha. but the candy is worth it!

im so proud of this cake!

his big birthday gift!

happy birthday to you!

ryker helping cut the cake

or just eating it

girl loves to be on her toes

ryker really loves to help teach her to crawl

she is learning to sleep on her tummy. but that being said she sleeps on her hands. which make for a great face with lots of lines when she wakes up. so great. 

beach bum! i love this boy

reading the bedtime story with dad

eating dads leg hair

state fair clubhouse

pig races

she wanted to snuggle. she was having a cranky day and all she wanted was momma. sorry its upside down.... 

the start of our photo sesh

bahahha she loves to give herself kisses

more fun in the bouncer

biggest heartbreaker in this house!

this is one of my favorites. i just love the look on her face. 

playing with a hat justin brought home from work

playing with chalk. of course dad drew a truck

he wanted to carry his bear like i carry rylie. 

bum up sleeping. 

bathtime mohawk

she kept shaking her milk bottle and this was the result. im sure she splashed more than she ate

rylie loving her bouncer. 

I dont know if you can hear. but she is blowing bubbles and for some reason i thought it was the funniest thing. 

her almost crawl! she loves to get up on her toes

ryker being awesome

i wanted video evidence that ryker spins weird. he turns in a circle just fine. but for some reason stares the other way. it just looks off but so funny at the same time haha. 

Warmth of June

well unlike may in colorado, it has been beautiful here in north dakota. we are in the 70s and 80s. its not too bad. i am loving my air conditioning but also the kids love to be outside and playing. we have spend most of the month just recuperating and getting back to normal from our month away.

Ryker is doing great. still loves his big boy bed. he has just exploded with words! we have progressed to mommy and daddy instead of just mom and dad. i love it. its so darn cute. his words still require a bit of translation, but he is trying and it sounds so much closer than it ever has before. my baby boy is growing up! i do love the added communication though. it helps a ton. he has moved on to his favorite movie being tangled or beauty and the beast. he loves the songs and has to copy everything they are doing on the screen. again, so cute i just smile all day. he still has his cranky moments and has some definite terrible two moments. but i love him tons. i love how he will climb all over me no matter what im doing to come snuggle in my lap. he has become much more cuddlier (sp? is it even  a word?) since rylie was born. i dont mind at all. except when rylie is cranky too, then its a fight for my lap and rylie wants to grab onto ryker, but he doesnt want to be touched. its a struggle. but of the best kind. ryker loves to help her reach her toys and give her her binky. he loves to tickle her toes and her tummy. he has recently graduated to footless PJ's. but thats mostly because its summer time and it gets super hot. even at night. we will bring out the footed ones again come winter time.

Rylie is getting so big. she just had her 6 month apt. her half birthday is on my dads birthday. how fun! double cake right? haha. she is 17 and a half pounds of pure smiles and chub. i love her big round cheeks and thighs. i wish my thighs were that cute. definitely not... she is a little big for her age. i remember ryker followed his age and his clothing size pretty well. she runs a little big. she is mostly in 6-9 and 9 month clothes. and they are all getting cuter! i admit i am loving dressing her up often. she is a rockstar at eating her oatmeal, but only prefers veggies during the day. i tried to feed her peaches once and she would not have it. muched prefered carrots. weird girl.... we havent tried to much yet, but we are branching out. she loves carrots and sweet potatoes, apples and bananas with her oatmeal. we will see how she does with the green veggies... ryker was picky about those too. she is refusing to bottle feed again. i tried so hard to keep it up since my mom was able to get her to take it, but she now would rather cry herself to sleep than eat from a bottle. well. we might give up on that until i stop nursing and she doesnt have a choice. thats the only food she will get then. but we will deal with that when the time comes. she has learned to roll onto her tummy the last few days. now she wont stay on her back, she can scoot just a little but with rolling and pivoting she doesnt stay stationary long. we are about to have another mobile baby here soon i can tell.

justin and i are doing great. justin is still working hard and enjoying what he does. we have recently felt inspired to start looking around for more opportunities and growth for his career. so we are praying and searching for that. justin and i started the state of slim diet about 3 weeks ago. it was tough at first but it is getting easier. it has helped us view some healthy options and get us into good habits. we have also been able to shed some unwanted pounds. i am not down to my goal weight yet, but im getting close. justin is doing great and about 2 lbs away from his goal weight. his goal weight gift/birthday gift is an air compressor. he is so excited and already making plans for it. im glad it makes him happy.

thats mostly whats been going on. nothing big except our new search for a job. prayers are welcome. thanks. we are enjoying our kids and getting used to playing with them both. they are such a joy.

so i was watching 7 brides for 7 brothers the other day. ryker was loving the singing and dancing. this is the part in the beginning where milly makes them clean up before breakfast. then says grace before they can eat. i look up and see ryker is praying with them. i just about died it was so cute. i didnt even prompt this. he did it on his own. it was so precious. he knows when to be reverent! 

so we are still slowly working on the potty training. after we got home everytime ryker told us he was going number 2 we told him to run and sit on his potty! so he would run, but hit bear on the potty and then run to our landing on the stairs, poop, and then come back to get his bear off. the little turkey. if it wasnt so funny i would be a little more upset about it. haha

rylie love love loves her toes! and i love that smile! 

playing in the walker grandma reed got ryker. she loves it too. 

playing with dad. dad made a pillow out of blocks and a squishy ball. such an enhineer.... haha

whenever im on the floor playing with rylie ryker loves to come and lay with us. its so much fun!

when we got back we decided our new residence would be sharks! we have a red finned rainbow shark, and a black finned shark that looks kinda like a catfish. they are so cool and fun. my black finned one didnt make it a week before he got stressed with the small size of the tank and died. dang... but it was fun while it lasted!

ryker climbed up to be with dad

playing one day while waiting for me to cook dinner

rylie loves this little elephant. i got it from a baby shower i had with ryker. but its the cutest thing ever and i wanted one of my children to love it. haha she loves to snuggle as she sleeps

while helping dad with the truck we took some pics. cant only teach the boys to love cars. she will learn to love them too. 

to replace my shark we got a platty named mango (the yellow, orange and black) and a molly named rufio. 

all of us at the deitrick reunion last month! so fun to see everyone

family pic! i love my family. 

rylie in the kitchen helping us cook for the week. for anyone who has slept in our spare bedroom, ryker loves to kick the wall when he wakes up. i thought it was super cute. like brother like sister haha

i have a game on my phone called ant smash where you squish ants with your thumb. so when we were outside i taught ryker how to stomp on them. he loved it. i thought it was so funny. beats bringing them in the house. haha