Christmas Card 2016

Merry Christmas! It’s hard to believe 2016 has already come and gone. This year has been a whirlwind of joy and new beginnings.

Ryker- After a short labor, Ryker was born on March 3rd this year. He weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. Ryker spends his days climbing, crawling, and cruising everywhere looking for trouble. He loves to drum, play with blocks, and play with his sister. His hopes and aspirations for this next year include: learning to walk, learning to talk, and catching the cat.

Ilyana- In February, Ilyana celebrated her 1st birthday! Not long after, she got promoted to “big sister”, a role that she has gracefully stepped into. Ilyana enjoys participating in a weekly gymnastics class, building block towers, and taking care of her baby dolls and her brother. Her hopes and aspirations for this next year include: learning her ABC’s, expanding her vocabulary, and taking her Pikachu doll on many more adventures.

Ash- Ash was happy to become a mom of two this year. She has continued her work as a stay-at-home mom. She spends her free time: finding crafts she’ll never actually do, serving the church’s AWANAS ministry, and writing in the family blog. Her hopes and aspirations for this next year include: improving her baking skills, potty training Ilyana, and learning about God’s promises.

Jake- Jake continues to work as a software engineer at Rockwell Collins. He was excited to take on some new leadership roles at work this year. He spends his free time: creating his own video game, playing the xbox, and playing drums in the church band. His hopes and aspirations for this next year include: finishing the video game he’s writing, receiving a promotion, and playing lots of video games.

Overall, this past year has been about laying the foundation of our little family. We have grown as parents, and our kids have grown… because that’s what they do. This next year will be full of wonderful experiences as Ilyana and Ryker grow out of the baby stage and into the toddler years. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

Jake, Ash, Ilyana (1), and Ryker (9 m)

Ryker was born March 3rd

Ilyana turned 1 February 21st

We had a fun Winter "ONEderland" birthday party for her.

We spent a week living at the Hansen's during the flood.

The kids went trick-or-treating for the first time this year.

These two have so much fun together!

9 months - Ryker

My baby boy is 9 months old! He has now spent as much time on the outside as he did cozied up inside me. Over this past month I feel that Ryker has become a lot easier. He's started responding to "no" and most importantly, he's started sleeping better. Several months ago he had started sleeping through the night on some nights, then the flood happened and staying in a new location made waking 2-3 times a night the norm. After some difficult sleep training we finally got him back down to only waking once a night, then he got sick and started teething. Back to waking 2-3 times a night. It was exhausting for everyone. Once he was feeling better we tried a friends suggestion of offering a sippy cup of water when he woke up at times he didn't need to nurse and it worked like a charm! Within one night he was sleeping better than he had slept in months! As for naps, he generally takes 2 naps a day. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. At this point Ryker eats most anything we eat (besides honey, milk, and sweets). He loves food and wants to eat anytime he sees someone eating, especially his sister. We are also still nursing every couple of hours during the day. I'm so glad that I'm able to share this bond with Ryker. This month Ryker got his first tooth! His second tooth is about to pop through as well. Ryker is working hard on walking, cruising everywhere and even taking a step or two every once in a while. He says "mama" all day long and has even said "dada" a few times. Ryker also passed his sister in weight this month. His chubby legs get me every time! This month we learned that Ryker is terrified of bubbles, just like his sister used to be! I'm not sure what we've done to scar our children with bubbles! I'm so glad that 2016 brought Ryker into our lives and I can't wait to see what 2017 is like for us!

His "That flash is bright!" face. Haha!

Ilyana - 21 Months

I can't believe my big girl is going to be 2 in just a few short months! I have been loving this age with Ilyana. She is such a delight to be around. She is smart, funny, and so curious. She now says about 20-30 words and sounds and still signs a couple of words too. She's starting to combine words together (ex. "Hi dada") and tries to copy most words that we say. Her favorite activities include talking on the phone, playing with blocks, hide and go seek, taking care of her baby, tag, and hiding in her kitchen cupboard (especially when Ryker plays peekaboo with her). She also loves Bubble Guppies, her Pikachu and Pichu dolls, and anything kitties. Ilyana and Ryker generally get along really well and she is so kind and caring towards him. Ilyana has been really enjoying gymnastics over the past few months. Her favorite parts of class are the balance beam, the trampoline, and singing "Tony Chestnut" at the end of class. Ilyana is generally still a great eater, especially at home (I think she gets distracted when we're out and about). Her favorite foods consist apples, berries, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, crackers with peanut butter, carrots, corn, and peas. Thanks to trick-or-treating she has tried a couple types of candy now. The Kit-Kat seemed to be her favorite. Although her Reese's got stolen by grandma Connie so I can't say that that wouldn't be her favorite ;) Ilyana usually goes to bed around 7 and gets up around 7 in the morning and still takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. A few months ago we transitioned her to a toddler bed and she absolutely loves it! She does great staying in bed until we come and get her. I love my sweet baby girl so much and I am so glad I get to be her mommy!

8 months - Ryker

My little buddy Ryker is 8 months old today! Time is flying with this kid! My big boy is moving everywhere, crawling, standing, climbing, cruising, and walking with a push walker. It's not often that he sits still, but when he does, his new favorite activity is clapping! I tried for weeks to teach him to clap and then big sister stepped in and showed him how it's done and he got it right away. He now loves to clap for himself any time he obeys when we tell him "no". Speaking of "no", he's finally started to understand what it means and he obeys most of the time, although more recently he's started pitching a bit of a fit when he can't have something he wants. I'm happy to say that me and Ryker's nursing journey is still going strong. Lately when he nurses he becomes a bit of a gymnast and likes to stand and roll while still eating. It's interesting to say the least. Verbally, he's started babbling a lot more over the past couple of weeks. He's started babbling "dadada" and "lalala" lately. We're still waiting on any teeth to pop through even though he has seemed to be teething for several weeks now. However lack of teeth hasn't stopped him from eating everything in sight. At this point he mostly just eats whatever we're eating within reason. He's not too picky unless it's medicine. Once he sees the syringe he clamps his jaw shut and spits it out. He's a stubborn one. Ryker is finally starting to sleep better. He's consistently takes 2 naps a day around 9:30 and 1:30 and then goes to bed around 6:30. At night he generally wakes up around 4 and sometimes 5:30 to eat and then wakes up for the day around 8. I love my little bubby and have been enjoying watching him grow!

Ryker likes: blocks, balls, anything he can chew on, bath time, nursing, being on the move.

Ryker dislikes: sitting still, diaper changes, being told "no".

Mommy-Daughter Date

I think it's important for kids to get one-on-one time with their parents, so this morning Ryker went to play at Grandma's house while Ilyana and I went on a date! To start our adventure we went to the Ladd Library for a Halloween party! Ilyana wore her panda costume (which received lots of compliments) and we got to watch a magic show, do crafts, play games, and trick or treat around the library. The magician was hilarious and entertaining and Ilyana loved coloring a little pumpkin. She also got a tattoo on her hand which she was very pleased with. She continued to point it out to me all morning "Mama! Dog! Woof woof!". Ilyana was also excited to receive a toothbrush and a book from some of the trick or treating stations. She also got a small kit kat bar that I let her eat. Ilyana has had M&M's before but besides that has never really had candy. She thought the kit kat was pretty delicious!

After the library we stopped back at Grandma's house to feed Ryker and then we headed to HuHot for lunch. Ilyana and I were both very pleased with our lunch. As I was paying for lunch I found an unused Von Maur gift card in my wallet so we decided to go there and pick out a cute outfit for Ilyana. Ilyana is in love with puppies and kitties right now so she picked out this cute pink and sparkly puppy shirt. As we were leaving the mall Ilyana asked to "throw?" as we passed the fountain so I let her throw a few coins in, one of her favorite activities.

After leaving the mall we went back to Grandma's to pick up Ryker and then headed home for naps. Ilyana didn't even make it home before falling asleep. I carried her inside and she woke up just long enough to roll over and snuggle with her Pikachu. We had such a good time this morning and I look forward to more opportunities to love on my little girl!

A weekend in the life - Sunday

Yesterday morning started off with Jake and I taking turns showering and getting ready for church while the kids ate breakfast and played. Around 9 Ryker went down for a nap and Jake mentioned not feeling the best so I offered to take Ilyana out for a walk to go get doughnuts from the Casey's down the street. She was not thrilled with the idea but we went anyways. On our way there we saw a squirrel and we watched it eat an acorn and then scramble up a tree. Ilyana was highly amused. At Casey's we saw our neighbor so we had a nice chat with her about our plans for Halloween, got our doughnuts, and then walked back home. Once we got home and Ilyana realized what a doughnut was she was pretty excited so we sat and ate our doughnuts and told daddy all about our adventure.

Around 10:15 we woke Ryker up and headed to church. Ilyana freaked out in childcare so we missed most of the message but it was enjoyable seeing everybody! Ilyana was having a bit of a rough time so we headed home with the intent of feeding her quick and putting her down for a nap but apparently Ilyana didn't want to wait and she fell asleep on the way home. I carried her inside and enjoyed the rare sleeping snuggles while Jake made her some lunch (hot dog, black beans, and some fruit) and then woke her up so she could eat and then go back down for a nap. Ryker went down for a nap about the same time as she did.

Jake and I both napped and ate lunch while the kids napped. Ryker woke up around 2 and came downstairs to play. He loves the new Bubble Guppies books too! While he was playing I used the rest of the fleece I had bought on Saturday to make diaper liners for his cloth diapers. Basically they just go in between the baby and the diaper so if he poops I can just throw away the liner without having to wash poop off the diaper and if it's just pee I can wash the liner to use it again!

Ilyana woke up around 3 so we got the kids dressed in their Halloween costumes and headed a Halloween party with our friends from Ilyana's old mommy and me class! Ilyana is dressed up as a panda and Ryker is dressed up as Harry Potter! As a little snack I brought strawberries dipped in white chocolate that looked like little ghosts. They were tasty! We had a lot of fun playing with our friends at the party!

After the party we headed over to Pete and Raylene's house for family night and had some delicious beef stew for supper. We had a lot of fun hanging out with family. While we were there Ilyana went up to uncle Nate and said "Hi! What are you doing?" We were all pretty shocked. Around 6:15 we headed home to put the kids to bed. After the kids were sleeping Jake and I read and discussed a Bible study and then watched some Netflix and before heading to bed ourselves. It was a good day!

A weekend in the life - Saturday

Both kids woke up around 7 this morning so we went downstairs and started them on breakfast and then Jake and I took turns showering. Around 9:15 I put Ryker down for a nap and then Ilyana and I went to run a couple errands. We went to a fabric store to get materials to make Ryker's Halloween costume and then went to Target to get some cough drops for Jake and a few items to make a treat for a party we have tomorrow.

Once we got home I checked the mail and found that a couple of books I had ordered for Ilyana had arrived! Ilyana is absolutely obsessed with Bubble Guppies lately so we decided to get her a couple of Bubble Guppy themed books. She was amazed by the books! Her and Jake read and re-read (and re-read a couple more times) the books for about a half hour while I made the treat for tomorrows party.

Around 11 Ryker woke up so I nursed him quick and then we went to Bart's Farm (a local pumpkin patch)! We had so much fun at the pumpkin patch even though it was a bit cold. We walked around the big pumpkin patch, picked out our pumpkins, and Ilyana got to pet a farm dog. I asked her if she wanted to say "hi" to the dog and she walked up to it saying "Hi dog! Hi dog!" and then had a blast petting it. She was pretty sad when it was time to leave!

We got home and had leftovers for lunch and then put the kids down for naps. Once the kids were sleeping I cut up the fabric that I had bought earlier and got out my sewing machine to try to sew Ryker's costume however it seemed to be jammed so we had to give up on that idea. Ryker woke up around 2 so we played for a little while and then started getting ready for the wedding reception. Around 2:45 we woke up Ilyana  so that we could leave. She wasn't too pleased, but the promise of food made everything better.

We arrived at the wedding reception a little late but we had lots of fun celebrating with the bride and groom, eating delicious food, and catching up with friends. Ilyana was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of people so Jake and Nate took her outside to explore for a little bit. They had a lot of fun walking around and playing with sticks. Ilyana is becoming quite the brave little explorer! 

After the reception we headed over to Grandma Raylene's house to catch up with some out of town family. We weren't able to stay long since the kids were needing to go to bed, but it was good to see everyone for a little bit. We headed home around 5:45, got the kids fed, and I put Ryker to bed while Jake played with Ilyana for a little bit and then put her to bed as well. Once the kids were in bed I ran out to Walmart to grab milk and glue sticks for my glue gun (we gave up on the sewing machine). After I got home I realized that the glue sticks I bought were too big. Ugh. So I called a neighbor friend who saved the day and lent me her hot glue gun. Jake and I watched the final two episodes of Gilmore Girls while I finished up Ryker's costume. We're both excited to see the four new Gilmore Girls installments in November! After the final episode (cue tears) I wrote this post and now we'll probably relax for a little bit and then hit the sack!

A weekend in the life - Friday

I've been meaning to do another "day in the life" post but keep forgetting to take pictures, and let's be real, that's what people really want to see. So now that I remembered to photograph our day, I figured I'd make a weekend of it!
This morning started off a little rough. Both kids were a bit hangry (hungry+angry=hangry). Once the kids were both fed and happy (and mama too) we started the morning off playing with toys and reorganizing the toy bins we have. A few months ago I sorted all of our toys into 6 themed bins to help decrease clutter and help our play times have fewer toys and be less overwhelming. The bins have since been mixed and matched and needed some TLC before we could effectively use them again.

Once all the bins had been organized it was time for Ryker's first nap. We've been having some napping issues lately so we decided to try pushing his nap back until 9:30 and that seemed to do the trick! He happily went down with minimal crying and ended up sleeping for almost two hours! While Ryker napped I turned on an episode of Bubble Guppies on my phone for Ilyana to watch while I showered. After showering I quick cleaned our bathroom and put away some shoes that were sitting in our room then we went downstairs, started supper in the crock pot, and started putting away diaper laundry. While stuffing diapers Ilyana and I shared some animal crackers as a snack. She would pull two out of the bin, eat one and hand me the other saying "thank you!". This girl cracks me up!

Around 11:15 Ryker woke up from his nap so we went upstairs and played in the play room for a while. Ilyana had a lot of fun playing with the door on the little people school house. She would close it, knock while saying "knock knock", then open and say "hello!". It's been so fun listening to her talk more and getting a little glimpse of what is going on in her mind! We also read a story out of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" while upstairs. I've been having so much fun introducing my kids to Harry Potter! Before going downstairs we also put up a mesh crib liner in Ryker's crib to hopefully help keep pacifiers contained in the crib better.

Around noon we went downstairs and had lunch. We had leftovers from last night: BBQ pulled pork and corn. Both the kids ate really well and Ilyana had a lot of fun telling the dogs on her place mat to "sit!". Ilyana has been obsessed with animals lately, especially dogs and cats. Whenever she sees pictures of cats she pets them and says "aww, kitty!". She even found a Halloween card at Target yesterday with a big cat on it and carried it around showing everyone the "kitty".

After lunch, Ryker and Ilyana played peekaboo with a bucket over their heads and then Ilyana helped me unload and load the dishwasher. She was happy to accept two M&M's as payment for her labor. Once lunch was all cleaned up it was time for Ilyana to nap. Ryker and I cleaned up the living room and then read books for 15-20 minutes and then it was time for him to nap again also.

While the kids napped I started a load of laundry and finished putting away the cloth diapers then relaxed and watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy. Both kids woke up around 3 and we had somewhere to be at 4 so after a quick snack we packed up and left the house. We had about 20 minutes to kill so we stopped at the park. Grandpa Pete saw us playing while on his way home so he decided to stop by and help play too! Once we were done at the park we headed over to a church to help my brother-in-law Ben, and his wife Amy set up for their wedding reception! Ilyana did a great job just sitting and playing while I wore Ryker in the baby carrier and helped set up.

Jake met us at the church after his haircut and helped to set up as well. Around 5:30 we headed home to eat dinner. We had some chicken taco soup that had been cooking in the crock pot all day. Usually both kids go to bed around 7 but Ryker started losing it around 6:15 due to teething so we loaded him up with Tylenol and I went and put him to bed. This actually worked out really well because Jake was planning to help some friends move out of their apartment tonight so I was going to have to put both kids to bed by myself. Jake left once I got back downstairs and Ilyana was getting pretty grumpy so we went upstairs and she took a fun bubble bath and was off to bed as well.

I came downstairs and wrote this blog post and I'll probably watch some more Grey's Anatomy until Jake gets home. We're two episodes away from finishing Gilmore Girls (a second time) so we'll probably watch that together tonight!

We have a fun weekend ahead of us and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you!