Baseball 1st Birthday PARTY!

I told myself I would be SO much better at blogging. WOW, I have failed! It has been a year already since Ryker has joined this world! Everyday Anthony and I grow more and more in love with our little boy. He is growing and learning so much, and boy oh boy does he have a personality! We would love to say that we threw a Baseball themed party because that is Ryker's favorite thing, but I think if it was up to him he would have had a Little Einstein, Mickey Mouse, or VeggieTales party... with a little bit of dancing. Yes I said dancing, he can shake his booty with the best of them! Now, don't get me wrong, he loves his sports. He could spend hours pushing around his baseballs, "throwing" with daddy, or bouncing a ball with Ahpa, we just couldn't resist, selfishly, seeing him sport his new Red Sox hat and his Team Taylor-Weber shirt! Anthony and I had LOTS of ideas that we quickly realized were a bit too old for him, so we are hoping one day he may actually choose on his own he wants another baseball themed party! =) My mom made the adorable shirts after I told her what I was imagining, and of course she did many, MANY other things for us as well. My parents were also kind enough to allow us to use their wonderful backyard! Thank you family for celebrating with us the first year of our little miracle's life.
If you follow me on Pinterest, or are just on Pinterest, you will see a few things I stole =)

 My mom and I made the Concessions sign. She did most of the work, I just did the assembling.

 We moved the Popcorn to this table to make room for the yummy food on the other table. The two bears are Build-a-Bears. The one on the right is from my mom, who took be to make it when I was pregnant.

 The baseball helmets are bowls, we flipped them over and filled them with ice creak and a baseball cookie. I don't know why I don't have a picture of the cookies... yes they were baseballs!

 We got this bat at Fenway (you can get them online too), when Anthony and I were in Boston. Everyone signed his bat.

 The star in the back is actually a blown up top half of his birthday invitations. They were made to look like a ticket to a game.

This sign was made for my babyshower. With a little tweaking, it turned into a cute banner.

Our happy little family, wearing a team shirts!

The backs

 Ryker LOVED the balloons! I am pretty sure that was his favorite part of the day!

 One of my favorite pictures! He thought his gifts were pretty funny!

 Nana and Ahpa bought him a wagon! He can't get enough of it!

Birthday cake! I stewed over this cake, as little as it was, and he took one taste and decided he did not like it! Not the first cake experience I was expecting. HAHA that's my boy, stick to the organic natural foods buddy! 

What you can accomplish during nap time

Thank goodness for a husband who has the patients and passion for changing things up like I do. One of our favorite things to do together is "fix" things up. One day we would love to buy a fixer upper and do (most of) the work ourselves. With teamwork, and a good napper, here is what we got done during nap times.

Before- We painted the walls green the first year we moved in to the house. It was a great color but we wanted something a little more elegant and warm. We tried getting the best angle to show the color.
After- We went with a warm gray. This was not the first gray we tried. We didn't want a light gray because we felt it would look too much like white. So we chose a dark gray... it was WAY too dark! This final choice was perfect! It is called Elephant Skin =)
Next project, convince Anthony to paint our furniture black or white... ;) Oh and mom, we may need you to make our saying Always Kiss Me Goodnight again!

Ham Alert!

I think we have created a monster! =) We were trying to break him of his "blue steel" look for every picture. Which for him was blank stare into the camera. Well I think we have succeeded to some degree! Hehe, when he is in the mood, we get some pretty interesting faces and poses! That's my boy!

Trying on a hat that his cousin Parker let him borrow! These are just a few pics of the little ham.
Success! A smile! Now if we could keep that cute little tongue in his mouth! =)
Wait you are taking a picture... here let me lean forward and give you a better pose! This was his Christmas outfit by the way, thank you Grandma!

Zoo Lights

Our Zoo pass has paid off! We were able to enjoy the Zoo lights twice this year, with no waiting in line! =) We went on two perfect nights... a little crisp, but no rain! The second time we went, we went with our good friends the McKillips! Ryker got to show his buddy Charles around, both were very quiet as they took in all the pretty lights. Sensory overload for sure! This will definitely be a tradition for us T-Dubs, very fun!
All bundled up... we learned the first time, layers are good!
Ryker and I, with Bijou and Charles, in front of the gingerbread house
The boys!

Christmas 2011

What a Christmas! We had so much fun watching Ryker experience his first Christmas. Even though he didn't understand what was going on, you could tell he felt the excitement and joy! He was such a happy boy, giggling and giving out smiles to whoever wanted to receive one! It was so special being able to share this time with both sides of our family, giving Ryker some good quality family time! Ryker was, of course, spoiled rotten! He received some wonderful gifts, that he is already enjoying!

Something I will remember always is the picture below. When I was growing up, it was a tradition for us kids to sit at the top of the stairs on Christmas morning while dad checked to see if Santa came. Once he checked it out for himself first (and set up the video camera) he would tell us its ok to come down. We of course would fly down the stairs wanting to be the first to get to our stockings and Santa Gift. I wanted to carry on that tradition with Ryker. First of all, Ryker decided that it is actually ok to sit just the other day. He knew how for awhile, but would rather stand. So it was huge that he actually sat for us on the stairs to begin with. If you look carefully you can see my knee at the top left, while I waited to possibly catch him if he chooses to fling himself back like before. He was so excited that he didn't mind sitting! As you can see, he was ready to see what mommy and daddy were so happy and excited about! This moment and these pictures will always be a cherished moment, as it started off an old/new tradition with our little family.

This face could not be any more perfect! Sitting with his cuddle monkey, ready to see what all this excitement is about!
Santa put toys in my stocking! So many smiles!
He loved his new Wiggle and Dance doggy from Santa! Man we should have had toys like this awhile ago, it motivates him to actually sit! =)

More pictures to come...

Ryker's First Ornament!

This holiday has always been a special holiday for me. The magic of Christmas, the excitement, but most importantly the TRUE meaning of Christmas. Yes, Santa often takes the attention away from Jesus' birth and the importance of it, but I believe there are great lessons to learn from believing in a person you don't see who brings you joy! This is such a great time to be reminded to believe in the unseen, and be as excited about the wonders of Jesus as much as we are about Santa. Now that Ryker is here, Christmas feels even more special. I am so excited to teach him the real reason for Christmas, and to show him how magical it can be to believe in someone who you don't see but feel! I hope everyone can find time this busy season to remember how it felt as a child to be so excited during this holiday. This excitement didn't start with Santa, it started with Jesus and the many promises and miracles (gifts) to come!

First Annual Polar Express Party

Nana and Ahpa had all of us over for a Polar Express Party! As you can see from the picture below, my dad (Ahpa) was the conductor! And of course my mom made some delicious hot chocolate... and yummy breakfast (for dinner). We were mailed tickets to "board" the Polar Express Party, that Ahpa punched! We could not board without our pajamas on!
We had so much fun snuggling up and watching the movie. However, the best part was watching Parker watch it, and how excited he got! Nana and Ahpa gave him is very own, first bell! His reaction was priceless! This will definitely be a new tradition! Family Picture, just boarded the Polar Express Party, ready to watch the movie in our PJ's!

Cousins! They can't keep their hands off each other! HAHA they were holding hands before the cameras were out! Both enjoyed the party so much they didn't want to go to bed!!

Our little family! Daddy got new Pajama's for the occassion! And Ryker got a Santa hat!

Ryker LOVES to look at all of the the Christmas decorations, especially when daddy shows him around.

"It's a BELL!! I got a new bell too!" Right after the boy opened his bell on Christmas day Nana surprised Parker with a box that looked just like the one on the movie! Inside was Parker's very own bell! The look of excited was so cute, and well worth the anticipation!

Thanks you Nana and Ahpa, for such a fun night! It was so special for all of us! We can't wait for Ryker to be old enough to feel the excitement too!