Mother's Day and some random pics...

Welcome Baby Jonah Levi!!!

Congratulations Matthew and Naomi, Welcome baby Jonah!

Another miracle in the world!

We can't wait to see more pictures and hear more about him.

Happy Birthday Haven

Today is Haven's 12th Birthday.  I think Josh may still be in shock that she is 12.  We just wanted to wish Miss Haven a VERY VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY.  Hopefully we can see her kick some butt in her softball tournament tomorrow.  Though on the news right now they are calling for thunderstorms and tornado's so we will just hope for the best! 

Spring is here!

So April has already been a very busy month so far! There is so much going on in April.  Easter, Kelly and Zoey's Birthdays *Happy Birthday Kel!*, Haven's Birthday, and Kim's birthday plus our anniversary is this month.  Rylee is now 20 months old, getting closer and closer to being 2. I still can't believe it except when I look at her I think you are toddler! You've grown so much. She continually amazes Josh and I. Her personality is wonderful. She dances, sings, and laughs constantly. Rylee has a pretty good vocabulary, she hasn't put words together yet really but has a long list of words she can now say. More and please are used the most. Her favorite songs this month are *Twinkle*Twinkle*Little*Star, and the bumblebee song. Her favorite show to watch is still Winnie the Pooh. Her favorite books this month is her Things That Go book, and If You Give A Moose A Muffin. Jim Gill still seems to be her favorite music though every time we are listening to bluegrass she starts dancing. Rylee also LOVES to play with babies now. She feeds them, puts them to bed, pats their backs, and tries her best to change their diapers. She's very caring. She can also be very shy. Rylee went to preschool for her first time at the end of March. It was just while I was at my MOPS group so it was only 2 hours long and in the same building I was in. The teacher said she did great, that she was very shy but colored and played well. I was nervous about bringing her (Josh was even more nervous) but as soon as we walked in the door she stopped paying attention to me and I went on my way. We had a wonderful Easter, beautiful beautiful weather. Haven and Jordan were here which she couldn't have been happier about. She loves them so very much and is just in awe of everything they do. They give her so much love and attention and she takes all she can get of it. We also got to go to the lake a couple times so far and enjoy some sunshine and family. Today we had another fun day. We went and met my friend Beth and her son Andrew and went to the park. They got to play for awhile and then we wound it down with a short walk through the wildflower trail. Which brings me to something else Rylee loves. Outside. We have gotten to spend a lot of time outside the past few weeks and hopefully like her mom and dad she will love being in the outdoors. She is a big fan of her bike, her sand and water table, her wagon, bubbles, and dandelions. I can't wait till it gets warm enough to take her swimming!

Rylee & Jordan

Haven & Ry

Trying to smell the flowers.

Easter Egg Hunt

Yum, jellybeans!

Ry and Sissy, and her present from them!

Yes, we wear beads in the bath.

We also wear our sunglasses inside.

Going on our afternoon walk.

Bubbles

O.k. not the best picture of the 3 of us

Rylee's first time in a boat. Papa thought she was experienced enough to help drive.

Rylee throwing rocks w/ dada.

New Rylee Pics

I'm working on it

So hopefully by the end of this coming week I will have uploaded the latest pics of Rylee. We have done lots of exciting things this week. I took Ry to the park a few times and then when Josh got home we all went together Saturday morning. It has been such an amazing weekend, sunny and warm! Rylee has also had a runny nose all week. She has been getting in a top tooth which always gets her nose running. Due to the cold temps and the dry air at the beginning of the week it just wasn't getting better. We took her to the dr. tonight and no infections. We also went up to beautiful Lake Guntersville today to look at Josh's parents work in progress lake house. First floor walls are up and I'm positive it will be beautiful. I'm very excited about being able to visit. Guntersville is beautiful and full of lots of things to do for someone who loves to be outdoors. I'm actually hoping Josh and I can get out there soon now that the weather is warming up and go on some walks. The part I'm most excited about though is for Rylee to be able to visit. I spent most of my summers in Northwest Wisconsin at my aunt and uncles cabin on Round Lake. I loved it there and am still so happy and grateful for all my time spent there. Maybe it is why I am so in love with nature today. We would catch crayfish (the northern way of saying crawfish), go to the fudge store, have fires, toast marshmallows and make banana boats, go tubing, and just spend as much time in the water as possible. A favorite story I've heard told about me again and again was that one day my Aunt Sandy's clothes line was full of my clothes b/c I would constantly just jump in the water at my cousins command fully clothed. I'm really happy that Rylee will be able to have a similar experience though maybe we'll just leave her in a swimsuit :)

Anyway, here are some old pics. I love looking at how much she has changed!

It's been such a long time...

I know, I know...I am awful at keeping this updated. But, Rylee is worth the wait. She has grown so much since my last post. Here is a quick update:
*Rylee will now feed herself with a spoon. The only real mess is on her face and bib and I think that is pretty good!
*She says "please", "more" (She definitely knows the meaning of the word more!!) and can sign "I Love You". She says "ho ho ho" if she sees anything with Santa on it. And, she says "Bye, Bye" every time she sees car keys or a coat.
*She calls herself "Yi, Yi".
*Ry loves dancing. We are constantly listening to Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Jim Gill, or The Be Good Tonyas.
*She loves falling down on her butt.
*She loves standing on the first step and jumping off onto the carpet.
*Her current favorite songs to 'sing' are the Baby Bumblebee song, 5 Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed, and Teasing Mr. Crocodile.
*She loves Ring Around the Rosie but I'm not a big fan ever since I learned the morbidness of the meaning.
*She loves going down slides.
*She loves chasing Houser with her popcorn popper and recently they have actually started interacting. It's fun to watch them play together.
*Ry loves "My Friends Tigger and Pooh". Josh and I have decided that we are cool with Pooh. At least it's not Barney! Plus the turtle looks like the Terrapin Turtle and plays the banjo. Josh also swears that one of the background songs is an instrumental version of Sugar Magnolia.

Ry and Josh sharing a candy cane.

Christmas Eve

The look she had when she first saw the tree lights was priceless!
















Her new chair and her new friends!





















For Christmas Ry got Josh a book called 'I Love You Daddy'. One of the pictures in it is a daddy bear and a baby bear sitting on top of a mountain looking out. That picture, along with the others, made me think of Josh and all the things he loves. I know one day he will be able to pass down his love for those things to Rylee.



















Christmas morning. Look at that face!

Stirrin' it up in her new kitchen.

Thanks mom!

Being silly, again.