8 Months

I am very anxious for her 9 month checkup to see how much she has grown. She now can barely fit into 12 month clothes, at least the onsies. She is in 18 month pajamas. She loves to laugh and giggle all of the time. She likes to hear the sound of her voice and will just yell and scream to hear herself. We are really looking forward to having Rylee's first Christmas. Here are a few pictures right after we put up the tree. She loved it!

7 Months

Not much has really changed since last month. Rylee started eating some puff cereal every now and again. She didn't really like it at first, but now she does. When we go out to eat she likes to play with and try and drink from straws. She is really excited for Thanksgiving. At the last Dr. appt, our pediatrician said, "Don't let any old people sneak her food" haha! I guess she is still on a strict diet of baby food and formula for now. At least until her 9 month checkup in January. It was so nice to get a whole week off with her for Thanksgiving. She has so much more personality now. She is a blast to play with! Here are some pictures from her 7th month.

Izabell Joy Stapleton is Here!!!!

My sister had her baby on November 2nd. Her name is Izabell Joy Stapleton. Isn't she beautiful!? We love her already. Rylee can't wait to get her hands on her new little cousin.

6 Months

Rylee is 6 months old! 18lbs 13.5oz, 27.5 in in length, 44.5 cm head circumference. 95th percentile in all! She was such a good girl! Rylee is now eating solid foods. We started with the green veggies. This is her eating some peas. She likes eating with a spoon. Grandpa is trying to teach her to use it herself. At 6 months she is rolling even more. She can start to sit by herself. She loves to play with her toys. She is getting into more things and I'm sure we will have to baby proof soon. Here are some pictures of Rylee at 6 months.

5 Months.... ALREADY?!?

Wow! Ok, I am VERY sorry I haven't posted more. If you are my friend on Facebook, you see plenty of pictures because I can easily post from my phone. However I have totally forgotten about the blogging world lately. This past week, Rylee celebrated 5 months! I know people said it would go by so fast but they didn't say it would be lightning speed. She has 2 teeth that are very prominent. This means that EVERYTHING goes in the mouth for her to chew on. Her pacifiers are often turned on their side so she can chew on the plastic. She has teething chew rings and other things but she doesn't like them as much. Her favorite thing to chew on is her burp cloth or the ribbon of her paci clip. She is rolling around alot. She has a play mat with toys that hang over her and she really likes playing with that. You have to be careful because she will roll right off of things if you aren't there to catch her. She is still only on formula. Our pediatrician was pretty adamant about keeping her on formula until 6 months. Some studies show that feeding solids too early leads to obesity and our family history and her advanced size already, we aren't taking any chances. She is very curious though when she sees adults eating. She will stare and even sometimes move her mouth when you do. She is becoming more brave with her surroundings. She will reach and grab for things, especially faces. She loves to grab your nose, so watch out. Her nails grow like crazy so sometimes she can scratch herself and you pretty badly. We have to cut them more often now. She is in a 6-9 month set of clothes. She is so long that often the 6 month aren't long enough so we have her in 9 month onsies. She is still such a joy to be around. She sleeps through the night and loves playing with her daddy during the day. She is a cutie patootie!

Happy Birthday Evan

Evan turned 29 today. I have loved getting to celebrate birthdays with him. This year was kindof low key, but we still had fun. I hope you had a wonderful birthday papa bear!

Rylee is four months old!!

Rylee had her 4 month checkup today. She weighs 15 lb 10 oz, which is the 95th percentile. She is 26 inches long, which is also the 95th percentile. To our amazement, she has also started to have a tooth break through the surface of her gums!! She got her 4 month shots today, and she only cried for a minute, then she was fine. She also has started blowing bubbles, to which the doctor said was advanced for a 4 month old. Because of her height and weight, she has been wearing 6 mo or 6-9 mo clothes. She eats 4-6 oz every 3-4 hours. She is rolling over more often and has great neck control. She can hold her neck for longer periods of time. She still takes about 4 naps per day, and is sleeping between 8 and 9 hours every night!! She still enjoys naps and swimming in the pool. This Friday, she will meet Uncle Coulter when he flies in from his mission! She loves to grab things, especially her binky. She has seen a few Baby Einstein videos and seems to enjoy them. Overall, Rylee is doing wonderfully, and we could not ask for a better baby. We are excited to see what each new day brings!!

4th of July

We were able to drive up to Stillwater to celebrate the 4th of July this year. Rachel, Evan's sister, flew in from Utah to see all of the new babies. It was great to have everyone together. We went to several places in Edmond and Stillwater. Everyone was over on Sunday for a large meal. Rylee loves visiting her family in Oklahoma!

3 Months

Rylee turned 3 months old today! Here is Rylee with her "grow with me" blocks that I recently made for her.

Here are a few things about Rylee at 3 months old:

*Rylee coos and makes sounds quite often now. We swear we have heard her say "hello" and "momma" but we think they might just be coos that sound like the words.

*Rylee LOVES to stick her fist in her mouth and we think she might be teething sooner than later.

*Rylee was put on a diet by the pediatrician and has adjusted well to cutting her feedings back from every 2 hours to every 3 hours. She still has alot of gas and is working on getting her digestive system to work correctly.

*Rylee doesn't quite enjoy tummy time yet, but she is working up to it.

*Rylee LOVES her baths and likes to splash daddy by kicking her feet in the water.

*Rylee is wearing 3-6 month clothes. She has been sleeping in a onesie instead of her PJ's because she naturally sweats alot. She is enjoying her new swaddler we got her and she likes to sleep in it.

*During her 3rd month, she took 3 road trips. 2 to Oklahoma and 1 to Tyler.

*Rylee sleeps anywhere from 8-10 hours at night time and takes quite a few naps during the day. She is a good sleeper!

*She is adjusting well to her car seat and doesn't cry as much when she begins her journeys.

Overall, she is a happy baby and we are just trying to soak up every moment!

Summer Crafts

I love summer time because I actually have the time to try out new crafts and do things that are fun and entertaining for me. The down side is that they usually cost money, but sometimes I can make do with what I already have. My friend Allie gave me the idea for these "Grow With Me" blocks. These were great because I already had all of the materials and just needed to purchase the wood. You can use these to place in your baby's/child's pictures to watch them grow. You can also use these if you are pregnant to document your belly bump progress week by week. I am excited to start taking Rylee's picture with hers each month to see her grow! I think these would make a fun addition to a baby shower gift as well. Let me know if you would like some and we can decide on a fair price. :)

Rylee's pacifier clip has seen better days. I wasn't too thrilled with the other patterns at the store so I made these! I already had the clips from attempting to make hair bows (I'm not too good at that). These are simple and cheaper to make than buy at the store.

2nd Wedding Anniversary

Today is our 2nd Wedding Anniversary. Our 2nd year will definitely be remembered as the year that we had our first child, Rylee! We started the day with a nice breakfast at Our Place in Mansfield. It is SO good. We then took Rylee and the dogs to the dog park for some nice family time. That evening my parents watched Rylee. We went to Olive Garden for dinner and went to see The Green Lantern. It was a nice relaxed Anniversary. During dinner we reminisced over the fun times we had this past year. We also set some goals for the upcoming year. Some of our goals include: 1) Growing spiritually and attempting to attend the temple at least once every 2 months. 2) Sticking to our budget and finding was to save money. 3)Take a family vacation each summer, either near or far. We talked about how we won't really remember the stuff we buy, but we will remember the memories we create on vacations. Therefore we planned to try and go out to California next summer! Our hope is that Jill, Evan's sister, and her family will be relocated to California by next summer and we will get to visit them. Overall, our marriage has definitely been strengthened this year. I think having a child definitely tests you and can bring you closer together when you work as a team. We look forward to many more years! :)

2 Months!

Rylee is now 2 months old! She had her 2 month checkup today. She is 12.4 lbs (80th percentile), 24 inches (95th percentile), and her head circumference was 15 3/4 (80th percentile). She is doing great developmentally. She can be soothed by holding her. She can almost roll over from her tummy to her back by herself. She can hold her head away from the ground or your shoulder. Her reflexes are great too! She has been overeating a little so we need to cut back an ounce at each feeding. (probably my fault because I wasn't sure how much she was getting from me) Things we have noticed in the past month. She is growing like a weed!!! When we looked at her chart at the doctors office, the curve was huge! We were so concerned that first month that she wasn't growing like she should. To give you a comparison, her head circumference was in the 10th percentile at her 1 month check up! That brain is GROWING! She still prefers to sleep on her side. She is having regular poopy diapers (which we were worried about). She is starting to like her swing more now that she can see the rotating birds above her. She has spent the night twice at Nana's house with grandpa watching her. She sleeps between 7-8 hours straight through the night with at least 2 long naps during the day. She is going on her first road trip this weekend to Stillwater and OKC to visit family for Baby Oliver's blessing. We just feel so blessed to have her in our lives!

Goodbye to Room 28

Before I had Rylee, before we bought our house, before I met and married Evan, I moved in to room 28 at Otis Brown Elementary. Room 28 has been my home away from home for 3 years now. Recently, our district re-drew the boundary lines for the elementary schools. Due to this, my school is loosing about 2 teachers per grade level. While on maternity leave, I got a call from my principal. He was almost crying and said he had some bad news. I had to leave. I am getting moved to another school. I took the news rather well. I feel VERY VERY blessed to still have a job when so many others do not. As I came back to work after my leave, I kept my optimism, until yesterday. Yesterday was my last day with my kids. Each year, I think, "oh I will see them again next year in the halls and stuff". No more of that. Each year I say goodbye to coworkers thinking, "we will keep in touch and I will see them again next year". No more of that either. I realize that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and I need to be faithful. As for now, I am assigned to another elementary school teaching 1st grade instead of 2nd. This school is an extra 20 minutes north of my house which means my commute, with traffic, will be over an hour now. That means over 2 hours of my day will be spent in the car away from Rylee. There was a bright glimmer of hope in the 3 counseling interviews I had within a week. But that glimmer burned out when all 3 called to say they had chosen someone else. Like I said, I know there is a plan for me, and I am trying my best to just forget about work and start my summer with my family. As I say goodbye to room 28, I reminisce over the fun and hard times I have had. Goodbye Brown Elementary and goodbye to room 28.

Newborn Pictures!

We are VERY fortunate to have a friend like Jenny Rossi who is an amazing photographer. She took our engagement pictures and wedding pictures so it only seemed fitting to have her do Rylee's newborn pics. We flew her down Easter weekend so that she could be with her family, take pics of another friend's reception, and take Rylee's pics. It worked out so well! I never realized how much hard work it would be taking a newborn's pictures. We literally spent almost 20 minutes in between pictures trying to get her to fall asleep again for the next picture. By the end though, she was sound asleep. I had a hard time picking which ones I wanted on her announcement. Scroll to the bottom and you can see a preview of what is coming in the mail soon! :)

Blessing Day

On Mother's Day, May 8th, Rylee was blessed at our church. We belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We believe in baptising a child when they reach the age of 8. When a baby is born, they are given a blessing that is similar to a prayer circle. My mom, dad, grandma, and sister came to witness it. I was so glad that they could come! My friends, Amanda Churak, Johnnie and Glade Smith, and Elizabeth and Sam Akinaka came too! We also had Evan's good friend Josh Wray in town visiting and he got to participate in the blessing as well which was really special for Evan. Evan was a little nervous giving the prayer, but he did a great job! I am very blessed to have such a wonderful husband who is worthy to bless our little girl. Afterwards we went to celebrate Mother's Day with my family and had a good time. Overall it was a wonderful day!