Ryland meets her cousins!

Today Ryland met her two second cousins in the Cook family. JJ is just 4 months old, and already as tall as Ryland! Here they are sizing each other up...

Ryland wanted to give JJ a big hug! We wish we could see the cousins more often, but they all live in Southern California. Sounds like a Disneyland trip to me!! Maybe in a couple years...

Tristan (almost 3) was very excited to meet Ryland. He and his mom Krista had been watching video clips of Ryland the day before, and he couldn't wait to get here, and apparently deliver her some gifts! He took this job so seriously that he wouldn't even hand me the packages, he wanted to be sure they got to Ryland!

Nana was so excited to get to see all of the Cook clan together in one place. She sure is happy to have all these cute great-grandchildren. Her and Ryland have been developing quite the relationship lately, they love to "talk" to each other.

And the highlight of the afternoon might have been the formation of the family band! Tristan was fascinated with Grandpa Warren's banjo, and Ryland and JJ were pretty fond of Tristan playing this strange instrument, as you can see here. Wait for the album to drop next fall, it will be primarily Captain Beefheart Covers.

it's snowing Ryland!

Ryland's first snow!!!

Today, I was in the kitchen washing some dishes, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw my favorite thing in the whole world! SNOW!! I felt like a little 5 year old running around the house telling everyone it was snowing! Then of course I had to take Ryland outside, and get a picture :)

Christmas morning

Ryland had a lot of fun this Christmas, she got a lot of new toys, books, and clothes, from friends, family, and of course Santa! On Christmas morning, Ryland got a talking/singing puppy, and she absolutely loves it! Her and her puppy are in the above picture.

Ryland was all smiles, and hamming it up like usual!

She even gave mommy a hug to thank her for the new book she got!

Daddy helped show Ryland the new sock monkey Jack in the box...she was quite suprised, and unsure of it.

Laughing at Daddy

Best Christmas Gift

Since I can remember, when my mom or dad asks me what I want for Christmas, I respond by simply asking for a million dollars. This has yet to happen, but this year, I have something much much much better than a lot of money. Ryland is the best thing I could ever ask for. I am so excited to spend Christmas Eve with her today, and start traditions that she will remember for her whole life. We will definitely be reading her a Christmas story tonight, and will be setting out some treats for Santa and his Reindeer. Lets just hope Scarlet, our dog doesn't get to the food before Santa! Santa's on his way everyone, so be on your best behavior!

Sing along time with Ryland

Every time we go to my dad's house, he always gets out the guitar, and plays Ryland a few songs. She always seems mesmerised by the sound of the strumming. A few days after going to my dad's, Champ popped in one of my dad's cds, and Ryland got really happy. She was looking all around for her grandfather. She certainly loves music! (and yes, that is my shoe that she is trying to eat in the video)

Food and Ryland

Why is it that Ryland will put anything and everything in her mouth (paper, necklaces, desitin containers), but will not even touch yummy foods like applesauce, pears, carrots, sweet potatoes with a ten foot pole?

She surely is not acting like she came from Champ and I, who love eating...it's pretty entertaining to watch her in her highchair. She will play will all different toys, but as soon as the spoon head towards her face, she shuts her mouth, turns her head, and gets this look on her face, as if she were thinking...you want me to eat THAT?!

We know it will take time to feed her, and we are patient. We are definitely getting a kick out of watching her refuse her food.

Christmas cookies

Champ and I have always talked about how fun it will be when Ryland is old enough to help make food with us. A few days ago, we made a few types of cookies, and Ryland actually helped...well, she grabbed the spatula, tried to stir the dough, and almost knocked the bowl of the kitchen counter. So you could say, she "helped". We did have a lot of fun making cookies with Ryland, but we can't wait for the day when she can really help us!

cuddle time

The best thing in the whole world is when Ryland falls asleep on me, and I get to cuddle with her. This happens daily, and I cherish my time with my little girl. I would never trade these moments for anything. She is so precious when she is asleep, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world when I get to share these moments with her!

Sittin' pretty

Yesterday Champ and I took Ryland out to do a little bit of Christmas shopping, and Ryland sat in the cart like a big girl! She loved it! She was grabbing at everything in the cart, and talking to everyone who walked by. It's amazing to think that she can sit in the cart like that. I guess our little girl is growing up, she is almost 7 months old after all!!

Looking back

Just a few nights ago, I was looking back to old videos of Ryland. I was so amazed at how much she has grown, and forgot how tiny she used to be. I thought I would share a new video, and one of the older ones I watched. Enjoy!

Out to eat!

Just a couple weekends ago, we took Ryland out for my best friend, Shannon's birthday dinner. It was a nice restaurant, and Ryland did awesome! She got passed around the round dinner table, and provided us with some great entertainment while we waited for our food. Everyone always says, "she is such a well behaved baby, so calm and happy". And, it's true, she is a happy go lucky girl!

Early morning walk

This morning we got all bundled up, and took Scarlet for a walk. It was a beautiful morning, but very very cold and windy. Ryland was very cute in her cozy pink outfit. I could definitely tell that she has gained a few pounds since the last time I pushed her in the stroller. It's a good exercise pushing a 19 lbs baby around!

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas

A few nights ago, Champ, Ryland and I went a picked out our Christmas tree! It was cold outside, and Ryland was asleep, but Champ and I found the perfect tree for Ryland's first Christmas. It's a lot of fun to decorate the tree, because Ryland really likes to look at the lights. She also loves to grab the ornaments, and put them in her mouth, of course! Champ and I discovered that this is probably the only Christmas that we will be able to buy Ryland's presents when she is with us. It's kind of convenient, we can go to the store with her, find out which toys she likes, and then get those ones...pretty funny!

Ryland eats green beans!

The past couple weeks, we have been giving Ryland rice cereal. Some days she eats it, and some days she doesn't. We decided to try out something new last night. So, as our pediatrician suggested, we tried out a vegetable first, instead of a fruit. Ryland still is a little confused about how to eat with a spoon, but she is slowly getting the hang of it. She seemed to like the green beans a bit more than the rice cereal. Not sure what we'll feed her next, but we're going to stick with the green beans for a few days!

Thanksgiving Brunch

Today we went to my dad's house to celebrate Thanksgiving, and once again Ryland was hamming it up! Her Aunt Sarah, who hadn't seen her for a couple months was there, and she thought Ryland was absolutely perfect. We were there for several hours, and Ryland was happy the whole time. It's funny how an adult can be so very entertained by a baby, for hours (especially Ryland).

On a side note- We got our Christmas tree tonight, and Ryland was quite unsure about it. I held her up so she could touch it, and she would reach for it, touch it, then move her hand back pretty fast while making a worried/happy look on her face. I think it was a little too poky for her.

Ryland's first Thanksgiving

Ryland had a great first Thanksgiving! Although she didn't get to eat any of the yummy food, she did get to show off to the family at the dinner table. She was smiling, talking, throwing things on the floor, and all those fun things 6 month old babies do. We sure feel special to have her with us on Thanksgiving! She really gives everyone something to be thankful for! We love her so much, and can't wait to spend many, many more thanksgivings with her!

Sittin' in her highchair

Ryland has graduated to sitting in her highchair! We got this highchair as a hand me down, and she seems to really enjoy sitting in it. Every night Champ and I have been giving her rice cereal, so this is the perfect place for her to sit. We tried for a few days to feed her while she was sitting on our laps, but she got so messy that it was no fun for us. She looks so proud to be sitting up so high, right with mommy and daddy at the dinner table. Soon, when she starts eating food, I'm sure Scarlet (our dog), will enjoy the scraps that we know will be thrown on the floor!

Beautiful Blue Eyes

Look at those beautiful blue eyes, on our cute little girl! She looks so deep in thought in this picture, but most likely she is thinking, "how did I ever get to be this cute??"

Ryland's serious side

Most of the time, our little girl is smiling, but she does have her serious moments. This is usually when she is distracted by something, like the...TV. She does love her baby movies that we bought for her :) When she is in these moods, she appears to be deep in thought, but who knows what she is actually thinking about. My guess would be...eating.

6 month check up

Today was Ryland's 6 month check up! And the verdict is in...we have a chubby baby on our hands :) She weighed 19 lbs, and is 26 inches long. The pediatrician told us that she is growing great, and is perfectly healthy! At this doctor visit, Ryland decided that the paper they put down for her to lay on, was fun to play with. It was pretty loud in the room with her crinkling it all up! Since she is 6 months now, we are going to start giving her rice cereal every night for a couple weeks, and then start her on baby foods. So, it looks like for her first thanksgiving, she will be enjoying some rice cereal, yum yum!