Happy Birthday Ry-baby!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE MY BABY IS TWO!!!

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Over the past two years Ryder has grown right before my blue eyes! It's hard to believe that two years ago today I laid eyes on my little Ry-baby for the first time.

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Ryders in bed now for the night, as he is every night around 7ish, and I am enjoying this quite time to reflect over his life. I truly have enjoyed every moment of being Ryders mom. The up's the down's, the singing songs, the poopy diapers, the bed-time stories, throwing up, bath time, trips to the park, and the swimming pool, Halloween costumes, Christmas mornings...all of it! Ryders birth was a very...very....very....VERY long birth (that part I didn't enjoy)! I labored for a total of 56 hours, no that's not a typo, 56 hours, before ending up with a C-Section. Ryder entered this world August 18th 2006 a very healthy 10 pounds 7 oz. (again, not a typo). Since that time I have enjoyed watching Ryder and learning about the person he is.

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He has a very sweet, kind, patient spirit. He is rarely upset. Even as a new born he didn't cry often. He slept through the night starting at 3 days old. He has always been a very smiley baby. He loves to laugh. I could not have asked for a more perfect little boy.

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Today, for Ryders birthday, his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and a few friends called to wish him a Happy Birthday. Each time he was asked "How old are you?" Ryder would respond with a very confident, "I'm 5!". (I always knew he was wise beyond his years!) We all got a good laugh out of the adorable-ness of that each time he said it.

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I have this unspoken rule that on your birthday you are "king" (or queen) for the day and get whatever you want. So, Ryder lived it up today eating cookies and ice cream and watching his favorite movie "Kachow", aka Disney Pixar's "Cars".

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Ryder is the joy of my life. I so desperately want to be the very best mom for him. I always want him to know how much I love him. I want to teach him right from wrong and show him through my example to live the gospel everyday. I want him to be selfless and humble. I want him to be strong and hard working and to know that nothing in this life comes with out hard work. I want him to be able to see his own weaknesses, to be kind to all those around him. I want him to be secure with himself. I want him to know it is okay to make mistakes, but when you do you must get up, wipe the dust off, learn from it and grow stronger. I want him to someday be a great husband and father for his own family.

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I have been trusted with such a great responsibility to care for and teach this son of God. Sometimes knowing that I have been left to do it on my own is a thought that is hard to bare. But in that same thought I am reminded that I am not alone. Not only do I have the love and guidance of a very loving Heavenly Father but He has also surrounded me with many wonderful friends and family who help tremendously. For that I am forever grateful.

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There is a song by Sara Evens called "You'll Always Be My Baby". I LOVE this song. It is truly the kind of mother I hope to be for Ryder. Listen to the song when you have the chance, but here is the last verse:

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There he is, my little man

I'm sure he'll get in trouble every now and then

And I pray to God, that when he does

I'll be just as understanding as my Father was

Cause the last thing I wanna do is let him down

So instead of being angry

I'm gunna throw my arms around him and I'll say

In the sunlight or the rain

Brightest nights or darkest days

I'll always feel the same way

Whatever road you may be on,

Know, you're never too far gone,

My love is there wherever you may be

Just remember that you'll always be my baby.

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Happy Birthday Ryder. Know, that I love you, and you will ALWAYS be my baby!

Finding Strength Within

My dear friend recently started the most beautiful inspiring blog. My friend is one of the warmest most beautiful girls I know who truly has so much love for our Father in Heaven. Check out her inspiring new blog at

http://findingstrengthwithin.blogspot.com/

Hope you all love it as much as I do!

Kayaking with 2 Kims and a Sean

I have made some really great friends in the past couple months, to name three, Kim, Kim and Sean. No, that's not a typo, they are both named Kim. Last week after work Ryder and I met up with "the Kims" and Sean for some kayaking fun on Lake Natoma. We kayaked, okay, I kayaked with Ryder and one of the "Kim's" son, Tyler, and then Sean and the Kim's swam out to a little island where we swam and ate way too much junk food. On the way back to shore Tyler, Ryder and I sat in the kayak feeding the ducks when suddenly Sean dives under water and grabs one of the ducks by the legs. It created quite the ruckus amongst the ducks at Lake Natoma that day and made all of us die laughing. Sean is crazy fun!

Here's a pic from our evening.

a little rant

okay, so here is my complaints about new jersey and some (or most part) of the east coast. I know this is far away from my normal, yay check out what im doing posts, but i at least need to forewarn the west coasters or help em appreciate some of the stuff out there. #1. Cash back from gas stations, convience stores, etc... there is NO place that does it! Grocery stores, yes? but if I stop to get gas, I can't get cash back if I make a purchase! Its stupid! Sure the store has an ATM but they charge ya 2 bucks plus whatever your bank charges... dumb. Well to go along with that, you need cash for EVERYTHING! there are some places that take Visa, but really is not every where you want to be.

Tolls. Sure the west coast has 1 or 2... ya know like across the golden gate (i think its 4 bucks, right?) and mabe a few other bridges in the bay area. Out here? you can't walk outside your house without paying a toll! seriously. Doesn't matter if your going a block or across the state, its gonna cost ya! It's 8 flippin bucks to go into NYC with your car. If your even think about parking... its going to be another 20 an hour at least. haha.

Public transportation... surprisingly its not too bad, but thats aside from the heat in the subways, the terrible smell, the amount of rats you can count while waiting for your train and that it smells... did I mention that? Aside from that, it does okay to get you where you want to go. At least in the NYC area. Over on my side in NJ, I haven't looked into the buses because they don't seem like they would be effective. Anyways. End rant.

It's cool living out here and seeing all the cool/interesting things around the town, but certainly my heart lies in cali. I love the weather, the surf/snow in n out, and many other wonderful things that most people know that I enjoy out there. Sorry for no new pics on this post. I'll work on picking up a few good ones as I'm out and about!

Good Parenting Skills...

I'm sorry to those of you this may offend... okay, I'm not. This was too funny not to post. (And, no, that's not Ryder, just some random kid from a random e-mail that got forwarded to me.)

The many faces of RYDER

Lately Ryder has had some of the funniest little facial expressions. He very much "talks with his face" if that makes any sense at all. I think it's pretty much the cutest thing in the world. And, I realize that one of two things is going to happen, either a: he will completely grow out of it and talk like a normal person or b: he wont grow out of, he'll always make these weird (but cute) facial expressions but he'll be like 50 and people will think he's creepy. Either way it makes me sad because I so love how perfect his little face is in my eyes right now.

So, the other day my cousin Sharon invited Ryder over to play with her girls Melissa and Kara for the day. (I was at work...boo) We LOVE Melissa and Kara! Ryder always has such a great time with them. They swam in the pool all day. Ryder had a blast. Ryder especially loved playing with Robbie, Sharon's son. I think Ryder liked having a big boy to look up to. (He's been walking around asking for Robbie ever since)

Anyway, Melissa got some good pictures from their fun day. And, she got some really great pictures of his silly little facial expressions.

Thanks so much Missy! We love you!

The "I'm so stinkin' cute" face
The "I'm not going to smile, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!" face
The "I'm eating cheese, back off" face

The "I'm agreeing, but I dont really know why" face
The "I'm such a sweet angel (or so you think)"face.Ryder was throwing these little toys in the water calling them "sharks".

Ryder and Miss Kara

Ryder and Melissa

He's part boy, part dog... apparently.

Sailin' away (all the way to the deep end) with Kara.

The Many Faces of RYDER