Fallen Officers

There was a Memorial held for our good friend Shane yesterday & we were happy to be able to attend.
They honored the 4 Arizona Police Officers that had passed away in 2008.

There was a nice dinner, followed by a beautiful memorial ceremony.
I am sure things like this must be hard for the family, but it was also nice to see Shane honored in such a way. This is the Memorial Statue that they add names of the fallen officers to, every year.

Family procession from the dinner to the memorial ceremony

So many people were in attendance

The flags presented to each of the 4 wives of the fallen officers

The bagpipers/drummers added music to the ceremony

It still feels unreal that Shane is gone & my heart continues to ache for his wife Melisha & the Figueroa family. Thank goodness we have the knowledge that Families are Forever & we will all see Shane again someday. I'm sure that HELPS, but it is still REALLY HARD & I know both families would appreciate your continued prayers in their behalf.


Quote of the Day:
There are two days in the week about which and upon which I never worry… Yesterday and Tomorrow. ~Robert Jones Burdette

Ryler-5 Month Update

5 Months

&
Cuter than EVER!!!

Eating Habits:

I tried Rice Cereal for the 1st time this month...but my mom hasn't given it to me since. I liked it ok, but judging by the amount of rolls that I have on my legs, I don't think I need more food just yet:)
I went from eating every 3 hours during the day, to every 4 to 5 hours. My mom is trying to stretch out my meals a bit more, since I'm growing out of my clothes faster than she can put them on me!
I still like to eat once during the night---or morning---around 5 am, but my mom is hoping to cure me of that SOON!

Sleeping Habits:

You can't see much of my crib in this picture, but I look cute in it anyways:)
I moved out of this small crib this month...after Parker moved to a Big Boy Bed & I got his crib! I didn't seem to notice the change of rooms & my mom is happy to finally have us both settled into our own rooms. I go to sleep around 9pm at night & wake up between 7-8am...waking up about a million times a night! OK...not really a million, but my mom feels that way sometimes! I think I'm getting some teeth...because I have been tossing & turning a lot & sometimes I cry just to see how long it takes my mom to come & comfort me:) I still take 3 naps a day, but I think we will go down to 2 this month! I can nap wherever...we are always on the go & I sleep in the carseat GREAT...which is really nice for my mom! I've taken naps at church, at the zoo, at friends houses, at the Doctor's office, at both grandparents houses, at the grocery store & on & on...if I'm tired...I crash wherever I am:)

PLAY HABITS:

I am beginning to be very interactive & I LOVE to play! One of my favorite things to do is to sit in my walker & play with toys. I LOVE to play with my big brother Parker & he LOVES to make me smile & laugh! I am EXTREMELY tickle-ish & will laugh & laugh & laugh if you tickle me! I love to play Patty Cake & I love to take baths! Parker loves to read to me & I like to look at the pictures he shows me! I love toys that play music or light up & I will stick any toy you give me straight into my mouth! I started sitting up on my own this month, which gives me a nice view of the world around me! I LOVE to sit in the sink & look in the mirror while mom gets ready for the day. I love the outdoors & we spent many days on a quilt in the park this past month. Looks like we will have to find more indoor activities though, because it was HOT the last time we went! I LOVE TO PLAY & my brother can't wait for me to be able to play even more!!!

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Ryler sitting in the sink, while I get my make-up on:)

Hanging out with my oldest cousin, Mason:)

Bath Time---Parker gave Ryler some hair with his shaving cream:)

Parker reading to Ryler right after they both woke up :)

Parker & Ryler playing together in their diapers:)

Trip to the zoo while we were babysitting my cousins, Tanner & Gemma:)

ANY FIRSTS???

Ryler got STREP:(
Parker was so nice to share his strep with Ryler!
They both got it in the form of a diaper rash & it was NO FUN. Here is a picture of Ryler at the Doctor, getting his prescription for an antibiotic. Check out those chunky thighs!:)

Ryler can SIT UP...and Roll Over!
Ryler started sitting up at about 4 1/2 months old on his own. He loves to see the world around him from an upright position & continues surprising us every day with all the fun things he can do! He also rolled over a few days ago for the first time, just in time for his 5 month b-day:) I'm sure we will see more ROLLING in the weeks to come!

Ryler celebrated his first EASTER!
Ryler & Grandma Allen in the backyard on Easter day!

First Easter Egg Hunt
@ Grandma & Grandpa Brinton's house the day before Easter, with all his cousins!

DEAR RYLER,
You are such a JOY to have in our lives!!! We can't quite get enough of you! I never knew a baby could be SO HAPPY!!! You RARELY cry...usually only when your brother drops a toy on your head or something else that is worth crying about:) You have quite the personality for a 5 month old, sometimes we forget that you are only 5 months...since you are the size of a 10 month old! I will be honest, I never got that "baby hungry" feeling with Parker. I was perfectly content with Parker...but after awhile decided he needed a sibling:) Well, you are just SO HAPPY & SO CUTE...you are already making me want another one! Which makes your daddy VERY NERVOUS!!! haha! Don't worry---I still want lots of time with YOU as my baby...but your personality makes me want ANOTHER ONE FOR SURE! You love to be talked to & could smile the entire day, if someone was playing with you and talking to you! You have just started to reach out and touch our faces when we talk to you & it is SO sweet. You are SO layed back & content, even when your older brother Parker is WAY TOO OVERBEARING! You let him point out your ears, nose, toes, fingers & eyes a million times a day...usually getting several fingers to the eye...and you don't even flinch. You just smile away & make Parker beam with happiness that he made you smile! You light up when your daddy comes home from work & watch in excitement as Parker & daddy wrestle...and I can tell you are already looking forward to the day when you are rolling around with them! Everyone comments on how CHUNKY you are & how HAPPY you are! The two combined make for the CUTEST baby, that everyone loves to squeeze & hold! Your dimples are irresistable & light up my day! Your middle name is Shane, named after your daddy's best friend...who recently passed away on duty as a Phoenix Police Officer. He had a similar dimple & we think he sent you down here with those dimples, so that we can always remember him & think of him when we see you SMILE!!!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH Ryler & hope you continue SMILING & brightening up those lives around you!!!

Love, Mom

HAPPY 5 MONTHS RYLER!!!


Quote of the day:
"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten & the future worth living for."

MARKERS

Parker LOVES to COLOR...
and it is a HUGE TREAT when I let him color with MARKERS.
By the looks of his hands & legs, I'm VERY GLAD that I only allow him to use them on the TILE!

My Quote of the Day:
The Real Voyage of Discovery consists not in seeking new landscaping but in having new eyes.
-Marcel Proust

Blessing in Disguise

Many of you probably know that Matt's work decided to consolidate & therefore everyone had to re-apply for their own positions & they weren't going to hire back as many employees as they currently had. Their way of not exactly having to "fire" anyone...but just tell certain people they don't have a position for them anymore & send them packing. Matt USED to work a few miles from home(SO NICE!) & he would come home every day for lunch & leave 5 minutes before he had to be there & get home 5 minutes after work ended. THEN, the company moved him downtown "temporarily" which eventually turned into permanately...no more seeing him at lunch:(

Well...Matt re-applied and re-interviewed for his own job...

IF he got the job, they were going to move him again & he would be working in Scottsdale, which was going to be even more of a commute.

We weren't very excited about that...but we wanted him to have a job, so we were not going to complain.

He didn't get the job.

BUMMER, right?

WRONG.

Who knew that it would be a BLESSING IN DISGUISE...

Even though they weren't going to give him that job, he still was going to work for them until June...when the consolidating is going to happen.

He started interviewing with other companies...(even got offered one position, but it would have been a big pay cut...so he told them he would think it over for a couple days)

THEN...

somebody at the branch where he USED TO WORK(the one a couple miles from our house!) got fired and that position opened up!

Matt jumped right on it & got an interview for the following day...

We didn't want to get our hopes up, but guess what...

THEY HIRED HIM!

As cliche as it may sound...We really do feel so blessed!

Had he not lost his job, he would have never been considered for this new position that happened to open up & he'd be starting out in Scottsdale soon. Instead, he starts tomorrow at this new position, gets to stay with the same company, keep his salary & gets to come home every day for lunch again!

CONGRATULATIONS BABE! I'm so proud of you!!!



Quote of the Day:
"Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappoinments."
-Joseph Addison

Story Time & Sitting Up

Parker LOVES to read!

Every night before bed, he has to read...
and every morning, he wakes up and reads until I come in & get him...
Lately he has been found reading to Ryler.
It is cute.
Ryler seems to enjoy it too!

Currently, Parker's favorite book is "hearts"
It is basically a "Where's Waldo style" book, where you have to find different objects on every page. There is one page where you have to find different colored hearts, hence the name he has given this book:) He can read this OVER & OVER & OVER & OVER again

CUTE BOYS!!!

In other news...
Ryler is sitting up & it makes me kinda want to cry!
He needs to stay a BABY forever!
Time is flying by WAY TOO FAST!


Quote of the Day:
"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero."
-Marc Brown

Fun with Friends

About once a week, we get to babysit these kids...
Parker LOVES playing with Ethan & Hannah & it is good birth control for Matt & I, who leave realizing we aren't quite ready for 4 children just yet :)

Ryler is the new "toy" all the kids love & fight over these days:)
They ALWAYS want to hold him, it is so cute & Ryler is a good sport!

We LOVE playing with these kids & feel guilty taking money for doing something that we enjoy so much!
See you kiddos Friday night!!!

Quote of the Day:
"Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you."
- Elbert Hubard

Sundays

These two took turns pulling eachother in the wagon on Sunday.
It was so cute.

CUTE COUSINS!

Did You Know?

You could get STREP...Down There???

Parker got a diaper rash, so I was using diaper creams on him, but nothing seemed to worked. I tried several kinds & ended up just using vaseline, because it seemed to be the only thing that didn't burn & gave him SOME relief. Diaper changes were MISERABLE & he was DEFINITELY in pain! I didn't want to be a worried mom that takes him to the Dr. for a diaper RASH...So I tried a few things & when it was STILL THERE after 2 WEEKS...I decided I needed to call the Doctor. It was starting to spread & I decided it might be some sort of yeast infection & I would need a prescription for it to clear up. On the phone, the nurse told me that I needed to bring him, because it could be Strep, so they would need to do a culture.

STREP?
DOWN THERE?
WHAT?
I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT COULD HAPPEN???

Well..as soon as the Doctor looked at him, she took a Strep Culture & sure enough, it was STREP!?! I honestly had NO IDEA you could get Strep down there! I felt bad for Parker & after the first day of antibiotics, the rash was already looking so much better!

Unfortunately...Now Ryler seems to have woken up with this "Rectal Strep" :(
So....off to the Doctor we go in the morning...AGAIN...

Edit: I took Ryler to the doctor Monday morning & he did indeed have STREP. Both my boys are on antibiotics. Thankfully Parker LOVES his medicine & reminds me morning & night to give it to them...or I'd probably forget.

Poor Boys!

Laying Around...

Lately, Parker has been found LAYING AROUND in some odd places?!?

We will be at the park playing & he will just lay down in the sand-head down & come up with sand all over his head & in his hair?

The other day I heard him playing in the morning & he wasn't in his room. He ALWAYS waits in his room until I come get him. I found him in another room, laying UNDER Ryler's crib?

Last week, we were leaving my parents house & he laid down in the middle of her front yard & was just relaxing in the grass?

Yesterday we got out of the car & were walking to the house & Parker USUALLY follows me, but when I turned around, I found this...

He isn't throwing tantrums or anything, which is why most 2 year olds probably end up on the floor...
He is just being silly!

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The other night I was going to put Ryler to bed & I almost stepped on this...

Fast asleep in the middle of the hallway?!?

Silly Boy!!!

Needless to say, this new "habit" of his is calling for extra baths throughout the week!

Too Young to Shave?

Our family friend's...the HUBERS, who are absolutely AMAZING...
gave Parker an Easter Basket with some fun BATH stuff inside! GREEN SHAMPOO(he LOVES this) & shaving cream with a "blade-less razor" that he LOVES to play with!
Parker & Ryler having FUN together in the bath!

THANK YOU HUBERS!!!
We have had HOURS of FUN BATH TIME...with HOURS more to come!!!

OLDER? HOMEBOUND? Nope...

ARE YOU READY FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSITION???

I have been hearing a LOT about this digital transition thing that was supposed to happen back in February & now has been postponed til sometime in June. You would think we would be ready, especially with the postponement...but NO...we are NOT!

Today I saw a NEWS CLIP that said, "You are probably ready for the digital transition, but you may have some relatives that are OLDER or HOMEBOUND, that are NOT ready...please help them get ready for this transition!"

OK....we are NOT "OLDER" or "HOMEBOUND"...but PLEASE help us!!!

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We got a a Digital TV...

Didn't work.

Found out because we have TIVO...




and No Cable...
We will need one of these Digital Converter Boxes...
And so we bought one...
Still didn't work.

Now, I am quite aware that we are the ONLY HOUSEHOLD on this planet that has the combination NO CABLE AND TIVO...which is why every technical support line we have called, has not been able to help us.

I'm sure they are frustrated with us, thinking...step out of the dark ages & get CABLE!!!

But we aren't going to do that.

SO...I'm REALLY hoping that there might be SOMEONE OUT THERE...SOMEWHERE with TIVO & NO CABLE that can tell us what we need to do!!!

Or come June, I fear our TV will look like this...

Please send SUGGESTIONS our way!!!

We can get the TIVO to work OR the Digital TV...but not both at the same time?????