A visit from Grandma & Grandpa Hayes

"Look what they brought me!"

We went out to eat and, of course, to look at the fishies...

Then to pick strawberries...

"Look Mom, berry"

PlayGroup PlayDate

Ryan met up with Bianca, Chloe, and Charlie at Maymont Park. It was an absolutely beautiful day. Before the others arrived I snapped a few awesome pics of my sweet angel.

It's getting harder and harder to get these babes to cooperate for a quick pic. Notice how Ryan is smiling for the camera.

Ryan's still being a good sport about getting his picture taken...

"What are you doing Charlie?"

"Oh, no you didn't! I'm outta here."

Just the boys. Keep in mind Charlie is 3 months younger than Ryan!

All babies and mamas had a great time!

sick little bunny

I'd hoped to make it past his first birthday before he caught his first bug, but no such luck. It's a miracle he made it this long considering the germs Chris and I (but mostly Chris) bring home from work. In fact, in the almost year Chris's been out of the hospital and in an office he's caught more things than all times combined in his life, ever (or at least that he can remember). Getting back to Ryan...he caught his first bug. I've since learned my mommy thermometer is accurate, and that Ry's temperature comes down quicker with ibuprofen than with tylenol.

Just when I thought his fevers seemed to be over and done with they showed up again, and his snotty nose continues to persist. Those years of holding down kids to suck out their noses finally came in handy. Ryan certainly thinks its a form of baby torture and tries to alert the neighbors when a tissue (or worse, the bulb syringe) comes near his face. Hopefully, we are in the homestretch. Poor baby!

Here are some pics of Ryan opening his Easter basket his Nonna sent him. Ryan is typically all smiles, all the time. The lack of smiling is telling evidence of this sick bunny.

After thoroughly exploring the basket we went outside to swing where he nodded off for a few minutes...sooo not his usual style.

The next day...still playing with the box and packaging Nonna sent!

Sweet Sleep

For the first couple months (of life) Ryan slept in a sleep chair next to our bed. Then he moved to his pack 'n play in the corner of our room. For a short while we moved the pack 'n play to the office/playroom connected to our bedroom. After gearing up for him to move to his room downstairs (our room is upstairs) we decided it was not logistically ideal so we moved his crib upstairs to the office and there it remains.

Thankfully, Ryan has been a good sleeper for many months now, but over the last couple months his sleeping routine has been particularly sweet. Our routine is as follows:

~Chris bathes Ryan
~Dry off, brush hair, lotion up, diaper on, jammies on
~Chris and I alternate holding him and reading a bedtime story
~Chris carries him upstairs, gets him in his sleep sack, they exchange kisses, and Chris passes Ry to me as I wait in a nearby recliner, and then he turns on the sound machine on his way downstairs

Until a couple months ago I would breastfeed Ryan before laying him down. But about two months ago he decided he longer wanted to breastfeed. He simply refused and there was no going back. So, our routine continues and Chris still hands Ryan to me and leaves the room. Here's where it gets particularly sweet....Ryan snuggles me for about 5 seconds until he tries to play. At that point I turn on his crib aquarium and he nearly leaps from my arms to his crib. I hold up his glow worm for one song and then lay it next to him for another as I leave the room. No fighting. No crying. To top it off, he still hums himself to sleep. Such a sweet sound!

Then before Chris and I go to sleep, we stop by Ryan's crib to see what crazy position he's landed in and admire our perfect baby.

And because I don't have any related sleeping pictures, here are some unrelated but super adorable recent pictures...

happy{star}birthday

In an effort to create some family traditions, my Mom and I made this birthday banner for Ryan (and perhaps his future siblings). I admit, I brought the idea and my cutting skills to the table, Mom did all the sewing. Go teamwork. I can't wait til Ryan understands his birthday and gets excited each June 27th when he wakes to his special banner hanging in his room.

I see holiday banners in our future...the ideas are endless!