A little update...

Rylee gets to hang out with grandma and great-grandma a couple days a week and has fallen in love with their animals. My parents have a dog named Paris, she came with that name, and my moms cat named Gadget. Here is a picture of Rylee and Paris checking out the scenery.

I wanted to give a little update on Rylee's vocabulary too. She can now say a bunch of words, some of which she says a lot and some she says rarely. She says most things when she is home and usually at things she is around a lot.

See- which she will say over and over

This- Dis

Momma

Daddy, Dadda

Juice, which is really JUU

Duke (our dog) which is Duuu

Gadget, she is in LOVE with grandma's cat

Kitty

Thank You, which is Tah Too

Tea- she shares Tea with Nana

Na-Na

Night Night, which is Nigh Nigh

Want This, which is 'we dis'

Bye Bye, which is Bee Bee

When Rylee finishes something I usually raise my arms and say "All gone." So tonight after dinner I said "All gone" then Rylee lifted her arms and goes "Ah goh"

Bill just about fell off the floor, she just picks up so much lately.

Rylee Kisses!

Rylee and I take care of my grandma, or "NaNa" to Rylee, about 3 days a week, while I get things ready and make lunch, Rylee plays with Nana and shares her tea and sandwich. My grandma has an old antique hand mirror she uses during the day and Rylee recently found this and will stare at it and look at herself. This weekend I was holding Rylee and gave her a kiss, she looked at me funny then leaned forward to give me a kiss back!! So she is learning that kisses are good loves. Well yesterday she handed my grandma the mirror, then looked at herself in the mirror and kissed her reflection!!Then tonight Bill was running an errand and Rylee was looking at her favorite book, it has neat pages for the whole alphabet, and under 'Y' is says for 'YOU' and has a mirror page. So I grabbed her dinner, came back into the living room and Rylee had put her book on the couch and had her face smushed against the page. She looked up at me and I realized she was kissing the mirror on the book page! When daddy got home she even gave him a kiss. Baby kisses are the best, as long as you are ok with some food bits and maybe a bit of slobber!

She is still doing well with her potty, we don't push it but she has gone a couple more times before her bath. Last night during bath night she figured that she can scoot back and forth in her bath-seat and make HUGE waves, so I think I will have to bring a beach towel with me for the next bath. The good thing is the floor stays cleaner since I essentially mop it every other day.

Pumpkin Patch!

Today was Rylee's first trip to the pumpkin patch and we decided to head to Buckley with Bill's mom and dad, and sister Shelby. I was not expecting so many people to be getting pumpkins the same day as us, but this pumpkin patch has everything; corn maze, food, jump house, pony rides, petting farm, pig races, and even a live band. It was really nice to have grandma, grandpa, and aunt Shelby there to see everything.
We put the stroller in 4-wheel drive and headed out to find a couple good pumpkins for our house. Grandma and Grandpa got her a pumpkin from them so we are going to think of something special to carve in that one. We had limited room so we just put Rylee on the pumpkin in the stroller!Last year we were not able to get to a pumpkin patch, I started thinking where we were this time last year and it really made me thankful for how things have turned out. A bit over a year ago I was recovering from the Pulmonary Edema, toxemia, and enlarged heart from my delivery, and would have just had my gall bladder removed after it just about ruptured. This time last year I couldn't have even thought about going to a pumpkin patch. I tell you, I will have to remind Rylee a couple times when she is older what I went through to have her, it wont be the typical " I was in labor for over 30 hours.."story. So when I look at these pictures I cant help smile at my little girl and be thankful.

Our Little Trouble Maker....

I have reduced hours with work, so I can still work from home and still be able to take care of my grandma. Grandma had a leg amputation about 5 weeks and cant be left alone for too many hours for safety reasons. This leaves me some great time to be with Rylee during the week instead of always having to have my sister watch her. Rylee really loves her Nana too and gets to enjoy sharing lunch and giving loves.

Since I have been home more with Rylee I have just seen her personality come into full view, she is learning so many different expressions and noises. She will say 'Thank You' now once in awhile and is really our little animal lover. She loves anything with fur, and is actually really gentle.

So our morning starts out with a diaper change and some strawberry Eggo's, she generally plays in the living room while I get breakfast going. And this morning I walked out and this is what I found...

She saw me and luckily my camera was right on the kitchen table next to me. She gave the best expressions followed by a couple "Oh's" She was too cute to be mad at!!

I should be posting more tomorrow, we are heading to the pumkin patch in Buckley so we should have some good pictures to post!

Rylee Vs. Dog

We have two dogs in the house, a Australian Cattle dog mix Duke, and Basil, a rescue Cocker-Spaniel. They have been pretty good with Rylee for the most part, Duke was our first 'baby' so he gets a bit jealous but he never uses his teeth or even comes close to doing anything to her. He has backed down to small dogs who have attacked him and literally falls on his back and doesn't fight back.

Basil on the other hand had a very rough time before we got him, he was starved and had a open wound on his neck when the rescue found him. He has had severe food aggression with Duke and used to pee on the floor at any loud noise, including flushing to toilet. We have worked a lot with him and he has come so far, we are very proud of that actually, but today for some reason he had a set-back.

Bill was standing next to Rylee while I was in the kitchen, both dogs were in the living room, as they usually are. As soon as I walked around the corner I saw Basil for some reason lunge at Rylee and bite her on the forehead. Bill rushed to tackle Basil to put him in the back room and I grabbed Rylee. She has a bruise in shape of doggie teeth and a little cut right on her eyebrow, she was of course crying but handled it like a champ.

From the very beginning I have said if the dogs bite Rylee they are gone; as long as it didn't involve food, toys, or her bugging or teasing them (I do have to understand they ARE animals and when those factors are involved they will want to protect their things). But this was a completely different situation; she didn't have a toy, food, or wasn't even touching him. I do love Basil and he is a good little dog, he just needs a home with no small children. He had such a rough life when he was younger that there are just some things we cannot fix. I am going to call the rescue tomorrow and see when they can come get him, when we adopted him they stated if for some reason we couldnt keep him they would take him back.

Rylee peed in her potty!

I am in no way one of 'those' moms who wants my child to start everything early, but I wanted to get Rylee a potty chair to show her so when it did come time to use it she wouldnt be scared of it.

At first I wanted to get a crazy fun potty that plays a 'potty song' and has all these sounds that play. But then I figured she might just want to play with it instead. So I bought her a $10 super simple pink potty, and put it in the bathroom next to her bath seat. At least every other night it is Rylee's bath night; we brush her teeth, clean her ears, and tonight I put her on the potty before we put her in the tub. She sat like such a big girl on the potty and kinda hung on to the front, she was just looking around at me and the tub. I offered her to hold a toy and she didn't want it, she just sat there completely content. Then after a couple minutes she just got up... and there was pee-pee in the potty!! She was so proud of herself and started clapping when I got all excited.

We will see if this is was just a coincidence or not, but it was still exciting!

Rylee is ONE!

Rylee turned ONE on September 4th, we did a family cupcake and had a special time just with Bill and I with our little one. She is just getting so big that it was a bit surreal looking through her birth pictures and through the months.

Bill was in a wedding the next day, so Bill's parents watched Rylee during the wedding. They spent time with Rylee and took her for a walk. She is such a busy little girl I think it took a couple days to recover!

We had a BIG birthday party on Sunday, we invited friends and family to celebrate her first year. We were so surprised on all the people who came, we couldn't have been happier! Since many of our friends have children I wanted to make sure their kids had fun and didn't want to leave right away, so......

I got a BOUNCY HOUSE!!

The bouncy house seemed to be a big hit, and it allowed parents to stay longer since the kids were occupied! We were so blessed to be able to see our friends and family and have them be there to celebrate Rylee. Rylee is going to be one styling girl, she got so many great gifts and clothes that I am so overwhelmed! It was just a great day, Rylee didn't have a huge melt-down and we were able to see everyone!

We are just so proud of Rylee, we have a very happy, healthy, and very loved little girl. We cannot wait for the many more birthdays that will come through the years.

Rylee is 11 months today!

Before we had a baby, people would tell me to "remember every moment, they will grow so fast!" and here we are 11 months later, we have a chatting, crawling, almost walking little bundle of love. Rylee has started standing up and letting go of things, she has taken a couple of steps so far so it wont be long till she is walking all by herself. She runs if we hold her hands, that girl wants to grow up so fast. We have found a great park within walking distance from us and we take Rylee and the dogs whenever we get a chance, she loves getting out and seeing all the sights. She has just started to act shy, and play with people who stop to look at her.

We are having Rylee's birthday party Sept 7th, at my parents home, they have a huge backyard and there house can accommodate more people than ours can. We are getting a bouncy house and busy getting things planned out already. I will post pictures as soon as it is over.
We have had a sick household this past week, Rylee and I got a pretty bad cold and have had a hard time shaking it off, just a lot of coughing and congestion, so we are hoping for a healthy rest of the summer.

1st Trip to the Zoo!

I think I am obsessed with the zoo, so I was so excited to finally take Rylee. My brother Mike, his kids Jordan and Katie, Rylee and I packed up the truck and headed to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma. It was such a nice day out, without being too hot. We spent about 4 hours at the zoo walking around and seeing all the great animals. Most of the animals were out and very willing for a photo!

Rylee loved the Beluga whales and would touch the glass when they passed. She was such a good girl, didnt have a nap all day and didnt fuss a bit. Of course, less than 5 minutes on the car ride back she was out, she is one pooped little girl. I had so much fun, and I cant wait to go to the Woodland Park Zoo next!

1st Swim

We decided to get Rylee into the pool, so we packed her up and went to our friends Alex and Kayliegh's apartment. Rylee loves the water and loves her bath's, so we wanted to see how she would do. We got her all dressed up in her swimsuit and headed to the pool, there were a lot of people there and the pool was a bit cold, so Rylee didnt enjoy it very much!

We hope she gets more used to it so we can take her out more. Alex and Kayleigh's boys had a great time though, they are just too cute!

4th of July and Rylee is 10 months

Rylee is officially 10 months old as of July 4th, we had a BBQ and had family over. Rylee heard some fireworks, but we had a pretty low-key night.

Rylee is officially crawling everywhere, she even has a sore on her toe from crawling so much. She waves goodbye and has even said "Bye-Bye" on a couple occasions. She has really grown so much, she gives loves and kisses all the time now too. She is trying to walk and pulling herself up on anything and everyone. I cant wait for her birthday, things have come so far in 10 months that I cant wait to see what a couple more months will bring.

Meeting Great-Grandma!

Rylee was finally able to meet her great-grandmother from Bill's side. On his side of the family there are only three great-grandchildren and she is the only girl so far. Bill and I went to his parents house last week and in typical Rylee style, she napped quietly on the drive there and woke up just as we headed into the drive. We are lucky, Rylee wakes up from almost all naps smiling and chatting, even at night she wakes up talking not crying. So when we went inside Rylee was all smiles for great-grandma. She sat on her lap and made noises at Grandpa, and was a good little girl during dinner, she sat on the floor playing with her toys and would look up enough for me to feed her some food.

It meant a lot that she was able to meet her great-grandma, she already is close to her great-grandma (my dad's mom) and my side, and I wanted to make sure she met as many as she could. Sadly enough there are no great-grandfathers on either side for her to meet, but it just means so much that I have great pictures of them together as well.

Memorial Day

It is tradition for my grandmother and my parents to go to the cemetery on Memorial Day with my grandma in honor of my grandfather, it used to be a family event, this of course has faded over the years as we grow busy, but with my parents out of town Bill, Rylee, and I took her.

We were able to grab roses from my mothers yard and set flowers down for my grandfather, great-grandmother, and my sister Sara. Rylee's middle name is of course in memory of Sara and we always make sure to leave a flower for her.

Rylee has her first tooth!!

I think Rylee has been trying to get her teeth through for about the last 3 months, but finally TODAY her tooth has come through. She hasn't been too bad either, more fussy than usual but she is such a good baby. She is sitting up all by herself and is now sharing food with us at meals (little bits, but it is a big step for her.)

Last week I decided to take on the challenge of painting Rylee's toenails, and surprisingly it went really well! They look so cute too.

She is now saying "Da-Da" and "Ma-Ma" all the time, but she is very partial to saying "Da-Da" most all the time. This of course melts Bill's heart in a heartbeat.

We have been a huge bath remodel on the house, we actually had a hole from our bathroom to our backyard. The house is an older house and the bath just needed to be done, during this time they were pounding out walls, tile, taking the tub out, and Rylee slept through most of it. Her room is right next to the bathroom as well, so with a couple sheets of drywall in-between her and the noise she didn't fuss at all. We are hoping for the bath to be done soon, then we are having all the windows torn out! We just want a little break but it will be so nice to get those things out of the way.

Rylee is 8 months today!

Our little one is now 8 months old. I cannot believe time has gone so fast, and she has grown so quickly. Before we had kids many people told me that "they grow so fast, take this time to heart" and I never knew the true meaning till now.

Rylee is learning everything so quickly, and is trying to be such a big girl. She isn't crawling fully yet, she has never been one to like 'tummy time', but she is starting to back up when on her stomach. She has been upgraded to her 'big-girl' bathtub. She loves kicking her feet and splashing in the water.


Things have been really busy with my work, and Bill's as well so we have been trying really hard to make sure we have quality time with her.

Our new Car (I like to call it a truck really)

It was time to trade in my 'college' car, for a more family friendly SUV.

So my 2002 Dodge Dakota Quad cab had to go, with Rylee, her car-seat, stroller, diaper bag, and huge assortment for baby items, I needed a truck with a trunk and more room.

And so we got a Chevy Tahoe, and I love it! Rylee and her 'big-girl car-seat' fit great, all her stuff fits great! The Tahoe has the 3rd row seat, so we can still haul friends and family around and still have room. When Bill and I plan for another baby (not anytime soon :)) there is plenty of room for another car-seat. I feel so safe driving with her around, it is a pretty big and comes with the On-Star which is a good security for us as well.

So yet another change in our lives, but onto much bigger and better things! RIP Dodge Truck, and welcome the Fritz Family Tahoe!

Rylee's First Easter

Our little one has had another first, she had her very first Easter today! Bill's parents and sister got Rylee the cutest Easter outfit and I was so excited to finally put her in it! She has never worn a hat, or a hair clip so I wasn't sure how she would do, but our little one kept both on! She actually seems to love it.

She is working on some teeth so she has been more fussy than usual, which I cant blame her for at all, I can imagine that those hurt coming in. So I think it is going to be a slow process of Tylenol and chew toys for her. She still sleeps from 9pm till about 4am, eats then sleeps till about 8am. We have been blessed with a great baby, we couldn't have asked for a better little angel. I cant wait for more firsts, and cant believe she will be 7months in just a couple weeks.

We had two Easters again, we went to my parents house first and got dinner going, but left for actual dinner at Bill's parents home in Puyallup. March is birthday month on my side of the family, so it was then back to my parents for cupcakes and cake for my neice and nephew's birthday. Our little trooped was pooped, so it was an early night for her!

Rylee is 6 months old

Our little girl is growing up so fast~ she was 6 months old on March 4th. She had her doctor appointment and is now 17 pounds and 12.5 ounces, 27.5 inches long. She is in the 95 percentile in almost everything and is just growing like a weed. She is now eating applesauce, peaches, pears, bananas, and now peas and squash. Surprisingly she loves squash! She has just started to eat little bits of banana but she isn't too sure about complete solids yet but she is getting better.

She has started to try and climb out of her bouncy seat and grabs at everything she can. Her favorite thing to do is bounce on everything!

Here are some pictures of her on her actual 6 month birthday!!

Our 5 year Anniversary

On March 1st Bill and I had our 5 year wedding anniversary, we decided to take Rylee to the aquarium and just have some fun. I wasn't sure on how much Rylee would take in since she is still so young, but you had a blast, she talked to the Otters and was touching the glass in the fish tanks. The weather was great and didn't rain until we were on our way home.

It was nice to spend a nice time out with our new little family for our anniversary.