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.

Our little one is officially 5 months old as of yesterday. She is getting so big! There is definitely something to be said about "Daddy's Girl" she has Bill wrapped around her little finger. She has learned to laugh and smiles at just about anyone who will pay attention to her, which with her dark hair, is pretty often. Bill laughs that anytime we go to a store or out, we get stopped a couple times by people commenting on her hair, or how good she is being. She has never fussed when I take her shopping or the Dr, she likes to look at different things.

Rylee's first Rice Meal

I never thought I would be one of those mom's who take pictures of everything and post them everywhere, but until you have kids of your own, you don't realize how funny things are.
Rylee is 4 months old now and her Dr said to go ahead and give her rice cereal to get her ready for solid food, so we got her all set in her seat with her bib on and braced ourselves. She first looked at us like we were nuts, but actually has done really well adjusting to eating the rice. So I took pictures of course to torment her with when she is in high school.

Baby's 1st Christmas

In my family our tradition to have our Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve in honor of my grandfather who passed away on Christmas Eve about 15 years ago. My family is a big part of my life, and we are all very involved with each other. My grandmother actually lives with my parents and has her own floor of the house and we are so blessed to have her around.

My sister and her husband, and their three kids were unfortunately forced to move out of their apartment into my parents home due to severe flooding in their apartment, the apartment is unlivable and had to move. In order to try and relieve some stress for my poor parents I cooked enough seasoned potatoes and bacon wrapped chicken to feed an army and somehow found time to make cupcakes for the little ones. We all gathered around and ate till we couldn't walk and then started to enjoy the kids sitting down to open their presents. So with the big group all together we had the kids open their presents first. They had a blast and there was no tears, even when the kids got clothes instead of toys.

Christmas Day it is our tradition to get up early and head to Bill's parents house in Puyallup, it is so much fun. This year was special because we were able to bring Rylee along and have her experience Christmas. I cant wait till next year, she will be so big by then. We started opening presents around 7am and then settled in for the morning nap, luckily Rylee slept then played with grandma while Bill and I took a nap. It started to snow and since our drive is about 50 minutes back home, we had to cut the day early since it was getting much worse it Kirkland. When we got home we let the dogs out and settled in for the cold rest of the day. It was nice to be with our families, then have our own family time at home.

Baby's 1st Thanksgiving

Rylee was dressed in her best for Thanksgiving, we ate way too much at my parents house, but enjoyed the company of my parents, brother and his two kids, and my sister, her husband and three kids.

Baby's first Halloween

Rylee was born with a lot of hair on her arms and back, and since she was born I have always called her "My little Monkey" and this has stuck as her little nick-name. So it was only fitting to dress her as this for Halloween. Our little Ghoul didn't make it very far into the night, but she looked darn cute while doing it.

Rylee Fritz

Rylee Fritz was born September 4, 2007, she decided she needed to arrive about 3 weeks early.

We checked into the hospital on Sunday Sept 2nd and upon leaving our house Bill asked if we should grab the baby bags, I told him we would probably be back home in about an hour or so, so for him not to worry about it. I was having a horrible migraine and assumed that I would just be checked out like previous and sent home. I couldn't have been more wrong. Our Dr at the time decided that I needed to be induced because I was showing signs of toxemia. So we waited a night and the next day a second Dr agreed we should go ahead and let Rylee have her day! We had a day to try and persuade her to grace us with her presence, but we ended up in the operating room the following morning.

So... on Tuesday September 4, 2007 at 8:32am we welcomed a 8lb 11oz, 20.5inches long baby girl. She is just the best, she takes long naps, sleeps 10 hours in a row, and has a full head of dark hair! She looks so much like her daddy but has my nose!

We had a bit of trouble after we got home, I had to be readmitted to the hospital with an enlarged heart and about 60lbs of fluid on my body. I had a hard time breathing and got to the point of not being able to even bend my legs due to the swelling. Bill and I went to the ER and I was admitted to the ICU for a couple days in order to stabilize, luckily Rylee was able to be admitted too, a few rooms down but at least I was able to be with her. Rylee was born with jaundice and needed light treatments anyway, so it at least made a horrible situation a little more bearable. Recovery was tough and a long process, and to make the situation a little more interesting, about 3 weeks after that I had a gall bladder attack and ended up in surgery again.

Time for a Blog.

We have had so many changes in the past year I decided it might be nice to create a blog and keep everyone updated on Bill and I, and of course the new little one.

We are living in Kirkland with our two crazy dogs and our little one, I work in Woodinville at my families cabinet company, and Bill is working for the University of Washington in Tacoma.