Birthday party time

Yesterday we got to celebrate Ryder's first birthday party. It was supposed to rain during the party so we were all nervous about that, especially Ryder's mom, Lindsay. But thankfully the rain stopped just in time for the party and it stayed clear the whole time. Only to start raining again later that night.

Riley had a great time playing in the bouncy house and I had fun catching up with my girlfriends. Dan and Denton enjoyed watching it all.

Happy 1st Birthday Ryder!

Where did this month go?

Where did this month go?

I feel like February just started, but here we are nearing the end already. Time really does fly by so fast. Denton is such a big boy now. He pulls up on everything and loves to stand. He has 'cruised' a few times but generally stays put. He still has no teeth, ha. I wonder when he will get his first one. But having no teeth hasn't stopped him from eating. He has moved onto pieces of food now like noodles and toast and broccoli florets.

Riley is getting soooo tall. This girl is all legs. And she is growing out of her clothes so fast. She is still the best big sister ever and is such a help to me, I don't know what I would do without her help.

Speaking of help, I have been needing quite a bit of it lately. Last weekend I hurt my back moving something in the garage. So I have been laid out on the couch for most of this week. The dr gave me some anti-inflammatory meds and some muscle relaxors and pain killers so that has helped, but I can't do anything. I can't bend down and pick anything up, and with a 9 month old that makes things pretty difficult. But Dan has been a great help with the housework and with the kids. He even picks up Denton and hands him to me so I can hold him.

I am hoping this is the last of the illness/injuries in our house for a while. We have had two ear infections (one for each kid), colds (both Dan and I), croup, bronchitis etc. - All in the last month (maybe I should be happy that February is almost over, ha).

Here's to a healthy March for all of us!!

Cuddle time with Daddy

Denton has not sat in this thing for months, but as soon as we brought it out to give to our neighbors for their new baby, he was all over it!

Big Boy Shoes

Denton just got his very first pair of big boy shoes, with soles and all!!! Of course I had to get Riley a new pair of shoes as well since she just loves shoes and would not be happy if her brother got a new pair and she did not.

Denton is getting so so big so so fast. He is crawling on his knees the entire time now, no more tummy crawl. He can wave and says Mama and Dada and can clap his hands. He pulls on your pant leg when he wants you to pick him up, it is so cute. He has been a bit cranky lately so we are hoping for a tooth (finally!). At this age Riley had a mouth full of teeth and Denton as yet to get a single one!

Check out these big boy shoes!!

What Happens in Vegas....

....Ends up on this blog :)

So Dan and I had planned a trip to Las Vegas for the Superbowl weekend. Vegas is kind of our thing since he proposed to me on the plane on our first trip to Vegas together and he surprised me and took me to Vegas for my 30th. My cousin and Aunt and Uncle also live there and we like to stop by and see my Aunt and Uncle and hang out with Cousin Devin on the strip. We also go there because our friend, the very talented Shannon Bundy, owns his tattoo shop out there and does all of our work. We wanted to get our "Denton" tattoos since we had one for Riley (more on that later). Needless to say we were really looking forward to the trip.

Of course about a week or so before the trip, both kids got sick. We wanted to make sure that they were in good enough health for us to leave them for a few days. Thank goodness they both had made good enough progress where we would feel comfortable leaving them. Of course they were in great hands with my Mom, but it would be really hard to leave them if they are sick. I had mixed emotions about leaving. It was going to be our first time away from Denton for more than one night and also the first time away from Riley for that long in a pretty long time. I was pretty sad leaving them but I knew we really could use some Mommy/Daddy time.

Speaking of sick...the morning we were going to leave, Dan came down with something. He felt horrible and didn't look too good either. We got to Vegas and had planned to head over to Bundy's shop for our tattoos, but Dan was feeling so sick that he just wanted to sleep. Those of you who know Dan well know that for him to skip out on this meant he was really sick. So I went over by myself and hung out with Bundy and got my Denton tattoo. I have a theme with my tattoos, they are all birds and flowers with various meanings to them. The one I got for Denton is the Lily of the Valley which is the flower for the month of May.

After the tattoo, I went back to the hotel and called the kids on Skype, it was so nice to see their faces. I love this technology. That night Dan managed to get out of bed and go down to eat dinner and hit the casino for a while. But it didn't last long. We were up and back in bed by 11pm (HAHA).

The next morning was Super Bowl. We had plans to go with Cousin Devin to a local bar to watch the game. Dan was still not feeling well and was going to pass on the entire day. But at the last minute he changed his mind (and would regret that decision later). So we went off to a yummy breakfast and then to see my Aunt and Uncle and finally to post our spots at the bar for the big game. We had a blast and really enjoyed ourselves. After the game, cousin dropped us off and we gambled at the casino all night long! We were up, we were down, but we had a GREAT time playing blackjack and some slots.

By the time Monday rolled around we had had our fill of Vegas and were ready to get home to our little munchkins!!!

Dan, Me and Cousin Devin

Having Fun!
After dragging Dan out of bed
Denton's tattoo

Look Alikes!!!

I am constantly amazed at how much my little munchkins look alike. It is like they were the same baby. Only that Riley looks more like a girl and Denton more like a boy (thank goodness for that).

What do you think?

Riley:

Denton:

Family visit

My brother Bill was in town this week for a convention which he attends every two years. The last time he was here, Riley was almost 2 and Denton obviously did not exist yet. It is always nice to see him and catch up and have him see the kids. He lives in Manhattan and Tennessee so we don't get to see him very often at all. This time he brought along his Mom, Joyce (Bill is my half brother if you haven't figured that out yet)and we all had a good time visiting.

Unfortuately, Kevin was not able to make dinner that night, but he did come down the following day when we all spent some time at my house. But of course I forgot to take pics then, sorry Kev!