18 Weeks

     We took this picture last week. We were exactly 18 weeks. I, along with our little bean are beginning to get bigger and bigger. I am still able to wear my normal clothes, but I think we will soon have to splurge on some maternity shorts. At 17 weeks we began to feel little kicks. I can feel more and more each day, that is my favorite part. I am feeling much better, and Rylan is imitating Mommy being sick less often. I still have days where the nausea returns, but much better than before.

     We recently did an ultrasound and we were unable to find any male plumbing. So as of now we are thinking it is a girl. But we would like to do another ultrasound just to be sure. Boy or girl we are just excited!

   I love the way Rylan jumped in the picture to join me! That is our little man, always craving a laugh.

Things I Will Miss

     As you grow older there are things in your life that will change. Some changes are good, and some bad. Whatever it may be you make the best of what God lay before you. However, sometimes these challenges and new adventures that we are faced with are harder than we thought imaginable. As our approaching move to Muleshoe gets closer and closer we are getting excited!  However, there are many things and mostly people here in San Antonio that we will miss;

1. Our first home, we are so proud of our first buy. This home is where we brought Rylan home to. This house is where we made a home. This is where we heard Rylan say his first words and walk his first steps.  This house is where we shared laughs, cries, and many gatherings with friends and family.
2. I will miss all of the opportunities that are in the city for Rylan and I to do. As a stay at home momma you like to find new and exciting things to do with your children, especially while everyone else is at work, for example; the zoo, the many parks here, children's museums, kids eat free days, storytime at the library, and the pool.
3. Silly I know, but I will miss the shopping. I can't think of one store that I love that isn't within 15-20 minutes from my house.
4. I will miss our church home. This is where we go to worship as a family. Where I let go for the first time, and put Rylan in the nursery.
5. We will miss the great people that Tyson works with. They have all been so sweet, kind and supportive the whole three years we have been here.
6. I will miss Little Gym. This is where we go for Rylan to take gymnastics. Another silly thing, but we just love Ms. Tessa. Plus it is a place where we can take Rylan and he can exude all the energy he wants. :)
7. I will miss the sweet ladies I have met this year at MOPS. I was looking for something for Rylan and I, and my friend Danielle recommended MOPS to me. I loved it, it was that spiritual uplift that always made me feel like I could do this job of being a Momma. The ladies (Kathy, Kathleen, Stacey, Holly, Jamie, Lauren, Marissa, and Kim) were everything that I needed in a group of women. I left every time wishing that I had the whole day to just sit and talk with them. I will forever miss my friends from the PURPLE TABLE!
8. I will miss my bible study. Right after having Rylan I was in a Mommy rut. I was trying to figure out how to get myself and Rylan some friends to socialize with. Once again God sent me Danielle. She invited me a few times before I went, and once I did I felt silly for not joining sooner. This was the study I needed. The women here had more in common with me than I ever thought imaginable. After I started it seemed like our group grew weekly. I am so thankful to Danielle for inviting me to join, this was my saving grace to being a stay-at -home-mom. These ladies got to hear an earful more than they ever had asked for. This group was my safe place, where I could go and talk about anything. No one there was ever judging me, they were there to worship, listen, and pray with me. I will miss my SBS sisters; Danielle, Kellie, Karen, Erin, Teresa, Chelsea, Cindy, Aundrea, Trina, Angela, Bethany, Michelle B. and Michelle C.
9. I will miss my STAHM friends. Who knew that being a stay at home mom would be so challenging?  I didn't. Once we got past the 3 month mark I was in need of friends. I found four ladies who made my new job seem crazy, normal, funny, frustrating and awesome all at the same time. I met Melina and thought that somebody had sent me my clone. She is so very much like me in more than 50 ways. Her son Evan is 6 months older than Rylan, so I asked her thousands of questions (and still do) about what to do next with my baby boy. She was awesome, always giving me advice and then saying "but every baby is different, do what works for you," best advice I have received on parenting. Not only did Melina and I get along perfectly but so did our boys. We have had play dates with them since Rylan was 6 months old.  Thank you friend for knowing me better than I know myself, I will miss you and your family more than words can express.
10. I will miss my Steubing Sista's. These ladies came out of nowhere. I wasn't in search of anything this time, they just appeared at story-time, who knew. I got to chatting with some girls (Emily, Codie, and Stephanie) at story-time and soon learned that the four us lived within 2 blocks of each other in the same subdivision. Not only did we live really close, but we each had a child within 4 months of each other. So it began, we exchanged numbers and play dates starting emerging pretty much weekly. Soon enough we got the men involved too. We have had many playdates, birthday parties, cookouts, and holidays together. We became very close in a short amount of time, it was awesome. Emily and Codie just had their second baby, we will have our new addition in November, and we are waiting on an announcement from Stephanie about another on the way. It is just sad because two of us are moving, and we all have our first child around the same age, and our second ones will be around the same age too. These are friends that Rylan talks about even when they are not around.  We will miss them for their kindness, hospitality, laughter, sweet smiles, encouraging words, dependability, and their loving hearts. These ladies, as well as their beautful children and husbands I will miss very much.

     There are of course many things about the city that I will miss but the people are what I will really miss.

Big Brother

     We are excited to announce that on November 15th Rylan will be a big brother!

      It was addressed to me by a friend that I had not yet announced my pregnancy to the blog world. So here I am saying WE ARE PREGNANT!  We found out in mid March that we were 6 weeks pregnant. We had taken a test two weeks early and it was negative. So we didnt' think we were. That is until I started becoming really tired, and plus (TMI) I hadn't had a period since February 7th. So, we took a test and it showed positive immediately. We had planned on our children being 2 and a half to 3 years apart. Well Rylan will be almost exactly 2 and a half when the baby is born.
     At 7 weeks the sickness hit, just like with Rylan. I was tired, nauseous, and having lots of food diversions. But this pregnancy I wasn't chasing 22 kindergartners, I was chasing an almost two year old around all day. It was a difficult trimester. But I will gladly say that at 16 weeks it got much better. We are now 17 weeks and I haven't thrown up in a week and a half (TMI again, sorry). Now that we are further along we are starting to wonder blue or pink. Hopefully we will soon find out. We just pray that blue or pink, our sweet baby is healthy.
     Rylan seems to be aware that Mommy has a growing belly. He will touch it and even kiss it if we ask him to. We ask him, "Where is the baby," and he will lift his shirt and point to his belly, very cute. But when we ask him, "Do you want a baby brother," he says, "No, no no." And when we ask him, "Do you want a baby sister," he says, "No, no, no". But one way or the other he is going to welcome a baby brother or sister into this world in November.
     We are so excited about our new little Purdy. When we get a good belly picture I will post it for you. As of yet we are showing some days more than others, it all depends on what I am wearing. But soon enough, we will really pop, and I will let you all see!

California Vacation Again

     While in California we attempted the beach a few times. On Wednesday we went and Rylan wasn't so fond of it. So, on Thursday we decided to try again. This day we had planned just as a beach day. We decided to go to the beach on base; 1. To see where Uncle Eric works, 2. Tia said it was a really nice beach. So with our fingers crossed we took our two year old back to the beach.  When we first got on base it was so cute because Rylan called out to every Marine thinking that they were "Uncal Ewic", so sweet. In his defense once all dressed up they all look very similar. Tia showed us around base and then we headed to the beach section. It was a beautiful day for the beach (did I mention everyday there was perfect and beautiful?). 
     This time is was a SUCCESS! Rylan really enjoyed everything that the beach had to offer. He loved watching the birds and trying to feed them his goldfish (ironic I know), playing in the sand using his tools we got him, burying all of our feet in the sand, watching other children play in the sand and the water, but his favorite was the water and the waves. Who knew that from one day to the next he would change his mind about the ocean. This time he loved the water, laughed at the waves, and ran into the waves. Daddy went in with him, it was freezing and Mommy and Tia weren't brave enough for the challenge. Daddy had to run after Rylan a few times, because he became fearless of the water and would run right in. He laughed so much, it was worth the entire trip just to see him take in the ocean. I don't know what it is, but hearing and seeing your child happy brings more joy to a parent than even imaginable.
     When Daddy was cold from the water and Rylan had goosebumps we decided it was time to dry off. However, Rylan wasn't having it. He would grab Tyson's hand and say "More Aqua Dadda". So Daddy scooped him up and they went in again. This was the response to the beach that we were looking for!

Our little beach bum.

Daddy & Rylan racing into the water.

Me and my family in front of the Pacific Ocean.

Please look away from my little bulge of a belly.

Kyra said "You look great just wear a bikini", that was just my sister being sweet.

 So I did, it is all I have anyway.

Warming up after a dip in the water. Belly hidden this time, your welcome.

                        By the end we were all getting a little tired. Rylan decided Tia looked like a good place for a nap, so Mommy joined him.

     Thursday night we went to Pizza Port. It is a microbrewery that Uncle Eric was dying to take us to (mainly Tyson). It was in downtown Carlsbad. The pizza was delicious and the men said the beer was good too. While there I noticed what a neat little area of Carlsbad it was. We had originally planned on going into LA on Friday. But it would have been a two hour drive, plus there isn't a whole lot that would interest Rylan. So I suggested going back to downtown Carlsbad. Tia said she had never been and would love to go. But before we went there Mommy and Tia had some sisterly time at the Spa. We went and had coffee, pedicures, many laughs, and great conversation. I was grateful to Tyson for letting us go and have a morning to ourselves.  On Friday afternoon we went to downtown Carlsbad.  We had ice cream, did some shopping, explored the area, and stopped by a restaurant for chips and salsa. It was a perfect day.
     Friday night Tia and Uncle Eric said "Go on a date, we want to watch Rylan for you". We couldn't turn down that offer; 1. It has been a while since we have been on a date, 2. Rylan loves Tia and Eric so much that he probably didn't even notice we were gone. Tyson and I had seen a French Restaurant in downtown Carlsbad that we wanted to try, so we did. It was so nice to have a sit down dinner that we didn't have to rush through, and also a meal where we actually got to enjoy each other's conversation. Most of the time we are hurrying so that the other one can eat while the other one watches Rylan. It was a romantic and a delicious meal. After that we did what most parents rarely get the option of doing. That's right, we went to the movies. It is our third movie to see in theatre since Rylan was born.  We saw Bridesmaids and it was hilarious, we laughed through the entire movie. Thank you Tia and Uncle Eric for letting us catch up and enjoy an evening just the two of us!
     Saturday was the day we left. That is all I am going to say, because the tears will begin just as they did when they dropped us off at the airport. There are some vacations that you end up looking forward to returning home. This vacation was not that kind at all, we were sad to leave. It was a great vacation spent with two very sweet people, filled with lots of new memories, and we weren't exhausted at the end. We look forward to our next California vacation.

California Continued

I apologize in advance: THIS IS A LONG POST, WITH LOTS OF PICTURES. 

    On Tuesday of our week long vacation Tia, Daddy, Mommy and Rylan loaded up and headed to the San Diego Zoo. We woke up early ate breakfast, got ready, and headed out. On the way there Rylan took a nap, so he was rested and ready to explore. The San Diego Zoo is incredible and Rylan loved all of the animals. However, there is a lot of walking, but well worth all the great animals you will see.

The giraffes were a hit, especially the baby one, she was so cute!

Here is Tia helping Rylan get a better look at the flamingos.

This guy was fun to watch, because he got really close to the cage. Rylan kept roaring at him.

Daddy and Rylan making an elephant trunk and mimicking their sound. The elephants didn't respond, but Tia and Mommy got great entertainment out of the boys.

This was one of the tigers we saw, you can kinda see the other one in the background. They were beautiful, and they also got roared at by Rylan.

Daddy, Mommy, and Rylan in front of the huge elephant statue. The San Diego Zoo is different in that they have workers everywhere in with the animals. The workers have microphones and are educating everyone on the animal who's cage they are in, and you can ask them questions. When we saw the elephants they were getting baths and pedicures. That must be nice.

This was probably in the top two of the day. The "Gobabas" as Rylan calls the Gorillas. There were two of them wrestling all over their cage. But the majority of the time they sat and fought right in front of Tia and Rylan. So the two of them had ring side seats. One time they hit the glass wrestling and startled Rylan, but not enough to make him want to quick watching.

The other animals in the top two were the goats. They weren't even part of the actual attractions either, they were considered the petting zoo. But Rylan has a thing for goats, he isn't scared of them, and he loves to mock them with his own goat sounds.

    One of my favorite things was that they had little statues set up all over the zoo for kids to take pictures with. Rylan hopped right on the turtle and said "Yee-haw Momma".
     On Wednesday we spent the afternoon at the beach. Rylan's first experience at the beach will probably not be his favorite. The water was freezing, and he didn't like the waves to rush in on his feet. He got sand in his eyes three times, and the play set was almost too hot to walk on. So we left the beach and went and did some tourist shopping right near the pier in Oceanside. But on the way we stopped so Daddy could pose with a street sign that had his name on it, goofy Daddy.  We stayed for a few hours and then headed home to freshen up.

Mommy comforting Rylan, after he felt the cold water on his tootsie's. But notice Daddy just walked right in.

My family in front of the Pacific Ocean.

At the playground they had a statue of a sea lion, and for some reason Rylan felt compelled to give it a smooch.

                                 Tyson in front of the "Tyson" street sign.
     Wednesday evening as soon as Uncle Eric got home from work we loaded up and headed to Medieval Times. This was fun! It doesn't matter if you are 2 or 27 this is a place for everyone. The entertainment was great, so much that Rylan wouldn't sit down or eat. He was glued to the entire performance. If you have been you know that when you get there they give you a crown which specifies which section you sit in. We were red, and I must tell you our night won the competition and saved the kingdom.

This is to show you how elaborate the dress and performance is. It was fantastic, I would do this again and again.

My two prince's cheering on our knight.

All five of us feasting on small dragon's (that is what our waitress called them).

                 This was our knight, the WINNING Red Knight. Rylan thought he was super cool and had to give him a fist bump.

     More California to come.....................

California Vacation

On Saturday, May 21st Rylan, Tyson and flew to our first California Family Vacation. We left Saturday early and arrived at the San Diego airport to two very excited people, Uncle Eric and Tia (Aunt Kyra). The weather was beautiful and we were ready for a great week of lots of fun. We went and got settled in at Tia and Eric's, let Rylan nap, made a quick Target trip and then headed to the Pier. We were going to the Pier for some sight seeing and dinner.

The Pier was so long, and at the end of it was where we would have dinner. Ruby's is the restaurant at the end of the Pier, it is old style 50's diner. We had a a bit of a wait and so we walked around the pier and watched all of the fisherman.

This guy definitely made a catch, an unexpected catch I am sure.

It was interesting to see that the fisherman would catch fish and then cut them up to use as more bait. While watching this guy fish we also saw a sea lion come in and out of the water.

Me, my sweet sister, and our little jet setter.

Once we got to our table, we all enjoyed our view. We couldn't even get Rylan to pose for the picture. He loved the water, the birds that came to the window, and watching the sea lion peer in and out of the water.

What is a 50 style diner without a good ole' milkshake? I love this picture of Tia and Rylan sharing the milkshake.  Tia had one rule all week, "At Tia's Rylan got what he wanted". And yes, the kid got plenty of ice cream all week.

                          Our boy in front of the Pacific Ocean.

    On Sunday we got up early, got ready and headed to Disneyland. We went early and planned to stay all day, or as long as Rylan would let us. The boy was a trooper, he napped in the stroller, rode lots of rides, loved all the characters from afar that is, and ate like a champ. We went to both parks, and stayed all day long. We saw Mickey (Rylan's favorite), watched a Disney Junior show,  bought a Mickey Mouse (which Rylan now has to sleep with), and did everything else in between. It was an awesome day, thank you Tia and Uncle Eric.
     On Monday Uncle Eric went back to work. Daddy, Mommy, Tia and Rylan stayed home and rested, and adjusted to the time change. Rylan did great the whole week, he even took two naps a day, it was like he was 20 months again. The rest of the trip will come in the next couple of posts. There is so much to share, because we were that busy.