6 Months

     Our little Reesey Cup just turned six months old! She is the perfect touch of sweetness that this Purdy household needed. She is a happy little baby, smiling all the time, and only crying when really upset. She laughs at her brother all the time. Even when Mommy and Daddy think that he may have been too rough or too loud, she still will laugh. She is a bit of a Daddy's girl already, brothers built in play buddy, and Momma's little cuddle-bug.
     She is talking, grunting, and laughing at us, or with us. Reesey is a healthy little girl, but somehow still manages to get that chunky little body a-rollin'. We call her our little "Roley Poley." If there is a toy she wants (being hers or her brother's) she will find a way to get to it. She is so mobile that we don't leave the room for long, because there is no telling where she will be when you get back. Unlike Rylan, Reese loves all foods we give her, but by looking at her physique, we shouldn't have been surprised that she would like food so much. She is eating most meals, and opening up her mouth and shoving the spoon in when we let her.
     It is hard to believe that our sweet little girl is half-way to a year. I am holding onto each moment, savoring each time she falls asleep on my shoulder, and holding her a little longer (even when my arms already hurt). Reesey is our girl, our little "Baby Girl, Sweet Girl, Chunky Monkey" (as Rylan calls her all these things). And now a few pictures of our happy, carefree, precious Reesey Cup!

Mommy and her laughing little girl.

Reesey before her first time to eat cereal. Who gets this excited about cereal, seriously?

When I take a shower I put Reese in my room with her mat and toys. On this particular day I got out to find her just like this, as happy as can be!

Reesey getting to be big brothers little patient.

Our girl on her 6 month birthday!

Happy 3rd Birthday Rylan

          This past Saturday we celebrated our baby boy's (so it still seems to me) 3rd birthday. It seems like yesterday that he was so little and depended on us so much. Looking at Reese now, it is hard to remember Rylan being that small. Where has the time gone? It has passed by all to quickly. My baby boy is now a tumbling, talking, laughing, running, hard headed, handsome, smart, healthy little boy. In a blink of an eye our son is now 3, WOW!
     We were lucky enough that our party that was planned for outside got to happen that day. We had two full days of rain before Saturday, so I figured that we would be moving the party inside. But, God said "No Momma, these kids will play outside." Thank goodness for sunshine. We had family, friends, sunshine, cupcakes, and my sweet boy to celebrate. The day was perfect. We had the party early, so we had the rest of the day to just relax and enjoy our little man.
     I have had a few break downs throughout the week, just knowing that my baby is growing up so fast, but through it all, I also get to see the young man that he is becoming. With God on our side we will get our sweet baby boy raised!

     Rylan, you are everything I wanted in a son and more. You constantly keep me on my toes, laughing, crying, and every emotion in between. I wouldn't trade this world with anyone. Spending everyday with you and your sister is my greatest accomplishment. I love to sit and watch you be ALL BOY! You are wild with passion, independence and love. Your love of cars, trucks, puzzles, books, painting, Lego's, stickers, Buzz, Woody, Lighting McQueen, Mater, dirt, running around naked, chasing Duncan and Winston, pretending to be "Puss-N- Boots," getting up at 6:00 am, talking in you own lil Rylan language, singing to us, wanting to wear your pj's all day, playing any and all sports that include balls, mowing with Daddy, cooking with Mommy, being sweet with sister (or as you call her "Baby Girl"); these are all things that make you, YOU! Rylan Charles WE LOVE YOU!

A Glimpse Back.............

Rylan on May 12, 2009, the day we finally met our lil man.

Rylan on his 1st Birthday Party

Rylan two years old, and really becoming a little boy.

Our now 3 yr. old......... like I said where has the time gone?

Bittersweet

It has taken me a while to finish this blog because it has been so emotional for me. As most of you know, my sister was living with us. My brother-in-law, Eric, was deployed, and she chose to come and stay with us while he was away. We were honored to have her, and we were so excited to be her support system while Eric was gone. I was nervous about many things before she moved here: 1. Would we drive her crazy? 2. Would she want to have children after living with us? 3. How many fights would we have? 4. I was scared of how bored she may be. 5. Would our relationship be the same after the 7 months was up? 6. Would she be sad all the time, and if so, how could we help her cope?  All concerns of mine, and I am sure she had her own concerns as well. Surprisingly, these 7 months flew by and was better than I could have ever imagined. It was the most special bond that we as sisters have ever had. I knew that I knew her well, but now I know her all the way through. And, I love her and admire her more now than before.

Kyra was here for everything. She was here for Halloween, my baby shower, Reese's birth (the most special thing), Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, potty training, temper tantrums, marital spats, Reese rolling over, many of Reese's firsts, Valentines, and Easter. Through everything she was here, and we included her as part of our little family. Now that she is gone I am sad, so very sad. But as I said it is bittersweet. Bitter because we have gotten so used to having her here, and we really did enjoy her. It is still hard to walk around the house and not see her things. Rylan just asked me yesterday where she was (I don't think he really gets it yet.) He said, "Where is Tia, hers in her room doing Homework?" This was hard for me and I broke down crying because, no she is not here, she is gone. But as I am crying I am thinking to myself, "How silly Kayla, she is where she needs to be." So the sweet part is that Eric is so close to being home and she is there in California waiting on her sweet husband to return home from the war. I am so excited that his deployment is over and that they can be together again. It was hard for Kyra a lot of days, and I admire her strength.

I am happy to report that at the end of this we only had one little spat, Kyra still wants kids, I think we kept her somewhat entertained, our relationship is stronger than ever, the five of us lived together laughing all the time and Kyra was stronger than I ever imagined. She still loves our children as her own if not more, and we will forever cherish these months.

God has plans for us all, and this journey that he had set for Kyra, Tyson, Rylan, Reese and I was one I will never forget. The time when Tia stayed with us for 7 months.................

My favorite moment was when we got to tell Kyra that Reese was named after her.

Our first snow of the year, these two played outside forever.

Us girls, this picture just makes me happy.

At night after bath Tia came in and stole Reesey from us. That was Tia and Reese's time together. Tia lotioned her, put her jammies on and told her how beautiful she was every night.

Watching these three get down and play was memories I want forever embedded in my heart.

The two wild ones, these two have their own thing going. Whatever Tia tells Ry to do, he does. This bond is something that brings tears to my eyes.

Tia and the babes all dressed up at my cousin's wedding.

Tia and her namesake, both beautiful! We can only pray that Reese is as beautiful on the inside just as her Tia is.

Rylan and Tia before their date. Tia took Rylan on a date to see his very first movie. He is still talking about "The Worax".

Tia and her babes on Easter Sunday.

Tia we love you and we miss you, but we are so excited for you and Uncle Eric to come home!

Melt My Heart

     The other day, Tyson was walking around with Reesey when I noticed she was asleep. So, I told him to freeze, I had to get a picture. With her sleeping on her Daddy, it brought back a flood of memories to 2 1/2 years ago. Just take a look for yourself..................

Rylan at four months asleep on his Daddy............

and Reese at four months asleep on her Daddy.

Like I said, melt my heart!

Visiting Friends

Last weekend, we loaded up the kids and traveled 7 1/2 hours (including all of our stops) to San Antonio. We decided to go and see friends, who we miss very much. It took us a while to get there, but the company and scenery was well worth the car ride. We haven't seen our San Antonio friends since we moved in July, and seeing them all again was fantastic. All of our kids have gotten so big, and none of them had met our Reesey yet. Late Thursday night, we arrived at the Torres house.

The next morning, when we got up, Evan and Rylan hit the ground running. These two boys picked up right where they left off. I swear they may be the same little boy just 6 months apart. We were also thrilled to finally meet Mia, she is 2 months older than Reese and just precious. After we all settled down a bit, we got ready and went to Christus Santa Rosa (Tyson's old work) to see everyone and catch up. Tyson beamed with pride as he showed off his beautiful babies, it was really cute. After that we met up with the Torres family at the Riverwalk for lunch. Then we all went back to the Torress' for naps. The babies napped, but the two older boys were in rare form and no nap was taken by them. So we sent the boys outside to play, and we began to get food ready for when the Inabinnets  and Vadens arrived. Melina and Jesse were so kind to have everyone over to their house for a cookout just for us. Thank you guys so much. The evening was beautiful, the kids were great, and the company was excellent. We all picked up where we left off, just like we never moved.

On Saturday we spent the morning just relaxing at the Torres house. We had nothing on our agenda that day, mainly to just hang out with our dear friends. The boys ran wild, the baby girls watched in amazement, and we parents just sighed and laughed about how "These are the days of our lives." Eventually, after all four kids napped, we loaded up and headed to dinner. We enjoyed the weather while we were there, it was perfect, 75 and sunny with a breeze. Bluebonnets and wild flowers everywhere (which I didn't get a picture of, man.)

Sunday morning we loaded up and headed home back to West Texas. The drive home was great, the weather was perfect, and the babes were little angels (which was way better than the drive there). Catching up with friends was great, and watching all of our children play was fantastic.

The girls, Reesey and Mia, a little bit of sweetness.

The boys, Rylan and Evan, a little bit of honory.

Our family of four at the Riverwalk.

We girls, Melina, Mia, Reese, Me, Codie and Emily. Even though there is a 7 hour difference between our homes, our friendships still remain!

A picture of the four kids playing together, watching all four was tiring and hilarious all at the same time.

Until our next visit friends.................