Ryleigh vs. Rice cereal

I was told by the doctor yesterday that since she's 4 months old she should be sleeping through the night. She's been waking up once a night to eat. So, she had to quit cold turkey last night. She actually did good. I just popped her pacifier in her mouth and she went right back to sleep till about 7:15. Yay! Of course, it didn't really help me get more sleep cause I had to get up and give her the pacifier... but, it's not that bad. Hopefully she'll just stay asleep by time we move, when she'll be in her own room.

The doctor also said to start her on some rice cereal.


As you can see she got more on her face and hands, in her hair, and in her ears than she did in her mouth. Haha.
Needless to say, she got a bath right after dinner time.

sweet memories

Today I just can't help but think about last year at this time. On this date I had peed on a stick and I saw 2 lines. I was pregnant!

I remember smiling, then laughing, then crying. I stood in the mirror and looked at myself. I didn't look any different, but my whole world had changed. It was something I had been hoping for for so long.

After I had settled my emotions I remember all I could think about was a creative way to tell Ryan. He was at work, so I had some time. I seriously scoured the internet trying to come up with fun ideas. It took me a while but I thought of a cute one. I ran to Target and bought him a Phillies T-shirt, and I bought a Phillies onesie. I wrapped them up in a box and texted Ryan telling him I had a surprise for him.
When he got home he was looking for brownies cause that's what he thought the surprise would be. Haha. I handed him the box, he unwrapped it and saw the Phillies T-shirt on top. So, I'm pretty sure he was thinking, "Well, that's random". Then I told him to keep digging. Then he saw the onesie with a cute little bib. He was probably really confused at that point. So then I took out the pregnancy test and showed him :-) All he could do was smile. And I'm pretty sure he did that for my benefit cause I think he was really in shock at that point!
It funny how we were trying to get pregnant, but the feelings I experienced when it actually happened were so unexpected and wonderful.

I think the hardest part about that day was not immediately calling everyone I knew to tell them the good news. It was so hard to wait 10 weeks till we told them... I don't know how anyone could wait any longer than that. I know you're supposed to wait till at least 12 weeks, but geez, it's just so exciting!

And now I enjoy every minute of every day with my beautiful blessing :-)

Ryleigh's photo session

Today's outing was held at target. I had to get a wedding present, so I figured while I was there I would get "professional" pics of Ryleigh taken, at the portrait studio. Well, despite sleeping in, eating, and have a clean diaper Ry refused to smile. I looked at the pics and chose some that weren't too bad, and placed my order. Well, turns out they were a lot more expensive than I thought. I was not about to pay 25$ just for an 8 x 10. JCPenny just sent me coupons to get one done for 5$!
But, stupid me, I was thinking, "well, what if I try again and she still doesn't smile. Maybe I should just stick with these". So I ordered some pics.
By time I got home I regretted it, so I called and canceled my order, but then had to go all the way back to target to gt them to put the money back on my debit card. Not fun.
But then I got home and saw they emailed me the pics from this morning. So, here they are. The pics from our failed photography session.





She was actually right about to burst out in tears on this last pic.




I'm going to probably go to JCPenny, or something on Friday to see if we can do better

Baby talk

I signed up for these emails that tell me week-by-week what Ryleigh is supposed to be learning and doing. Today I got one that talked about decoding a baby's language. Here's the key to understanding what a baby is saying.

NEH – I’m Hungry.
OWH – I’m Sleepy.
HEH – I’m experiencing discomfort.
EAIRH – I have lower gas. (I have an upset stomach)
EH – I need to burp.

Umm, what is that lower gas one supposed to sound like?? The only one that remotely resembles any sounds that Ryleigh makes is the "I'm hungry" one... that one is pretty accurate.

In other news, I figured out a way to make Ryleigh endure her tummy time everyday, she's fine as long as the cat is around. If Ryleigh can watch Hera then she forgets about how mad she is to be on her stomach... the only problem is the cat runs away whenever Ryleigh is close by. Haha

Police interrogations

I got interrogated by the police today. They showed up on my doorstep this morning. Thank God I had just talked to Ryan two minutes earlier or I would have thought something bad happened to him.
Apparently the woman that lives 4 units down from us was found dead in her apartment. They said they're not really sure what happened to her, so they're just asking around. But, they did specifically ask if we had heard any arguments or fighting on Saturday, so I'm thinking she didn't exactly die peacefully. I told them we were in Baltimore that day and didn't notice anything suspicious. They took down my name and contact info, and then left.

The sad thing is, I have no idea what the woman looked like. She died on Saturday, but they just found her today, why didn't someone notice before then?
We have been living here for almost 2 years and I've only ever talked to a handful of our neighbors. They're always outside, having BBQs and playing with their kids, but we avoid them. Honestly, a better word would be "snub". We have always felt like we are better than them. I don't know why. We're all pretty much middle class citizens, who have to deal with the same crappy maintenance men, and tiny apartments with little storage.
How awful is it that this woman may have not been a Christian. We may have run into her in passing, but we never struck up a conversation. Because of our unfriendliness she may have never heard about God. How self-centered can we be? Ugh.

Things I learned at the mall

Ryleigh and I went to the mall today and believe it or not I actually learned some stuff at the mall.

1. If you live in south jersey and you go into a sports store and ask if they have any infant sized baseball hats they will happily help you out.... until you reveal that you want a Red Sox hat, not a Phillies hat, because then they will just glare at you.

2. The super annoying people that run the kiosks will still harass you, even if you have a baby in your arms. Seriously, do they really think I'm going to let them curl my hair with their contraption while holding a 10 lb. baby in my arms?!

3. Baby shoes can be really expensive! I wanted to get Ryleigh a cute pair of converses.... 25$! And cute little soccer shoes... 35$ They are crazy if they think I am going to spend that much on shoes for someone that can't even walk yet!!

And there you have it, all the things I learned today :-)

100 days of Ryleighness

I counted it out and realized Ryleigh turned 100 today :-)
I can't believe how fast it's going!! Everyday I see a little more of her personality starting to show, and so far I'm pretty sure she takes after dad. When she knows we're looking at her she will start acting very silly. She now loves to kick her feet in the bathtub and splash everywhere. She also loves cameras, and acts very interested when I let her view all the pics on my camera.


Day One


Day One Hundred

Profile shot


"What are you doing mommy?"

Just a little more time

So, we were supposedly getting our security deposit back on Monday. That didn't happen. We're not worried because we were told by the attorney that we would get the money. Since we didn't get that money back yet we haven't been able to put our security deposit down on an apartment at Forest Creek. Therefore, we have a little more time to search for something else.
I really won't mind if I have to live at Forest Creek because I think it would be a good place to live while saving up for a house, and I'm kind of excited because we're trying to get a place with a fireplace. And I was thinking if we get a 2 bathroom place I would love to decorate Ryleigh's bathroom with cute little fish.... even though it will also be the guest bathroom, haha. I'm also looking forward to having a pool, even though I'll only be able to enjoy it starting in mid-July. And, Ryan and I have decided that we would like to take up tennis (inspired by Wii), so the tennis courts will be nice to have.
But, hey, it won't hurt to keep looking before we commit to living there.
So, if anyone knows of a good place let us know.

Good times

This weekend was busy with family time.
I thought that just my mom was coming for a visit, until I opened the door and saw my sister Laura standing there as well. What a great surprise!!

So on Saturday we took Ryleigh to her last play performance. It was the day of the video taping, so for anyone that wants a copy of the DVD in which Ry makes her debut let me know. I'm going to buy one even though she's only in one scene. Haha.

After that we went shopping. And for the first time in like 2 years I actually had money to go out and buy clothes :-) We headed to H+M because they always have good deals. I bought a dress, 2 skirts, and 3 shirts, which I am very excited about!!

We went to church on Sunday for Ryleigh's dedication. I am so happy that my mom and sister were there for that. And I'm glad that Uncle Jon was able to make it for a little while, despite being sick that day.

Then we went out to eat. Olive Garden, yum yum!!

After that we headed to Ikea. I love Ikea. I bought some much needed items, they're all baking items, and I am super excited about using them.

Then this morning they had to go home :-( Thankfully we'll all be together again in June.

I'm so thankful for my wonderful family and the fact that even though there were 5 of us in our tine apartment we still got along and had a good time!

This is what I think about at night

This is probably a pretty deep blog for 8 a.m. but this is my favorite time of day and I need to sort my thoughts.

This whole moving thing has really shaken me. Not simply because of the disappointment of not having a house, but because I really thought I was finally catching a break.
The way that everything worked out for the house, how we got the money for the security deposit, and the money for the rent.... it seemed to all fall into place. I thought it was God working. It was all good, and God is good, so I thought for sure it was Him. But then the rug got pulled out from under us.
So now I am struggling. I am doubting my ability to hear and see God. I feel completely lost because at a time when I thought He was directing us we got lead down a dead end path.
I know everything works together for good.... eventually. But I realized last night that it could be 10 years from now when we finally realize why this happened. But what will I be feeling before then? I'm scared of how much it will affect my faith.
I'm trying to keep the faith. I'm trying to hope for something positive. But, right now I just feel disappointment, loss, and confusion. Just keep praying that I can overcome all the doubt going on in my head