The Jacobs' Daily Life

Video

2009-03-19T20:37:00.004-05:00

Thought I would post a video of Haiden and her talking. Unfortunately she decided to just give a little intro. So hope it works. Enjoy

Big Sis (3 yrs 8 mos) and Lil Sis (3 mos)

2009-03-19T20:22:00.008-05:00

I thought I would post a few pictures of the 2 girls. Rylie is suck a good big sister. Most of the time. She does love Haiden even though she tells people they can take her home with them. I know she would miss her. Anyway so here are the pictures.

Haiden is 3 mos. today

2009-03-19T19:52:00.010-05:00

So I thought I would post a few pictures of Haiden. She turned 3 months today. And boy she is just a talking and talking. Just ask John. HEHE!! And she is loud at it too. Ok so she weighs 10.5 lbs as of yesterday. Her height is a bit higher this time (22% range), her head is in the 5% range and her weight is in the 8% range. The doc is very surprised at her abilities. Rylie is doing awesome too. She had her physical yesterday as well. I got her signed up for gymnastics. So hopefully she enjoys it. If not there will be other things she can do coming up soon. Well here are the pics of Haiden.

Pics of Haiden

2009-03-13T16:47:00.012-05:00

So I am just getting to post these pictures but hey time is hard to come by these days. So you get it when I can give it. Anyway these are some pictures I took again using my computer (I wasn't necessarily worried about grabbing the camera under the circumstances). Anyway these are pictures of her just starting to smile that gorgeous smile of hers. No its not gas. HEHE!! Enjoy

Silly Sissy

2009-03-13T16:39:00.009-05:00

Here are some silly pictures of Rylie. Taken from my computer at my parents house this last trip up. Long story.. but it involved losing power due to an ice storm. She was very excited bout her new barretts. So here they are. ENJOY!!

2 months old (yesterday)

2009-02-20T12:12:00.008-05:00

No need for explanations here. Just wanted to post some pictures of our growing little girl. Isn't she so cute and adorable and beautiful? (I am allowed to be biased). So here they are... enjoy.

Haiden lounging

2009-01-11T14:33:00.007-05:00

Here are some pictures of Haiden relaxing on the couch beside me. We had just put Rylie down and said our good nights and of course counted the night lights in her room (in case I forgot to mention there is a monster somewhere in there). So I thought I would snap a few pictures while she was lounging on the couch looking cute. So here they are.

Daddy and the girls

2009-01-11T14:18:00.009-05:00

Here are some pictures of John and the girls. This is like the day before he left. Haiden got so used to falling asleep on his chest that now I am having a little bit of a problem with her wanting to held and sleep. But it's all good no worries. Anyway enjoy these pictures.

Big Sister with Haiden

2009-01-11T14:11:00.007-05:00

Here are some of the pictures we took of Rylie holding her sister. She loves Haiden and loves to do EVERYTHING for her (even if she isn't supposed to). She is definitely a Mother hen over here. Sometimes I wonder if she is the mom or not at times but then I have to stop and tell her that I am the mom and not her. Anyway enjoy the pictures.

Haiden Dawn Jacobs

2009-01-11T13:54:00.009-05:00

So finially I get a chance to sit down and do the blog update and guess what? Yea she wakes up. Darn it. But quickly.. I been meaning to post the pictures of Haiden when she was born so here they are. She was born at 0812 on December 19,2008. She weighed 5 lbs 9 oz and was 18.5 inches long. She is beautiful and small. But growing everyday. And eating a lot everyday. Enjoy the pictures. Oh and I threw one in the of John in scrubs.. omg how hot is that?!!

1 month (to the day) and counting

2008-11-19T21:40:00.003-05:00

I thought I needed to catch up on my blog. As I have fallen behind. That's what happens though. Quite a lot has been going on since my last blog. I was put off work for 3 weeks, went to my parents and enjoyed a couple weeks there. I got back and couldn't get a note to be released back to work for 3 more weeks. I started work 2 weeks ago. I have since been to the doctor 3 times. The 2nd time she did an exam because I complained of a great amount of pain in the nether regions. Then she did and internal ultrasound and said I am in such discomfort because the baby is sitting/laying on my pubic bone maing every day activities painful.. i.e. walking. She said I was good that the cervix was not thinning out. I got a tentative date for my surgery. WHAOOO!! I am penciled in for the 19th of December. Because of my previous problems they are doing it at 37 weeks. So back to work for 2 weeks and I had to call off 2 times and went home early once. What is wrong with me?? I am sick half the week and just ok the rest. I had my doctor's appointment today and we discussed everything that I have been experiencing. The major pain when walking and doing anything that involves movement of the lower body, my hands hurt like i have arthritis, I have a cold (apparently not good when pregnant), I am very tired, weak and have bouts of a fast heart beat, and others. TSK TSK!! I could hear in her head. She doesn't like them working me the hours I do, she doesn;t like that I have a cold, she doesn't like that i feel weak and have to sit down a lot (even at a store) and everything else. So what is the outcome of my visit today? Well I am off work again until Monday which is better than what she said, she wanted me off for 10 days. She wants me in tomorrow to get more blood work and a urinalysis sone, schedule and appt for an ultrasound to check the weight of the baby and the fluid, get fitted for a pregnancy brace, and make an appt with her.

Why did I go back to work you ask? Why did I go back to work I ask? I wanted to get out of the house, live on cloud 9 thinking I can do it, get Rylie back to her friends, have adult conversation. I don't know really. I love my job and hate to call off, leave early or get a doc note to be off for so many days. Why not quit? Well I am sure eventually I am going to have to. If a position doesnt come open after the baby then yes I will quit. I have already talked with my bosses and they are willing to work with me on all this. Unfortunately... they are expecting me at 10 am tomorrow and well I will be there to hand in my note.

So.. in 1 month from today (unless it changes from now till then) we will have our little girl. Oh and by the way.. Yes John's leave did get changed so he should be here by the 18th at the latest. And YES I am very nervous and each day it gets closer and closer. Yes I am scared. Who actually would opt to be cut open after having it before? Why in the world are all these people wanting a C-Section done? I don't think my doctor would want me to go VBAC given my prior problems. I will be secure knowing that John will be there. And if he can't get there... MOMMY!!!!

Ok so that's about it. I will ppost more when I get results back from the doctor.

Presidential Election '08

2008-11-01T09:29:00.003-05:00

So here we are again.. days a way from a big election that could possibly change how the US lives and works and governs. I don't pay much attention to this subject (psst I am not a voter) Clearly this is an election based on RACE. Yes I said it. The dreaded word. And election of this capacity and all some people can think about it RACE. I personally could care less if the runner is black brown, white, yellow, green, red etc. This election could also mean disaster towards the Military. Are you serious!! We have the Military to thank for saving our butts on times of need. Hello do you really want to bring down the military? Yes Military has gone above and beyond in the years past with this but think of what could have happened without our involvement. Could you seriously sit there and think that we would have been better off without intervening when we were attacked? I would laugh in your face. Ok so th person who wins gets to be called President of the United States.. but he still looks to Congress for yes or no answers. The Congress has the power to deny a bill that the President wants to pass. There are plenty more issues I didnt touch but I figured when you out down the military you have crossed the line- hey don't support the war, I don't care, but to not support the troops you should ship your butt off to some other country!! (p.s. don't tick off a military brat, military spouse who is 31 weeks pregnant- I kick your butt)

Anyway.. I am not a registered voter so my mouth will stay shut during the next 4 years. Give me one person.. one person whom everyone that ran for president and was elected who did EVERYTHING their campaign stated and they stood in front of hundreds of people for months on end telling them where they stand with certain issues. Everyone finds fault with every President! All I am saying. But if I were a voter my vote would definitely go to....

JOHN MCCAIN and SARAH PALIN

And HER name is.....

2008-09-21T20:38:00.005-05:00

I know it's late and I am almost positive everyone knows but.. It's a GIRL!! Yes we both knew from the time we found out we were pregnant. 2 ultrasounds confirmed it. Hey I still holding out for that little boy so maybe we'll have another one one day. I am happy with a girl but like I said holding out for a boy. After having a girl the first time around and having many problems with finding THE name I decided to get a jump on that as soon as I found out. Girls names are hard for me as I don't get into girlie names and some of them are a bit umm.. stereotypical. So we went with a male name that is becoming more and more popular as a feminine name. Well yet again a girl name we had to find and a girl name we couldn't decide on. Going through my usual names I had for Rylie and knowing John didn't like. We had one picked and then I said well I like this one. John is ehh not to big on it but.. oh well. We have the name. Yea the name is yet again a boy name but becoming popular with the girls. Plus I think it suits our family and goes nicely with Rylie. And HER name is... Haiden Dawn Jacobs

Stay tuned for more updates

Rylie at 3

2008-09-19T11:10:00.002-05:00

How could it be that just 3.5 years ago John and I wondered if we would have any rugrats running around- other than our dogs. But here we are 3 years later with a smart funny "big" girl. Rylie Ann Jacobs is her name. yes she is definitely our child. I see everything of her is her dad and brother and sister none of mommy. But it is ok (she has my hair). Rylie is absolutely infectious with her talking and laughing. You hang on to every word and till the end of her long laughs. She likes to dust and sweep (yea I know wait till she gets older and has to do it right). She loves her dogs and hates most bugs (that would be me in her). Watching t.v. is becoming more and more popular these days. Her favorites to include.. Dora, Franklin, Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends, My Friends Tigger and Pooh and the ever annoying Oswald. Rylie knows what some letters of the alphabet are and can count occassionally to 11. She is real good with shapes. Still loves her books. Every night before bed we read several. Day care isn't at the top of her favorite things. But she has fun when she goes and sometimes gets upset if we leave too soon. The lead in her room has nothing but good things to say about her. If I wasn't mistaken I would swear Rylie is her favorite. Always talking about how well she talks and knows many things. When she is the room during nap time, Rylie isn't normally put on a mat she gets to be up and sitting with her. Sometimes its harder for me to get her in the room without her cryin when the lead of the room isn't in there. Oh well. Growing like a weed she is. She knows basketball, baseball and foot ball. We cheer for either Steeler's or Sea Hawks. She likes to be right beside me (as I like to say up my bum) wherever I am. Talks about her "sissy" and Justin. Loves the water, the beach and family. These days it's all about daddy. Though daddy isn't around and won't be for a while, she doesn't quite understand. When mad at me or the world she wants her daddy. She talks constantly about missing her daddy and wanting him home. Everything is daddy... this is daddy's truck, daddy bought this for me, daddy bought that, daddy says, daddy did... etc ( i am chopped liver next to daddy). Although she is in the missing daddy stage and everything being about him. She will forever be a "Mama's girl". Not that I mind. Rylie is sensitive and sweet (at times) and has becoming very much a preschooler. The attitude has started!! Oh yes it has. Not fun for me. Not yet potty trained at night or for nap times but she is in her "big girl" bed. She loves it, I know Rylie is going to be a very good big sister. She has talked about the baby a good bit. (more on baby in another post). Our little Rylie.. gets more amazing with each passing week. I think we have someone very special on our hands!!

A little late...

2008-09-08T08:35:00.004-05:00

Wow!! It sure as been a very long time since I posted anything. Guess I been a little busy. Ok here we are Sept 8,2008 and we are watching My Friends Tigger and Pooh. Oh yea Rylie likes tv now. AWESOME!! We have a year to go on this deployment. Oh brother! Oh yea.. I know everyone knows now but we are pregnant!! Yea as of today I am 22 weeks. Has been a very eventful, sickening, tiring and hurtful pregnancy (so far). I have been a walking pin cushion since we found out. Had a scare and had to travel up to Louisville for 2 (yes 2) Level 2 ultrasounds (ok in our language that is just an ultrasound with indepth measurements and done by a specialist). Thank goodness I dont have to go anymore. I dont want to see downtown Louisville for a long time. (i am not a city person). Anyway.. so now we are 22 weeks and the scare or I should say worry will not be confirmed or dismissed until the baby is delivered. Being high risk.. I am advised to not have the amnio done.. I wouldn't anyway. Work.. oh gosh where to start on that? Ehh nothing big just petty stuff that is below me. (high school garbage if ya get my drift). Rylie.. is absolutely positively her mom and dad's daughter. She has my anxiety problems and her dad's smarts. She is very much a 3 year old. Not 10 minute s go by (if we are at home or together) that she doesn't ask about her daddy. She "understands" that mommy is having another baby and the doctors think she took it pretty hard. For almost 3 weeks she was waking up in the wee small hours of the morning throwing up for hours. Going back to bed after those long and tiresome hours and waking up with diarrhea. So 1 ER visit at 2 something in the morning and 3 doc appointments later... we just hit the 3 week mark with no throwing up. Unfortunately my body has become accustomed to the waking up and being up as I am usually up now at those times for hours. DARN IT!! Oh well. The car.. well still dealing with them people. So 2 months and 2 car payments later.. They received the settlement check and now I have to deal with the GAP insurance part of it. When it rains it pours let me tell ya. Anyway that's bout all. I just thought I would get a little post on here as a sort of catch up. Oh and John is doing good, homesick and busy but good. Well more posts later hopefully.

Deployment Day 20080531

2008-06-01T18:52:00.016-05:00

Ok so here are some pictures I took of the "waiting time" on deployment day. Nothing special but hey it's nice to see that we can be photogenic. Anyway.. The picture with the bus.. you can't tell but john is in the second big window. I will truely miss my honeybear!! Oh and yet again the pictures are out of order. So the bus is the last picture before they moved out.

Deployment Ceremony 20080529

2008-06-01T18:01:00.021-05:00

These next few pics above are of the Color Guard putting the Unit flag and colors away until they get to their final destination

General Lally giving his speech (above)

If you notice the smoke in the background is where the cannons were shot off no actual picture was taken because we were standing at the time

I am pretty sure they are covering the guidon (above)Color Guard

I think John is in this group (above)

The Color Guard

The band!!

These are the pictures of John's Deployment Ceremony. It was on May 29th, 2008. The pictures aren't very good because I wasn't in a good seating area and well we were just a bit far. But I got most of it. They are out of order. I always do that. So they are in order from taking last to first. OOPS!!! But you guys get the gist of it anyway.

Our new Neighbor!!

2008-06-01T17:42:00.008-05:00

Ok so its only a few weeks late but.. this post is really for Justin and Sarah anyway so I dont think they will mind. Anyway.. We used to have 3 horses across the street from us. Beautiful horses at that. There was a young male (the stud), and a momma horse and her daughter. Anyway, the owner apparently has been tryin to breed the little girl for a few years now. Little did he and all of us know (becuz of of course we are over there quite alot with Rylie-she loves em) that the girl was indeed pregnant. It was early so noone suspected. And then one day a few weeks ago.. She was born. Our newest neighbor, a beautiful little girl. The day she was born the owner let us go into the area with him and just gawk at her. He was just so surprised and was just amazed, it was like watching a brand new dad. Rylie was definitely excited. She is soo beautiful and what a good mommy Telly is. In the picture the big horse the baby is by is of course Telly (mommy) and I am pretty sure that the other big horse in the other pic is the stud or daddy. HEHE!! They are all wonderful and friendly horses and always come to greet the passerby. They have wonderful temperments. We have even fed them some hay that blew out of their land and they didnt try to bite. I love having them as neighbors. The best you can ask for! I can't wait to see how she grows over the years that we are here. Sorry so late but Congrats Telly!!! (the 1st 8 pictures are taken from our front porch while the last few were taken while driving down the road to our home)

Random remarks

2008-04-30T12:58:00.002-05:00

Ok so here it is end of April already. As most of you know, John is deploying for 15 months. we are not sure of the exact date but we think it's like 1 June. I do have an address for him and will email it to anyone who would like to have it. I will also let people know in the email as to the location of his unit but don't feel it wise (OPSEC) to post it on here. Although everyone over there is a permanent station for unit and the enemy is aware of their whereabouts I still don't feel the need to disclose that information. We're not at all looking forward to another year and an extra 3 months away from each other but.. Tis the life of an Army wife I say. There is so much to do still around the house and now they will be out on hold for the next 455 days ( more or less who knows). I can however let you know that he will not starve over there nor be bored. They have plenty of facilities to visit and a PX to go to for anything he may need. The time difference there is I think as follows ( from Eastern Time that is).. from April to October its 7 hours ahead and from November to March its 8 hours. But don't mark me on the months.. they don't turn their clocks ahead or back. I do not know how well the internet or phone services over there are. But hopefully I can get some info about that at a later date.

On a happier note (and I know it is a few weeks late but) we welcomed (well not us personally) a new member to the family on April 7th... Miss Katelyn Victoria Tepker. Wish we could be there to hold her and visit her. I am sure her big brothers Collin and Owen are happy for her to finally be there. Miss Katelyn makes the 8th grandbaby for my mom and dad in law. I think on my dad's side alone there are like 15 of us and like 5 great grandkids... hehe big family

Rylie is getting smarter everyday and if I wanted to I could go on and on about her funny little words she knows. But I won't. She is learning her shapes and numbers very well. She knows her colors very well. Still loves to read books and not leave mommy's side. She likes to play outside with her golf ball and her birdie (a badmitton birdie). She is learning to use pedals for her bike and likes to use the little scooter that used to be Justin's. Day care is not her favorite thing but pretty soon it will be an everyday thing. Naps are slowly fading away but there is still always rest time.. HAHA!!! She is becoming a very good little dancer and singer. She likes to sing songs and then dance to them. She is big on throwing tantrums now (not the tantrums I am used to seeing but they are all different in some way) she will start fake crying and get louder until she is screaming and crying (for real). So time outs are becoming popular around here as well. If you ask her how old she is she ised to say "rylie's 2" and now she will tell you "rylie be 3 soon". So she is smart and funny and cute and squishy and well all that good gravey.

As for me.. I am hanging in there. I haven't been volunteering since beginning of March. OOPS!! I did however apply for a job, get an interview and then finally get the job. Its a clerk position at the CDC building. It doesn't pay much but at least it gets me out of the house and Rylie socializing with kids her own age. it's basically an on-call position. I most likely wont start until sometime in June since I have to complete background checks and stuff. The job isn't umm... it doesn't guarantee that I am going to work everyday or all day so with Rylie being in full day I may be able to continue volunteering at the hospital red cross office. But we'll have to wait and see.

Well I reckon that's about all I got for now. So when the time comes closer I will email the address for John and then I will keep people up to date either on here or in emails of how is doing over there. TTFN

Spring Break 2008

2008-04-30T12:15:00.023-05:00

Justin taking pictures while we wait in the truck

another good action shot

Umm I think she went over the line.. penalty!!!

Rylie bowling for the 1st time

Nice action shot!!

Justin helping Rylie bowl

"do I have to eat my green beans?"

being silly with applesauce "You mean this green bean?"

"CHEESE"

learning to play "Elefun" game

helping move rocks in the driveway (above)

Posing for the camera (above)

Listening to Grandpa J play the ukele (dunno the spelling)

Wow I can't believe I haven't posted anything since March whatever it was. I guess I been busier than I thought. Anyway I had been wanting to post some of the pictures I took while the kids were here on their Spring break. It was great seeing them again and I sure miss them. Rylie talks about them a good bit still. She really enjoyed meeting her brother and sister (again). She was like Sarah's little shadow and then she wanted Justin a lot too. It was nice having all the kids here again. Anyway we didn't do much because the weather was so bad. And plus John working didn't help either. Umm so yea there are some pictures and some captions to go along with them. Enjoy...

Mammoth Cave National Park (20080318)

2008-03-31T11:37:00.022-05:00

This month sure has been an exciting and wonderful month. We got company the 15th and then the 17th. My in-laws came and stayed a week and then Justin and Sarah came and stayed for a few weeks. Rylie enjoyed it. (well the kids are still here until Friday). We haven't done much but we will be here for the next 3 years anyway so there is plenty of time. Don't need to get all the site seeing done in one trip. Anyway.. on the 18th of March we took a drive to Mammoth cave National Park here in Kentucky. we started out by driving in the country. it was beautiful. We got to an area where there were several deer on the side of the road. I got 2 pics but the one isn't very good. We went on a small ferry in order to get to the park. That was pretty neat. It was Rylie did very well. We were afraid we would all have to take turns carrying her. But she walked all the way. Way to go. HEHE!! Anyway We took a probably 2 hour tour of parts of the cave. Got some pictures and ate at the little restaurant they had in their hotel. I think we went up and down 500 steps or more. I can't remember. Anyway a little history on Mammoth Cave:

Mammoth Cave is the world's largest cave system, with more than 365 miles explored. In fact it is so long that if the second and third longest caves in the world were joined together, Mammoth Cave would still be the planet's longest cave and have nearly 100 miles left over! The first human to enter the cave was over 4000 years ago. The cave gets its name because of its vast chambers and complex labyrinths.

Anyone interested in visitng the caves.. you can always stay with us. I think its interesting that such a massive cave system was built by water. Hmm... makes a person wonder about so much more in life.

Snow Snow everywhere snow

2008-03-08T15:04:00.017-05:00

above Rylie is crying cuz there is to much snow for her liking

above is me knee deep

above is the shot I took of Rylie and the back door

above pic is of back porch area

Above is side of our house

This is right in front of our garage

Well yesterday we got some more snow. And it just kept on falling. YUCKIE!! I am sick of this wet, cold and all around yucky weather. We're expecting an accumulation of 10 to 14 inches. So today in order to try and lighten my mood I decided to take Rylie out and play in it. I brought the camera along thinking I would get some real good action photos but alas there were none. She cried as soon as we hit a deep spot. And didn't stop crying until I got her on the front porch. The snow is deep in some areas and hardly any in others. There was a time where I myself was knee deep in it so I guess I can't blame her for being not so happy. I got some good shots of the snow and a couple of how deep some spots were. It was coming up on my front and back door so when you open then all the snow falls in. I called John and told him he needed to come home and shovel the driveway. There is no way I can get the car out in that. I don't think he took me serious (he is unable to come home anyway he is training in Ft.Campbell).Anyway.. I sure hope the weather takes a turn for the better. Especially when the in-laws come and Sarah and Justin. You know we're going to want to get out and do stuff. That's about it. Enjoy the pics.

Praise the LORD-for the small things

2008-03-01T18:18:00.003-05:00

Have I mentioned to anyone that Rylie is now sleeping in her transitional toddler bed? Well we started her out in it pretty much after we moved into the hose. She did excellent from day one. Scared mommy though, I had to leave our door open and put gates up just in case she gets out. Well she didn't and we were very happy. I have always said that I will not ever have a kid sleep in my bed. That is why we buy houses with more rooms than one in them. HEHE!! Well that is my opionion so please nobody get offended by that comment. Anyway.. The other night Rylie got real sick. Throwing up really is all it was-every 15 minutes it seems. So we stayed up as long as we could before mommy and daddy decided let's just have her sleep in our bed "just in case". Well goodness gracious I could not even try to sleep. I had maybe an inch to myself while Rylie had the whole middle and what was left of my side and then John had all of his side. Nope ain't gonna happen. She was just a wigglin and wigglin.. nope can't do it. So finally I asked "Rylie do you want to go sleep in your bed? " PRAISE THE LORD.. she said "yea." YIPPIE for mommy. Well mommy ended up sleepin on her floor. Ok so I didn't get hardly any sleep. I think it was around 430 a.m. that we finally were able to sleep without throwing up. So I thank my lucky stars that Rylie wasn't too keen on the idea of sleepin in mommy and daddy's big bed. Although she did like the idea of me sleepin on the floor in her room but I havent since (man floors are so uncomfortable). Anyway like I said no offense to those who let their kids sleep in their beds or whatever. To each their own as they say. Love to all...

Play- Do

2008-02-25T13:05:00.008-05:00

I thought I would take the oppertunity to post a blog. Seems I haven't been doing a very good job keeping it up to date these days. Well oh well. These are pictures of Rylie with Play-Do. I have never bought her play-do before but I figured it would give her something to do in an empty house. Yea this is when we just moved in and didnt have anything. She seemed to like the play-do alot. Unfortunately mommy freaked out a little because of all the "crumbs" on the floor and every where else. I had to tell myself to chill out at times. I think that's why I like day care.. they get to do all the good, fun and messy stuff there and not at my house. HEHE!! Well enjoy the pictures.

Watch out "Handy Manny" here comes..

2008-02-05T15:39:00.001-05:00

Handy Rylie!!! I thought I would post these pictures as they are too cute not to. Scene: A couple weeks ago we went to Lowe's to figure out our storage/pantry situation or lack thereof. While walking we came upon a woman standing there inviting parents and children to do this project. Oh how neat but isn't Rylie too little to do those things?? Naw she is good. HEHE!! Anyway We signed her up to make her own little tool box (project for that time). Little did mom and dad know that one or the other had to attend. Ok so I stayed behind while John searched the place. Anyway Rylie was issued her own pair of goggles, a hammer, the kit and a real cool apron with her name on it. WOW!! So we sat down next to the other people and kids there. Rylie sporting her apron, goggles and hammer we got to work. A little while later interest was lost and so began the stripping of the cool goggles and the hammer. Well that leaves mommy to do it. We were able to finish the tool box in record time and it looks great. Rylie got a cool certificate of completion and a patch to be sewn onto the apron. Well I didn't have the camera there at the time so you will have to settle for these ones.

The Newest Member of the Crooks' Family

2008-01-31T11:10:00.000-05:00

Finally I get to post pictures of my little brother. HEHE!! I always wanted a little brother. HEHE!! His name is Cody and he is a long haired Dapple colored Miniture dachshund. He is the cutest little terd. HEHE!! He really is a sweetie. I can't wait to see him again. From what I hear from my sister.. he is a MOMMA's BOY!! Oh well Rylie is a momma's girl so I cant say anything. But he really is sweet gorgeous handsome lil guy. Anyway here's some pictures.

Christmas 2008

2008-01-31T10:41:00.000-05:00

Well here is the pictures from Christmas. We had a good time. Rylie seemes to be a little more into opening the presents (only she was too slow). She got a lot of good stuff that had to be packed up the very next day for the movers. How disappointing. Clothes, toys, books, movies, a little table and chairs set from Pappy and Mimi, a rocking chair, etc... she made out like a bandit. Went to dinner at my nan C's house and went to Nan and Pap T's for a little meal and get together. It was a good day then later that night Aunt Kelly, Uncle Chad, Morgan Brandon, Aunt Jackie, Uncle Mike, Taylor and Amanda came down for one last visit with us and to open more presents. We had a blast. Enjoy the pictures.

Bye Bye November, Hello December

2007-12-01T18:36:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that we are down another month. I don't think I remember time flying by like it has been since I had Rylie. November came, had our Thanksgiving holiday, Hunting Season started up, and November went. I have 18 days until John comes home and then it's off to our new place for however long. Thanksgiving, btw, was ok I didn't remember the camera so there was no pictures taken. Another holiday without John. But we made it through and are very excited to have him home for Christmas. There isn't much to write about. I just thought I would start off the first post in December with a little video taken of Rylie. Setting the scene... We had gotten out the Christmas tree and the decorations for it. After putting it up and decorating it (and going behind Rylie to redecorate) Rylie played with "Frosty the Snowman". She was dancing and dancing and dancing. It was funny. Until... yip.. until I got out the camera and she stopped. I had to make her dance. HEHE. It was still cute. December is going to prove a trying one again. Last year we moved in December too. This year I am looking forward to seeing my friend from High School. We haven't seen each other since Graduation (my way back in 1998- we're old farts). Her husband is in the US Air Force (currently deployed) and she gets to come home for the holiday. Anyway.. December.. what a marvelous month. Now it's rushing around for those last minute gifts, mailing off gifts so they'll make it to a place before Christmas, packing up all those gifts and clothes and everything else that was packed, and heading out of State. I guess that's about all I got to say for this post. So enjoy the video.

Pics for Sarah and Justin

2007-11-19T15:44:00.000-05:00

I have been meaning to post these pictures for Justin and Sarah. They got Rylie a couple little outfits and a little "hola baby". So I took pics. Yea.. we can all see that she doesn't like the camera. HEHE!! Anyway.. she looks cute in the pictures and the outfits.

First snow of the season

2007-11-09T22:23:00.000-05:00

Hello everybody. I just thought I would post these few pictures I took. Check out what I woke up to this morning. Yip, the 1st snow of the season. It's still fall but yet.. it's Pennsylvania weather for you. It wasn't much snow but it did snow all day and the ground was wet but if the ground was frozen it would have stuck to the road and caused some freezing and slipping and all them kind of problems associated with snow and vehicles. HEHE!! Tuesday of this week we had our 1st flurries of the season.. a few big flakes here and there. Not today... HEHE!! Oh well. Gotta love it. NOT!! I like snow but.. I like it on Christmas Eve and Christmas day and well that's it. Ok maybe I liked it more when I was younger and we had snow days and get out of school but well I don't get those anymore. I am sure my views will change once Rylie is older and on school while I am at work begging to have a day with her to myself. Anyway.. I got off track there for a second excuse me.. Enjoy the pictures

Video from OBX trip

2007-11-04T19:17:00.001-05:00

Hello all, I thought I would try yet again to get the video posted on here. I sure hope it works. This is probably the 4th or 5th day at the beach. Anyway she really enjoyed her time at the beach. I am sure there will be more years to come where we head to the beach. Whether at OBX, Seattle.. whereever the ARMY sends us, I am sure we'll always find our way back to the beach. I love the beach, John loves the beach, Rylie loves the beach... HMM maybe we should live at or by the beach. HEHE!! Anyway hope the video works. It does have sound so make sure your speakers are turned on. Please send comments letting me know.

Another month gone

2007-11-01T12:16:00.001-05:00

Well here it is November 1st. I can hardly believe it. Another month gone which brings us closer to John coming home, leaving Pennsylvania, closer to seeing Justin and Sarah in the summer and many many more awesome things. October has flown by as a lot of other months did for me. Since I havent been worrking, the days just run into each other and I find it hard keeping track of what day it is. Whether that is a good thing or bad thing I am not sure. October seemed a big month for us as Rylie has said her 1st sentences. Yes she did it finally. My little girl is growing up. One night while in the room with mom and dad she said "Pappy geyou, geyou Pappy." Which in translation Pappy close the door apparently. HEHE!!! I dunno. Spelling of course is always an ifie, I try to spell how she says but anyway geyou sounds like get out to us but apparently it isn't. She also said "pee poyie" which one can only know what that is (for those who can't think- pee potty). She knows her color yellow and purple.. all other colors are yellow. When asked how old she is she will tell you 2 and try to do the fingers (to no avail). Somethings she says we wonder how she can say that and not others... i.e. "nanie" is for Amanda and banana. Well if she can say nanie then why can't she say Anni (for our dog).. Anni is of course "hedie" (again the spelling). Yea we don't know why. Since Rylie was 8 months old she has had nothing to drink but water and milk.. no formula or bottle I mean. Well she has yet to say milk. HMM... I don't know. Naps (my worst fear) are dwindling down. Although she went from taking naps at noon to 1530 (330 for civilians) to taking them at 1300 (1 pm) to 330.That is ok. Still its good time. Well now a days we're lucky if she is sleeping by 1400 (2 pm). Well mean ol' mommy over here says oh no we don't do that, mommy needs rest time. So although she isn't sleeping she is still in her crib during what we have now called "quiet time". She is still content with it although she is louder than before. Oh well as long as I have an hour to get some things done or even to relax. Umm... oh yea.. another thing.. yea we had another Emergency room visit just a week ago. While visiting my nan (she isn't doing very well and had to go back to Pittsburgh) my cousin Amanda had her at her house. Well Rylie apparently was visitin Mike in their garage. Shera (their dog and I have no clue on the spelling of her name) apparently jumped up on her. We don't know what happened next. When getting ready to leave my nan's we saw the cut on the cheek. But we didn't see the marks above the cut. Oh well I said it happens. Well the cut was bleeding pretty bad so we cleaned it out 2 times and put ointment on it 2 times. The next morning she awoke with a huge swollen , red and purple cheek and had a 100.1 temp. So off to the ER for us. Now after having some antibiotics in her, it looks good. Still a cut and still a little hard under and around the cut. But it looks good. Sorry I won't post any pictures of it.. Well, I think that is about all that has happened in the month of October. Can't wait to get started with this month and get it finished (except for the eating part-mmm holiday food).

HAPPY HALLOWEEN (yesterday)

2007-11-01T11:54:00.000-05:00

Well I hope everybody had a Happy Halloween. It wasn't so bad for us. We were only gone about an hour but in an hours time we had an Elmo bucket full of candy and a juice. I think she had fun, was kind of confused as to why people had large bowls and buckets full of candy and then only giving her a couple pieces. We only had 2 kinda scarey moments for her. The first time was when we stopped at uncle Chris' house.. actually he isn't her uncle he is cousin Chris on my brother-in-laws side. HEHE!! But anyway, he goes all out on Halloween every year. And well it was ok until she saw him. He was all decked out in a Dracula costume and paint and eyes and everything. HMM.. enough to scare anyone. But she cried and said "bye bye" so we got the candy and left. Then a little bit further down the street we saw a little boy ( I think it was Patrick- my niece and nephew's cousin) wearing a Freddy Krueger mask and hand. She didn't like that either. Other than that she did fine. At home we searched through the candy like good mommies do and gave her a couple pieces to eat. Then it was time to get ready for bed. Cha right after eating candy? HEHE!! No she did good. Pictures follow of course.

Pumpkin Carving

2007-11-01T11:37:00.000-05:00

On the 30th of October, Rylie and I decided to do a little pumpkin carving. Well It wasn't so easy for me so I enlisted some help from Pappy. HEHE! After I made the little face on the pumpkin with the sharpie, We proceeded to carve it. Hmm... what fun. It was just a little pumpkin so Rylie wasn't able to take the guts out by hand, she used a spoon. I think she enjoyed it although.. can you believe she didn't get any of it on her except when she picked up the seeds. HEHE!! I was going to dry the seeds out and have her try them but I decided not to. Anyway Pappy came outside to help us out some more. Later on we were able to put a tealight candle inside. WOW!! Her eyes were big. It was funny. She kept trying to play with it but we told her once its lite we don't touch it's hot. So that wasn't fun it brought on a fit. Anyway.. that was that. Enjoy the pics.

New T-Shirt

2007-10-07T08:23:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody.. I thought I would post these 3 pictures. While at the beach John and I stopped in at the Hooters to get some wings (for him not me) I was browsing through the shirts and stuff. Well I found me a Hooters tank and then we got Rylie one. Hey every kid needs a Hooters shirt.. Its too big but she'll grow into it (it's her sleeping shirt). We were trying to get her to say Hooters but all that came out is "hoodie". Ahh how cute and hilarious. See Rylie knows what an owl says and so that's how she says hoodie if you can picture it (drawn out o sound like an owl).I can see it now.. first day of school or even day care.. she has on a cute shirt that has something cute on it like cats or something and the teacher asks "what's on your shirt, Rylie"? Rylie's answer "hoodies". AHAHAHA!! Now that's funny. Anyway here's the pics.

Rylie's room

2007-10-05T20:41:00.001-05:00

Like her mom and Sarah, she loves stuffed animals

Yes, she does sleep with these all in her bed

As you can tell, she loves "hokies"

Thanks for my books and Pooh chair

Picking up the "blos"

I thought I would take a few pics of Rylie's room for everyone. Why you ask??? Well this gives people an idea of what Rylie loves. It really isn't hard to tell. I also thought I would shoot a couple shots of Rylie picking up her blocks.. this only happens on occasion. And most importantly.. it is so wonderful to have family and friends who have kids. It's called hand-me-downs people. AHHH!! It's like Christmas in October at the Crooks' house. I went to my sister's house the other night and got a bunch of books and a pooh chair (thanks a bunch Brandon for the chair-hehe). I kept saying how expensive books were and well, that's what friends and family are for. HEHE!! I love it!!! Thanks for the books Kelly.

OBX pics

2007-10-05T20:05:00.000-05:00

A Wild Pony that was captured

Nice waves

Rylie and pappy

Watch out for the wave!!

John and his good looking self

Rylie squirting people with hose

Watch out daddy

Mostly the whole crew

Playing in the sand

Playing with Morgan

Having fun

Rylie and daddy

Rylie and mommy

Me, Amanda, Morgan, Taylor

I thought I would get busy and post some pictures of Rylie and the trip to the Outer Banks. I think she enjoyed herself more than words can explain. Getting to be in the same house with some of her favorite people for a whole week. What a treat!! The beach.. OMG.. she loved it from the very first evening we took her (evening we got there). She slept real well.. ok so she didn't sleep real good becuz of all the noise from the other kids and the partying from all us adults, but for the first time she did not cry being in a new place. She had a blast. "Wawie" everywhere. Sand was fun as well. Getting to sleep in the same room with "Nanie" (Amanda) I think she liked as well. She went to the Aquarium for her first time (which we forgot the camera so sorry no pictures). All in all I think she had a wonderful time. As for me, well I got to be with John and my family, and for the first time ever I went out into the water (not knee deep either). It was wonderful. The water was gorgeous. The last day we were in the water, UNFORTUNATELY, it was rough water (the day before it had rained) and well I ain't ashamed to admit it, (trying to get out if the ocean) I got slammed with a major wave and rolled like 3 times. HMM.. now that was fun. Actually it was pretty hilarious and everyone else thought so as well. Well the unfortunate part about it was, I LOST MY SUNGLASSES!!! (The only pair that fit me that didn't look like little kids). Anyway, I think John had a good time. He was excited to get to see Rylie pee for the first time. Rylie was very excited to see him the next morning. See we all got in Saturday evening. Mom, dad and I dropped my Jeep off at the naval base in Norfolk for John. He got in that night. So when we awoke the next morning and went to the top floor, Rylie was of course already awake. As soon as she saw him she got a huge smile on her face and practically jumped out of my sister's arms to him saying daddy daddy. It sure was cute. Anyway, there is plenty more to talk about but I don't feel like typing it all. This just gives you a gist of things. Well enjoy the pictures.. who know's maybe I will be able to post a video on here soon.

Funny Faces

2007-10-05T19:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was an interesting day. The most interesting part was of course Rylie. While sitting on the potty she was "singing" so I ran to get the camera. I snapped a pretty good picture of her smiling. But then when I went to get another one she changed her face.. HMMM... when did she learn to play that game? Funny as all get out though. Anyway so I took a few more pictures and she went from smiling to screwing up her face to smiling again. What a ham!!! Oh and the potty training.. there is no stopping this kid. Except for "number 2" she won't do on the potty. She has no pee accidents and really no "number 2" accidents either (she has went poopie 4 times and none since- and hasn't went in her panties either). So.. she's doing excellent. I think so anyway. Enjoy

New Duty Station

2007-09-28T13:52:00.000-05:00

Wow, it has been a while since my last post. I guess there really wasn't anything interesting for me to post. This is a different kind of post tho... we have our new assignment already. As we suspected, our next place (and probably our last unless we decided to stay in the military) will be Fort Knox, Kentucky. Unless something happens, we'll be headed there beginning of January 2008. I sure can't wait.. becuz that means we will get Sarah and Justin again in Summer of 08. We miss them a lot. And hopefully they (Sarah and Justin) will be leaving Hawaii during that time (summer) so they can be either closer or at least easily accessible (cheaper to get-not that money is everything but it helps to have some when ya want to do things during the summer time). Anyway enuff of that. next stop Fort Knox... YAHOO!!! More posts to come with vacation pics... keep looking..

More about Potty Training

2007-08-23T09:23:00.000-05:00

Today I thought to myself, hmm.. I have no pictures to post but so much to say. So why not just write a post without the usual pictures to follow. I am in the midst of the potty training war and to be quite honest, I don't feel that there as been too much fighting over it. The first week I must say she did good. The second week, well.. she did nothing, nothing at all. In fact the 2nd week was like starting all over again. But you know I didnt stop doing anything, I kept right on doing what I had done the first week. She had an occasional accident the second week but it was more like she was just holding it because she didn't feel like sitting on the potty and waiting. So she held it and held it and held it. Sometimes for hours. Then alas, Saturday evening rolled around and she did it!!! YEA FOR RYLIE!! We were so happy. Sunday was another good day. Well I am into the 3rd week of it and let me tell you... AWESOME!! She has went pretty much everytime I take her and occasionally she will grab herself and squirm or she will say "pee" and we go. And even though she may not go.. at least she is getting the concept. Monday I think she had one accident and then since then she hasn't had any (of course now that I say that...). Yesterday was a big day. I had just gotten done doing the dishes when my lil cheeks says "pee" so we ran to the potty and a minute later instead of peeing.. she pooped. HOORAY for RYLIE!!! Her first time in the potty. I was shocked and yet amazed at how far she has come in such a short time. Rylie was I think a little shocked but once she realized that is what she should do she said "Yea" and clapped her hands. We then cleaned up and went and did the very cool, very in, new trendy POTTY DANCE. And if you haven't heard of it well then I do believe that for once Saxton Pennsylvania is for once ahead of the trends. This will put Saxton on the map for sure. Anyway.. I thought I would share a little bit about Rylie's new skill that she is excelling at. Lil Miss Potty Pro over here. Ok well I guess that's it. I am sure I will have more to write in the future. Love ya'll.. hugs and kisses all around.

Hilarious Pictures

2007-08-10T21:34:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share these pictures with everyone. This evening we went to my nephew Brandon's 8th birthday party (his bday is 12th Aug). Well my uncle Wes' birthday is the 13th of August and I guess every year my sis gets him a cake or something for it. This year she bought him a 6 pack of cupcakes with smiley faces on em (yellow and black frosting). Well he was nice and shared one with Rylie. THANKS WES for the hilarious pictures!! Well you all get the picture now. I had to run and get my camera before anything happens. Such moments as this are too few and very precious there is no way I could keep them to myself. HEHE!! Mom said she looked like she was a "Steelers" (for those who don't know thats the Pittsburgh Steelers football team). HEHE!! Enjoy...

Potty Time (for real this time)

2007-08-10T13:51:00.000-05:00

Well it's about that time. We have started the dreaded potty training here. And well it keeps me busier than ever. Running to the bathroom every so often. I have been doing or i should say been try to do 20/5/10 method. Sometimes it works and other times... well you know sometimes there are other things going on in that time frame. But anywho back to the potty training subject. We started Monday and I think it's going well. As well as can be expected anyway. Rylie went to the potty once the first day and she stayed in "big girl undies" the whole day. Tuesday was better she went once on the potty then and we were out shopping so it was hard. Wednesay a lot better. She went potty 3 times. Yesterday... I think Wednesday was too good to be true. Though she stayed dry for almost all day she didnt always go in the potty (like she was holding it the whole day). I only had to change her undies 3 times yesterday. Today, wow a big step backwards.. She went in the potty once and I had to change her pants 6 times in an hour (NO JOKE). She did end up going right before lunch so I was happy. She has a little potty dance that she does after she goes in the potty. Very cute!! And of course after starting it the first day, I always have to join in on the dance. Oh well its fun. Anyway... I snapped some pictures of the BIG GIRL!!

New bike for Rylie

2007-08-04T13:09:00.000-05:00

Rylie got a pretty cool new Dora bike yesterday (only cuz she didn't want to get off it). So now she drags it everywhere. Sometimes she gets on it and moves it but mostly she drags it or picks it up and carries it. She is still a tad bit too short to work the pedals right but that day will come and for now she can do the what I call "The Flintstone Move". Yea she enjoys that little bike and since there really is no place for her to ride around here she has to stick with riding it around the house. OH NO for mommy when it comes to really knowing how to use it. Anyway.. so I thought I would share her lil bike with everyone. Enjoy

Rub-a- Dub-Dub

2007-08-04T12:52:00.000-05:00

New bath toys for the tub!!Rubber duckie you're the one.. you make bathtime lots of fun.. rubber duckie I'm awfully fond of you... Splish splash I was takin a bath long about a Saturday night.. Anyway.. Rylie got a new bath toy for her birthday and man she enjoys it tremendously. It is a pirateship from the Backyardigans. It has Uniqua and Pablo with it and a cool treasure chest. Now ok, most kids LOVE to take baths and well everyone knows my stories about my child, well after 2 years of takin showers, I got used to it.. in and out. Well I decided to let her take a bath one evening. OH MAN!!! Water everywhere. Splishin and a splashin... well now I just didnt like that very much and kept tryin to get her to stop. Oh how she loved it, playin with the duckies, drinkin the water, her new pirateship... what more could a girl want? But I did good and she did good until... the dreaded water over the head. Man you woulda thought I was hurtin her seriously. But all in all it was a very good bath time. I of course had to take pictures so enjoy.

Body Art

2007-08-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

Well it's that time again.. time for new art work to be posted up for all to see. I was supposed to post this blog, oh I don't know maybe a week ago but... Anyway... while we were in Texas I kept sayin I should get a tattoo. It's been awhile since my last one (Nov. 2004) and I thought if I don't get one done now while I have a chance then I won't get another one. I had this idea of one for the longest time. So.. as this post will show I got it. Unfortunately it isn't all that centered like I wanted it to be but nontheless it is there. This makes my 3rd one now and I find them a bit addicting because after each of my tattoos (except my 2nd one which took too long and hurt like H*@&) I want another anyway so now I am thinking of my next one. HEHE!! John also received a new tattoo and that makes his 3rd one as well. He had gotten a picture from the internet of a shark and the Diver's flag (red with a white stripe) on his left leg. My tattoo is (supposed to be anyway) a wrap with words around my right ankle. The front reads "Army" the outside of it reads "Brat", the inside reads "Wife" and the back of it is the Texas Star (or Nautical star). It isn't centered very well but it's done and that's all I got to say. The pictures for the tattoos aren't very good but you'll get the gist. One day I plan to get the circle put around my star but that will come later on. HEHE!! Anyway enjoy!!

Duck Pond

2007-08-01T13:41:00.000-05:00

Today was a fun day. My sister, niece and nephew, Rylie and I went to go feed the ducks in Roaring Springs. We didn't do much else except go to little shops. But it was a good day. Rylie enjoyed herself being able to run around and see duckies and fish and to get to feed them. As I am sure a lot of people have guessed, there weren't many duck ponds at Fort Irwin so this was her first time. We should have had a picnic. I think I took more pictures of the ducks than anything (only because the kids wouldn't cooperate and because there were some little baby ones). She got to feed the ducks bread and the fish they had a change thing to get some dog food for the fish. Although I think the fish were more into the bread and the ducks were more into the dog food. Anyway hope you enjoy the pictures.

2nd Birthday

2007-07-31T10:37:00.000-05:00

Happy 2nd Birthday To RYLIE!!! Well it's about time... we finally had her a little get together on Sunday (29 July 07). I feel really bad that it wasn't on her birthday but things got in the way. We had my sister, her husband and niece and nephew over for supper and then cake and ice cream. It was nice. I am not one for big messy birthday parties unless it's someone else's kids. HAHA!! Rylie didn't seem to mind that her "party" wasn't on her birthday. She was just happy to have kids to play with. Well it seems like yesterday we was being admitted 2 weeks early for her to join the world... now she is a rambuncious 2 year old who has defintely learned to throw fits and give dirty looks. Her presents include an outfit from GMA and GPA Jacobs, an outfit from Great GMA Zora, an outift and a couple toys from Mommy and Daddy, a cool Elmo vacumm from aunt Kelly uncle Chad and Morgan and Brandon, and a pair of PJ's and toys from Mimi and Pappy Crooks, and money from Great GMA Crooks. She sure made out and the cake... we still got some so anyone in the mood come on over. HEHE!! We sure wish Daddy, Sarah and Justin could have been here. Anyway.. enjoy the pictures

Lizard friends

2007-07-28T13:55:00.000-05:00

What can be better to a kid than having their very own little "pet"? Hmmm.. I can think of plenty but for Rylie, it was the greatest. After waking up one morning, my friend Missy informed us that there was lizard in the sink, how it got there we didn't know. I told her I didn't see it but was very curious... I went on a search for a lizard in the sink. AWWW!!! OMG how cute was it. The cutest little fartin thing I have seen in a very long time (for a creature I mean). We held it and catured its precious little face on the camera and then set it free. Rylie was stand-offish at first as she always is but then dug right in to wanting to hold it and pick it up. It wasn't a very big one but nontheless it was her first lizard. AAAHHHHH!!! How cute. I love it. Enjoy the pictures.

Trip to Texas

2007-07-28T13:24:00.000-05:00

I must be crazy.. I haven't posted anything since June.. HMM!!! Anyway.. we're back from our "vacation" in Texas. It was a good trip. Getting to see old friends is always a special treat. We didn't do much of anything but you know, I am the type who doesn't care if I stay around the house as long as I have someone to be with. We ate out a lot and visited our friends. Had a very exciting(NOT!!!) day trying to get me a new I.D. card on post... WORDS to REMEMBER... NEVER EVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT AT LEAST 2 FORMS OF ID AND PREFERRABLY WITH PHOTOS!!! Yes my friends this is not fun. As the Military is strict in their ways (9/11) they confiscated my ID and well had a nice ol' time tryin to get me a new one as I had no other form of ID (with a picture). I don't carry my Social Security Card nor my Passport. I know ya'll are probably thinkin wel why didnt she use her driver's license... well my license is without photo due to moving around and keepin PA as my home address. Well anyway.. long story short (if you want the long version you'll have to call hehehe) we had to drive to Austin to get my new ID. PHEW!! that was a close call being as I wouldn't have been able to make it home without a picture id. Anyway.. Texas.. Everything is Bigger in Texas.. Well I will always call Texas my home but doubt I will ever get to live there as John as a totally different view of it than me. And before I go any further into it... I hate airports. Why they have to have so many different sections to em and so many rude people workin there is beyond me. My flights there and back would have been smooth sailin but for that... Anyway.. Texas was fun. We were able to go see Harry Potter in the movies (and we all know what a fan I am) and I was able to get the last book.Pet stores in the mall... I thought they did away with them long time ago but I reckon I was wrong. I haven't seen a Pet store in a mall since the Logan Valley Mall (here in Altoona, Pa.) burned down several years ago. Rylie was very happy to see her daddy and everytime he left she cried. Uh oh for me.. I totally missed my dogs but it was nice to be hair free for a while. I think I will end this post as there are some other posts to write on with pictures. All happening in Texas. Here are some of John and Rylie.. Enjoy!!

Reese the Guinea Pig

2007-06-30T15:46:00.000-05:00

For my niece's 11th birthday she got a guinea pig. The newest addition to my sister's family to go along with their fish, their dog Kosmo (or as Rylie calls him "Momo") and their turtle Tommy. The guines pig was named Reese like the candy. What a cutie though. Rylie was calling him/her a "kica" kitty cat. Now she says "PePe" I guess that is guinea pig in Rylie tongue. HEHE!! I don't think since they got the lil rat that Morgan has strayed too far from it. It is cute and social and will talk to ya. Rylie is pretty gentle with him/her so this a good thing. In a recent accident.. I should mention that Tommy the Turtle has run away from home. I should take his name off this post but he was part of the family and we're holding out hope that he will turn up. Come home Tommy We miss you and love you very much!! If this doens't get to him in time rest in peace ol buddy!!

Buggin Brandon!!

2007-06-30T15:34:00.001-05:00

The other day I was taking some pictures of Rylie. I discovered that Rylie knows how to bug people. It never occured to me that she knew how, ok so I am a bit naive. The more I got to thinking about it, and yes of course snapping picture after picture, I know now that what she is really doing is playing and learning from the reactions she got from Brandon. When he said "ouch" or would laugh and smile and say "can someone get this kid off me", Rylie thought this was just the funniest thing. Reactions are what keep kids going whether bad or good. KIDS!! I know that Rylie was in fact bugging Brandon and yet I still did nothing about it. AHAHAH!!! I am such an evil aunt. But I told him after a while to do something. and that was when she fell off the chair.. OOOPS!! Hmmm... could this have been a lesson learned? I hardly doubt it. No one likes a kid that bugs but... that's what kids do best and its when the best pictures are taken. The world is a better place with kids and as long as they aint buggin me... IT'S ALL GOOD!!!! AHAHAHA!!! Enjoy the pictures of my lil bugger and the buggee.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

2007-06-27T11:00:00.000-05:00

Our feet (above)

Rylie's foot (above)

If you have children then you know the wonderful world of imagination is never far away. With Rylie, she isn't quite old enough to understand what that is but when she finds something interesting I let her go with it. Adults are far to busy with their lives to notice the small things and forget the power imagination has. I can't wait for this to begin in my house. Rylie is an amazingly funny kid but has a hard time playing by herself. Yesterday when it rained I took her and all the dogs outside to play. It was hot and muggy but it was still fun. Playing in the rain shouldn't be for just kids ( I of course was only in the rain before taking the pictures but I was in it). It didn't rain long but it was fun none the less. "Wawie" Rylie says. It's rainging I tell her and yes it is water. I wished it would have lasted longer some other time maybe. Enjoy!!

Dress Up!!

2007-06-27T10:43:00.000-05:00

As we all know, part of growing up is wearing "big" girl/boy clothes and shoes. Rylie is constantly wearing other people's shoes. While this is cute, the other day Rylie was in my closet deciding what to get in to. This in itself is not hard for her. When she came to me with a bathing suit wrapped around her arm and semi- over the head. HMM.. I wondered what she could possibly want. How dumb mommy... I want to wear them. So I dressed her in the bathing suit and she said "Mimi" so I took her to see "Mimi". (Mimi is grammy). After the reaction she got I think it peruaded her to try it again. Off came the suit and on came another. "Mimi" she replied and out the door we went. Another good reaction and yet another piece of clothing was put on. HMM... although the bathing suits were cute on her, I was quite partial to the jersey. You'll notice the name on the back of the shirt is J. Crooks, YIP thats me!! I played softball in highschool and recently found the shirt in my old dresser drawer along with the cleats. Memories.. I know one day with her arm and the way she throws the balls she will be a great softball player, maybe even a great pitcher and then a pro- softball player in the Olympics. Who know's. Enjoy!!

Luau 6-13-07

2007-06-16T19:30:00.000-05:00

As the years go by, I often find myself wondering where time goes. Leaving home sure puts a damper on everything as all the loved ones you wanted to watch grow up have grown up without you. I have been away from "home" since July of 1998 and wasn't able to watch my niece or nephew or cousins grow up. It pains me to know that I will never be able to get those years back. This year I watched my cousin Amanda graduate from highschool and soon off to college she will go. Friends having weddings and families of their own and getting education higher than a HS diploma. It really hurts a person, especially a sensitive person like myself. I know that I will never get to see any of my nieces and nephews grow up like I want to.. on both sides of our combined families. Wednesday, June 13th was my niece's 11th birthday. She had a Luau themed party. To look the part, I dressed Rylie up in the Hawaiian dress and lai (sorry if spelled wrong) that her big sister Sarah and big brother Justin got for her. She was the best dressed one there. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Oh an btw.. it had stormed for about an hour before the party and the kids were throwing water balloons afterwards so they were freezing and soaked and also.. the icing on the cake.. yea it was blue and yea it did stain a bit.. LOVE IT!!

Corn on the Cob

2007-06-09T08:20:00.000-05:00

Last evening we had Corn on the Cob. It was Rylie's first time and she kept calling it a "nanie" (banana). It was totally hilarious watching her try and figure out how to hold the thing and how to eat it at the same time. She got the hang of it and even found a new way to eat it.. she placed in on the table and held one end and ate it like that. I was unfortunately unable to capture that move. But it was funny. And pretty ingenious as well. I did however capture her holding it the "right" way and eating it. In the end she gave up and started picking the kernels off the cob. I decided to leave off the butter as I knew she would end up really messy just with the corn but all in all she wasn't to bad. Enjoy the pictures!!

Play with Cousins

2007-05-30T09:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went to sit with my niece and nephew after they got out of school until their dad got home. They wanted to play in the pool so they threw their suits on and went to play. I decided to see what Rylie's reaction would be so I put her suit on and had her go with Morgan. She wasn't interested at all in the pool. Didn't want to get in it at all. Didn't even want to get wet with the sprinkler. Little terd! We tried different things. Dunking her feet first,letting her go up the slide, holding her and slowly going down into the water and of course the sprinkler. Nothing she wasn't interested. She wanted to walk around in Brandon's flipflops. That was more fun to her apparently.Of course the water was a bit cold so I couldn't blame her. Enjoy the pics.

Fun time at the pool

2007-05-30T09:18:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the year.. pools are opening, schools are getting out for the summer, kids are getting bored, parents are going out of their minds.. Last evening Rylie and I went visiting my nan's dog. We walked over to my aunt's house so Rylie could see "Mi" (Mike). After a few walks over to see the "doggie" and to play with the ball, Rylie and "Dakie" (Jackie) went over to the pool area. She put her feet in the water and proceeded to put a death grip onto Jackie's waist. Finally I walked over and dunked her from her waist down and she wasn't real happy tho she didn't cry. After a couple times she got used to it. Off went the shorts and the diaper and in to the pool she went (from waist down). Didn't like it so we sat her on the side of the pool and there she sat happy and content splashing her feet and throwing the ball so cousin Taylor can "fetch". HEHE!! It's really funny the changes that occur in children from one day to the next, from one month to the next and so on. In California the summer of 06 we used to to take the kids to the pool on Irwin and Rylie loved to get into the pool and now.. nothing...HMM!! Earlier in the day yesterday I went over to sit with my niece and nephew for a bit. They had a pool in the yard and went to play in it. Rylie wanted nothing to do with it. Maybe it's just my kid.. who know's? Anyway Enjoy the pics!!

Breakfast for the Champs

2007-05-30T09:09:00.000-05:00

This morning, while finishing her bowl of "yoreal" (cereal), Rylie decided to have a little fun. After not being able to get the last few pieces of cereal out she used a new technique that she has been perfecting over a month or so. I decided to snap a few pictures. I think she has mastered this as she did it with no spills on her shirt while doing it. WAY TO GO!! HEHE!!

Rylie with Bud

2007-05-28T08:54:00.000-05:00

These pictures were taken last month around the 18th. This is "Bud" my Aunt Shelby's horse. This is of course at their farm about 5 minutes from where I live. In the pics... Rylie and Bud, the girl in the white sweater is my sister Kelly, the girl in the blue shirt is my cousin Chas (Shelby's youngest) and the girl in the brown shirt is my niece Morgan. And yea Rylie has food on her face, Kelly, Morgan Rylie and I had just got back from eating and Rylie was real into the ketchup. (I didn't have my bag with me with her wipes) Enjoy!!

Rylie Jacobs' as of 21 May 07

2007-05-28T08:41:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pics of Rylie. They were taken on the 21st of May. She is growing and getting cuter every day. She doesn't often let anyone touch her hair and so when she does a picture or 2 is/are taken. She got to talk to her daddy on the phone the other day abd on the Yahoo Messanger. We had the web cams up and it was the cutest thing. She saw John and was instantly.. "daddy daddy". She kept tryin to kiss him and would make every face he made. It was so hilarious and sweet and sad. I am sure John was happy and sad at the same time. He is missing a lot. But soon it'll be all over and he'll get to be there for the rest of her life, Justin and Sarah's lives, and my life. Not too much longer til it's that time. A couple more years!! Anyway enjoy the pictures.

1st Pee in the Potty

2007-05-28T08:23:00.000-05:00

My little girl is growing up to be a big girl!! Last Friday (25th May 07), I had put Rylie down for a nap, a late one as it seems to happen that way these days. I changed her before I put her down. When she awoke I had caught her right when she had put her head up from the matress. Off went the pants and off went the diaper and onto the potty. After doing a few things to make time pass, I sat down and talked to Rylie. 10 minutes went by with nothing. I gave her a drink and we talked more. 20 minutes went by and still nothing. Half hour later still nothing. I finally got the computer and sat down on the floor right outside the bathroom and ordered a potty training book (as this is my first time and who know's it could help). As soon as I hit the "Purchase Now" button and 45 minutes later I hear a sound. I looked around wondering what it was. I looked at Rylie and knew right then and there what that sound was. The sweetest sound you'll hear next you the moment a mom and dad hears their baby's first cry. I said "Are you peein Rylie?" She looked at me. The look was one that was not scared or excited but like a "what did I just do? Is this ok?" I jumped up, grabbed the camera as fast as I could. Totally excited for her. Yelling "Oh my goodness you peed. You are such a big girl." I gave her a huge hug and an even bigger kiss. I took a pic of her standing by the potty and one of her flushing the potty. I am almost definitely sure that I was more excited than she was. I ran and got her some big girl panties and put em on. Grabbed the phone and called my sister and then my mom. 10 minutes after that we sat down to eat and she peed in her booster seat which then went on the floor. HEHE!! It's a start. Now she tells me by screwing her face up and whining that she went in her diaper. She hasn't been on the potty since as I really haven't been around that much in one place. But we'll get there. Here are the pics I took. Enjoy!!

Mother's Day 07

2007-05-28T08:11:00.000-05:00

Mother's Day this year was laid back. But I don't mind I would rather spend it lounging around the house or being with my kids and my husband anyway. I did miss my other kids though (Sarah and Justin I love you and miss you very much). My nephew Brandon had his 1st Communion that day so he had a little party. I did get to talk to John. HEHE!! I only got a few pics of Rylie and I together. I was experimenting with the camera seeing if I could take a pic of both of us. And it turned out ok. So here are the 2 of us together.

Easter April 8th,2007

2007-04-11T13:52:00.000-05:00

Saturday night we had company up until about a quarter til Midnight. A rare occurance happened around this time. Rylie woke up crying. I went to check on her. Gave her some love, told her the Easter Bunny wouldn't come unless she was in bed sleeping. I gave her some water and turned on the heater for a little bit and put her back to bed. A little after midnight I went and turned off the heater and she was still awake just laying there looking all cute and tired. I turned and walked out but not without blowing her a kiss and saying "I love you". Sunday morning she didn't wake until 9. The Easter bunny had come to the house. She got clothes, a pair of shoes, some crayons, candy, stuffed animals, a potty seat, a tea set from Aunt Kelly, Uncle Chad cousins Morgan and Brandon, and she got the movie Peter Pan (although I think the Easter Bunny brought the movie for mommy seein as how Rylie doesn't watch tv). I went into her room with the camera at the ready to take the first shot of the morning. "Gotcha" I say as a big smile spreads across her face. "Happy Easter" was next. We walked to the table where the stuff was laid out and the first thing she went for... not the candy, not the crayons, not the movie nope... the SHOES!! Just like her daddy. So that was the next shot. Runnin around with her night shirt on and shoes with no pants. "Let's try on this outfit that the Easter Bunny got you. Adorable. Little capri pants. HEHE!! The Easter Bunny sure knows how to pick em. Sunday was pretty calm as we didn't do much. Ate some candy and ate some ham dinner. Went to the grandparents for a little bit and came home. All in all a pretty quiet day. Not too mention it was cold out so there was no playin outside. Bed time was early that night as the nap was cut short and the night before wasn't very restful (for anybody). I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter holiday. Enjoy the pics.

more cute pics

2007-03-30T09:15:00.000-05:00

While sitting at the table yesterday during lunch time.. Rylie was being really goofy. So I ran to get the camera. For lunch she had "ho dog" and "noongie" and "me"* I try to do my best with the spelling as she says the words*. In other words she had a hot dog, noodles and meat or a hamburger. Her vocabulary is expanding all the time and its funny how things will come out. Cereal for instance.. comes out something like "rorol" and shirt well that comes out sounding like umm.. well just take the r out of shirt and see what ya get- use your imagination. HEHE!! "Co" can mean either coat or cold. Her belly button is a huge obsession to her only she calls it her boobie no matter how many times we correct her its boobie. She has taken to yelling NO NO at the dogs when they're playing around and she is up.. unless she is playing with them. She knows how to open the screen door which isn't a good thing. She can take the outlet plug protectors out and she knows exactly where the plugs go when its time to plug things in.Also not a good thing. I can't remember too much else right now. Not mention I have a little Miss Cheeks tryin to grab the camera that is plugged into the computer at the moment and run away with it. The very first picture where her arms are stretched open and she looks as if she is saying something.. yea she is she is saying "UP". Enjoy

Eating with both hands

2007-03-30T09:09:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of Rylie eating like a big girl and using both hands. It's funny. Guess she gets that from me- when she was little and sometimes still to this day, when I fed Rylie I would use one hand to feed her and use the other to feed myself. But it works and she does an awesome job at it. What can I say she is talented. HEHE!! Enjoy

Random cute moments

2007-03-30T09:01:00.000-05:00

These pictures were taken after one of her showers. She was being a little cutie so I had to grab the camera and snap a few. Althought most of the good ones I missed and the lighting wasn't very good. I still think they're good. Can you see the halo? HAHA!! The picture where Rylie is standing by the door.. I put that one in there because there is a dog across the street and they both stare at each other all day. He is the only dog that Rylie calls "puppy" no other dog is a puppy but the nieghbor's dog. She is forever wanting to see the puppy and will stand there until he comes around the corner to see her. She loves it. Enjoy the pictures and sorry for lighting. I ain't a professional photographer *hehe*

Big girls take showers

2007-03-30T08:54:00.000-05:00

Well I thought that the bath times were getting easier for me a couple months ago. Unfortunately they haven't. It started up again where Rylie will scream her head off again when it's time for a bath. So to save my sanity I decided to give her a shower and see how that works. So far it is working. It's quiet and quick. I can now relax for a few while she stands under the water playing with the faucett. She can't quite reach the hot/cold knob so we're good on that. And the bathtub has those grip things on the bottom so she won't slip and fall. Needless to say we're good- for now!! Enjoy the pics.

IGUANAS

2007-03-29T21:28:00.000-05:00

John sent me these pictures the other night. He wanted me to post them as it takes too long to do on his end. Apparently they have iguanas everywhere and from what he said they're pretty friendly. He said they get bigger than the one in the pictures. This one was to be about 2 1/2 feet long and in their yard. He tried feeding it tomatoes but I guess he wasn't hungry for them. John said he was about 2 feet away from it. Doesn't it look like the little fella is smiling in the one picture? I think he needs a kiss. PUCKER UP!!! Enjoy

Some simple pics

2007-03-06T19:05:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to post a few pictures of close-ups of Cheeks. Isn't she a cutiepatootie?! Hard to believe in 4 months she will be 2. Some few points to bring up. She knows where her toes and fingers are. She calls her belly button "boobie" as well as her actual boobies and her dry spot on her leg. Go figure... We're weaning-if that's the word for it- her off the sippie cup now seeing as she uses it just like a bottle. Walks with it, plays with it, wants it all the time. So I figured it was time to knock that ball out of the park and get her some "big girl cups". She is definitely her momma's girl as she is a meat and potatoes kinda kid. Word for meat is "me". She's learning. As she can now take her diaper off when she has no pants on or when she is in her jammies in bed, it is also about time to hit another ball out of the park. Yes you read correctly. In a matter of months, maybe less we will be trying to potty train. We're not sure when we'll start but probably real soon. As I was talking to my friend Shannon on the phone earlier telliing her about weaning her off the sippie cup- or as Rylie has dubbed "cupkie" (spelled according to her saying), anyway Shannon asked (in a joking manner) dang woman did ya sign her up for college yet? HAHA!! I often wonder if I am rushing into things but then again there are too many signs to not go forward with the plans at hand. If Rylie seems to not be ready then we will stop and start at another time but the "cupkie" has got to bite the dust at some point. HEHE!! So as you can see I have set some goals and will hopefully achieve them in a good timely manner, if not oh well- If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. Enjoy the pictures. P.S. the first picture she wants to play knuckles. How cute!!

Sharing means Caring

2007-02-11T12:13:00.000-05:00

Sneaking a bite when no one is lookingShoving food into Anni's mouth
Sharing the food with Anni

Having a sit down meal with Heidi

"Can I have one of those, please."

Today Rylie has learned a valuable lesson in life, SHARING!!. Although I am quite sure she doesn't really know what that means. But it's cute and nice to think about. While playing on the floor, Rylie noticed Heidi, our German Shepherd eating. Causally walks over, sits down beside her and starts nibbling on some Beneful. YUMMY!! As Heidi is a wonderful dog and wouldn't do anything to Rylie, I decided to just stand guard just in case waiting for Heidi to bare her teeth at any moment. But alas there were no teeth shown and they had a good ole time. After about 10 minutes of "helping" Heidi pick the dog food off the floor and place them back into the bowl, and sneaking a few bites here and there, Rylie walked over to my mom and gave her a couple pieces. Well finally I said Rylie give it to Anni, our Boxer. So Rylie walked over and shoved the piece of food into Anni's face and then into the mouth. *Nice going Rylie, it's so nice to share with our friends.* I have picked some of the better shots to share with you, as I have learned the life lesson myself. HAHA!! And it isn't everyday we get to share a meal with our best friends. Another of life's lessons.

Price of dog food: $20.99 Price of camera: $300 Getting to share a great meal with a best friend or 2: PRICELESS!!

Turtle Soup

2007-02-04T13:42:00.000-05:00

This day I saw five Sea Turtles, although I'm not sure if I saw one of them more than once. I found out that they really don't like to be messed with. After diving down just to touch one he (or she) decided the this was not a good idea and sowed me a open mouth. I'm sure in the eyes of the turtle this was meant to persuade me that he was not meant to be toyed with, but for some reason it didn't work. Needless to say, i did touch it, but didn't quite get the chance to ride on its back and skip across the waves (it was only about 2 ft across).

Tiny Bubbles

2007-02-04T13:26:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, here I am in Cuba trying to make the best of it. Although I hate being away from the family, I have found ways to occupy my time. Here in this pic I am about 25 feet below sea level and loving it.

Krispy Kremes!!

2007-02-02T10:14:00.000-05:00

Traditionally, we have cake for birthdays. This year for me was totally different and I loved it. I don't think I will ever forget the year I got Krispy Kreme donuts for my birthday. Yes turning 27 only happens once and it's even better with Krispy Kremes. Rylie really enjoyed herself as she ate a whole one. My nephew Brandon even ate one only he wouldn't let me take a picture of him. So here are pictures of Rylie devouring the donut. Enjoy!!

18 Months Old and Cleaning Already

2007-01-28T09:08:00.000-05:00

Rylie turned 18 months old yesterday!! It's hard to believe that in exactly 6 months she'll be 2. My mom and I have figured that Rylie is going through her Terrible 2's now... or maybe we're just wishing and hoping that she is. 2 weeks ago she was the same old little girl we had in California.. didn't really do much but play, laugh. eat and sleep. Now she's into everything and even trying to throw tantrums. As long as I have my mom here to back me up, the tantrums won't go far into our future. They don't work with me.. I just let her cry most of the time but sometimes she gives me this look and comes over and wants to sit with me. Ok I have given in at this point. But what can you do? I am basically a single mom and quite tired of fighting and the occasional spank on the butt doesn't seem to work. Guess it's time for Time-Out. Oh well. It's the trials and tribulations of a toddler. I was watching the news (or something) and they were saying about Forces of Nature causing so many distructions around the world. Well guess what? I looked around the house and I saw lids to tupperware bowls all over the floor, veggie cans all over, clothes from the clothes basket thrown about the room, clothes from the drawers mixed in dirty clothes on the floor. So I have dubbed this chaos... Forces of a Toddler!! So with all that mess.. we decided to put her little butt to work. Pictures show it all. 18 Months is a good age to start having chores, right? Or is that against Child Labor Laws? Oh well she enjoyed herself. And next we're moving on to learn to Swiffer!! Just a note.. the one picture where you can see her face when she is vacuuming.. she really does like vacuuming but she had turned it off and was upset that it wasn't on. Of course now she knows where the on/off button is and she doesn't let you vacuum without her helping. Enjoy!!

Bath Time!!

2007-01-28T08:49:00.000-05:00

"Here you can have it"
"Wonder if I can eat this thing?"

Discovering Soap

Giving mommy a cute look

"This ain't so bad!"

For about 16 1/2 months, bath time for us was pure H***!! Rylie would scream her head off. She took showers with somebody but no baths. That's why whenever we had a good bath time I snapped pictures because it was so rare. Life is so much easier when kids enjoy bath time. Although she still screams her head off when she has accidents in the tub (if you know what I mean) and who wouldn't? Well last night was a good night. She even discoved a bar of soap. Had fun with it and yes even tasted it. Oh the bubbles how pretty and the faces how hilarious.. unfortunately I couldn't get the funny faces on camera. I was laughing too hard. But in the end, I now have a toddler at 18 mos old who likes the bath.

First Hair Cut!

2007-01-26T09:16:00.000-05:00

Tradition is something John and I have so little of. From moving around from place to place, to doing different things each year. My family has quite a few of them, especially for holidays. Thanksgiving time is always going up to my nan's for dinner and then to my nan Crooks' for supper (so we dared not attempt to fill up at one place). Christmas around my folks has been also traditional. We'd have Christmas Eve dinner at my nan's house with the whole family, or just those who decided to come up for the day. Usually you would see people you hadn't seen in quite a while. Aunts, Uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and the occasional dog would come to visit. Then it was off with full stomachs to home where we open ONE present that night. Then we stayed up and watched the 24 hour Christmas Story on TBS or at least finish the one that was already on. HEHE!!! Then it's off to bed or Santa won't come. Awww Christmas Day!!! Up in the morning, stirring around, waiting to hear the coffee pot and to smell the aroma of it. Sitting around the Christmas tree waiting for mom to come with her cup of coffee and the camera. Ok we're ready!! Let's open presents. Around 10 everyone starts to get ready to go to nan Crooks' for Christmas dinner, where we filled up on more turkey and ham and sweets and presents. More Aunts and Uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. And yes the occasional dog would come.

So sticking with another tradition I just learned about.. hair cuts!! My Aunt Jackie has been cutting hair since I can remember and before then. Starting with her 2 daughters, Amanda and Taylor, she apparently has started the tradition to give the girls' first hair cut in the family. My sister did it with her daughter Morgan. And so I have followed in tradition. Last Sunday Rylie received her first hair cut. Even though it was just her bangs she looks a lot better. Next time we'll get it trimmed in the back. And we all know how hard it is to cut bangs with a little one so Jackie had to redo them a couple times over. Still looks better than hair in her pretty little face. Apparently the tradition for the boys in the family, they go to the local barber shop to get their first hair cut done by Punch. Since I don't have a boy, I can't hardly follow that tradition but would hope to if we did have a little man.

Pictures: top: after the hair cut and not cooperating with me to get a good shot. middle: during the haircut with cousin Amanda holding Rylie while I take the picture. bottom: Before the hair cut and with Amanda.

New Snow

2007-01-24T00:20:00.000-05:00

Rylie and the puppies had a little fun in the snow finally. Although she was not too happy with having to wear all the extra cloths Rylie would soon figure out that the cold white stuff was much more tolerable with gloves.