Crawfish boil

My brother held his 5th annual crawfish boil this weekend, and we somehow pulled the boys and their stuff together to attend. It isn't easy packing and traveling with all the necessary items, but we couldn't imagine missing the party. My brother once again had shirts made, and he was able to get a small one for Ryland this year. Ryland was elated to have a shirt like everyone else.

Reed loved being social and stayed awake and alert most of the late afternoon and early evening. Both Ryland and Reed were total chick magnets. All the ladies thought they were so adorable. (I have to agree!)


We had a great time cooking, eating, drinking, and visiting with family and friends. Ryland made friends with the little girl next door, and she gave him some of her glow sticks. They ran around the backyard swinging them around all night. Ryland couldn't get enough of them, so he even slept with the glow sticks.

Lake trip

We spent the afternoon on Uncle Clint and Aunt Kristi's new boat. Ryland was pretty hesitant at first, but he quickly got over it. He wasn't a big fan of the life jacket, but who really is. We cruised around the lake for a bit and then stopped to hang out and chat. We let the boys take off the life jackets to enjoy a snack. Grandpa Dave, Ryland, John Chris, and Reed looked too cool in their sunglasses.


Poor baby Reed is such a trooper. The infant life jacket was such a bulky contraption with the neck float. He didn't whine or cry though. He was happy and content as always.

Aunt Kristi held on to Itsy as we cruised around. Notice that Itsy has a life jacket on as well. Whatever works!

Poor Ryland

My sweet Ryland woke up feeling worse today. I finally got his temp under 100 after motrin and tylenol, but it peaked at 103.5. He can't tell me where he is hurting. He just says "RyRy hurt". I have checked him over and can't find a thing wrong. I noticed that he keeps rubbing the lower right back side of his head. I gently rubbed, and I can feel a small bump, but it could just be a lymph node. Since we are supposed to leave town tomorrow, I decided to go ahead and take him to the doctor.

The doctor checked him out and did a strep test. The test came back negative, and she could see any area of concern either. She diagnosed him with a viral infection and told me to continue the pain relievers. She went ahead and gave him an antibiotic just in case. Again I was told to keep the boys apart and wash everything.

Guest bedroom - before & after

BeforeAfter

I have been slacking on the house progress updates lately. I guess I have been a little busy. We are finished with the upstairs guest bedroom, and we are pleased with the results. The room was originally the teenage son's room before we purchased the house. Needless to say, it smelled like a teenage boy also.

We started with the electric blue walls. After patching all the holes, we painted 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of fresh paint. The room got new carpet and pad, taller baseboards, ceiling fan, and electrical switches. One thing that I absolutely loved about this house when we bought it was the plantation shutters. As you can see a little in the before picture, the shutters in this room were busted up and missing several louvre pins. I found a great website for shutter replacement parts. Ryland and I spent a full day just cleaning the shutters, window seal, & window; replacing the shutter pins; and repairing the cracked louvres.

The guest room is complete and ready for more visitors!

Upstairs bath - before & after

Before - guest sink
After - guest sink

Before - bathroom

After - bathroom

Before - Ryland's sink

After - Ryland's sink

After - shower tile detail

The upstairs bathroom was a challenge to say the least. It seems like it took forever and had a new issue every time we turned around. We started demolition the first week we moved in the house, and the bathroom was functional about 3-4 weeks later. The little finishing details took forever! We made a joke about this being the bathroom from hell. The changes are too many to list, and we love the finished room. When I look at it, I get excited about remodeling the master bathroom. I am not quite ready to start that project yet. A little break first.

Silly boys

Reed took a ride on the surfboard mat. It is a tummy time toy, but he loves to "surf" on his back also. He loves the flash on the camera.

Has anyone seen Ryland? I just don't know where he could be.

He discovered that he can climb in the cabinets and hide. He thinks it is hilarious. The cabinets are completely empty, because we will be removing when we remodel the bathroom. Until then, they are a new play area.

Easter 2011

The Easter bunny left baskets for the boys. Ryland ran to his basket and started digging through it to see what new stuff was left for him. He grabbed the boat and monster truck right away.
Reed was a bit more laid back about his Easter basket. I love his expression. He is like "whatever".

After church I tried to take a few shots of Ryland, but he kept giving me frownie faces. Awwwww, how sad.

I finally got a cheese out of him!

We changed out of our church clothes and got busy decorating eggs.

We had a great time coloring and decorating the eggs. We talked about all the different colors and put lots of stickers on the eggs.

Ryland took a nap, and the Easter bunny came back by the house to hide the eggs. As soon as he woke up, we headed to the yard to find them.

Cooper wanted in on the fun as well. He would try to snatch the eggs that Ryland was hunting. I guess he thought they looked like balls.

He is so proud of himself!

John Chris bonds with Reed while recording Ryland hunting for eggs. How cute!

Work day

We spent Good Friday working on the flower beds. It started out as just pulling some old ratty bushes out of the backyard, but it quickly grew to a complete overall in the front. Every bush in the backyard was removed except for one, and about 75% of the front yard was removed. All the old mulch and leaves were removed, and the plants were rearranged and grouped to our liking. We trimmed the old bushes that remained and fertilized everything. A truck load of fresh mulch polished off all our hard work. The only thing that is missing is the seasonal color. A little bit of yellow lantana, and we are done.

It was quite an undertaking, and we all worked hard. Ryland was right in the middle of things. He pulled out his rake and jumped in to help. He had a blast playing in the leaves and dirt. He was completely worn out and didn't want to take a nap, but I finally got him inside for a little shut eye.
Reed was a great supervisor. We brought his swing out on the front porch, so he could be with the family. He hung out and took a nap. He loves being outdoors.

A dip in the chilly water was the perfect way to cool off after a hard day.

No motor - no problem

Ryland's boat doesn't have a motor, but who needs one when you have Daddy. He loves playing in this boat even out of the pool. The water is still a little chilly to enjoy, so the boat is tons of fun while still in the water.

Cooper's calm buddy

Cooper and Reed are great buddies. I think Cooper loves to help take care of Reed. He is always right by his side and is still very protective. I was able to catch a quick picture of them both catching some Zs.

Easter party

Massive egg hunt time! Since Ryland is so interested in hunting eggs this year, we headed to the local park for an Easter party.

Jackpot! Look at these huge eggs! Ryland headed over to the massive eggs at the base of the tree. He was a little confused when he looked inside and there wasn't a treat. I explained that they were just decorations, and he quickly forgot about them.

After hunting eggs for a little while, we took a break to play on the playground. Our play time was cut short, because it started to rain. Ryland didn't want to leave, but then I reminded him about all the eggs he had found. Suddenly, he was headed to the truck saying "eggs, momma, eggs in the truck".

Play group Easter party

We had an awesome Easter party with our play group. The kiddos had treats, eggs, and a bounce house. Tamara did a fantastic job planning and organizing the party. It was a ton of fun!

Ryland and Harker enjoyed a wagon ride. Nicole snapped this photo as I pulled them along the fence in the shade - all while holding Reed. Multitasker has become my first name these days.


Time to hunt for eggs. The kids run out to find the eggs.

Ryland quickly finds some eggs to put in his bunny basket.

On the hunt for more eggs. Ryland really got into it this year. He was running and grabbing every egg he could get his hands on.

Time to jump in the bounce house.

Trying to put on the bunny ears. I tried explaining that they go on the top of his head, but he wanted to wear them on the back of his head.

Reed was worn out from all the morning festivities. Nap please!

Smiling Reed

Reed smiled for the first time yesterday. I was holding him and chatting in my high pitch baby talk when I saw the cutest grin on Reed's face. I couldn't snap a picture of the actual first smile, but I caught a few little grins today. Absolutely adorable.