These are a few of her favorite things...

Rylan is such a joy. You will normally find her playing in her room buried under a pile of books. She will spread them all out and then open them up and start kissing all the pictures of the animals. If I didn't know better I would think we have a vet on our hands... too bad her mom & dad don't like pets. She will have to go to her grandparents house to get her animal fix.


She also really likes playing with the Ball Popper that Lou Lou got her. She will chase the balls around the room and then hurry to put them back.


We kind of started to color too. Sometimes she finds mom's markers around the house. She is great at pulling off the caps and writing on herself. I think there is a similar story from my childhood where I did this with smelly markers on the wall of a restaurant. He he!

Troop Trooper

We are finally home! We have been traveling all over for the last few weeks. Rylan's new name is "Troop Trooper" she has done an amazing job sitting in cars, hanging out with high school kids and being flexible. Our first trip of the summer took us to Port Aransas, Texas for high school Beach Camp. Ry did great on the 7 hour car ride. We took a pit stop in San Antonio where she went to the River Walk for the first time. We stayed in a room with 5 high school girls and Aunt Essa. It was fun & we are so glad we went but Ry was definitely ready to be back in her own bed. Here is a pic of her on the drive home. I just want to eat those lips!

Sneeky Little Thing

So I'm loving this cloth diaper thing but Rylan has figured out how to take them off. I learned this the HARD way. Twice I've gone into wake her up and she has pooped in her bed. Now I know that she must have pants on before I put her down. She has got the walking thing down and is all over the place. Brian loves that she can help him water the lawn now. I came home today and she was naked playing in the sprinklers.

Hawaii

We are back & we had a great time. Here are a few highlights from our trip.

The first night we got there we ate at the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a restaurant. I loved it! We ate dinner at 1:00am Dallas time so Rylan was exhausted. In the middle of dinner she grabbed the napkin and burrowed her face in it like it was her blankie.


The next day we headed to the ocean to see how Rylan would like it, as you can see it was not a huge hit at first...



When we checked into the hotel they gave us a beaded necklace. Rylan loved it & rarely had it out of her mouth. I know, bad mom, I'm sure it was a choking hazard.




We were so hoping she would take her first steps in Maui. No luck though. She did however get better standing on her own. I love this pic of Ry & her Daddy walking down the beach.


We ventured down the Road to Hana & pulled off on the side of the road to take some fun pictures in front of waterfalls.

Ry loves her Daddy!

It is amazing to me the bond that Rylan already has with her Daddy. You know when B gets home from work because you hear the slow stomping of his sweet flat feet on the floor. Ry now recognizes this and start squealing. We then proceed to run around the house while Daddy chases us. You would think it would get old day after day but it doesn't. When the two of them go off and play together there is no telling what they will end up doing. It is usually some made up game... hey, that is the test of a true Lonergan. The other day I found them like this...

Sleep, Sleep & More Sleep

Going into Rylan's first year appointment she still was not sleeping through the night. I think she heard the Dr. when he told us that we HAD to let her cry it out & ever since then she has been a sleep champ. She has been going down at 8:30 and not waking up until 9:00ish. That means Mom has been sleeping in, Yea! I hope that in writing this I am not jinxing her. Here is a pic of Ry after a long nap.. her curls are kickin'! We can thank Daddy for those.

My baby girl is 1

It's hard to believe that a year has passed since we brought Rylan home from the hospital. If I could count all the hours I have spend in the last year just looking at her I can't imagine how many days it would add up to. I have been blown away at the Lord's love and grace that He has shown me through my sweet baby girl.

Brian's sister Devin gave me the best advice. She told me to spend Rylan's birthday soaking her up and remembering the events that were unfolding the year before instead of running around getting ready for the party. So, on the day before Rylan's birthday I went and got a pedicure which is what I did the day before she was born. It was so neat to be able to think back a year and remember all the fears I had & then to know that God totally provided more than I could have ever thought possible. I remembered when my contractions started and when I went into the hospital. When 5:51 pm. arrived Brian & Rylan & I all said a prayer of thanksgiving.

Rylan's first birthday was sandwiched in between two of the most important days of the year, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We had an amazing yet tiring weekend. Jessie & Papa came in a few days early to help prepare for the festivities. I truly cherish every minute I get to spend with them.





On Saturday we had family and a few super close friends over for dinner. We rolled Rylan's high chair into the living room so that everyone could get a good view of her digging into her cake. When I looked at the room full of people who were singing "Happy Birthday" to her I got tears in my eyes. It was so neat to see all the support and love she has from her family.