Ryter Loves Cookies and I Don't Like Lizards!

From tip to tail he was about 6 inches and as green as green can be!

This little guy was in my house yesterday.

Cleaning House

Another visit from Bunchie has gone by so quickly.  My mom was here for the past week and it was great!  We spent the entire week cleaning and shopping.  I really haven't done a whole lot of cleaning since Ryter was born and it was getting away from me.  I've been vacuuming and cleaning the bathrooms of course, but any dust above 5 feet (or really any dust at all) has been completely ignored.  I'd rather hang out with my baby :)  Thanks mom for helping me get it under control!  The house feels brand new again.

Of course we always forget to take pictures until the last minute.

Ryter has so much personality now.  He waved for the first time on Tuesday when we were at the grocery store at a very cute girl of course.  Vain says "that's my boy".  The girl just sort of waved as she was coming around the corner and up went his hand and there it was.  I figured maybe it wasn't on purpose, and then he did it again at Costco yesterday to another young pretty lady.  I guess I can confirm now that he knows how to wave-at pretty girls at least.  He's a total ham too.  Cruising in the shopping cart smiling and laughing at everyone that goes by.

I know I've said this before, but he really is almost walking.  Still no teeth though.  He will be 9 months on April 14.

Here's his newest face that he makes with the nose scrunch.  Sometimes he scrunches even more and his eyes completely shut. 

Cutie!

Our Weekend

So, we made it to the Wildflower Center, but the Easter Bunny photos will have to wait.  We really dreaded the line that we'd probably have to stand in plus we made a 15 minute errand to Lowe's into an hour long Lowe's, Home Depot, Walmart errand instead.  The day was going by too fast and getting way way too hot!

So, Vain took all of the photos at the Wildflower Center with his camera so I'm sure in the next few weeks they will appear on his blog.  This was my contribution.  I expected that maturity would come with having a child and turning 30, but I was surprised to find out that is not the case!

Big Weekend Ahead

We've got a couple of exciting days planned for this weekend.  We're going to the mall to get photos with the Easter bunny and then planning on going to the Wildflower Center on Sunday.  We're finally getting to a point where it's fun to go out with Ryter for more than just an hour.  He loves being outside and is so cool hanging out in the carrier.  I took him to the Natural Gardner last week and I think he enjoyed the flowers, but mostly all of the people and kids.  He didn't really seem to have any interest in the chickens, goats, or donkeys though.

I'm really excited about the Wildflower Center because after living here for almost 8 years, the only time I was there was for a wedding.  I haven't ever gotten a chance to walk around on the trails or really see everything.  The wildflowers are so beautiful here this year and the bluebonnets are in full bloom.  I'll share some pictures next week.

Here's a sneak peak of the blue eyed boy in some bluebonnets at Grammer's neighbors house yesterday.

8 Months Old

Ryter turned 8 months on Wednesday.  He's just getting so big.  This evening he kept saying "key" over and over again.  I've decided that he was saying monkey since for some reason we were all over the monkeys the past few days.  With a few hand-me-down plushie monkeys from friends, the sing language dvd, and me always calling him a monkey because he climbs everything I figure it's his unofficial first word.

Vain and I also decided yesterday that he might be a rock climber (or a monkey) when he grows up because he was doing pull-ups on the dresser drawer handles swinging from one to the other.  Pull-ups you ask...yup...full on pull-ups with his feet off the ground.  Vain's mom said he climbed everything as a child so it's really just more confirmation that Ryter is 100% Vain.

I never thought I'd have to child proof my house, but we've got the outlet covers going in full force and slowly but surely the glass shelves are being removed from the entertainment center.  Like I said, he does pull-ups which doesn't necessarily mix with glass shelving.

New food tonight: ground beef.  He loved it!

Monkey Butt

And finally, my Extraordinary son.  A couple of weeks ago when Vain's mom and I were shopping I sent my mom a photo of Ryter enjoying his ride in the stroller.  As a joke my mom said to send her a photo when he was doing something extraordinary.  I responded by simply stating that he was spending the day at the outlet mall with two girls.  How much more extraordinary can you get?  So anyway mom, I'll do you one better.  Here's a video of your grandson acting extra extraordinary.  It's a little long, but somewhere around 4 minutes is his finest moment!

A Month of Visitors

Well, we're getting back to normal here after Vain's parents left.  They were here for about 12 days and it was so nice to see them!  Ryter so much enjoyed playing with Baba (grandma) and Diedukas (grandpa) and I have to admit that passing him around between two other sets of hands was a much enjoyed break.  They did so much work around the yard.  It was really amazing and our yard looks so beautiful! THANK YOU!!  I'm going to post photos in a different post because I have to find some before and afters!

We've had visitors for almost a month so I forgot what Ryter and I used to do by our selves.  He's changed so much since the last time I was alone with him.  He is now absolutely wild!  I thought he moved a lot before, but now it just never stops.  Diaper changes are usually done while he's crawling away.  I've gotten pretty good at attaching a diaper from all different angles.  Baths are a no-go right now.  He climbs out of the bumbo chair even with the tray attachment and he refuses to sit in the tub so he's constantly climbing up my arm.  We've graduated to the shower instead and that seems to be working pretty well...for now.

So many things seems to be happening so quickly and I feel like I need to write about everything.  We started using sign language and Ryter is recognizing some of the signs, but not using any yet.  It's fun though and really interesting to see him respond to them!  We've been going outside a lot now that it's getting warm.  It was February here and Ryter didn't have any clothes on.  He loved it!  He really hates wearing clothes :)

We got a swing and Ryter loves it!  It's been raining since Thursday and we're pretty much dying to get outside again!

And, finally the most exciting thing is that he has gone from crawling to nearly walking over the past month.  He started crawling on February 9 and a month later now he's attempting to make the transfer from one piece of furniture to another and has pretty good balance.  I was standing him up and letting go of him the other night and he was balancing...only for a second...but he was doing it :)  He'll be 8 months on Wednesday. It shouldn't be long now!

We also celebrated Vain's birthday last Wednesday.  Happy Birthday Vain!

4 a.m.-Really?

Yes, it's 4 a.m. and I am awake because Ryter is awake.  Teething may be the longest process known to man!  Some nights he doesn't make a peep and others he can't stop crying.  I'm very sleepy because I'm not used to getting up in the middle of the night anymore.  Poor baby!!

Both my mom and Chrissy came to visit last week.  It was so fun to have my mom here.  She just called me Monday morning and asked me if I wanted company and then hopped on a plane that afternoon. We haven't seen her since Christmas.  The only thing that would have made the trip complete was if my sister and dad could have been here too.  The trip went so fast as it usually does.  On a side note, my mom got us a pack-n-play.  Greatest invention now that Ryter is moving around so much!

Chrissy was here for the weekend and we just vegged out. Hours of trash tv, Whitney Houston funeral, and a Jersey Shore recording.  Major contrast to the last time she was here when we were out until 4 am stuffing our faces with pancakes at Magnolia Cafe picking up random lonely diners...aahh parenthood.

Vain's parents come into town on Saturday for about a week and a half.  Looking forward to some more grandparent time!  We've had a very full month and I love it!

Vain finishes school in just about 3 weeks.  Finishes!!!  It's amazing that this will finally be over and he will be a Master.

And, my love is pulling himself up on everything that is relatively stable.  He's the most adorable baby in the world!  He's a little over 7 months old now and he totally thinks he can walk but he certainly can not.  Face plants, head bumps, and buckled knees.  He's crawling like a champ now.  Every time I go to the kitchen he follows me.  It's really cute!!!