Ryley 9 months

Okay.... Okay... so you're probably thinking "Ryley isn't 9 months!".  so I'm a bit late in posting these pictures considering he'll be 11 months in just a couple weeks.  Oh well! :)  I took some pictures in New York while we had the nice fall colors.  I can't believe how big he's getting!  I realized later that I had happened to dress him in the same EXACT outfit I put Grayson in for his 9 month pictures.  There's one of Grayson below.  The wonderful photographer, Chelle, took his picture.  I love seeing how the boys are very similar, yet different in their own ways.  While they have similar features, their personalities are different.  Grayson was a mover, but not to the extent Ryley is!  I can't sit on the floor with Ryley without him constantly coming over to crawl all over me.  He'll crawl into my lap, stand up, nuzzle in, then leave.  30 seconds later it's all over again!  He also chews on EVERYTHING unlike his big brother who wouldn't even chew on teething toys.  Will made the comment before he left that Ryley is going to be the athletic one.  I think he's right!  Grayson may do soccer or something, but Ryley is the one that is already showing the enjoyment of getting physical and wrestling around.  Grayson was always content sitting in your lap looking at books.  :)  

Ryley weighed 19 lbs and was almost 30" at his 9 month check up.  He's starting to catch up to his big brother in the % range!

Harvest Party and fun

Grayson's "Harvest Party" at school was Friday.  I was able to sneak away for a few minutes to go watch his class sing their song and do a quick craft with him. I was worried he may be upset when I had to leave, but he was only worried about whether or not he'd get one of his turkey cookies to eat at their "feast" that mommy made for his class. :)  Here he is ready to sing his song for the parents!

Although he chases Bailey, our cat, all over the house and tackles her... he sure does love his kitty.  Here he's sitting in front of the laundry room door where she was at for a time out since she peed on the floor.  He had let her out prior to this picture so when I put her back in there he informed me that Bailey wanted to come play.  Since I wouldn't let her out again, he decided to keep her company by sitting at her door while he ate his sandwich.

Ryley is everywhere these days!  He is figuring out how to get up the stairs pretty well so Grayson and I have been "battling" this week about whether or not the gate on the stairs has to stay closed.  Grayson prefers to keep it unlatched of course to make it easy for himself, while mommy keeps telling him no.  This week has definitely been a test for us!  He thinks he can be the boss and mommy is losing patience!  

Below are some of the things from school this week to share with Daddy! :)

Turkey sugar cookies for the party

His finished "donut" he made with Daddy at "Donuts with Dads" at
school the week before Daddy left.

 And some bath time pictures from this evening! :)

Will is doing well.  He arrived in Kandahar a few days ago and will be there for a little bit.  He hasn't been able to hook up to a wifi network yet so the only time he gets the chance to email is when he is able to use a computer there at the base.  We were able to skype with him at the beginning of the week when he was still in Manas and I got a call from him last night.  He's already working non-stop it seems like and is tired.  If you send any emails to say hello, don't take it personally if he doesn't respond! :)    

Daddy, we love you and miss you lots!  I posted a couple of funny remarks from Grayson today on Facebook.  I'm sharing them here too so Will can see them.  While the kid is testing my patience, he sure has some interesting things going on in his head! 

-He's been commenting a lot when it gets dark and asking me why it has to get dark.  I keep telling him that it's because God made Day and Night.  Every time he says "No.... God made the rainbow!"  At least he's remembering the story of Noah!  the Creation Story.... not so much I guess! 

-Grayson told me in the car I couldn't sing to his songs. I told him I was teaching Ryley the words. He informed me that mommy isn't plowed to teach Ryley to sing, only Ms. Allison and sometimes Ms. Denise could. (his two preschool teachers). Soooooo, I guess Grayson is bringing his brother to class now too!

-When saying prayers Grayson was telling me that "God keeps us safe. He keeps daddy safe, mommy, grayson, ryley safe. He keeps us safe from GIANTS too!" I asked him if he had learned about David and Goliath this week at school. "uh huh... yeah.... and he keep us safe from alliagtors and monkeys too! Keep Daddy safe and moses safe too! i wuv you jesus...AMEN!" Warms my heart to hear him remember things from the bible... however, I am curious if they really did talk about david and goliath this week or if he just randomly thought about giants during prayers. 

Countdown to Deployment

After our trip to Orlando, Will still had a week off work and we enjoyed every minute of it!  The weather has been crazy and will be cold one week, then warm the next.  One day when it got cold (i.e. 60 degrees which is cold to us southerners now!) Grayson insisted on wearing his hat, scarf, and mittens to the park. :)  

Then like I mentioned.... it warmed up the next day!  At school for Halloween it was "Pajama Day".  After nap Grayson wanted to play outside and push Ryley in the swing so you'll notice both the boys are still in their PJ's. :)  Grayson loves to give Ryley "under dogs" in the swing.  Ryley loves his big brother and grins from ear to ear as you can see in one of the pictures.

Daddy also tried to teach him how to hit the golf ball.

 We decided to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, and my birthday early before Will left.  On my "birthday" we went to the Ice Cream Stop of course! :)

Grayson got his new tricycle for Christmas early so Daddy could see him ride it. He needs to get just an inch taller and it'll be perfect.  He did pretty well though peddling for a short time but would get frustrated if there was a slight incline since he had a hard time getting the pedals all the way around.  

We had been talking about getting bikes for Will and I, so for my birthday Will got me a bike and a trailer for the boys.  Now we'll be able to bike to the park or to the store when we need a few things! :)

We had a mini-Thanksgiving dinner with some turkey, corn, and deviled eggs.  I was looking forward to mashed potatoes as well, but somehow they turned out sticky like tapioca pudding!  Don't ask me how!

Sesame Street came to Ft. Stewart last week to put on a short little show with Elmo for free.  We were able to take the boys and Grayson loved it.  It was the perfect length since Grayson wasn't paying attention to the storyline (a new girl comes to town who's dad is in the military) anyway!  He was just excited to have the Elmo light up spinning toy each kid got when they walked in the gym. :)  His friend Addie met up with us there too.

Grandma and Grandpa Campbell sent an early Christmas present as well for the boys to open with Daddy.  It was a Noah's Ark play set.  Let's just say it's a great way for Grayson to learn that he has to share toys with his brother.... even when it's new!

 Deployment day came sooner than I would have liked and we spent the day at home and going grocery shopping.  For those of you that know Will, he LOVES grocery shopping!  We played at home, Will took the boys on a bike ride, and we ended our evening with a "Popcorn Movie" (that's what Grayson calls it).  

He finds it a lot easier to carry things in his mouth so he can get where he wants to go these days.  In this case he was headed straight towards my lap!

After our "popcorn movie" the boys played upstairs for a bit before it was time for Ryley to give Daddy one last snuggle before bed.  :(

 Grayson and Daddy read books and snuggled before bed too.

Bedtime was the hardest part of goodbyes for Will and I both.  I look forward to next summer when I can take pictures like this again of Grayson and Daddy snuggling at bedtime.  I'm not in a hurry for Ryley to become a toddler and Grayson to grow up, but I am in a hurry for their Daddy to come home!  Thank goodness for internet access and the technology we have today so that we can be able to send pictures to him and Skype with him!  

We love you lots Daddy and can't wait to see you again soon on Skype!