Growing Boys

We measure the boys on one of the walls in the garage.  We last measured on Ryder's birthday in September and measured again the other day and were so surprised to find that boys had grown so much!  Ryder grew 1 1/2 inches in 4 months.  That's not even right.

John Michael woke up last Saturday with a project in mind.  It was pulling up our rug and mopping the floor.  I sat back and enjoyed my coffee :)

I laughed so hard when Ryder came up and asked if he looked different.  He found some moss and made himself have long hair.

These boys could not get along better.  Ryder loves Levi so much and vice versa.

This happy boy makes John Michael and I grin ear to ear on a regular basis.  He's just too darn cute and happy go lucky.

I got to watch my sweet little Emerson the other morning and she and Rhodes just adore one another. They are exactly one week a part.  Precious babes.

Best brothers

Couldn't love eachother any more.

I seriously laughed out loud when Rhodes picked up this microphone and put it straight to his mouth.  I don't know how he knew what it was!  Babies are smarter than we give them credit for.  That's for sure!

Rhodes, Ryder, Reagan and Kyle giving a Mrs. Casey sandwich!

If Rhodes can't be outside, he'll just stand at the window and wait until the sun comes out.

If this angel grin doesn't make you melt.  Ohhhh my sweet baby.

He's grown quite independent lately, including dressing himself.  Jacket is fine, twisted pants and summer shoes with socks is a little awkward.

Last Tuesday I moved into a bigger booth and I needed to run a few more things up there Friday afternoon.  As much as John Michael and Ryder (who calls it "the boring booth") can't stand doing this type thing, I guess they thought it was better than sitting at home without mama.  So they all drove me over.  Ryder went to shopping right away and found the perfect accessory.

Saturday morning we got to shower sweet Courtney and her little bundle to be, Austin.

And I finally got to squeeze lil Layla again.

Fun times in the tub.

Ryder and his imagination packed two suitcases and dressed up as a super hero for the big "trip" he was taking to the moon.  He is so entertaining, it's just ridiculous.  I've already discussed cutting off our cable with John Michael.  What's the point?  We have our own reality show with this one.

As active as he is, I love nothing more than staring his little face down while he sleeps and snores.  Best.

My sweet grandmother passed away last Saturday.  She has had a few years with dementia and has had such a hard time.  I am sooo incredibly blessed with a huge and amazing family.  My grandmother had nine wonderful children and I am so lucky to call all of them my aunts and uncles.  She had 5 boys first, and then 4 girls, all almost one year apart!  Hard to believe, right?  Here is a precious picture I was able to catch of the four sisters watching as they closed her casket for the last time.  There is so much love in this family.

I'm so glad my sweet boys were able to attend the service.  Ryder was very interested in the whole thing and JM and I were able to have a good conversation with him about ones body, spirit and heaven. He understands and has talked about it quite alot since then.

Hayes, Rhodes, Ava and Ryder sitting patiently.

All of Mimi's grandchildren were there except for Johnna, who is in France studying abroad.  She wrote a beautiful poem that was read at the service.

Hide and go seek is a family favorite in my home.  Rhodes took it to the next level when he got a good hiding spot in the pantry with the door closed and totally freaked me out when I couldn't find him anywhere.

Ryder and Rhodes play great together which allows me to get things done around the house.  This particular afternoon I heard them playing in the bathroom (for whatever reason) and just died out laughing when I heard Ryder say, "Who needs parents when you've got a little brother?"  Sooo sweet, I can't stand it.

Rhodes is a whopping 18 months!  Let's see.  At his check up he was 75% head, 50% height and 40% weight.  I had felt like he wasn't gaining much weight and his doctor confirmed it for me.  She said it's pretty normal for this age to stay pretty much the same in weight but that he was also definitely below average.  Not sure what the deal is with that but, it is what it is.  She said since he's up in head and height that it's nothing to worry about.  At his appointment I learned that he had an ear infection, I think this is his 5th or 6th.  He's a candidate for tubes but since his have been so spread apart I don't think we will pursue it.

When he learned he was about to get 3 shots, all heck broke loose.

Ryder had his TOT halftime performance Thursday night.  He shined like a superstar! Goooo Ryder!

His class all lined up.  As you can see he's all animated over there on the far left.

Waving his sweet little hand at me :)

This crazy boy makes bedtime a whole nother story.  He always makes a big deal about who he will choose to put him down.  This night he said he was choosing the parent with the medium sized stomach.  Not the one with the large sized stomach.  So we were left to decide who he was referring too!

Friday morning we had his buddy Reagan's birthday party and he was dying to make her a card.  Right before I was getting ready to fold it up he announced that he needed to put on "the finishing touch"  Whaaaat?  And he ended up drawing a boy and girl holding hands.  oh my.

Rhodes is all over the place, he loves to climb more than any child I've ever seen.

And like most babies, he refuses to keep on his hoods when it's cold outside.

Takes him a good 3 seconds to realize it's on.  And then it's gone.