Merry Christmas!!

It's funny to see what other family members will get your child, especially if they KNOW that it will be lots of fun for us, the parents! Thank you Opa!! (Just kidding, the music set is really cool, and we had no way of knowing how quickly Rylie would learn how to play some of the instruments!)

Let's just say it this way... I think we all overdid it just a bit with presents! Rylie would have been happy with like two. :) But it was so much fun getting to see her play with everything, and enjoying all the gifts. We had such a nice time with family, and wished we could have been with all of our family and friends (maybe someday!) Our thoughts and prayers are with Grandaddy Rylander and Grandpa Don Hobbs, we hope you both get well soon!! We love you all, and hopefully will be able to visit everyone one of these days! And thank you for all the cards and gifts we received also! All I know is, thank goodness Tracy is having a baby, because the spoiling needs to be spread out a little bit, ha!








We will be spending the next few days together and getting as much time with Chris as we can - for the next four months he will be in Edgemont, South Dakota for training for BNSF Railroad. I will be making the road trip with him up there, and hopefully we will have time to stop and see some things along the way (such as Arches National Park, for example). I will then fly back home on Sunday. We will miss daddy very much, but I'm sure Rylie and I will make it out there at least a couple times to visit. We will keep you all posted as to what happens next, and where the move might take us - as of right now we are not sure! But we are excited for this journey, and so thankful that Chris landed such an amazing job and opportunity.

Getting ready for the Holidays!

So, it's official. We are dealing with a toddler now (and yes, they are sometimes terrible). We're getting the screaming, tantrum-throwing, sippy cup/books/food throwing, couch jumping, nap and sleep fighting fun. It's sometimes tough but we manage to make it threw the day, sometimes with tears (not only Rylie's) and sometimes not. But with the terrible toddler antics, we're also getting the loving hugs and kisses (best thing in the WORLD), the array of animal noises, the ability to amaze us with things she's picked up without us even realizing it, the laughs and giggles, the playtime, and everything else wonderful that a one and a half year old can do. She's great and sweet at most times, and just has a hint of that naughty side. ;) Don't they all?



My mom, sister and I took Rylie to get pictures done with Santa. It didn't really go over that well (hence why I am in the picture). As Aunt Tracy lowered her down to sit on Santa's lap, Rylie clung to her shirt with a death grip and the tears and wails started to flow. Of course while feeling bad for Rylie, I have to admit it was pretty hilarious. We tried for a bit more to get her to let go of Tracy, contemplated leaving all together, but then I finally just sat with her and tried to get a good pic. We tried right? That's what counts anyways, and will be a memorable picture for later on.


It's been so much fun shopping for Rylie for Christmas - it's just too easy at this age, and it gets hard to stop getting her things. I know she doesn't yet know what this all means, but I hope she will have fun opening all her gifts and reading her new books. And I know we will all have fun watching her, because after all, she is our little entertainer. Case in point, our video of Rylie showing off her best moves. Enjoy:

Happy (Late) Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with the family up at Grandpa's house in Camp Verde. The orange leaves and crisp air really added to the Thanksgiving feel, and we had such a nice time outside and inside with the fire places going. We took some pictures, but I can't share too many here (be looking for our Christmas card!) Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday... now Christmas is coming up way too fast! :)

Oh what fun...

... you can have at good ol' Target! Here's your Rylie cuteness for the day, enjoy! :)

Miss Mess-maker on the loose

Meow!!

Happy Halloween from the Brocks and their cutest little pink kitty cat EVER! :)

And on another note... we have a swing 0bsessed child on our hands at the moment. One at Nana's and one at home, and this kid just can't get enough.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Right now...

...we love to try on new shoes,

play in the rain,


chase after rainbows in the desert,

eat/color with crayons,


watch some good cartoons (if only for less than five minutes),

take walks with the dogs around the yard,

stop for a drink...

...and a smile,

help Nana water her plants,

and play in my new sandbox,

with green sand stuck between my toes. :)

Only two more years in my twenties?!!

Say it isn't TRUE!?? Ah, yes, two more years until I'm thirty (scary!) I started out my 28th birthday with a much-needed haircut and shopping trip with my sister, while Rylie stayed at home with daddy. Then later on was treated to a fabulous dinner where I ate sushi for only like the third time in my entire life (yes I know I'm crazy... I guess I keep forgetting how yummy it is!) and grilled shrimp, chicken and fried rice! And of course, because you know we can't be without, a delicious chocolate ice cream cake for dessert! My day was perfect, and thought it couldn't get any better - until my mom and Todd offered to babysit for the night! Happy Birthday to me! :) And thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes!

Can't believe it's almost October...

How did the time fly by so fast?! I know I say this all the time, but wow, time has really flown by. It's almost my birthday already! (And no, I do NOT feel 28 yet. Not by a long shot!) A couple weeks ago my sister, Rylie and I made a surprise trip down to Albuquerque to see my dad for his birthday! He was totally shocked and we had a blast with everyone. Picked up some roasted green chile to take home, watched a movie at dad's "outdoor theater", and celebrated with family with what else - a good old fashioned BBQ. Rylie just loved it at dad's house and in the backyard, and the weather could not have been better. Coming from over 100 degree weather (yes, still!!) the cool and crisp mornings and evenings felt fabulous! One night I even got COLD, yes COLD - and it felt great!





And the reason why I've been too busy to make a blog post is because my child has learned to climb onto the couch. Very scary! But she has yet to learn that you can't get too close to the edge without falling off, or how to get down without hitting your head - so if she's on the couch I pretty much have to be right there waiting for the inevitable. But it is pretty hilarious watching her get mad because she can't get up right away - man, this child is part monkey I swear! Just hope this doesn't lead to climbing out of her crib, yikes!

And of course, last but definitely not least, Rylie received her first camo from Aunt Tracy and Grandpa Todd, much to her daddy's delight! Do we see a princess hunter in the near future (or at least a gal that will go shooting with her daddy!)

Gotta love it!

Just some of the adorable things Rylie does on a daily basis -
it's just amazing how quickly she is learning new things!

The first time around!

So yes, this is our first child. And yes, we have a lot of learning to do. Luckily, I have many mom friends who give me advice and help me out with things pretty often - one of these things being Rylie's sleeping schedule. For a long time now, I've known that my child was a late nighter and early waker (or so I thought!) Here I was, putting up with her SUPER fussy antics on a nightly basis, from about 7pm to 9-10pm, when I could finally get her to sleep. Needless to say, once I finally accomplished my task, I was so worn out from fighting with her to go to bed that I was exhausted, and pretty much hit the pillow right after. When the topic of bedtime would come up with other moms, I was stunned that most of their kiddos would go to sleep at 7pm! Umm... WHAT?! And they would sleep until at least 7am!! Again... WHAT?! I didn't know what to do with this information, and figured one evening, let's try it, why not?! Well, wouldn't you know, she fell asleep... without the normal fighting! I was shocked, and pretty much figured it was a one time only deal - or that she would be up and ready to play around 4am. However, it worked. She woke up at her normal time, around 7am. The kid SLEPT 12 HOURS. I had HOURS in the evening to myself or spending time with Chris, which has been pretty unheard of for the past 15 months or so. It is fabulous. I cannot say enough about it. So far, it's been a week, and she's only veered off schedule one time so far (and I think that's because she's also teething - what a great time for an experiment huh?) Let's just hope this keeps on working... because I had forgotten what alone, quiet time was like - and I really missed it!

And here are some latest pics... enjoy! :)

My mom and I drove up to Prescott for an Arts & Crafts show, and also to escape the heat a bit. It was great, and Rylie got super worn out from running away from us in the grassy areas! She loved it!



A preview of her Halloween costume, a gift from my Aunt Denise (thank you again, and of course we HAD to try it on her!!) She enjoyed teasing the dogs through the patio door also, like always.



And... of course, more splash pad fun!! You just can't beat this when it's super hot out and you don't have to worry about Rylie falling into a pool - this pad is gated and everything, it's great! People love watching her play because she is so fearless and just runs right through the water, soaked face and all, smiling the whole time!

Is there such a thing as "Terrible Ones?"

No, I'm being a little over-dramatic here, she's not that bad... well sometimes she can be, like when she doesn't get her way or gets something taken away from her or when you make her do something she doesn't want to do... and it makes me a little scared for the "Terrible Twos". If this kid already has attitude, what's coming?! However, all in all, I can still take her to restaurants without having to bail out early, the car rides with her are mostly pleasant, and she'll usually bounce right out of that mood with some good distraction. It just differs day to day, and I guess I can put up with that... just makes it hard on those days when she's practically pulling my shorts down when I'm trying to get the dishes done, wanting to be picked up, or whining and whining and whining about who knows what! She loves being outside, and it's been hard lately because it's just too hot outside to do much - besides splash pads, which she LOVES (and mommy loves them too because it wears her little butt out!!) Once the weather gets nicer again, hopefully we can get outside more to run around and play!