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!

Splash Pad Fun!