Ryker's Tumble Bus Birthday!

Where does the time go? I swear it feels like yesterday that I was trying to figure out if I was peeing my pants or my water was breaking! My life changed so completely that day! Ryker has taught me what it means to put my own needs second. I remember watching every little thing he did and being so amazed that someone so small could do the things he was doing. He is one of my favorite people to talk to and probably the one who makes me laugh the hardest. I love the special dates we get to go on and when he runs and jumps to give me a hug and kiss. It means the world to me that Mom can still fix everything. Ryker loves to play with his Dad but says that Karsen is his very best friend. He is a master negotiator, comedian, stunt man, and (occasionally) a cuddle bug! He loves music (you should see him rock out), Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, waking Mom and Dad up at 6 AM, riding his bike, asking questions, and making people laugh. He loves to spend time with his cousins and his grandparents!! I am so excited to watch him grow and see what he becomes and feel so blessed to be his Mommy!

The other thing that Ryker really loves is the Tumble Bus. This is an old bus that was converted into a tumble playground. They have rings, swings, slides and even a zip-line. He goes a couple times a month through his daycare and is so excited on Tumble Bus day. So for his 3rd Birthday I decided to rent the Tumble Bus. It was great!!! You could hear them playing music when they came around the corner so all the kids started jumping up and down and yelling, they were so excited! They got to play for an hour and then do an awards ceremony. Ryker got a special birthday medal and then got to put everyone's medals around their neck, it was so cute!




No one was more surprised than me when my Mom decided there was no way she was missing Ryker's Birthday party, she hasn't missed one yet and until she has to, she wasn't gonna miss this one. It was such an incredible moment to me to see just how much she loves her kids and grandkids. We helped her up the stairs of the bus so that she could see the kids and all the grandkids turned around and started yelling for Grandma to look at them, I had to excuse myself for a minute and have a good cry - she is such an amazing woman!


Ryker on the zipline - what a cutie!


Going out the slide.



And getting his award - what a great Birthday!

Karsen is 5 Months Old!!!

Where does the time go? I can't believe my baby is already five months old! Karsen is the happiest, most loving little baby ever! He can cheer anyone up, he is such a snuggle bug. He's got a touch of temper and is very spoiled since no one ever wants to put him down. Ryker tells me every day that Karsen is his best friend, it melts my heart to see the two of them together. Karsen looks so much like Rick, he even has his big blue eyes! My life is so blessed and I am so excited to watch him grow and see his personality develop every day!

Dinosaur Park

This summer has been such a blur, I swear I blinked and missed it! Normally summer is packed with all sorts of fun things; the zoo, Carver's Cove, the Aquatic Center, fairs, Tree House Museum, etc... This year...not so much! So after work on the 3rd I decided to make up for some lost time and take Ryker to Dinosaur Park. We had so much fun!! He loved running from dinosaur to dinosaur and I scored major points since he thought I actually knew all the names of the dinosaurs (thank goodness for the plaques that tell you what it is)! We played on the playground, fed the ducks, and picked out prizes. My mother's heart swelled with pride when Ryker asked if he could pick out a present for Karsen - how could I say no to that! I wish summer would last longer, but more than that, I want to have more time to create these moments with my boys!

Potty Training, Prizes and....Puke

What a crazy week! After much bribery Ryker decided he was ready to wear big boy underwear. Well, I'm happy to report that he has gone one whole week with NO ACCIDENTS!!! My little guy is growing up (sniff...sniff). Since he has done so well I decided to take him on a special "Mommy-Ryker date" to pick out a toy. We went to Target and he had to have the Thor sword and shield, and a Spiderman. Lucky for him, Mom is a sucker and couldn't tell him no - so he got both. Then (it get's worse) we went to Carters to exchange a couple pairs of pants and I was so excited to see that the whole store was 20%-50% and they were doing an additional 20% off your entire purchase (and I had a coupon for another 20% off and a $10 coupon). So, I went a little nuts! I was able to get the boys their fall and winter wardrobes for $150 - pretty proud of myself! But, Ryker fell in love with an ugly pair of rain boots - he carried them around the whole store and just had to have them. I gave in. I do have to say though - it's created hours of entertainment for us:


Then we have little Mr. Karsen. My poor baby was so sick all weekend it broke my heart! He would try and drink his bottle and as soon as he finished it all came right back up! I was getting extremely worried about dehydration but luckily we got him to drink some pedia-lyte on Saturday night and that seemed to be the turning point. He started smiling again and stayed awake a little bit longer. He sill won't drink more than 4 oz. but we are working back up to his normal 6 oz. He is normally such a bright, happy, sweet baby; it was easy to recognize that he wasn't feeling well with how somber he was all weekend.

Just a few Pictures

Ryker likes to pull the ottiman over to Karsen's crib and climb in every morning. They love each other so much it makes me smile!

This was from Karsen's newborn photo shoot. He is getting so big and handsome, I love my Ryker!

Karsen at 4 months, we tried cereal. Not a big fan yet. Look at those big blue eyes! He is such a sweet, happy baby. Everyone who holds him falls in love with him - especially me!

This is my Karen when he was just a couple weeks old - he is so beautiful!!! I love this little boy with all my heart!

Ryker's first sunburn - breaks my heart! Sorry about the bum but he wouldn't just pull his pants down a little - it was the whole moon or none at all!

Starting Over

I know, I'm not so great with this whole blogging thing; I could promise I'd do better but life is crazy right now and that probably won't happen. However, I have a request that would really mean a lot to me.

As most everyone knows my Mom is sick and we know that we won't have her with us much longer. There are so many different emotions that I have gone through over the course of her illness and as her time get's closer a lot of those emotions are hard to deal with. One thing I'm very afraid of is that when I look back my memories of her will be when she was sick. And while I think it is important to remember this time I also want to be able to remember my good times with her.

I have started writing down some of my favorite memories and I want to post them on my blog, but I also want to hear others memories of her so that when I go through hard times I have something I can read that makes me happy. Please take a few minutes and comment on this post and I will put together something soon for everyone to read. For now I will share a funny memory I have of my Mom.

Now at the time this happened I didn't think it was funny but now that I'm older it cracks me up! I was dating a guy that my Mom didn't care for (probably was more than a few of those), he lived in Idaho and I decided to be a rebel and ditch school to go see him - needless to say, I was caught; and grounded for a month. Well, he decided to return the favor and come to Utah and see me while I was grounded, of course I snuck out of the house to see him - and got caught (maybe I really don't want daughters after all!)! We were outside of his Aunts house in my car when we heard tires screeching around a corner and come to an immediate stop right behind us. My little Mom ripped open the passenger side door and yanked my boyfriend out of the car by the front of his shirt. She got right up in his face (she's 5'3", he was 6'4") and told him that he was never allowed to talk to her daughter again. I thought he was going to pee his pants, the look on his face was priceless!

Needless to say, I called him a week later to apologize and he hung up on me. Never heard from him again. At the time I was humiliated - but the older I got I realized how lucky I am to have a Mother who was looking out for me and always trying to keep the wrong type of people out of my life. She has adopted pretty much every person we've ever brought home and "mothered" them all, but she never let any of us doubt that we were her number 1 priority!

Karsen Odin Payne

Well (once again) I was scheduled to be induced and (once again) my baby decided to come on his own time. I was scheduled for April 18th but was so excited to welcome Karsen to the world on April 11, 2011. On the 10th I was trying to get my house clean and laundry done and kept having to stop due to pesky contractions. Finally, I started timing them and was surprised to find they were only 5 minutes apart. I took a bath and a nap to see if they would stop - nope. I told Rick that if they hadn't stopped by 7 pm I was gonna have him take me to the hospital. I packed my hospital bag and still battled over whether or not to go up. Jesse and Kara came over to stay with Ryker and I think both Rick and I figured we'd probably be back in a couple hours. I thought they would probably give me something to stop the contractions and be sent home. Well, they monitored me for hours, even the nurse wasn't sure what to do, at this point they were three minutes apart but I was only dilated to a 1. At midnight she finally decided she was gonna give me morphine and see if my body could relax enough to start dilating more. She checked at 3 am and I had finally made some progress so she decided to admit me to the hospital and start me on petocin. I tried to get a couple hours of sleep but I think I was a little in shock that it was actually happening so soon and couldn't fall asleep. My doctor came in at 8 am and broke my water, by 10 I was ready to go and at 10:50 I finally got to see my little Karsen! He weighed 8 pounds even and is 21 inches long. He has a lot of similar features to Ryker but has his own look as well, his hair is darker and he has a deeper cleft in his chin (thanks to Dad). He is such a little cuddle bug, I could hold him all day long!

My sister Misty got in from Idaho to stay with Ryker and help me out when we got home and Ryker had so much fun with her! She brought him up to the hospital and he was so funny with Karsen, no one was allowed to come near him or hold him. He wanted to carry him so we really had to convince him that it wasn't necessary. He tried to feed him a french fry and soda so I'm for sure gonna have to keep a close eye on him once we are home.

I am so thankful for this new little life that is now a part of our family and so thankful for the incredible friends and family we have that give so much love and support! Don't know what I would do without each of you!

Countdowns On!!!

Holy Cow, was it really November that I last wrote on here! So much for keeping my promise to keep more up to date - Sorry! Truthfully, between school, work, and family it seems like no time has passed at all. And yet .....so much has changed! The holidays were great, we spent a lot of time with family and welcomed two new babies - Evie Adams (to Skip and Emma) and Crew Adams (to Jared and Brittany) both are so adorable and fun to play with, makes me excited for my own little guy to make his way into the world! I am in my second term at school and am plugging away, trying to keep to my goal of being done in 2 1/2 years. Sometimes it takes every bit of wheel power to make myself study after everyone has gone to bed, but it is paying off.

Rick is still working at Hill Air Force Base and shows me every day why I am thankful I married him! He is such a hard worker and is so willing to put in overtime when we need it, he also tries to build up his comp-time so that he can stay home if one of the kids get sick. He is such an incredible father and I love him with all my heart!

We are now down to the final stretch with baby Karsen, I am set to be induced on the 18th but am keeping my fingers crossed that he decides to come on his own before that. I finished his room this weekend, I'll post some pictures later, it turned out great - so excited!

There is more going on but I only have a minute so I'll try and jump on later with another update and pictures.

Always Playing Catch-Up!

It feels like I'm always so far behind I just give the basics of what has been happening! Wish I could say that this post was different - but it's not. So much has been going on I haven't been able to find a free minute for myself! I'll try and pick up where I left off and maybe then you can understand why I don't get to post as often as I would like.

The end of May I decided it was time for me to get my degree. Things moved pretty quickly after that! I enrolled at Western Governor's University and started classes on June 1st. I am doing my B.S in Business and Human Resource Management. I love the way the classes are set up. You pay a set fee for tuition every 6 months and can complete as many classes as you want. I'm pretty proud of myself for finishing 18 credits my first term. It is all done on-line so usually after Ryker goes to bed I lock myself up and force myself to study.

In July Ryker and I got to go to Colorado and spend some time with my family. We went shopping, tubing down the river, hiking, rode the alpine slide, and played A LOT of games. It was so much fun, I love the time I get to spend with my brothers and sisters and their spouses! And of course all of my nieces and nephews - they are so great! Everything was great until the drive home. My niece Shy was my navigator and I think she was having more fun texting than watching the road. We took a wrong turn in Roosevelt, UT and ended up in the Uintah mountains. I nice little 2 hour detour! We had to turn around and go all the way back but made it home in 1 piece!

A couple days after returning from Colorado Rick and I found out we are expecting our second child! We were trying and so thankful that it didn't take long. Ryker is convinced it is a sister and I am keeping my finger's crossed that he is right. I would love to add a little girl to our family. I would love to see Rick with a little girl, I know she'd have him wrapped around her little finger in no time!

It was also about that time that we found out the house we were supposed to move into was not going to work out. We were bummed but figured everything happens for a reason. We got busy right away trying to find another one and found a home we were both so excited about. After a lot of negotiating and endless paperwork we closed on our house the end of August and moved the first of September. It is in Plain City which is close enough to all the action but far enough away that there is no traffic and the neighbors are really friendly. We have a nice big back yard for Ryker to play in(he LOVES it) and plenty of room for our growing family.

Two weeks after moving in we celebrated Ryker's 2nd B-day. Can't believe my little boy is getting so big! He is so smart, he loves to sing, is a huge tease and laughs the hardest when he is with Daddy. He is still a Momma's boy, but his best buddy is for sure Rick! That little boy is my heart and I'm so happy every time I'm with him!

We spent September getting unpacked (still working on that) and getting my classes done. In October we had a surprise 60th B-day party for my Mom. I am so thankful she got to celebrate this milestone and it was so heart-warming to see all of her friends, church members and family there! I admit, the pregnancy hormones got the best of me and I cried when everyone yelled surprise. I know it meant a lot to her too and the one word she used afterward was "honored". So much time and preparation went into that night and I couldn't be happier that we kept it a secret and still had her here for it!

Of course Halloween was after that and Ryker got really lucky this year with 4 different opportunities to trick or treat. Not to mention all the time he got to spend with his cousins and me with my brothers and sisters. He was a lion this year and looked so cute! I'll post pictures soon.

I think that brings you all up to date but if I think of anything else I'll try and squeeze in a quick post! Hope everyone is doing well and is ready for the upcoming Holiday season! Love you all!

Twice the Glam

For those of you in Utah who are looking for an incredible photographer, for a great price, visit twicetheglam.blogspot.com - You get 2 photographers for a great price, and the pictures are amazing!!!

I entered a Mommy and Me contest through these wonderful ladies and (unfortunately) didn't win, but decided I really wanted some pictures with Ryker and my Mom, so I booked a photo session with them anyways.

The day of the pictures was a very emotional day! For those of you who know my Mom, you know she has been battling cancer for the last 8 years and has recently decided to stop treatments as it is no longer effective and makes her feel terrible all the time. She (and all of us) want to enjoy whatever time she has. Well, we started our day at the Dr's office where he told us that the tumor in her neck is growing and if left alone it will get to the point that she can not move her head, it will eventually block her airway, get into the bloodstream and tendons and make things very painful; worst case scenario it could actually erupt through the skin. He also found traces in her liver and lymph-nodes. After meeting with a Radiologist we were told that radiology could possibly keep the tumor in her neck from getting any worse, but would probably not give her anymore time.

I can't even begin to tell you the multitude of emotions I was and still am feeling, most of all I just come away with an even deeper appreciation for the time I've had with my Mom and want to spend as much time with her as possible.

After her appointment we came back to my house to relax and let Ryker sleep for a while before pictures were taken. My Mom fell asleep and as I went to close the blinds I saw outside that the sky had turned dark gray and it was poring rain outside! I wanted this day to be beautiful and sunny since we were doing pictures outside. My sister Heidi assured me that it would clear up and not to cancel. She was right - about 2 hours before we were supposed to meet, the sky cleared up and it was beautiful!

Then Ryker woke up from his nap - and I'm pretty sure he woke up on the wrong side of his crib - he was so incredibly CRABBY! I tried everything to make my son happy and nothing worked, Daddy tried, Grandma tried - NOTHING! So I got him dressed and ready and prayed for a miracle! Thank goodness my prayers were heard and answered! By the time we got to the park he was happy and playful.

We had a blast and our photographers were just snapping away, every now and then they would stop and have us pose, but they were so much fun and it made for an incredible day! I can't wait to get the pictures back and will for sure post them once we get them!

I don't know how long I will have with my Mom and it breaks my heart, but I am thankful for every minute I get with her and for the example she has always been. She is an amazing woman, full or strength and courage, love and charity, her positive attitude and faith have gotten her (and me) through a lot of tough times and I strive every day to be more like her. I love you Mom!

Back to school!

So it's a little embarrassing to meet with people all day and tell them how important education is, when soon they will have more then me! I figure if I am going to be the expert and help people get into the right program, I need to practice what I preach!

I will be starting school June 1st at Western Governor's University. It is completely online and allows you to set your own pace. I will be doing my BS in Business Management with an emphasis in Human Resources. I'm a little scared but really excited.

I have a lot of great work experience and now I will have the education to back it up! Wish me luck!

twicetheglam.blogspot.com

I am so behind! I'm sorry! Between work and home I have less and less free time. But enough about that!

I entered Ryker and I into a Mommy and Me contest and am asking for your votes. To vote go to twicetheglam.blogspot.com click on the Mommy and Me Contest link on the right hand side. Then you will see a list of names you can vote on - click on Tabby and Ryker. If you scroll down you can see the picture I posted and why I want us to win.

Ryker is growing so fast, he is such a little boy now.


He is catching onto words and speaks so clearly. He is so funny and independent, he doesn't want help with anything! He is still very even tempered and has even gotten a little bit more cuddly. In fact, in the rare moments when he is mellow, he'll come up to me and say "cuddle buddy". OF course I think it's the cutest thing in the world and could never tell him no!

He was really excited to welcome Aunt Kara to the family. After almost 2 years Jesse and Kara are finally married. The reception was BEAUTIFUL, and Kara looked amazing! Both seemed really happy, but Ryker was having a hard time seeing Kara in her dress. As soon as she was back in regular clothes he was in love with her again. For those of you who don't know, when I first went to work at Stevens-Henager College, Kara watched him for the summer. He is so in-love with her. Whenever he would see Jesse hug or kiss her, he would get so upset. Ryker has a very special bond with Aunt Kara and I am so glad she is part of our family!!!!

Holidays!

I know, I know! I'm always so behind! I swear I don't know where all the time went this year! November was a lot of fun, we finally got to enjoy Ryker with no ear infections! He has been so happy and fun! He is growing and developing so quickly - he loves to talk and I am constantly amazed at how quickly he picks up new words and there meanings. His favorite is to hide his binky and say "where did it go?", he knows a lot of his cousins names, he says Debby (Grandma) perfectly, says na night at bedtime. I could go on and on, I love watching his personality develop and see him become a little boy!

Anyway, back to the holidays! We spent Thanksgiving with Rick's family and had a great meal! The best part was that all I had to do this year was the banana cream pie! Ryker is getting more comfortable around all of his cousins and had a great time playing with all of them. I am so thankful for all the cousins (on both sides) that he has to play with and grow up with. I am also very thankful that we live in Utah and are close to both of our families.

December started off with Ryker's daycare Christmas party. They had each class sing a Christmas song, the infants and toddlers kicked it off with Jingle Bells. They all had jingle bells tied to their wrists and looked so cute! While all of the kids were trying to hide behind the teachers - Ryker was out front and center singing along and dancing for everyone, he was the best! (I have pictures but they are on my old computer so hopefully I'll get them off of there soon.)

Next was a Christmas party with my family. Skip and Emma were able to come in from Florida and it was so good to see them and their cute kids Eric and Lilly. My Grandma Bush was also here from Washington state and the kids had a lot of fun with her. We played games, shared memories, ate dinner and opened presents. We were also able to pull of a "surprise" birthday party for Emma. My Mom gave each of the grand kids their Christmas ornament and PJ's. Ryker's were both monkey themed (of course!). It was a lot of fun and made the Holidays a lot more enjoyable for me.

The next weekend I had 2 different work parties (both were a lot of fun) and did a 16th Birthday party for my niece Shy and one of her friends. It was a Hollywood theme and looked amazing!!!

We had my Mom over for dinner on Christmas Eve, this time I did cook. I made ham, green bean casserole, home made rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy. I even made sugar cookies that turned out really good. Ryker got to open all of his presents from Grandma Debby and she even spoiled Rick and I. With all of her health problems I am so glad we got to spend this time with her and enjoy every minute we get with her!

Christmas morning we opened presents together and then headed up to Rick's parents for more presents and a HUGE breakfast. It was so yummy and we all enjoyed spending time with both families. The rest of the day we crashed!!!!

We ended the holidays with New Year's. Misty and Preston brought their kids from Reno for a visit and got here on New Year's Eve, which is also Eden's Birthday. I had to work that day and Rick ended up staying home with Ryker who wasn't feeling good. Since he had been running a fever we canceled plans and decided just to have dinner with my family and celebrate Eden's B-day then call it a night. It was lots of fun but we were in bed by probably 10:00. The next day Ryker woke up with a really high fever and I had my first real experience with throw-up! Not a fan! Poor little guy threw up on me twice! We found an open urgent care and got him antibiotics for another ear infection, he also had the flu. Thank goodness for Rick, he let me go see Sherlock Homes with my family while he stayed home with a sick baby. That night I got to stay up with him. (PS - Sherlock Homes was GREAT, I highly recommend it!) Ryker and I got to spend some time with Misty and her family before they took off, I wish they lived closer so we could see them more often!

Anyway, as you can see, we had a very busy Holiday season. Between all of this and work I didn't send out cards this year, didn't bake any goodies and (yes, I'm a terrible Mom) I didn't even decorate this year. But it was still a memorable year and gave me a lot of perspective on what is important - Family and friends! I am so thankful for all of you that read this and are a part of our lives! Please know that I was thinking about all of you this year and will do better next year in showing my appreciation!

October continued....

So, after I got back from my girls weekend we took Ryker to an ear, nose and throat specialist. He has had non-stop ear infections for about 4 months now. As soon as he gets off of his antibiotic it comes right back. He told us we needed to have tubes put in so that the fluid could drain and he wouldn't be sick quite so often. On Thursday the 29th we took him in to get it done and (luckily) the procedure was very quick and so was the recovery. We did it just in time, the Dr. told us that he had to drain a lot of fluid since he was getting another ear infection. Now he is running around at full energy and causing mischief wherever he goes. After we got home from the hospital I made one of the big Mom mistakes. I thought I could cut his hair by myself!
BEFORE.....

AFTER

That's right, I put the wrong guard on the clippers and shaved him bald. There's a little peach fuzz but you can't see it because he is so blond!
This didn't stop him from being the cutest little monkey (in my opinion) on Halloween! Thank goodness his costume was warm!




We went to my Mom's old ward so that we could Trunk or Treat with cousins Rylee and Parker


Grandma Debby loved getting to some of her grand kids in costume. She really is missing all the out of state kids though!


Out little family


Brittany and Parker


Jared and Parker


Ryker had so much fun and stopped at all the cars to say "boo"


Then we ended the evening at Grandpa and Grandma Payne's so that they could see Ryker all dressed up too.


Even though it has been a crazy month, it's been a lot of fun and I'm so thankful for my family and friends that are there for us every step of the way!

October

So this month has been a crazy one! So much going on I haven't had time to get on here in awhile! The month started off with Rick going elk hunting for a week and a half! We missed him like crazy, but he had a lot of fun and came home with a spike this year. The next weekend I was in Las Vegas for work. It was a lot of meetings and lectures but I did find time to see friends and go play a little. My company takes the team there 3-4 times a year so I am looking forward to getting to see my friends more often. However, this was my first night away from Ryker and I did have a hard time, I can't believe how much I missed him! I knew I would miss him, but I was really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and not having to worry about listening for his cry (I still found myself listening for him all night!) The following weekend I was able to go to St. George with my Mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. We had a blast!!!

Me, Nicole, Jessica, Amber and Lexi (Niece)

This is Rick's Grandma's back yard, her home is BEAUTIFUL and the view was amazing!

We spent Saturday hiking Snow canyon and sight seeing all the historical sites.





Then went to Grandpa Chuck's grave


But the whole reason for the trip was that my mother-in-law got all of us tickets to a show called Thriller put on by the Odyssey Dance Company. All I can tell you is that the show was amazing!! They tour in Utah for the month of October, so if you're local or will be visiting next year - I highly recommend getting tickets!

This is the stairway into the theater - an outdoor amphitheater, it was beautiful and a great place to put on a Halloween show.

The zombies walk around before the show and try to scare everyone, they succeeded a couple times but this time I actually got her to laugh. This is my high fashion pose.


Me, Amber and Lexi

Lexi's new boyfriend

This was our scary pose, I guess you can see why they are in the show and we aren't!

It was such a fun weekend and a great chance to get to know my in-laws better. So glad I went and can't wait for next year!

To be continued....

Family Pictures 2009