Ryker is all ready for the cold weather in his snow suit!
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we had our photos taken by Tami (Tyler's brother's wife). She has just started her own photography business, Young Photography, and was gracious enough to take our little family's photos. We are so excited with the results! 
Oops! Santa got a little tipsy and then he was really done....poor boy. His crazy momma just won't stop snapping photos.
D - Diet Coke: Need I say more?
These are shoes from Tyler's baby wardrobe.
Wishing you all a fabulous Thanksgiving filled with family, friends and good food. And my favorite tradition of the weekend is the Black Friday shopping. I'm thinking I'll be at Kohl's at 4 a.m. See you there!
Don't get me wrong, I love these new changes onset by motherhood. Some days, I do think back of when life was just a little less complicated. And I didn't lose my keys....But then I look at photos like these, think of Ryker's sweet baby smell and my heart melts. It is okay that my keys are lost, because that means I'm thinking about and caring for my number one. Who has yet to roll over unassisted:
Who laughs hardest at his Daddy's funny faces:
Who does not like rice cereal: 
But loved his very first pumpkin:
And made a very cute pumpkin himself:
BTW: This is a nine month outfit ~ Crazy, crazy, crazy how fast he is growing!
On another note... you will notice in the photo above, Ryker is trying to fit his whole fist in his mouth. In general, it is very common for babies to suck on their fingers, is it not? Then why do people have the instinctual inclination to touch a baby's hand? I don't mind if your hands are clean (meaning you just washed them and have not touched anything en route to touching the child) - but please do not touch my baby's hands when we are at Wal-mart AND you are a complete stranger! Also, I'm not going to let you hold my baby if I don't know you....especially in the middle of Wal-mart. You steer the grocery cart with your forearms, not your hands.
You carry your own pen to sign credit card receipts.
You push through revolving doors with an elbow, a forearm or a fist covered in a sleeve you've learned to grasp from the inside.
You press elevator buttons with an elbow, a knuckle or a pen tip.
You open the "L" door with your elbow and grip the bus strap only if you're wearing gloves.
You stock up on Clorox wipes and use them on your roommates' or work-mates' stuff, too, whether or not they want it.
"I now carry waterless liquid cleaner in my purse," wrote Annette Wehrli, "and I have been wiping down everything from doorknobs to car handles to drawer pulls much more often."
A couple of fluphobes in my Facebook survey reported holding their breath. "I hold my breath when someone sneezes in the elevator and get off at the next stop even if it's not mine!" wrote one.
If hand sanitizer is a fluphobe's best friend, paper towels are a close second, especially when exiting a public bathroom.
"Although by using those you identify yourself as crazy," wrote a Facebook friend.
I recently saw a guy at the gym wrap paper towels around the free weights. Napkins also do extra germ-fighting duty.
"At a reception, brunch or other gathering where there's a salad bar or buffet," wrote Beverly Loder, "I keep a napkin in my hand to pick up the serving utensils."
Some fluphobic strategies invite argument. Foot flushing? Isn't that rude to the people who flush with their hands? Holding your breath? The bigger worry is the germs that land on you.
I believe in a cautious though not fearful approach to germs. And yet sometimes bad germs happen to people with the best of knuckles, elbows and intentions. I have the cold to prove it.
and declared it a "late night". I love it when he surprises me with little things. We cozied up on the couch and had some good laughs. And although I fell asleep (as I usually do), it was still a treat! Thank you for thinking of me, sweetie!
We sure do love our little man! Poor little guy had to get more shots, but with some Tylenol and a long nap he was pretty happy that evening.
On another note, he has been struggling this past week with sleeping through the night. For the past two and a half months, Ryker has slept from 8:30 p.m. until 6 or 7 a.m. However, for the last week he has only done that once. The other nights he is getting up 2, 3, and last night 4 times blazing mad. I offer to feed him and sometimes he accepts, sometimes he screams louder. After last night, I'm at my wits end. Tyler and I take turns trying to console him and get him back to sleep, but it is still hard waking up and going to work in the morning. The doctor told Tyler that we have just been lucky to have him sleeping through the night this young and that maybe he is going through a growth spurt. She didn't offer any advise. Is this normal for a baby's sleep routine to randomly get disturbed for no apparent reason? It would be one thing if he was waking up once, but four times!!??!! It is like we are back to the days when we first brought him home from the hospital. Any advice out there?
