Crazy Daddy

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, daddy was having fun with his buddies and did a great front flip off the top rail of a double decker pontoon boat.  As usual, he stuck the landing.  He has done flips many times in his life (on the ground, off ski jumps, off random docks into snow, off big boulders onto the ground, off cliffs into water...), but this time, the landing wasn't so soft.  The water just wasn't deep enough to slow him down and protect his ankle.  At least he'll have one heck of a story to tell Ryder how we celebrated the first birthday of our first born kiddo.

Is this a hotel or a hospital?! We spent Friday night at the new Maple Grove Hospital, but since it was a bad fracture, we had to take an ambulance on Sunday to the North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale where they have special equipment to fix daddy up.

Shawn was in good spirits at check-in joking with the nursing staff.  I bet they didn't expect a patient in such pain to brighten their day.  Ryder helped keep daddy's mind off the pain, too. 

Waiting for the beeper to go off saying we can see Shawn after his surgery.

Exactly one year ago today, Ryder was born at this very hospital - just one floor up from where Shawn is staying.  Happy 1st Birthday Ryder!!

So good at waiting!

While we were in the waiting room, I was finally able to catch a photo of Ryder standing! See the video below - these were his longest moments standing so far!!

Shawn now has an external fixator to keep things in place until his leg is strong enough for the second surgery.  It's kind of scary looking, but they will take it off in 7-10 days :) 

And to leave things on a bright note, here's a video of Ryder logging his longest stance yet!! (excuse my super excited mommy voice!)

State Fair

Last night we took Ryder to the State Fair.  It's crazy to think that this Friday last year, my water broke and we headed to the hospital.  (And I had 4 months off work!)  Ryder did great at the fair - awake to look at some of the exhibits in the early evening and then went to sleep around 8:30 in his stroller so mom and dad could focus on food, brew and enjoying a little "date night" time.

Ry learning a few new moves from the 3rd Lair skateboarders

The fun DNR building where daddy pointed out all the animals - including Goldy the Gopher :)

Fast asleep!

Outside Play

Since Dad went mountain biking with his buddies tonight, Ryder and I spent some time together playing out in the front yard.  I think he was happy to be out of the house with a new environment to explore.  He was fascinated with every noise he heard - planes, ducks, cars...And he finally enjoyed crawling in the grass :) Also, while I was holding his hands helping him walk around the yard, he let go a couple times to practice his standing.  He's getting pretty good at it!  Still have yet to get a photo since I'm always there playing safety net for when he inevitably falls down...

Check out my ride!

I love my trucks from mommy's co-worker!

My sleepy boys early before work this week :) So hard to wake them!

Another great Ryder and Daddy moment (make sure your volume is on!) :

BWCA

This post has nothing to do with Ryder, but Shawn and I just got back from almost a week in the Boundry Waters and I wanted to share a few pictures. 

Morning on Duncan Lake - does it get any better than this?? A hammock, warm coffee and crystal-clear water...

One of our gorgeous sunsets on Lake Rose

Paddling into the middle of the lake brings you to Canada!

The day we paddled off Lake Rose was a surreal foggy morning

Shawn hiking our canoe up the famous stairway portage

Map of our location on Rose Lake

11 Months - A Walk in the Park

There have been some big changes in caring for our little man in the last couple weeks.  Most of them have started making things a lot easier for mom and dad.  The main one has been the transition to whole milk and dropping to 4 milk feedings a day.  This will be his first week as a full-timer on that good stuff.  That means a lot more free-time for mom and a lot less dishes for dad.  He has also been pretty good at eating cut-up versions of whatever we're having for meals.  Again, a lot more free time for mom (I had been making all his baby food) and a lot less dishes for dad :)  He's getting better and better at assisted walking and has recently started to practice standing.  I have to get a picture of that - he has a big proud grin on his face whenever he does it and sticks his hands out, fingers spread wide, for balance.

Finally got around to taking an 11 month photo!

Out for a walk and a visit to the park!

The three of us enjoyed some time on the swings.  I think it's up for debate who likes the swings more - me or Ry :)

It's a little messier than spoon feeding, but we enjoy the fact that we get to share some of our favorite dishes with Ryder.  A staple for our family: spaghetti!

Baby Buddies

Last Saturday night, Autumn and Ryder got together for a slumber party.  They had fun sharing toys and both got to taste Shawn's yummy breakfast burritos Sunday morning.

Then tonight, Ryder and Everett got together for an afternoon at the beach.  With the 95 degree day, the lake felt great for the boys and their mamas! Both boys practiced going underwater and did great :) Ry's getting good about not drinking the water - now we just need to work on not eating fistfulls of sand!

Even when his buddies aren't around - we're still havin fun. In the top left picture, I was making dinner and cleaning up - I looked away for one second and he climbed right into the dishwasher!!  Man, he's getting quick!  In the other pictures, Ry is working on his first Crayola masterpiece :)

Maple Maze

Last night I took Ry to the "Maple Maze" at our community center.  Since he loves to crawl under and through things, this was the perfect spot for him.  He also loves his Buzz Lightyear ball at home, so when he saw this big ball pit, his eyes lit up with excitement!

I tried to get him to look at the camera, but with him being focused on the fun activities and a bunch of other kids around, I didn't stand a chance.

11 Months

This is the last month that our little Ryder is a "baby"...in just a few weeks, he will be a toddler...a 1 year old...a whole milk drinker...I am not ready for that.  But, since I can't change it (or how fast he grows in general), I try to savor every moment together.  Some of his big moments at 11 months include:

• He now reacts to "So Big" with his arms stretched up as high as possible (no lack of effort here)
• He can walk while holding just one of our hands / fingers fairly well
• He can walk with his push cart toy very well and very quickly
• He claps, waves and gives kisses (my favorite) regularly and whenever we ask him to
• He flirts with girls he sees at the park or out on the boat! He has long lashes and knows how to use them - lol
• He can climb up and down stairs
• He has 5 teeth now (two on bottom and three on top)
• He loves to crawl under / through things - even tiny spaces he hardly fits through
• He plays "hide-and-seek".  He typically crawls into the kitchen and waits for someone to come find him.  Then laughes with excitement when found :) I have so much fun on my hands and knees chasing after him.
• At the doctor's office last week (almost 11 mos on the dot) he weighed about 20.5 lbs
• We've started mixing whole milk in his daytime bottles to aid in the transition

Crawling through the super-fun tunnel daddy made. He probably spent an hour going through over and over.  He would go through come give me a kiss, go back in, come out for a kiss, go back in...so precious!

Hide and Seek

Sooo big...

Woo-hoo! I can walk!

I thought I'd put Ry in his swing one more time to confirm that he's too big for it.  But he had so much fun in it!! Maybe we'll keep it out just a little longer...

Walker Weekend

We spent this past weekend up in Walker visiting Grandma and Grandpa Burley.  Ryder had such a fun weekend hanging out with them, sampling Grandma's good cookin, going out on the boat and playing with their puppies. 

Time for a siesta!  This kid can sleep just about anywhere.  Luckily, with his big life vest, we know he can't move too far or too fast on the boat.  Or probably even roll over - so this was a safe spot :)

We beached the boat at Agency Bay to get out and play in the sand and water.

Cruisin with Daddy and Grandma Burley

Ryder's weekend buddies - Tina & Kitty