Fall!

Life just never seems to slow down, I tell you! We are always up to something, going somewhere, doing this, doing that, making plans...but that is a good thing.

Fall is my favorite time of year, and every year we go get lots of pumpkins for the front porch. Ryan got to pick her very own little pumpkin this year!

I want this one, please!

Sitting in the pumpkin patch

What a cutie!

Climbing up "Fat Albert"

A while back, the Gwinnett County Fair was going on, and we had no plans one night, so Dave and I decided that it would be a good thing to take Ryan to do. Goodness gracious, did that girl love it!! The food was gross, and Ryan was too small for the rides, but then we found the livestock and the 4-H building. Ryan absolutely LOVES animals, and apparently has NO FEAR of any type of animal...she went right up to a HUGE bull and petted him right between the eyes!

Ryan and the bull

She tried to kiss all of the baby animals in the 4-H building. She had to get a hand on every animal, but the cows were too far away...but she didn't mind. The cows were far and away her favorite thing ever. She stood at the gate and mooed and waved and cackled with laughter. It was adorable and amazing.

the face she made the whole time she was near the cows

I just love cows so much!!

Daddy, did you see the cows???

She quacked at the ducks :)

Goat!!!

She kissed this chick right on the beak before we could even try to stop her.

We recently had a family reunion of sorts for Dave's mom's side of the family. In honor of Dave's grandma'a 75th birthday, all 5 of grandma's children and their families came together in Senoia, Georgia for the weekend. It is about an hour and a half drive for us, so we just made the trip down and back each day, but everyone else was in from other states, so they all stayed in one big house together that belongs to Dave's uncle, Bob. Dave took the day off on Friday and took Ryan down by himself while my friend Makenzie and I went to the Country Living Festival at Stone Mountain Park.

We had a really good time at the festival, aside from both of us almost passing out due to hunger mixed with a caffeine rush from pumpkin spice lattes. We didn't realize we were so hungry until it was almost too late, and we literally RAN to the food tents to get something in our bellies. I didn't get much at the festival - a picture frame, some vintage velvet ribbon, a few necklaces that I collect - but it is by far the prettiest festival around and we just had a good time looking in all of the booths and enjoying each others company.

Back to the reunion....on Friday night, Dave brought his little brother, Nick, home with him to spend the night at our house. He gave Ryan a belated birthday gift and card...she LOVES cards. We keep all of the cards that people send to her and she will just sit and play with them for hours! Ryan really loved Uncle Nick. There were times throughout the weekend when we would just need to hand her off for a few minutes to get a free hand, and she would go right to Uncle Nick with no hesitation. She tends to be a little shy sometimes, even clingy to Dave and I, but she was just fine going to Uncle Nick! Maybe it was the beard?

Kisses for Uncle Nick!

Saturday morning we all got up early and headed south again. We had a great time playing games, talking and getting to know the family better. Ryan enjoyed all of the attention! Her cousin, Ashley, brought some sidewalk chalk, and they had fun playing with that together. Dave's mom's brother and sisters spent the ENTIRE day cooking a HUGE, authentic Italian meal. It was SO yummy. I had the eggplant parmesan and it was out-of-this-world! After dinner, grandma blew out her candles and we the most amazing cheesecake. After dessert, Ryan was fading fast and we had to head home to get her in bed.

Playing with sidewalk chalk with mommy and Uncle Nick

Cousins!

Aunt Geri and grandpa playing dice with Ryan

Dave and his cousin, Brian

Daddy and Ryan playing

Sunday we decided to head down once more before everyone left. I took lots of family photos and got 2 "Four Generations" photos with the grandparents, since they have 2 great grandkids that were there. (they have 4, but Seth and Brady had to keep an eye on things in North Carolina and couldn't make it down) We had an amazing time at the reunion. I guess I didn't realize how big Dave's family is, since we mostly just see his parents and his brothers and sister. It was a lot of fun to have everyone in one place like that, and everyone was so welcoming and friendly. It was almost as if we had all lived in that one big house together for ages.

Four Generations!

Grandma and grandpa, and all of their kids

Dave's family

All of the cousins

Everyone!!

Well, after the big reunion weekend, we were understandably exhausted. But before the dust even had a chance to settle, we were off again the very next weekend. We drove up to Raleigh to stay the night with Dave's brother, Shaun, and his family. Ryan was an absolute peach in the car. She never really fussed, and took 2 great naps...mommy may have had a nap or two herself :) We did our usual routine of stopping at Cracker Barrel for lunch. Ryan was feeling like a big girl, and sat in a booster seat for the first time. She ate her sandwich all by herself, got to color a little, and then learned to drink out of a straw...it was an eventful lunch! We walked around for a while, and walked next door to Whole Foods to get Ryan some cookies, and then we were back on our way. When we got to Raleigh, Ryan was so happy to see her cousins, Seth and Brady. She loves them so much, and those boys are so good to her!

The next day, Dave and I packed up and drove on to Richmond, Virginia for our friend Damian's wedding, while Ryan stayed with her aunt, uncle and cousins for the weekend...I'm pretty sure she had the time of her life. It was actually really hard pulling out of the driveway without my baby, who is pretty much ALWAYS with me. I probably could have cried, but I didn't because she was with my sister-in-law, Heather, who is by FAR the best mother that I know. Luckily, I was able to get Ryan to go down for a nap just before we left so she slept right through our departure.

When we got to Richmond, we had to unpack and start getting ready for the wedding rehearsal, since Dave was a groomsman in the wedding. After the rehearsal, the rehearsal dinner was at a quaint little pizza place. Dave realized very quickly that we were surrounded by liberals...there was a pretty clear line politically...those from Georgia=Republicans, those from Virginia and DC=Democrats. So that made for some interesting conversations!

The next day we went to lunch with Damian and a few others before the wedding. Damian never seemed nervous or anxious at all. He's a pretty cool customer. When we got back up to the room, Dave and I started getting ready. We went down to Damian's room so the guys could walk down together and I noticed that the room was TRASHED as they were about to leave...."um...THIS is what you are going to bring your new wife back to on your wedding night??!!?", I asked. So I sent the guys on their way and stayed behind to clean up the piles of clothes, computers, shoes, and plastic wrap from rented tuxedos. I tell you....its a tough thing to be friends with boys sometimes! haha

So the wedding was beautiful. It was in this amazing historic hotel, the Jefferson. We had a good time, and Dave even got to make a toast at the reception.

Dave and his toast...their faces say a lot...

Us at the wedding

Sunday morning, we got up and headed back to Raleigh to see our little chicken. Dave's dad and stepmom came down for the afternoon to see Ryan and the boys, and I totally blew right past them as I ran in the house and grabbed up my girl. She was happy to see us, but didn't cry, like I thought she would. She was all smiles! She kept hugging us like she was making sure she wasn't dreaming. We all went to dinner that evening before the grandparents had to head home.

Having a bath with cousin Brady

The next day was Halloween, and I didn't want to be in the car the while day and have Ryan miss out on the whole holiday, so we stayed an extra night with Shaun and Heather and took Ryan trick-or-treating with her cousins and some of their friends. It was so cute to see them all together! Ryan was a chicken, of course, and each house we went up to she would say "BOK BOK BOK" instead of "Trick-or-Treat". She scored some yummy candy for her dear old parents, since she is way too little for all of that sugar!

our chicken!!

The trick-or-treating crew

Heather really helped us with a problem we have been having with Ryan...she won't go to sleep at night in her own. She has to be rocked for a long time, and then put in her crib after she is asleep. We wanted to get to a place where at her set bedtime, we can just lay her in her crib and she will go to sleep on her own. We had tried all sorts of things, but always came back to just rocking her since it was easier. While we were away at the wedding, Heather started putting her down and coming back after a set amount of time until she would eventually just give in and lay down and sleep. So we have been doing it here at home for the past week, and it seems to be working. Ryan cries for a little while, but she will eventually understand that we are not abandoning her and it is no big deal to just go to sleep.

Ryan's time with her cousins was an amazing thing for her. She seems to be more independent now and content to play on her own. She is even interested in using the potty, believe it or not. When the boys were in the bathroom, she would go in after them and try to climb up on the step stool to get to the toilet, or she would try to pick up the potty seat and put it on the toilet. She even tries to flush the handle. I know it is way too early for her to start training, but it is good to know that she is at least interested! And one last thing about this trip...Ryan would hold Brady's hand and lead him around everywhere...it was heart-melting! She loves her cousins so much!

Our drive home was great as well. Ryan was a good girl the entire time. Once we were almost in Georgia, she was getting really tired of being in her seat, so we stopped at a gas station to let her walk around for a while. It ended up being a truck stop, and in South Carolina you can smoke pretty much anywhere, so the whole place was disgusting. We had to leave...pronto. There was a church just down the road, so we drove over there and let her run around in the grass and have a snack for a while.

Dave scored some free tickets to the Georgia-New Mexico game and took Ryan to her first football game. I desperately needed the time to catch up on work projects, so I stayed home to work and they took our friends, Mike and Jayme, and their baby girl, Riley.

Ryan likes to sit on the porch in her little chair and have snack time. She used to hate the grass and refused to touch it, stand in it or walk in it. But now she is just fine and loves being outside!

Dad, let me tell you how it is...

So, it's football season, and we get almost NO channels, so the Georgia game is rarely on tv for us. Dave solved the problem....he brings down the computer and we watch it on the internet! Here is Ryan in her cheerleading uniform reading a book with daddy during the game!

Dave's dad and stepmom couldn't make it down on the day of Ryan's birthday party, so they came down later that weekend. Ryan loved seeing them, opening more gifts, and getting to play with her grandpa and Nini!

Well, that about catches us all up for now!

Have a great week!!

~robbi