A Couple "First's"!

Here Ryland was about one week old and gave us one of his FIRST great little smiles. It was such a glimpse into his sweet spirit and contagiously joyous personality. His smiles still melt my heart and I look forward to seeing that smile for the rest of my life! Thank you, Lord, for all of those little glimmers of your love we see in the smiles of children. I have always prayed that Ryland would have a joy that overflows into the lives of all those around him and as I watch him grow up I see that his little smile seems to spread to all the faces of strangers that pass us by. What a way for God to show His love...in a unsuspecting little package!

Happy Birthday, Ryland! What an amazing joy you have brought to our lives. We love you!

Here are a couple of pictures from his FIRST birthday. The second picture is the first sign of the sugar crash. He went from all smiles and laughter to bouts of distressed crying, soon to be followed with more laughter. First birthdays are soooo overwhelming I am sure....but oh so much fun! We took a lot of video footage, but not so many pictures to my regret. The whole event was quite amusing. We just had family over...still making for a packed house...lots of bugs (the theme of the party), a fun cake with "worms" and "dirt", great little presents that were such a big hit with the little guy (Thanks to ALL!), much laughter, messy faces, sticky hands, a whole lot of love, and a timeless moment of prayer with our family for this little man, Ryland, who we all have come to love and cherish as the newest "freshest" member of our family. One Year Old...YIIIIPPPPY!

Some cute things Ryland is doing at a year...

- pointing to everything and jabbering about it in a language no one can understand except his sister...we think!

- standing independently, but not walking yet

- dancing to every song he hears

- saying the usual babble "mamama, dadada, babababa(for balloon I think), ogogogog (for dog)"

- fake caughing and sneezing(oh so cute!)

- holding up arms for "touchdown!" (a favorite trick of Addie's at 1 year also)

- still loving to suck on those middle two fingers

- giving big wet kisses!

- and so much more...I do not have the time or space to condense all the little quirks and blessings that we get to experience daily with little Rye, but he is a "Ryot"

Below is another FIRST! His first little haircut. It was so cute to see him sitting in the barber chair like such a big kid. You can't see, but under the cloak he is holding my finger with "Kung Fu" grip. He was a little freaked out, but made us proud and didn't shed a tear. What a brave little guy!