A year of blessings!

It has officially been a year since our lives were flipped upside down forever for the better! Ryder turned one on April 30 and we celebrated with a cupcake at home. We then partied with family and some close friends a week later. He is so blessed to have so many people love him! He is going through a very picky eater stage right now (loves yogurt though)! Ryder is officially walking all over the place for about a week now. I can not figure out how to put video to show! Sorry! He gets a little scared on uneven surfaces outside but will stop and ask for a finger! We are ready for summer to have Aaron to play with! Dad started us a garden so hopefully we will have some pictures of fresh produce soon. Enjoy the pics!
First 4-wheeler! It goes 2 mph!
Ryder and Cal playing it safe in the baby pool!
Ryder and Pop!
He knows his daddy!
This was the real b-day cupcake. He did not stop until he licked all the icing off of his fingers!

Cousin fun in the water!
Way more fun to push than to ride in my new wagon!
Totally worn out!

1st Easter Fun!

Well-the weekend before Easter Ryder was dedicated at church-really special time! The weekend of Easter we were able to go out to Tyler State Park and meet my parents and sister Cindy and her fam for lots of fun! Ryder is not walking yet but cruising everywhere as fast as he can behind his walker. As long as he has that or a ball he is a happy camper. I will update again after his b-day! Enjoy pics!

Ryder and cousin Darci had lots of quality bonding time!
The park ranger came around to let us know about snakes that were ok and ones to stay away from-this was an ok one!
Laney, Ryder, Cindy & Precious enjoying the outdoors!
Mom and Ryder liked to play washers!

Steele Fun!

Hey all! Well we seem to be really busy with birthdays, track meets, school stuff, church stuff, etc. We took a great trip to Houston and Ryder hung out with his buddy Cole and girlfriends Clare and Khloe. You will see in some pics we are ready for Easter. Ryder is cruising all over the place; he loves to walk and push things but lets go and gets nervous. He eats like a horse-eats more for breakfast than most adults! We are praying about our situation for next year-say a prayer for us! Thanks! Hope you enjoy the new pics!
How many men does it take to put pants on a baby?
Practicing for the big Easter egg hunt!
Ryder gets excited when he eats and green beans end up who knows where...

Spring is coming!!

It is March-Ryder is almost 1 and it is almost warm enough to be outside all day!!! Ryder LOVES to be outside playing in his walker in the driveway, riding bikes (on the back of my bike), playing with the basketball or just going for a stroll. I have discovered that riding your bike up a hill turns into a mountain when you add a child to the back of the bike!! I have never felt like such a weenie! Well Ryder is cruising all over the place, walking holding on to things but not freehanded yet. Eating a ton!! He loves goldfish, cheerios, bananas, mashed potatoes, bread and oatmeal!! And lots more! Aaron is finished with basketball season and is now in track season. Ryder and I go to the track to help out some during the week :) We are praying about what the Lord has for our family next school year. I will try to post again before he turns 1!! HAHA! We'll see...This is Ryder and his buddy Cal going for a stroll!Ryder and Aaron in the pool in San Antonio. Ryder loved it! He did great on the trip!Getting a little protein!

Counting down!!!

Can't believe it is 2009!!! As teachers after the new year we begin to countdown to the summer!!! Well Ryder is now 9 months!! He is weighing in at 18 lbs 28 in long. Not too big but lean as a machine-he is burning those calories up!! He is on the move in a major way! Crawling all over, pulling up on everything, starting to "learn" the word no as he gets in to everything! He is a fantastic eater and puts it away!! Says dada all day but does not say mama still-that figures! Ryder now has 8teeth! Trying new food all the time! We have a friend that comes to stay with us 2 half days (they are 2 weeks apart) so that is fun to watch them chase each other around! Aaron is finishing up basketball season, moving into track season. I am getting ready to do some TAKS tutorials and still doing online biology. We are enjoying every minute!!

Who needs some toys??

This is all the great grandkids at Nanny Steele's house. Everyone was SO excited!!
Ryder learned to clap and was so excited to hear himself!


Merry Christmas!! Well-Ryder ended up with a good portion of Toys-R-Us from Santa. He enjoyed tearing into the paper and boxes. We got to spend lots of time with lots of family! It has been a great Christmas and of course we LOVE having Aaron home on break!!

Santa is Coming!!

Sorry it has been SO long! Since the last post...Thanksgiving was great...Aaron turned 30!! Ryder says dada ALL day long...he is not crawling but seems more interested in standing and holding on to things :) He is eating like a champ-loves fruits and veggies! Notice in the pics-he did get his 2 front teeth right before Christmas!! Here is one of our "Christmas card pics" in the woods behind our new house!
We were all talking about how much Ryder weighed and decided to find out. Getting Ryder ready to find out how much he weighs...
What are ya'll doing to me?
We put Ryder in the 5 gallon bucket and weighed him on dad's fish scales!!
Ryder had a great time with Uncle Trey and Aunt Jaimee!
Had a great time with family at Thanksgiving in Beaumont!!