Arizona Christmas

We spent Christmas in Arizona. It was a quick trip and went by way to fast. We arrived on Tuesday and of course my mom had the table set for a big dinner. We got to meet my sister new boyfriend, Andrew. He is really nice and seems patient enough for Kelly. Wednesday the boys played golf which was probably better then having them in the house. My friend Amy came over to visit Ryan, I couldn't believe she didn't bring over all her gifts for me to wrap. My mom and sister and I went to church which was packed. In years past we always avoided the children's mass, guess that has changed. Ryan did very good, the man behind us was making funny faces at him so Ryan was entertained. Christmas morning we got up and headed to my parents house for breakfast and presents. Funny how we said no presents except for Ryan and we all had plenty of gifts to open. Later the rest of the family and friends arrived and we enjoyed a fabulous meal. It amazes me that It is no big deal for my mom to have 20 people for dinner. I usually come in earlier to help but luckily my friend Racquel arrived earlier in the week and helped her. Thanks Rock!!! Friday was a day of relaxation until we arrived at the airport and found out our plane was 5 hours delayed. Ted called and got us on a flight into San Diego and thankfully Ted Sr. was available and able to borrow a car seat and drive us home.

Ryan did better then I thought he would on the plane, slept both ways. He also did better then I thought with the new surroundings. The one thing he didn't do good with was sleeping at night. He just couldn't get used to the pack and play so therefore he was up multiple times during the night. Next time he will have to stay at his grandmas house where there is a crib.

Ryan got so many gifts, a ton of new clothes and toys. My grandfather passed down his silver that he used to eat with which was very special. Thank you to everyone for making Ryan's first Christmas very special.

Great-Grandpa Charles and Uncle Steve playing the piano

Grandma OJ and Auntie Kelly with Ryan

Ryan's Great-Grandparents - Jack, Charles & Jean

Uncle Steve with Ryan

Ryan got a new sippy cup, looks like he likes it.

Teran Tamale Day

I have Christmas picture to post but I didn't post the picture I have from the Teran Tamale Day. It is annual event that happens the week of Christmas. It is a great time for everyone to get together for the holidays and keep the tradition alive. When I say tamale making I mean it - I think this year 700 tamales were made. It was my 3rd year but most people there have been doing it for years.

Ryan 1st tooth cut but hasn't popped yet (I am not sure how long that takes but it is taking its time) so he was kind of cranky, plus he is going through this stranger phase where he cries at people he doesn't know. It took him about an hour to get used to the new surroundings. I promise he is a very happy boy when he is at home. I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted but here are the few I have.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year.

Love ~ Ted, Erika & Ryan

Swing Time

I love these pictures of Ryan at the park. He loves being outside.

Pajama Day

This seems to be Ryan's permanent expression these days.

Blue Eyes

I think in this picture Ryan looks a lot like me. It must be the blue eyes!!

Bath Time

Ryan will hate me someday for these pictures. There was a time that Ryan hated his baths. He would sit for a second and then just start screaming and screaming and screaming. It would take 30 minutes to console him after we got him out. Then one day he started splashing and now doesn't want to get out. It is time to put him in the big bath tub. My friend Sophia let me use her bath seat that can be used in the bath tub. This is just easier until he can sit on his own.

Loves to eat

Ted and I took Ryan to a GI Specialist in LA this week. Since he was born he has had reflex and gas issues. The outcome was Ryan is fine just a gassy baby but according to Ted's family it was passed on. The one thing I came out of the visit was I had been overfeeding Ryan. The doctor walked in and first thing he said was, "Wow what a chunk". He proceeded to tell me I was overfeeding him. I told him how much I was feeding him and he realized it was the correct amount. He then said, "you must have been overfeeding him before". As a GI specialist he maybe should have said that overeating is a symptom of reflux becasue it helps with the burn. It didn't stop there, he continued through the appointment to say how big and chunky he was. The best was when he said that I should be the one to tell my baby when his is full not the other way around but that was probably easy for him to say because he wasn't a parent. Wow what was my first clue. I looked up his weight/height percentiles and he is in the 80-90% - So there Dr. Kim!!!! It is amazing how it effects me when people comment on Ryan's size. I grew up with a weight complex and now it seems that the sames feelings are coming back.

I think he is perfect ---- I love his rolls and chins and I know that as soon as the bugger starts moving he will slim down. I will now get off my soap box..

Bailey Blum

Bailey Botdorf Blum

8 Pounds, 7 Ounces 20 Inches

5 Months Old

Ryan turned 5 months today and my friend Amy had her baby today. Bailey Blum weighed in at 8 pounds 7 ounces. I can't wait to meet Ryan's future girlfriend :). Congratulations Amy, Steve and Tyler.

We had an very nice time in Palm Desert before Thanksgiving. Being away for 5 days with a infant is a bit long but it was worth it because my parents were able to come over from AZ for a couple of days. It was great for Ryan to spend time with them. He is coming to the stage where he doesn't like new people. That is way I was shocked when he smiled whiled taking a picture with Santa. I was for sure that he was going to scream or at least give his famous lip.

Thanksgiving we traveled to LA to spend with part of Ted's family. It was a great day with family and lots of great food.

Time goes so fast.........

It is crazy how fast time goes, Ryan is going to be 5 months in a week. It is hard to imagine a few months ago when he wasn't able to hold his head up, grab at toys, or laugh. Next thing you know he will be crawling, siting up and getting in to everything.

Back to Work

Last week I officially went back to work. Allison is taking care of Ryan while I am at work and she is great. Ryan has really taken to her. It is hard leaving him but I know he is in good hands. We have been trying to get him started on solids because all he wants to do is eat. I tried squash first but he had problem digesting the food so we are back to oatmeal and rice cereal.Ryan is not to sure of his highchair but he loved the squash.

He is getting so good and grabbing things. He likes to have control of his bottle. Ted created a new play area for Ryan which meant we had to sacrifice our dining room table. I guess we are done having people over for dinner unless they don't mind eating on TV trays.
Our tummy sleeper will fall asleep on his side, roll to his back and then cry about 45 minutes later to be put on his tummy.