Finger Lickin' Good

Last week on one of those beautifully cool fall days we were blessed with, Ryan and I made cinnamon rolls. It was the first time I've made cinnamon rolls in a very long time, and the motivation came when Daddy came home from an outing at the Oklahoma State Fair with disappointing results in his food devouring endeavors most notably the way over-priced, tremendously under-sized cinnamon rolls.

Ryan and I had fun...

The dough was yummy, and there was a professional taste tester ready to sample it all.

Of course the filling...the cinnamon and brown sugar...had to be sampled too. That stuff just makes the cinnamon rolls!

Mmmm....mmmm...good! Finger Lickin' Good.

Want some?!

The cinnamon rolls are long gone, every last tasty morsel devoured. I expect, however, that we will be making more, or as Ryan would say "I can get more!"

Home Post

New Post: Home Sweet Home

Line 'Em Up

Weeeeeeeee

Happy, Happy, Happy

Ryan can often be heard walking around singing, "happy, happy, happy". Today we played outside. It was another beautiful day, so Ryan was happy, happy, happy...and so was Mommy! Especially since he posed for the camera and I captured these great smiles.

Smile Please!

With a beautifully cool fall day like today, who wouldn't be smiling?

Muddy Monday Morning

This...




...is what we've been doing this morning!

Fall Looks

As you may have noticed...well obviously you've noticed now...that is unless you've not been observant before...or perhaps it's your first time to visit this blog...I've changed the look of the blog because I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the colors of fall...yellows, browns, golds, oranges. It's pretty safe to say that I'll probably change the look of the blog with the changing seasons or maybe even more frequently. Today's escape into the world of creativity was a much needed break from the craziness of the day (and the not-so-great morning I had). "Creative Therapy" is just as good as "Retail Therapy" for me...and oftentimes much less expensive!

For your viewing pleasure here are some pictures of Ryan.

2007--no he's not 2. He's 7 months old

2008--19 months old

2009--2 years 7 months old

Shopping Is Really Not That Bad

although sometimes he tends to think so...
My little sister is getting married next month, so we've been doing a bit more shopping. Well...that and we FINALLY got a date and time set for the closing on our house (this is after weeks of delays).

Sometimes Ryan really enjoys "shopping" although to him it's just the excitement of being out and about, seeing people, touching new things, (getting new toys if Nana's around). Sometime's Ryan just really doesn't enjoy shopping, but even on those days he does well...acts well, behaves pretty well, finds new ways of entertaining himself well...
Wedding dresses are slippery...and big...with lots of material for hiding.

On this particular shopping day Ryan's Nana "saved the day" by taking him next door to the Lakeshore Learning Center. I should have never went in there. I could spend hours (and $$) in that store. It sure does make me miss those days of teaching...and look forward to the many days of teaching I'll have with my own child(ren).


The last couple of days were filled with shopping adventures both of which Ryan seemed to really enjoy. Last week I was too sick to get out of the house and when this Monday I heard that the closing on our house was going to be delayed yet another week (3rd time) I was more than more than ready to get out of the house and have some "retail therapy". (Don't worry honey...I didn't spend too much.) Between buying things for my li' sis' and gathering up stuff for the new house (paint rollers and other not-so-very-exciting necessities...although I did find some curtains for Ryan's room on clearance...they're blue/room-darkening curtains...oh but that falls into the category of fun stuff and I'll talk about that another day) I'm feeling MUCH better. ;)

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Some Ryan Stuff
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Yesterday evening I poured myself a cup of coffee. Now Ryan has learned that when Mama has a cup of coffee I won't do much of anything else until the cup has been satisfactorily enjoyed. Ryan checks quite often to see how much is left before the "enjoyment" is over and playtime can begin. It's pretty cute. Yesterday evening I poured a cup of coffee and unfortunately Ryan bumped into the cup splashing some out and onto his hand. It was enough to be uncomfortable but not enough to really burn him. I really thought he would cry, but he didn't. He put his hand in the air and looked at me and said very emphatically, "hot!"..."bery, bery, bery hot!" Oh! I could just cry telling that story because I just love this little boy so much...the things he comes up with....

He is talking soooooooo much. I got out my voice recorder the other day just so we could catch some of the cute (and amazing) things he says. We know one day he won't have this cute little toddler voice and his cute ways, complete with gramatical and pronunciation errors, of saying things. Like..."googin" for milk, "okasee" for Oklahoma City, "bery" for very. Like when he says "amen" out of the blue...if he's praying I wonder what he is praying for. Like when he repeats everything I say...and I mean everything. Like when he announces to Daddy that he's "go gocie sto wi Mama" or that he will "help Mama". When he calls "Mini" from his crib because he knows she'll come running and try to get in bed with him. Or when he begs me to "go see Dada? Yea!?" Or how about when he says, "how bout that!". Or when he sings, "happy, happy, happy". And today he even asked me if "Mama happy?" and when I answered yes his smile just lit up the room. How could I not be.......

New Friends

This

It's been so long since we've had some sunshine that I forgot what it looks like.  That being the case this...

...is all I feel like doing all day long.

Travels With Ryan

It's hard to believe that another week has come...and is almost gone. I have been very ill for a good part of this week. That's the biggest excuse for my delay in this post.

Last weekend we went to Texas to GeeGee and Pappaw's house. GeeGee was formerly known as Gammaw, but Ryan recently renamed her...to her delight. One of the traditions we always maintain when in the Texas area is eating breakfast here:
Mmmm...mmm...good!

After our breakfast on Saturday morning we went to a little amusement park that is just down the street from GeeGee and Pappaw's house. We had a great time.
It was the first time Ryan has really experienced amusement park rides. Well actually... it was the first time he's ever been big enough.
But big enough he was...for *some* of the rides.

We rode the train first, and the engineer was kind enough to allow Ryan to sit with him for a quick picture.
Ryan enjoyed the train, however it wasn't the highlight of his day...but....I'll get to that in a minute.
He got to ride on some real "horsies". That was pretty cool.
He rode on a boat, too, but that wasn't the highlight of his day either.He rode on the carousel, and he rode in a fish. They were all fun rides.
But the highlight...THE HIGHLIGHT...
WAS THE CARS!!!
Ryan LOVED the cars. Every time we asked him what he wanted to ride next he would run back to the car ride and, gripping tightly to the gate with anticipation, wait for the gate-keeper to open it and let him choose a new car.
He rode the cars at least 3 or 4 times.
Riding cars makes a boy thirsty...
What day wouldn't be complet without checking out the fans...
It only seems fitting that we eat a hot dog, and when Ryan saw that one was available that's what we heard...over and over again. "Get a hot dog!"
The rest of our weekend was spent visiting with friends and family, playing, laughing and trying to entertain a hyper puppy and a curious toddler in a relatively small amount of space. The weather wasn't the greatest for being outside (hot and HUMID). We did well, and we had a great time.

On our way home we stopped at Braums...another traveling tradition. Ryan loves ice cream...or shall I say...the cone. He will only eat a bite or two of ice cream. I have to eat the rest (how awful is that).

Swinging With Dogs

(Turn on Sound)

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

Happy Birthday

Brandy Danielle Stanfill

09/04/03 - 02/14/05

We love you baby girl!

Thank you for blessing our lives and transforming us into the mom and dad we are today.

Zoo Pictures

Learning from Grampie

Teaching Grampie

Ryan's first taste (and experience) with cotton candy. He loved it at first...until it started sticking to his fingers. After that, he wanted nothing more to do with it because he hates to have stuff stuck to his hands (and feet for that matter).

Pigmy Hippo--Aren't all 500 pounds of her so cute!

Feeding the monkey...or I mean...the kid.

Are you sure I can't touch him?

"I Pickie Fwower"

"I ride horsie"--Ryan's first carousel ride. He liked it.

That's as close as I'm gettin to the other end.