To My Little One

Dear Luke,

You are my absolute dream come true, and this past year has been the best of my life.

I love you more than you will ever know.

Happy First Birthday.

Love,

M

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder (so...you pretty much love me now)

I have been a little amiss with the blog posts, and I am sorry, but hopefully now that summer is coming to an end I can pick it back up! I have been a busy little bee this summer with a complete backyard remodel (that I will be posting pics of soon...), trips to NM, family visiting, and planning a bridal shower for one of the most amazing girls I know! Not to mention the little 10 month old that I have been chasing around! Speaking of the little guy...how much do I love those little lips in the photo below?!

Seriously Need This....

How awesome is this bike? I found it here, and need it now.

The Perfect Day from "A to Z"

8:15 am: Luke woke up an HOUR later than usual (I think he heard me talking to my mother-in-law the other day about how the only thing I want for my very first Mother's Day was to sleep in... :))

Had such a wonderful lazy morning...then started the most perfect day my husband had planned.

12:00pm: Went to brunch at Z-Tejas at Scottsdale Fashion Square with some of my favorite margs
1:30pm: Spent the rest of the afternoon shopping with my boys, which usually I am an alone shopper, but they were both wonderful. Hubby said I could have anything I wanted (it was unbelieveable, I didn't have to go straight for the sale rack)...so I decided to go to my fave store, and buy this dress that I have literally tried on 6 different times!!! It is amazing.

5:30pm (that's right...we were gone ALL day, and my boys were BOTH wonderful): We headed home, gave my precious baby a bath, put him to bed, had a glass of wine, cuddled, and relaxed.

10:00PM (as I drinfted off to sleep) "You were speaking my love language today, Mr. Ryan."

Thank you. You made my lifelong dream of being a mom a reality that is far better than I could have ever imagined. For that, I am forever lovingly, thankfully, and faithfully yours.

Mi Madre

I love you more than anything in the world. I am so blessed that God has given me such a wonderful example, and you have been the most fun, beautiful, and amazing mother.

I pray that I can live up to your example.

(pictured above are the magnetic chalkboards that i framed for my wonderful mother and amazing mother-in-law)

"Well He's Just Dandy"

A fellow diner said this about Luke last night while we were eating with Andrew's Grandma at the Renaissance Retirement home. I have to say I agree with him...

Luke with his other great-grandma, Gammie (he doesn't lay like that for anyone else...)

What Makes my Heart Smile

Here is a look at Luke's first 6 months.

He has been blessed with THE most amazing father, and I have a feeling Luke knows because his face LIGHTS up when Andrew gets home from work.

At 6 months Luke is 21 pounds, and 28 1/4 in. long.

Here are my two favorite boys.

Day 1

1 Month

Two Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

(On the way to Daddy Boot Camp...Andrew was the "teacher"!)

6 Months
To the best dad in the world,

I love you with all my heart.

Give 'em Two Years (and we will all be in Trouble)

Luke loves his new cousins, and is completely facinated with them. All I can say is we are going to have our hands full!

Laying hands on Atticus...haha

I couldn't resist posting this picture of my beautiful nephew Atticus
John was a little fussy and Luke doesn't like to hear babies cry (and who can blame him!).

John Phillip Ryan

We welcomed another baby boy into the family last week! David and Melanie had John Phillip Ryan on April 17th, about two weeks early, but he is one healthy little boy! He weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20in. long! Big sister Alex was so excited to finally have "wormy bob" here (that is the nickname that she has blessed him with)!

Mexi-No

Wishing we could go this year...

Did I Mention???

I am one of the newest members of P.E.O.
Ahh the good old "star meetings"....

Just Some Pictures of the Past Month

AGH!!! Luke and I went to Las Cruces to watch Carly play basketball (she just decided this year that she was going to play for her school, and it a starter! She is doing so great!), and while we were there she took me for a drive... I hope that I didn't show how completely and utterly scared I was! HAHA! I am just kidding...she did great!

Look how cute she is in her hat! She has such a great sense of style!
The rest are just some of Luke playing...


Getting a closer look at his new toy...

The smile that melts my little heart!

The Only Boobs Anyone Should See on Mardi Gras

I threw a Mardi Gras Party for Andrew, Luke, and I complete with jambalaya, french bread, a King Cake (or my version- Funfetti with chocolate icing that says "king cake"), and Hurricanes to drink... Luke also had rice cereal for the first time that night, and absolutely LOVED it!

My version of the Mardi Gras Classic...I wanted to make the real thing, but then realized how difficult it would be, and opted out!

He would not even let me take the spoon out of his mouth! He LOVES the stuff!

Luke's 5 Month Birthday Today!

So...I have been writing different posts in my head over the past few weeks, and kept meaning to post them, but I just haven't really gotten around to it! SORRY! So over the next few days I will try and get them all out there!

I am going to post a more detailed post about this soon, but I just have to mention that I am a new aunt to precious Atticus Ryne Morrow! Katy had him on Feb. 19th, which was about 4 weeks early, and we are just thanking God that he is perfectly healthy! He was 7.9 lbs. and 19in., which is BIG for being that early, but the doctors are thinking that they were probably about two weeks off on her due date. So they kept trying to stop her labor, but he was just too excited and ready to come out and join the party...just like someone else I know...never wanting to miss a thing! Jon, Katy, and Atticus are all doing just wonderful, and they are the most amazing parents ever! Like I said, I will be posting MUCH more on this soon, but I am trying to catch up on my posts in order!

My baby boy is five months old today! Can you even believe it! I am just trying to soak him in more and more everyday because it is going by much to fast! The first post I was writing in my mind was about his 4 month appt., so I guess it is about time I get that one up! He is growing perfectly fine...like any of us didn't know that! He was 19.4 lbs. and 27.5 in. long, which still has him off the charts in comparison. However his head (which was 17in. I think) puts him in the 65%! I guess he has a pin head, but I am pretty sure it is perfect for his size! HAHA! Here is a picture from after the appt. He got five more shots and was such a wonderful boy!

Who can actually believe it?!?!

So Carly turned 15 today! 15!!!! REALLY!!! She is getting her permit today and I just can't believe that someone is going to say "Alright...hop on in the car and drive it on your own!" Well they might not actually say that in so many words, but you get the drift! haha! Katy and I got her a sweet gift, but I went ahead and sent her a nice birthday email with some pictures of her and her new boyfriend! It is the actor from the Twilight movie and she was pretty darn excited to see the pics since she thinks he is "the hottest guy ever"...or something like that. I don't see it, but I still thought it would be funny!

You know who didn't think it was funny???? Daddy Brack....oops! :)

Hope you are all having a great day!

nienie Dialogues

I just added the nienie blog to my favorite blogs, and can I just say that my absolute goal in life is to be a fraction of the wife and mother that she is...

My sister Katy has told me all about this blog and the plane crash that her and her husband were in. I went to it right after I had heard her story, and was in awe of this woman that was such a wonderful mother and wife, however that was before I was ever a mom myself. I think having Luke has made me appreciate her on a whole new level. The way that this woman is with her kids and her husband make me want to be better at these things myself. She really appreciates life and all of the small and wonderful moments that make it up.

So...in turn...I have decided (only a month late) on my new year's resolution, and it is to be much better at appreciating all of the amazing things about my life, big and small...to be more like nienie.

Pleae check out her blog, you will be soooooo glad you did! Love you all!

Luke's Baptism

I know that this post is a little late, but better late than never!!!

Luke was baptized on January 25th, and we had lots of our family there for support!

His Godparents, Jon and Katy, couldn't be there due to some pregnancy complications, and they were so disappointed, but my parents were able to stand in to help dip the little guy into the pool of life! He was such a wonderful baby (which I am sure comes as no shock to everyone!), and afterward we had a beautiful reception at Bama and Papa's house (Lori and Phil)!

Thank you to all of the family that was there to witness such a wonderful celebration for our precious Luke! We love you all!

The 55th President??

The other day I had just finished giving Luke his bath and I put him in his chair with some toys and books. I went to get the camera cause he just looked so cute, and he was just playing with the book and it ended up looking like he was actually reading it! Maybe he WAS actually reading it...maybe he is a genius...a prodigy...possibly the future president of the United States! I was thinking about him being president because that morning we had actually been watching the inauguration of President Obama, and I wanted to get a picture of Luke watching the extraordinary event so that he will know where he was when it happened....in his Bumbo seat!

After taking the picture though I soon realized though that he wasn't actually reading, but just getting the book into position to chew on it! Oh well...he could still be president one day! :)

Happy 2009 to Everyone!!!

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season, and have been enjoying the new year so far! The holidays are my absolute favorite time of year, and combine that with the fact that now I have a beautiful, precious, perfect little baby boy to spend my every moment with and I was just on Cloud 9!

Luke is going to be 3 months old tomorrow, and I cannot believe how fast the time has passed! He is growing so fast, and is just so much fun! This past week he started to laugh for real (before he was just kinda of grunting, but now it sounds like a real laugh)! And this morning he rolled over for the first time! He is just changing so fast. Everytime he looks at me and smiles I get tears in my eyes cause he is just so precious!

Andrew, Luke, and I made the LONG drive back to Clovis for Christmas, and we had just the best time! On the way we stopped to see my grandma in Las Cruces (the picture at the top was taken at her nursing home), and she looked just great! Kelli, Greg, and Dillon (who is now a year old!) were there, and so were Ryan and Cambria! It was so wonderful to see everyone and show off Luke! We stayed at my Nana & Grandad's new beautiful home, and just got to hang out and relax for a week!! We also had an open house for people to come by and see Luke. These are just a few pictures from the trip

Cousin Dillon and Luke

Katy and Jon had their vows renewed after the Christmas Eve Mass so that they can be Luke's Godparents...another one of those goofy Catholic hoops to jump, so thank goodness they were so willing to participate!

Luke with Mimi and Nonno

(From Left to Right: Dillon (almost 1 year), Kyle (6 months), Luke (2.5 months)...When we were taking this picture the other two boys were moving all over, and Luke was sitting there so still cause he hasn't learned HOW to move yet, so the other two boys are in a different position in every picture, and Luke is the EXACT same in all of them!

After making it back to town, we got ready for our annual New Year's Eve shin-dig, the Ryan's Rockin Eve. Luke had his second sleepover at Bama's house, and I am sure that I should have tried to get more sleep when I had the chance!

I hope everyone had a blessed holiday season, and have been enjoying the new year so far! I love you all, and cannot wait to see what 2009 holds for us all!