christmas card '09

tradition

I love Christmas time. Spending time with family and friends. I especially love the traditions that come with the Christmas season. One of my favorite traditions that my family has is one that started with my Great Grandma Leola and her family. She had four young children when her husband passed away, leaving her to provide for all of them. Money was always tight which meant very small and humble Christmases. Instead of everyone getting gifts for each other, they made it a game to see who could be the first to wish the others a Merry Christmas, or as they would say, "Christmas Gift." It didn't end with just Christmas. We now have

Christmas Eve Gift,
Christmas Gift,
New Years Eve Gift,
&
New Years Gift.

I love hearing the story of my Grandma's Uncle coming over to their house to "get" everyone. They would hear him coming down the road and all the kids would hide so that he wouldn't be able to find them and get them.

This is a tradition that we have continued all through the years. If you call any of my Grandma's siblings and their families today, they will still answer their phones "Christmas Eve Gift"

So from our family to yours...
"Christmas Eve Gift!"

ryder baby

We finally got our pictures back. Lets just say that after bending/breaking my first disk, the Mail Man is on the Naughty List . Then our photographer had her baby and it took her awhile to get a replacement in the mail. It's no surprise that I was so excited to get these! They were well worth the wait. I know I'm a little biased, but I think Ryder is the cutest baby ever!

Thanks

happy thanksgiving.
-the winegars.

This year I am thankful for a wonderful family, husband, and son, and for Chase's willingness to work hard for our family so that I can be home with Ryder. I am one lucky girl!

halloween

Why am I just now posting about Halloween? Well, a couple of reasons... One, I took my camera to the party that Ben and Amanda threw but when I got there, I realized that I had forgotten one very important thing.. It's called a memory card. Apparently you can't take pictures if you don't have one. Who knew. Luckily Amanda was a little more prepared and was nice enough to take a few pictures for us. Two, I have been too busy working on an [advent calendar] for Christmas. It's taken me forever but, I really have loved doing it. I can't wait to see my finished product. I'll post again when I'm done. If you're in need of a fun project, you should do it!


Ryder looked so cute in his dragon costume! I loved it! It worked out perfectly to be out late that night and keep Ryder up. Remember how Halloween night was the night we set our clocks back an hour? Well, it helped a ton to get him on the new schedule. No drama at all. Since he went to bed so late that night, he slept in an hour longer than he normally does. I thought for sure it would take us at least a week to get the time change down. Lucky me.

Thanks Ben and Amanda for throwing a great Halloween Party! We had a great time and loved seeing everyone.

mommy's boy.

six.

Yep. I have a six month old. A half a year. It seems so weird to me. Time needs to slow down. I feel like it's just moving faster and faster ever day. I know I've said it before, I just had to say it again. I wish that I could hold onto every stage just a little longer. Except for maybe the colic stage. That I could have done with out. I do feel like it has made me appreciate his easy going nature a lot more though. He really is such a happy baby. He's content to just hang out with Mom and do whatever. He had a cold for what felt like 2 months, and he was even pretty happy through all that. We finally got antibiotics for him on Monday, and by Tuesday night he was all better. I'm so grateful! He feels so much better, and we all sleep a lot better. Lets just say it's not too easy to sleep in the same room with a baby that snores. I was ready to clear all my clothes out of my closet and put his crib in there. Chase doesn't think it's as good of an idea as I do. I think if he slept on the same side of the room as Ryder, he might change his mind.

Ryder has learned a few new tricks that he loves to practice. He loves to sit up and can do it really well now. Not only can he sit up, but he does sit ups. Honestly. He can do a full sit up from the laying down position if you hold his legs for him. No other help. I'll take pictures and post the whole process. It's awesome. He's going to have a nice six pack before too long.

We had another exciting big-boy-moment the other day. I was feeding him a piece of rice, and he bit my finger. Finally! Not just one tooth, but two teeth! I had looked the day before and could see that they were under there, but didn't think they would come through for a while. I sure was wrong. He looks so cute with his two bottom, middle teeth poking up. I love it. And I'm sure not missing all the drooling that was going on while he was teething. It was insane. We were going through shirts like crazy!

I made a half of a Birthday cake for Ryder's half birthday. My brother-in-law looked at me like I was crazy when I told him I was making cake. "Really? For his half birthday?" Yes, really. I wasn't really making it for Ryder though. I was just in the mood for Funfetti cake with Rainbow Chip frosting. I just needed an excuse to have it. I wanted to get a picture of Ryder with the half cake, and he got a little too close. Grandpa let him dig his little hand into the side of the cake and take a little taste. He loved it. But lets be honest. What doesn't he like to eat?? I don't think he would turn down any food. We lucked out, he's not picky at all.
Now that he is sitting up, we thought it might be good to have some toys for him that he can play with while sitting. You can't tell from the pictures, but he really does like them. I love that I can sit him on the floor for a while and he can play with toys. I just wish it would last a little longer. He soon realizes that he would rather have me down there playing with him and he lets me know.


He also got a new fire truck walker. It's pretty sweet. It makes tons of fun sounds for him and lights up. I'm hoping that as he gets a little older, that he will like this more. He will sit in it, but he has to be in a really good mood before you put him in it, or he will scream.

We're so lucky to have such a sweet baby. We are so in love with him!

simple things.

st. george.

Last weekend included:

Driving to St. George with Jesse and Jessica.
27 holes of golf.

Beautiful Weather.
Pedicures for all.
Spoon Me.
Shopping.
A visit with Grandma and Grandpa Brey.

Not a lot of picture taking.

+

Lots of food.

Ryder stayed with his Granny and Gramps and had just about as much fun as we did. We missed him, but it was nice to have some "grown up time". Thanks Mom and Dad!

it looks like this..

If you've ever wondered what Ryder's face would look like if he were
sick
teething
&
suffering from the worst diaper rash he's ever had

He is such a good boy. Poor baby can't be comfortable, but he is still in such a good mood. We love him so much! What sick child is this happy?