Zoo and Snooze

This morning Ryan and I went to music class then headed to the zoo. It was absolutely beautiful outside and just the perfect day. We are supposed to get tons of rain this weekend so I wanted to enjoy the nice weather before the bad weather comes.

The zoo was fun and we got to watch some of the animals eat so that was neat. We had lunch then headed home. Since Ryan didn't get a morning nap he was pretty tired by the time we hit the car. He was asleep within three minutes of pulling out of the parking lot. I knew he was really out since his thumb came out of his mouth. He slept the whole way home but unfortunately he woke up when we got there. He stayed awake for a good 4o min after getting home BUT he finally went to sleep and took a great two hour nap. Yay Ryan!!!

Tonight we had a get together with our small group for some food and fun. I made Strawberry Shortcake and it was a hit. I will post the recipe tomorrow. I've made it many times and everyone always loves it. It's yummy and light!

We have been so blessed by our small group. They are an amazing group of friends and a great support for us! It's so important to have friends around you who encourage you and support you.

Now looking forward to a good weekend!

Pulling and Standing

Ryan has been doing one thing all day long...

He has been pulling up on everything and standing up. It started this morning with Ryan pulling up on his lion and jumperoo. Yes, he is in Christmas pajamas but hey, they fit, ha!

This morning I put him down for his nap but he had absolutely no interest in sleeping, all he wanted to do was pull and stand up. He did allow me to shower and get ready. I was then hoping for a long afternoon nap.

We met some friends at Dewey's for lunch. After lunch we came home and I put Ryan down for his afternoon nap and jumped on the treadmill. Ryan had no interest in sleeping once again and all he wanted to do was stand up in his crib. I think I went in his room about 4 times to lay him back down and every time he would just smile and eventually climb his way back to standing up. I finished my workout and gave up. It was 3:30 so I just got him up and fed him. He hasn't napped well all week. I'm hoping the newness of standing up will wear off very soon!

Ryan is so funny about grass. If I lay a blanket out on the grass he will not move off the blanket but he loves to crawl over to the edge and touch the grass. He doesn't like crawling on the grass but he is curious as to what it is.

Even though Ryan didn't nap all day long he ate a great dinner of chicken and pears (all table food). I can't help but smile when I walk in his room and he is standing in his crib so proud and excited to see his momma!

Fish and Chicken

Yesterday I took Ryan to the aquarium. It's amazing to watch as he becomes more aware of the animals each time we go. We didn't stay very long but it was nice to get out of the house and it wasn't crowded at all.

Checking out the turtle!

Nap and bedtime have gotten a little challenging again since he likes to stand in his crib. Seems like it takes him a good amount of time to "fall" asleep. Any suggestions? We used to have atoy aquarium in his crib until it died. I wonder if that would help keep him laying down in bed and occupied instead of climbing!

Today I gave Ryan some chicken from Chick-Fil-A for lunch. He loves chicken. He think he tried to stuff about five pieces in his mouth at one time so I had to cut it up smaller and only give him a little at a time. He is so funny he just cracks me up!

Monday

This is what I saw when I went to get Ryan this morning, except he was in his pj's. He was standing up all by himself in his crib. He has been able to pull up to his knees for a while now so I knew it wouldn't be long before he could pull all the way up. He looked so proud of himself and had the biggest grim on his face. This boy is full of energy and life.

This morning I went to the gym to workout then we spent the rest of the day at home. It was rainy, cold and yucky all day. What did brighten my day was the workers at the gym told me Ryan is such a happy baby and always so good. That does a momma's heart some good!

I think we pulled out every toy Ryan owns today. He played and crawled and played some more. He is a little wiggle worm and doesn't sit still for very long.

We enjoyed our laid back Monday but we are looking forward to getting out some tomorrow!

Weekend Wrap-up

We've had a great weekend! Saturday morning we took Ryan to swim lessons. The pool is heated but it was much cooler on Saturday. I was worried Ryan would get cold so we moved around and jumped up and down in the water alot. He did great and his instructor says he is a natural moving his arms and kicking his legs. I can't wait to spend the summer at the pool.

This morning we headed downtown to walk for the March of Dimes. Some of our friends invited us to be on their team. They sadly lost a baby at 30 weeks in 2008. All weekend we were worried about the weather since they were forecasting rain but as you can tell it turned out to be a beautiful day.

Ryan enjoyed the stroll too. I was hoping he would take a little nap but he was too excited looking at all the people.

He got to see and spend some quality time with his girlfriend Elizabeth. Here they were trying to talk to each other, ha! Our friends invited us to a picnic after the walk with pizza and snacks. After the picnic we headed home around 1:30 and we were all zapped. Ryan fell asleep in the car but woke up right before we got home. I put him down for his nap and finally after about 45 min. he finally fell asleep. We all took a good 2 hour nap this afternoon.

I'm looking forward to getting back in my groove of working out this week. Hope to also get out with Ryan and enjoy some nice walks.

How We Met

Today on Kelly's Show Us Your Life Friday - it's how you met your husband! So here is how I met my husband!

On November 13, 1979 a little girl named Summer was born. She grew up in Memphis with her loving parents and older brother. She loved life and her friends and family. After high school she went to Union University in Jackson, TN to pursue her dreams.

500 miles away on July 18, 1980 a little boy named John Matthew was born. He grew up in Cincinnati, OH with his parents and younger sister. After high school he went to Vanderbilt to pursue his dreams.

(nice socks with the sandals Matt, hahaha)

After not finding their mates in college these two crazy kids decided to give Match.com a try.

In Nov. 2003 Matt was at Penn State in graduate school and I was in Memphis working for ServiceMaster. I saw Matt's profile on match.com and thought he sounded like a great guy and pretty good looking too ;) I decided to send him a message but didn't hear back immediately. Meanwhile, he was out to dinner with friends but when he came home he saw my message and checked out my profile. He liked what he saw so he emailed me. We began talking online soon and within weeks were talking on the phone. Matt drove to Memphis the day after Christmas in 2003 to meet me in person. We went to Rendezvous for dinner and a Grizzlies game. We hit it off great and decided to continue to see each other. Thus began our year long travel frenzy. We saw each other about once a month flying back and forth.

This picture was taken in Feb. 2004. My first time to visit State College, PA and my first time visiting Matt. I had never said so much snow in my entire life. I think they had about 10in. or so on the ground. And I will NEVER fly a puddle jumper/turbo prop. I flew one for the first and last time on this trip.

On a date in State College, PA

In May 2004 Matt came to Memphis to visit again. We are eating dinner with my fam here. They weren't sure what to think of the whole online thing at first but they quickly fell in love with Matt.

July 2004 in Cincinnati. My first trip to the Nati.

Another visit to Memphis. Eating at one of our favorites, Corkey's BBQ.

In March 2005 I decided to move to State College to be closer to Matt. We had dated long distance for a little over a year and he still had another year of grad school left. It was hard moving 1000 miles away from friends and family but it was the best decision I ever made.

In Aug. 2005 we traveled home to Memphis for my best friends wedding.

On my 26th birthday (Nov. 13 2005) Matt popped the question and asked me to marry him. This is our engagement photo.

We moved to Cincy in Dec. 2005. We were married on July 8, 2006.

And that's how we met. Many people are shocked to find out we met on match.com. It worked for us and we have met many friends who have also met their spouse online.

We will celebrate 4 years of marriage in July. Sometimes it feels like 10 years and others it feels like 2. The above pic is from our honeymoon in Hawaii. We absolutely loved Hawaii and I am dying to go back!

Cooking with Marti

Today at MOPS our mentor Mom Marti showed us easy and yummy recipes. I am ALWAYS in need of help with recipes. Seems like we cycle through the same dinners all the time. And I hate recipes that say "salt to taste" or "little dash of that". Drives me nuts, I'm terrible at cooking. I do try and I want Ryan to be a good healthy eater. I'm anxious to try her spaghetti and meat sauce recipe soon. I'll let you know how it goes!

Ryan looked so adorable in his turtle shirt and kacki shorts before MOPS that I had to snap his pic. It's getting harder to take his picture, ha! He had another stellar performance at dinner tonight. He ate almost a whole pear, chopped up of course. We made breakfast for dinner so he also had some waffle and loved it. We had such a good day and Ryan seems to be feeling back to normal.

Picnic in the Park

I'm glad to report I am on the mend from my illness. I feel so much better today, thank goodness! Ryan no longer has a fever and seems to be on the mend as well. He took 4 hours worth of naps today. He was one sleepy baby and I was one happy momma!

We decided to go to the park for lunch today and get some fresh air. It was beautiful out. Feeding Ryan wasn't as easy as I hoped. I've never tried to feed him just sitting, not in a high chair. It didn't work very well and I ended up putting him in the stroller to finish his food. We enjoyed playing on the blanket and watching all the people.

This afternoon I kept looking at Ryan and thinking "You are so big and such a little boy". I feel like my little baby has grown up on my over night. It's so weird!! He just looked so grown up to me today.

We had an amazing breakthrough at dinner! Ryan ate pears (fresh, not puree) and baked sweet potatoes (real potato chunks, not puree). Oh I am so proud of him! He was picking up the food and putting it in his mouth like a champ. He couldn't get enough. I didn't feed him his usual thing of baby food because he did so well eating table food! So proud of my big boy!!!

Under the Weather

Well we have all been under the weather at the Deepe house, except for Matt. I'm praying he doesn't get what Ryan and I have. Sunday morning I woke up early to run. When I finished I felt nauseated and a little agitated. Matt went ahead and took Ryan to church and I tried to rest. I had a fever and felt awful. I felt worse throughout the day. I thought it might be a 24 virus but when I woke up yesterday I didn't feel any better. Matt took a half day of work and I went to the doctor. I felt like I had the flu because I was so achy but he said I have a sinus infection. I'm on antibiotics now and finally last night I started feeling better. I got a good nights rest and today I'm much better, not 100%, but better.

Which brings me to today...Ryan has had a little cough for a few days but I was hoping it was just all the pollen in the air but last night he was really fussy and didn't eat well. When I put him to bed he had a fever. He slept well but when I took his temp this morning is was down a degree but I knew he was not feeling well. We headed to the pediatrician this morning and sure enough Ryan has an ear infection. Bless his heart. We missed our last day of Bible study today. So disappointed. I'm just praying we both feel better soon and feel like our old selves again.

Ten Months

RYAN - You are TEN MONTHS OLD today!!!!!!

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO THIS MONTH???

• You weigh around 22 lbs.
• You wear size 3 diapers
• You are mostly in size 12 month clothes
• You love to eat and are trying new things all the time.

• You still love your stage 2 pureed foods but you also like bread, crackers, chicken, goldfish, cheerios. You still aren't eating table foods that are slimy or wet but you are getting better. You actually ate carrots and pears recently.
• You are getting better with you sippy cup. You actually take a few drinks in between chewing on it. Ha!
• You typically take a 30-6o min. nap and a good 2 hour nap in the afternoon.
• You sleep wonderful during the night. You go to bed between 6:30-7pm and wake up between 7:30-8am.

• Your personality comes out more and more every day. You love attention from other people and just smile when strangers talk to you.
• You LOVE your Daddy but right now you pretty much only have eyes for your Momma. Momma loves this but wants you to adjust well to others around you.
• You love to talk and just babble all day long. You are especially talkative in the morning. You say Dada all day long.
• You have SIX teeth. Two on the bottom and FOUR on top! The top ones came in all at once.

• You are crawling ALL OVER the place. You LOVE cords - electrical cords, computer cords, lamp cords. You are constantly crawling and on the move.
• You pull up on things but still only to your knees. You love to stand holding things. I'm sure soon you will be standing by yourself.
• You love when Momma gets excited and claps for you. You get so excited and smile so big.

I can't believe how much you have changed over the last 10 months. You are becoming such a sweet and adorable little person.

We are so proud of you and so blessed to call you ours. Our love for you grows more and more every day!