Mother's Day Weekend

We have had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend here at our house. I am so blessed to have a wonderful mother. She loves me unconditionally and loves Ryan that much more. She loves Matt and totally accepts him like her own son. She is the best mom and nana anyone can have. Love you momma!!!

Last night Matt and I had a date night while Ryan hung out with his grandparents. We went to J.Alexanders then Borders to look around. I bought a couple books for Ryan and the new Laura Bush memoir. Have you seen it or seen her doing interviews? She was on Oprah last week and it was a great interview. I just love her! She seems so down to earth and so sweet! I can't wait to dive into her book!

I had the best mother's day today! This morning Ryan snuggled in the bed with me and Matt. He is quit the wiggle worm but this morning he just wanted to snuggle with momma. My heart almost burst with joy. We went to church this morning and afterwards Ryan and Matt took me to Mimi's for lunch.

Ryan fell asleep in the car on the way to Mimi's but thankfully there was a 45 min wait once we arrived so we just sat in the car and let him sleep. I thought he would be real good after his nap but not so much. He was good until he finished eating. After that he just wanted to be held. I think he was still tired.

Tonight we went to dinner with Matt's dad and step mom, Matt's sister Erin and her husband Brad. Ryan was really good the whole time. We got to the place early to try to get some pics in the square for Ryan's birthday party invitations. I need to order them soon.

These are some of the pics we got but none that I was crazy about. They are too dark. I wish I knew what I was doing wrong. I need to take a photography class so bad. I'm taking a little one in a couple weeks. It's just a 2 hour thing but maybe it will help. I think we might go back to the same spot tomorrow to try to get a good picture. Tomorrow is the only nice day this week. Tuesday on they are calling for rain, yuck!

I had such a wonderful first mother's day! I love my sweet boys (and my sweet girls Annabelle and Gracie). I am so blessed beyond measure and thank God every day for all He has done. Thank you Matt and Ryan for the best mother's day!!!

What's in a Name?

Today on Kelly's Show Us Your Life we are showcasing Kids' Names.

I remember early in our relationship Matt and I talked about the names we liked for our children. We talked about names we really liked and family names. When we got pregnant with Ryan we didn't know what we were having so we picked out a boy name and a girl name to be prepared.

Our boy name:

Ryan Samuel

It was very hard to find a boy name that we both agreed on. We looked and talked about alot of names and Ryan was the one we kept coming back to. I love the name Ryan Deepe and loved how strong and all-american it sounded. Matt's maternal grandfather's name was Samuel and it's also his Dad's name so we knew we wanted Samuel for his middle name.

Our girl name:

Sydney Deborah

Our girl name was much easier and we decided it even before we were pregnant. We were watching TV one night and we heard the name Sydney. I told Matt I really liked the name and he agreed. He really liked it too. He loves Australia and dreams about going one day. We love the name Sydney and like how it's beautiful and unique. Matt's mother sadly passed away when he was 13 years old from breast cancer. Her name was Deborah and we will name our first daughter (if we are blessed to have one) after her.

So there are our baby names. We don't have another boy name we like so if we have another boy we are in trouble. We do have a second girl name but I will save that for later. :-)

Almost No Hands

VeggieTales

I recently purchased Ryan's first VeggieTales movie. VeggieTales is a cartoon based on biblical stories. They are super cute and actually entertaining for adults too. I turned it on this afternoon while I was making dinner and this is what Ryan's reaction was. He was totally enthralled and enjoyed the silly songs. He loved it! Thank you Lord for VeggieTales!!!

This is the movie we watched today. Highly recommend it for all your little ones! I don't want Ryan to watch much or alot of TV but VT has a great message and sometimes momma's gotta get something done!

Picnic and a snack

This morning we had Ryan's check up appointment from his ear infection a couple weeks ago. He checked out great and is perfectly healthy. After Ryan's appointment we headed to the park to meet up with Anissa and Elizabeth.

This little boy was so excited to swing and enjoy the beautiful weather. He is always so smiley and such a good boy. It's so much fun being his mom!

I packed a lunch for both of us. I can't wait til he can walk and actually play on the playground.

Miss Elizabeth looking adorable. She's such a cutie pie. When they were playing on the blanket they were trying to steal each others toys.

And I must confess this is my favorite snack right now. Have you tried these? Oh my, they are so good and even better with a cold diet coke. Funny how I used to hate diet coke and loved regular coke but now I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE diet coke. What's your favorite snack?

Funday and Strawberry Shortcake

We had a fun play day today. This morning we went to the gym where I got my butty kicked (but it was so worth it and so needed). We came home just in time for Ryan to take a short morning nap. We had lunch at home then just played and played and played. Ryan has a nack for getting into things he shouldn't - the electrical cords, dog bowls, just to name a few. He was pulling up on everything and crawling everywhere. He is one busy little boy!

After Ryan's afternoon nap we headed to Target and Family Christian Bookstore for a few things. Ryan is not much for watching TV although he is always captivated by the weather radar on the news. He always turns to watch it when it comes on. Little future meteorologist Al Rocker on our hands??? (BTW Matt wanted to be the weatherman when he was little.) Today I bought Ryan his first Veggie Tales movie! Can't wait to see if enjoys it.

Here is the recipe for the Strawberry Shortcake I made for Friday night. It's Paula Deen's and it's just the yummiest!

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

(I always make it in a truffle bowl like this. It looks so pretty)

Ingredients:

1 large angel food cake

Custard:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese (softened)

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 12-ounce container whipped topping (thawed)

Glaze:

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons strawberry jell-o

1 cup water

2 cups fresh strawberries cut in half or quarters

Slice cake horizontally into three equal layers. Mix together cream cheese, condensed milk, and whipped topping in a bowl; set aside. In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar, cornstarch, and Jell-o; add water. Cook stirring over medium heat until thick. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely, then fold in strawberries. Place one lay of cake in a large clear bowl. Top with a layer of glaze, followed by a layer of custard mixture. Repeat layer in this order for remaining cake, glaze, and custard. For a pretty presentation, top cake with three whole fresh strawberries and fresh mint leaves.

Our Weekend

The weekend has flown by. I can't believe it's already Sunday night. I don't care for this pic of me (I think I need more bangs) but I think it's great of Ryan. It was our weekly Sunday-morning-before-church picture. Saturday morning we went to swim lessons and Chick-fil-A for lunch. Last night we had dinner with our friends Anissa and Richard and their little girl Elizabeth. We went to a little place in downtown Loveland and it was so yummy. I'm so sad I didn't get one picture last night. After dinner we walked up to a candy shop to get ice cream. It was so nice outside and fun to just sit and chat.

This morning we enjoyed a great message on envy and contentment. Boy did God speak to my heart this morning. I needed that message! We came home after church and Ryan took a great nap while we relaxed. I really should have cleaned but I just wanted to relax. I'm planning to workout tomorrow morning so I'm reserving Ryan's afternoon nap time for cleaning! I'm looking forward to a gorgeous week with lots of nice walks outside!