my new favorite thing

ryker found his tongue
and it’s the cutest thing ever.
he sticks it out all the time
especially when he smiles;
it makes me laugh!

i tried to capture this
on my iphone but
ryks is too fast for me.
so you’ll have to settle for
this picture where he is
barely sticking out his tongue.

first week back

after 12 weeks of perfect summer fun,
i went back to work last week.

taking ryker to daycare the first day was the hardest thing i’ve ever done!
i started to cry right when i pulled in and didn’t stop until i got to work.

luckily i love his daycare and all the wonderful women who work there.
they treat ryker like he is their favorite (and why wouldn’t he be!)
ryker seems to like the women – he gives them tons of smiles
when we get there and when we leave.

going back to work felt good. my team did a great job while i was gone.
i work with a lot of wonderful people and i love my job!
i’ve enjoyed balancing work and family and with graham’s help,
it’s been a smooth transition.

by the time saturday rolled around, i needed cuddle time with ryker.
so i let him sleep in our bed after his 6 a.m. feeding
(graham really is asleep in this photo and doesn’t know i took it.
i’m waiting to see how long it takes him to realize i’ve posted it on our blog)


ryker spent saturday shopping with me, my friend nichole, and her daughter hannah.
i think he really enjoyed having a backseat companion.
hannah was great at trying to put his binkie back in his mouth
or offer him some of her drink when he cried.


another big milestone for us this week is ryker can now sit in his chair.
we put him in the chair a few weeks ago but because he
wasn’t strong enough, he would lean to one side and get stuck.
now our strong guy sits in the chair while we eat dinner or clean the kitchen.

(by the way, ryker totally lost in the stare-down competition with the bumble bee)

it was a tough, busy, but great first week.

dog lake

on labor day, we hiked up
millcreek canyon to dog lake
(a creative name for a lake
where dogs are allowed to swim)

it was hard to tell who
received more "oohs" and "ahhs"
along the hike:

the dogs with their backbacks
(sorry about the view! i didn't have a
better shot of them with their backpacks)


or ryker in the baby carrier


the best part of this hike
is when you reach the top
and can first see dog lake.

we removed kylie and nigel's backpacks
before we reached the top
so they wouldn't jump in with them on.

as soon as nigel saw the water,
he took off running and jumped in.
(nigel is the dog way out
in the middle of the lake)


even if no one threw a stick
nigel would swim around the lake
until he found one


kylie would usually wait on
the shoreline until nigel
brought back a stick


and then she'd fight him for it


nigel also made friends
by trying to take sticks
away from other people...


and other dogs


ryker did great during the hike


and even seemed to like the carrier


or at least what he could get his mouth on

the many faces of ryker

the “grumpy” or his "usual” face
ryker is smiling and laughing so much now
but that doesn’t stop him from proffering
a couple of his all-too-common grumpy faces




the “i’m starting to like baths
but still am a little unsure” face
truth is, ryker finally likes baths
he laughs, kicks his feet, and relaxes in the tub
and i manage to get peed on everytime

the “i’m focusing” face
this is another classic ryker face.
ryks is constantly checking out the world around him.
he is captivated by some of my paintings
and likes to focus on the dogs
at least until they try to lick his face




my favorite face(s)
ryker’s hair is becoming very curly
even the long hair on the back of his head
(i.e. his mullet) curls up.
the day i took this picture
i had to use tons of lotion to get his
curly hair to stand up.

i love my boys!