I'M 13 MONTHS OLD!!

WEIGHT:  20.2 lbs

FAVORITE TOY:  His bike helmet.  He loves grabbing it, putting it on his head, and walking around the house.  A few times I've been in another room and he'll waltz in the room with the helmet on and I die of laughter.

FAVORITE ACTIVITY:  Anything that involves being outside.  So far, he is also digging his mommy/me preschool.  Loves dancing (which really just involves him bending his knees a few times).  Taking things out of cabinets and drawers

MILESTONE:  We have mastered this walking business.  He can also stand up from a seated position with out the assistance of anyone or holding on to anything.  He can drink out of a regular cup (as long as there is only about a millimeter of liquid in it).  No more bottles!!!  (except for a super small one at night which he takes a few sips of and then tosses across the room.  I am still not ready to give that feeding up in fear he won't sleep through the night.)

DISLIKES:  Getting his diaper changed.  Being held.  Getting dropped off at child care at the gym.  I get to work out for about 15 minutes before they come get me because he screams the whole time I'm gone.  

MAMA'S FAVORITE:  Sleeping!!  He does great now.  Goes down easily for naps and bedtime..he puts himself to sleep with no issues.  He seems to actually like naps/bedtime now.  Sleeps all night long and when he wakes up in the morning he usually "talks" instead of screams.  Also, just love his little expressions and how curious he is...

DADA'S FAVORITE:  Loves his laugh...loves the way he snuggles at night right before we put him in his crib.  Loves that he is walking all over the place now.

Family fun night

We went to Ryden's preschool on Friday night for some fun. They had bounce houses, food, and tons of people. We were walking around when we heard this little voice say "hi Ryden". Ryden looked up at us with a huge smile and said "that's my friend! That's Myles!". It was the cutest thing ever. I'm sorry I didn't get more pictures but it was chaos!

Greatest park eva!....seriously

Since Ry, Trev, and I are still loners at the moment, we do a lot of exploring.  I came across this park which had great reviews on the internet (crazy what we can find on a computer these days...).  So we decided to check it out. I am not kidding when I say this is by far the best park I have ever been to!  It reminded me of a park my sister took us to when we visited her in New Hampshire but super sized!  It had several play structures, duck pond, grass for days, etc.  Ryden was in heaven!  He would've stayed for ever sliding down the slides, going through tunnels, and swinging.  Trevin was just interested in the "da's" (ducks).

The swings faced the "Da" pond

And the slides Ry was going down were crazy high!  I went down one and was super dizzy afterwards.  Can you spot Ryden?

They even had a mister that came up from the ground...New York manhole style...

Our new favorite place...Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach..

Grandma's memorial, part 2 (just pictures).

Grandma's memorial service in Paradise, CA

My first post in months.. Ryden and I made a trip to Paradise for my Grandma's memorial service. As you can imagine, its very easy to travel with just Ry. We met my moms, sis, and Nick in SAC airport and the 'movie drama' began. Story is -- My uncle who was traveling from Houston, TX was bringing my Gma's ashes with him. He checked the suitcase with the ashes (which is required by law - I didnt know) and the baggage was lost in transit. By the time we landed, the suitcase was suppose to arrive - but UNITED could not locate. They literally lost the SUITCASE. Drove our family CRAZY, but I spoke to the claim manager and left all my info. We ended up leaving the airport without the bag hoping it would come in before the 1pm service the next day. GOD blessed us the next morning as I recd a phone call very early from the much relieved UNITED manager. The bag was never properly checked in from TX which caused the whole issue. Uncle C jammed to the airport from Paradise (1.5 hours a way) and made it back just in time for the service. My moms brothers and sisters all spoke at the very family oriented service. This is only my 2nd funeral (of family) I have attended and it obviously doesnt get easier. Very emotional hearing all of the stories about our Gma (mom's mom who had 7 kids) but good to be amongst family. We sang 'YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE' in honor of both our gma and grandpa who are once again united in Heaven. Barely made it through the song as you can imagine. I then quickly spoke about the importance of family and although we are all different, we should try our best to visit and spend more time together in future. Hope we can make this happen! I held Ryden the entire time as he was a lil confused by the entire service, but was a good boy as usual. He later asked why everyone was crying and I attempted to explain what Heaven was, which he already knows that is where Tyson is. I told him its above the clouds and he said "We went to heaven in the plane yesterday." It made my laugh and cry -- and I was very happy he was there.  We spent the rest of the trip keeping busy and spending time with the family. Nick took some great pictures as featured below. Definitely miss our Gma, but know she is in a better place and eventually will be able to hug her again. 

Special shout out to my wifey who stayed home to watch the dogs w/ crazy Trev. She has also been very comforting and loving during this time. On a happier note - HAPPY 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY MY LOVE! We will find time to celebrate -- I PROMISE!

Wilderness Park

Our neighbors told us about a cool little park right down the road from us.  It really was like going into the wilderness for a few moments.  Trees all around...duck pond...felt like we were camping.  Ry even took a pine cone home as a souvenir.  I felt like saying "TOOOBY...JENNNNY" (only Ridenour's will know what that means)

Trev freaked out when he saw the ducks.  Loved them!  Would've jumped in the water if I wasn't holding his arm

I turn around and Ry is sitting on the tree in this cheesy pose..total senior picture moment circa 1995

Such a fun little place...need to go back and explore more...