Ryleigh's First Haircut

Ryleigh had her first haircut yesterday - it only took 2 years and almost 9 months to need one!! She was mad at me when I went and got a haircut a few months ago without taking her. Daddy got a haircut, grandpa got a haircut, mommy got a haircut - but not Ryleigh. So I told her next time I went, I'd bring her for a haircut.

Pre-Haircut:

From July 22, 2011

So serious!

From July 22, 2011

Haircuts are some serious business apparently :)

From July 22, 2011

All done! "Wait, I'm allowed to smile?"

From July 22, 2011

While Mommy got her hair trimmed, Ryleigh got her toes painted by the lady who works right next to mommy's hair lady.

From July 22, 2011

All DONE!

From July 22, 2011

We just had the ends trimmed up to give her hair some sort of shape. It's got a lot more defined curls now and it looked so cute this morning when I let it air dry. It definitely tangles a lot less now.

Living room, Kitchen, and Nook updated photos

And here's what we've been doing since the 4th of July weekend. We started tackling the rest of the painting in the living room and kitchen/ nook - it's a big space! We were a little defeated when my brother comes over and asks what we've been doing, and we already had 1 coat of paint on the walls in the living room. He couldn't even tell with the tape on that we'd painted :( It isn't much of a difference, but it softens the white. And it's noticable on the trim once the tape came off!

But 2 weekends later (the second weekend was needed to finish 1 more coat of paint on the long wall of the kitchen and behind the fridge, as well as choose the color and paint the island) - It's finally complete!

From 2011 July

From 2011 July

From 2011 July

4th of July - 3 weeks later

For the 4th of July, we went to see the movie "Cars 2". Ryleigh was really excited to see it, then half way through the movie decided she wanted to go home. We made her stay, but Chris and I enjoyed it. Then we went to my parents house for a naptime and a BBQ. Chris and Kristin came over, and Cory was already there.

The boys had a mean game of slam the ball across the pool. Hit the goal and you get a point. I guess the objective is to prevent your goal from getting hit? All I know is that balls go whipping across the pool and you better stay clear.

Here's Ryleigh after her nap. That's the same dress from last year. Except this year it actually fits her pretty well! Shows how slow my kid grows!

From 2011 July

She was being weird. My mom was asking her for a cute cheese picture, then she started doing some crazy poses. As you can see above, she's sticking her tummy out and her shoulders back. Now she's showing off her belly.

From 2011 July

And like any model, she had to go review her shots. "Grandma, nee see chees."

From 2011 July

Once it got dark we got ready for fireworks in our backyard. The night before we were hoping to see the Lake Pleasant Fireworks from our front window (there's a great unobstructed view towards the lake), unfortunately it got rained out by one of the first real monsoons of the seasons, complete with 30 minute torential downpour. This is the first year that fireworks were legal in Arizona. You can now buy them and set them off on private property. So we went to the backyard. Chris and Kristin supplied the fireworks, and for Ryleigh - Glowsticks.
Ryleigh's got her glowsticks ready!

From 2011 July

Got the cool special effects going:

From 2011 July

And some fireworks:

From 2011 July

And somehow in the excitement, a glowstick ended up in the pool.

From 2011 July

And back to the fireworks:

From 2011 July

A sparkler fight between Chris and Cory.

From 2011 July

Ryleigh watching with her glow sticks still. You can see she got a replacement for the one in the pool.

From 2011 July

From 2011 July

From 2011 July

From 2011 July

From 2011 July

From 2011 July

From 2011 July

And a sparkler for everyone!

From 2011 July

We found a great spot to see fireworks on our way home. We figured it would be a good spot, but stayed a little to late. Hope the view is just as good next year so we can go sit up off the side of the road on Happy Valley. We saw at least 2 shows driving home along the road.

Colorado Trip - Day 5

Monday, June 27

Time to go back home!! All the weekend's festivities wore the little girl out! She slept almost the entire flight home.

From 2011 June

Colorado Trip - Day 4

Sunday, June 26 -

We went to make some returns. Courtney got some duplicates, things she didn't like. So we ran around town returning things. Then we headed to the mall.

We went into the American Girl store. I've never been to one before. I lived close to 2 of them in LA and never went in. I can't wait for Ryleigh to get older. It's like 6-12 year old girl heaven! Ryleigh loved the Bitty Baby section and couldn't understand why I was making her put the baby in the stroller back when we left lol. She got a miniature Rebecca doll that she loves. We are teaching her how to treat 'Becca nicely until she can get a bigger doll for her birthday.

We also had to hit up Crocs. Crocs are based out of Boulder, Colorado. When I first found them for lab/work in 2004 they were so hard to find. The kiosk they were selling them at was only temporary. I finally found them when I moved to Denver. Ryleigh has a pair of cute brown crocs (that she wore with her blue and white outfit) and I wanted to find that style in a bigger size in black for her and figured I'd have luck in Colorado since none of the stores by us had them. Unfortunately they discontinued that style. But Ryleigh did find some Crocs she loved!! They're color changing. In the shade they're white and pink. In the sun the white turns purple. They had cute translucent sandals too (remind me of the old jellies), but sadly Ryleigh has a midget foot at a size 6.5-7 and the smallest size they make the sandals in is 8/9. I found a cute pair of peep-toe translucent flats that are amazingly comfy!!! This is quite the feat seeing as how no other flat shoe fits my oddly shaped foot. There's always some pressure point somewhere - but not in the Adrina flat! I love em!

Here's Ryleigh showing off her new crocs. In the shade - they're white (she was actually just in the sun, so they're not totally changed back to white yet)! She also got a new bracelet of Jibbitz charms from Crocs too. She got Minnie Mouse and Tinkerbell!

From 2011 June

And in the sun - they're PURPLE!!

From 2011 June

Colorado Trip - Day 3 - Part 2

After the shower, we cleaned up and then Ryleigh asked to go to the park. Courtney learned quick not to mention things to a 2 year old unless she plans to follow through. They don't forget much!

She was so eager to go to the park she took off running as soon as we got out of the car.

From 2011 June

Getting ready to slide.

From 2011 June

Such a cute picture!

From 2011 June

Running from one thing to another!

From 2011 June

"No more cheese!" She told me she was done posing for pictures at this time.

From 2011 June

From 2011 June

From 2011 June

From 2011 June

I think she loved the park! check out those green trees and that lush green grass! It was gorgeous in Colorado. I think this day it was in the mid to high 80s.

Colorado Trip - Day 3

June 25 - Shower day!

We got up and ran to Party City to get balloons for the shower. Courtney didn't like the green star balloons, so she let Ryleigh play with those ones.

Here's Ryleigh holding her balloons and playing with her new Mater and Holly Cars in the breezeway while we were setting up.

From 2011 June

Saying cheese, but not looking the right direction.

From 2011 June

"Crazy Dogs!!" She was watching Courtney's dogs playing outside in the backyard.

From 2011 June

Courtney showed her that the balloons could float up into the hole in the ceiling where the skylight is. Ryleigh was in awe of it!

From 2011 June

Clothesline decoration, flowers, chairs all ready for some guests.

From 2011 June

Food table, still missing food (Veggie tray, Chopped Cheesecake factory salad, southwestern egg rolls, etc.)

From 2011 June

Chantilly lace cake from Whole Foods. Very yummy!! Filled with berries inside between cake layers too!

From 2011 June

Ready for the party to start!!! Isn't her outfit adorable? I just love it!!

From 2011 June

Guests are here! Look at all those presents! Check out the tap shoes on one of the bags!! Courtney is a tapper. The father-daughter dance at her wedding was a tap dance!

From 2011 June

All the guests playing a game.

From 2011 June

Opening presents.

From 2011 June

One of her guests got a Paddington Bear and book from Paddington Station in England. Very special gift!

From 2011 June

Courtney had a great shower. I think she's all set and ready for her little one!

Colorado Trip - Day 2

For those who don't know, Courtney and I met in college at the University of Arizona. We lived on the same floor in our dorm (5AZ in the Arizona Sonora dorm). We both had crazy roommates and bonded over them. She was also a dance major, so we bonded over dance too. We had many adventures that year (just hit the F8 key!). Sophomore year I knew I was going to do a student exchange program, so I didn't want to leave her with a random roommate second semester, so we opted to have random roommates again. Junior and Senior years we lived together in apartments off campus. We have too many inside jokes to name. She is a business person who does dance on the side. I'm the science geek with a job where I swim in blood and she can't stand the B-word, the v-word (veins) or the a-word (arteries). We both get annoyed by stupid people who are never on top of things. She was the maid of honor in my wedding and I was her matron of honor while 32 weeks pregnant. Courtney is having a little girl at the end of July and I'm so excited for her!!

Friday, June 24 -

We got things ready for the shower. Courtney's mom came over and brought all the stuff she had for the shower including boxes I'd sent her. So we put together things for the games. We cleaned up the breezeway and the house. We ran a few errands to pick up a few things and started decorating for the shower.

From 2011 June

From 2011 June