Our Wonderful Husbands

Saturday night I had a baby shower here at our house for my good friend Heather. It was a "Girls Night" shower with a Mexican themed dinner and then we continued the celebration to the movie Twilight afterwards. With 31 ladies here to celebrate, we had a ton of fun! The dinner was so nice and several people brought dishes that made it especially yummy. Michele Richards made Heather a fantastic "castle" cake that said, "Menzie World welcomes baby Reddin to the Happiest Place on Earth." Heather got so many wonderful things for her growing family. It was very interesting having a movie be part of the shower as we had to all dart out to get to the theater. We had 20 of the 31 women go to see the movie! It was such a blast! I just wanted to thank everyone who helped put this together. And I especially wanted to thank all of our husbands for giving their wives the opportunity to join us and for the efforts they made for them. But most of all I wanted to thank my husband. He came home to a house of 30 women darting out the door and a huge mess! (sorry honey) I felt really bad going to the movie. I guess I just missed the clean-up detail of the whole night. Oops! :) So I expected to come home from the movie to this mess but instead walked inside to a house that was completely cleaned! He not only picked up EVERYTHING, he also did the dishes, and cleaned the floors! I was in complete awe, as my husband has actually never been known to do this in our almost 6 years of marriage, and couldn't believe my eyes! It was the greatest gift of the night for me! I was so exhausted and was feeling the affects of my sons cold coming on, so him having done this was such a huge relief. Then the next day he let me sleep in and watched Rylan most of the day while I laid around and even took a nap! I unfortunately have a bad sore throat and cough now. UGH! I am just glad it hit me after the shower and not before. Anyways, thank you to every ones "Honeys" and especially mine! :) xoxo

Fall in Florida

Before I start I have to tell you about the cell phone in Rylan's pocket. Whenever Ben or I get a new phone we take the battery out of our old one and let Rylan have it to play with. So on this morning he was laying on his changing table while I was getting him dressed, to go to Grammies house, while he was pretending to talk to her on his cell phone. When we were done he got down and told Ben, "Pocket Daddy." (He wanted the phone in his pocket.) Ben placed it in his pocket for him and he left that phone there all day and showed it to everybody!

OK, so don't laugh, but here in central Florida the closest thing we get to "fall leaves" are from maple trees. They really just turn brown and fall off of the tree, but hey, they make for great decorations and fun pictures too.












Mommy and RyRy...








And cousin Hailie and Rylan...







We had a lot of fun playing in the leaves and my mom got her yard cleaned up too! You just can't beat that!

My Three Boys

We are so thankful that we were able to have another ultrasound! It was such an amazing experience this time, like I remember having with Rylan. The lady was so nice and she took so much time with us and allowed us to watch our little guy moving around and even sucking his thumb! It isn't everyday you get to watch your child in your womb! It truly amazes me that we have that ability. I even gasped a few times, out of pure joy seeing the baby move, and scared the ultrasound tech and Ben. It was an experience I will never forget.

We of course got an imfamous "alien" shot, no ultrasound would be complete without one! I think this was actually Ben's favorite of all of them. His favorite with Rylan was one that made him look like a pirate! Oh, to have the mind of a man.....



We were very excited to get a defenite on the baby's gender this time too. If you are unable to tell, just look at where the little arrow is pointing.







We have both just become smitten with the idea of having two boys. I can't wait to have our new son here and for Rylan to become a big brother. It is such an unbelieveable event, the creation of life, and the bringing your baby into this world, into your home, heart, and life. I am going to have to grow bigger physically in order to carry around my heart that my three boys have filled completely with love.

Halloween 2008

It seems like we celebrated Halloween this year all month long! It was just too much fun! We started off with meeting some friends at the Pumpkin Patch for cute pictures and pumpkin picking! Thanks to the Menzie's we were able to get pictures, as my camera was broken. Here are some of Rylan and their daughter Mattie.

We also took Rylan to Boo @ the Zoo this year. I made him this awesome Boots costume, from Dora the Explorer, and he wouldn't wear it! It took me days. I had really wanted to show off all my hard work at the zoo and was a little disappointed. We ended up just putting him in some shorts and a skull t-shirt. We all had a lot of fun at the zoo and got lots of candy! Rylan caught on to the "trick or treat" thing VERY quickly. :)

Since Rylan wanted nothing to do with his "Boots" costume, I ended up making him a simple cape and belt. They were adorned with the super man symbol and the letter "R." He of course loved his "Super RyRy"costume! Such a boy! He was able to wear his cape to the trunk or treat at our church. We actually crashed the Melbourne Trunk or Treat and then went to the Palm Bay Trunk or Treat the next week! It was a lot of fun and Rylan loved going car to car holding his bucket up for candy. I think he was amazed by the whole thing. It is so exciting having little ones to share the holidays with. To watch their little faces light up and the amazement in their eyes. I loved teaching Rylan about Halloween as it approached. We covered our walls with Halloween arts and crafts. It will be exciting to pull out our "art" each year and I am sure one day we will get a good laugh from them!

Crazy 8's

I was tagged by my friend Dawn, whose answers were probably more interesting than mine :)

8 Things I am obsessed about right now:
1. Heather Menzie's Baby Shower
2. Rylan, Ben & Baby on the Way
3. Maternity clothes
4. Twilight Release
5. Naming our baby
6. Not sleeping well
7. Keeping the house clean
8. Starting Family Home Evening

8 Words or Phrases I use:
1. I love you
2.You Got to Move It...Move it (said while dancing)
3.Uh...No!
4. I am going to count to three....
5. Say please
6. Say thank you
7. What do you say? (after a burp or other bodily function)
8. Group Hug/Kiss

8 TV shows you love to watch:
1. Gossip girl
2. 90210
3. America's Next Top Model
4. Take Home Chef
5. Bringing Home Baby
6. The Hills
7. Dora The Explorer
8. Diego

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Finished Invitations for Heathers Shower
2. Took a Shower
3. Went to Playgroup
4. Gave Rylan a nap
5. Watched some TV
6. Fell asleep w/ Rylan on the couch (after he woke up from his nap)
7. Woke up at 5:30pm in a daze from the doorbell ringing
8. Went up to the church, then McDonalds, which we also had for lunch!

8 Favorite Places to Eat:
1. Island's Fish Grill
2. Melting Pot
3. Olive Garden
4. McDonald's
5. Bluberry Muffin
6. Big Island Burrito
7. Cold Stone
8. Jason's Deli

I tag:
Heather Menzie
Jill Terry
Sarah Markos &
Janet Tobler

Candy Too!

So tonight we were driving home and asked Rylan what he would like for dinner. He has gotten really good at telling us what he wants and it is often the same, in his own words, "Chickies, French Fries, Ketchup, and Pickles." Since this is the usual response, and often times he doesn't eat it, I turned to him and asked, "Is that really what you want?" And he replied, "Candy too!" Ben and I just cracked up laughing. I know it probably seems awful to many that my 23 month old knows his "french fries" and "candy" so well already, but you have to cut us a little slack as the candy thing is fresh from Halloween. I have no excuse for the fast food thing, I love it myself, so I try to limit us to once a week! :) LOL

Ultrasound Appointment

I am sure many of you would like for me to just get to the point and say the sex of the baby, but your just gonna have to wait, or cheat and scroll down. :) When I scheduled my appointment they sent me to the Palm Bay Community Hospital, which I thought would be nice because it is really close to my house. I should have thought it a little weird though when they said I checked in at the ER, sometimes we just don't see those red flags, ya know! Anyways, the beast of a woman finally called us back, BLADDER FULL....DON'T WANT TO WAIT...HELLLLLLOOOOOOO. She took us down a long hall and barely said two words to us. The whole way Ben and I were both hoping she wouldn't be the one doing our ultrasound. When we got into the room and I realized she would be, I tried to crack some jokes and get her to warm up a bit. She was a little friendlier but was totally confused as to why we were there for our ultrasound as she normally only did ER stuff. I told her that was where they scheduled me and she thought it was because there was something wrong with the baby. I had to explain to her that it was just the normal 18-20 week ultrasound to check the baby, get measurements, and that we were hoping to find out the sex. She was so irritated, it was obvious, but she preceded with the ultrasound getting measurements, etc. The whole time she kept the monitor away so I couldn't see and she wouldn't even talk to us! She kept saying "he" though and so I started thinking if maybe she knew something. As I was totally convinced by my husband that there was no doubt this would be a girl, you can imagine my surprise when I was overcome with a warm feeling that this was a boy! I hadn't even seen the monitor yet, but I knew. Ben was actually positioned where he could see the baby on the monitor the whole time and later told me that he felt like it was a boy the minute he saw the baby. Finally I was able to see the monitor and though the pictures were blurry and the ultrasound tech could not make out the baby's gender, Ben and I both knew. She was eventually able to see between the legs and give us a 90%, no guarantee, that it was a boy. It is very strange because I had warmed up to the idea of having a little girl even though I initially wanted another boy. But I had gotten so many "girl" responses that I was excited maybe it would be a girl. Though I can remember telling people and thinking, "Ya know I just want to hear it is a girl so I can go and buy a dress and then if it turns out to be a boy I really won't care, I just want to buy a little girls outfit!" LOL But immediately I was excited to pull out all (5 tubs) of Rylan's baby clothes and sort through them and started remembering all of my favorite outfits I had for him and could use again! When we got to the car it really hit me and I was terrified (thanks to pregnancy hormones I am able to change emotions very quickly.) I started to get nervous and feeling like I would be replacing Rylan and that I loved him so much I had thought having a little girl would make it easier for me to love her too. (Maybe for people having a bunch of kids they don't think about this, but for someone who only wants 2 it is a little weird.) So I started crying thinking I had replaced Rylan and Ben was trying to ask me what was wrong but I really didn't want to say how I was feeling out loud. Finally I just said, "I don't need another boy to love." Ben turned to me and hugged me and said, "Well, maybe this little boy needed you." Bursts of laughter and joy broke through my tears, to which Ben was totally confused, thanks again pregnancy hormones! Ben began laughing too and then asked why I was laughing. I told him he was right and that I knew that was true and that had been the very feeling I had gotten when I first felt in the ultrasound, having not even seen it yet, that it was a boy. I am so very thrilled to have loved Rylan so much that we have the honor and privilege to be parents again and to feel like we are worthy of having another child of God to love and to have love us. I am so glad that things go differently than we may have had planned and to know that Heavenly Father knows us and our needs better than we do. We have actually scheduled to have another ultrasound on the 10th of November (at 20 weeks) so that maybe we can see the baby better and get better pictures. I am going back to where I had my ultrasound with Rylan. They were awesome! I had the doctors office re-order the measurements and due date too just in case the wacko didn't get that right either! She did say that everything looked good though and my doctor will get those results in a few days. Ben and I are both REALLY looking forward to another ultrasound and a much better experience, with better pictures too! :)

Always My Baby

So tonight is the big night that we get to go and see our little one still in the belly and we are both very excited! But before I make a big deal about the new baby and my ultrasound, etc, etc. I wanted to make a post all about Rylan. (I actually saw one on my friend Happy's page about her daughter, and thought how cool!) So here we go:
Rylan has always been a very affectionate little boy. Even when he was a baby he would never want us to put him down, ugh...remembering those days. :) Now he is full of hugs and kisses. My favorite is when he will just run up to me or Ben for no reason and yell, "Mommy or Daddy" and throw himself around our legs and give us a big hug. It is the best thing ever! Every night before bed he asks for a group hug and a group kiss. We love it!
Though Rylan is very much close to Ben and I and always wants to stay close, like we hold hands everywhere,(even walking around the house) he is also very outgoing. He says hi to strangers we pass by and loves when new people come over so he can show them all of his toys. He also loves playing with his friends and asks for them. His BF's right now are Mattie Menzie, Lucious Dahle, Sawyer Graves, and Dahlia Graves. Oh and he loves his cousin Hailie! He always asks me if they are going with us to the park or if they can come over. He loves to play games with other kids. And is usually really good at participating in group activities.
Rylan tends to get bullied by the bigger kids and it really breaks my heart. He is such a sweet little boy and loves to watch the big kids play. I have found though that most bigger kids don't like little kids even standing by them. Rylan has been shoved, pushed, hit and here recently had his foot stomped on. It is so hard as a parent to watch your kid getting bullied all the time and I sometimes wish he were the bully instead because of it. I am hoping we will be able to teach him to defend himself better and when to recognize when another child is not friendly, so we are working on that right now. Of course, Daddy would love to just "handle" the bullies himself. LOL
Rylan impresses us everyday with his intelligence but it hasn't been until recently that I have become completely aware of just how smart he is. Really I thought he was normal until other people and parents have been making remarks to me about his language and his intelligence. I truly have NO idea where he gets it from as Ben and I are not accelerated in any area as far as education goes. As a matter of fact I am probably behind. So Rylan can count to 15 and can recognize any number up to 10. He knows his whole alphabet and can recognize every letter except for (W) and (V). He just started showing and interest in spelling out the words in his books and so I have been working on spelling simple 3 letter words with him. Right now he can spell out loud and recognize "CAT" and "DOG" as words. He knows animals that I don't even know what they are and is probably one of his favorite things to read about, talk about, or pretend to be! His favorite color,he says, is pink. LOL His imagination is starting to really take off and it is so much fun to watch him pretend!
Of course Rylan is a thrill seeker like his parents! He is a terrific climber and loves to jump. He likes to ride the skateboard with Daddy and anything that goes fast! We have a feeling broken bones will be in our future, maybe even sooner than we think. But let's hope not!
As far as food goes, he loves pickles, pizza, fresh fruit and water! He loves candy but really he just likes to walk around with it in his hand. I often find it an hour later uneaten just sitting there and I'll ask him if he's done with it and he says yes. It is kind of cute. I try not to buy anything with corn syrup or sugar in it though. He doesn't really eat any vegetables, but french fries, so I still buy him the stage 2 vegetables, like the sweet potatoes and squash stuff. It is the only ones he will eat. Well, he does like my mashed potatoes too.
Well, I think that about sums it up. I am so excited for him to have a little brother or sister. He loves baby's so much! He always wants to kiss every ones baby he sees. I am hoping he will embrace the role he is about to have as a big brother and we are going to try to do everything we can to make it a positive experience for him. We love you Rylan!

Baby Burgoon II Poll

We will be going to have our ultrasound on Thursday, October 30th @ 6:00pm. So let us know what you think about the babies gender by placing your vote now!

Pregnancy Update

So this is actually kind of a boring update really. I just thought I would jot down some stuff though anyways. With Rylan I kept a pregnancy journal and took pictures and measurements EVERY month! With this baby I have taken 1 picture, no measurements, and I have 2 journal entries so far. I feel terrible and can only hope my second child doesn't feel less important by it. I find comfort in thinking that maybe when they are having their second child they may understand. (Hey, whatever makes me feel better...right?!) I have had a pretty easy pregnancy though. Of course I was tired my first trimester but had a HUGE advantage as I was able to nap with my son every day, who takes 3 hour naps! That was an enormous help. I can remember being so exhausted and in pain when I was working and pregnant so I have to say the first trimester was easier this go around. After the tiredness passed I had about a week of headaches and bad indigestion but those have since passed as well. I am now at 17 weeks and have gained a little over 10lbs. I am starting to get a lot of back pain, which I got with Rylan even earlier than this, but luckily I had bought a good maternity back brace when I was pregnant with Rylan so that has helped. I also just started getting some round ligament pain. I forgot how scary that feels, but at least this go round I know what it is. I think any pain during pregnancy kind of freaks you out though even when you know what it is. That is another good thing about a second pregnancy, with Rylan if I felt a pain I would monitor it all day and think about it all the time. Now I feel it and then get so busy I forget about it and by the time I remember it is gone. I go on November 3rd for the BIG ultrasound. (2 weeks away) And I had my Quad screening test today. That test makes me a little nervous. It is amazing though that they are able to do it and detect things so you can prepare for different circumstances should they be there instead of having it be a big surprise when your baby is born. I do plan on taking some more belly pictures soon but Rylan dropped and broke my camera recently so I have to fix that first. (Good excuse, huh?) I can't wait to find out the sex of the baby and even more so to have them here with us. I am so excited for Rylan to be a big brother. We talk about him playing and reading to the baby all the time and he loves to rub my belly and kiss it. I tell him the baby wants to talk to him or play and we'll sit there and "play" with him/her. It is so much fun! Oh, and the baby's movements are getting stronger now. I can feel "it" kicking me. I can't wait for Ben and Rylan to share that with me. I can only imagine Rylan's response to the baby kicking his hand! I'm sure he will think that is pretty funny. I think my nervousness is equal to my excitement which is odd because I wasn't nervous at all about Rylan and then BAM it was llike I was hit by lightening...every day....for a year! :) Seriously, Ben and I are both a little nervous after what we went through with Rylan. Sometimes I wonder if having difficult babies is my punishment for having such wonderful pregnancies. Nah! I just pray everyday that we will have a good, healthy baby that we will be able to enjoy. We loved Rylan, but it was the most difficult thing I have ever been through. At least now Ben and I know we can overcome such a challenge. But I do hope that it doesn't have to be that way this time, at least not for so long. :)