Ryan at the Holidays

Our Christmas Stockings

(Hung by the chimney with care...)

Ryan's First Christmas Season has been a happy one filled with visits from family (Tim, Camille, and John) and friends (Jessica and Mary & Ms. Patti), fun with Momma & Dadda, and many Christmas wishes!

Meeting my cousin, John, at 'Rise and Dine', earlier this month.

What a pair of CUTIES!!! Gorgeous Puyleart boys, aren't they?

Ryan and the talented and adorable, Mary N.

We are, of course, very excited for our first Christmas with the little one.  He brings so much joy to an already joyous season.  Tomorrow night, we will travel to Florida to spend Christmas with Great-Nanny Ellie, Mimmy and Pappy, Aunties, Uncles, and Cousins! Mimmy Harman has lots of wonderful celebration plans in store for us, & I am sure many fun presents. 

Since we are traveling to Florida for Christmas, we're "forced" to open our gifts tonight (12/22).  Ha, ha...Here is footage of the SE Puylearts first family Christmas.  You will note that Ryan gets progressively better at gift opening and progressively more hyper. The footage on the first one is 7 minutes, so skip if you are in a time crunch. (It's mostly for the grandparents). The others are a minute or so long if you want to catch a sneak peek.

Ryan opening his first gifts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au9ftdJzJHc
Ryan helping Dadda:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifu5DK4c49U
Ryan helping Momma:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1GOsnNaw4I
Ryan the gift opening pro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9LYY0z2Gys

Please say a special prayer for safe travels,  as we are driving at night tomorrow, and Momma is a bit nervous about the trip. 

So until next week -

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE - we feel truly, truly blessed.

Below are some more pics of Christmas at the home of Dave, Chantal, and Ryan Puyleart! (Ike too)

Ike & his stocking

Ryan in his Santa jammies

Ry's St. Nicholas Gifts

Ryan's Obsession - The Snorkel Divas

Ryan and his favorite pic

Hanging in the guest bathroom (Ryan's bathroom) is a picture of me with my Nanny Ellie taken while snorkeling during a cruise trip in 2003.  My Aunt Sue made the frame and chose this great picture to put in it.  I remember that Nanny and I took the picture as a joke so that Sue and Jayne would find it on their camera when they returned home after the trip.  Who knew at the time that "The Snorkel Divas" would be Ryan's favorite picture or...frame.

Whenever we go into Ryan's bathroom, he gets so excited when we see the picture as we exit the bathroom (it is hanging on the wall near the door).  He reaches out for it, bounces up and down in my arms...one time, he was crying (don't remember why), and as we left the bathroom, he saw the picture, stopped crying and then let out a laugh (you know the laughs children do when they are crying but start laughing because you want to cajole a laugh out of them to stop them from crying) The laugh came all on his own because he caught a glimpse of it.

Anyway, this morning, he woke up, and we had to go into the bathroom. Again, he took interest in the picture, so I handed it to him then we walked out to the couch.  He patted the picture, tried to eat the jewels on the side of the frame, and I think he even gave it kisses.  Below is Part 1 and Part 2 of Ryan and the picture he likes so much.

Part 1:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETjdeUHKuvY

Part 2:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnqH1M1OTQE

Ryan's Playgroup

Ryan and I belong to the East Roswell MOMS Club. The East Roswell MOMS Club offers playgroups and activities for part-time and stay-at-home moms.  Ryan's playgroup meets weekly.  The name of Ryan's playgroup is "The Ducklings" and the babies range in age from 3 to 6 months.  There are more girl babies than boy babies.  Ryan and Samuel are the only guys in the group at this time. The moms are enjoying getting out and talking while the babies are beginning to interact and smile at eachother. 

Last week, we hosted at our home.  Ryan was a great host.  He had important things to say and flirted with Cate.  He also got cranky and had to take a nap midway through the playgroup.  Ike decided he had no problem standing in as my "baby" while Ryan napped.

This Thursday's playgroup went well and that evening we went to the East Roswell Mom and Tots Holiday potluck.  Ryan got to sit on Santa's lap. Ryan was a very good boy. He was enthralled with Santa and just stared at him. Santa said Ryan was "one cool baby" and wished all the babies were as easy as Ryan ~ the photographer echoed that sentiment.

After such a fun day of play, here is a video of Ryan "winding down" that evening. Pardon the grunting, and no Ryan wasn't going the bathroom. He felt like grunting I guess.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpgtRK_-foM

Ryan Videopalooza (for the grandmas)

Ryan at 6 months old with Birthday Bunny.

Ryan turned 6 months old last Saturday.  Our baby has already been here 1/2 a year! He is growing so fast! As of Monday, I can say that Ryan has finally achieved sitting up all by himself.  It is great! He sits like a pro with no assitance needed.

To celebrate Ryan's 6 months of life - here is a one time only event with 7 different videos for you to choose from!

Recent:
(1) Ryan and the bookhat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgfK5_O3Ii8
So cute - I love this one. Ryan likes putting things on his head now or putting things over his face. Just funny! (He's gotten even better at it since this video was taken because he intentionally puts it on and pulls it off his face)
(2) Ryan repeating the "duh, dhat, da" sound:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxVIjZwgBBU
(Just cute...tried getting footage of him rolling both ways, but not successful...the duh sound is way cute)
(3) Ryan and Daddy being silly on Monday:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBJ0hXolcvU
(4) Ryan at zoo...quiety observing gorillas:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWbMxZlO-a8

Here are 3 of my "old" favorites:
This is Ryan the day after he was born: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b32Uyc9D6KE
This is at 1 week old:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChccBMb9sy4
Ryan on 9/18 - I just LOVE this one:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn9r2SKXzto

Hope you don't have video overload, but I thought I would take this opportunity to share several clips at one time.

Ryan's First Thanksgiving - Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

Ryan and Mommy on Thanksgiving morning - such a happy day.

What a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving day, and one we are most THANKFUL for because we have our little one at last!

Ryan started the day with a 6:30am wake up time, which he does every couple of weeks but not too often - thank goodness.  Ry played on the floor with Mommy until his 8:00am nap, which prevented him from seeing the start of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Ah, he's only 6 months old, so not too big a deal. He did wake up not long after it began though, and he played on the floor some more & did catch some of NBC's coverage with Mommy.

Playing on the floor with Mickey Mouse while watching the parade.

Later in the morning, Ryan and Mommy went for a walk, and Ryan went down for his mid-morning nap around 11am.  He woke up just in time to head to Chris and Evelyn Kemp's house for our Thanksgiving meal.  Ryan ate pumpkin puree and Ms. Evie's mashed potatoes for lunch.  Yum, Yum! He looked all full of carbs towards the end of the meal and kind of stared off into the distance once he finished.  I think he was in a baby food coma.  Gave us all a good laugh while we were finishing up. Here's video of Daddy feeding Ryan his puree.  Click link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeoqdbKaFow

Ry is now napping.  He has had a very full day for his first-ever Thanksgiving.  Oh, and a warm one too.  It is in the high 70s.  No kidding.  That is very strange for us here...really, but we are enjoying it, & we'll enjoy it more during our evening walk to burn off some calories.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! WE LOVE YOU & MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU!

Love,
Chantal, Dave, Ryan & Ike

PS: We miss you, Bear.

Ryan - Nigh Nigh with Sophie & other news

Ryan, Sophie, and other cool developments

Ryan has some big news! On Monday, he began using the "duh" sound.  He chatters a lot more and says, "duh, duh, dah, dah, dhat, dhat...," and as of this morning, he rolls from back to front and finally from front to back.  He even rolled around to get to where he wanted to go this morning. Amazing.  Can I catch any of these new developments on camera? Well, of course not.  I have tried, especially the new chattering (which he doing as I type this). Anyway, he clams up. Maybe later.  One other big development...swollen bottom gums - white too! Maybe we will have a tooth report coming up soon. Oh and lest I forget, he is almost sitting up by himself too.

Ryan and Sophie in his jumper. He put Sophie there. It had been on his tray.

Evidently, she liked it better there.

Our weekly video: Ryan and his Sophie teether on Monday night - he is sitting up by himself with a little boppy support.  The video is 1 minute long, so you will need to press the link to youtube for this one since Blogspot won't post anything over 30 seconds. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEX_XdXLJrA

Love,
Us

Ryan - Flying the Friendly Skies

Flying the Friendly Skies with Ry Ry the Super-friendly guy

Ryan got all dressed up for his trip to Florida on Sunday, and boy did people notice! He wore a snazzy little hat purchased by my friend, Jill, and an adorable pair of brown corduroys & an argyle sweater from Sue & Jayne. He was a hit as we walked through the Atlanta airport, and he seemed to like all the attention! He smiled at everyone who complimented him on how cute he was.  The smiling only added to the fun.

Here is footage of him sitting on the plane waiting for take off. He is quietly sitting on the seat.

The real story is the return trip.  Evidently, Ryan has found that attracting attention is pretty cool.  I wish I had footage of this, but I don't. I was holding Mr. Smiley in his cute little hat, as he greeted about 60 passengers on our return trip to Atlanta on Wednesday. Since Ryan is a baby, we are able to board the plane first.  We went and sat in our seat...25F, and there were 18 rows (A-C and D-F) behind us.  As people filed past us, Ryan sat and/or stood on my legs bouncing up and down...squealing and smiling as people passed! Sometimes our fellow passengers were stuck standing in the aisle as people ahead of him were placing their luggage in the overhead compartments-Ryan entertained them as they waited.  Grandmas, grandpas, & guys in the 30s, 40s and 50s were oooo-ing and awww-ing at him.  Ryan gave it right back with his smiles and well, to be honest, sometimes screeching with glee.

Please note:  He had a meltdown a bit later, and I was really happy when we got off the plane. I spent the majority of our time in the air standing in the flight attendant galley swaying back and forth praying he would just take a nap on my shoulder.

It is good to be home.  We enjoyed seeing Great-Nanny Ellie, who had a fabulous time on her 85th birthday, although she was a bit wiped out staying out until 7:30pm.  Nanny attended her party wearing a black cocktail dress and a lovely gold pin, and she asked to sit next to Ryan.  It was sweet, and we were thrilled she could be there with her first great-grandchild on her special day.

Until next week...



Ry Ry My Special Guy

The Big Guy hanging out of his bouncer!

Well, I totally missed the Thursday posting, but I know some of you are catching up & haven't checked out his previous blogs yet. Tomorrow morning, Ryan and I will be going to Florida for my Nanny's 85th birthday.  We are going to go to Ian's Tropical Grill http://www.ianstropicalgrille.com/ for dinner to celebrate! Looks like Mommy will be getting some Macadami Nut Crusted Yellowtail Snapper. Whoo-hoo!

This will be Ryan's 3rd plane trip.  However, this week was filled with other fun firsts.  Ryan had his first taste of something other than rice cereal. Ryan had homemade apple puree...made by Mommy.  We had some organic apples from Rome, GA, and Mommy thought that would be a fun first food.  He liked it okay but enjoyed the apples mixed with cereal better.  Ryan also went to dinner with Mom & Dad on Friday night & sat up all by himself in the wooden highchairs available for babies at restaurants.  It was nice & he occupied himself by grabbing at our plates, napkins and eventually the toys Mom had in his diaper bag.

Well, normally, I post videos of Ryan screaming, squealing or being noisy.  Ryan can be a reflective, quiet guy too.  He sometimes just likes to look at Mommy and the camera - and be his cute, adorable self. Here is one of those moments.

Finally, Ryan is getting so big that I think we now have to retire his bouncers.  Ah, they have been good to us. Plenty of hours of entertainment & lots of help for us when we need to calm Ryan down.  He took many a nap in his bouncers too! Can't wait for Ryan to sit up completely unassisted.  I have a feeling that will be real soon.
Lots of Love~The SE Puylearts

Ryan - The Alphabet According to Daddy

Ryan, Dave, and Play n' Learn Puppy during Daddy/Baby time!

Everyday Ryan and I review a picture book of the alphabet and another one called First Words.  The alphabet book starts, “A is for Airplane, B is for Baby and so on…”On Monday, I didn’t have time to review with Ryan, so I asked Daddy to read to him that night while I was making dinner.  Dave wanted to play with Ryan like he always does, but he agreed to go over the books with Ryan instead. So this is what I overheard starting with the letter “C”:

“C is for Cheese – half of you is from Wisconsin, and they make cheese there.”

“D” is for Duck – I don’t know about ducks. (I interject, “Ryan’s playgroup is The Ducklings.”) Dave repeats with “D is for the Ducklings like your playgroup.”

“E” is for Elephant – Elephants (I interject one more time, “Elephants are the Republican symbol, and Mimmy is a Republican .”  Dave tells Ryan “E is for Elephant, and Mimmy is a Republican.” (No, we are not saying my mom is an elephant. I was trying to indicate that she is a Republican supporter and probably likes elephants.)

“F” is for Flower – Mommy likes flowers, and we buy her those.”

“G” is for Gloves – You will wear gloves one day. They are important to wear for many things.”

“H” is for Horse – We call Bear a horse. He is not a horse, but that is what we call him.”

“I” is for Ice Cream – You will like ice cream one day.” (Yes, if he is like his dad he sure will!)

“J” is for Juice – You will also like juice.

Now I am thinking, oh great, it is the letter “K” and the picture is kitten, and Dave doesn’t like cats. He makes fun of them all the time. So of course, Dave says…

“K” is for Kittens. You won’t like kittens.”

“L “ is for Lamp.” Now, I thought Dave said, “lamp” but the picture is a lamb. Sometimes I think English is my second language.

“M” is for Motorcycles - Motorcycles are dangerous. You won’t ride one, and you will not own one.”

“N” is for Numbers – Numbers are good, and you will know these.”

“O” is for Orange – They grow oranges in Florida, and Mommy is from Florida.”

“P” is for Puppy – You will have your own puppy one day. Right now you have old puppies.”

“Q” is for Quilt – We are sitting on a quilt right now.” (They were – Ryan received 2 for welcome gifts).

“R” is for Robot – You will have a robot one day, and it will do your dishes.” (I like this one).

“S” is for Strawberries – Strawberries taste good, and you will like eating them.”

I missed “T” and “U” – timer went off or something-remember I am in the kitchen preparing dinner.  But, “T” is for Teddy Bear and “U” is for Umbrella.

“V” is for Violin – You won’t play the violin. Maybe another instrument. Violins are noisy.”

I got busy again for “W” for Watch, “X” for Xylophone, and “Y” for yogurt. I can imagine what Dave would say, “W” is for Watch, and you will wear one.”

Then I heard the end which is “Z” is for Zebra…it’s like a striped horse.”

I thought this was sweet & definitely Dave's way of looking at things! But, cute, so dang cute & one of those moments you have to remember. Hope you enjoyed it.  Dave is available on weekends for storytime should any of you need him.

Ryan's First Halloween

I LOVE my Precious Puppy! Halloween was great this year because we got to dress up our little guy.  Well, I did dress up my other little guy too, Ike, he wore his pumpkin t-shirt. He was not happy.

Ryan loved his costume.  He liked how soft it was and even squealed when we put it on him to go to our neighborhood block party. 
Here's Ryan in his costume:

About 25+ kids attended the party this year. It is always so nice to see the kiddies all dressed up and running around on the lawns at the last cul-de-sac in our neighborhood.  It was the perfect day too. Nice crisp fall weather. Just beautiful.

Here's an interview with Ryan about his first Halloween Block Party.  Please click link below the picture for a 32 second clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzL921XhgfQ

Ryan - Watch me grow!

Ryan is 5 months old today, so this will be our "Thursday" blog! In 5 short months, he's done a lot already! He's been to FL, WI, and Asheville, NC. Like all good Atlanta babies, he's been to the Georgia Aquarium. He's also learned to nurse, roll from back to front, smile, laugh, squeal, coo, give kisses & get people's attention with his cuteness & his crying. He's found his hands and feet and knows that he is a separate person now. He turns when you call his name.  I am sure I am missing many milestones, but most importantly, he's found a way into our hearts.

This week at babycenter.com, it says that babies Ryan's age should be honing in on sounds and showing a range of emotions. Ryan is, of course, composing a symphony. He's advanced. (-; Actually, he is vibrating his lips a lot to make sounds...precursor to pa, ba? Anyway, he sounds like a little motorboat sometimes. See video with "Birthday Bunny" below.

Finally, to document Ryan's growth, I have taken pictures of Ryan at 5 & 8 weeks and 3, 4, & 5 months old next to a stuffed bunny ~ now known as "Birthday Bunny." Seen in video above. Took this idea from Claire (my neighbor and friend across the street) - she did this with her son, John. Enjoy the changes!

5 & 8 weeks

3 months



4 months

Today - 5 months

Love you all!

Look for our HALLOWEEN Blog next Sunday!

Ryan - show mommy how you bounce - special edition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYV5U8SttbA

Above is a link to our newest favorite activity, BOUNCING!

It took me days to post this clip because blogspot only allows so much in video size.  To get around it, I went to my youtube account and uploaded there, so you could get the whole video of him bouncing in the door jumper.  Be sure to click the youtube link above and not the picture teaser I posted with this blog.

Finally, Ryan is 5 months on Wednesday & if time permits, we will have a 5-month special edition for that too - if not, Ryan's post will be updated on Thursday. Until then - Enjoy Mommy's Favorite Bouncer!

Special Birthday Edition

Hi Everyone! It was a wonderful birthday today.  Here are a few pics of Ryan and Daddy while having dessert in Historic Roswell this afternoon. Dessert, for Mommy & Daddy, was fantastic.  Lemon Coconut Cake!

Sorry, can't remember the name of new place we had our dessert.  Our lunch was at Ceviche.  Ceviche is great but unfortunately, our favorite places: Fickle Pickle & Kelly Kakes are closed on Sundays.  For our out-of-towners, here is a link to Historic Roswell. Check it out: http://www.visitroswellga.com/

Ry Ry the Superguy-21 weeks today

Wow! Okay, so this is my first ever blog...inspired by my Auntie Jayne in CA. I hope family & friends will use this to keep up with Ryan Charles Puyleart aka...Ry Ry the Superguy...or for an international twist, Ry Ry el Superguy. 

Today Ryan was cranky.  He had many things to say and most of them were complaints. He did; however, have his first bowl of rice cereal.  That provided our midday entertainment.   

Here is a picture of Ryan after his first bowl of cereal. He liked it today. I will wait 3 more days for his next bowl just to see if he has any allergic reaction. Until then, he is just fine nursing & will start purees next month. 

For those who like video, here is a recent favorite of Ryan in his exersaucer.

Hope you liked this one.  Jumper video coming soon.  Be prepared for total cuteness! Well, as if that last video wasn't total cuteness already!

Hugs & Love,
The SE Puylearts