Baseball and Biking 
(Derek 2 years, 2 months)

These two words, BASEBALL and BIKING, pretty much sum up this last month for Derek. He is obsessed with both of these activities. I wondered how this summer would go with an active 2 year old and a newborn in the summertime heat of Arizona, but I have been pleasantly surprised. The summer has been AMAZING and we've had so much fun doing all sorts of indoor activities. Derek bikes around our house just about all day, from the minute he wakes up to parking his bike on the way upstairs to bed at night. He does many activities on his bike including watching baseball, coloring and playing with his trains. I am so thankful for the "Derek motor speedway" in our house (we never would have thought about that as a criteria when house hunting)!! Derek also LOVES to play and watch baseball. His favorite part is batting and running the bases!! The kid is fast! Every day right before he goes down for his nap, he reminds me that he wants to watch baseball when he wakes up. Matt and Derek also watch and play baseball after bathtime, while I put Rylie down. In addition, Derek LOVES singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." He has always had us sing the song when reading the book Red Sox ABCs, but this past month he has been singing it himself. I have been trying to get it on camera, but he doesn't sit still for long so this is the best I could get.

he makes sure to line up at home plate and hold the bat correctly all on his own 

(he lets us know when we line up incorrectly too)

 looking at the ball as Daddy throws it to Derek

the joy of throwing the ball in the air

Derek LOVES to ride his bike at the park

Here are a few other pictures from this past month.

 I LOVE this boy!

 just waking up from a nap

 measuring and marking on the wall how tall Derek is
(starting to do this once a month)

 making breakfast with Daddy

 enjoying hot cocoa like Curious George in Snowy Day

 playing with beans (a favorite activity this month)

 reading with Mommy (love that he is holding his toolbox :) )

giving some "friends" a ride in his car

Yummy Toes!!
Rylie LOVES to chew on her toes. They seem to end up in her mouth a lot. Its hilarious to see the position she gets herself in as she chews on her toes. Oh to be that flexible!

Siblings

Derek 2 years old and Rylie 5 months old

I love the 2nd picture here. Rylie is just watching Derek as he laughs!!

So GRATEFUL!!

Yippee, I finally got a picture of Derek and Rylie together!! Its taken a lot of patience on my part, but I got a good one. I love that Derek's favorite 2 Cars characters are with him! I am so grateful for these kiddos and so blessed to be able to stay home and spend time with them each day.

Rylie 5 Month update

Its crazy that Rylie is already 5 months old. She is such a happy baby and she adds so much joy to our family. Rylie is taking a bottle again!!! Rylie went through a few months where she did not want to take a bottle. I did not like the fact that I had to always keep her close to me and I worried about what would happen later on. So I established a game plan and in 2 days she was taking one again! I am so grateful. She even grabs the bottle and puts it in her mouth.

She is reaching out and grabbing everything. I love to see how curious she is about her surroundings and discovering new things. She grabs whatever is within her reach and puts it immediately in her mouth. She loves to grab at my face when I hold her close. Its so sweet. Rylie is interested in food and watches our food as it goes into our mouth. I am looking forward to starting solids next month.

Rylie also loves chewing on my water bottle, just like Derek.

She rides in the Ergo without infant insert!!! Now carrying her is even more comfortable. This is the view I get of Rylie's sweet face. She LOVES the Ergo and laughs when I bend over forward and she hangs backwards. Its adorable.

Rylie loves to watching, batting, and grabbing at the sports balls on the mobile above the changing table in her room. She only gets changed on the changing table with mobile once a day, but its so fun to watch her get excited about the mobile.

Rylie continues to love bath time. Derek is very entertaining! When she is not watching Derek, she likes to chew on the foam numbers and letters. I love the rolls on her thighs!!

 hanging out with Daddy

 I love my sweet happy girl!!

watching Curious George with Derek

Rylie moves around in her crib so much that sometimes she gets her arms and legs stuck between the slats of the crib. This caused her to wake up, so we put a breathable bumper on her crib, which solved the problem. It is hilarious to watch her in webcam as she "crawls" and rolls the entire length of the crib.

Rylie LOVES "flying" in the air over our head...she giggles and smiles

working on sitting up

 reading with Daddy and Derek

Rylie enjoys the exer-saucer and I am glad as it is a safe place for her to hang out 

(as opposed to the floor) since Derek rides his bike a lot. Although there is a shadow on Rylie's face, I love her focus on this frog.

"Hey Missy"
At lunch today Derek was having a great time making Rylie smile. It was so sweet to watch. This was the first time that I have seen him have an interest in getting her to laugh. We have been having a blast recently because Rylie is grabbing everything in reach. If I am not paying attention Rylie grabs whatever is close and puts it right in her mouth (Cheerios, napkins, etc). When she does this I always joke around saying, "Hey Missy what are you doing?" So, today during lunch, Rylie was sitting on my lap grabbing my plate and Derek's napkin and Derek kept saying, "Hey Missy" and giggling. Rylie thought it was so funny and was smiling right back at him. It was a sweet glimpse of what will come in the future. :)

Summer Activities
This summer has been so much better than last summer for many reasons (not being pregnant anymore, settled in our house, new great friends). We feel at home here in Phoenix and are so thankful for an amazing year. We are so grateful for our friends! Here are a few pictures of things we've been up to this summer (besides swimming).

Enjoying frozen yogurt as a family of 4 for the first time!

 playdates with friends - sharing a snack with Bella and Zack

 

 playing with different activities - beans, puff balls, and glass marbles

drinking water is always better when you use potholders!

pouring water into containers of all sizes

 playdough

Derek Reads to Mommy
Tonight before bed Derek read his first 2 books to me, all by himself!!! It was a special moment. I sat there listening to him recite the books as he had memorized the words on each page. I had joyful tears in my eyes. It was so sweet to hear. Derek has always LOVED reading. He climbs into our lap to read and I just love it. In the past when reading, I often pause and Derek fills in the words. Tonight is just the beginning of many more nights of reading. Here are the 2 books Derek read (both of which Pops and Grammy gave Derek). Its so neat to see that Derek listens to the books every one of the millions of times we read them.

Derek (1 yr old vs 2 yrs old)
1 year stats: 22.11 lbs (49%), 30.5" (66%)
2 year stats: 29.4 lbs (65%), 36.5" (94%)

Happy 1st birthday!

 Happy 2nd birthday!

 14 months old (just moved to AZ and moved car seat to forward facing)

 2 years old in car seat, such a BIG boy.

Lunchtime conversations
One of my favorite times of day is lunchtime. During lunch its usually just Derek and I (as Rylie is napping) and our conversation is just amazing. We discuss so many things during lunch, sharing laughs and smiles, singing and asking questions. Today he had me cracking up at something he was joking about. I am so grateful to be able to stay home with Derek and Rylie and I cherish our conversations. I have so many memories growing up eating dinner together with my family and I hope that we are creating the same for Derek and Rylie.