Welcome Baby Haley!

I'm sorry it's taken me forever to post this but I wanted to say Congratulations to Beth and Steve on the birth of their beautiful baby girl Haley! She was born at approximately 7:20pm on March 5th after Beth was induced at midnight. She weighed 8lbs., 1oz and was 20.4 inches long! Congratulations Beth and Steve! We love you and couldn't be happy for you!

First SNOW!!!

Adam and I took Ryan outside to play in the snow for a minute. We hadn't bought Ryan snow boots or gloves, because we haven't gotten very much snow this year. But, of course, the weather surprised us! Ryan really enjoyed the snow! He didn't know what it was or what was going on, but he liked being outside playing with his Daddy! He couldn't keep his eyes open very long because the snow was so bright! Here are a few pictures and even though Ryan looks upset in some of the pictures, he really was having fun!

Ryan's 1st Birthday Party!

Ryan had his first birthday party at our house on Saturday, February 21st and it was a huge success! I was really pleased with the way everything turned out. The guests really seemed to enjoy themselves, the food was great and the decorations were so cute! The theme for his party was sports and we had the guests wear their favorite sports jerseys or Tshirts! Most people participated! Everyone looked great in their shirt!



After we ate dinner, it was defintely time for cake! We all sang Happy Birthday and Aunt Lori had to blow out Ryan's candles. We gave Ryan a gigantic piece of cake! At first, he used his little pincher fingers to take small bites of the cake. Then he really got into it. That icing tasted fantastic!! He looked adoreable with his blue icing beard! We immediately gave him a bath afterward.




We just want to say thank you for everything all of our friends and family have given us to make Ryan's 1st Birthday so special. We Love You!

Happy 1st Birthday Ryan!!!

Today is Ryan's first birthday!!! It's so hard to believe that it has been a whole year since he was born! I kept thinking about everything that Adam and I were going through last year, February 19, 2008...thinking about the labor, and how we were so excited to become new parents. It's an absolutely amazing, beautiful thing! Ryan was a beautiful baby. He still is so handsome and he has grown so much!

We really didn't do a whole lot to celelbrate Ryan's birthday today. Ryan and I spent most of the day running errands and setting up for his birthday party on Saturday. Adam made Ryan sloppy joe, which we recently found out that he really likes. We are looking forward to his party on Saturday and watching him grow over the years to come.

A Week of Firsts!!!

So I realize I haven't updated my blog since Christmas! I know I've been absolutely terrible at it. This week has become a very important week in our lives, so I definitely want to share it with you! Most of you know that Ryan will be turning 1 on Thursday, February 19th! It's hard to believe that it has already been one year since Ryan came into our lives!!! We decided to make it a very special week for Ryan.

Today, we went to Cartoon Cuts in Marley Station mall. Ryan got his hair trimmed for the first time and he did Great!!! At first, I thought it might be a distaster, but Ryan sat still most of the time and let the lady do a Fantastic Job! I was very impressed. I highly recommend Cartoon Cuts because there are tvs playing kid shows and many bright colors in the store to keep their attention!

After the haircut, we went to get Ryan his first real pair of tennis shoes. Ryan started walking around 11 months so it was definitely time for some shoes. We tried Payless first but the shoes just didn't seem to fit him right. Then we went to Stride Rite. We got a great pair that are cute and velcro!!! I couldn't believe that Ryan has to wear Extra Wide shoes! He's got little Fred Flintstone feet! It's so cute watching him try to walk in shoes for the first time! Well, keep checking for updates during Ryan's 1st birthday week!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

This year was really special because it was Ryan's first Christmas! Adam and I really enjoyed seeing Ryan with all of his presents. We were very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family who gave Ryan so much! We couldn't have asked for more. Thank you to Everyone!!!

We usually start celebrating the holiday on Christmas Eve when we go to my Aunt's house to exchange gifts with my cousins. Unfortunately, I had to work one of my very long, 16 hour shifts on Christmas Eve so I didn't get home from work until midnight. Adam and Ryan went to Adam's parents for the evening and relaxed.

Christmas morning, we woke up and opened the gifts that we got each other. Ryan had gifts from us and Santa Claus. Adam and I did most of the unwrapping because Ryan still really doesn't know what's going on. Most people were telling us that their children were more interested in the paper and boxes rather than the toys, but Ryan really enjoyed his baby grand piano that he got from Santa.

Then, we went to my parents house for lunch and exchanged gifts with them. Ryan got so many toys and clothes it was unbelieveable. I think that more than half of the gifts under my parents tree were for Ryan. It was Great! Later, we went to Adam's grandparents for dinner. They had great food and, of course, more gifts for Ryan!

The next day, we went to have lunch at Adam's parents house so we could have a small Christmas with them. They gave us Ryan's next step carseat which was very helpful. Overall, we had a great CHristmas and we hope that yours was very special too!

Yay for Black Friday!!!

I can't even explain how much I loved shopping on Black Friday this year! My Cousins and Aunts made it so much fun and I love spending time with them on this day! This year was extra special because it was the first year that we had shirts made for our speical day. My cousin Kim designed shirts for us to wear. The front said "A Pease Tradition since 1984," and the back said "We'll shop until YOU Drop!" I'll have to admit that we looked awesome! We were the best dressed family in T-shirts and jeans that were out shopping that day!

I woke up around 3am, got ready and picked up my sister by 3:45am to meet my cousins at 4am. We went to Walmart first and waited in line for a short time when we realized that there was no way we'd bet the deals because there were just too many people. We went to target next, which opened at 6am, and we were towards the front of the line. Once we got through the doors, my sister, my cousins and I all ran to the toy and electronic section to get the good deals! All of us made out really well saving a bundle of money!!!

We went to Toys R Us, the Marley Station Mall, Walgreens, Michaels, Marshalls, and Kohls. In between shopping at these stores, we met my Nanny for lunch at the Olive Tree and we went to Happy Hour at Glory Days and Bill Batemans. We had a blast! I ended up getting home around 10:30pm, which totals about 18 hours of shopping! It was such a fun, but exhausting day!

I saved a ton of money and I had a FABULOUS time with my family, which made shopping in the craziness of Black Friday all worth it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a fun, enjoyable holiday. I really enjoyed spending time with all of my family. Adam, Ryan and I got ready and did a little cooking in the morning before heading to my parents house around 2pm for dinner with my dad's side of the family. We had great food! It seemed like everything was cooked just perfectly! We ate, watched a few football games, socialized, and ate some more!

Then around 5:30pm, we headed over to Adam's grandparents house for round 2. However, we were both so stuffed from our first meal that we really didn't eat anything but a piece of pie. I truly was thankful for the family we have, that loves us and that we can spend time with. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

9 Month Check-up

Ryan had his 9 month check-up at Dr. Gordan's office last Friday. He weighs 21 lbs. 10 oz. and is 29.5 inches long. He is still in the 90th percentile for his height and has dropped to the 75th percentile for his weight. His head circumference is 46.5 cms, which is in the 75th percentile.

Ryan just recently started crawling all over the place using his hands and knees. He had been doing an army crawl for about 2 weeks now. Today was the first day that Ryan pulled himself up from a sitting to a standing position on his own. He loves to move around, look at and touch things around the house. We really can't leave him alone anymore. He stands up and walks around the living room, as long as both hands are holding on to some piece of furniture. He seems to be loving his mobile, carefree life!!!

Ryan is still eating about 4, 8 oz. bottles of formula a day and will eat baby food at least twice a day. He doesn't really have a favorite, but we know he hates peas! He has also been doing really well eating small things like cheerios, which dissolve quickly. It's so cute to watch him use his little pincher fingers to pick up each individual cheerio! He is sleeping through the night consistently. His bedtime is around 8:30pm and he usually wakes up anywhere between 8 and 9am.

Ryan has been so fun and enjoyable to watch. He's growing up so fast, it's hard to believe we will be planning a 1 year birthday party in about 2 months!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Halloween was definitely different this year. Usually, we sit at home and watch all the little kids in their costumes come to our house. This year, we were the people knocking on doors saying, "Trick or Treat!" We didn't exactly go Trick or Treating, but we did get Ryan dressed up and we visited some close friends and family.

This was Ryan's first Halloween and he seemed to think we were crazy for putting him in this costume. Ryan was a SKUNK! He was the cutest skunk I've ever seen! Ryan looks a little confused and mad in the pictures, but he was just adoreable. His friend Carter, who is 4 months younger, also dressed up as a skunk. We had a great time and I hope you also had a safe and Happy Halloween!

Ryan Update!

Our lives are slowing down a little after all the excitement that happened in September. We've been able to rest and relax, and we've been enjoying watching Ryan grow. Ryan is getting so big, so fast! He will be 8 months on Sunday, the 19th. It's hard to believe that in just a couple of months we will be planning his 1st birthday party!

Ryan is getting his 5th tooth in! Unfortunately, we are still working with him on sleeping through the night. When he's teething, he seems to wake up once and then go back to sleep almost immediately. When he's not teething, he will usually go several weeks without waking up during the night. We are looking forward to the time when Ryan has all his teeth! He's been eating one fruit, one vegetable and still drinking about 3, 8 oz. bottles of formula a day. He will feed himself the bottle if we place his hands around the bottle for him. We like that!

Ryan started talking a little more. He says "da da!" He hasn't learned to crawl or walk yet. He will just spin around in a circle if he's laying on his belly. It's still nice that we can put him in one spot and we know he's gonna stay there. We aren't too concerned that Ryan isn't crawling yet.

Here are a few pictures that have been takeng recently. Check back in to see more!

Welcome Clare Susan Protani!

This past Friday, I got a call saying that my cousin Elizabeth was headed to the hospital to have her baby. They started the induction process Friday morning and little Clare Susan made her way into the world around 6:45am Saturday. She weighed 7lbs., 7 oz. and was 20.4 inches long. Mommy and baby were both doing well and they were able to come home from the hospital on Sunday. They are now enjoying their new, little addition to their family! Congratulations Nick and Elizabeth! We Love you!