Rya is 9 months old!

We can't believe Rya is already 9 months old! We heard time flies by, but now we're actually experiencing it. She isn't saying any "real" words yet, but she sure is talking! Rya has also decided that crawling is not for her and has started working on walking. She can pull herself up and "cruise" around on furniture. She also walks when guided with help from us. We haven't really put her in shoes much, so now that she's trying to walk we have been putting shoes on her to get used to them. Rya doesn't like the shoes. She stares down at her feet and tries to kick them off. She recently started clapping and is no longer scared of the parachute at Gymboree!

I am off for a few weeks in between school years. We plan to hang out at home and enjoy being a family. We're also looking forward to spending some time in the water. Rya went to a few swim lessons, but there was very little instruction so we opted out of the class and plan to just play in the water on our own or with friends.

Rya loves her pink soccer ball. She rolls it around and sometimes just likes to hold it. She looks adorable in this outfit from Auntie Shannon!
Grandma Linda gave Rya some cute outfits from Gymboree. She loves them and looks super cute in all of them! They are in the pictures below. Rya is also fond of Curious George who was Jason's childhood buddy. He's old, but he's hanging in there- hernia and all.
We bought Rya this Cookie Monster plush toy. She loves Cookie Monster. She gets so excited when she sees him on her diaper or on Sesame Street. We bought some strawberries at Costco that had a picture of Sesame Street characters on the package. She squealed in excitement and we got a lot of strange looks.
We read to Rya every night before bedtime. She likes to look at books, but her attention span is too short to make it through books unless she's tired. She's also learned to drink out of her sippy cup all on her own.
Our friends, Alexis and Kennedy, came over for dinner and we took the girls to the park to swing. Ryan was sick and couldn't join us. :( Rya looks a bit scared in this photo, but she loves to swing.
Rya and Kennedy playing together!
Rya loves toys!
Once a month we have been going to Vacaville for a family lunch. Uncle Brian and Aunt Jenny are so much fun! Grandpa is on the left- Rya really likes him (and his glasses).
Rya is so excited about breadsticks! Her hair was doing something crazy after her nap that day. I tried to wet it and that didn't work. Oh, well!

Must Love Dogs

June has been a crazy month! We've been so busy with graduation parties (congratulations to all of you!), races, and all sorts of other things.

Rya LOVES going to the park and swinging. More than swinging, Rya loves animals she sees at the park (because you know she isn't seeing any at our house!). She gets super excited when she sees the ducks- she tries to grab them! She also has a love for dogs. Cats don't seem to impress her much. We're so surprised that she doesn't seem to be more afraid of the dogs.

Rya loves to swing!
Check out the Nike onesie!
Rya loves to smile for the camera! What a ham!
She chewed on this party favor for days!
Nike 5k. 7:36/min miles! It's about time.
A friendly dog Rya was petting at the park.

Memorial Day Weekend

Rya had fun in the laundry basket while Mommy folded laundry.


Rya's first bubble bath. She loves bubbles!

Rya and Daddy at Jason's race on Saturday.


Rya was super excited about Jason racing. So excited, she napped during the second race!

Bathroom Before & After

Before...


After...

Sophie

This is Sophie, Rya's new best teething friend! We love her! Someone told us about Sophie while we were feeding Rya ice chips in Hawaii to ease her teething pain. Poor Rya just couldn't get those teeth through until she started chomping on Sophie. We tried many other chewing toys and frozen foods, but none worked. She had Sophie for just a few days and then her teeth popped through! Sophie is soft, she squeaks, and is made from baby-safe materials. The colors are also great for grabbing attention. She is a bit pricey, but we think she's worth it! It's a great gift if you are passed the teething stage.

Two Teeth!

It finally happened... Rya now has two teeth! One broke through shortly after our return from Hawaii and the other broke through about a week later. Thankfully she is sleeping much better! We can only hope for a teething break before the top ones start breaking through.

Along with her teeth came new sounds and much more babbling! She really sounds like she's trying hard to make words. We'll try to get pictures up soon of her teeth, but she isn't willing to show them off at this time.

Jason is almost done painting the bathroom! We'll have before and after pictures up this weekend! We love it!

Hawaii

Reading in the airport while Rya sleeps.

At dinner- happy baby!

The girls eating dinner together!

The girls by the pond. They both enjoyed eating some paper.
On our balcony.
Ryan and Jason took the girls on a walk and they fell asleep. Too cute!

Getting ready to head to the pool.


Rya and Jason in the pool.

On our whale watching trip. We saw a mother and baby whale.

The boys holding the kids while we wait for the boat.
The girls in their matching swimsuits. Thanks, Alexis!



Rya lounging in the sun.

Floating in the pool courtesy of the Holmes family- thanks for the floatation device!
So happy in the Baby Bjorn!

Rya's first time in the pool in Honolulu.

Scott with Baby David.

Jenna with Baby James.

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About two weeks ago we left for Hawaii. We had a rough start, but we ended up having a great time.

Our flight was early on a Tuesday morning out of SFO so it made sense for us to spend the night at Jason's sister's house in Oakland Monday night. Plus, it was Jen's birthday while we were gone and that gave us a chance to celebrate with her and Brian before we left. The Volvo had been in the shop for about a week and was supposed to be done in time for us to drive it to the airport. Can you imagine trying to fit the three of us, two suitcases, carry-ons, and a stroller in the Mini? Right.... The shop called to say the Volvo was done and we headed out of town. The car was doing some odd shaking thing it wasn't doing before though the shop swore it was like that when it arrived. They said it was safe to drive, so off we went. Around Davis the Check Engine light not only came on, but it started blinking. I was not happy with the answer from the shop where we had originally taken it, so I called Volvo of Fairfield where we bought the car and which was on the way. Volvo of Fairfield is no longer a dealership, but the Infiniti dealership now in its place does Volvo service. They took pity on us and our situation and had the problem fixed in half an hour. Needless to say we will not be going back the shop in Sacramento again.

We finally arrived in Oakland and we were looking for a reprieve from the hot weather in Sac. That didn't happen. It was in the 90's in Oakland! Nonetheless, we had a loveley dinner with Auntie Jenny and Uncle Brian.

On Tuesday we flew to Oahu where we were greeted by our wonderful friends, Scott and Jenna. They fed us amazing pizza and introduced us to their beautiful baby boys- twins, David and James. After a little relaxing at our hotel, we met Scott and Jenna for dinner. It was Scott's birthday and we were honored to celebrate with him! The next morning Rya went in the swimming pool for the first time. She was a bit scared at first, but was then fascinated by the water. Scott and Jenna graciously took us to lunch and then to the airport. We can't wait to see them and the boys again in December!

We arrived in Maui and met our friends, the Pyne family! With two babies and four adults, we had quite a time getting everything in our rented Expedition. The first night was pretty crazy with the girls and the time change. Rya slept terribly the entire time we were in Hawaii. We don't know if it's because her teeth have been giving her problems or if she was having trouble adjusting to sleeping in a Pak n' Play the whole time. We do know that waking up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours per night is not much of a vacation!

We had a ton of fun with Ryan, Alexis, and Kennedy. Kennedy had the time of her life in the pool and in the ocean. We were a bit jealous that Rya wasn't able to play quite like Kennedy, but we know she will eventually. Alexis and Melanie were able to get in quite a few workouts while the boys played video games.

The food was excellent! We had a ton of fresh fish and went to a new sushi restaurant. It was nice to trade babysitting with the Pynes so we could have meal together without Rya. We can't wait to vacation with the Pynes again and watch the girls play together!