learning to paddleboard.

Michael led the way into our foray with paddleboarding on our trip to Wrightsville Beach in June, before our big move. Can I just tell you how awesome he is!! He got out there on that board and made it look like a piece of cake. Whatcha think he belongs on the water?! He rocks!

from lexington to post to wrightsville

Ry and Great Grandaddy... hanging out at the house. :)

I love these 3...

Caden and a couple of his toads... all of whom were named Bob.

Bob 1 and Bob 2.

I know, this is a special picture. Ry and I apparently have very similar bed-head. Lol. Totally natural. I look thrilled at having a picture taken, huh. We were at Mom and Dad's right before our big move.

May trip to Lexington

Taking some time with Meme right before our move from Post. And before I killed my orchid... :(

Ry was about 3 months old here.

Caden playing on Great Grandmommy's bed at the nursing home in May.

Caden and Great Grandaddy in May. He was all smiles until I pulled out the camera.

Great Grandmommy and Ryanne. She was getting sleepy... but still awesome to capture the moment. All time we can spend with our grandparents is wonderful!

Ry's fussing was starting to upset Great Grandmommy. Hopefully the next trip will have a happy baby!

Great Grandaddy was gracious enough to let us come stay with him as a stop over on my trips to Lebanon trying to find housing. We can't wait to get down to see them again. Now that it's a 2 hr trip instead of 4 yrs, hopefully we can make it down more often.

caden misses daddy

caden misses you, michael. he wanted to talk to you... he thought you were talking to me on the camera the way you do on Skype. ha

Ry is 7 wks!

So Ry is 7 wks now. She is growing and changing so much. She will smile back at you, coo at you (or whatever else catches her attention), she will turn her head to follow whatever it is that interests her. She finds Caden particularly fascinating and will turn as soon as she hears his voice. She even lets me know now that she wants to  be put down and left alone for a while. I won't argue... I have a fair share of stuff to get done in preparation for the upcoming relocation.

ha, got it!

i want that piece right there

Yup, definitely my child... ok, having trouble getting the video to load. will try again in a bit. In the mean time... a shot of John and Declan. We certainly don't get to see them very often. And wow, how Declan has grown since David's wedding in Jan!

daniel's bday

we had the joy of being there to celebrate cousin daniel's 4th bday. He was so cute blowing out his candles and opening presents. It really was great just spending time with them. It's been hard having them so far away from us... it was much easier to get together when they lived in TN too! Oh well... Our boys are growing up!

with gmommy and gdaddy

some pics from our time with mom and daddy...

he is SO my child...

the hunt is on

Easter egg hunt that is. Caden and Daniel had a grand ol' time finding there baskets early in the day. And the afternoon brought on a fun hunt for hidden eggs. (cause they didn't have enough candy already!) A week later Caden came and told me he needed to go have a conversation with the Easter bunny at his house where the other little bunnies live. He wanted to talk to him about candy for Daniel for Easter... as he was under the impression (or hope) that Easter was coming again in a week and he wanted the bunny to be prepared. ha, i love this kid!

all sorts of wildlife in NC

So we took a trip to the NC coast to see my family for Easter and to have some much appreciated rest and help with the kids while Michael is away. While there, Mom and I decided it would be good to go on a park discovery. We tried out many of the parks around Wilmington... much to Caden's delight. A grand time was had by all. We even saw some cool wildlife... and we all know how much Caden loves wildlife. Well, maybe not Koi fish anymore... as one decided his finger was food and made some nice impressions on him (literally and figuratively).

BOB!

First shots are obviously Ry sleeping...

I love that my dear hubby is on the same page with me so many times! After looking at them for years and a lot of research and discussion... we got our very own BOB. Had the other jogging stroller I was looking at come in another color (i really didn't want a black stroller)... we would have gotten something different. But color does matter to me... more than having a hand brake apparently. lol.

Ry and I got all set up and after dinner went out the door for Ryanne's first ever walk. She wasn't so happy at first. She was definitely throwing a fit as we walked out the door... which caught the attention of all the neighbors who were outside. But after half a block, she calmed down and went to sleep. 45 minutes of happy strolling. Got back home, stopped, and she immediately woke up. I can't wait for Caden to come home so we can take Ms Ry out together and hit up every park in the neighborhood (there are quite a few). :)

pretty girl

for less than a month old, she does actually have a good bit of neck strength. just as i cut the video, she picked her head up all the way.

random Ry pics

I see now why there are less pics of subsequent children in families... no time! lol. So I am trying to make an effort to take pics of Ry like I did with Caden. We are fighting some baby acne right now, so she may not appreciate these photos much when she gets older.

He's 4!

And then 27 March was upon us again. It was malay in the house with several of our friends over to have birthday dinner/cake and celebration with us. I was wanting to keep it kinda quiet, since I had just had Ry 2 weeks before... but I should have known better. We ended up with like 15 people at the house. Had I been in a better position, I would have gotten pics of the pinata bashing that took place in the garage with a wooden sword. How nobody got hurt... God is good! And more good news... Caden had a great birthday. He's such a big boy... and such a blessing in my life.

a big adventure

Well, today marks a new phase in my life as Caden's mom. He has left on a grand adventure... today I dropped him off at the airport with Daddy and they are flying to Wilmington, NC. Daddy will be leaving him with Gmommy and Gdaddy to have a week at the beach with them while he heads to SC for Recruiters School. That leaves Ry and I here without the boys. It's strange. I've never been this far away from Caden in the 4 yrs he's been alive. Sure, I've left him overnight before, but we were only on the other side of town... and never longer than 18 hrs. This is monumental for me. He was super excited to be going on this adventure and I'm excited for him. But I miss my guys!

The 2 pics of Caden in the car... we of course stopped off to grab him a kolache on the way to the airport this morning. We were waiting in the car for Daddy to run in and grab them and made a photo op of it.

The pic of Daddy and Caden right before they walked into the airport. Word from Daddy is that the flights are going alright. They were in Charlotte last I heard... and apparently they got upgraded on their first flight 'cause Daddy was in uniform. ha! love it!

i know, i'm behind the curve... but hey, i just birthed a 9+lb baby!
Ryanne Elisabeth Franks
3/9/12
8:35am
9lbs 6oz
22 inches

caden's first choral performance

So yesterday was a big day for us... Michael and I joined the church, Caden was baptized, and Caden performed in his first children's choir for Christmas. As if this wasn't expected... ha! He's the youngest one up there by at least 4 months... which might explain the behavior. In case you can't catch which one he is... look at the boy in the far left corner wearing the red striped shirt. yes, the one jumping off the stage...

A good day, all in all!