Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow...

Let me just say, I LOVE Ryder's curly hair! And I've loved watching it grow and I loved it long. But I had been thinking lately that I would cut his hair soon (his first official haircut) since his hair was starting to get harder to style and getting in his face, BUT like I said, I LOVE his long curly hair! So I was waiting until I felt ready to let go...Besides, it will grow back anyway! I wanted him to be cooler for the rest of the summer too.

I woke up this morning, and immediately told Paul, "I'm going to go get Ryder's haircut today." And he kind of laughed and was like, "Okay." It just felt like time. And I do REALLY miss his curls already, and it's shorter than I thought I would have it cut for the first time, but his faux hawk is back! Here are the before and after pics of his first official haircut!

Oh, and he did awesome! We went to Great Clips and he sat on a booster seat on the chair all by himself. I wish I had taken my camera inside, because the cape was penguins and surf boards--way cute! He was really pretty still and curious during it, but didn't put up a fight. Phew! ;) The lady who cut his hair gave me a few of the pieces she cut with a card saying today was his first haircut. Plus, he got a sucker afterward and devoured it, so I think he'll enjoy future haircuts. :)

New Words!

So, Ryder has never been much of a talker, but always been good at babbling! Well, lately he's been mimicking us a lot and here are some examples of his favorite new words....
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Bird- he says "bir"

Uh-oh!

Cookie- he says "coo-ka"

No- he says "no-oh"

Bath- he says "bah"

Dog- he says "dah" & "Jew-eh" (for Jewel)

Mom- he says "Ma"

Dad- he usually calls dad "Ma" too, but sometimes "Da" (very rarely though)

Ball- he says "Bah"

Cracker- he says "Cah"

Snack- he says "Sah"

Truck- he says "Truh" (LOVES TRUCKS!)

Car- he says "Cahr"

Ouch- he says "Ow-chh"

Bad- he says "Ba-ad"

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That's all I can think of now, but he's starting to say lots of words now! Just all out of the blue, it was time to talk! He's been at it for just a week or two now. I'll keep updating his new words as I think of them. :) We're so proud of him! It's so fun to see when he decides to do things and what he likes to do.

I should also mention, he's been signing for awhile, and he still chooses to do that a lot. Here are some of the words he signs all the time...

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Milk

Water

Hungry

Please

Dog

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Those are the main ones, I think. Those are the important ones for him anyway! ;)

July updates (so far anyway)

My parents, last minute, decided to come visit for the weekend of the 4th, and boy were we excited! Especially considering they were just here the first week in May! And so they made the long drive from Ogden, UT to Ames, IA to see us. Ryder even made a sign to say welcome, since he was coloring at the time anyway. The sucky part was that I had just found out I had pneumonia and felt like absolute crap that week before they arrived, but by the time they got here I felt good again. So, I was really nervous that I would be too sick to enjoy their visit, but was very surprised and grateful to be feeling tons better! We had a lot of fun, staying around Ames. We went to a park, Fuji steakhouse (which was way yummy!) and played games and grilled at home. It was nice and laid-back. It rained on the 4th though, so no fireworks or grilling or being outside that day at all, but it was such a nice time with them! Ryder absolutely loved their visit and seeing Grandma & Grandpa McFarlane....
We went to the Omaha zoo one weekend and had a blast, we stayed overnight at the Hilton down there and except for it also being the same weekend as the Men's College World Series (we don't follow college sports) and traffic and parking being bad, we had so much fun! Ryder lost a shoe to the lemurs down below, but he loved it!....

Paul was out of town for work a few weeks ago in Portland (I was so sad we didn't get to go, but that's when we all started getting sick anyway, so it was better we didn't) and Ryder's hair is getting really long, so I decided to comb it straight back and see what it looked like. He got a kick out of it! I think he felt like a different person, he was laughing maniacally and being so goofy! It was so sad Dad missed it! :( But he ended up looking like Bond, James Bond, with his slicked back 'do... There are some pics included here. I just wish I had him in a suit instead of his doggy pj's, but it's so cute anyway....

Ryder had his 18 mos. check-up yesterday and did so awesome! He's always very curious when the Dr. pokes and prods and checks everything out, but he's very good and still which the Dr. was pleasantly surprised about. He had 3 shots, yikes! But didn't start crying until the 2nd one, and only cried for about 30 seconds. He just needs a moment when he's hurting, then he's over it! So not like his mom that way! I'm so proud of him, everything went well and he's healthy and all. He's 33" tall, weighs 27 lbs. 14 oz., and his head is 47 1/2 cm around. He's in the 71% for height, 76% for weight, and 42% for head. What a big boy!....

After waiting forever and deciding on the perfect haircut for me, I finally made it back to the salon for a cut and color. And it looks great! My hairstylist is awesome and always does a great job, and I walk out feel like a million bucks. It's such a splurge but the one I love and enjoy most! Hope you enjoy all the pics....