that one time nana came to utah...

Turns out moving sucks. A lot. My house looks like a tornado just blew threw and its been that way for the past 2 1/2 weeks. Everyday we do a little more packing and I feel a little more unsettled inside because I can't get my house clean. Lucky for me, my mom decided to come up to Utah for a few days and help me with the whole packing process. Ryder man was in heaven. Four days of undivided attention from his nana. Oh, and then his favorite Uncle Luke came up to Utah too. More heaven.

This kid loves family. A lot.

Impromptu camping trip

Two weeks ago we decided to just pack up and take the little guy camping with us. We used to camp a lot more pre-Ryder, but turns out the thought of camping with an 18 month old seems quite daunting. We bit the bullet and went anyway. We found a nice, deserted campsite on the road to Cascade Springs, set up camp, and explored the area. We hiked a small trail, which Ryder man insisted on walking up all by himself. The mountains are beautiful and it was fun to just spend time together. Plus, Ryder man is a HUGE fan of picking up sticks, running around getting totally dirty, and jumping on a newly inflated air mattress. We all slept fine except for Ryder man waking up at 5:30 am. That is always fun. But nothing is ever perfect. Good things camping is so much fun.

{ Ryder :: 18 months }

Ryder man cracks us up. He is 18 months old and every day he surprises us with his new tricks and friendly personality. Here are some Ryderisms of the moment:

• words he knows: mama, dada, cracker, tractor, bye, no, papa, nana, Costco, dog, duck, car, ball, keys, where it go?, milk, all done, more
• animal sounds: duck, horse, cow, snake, dog, cat, lion, elephant, tiger, bear, crow
• loves all things cars, trucks, tractors, airplanes, helicopters, motorcycles... and has a sign/sound for each one. Our whole road trip down to Las Vegas was spent spotting semis and Ryder pumping his arm up and down and making a honking noise.
• Loves to be chased and tickled.
• Picky eater… refuses to eat most fruits and vegetables, choosing instead to only eat: quesadillas, grilled cheese, crackers, cereal, toast, fruit smoothies, and pretty much any treat we’ll let him eat. He’s pretty sure crackers are a food group and should accompany every meal.
• Has this habit of playing with the tag on the back of his jammie top while he's starting to wake up.
•  Seven Peaks is one of his favorite places, loves to splash around and go down the big slide as many times as we’ll let him. Every time we get to the bottom he claps and enthusiastically motions for “more”.
•  If things don’t go the way he wants them to, he resorts to banging his head on any hard surface available [floor, wall, chair, etc].
•  Favorite movie is Cars and Cars 2. Anything Cars.
•  Loves to sit in the front seat of the car and pretend to drive the car.
•  Will use various objects as a phone, put it up to his ear, and start jabbering away. Objects include, but are not limited to: calculator, ruler, small books, and anything else that is small-ish and rectangular-ish.
• Goes down the big slide at the park but insists to slide down on his stomach, going backwards.
• Can't make it through grocery shopping without a meltdown unless we have the car cart.
•  Although not the most cuddly kid in the world, he's always good for loves and kisses.