Clyde and Family

We've Moved....

2010-02-27T18:43:00.004-07:00

So as not to make Alice feel like she wasn't part of the show, I've moved to www.twolittlecowhands.blogspot.com

Mommy will be sharing crafts and tales and she'll be the voice of the blog.

Over and out, Clyde

February Fun...

2010-02-22T08:52:00.007-07:00

Well, it's winter and we've got cabin fever pretty bad. It's been a little nicer this week and we've been trying to spend as much time outside as possible, at the park, the zoo, and the ranch. Alice and Clyde seem to have unlimited energy and it's hard to get them tired out.

This is Alice in a "hay cave". She loves eating dirt, playing in toilets, jumping in mud puddles, and dollies.

Clyde doesn't want to go anywhere without a rope. He turns every piece of string or cord in our house into a rope...

Josh and Tiffany, Mason, Hydee and Hanna came to visit us (along with about 25 other people) at the ranch to go for pony rides. It was good to get to see them and we miss them when they're in California.

It's not always fun at the ranch.... Alice is getting her eye teeth and these few weeks have been pretty difficult. She's very independent, determined and vocal.

Here we are at the zoo with our friends from Seattle.

What do you do with this?

2010-02-02T20:34:00.003-07:00

Enough pork to feed Ben's family, and that's saying something! Day 1 is solomo (fried pork cutlets with roasted peppers on top)... any ideas for days 2, 3, 4, 5..... I think we'll be eating pork for a while!

I mean it, I'm serious

2010-02-02T20:30:00.003-07:00

I know what I like and I know what I don't. I really can't wait until I get to dress myself.

Thanks for listening, Alice

Kids Room(s).... Done?!

2010-01-29T00:00:00.006-07:00

So Katie (Ben's sister) made fun of my FB post in early January saying I was going to try to complete all my projects... she said something about my being too ambitious. Well, Katie, I was just trying to get them done so I wouldn't have any to do (I'm actually more lazy than ambitious). My mom came over for 8 hours and helped me sew and I finally finished my kid's room. Since then I've eaten lots of bon-bons, read the entire Twilight series and the first Hunger Games book, and spent too much time reading crafty blogs and not making a darned thing! It's getting hard not to start a new project, but I have to say those books were better than I had expected.

For those of you who haven't seen it, my kids live in what probably was an attic years ago (1oo to be more exact). When I bought the house it was the master suite, but the ceilings hit me and Ben in the head, so it was the guest room and TV room until it got remade into the kid zone. The main area is for playing, etc... Because the ceilings and the knee walls are especially low, it's really hard to get a good photo, so keep that in mind. Here it is:

This is the biggest part of the room, basically a big alcove at the top of the stairs. It's the play zone. We've loved this Nilo play table. It's super duper strong so when the kids climb all over it I don't worry. The shelf is from target.com. I like having things on a shelf instead of a toy box so the kids can see what they want and not have to pull it all out (of course they still do that, but it gives me hope that maybe someday they won't).

This is looking down the stairs. The door in the back is to the bathroom. To the right is Alice's alcove. She doesn't get a room, just an alcove. That's her dresser there. The quilt is something my brother got me in China in about 1992 or so. The print is from Land of Nod and my sister gave it to us when Clyde was born. It's an ABC print with cities from around the world.

This area is in the same big alcove as the play table and shelf. It's the reading/movie watching area. The ottoman is one of my finished projects. The guys at Mill's End fabric made me the foam cube over a year ago and I finally covered it with an old (and kind of cheap) quilt I had. It's a 20x20x20 square which I would change by making it a little shorter but still 20x20 if I did it again. The center of gravity's a little high and the kids often tumble off, but luckily our carpet makes for a soft landing. It's pretty awesome for putting my feet up though. On the floor is a cute blanket Ben's mom made for Clyde. I love using blankets instead of rugs for kids. I had a great braided rug in Clyde's old room (now our TV room), but it was really hard to clean short of taking it to the cleaner's when it inevitable got spilled or spit up on. Now I just use blankets and throw them in the wash.

This is the kitchen my sister Catherine got the kids. I tried to arrange the food, kitchen etc. so both kids could play at once. This introduced pink into the mostly primary color room, but I had been planning on incorporating a little pink into Alice's alcove, so it works.

This is Alice's alcove. The rosebud pillowcases were something I found on the ranch and have no idea where they came from, but they're old. They were the inspiration for a red & pink themed girl's room that would coordinate with our primary color scheme in the main area but give it a feminine feel. My mother made the curtains from a long insulated panel I got at Target. We used blanket binding and a cute crochet lace to finish them. The dresses turned out great and I am now recommending that everyone decorate their baby rooms with baby clothes. They hardly wear them, so it makes sense to get a little more use out of them! Free decorations - I love it!

Clyde's room was originally the master closet. When we put in air conditioning, the ducts were run through here. We had Ben's Uncle Richard frame around the ducts and make some shelves, a window seat and a built in bed with storage drawers. I sawed off the closet rods to make Clyde a small closet. Mom and I finally made the curtain a year later. The roman shade I made was so complicated with crazy dowels and ropes that I also thought might be dangerous, so I redid it with little ribbon loops that you just slip on two mug hooks. Safe and easy!

This is the closet. The fabric is some vintage cowboy print sheeting that I got on sale at Caledonia (a very nice but pricey fabric store on Americana). You can see the baskets are on a ledge that's concealing the ducts.

The lighting was terrible with the bright sunshine coming in, but here's Clyde's bed and window seat, great for reading him bedtime stories.

Now we're working on a cushion for the window seat, but it's really just a figment of our imagination for now. Hope you enjoyed the tour.

The Wises... dolly versions

2010-01-20T23:45:00.004-07:00

I wanted to do something unique and thoughtful for my sister's family for Christmas. They have two small boys, so I decided that I'd make them some dolls, as that's something they don't have in abundance. Then I thought it would be fun to make dolls that represented their family. At first they looked like aliens, but after I added the hair it wasn't as bad. Meet the Wises:

Janelle is in her Asics running shoes, bike shorts and a tank top. Elliott and Harrison are in hand-me-downs from Clyde and Tyson's in khakis, Clyde's old loafters and a Carter's baby dress shirt. Making the khakis was the hardest part of the clothes. If I did it again the necks wouldn't be so skinny, but all in all it turned out all right.

Clyde got kind of attached to the Elliott doll before Christmas. He shared his toys with him and set him up to watch movies. It was really cute. We even took the Elliott doll to Clyde's ear tube surgery so he'd be there for moral support.

Christmas Shopping Guide (for reference for next year)

2010-01-20T22:48:00.003-07:00

Do you have some small children on your Christmas list? I have resolved to get Christmas done ahead of time this year, so I thought I'd help you do the same with some helpful hints tor the little ones on your list (and their parents).

I'm talking about one and two year olds in particular since that's my current area of expertise. Here are my tips....

Go with something dangerous
Make sure it's something that needs cared for
Make sure that it's beyond a toddler to do the caretaking
Get something that has further equipment or feed needs and don't provide those

In other words, get them a pony! It'll be added work and worry for mom and dad, but the kids will love you forever and ever....

Meet Daisy, one of the two new additions to our family:

Alice still prefers just the saddle...

The second addition is our new puppy, Jigsaw, who is also a surprise Christmas gift for the toddler children. We do love both of our new additions, but we're just now getting over the shock.

Happy shopping!

I love Christmas!

2009-12-17T23:32:00.006-07:00

The other day we went to our neighbor's house and she had a big tree in her living room. Mom says it's a Christmas tree. I wanted one too. Daddy cut one from the forest on the old railroad at Grandpa Harry's ranch. Mommy put on the decorations (and took this horrible fuzzy picture - the lighting was all wrong).

Mommy keeps telling me I have to be a good boy so Santa can bring me presents. I met him. I told him I want two small swords. When I was meeting him, someone made me a balloon sword and I was fighting... Alice didn't like Santa.

We got all dressed up and my sister looked so grown up!

I like to see all the Christmas lights too. We went to a big park where there were lots of lights and I climbed the mountain to see all of them.

Christmas is so fun. I hope I get lots of toys!

-Clyde

South for the Winter...

2009-11-27T20:54:00.002-07:00

No photos because it's been a crazy week and the camera's still in the bag...

While not as long a migration as most birds, we have made our now annual migration south to the Treasure Valley. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with bits and pieces of both our families. Now for the unpacking -- arg! If you're in or around Boise, come see us! We had a great summer and a cold fall and we're ready to be back in civilization.

It's Officially Winter....

2009-11-14T12:55:00.004-07:00

You know it's officially winter when:

New snow falls on top of old snow before it melts....
All the leaves are gone...

There are icicles....
The temperature barely gets up to freezing...

But how do you really know it's winter??? This is when you know:

When it takes 4 men and a tractor to get you unstuck, that's when you know it's winter!

In other amusing snow news, I was certain we had a prowler last night. I kept hearing these noises around the house and then when I woke up all the way at 2 a.m. I realized it was just snow falling off the roof and not a prowler.

Shipping Calves

2009-11-13T18:42:00.004-07:00

So it's getting cold up here and now is the time we take all the baby calves away from their mommies and ship them off to sunny California where they can get all fat and happy (until they're sold again and wind up as T-bones). Mommy was in charge of weighing them this year. She got nominated for her penmanship, which isn't all that great but better than cowboys and old men. Here's one of our days...

The first truck, loaded and ready to go, with Jughandle Mtn. in the background.

Mommy's domain, the scalehouse:

Our daddy the cowboy on the white mare:

Now the mommies will stay here a few more weeks until there's too much snow to get to the grass. We're moving back to Boise in time for Thanksgiving. Our 6 months in the mountains is up for this year!

Halloween

2009-11-13T18:25:00.005-07:00

Mumsy brought Clyde the kimono jammies from her Japan trip, so I decided to make him a panda mask. Total cost less than $1.00 and turned out pretty cute. Alice was given the darling bunny outfit by a family friend. Clyde was pretty excited about dressing up but still didn't get the concept of Halloween. We dressed up most days that week. They both of course loved getting treats. The photos were taken at a friend's place on Payette Lake. I tried to get some of both of them, but they're squirrelly these days!

Messy Eater and Other Food News

2009-10-24T18:58:00.006-06:00

Alice loves to eat almost anything, but she doesn't always get it into her mouth...

Clyde is a kind of picky eater; this week he loves red meat and isn't as in to chili macaroni. The one thing he always loves? Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese (yah, I'm that kind of mom). I tried making it, but he wanted "the orange kind." Oh and yes, those are his jammies and that's lunch. What can I say, they're comfy and fashionable, so why put regular clothes on?

One of the guys that works with Ben gave us some venison (pictured) and some elk. So we've been enjoying that this week. I have to admit that I really don't find it appetizing until it's not recognizable.

-Laura

A night with Mumsy...

2009-10-19T19:57:00.006-06:00

We got dressed up and went to visit Mumsy. She said we were so pretty and so handsome. She really liked my cowboy boots. She gave me my cowboy shirt. Alice was so pretty. She even had a bow. Daddy says bows are for girls. Mommy and Daddy went away and we stayed at Mumsy's house all by ourselves. I got to look at my playhouse and play a big drum. We even got to take a bath and sleep at Mumsy's. She read me so many books! It was fun, but I was really happy when Mommy and Daddy came to get me the next morning.

-Clyde

Auntie Shelley's house...

2009-10-07T12:32:00.003-06:00

Clyde and mommy built two houses today. Mommy designed the bottom one and Clyde directed the design on the top one -- it's for Auntie Shelley!

Snow!!!

2009-10-04T10:52:00.003-06:00

We were all pretty excited to see the snow this morning, but I'm awfully sad about our two previously beautiful cottonwood trees. The leaves hadn't even turned yet, let alone fallen, and the super heavy snow just ripped them apart...

Clyde was pretty excited and helped build a snowman that his dad named Peanut Butter. Clyde didn't like that one bit, "It's not peanuh butteh, it's noman!"

Alice was a little less enthralled with the winter wonderland.

Since it's gotten colder, we're running the wood stove most the day. It's obviously somewhat of a hazard. Clyde gets it and stays away, but Alice didn't understand, so Ben and Clyde built a "gate" - it's not JPMA certified, but it's working!

"Maybe we're going on a date..."

2009-10-04T10:22:00.005-06:00

Mumsy was coming for dinner and mommy put Alice in a dress and me in my tiger overalls and shirt. We looked good! Mommy told me I was so handsome and Baby looked pretty. I told her, "Maybe we're going on a date!" She was so surprised... she thinks I don't know about things, but I do....And this is my idea of a fun date... chainsaws and shovels...

-Clyde

Eggs and such...

2009-10-04T10:13:00.005-06:00

We get eggs from the ranch and they can be all different colors. Sometimes they have yucky dirt and chicken poop on them.

Mommy made them into something yummy:

A day off...

2009-09-27T16:14:00.001-06:00

Ben took Clyde and Alice to the ranch today. It's so quiet, I just don't know what to do. I thought about nothing, but after sleeping for an hour I got up, read about 100 pages of grant applications, vacuumed the entire house, dusted, did 3 loads of laundry, fixed a chair, picked up all the stray toys, revamped the blog (check out the labels), and now I think I'll watch a movie, try to read some more and make some flan.

Shipping Sheep

2009-09-27T13:24:00.004-06:00

The other day we picked Daddy up at work and went to Sater Meadows north of McCall. There were so many sheep! I got a cane so I could help tell the sheep where to go. They loaded some on trucks and the others they sorted. Mommy didn't have her camera, but Marg took these with her phone. It was so fun! Daddy couldn't believe how quiet sheep are compared to cows. They can jump really high. Sometimes they tried to jump the fences. We put the girls in one pen, the boys in one pen and the old ladies in another.

I like sheep!

Look what Mommy Made...

2009-09-27T09:51:00.004-06:00

Stuck up in the woods without many sewing resources nearby, Mommy was thinking what can I make for this baby shower. Her friend is having a second baby girl. So she made both girls little homemade purses. One is made out of part of a pair of jeans and the other a stained sweater, and they both include 3 extra quilt squares from a quilt she was making for another baby that's coming. She's also including some diapers and a baby toy in the package. The purses are reversible too. Check them out:

Back Yard

2009-09-25T14:41:00.005-06:00

One of the best things of this summer has been the yard. Good for mom because it's got wire up and no one can get out. Good for Clyde because he can run around and beat on things. Both kids really like being outside (and the house stays cleaner too!). We'll miss the yard as it cools down and we get ready to move south with the cows.

The Last Huckleberries

2009-09-25T13:14:00.004-06:00

It's cooling down in the mountains. We took a road trip over Lick Creek Summit down the Secesh River to the Salmon River to Warm Lake and back home. It's a beautiful drive if you're ever in the McCall area and have some time.

But the best thing happened, we found more huckleberries!!! It was September 6th and they were totally done in the valley for weeks, but we got high enough that they were perfect. And, as Clyde would say, there were "So many!!!" Clyde always asks for so many of everything. Not more or a lot, but so many.

And, they were gigantic! For those of you not familiar with huckleberries, these were probably double the size we're used to:

Luckily, the Smiths were planning on coming the next day (Labor Day) so we took them up to the same place. Some berries had succumbed to the frosty night, but there were enough they got about a pint and a half to take home. And we had huckleberry pancakes for dinner, mmmmm.

Here's some of the other cool scenery we saw on the drive:

Cool dead tree.

Fungus growing on burnt tree.

Tree growing out of a rock.

Mossy tree.

Alice Gertie Baby Ninya is One!

2009-08-18T22:26:00.006-06:00

We can't believe a year has passed already. Alice is toddling around and falling down a lot as toddlers are wont to do. She is a very happy baby, even when Clyde is pushing and hitting her, which he is wont to do. Mumsy got her this special birthday outfit:

The Smiths came and stayed with us, which was a lot of fun for us and we hope for them. We took them out to feed the calves and the horses came to see what was going on:

We always get asked, "What are you calling her?" The truth is she gets called "Baby" a lot, but that's not something we want to stick. As you can see from the cake, Alice and Gertie are both getting top billing:

She is really a joy these days!

Berry Sad News, But a Berry Good Summer

2009-08-18T21:19:00.005-06:00

The huckleberries are done. It was so sad to see only one or two with the rest withering on the bush. I suppose that we can get by until next year. At least we have some jam to tide us over. Lucky for us, Mumsy's raspberries started right when the huckleberries quit, so our summer of berries continues. Mom thinks that we've made about 4 gallons of jam this summer, which doesn't sound like a lot until you realize that it was about 40 jars of the stuff. We hope that next summer some of you will join us for huckleberry picking and jam making. Mark off your calendars for somewhere from late July to mid-August!

Strawberry/huckleberry jam we made with Aunt Libby:

Libby and Ben's huckleberry haul:

Clyde, a good picker and a good eater... these are Mumsy's raspberries:

It's all about the berries...

2009-07-29T22:26:00.003-06:00

Today we went to Mumsy's and we picked huckleberries. The other day I went to the bone pile and picked huckleberries. Mommy and Daddy went rafting on the river and brought home huckleberries. I went to see my cousins at Warm Lake and picked huckleberries. Then we went there again and picked huckleberries. Tomorrow we're going to go pick huckleberries with Aunt Libby.

Today I saw so many huckleberries and I picked so many huckleberries but then there was only one in my bucket. Mommy said the rest were in my tummy. I like to pick huckleberries!

Mommy has tried twice now to show you pretty berry pictures and of course pictures of me, but something is not working.... more again soon!

Happy Baby!

2009-06-20T14:58:00.003-06:00

Mason came to visit...

2009-06-18T17:19:00.003-06:00

I really like Mason. He came to visit one time when I wasn't home and his mommy and daddy left this on the fridge:

Another time he came to visit and we went to the beach. It was cold and rainy in the morning so nobody had swimsuits, but it didn't matter. The sun came out and we had fun anyway...

Little Drummers

2009-06-18T17:08:00.003-06:00

Two little drummers with Mumsy's big drum... lots of fun for everyone.

Sister is growing up and so am I...

2009-06-18T15:50:00.006-06:00

I got a haircut for Mommy's birthday. So did Daddy. Now we have no hair.

Before I had a lot of hair....

Baby crawls all over now and she likes to get into things.

She started standing up slowly.

Now she likes to walk around the furniture.
She's always following me and trying to get into my things. Sometimes, I just wish she'd leave me alone.

But I like her and she sure is pretty - don't you think?

We went to the Shore Lodge for Mumsy's birthday. It was a fancy restaurant and I could see the pretty lake outside. I got ice cream!

Sometimes I fall down, but the other day the window fell down on me. See that hole? It fits my head exactly. Mommy was so scared, but I'm OK.

New House/Clyde's Cabin

2009-06-18T15:08:00.006-06:00

Mommy and Daddy moved us to a new house. It's called Clyde's Cabin. It's by Big Idaho Mountains (Donnelly). Please come play with me!!

This is what it looks like driving up to the cabin (Mommy says unfortunately you can't see the mountains from the cabin because of all the trees).

Sunset in front of the cabin...

This is Mommy's Uncle David's ranch. I helped to move cows there one day with my cousin Cassidy. It was fun.

This is my Mumsy's ranch. She has a playhouse and horses!

Birthday Boy - Two Years Old

2009-05-18T15:03:00.006-06:00

Happy Birthday to me! Two years old! Mumsy gave me my own bike, "Look out!" I pedaled it right away even though my feet just barely reach.

My neighbors, Alice and Nick, gave me a cool balloon that is hooked to my chair now. I love how it shines.

Mommy and I have been working in the garden and on my birthday it was really warm so I spent a lot of time outside.

My friend Livia (Olivia) got me a drill and a chainsaw. I love them! They make good noises.

Mommy made a cake with my favorite thing on it - a hammer! It had two candles and I blew them both out.

Then my cousins thought the cake would look good if it had all my new animals on it, so it had lots of sea creatures and African animals like I see at the zoo.

It was fun to have so many cousins and friends there. And the cake was good too!

It was so hot that my cousins started a water fight with my dad...

Guess who won???

2 under 2

2009-05-11T14:45:00.004-06:00

So whenever I don't have time to do something, or maybe don't want to, I have this handy excuse: "2 under 2"... I have two children under two years old. But this Friday, that will cease to be true. Clyde is turning two. I will have "2 2 and under" which doesn't have the same ring to it. So I guess I can either (a) quit making excuses, (b) come up with something ringier, or (c) have another kid because "3 under 3" would be an even better excuse! I don't think I would actually be able to function at all if I chose (c), and I've tried (b) and I just can't come up with anything. So, it's got to be (a). I will try, but don't expect me to be a whole lot less complaining or more available. Until Alice is walking and feeding herself and Clyde learns a new favorite word other than mine, I don't see my mindset changing too much.

Just so you aren't left with the impression that I am not enjoying my 2 under 2, here are some pictures. Aren't they beautiful? They are also smart and funny. And I'm sure they will be fast and thoughtful and make this world a better place...

Tea party anyone?
Big blue eyes...

Big lion...

All Better and Then Some...

2009-05-05T12:20:00.004-06:00

We were able to spend some time outside now that Clyde is feeling better and it's warm enough outside (though the wind and rain haven't helped much). Here's Clyde in his flower-picking ensemble. Very fashionable, he thinks....

He was having a hard time walking in the big gum boots and I think that's why he stood still on the bench for about 30 pictures taken by his dad. He loves flowers.

Alice got sick too and isn't this just the saddest sick face??

Now she's feeling better too.

Fun and Easy Mother's Day Project

2009-04-26T16:42:00.005-06:00

For those of you with kids who have grandmas that like vintage things, this is easy and fun. I (this is mommy talking, not Clyde) made these silhouettes for my mom (who hopefully won't check out the blog before Mother's Day).

All I did was print out (on regular paper instead of photo) profile photos I took of the kids. Then I placed those on top of black paper and traced their profiles. This left an indentation on the black paper that was enough to use as a guide for cutting. I had thought I might have to trace with chalk or something, but this worked well. I've seen where people make the silhouette in a photo editing program, but I think the cutouts seem more authentic and they turned out well. I just glued them to white paper and put them in an inexpensive frame from Target. Enjoy!

The Cure for Almost Anything...

2009-04-24T19:59:00.004-06:00

Clyde's not well. He was having so much trouble breathing yesterday and had a fever for a few days, so I finally took him to the doctor. They sent us to the hospital for chest xrays and tests. Clyde was a real trooper. Turns out he has RSV which is a virus that can lead to bronchitis and pneumonia, but we hope we don't go that far. He's been so tired and had no appetite, but today he started to get better and get some energy. He's still coughing a lot, but we found something he likes to eat:

And he's taking lots of baths, because it's one of the only things he wants to do and it helps a little with the congestion.

Popsicles and bubble baths -- that would cure most ills.

Springtime....

2009-04-21T22:26:00.004-06:00

It's getting warmer outside and I get to go to the park a lot. I even go on the big twisty slide all by myself now:

My Aunt Catherine was here for a few weeks and it was fun to have her play with us.

I got to go to the ZOO!! Here I am looking at the "raffs"

And here I am riding a komodo dragon, but it didn't go anywhere....

My cousin Elliott has a baby now, just like me only he is tiny and they call him Harrison.

PIZZA!!!

2009-04-21T22:22:00.004-06:00

I love pizza. I always ask mommy for pizza. In the morning she makes me egg pizza (egg with ham and cheese on top). Sometimes she makes me pancake pizza:

(That's a pancake with yogurt, jam, bananas and dried fruit). And sometimes she gets a pizza from the big freezer downstairs and we cook it. That's my favorite pizza. I don't really like the pancake pizza near as much.

Latest photos...

2009-03-26T14:33:00.006-06:00

Mommy's camera got broken and the new one doesn't take such great photos, but here are the latest...

Clyde shower.

Mohawk (Clyde's new favorite hairstyle which he requests by name)...

Baby loves to roll:

Future construction worker...

2009-03-26T14:24:00.004-06:00

(No shirt, two hammies and some pliers. Get this boy a job!)

Nighttime at our house....

2009-03-26T14:16:00.003-06:00

Clyde sleep. Baby not so much....

A day in Clyde's life...

2009-03-26T13:59:00.003-06:00

8:00 a.m.

Mommy, mommy, mommy...
(Enter Mommy)

Mommy... Poopy....

Wipe, wipe, Clyde wipe.

8:30 a.m.

(Clyde, do you want breakfast?)

Pizza, pizza

(I'll make you an egg pizza)
Egg pizza, egg pizza, milk
(Baby crying in background)

Baby, baby neenya.
(Enter baby (with Mommy))
Baby neenya crying. Baby cookie. Baby eat. Hammy, big daddy hammy.
(Eat your egg pizza Clyde)
Clyde pizza, egg pizza, baby cookie, milk. Hammy, big hammy, big hammy (crying and pointing to back door where we keep hammers). Mommy, hammy, big daddy hammy.
(You need to eat your egg pizza Clyde)
All done. All done. Big hammy. Mommy hug.
(OK, drink some more milk first).

Milk.

(Did you drink all your milk?)

All gone.

(Let's clean your hands and face)
Mouth.

(Clyde is now clean and removed from highchair and headed for back door)

Big hammy, big daddy hammy.

(Clyde is now left alone with two big hammers while Mommy takes care of baby)
Hi-ya. Hammy, big hammy.
(Clyde leaves the hammers in the kitchen and comes upstairs)

9:15 a.m.
Baby poopy
(No Clyde, she's just wet)
Baby wet. Wag (rag - offering mommy a rag, thank you Clyde)
Clyde poopy
(Are you poopy Clyde?)
No. Baby poopy. Mommy, hammy, wah, wah, wah.... (extended crying)
(Clyde goes back into his room and starts to play)
Book. Mommy. Book. Mommy. Book.
(Clyde do you want to read a book?)
Hoponpop.
(You want to read Hop on Pop?)
No, Elmo. Elmo.
(OK let's read Elmo. Can baby read with us? (as we're all 3 getting situated on the couch))
No, Clyde book (then pushes his sister's foot away because it's just barely touching him)

All that by 9:30.... to be continued....

And here we were worried about speech development with his cleft palate!

We're growing up!

2009-03-26T13:21:00.010-06:00

We are getting so big!! I can run and jump (yump) and my baby sister (Daddy calls her Gertie, Mommy calls her Alice and I call her Baby Neenya) can roll and roll. She can get anywhere like that. Here are some photos of us so you can catch up:

Baby neenya spoon.

Baby dress (Alice in her Mumsy and GrandNell's clothes).

Clyde, mummy (mumsy)

Clyde baby chair.

Baby (Mommy says that's real Belgian lace from Susan Meuleman and Alice is sitting with Susan's sister Ramona - aren't they pretty!?)

Clyde eye

Baby, hat (Clyde's hat made by cousin Maegen).

Clyde, baby, yiper.

Unka, unka.

(Uncle Richard and Uncle Jeremy made this hole into a cabinet for mommy's printer and now Clyde thinks uncle means hole...)

Baby (mommy says this is one of her favorites).

Clyde hammy, baby chair.

Apple, baby neenya apple, baby apple bite.

Train, Clyde train, my train (in other words, I don't remember saying I wanted to share my train, people!!!)

Big hammy, big daddy hammy, big hammy, owie...

Hammy! (Clyde can make a hammer out of anything!)

Clyde, hat (Future Boise Brave???)

Baby eat (Baby says geez mom, can't you tell I hate these?).

Baby neenya.

Clyde slide. (He also likes the "wing")

Getting ready for Christmas

2008-12-19T12:35:00.004-07:00

Daddy (I call him Dah-ee) got some boxes from the basement and brought in this tree that Mumsy brought from the ranch. Inside the boxes were all these little toys with strings on them.

Mommy put them on the tree and Daddy put on some lights.

My sister and I put on some plaid outfits and went to see this man in a red suit. I didn't like him. Mommy said he had a beard like Daddy, but it was all white and he was kind of scary.

Everyone said we were really cute -- don't they know we always are!!!

Mommy says this is all for Christmas. When is that? She says I can open some of the boxes under our tree then too. Christmas sounds like it might be fun.

My Little Sister, Alice (sometimes Gertie)

2008-12-19T12:28:00.004-07:00

My sister sure is getting cute! She likes to put everything in her mouth now. Sometimes it's her finger, sometimes a rattle. I try to give her things to be a good brother, but mommy says she can't have them.

She has lots of clothes. I like this green dress because it makes her look kind of like she has red hair. She still has really big blue eyes, which is weird because mine are brown and mommy and daddy don't have blue eyes, but Aunt Catherine and Aunt Katie and Grandpa Harry do, so I guess it's not that weird.

Just like me, she likes to have her clothes off! Here she's trying to get them off, but she still needs help.

Fun and games...

2008-12-19T11:38:00.010-07:00

There are so many fun things to do at our house. One day, I found some paper towels and boy did I have some fun! Mommy didn't think it was as fun as I did....

I really like hammers. I have three of them and sometimes I get to play with daddy's (but one time I got an owie on my forehead). Mommy likes this hammer. She said maybe someday I can have a bigger one and wear a robe, but I don't get it.

My Aunt Catherine visited because my grandpa Harry was in the hospital. Things got kind of crazy that week (mommy says that's why there's no Thanksgiving photos), but Catherine played with us too.

I really like to play after I take a bath. This is my cool ball:

I like to help my mommy with the broom. We have a red broom and a blue broom.

My sister is cute, but she's not very much fun. Sometimes she smiles, but mostly she just lays around.

My cousin Elliott is pretty fun, but not a great reader like Catherine...

Baths are one of my favorite things. It is so fun to splash and play. I can blow bubbles too!

But life's not all fun and games. Sometimes my parents say no, so I do this:

But it doesn't always work!

Halloween

2008-12-19T11:19:00.006-07:00

So, my friend Kay gave me a cool hat after my surgery and one day mom made me wear it with a vest, a little window on a stick (magnifying glass), and a weird black candy (licorice pipe). Mommy said I was Sherlock Holmes, but I'm just Clyde.

My sister had to wear an orange sack with a face and some leaves on it. She wasn't very happy about it:

Elliott and my friend, Olivia, came over. Elliott borrowed my boots and hat and wore a crazy cow vest. Olivia had on wings. It was so funny how all our parents made us wear funny things on the same day!

Alice and I got into my wagon with some pillows and went with mom and Kay.

We walked around the neighborhood and my sister fell asleep.

Some of the grown-ups were dressed up too. This is Lisa. She is a blue rooster. I got to pick out some brightly wrapped candies to give to my daddy (but he did let me try some).

I stopped to look at Lisa's dog through the fence.

The next day a lot of my cousins came over and they were dressed up funny too!

Mommy gave Nora a matching outfit so she and Alice could get pictures. Alice kept crying.

Too busy...

2008-10-12T00:35:00.003-06:00

Geez, there has been so much I wanted to tell everybody, but mom says she's busy so she can't help me punch the keys on her little machine that folds up. She can't be as busy as me. All she has to do is play with me and my sister.

There is so much I have to do every day. First I have to go into the kitchen and empty all the drawers. Then there is a cabinet with lots of plastic bowls that have tops and I have to empty that too, just in case something in there changed. I save my favorite cabinet for last because it has these silver things with handles that make lots of noise when you bang them. Then I go and see if mom left anything dangerous on the floor or anywhere I can reach. Sometimes she does and I just want to make sure she's doing her job! Then I go see where my baby sister is. Sometimes it's easy because I can hear her crying and I just follow that. My mom sure pays a lot of attention to that little girl. It's a good thing I can get her attention making noise in the kitchen and my room. I have a lot of toys and books that I play with. I really like books. I used to like to play in the toilet, but Mom yells at me and I have to sit in my crib, so I don't do that anymore (well, sometimes....).

Anyhow, there are some cool new photos below now that mom finally had time to help me. She tried to post a video of me, but she's having some trouble getting the new camera to talk to the new computer so maybe next time.

Baby sister is growing fast...

2008-10-12T00:17:00.006-06:00

My baby sister, Alice (but sometimes Gertie), is growing fast. At first, she was so tiny. Here she is with some of the stuff Daddy grew in the garden:

She mostly slept all the time...
But, she started getting bigger. She started getting baths like me...

and looking around a little more...

She started stretching and really looking at you, not just into space.

Here she is all dressed up.

And here she is with her friend Marnie who's just a couple days older.

Marnie and her sisters, Riley and Mackenzie, came over. It was fun playing with them, but I wish there were some boys!!

SNOW!!!!!

2008-10-12T00:10:00.004-06:00

Brrr.... brrr..... It got really cold really fast yesterday! Mom and I went outside because it was so crazy and there was white stuff everywhere. Even today on the radio they talked about how crazy it was!

Mom hopes we get a few more warm days before winter comes.

Animals...

2008-10-11T23:58:00.007-06:00

We went to the zoo because they got some new animals and my dad (and Uncle Josh) made some cool benches to go with them. Here are the benches:

There were some cool elephants, but they didn't move, not even when I touched them:

You know what did move? The lion! When she saw me, she ran over and tried to give me a high five, but there was glass in the way. Mommy was kind of scared and Daddy was really surprised. They said that lion wanted to eat me! Another animal that moved pretty fast was the giraffe. It was scared of a squirrel and ran back to its barn. Here I am looking at the giraffe with my Auntie Shelley:

I like seeing all the animals and their nice new cages. There was even a little cage for me:

But I don't have to go to a zoo to see animals. Our neighbors got about thirty chickens. Mom thinks that's too many. Here they are, trying to come into our yard...

It took a week or so, but they finally figured it out:

Trips to the mountains...

2008-10-11T23:12:00.010-06:00

I got to go up by the mountains to my Mumsy and my Grandpa Harry's a lot this September. Dad is working with my Grandpa now so sometimes we go stay at the ranch. It was colder up there. We went to mom's cousin David's wedding. It was really pretty, but I had to sit still for a long time. After, I was dancing with the girls. I was pretty popular! My Mumsy had a lot of her cousins come visit at Raspberry Ranch so we stayed with her for a whole week.

Mom and dad took me to a mountain lake for a picnic. I had fun climbing the rocks.

My Mumsy has lots of hats that I got to play with. Here I am in my own cowboy hat:

Lookin' pretty good, don't you think?

Here's one of the craziest hats I've seen. It had hair kind of like Mom's...

Mumsy has a special wooden horse that rocks for me and my cousin Elliott. I got right on and rode it. Mom was surprised, but I really got her when I started trick riding:

I was so good at that, they let me try the real thing and I loved it.

On another trip to McCall, Mom and I went to the lake. The first time we went there were lots of waves, but there weren't any this time. I just walked right into the lake, but Mom made me come out because it was too cold.

I really like going to the mountains.

People just love babies!

2008-10-11T23:01:00.003-06:00

People must really like little babies. After we brought the baby home from the big brick building, a lot of people came to visit us, and a lot of them brought pink stuff. You wouldn't believe how many dresses and girl clothes my sister got. I'm so glad I'm a boy! We visited lots of people too, like my Great Granddad Hiatt:

We also went to see another new baby, my cousin Nora. She and Alice and almost exactly the same size. My cousin Opal is good at holding babies. Here she is with Alice:

I like visiting cousins. Their houses are fun. I got to play the piano at Aunt Julie's.

Babies are OK most the time, but boy can they be noisy:

I have my own baby that I take care of, but she's a lot quieter than my sister. Mom says I'm a very good big brother (except when I play too hard with Alice).

Big News!!

2008-08-16T20:11:00.004-06:00

Life was good... I was eating lamb chops...

and ice cream cones...

Then last Wednesday (August 13), I woke up to my Aunt Libby. My parents were gone. My Aunt Janelle came and got me and Libby and they took me to the big brick building again. This time when I got there my mom was in one of the rooms and had on the hospital dress. She looked really tired and she was kind of pale. My Mumsy was there too and everyone kept looking at this little baby...

They kept showing me this little baby and I thought, "What's the big deal? I've seen lots of babies..."

Daddy told me that the baby's name was Alice Gertrude Rydalch. Wow, we have the same last name. She had really small wrinkly feet and really long skinny hands. They said she was a little smaller than I was as a baby - 7 pounds 11 ounces and 20 1/4 inches long. They said she was my sister, which I don't really understand.

At first, she cried some, but then she was pretty quiet and I decided maybe she was OK.

I got to hold her and that was fun, but she's kind of heavy.

Mom changed her out of her hospital clothes and into a cute outfit.

Then they put her in a car seat. She screamed. I thought it was kind of funny.

Do you know what they did next?!?? They brought her home with us. What??!! I don't know how long she's staying, but the longer she's here, the more I like her. I guess that living with my new baby sister will be OK.

Good-bye Grandma

2008-08-16T19:57:00.004-06:00

My grandma was so kind and gentle. We just said good-bye to her. My Aunt Kristen made pretty flowers and most of my cousins came. My cousin Carter was so nice to me. It was good to see everyone, but we will miss Grandma.

Home again!!

2008-07-12T10:11:00.003-06:00

I was so happy to be home!! I walked around and all my stuff was right where I left it. It was kind of hard to balance at first because I couldn't move my arms, but I figured it out. One of my favorite things is hats. I really like this cowboy hat of my mom's. She even took me to a store and I got my own hat that fits better, but I like the big hat. I just point and say "hat" and they give it to me. I wear it everywhere. (Mommy and Daddy think that's a crazy first word, but hey I like hats!)

While I was at home getting better, my Aunt Catherine visited. She's fun. I got to wear her glasses and I think you'll agree that I look pretty cool.

My new friend Clara from Seattle visited me too. I got to take off my arm bands for this picture. It was so nice to bend my arms! Clara is cute, but she mostly just lays around.

It seemed like forever (Mommy says it was 3 weeks) and I went to the doctor and he said no more arm bands and that it was OK to eat real food (for that whole time I only got to drink milk and juices). We went to a party for one of Mommy's friends that night. She got married in a park. Everyone said I looked pretty cute.

Another surgery...

2008-07-12T09:41:00.004-06:00

You shouldn't always trust your parents. Mine woke me up one day in the middle of the night and tried to feed me. I wasn't hungry; I was tired. Then they woke me up super early and wouldn't feed me - and then I was hungry! Mom only gave me a little water.

Then they took me back to the big brick building. It was still dark outside.

After we waited a while, they took us back to our own room and they put me in a purple rocket dress.

Then I got to play with a bunch of toys...

All the other kids were wearing purple rocket dresses too. I met William. His mommy and my mommy know each other.

They gave me some cherry stuff. I got really sleepy and don't really remember the rest.

I do remember waking up and Mommy and Daddy weren't there. It was scary. The people in blue took me upstairs to my own room and I was happy to see my parents. I was hurting and there were tubes and cords hooked to me. It wasn't very comfortable.

Mommy and Daddy said I looked like a big fish because the doctor had put a stitch through my tongue and it was hanging out of my mouth. I couldn't move my arms either. It was crazy. I didn't like the hospital.

My mouth felt so strange. Mommy says that the doctor closed my palate and fixed my lip on the left side. She says I don't have to go back for a very long time.

I had a party!

2008-07-12T09:22:00.005-06:00

A lot of people came to my house and we ate hamburgers and played outside. It was really hot. Then mom and dad brought out these big things (cakes) with a light on top of one. I like to turn the lights on and off, but there wasn't a switch. Mommy tried to show me how to blow on it and make it turn off. There were ducks on top of the things and I got my own with a little duck. Then they let me eat it. I couldn't believe how good it tasted! Way better than vegetables!

I got to tear paper off of lots of boxes and that was fun too. One box had this toy in it that Daddy put water in and Elliott and I played with Riley and Mackenzie. It felt good to get wet because it was so hot.

After everybody else left, I was in my room with Daddy and some other people and I walked across the room all by myself. I just had so much energy (Mommy says it was the cake). Now I walk everywhere, but that day it seemed like so far just to cross a room!

I'm one! I can do lots of things all by myself...

2008-05-15T15:35:00.004-06:00

Mom sang me a song this morning that was different. It said "Happy Birthday to You" -- what does that mean? People are always trying to help me do stuff, but I can do things all by myself now. I keep trying to tell them, but they don't understand.

I can stand up and sometimes I take a step or two, but I don't want to do more than that yet. Crawling is so much faster!

I can drink from a cup all by myself. I like to drink milk or water after I eat lunch. Sometimes there's too much and I get all wet, but it's fun.

After taking a bath, I like to brush my hair all by myself.

I can eat cheerios and cheese all by myself. Sometimes, I even try to eat squash or beans by myself, but the spoon is still kind of hard:

A Few of My Favorite Things...

2008-05-15T15:23:00.005-06:00

I have this awesome jar. It's clear and I have some rocks that fit just perfect inside it. It's cool because you can see whatever you put in it and you can shake it and make noise. Then you can take out the rocks or toys and then you can put them back. It is so much fun!

There's a red chair in my room and it is so fun to climb on. Plus I can reach new stuff when I get up higher. I can also put toys in it, or just sit in it when I feel like it.

Every night after dinner, I get to go play in a tub full of water. I like splashing and jumping and crawling in it. It's also really good to drink (mom says yuck!). One night Elliott was here. I'm the one with all the hair!

I like swings. I have my very own swing at home, but sometimes we go to the park and they have a different swing and my daddy pushes me.

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-05-15T14:18:00.003-06:00

I went to Grandma and Grandpa Rydalch's house for an Easter Egg Hunt. There weren't any eggs though! I know about eggs because I went into the chicken coop at Grandad Harry's and got eggs right from the chickens. Instead of eggs, there were toys and candy. I got a plastic thing with a green handle and a clear circle (mom says it's a magnifying glass). My cousins are bigger and faster than me and they got lots of candy and toys, but then my dad took a lot of their fun dips! It was fun.

March 2008

2008-05-15T14:02:00.004-06:00

Boy, it's been a long time since I posted anything! So much has happened. In March, I got my first hair cut. First mom took these silver and red things and started snipping around my head. Then that night, she had dad hold me and got out this machine that buzzed and tickled my head. Here I am right after:

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen with my mom. There is so much cool stuff in there!

I still like to sleep a lot, but I don't always like it when mom covers me in blankets, so I find my own comfortable spots:

We go outside a lot more now that it's getting sunny, but it's still kind of cold. Sometimes mom puts me on this green prickly stuff. I don't really like to touch it, but I like to be outside because there are all kinds of good brown things to eat...

What do they mean?

2008-02-18T16:06:00.004-07:00

Today, I went with Mom and Dad back to the brick building, but the man in the blue outfit didn't look at me, he looked at mom. That was after a lady made TV on Mommy's tummy. The TV looked like something from Daddy's Star Trek show, see:

They say I'm going to be a big brother. What do they mean? It's supposed to happen on August 6... Let me know if you find out anything!

Home again and making tracks....

2008-02-18T15:40:00.004-07:00

I was so happy when I got back home to my own room. On the first day home, I crawled over to my tower of cups. I had been going backwards and rolling, but that day I just decided I could do it. Now I can really move. Sometimes, my mom can't even find me if she leaves the room for a bit. If she's in the kitchen and I'm in my room, I just crawl right in there. I like to go in the bathroom because there's a cool plant with rocks in it, but mom usually remembers to close the door and if she catches me in there, she takes me away fast. I just want to have some fun...

This is when I was still going backwards. Sometimes I would get stuck:

Here I am on day two of crawling. I look good, don't I?

The kitchen is a really fun place with loud and shiny things for me to play with.

Here I am at nine months, wrestling my bunny.

You can't really tell from the picture, but believe me, I am so fast!

Hawaii - January 2008

2008-02-18T14:47:00.007-07:00

Hawaii was so warm and so green. We left Idaho very cold and totally white. Daddy had to go out and shovel snow almost every day before we left. We got to Hawaii by traveling in what seemed like a giant car, but there were so many people and quite a few babies. I had to sit in my dad's lap and it took a long long time. We sat by a nice lady who was a special nurse for babies so she was good to me. I couldn't sleep the whole way there. I didn't sleep very well in Hawaii either. It wasn't the same as home at all. But, I did get to wear shorts and go barefoot!

Check out me and Elliott in our cool shades:

We went where you could see blue all the way out. There were white parts that crashed on rocks and it was really loud. Then Daddy put my feet down and first it was wet and then it felt all weird and I was sinking. Mom thought it was funny that I didn't like the sand.

I got to hang out with my Mumsy and my cousin Elliott a lot and it was fun.

My Grandpa Gayle made some steak and it was sooo good I had to eat it with both hands!!!

Mom and Dad and I took Elliott with us one day to go see this big red canyon. It was fun. People ask if we are twins.

We went to a garden full of strange plants. This is a hala tree:

Here I am with Dad at the garden. I got sleepy.

I got sleepy in the car too. And it was so hot that my hair would be sticky and I would be dripping sweat.

Here are some pictures of the pretty scenery:

Happy New Year!

2008-01-06T15:06:00.002-07:00

We had a new friend in our back yard to start off the year. It was right outside our door!

Mom and dad are feeding me more and more different kinds of food. I love it! I really like my sweet potatoes, meat, and cereal. I got my own chair to eat at and I like to get food all over it!

I've been exploring. I can get almost anywhere I want just by rolling. This is my new hangout. It's just my size!

My friend, Olivia, and her mom came over one day when it snowed and our moms made this little man. It was so white outside I kept blinking and looking around. I got to touch the snow but I didn't really like it because it was cold. It was a fun day.

I hope all of you are having a good 2008 so far!

Merry Christmas!

2008-01-06T14:54:00.002-07:00

We went and got a tree from the woods with Mumsy. It was fun! We got a little tree and I liked it, but I had no idea what was coming. We brought it home and mom decorated it. She has decorations with pictures of her from when she was little. She put one up with my picture too. We got another tree from the Festival of Trees. My Grandpa Harry got it for me. It has lots of stuffed polar bears and snowflakes. It 's very sparkly!

We went to Mumsy's for dinner. I had to get all dressed up. Mumsy made me a special hat to match my outfit. Everyone kept taking tons of pictures of me. I guess I'm pretty cute!

We got to rip paper off boxes and there were piles and piles of paper and boxes and different things. It was a pretty fun night! But the best thing of all was that I got to eat roast beef. I love roast beef!!

Grandma Rydalch's birthday

2008-01-06T14:45:00.002-07:00

We had a party for Grandma Rydalch's birthday at my Aunt Kristen's house. Here I am with my Aunt Kara and Jack:

This is my cousin Rachel:

Grandma Rydalch brought her dad, my Great Grandad Hiatt, over to visit. We had a fun time.

Here we are, four generations!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2008-01-06T14:35:00.001-07:00

Our house has been really busy. It sure smells good! Mom and Mumsy got me all dressed up so I knew something was going on.... Plus, mom had fixed the table up really fancy and someone came with flowers. It looked like this:

Aunt Catherine came. She is really funny. She was trying to steal a pie!

After smelling all that good food, all I got to eat was some mushy white stuff (potatoes). Yuck! They made me sick. Mom says that's no good for an Idaho boy! Maybe someday I'll like them.

Happy Halloween!!

2007-10-31T21:36:00.001-06:00

My mom keeps dressing me up in this uncomfortable orange sack with a hood. I can't hear anything and it falls over my eyes! Everyone smiles and laughs at me. I don't get it.

This is my "Abuela" Merche. She is my mom's godmother. She comes and visits me and sings songs.

Elliott and I went for a ride in my new red wagon in our pumpkin outfits. It was kind of cold!

I'm eating cereal now, and sometimes vegetables. I like food. I see my mom and dad eating all kinds of good smelling things and I wish I could too!

My "auntie" Shelley came for trick or treating and she got a silver can full of liquid. She's a fun lady.

This is my friend, Olivia. She lives down the street and comes to visit me sometimes. Her parents put a funny outfit on her too. I think all parents might be crazy!!

My Fifth Month

2007-10-31T21:09:00.002-06:00

This is my special fishing outfit my Mumsy gave me. I can't wait to go fishing with Daddy! Sometimes I go to visit Mumsy for the day. She takes care of me and we hang out. I get to go to coffee at Roosevelt Market and sometimes her friends come over.

These cows were so loud; I couldn't believe it! Daddy was wrestling the little ones and I watched.

We went to the park the other day. It was really pretty with every color of leaf. It was pretty, but really windy.

I like to sleep a lot. I take a couple naps every day and I go to bed after dinner about 8 or so. Sometimes they put me in my crib and I'm not even tired. Do those eyes look tired to you?? For being smart, my parents are sometimes pretty slow. Oh well, they'll learn.

My Fourth Month

2007-10-31T20:51:00.002-06:00

I've been having a lot of fun. My daddy must be the funniest guy in the world. He does all kinds of noises and plays with me a lot.

Here I am at four months with my bunny. I was almost fifteen pounds at my four month check up!

My cousin Elliott comes over a lot and we play. He rolls over on me and even sometimes bites me!

He's still bigger than me, but I'm gaining on him I think!

Mom and dad like to put me on my tummy a lot. I don't like it that much so I've started rolling over more.

My Third Month

2007-08-19T10:17:00.001-06:00

I just turned three months on August 15th and they say I'm growing like a weed. I weigh over 13 pounds now. I say I'm growing like a baby not a weed, but they still don't seem to understand my words even though I talk a lot.

This was a fun day. The neighbors brought their baby over to see me and Elliott.

I get to take baths again now that my face is all healed. It's fun! Mom and Dad said I look like a Jedi in my towel. I don't know what that is, but I heard them say something about special powers so I guess it's OK to be a Jedi.

One special power I have now is the power to sleep anywhere:

I just got a new chair with my name and everything and it's small enough that I already kind of fit in it. Here I am, lounging:

Here I am with my bunny again. I wrestle lots with dad, so here's a move I learned:

I'm not just bigger than the bunny now, I'm smarter too! Sometimes I help mom and dad water the garden (OK really I just go with them, but some day I'll help). We grew these tomatoes, daddy made the bread, and daddy caught the fish. The rest of it all came fresh from friends and relatives...

OK, that picture isn't nearly as great because it doesn't have a cute baby (namely me) in it, but my parents are pretty proud of their garden so I said it was OK and I'd share my blog.

Babies, babies, babies...

2007-08-19T09:23:00.001-06:00

This is a baby nest. I'm glad Atticus was on the bottom because he's a lot bigger than I am, and soft so he makes a good pillow. The other baby is my cousin Olivia.

Here I am with my cousin Elliott in daddy's comfy chair:

Here we are with our moms:

And last, but not least, here I am with my cousin Paige. She's nice and she likes to hold me.

Great Escapes...

2007-08-19T09:03:00.001-06:00

When I got home from the big brick building, mom made me a special new place to sleep. Instead of my big crib, I stayed in the little white crib and it was propped up on one end and mom built me a little nest. I could barely move! And to make things worse, all the sudden I couldn't bend my arms either!

This really frustrated me:

After a while, I found out that if I moved around a lot, then my arms would be free:
When mom came in on that day, she was amazed at how far I threw that arm band!

At night it was worse. They would put those bands on and then they would wrap me in this fuzzy thing that mom called a straight jacket, but I still managed to get a hand out....

and sometimes more...

If they think they can tie me down, they're just plain silly!

"Power to the babies, man!" Don't let them tie you down either!

My First Surgery

2007-07-21T16:56:00.002-06:00

I was born with a cleft lip and palate. Here's a picture of me at about 4 weeks where you can see it up close:

On July 19th, Mom woke me up at 3:15. I'd been trying to sleep in longer, so I thought it was kind of strange, but I never turn down a good meal so I ate it right up. Then Daddy came and woke me up at 5:15. I figured something strange was going on and I hoped it was something fun. Then they took me back to that big brick building where we stayed when I was born. We waited a long, long time. Mom says that's because they rescheduled my surgery from 7:30 to 9:30, but all I know is that I was getting really really hungry and no one was doing anything about it. I cried and tried to let them know, but they wouldn't do anything, so I just gave up and went back to sleep. Here we are waiting:

Here I am in the weird gown they put on backwards. It had pictures of rocket ships on it.

All the sudden Daddy gave me to this guy:

The next thing I knew I was waking up and my mouth felt all funny. Mom and Dad weren't anywhere around until these two ladies took me upstairs. I had my very own room with a crib that Mom said kind of looked like a jail cell and Dad said looked like a bear trap.

Mom and Dad were saying I looked a lot different and kind of swollen. I felt so out of it, I just slept a lot. My grandmas and my Grandpa Harry came to visit, along with my cousin Elliott, my Aunt Merlaine, my Aunt Janelle, Shelley, and some other people too.

I can't move my arms and they wrap me up tight at night. I'd just like to touch my face where it feels funny, but I can't reach it no matter how hard I try.

Eating's kind of hard and they give me some bad tasting medicine, but mostly it's OK. The nurses were really nice and Mom stayed the night with me. I got to go back home the next day and Mom made me a special "nest" to sleep in my little crib. Here I am on my way home in my car seat:

I heard them talking about another surgery next year -- how far away is a year? I hope it's a long time...

My Second Month

2007-07-21T16:16:00.003-06:00

Mom and I go to the doctor's office every week to see how big I'm getting -- I'm getting huge (I was 11 pounds 2 ounces on July 13th)! It's been over a hundred degrees here in Boise and our house gets pretty hot, so I like to hang out like this:

This is the outfit I wear so mom won't call me "the baby":

This is one of my cowboy outfits; it came from Georgia:

We've been taking more baths now and I sure like it. I've gone in a couple of pools too. Daddy holds on tight so I won't drown, but I float pretty well.

Here I am with my Grandpa Rydalch:

Twenty three of my Rydalch cousins and ten of my aunts and uncles came over for a barbecue so we could meet before I had my surgery. They are really fun. All my cousins were having a water fight with my daddy, but I was too little to play (maybe next time). My Aunts Britta, Kristen and Erin held me a lot and it was fun.

This is my "Auntie" Shelley. She comes over to see me a lot and we hang out.

Here I am at two months with my bunny. See how much bigger I am!

My First Trips

2007-07-21T16:00:00.002-06:00

I took my first trip when I was four days old. My cousin Elliott and I went to a barbecue at Big Willow where my Uncle J.G. lives. Daddy had been helping brand, but I wasn't big enough to help yet. It looks like fun because you get to be so dirty!

My Aunt Catherine rode in the back of the car with me and Elliott. My Aunt Janelle said that was because all the kids had to sit in the back. Catherine is fun. I think she understands me pretty well.

Here's my Mumsy's progeny. She got her first two grandkids (me and Elliott) within about six weeks. We're trying to keep her on her toes.

My first overnight trip was to visit Mumsy at Raspberry Ranch. Daddy and Uncle Josh got to play with concrete, but I had fun too. I got to see the playhouse Mumsy got for me and Elliott, but they wouldn't let me stay there yet. Mumsy gave me a bath. I was kind of cold, so I don't look like I'm having much fun.

Mumsy and I like to hang out and sometimes she helps feed me:

My First Month

2007-07-21T15:41:00.002-06:00

Lots of people come visit me. They all talk funny and make weird faces at me, like I can't understand anything, but I get it. My Mumsy's cousin Tommy came over with these great chairs he made for me and my cousin Elliott. Elliott is a lot bigger than me in this picture, but some day we're going to wrestle and I'm going to win!

Everyone is fascinated by my feet, especially Mumsy (that's my mom's mom Carol). They say they are pretty long, but they seem pretty normal to me.

This is me working out:

Grandma Rydalch comes to see me and we rock a lot in the chair and in the swing. She's such a kind and gentle lady -- I'm glad she's my grandma.

Sleeping is one of my favorite things. I can sleep anywhere. Here I am sleeping in my muscle shirt (I have big muscles!):

This is the day I turned one month. I don't know why my mom has to take all these pictures, but I do like the bunny... See my six shooters? Those are from Mumsy.

Coming Home

2007-07-21T15:29:00.002-06:00

I got to go home on Thursday May 17th at 2 days old. As you can see, I just love being strapped into my car seat:

At home, Daddy gave me a tour, including my very own room with the bookcase he made me. They tell me I'm a lucky kid, but I think they're the lucky ones!

My Arrival

2007-07-05T15:52:00.001-06:00

Here I am world! I was born on May 15, 2007 at St. Luke's in Boise. It was a pretty big day for me, my mom and my dad. Here are some photos while we were at the hospital: