Rylan and Alex

February 2012

We were able to take pictures at the park in February (unheard of in SD)!!! They turned out pretty cute but it was cold out ... especially with no coats!

We had our kids close in age so they had a relationship, it's been very hard to have such young kids that are so close in age but as they get older... it's pretty cool. They interact so well together
(most of the time) and Rylan is a great big brother. He is very concerned about Alex, making sure she has her blanket, her food and drink and her babies. He let's her run his life:) Anything she wants he usually gives in to her and gives it to her. He hates to see her cry so he will do anything to make her stop. So in other words, Alex runs this house! Yes at only 17 months old she truly runs this house. I always thought Rylan was determined... until I met Alex. She knows what she wants and knows how to get it!!!

Story from last week:

I picked up the kids from school and Alex was crying, so I told Rylan to talk to her and tell her his name. He says "I'm Rylan Cody" and then I said tell her her name and he says "Your Snooks" and I said, no tell her her real name and he says "Your Snooks Cody"... Hilarious, I laughed so hard on that one. I think he forgets her name is Alex as he honestly calls her Snookie/Snooks all the time. Pretty cute when it's from him!

Christmas 2011

Christmas was so fun with Rylan this year! He understood Santa Claus coming and I will never forget Christmas morning waking up to the sound of his feet across the floor. I came out of my room and Rylan was standing in front of his new tool chest that he received from Santa. His eyes were huge and he was so excited!!! Every year it's going to be so much fun! We purchased "Elf on the Shelf" this year and named our Elf "Clem"... It was fun to hide him every morning and have Rylan look for him - even Alex would look for him and point to him when she found him. Rylan was also able to take him to school and show all of his friends his special little Elf :) We can't wait to have him back next year as it helped Rylan behave (sometimes) !!!! We always spend Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day with Casey's family. We had a great Christmas this year - the children really do make the holiday!

Christmas Program

Rylan and Alex were both in a Christmas Program this year with their school. Rylan was to say the least... TERRIBLE! He was one of their best singers during practice but when the time came his little switch went off and it was all down hill from there. He never sang or did any actions, started calling for me while up on the stage and eventually left the stage. It was so NOT fun! Alex did great - she stayed on the stage and was happy as could be. Never know what's going to happen with this age... Maybe next year will be better, well it sure couldn't go worse:) Right?

Uncle Matt's Last Flight

Waiting for them to land

LOVE this picture! Go Uncle Matt

Spray time (by his wife)

My uncle Matt has flown F-16's for many many years (25+ years). He absolutely loves it and had been putting off a promotion at the guard so he could keep flying. Unfortunately age gets the best of you and it was time for him to quit. It was a huge celebration at the guard on a cold December day! Rylan and I went while Casey stayed home with Alex (those planes are too loud for a little one). It was so great to celebrate his last flight with him. After the flight it's tradition to get sprayed down by your spouse and Uncle Matt took it like a champ even with the very cold weather. After the party at the base was over we picked up Casey and Alex and headed to their house for more celebrating! So proud of you Uncle Matt. I personally don't think there is anything cooler then those planes, what a rush to fly in one of those! They are SO cool. Oh and Rylan thinks Uncle Matt is pretty awesome because he flies planes:) Super cute.

Winter 2011

This was from the first snow of the season and there was not many after this... I think we got outside in the snow twice to go sledding. It was a GREAT winter!!! We have a nice small little hill in our backyard, perfect for Rylan's age. We thought we would spend more time out there but we had the best winter you could ever ask for in SD:) I hope they continue. Rylan sure looks cute all bundled up.