{week one}

Ryker and I made it to my parents! He was a peach on the 2 plane rides that got us here. He didn't sleep but at least he didn't scream the entire time. I guess I am growing up because I actually spoke to the woman sitting next to me on the plane. I NEVER talk to anyone on plane rides. It made the 3 hour flight go by much faster. I guess I try that more often.

Week one at Nana and Papa's

Lots of Auntie Linny loves.
Swinging in the hammock.

 Napping outside
(you can NOT do this in Georgia you would sweat to death and be eaten alive by the bugs)

 Water sliding.
(Hunky Julio)

 Mama Loves.

 Cousin playing.
(beware Ryker has been without clothes and just in his diaper more this week than he has the past year of his life)

 Grass hating.
(he has over come this fear)

 Popsicle eating.
(Lots)

 Bedtime stories with Nana.

 Trying spaghetti for the first time.
(he loved it and he loved throwing it on Georgia our dog)

 Jumping in the bouncy house.

 Relaxing in the shade drinking Brazilian lime-aid.

 Having picnics in the back yard.

 Rocking on the whale.

 Taking lessons from Sophi on how to be distructo baby.

 More water sliding.

 Hair doing.
(I love doing little girl hair and cant wait for my own someday)
Hair cut.
(I chopped 18 inches off)
Pictures with Nana and Papa.

Showing the kiddies how it is done. 

{stuck}

Mama!

 I give up! 

I guess she wont save me. 

 Mama! Help me PLEASE!!!!!!!!

This happens often at our house. 

Ryker can only crawl backwards and often backs him self under things and does not like it. Then he really does not like it when I sit there and laugh at what he has wedged himself under and take pictures. 

Love you Tiny! 

{what's up doc}

I know it has been a while since Brady and I have showed up on the blog. 

Here's what we have been up to.

This is how Brady likes to study for his mid terms. 

The hat is on to catch the sweat from dripping on his notes. 

 I have been cooking up a storm with my new FAVORITE cook book {Our Best Bites}. 

 We love having the missionaries over for dinner. 

 Ryker has developed a love for the vacuum. He loves to try and touch it while I am vacuuming and when its out he tries to push it away.  

 He is so my son. He sleeps in the strangest positions. His hand looks so dainty up under his chin like that. 

 Taking LOTS of bubble baths. 

 Boys will be boys.

In case you were wondering how big Ryker's head really is... he is wearing my hat... yeah it almost fits him. 

 Daddy teaching Ryker how to play ball already. 

Learning how to open the drawers in the kitchen. He was a very proud guy. 

{Dear Father's in my Life}

Dear Brady Michael Wood,

             Thank you for being such a wonderful daddy to our little Ryker guy. He has looked up to you since the moment he was born.

All of the help you have given me with raising Ryker has been truly life saving. I love that Ryker get the biggest smile on his face when you walk in the door. He is always so excited to see you and play with you. Not only does this little guy look just like you I can already see so much of your personality developing in him also. Thank you for stepping in and taking over when I feel like I have lost it. Thank you for wanting to spend time with Ryker and putting our family as a priority in your life. I know it is hard with school and spending time with me and Ryker means you have to stay up latter to study but we LOVE that you do it for us! Thank you for always playing cards with me. This is my favorite pass time to do with you even though you are good at making my blood boil. I hope we can keep up this tradition until we are old and grey. Thank you for always having a listening ear and words of advice and wisdom. Thank you for being a worthy priesthood holder. Thank you for being such a great example of patients. I am trying to be more like you in that department. Thank you for doing your grandpa dance for me when I need a really good laugh. Ryker and I love you so much and I could not imagine spending eternity with anyone but you. Thanks for being my partner in crime. 

Loves, Linds and Tiny

Dear Pappy,

          Thank you for teaching me how to be a hard worker and that all of the great things in life are not easy. Thank you letting me put bows and clips in your hair when I was little. Thank you for teaching me how to ride a bike. Thank you for teaching me how to grow a veggie garden. Thank you for always going to the temple and setting a good example for me to go often. Thank you for staying up late to play games with me even when you are super tired and want to go to bed. Thank you for always helping us move {in the past 4 years you have helped me move 6 times}. Thank you for always loving mom and showing me that marriage can make it through tough times and make you a stronger person. Thank you for always loving me even when I have been a monster. Thank you for teaching me how to drive. Thank you for taking me out on our "daddy daughter dates". Those are very happy memories for me. Thank you for staying up late and helping me with my math and science homework. Thank you for teaching me how to drive the zamboni. Thank you for letting me play hockey {I know that was a hard one to let your baby girl play such an aggressive sport}. Thank you for being an example that the one who does not raise their voice in an argument is the one who wins. I am not good at this but I am trying to be better. Thank you for being the best Papa to Ryker and being so involved in his life. That means the world to me and him. 

Love you!

Linny aka Scuffy aka Limo aka Baby Girl aka Linds aka Roach aka Daughter #3 aka Mooie aka Linny Poo Poo aka Giggles 

{If you are wondering where most of these names came from .... ask my siblings.... I guess being the baby you get a lot of nicknames in the Rabner family most have a good story behind them}

Dear Max Wood,

     Thank you for raising my sweet Brady Michael to be the man he is today. Thank you for welcoming me into your family with open arms. Thank you for being such a sweet, thoughtful father in law. Thank you for playing games for hours and days on end. Thank you for loving Ryker so much and wanting to be so involved in his life. Brady, Ryker, and I are truly grateful for that. Thank you for braving your fear of the kitchen and helping Brady make a wonderful Mother's Day dinner. 

Love you!

Lindsay

Dear Heavenly Father,

           Thank you for sending your son Jesus Christ to this earth to atone for my sins. Thank you for the gift of the atonement so that I might be forgiven for all of my sins and imperfections  and make it back to live with you. Thank you for letting Joseph Smith restore your beautiful gospel to this earth so that my family can enjoy the joys and blessings of it. Thank you for having me be born this this day and age and knowing me well enough that I could not have walked across the planes. Thank you for blessing me with the best family EVER!!!! Thank you for always listening when I need you the most. Thank you for sending me my Ryker baby and entrusting me to raise him on this earth. Thank you for helping me find the man of my dreams Brady Michael. Thank you for carrying me when I can not walk alone. Thank you the blessings and joys and happiness temples bring into my life. Thank you the best ward family here in Georgia. Moving out here would have been unbearable without the Church in my life. Thank you for all of my trials - they have made me stronger and who I am today. Thank you for letting me teach and learn from our sweet primary children. Thank you for blessing me with wonderful friends. Thank you for the Book of Mormon. Thank you for living prophets who guide us daily. I love President Thomas S. Monson. Thank you for helping me find happiness in the toughest, worst, hardest situations life throws at me. Thank you for allowing me have the best life and be so happy! Thank you for a mother and father who have taught me the gospel and raised me to be me. 

Love you a million times over,

Linds

Thank you for all being wonderful men in my life! 

{On the Move}

Ryker has made some changes in the past week:

• He scoots around - we like to call him Scodini because we were unsure how he did it at first. But now after analyzing watching him we understand how he does it. He bends his little legs to the left and then to the right and that somehow moves him forward where he wants to go. {I will post a video once he gets faster. Right now its not a fast process so it would be boring to watch}
• He is now into EVERYTHING. I fell asleep on the couch one morning and my sewing box was on the other side of the room from him and amazingly I woke up to find him in the sewing box playing with my needles, scissors, and buttons. Thankfully he did not hurt himself. He was defiantly being watched over while I was being a lazy tired mommy. That was the first time he had ever moved that far and the last time I leave 'dangerous' things out for him.
• He has learned how to throw fits like you would not believe for a 10 month old. If he does not get what he wants, when he wants it, he is flailing on the floor screaming like a mad man. All we can do is sit back and laugh until he stops. Ryker was such an easy, good baby I now have the fear he is going to be a tough toddler. 
• He had his first bubble bath last night and totally LOVE it! When I first put him in he said "wooow!"
• He is now eating 3 meals of solids a day! That has taken a LOT of work to get to this point. For some reason this little dude was not a fan of solids for a very long time. He is still very picky with what he will eat. He will only be spoon fed at breakfast time and all other meals he will lock his jaw and smack the spoon away. So we have learned how to steam lots of veggies to almost mush and cut them up in tiny pieces for him. He loves most fruit other than watermelon. We totally thought he would love it but for some reason he wont touch the stuff. But his favorite is MEAT! Any kind lunch meat, taco meat, chicken, or hot dogs he will scarf down.  
• He loves to swim and splash in the pool. I love this since we go out to the pool almost daily. 
• He has his daddy's skin and already has a rockin tan.
• He has just learned how much fun spinning daddy's desk chair is.
• He loves playing with the missionaries when they come over for dinner.
• He loves to read eat books.
• His hair has been growing and I love love love how curly its getting and I think it might be strawberry blonde like me!! 
• He plays amazingly well with his toys. I am so grateful for this! 
• He loves to skype.

 This is how Ryker "helps" fold laundry. He makes sure it all taste clean!

I love this crazy boy and he makes the days fun and full of life. 

{busy bee's}

Ryker and I have had a busy few weeks. I have started baby sitting for a number of families since Lucy has moved away. It has been crazy working again but SO good for our family. I feel so blessed to be able to help my family out financially and still be home with Ryker. So the last two weeks I went from a mom of one to a mom of 3. Quite a change that is for sure. But it wasn't too bad. We had a lot of fun and Ryker loved it. He LOVES being around other kids. Even if they are big. He just likes to watch them. 

 We made a few trips to the zoo. Which was very very HOT if you can tell by the look on Ryker's face. 

 My 3 little baby birds. 

 Ryker and Lucy playing at the park. 

 Ryker and Mama wearing matching jammies. Daddy noticed and decided it was a moment that was needed to be captured. 

 This is Ryker's latest favorite game. To dump all of his toys out and flip the bin over and bang on it like a drum and make music. He is such a silly little guy. 

Ryker love the bath. Well actually he loves water in general. As you can see from his tan lines we spend lots of hours out at our pool. We go out almost daily. Good thing he loves the water as much as his mama does! 

This semester has been really nice for Brady. He has actually been able to spend some time with me and Ryker. Which we have been LOVING since we are leaving him in 3 weeks for the rest of the summer. Ryker and I will be spending 5 weeks in Utah with my parents and sisters! I am so excited to see them. It has been almost 2 years since the 3 of us have been together and it will be the first time Ryker gets to meet his Auntie Mugs in real life.

{good bye lucy}

Last week was a hard one for me. I had to say good bye to one of my best friends here in Atlanta. Lucy's husband just graduated from Emory Law and got a job in SLC. 

 We went downtown for a girls night out/ going away party for Lu. It was so fun to eat yummy food, listen to great music at the Hard Rock Cafe, and just talk and talk. We need to do this more often {the dinner not dear friends moving away part}. Lucy has shown me/ taught me so much of the city it was so fun.

 Our boys are only 3 weeks apart so we became instant besties. Ryker and Victor are best friends also and we are so excited to see them in Utah this summer. I am learning that this stage of life {grad school} is a tough one because you make such good friends since you are all in the same boat but it is only for a short period of time and then you graduate and move away. It is hard and very sad. I really hope some amazing new families move into our ward that will make up for me missing Lucy. 

Lucy thank you for passing along all of your work to me and giving us so many different opportunities here in Atlanta. It has been AMAZING!! We miss you like crazy already.