Ryker's Half Birthday!

Today is Ryker's half birthday.  He's officially 2 1/2!  I had a childhood friend whose parents always took her somewhere special on her half birthday.  I always thought it was so cool and decided to start the tradition in our house too.  So, this afternoon after Robert got home, we went to Monkey Joe's in Castleton.  Monkey Joe's is a big building full of bounce houses and slides.  We've been a few times before and we thought this would be a good excuse to go again.  We played there for over an hour and then had dinner at On the Border.  It was delicious and Ryker chowed down like crazy! 

Ryker also chose today to become a potty trained pro.  When he tells me he needs to go he usually has started to go a little bit and then runs to the bathroom.  Three separate times he told me he needed to go today and he was completely dry each time.  I was so proud of him!  He kept saying, "Ryker a big boy!"  Yay!

Climbing up to go down one of the slides

Just bouncing around

Riding what I named "Nessie" (it looked like the Loch Ness Monster to me)

Mommy and her big 2 1/2 year old!

Daddy and his boy

Praise You in This Storm

I heard this Casting Crowns song 3 times yesterday!  Twice on the radio in the brief amount of time I was in the car while running in and out of stores and later on a friend's blog.  It was just what I needed to hear and God really delivered yesterday!  I love how just when you feel like He's not listening anymore, He shows himself to you in a new way.  He always speaks right to my heart just when I need it most. 

"I lift up my eyes to the hills-

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip-

he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Isreal,

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you-

the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm-

he will watch over your life;

the LORD will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore."

-Psalm 121 

"Lord...my hope is in You." -Psalm 39:7

Kennedy Christmas

Sunday afternoon was the Kennedy Christmas.  The Kennedy Clan has risen to 41 members with 3-4 or more(?) expected within the next year.  For the past two years we've had Christmas at Uncle Matt and Aunt Lisa's church with a catered meal ordered by Grandma and Grandpa.  The food is great and the venue is perfect.  The guys play basketball and they have a Kid Zone with a big slide and toys for the kids to play with.  Some of the other adults played games too.  Grandma and Grandpa gave the kids a play tent complete with a tunnel.  Aunt Karen spoiled them with lots of gifts too.  They all got hooded towels and other goodies.  Ryker got a new Goofy Tervis Tumbler (complete with straws and travel lid), a Melissa & Doug farm puzzle, some new shirts, farm animals, and LOTS of toy fence.  Ryker LOVES to play with his animals and farm but we didn't have any fence.  We were building fence out of blocks and whatever we could find.  Aunt Karen came to the rescue and searched around and found some awesome fence online and ordered it.  He is set now.  Unfortunately, we took off without the camera, so I don't have any pictures to share, but will try to post some of him playing with his new toys soon.

Christmas at Grandma Thacker's

After the games at Mom and Dad's, we woke Ryker up and heading out yet again. This time, we went up to Grandma Thacker's house. We had lasagna with salad and breadsticks from Olive Garden. It was delicious! We opened presents afterwards. Ryker got lots of goodies and, even though, we asked her not to, so did the rest of us.

Uncle Mark showing Grandma one of her presents

Uncle Dave and Ryker wrestling.  Mom and Dad were checking out the photo calendar I made for Grandma

Me and my sis (in-law) Kate...love her!

Ryker had Uncle Dave sweating by the time he was done swinging him around!

Playing the piano with Grandma

Grandma has played the piano and organ for years.  She surprised us with a rendition of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."  Ryker loved it!

Christmas at Nana and Papaw's

Around 10:45 Christmas morning we headed over to Nana and Papaw's house for brunch.  Mom makes homemade cinnamon rolls every year.  They are heavenly!  We enjoyed eggs, bacon, toast, fresh fruit, and cinnamon rolls.  Delicious!  Afterwards, we opened gifts.

Playing with his new finger puppets from Uncle Dave and Aunt Kate

Opening up his new elephant

Playing some music for us on his new keyboard

His last present was a box with a piece of paper in it.  He opened it up and pulled out the tissue paper and the paper came with it so it was empty.  He said, "Awww!"  like, "Oh, man! There's nothing in here!"  It was so funny!  The paper had a rhyme on it with a clue telling him where to go next.  He had to go to his big yellow barn.  In it was another present.

With another clue!  This time it said to go up to his bedroom.

Here Papaw is reading him his last clue...the present was in the shower downstairs.

Here he is opening it up!

It was his very own set of REAL golf clubs!

Here he his carrying the bag...so cute!  The set is supposed to last until age 6.  It came with 3 clubs.  Robert joked that it's a nicer set than his!  It is pretty sweet!  Daddy, Papaw, and Uncle Dave can't wait to get him out on the driving range this spring.  He was ready to go at it Christmas day!  :-)

Kate opening gifts...she's always good for a surprised face! ;-)

And apparently, so is Robert!  Dad bought him a flashlight you can wear on your head.  Robert is always borrowing Dad's for the times he's out on the Rifle Range with the Marines.

Mom super excited to be getting a shopping cart!

Oh, wait, no, it's just a vase for her back porch!  Darn!  haha

After presents, Ryker went upstairs to take a nap and all the adults stayed downstairs to play some games.  Robert was in the lead at Pit for quite some time (which if you've ever played you'll understand why...he stuck me with the Bear 3 times right before going out!)  Karma caught up with him eventually and Katie took over the lead and won. Mom also invented a new word during the game.  When we hit the bell to signify we'd won the hand...she said, "Who danged it this time?"  It was too funny!  I think it might stick!  We played some Taboo too.  Robert and I are pretty awesome at that game!

Christmas Morning

Ryker didn't get up until about 8:45 Christmas morning.  He had a late night Christmas Eve.  He woke up saying, "My Christmas tree lights are on!"  I went to get him and brought him out to the tree to see what Santa left.

All he asked Santa for was a "Pongo dog" (Dalmatian)...here he is admiring his new Pongo dog.

He earned Mary Poppins back too...we returned the Netflix one about 10 days before and he had to earn a new one from Santa Claus

This apron received great praise...never thought it would get this reaction!  :-) 

Yay!  A ball!

"It's squishy!"

Finding the first dinosaur

And the other two...he thought this part was pretty fun!

Sitting in his new chair

Showing off his new Berenstain Bears books

And his new Bible

Helping Daddy open his gifts

Playing with his Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playmat amongst all his other loot!

Wheeling Pongo around in his new shopping cart

It was a wonderful Christmas morning!  I kept telling everyone how excited I was for Christmas this year because Ryker was so into it.  He didn't let me down either!  He loved every minute of it and, in turn, so did Robert and I!

Our Christmas Eve

We slept in for a bit on the morning of Christmas Eve before getting up and making pancakes for breakfast. We played for a while and then made cookies for Santa. Ryker was a big helper and loved pushing the button on the mixer the best. Ryker took a good nap in the afternoon before we got ready for Christmas Eve service at church. Ryker went and played with the other kids during service and colored a fabric Christmas stocking. After church we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Sheepie's house. Aunt Karen, Jo, Nana, Papaw, Uncle Brian, and Aunt Diane were all there. We had a great time enjoying yummy food and just visiting. Uncle Brian and Grandpa Sheepie were feeding lots of chocolate covered pretzels to Ryker and before we knew it he was wired! He was running around with Nana and Papaw and laughing so hard! We were all getting a kick out of it. We thought he might fall asleep on the way home but he was too wired for that.

We came home and chose cookies for Santa...

And carrots for the reindeer.

Then we read the Christmas story

And said a prayer

This is what Santa left!

He even hid some dinosaurs for Ryker to find

A couple more dinosaurs

What Santa left over from the cookies and milk.

Surprise Visit with Santa

Last night we had dinner plans with Aunt Karen and her friend Jo Ann who is in town for the holiday from Illinois.  We were excited to see Jo and ready for some yummy food at the recently re-opened Texas Roadhouse.  While were waiting to be seated, in walked Santa Claus!  No joke, he was decked out in all his garb and ready for visitors.  It took Ryker a minute to warm up, but after a minute or two of standing near him, he was ready to take a turn.  He actually sat on his lap this time and kept saying, "I make cookies and milk for you.  And leave carrots for reindeer."  It was so sweet!  I got a few pictures too.  We had a great dinner and I went over to Aunt Karen's afterwards to help her divvy up gifts for all the great-grandkids.  We had such a nice visit I didn't leave until almost 10:30!

Talking to Santa

I promise he was more excited than this...he just doesn't like to smile for pictures!

A Typical Night

Ryker has settled into a routine lately of doing the exact same activities every night.  He and I usually color a picture right before Daddy gets home.  After dinner, he gets out all 3 sets of his blocks and we build a fence for his animals or a house.  Robert has been building some pretty impressive "houses" lately, but last night was my turn.  I was pretty pleased with how it turned out! 

First, here's a video of Ryker after we were done coloring.  I had started to wrap some Christmas presents and looked up to see this:

If you couldn't tell, he saying that he was dancing and the video cut him off before he could reply that the crayons were his talons.  I thought this was pretty imaginative and very creative!  I love watching his little mind grow and his play become more and more creative every day.  You never know what he's going to come up with next!

Ryker making a goofy face behind his new house.

Apparently, he thought it was best suited as a dog house!

Where's the Line to See Jesus?

My aunt sent me this video in an email and I fell in love with it.  Not only do I try really hard to focus on the true meaning of Christmas each season, but I want Ryker to know what it's really about.  I want him to remember Christmas as a time for celebrating Jesus, not just getting present and Santa Claus.    Hope you are taking tame to remember that without Christ being sent to earth we wouldn't have a Savior. Merry Christmas!

Our Sunday

Today we went to church as usual.  Since this was our church's Christmas celebration (besides Christmas Eve services this week) all the kids were dressed up and looked so cute!  We tried to take some pictures.  It wasn't much of a success, but here are a few:

First, we tried to get one of Charlotte and Ryker in front of the tree since they matched and were running around the sanctuary holding hands looking so cute :-).  They are good buddies and love playing together.  Clearly, they did not want their picture taken though!

The best one of the six kiddos...Top: Chaney, Chloe, and Sophie Bottom: Charlotte, Ryker, and Tucker

This is what Ryker was doing most of the time...closing his eyes before the flash went off.  He said it was hurting his eyes. 

After church, we headed to Aunt Chelle's house for brunch and to let the kids exchange gifts.  I didn't get a good picture of Junior opening his gift, but here are some of Ryker.

He ripped right into it.  It was a good preview of what to expect Christmas morning!  :-)

Showing off his new Doctor Kit.  He's loving it already.  He was trying to put the bandaid on Tucker this afternoon and was checking his ears and everything.  I've had several shots and my blood pressure checked quite often already.  Thanks Aunt Chelle for an awesome gift!