Monkey Boy

I drug Rhonda to Sweet Street with our good friends Laura and Keith and their darling little girls Isabella and Olivia (shown with Ryan below) Sweet Street is at the Shopko center where vendors have exhibits and fun things for kids to do in addition to an area for trick-or-treating. As you can see Ryan was very relaxed but I'm sure he and Olivia will be running around next year having a blast.

OK, so I have to admit that a few years ago I was at a friends enjoying a bond fire. The group was talking about Cabela's which I admited that I had never heard of before. You would have thought I had said that I didn't know what Starbucks was by their reaction. Our route to Utah took us by several Cabela's so we had to stop in to check out what we were missing. Sorry Dwight, it didn't knock my socks off - just another outdoor store with stuffed animals.

The new and improved Ryan Douglas with Aunt Janet. Her oldest is also named Ryan Douglas! Sunday evening the family all met at Uncle Colin and Aunt Nancy's for a Halloween celebration. We enjoyed a variety of soup, home made rolls and yummy sides. It was so nice to see everyone. It sure would be great to live closer so that Ryan would be able to enjoy growing up with family. It's great that they make an effort to spend time together on a regular basis :)

Uncle Colin enjoying the group of kids playing Halloween games.

Cousin Scott, his son and Uncle Don catching up.

Levi Douglas and Ryan Douglas are cousins and were both born on August 20th with Levi being just a few hours older. Levi is Charal and Peter Miller's little boy and he is sure a cutie. I have lots of fun memories growing up with my cousin Peter and can only imagine these boys will do the same.

Peter and Charal Miller

Julie, Madison, Liz, and Aunt Nancy

Sweet Aunties

(Aunt Barb)

We had such a nice time with Aunt Barb, Aunt Kay, Uncle Glen and the rest of our wonderful family in Provo. Ryan was hugged and kissed by his Aunties every day. A little boy couldn't wish for anything more. Aunt Kay is a fantastic cook and fed us like kings and queens. Except when Mathew used to sneak his labs in the house the rule with dogs is they stay outside. Not only was the rule lifted for our visit but Bailey was treated like a real member of the family - thank goodness he acted like a perfect gentleman:)



(Aunt Kay)

Rise & Shout the Cougars are out!

This past Saturday we went to the BYU/UNLV game with Uncle Glen and Aunt Kay. This was Tom and Ryan's first College game and we had a great time. The weather was beautiful - a bit on the warm side for the little guy but we couldn't ask for a nicer fall day.

We decided to leave 3 minutes before the end of the game to beat the crowd with BYU down by one point. As we were walking back to the car we heard the crowd screaming only later to find out that we missed the best part where BYU won the game. Oh well, we still had a great time :)

My job during the game was to keep Ryan out of the beating sun and Tom's hat sure helped in this mission.

Only in Utah!

Monday we set out for Provo Utah and knock on wood Ryan was the perfect little traveler. If anything I felt bad that he was stuck in his car seat for more then 22 hours. He was so happy and content during the entire drive but I guess I would be too if I could sleep in a recliner for two days only to wake for food and a diaper change. Perhaps that will be what I ask Santa for this year. We stopped in Omaha Nebraska on our way to see my niece Angela, her husband Jason and very cute little boy Aaron. We met for dinner and caught up in our nice cozy hotel room. We were planning to stay with them but Jason's sister was sick with 102 temp so we didn't think it was a good idea to expose Ryan to a sick bug quite yet. You'll see Aunt Kay in the picture above at the tail end of giving Ryan a bath. The minute he hit the water I ran to get my camera but she was so quick in giving him his bath that by the time I got back she was drying him off. I can only hope to master bath time like my Auntie! Yesterday Tom went golfing with Uncle Glen and his sons Mike and Terry who are all excellent golfers. Glen and his boys have a standing golf time every Thursday morning which is fantastic that they set time aside to spend together. When Tom got home and was telling me about his day it was like a kid who had gone to Disneyland for the first time. The course was unbelievable, Glen and the boys were amazing golfers and my cousin Mike hit the ball further than anything he had ever seen. He also picked up some great tips and most importantly really enjoyed his day with the family :) Tonight all the Hatch boys are coming over with their families for dinner and to meet Tom and Ryan - stay tuned for more pictures.

The first night we checked into a hotel who provided a crib for Ryan which was fantastic that we didn't need to set up the pack-n-play (aka the contraption from hell - it still takes me forever to set up) The crib however kind of freaked me out looking simular to being locked up in jail. I must also note that Tom and I both had the best night sleep EVER. The bed was pure heaven! We wrote down the name of the mattress and will hopefully be able to get one for the house.

Ryan and I are shown here with my niece Angela, her husband Jason and little munchkin Aaron. It was so nice to see them and far to long since the last time we got together. I am so proud of Angela and her positive outlook on life.

Aaron is an absolute doll with a very cute little personality. He gave us some tips on styling Ryan's hair. As you can see he is a pro with the hair product. Cutie patootie!

Family Pictures

Here is a sneak peek at some of the pictures taken earlier this week. I can't believe Ryan is already 8 weeks old. It still amazes me how much I love this little guy and how everything that use to be important has shifted or just is no longer relevent.

Today we went up to Door County to the Sister Bay Fall Festival with Shelly, Kevin and Brooklyn. We ran into Lori Miron and her girls - I swear those girls have all grown a foot since I saw them last. We also ran into Jeff from Boldt and his wife. Jeff and I sat on the American Heart Association Heart Walk Committee and always had a great time - he is hilarious. The street was packed with food, drinks, bands and vendors displaying art and a variety of crafts for sale. Sorry for not having any pictures of the day but we had our hands full with maneuvering the stroller and Bailey through the massive crowd of people.

My Broken Heart

Yesterday was Ryan's 2 month check-up and it didn't go well for either of us... The beginning of the appointment was great and we just love our Pediatrician. Ryan is now 12 lbs, 10.5 oz and 23 inches long. The last part of the appointment where Ryan had his first vaccines left us both in tears - I get choked up just thinking about it. It was so sad - seriously I cried! From the time we got home through the following 6 hours he slept like a rock. I really should have gone to sleep with him but I had no idea he would sleep so long. When he woke he just sobbed - I swear he was having flash backs from his earlier trauma.

I can't imagine what I will do the first time he falls off his bike - perhaps I will just bubble wrap him before he goes out!

Yep, that's right the Packer's played and won yesterday which is why Tom is wearing the Jersey. I'm glad we took these pictures so Ryan will have something to remember his first pumpkin patch since he slept through the entire day. We are still working on sleeping more then 3 hours at a time during the night with very little luck. I've read and been told that I need to let him cry himself back to sleep but hearing him cry makes me physically sick - I just can't do it...

Today, Ryan had his first photo shoot and our family shot taken for this years Christmas card. We have been blessed with an angel for a son, he was perfect for 1 & 1/2 hours of pictures, three wardrobe changes and a huge sloppy kiss from his big brother Bailey. We found a woman who loves to take pictures as a hobby, who is extremely reasonable in price and gives you all the original pictures on disk. She was able to get some great shots which I can't wait to post on our blog.

As I begin coming out of the big cloud of no sleep I realized my leave from work is 2/3rds over and we haven't taken advantage of my time off so Tom and I are trying to get ourselves organized to take a road trip to Utah. If we can get coverage for Tom's business we will try and leave after the game on Sunday. It would be so wonderful to spend time with my family but also a great time to network and get a lay of the land. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Ryan and his sweet cousin Katie.

Our friends Kevin, Brooklyn and Shelly at the pumpkin farm.

Cousin Jacob helping Ryan out with a little snack while Daisy looks on waiting for her turn. Also shown is Ryan's favorite toy Giraffe "GiGi"

This weekend Tom and I took Ryan to a pumpkin patch to pick out his very first pumpkin with Aunt Bonnie, cousin Katie, Shelly, Brooklyn and Kevin - although we admired the huge pumpkin we picked out something more his size. The weather was absolutely beautiful - in the high 70's! We slept with the windows open and enjoyed the fresh air. Most everyone loves the fall weather but I must admit I start feeling very anxious this time of year because I know the cold is just around the corner. You would think that after 5 years I wouldn't mind the winter but that isn't the case - winter sucks! I keep praying that the phone rings and a great job offer presents itself for Tom and I somewhere out West :)

Happy Birthday Mommy

This year I received the greatest gift I could ever ask for - our sweet little Ryan. The day started great with Ryan sleeping a full 3 1/2 hours at a time last night and Tom took the first shift which gave me a full 5 hours of sleep for the first time in 6 weeks. I felt like a million bucks when I got up for his 4 am feeding. Our little man is growing stronger every day - he is holding his head up on his own most of the time and has started standing for long periods at a time. He kicks his legs and moves his arms like a little swimmer which is really cute.

Lynne and Steve send this cute cookie bouquet for my birthday and as you can see one cookie is bigger then Ryan's head. Today Shelly and I walked over a mile which felt great however after one of these cookies we'll need to go twice as far tomorrow!

I caught this great shot last night when Tom was talking to Ryan. The boys love their one on one time however I believe this particular conversation was about how poorly the Packers played on Sunday. As you can see Ryan is very engaged in the conversation.

Meeting My New Girlfriend

Deborah became a Grandma last Saturday to a beautiful baby girl. On Gracee's 1 week birthday Ryan and I were able to visit for a yummy lunch and a wonderful afternoon. It was so nice, as always, to see Deborah I sure miss our frequent outings! For the record she is way to young to be a Grandma! As you can see, Ryan sure loves his Auntie Deborah :)

Sweet little Gracee is already dressed like a princess - but being related to Deborah one would expect nothing less.

Gracee and Ryan enjoyed their first snuggle on the couch however Grandpa is close by and quickly reminds Ryan to behave himself. As you can see Ryan is paying close attention to what he is told.

Deborah. Brittnee & Gracee enjoying a relaxing afternoon.