Mommy and Baby Time

Today, I took Ryder to the mall to get some pictures done (whew-It was more expensive than it should have been!) But I wanted some good pictures to send to my family of Ryder. We got there and he was smiling and laughing and I was so excited to get some good pictures of my baby boy before all of his dark hair falls out and he is my blonde baby. Well, the sweet girl who was taking his pictures was only able to get a few of him and he THREW A FIT. I knew he wasn't hungry because Pat had just fed him before we had left the house.I walked around with him a little bit and soon gave up and gave him a bottle....The sweet girl ended up letting me be in the pictures with Ryder and we got a few of him being very sweet and sleepy. After the pictures were taken, I set him in his stroller and went to the computer to look at the pictures that were made...I picked the package I wanted and picked out the pictures to go with it. As soon as I got up to go and pay, Ryder woke up and started laughing, cooing and smiling...JUST MY LUCK-He was so happy to be leaving haha...
Here are the pictures that I love from the "Shoot"

Settling In Again....AGAIN

IN THE BEGINNING, Pat and I had a baby...little baby Ryder. At the time, and for the next 3 weeks after, I lived behind my sister and brother-in-law's in an apartment. It was PERFECT for me. 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom and a little kitchen...then came baby...and husband...and then my mom. It was not big enough for all three of us (in two different combinations) and I had to begin the journey to meet my husband at our home on the other side of the country...
So, I picked up all of my stuff--with the help of my mom, dad, brother and sister, and "moved" to Orlando, FL so the rest of my family could see the little baby bear. I had just had a c-section, so I didn't really have to pack or clean much--everyone else did that for me :)I was thankful for the help--but it still felt like a lot of work...
Then, I got to Orlando and had to figure out what I needed and unpack it all and organize it in the room I grew up in. It was nice to be back "home" with my family. (It was so hard leaving my in-laws and we all cried, but I knew it was a step closer to being with my husband.) My mom was there to help me with Ryder, except from the hours of 10pm-5am haha. If I had a question, she answered it and she gave me a lot of good advice on what to do with this new baby.
One month later, I found myself at the airport at 4am...YES-4am. I had been packing the week before because I was FINALLY on my way to my husband! YAY...this is what I had been waiting for for the past 10 months since we found out I was pregnant.
When I finally got to MY home, I was unable to set up all of my stuff and Ryder's stuff and everything had a place and it stayed in it's place and stayed organized...WHOOOO my parents would be proud of me. Then, 36 boxes of STUFF showed up at my door...OMG-I had forgotten about all of this stuff...I mean, did I really need all of this if I had just gone a month without it?

Now this is what my place looked like a few days ago. I've gotten most everything unpacked (only 2 boxes left) and Pat has thrown the boxes out. Everything is almost how we want it.
I want to go around to some garage sales tomorrow and look for a bookcase to put some of our miscellaneous items on and a dresser for Ryder's room....When EVERYTHING has a place and is put up and clean-I'll take some more pictures of the FINAL PRODUCT. It does look amazing so far---just not as complete as I want it. I'm excited for the project ahead:)

Florida Beaches

PS- I've been watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel and there was a show called Deadliest Waters which counted down the ... deadliest waters. List of the 5 areas in the world with the highest number of fatal shark attacks...
Guess where Number 1 was....

FLORIDA

Right in my backyard....Watch out for the guys in gray suits---they ARE NOT businessmen

Call Me Nurse Kelley

I AM SOOO EXCITED. Tomorrow, after my eye doctor appointment (PS-I'm pretty much blind) I have an appointment to start my classes to get my AA in Nursing to become an RN and, eventually, go back and get my BSN. I transferred from FSU to Samford for Nursing, but...well...that didn't work out. My GPA from FSU was too low, and, when combined with my GPA from Samford, it wasn't high enough. So, now, I am going back to finish what I should have done in the beginnning.
Step 1: become a CNA (certified nursing assistant). I am going to Kaplan College tomorrow to sign up for the 6 week course and financial aid.
Step 2: Register for Anatomy and Physiology (with labs) at the local college.
Step 3: Register for the NURSING PROGRAM!!!!
Those 3 steps will take the rest of the time I am here but it will keep me busy. And I can still stay home with Ryder-only being gone a little bit of the time and I can find someone I really trust to watch him for me (PLUS- the school that offers the nursing program has childcare!!!! I could take him with me)

I am going to visit my family on the East Coast at the end of this month. My sister bought my ticket so I could come and see her!! THANK YOU, KATIE! So I get to see her, ALL of my in-laws, and my parents are coming up for the weekend, too. I am so excited to see everyone and for everyone to see how much Ryder has grown and to see him laugh and smile---AND to see Carter, Daisy, Kemp, Lily, Powell, and Blakely. I feel like I have been gone forever and I need to see them!!!

When I get back, I'll start my classes (I GET TO WEAR SCRUBS---:) )
Stay tuned for more....

Sleep...

I don't remember what that is...I need a nap. Anyone want to come babysit?

Guys in Gray Suits

It's SHARK WEEK!!! Woo Hoo...Pat and I watched Great White Invasion the other night, and so did my cousin Kori, and we learned that there are Great White Sharks in-none other than SoCal....hey, that's where I live! Ya-basically I am NEVER going in the water again.. I don't really like the water anyway, I just like to lay out (Ryder will never get in the water either) and I don't surf, so it's not really a big deal.
However, as we were watching, we saw a few surfers who were interviewed...one of them mentioned that if a surfer sees a shark in the water near the coastline, they refer to them as men in gray suits so as not to scare any of the public around them. They will just say "Hey, we've got guys in gray suits out there" and they will CONTINUE TO SURF...CONTINUE TO SWIM....
I only have one thing to say to these athletes of the water....
YOU'RE CRAZY!!!!!
Look at the picture below and tell me you would contine to swim toward it...NO-You swim to shore....

That's all I have to say about that

3 Months...Where Did It Go?

WOW! I cannot believe that 3 months have come and gone by already! Everyone said that time would go by quickly but it's amazing how fast it really does. My little angel bear has grown so much. He smiles and laughs all the time now and is trying soooo hard to roll over (he is almost there!!) He is starting to realize he is ticklish. He tries to talk to us and loves when his daddy holds him. He has started to realize that he can grab things on purpose and will reach for his toys now...He stares at all of his mobiles and laughs with them. He'll sit and watch tv now (he loves the show GLEE and hates Bea Arthur's voice lol) He is such a good baby. God has blessed me so much these past 3 months (and the 37 weeks 6 days I was pregnant for) and I cannot express how much I love this sweet baby boy...