AHHHHH!

Do not be fooled by this cute, innocent looking little boy!!! He is a menace to all!!! Yes that is right. To all children out there, when you see my little Rykes Bikes coming near....run in the other direction. He has become so violent and such a little biter!!! He has always been a little biter and we have teased him by changing his nick name, Rykes Bikes to Rykes Biter. Well, he has officially earned his nick name. I think over the past two weeks he has bitten me, his brother, and most of his cousins multiple times. He even bit baby cousin Lucas who is about 8 months (I think?) on the cheek!! It was way bad. I don't know how to stop him either!! I have tried slapping his mouth after he bites and also Cyenne pepper in the mouth. I think that has worked a little because he is biting less, but he is still biting. He is going into nursey in a couple weeks and I just fear that he will bite everyone!! Some people have suggested biting him back but I just don't think I could do that. Any suggestions???
He also is throwing the biggest temper tantrums and he gets so aggressive! I didn't think an 18 month old could be so aggressive and have so much rage. He screams and throws himself down on the floor. He hits, kicks, and pinches me when I don't let him have things. Oh, he is just a little stinker!! I guess I should've known that with such a mellow and easy first child that my second would not be the same. Ryker has been my trial from even before he was conceived, while I was pregnant, and every day of his life so far. I guess I will just have to keep on enduring it!! Even though he is such a little stinker, I love him to pieces!!!! He is starting to talk a little and he is starting to understand little things like sit down, go get your shoes, and where's your nose? I have a feeling his favorite word is going to be "NO" because that is what I feel like I say to him about a million times a day!

Turkey Day

I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures on Thanksgiving so this is what you get! I could not keep Ryker away from the table favors. He went around to every chair eating all the runts and drinking everyone's left over drinks. No wonder why he's sick this week.

Here is our lovely turkey!! I absolutely love getting together with everyone for Thanksgiving and eating Turkey. This was my first Thanksgiving with my family in about 6 years and it was so fun to finally be able to eat with them. We had the best sweet potatoes ever and lots of other yummy food to go with them. The pies were great....that is the ones that weren't burnt. I'll have to tell that story another day. Amy, I hope your living area doesn't still smell of smoke!

Here is some of the crew...not everyone made it in the shot. At least the important ones are pictured. J/K!!

This is us afterwards....so stuffed of food that we wanted to puke!!!! But it was well worth it!

Is it just me?

This time of year always seems to be busy with the holidays, but for some reason I feel like there just isn't enough hours in the day to get everything done. Is it just me or is time just flying by so fast? Ryker has started saying a few words, well actually he only says one, SOCKS! It is so cute to hear him say socks, over and over and over. He loves to go outside and so when I tell him it's time to get our shoes and socks on he gets so excited and just starts saying "socks, socks, socks". Usually the only time we go outside now that it's cold is to take Rayden to pre-school. Ryker gets so sad when Rayden gets out of the car and runs into school. That kid deffineately has some separation issues.

Rayden has really been loving pre-school. I'm really glad I held him back a year. I kept thinking I would regret it and that it would be such a hard a year with him home but so far it has been a really good thing for him. I went to help out at his school the other day and it was good for me to see the other kids look up to him. They would all ask Rayden to help them open the playdoh and he was so cute with the younger kids. I think it has really helped him learn how to be a leader and not a follower all the time. He knows how to make his own decisions now and not to just do what other people do. He's also doing so much better with his speech. I really feel comfortable about our decision and I know that it was the right one. I just can't believe he is getting so big! Some days I look at him and think - "I'm too young to have a kid as big as him!" Then I realize that there are people my age who have one or even two or more kids than I do and I'm grateful that I just have two precious boys!!!

Life is good. I love being a mom and I love watching my kids do their funny little things each day. I don't love when they tear apart the house every other second but I guess that goes along with the whole mother thing. You would not believe how quickly that Ryker can destroy things...I better watch out because everyday he grows older, he learns more and more things he can get into to!!

We LOVE TOFW!!

My sisters and I have a little family tradition where we go to Deseret Book's Time Out for Women. If you haven't ever been before...you need to go!! We've been to Las Vegas, Kansas City, and St. George. Basically you go and get together with thousands of women and listen to some amazing speakers and musical artists!!! Here are some pictures of us being cute and silly!!











The most important thing I learned from the TOFW weekend was how much I rely on my family and my sisters to get me through each day!! They truly are my best friends and I love them all so much. I also realized how much I rely on my Heavenly Father. He truly loves me and knows my strengths and weaknesses. He lifts me up when I am down, comforts me when I'm sad, and answers my prayers and guides me when I'm lost. I am so grateful to have the knowledge of eternal families and the eternal plan of salvation. Without that knowledge, I would be lost.

Scary Halloween!!

We started off our Halloween by decorating sugar cookies with friends and cousins!!! We had cookies, cookies, and more cookies!

We got together with all the cousins to go trick or treating! It was so fun to see all of thier costumes! They ran around the neighborhood so quick and got so much candy! I don't think I ever had as much energy as all of these little boys had on Halloween night!

Here are the two pirates!! They were having some pretty cool sword fights together.

Yes, I decided to dress up this year. As I went around my old neighborhood where I grew up everyone just thought I was one of the kids! I guess I'm glad I still look young....it's annoying getting called a teenager but I'll be grateful when I'm older and hopefully I'll still look young!

Tricks and Treats!!

Okay, I made this pie like a long time ago, and you know me....I always love to take pictures of what I bake. This one is a peanut butter and jelly pie. The crust turned out not so good, I totally messed up on it, but the pie itself was delicious!!!

Here our some pictures of our family going to the pumpkin patch! It was a windy day but the kids had so much fun! We went on a tractor ride and got a lot of pumpkins!

We also got to ride around on the little train. The trip to the pumpkin patch is starting to become our little family tradition. The kids just love it! We're also having fun getting ready for Halloween. I've been trying to put together Rayden's costume and he is just so excited to go trick or treating! I'm not excited for all the candy around the house but what can you do? Ryker is turning into a sugar fiend. He knows where I hide the candy bucket in the house and he walks over to where it is and points and screams!!! Too bad he ate all the candy the other day so now the bucket is empty. I have to listen to him scream and scream and scream because the bucket is empty. I guess Halloween can't come soon enough!

Happenings

I know it's been a while since I updated and I have tons of pictures and video clips to post, but I just haven't had time. We went to Maplegrove campground the other night for F.H.E. and had a good time playing on the rope swing over a small stream. I've got the best clip of Randy going across the river that I think I will send in to America's Funniest Home videos. If I ever figure out how to post video clips on my blog then I will have to show you all, I know you will love it!

Other than that we've just been keeping busy with scouts, school and work!!! I can't believe how fast this month has gone by.

Oh, so I have to tell you that I actually went on a date with my husband last night without the kids!!! I don't know the last time that happened. We went to the high school performance of A Night of Shakespeare. I felt like I was in high school again...it was kinda weird. But the students did a really great job and I had a great time getting a break from the Ryker!!! He has been teething this last week or so and has developed a high pitch scream any time he gets frustrated (which is every other second). I get to the point by the end of the day where I just can't handle the scream!!! One of his many nicknames is Rykes Bikes. Now we call him Rykes Screamer, oh and also Rykes Biter (He bites a lot). But I just can't help but love the little guy!!!! As much as his screams drive me to rip my hair out....he is just so cute!!!

We also had a fun time visiting friends and family in St. George last weekend. We went shopping, ate a bunch of junk food, did pedicures, watched conference and enjoyed the warm St. George sun!! I'm so not excited for winter but at least I'm not in the icy cold Missouri this winter!!!