What was I thinking???????

It's the truth - several months ago I kept saying, I can't wait to see him move around and crawl and be more mobile - I must have been sleep deprived because he is now unstoppable! He has mastered the army crawl; changing his diaper has officially become an olympic sport and he has turned his crib into a jungle gym!! Yes, August and September have quickly becoming very entertaining months for Ry. He had a great time in Green Lake and he is gearing up to attend his first birthday parties (his friends Emily, Mateo, Bella and of course his cousin Maddie!) Le and I are bracing ourselves for his next plane ride to California in early October as well. Should be a doozy!

Here a few recent pics:

Catching some sun down on the dock...

My dad was the green lake champ this year!! 2 years in a row the trophy has come back to the Nguyen household!!

Just enjoying a little peace and quiet...

A new milestone for August...

Today was a first for Ryker....He decided to army crawl across the kitchen floor!!

He is headed to Grandma's for his first big sleepover this weekend in Camp Geneva so he wanted to be sure he had a new trick to show her! I wouldn't say he is ready for the olympics but as his dad says....he is now mobile and dangerous! :-)

Take a look...

LIfe in July....

Ryker decided to celebrate his first Fourth of July in style and where else can you do that but....

GREEN LAKE OF COURSE!!

Last minute - we all decided it would be great to get away for a few days - so we packed up Maddie and Ryker (and Aunt Brooke, Laura, Bob, my mom and Le) and headed up to Wisconsin.

We stayed in a new house this time (more of a log cabin feel) but it couldn't have been more perfect. While we were there - Ry decided to really start sitting up on his own which has brought a new sense of freedom for him (and for me!) :-)

our first day at the lake....

his beautiful (and VERY active) cousin Maddie

Nothing better than quick nap with Grammie by the Lake...

Life in June...

Let's catch up on life in the Nguyen Household. In June Ryker made the trip to California to meet his West Coast Grandma and he was definitely a hit!

His Aunt Beatrice loved to see him as well!!

While he was there he figured he would take a quick dip in her kitchen sink!

He was definitely a trooper! He did great on his first plane ride too! He slept two hours on the way out there and slept the whole way back.

We packed just about everything but the kitchen sink - but we made it!!

The budding pianist....

Ryker decided to perform a little solo for us on the piano today - so I thought we would share....

He is quite the performer :-)

Swimming, Anyone?

Yesterday was our first official Aquababies class at the Galter Life Center.  The class is a 1/2 hour long - but I think for Ry and I it felt like a full day event.  Packing and preparing was quite entertaining - but once we got there and got in the water - it was great.  The pool is about 90 degrees; the people were really nice and I think at about 3:25 - Ryker just about got the hang of it! (class ended at 3:30)

Oh well, we have 8 more sessions, so I will keep everyone posted....

Ryker meets the East Coast!!

This past weekend Bo, Denise and Candace all flew out to Chicago to spend a few days.  They enjoyed a cubs game; dinner at Carmine's and of course meeting the newest members of the family - Ryker and Maddie!  They also enjoyed plenty of time on scenic I-88 as they drove downtown almost everyday they were here!!  :-)  Here are a few pics from the weekend. 

While Ryker spit up on Bo more times than I can count...they still became fast friends...

 

Ryker, Denise and Bo

  

One more of Ry....

  

By the end of the weekend, Ryker was Exhausted...

A weekend of Firsts....

This weekend was a weekend of Firsts....

My First Mother's Day Brunch complete with tickets to see U2 from Ryker and his dad!

                                                                                                                            

After brunch we did a little shopping in Geneva...

Ryker also tried his first Solid foods and as you can see he was very confused. I think we definitely ended up with more food on the high chair then we did in his mouth - but all the same - we videotaped and photographed the whole event!  Brooke says that he saw us eating all kinds of great food out at my moms and then we sit him down with a bowl of something that resembled wallpaper paste (rice cereal) - What did we expect???!?

Here is the "before shot"

and

Here is the "after shot"

Not technically on the weekend...but on Monday afternoon ... 

Ryker also decided to roll over for the first time!  All and all - it was a wonderful weekend with my family.  

Chicago Kids and Kites

Chicago weather is finally starting to look up!

Le, Ryker and I spent saturday afternoon at montrose harbor flying kites!! Mayor Daley hosts a yearly event called "Chicago Kids and Kites". Kids have an opportunity to make their own kites and then test them out. I must say - there was alot of string everywhere and kites in trees -but overall it was a beautiful day and lots of chicago families were there!

It's official....I have become one of THOSE moms!

I remember growing up my mom use to tell us about all the lessons and camps and groups she signed us up for because we just had to try everything! :-) Well, this morning at 4:45am (yes folks, I had to set an alarm) I was calling the galter life center to sign Ryker up for swim lessons. There is a great program called aquababies for really little ones to get them exposed to the water. However, every mom in chicago seems to want to join it - so registration started at 5am!!
Well, 5am hit and I started dialing....I was reminded of calling ticketmaster trying to get concert tickets!! The line was busy, busy, busy and then I finally got through!

and the end of the story - we start swimming every wednesday in June!!

Just had to share....

Will you be my valentine?

Ryker spent his First Valentine's Day with his Grammie in Geneva and he had a great time!

Here are some pics with his cousin Maddie and a picture with his best bud - Aunt Brooke. We had a great family dinner on Sunday - as many of you know - my mom is the best cook ever - so we had quite a spread! Both kids are wearing valentines day shirts - but they are covered with the bibs (for protection purposes - they had just finished eating :-)

Happy Valentine's Day!

One Month already....

Its hard to believe that tomorrow he will be a month old already.
We went to see the doctor again today for his checkup - he is 10lb 9 ozs and he in the ninety fifth percentile for height!! Who would have guessed?? I will post more pics tomorrow from his first month at home...Just wanted to give you one from today...

My First Posting

Well...its official the Nguyen Family has begun their first blog. I had committed to my family and friends that I would do a better job with pictures (now that I am a parent) and so far - in the first 30 days - I am failing miserably....so I figured it was time to start! Ryker Robert-Phuoc Nguyen was born December 30th at 3:27am. Weighing in at 9lbs 7oz. - it took quite a while for him to come into the world and now its hard to imagine life without him!! The night he was born - Northwestern Hospital had quite a full waiting room - my mom, brother, sister and some of our dearest friends - Anthony, Hope and Noble all waited until the late hours of the morning to be the first to greet him! Since then he has had quite a greeting from all our family and friends! He has taken it pretty easy on us so far and allowed Le and I to ease into the transition of parenthood...but as I say this - he is taking his lungs to a new level upstairs...so I must go...

Stay tuned. Here are a few original pics from the hospital to get me started!