Our Little Honeybee!!!

Rylee was the cutest little bee for her first Halloween, and although these pictures show a pretty happy girl, our trial run with the costume didn’t go over so smoothly. The Friday before Halloween, Lance and I planned on taking her to “Boo at the Zoo” at Tautphaus Park. We stopped at my mom’s for the wardrobe change, and were met by the BIGGEST hissy fit we’ve ever seen from our sweet little angel!! Lots of driving and a missed nap= grumpy Rylee. Needless to say, we skipped the zoo that night (or it might have been renamed boo-hoo at the zoo!) The next evening we braved the costume again and were met with success. Very little fuss, and a few smiles for the camera!! Yeah!!

Rylee and cousin Jaycie . . .

“Flight of the Bumblebee” . . .

 

 

 

Having fun with Grandma and Grandpa Barnes . . .

 

 

 

Just Chillin’ With Daddy                                                        (and gnawing on her fingers, yep more teeth on the way!)

Blessing Dress

It’s been a little over 2 months since Rylee was blessed, and I’ve finally gotten around to posting her sweet little pictures!!!

Rylee’s cousins Addi and Liv wore the same dress when they were blessed and when they went to the temple. They all looked like little angels in this dress! Thanks to Auntie Erika for letting us borrow it.

Lance and I tried really hard to get her to smile like she did the day she was blessed, without much luck!

Rylee made a big impression on everyone in the blessing circle that day. Most tiny babies do pretty good, some fuss or cry a little. Lance and I were both a little nervous that because Rylee was 8 months old she might get scared and cry, or try and grab the microphone. We were way off! Instead, so I’m told, she looked up at everyone with a big grin and smiled through the whole thing! Her Grandpa Barnes and Great-Grandpa Cammack still talk about it, and rank it as the best baby blessing of all time! Rylee really set the bar high that day!

Also, a little update on what “stinker 1” has been up to(as Lance affectionately calls her):

Rylee has begun the super-fun teething process, and now boasts one and a half teeth! She’s been a real trooper, a little more cranky than normal, but still sleeping through the night! (Bless her heart)

Rylee has been getting better and better at sitting up with less and less help. She now enjoys spending time in her big girl chair, watching mommy do dishes, cook dinner, and Rylee even eats her baby food in her big girl chair!

She has gotten very good at rolling over, and seems to make her way around pretty well. She occasionally finds herself in a tight spot requiring rescue from mom or dad (usually crammed sideways up against the couch).

Rylee has also shown great interest in learning to crawl, and we know it won’t be long! For now she just rocks back and forth on her tummy, and occasionally pulls her knees up under her. No hurry Rylee, take your time, REALLY!

Barnes Family Reunion

Over Labor Day weekend, Lance’s aunt and uncle planned a really nice family get-together at their home in Idaho Falls. Everyone had so much fun! They had all kinds of activities planned for everyone: an inflatable jump house, home-made “train-ride”, and bracelet-making for the little girls and for the ladies, some wonderful game involving lots of candy and chocolate, delicious home-cooked food and desserts, and a nice little family roundtable where the all the aunts took turns sharing what their children and grandchildren had been up to over the last year. Lance and I truly enjoyed spending time laughing and catching up with everyone, hopefully it will become a Barnes Family Tradition!!! THANKS AGAIN TO THE COLLINGS!!

This awesome train-ride kept all the kiddos entertained all day long, courtesy of Uncle Brad!

He made it himself, just one of his many projects.

 

   

As you may have noticed, many of the little girls also played dress up, aren’t they adorable?

Family Roundtable

Deanne tells her family story, including how Uncle Brad is still “feeding the sheep”.

(We found out later that he actually has a contract to provide feed for the elk in Jackson, among other things. Brad was glad to know his wife took such a great interest in what he does for a living!!)

Uncle Jeff pays close attention as his wife, Marilee, tells all about events for their family over the last year, broken bones, weddings, expecting mama’s and all.(:

 

Sherry busted out a list for her “sharing time”!

It was such a busy year (thanks in large part to Lance, Rylee, and me), that she didn’t want to leave anything out!

It really was big year:

I started a new job, got pregnant, Lance and I got the Swine Flu, built our first home, had our beautiful miracle baby 3 months early (recovered from a C-section), Lance graduated, and I had my appendix out! Whew!

Amidst all of that chaos, Brett broke his hand showing his son’s baseball team how to hustle, Brady and Cindy had their first baby girl, and Angie and John baptized their little boy!!!

And Allison told everyone all about their trip to Cooperstown, Paige surviving her first week at BYU,

and Bowen needing a little help with the ladies! Yeah right!! Poor Bowen):

  

 

All in all, it was a wonderful day! 

Rylee: 9 Months-Old

The last 9 months with this sweet little squish-bum have been better than we ever could have imagined. For all the trouble she had those first few months, she has more than made up for it in the last 6 months or so. She’s getting to be quite the big girl now! She can almost sit up by herself, she loves to eat pears and “nannas”, and continues to amaze us with how easy-going and sweet she is! We have had a blast with her so far, and can’t wait to see what she has in store for us down the road! We LOVE you Rylee!!!

 

Babies, Babies, & More Babies!!

The last couple of months have been pretty exciting for us in the baby department. My sister Brittney had a bouncing baby boy, Bentley (who weighed in at well over 9 lbs!), and my sister-in-law Cindy had their first baby girl, Jaycie (who clocked in a few ounces shy of 7 lbs!). Also, Rylee has enjoyed a fun-filled summer with lots of family get-togethers, and ended the month of July by FINALLY being blessed (July 25th, exactly 8 months old, to the day).

Here’s handsome boy Bentley, rockin’ his monkey hat . . .

Sweet little Jaycie snuggled up to Lance . . .

Rylee & Jaycie with Grandma & Grandpa Barnes

on Rylee’s blessing day!

Say Cheese!

Giving each other the once-over . . .

Mom, is this okay?

Jaycie and Grandpa Barnes . . .

Babe in A Basket

I hope nobody is tired of all the Rylee pictures, but I love to take them and I love to share them, so . . . .  here she is!! (:

Being thoughtful . . .

Saying her prayers . . .

More thinking . . .

 

Showing her sweet shy side (:

OK Rylee, all done!

Pretty in Pink

More playing around with the camera

with Miss Rylee as my muse(;

She is such a sweet, beautiful, and patient little girl.