Christmas!

We had a great Christmas! Isn't it wonderful? We were really excited about having Christmas with Jackson this year, since he would be at least a bit aware of what was happening. And we weren't disappointed! Jackson loved it. He loved ripping the paper off and dropping it on the floor. And if the paper didn't quite get to the floor, he would pick it up again and throw it until it did get to the floor. We didn't take any photos, but we did videotape for the benefit of grandma's living far away! He even took the time to play with each gift before moving onto the next one...he's very considerate like that. He got all kinds of toys, and loves them all. He's a spoiled boy. 

 We had our little family Christmas and then went over to my parent's house for some cold, but delicious, breakfast (cold was totally our fault since we were late) and opened yet more gifts. It was fun to be with everyone and see everyone opening gifts, I like it. Sam hadn't had much sleep at this point, so he went home and slept the rest of the day away, poor guy. We spent the evening at Vicki and Paul's (my aunt and uncle) eating yummy food and playing games with all of my extended family. It was great fun. All in all, we had a great day! 

Jackson getting into trouble in his new Christmas pj's

(He really loves the dishwasher)

Our little Christmas tree

This is my adorable mother and her ridiculous Christmas outfit. She was showing off the socks Heidi sent her. It's terrible, and I'm a little embarrased for her. 

Jackson and Malachi 

Snow!

The last week has brought heaps of snow. And although Sam and I are not big fans of the stuff, we were pretty excited about it. I guess that's what having a kid does to you. Sam has been really excited about playing with Jackson in the snow, and we spent a lot of time looking for snow gear for the boy. (Jackson, not Sam.) I'm happy to say that by the time the snow came, we were ready. Sam went out to start on the walks, and I started getting Jackson ready. About an hour later (and a few tears later) Jackson and I were ready to go. Who knew it was so hard to get a 15 month old into snow clothes! Well, we went out and it was pretty fun. Jackson was a bit nervous, but enjoyed it in the end, although he didn't do much playing in it. He did however, enjoy being pulled around in his little sled. We went out again yesterday, and I am happy to report that it only took about 15 minutes to get him dressed, we're getting better!

We've also enjoyed getting ready for Christmas. We kind of missed Christmas last year, we didn't have a tree, since we moved out of our apartment on Dec 26, so it's nice to be celebrating again. I love Christmas lights, so our tree is lit up all the time, and we even bought some ornaments and Jackson has only pulled off a few. It's quite nice. And I'm even enjoying Christmas music. 'Tis the season! Merry Christmas everyone!

Lookin' good in his new hat

Geared up for the snow and a little unsure about it

Jackson lovin' the sled

Aren't we cute?

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Just checkin' in

It's been awhile since I put anything up here, so I thought I should send out a little note to all of you. We are doing great. Time is flying by, and I can't believe that it's almost Christmas. Hopefully we'll get our tree soon. This time last year we were getting ready to leave for Australia, it doesn't seem like that was a whole year ago. We miss you all over there!

Jackson is really growing up and changing. He's become really cuddly, which is a big change. He used to hate cuddling, as some of you know very well. He is also very into reading. He loves it. He is always bringing me a book to read. We are really happy about it, although it would be nice if it wasn't always the same book, or when I'm doing the dishes or making dinner! Anyway, he just loves it. However, we are getting tired of our books over and over, so if any of you have any suggestions for us of fun kid books, we'd really appreciate it!

Jackson also loves the dishwasher. He's worked out how to open it, and does it all the time. Why is he so smart? He has also started walking on his tip-toes, climbing the toilet to the counter and playing in the sink, and screaming a lot! We got really tired of his screaming last night, so Sam decided he would spray him with a squirt bottle each time he screamed. This backfired, as Jackson thought it was hilarious! He just laughed and laughed when Sam squirted him. Any tips to get rid of screaming?

So that's the update. Sam is loving his job, and we are starting to adjust to the schedule, I think. And I was called into the Primary Presidency at church (working with the children). I like it, although I have no idea what I am doing! What an adventure!

Family Photos

So I'm pretty slow, but we had some family photos taken a couple of weeks ago by my wonderful cousin (you're the best!) and I thought I would finally put them up so you can all tell us how wonderful we look. Not really, but I did want to share them. Maybe if I feel really ambitious, some of you might get one in a Christmas card, but for now, just plan on admiring them here on our blog. They turned out really nice and we love them, now we just have to print them out and get them on our wall. What a pain!

Peeping Jackson

I'm pretty sure that Jackson does something new every day. It's really fun. This week Jackson has turned into a peeping Tom, and I find it really funny. Sam went into the bathroom the other day, and when he shut the door, Jackson waved "goodbye" to him. So I asked him, "Where's Daddy?" In answer, he got up, ran over to the bathroom, and promptly laid down on his belly, and looked under the door. It was hilarious. And he has continued to do it. Probably because we laugh at him. It's just so funny. He even sticks his little fingers under to try and find you. I'm glad that I have all of you to share these ridiculous things with. Thanks for listening.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween. We were a little afraid that Jackson would hate wearing his costume and try to rip it off, but he seemed to enjoy it. We went to our ward Trunk-or-Treat, where Jackson got lots of candy for Sam and I to enjoy, and we had yummy chilli, hot dogs, and dutch oven dessert. We spent the rest of the night at my parents house, with the cousins. They all had a great time and we all ate too much candy. Isn't Halloween great?

All of the little kiddies

Kendra's little baby Kambria

One cute kangaroo

What a cute boy!

Working...not me, don't worry

Well, here I am on my own again. Sam started working this week- a giant hooray!- but he's mostly working graveyard, so I spend my lonely nights eating frozen pizza and ice cream. When I put it like that it doesn't sound too bad. Anyway, he's gone and working and I have to learn to sleep by myself. He loves the job though. He's working at the Juvenile Justice Observation and Assessment. Basically, kids in the system come and live at this place for 45 days and the counselors observe them and do assessments. Their time there determines where they'll be placed within the system. Pretty cool, and like I said, he loves it. And as soon as the full-time position opens up, he'll get it. We are so happy and know that Heavenly Father heard and answered our prayers, even if it means spending some nights alone. I am grateful.

Jackson has started spinning in circles and then falling down, and his biggest thing now is stepping up and down from the sidewalk, or little steps. Here's a cute picture of him. We love his huge open mouth smile. I think you will too. (And if you don't, maybe you shouldn't tell me...)

Pumpkins!

Last Saturday we had our 2nd annual Hjorth pumpkin carving. It was pretty fun. So I thought that I would put up some photos. I mean, I would tell you about it, but we just carved  pumpkins. Not much to tell. We did also have our traditional dinner in a pumpkin. Yummy. All in all, it was a night of pumpkin fun. 

Jackson also enjoyed himself, eating all the treats that Nana bought for the kids. I'm pretty sure that he had about 3 candy necklaces. He was a happy boy. 

Let the carving begin

Jackson picking out our pumpkin

The super happy grandkids

our super cool pumpkin turned Jack-o-lantern

Mostly good news

With a title "mostly good news" you've got to know that there is some bad news in there somewhere. So lets get that out of the way. The bad news is, the state of Utah doesn't have much extra money. No kidding, hu? Well, the bad news is, that's who Sam is trying to get a job with. He's had some good interviews, but no one can hire him, because the state doesn't have any money. Sucks, hu? One place even wanted to hire him. Anyway, that's the bad news. 

 The good news is, the place that wanted to hire him, is trying to work it out so that they can. They've given him a part-time position, which we'll gladly take for now. We aren't sure how many hours he'll get or how long it will be part-time, but as soon as they can, they'll hire him on full-time. And that's the good news.  Great news for the Rylands. There is hope! We won't be poor forever! 

Bathtime Adventures...or disasters

Bathtime is usually an exciting time for Jackson. He loves his bath. He hears the water running, and runs into the bathroom, trying to pull off his diaper. Well, the last few nights have been both disgusting and surprising. 

Tuesday won the disgusting award. I had left Jackson playing happily in the bath to do the dishes. I realized that he was yelling at me, so I went in to check on him. He was just standing there, yelling, with a worried look on his face. So I go in, and he's pooped in the bathtub. Disgusting!! I didn't sign up for that. Luckily, I have the best husband ever, and he cleaned out the bathtub while I took care of Jackson. Again, disgusting. Disgusting. Sorry if I disgusted you, but how could I not tell people about that? 

 Then Wednesday night, same scene. Jackson is playing happily in the bathtub, I step out to do something for a minute. I go back in the bathroom, and there is a cute naked little baby climbing onto the toilet. Somehow he got himself out of the bathtub, without making any noise, and climbed onto the toilet. Oh my goodness. When did he get big enough to do that? It was actually pretty funny. Everyday he is doing something new that makes us laugh. Just thought we'd share these ones with you. 

climbing on the toilet

so proud that he got out on his own

NRL Grand Final

Last night was Grand Final night for those of us here in America. Okay, so for those of us here at the Ryland home. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, here's the explanation. Rugby League, which is a faster and simpler to follow version of Rugby Union, which is the rugby you probably know about, is huge in Australia, at least in parts of it. This season, Sam has been able to download the games, and we've become huge fans. Okay, so Sam already was, but now he's gotten me and my family into it. We mostly just go for the Brisbane Broncos, as that is Sam's team, and now my mum even knows the names of a lot of the Broncos players. It's pretty funny. (Love you mum!) Anyway, Brisbane didn't make it into the finals, so we started cheering for the NZ Warriors, who were then eliminated. Needless to say, we were left without a team to really cheer for. The 2 teams that made the Grand Final-the superbowl of rugby league- were the top two teams and we were looking forward to a great game. My parents and my brother and his wife all came over for the big game. Turns out, it wasn't that exciting. Manly beat Melbourne 40-0. It was pretty exciting and there were some great tries, but really, what a disappointment. Ah well, at least we had some good  popcorn, right? 

And there are my ramblings about rugby. With the season over, Sam has stocked up on old games and some documentaries to watch until next season starts. He is so lucky to have me for a wife. (That's because I like watching all this silly stuff with him, in case you were wondering.) So, if any of you live around here, and want to catch up on your rugby league, give us a call! 

 And a random Jackson thing. He has recently taken to walking backwards. It's hilarious. He walks  towards you, then stops, and very slowly and carefully takes a few steps backwards. Then he goes forward, and backward, and forward and backward. I'm sure you get it. I like it. 

A day out

Yesterday, we had the afternoon free, so we decided to go up Payson Canyon for a bit of a hike. We went up the Grotto Trail, which is really easy, and pretty short. It was really beautiful up there, with all the leaves changing colors and the cool air. Isn't it nice to just be out? There's a bit of a waterfall at the end of the trail, and Jackson thought that was really cool. He kept wanting to get in the water, until I dipped his toes in, then he wanted right back up. We all enjoyed being outside, the nice cool air, and the beautiful trees. 

 Sam also had a job interview yesterday! Woo-hoo! We are really happy about that, looking forward to the income, and being able to eat out again. He has a second interview today, so we'll see what happens. There may be good things coming up for the Ryland family! 

A few of his favorite things

I decided that since Sam and I aren't very interesting, and Jackson is, I would fill you in on some of Jackson's favorite things. He's really gotten a lot more personality lately, and is really funny. I'm pretty sure that I have the cutest kid in the world. (I'm also pretty sure a lot of you might disagree with me on this.)

#1. Jackson's greatest love is the computer. I cannot overstate how much he loves the computer. It's the first thing he goes for when we get home. Or if someone is on it, he runs over as soon as we get up. He climbs right up onto the chair, and reaches for anything he can get to. Especially the mouse. He loves the mouse. And somehow he makes it do things that I don't know how to do. He's pretty much a baby computer genius. Must get that from his dad. 

#2. Jackson loves shoes. A little girly, I know. I try to tell him, but he just doesn't care. If I want him to come to me, I just have to hold up a shoe. Most of the time, though, he brings it to me. He gets really excited and holds up his foot. Weird. Must get that from someone else. 

#3. Jackson loves to climb. He climbs anything and everything. His favorite at the moment are the kitchen chairs. All the things that were safe on the table, are no longer. 

#4. Jackson loves the park. He loves the swing, and has recently discovered slides. While he'd gone down slides before, he wasn't too happy about it. Now he really likes it. But as much as he likes swings and slides, I'm pretty sure that he mostly enjoys eating the bark chips that make up the floor of the park. Must get that from his dad. 

#5. Sugar. Nothing more to say there. (Probably gets that from me)

#6. Malachi. Jackson has always loved his cousin. He follows him around, laughs at him, and just loves him. It's super cute. And Malachi loves right back. What a good friend. 

There are so many more, but as I'm sure you have more important things to do, I'll leave it at that. Thanks for listening. 

He's pretty serious about computer time. 

Oops, I got caught!

Jackson's big day!

 I thought that I would take a step back in time so that I could post the photos from Jackson's birthday. Jackson turned one on 10 September. It was an exciting day. Malachi was especially happy to help Jackson celebrate, and throughout the day, kept telling him Happy Birthday, and even helped him open his gifts. Jackson is lucky to have such a good cousin. 

 We had the family over for pizza, cake and ice cream, and it was a noisy affair, but great. Jackson loved his new toys, and mum loved his new clothes. Jackson's favorite part was digging into the cake, and making a huge mess. (Which of course, Malachi was once again happy to help with!) Luckily, Nan Ryland's package arrived that morning, so she was part of the celebration, and we got to enjoy some Caramel Koalas. Thanks Sue! 

 And, Jackson decided that now that he was one, he would start walking, which happened just a few days later. Now we can't get him to stop! 

Enjoying a new car

Oh yeah, the cake

Digging in

Malachi and Jackson

A new beginning

 Well, here we are. We've joined the world of the bloggers. I've been wanting to do this for awhile, but I'm lazy, so I haven't. Now that we have this awesome computer set-up (thank you, Sam), I think I'll take advantage of it and let the world into our lives, just a little bit. 

 So, our lives. Sam is currently graduated from BYU, and looking for work. I am a stay at home mum, looking after little Jackson and looking for new hobbies to keep me busy. Jackson just turned one, started walking, and is always getting into things. 

 We just moved to Mapleton, Utah, and we love it. We have a nice apartment, no neighbors, a city park just a few blocks away. We went to the park last night, and Jackson enjoyed going down the slide for the first time. It was so cute. He finally went down by himself, and would've stayed all night, I think. He's so stinkin' cute. He also loves the swing, and eating the bark. Good times. 

 

 I guess that's about all I have to say now. I will do my best to keep up with this, it'll give me something relaxing to do while Jackson is sleeping. Until next time...