Well once again, it has been over a week since I have blogged. I was able to clear a little space on the computer and upload some pictures - including the ones from Ryder's birthday party. I can't wait until I get my new hard drive so I can get everything off this computer and be able to upload all the time.

The weather has been wacko lately. It was freezing the week of Thanksgiving and now it's back to 80 degrees. Annoying! I can't say that I want snow and freezing temps .... but 50's-60's would be nice so I can at least wear sweaters!

Ryder entertains me daily. He also wears me out everyday, but I enjoy it. He is so chatty. When you ask a question he usually answers with "ya" or "no." My favorite thing to hear him say is "banana." It usually comes out "nanana," but it's so cute and he just lights up because they are his favorite! Lately, he has been calling me "nana" - thanks buddy. :) I KNOW I don't look that old, haha.

I am really excited for Christmas. I know Ryder won't really get it, but I can't wait to give him all his new toys. He has snuck a few peeks in the closet. :) We still haven't gotten our decorations up .... hoping to do that tomorrow. If we don't do it soon, it won't even be worth it. We have to clean the garage in order to get to them. We still haven't figured out what to do about a tree. I have no idea where we will put it. Ryder will more than likely knock the thing over, play in the water and probably eat the needles off the floor. We have talked about getting a fake tree, but neither of us is a fan of the fakes. And then it's just another thing that will be stored in that stupid garage. We'll see. Anyway, I've got to get to bed .... here are the pictures from Ryder's party!

We did little framed, wallet-sized pictures for party favors. This was taken after everyone had left, but you can still see a couple of them there.

The decorations stayed up for a whole week after the party. This sign is STILL up. It will probably come down tomorrow.

My two oldest friends .... Stevie & Alison. I have known Alison since she was born (3 months after me). Our moms are BFFs and hung out a lot when we were babies. We were "arranged" best friends, hehe. After all these years we are still best friends and it's pretty neat. I wish we got to hang out more though. I have known Stevie since 1st grade. We lost touch at the end of middle school but reconnected almost 10 years ago when we started dancing together again - and I am so glad we did! We always have a great time together! Gotta love girl friends!

The only picture of the 3 of us. Rudy got a couple with him, but we didn't get any of him & me. :( It's took hard to take pictures while trying to host a party. Half the time I didn't even know where the camera was because everyone was playing with it. Oh well.

I don't know what's going on, but it is fun!

I made his little personal cake .... it was supposed to be healthier - tasted so gross but he didn't know the difference! I used cool whip for the frosting so at least that tasted good.

He wasn't quite sure about the candle and everyone singing to him.

Loving his cake!

Too busy eating to stop and pose for a picture with Aunt Lindsay & Great-Grandma Betee

I love cake, mommy!

Rudy's brother Alex drew this picture of Ryder.

The Prince .... just doing Prince kind of stuff.

3 of Ryder's great-grandmothers ... he is lucky to still have all 4 of them! Just wish grandma Butler didn't live so far away.

With the Maddox family: Joel, Trevor, Karina & Kayla

Super funny moment and I am so glad Alison and Stevie were there to witness it .... they were actually getting ready to leave, so we were just chatting. Ryder had wandered out of the room and was being VERY quiet, which is always a sign that he is up to no good! Just as I mentioned I should see what he was up to, he came strutting in the room, wearing Rudy's shoes - on the right feet! The three of us just died laughing!! He looked so proud of himself. I have mentioned before that he has an obsession with shoes. This kid just cracks me up!

The next day ... just couldn't get a good picture with those windows! Those balloons lasted a full week. Wow!

Hopefully I will post again sooner than later ..... and I hope this stress of the holiday season isn't getting the best of like it is with me! I miss being a kid, when the holidays were just fun and magical. Have a great week!