Rhys

Oh, Love this boy.  He is the sweetest, happiest kid I have ever.  He is so sweet to everyone and has been a complete joy in our family.  He has been such a strong rock in our family through out this whole process.  When its really hard on Justin and me he is always there to put everything into perspective.  Heres a few of what hes up to lately.

His favorite songs are Paradise by Coldplay, The wise man built his house upon the rock, and The big 'ol daddy spider. 

His favorite color is green.

His favorite food is hamburgers, hot dogs and pasta.

He loves bike rides, climbing, hiking, swimming with his floaties, jumping, and running. 

He is the interpreter for his brothers babble.  "Beckham wants a drink."

Anytime I wear a skirt or dress he says "Oh momma, are you a princess? So cute." 

He is so smart.  He will remember everything you say and apply it at random times.  For instance, I mentioned that school buses take the kids to school. And when he is 5 he gets to go to school.  So now anytime a school bus passes, he says, "when I'm five, I get to ride the school bus all by myself. And when Beckham is five, he can go with me too. We can go to school together."  I really hope he gets to ride the bus.

He is still snuggles like crazy at every chance he can.  Every morning when he wakes up he crawls into bed and snuggles for at least 30 minutes.  Since Beckham wakes up usually and hour later, he will often just play with his trains until B wakes up.  

He still giggles at everything.  

He loves to go to the beach and loves to be in the sand, but hates to actually go anywhere near the ocean.  This isn't great for Daddy's surfing buddy, so hopefully he gets over this aversion.  

He is just like his daddy.  They say the same things, make the same faces, and are so alike its crazy.  

Every stage with this kid has been better than the last.  I love how we can have our own little conversations and he can keep up.  I love it. 

He is such a goofball! He is constantly making us laugh and making his brother laugh. It is the sweetest thing to see those two laughing together, and fortunately its becoming a more common thing.  

Basically, I love this kid.  He is perfect to me. 

blocks

He was proud. And so was I. Rhys got these great Japanese character blocks for christmas from Uncle Tommy and wanted to build a huge tower. It was hard keeping Becks away, just the kind of thing he loves to destroy.

Lets meet Santa

Beckham met Santa for the first time. Didn't think much of it.

Rhys wouldn't get anywhere near him. And used me as a human shield when I got close with Beckham.

Rhys- 2yo 7mo

What a fire cracker. This kid is so crazy and so fun. Everyday he says or does something new that has me cracking up. His vocabulary has gotten really amazing.

He weighs in at 34 also very heavy pounds.
He is so sweet. He loves to give hugs, beso's and "I love you mom" in this funny voice. Everyday when dad comes home he runs to the garage and opens the door and says "Hey dad, how go work?" Which is then followed by "bye mom, have fun in the big truck. Dont forget your purse."
He loves trains, planes and automobiles. His favorite movie is CARS, and a close second is CARS 2. He loves Mater, "Lightming", and "Bachesco" (Francesco). He also loves to watch Chuggington and Thomas. He could spend hours driving his trains around their tracks and he carries one of them where ever he goes. Unfortunately that means we have lost a few and that his supply has dwindled. Good thing Christmas is around the corner.

He loves to run and jump and chase and be chased, and since his orthodics, he has becomes so much better at keeping up.

His favorite day is wednesday when we go to Story time. He knows when we drive by the library and when we get to pull in he is so happy. He loves when we go to our friends house. He plays so well with other kids. He is just a happy kid.

He loves his brother. If Beckham is crying he says "Mom go check on Brother." And when he wakes up he usually beats me into his room to say "Hi brother. Hi cutie." He is also learning how to share. He usually needs to be reminded that if he wants the toy brother is playing with, then he needs to get him another one. But sometimes he gives him all his best toys just to be nice. Or he will bring an extra train for brother when I tell him to just bring 2. When I ask him to only bring two again, he informs me this is for brother.
He still loves cheese, pasta, apples, cookies, "shlocate" (chocolate), cereal, carrots, puffs (one of Beckhams foods. He informs me, "Rhysie loves Puffs too. Can I have some?") and "samwiches."He knowss most of his letters and can count to 16 consecutively. He is still grasping the concept of evey thing gets one number when you are counting how many, but sometimes he gets it right. He is also finally figuring out which color is what. He used to say everything was blue or green.

first fish

Rhys caught his first fish yesterday. He was quite proud, as was his daddy.

canning casualty

We had the portable caner last week to get ahead on our food storage and after all this: (88 cans of oats, beans, bean soup, rice, oat groats, flour, and sugar. I kept 36)

the only casualty was this.

He cut up the pad of his finger in this nasty jig jagged pattern. Its gross. Now he has his "silly purple singer"

Rhys 2yr. 2 mo.

Rhys is a chatter box! He is the narrator to absolutely everything. He repeats everything we say, which means we have to be so much more careful! Some words just sound so bad coming out of his mouth. He loves to play outside in the "buckyard", imitating daddy as he mows with his fire truck. He loves the smell the roses and say "um, smells good." He loves having a garden, playing in the dirt and watering the plants. He is terrified of cats and dogs other than Koda. We just moved him out of the crib into his big boy bed, so naps and bedtime (and morning) have become a struggle. He loves to sneak into the bonus room and find his toys, or empty the wipes container. Both are equally as fun. He loves his friends and always asks to go their house to play. He is still not so chatty with strangers, and usually waits until they are out of ear shot and/or he whispers to them, usually things like thank you and bye. He loves to get up and have breakfast with dad, then wave to him as he goes to work. He loves to point out every bus, tractor, airplane, motorcycle, school bus, boat and train that goes by. And then we have to find "an other" one. He loves to sing "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam", "ring around the rosey," and "the wheels on the bus." He is so fun and so bold and says some of the best things. He has me laughing every day!

duhna nana nana nana... bath time

sung like batmans theme song...
something about wet babies makes them so cute.

Rhys lingo

Ill let you decipher the talk and see if you can guess his favorite sayings these days.

1. "susic"
2. "ina dat un"
3. "boo-be-by!"
4. "ow-seeide"
5. "i yuhve you!"
6. "hunterhunter"
7. "cackers"
8. "petsoles"
9. "carry you"

and his favorite sayings that we can totally understand:
1. "its stuck!"
2. "oh hi, bruhder"
3. "ready, set, go" followed by running
4. "uh, bonks!"
5. "Koda besos"
6. "i need more"
7."dancing"
8. "we're cookin"
9. "happy birthday!"
10. "buh bye, see ya!"
11. "mmm, delicious"

His talking is getting better and better everyday. Love him!

some days

Some days I am so wrapped up in my boys, I dont want to do anything but play and be with them. Today is one of those days. We had big plans full of shopping and parks and even maybe the gym. Instead, we didnt get out of the shower until after noon. We played and sang and danced. We learned about how the laundry machine works and made train tracks in circles. We ate pancakes while watching Elmo for breakfast and split an "orange drink" and a pb&j sandwhich for lunch. I saw Rhys rubbing his eyes for nap time and I kept putting it off saying "Dont you want to play with this?" Now its nap time and I'm sitting in the quiet house alone. My little buddies are both happily sleeping and I just wish they weren't. I love hearing Rhys talk and sing to him self. I love his enthusasim for the small things. I love Beckhams blowing bubbles to get you to smile at him. I love how they love each other.

Most days I long for my silence. I long for the time when I can sit down and relax. But not today.

rhys's birthday

I think we ended up celebrating rhys's birthday 3 times. it was more of a week celebration.

On his actual birthday, we went to OMSI with our friends the McIlmoils. He had fun playing in their discovery center. We finished it off with a trip to Pudding on the Rice. It was awesome! That night we made him a strawberry shortcake and he got to blow out his two candles. I left that night for Washington DC, and when I got back, we celebrated again.

He got a train track set from us, baseball and bat and sidewalk chalk from the McIlmoils, and his ride in airplane from grandpa Hide. It is really awesome. I cant wait for the weather to clear up and he can ride it outside.

he spends most his time now in his airplane and playing with his "happy birthday trains." He is too cute. Im still in shock that he is 2!!

tupil festival

This year we made it down to the Woodburn tulip festival. It turned out to be a gorgeous day. There is a great kid area to play, complete with pony rides and duckie races. Rhys was able to run free with his friends Sadie and Quinn.Rhys with his friends. Nearly impossible to get them to all look at the same time!
and the tulips were so pretty!! I love these flowers!

taken on April 12th

the stats

Rhys: 2 yr. appointment

height: 36 inches 88%
weight: 31 lbs 82%

He is still tall and heavy!

Beckham: 4 mo. appointment

height-26 inches 84%
weight- 14.6 lbs 37%

He is way up from his 6% last time. He doesnt look like a premie anymore, but still acts like one sometimes!

2!!

Happy Birthday Rhys!!!!!

My baby is 2!!! I still cant believe we have had him around for 2 whole years. I love this boy more than I could have ever imagined. Being his mom is so easy, he is wonderful. He is the best big brother and little helper. I love that he is learning and growing so much every day. You can just watch him thinking and discovering new things all the time.

-He loves his brother. He is always worried about his "bruhder." He is always telling me if Beckham is sad or "syeeping". He loves to give him besos and say "hi bruhder." I didnt think it was possible, but seeing him as a great older brother only makes me love him more!

-he is so helpful. I can ask him to do this or that and he loves to help.

-his favorite food is probably carrots, oranges, oatmeal, orange drink, strawberries, blueberries, pasta, musaka, ice cream and cookies.

-he loves to sing "itsy bitsy spider', 'popcorn on the apricot tree', 'once there was a snowman', 'oh christmas tree', 'we are a happy family', and 'happy birthday'.

-he loves to count "1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. lets count again!"

-he loves to be outside. It is hard here, but every chance we get without rain we try to be outside doing something. He loves to go down the slide, and up stairs.

-he loves water. like, really loves water. if there is anything that has water in, on or around it, rhys will be right there with it.

-and best of all, he still snuggles all the time.

I love this kid!

Beckham's Blessing

We had his blessing at my mothers house on April 3rd. It was beautiful. I am so proud of Justin for the sweet blessing he gave and the strong group of men that surrounded Beckham. I am so greatful for the wonderful family and friends we were able to have there supporting our little boy and I cant believe how blessed my boys are to be so loved.

Thank you to all our families that came out to support our family.

the ashfords-rhys, justin, me, becks, papa wes, aunt courtney, nana, aunt kristen, j., uncle danny and ashlyn the aidas- gampa, uncle jawed, becks, me, justin, rhys, gamma, uncle jame and stephanie the woodburys- justin, me, becks, papa, rhys, ashlyn, uncle tommy, j., aunt kristen, and uncle danny

the wards- rhys, me, aunt sheri, miley, uncle ben, justin and becks

After the blessing, and in between conference sessions, we had a wonderful lunch and spent the day with our families. It could not have been a better day. And it was all thanks to this lady, Thanks mom!!

These two are the best buddies!