Ryland vs. Carrots

A little over a month ago, Ryland starting eating "solid" foods. When he first had the rice cereal, we thought he wasn't too excited about the new foods but we quickly found out that he just isn't a fan of rice cereal. When we switched to oatmeal it was a whole new story. Then the fun began when we started the veggies . . . here is Ryland's first undertaking of carrots.

As you can see, he is very excited to be sitting in his highchair with a bib -- knowing that he is about to get some food!

He wasn't too sure what he thought about the carrots at first . . . he was probably expecting (and hoping for) some oatmeal.

Hmmm . . . these aren't too bad afterall.

YUMMY ... bring on the carrots!

A very happy (and messy!) baby after his first taste of veggies.

Grandad's Secret Weapon : )

Grandad has a secret weapon for fussy babies . . . he loves to walk with them and sing. This is Grandad singing to Kylee when she was about 3 months old.

The result is always a peaceful, sleeping child.

This year, Grandad was at it again. Here he is singing to Ryland when he is about 3 months old.

And yet again . . . a peaceful, sleeping child. : )

When Nana is away ....

.... the kids will play. : )

Ryland's Baptism

Ryland was Baptized on July 10, at St. Leo's Church in Ashley, PA. Ryland got all dressed up and was ready to go. : )

(Thanks for the cupcakes Aunt Amy -- they were delicious!)

Aunt Laura and Aunt Sue stood up for Ryland as his Godmothers. (Yes, two Godmothers.)

The shawl that Ryland was baptized in was the same shawl that has been used in my family for three generations. Others baptized in this shawl were, Kylee, me, and Grandad!

All dressed up in his little suit! : )

Next Stop ...

Next on the "Cookson Summer Tour" was PA with my family. Again, we were able to pack a lot of fun into our time there.



We worked on our upper body strength :) ...



Built with waffle blocks ...

(Grandad asked Kylee what they should build but much to his surprise it wasn't the typical "house" answer . . . this time she wanted a "heck-i-poter" (helicopter). Good luck Grandad!)





Played with the Batcave (and Jack!) ...

And went to Knoebles Amusement Park.

(This is on the teacups.)

We even did the Tilt-a-Whirl!

We played a great little Care Bear throwing game too . . . it was as amusing for the adults as it was for the kids. : )

First, the kids would start in the hallway and run (as fast as they could) towards the Care Bear ...

... then the Care Bear would be launched at Kylee or Jack to see if they could catch it (or if they would fall over.) As you can see, everyone had a great time with this. : )

Jack's turn. Got it!

Oops! Aunt Laura gets a point for this one.

Nana even gave the game a whirl!!!!!

Then it was time for dressing up. These are the Super Hero costumes that Aunt Laura made with her scarves as capes.

And of course, no Super Hero is complete without high heels. (Thanks May-me.)

We also went over to Jack's house to play. He gave Kylee a ride around his yard.

They also played on the Slip-N-Slide.

(This is Jack trying to slap the water.) : )

Kylee also tried to push Jack down the slide but as she said, "not work."

First Stop ...

Our first extended stop on the "Cookson Summer Tour" was up to Andover, MA to visit with Pete's family. We hada great time there and were able to do A LOT during our visit.


We did the Hokey Pokey (You put your butt in . . . ) ...

Took naps (sometimes!?) ...

Played with toys (and Pop-Pop) ...

Read books with Aunt Laurie ...

Built a Lego Zoo with Grammie ...

Rode the rides at Canobie Lake ...

Turned 3 months ...

And went to the beach!

Kylee loved looking at the water and wanted someone to carry her out to watch it over and over again but she did NOT want to get her feet in the sand at all! Pete didn't even have to hold her because she was clinging onto him so hard.

Almost in, but she changed her mind pretty quickly.

Ryland was a little easier to get in the sand ... here is his footprint. : )

Lucky for Kylee (and the rest of us), we were able to have lunch at a park where she was more than happy to put her feet on the ground.

Our last event was to watch some fireworks. Ryland slept right through the first part of the show and didn't even flinch at the noise.

When he did wake up though, he was mesmorized by the fireworks show that was going on.