My photo shoot...

I'm a couple of weeks away from being exactly 2 and 1/2 years old. That could only mean one thing: Mom needs pictures of me! I think she comes up with any and every excuse to have them taken, but oh well. I love the camera!
 
The past week was a good one. I keep learning more letters and singing more songs. I like to sing. When I visited my buddy Emerson the other day we decided to sing some of our favorites and play instruments. We're both percussionists (surprise, surprise) and master vocalists. We'll have to catch it on video next time, but suffice it to say it is an unforgettable performance.
We put my new tricycle together last week in celebration of Spring's arrival. Sadly, I only got to ride it outside a couple of times before it got really cold again (snow today!) I also got my bubblemower out. I keep telling Mom that "when it gets nice outside I need to go outside and mow with my mower."

I visited with my Aunt Teresey and Brandon this weekend. It was a lot of fun. I did lots of exploring around their house, ate some french fries and candy with Brandon, and did some coloring and reading. 

 

I have been playing a lot of hoops lately. Maybe it's Butler's run to the Final Four that has me so inspired, or maybe it's just the fun I have telling Daddy, "Hey Dad, no defense and no rebounding!"so that he doesn't block my shot and send me into a hysterical laughing fit. Either way, it's a blast playing ball. I don't discriminate when it comes to playing though; I just got a new car that I'm pretty fond of. I like to drive it all over my coloring table.

That's been my week! Grammy and Papaw come to visit this weekend, so I will have more pictures and stories for you soon. 

Austin and Dallas...and I'm not talking about Texas

Last time I posted, I told you I'd be sharing pictures and stories about my visit with Grapes Grandma and my fun night with my new friends Austin and Morgan. I'll get to that recap in a moment. First, I have to tell you about my fun day at the park with Dallas Clark. Before I go any further, you should know that I had no idea Dallas was there. I was having a blast with Emerson and that's all I needed. Our Mom's filled us in a little later that Ryan Diem and Dallas were playing with their kids, within inches of Emerson and I. For fun, and posterity sake, I have visual record of my pseudo-playdate with Dallas...even though I didn't even know he was there.

Dallas and Rykerman at the park

Recap from a couple of weeks ago: Grapes Grandma had us over for a delicious feast. I ate veggies by the fistful, followed by dinner, dessert, and a golden oreo to top it off. Grapes Grandma let me play on her fun exercise bike, but mostly we just enjoyed time together. After all, that's what visits with Grapes Grandma are for!

I got to spend an evening with the Baechles recently. Annette works with Daddy and she and her husband Jeff are very special to my Mom and Dad...they were huge helpers with all the details of my parents' wedding ceremony. Though I had met Annette, I hadn't had the pleasure of being with the whole fam. The other night I got to hang out with their kids Austin and Morgan. Boy are they fun! I don't know why Mom and Dad would want to leave to see a concert when they could have played Toy Story and Sesame Street with us. Grownups are so hard to understand. I'll tell you this much, I think they're pretty great. Austin is my buddy, now. I hope I get to play with him again, soon!

Morgan teaching me how to take pictures

Austin helped me eat...I was too busy playing to worry about food!

Deklan, Morgan, Austin, and Ryker

 My girl Cadence turned ONE this weekend. Her party was pretty fun, especially since I was able to run around in a giant gym and throw and kick ball after ball. I hardly wanted to stop long enough for cake, but I did!

We kicked off March Madness this week by watching lots of basketball games. I think my favorite part was just hanging out with Daddy. I like the buzzer beaters, but I love tickle timeouts!

Last but not least, I learned how to do somersaults this week. Check out my video here.

See you next week!

Yahtzee!

They say there is a silver lining to every cloud. It was easy for me to find the good in the midst of some bad this week. Dad heard a leak in our bathroom and as frustrating as it was for my parents to deal with yet another repair to the house, it meant I got to see my Uncle Tim and Aunt Mimi! They came up and ate pizza with us, played and read books, talked, and Uncle Tim helped Daddy try and find the leak. If it were up to me, I'd be okay with a leak every now and then if it means I get a fun evening with them!

Singing with Auntie Mimi

Chatting with Uncle Tim

It turned out our leak was in our floor, so some guys had to come in the house with jackhammers and break up our slab. I was really helpful, trying to take them my screwdrivers and hammer. What I lack in plumbing experience I more than make up for in enthusiasm.
I found a new favorite game this week. Mom and Dad decided to start a family game night last Sunday. We got out my new Toy Story 3 Yahtzee game. I loved it! I already knew that I was a fan of dice games because of our fun time with the Kernodles playing Farkle. I had no idea that Yahtzee was so great though. I counted all my characters each time and loved pouring the dice out of the cup onto the floor. My Mom and Dad were so proud of me for taking turns and for doing so well with my counting.

Yahtzee game night

Wild hair, wild dice!

I love game night!

I went to visit Grammy and Papaw this weekend, too. It was a long story how my brother, Mom, and I ended up there, but suffice it to say that Deklan has had a long couple of weeks being sick and Daddy had a good friend coming in town from Tennessee for a guy's weekend, so we headed north. We got to see Rilei for her birthday celebration. I had a great time catching up with my family!

Pop-a-shot with Papaw

Nothing but net!

Driving in the 500

Pizza party with the birthday girl

Hey, Mom, I'm driving like Lightning McQueen!

Family

Rilei got this awesome bike for her birthday...but I thought I should try it out, just to make sure it was a good one. Aunt Owi helped me...and yes, the bike was a keeper!

Tuckered boy

Other updates on me:
I am digging dinosaurs. I started watching Dinosaur Train in the mornings and think it is such a cool show.
I am using my manners regularly without prompting. "Mom, may I have that please?" is uttered pretty often around the house, and unfortunately usually followed by "No you may not, but thanks for asking so nicely."
I love to sing. I like Old McDonald, Itsy Spider, Frosty Snowman, Jesus Loves Me, I like to go to church, Wheels on the Bus/Car, and Pat the Bible, just to name a few. I seem to learn something new everyday.
Although I've been able to say my A,B,Cs for a while, I don't know all of my letter just yet...but I am getting several of them down. I held up Grammy's bracelet today and said, "Is this a letter O, Mama?" Brilliant!

Super Rykerman, 2.0...learns how to use binoculars to unleash the powers of observation!

I also got to spend time with my Grapes Grandma and my new friends Austin and Morgan this weekend. I'll have pictures for you next time and stories, too! See you then!

Elmo time!

Last week, Mama and I had a date. It had been a while since we got some one-on-one time and so we decided to take in a live show...on Sesame Street! It was great! Lauren and Emerson joined us (while our brothers stayed with Mimi) and we traveled downtown to see Elmo, Super Grover 2.0, and Abby among many other of my favorite monsters. Here are some pictures from the day:

 

5 minutes to curtain.

Emerson and I took a picture with Elmo!

We got home just in time to enjoy lunch and take a nap. Mom's favorite moment of the day was when I laid my head down on my pillow, looked up and grabbed her neck and said, "You are wonderful Mama!" The day was fantastic!
We got to have a great play date last week with Emerson, Lauren, and Sullivan to celebrate Lauren's birthday. Of all the things she could have picked for her big day, she chose a photo shoot with us boys! Emerson and I were game, as long as we could run around and play. How she managed to get all these great shots I'll never know...she's one talented girl! She also took some cute one's of our brothers...go here to see those!

I was pretty sure that I had seen the last of Frosty for a while. The weather had warmed up and I had begun building pretend Frosties indoors, but low and behold it snowed a bunch last week. Mom and I went outside and built a Frosty before dinner. I threw snowballs to him, told him he had a nice hat, and then sang his song a few times. A couple days later when he was gone I shouted, "It's ok, Frosty be back again someday!" at the top of my lungs. I think, possibly, my hold neighborhood heard my proclamation. I'm quite the character sometimes. I keep my parents chuckling! (Check out my video bar to see me cracking Deklan up)

Hi Frosty!

Modeling Daddy's shoes

Indoor Frosty

As if all this great stuff weren't enough to keep me busy this week, I also squeezed in lunch with our friend Kelly and lunch with Auntie Mimi, as well as another lunch with Aunt Nessa, Uncle Tyler and my cousins. No wonder I'm always smiling! Check back next week for more about my latest adventures...