my favorite part

of watching him smile these days...

is how it starts in his eyes.





and then i am also loving that double chin.

3 months (yesterday) !

this small man is changing right before my eyes and its insane to watch. he's holding himself up, looking at me straight in the eyes, smiling, laughing, and farting much louder than you ever thought someone of his stature could. atta boy, p. like father, like son. everyday i am learning to love him more ... and different. what a wild ride.

today i spent some time trying to document some of his new facial expressions and favorite things. the more i have thought about this lately, documenting things like this really is one of my favorite things to do.

SO... if you read this blog (and you actually know me... i know about you blog stalkers out there reading the blog of a friend of a friend of a friend... only because i do it too) let me know if you want me to take some photos of you and yours. id like to start doing this more and what better place to start then with those i love. this would be free, of course.

here are some of my favorites from today, porter's three month shoot.







i think its possible he may already be starting to teethe... he LOVES chewing on my fingers, as well as his own, as well as literally anything he can find to smash into his tiny mouth.









loving and looking very intently upon the spinning toy that attaches to the tray on his bumbo seat... i had so much fun watching him figure this thing out. i held his hand a few times and helped him spin the toy and the very next day he did it himself. smartest kid ever? probably.









just when i thought all baby toys were totally lame and devoid of all aesthetic quality, i found this play mat. i am almost as mesmerized with these little dangling farm animals as he is.





another reason i think he is starting to teethe. the excessive, ever present DROOL.





i dont know why he still looks surprised that im taking pictures of him. it happens almost everyday. come on, p. get used to it. this is going to be happening for the next 18 years.



one final pic to show that i should be mother of the year for trying to make a 3 month old ride a rocking horse for the sake of a cute photo op.

oops.

so there it is, the 3 month post. the ryans are happy and growing...all of us. which is why z and i are about to get SERIOUS about some post pardum dietary changes. skinny jeans, here i come.

donita

my dearest donna horton, lucy's mom, sent porter his own personal sock monkey right before we left for new mexico...and its my new favorite addition.

playin the ponies

at ruidoso downs.

p's collenge fund... down the tube.

santa fe

when you leave ruidoso, you head over the mountains and then hit the desert. its so hard to show how amazing this sight was...



our hotel, the loretto inn.





the next few pics are all from the loretto chapel nextdoor to our hotel... famous for its staircase.







after the chapel, we walked to the O'Keeffe museum. it was all i had hoped... i have always loved her, but seeing things up close always refreshes your appreciation. she was an interesting bird with a wonderful view of life and art. she also looked just like my grandma...




i got a call back from the dr. about what else we could try to make p's stomach feel better. she was giving me a recipe over the phone and as i was writing it on a coctail napkin, a rush of different emotions came over me. guilt for leaving, thankfulness for being able to getaway and let me parents help out... anxiety that this was yet another mix of drugs that wouldn't work, and peace that there is nothing more i can do. how can you feel all these things at once? i have no idea. maybe its the hormones... im trying to just stick with the peace.



right after i got off the phone with my mom relaying all the info, an interesting character walked in... i tried to pretend to take a picture of z and get our new friend in the shot, but z wasn't playing along yet... he had no idea how awesome the scene was behind him.



he figured it out.



one more for good measure.

this man had a white ponytail down his back and a giant purple velvet hat... and he was carrying a HUGE notebook full for drawings and notes... and yes, i snooped and got a look at the drawings. and yes, they were nudes and enlargements of body parts. yes they were.




this was before we left for dinner at 'the shed', a wonderful new mexican place. i wanted a picture before our big date and it took me about 20 shots to get the lighting right. and as you can see, the lighting still isn't quite right. z was less than impressed with how many times i said 'ok, just one more.'



the next morning we ate breakfast at a darling little place called the mission cafe... all organic produce from their garden, and everything under $10. the perfect place.



its so hard to capture the vastness of what you see on the drive... but just know it was awesome. this was on the way home.



on the drive there and back, i was in the sun the entire time. i finally had to hang a scarf ... and i still got a sunburned.




of course, z was perfectly shaded the entire time.

the view

from the porch during the rain...







snuggles.



he loves making this face.




z and i are off to santa fe tomorrow. looking forward to a little getaway.