Thanksgiving

Hey everyone,

We had a great Thanksgiving at Dustin's grandparent's house. His cousins were up from Arizona so that was great to see them. I only got one picture of the little cousins/niece on the teeter totter. They were so dang cute!

I did get lots of pictures of my little one though :)

I absolutely love his bib because I call him "turkey" when he fusses.

Isn't he getting big? He started cooing today!

We went to Novemberfest yesterday and then to my grandparent's house. He is such a trooper. He was so cute in the car because he was starving (I know, bad bad mom) but he was just making this little fuss like "when you get a minute, I'm a little hungry here" :) I love his cute little sound he makes instead of crying.

I have to show him off in his cute longjohns/reds!

He's ready to go hunting! Dustin practices his calls every night and Ryker loves to listen.

What a cute bum!

What I am thankful for:

Family most of all. I love every single person in my family and couldn't imagine life without them. I am also thankful for all those that we have lost this year and can't wait to see them again. My many grandparents are so supportive and I know that I will never feel alone in this world because of them.

Dustin and Ryker are my two loves. Our marriage has been strengthened by our little guy and we are more in love than we have ever been. I love them both so much that it makes me cry sometimes. I love watching Ryker grow and am so grateful for him!

The gospel has become more important to me in the last year and I am so very thankful for all that it has taught me and all the comfort that I feel because of the teachings. The power of prayer is great and the messages we receive from scripture and the leaders of the church are true and powerful.

Those are my top three things I am grateful for but I could list so many more...Cache Valley, our home (modest as it may be), lower gas prices, Dustin's job, my schooling and the many blessings I have received from it, my past jobs, hard times because they teach so much...

Lots of love,

Ashley, Dustin and Ryker

Gastric Reflux

Hey everyone,

So Ryker is doing good again but Friday night sure was not fun. He woke up at midnight like usual to eat but then he stayed awake till 7 screaming most of the time. I was like "this is not my baby!" because he is so chill and doesn't even cry, just fusses a little. He was also refusing to eat and I knew he was hungry. So we went to the doctor Saturday and they said he has Gastric/Acid Reflux. Thank goodness there is medicine for it because I was in tears when I called the doctor because he was so miserable. So this is our new best friend...

It is working well and last night he was back to normal. Having a baby is hard emotionally anyways but seeing them in pain, man it rips your heart right out!

In other news, Dustin is gearing up for coyote hunting. He is super excited because there is a pack of them just behind our house. Last year they didn't get any kills so hopefully they will this year. He just got a gun cabinet and inherited a whole bunch of hunting and fishing stuff so he is a happy camper. He loves spending time with Ryker and is dang cute with him. Funny how guys change when they get a little one, he's even cuter with everyone elses kids.

I am really enjoying my time at home with the baby. It's so fun to watch him grow. He's starting to get chubby cheeks and wrinkles on his chicken legs. He is also getting a personality and attitude. If he doesn't like something, he grunts and stiffens up. He is also rolling over and lifting his head up. He's a strong one, don't let his size fool you :) He's also a wiggle worm and loves to turn his head so that when I kiss his cheek he kisses me right on the lips. So dang cute!

I'm gearing up for Christmas, although it is not going to be the same this year because we have lost so many that we love. We are making this year all about family. Few gifts, just lots of time together.

Although I am excited that it's nearly Christmas, I am also sad because that means that it's sooner to me going back to school. I'll only be leaving him about 6 hours a week with either Dustin or my mom but I'll still have to take time out to finish my online stuff.

Here is a cute picture I just took. He was batting at that toy in front of him like it was driving him nuts. That's his annoyed face.

Bye for now. Everyone have a good Thanksgiving, we're just going to Dustin's grandparents for a little bit.

Lots of love,

Ashley, Dustin and Ryker

Outings

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the comments! You guys are all great! We went to Ryker's 2 week checkup yesterday. He's grown an inch and gained 10 ounces, so he's almost 7 pounds...little runt :) He is doing well except he thinks it's morning at about 4 am! He's getting better though, today it was 5 :) Although we still got no sleep because someone got a DUI in front of our house and the wrecker came to tow their car at 1:30 then just as I had drifted off to sleep at 2, Dustin's phone got a text and I was rudely awakened by his elk bugle ringtone. Oh life...

As far as how I'm feeling, great but still have the new mom anxiety. These things need instruction manuals! I'm so looking forward to that first smile or coo, just so I know I'm doing something right to make him happy and that my lame attempts at entertaining him are working. :)

We've gone out to run some errands in the past few days and i just had to share how cute he is in his car seat

I know the hood is ridiculously big but that outfit is preemie! I guess most babies have adult sized heads? Everything fits weird.

That's all for now, hope everyone has a great weekend!
Love,
Ashley, Dustin and Ryker

Life with a Newborn...

Hey everyone,

So Ryker is 12 days old now! CRAZY how fast time goes by. I am amazed at how much he is changing everyday. He is getting chubbier cheeks and is paying a lot of attention to his surroundings and to us. He is perfectly content almost all the time (except for when his diaper is being changed). He sleeps very well at night, almost too well because he sleeps through feedings! I feed him every two hours during the day so that does tie us down here at home but I'm going to introduce a bottle next week so that we can go on little outings (I am so anxious to go for walks but out here in the boonies without sidewalks, it's way too dangerous!)

He is sleeping like an angel right now in his cute camo onesie that drowns him (size newborn, how did I get such a tiny baby? :)

In his favorite swing before he conked out

I now have the internet at my house so I will hopefully update more often. I hope everyone is doing well. It's amazing that Thanksgiving is next week! Hope everyone has fun plans
Lots of love,

Ashley, Dustin and Ryker

Our New Little One!!!

Hey everyone,
We have a baby!!! He was born November 5th at 12:08 pm. He's 6 pounds 3 ounces and 19 inches long- just a little guy! He has quite a bit of blond hair in the back and little whisps on the sides. He has my nose from when I was a baby and Dustin's chin.
Just a little about my delivery, which was great... I woke up at 3:30 am with contractions (don't like those AT ALL!), came to the hospital at 6:30. I progressed very quickly and only pushed for a half hour. It was all so fast and so amazing. He is so dang cute, not one of those babies that is squished, blue or misshapen when they are born. :)
And his name is..... Ryker Dustin Nielsen. He just looks like a Ryker.

We've had him home for almost a week and he is an angel. He sleeps well at night and is getting big already! We have so much fun with him.

Here are pictures (lots, but more are coming!)

Today

He LOVES daddy!

Well, I have to get back to him. I am having our new internet installed next week so then I will be able to post more. Bye till then!

Love,

Ashley, Dustin and Ryker

Due Date

As you can see, we are at D-Day and there is no baby :)
The doctor says that I will be in labor in the next few days and I think that I am having contractions as we speak (although I always thought it would be easier to know if you are having a contraction...)
Hopefully we will be posting with pictures of a happy healthy little boy in the next little bit.
That's all for now!
Lots of love,
Ashley, Dustin and Baby Nielsen