Hippity Hoppity... and a Little Bit Snotty

Well, the week of Easter the inevitable happened... Rylee got her first ear infection. Almost made it a whole year without one. So, after some scary numbers on the thermometer and a few sleepless nights, she was off to the pediatrician and on to some antibiotics. So, she was feeling a little less than festive, but she was a good sport nonetheless. And she enjoyed all that Easter brought with it. Cracking up at Memaw's singing Easter animal collection.

"For me???"

Bunny Luv

Inspecting Easter Pooh

We gave her some Easter eggs she couldn't break

Ready to dye eggs with my big brothers!

Her very first Easter basket

She wasn't quite sure what to make of this new basket of toys at first....

...but she got into the groove pretty quickly!

These Hide and Squeak Eggs were a big hit.

Reading her first 1st Easter card...while dining on some Cheerios...

Taking a stroll in my pretty Easter dress with Memaw

Working the runway... with help from Aunt Colleen and Memaw

Easter was so exhausting, Daddy and Rylee were both pooped at the end of the day!

Tornado Rylee

Well, it's tornado season in the Hoben house. There aren't many things that have escaped the wrath of Tornado Rylee, as evidenced by this assortment of incriminating photos... I like to think she was attempting to clean up after herself, but I think she was really just trying to make friends with Mr. Vacuum. "These are all wrong, Mommy..."

Busted.

She prefers her own method of organizing the Wii games.

Picking her favorite meals out of a stack of Mommy's recipes (she was clearly not pleased about being removed from this important task)

"Mommy, some of these panties are so last year."

"I don't know who made this mess, but I'm getting out of here."

"Now where is that Vogue with the feature on designer diapers?"

"Oooh, these 3s are much more fun to scatter about."

Clearly, Mommy looked like she could use some help with the laundry...

The Cheerio Incident

It all started off so innocently...

Then Daddy thought it would be a good idea to give her the whole bag.

No caption necessary.

But she seemed quite pleased with herself and the easy Cheerio access.

9 Months Old and Doing Big Things

Rylee turned 9 months old on Valentine's Day and celebrated by having a romantic, candlelit dinner with Mommy and Daddy at Skyline Chili.

Her 9 month pediatrician visit found her to be the picture of health and she impressed everyone with her amazing feats and sunny outlook, even though she was about to be stuck with a needle and have her poor, little finger pricked. She actually was a champ for both traumatic events. She didn't even flinch when the nurse pricked her finger (she even smiled at her while she was drawing the blood!) and she only cried for a minute after the shot. The good news is her iron level is perfect. (Thankfully, she didn't get that from Mommy) The bad news is, she still has no teeth. But she is becoming a very big girl. She weighed 17 lbs., 9 ozs. and was 26 3/4 inches long. Her head is giant, a whopping 17 3/8 inches. That is quite a big brain in there! Her official 9 month/Valentine's portrait (every time Mommy tried to take this picture, she put her arms in the air and said "yea!" so we just went with it)

"Yea!" again (yes, those are drumsticks...)
Fleeing from the scene of the crime

Now that she is 9 whole months old, Rylee has begun to do many big girl things. Here is a sampling of her recent big girl activities.

Reading her brothers a story

Pushing her own swing

Trying out some Cheerios!

First, she just chased them around her high chair tray....

...But then she got the hang of it.

Taking in her first NBA game

Her first car!

Doing the shopping for Mommy

Hanging out with the big kids

Plotting and scheming with her girlfriends

Smooching her play dates

Showing Peyton a thing or two about being a big girl

Organizing Grandma's Tupperware cupboard

Doing her own seatbelt on the airplane

Using the toilet

and working out with Daddy

Rylee Reorganizes the Movies

As you may have noticed from previous blogs, Rylee is now quite mobile and exploring new places within our home. One particular habit of hers is the need to "straighten" our annoyingly neat DVD collection. Unbeknowst to Rylee, her latest cleaning spree was caught on film...

Daddy has spent so much time travelling that Mommy and Rylee have spent a LOT of time together alone. This can be a good thing, but as the following video shows, it isn't always the best. Here Mommy and Rylee show that their isolation has led to the creation of their own language.

A Tisket, a Tasket...

Perhaps yearning to follow in her grandma's footsteps, we have noticed that Rylee seems to have developed a small obsession with Longaberger baskets. Not just any baskets, but specifically Longaberger baskets. She can't seem to stay away from them...

"Folding" the laundry Getting to the bottom of things " What? I was just rescuing this mermaid from her certain doom at the bottom of the toy basket."

Checking the integrity of the liner and protector (please note missing sock)

Thinking about going on a picnic

Making sure her brothers put away these Wii remotes properly

"Is this handle chocolate or strawberry?"