Rocky Mountain High

The holiday season has officially begun and I love it! It's my favorite time of the year. We were very fortunate to be able to spend Thanksgiving in Colorado with Ryan's brother, Gavin, and his family. Isaac was an angel for the 10 hour drive there. He had a couple of meltdowns on the way home, but then again, so did I. Can you really blame him after being stuck in a car seat for that long? We had a great time. We went to Boulder one night, visited the famous Hammond's candy factory, and played tons of games. Which brings me to the part of the post where I brag about myself. Ryan's family is really into game-playing. In the 2 1/2 years since I became one of them, I have secretly been trying to beat Gavin at anything and everything. He always wins. Until this weekend. I finally beat him at Settlers of Catan---hooray! I'm the new Queen of Catan! We had a great time. Isaac loved playing with his cousin, Ellie, but I think it is Becky who has become his latest crush--she can make him smile so big! Thanks again Gavin, Becky and Eleanor! Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Thanksgiving Dinner Isaac's first taste of stuffing and mashed potatoes Ryan and Isaac at the candy factory Ellie and I showing off our tongues right after eating handmade candy at the candy factory.

Puppy Love

Isaac has had a stuffy nose for the past few days. Since he can't breathe through his nose, he just crawls around with his tongue hanging out like a little puppy. He has been getting into anything and everything lately. Just the other day he pulled an empty cereal bag out of it's box and it entertained him for a half an hour (which is forever in Isaac time). Here is a little video clip of it (and don't worry, Grandmas, we watched him very closely so the plastic bag wouldn't impose any suffocation dangers to your baby boy). Happy Friday everyone!

Happy Traveler

Isaac is really getting used to being mobile. He is still working on his speed, but he gets faster everyday and I lose track of him more and more. His favorite spots are the dishwasher (he can see his own reflection and he just smiles at himself), the rug in our bedroom (it's really soft and he loves to lay on it), and the bathroom (we don't actually let him in there so he makes a b-line for the door every time we forget to close it). Here is a video of Isaac enjoying himself while I try to get him to crawl after me.

My Kind of Diet

Every year since we've been married, Ryan and I make caramel apples around Halloween. It's sort of the first "Ryan and Sara Payne Family Tradition" that we ever started. This year we did it a few days after Halloween, and Ryan and I rotated between entertaining Isaac (he was not in the mood to cooperate with our family tradition) and dipping the caramel apples. I failed to get a picture of the completely finished product (they didn't stick around very long), but here are some in progress. We ended up making three different types: White Chocolate Cinnamon, Reese's Pieces, and Oreo. We took some to a get-together our friends had and the White Chocolate Cinnamon ones were the biggest hit. I could have eaten them all by myself, but it's a little early to be packing on the holiday pounds, don't you think? But hey, they are just apples, right? Apples are fruit. Fruit is good for you...besides, I only ate one...per day.

Daddy's Boy

Isaac is definitely a "daddy's boy." He will do anything to get Ryan's attention. It is pretty dang cute. When Ryan comes home for lunch or at the end of a day, Isaac gets a huge smile on his face as soon as he hears the keys in the door. Sometimes he even gets so excited that he starts flailing his arms and legs around. He just can't contain himself. He loves to wrestle around with him and he'll do anything to get Ryan's attention. I love it.