A Baby *Almost* As Cute As Ridley

Ridley may have gotten his stunning good looks from his father, but mommy was a pretty cute little baby too! 

(baby Vickie at seven months - Halloween - and five months  - in crib). 

Thanks for the pictures, Mom!!

Who's Yo' Daddy?

In case anyone wondered who Ridley looks more like, check out these pictures of Josh when he was a baby. (Photos provided by Heidi - thank you!)

Ridley is pretty much a blonde version of Baby Josh.

If anyone cares to scan a couple of my baby pictures from when I was about this age (hint, mom. but not the naked ones), then I will post those on here too.

The picture below I think is just funny because of how huge Ridley's cheeks look!

And this one just speaks for itself :)

Meeting Great Grandma and Grandpa Reid

This morning my grandparents were in town for the first time in many months. They had not yet had a chance to meet Ridley, so this morning Ridley and I went over to cousin Caitie and Nick's house to see them. Ridley was so happy to meet his Great-Grandma and Grandpa Reid!

They were excited to meet him too! 

It was wonderful to get to see them. Our visit was pretty short, but we are hopeful that as Ridley gets older we will have more chances to visit them! 

Zoo Zoo Zoo

ZOO!!!!!

(a story by Ridley)

Last Saturday Grandpa Jeff came over in the morning to pick up me and mommy so we could go to the zoo! I slept in the car on the way there so I would be wide awake to see all the animals. We got there right after it opened. Mommy wanted to go early so it wouldn't be busy. 

We started out in the Tropical Trail. It was nice and warm in there and there were lots of plants and birds saying "chirp chirp." I didn't know what to think at first, but pretty soon I was smiling and happy and having SO MUCH FUN! There were turtles and fishes and komodo dragons and lots of other animals. Mommy's favorite animal was the armadillo but I liked watching the fishies the best. There was even a shark!

After we finished on the Tropics Trail we all went to the Minnesota Trail. Mommy told me it was animals that live in Minnesota. They were pretty cool. They had cats there but not little ones like Gilmour and Tweak. Their cats were big. They also had coyotes and wolves and Grandpa Jeff had fun taking pictures of them. 

Then we went to the underwater area and it was SO COOL. There were so many fishes and I saw a big sting ray and dolphins and more sharks!! 

Those were all the inside exhibits and it was a little too chilly for me to go outside and walk around, so mommy and Grandpa Jeff and I all went on the monorail so we could see some of the outside animals. We saw prairie dogs and turkeys and little horses and tigers and turkeys and a bunch of other animals too! We even saw a moose! And there was a big empty area that they said will be their Africa exhibit this summer. It will have zebras and giraffes and wildebeasts and antelopes! Mommy and I are both excited because we like giraffes and zebras. I really like zebras because of their cool stripes!

When we got done with the monorail the zoo had gotten really busy, so we got ready to go home. But we stoped in the gift shop on the way out and Grandpa Jeff played with the puppets. He's pretty funny sometimes.

After we left the zoo I took a really really long nap. I am excited to go back to the zoo again on a really nice day so we can see the outside animals too!

A First, A First and A Skill Nearly Mastered

On Thursday, April 16, Ridley cut his first tooth!! We don't have any
pictures of it since it's still pretty low in his mouth and he doesn't
show it off for more than 3/8 of a second. But he does still enjoy
chewing on fingers and showing off his new little tooth that way.
(It's his bottom right tooth, in case you're curious)

And this morning Ridley went to the MN Zoo for the first time with
Grandpa Jeff and me. In the picture included here he is enjoying the
tropical trail. Grandpa Jeff took some great pictures, and I took some
really blurry pictures with Grandpa Jeff's camera (it's too
technologically advanced for me!), so once I get pictures from Grandpa
Jeff I will post them here.

And Ridley is quickly mastering the art of sitting up unassisted. When
he's in the right mood anyway ;)

Hoppy Easter!

Here are some quick pictures from Easter!

Ridley took his first walk to Mud Lake (actually named Lake Bridget), which is behind Great-Grandma Holland's house. We walked down there with Josh, Uncles John and David, cousin Justin, Grandpa Steve and auntie Stacey. 

Clearly, Ridley was very impressed with the lake:

Ridley's favorite part of the day was playing with his new friend Carter for the second day in a row! 


After going to Great-Grandma Holland's, Ridley, Josh and I headed to Grandpa Jeff's for the second Easter meal of the day. 

In addition to Nana, Grandpa Jeff, Great-Grandpa Cutler, Uncle Bill and Auntie Char, "Auntie" Lara and Char's roommate John joined us. It was great to have them there - we always enjoy inviting our "extended" family :)

Ridley had a very good first Easter, and even had some visits from the Easter Bunny!

Ridley's New Friend

This is Ridley with his new friend Carter. Carter is cousin
Stephanie's dog. Ridley and Carter had so much fun this afternoon
grabbing fur and giving puppy kisses. So cute!!

April Showers Bring Bridal Showers

Yesterday Ridley went to his first bridal shower. My friend Katie, who I have known since the second grade, is getting married on May 2, so her sister Dorothy and I threw a shower for her. 

Ridley started the morning by sleeping in! He slept until 8:00, which he almost never does on weekends. It was great because I got to sleep in a little too. After he was up, fed and dressed (in that order) we headed out to Brueggers for bagels and then to Target for flowers - and we found a cute summer hat for Ridley that he can wear to the zoo. 

When we got back from Target we met up with Diane, who had agreed to help me keep an eye on Ridley while hosting the shower (I really had to twist her arm to get her to do that - haha), and we headed over to the party room at our apartment complex to get set up. 

Everyone had arrived and was eating by about 11:40, so we started up some games. We did the traditional "clothes-pin" game where everyone is given a clothes-pin and then they aren't allowed to say certain words (like "wedding," "Katie" and "Drew") or someone else can claim their clothes-pin. Then who ever has the most clothes-pins at the end of the shower wins. We played it using fake rings and necklaces though. We also had a quiz about Katie and Drew for people with questions like "When was Katie and Drew's first date?" (Answer: Nov 7, 2006)

After we played games Katie opened gifts, and Ridley took a nap in his moby wrap. He was so sleepy from all the excitement. 

After the shower I brought Diane out to Stillwater - Grandpa Jeff wanted to see Ridley too!

Rice Cereal - Take Two

On Wednesday, Ridley tried rice cereal again! He took to it much
better this time and he's had a little bit in the following days too.
Some days are better than others, but he's learning.

Ridley is also now playing in the bathtub. As of Tuesday, Ridley has
discovered that kicking his legs makes big splashes! It's very cute to
watch.

Then, Thursday Ridley had his first trip to the Minneapolis Institute
of Art. He loved looking at all the sculptures and seemed particulary
fond of the Chinese section.