The Mortorff Family

Cruise day 4

2012-02-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

12.27.2011

Day at sea

Since we were at sea that day, we just did a ton of onboard activities. I also made the decision to take less pictures and just take it in. I kind of regret it now. So the next three days are not documented that well.

Today I also saw a lot of characters that I did not want to stand in line for, so I just took pictures of them as I walked by.

We saw another Broadway style show.

Ryder was in the nursery so Chris and I were able to watch the show by ourselves.

You're not supposed to take pictures during the show so I took them after it was over.

We were walking by the pool and saw Donald duck.

Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket

Ryder being cute.

Sorcerer Mickey

Our towel animal for the night.

The days that we are at sea, are my favorite days. They always have a million things going on and I love just soaking it all in.

Cruise day 3

2012-01-29T18:38:00.000-08:00

12.26.2011

Cozumel, Mexico

We arrived early in Mexico and we wasted no time getting off the boat!

How pretty.

Ryder was ready to rock and roll.

After we did so serious shopping, we sat down and Ryder chased birds for a little while.

Since it was the day after Christmas there were still decorations out in the streets. That is our boat in the background.

Such a beauty.

There wasn't a baby Jesus, so we improvised.

Chris took these pictures of me.

Seriously be jealous. This place was paradise.

We had the best excursion planned in Mexico. It was an undersea submarine voyage.

It was an hour and the best part was Ryder was able to go. It was a little pricey because we booked it through Disney. However it was fun!

We saw tons of fish.

We saw some people snorkeling.

We also saw divers. Two of them were dong something ummm.. not family appropriate.

By the end Ryder was pooped.

After naps back in the room we went to go see Mickey and Minnie in their pirate costumes.

We also saw Jack sparrow

Ryder's favorite Mr. smee

We also saw pirate stitch.

Peter pan is was cute with Ryder. He took time to talk to him.

Ryder and mommy at Dinner that night.

They made a Mickey face with his ketchup/

We ate at animators Palate that night.

It was pirate night that night! So we wore our pirate gear for the party later on.

Ryder loved acting like a pirate.

Mommy and Ryds with our bandannas on.

Ryder loved. loved. loved his tattoos.

This was Chris's Tattoo

Ryder's bandanna

Seriously. He loved his tattoos.

Going to the pirate deck party.

Let the party begin.. arrrrr!

Unfortunately my camera died. But Mickey zipped lined above us and then there was an amazing fireworks show. Disney is the only cruise line approved to light off fireworks in the sea. It was a great day/night.

Cruise day 2

2012-01-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

12.25.2011

Christmas Day!

The first thing we did when we woke up was Ryder opened 3 presents from mommy and daddy.

A bucket to play in the sand.

Toy Story sand toys.

Disney sand toys.

After breakfast we went to the goofy pool and watched the parade.

Then played in the splash pool.

Since Ryder still has to wear swim diapers, this is the only pool he could go in.

We were at sea all day so we stayed there for a few hours.

How cute is that slide?

The wide open sea..

Ryder and Chris lounging around.

After his long trip around the world Santa landed his sleigh on our ship and visited with all the children.

Santa gave out the best gift! A pixar calendar. (which is now hanging in Ryder's room).

Then Santa goofy dropped in.

Family shot with us in our swim wear.

Then Pluto showed up.

I went to get more food at the buffet while Chris took these pictures.

I loved eating out on the deck though.

This is a scene that happened a lot.. us eating frozen yogurt.. it was open 24 hours.

I miss the frozen yogurt stand.

Next we saw one of the Broadway shows in the Walt Disney theater. It was called Twice Charmed.

Ryder being silly..

We ran into Minnie in her formal evening gown. We actually ran into characters randomly all the time. I just was fast with my camera here.

Our family on formal night.

Our towel animal for the night..

Ryder wanted a picture of his candy cane tie.

Later that night we sat by the pool and wathced a football game.

What a awesome way to spend Christmas. I wish I would have taken more pictures. We had a big day ahead of us .

Cruise day 1

2012-01-15T12:56:00.000-08:00

Back in March, I was surfing the internet and stumbled across a website talking about Disney cruise line. Somewhere in there I saw something about a Christmas cruise. If you know me well you know I love 2 things. Holidays, and time with my family. I talked to Chris about how one day it would be so much fun to do that with our family, and how I wish we had the money blah blah blah. Well Chris insisted that we would make it work and we would do the Christmas cruise that December. I fought him on it and he said I did not have a choice and paid the deposit and booked it.

Fast forward 9 months and we are now in Orlando and ready to party!

12.24.2011

At port Canaveral.

We could see our ship.

Daddy and Ryder waiting to get checked in.

The terminal where we checked in was all decked out for Christmas

A model of the Disney Magic.

After we checked in we were told to walk on the the boat and as we did a crew member announced "here comes the Mortorff family." and everyone clapped. I may or may not have cried.

Here is Chris and Ryder in front of the Mickey statue in the atrium .

The lamp in our room.

Our bed for 6 days!

As we were still docked we could see the Kennedy space center.

Another boat docked next to us.

We wasted no time.. We went to the buffet and had lunch on the deck.

I already knew about the deck party as we sailed away. So I made sure we got there early so we could have a front row place.

Ryder dancing before it even started.

The entertainment crew was the best. I miss them.

Then the big guys came out!

Yes he is pointing at me.

Ryder loved every second of it.

The steamers.

I was as happy as anyone could be.

Ryder was one of the kids asked to dance on stage.

After the deck party we took a walk on the ship.

The atrium was decked for the holidays.

Ryder was able to meet Mickey with his Christmas sweater on.

One thing I loved was that the maximum time you had to wait to see a character was no more than 3minutes,

So in the lobby was a huge gingerbread house. Like the size of a real house. It made the 3rd floor smell so good.

It was made a real gingerbread by the way.

Later on that night they had the tree lighting ceremony.

The first of many towel animals and gifts left on our bed.

After dinner we met up with Minnie.

Later that night we laid on the lounge chairs by the pool and watched cartoons.

Feeling the sea breeze and relaxing.

One of 4 pools. How cute huh?

We took a walk around the ship.

We had so much fun and it was only the first day! Not a bad way to spend Christmas eve i 'd say.

Utah trip

2012-01-08T16:57:00.000-08:00

12.12.2011 - 12.19.2011

Last month we went to visit my family in Utah. Whenever we get together you can guarantee that we will have a jam packed schedule, and we will have fun doing it all!

One of the fun things we did was go to Thanksgiving Point to see the lights.

After you drive through the lights, they had the story of Christs birth with a manger scene.

Ryder's favorite part of the trip was seeing his bestest friend/Cousin Conner!

They had so much fun together!

The boys and I also made some holiday crafts during the days.

We also made a gingerbread village.

One day we went to Gardner village to see the elves.

Conner wanted his picture taken by this display.

One of my favorite things we did was when we went to see the reindeer.

The boys making grandpa proud.

We also made funny faces...okay that was just me.

The last night we were there we had a little Christmas party. Grandma read to us.

We then opened gifts, Ryder got jammies, and a new sweater...

Crayons and a coloring book...

A new hat.. how cute huh?

A flashlight..

New boots...

A Thomas movie..

A game..

And the cutest sleeping bag you will ever see.

Conner and Ryder matching.

I was spoiled.. I got scarves,

A coco-motion.. Yes!!

A warm blankie..

And a Christmas pin and movie.

Chris was also spoiled by my parents.

Ryder on the plane with my sunglasses. We were bummed to have to come home.

Can you believe that we did a million other things? We did. I just did not take pictures haha.

Santa

2012-01-06T21:41:00.000-08:00

12.9.2011

We took Ryder to Macy's to see Santa this year.

This is him waiting in line (we waited for almost an hour).

At least when we wait in line there is a lot to see.

Ryder and daddy in front of the upside down tree.

We finally got to see the big guy.

When Santa aksed Ryder what he wanted for Christmas, Ryder replied "presents".

How cute is that bum?

I will be honest, the Santa this year was the same as last year, and Macy's needs a new Santa. He does not do a great job.

Law School Christmas party

2012-01-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

12.5.2011

This year the law school family Christmas party was not too bad.

They had crafts for the kids.

How cute is that reindeer?

Also just like last year they had cookies for the kids to decorate Ryder did a great job.

I am grateful we are not the only people at the law school that have a family.

Zoo lights

2012-01-01T15:24:00.000-08:00

12.2.2011

We went to the zoo to see the lights last month.

Daddy and Ryder.

A little ice sculpting going.

The only animals we saw were in the lion house.

Mommy and Ryds.

We love having lots of fun in Chicago.

Gingerbread houses

2011-12-22T21:26:00.000-08:00

12.1.2011

This year we decided to make gingerbread houses. Well we bought a kit and decorated it, but close enough.

Ryder loved helping.

Chris unleashed his inner Picasso.

The kit also came with gingerbread men.

Teamwork

The finished product.

After we got cleaned up... we played.

Nothing is better than surprise kisses from dad.

Christmas tine is here again!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-20T10:15:00.000-08:00

11.24.2011

Our Thanksgiving was pretty uneventful. My in-laws were here, and we all cooked dinner.

Ryder wanted to take pictures, so we did.

After dinner Ryder put on some Christmas jammies and went to bed, because mommy and daddy went black Friday shopping.

Tree lighting

2011-12-17T11:07:00.000-08:00

11.23.2011

We went downtown with my father in law to see the Mayor turn on the Chicago Christmas tree.

The lights were already on the trees downtown.

The tree unlit.

Ryder and Daddy

Carolers

All lit up!

When we got home, Ryder and my mother in law made place cards for our thanksgiving dinner the next night.

Greatest show on earth.

2011-12-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

11.18.2011

We went to the circus with Ryder. To be 100% honest, It was NOT the greatest show on earth. There were 3 problems. 1. There were 4 very large people sitting by us, so it was uncomfortable. 2. It was boring. 3. It was not a good show. So we actually left during intermission.

Maybe we will try the circus again in a couple years.

Macy's windows

2011-12-08T08:15:00.001-08:00

11.5.2011

Last month we went to the downtown Macy's to see them unveil their holiday windows.

We first stopped in to write our letters to Santa. Ryder told me to write 'I want toys'.

Putting his letter in.

The whole store is decked out flooring to ceiling.

I kept hearing of this amazing, huge Christmas tree. I was picturing like Rockefeller center. However, Macy's tree is inside a restaurant and you can just peer over the edge to see it. It was big, but not that big.

Ryder did not want his picture taken.. which is so unlike him.

The windows were magical!

This years theme is make a wish foundation.. They show you how a wish is made and how it comes true. It was a cute story.

Ryder obviously loved them!

Nothing says Christmas like decorated windows downtown!

You are my sunshine- getting personal.

2011-12-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

*Feel free to skip to another post this one may be boring, and probably will ramble on*

I usually use this blog to post pictures of our lives for relatives that are far away. I am not even sure where this is coming from. However this is what is on my mind a lot lately. My sweet Ryder. I honestly can not picture my life without him. I know every mother says this over and over but it is true. He is MY SUNSHINE. He means more to me than anything else. I am so glad God gave me this sweet boy.

I am not a good mother. At least that is how I feel. I am guilty of sending Ryder into his room to play alone so I can get the dishes done. I am also guilty of making up an excuse to leave the room while playing toys with Ryder because I am getting bored of playing the same thing over and over again. There have been days where Ryder has watched more than one movie. I want to be better.

I rejoice that Ryder is mine. He is a part of me. He will never be anyone else's son. We share a connection that no one else will share with him. He will grow up, but we will always have our connection. Only a mother can know that connection you share with your son. God gave me him along with that he gave us a connection, a bond. I will always hold that close to me heart.

I will be 100% honest here. I often hear mothers complain how their children are driving them crazy. How they need a break. They need to have a girls night without the kids. I have never ever felt that way. Ever. Seriously. I may have said it before but that is only because I feel like I am supposed to feel that way. The other day Chris and I went on our first date without Ryder since he was born. That was hard for me. I do not like to leave him. I have always been this way since he was born. I probably rely on him then he on me.

I know God loves me because he gave me Ryder at an unexpected time in our lives. He knew I needed Ryder. I try to treat Ryder the way my Heavenly Father would treat him. I have been accused of not disciplining him, but I actually do it will love.

One of my favorite things about Ryder is that he grabs a hold of hair when he wants to be comforted. Only I can do this. No one else. .LOVE.

Ryder Stephen Mortorff = my sunshine.

Halloween 2011

2011-12-05T06:54:00.000-08:00

10.31.2011

Our Halloween was awesome this year. It started with a special breakfast, Ghost-shaped sandwiches.

And orange milk.

We watched Halloween movies all morning..

Then had a special Halloween lunch.

Daddy came home, then we had to leave because Chicago only has trick or treating from 4-6 PM.

We went to our friends neighborhood in suburbs about 45 minutes away.

Ryder loved knocking on doors.

Mommy and her little monster.

So pretty much Ryder got tired of walking around, so he sat down in the street to eat some candy and rest his feet.

How scary is this guys front yard?

Burton joined the festivities. He was a lion again this year (just like every year).

He also had a jail costume.

Perfect mug shot.

We love our holidays around here! Ryder only trick or treated for an hour and got over 80 pieces of candy. So fun.

Church Halloween party

2011-12-03T17:46:00.000-08:00

10.28.2011

Our church threw an awesome Halloween party this year. We started with a trunk or treat.

This is such a funny picture because I went into the restroom and Ryder walked up to the mirror and said "hello monster" "Hi Mr. blue monster".

The family together.

Chris' pumpkin made a debut.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-12-02T14:31:00.000-08:00

10.27.2011

Our friends/next door neighbors came over one night to carve pumpkins.

Ryder doing his with a plastic knife and Ryder sized pumpkin. If you look in the back Burton is trying to eat Kenny.

My pumpkin.

Chris' pumpkin.

After carving pumpkins daddy and Ryder watched the world series.

Legoland Chicago

2011-11-27T17:29:00.000-08:00

10.24.2011

While Chris was on autumn break, we took Ryder to Legoland Chicago.

Outside legoland.

The city of Chicago done with legos.

Because it was so close to Halloween they had skeletons instead of people.

Tiger.

Chris with Indiana Jones.

They also had pumpkins everywhere .

Spider. Scary.

Batman!

Harry potter.

The dragon ride.

Bob the builder.

We learned how legos were made.

Doing car races.

When we asked Ryder who this was he said.. Jesus!

Star wars.

We had so much fun. We are so lucky that we have such a fun place only an hour away.

Making Halloween cookies.

2011-11-25T18:09:00.000-08:00

10.23.2011

We attempted to make Halloween sugar cookies for the neighbors.

We did not do a good job. At least Ryder was styling while doing it.

Do I see a finer licker ?

The kitchen during.

I did not take any pictures of the finished product. Mostly because it was such a huge ordeal during that we were all pooped out.

Pumpkin patch

2011-11-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

10.21.2011

We decided to go to a pumpkin patch this year. Last year we just went to the store and bought them. To be honest I am not sure which one is better.

Ryder holding a pumpkin.

Choosing one out.

Deep in thought.

This is Ryder trying to decide which one to get.

Carrying it the register.

Ryder threw a fit because we had to take his pumpkin away to pay for it.

In the backseat and happy again.

Leaving the patch.

Back home.

He loves to have his picture taken.

October crafts

2011-11-20T18:57:00.000-08:00

October was such a busy month that we only made two crafts.

The bats wings are Ryder's hands.

Pre-trunk-or-treat

2011-11-19T20:58:00.000-08:00

10.14.2011

We went to the same cute town where we went to the autumn fest. They had a trunk or treat going on.

Ryder with his monster costume on.

My camera was in a weird mode, so my pictures did not turn out right.

Ryder and Elliott. Elliott is the little boy I watch during the day.

Walking through the corn maze.

Getting candy from Mickey.

Getting candy from Elmo.

When we got home Ryder ate most of his candy.

We then took funny pictures of Burton. This one won.

Ryder's Halloween socks.

Scarecrow festival

2011-11-16T06:04:00.000-08:00

10.8.2011

About a month ago we went to the most beautiful small town ever. It was way up north and they were having their annual scarecrow festival.

Look how pretty.

Cute Mr. Ryder.

So the scarecrow festival was packed full of people. It made the scarecrows less enjoyable.

We saw at least 200 scarecrows.

Someone looks just like his parents!!

The trees in this town were to die for.

when we got home, I had the camera still out and Ryder wanted his picture taken. He insisted on having his bucket and Bulls eye with him too.

He loves his picture taken.

He then wanted a little mini session with his stuffed animals.

I love Ryder so much!

Haircuts and zoo

2011-11-14T19:15:00.000-08:00

10.7.2011

Ryder needed a haircut in the worst way, so we took him to a kid friendly place. It was great. He sat in a taxi and watched Monsters Inc. and then got 2 toys!

Since he was such a good boy, we took him to the zoo afterwards.

I know it does not look like he got a haircut. But he did.

Beautiful fall trees.

Look at those autumn colors!

While we were there, they started putting up Christmas lights!

Corn farm

2011-11-09T21:37:00.000-08:00

10.1.2011

A couple of weeks ago, we took Ryder to a corn farm. It was so much fun!

Ryder getting pulled in the wagon.

Ryder and Daddy jumping on the giant pillow.

Ryder jumping in the corn bounce house.

They had the cutest tractors that you could ride there

Moving on to the real thing.

The rows of pumpkins.

They also had the cutest cow train being pulled by a tractor.

They had hundreds of pumpkins.

This place had the biggest corn pit I have ever seen.

I had to get in there to go get him, but ended up playing instead.

Another bounce house.

Ryder playing with the rubber duck race.

They had a mechanical bull there too!

Here is Ryder throwing a fit in public...

what is a farm without a petting zoo?!

The biggest pig I have ever seen.

The smallest pig I have ever seen.

Sheep.

The goats loved Ryder and I.

We then went on a farm wagon ride.

Ryder saying goodbye to the corn.

We then went on a hay ride.

On the ride home, we saw some signs of Fall.

Nothing says Autumn like going to a corn farm.

Ryder loves having his picture taken, so when we got home he begged me to take his picture.

.LOVE.

September crafts

2011-11-06T15:33:00.000-08:00

Fridays at our house means it's craft day. We are not consistent, but it is something Ryder loves.

Ryder unleashing his inner artist.

Don't worry everything is non toxic.

The finished product.. an apple.

Doing a little finger painting.

A fall tree!

Another fall tree made of ripped up paper.

Autumn fun fest

2011-11-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

9.24.2011

We drove to the cutest little town and attended the autumn fun fest there.

Ryder excited about all the fun.

Getting so big!

They had a petting zoo, where you can not touch the animals.

This was the cutest "haunted trail' I have ever seen.

A giant inflatable tractor = autumn right?

lil spidey

Race cars!

Cutest corn maze ever!

Daddy and Ryder walking through the mini corn maze. It took us about 5 minutes to get through.

Ryder just peeking through.

So you can not tell in the picture, but the boat had a waterfall of blood coming out.

I was so proud of Ryder. He wanted to go on this huge inflatable slide. I thought he for sure would not be able to climb all the way up and eventually just give up. He was not going to give up! It took him about 2 minutes but he climbed all the way up without help. I saw a 4 year old who could not climb up all by himself.

Playing some carnival games.

They had this cute maze where you can drive a car through.

Dora.

More games.

They had an inflatable haunted house. It likes so small from the outside but it took us forever to get through.

This is the haunted house. It looks so small from the outside.

Ryder insisted that we get a pumpkin for everyone in our family before we leave, including Burton the dog.

I love love love small town events like these. Living in a big city you kind of have to search for things that are family oriented. So it is a blessing that only an hour away we have fun things like this to go to.

Apple picking

2011-11-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

9.17.2011

We got home from California at midnight, then the next morning we headed off to go apple picking. Yeah, we never stop.

The place we went to last year was amazing. The place we went to this year? Disappointing.

There was a cute dog there that Ryder decided to feed apples and pears to.

helping mommy.

This is me picking some.

Chris holding our haul.

Ryder eating one on the way home.

I think next year we will go somewhere else. It is all about the family time though.

Disneyland part 3

2011-10-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

9.14.2011

One of our last stops of the day was the new parade, Mickey's Soundsational parade. If you think the song 'it's a small world' is hard to get out of your head, just watch this parade. They play the same catchy song over and over for 30 minutes. I am not really in the mood to comment on the pictures, but I can say it was a great parade.

After the parade, we headed over to California Adventure, because we had tickets for the new water show World of Color. It was magical.

This is Ryder showing off the new toys he got that day.

After Disneyland, we drove to L.A. where Chris had his last interview for the week. We were there for two days then we flew home. I had the most amazing week with Ryder and Chris. Sea World, Disneyland, time together. What else could I ever ask for?

Disneyland part 2

2011-10-28T18:46:00.000-07:00

9.14.2011

After a little time at California Adventure we headed over to the big park.

They had the Fall/ Halloween decorations out!

I love Disney and fall. So these were a treat.

Cute family photo.

We did not want to stand in line to see Mickey.

In front of the castle.

Snow white wishing well.

Pinocchio whale.

Waiting for the buzz light-year ride.

Getting some lunch.

They had storm troopers walking around.

They refused to talk pictures with anyone.

Mommy's little man. Doing what I hate... sucking his thumb.

the drummers performed for us.

So they had the decorations for the Nightmare Before Christmas out, but the Haunted mansion ride was not open.

Chris wanted to ride splash mountain.. Ryder and I stayed behind.

He got a little wet.

Winnie the Pooh ride.

Pooh and Tigger.

The safari ride.

Captain Hook.

Hanging with Goofy.

Smile.

The new Star Tours.

Mary Poppins.

They had a new show called Disney junior. It was all done with puppets and they looked so real. Such a good show!

Stitch.

I did not like this, it was hip hop Mickey.

Meeting Woody. Ryder was so excited.

Meeting Buzz.

Ryder got a bullseye.

We were so happy to see Rafiki, until he took Ryder's toy.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum

Captain Hook just walking around.

We made our way to find our spot for the parade.