Get Ready...

If this doesn't brighten your day then you must have had a really bad day....

Saturday

A great day today.
Clean house= happy wife
BYU won= happy husband
Playing at the institute building with daddy= happy Cade
Wearing a tutu=happy Rylee

I had to post these because I thought they were cute. And everyone is looking at the camera. And Cade has a normal smile. Look how festive we are! ;)

I totally think Rylee out dressed us all.

Definitely my girl (dressed by mommy) and my boy (dressed by daddy).

 I had Cole take this picture right as the game started. So he was a bit preoccupied with watching The Jimmer. I told him to make sure to get the tutu. I guess that meant my head was forgotten. But you can see the tutu! (Thanks Melissa!)

Festive

I have a goal to be more festive. Holidays/seasons/community events-everything. I think it just makes things more fun. And adds variety. Things could include food, clothes, decor, activities, etc. I think it also provides good discussions with Cade (obviously not with ones like today but bigger ones like 4th of July, Easter, Christmas...) I don't want it to take over or make things overwhelming, just fun. And there is always a new one to look forward to and plan for. I had this realization after Valentines Day. I watched it come and go and did hardly anything for it. I thought how sad I wasn't making Valentines with Cade and teaching him about love and really getting into the spirit of things. So I am going to do better. Here is documentation:
All dressed in green

 ( I know. Gorgeous Kansas scenery right? )

A picnic with green pancakes for dinner. BYU was playing right when we were eating. Hence Cole's oh so focused face. So we had to make it a family event.                                                                                   

 

Ok that was it. Small holiday so small festivities. Simple but jazzed up the day a bit. And Cade was so excited about the pancakes and that just makes everything worth it.

A New First

It seems like it has been a while for a new "first" with Cade since he has mastered so many things now.  Yesterday after dinner Cade made a mess of his chicken and rice so Cole stripped him down to the undies. He got him down from the table and told him to go to his jammy drawer, picked out some clothes, and put them on. First of all Cade never picks out his clothes much less then puts them on. So I was very curious to see what would happen. Cade happily ran down the hall to his room. A few minutes later he come barreling back fully dressed in a shirt and pants! I was totally shocked!! I told him to pose for the camera in his outfit and this is what I got.  

and this

and this

who knows where it was going from here!

  (Yes the shirt is on inside out-but it is on!)

This newest first he is probably a little late for but I am totally OK with it. I think I hindered the development of this one-it just seemed so much easier to do it myself. Cole has really been the one teaching him plus potty training has helped force me to want him to do it himself.

My Mud Stuffins!!

I just had to post my two favorite boys all dressed up and match-y for church today.

Aren't they so handsome!!

We did it!

We finally made a decision! This may have been the most difficult decision of our marriage so far, and our decision will probably disappoint some of you.

The Verdict:


Yes, all this drama and we're staying put. We love it here, however we felt the need to explore our options. BYU was a great option. To have the chance to live next to my family was EXTREMELY appealing. BYU also offered the greatest amount of funding. Oh, and their basketball team rocks!

Texas Tech would have put us a lot closer to Shan and Matthew, which was a big pull to go there. Also, housing is very cheap and we could have purchased a house if we elected to move to Lubbock. Texas Tech offers great clinical training and the opportunity to specialize in treating addictions, something I'm interested in doing. Did I mention they have a temple in Lubbock?

Choosing to stay in Kansas means a number of things: All day temple trips, no close family, no exciting new changes, living in an apartment, and tornadoes. However, K-State simply felt right. They offer the best research training and teaching opportunities.

So that's it. Go CATS!

General Update

Here are the main happenings in the Ratcliffe household these days:

Cole: He has applied, interviewed and been accepted into 3 doctorate programs: BYU, Texas Tech, and here at K-State.  So now it is decision time. We'll keep you posted. He spends most of his time working on his thesis, working on grading papers, and doing his church calling. He stays pretty busy.

Me: Doing the mom thing. We are getting pretty stir crazy spending so much time at home in this cold weather. I love watching Cade and Rylee interact. Also I'm making a few aprons. Shanna and I did a craft show in TX (Kayla's drill team fundraiser) which was really fun. The cousins got to spend some quality time together. 

Cade: Fully potty trained!! Woo Hoo!! He is doing really well. I don't foresee a lapse but I am still a first time mom at this so we'll see. Legos have advanced to right up there with his cars as his favorite toys. He seems to always be full of TONS of energy-way more than I have. He is now in Sunbeams and church and is really enjoying it.

Rylee: Just a sweet bundle of joy! She really is! Her motor development is way slower than Cade's which is fine-she is just pretty chill about the whole I-want-to-move-around thing. She loves things that are not her toys such as my phone, keys, my dinner...We have also starting teaching her sign language. For a few days she was doing the "eat" sign but then lost steam. We will see how well she picks it up.

Here are some shots of day to day things.