The Rylan Reader

Luke

2012-01-18T07:23:00.004-05:00

On Monday, December 12th, Joe, Ry and I went in for my weekly OB appt. I was surprised to hear that I had dilated to 4-5. Dr. S said that he would probably see me that night, but if not, to schedule an appt for first thing the next morning. So we scheduled the appt, but I was reluctant to think that he'd come that night because with Rylan I was dilated to 4-5 and lasted another week.

Joe decided that we should have one last nice meal out before that baby came. Rylan chose Olive Garden. After dinner we went to pick up some travel soaps, and other things for our hospital stay. Even if he didn't come that night, he was coming soon.

When we got home, Joe and I spent the evening packing our bags and getting everything ready- just in case. The next morning we took a couple belly pics in front of the Christmas tree, kissed Ry goodbye and told my mom we might see her at the hospital later.

When the doctor checked me, I was fully expecting him to say there was no change, but instead he said that I was a strong 7, almost 8 and that he was sending me to L & D! We made my 6 week appt, and walked to the main hospital, making phone calls on the way.

We were in my room at 9 AM, hooked up and ready to go by 9:30. Grumpy was the first to make it to the room. Granny was shortly after. By 10 my doc broke my water. I was having really good contractions, but not feeling them. I think that I didn't need the epidural this time around, but I got it any way. Before long, all the grandparents and Big Brother were at the hospital.

Around 11:00, my nurse tried to put in a catheter and monitor on his head, but it didn't work and we actually kept losing his heartbeat on the monitor, so they gave me oxygen for a little while.

I think it was around noon that I kept feeling some intense pressure pains, so I told the nurse. She checked me and I was at 9. About 15 minutes later my doctor came in and put the cath in and said that I could start pushing. Within a few minutes, everything was in place and I pushed for about 5-7 minutes and there he was!

Lucas Ethan was born at 12:32 pm on Tuesday, December 13th. Weighing 8lbs, 6oz and 22" long.

The next day we found out that he was jaundiced, so he was placed under the lights and given formula to supplement for almost 24 hours. Day 3 his ped said he was much better and we could go home.

About Luke

2011-12-07T14:22:00.002-05:00

After looking back on old posts the lasts few weeks before Rylan was born, I realized that I haven't written much about Baby Brother.

It's been a long, emotional, painful road, but all is looking well with him. He has been measuring big for the past couple of months. Monday, he was measuring 39-40 weeks and actually only 35w3d. We know that he has a big head, and is really long. Two weeks ago he weighed 5,9, but Monday he weighed 7,12, which is 6oz bigger than Rylan. The doctor explained that his weight could be a pound less or a pound bigger.... But, it does make sense if he's measuring 39-40 weeks, then he should weigh 7, 12. I asked the doctor if Luke measuring 39-40 means he could come in another week or so, and he said yes, they are directly related. I'm starting to worry about having a big baby and needing a C-section.

He said he'd do another u/s in 2 weeks (19th) to check Luke's size again, but he said he doubts I'll be pregnant in 2 weeks.

These next few weeks are guaranteed to be stressful. Knowing that Luke could come at any time, Rylan is having surgery next Wed, (14th), my car is scheduled to go in the shop the week before Christmas (which just happens to be when Doc thinks Luke will make his grand appearance).

I will admit the idea of a C-section frightens me. Mostly because I am hoping to have another successful breastfeeding experience with Luke. I have been told by several people that women who have c-sections are less likely to be successful with nursing. I also didn't need to take pain meds with Rylan (other than some ibuprofen), but I imagine pain meds are a must with a c-section.

In the case that Luke does arrive early, I received steroid shots about a month ago- right around the beginning of bed rest, so we are hoping that his lungs will be developed and strong. He has the hiccups several times a day, so he's getting in lots of practice.

I keep thinking of everything that needs done for his arrival. Stupid things, like, we can't find the diaper bag! How did we lose the bag? I need to get some nursing bras, pack our bags, there's still some things that need to be washed- like the swing fabric, the changing table needs organized, I don't know, it just feels like we're still not prepared!

And then there's Ry. I have to admit that his surgery next week has me completely freaked and worried. What's worse is that I'm afraid I won't get to give him all that he needs afterwards, so we've had to ask his grandparents to stay with us the couple of days after as Joe will have to go back to work. We've explained most of the what's going to happen to him, and he just takes it in and tries to understand, but you can tell he's scared. I am just hoping and praying that getting the tubes and removing his adenoids will make him feel better.

Speaking of, I need to get ready to get him from the bus.

Lookin' Good!

2011-09-13T16:24:00.003-04:00

We had the repeat level 2 and EKG with the specialist yesterday for Baby Brother (9-12-11). I am so thrilled to say that all looked GREAT with him! No heart problems that they could find, and the brain ventricles looked good as well! He's measuring on average a week ahead, some areas 2 weeks ahead. He didn't formally change my due date, but seemed to think we'd meet the new little fella earlier than expected. I'm just hoping to not be in the hospital over Christmas. :-) I'm sure my friend Bobbie would like the idea though as her bday is Christmas Eve. My friend at work said that if we were in the hospital over Christmas, to give her a call and she'd bring a small tree in, fully decorated. She even offered to stop at our house and pick up some of Rylan's goodies from Santa! :-) Such a sweet girl.

Just feeling so relieved and back to enjoying life! 6 months tomorrow, and I plan to enjoy every last bit of this pregnancy. Back to "normal pregnant lady worries".

I have noticed recently that when Ry is next to me talking, Baby Brother starts moving around. I think he likes his big brother already. Ry is definitely excited about BB, kissing my belly and putting his hands on me as if to play with his little bro. So sweet!

Level 2

2011-08-16T07:41:00.003-04:00

Due to the positive triple screen, Joe and I went to see a specialist yesterday for a level 2 u/s. We were able to watch the entire scan on a tv on the wall. It was nice to see the baby so big instead of on a little screen.

Baby Brother measured right at 19w,5d on most everything, give or take a day on others. The only thing that measured differently was his head, measuring at 20w, 4d (I believe). Come to find out later, he must have my head size, because the specialist referred to my head as "bigger and rounder"...

They did an internal u/s to check my cervix. All must have been well, because no one mentioned otherwise.

Then it was time to speak with the specialist. Given the BT, and the positive triple screen, he admitted to overlooking our scans. The scan of the heart was not of good quality. The tech tried at least twice for a good picture, but in the end said that she was not happy with the final product. The 4 chambers looked great, but doc said he thinks there might be a very small hole on the heart. He's not sure that's what he sees, but given our history, he is erring on the side of caution to be safe. Apparently the resolution on the scan was low, and with the baby moving so much, he's not sure that it's even a hole.

He told us that if we were two people without the BT and pos screen, he wouldn't have even paid it any mind. OY.

So, we go back in a few weeks for another scan and consultation with the specialist. He seemed fairly certain the the next scan would prove that he's overlooking and all would be well.

Joe mentioned his heart murmur as a child, and the doc said that it could be something like that as well.

Only time will tell.

The fact that this is the only thing that we {might} have seen gives me hope that it's the low resolution of the picture where Baby Brother wouldn't quit moving.. However, it is a marker for Down's. It could be something.

I was so hoping this saga would be over yesterday.

Baby Brother

2011-08-12T07:21:00.002-04:00

On August 2nd, we had our ultrasound. Baby boy measured perfectly in all the areas. Oh yes, and she showed us that Rylan is having a baby brother. After talking with my OB, I found out the my triple screen numbers were incredibly low. He said that I only had a 0.6% chance of having something wrong with our baby. He cut that number in half to 0.3% after having such a great ultrasound. He still suggested that we go to see the specialist at CAMC where they can perform a level 2 u/s. We go this Monday, the 15th.

After our appointment, we bought one little sleeper for baby brother, and some bugs for Ry.

Waiting

2011-07-30T08:14:00.002-04:00

On the 19th, we had another check up. The baby's heartbeat was 141. Rylan opted to stay with MawMaw because he didn't want to ride in the car for an hour! Anyway, today was the day for the triple screen blood draw. I had it done with Ry and everything came back fine. So, I had the draw. I honestly think anything about it. I think my head was clouded that the doctor said we could come back in 2 weeks for an ultrasound. I couldn't wait to see the baby again and make sure everything was fine. Not to mention to find out if Ry was having a brother or sister. Stupid me.

This Tuesday (26th) while in Chicago with Joe on a trip for work, my nurse called to tell me the results of the triple screen. I completely forgot that I'd be getting those results this week. She said that I tested positive for Down's. And that's when everything went blurry. I tried to listen to her, standing in the middle of the hotel hallway (cleaning lady was in our room- great timing), listening to Ry cry because he was hungry and I was forcing him to stand and be quiet when he was so uncomfortable, trying to hold it together at least through the phone call. The nurse said that it's probably a false positive. She went on to reassure me that it's a screening process and not diagnostic. Apparently out of her 7 years as a nurse with an OB, she had told many, many, many women that their tests were positive, and only 2 of those had babies with Down's. Seems right, there's obviously not a huge population of people with Down's.

I did exactly what the nurse told me NOT to do, as soon as we were in our room, I ordered room service for Ry, gave him a juice, texted Joe about 60 times, and started googling. I found several sites stating that these tests are notorious for false positives or that a positive can mean other things. For example, a woman carrying a female fetus is more likely to have a pos, also twins can mess with the numbers, if the woman has gestational or type 1 diabetes. It can also be that there's another chromosomal abnormality not related to Down's. There's where it gets tricky for us....

The nurse is making an appointment with a specialist to review my results further and determine what we need to do. However, before that we have our u/s this Tuesday (Aug 2nd) which would most likely show any abnormalities.

After 3 nights of no sleep, recurrent- body trembling heart palpitations, constant worry, even puking in the grocery store yesterday from the stress, I called my OB's office, explained my situation and asked if I could get in yesterday afternoon. I was put on hold for several minutes, and then the receptionist came back on and said that the nurse said I would be fine to wait until Tuesday, and not to worry, that it is most likely nothing. I just wish I knew if she had pulled my chart. That would make a lot of difference to me. I can say that I felt a teensy weensy bit better after hearing that, but if they didn't pull my chart, then I'm just part of the norm to them. So, not much relief.

I'm not sure if it was the date night we had or complete exhaustion, but I actually slept some last night! So, just 3.5 more days and we should know something.......

Rylan Hears The Heartbeat!

2011-07-06T09:46:00.003-04:00

On June 28th, we had a check up. Joe and I decided to take Ry along so he could her the baby's heartbeat. Watching his face light up when he heard the heartbeat was amazing! I think hearing made it all that much more real for him. He said he wanted to come again next time so he could hear his baby again.

Nothing new to report, except that the 2nd trimester is a much needed blessing after such a hard 1st trimester. I have more energy and not so sick all the time! The doctor said we will go back in 3 weeks for another check up, then 3 weeks after that we will do another u/s to make sure everything is looking good and hopefully determine the sex of the baby. I would like Ry to go to the u/s, I think it will be a good experience for him.

Since I got rid of everything from before, I am in need of maternity clothes. So, Joe and I surprised Ry with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, and afterward, Joe surprised me with a trip to Motherhood Maternity. I picked up a few tops for the summer and some for work.

I really can't report many symptoms at this point. I still have the "Death Hunger", which comes on hard and strong. I have had a couple of occasions where my blood sugar drops wicked quick, so my mom and Joe would like to see me start checking it regularly. Probably something I should mention to the doc next time.

Being paged by Future Big Brother!

Forgot to add for later reference: Heartbeat was 144.

2011-06-27T09:16:00.004-04:00

We had spent all of April telling each other that Rylan could be an only child, that we didn't want to spend our time worrying about cycling. We had decided we were done. On Friday April 29th, I realized AF was a few days late. That's not my style, so I took a test the next morning. We had to get up early to take Rylan to the circus, so I was in a hurry POAS, and hopped in the shower. When I got out, I checked the stick, and to my surprise, there were 2 lines! I ran into the bedroom and screamed for Joe to come into the bathroom. He was still asleep, so when I frantically said to look at the counter, he assumed there was a spider and started trying to catch it. I finally got his attention and told him to pick up the test. What a goof ball! Shocked, we all got ready for the circus and had a great time.

That Monday (5/2/11) I went in for a blood test, which came back positive at 438. Two days later I went back in for a repeat to check for doubling and it was 1,003.6, more than double! Woo-hoo! Breathed a sigh of relief. 2 days later, I went in for our first ultrasound which showed a sac and yolk. That weekend was Mother's Day, which now I had even more reason to celebrate... but, I started spotting. So, on Monday (9th), I went back in for another u/s just to check. All was well, and baby had doubled in size. That's the point where my doctor decided to have me come in once a week for an u/s to set my mind at ease.

So, on the 13th of May, the u/s showed a fetal pole. On May 20th, the heartbeat was in the 130s. At 8w6d, the u/s read the heartbeat at 170. The falling week, at just shy of 10 weeks, we heard the heartbeat for the first time, in the 170s again. I was measured at 10weeks, and the doctor decided we could start scheduling appts for every 3 weeks.

So, here we are in a nutshell, the last 2 days of my first trimester. Wednesday I will be 13 weeks, talk about a relief! We go in tomorrow for a check up, and are taking Ry this time (his first time to go) so he can hear the heartbeat.

2011-03-30T16:46:00.003-04:00

It's okay... Really.

I only blew 2K this month. I'll be all right. Just money.

Looking at the positives.... Oh, that's right, there wasn't one! HAHA.

I suppose since I had already decided to take April off, that means I can take the next few weeks to drop some of this pudge.

What an Interesting Day

2011-03-16T17:03:00.002-04:00

I had my 3rd wanding today.

On Friday things were looking really great. It appeared that my body accepted the clomid, and all was well. When I went back on Monday, the right side had all died down. But, the left had a huge follie (probably a cyst), and medium one, and one beautiful looker at 19. The scan today showed that the that one had not moved past 19. This is both good and bad, as I found out later. Apparently when follie measured 19 on day 13, it was 1 day ahead of schedule, but since it didn't grow, it's now a day behind. I assumed the cycle was blown, cried on the phone to Joe while in the main waiting room waiting to see my doctor.

Dr. Sh was actually pretty optimistic about the follie measuring at 19. He said my lining was "thick and gorgeous", which in his opinion was more important than the follie measuring a day behind. I'm not really sure what to think, but he's the doc. I have been doing OPKs a couple of times a day. At first I was to OPK, and have fun after a positive, but then Doc decided that I should go ahead and trigger tonight, and have fun. When I got home, I tested and it came back positive, so I assume I am to still go ahead and trigger and dtd.

That's where we're at. My honey just came in with flowers. Rylan is wanting to work on his number book. Fingers crossed.

2011-03-05T15:25:00.003-05:00

The old saying goes, "History repeats itself". Well, I was hoping that it would, however that turned out not to be the case. I suppose siblings with birthdays a few days apart wouldn't have been too much fun for them. How about a month apart? Today is my second day of clomid. Rylan has been telling us and others that, "there's a baby in Mommy's belly". He must be picking up on conversations when we don't think he's listening.

I'm worried about the age gap. If we're going through the efforts to have another child, I'd like for Rylan to have a good relationship with his sibling. But then I think about the relationships I have with my own siblings. They're not stellar in the least. I love them all, but no matter how hard I try, 2 of the 3 do not seem to want much in the way of a real relationship.

I'm getting ahead of myself.

New Chapter or Same Old?

2011-01-20T07:33:00.002-05:00

In January of last year, I took my last BCP. I knew it would take some time, but I also knew time was not on my side. Most endo patients will not have it again after a pregnancy. The stats my doc told me back in 2006, was only 15-20% will get it again. Well, apparently I am in that lucky percentage.

In November I found a new doctor which is only about an hour from my house. Dr. S (my old RE) was a godsend, but 2.5 hours away. My new doc actually used to work with Dr. S, which set my mind at ease. We will call him Dr. Sh.

In November, he ran a series of tests, and scheduled an internal u/s for December. He also wanted Joe to have his numbers checked again. So, when I went back in December I found out that on paper, Joe and I are quite fertile! Isn't that a hoot? My u/s showed just one cyst, which Dr. Sh said is a type of cysts that some women get very early in pregnancy. He reviewed Joe's karyotype, and discussed future options. However, he is incredibly optimistic that the BT will not come into play. We will have to see what happens.

During this appointment, we decided that doing another lap surgery could be my (and I quote) "golden ticket". :-) So, yesterday I went in for my procedure. The endo pain this time has been different. This time around, I have had INTENSE pain during ovulation, but just normal period cramping. So, completely reversed.

As much the same with my last lap, things were worse than we had anticipated. I will need Joe to correct me here, but the endo had actually distorted the shape of my uterus. My fallopian tube was clogged, endo everywhere, but the thing that got me was that my cervix was closing. No wonder nothing was happening. I am not sure what causing a cervix to tighten and close, so I need to do some research on that. I am not even that old! 29 isn't old, right? Though, Dr. Sh, did say that he'd like to see me get pg before next birthday as chances decrease by about 20% after a woman turns 30.

I think the worst thing is the emotion behind this. Why won't the endo leave me alone? I was hoping that it wasn't back. The good thing is, that Joe didn't recall the doc mention seeing any polyps. Last time, there were several polyps that needed to be removed as well. I know this sounds over the top, but I foresee a hysterectomy in my future.

I am excited to embark on a new journey, and hope to make a healthy little sibling for our Ry guy. At the same time, I am so mad at my body that I can't see straight!

Despite the discharge after care, Dr. Sh, saw a lovely egg, and would like us to try either tonight or tomorrow. I had just assume that I would take a month off, but he did not see a reason to wait.

Rylan is such a sweetheart, he took great care of me last night, and this morning. :-) I could not ask for a sweeter boy. My wonderful husband has been extremely helpful taking care of me. He would not leave my side for one moment- even to eat. Thank you boys, I love you!

2011-01-09T07:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday!

Rylan Update

2010-08-14T08:34:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure if I mentioned, but in June Rylan was completely potty trained. He has been very consistent with it! He still wears a pull up a night just in case. He has become a pickier eater over the past couple of months. I'm chalking it up to his age. ;-) He absolutely loves any kind of pasta with cheese and/or sauce (but no meat!), pizza, muffins, cereal, cereal bars, hot dogs, most types of fruit, crackers, cheese (all types and makes). He has become very picky about veggies though. It bothers me, because he has always done pretty good at eating a variety of food until lately.

Rylan has known his letters by sight and sound since January/February, but I cannot get him to sing the alphabet.. If I sing, "A, B,C" and stop, he'll typically sing, "D" and sometimes, "E". Then I'll sing a couple more letters, and he will say the letter I stop at. I think we're getting there. He loves to sing "happy birthday" and "row, row, row your boat".

His vocabulary is growing at rapid speeds! Everyone told us that when he started talking, he would continually shock us with new words. He does. I love carrying on a conversation with him! Hearing his opinions on topics just blows me a way! Isn't it amazing how they learn new words so fast, every day. Joe and I look at each other like, "when did he learn that" or "that's a big word"!

Shortly after learning his letters, he moved to numbers. He seemed to pick right up on counting a group of objects- pointing to each one. For the longest time, he wanted you to actually do the counting though :-) At some point within the past week or two, he has started counting to 15 without fail! Of course, he is not likely to do it on command. haha Stinker. :-)

Rylan is starting daycare. He went for the first time yesterday to play with the other kids. Our neighbor's little girl goes to the same place, which will hopefully make the transition easier on Ry. He took right to "C". She is a very caring woman with a big heart and love for children. Rylan seemed perfectly at comfortable with her, and even cuddled up with her within 30 minutes of meeting C. So, yesterday I dropped him off. He walked in, and I turned to get in my car. I ran a few errands, and tried to enjoy some "me time". About 6 hours later, I came in to pick him up. He gave me a BIG HUG, and then ran back to play with the other kids! He didn't want to leave! That's actually a good feeling for me. C seems to really like Ry, and he seems to adore her. Fingers crossed that this is a good match!!

What else? Rylan pretty much owns the pool! He holds his head under water, swims around (still with arm floaties) with great ease. Hopefully he will be a good swimmer, like his Dad.

He's quite the little chef! He cooks on his little stove for us daily, and prepares tasty 30 course meals! :-) He loves cruisin around in his yellow race car and 4-wheeler. He's growing in to such an awesome little boy!

2010-08-11T12:35:00.001-04:00

Or, don't show me anything at all...... GRRR!

2010-07-27T14:45:00.000-04:00

Okay, OPKs show me the light!!!

Learned something new this week

2010-06-27T07:52:00.002-04:00

Apparently a consistent 28 day girl, like myself, can in fact be an entire week late without it meaning anything. This is new to me. It's also heartbreaking, but not devastating. I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing. Miracle child means it was a long shot the first time around.

I'm not going to go on, because I'm not walking down that road again. One year. That's it. No more. I think that's a good way to look at it. There's no reason to keep going after that. Just try, put in a decent effort, and if nothing happens within the year, then quit, move on, close that chapter. At least if ever asked the question of why there are no siblings, I will be able to say that we tried, but it never happened.

It's just that I don't want our little guy to miss out on anything. I want to offer him the world, ya know? Will he be okay without a sibling? Is he even sure at 2 years, 7 months that he knows what he's talking about when he says he does?

I'm so completely confused right now. I just bit Joe's head off for nothing in particular, so he is back in bed cuddling with Ry.

We've been dipping our toes, testing the water. I don't want to just dive in, afraid of the unknown. Given our history, I don't see any other option. I don't however, want to become consumed by this and miss out on any moments with our little miracle. Does that make sense? I've been fine with dipping my toes up until this month. For someone who is not ever this late, it adds hope and excitement and possibilities. It makes you wonder what else you could have done. Ya know? Why not be proactive? Why? Again, I do NOT want to become consumed with it. There's no point- we have our child.

Ugh. Back and forth.

Myrtle 2010

2010-06-13T09:32:00.012-04:00

Waiting for the perfect wave.

Where did I bury that treasure?

Holy cow! That one's alive!

I wonder what it tastes like with a little butter...

I own this tube.

Paddle, paddle, paddle. That's a lot of work.

Mom! There are girls watching!

That slide looks pretty dry.

I get it now. Cheese!

Two stories up over the fearsome pit of rubber mats.

You're going down the slide wrong, Dad. See how dry my hair is? You need to find someone bigger than you and ride in their lap.

Mom and Dad made me pose with them. What's an anniversary?

There's a major leak here!

Let me just adjust the flow before I show you how's it's done.

This tube slide is too slow. Dad, get out of the kiddie slide!

I'll smile if you stop tickling me.

See? Dry hair.

Okay, that last one clobbered me.

That's a pitiful sandcastle, Dad.

Pausing for dramatic effect.

And this is what a giant stomping a castle looks like.

(my Baywatch run)

Dig, dig, dig. More of that work stuff.

Why yes, you may take my picture now. Here's my good side.

I think we picked a bad place to start our new castle.

(more slow motion running)

Yes, they made me do it.

What? A boy's gotta eat.

Catching a ride.

I drive better than my parents.

Even in this monster.

Two steering wheels and I'm still in control. Now where's that air horn?

Hi Mom! See how high up I am?

I promise, this is the first time I've seen a helicopter with a steering wheel, too.

This ride stinks.

This train can go faster. Let me show you which button to push.

Can you hear me? (joe: anyone who's been around one of these fair rides knows the god-forsaken sound these things make. Whoever designed that horn must be punished in ways I dare not mention.)

Ammo! I need ammo!

Mom and I were rocking out these spinning things.

Dad called them 'Barf-O-something-or-rather's.

Want to know why carnies are cranky?

Adiós, my 'kini babes.

2010-06-11T11:39:00.001-04:00

Rocking out at dinner.
The second hill wasn't as much fun as the first..

Early summer fun

2010-05-24T22:00:00.003-04:00

My Little Pony is serious business.

We totally soaked that kid.

I'm a maniac!

A maniac, I say!

Mmm bubbles...

I mean cake. Mmm cake...

I'll give you two guesses where this water is going.

Cheese? This is water.

Columbus Zoo

2010-04-12T00:09:00.003-04:00

Dad and I looking at the elephants

The baby is one year old!

That's a big tiger.

Grumpy helped me and Dad squint into the distance.

Mom was tickling me.

Inches from the alligator.

Look, penguins!

They're not very big.

But something is noisy.

Down the waterfall!

Mom's explaining the structural load of the bridge.

Some things need sat on.

This kangaroo didn't have much hop in it.

Uncle Vinnie?

I'm not walking back to the car after all that!

Easter

2010-04-05T16:02:00.002-04:00

2010-04-04T10:36:00.003-04:00

2010-03-18T21:36:00.002-04:00

In case you were wonding what we've been up to...

Big Day, Potty Speaking

2010-02-24T15:33:00.002-05:00

So far (3:35pm) today has been a big day for Rylan in the potty area.
For Mommy and Daddy: 1 pee
For Daddy: 1 poop
For Maw maw: 5 pees
Accidents: 1

3 CHEERS for Ry Ry!!!

It will be interesting to see what happens after his nap.

Potty Business

2010-02-23T19:31:00.003-05:00

Well, if you've checked out my sidebar in the past week, you've noticed that Rylan has officially begun potty training. About a week and a half ago, he pooped in the potty. Of course he decided to start potting on Dadurday... But, he gave me the honor of going number 2 in the potty before I left for the day. Since then, he has good times and not so good times. He grasps the situation, but I think he gets preoccupied and just lets it go. He's doing a pretty good job. We've come a along way from just two weeks ago. Interestingly enough, he used to cry when we tried putting training pants on him instead of a diaper. Now, if we let him run around butt naked, he begs for a towel. We put a towel down on the couch, computer chair, or his recliner when he's butt naked just in case. Well, he has figured out that the towel is there for pee mistakes, and so now he wants a towel...

As I mentioned before, Ry knows all his letters and sounds. Now his big thing is playing reading/memory games on the letters site. If you have time, check the site out: www.starfall.com It's pretty awesome to watch him play the memory games. He amazes me every single day! I want to share him with the world! This is what parenting is. I am thankful everyday to have our sweet little Rylan Chase. :-)

2010-02-16T13:16:00.000-05:00

Sweet Dreams Little One

2010-02-06T08:26:00.000-05:00

2010-01-28T16:25:00.002-05:00

I have so much on my mind right now. I want to write about it all. This used to be a great outlet for me, but these days I don't feel it.

I'm going out with the ladies tonight, dinner and margs. I'm pretty excited!

Rylan knows all of his letters, he'll say the name and/or the sound. Like for "Bb", he says, "Bb, buh (b sound), ball or for "Dd" he says, "Dd, duh (d sound), Dog. This morning, he started signing the letters! He loves learning, and is so happy when he learns something new.

We made a playroom downstairs for him, so we've been spending a lot of time downstairs lately. His huge ball pit is down there, a big Cars tent, drawing/activity desk, you name it. :-)

Hope everyone is doing well!

Warning: There are no Rylan pics in this post, and it might get personal

2010-01-08T14:47:00.002-05:00

Like I said, this will be personal.

I was sure I was pregnant last month. 99% sure, actually. I had messed up my BCP, and on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, my BBs were swollen and extremely tender. I could just feel it. I ended up swiping a test from a relative. It was mostly negative, but there was the thinnest, slightest, use-a-magnifying-glass, squint-with-one-eye-and-the-other-closed line. It was there. I'm not crazy and I'm definitely not teasing myself. I was so sure that I would have a very sweet new year surprise...

That was not the case. I'm actually thinking "auto-delete". This AF has been very painful and heavy.

In any case, my BCPs cause high cholesterol, which I found out a couple months ago that I have and need to deal with. I have decided not to take them while I try to get my cholesterol down. I have a recheck in March, so we'll see then. I am not actively ttc. Hell, I don't have the time for such events. I do however, have a glimpse of hope thriving through me.

As I said in my last post, I think I'm ready. But, I'm really just enjoying Rylan's mommy and watching him grow into a great little guy.

I feel a little better getting that out. Thanks for listening!

2010-01-07T09:10:00.001-05:00

I wanted to quote one of my comments (thank you all for them) from Misti: "being a parent means you are magical and can do anything!"

I love that statement, thank you!

2010-01-05T18:43:00.004-05:00

It's here.

It's time.

I'm in.

I'm game.

I'm ready...... I think.

Joe's mostly there.

Rylan's not at all.

I don't want to talk about it, but at the same time that's all I can do. We don't have the space in our house. We'd have to buy a bigger vehicle. What would I do about work? Why in the hell did I get rid of all of Ry's stuff???? Can it even be done? It's like I'm living in some fairy tale world where it'll "just happen". Am I being stingy?

I am afraid that Rylan will think that we felt he wasn't enough. But, truthfully he is SO INSANELY OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD AMAZING that I want to do it again.

I'm terrified at the thought that he will be all alone if something were (or when it is) happen to Joe and I. I want him to have someone to lean on.

But every time I think of trying, I feel like I'm letting Rylan down. If my intentions are so good and innocent, why do I feel so bad?

So much to think about.

2009-12-26T07:05:00.003-05:00

Rylan had a wonderful Christmas! He made out better than a bandit! :-) With Joe and I, 6 grandparents, aunts and uncles, and other family and friends I hope he doesn't get spoiled. These are just a couple of pics from our Christmas morning at home. We had to tell Rylan that mommy and daddy bought the presents so he would at least consider opening them. He is still not sure about the big red fat guy. It took us a half an hour to convince him that it was okay. Poor thing didn't want to even sit next to the tree! But, once he figured it out, he hopped right on his new drum kit and banged away. He even knew to use the foot pedal at the same time! He had to perform for Bob and Pat. ;-) The last pic is of his digital camera. He took pictures all day! Too many gifts to even try to list. Got to see all of our immediate families, except my youngest BIL, but we are hoping to see him soon.

When I say that I'm truly blessed, I mean it. It is not just a phrase to add to a blog post. I have a wonderful family in Joe, and Rylan, and our two fur babies, my parents and sibs, their significant others and children, and my in-laws, and our extended families and friends.

I hope everyone had a truly great Christmas!

Snow day!

2009-12-19T11:31:00.001-05:00

Read to me

2009-12-17T06:50:00.000-05:00

Eewww!

2009-12-10T16:33:00.001-05:00

I just found 2 year old breast milk in the freezer... Dated 12-04-07. Need to remember to clean out the freezer soon!

Presents Under The Tree

2009-12-03T19:28:00.004-05:00

The past few days we have been explaining about Santa putting the presents under the tree to Rylan. Much to our surprise, this afternoon he started gathering our dish towels and aprons from the baker's rack, and running out of the kitchen to the living room. Just a few seconds later he would return for another arm load. Then, he called for me to come see. "Momma!" (points to direction of the tree and smiles) He wanted to make sure we had presents under our tree.

So cute! We are truly blessed! :-)

Sleepover with Trayvin

2009-11-12T22:21:00.003-05:00

Last weekend my friend Trayvin came over to spend the night.

Racing down the ramps

Zoom!

Tandem on the trike

Hide and seek

You found us!

Showing Trayvin my fish

Catching some Bob before bed

The spatula of death

2009-11-12T22:19:00.000-05:00

Rylan's Second Birthday Party

2009-11-02T08:44:00.006-05:00

Rylan's cake turned out quite well.

The birthday boy arrives!

Getting ready to party...

Pin the jellyfish on the net

Pinata smashing time!

We get to eat this?

Blowing out my candle.

Opening presents

Can I play with them now?

Wow, that's a huge toy box!

Sharing my balloons.

Party's that way.

At home finally playing with my new toys (and still sporting my '2' shirt!).

Showing off.

Crashing cars.

He's 2!!!!!

2009-11-01T05:31:00.001-05:00

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY RYLAN CHASE!!!

*Photos to come!

Birthday Eve- 2 years ago.....

2009-10-31T19:00:00.000-04:00

Rylan's Momma looked like this! 2 years later our home is filled with many different anticipations. Our love for our little guy has grown more than either of us could have ever imagined.

To you, our little Roo, Happy Birthday Eve.

(I can't believe he will be 2 years old tomorrow!)

Trick or Treat

2009-10-29T23:53:00.004-04:00

Trick or treat, eh? I think I can handle this...

Granny and I going over our our game plan.

Monkey business with Mom.

Eyes on the prize.

Mommy and Daddy's little monkey!

Carving my pumpkin

2009-10-26T08:12:00.005-04:00

That's a big pumpkin!

This seems to be a pretty good handle.

What's inside this thing, anyhow?

What is this stuff?

Blagh!

I made Mommy do it.

Well, I helped her.

Concentrating is easier with your tongue out.

And this goes back on here...

Wait, that wasn't lined up.

It goes like this.

Now where did that face I drew go?

All done?

I made Daddy do it too.

He's a happy pumpkin.

He's smiling at me.

There's something in there!

Hey, that's pretty cool!

Picking Pumpkins with my friend

2009-10-19T22:05:00.003-04:00

We're going to get pumpkins!

That's a lot of pumpkins. How about this one?

Hey Mom, we're being rotten...

Speaking of our moms...

Son, put your tongue back in your mouth for a minute.

My tongue?

Our tongues!

Our little sunflower.

2009-10-06T16:09:00.002-04:00

At least he is putting his toys up when he's finished playing with them... :-)

Nap Time

2009-10-04T15:11:00.001-04:00

Napping in my big boy spongebob toddler bed. WOO-HOO! :-)

A Dozen Years Ago

2009-10-01T15:40:00.001-04:00

12 years ago today, Angie asked me to save her a dance at Homecoming - and I upped the ante to dating. She's still putting up with me to this day.

Angie, I love you, and I want to thank you for the dozen years you've given me; and ask you:

Will you still go out with me?

Kite Flying

2009-09-29T17:57:00.004-04:00

Yes, he is actually flying the kite all by himself! That is our neighbor girl standing him. Her mom, Misty is responsible for the wonderful photos!

Our October pic. Believe it or not, he was actually given these stickers! Crazy free luvin'- hippy parents.. =)

Visiting my cousin, by Rylan

2009-09-01T15:09:00.005-04:00

I have to feed myself now that I'm not the only grandkid.

At least Grumpy got my joke. Amelia didn't even laugh!

She is kinda cute, though.

Jellyfish, eh? Where's the peanutbutterfish?

All this visiting wears me out.

It's okay. My mommy still loves me.

There's Never Any Time

2009-08-30T07:52:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry for my lack of posting. I started a new job and my masters all in the same week! I've been a little over loaded lately. Missing my baby is so hard. His grandparents watch him for us, which is great!

I mainly wanted to document that Rylan's crib in broken down and in storage. He absolutely will NOT sleep in it anymore, so there was no point in keeping it up. We tried to purchase a toddler bed yesterday, but realized that we will need a truck to get the box home. Something to put on the list for next weekend...

We did however, buy another car seat. I was prepared to just walk in and get another of the same we have. (With me working, having just one car seat really isn't an option anymore) But, Joe persuaded me to get the same brand, but one that converts into a booster seat. It still has the same five point harness, and he fits in it well. Plus it was about $100 cheaper, so we went that route.

Two big steps in one day. Whew!

Thrilled!

2009-08-14T07:00:00.003-04:00

Now that it's on their blog, I think it's safe to post that we have a new little niece!!! Please go congrat the proud parents at http://maryellenandsteve.wordpress.com/

We leave tonight for the 13 hour drive (with a toddler) to meet her. Joe's cousin has graciously offered a bedroom for tonight which is about the half way point. They have a little girl who is about 6 months younger than Rylan, so hopefully they'll get some time to play together.

Joe and I are beside ourselves with emotion! So happy, thrilled, proud, I could go on!

I can't wait to meet our precious little niece and congratulate her PARENTS in person!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

My Boys

2009-08-12T09:55:00.000-04:00

Some pictures

2009-08-09T08:57:00.002-04:00

Hanging out with Uncle Nick

Block stacking

Earning my keep

Rotten

Is it just me or

2009-08-09T08:32:00.004-04:00

Is everyone whose child is either Rylan's age or right around his age TTC again or already PG???

We just can't nail down a decision.

Do we want to try again?

Does Rylan need a sibling?

What would we need to do to get pg again?

Do I want to be pg again?

Would we have to worry about the BT?

How would we afford another?

How would we give Rylan the attention that he deserves after #2 arrives?

Would we have to move? (We have a 2 BR home...)

There's so much more. I just don't know that either of us is ready yet. Joe has already said that he would not want to go back to the RE. We could put the money spent on trying for another in Rylan's college fund instead or savings account instead.

We both know that now or shortly is a good time to try again. But neither of us are demanding one way or the other.

UPdate

2009-08-05T10:35:00.001-04:00

I talked to my nurse this morning and told her everything. She said that it sounds like a ruptured cyst and things should be back to normal next cycle. But if not, to call back. She is making a note in my chart.

More on Endo or Whatever

2009-08-04T18:44:00.005-04:00

Men folk can jump down to the blue safe zone for a cute Rylan story.

So, I can only assume that last week's attack was an endo episode.

But now considering my other problems or symptoms, I beginning to wonder if I should go to the doctor.

For the past few days my lady parts on the upper half have been super sore.

I have had back pain for the past week.

Cramping, though mild most of the time, for a week.

Those 3 symptoms alone make me think of AF, but AF was done 1.5 weeks ago. And I'm on BCP, which eliminates most AF discomfort.

My question is: does endo cause these other issues?

Edit: I forgot bloating- I've been incredibly bloated no matter what I eat or drink. :-(

**Funny Rylan story: HE FLIES!

This afternoon while I was folding laundry, Rylan was picking books from the end table next to the couch to read. He would read them, and then go grab another. At one point, he stood up on top of the end table. When I told him that we do not stand on tables, he jumped and lunged head first into the couch.

Superman style. If superman dived into couches face first, that is.

Going Protected

2009-08-03T10:26:00.002-04:00

Though I don't post that often anymore, I have decided to go password protected.

Friends and family, if I have your email addy, you should be free and clear.

All others, please leave a comment with your email addy if you wish to keep reading.

Sorry folks, but must protect our little guy.

OUCH!

2009-08-01T09:44:00.007-04:00

I have wondered for quite a while when that nasty endometriosis would come bake. Well, yesterday I got my answer.

I was exhausted, and had a long evening ahead, so when Rylan took his nap I laid down with him. About 5 minutes (3:00pm) before Ry woke up from his nap, I felt some shooting cramp like pains. They got more intense over the next few minutes. By the time Ry woke up, I was in TERRIBLE pain. My back started throbbing as well. It honestly felt like I was giving birth. I thought it would pass in a few minutes, but it didn't and Rylan needed something to drink and a bite to eat. I stumbled to my feet, only to walk a few steps through the dining room and fall to my feet before reaching the kitchen.

This was BAD.

Was I having a miscarriage? I had been on antibiotics and screwed up with my BCP last cycle.. But, there was no visible evidence- if you catch my drift.

Poor Rylan, I scared him. I was in tears, couldn't walk straight, holding my lower abdomen, leaning against anything I could find. He started crying and holding his stomach!

20 minutes (3:20) into it the pain was so severe I debated calling a squad- there was no way I could drive in that shape. Instead, I called Joe (poor thing had a root canal the day before and went to work) tried to explain to him what was happening.

We decided that I should take something for the pain. Possibly a no brainer, but I was in so much pain that I couldn't think straight enough to process what I should be doing.

Then, after taking the meds, it hit me like a ton of bricks: the.endo.is.back. Effing great.

That was in the top 4 of my list of terrible - I think I'm going to die right now- pain. One of the worst hours I have had to get through in my ENTIRE life.

By 4pm I was feeling TONS better.

I'm not sure where to go from here.

Do I:

Call my doc and explain what happened to seek other options of trying to keep the endo subsided

Or
Keep taking the BCP and hope that I dont' have another episode soon

Or
Well, I haven't thought that far..

The thing that confuses me is that when I had endo before, the pain happened during AF (or from what I remember). Which I am not having right now btw. That is why I didn't know something was wrong before I had the lap done. I just always thought that every woman had that much pain during AF.

The timing for this to show up is un-fricking-believable. We have been discussing when and if we wanted to try for baby #2 lately.

Rylan's calling- gotta go.
.

Update

2009-07-28T10:41:00.002-04:00

Things that have been going on or went on this month:

* I accepted a teaching position for the '09-'10 school year. Pretty excited, but nervous too.

* I am starting my masters fall semester. Again, excited, but nervous.

* Rylan runs blazing super fast, his vocabulary is growing as well as his body. I think he grew an inch or two in the past few weeks.

* Joe and I attended the very end of my 10 year high school reunion... We arrived 4 hours late, and left an hour later. Good times though, I got to see some people who I haven't seen in forever.

* Before reunion, Joe and I had a very nice meal just the two of us. We got to have some much needed conversation.

* Joe has to have a root canal. I'm freaked. But I assume all will go well.

* My niece turned 5! I can't believe she's starting school in a few weeks. My nephew is 11 1/2, and we have a niece on the way any time now.

I'm sure there's more, but those are the highlights I can remember right now.

Rylan's taking a mid morning nap, something he hasn't done all summer!

Maybe someday I'll give you a good post. I have a lot to think about, but not much to say.

Hope all is well with you!

4th of July

2009-07-07T08:11:00.004-04:00

I'm the one in the middle ;-) Trayvin is on the left with his mom, Bobbie, then daddy and I, and to the right is Dalen and his dad Travis. My mom and Dalen's mommy were taking the pictures. Trayvin's dad was helping his cousins move into their new house.

I suppose the 4th of July festivities are fun. Though it rained through the cookout mommy and daddy hosted. It didn't matter though, I have cool parents who let me play in the rain and get covered from hair to toes in sand. Boy, those older kids sure know how to use a shovel.

I have to say that the fire in the sky was pretty weird. Mom and dad taught me when to say new words like, "wow" and "cool". At first I thought the fire was hot, so I had to blow it out. After I realized the fire was continuing way past my bedtime, I rolled over on dad and went to sleep. There was some big ones at the end that daddy tried to wake me up for, but I had to sleep so I could wake up bright and early to play with Trayvin on Sunday. Silly parents.

:-)

Exciting!

2009-07-01T07:18:00.002-04:00

Monday evening I ordered two potty seats for Rylan. They are both Spong.ebob, which he loves. One is soft padded that I plan to keep here, and the other one folds up for easy traveling. Hopefully this will offer some more encouragement! They will be here in the next 1-2 weeks.

Then last night, I ordered 3 cloth training pants from a WAHM. I want to try them out before we get into too much $$. My MIL said that she would make some for Rylan and also show me how to do it at the same time. I think that will be awesome, and I can get SB fabric. Of all the cartoon characters, he had to fall for, SB! =) Actually, years ago, Joe and I would watch SB on the weekend mornings before the VH1 top 20 countdown came on. Long before Rylan was thought of. So, I guess it's just fate that he would be into SB now. I can't remember the last time I watched the top 20 countdown.

I'm not sure how long before the training pants arrive.. I'm awaiting an email. I put Rylan in a pair of cloth trainers (made by ger.ber- they're more like extra padded underwear) yesterday and he peed without telling anyone. But it was definitely uncomfortable, because he was waddlilng around, walking very funny.

He has not had much to do with the potty the past few days. He screams and cries when I try to sit him on it. He had a diaper rash on Monday, so I think that has something to do with it. Plus, he has not been sleeping well at all lately. I think it's growth spurt time, with teething added on top! Poor guy.

We are having a great summer together! Stopping at the park, having lunch with Daddy, playing in the yard, coloring our street and porch with sidewalk chalk, running through the sprinklers, going on morning walks with friends, gardening, and so much more!

I almost forgot to mention that Rylan is 20 months old today!!!

Potty Business

2009-06-29T08:17:00.002-04:00

Physical signs

Is coordinated enough to walk, and even run, steadily. CHECK

Urinates a fair amount at one time. MOSTLY

Has regular, well-formed bowel movements at relatively predictable times. GETTING THERE

Has "dry" periods of at least three or four hours, which shows that his bladder muscles are developed enough to hold urine. CHECK

Behavioral signs

Can sit down quietly in one position for two to five minutes. CHECK

Can pull his pants up and down. CHECK, though I didn't know this until recently

Dislikes the feeling of wearing a wet or dirty diaper. NOT SURE, he has been telling us "pee" or "poop" for a week now.

Shows interest in others' bathroom habits (wants to watch you go to the bathroom or wear underwear). SHOWS SOME INTERESTS

Gives a physical or verbal sign when he's having a bowel movement such as grunting, squatting, or telling you. CHECK

Demonstrates a desire for independence. CHECK, though he does like our help

Takes pride in his accomplishments. DOUBLE CHECK =)

Isn't resistant to learning to use the toilet. This is the one I'm not sure about. He will sit on the potty for a few minutes once or twice a day, but only win HE wants to...

Is in a generally cooperative stage, not a negative or contrary one. DEPENDS on his mood. =)

Cognitive signs

Can follow simple instructions, such as "go get the toy." CHECK

Understands the value of putting things where they belong. I don't think we have this one down yet.

Has words for urine and stool. CHECK

Understands the physical signals that mean he has to go and can tell you before it happens or even hold it until he has time to get to the potty. He generally tells us afterward.

He will be 20 months old on Wednesday, so it is still early for complete and total potty training. Or I guess so.... What do you think? I am ordering material to make cloth diapers, as I see pu.ll up.s as a waste of time and money. Am I doing any damage by continuing now and should wait another month or two? Surely it's not hurting, right? I am going to continue trying to encourage use of the potty.

This is hard stuff. I thought with me being home this summer, we could get it done in a timely fashion. I know he's very close, but maybe just not quite ready.

Any thoughts?

Closeness

2009-06-24T14:41:00.002-04:00

I absolutely love this photo! My boys (yes, that's ketchup) are both deep in thought, and at the same time, enjoying each others' touch.

Not strep

2009-06-16T10:31:00.002-04:00

Upper respiratory infection.

Whew.

27.4 pounds, btw.

A Tale of Two Birthdays

2009-06-16T09:07:00.006-04:00

My friend Trayvin turned two last week. My friend Cru turned one this weekend. Each had birthday parties on Saturday, and I went and played with both of them. Poor Trayvin was sick, so we didn't take too many pictures (so he wouldn't feel even worse). It must be rough turning two. We had a barbeque and cake and ice cream (Superman!) and a good time (well, except for Trayvin, who had strep). Come to think of it, now I don't feel so well either.

Cru's first birthday party was fun, too. He had a luau and we went swimming.

Dad was letting me swim on my own. I'm a natural, of course, but I still think Mom wanted to strangle him.

So for Mom's sake, I tried to drown Dad. You know, just a little.

Feel my waves of fury!

FURY!

Here's my friend Cru. Turning one must be rough too, I have trouble remembering that far back. Sometimes he looks like his dad (but that's okay).

We had a sack race. I would have won, but Dad held be back so I didn't make the older kids look bad.

Cru was happier when we finally decided to have cake.

I played some cornhole. I don't see what the big deal is.

It's not very hard.

I am a piñata jedi master. Again, Dad held me back here. Two or three more whacks and I'd have had that penguin (Dad's note: Yes, he probably would have. Too bad he was first in line.).

Now that was a busy weekend. A barbeque with friends at my house on Friday, two birthday parties on Saturday, visiting with my grandparents a little, and then wrapping it all up with having my friend over again Sunday night for dinner. It's no wonder I'm worn out.

Dad's note: Trayvin is doing much better now after seeing a doctor. Rylan is going this morning to get tested. He ran a temperature all night and into this morning (and all those other wonderful signs of illness). It doesn't seem too serious, but knowing that Trayvin had strep and stayed at our house Friday night, we're not going to take any chances. He's a trooper (and so is his mom; I think she's under the weather but sticking right with it). Uncle Vinnie is helping Angie take Rylan in this morning, and I hope everything goes well. I'll keep you posted.

Playing in the yard

2009-06-16T08:42:00.004-04:00

Ranger Joe here. Rylan and his Mom have been enjoying the few days it hasn't rained outside, playing in the dirt, the sand, the grass, and having parties.

Shoveling is serious work.

This is usually the view we get of Rylan.

He's helping fix the concrete.

Sometimes, I think he's posing for his future record deal.

I think Mom mentioned strawberries.

Some things require a closer inspection.

I like this picture.

Believe it or not, he still smiles; as seen in this rare photographic evidence.

Eating sand. Because that's what it's for, right?

See Grandma? That's a real tear. Mom made me eat sand.

All that sand needs washing down.

He had some friends over (Melody and Dave here) and they really liked his swingset.

Trayvin (just had a birthday, 2!) and Rylan working.

Chuck and Lisa (she's the one on the left) posing for Angie.

Rylan and Trayvin running from me, for some reason or other, or no reason at all; which of course are the best ones.

In all, I think Rylan and his Mom are enjoying their summer of fun.

My vacation

2009-06-16T08:21:00.005-04:00

Hi everybody. I've been a busy boy, so I'm just now getting to showing you some more pictures from my vacation.

The ride down was all right.

Dad wouldn't let me run through the waves like they do on baywatch.

Woah. That's some serious surf.

Mom's pretty fun sometimes, you know?

I'll bet whoever broke all these shells is in a lot of trouble!

I made Dad carry the pink bucket.

I set up camp for Mom and Dad in case they got tired.

That water tastes funny.

We rolled around a boardwalk and then ate some fudge. Personally, I don't know why everyone doesn't eat more fudge.

My eyepatch wouldn't fit, so I couldn't make a very good pirate. Bummarrr.

This is me at normal speed.

Dad doesn't understand basic sandcastle construction. I had to wreck his every time to show him he was doing it wrong.

For some reason, they made me pick up those broken shells. I told you, I didn't do it!

They tried to kill me.

There's a warm spot right here.

See? More proof of my impending doom.

It's all right, because I got to pick out the messiest doughnut the next morning. I think they were trying to make up to me for the waterslides.

Rylan's Log Cabin

2009-06-12T08:00:00.002-04:00

Here is Ry's log cabin as it was yesterday evening around 7. Joe was able to finish the roof last night after Rylan and I were asleep. I do not have "completed" photos yet. The logs are from our pine trees. During a winter storm, a whole bunch of branches fell, creating one heck of a mess. The weather was too nasty for immediate clean-up. Joe has been wanting to build Rylan a tree/play house of some sort since he was in utero! It's very cute, and Rylan was quite entertained with it last night. I will let Joe show him the finished project tonight.

Wonder how much cooler it will be complete with a roof? :-)

Beach Va-Ca!

2009-06-07T07:42:00.006-04:00

Just a few pics to document our beach trip. This was Rylan's first time to see the ocean and he had a blast! Not much time to write now. Today is our 6th anniversary, so we are going out for lunch and maybe a movie. It's nice to be home, but I am missing the salty air already.

19 Months

2009-06-01T07:13:00.002-04:00

There's a ton of excitement in our home!

Rylan is 19 months old today!
We leave for the beach tomorrow evening!
The sun is shining and that is suppose to continue through the day!

2009-05-31T07:33:00.002-04:00

Yesterday evening we went to a wedding at a small country church. The colors were yellow and green. Everything was simple and sweet. Rylan and Joe ducked out just as the ceremony was beginning. Poor little guy refused to nap in the afternoon, so he was not thrilled about sitting quietly. But, after the ceremony we all joined outside and blew bubbles. Of course, this was a HUGE delight for our little man! :-)

The reception was at the father of the groom's home. Beautiful country, endless grass, big house right in the middle. They had tents decorated, DJ, and of course- a hog roasting.

When it was time for the bride and groom to cut the cake, I made sure Rylan was watching. He grinned the whole time (he likes cake...), but when they smeared the cake ALL OVER each others' faces, he exploded with laughter, almost screaming with giggles! It was so cute, I about busted a seam laughing right along! :-) Then, the groom gets the bride again! I thought Rylan was going to fly out of my arms laughing so hard!

What a great evening! Rylan seems to really enjoy weddings.

2009-05-27T08:39:00.004-04:00

Our Rylan Chase at the incredible playground on Memorial Day. It was muggy, but there's some shade. He had a blast!

Summer Treat

2009-05-25T19:48:00.002-04:00

Cooling off with his first ice cream cone. It started out as daddy's....

We had a really nice Memorial weekend. Rylan got in some friend time, spending two evenings with one, and a whole day with another. He got to see all of his grandparents! He played in the pool a few times, threw grass in the air, took a few bike rides, played rock.band, went on a couple mower rides, shot hoops, played at the increi.ble playground (no lie, that's the name), dug in the sandbox, and so much more! We spent some time in the ER today getting my hand checked out. I was trying to save Rylan from pain and fortunately succeeded, almost breaking my hand in the process. I'm just glad Ry came out of the incident without any boo-boos.

I have an interview for a full time teaching position tomorrow (fingers crossed), so I'm off to get my clothes ready.

I hope you had a nice weekend too!

Cell Pics

2009-05-20T07:17:00.003-04:00

Here we are on our delightful mid-70's Tuesday afternoon. I wanted to show Rylan how amazing sand feels between your toes, so we took off our shoes and started covering our feet. At first he didn't want to put his feet down into the sand, so I got his shovel and poured little bits of sand over his feet. He came around, and then couldn't seem to get enough! I explained to him that when we go to the beach, we will get to walk forever on endless sand. I think the wet sand will be a particular wonderful treat for him! Wet sand has super toe squishing possibilities. :-)

I am enjoying parts about life that I don't recall enjoy for a very long time, perhaps my own childhood. What a truly wonderful day!

A Spring Evening

2009-05-19T07:21:00.003-04:00

Joe and Rylan got to work on our garden yesterday evening. Here they are preparing to plant the corn while I mowed the yard. Well most of it. Joe decided he wanted to wanted to finish mowing while I gave Rylan a bath. After being on it for maybe 5 minutes, the belt broke, so he ended up having to push mow the rest. Poor guy!

A lot has been going on here the past couple of weeks, but most of it is sad, so I have decided not to talk about any of it.

On a much brighter note, my cousin annouced that his wife is 3 months pregnant! I am incredibly happy for them! I cannot begin to describe how up lifting it is to be able to feel happiness over someone else's pregnancy!

Thank you, Rylan Chase for giving me more happiness than I could ever imagine!

We leave for the beach in 2 weeks!!!

FIRST EVER HAIR CUT!!!!!

2009-05-11T07:41:00.006-04:00

Rylan did a great job getting his hair cut for the first time Saturday! He was a bit wiggly at times, but Nikki, the stylst (a long time friend of mine- who did my hair for our wedding) was calm and let him wiggle when he needed to move. She did a great job with him and his hair looks so cute. She left it a tad longer mostly for my sake, but also because he's younger and can still sport the baby look. ;-)

He also had his first sucker (lollipop) after he was all done. I was pleased and surprised that they had organic suckers to choose from. This one is lemonade flavored.

The last picture is right afterward. Apparently getting your hair cut can be quite tiring when you're 18 months! Doesn't he look perfectly chill?

Since he had his first hair cut, we had his professional pictures taken. I am SO EXCITED to get them back! I spent a little (okay, a lot more) this time and got a few treats.

There's more to post, but we have much to do today, so I'll try to catch up on Mom's day and other stuff later.

Wee Wigglers

2009-05-07T13:40:00.002-04:00

Just a couple of pics from Wigglers this morning. He's so on-the-go that it's hard to get a good picture. He was definitely wound and ready to roll today! He played on/with everything, and socialized like it was his job. :-)

I'm so thankful that I am able to take him every week. He has such a fun time!

2 years ago...

2009-05-05T15:01:00.004-04:00

These were taken almost two years ago, the last time we were at the beach. The top one is on our balcony and the bottom is in front of the balcony with the curtains drawn. While there's not a lot of beach in these pictures, I wanted to point out that the last time we went, my belly was growing and growing. During that trip we made plans to take our little one (we didn't know the sex yet at that point) in two years. We saw several couples with toddlers and agreed that we would take our little Roo (remember that name?) when he was 1.5 years.

Well, in 4 weeks from today, we leave for the beach again! Only this time we get to share the experience with our little Roo, Rylan Chase.

Here he is this afternoon. A cold front moved in, which is probably why I'm daydreaming of the beach. He has been practicing building sandcastles for weeks now! He has such a blast. I can't wait to see his excitement when he sees the sand at the beach!

4 more weeks...
Just 4...
That's all...
I can't wait!!!

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Testing 1, 2...

2009-05-04T14:38:00.003-04:00

3! WOO-HOO!!!! Blogger uploaded a photo, and that's really awesome.

Wonder if I should try to push my luck and show you a pic or 2 from the zoo.....

HOORAY!!!

Let's try for another:

Getting comfy- cozy with a goat!

We had a great time! I'm so happy to be able to share a few pics with you.

Traditional Blogging

2009-05-04T06:51:00.006-04:00

I'm not sure that the term 'traditional blogging' is correct, but where did it go? Does there have to be a whole lot of hoopla in my post to make it an enjoyable read? What if I just want to talk about what's been going on with us lately? Well, that's what I'm going to do! How exciting for you, I'm going to let you inside our weekend.

At some point earlier in the week, I found out that my cousin and aunt are both in the hospital, just a few doors down from each other. Joe's grandma is still in the hospital and I do not see that changing, though I hope it does.

Rylan stayed with Joe's parents on Friday while I taught kindergarten. It was Ry's half birthday! :-) He is officially 1.5 years. I can't believe we're on the other side of 1 year, heading closer to 2... My MIL had to leave to be at the hospital with her mom, so when I arrived, my FIL was holding a sleeping Rylan. AWWW. Joe called to say that he would have to work very late. His company makes medical supplies, and with the sw.ine fl.u, he has been working extra hours. So, Rylan and I had a nice dinner with his Grumpy.

After dropping Grumpy off, we went back home, and played outside with the neighbor. He even got his first kiss from a girl! :-) We were telling them good night when it was time to go in for a bath, and she planted one right on him. He just smiled.

Joe did not get home until after 10pm, which is pretty late for us, as he usual gets home about 5pm. Work provided dinner for those who were staying late, but by the time Joe got to the lounge, it was all gone!

Saturday morning we got out of the house early to the community sales and got some major deals! Rylan and Joe both did very well and I am proud of each of them! :-) From there we headed to the "big town" (hahaha, right) for some shopping. I'm not a big spender, but I do like to purchase my bras from Victo.ria.'s se.cre.t. Every couple of months, I pick up another. Joe was kind enough to remind me that I had a coupon for either $10, $50, $100, or $500 off my next purchase. It's one of those coupons you have to have scanned. I found out that it was worth $100!!! Plus the style that I like was on sale for $15 off, which made it all that more exciting! :-) I was on cloud nine. $100 dollars to spend on whatever I wanted. I was responsible, and got two bras, but I splurged on a pajama set (tank and pants). I probably sound like some kind of small town hick, well maybe I am. Would you like me any less if that were the case?

After that we met my dad, step mom, and sister for dinner. Then we went to quite possibly one of the BEST playgrounds ever! We played until Rylan was tuckered out and then drove home.

Sunday morning, our electric went out, Joe had to go into work (damn fl.u), and Rylan and I went grocery shopping. This is where I HAVE TO BRAG ON MY LITTLE MAN!!! He was INCREDIBLY well behaved!! He sat in the cart without complaint for close to an hour! It was a very enjoyable trip to the store! Once home we started on the piles of laundry, and cleaning.

After Joe got home, we went to my mom and step dad's to help do some rearranging. My brother, aunt, and cousins were there. It was so nice to see everyone! My cousin made some delicious sandwiches (I need to get the recipe) that she baked in the oven. Yum!

We made a quick stop at Joe's parents' because he had not seen them for a while. Then it was back home to pick up before our friends brought their 11 month old boy over for us to watch while they went to a funeral viewing.

Only we didn't get to pick up, they beat us here! Rylan proved to us that he can handle having another kid in the house! He was very helpful: trying to feed Cru with his fork, helping him pick up his bottle and give it back to him without even trying a sip first, offering him toys, not getting upset while he cried or fussed, not getting too jealous when Joe or I held Cru. He definitely pulled on my heartstrings! I think I caught a tad bit of mist in Joe's eyes. I can't believe how fast our little man is growing up!

ON HAIRCUTS:
I just don't think I'm ready, though I am trying to come to terms with it. Part of it is the obvious reason, that once he has his first haircut, he won't be a baby anymore. But, he's not a baby- he's a toddler and has been for 6 months (or more). Another reason is that I LOVE his little curls! Who wouldn't? There's just a few in the back, but I am in love with them and know I will miss them insanely once they are gone. A 3rd reason is that he hasn't had much hair, so I am afraid to get what he has trimmed. I have been waiting for more to grow in on top.

Reason to get it cut: It's past his ears. When his hair looks fuzzy, it doesn't look cute. I'm going to have to do it sometime. They say that getting your hair cut actually helps it grow and I can attest to that. It's getting close to summer, and shorter hair will help keep him cool.

I am not getting it cut today. Partly because Joe would NEVER forgive me if I did it without him, and partly because I am not ready. But, I am slowly wrapping my mind around the idea....

I better move along to something else. No work today for me, just need to find another training for our teachers and I can (hopefully) do that from home. I am sending some of our teachers to first aid and safety and cpr trainings and I plan to attend as well. My certificates are expired, so it will be a good motivator to get mine updated. It's also a good idea to refresh myself with having Rylan. Joe says that he feels confident in his cpr abilities, and does not need it for work, so I guess he will be staying with Ry a few nights while I go.

My Evening

2009-04-30T18:16:00.010-04:00

Looking out the dining room windows beside me I find a handsome man with adorable dimples that flash toward me while he walks to the sandbox full of wet sand. Lifting my head just ever so slightly, I can see baby fine blond hairs swaying in the gentle breeze. As the head turns, the same dimples, with 28 less years on them, sparkle at me. The grin is much the same as the older one, only with fuller lips. These grins can stop your heart, make you tear up, and always form your own smile upon your face.

Sandcastles are built and then instantaneously demolished. Shovels sticking out of the sand half exposed. Big CAT trucks turned on their side in attempts to haul sand from one end of the box to the other. The area is quite large, approximately 8X8. The older dimples would know for sure.

Before long, the younger dimples with light hair on his sun kissed skin makes his way to the swing and waits patiently for the handsome man to help guide him on. He does so and pushes carefully, letting go the slightest bit, allowing the young one feel free for just a split second, then returning for another tap of the swing and the cycle repeats.

Next blond hair, and young dimples gains the courage to climb up the steps of the slide, knowing help is right next to him, ready to act if needed. At the top, he feels sure, happy, safe, self accomplished, showing the young grin, dimples sparkling. And then in an instant, the breeze hits his face, his belly flops excitedly and his feet touch the ground as a giggle is heard.

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I don't know what all of that was.... I can't write to save my life. How silly that I'm going to post this. I sat down at the computer, wanting to share a little of my evening with you and that is what came out... Hmm...

The scrapbook itch is back. Maybe this post is just my brain trying to show a little creativity? Really, I don't know what all of that mumbo jumbo was, but I DO KNOW:

I love these grins and the boys who carry them. Thank you life for being so truly WONDERFUL!

Thoughts

2009-04-20T13:41:00.003-04:00

There has been a lot of discussion about baby number 2.

A few months back I was signed up and ready to start arguing my side of the debate under the "FOR" side. That lasted all of one month.

Joe has not budged on his "against" side for "right now" or at this "very moment".

Last May, Rylan was all of 6 months old, I had a yard sale (with my family) and sold damn near ALL of our baby stuff. Of course I kept a few of our favorite outfits/jammies/blankets/type stuff, but most of it is gone. All last summer I decided that one is enough, one is wonderful, one is a blessing, one is over the moon thrilled, one is quite fortunate.

I suppose a big part of my hesitation to try for another child is that I do not want to be greedy. I have very close and personal reasons why I am not ready to try again.

I also do not want to go back to that "TTC" time of my life. While we definitely did not have the problems others have had, we had our own dark time that neither of us want to open up and put our hearts on our sleeves again. I know this time will be different because we have Rylan, our special miracle, our little man. But, I don't want to think about cycles, pills, dates, appointments, scans, pee sticks, am I or not, (I could go on and on) again.

I'm good. Rylan is my life. I could not and most possibly will not (for the time being) ask for more!

But you see, now would be a good time for Rylan as the age difference would be slightly more than 2 years- great for play time. That is of course in some miracle (did we use our miracles up already?) that I could get pregnant so quick and easily.

All of this has come about due to various reasons; a lot of people who have a child that's the same age, or within a couple months of Rylan's age are trying for another and many are already pregnant; this would make for a good age difference; family member influences; my own fear to wait too long and then decide I would like to try again and be too old or have to factor my age into the multiple reasons that it will take us forever to get knocked up.

I could go on and on and on. I think fear and not wanting to seem greedy are slowing me down. I thought writing about it would help, but I'm merely shaving emotions off the top, not really getting anything out that's helping. So, I guess this post is over.

Thanks for listening!

Easter Egg Coloring

2009-04-11T07:45:00.008-04:00

He was definitely caught green (and yellow) handed. :-)

This was the most patient he was while waiting for another egg. The rest of the time he cried for another one! We had to pry him away from the table to put him in the bath tub!

We're going to an Easter egg hunt today, so we thought we'd practice last night. Putting small objects into bigger ones is an all time favorite, so I think he'll have a great time!

We only got 2 pictures before the head band broke... I think I'll pick up another pair today.

And this one just because he's so rotten. :-)

How very nice of blogger to allow me to post some pictures! Though it has been quite a commitment, as I could only post one at a time.

I hope you have a truly wonderful and hoppy Easter!!!

It wasn't an April Fool's.. Edit: what's going on?

2009-04-02T07:29:00.003-04:00

Is anyone else having an incredibly ridiculous time with blogger lately? I am just about to leave and go somewhere else! UGH

Apparently blogger published my post without any of the text or pictures- just the title! So, no wonder you were confused!

I've been trying last night and this morning to post a picture of the beautiful flowers Joe had delivered to the school yesterday (April 1st).

I thought it was an April Fool's joke when the secretary knocked on our door holding flowers! But nope, it was my wondeful husband celebrating as the card read, "Happy 138 Monthaversary!" For those of you too sleepy to do the math, that's 11.5 years. =)

Such a sweetie! Thank you honey, sorry blogger is sucking and I can't show off my pretty flowers.

Rylan started wee wigglers today. I just tried loading some pictures again, and it's a NO go. Darn. I wanted to share our morning.

Anywho, Rylan played on pretty much everything. He bounced in the bouncer, played basketball, hula hooped, built towers with the blocks, crawled through all sorts of awesome stuff, danced a lot to the music, tried the art table - I didn't let this go very far as he is still pretty young for that, rode some big wheels and tricycles, climbed on the big soft shapes, and much more! It was a BIG hit!

I also ran into an old high school friend (I did not know she would be there) and her son at wigglers. We tried to get the boys to play together, but they each had their own agendas! =)

Hopefully blogger will work out these kinks, but if not, you might see us at a new location soon. Sorry for all the confusion!

17 Months Old

2009-04-01T07:33:00.003-04:00

Rylan this morning trying to get the camera from me! It's fun trying to get pictures of him when he knows you're taking them! Should be interesting when we take him to get his professional pics taken again. We haven't been since November and that time was fun, because he was walking really well and kept getting up and walking where ever he pleased! We have already missed the deadline to get his pictures back before Easter, so we could pass them out them, so I think we'll wait another couple of weeks. I am itching to go to The Chil.dren's Pla.ce... Who knows, maybe Joe will take us this weekend??? :-)

Happy April Fool's Day! The saying must be right, "April showers bring May flowers". It's the first day of April and rainy and yucky out!

*Sorry about yesterday's post. Sometimes you need to vent, ya know?

2009-03-31T12:35:00.002-04:00

-Boys' clothing choices
-Lack of response from people- seriously, answer the question!
-People who do not do their job
-So many calories in french fries
-Coming to a stand still in weight loss (that could have something to do with the above complaint)
-Conclusion jumpers- don't assume before I say
-Tuesdays-what's the point?
-leaving my baby boy

Just a few things that are bumming me out today.

The bright sunny weather is causing an urgency within to get things done! Spring has sprung and I'm ready to tackle some chores. Weight loss, home renovations, teaching Rylan.... well EVERYTHING, starting my masters, convincing Joe that Rylan would actually like a sibling, and on and on and on...

It's mentally exhausting. I should probably take a walk to sort some of this out. My brain is one mixed up pile of mush right now.

In other news, Rylan said, "yelwooow" this morning. It's pretty cute. He prepares his mouth before it starts the word. :-) My love.

Scratch That

2009-03-29T20:47:00.002-04:00

The potty shown in the last post does not fit Rylan well. I'm not sure how that could happen, but there it is. So, we returned it- don't worry he didn't use it, just sat on it- and got this one:
This one does sing. We didn't get it for that reason. Actually, I wanted one that didn't sing, but our selection was limited and this one looked nice otherwise. We have tried it out-sitting, no pottying of course- and it's a much better fit.

In other news, we bought new curtains yesterday. They are a nice dark olive color. My MIL was ever so sweet to hem the ones for the smaller windows for us. They look awesome, or at least I think so. We also picked up some new rods and bambo blinds, so it should add some spice to our living room. My MIL also let us borrow her carpet cleaner, so we have a sparkling clean carpet to go with our new curtains. woot-woot! Our house feels quite homey now. =)

It's late and Rylan needs his sleep- me too, so have a great week!

P is for Potty

2009-03-29T07:05:00.006-04:00

Rylan has been showing signs of potty readiness for the past month or more. He finds a private place like behind the end table, behind his flin.stone car, or even the dog kennel for #2. That last one is just too funny! =) For #1, he grabs himself and then pees. He will not sit in the tub and pee, he always stands up, holds himself and you know it's coming. He has wanted to sit on our toilet lately, but I think all kids his age are interested in the toilet. So, all of this may mean nothing, but a potty needed to be bought anyway, so why not now?

We went with basic. No singing or flushing sounds for us. I didn't want to scare my poor little guy. The potty can be used as a training seat when he's ready to go to our potty, and it also converts to a step stool. We tried it last night. We thought about taking the next 3 weeks (that's all that I have left for my intervention coordinator job), and just getting him acquainted with it. Then once I'm home- barring that he takes to it well, I will not push anything as it is still early- really working on it. I have heard a few moms talk about the 3 day naked training where the child does not leave the house for 3 days, staying completely naked the entire time. You place the potty in the room that you are in the most, and every little while, put them on it.

I don't know, I am walking into this blind. I am going to give it a go for now, and if he doesn't show much interest, we'll put it away for a month and try again. In NO way do I think this will be easy or that my kid will potty train early. I am not being smug or over confident, actually I'm freaking out inside. He did walk early, so maybe he'll potty train early? HAHAHA, I'm so silly.

Why is it that I'm okay with starting to potty train, but not cool with getting his first hair cut??? I'm really one messed up chick!

In other news, Rylan had one long all day play date with his buddy, Trayvin. They are 4.5 months apart, and now you can hardly tell the age difference! Of course Trayvin's vocabulary is quite extensive, and he is a little better behaved most of the time, but otherwise, the age difference is insignificant. They really have a good time together. Joe took the boys and our dogs to the park all by himself! Bobbie and I sat out on our porch swing catching up and gossiping, it was very nice. I'm glad the weather is allowing it again! Yay for Spring! My son came back home COVERED in mud puddle water!!! Apparently he just HAD to know what a mud puddle felt like while laying down in it! Oh me oh my... Boys! =)

Sorry, but I actually did not get any pictures of them covered in muddy water. I didn't even touch our camera yesterday! I know, I'm just as shocked are you.

Testing 1, 2...

2009-03-25T19:56:00.002-04:00

Our internet has been... um... lagging since we bought our new computer. I finally called the cable company tonight, of course I ended up giving the phone to Joe, and the IT guy did a few things on their end. I was up front and told him that my husband, FIL, brother, and BIL are all computer nerds and have all looked at it and it could not possibly be on our end. So, I wanted to test the upload speed to see if it's fixed. While it was not zooming fast, it did not time out (that was getting annoying).

So, to check the upload speed, I thought I would post a couple of pictures from the Blue Jackets game we went to recently. We had a jersey personalized for Rylan with 07 (birth year) on it. And of course here is a pic of Joe and I with Di.ego. Rylan is not (thank gosh) into Di.ego, but he does have a pair of cool kicks with him on them.

Thank you all for the input on the Easter outfit. Right now he has a couple of new polo shirts and khakis or shorts to wear depending on the weather. We are thinking about getting his professional pictures taken again at 18 months (May 1st), but then we realized that Easter is in April, so he will be almost 18 months and we might do it early and have some Easter poses taken. I'm waiting to hear back from my partner in crime...

I am only working a few hours tomorrow (I have been quadruple booked this week) then I plan on taking Rylan to sign him up for Wee Wigg.lers. Exciting!

Oh, oh, oh!!! I need to mention that my mom reported today that Rylan did a somersault twice today! He has been laying on his stomach, burying his face into the carpet, and tucking his legs under his chest lately. We just thought that he was going to start falling asleep on the floor like most toddlers, but instead (or so I am told since I did not have the privledge to witness it myself), he was preparing for his big flip! Hopefully he will show his dad and I very soon!

ALSO, while my mom was counting, Rylan counted with her! He knows when to say the word, "two". Apparently she says, "one", and he says, "two....feeee". Isn't that a hoot? I can't wait to hear it myself.

I'm being paged by a sleepy boy, so g'nite all!

Sign Language Edit

2009-03-23T13:02:00.004-04:00

Yes, we do it and have been slowly teaching Rylan since he was about 6 months old. As his vocabulary becomes larger, so do his singing abilities. He knows milk, bath, ball, eat, all done, and more so far. Edit: I forgot 'hot'. He has been doing it for quite a whilel, so I don't know how I forgot it.

So last night in the tub, we were doing our hand motions while I sang (ever so terribly- but some how he loves it) "row, row, row your boat". He will grab my hand and start the rowing motion and I know that it is time to sing. We row, then for "merily, merily..." we smile and point to our cheeks (he typically points to mine), and for the last line "Life is but a dream", we put our heads on our hands as to sign 'sleep'. It's a hoot, we do it over and over!

Right after our "Row" song, he signed 'cookie' for the first time! His top molars are giving him a really hard time right now, so he has been chowing down on those wonderful biter biscuits. We call them cookies. I caught right on that he was signing cookie and hollered for Joe to come in and see. We wrapped him up in a towel and grabbed a cookie, continuing to sign 'cookie'. Rylan grinned from ear to ear, pleased with himself for signing, and thrilled to have relief for those poor teeth and gums.

What a wonderful time!

As soon as he was done gobbling that cookie down, he went to the bathroom and pointed up to the shelf where we keep his toothbrush. We always brush our teeth right after our bath.

Just an absolutely good time. What a smartie! :-) Can you believe how much they learn and so quickly?

On a side note: We looked at Easter outfits this weekend... UGH... Part of me wants to gussy him up with a tie and vest, the other part of me says to just let the poor guy be comfy in a polo and khakis. What you are dressing your little guys in?

Rylan's 1st Wedding

2009-03-15T08:52:00.004-04:00

May I just say that our son did an amazing job at his first wedding yesterday? He was calm and quiet during the ceremony, and did not fuss at all during the reception! Of course, during the reception he was able to keep mobile, but Joe and I were both VERY IMPRESSED with how well he did!

Here's a couple pics for your pleasure:
The last one is Grumpy, (Joe's dad), Rylan, and Joe. Aren't they too handsome???

Rylan will be spending the day with Granny and Grumpy while Joe and I go to a Columbus Blue Jackets game with some friends. I am having some anxiety about it though. This will be the longest AND the farthest that I have been away from Rylan yet! Now, I am sure that he will be just fine. Actually, I should probably be more worried for his grandparents as I am absolutely sure that he is going to wear them out! I am more than thrilled (jumping up and down with excitement) to spend some time with Joe and our friends, but I am so going to miss our little man. Whenever we leave him somewhere, I feel like I'm saying, "Sorry son, but this other thing is much cooler than hanging with you". Of course it's not, but that is how I feel. UGH, the guilt, and worry--- a constant inner struggle for me.

The truth is that Rylan will have a wonderful time and so will his grandparents and we are awesome parents for giving him this day with them, right? It will all be good and I am so going to snuggle him as soon as we get back. I might not even put him in his crib tonight, just keep him right next to me, cuddling and breathing in his sweet soft scent.

I'm in love with a little man and his name is Rylan Chase!

Rocks, Sticks, and Dirt, OH MY!

2009-03-08T09:42:00.006-04:00

We've been having some unseasonably nice weather for our area in March. Rylan LOVES the great outdoors! We had a wonderful weekend getting out and playing in our yard, at the park, and his grandparents' yards.

I have not yet posted about Rylan's 16 month ped visit. It was a big day for us! He was measured and weighed like a BIG BOY-- standing up!!! I will admit that I teared up and I think Joe might have too. He is 32 and 3/4" TALL (which is the standing up terminology, no more "long"!) and 26.4 pounds.

Rylan doesn't go back to see Dr. P until November! (shock) There needs to be 6 months between his shots, so the doc said that he'll see him when he is 2.

2, folks... Whew, I guess it will sneak up on us. It actually got me thinking about all of the things we will do before he turns two. Just for fun, I thought I'd list a few. Though they won't be of any importance necessarily to you, I'm going to share them anyway:

- Weddings, we actually have a few coming up
- Wee Wigglers, sort of like a mo.mmy and m.e class, lots of social interaction for Ry
- Swimming lessons, I wish they offered them BEFORE we went to the beach
- The beach, Myrtle baby
- Zoo trips
- Birthday parties for his friends
- Water park visits
- More park trips than I can even imagine
- Hopefully a trip to Bean town to meet a new family member (fingers, toes, eyes crossed)
- Trip to Maryland for the Skinny Scarecrow Festival -it's a family thing
- Grandpa, Mawmaw, and Granny's 50th birthdays, you better believe these call for MAJOR celebrations! :-)

I actually need to scoot. This time change is kicking my *ss! (watching language for little ones ;-)) Have a great Monday!

Toddler or Teenager?

2009-03-03T18:53:00.003-05:00

This evening on our drive home, I played the Kidz Bop CD for Rylan. No time to put it on my ipod just yet. So, the music is playing but it appears as though Ry is not listening to it, so I turn it off.

Here is our conversation:

Me: "Rylan, did you have fun with Maw maw and Papa?"

Rylan: "Yyyeeaaah!"

Me: "That's awesome, what did you do today?"

Rylan: SILENCE, then looks at radio, points and screams.

Me: "Do you want me to turn your songs back on?"

Rylan: "Yyeeaaah."

I turn the music back on and he settles back into his seat with a grin from ear to ear while I sulk.

So, I ask you ladies, do I have a toddler or a teenager?

16 Months Old!

2009-03-01T17:43:00.005-05:00

In honor of Rylan turning 16 months old today, I thought I'd d complete this survey.
It's from a myspace bulletin, so we'll see how it goes.

Here you go mommies - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your first born!

WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
YES, but he was actually a surprise, considering we didn't think we would have get to have him!

WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
Yes, for 5 years

WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Scared, very concerned about miscarriage due to the BT, but over the moon with happiness and shock!

HOW OLD WERE YOU?
When I got pg- 25, when I gave birth- 26

HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
Spotted, but no period.

WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
Well Joe, then Lisa, Bobbie, and Vinnie. The next day we told all of the future g-parents.

DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?
Yes!

DUE DATE?
November 7, 2007. He was born on Nov. 1st.

DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Yes, very nauseous for the first 2-3 months. Lots of 7-UP and crackers!

WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
Mostly cake and ice cream! But, one time I had a really bad craving for fried mushrooms. Which is weird because I don't even like mushrooms and don't think I've ever had them fried.

WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
Dunno. All of the wives tales people tell you, like you've never heard them!

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX?
Boy. He is my first and only.

DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
Well everyone said that Rylan was a girl, so I was shocked when the u/s tech said he is a boy. But, I didn't wish he was a girl -EVER. I just have always wanted him to be healthy!!!

HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
34lbs.....

DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
Yep, 2.

WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
I knew.

DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
Nope, nothing. It was a perfect pregnancy!

WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
St. Joseph's

HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
The doc broke my water around 10am and Ry was born at 4:15pm, so technically 6.

WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
My Joe. <3

WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Joe, my mom, and Joe's mom.

WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Natural.

DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
YES.

HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
7lbs, 6oz

WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN?
Thursday, November 1, 2007 @ 4:15pm

WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Rylan Chase

HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
Exactly 16 months, 1 hour, and 43 minutes RIGHT NOW! :-)
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I have been trying post pics of Rylan eating off his plate with his fork and spoon, but blogger is not letting me do it. I think Vista needs to quit butting in to our internet! It's really starting to urk me. Maybe I can post some pics from work.

Happy 1st of March!!!

My Creative, Sneaky Toddler

2009-02-26T13:10:00.006-05:00

I am female, so of course I have a..... few pairs of shoes. A lot of those shoes are housed under Rylan's crib, so it should come as no surprise to me this morning when I was searching for a pair a shoes that I had worn two days ago that they would not be where I left them.

You see, yesterday morning my creative, sneaky toddler decided to put 5 shoes and a flip flop along with my robe in the clothes hamper. It took me a while to realize what had happened. I kept looking and riffling through the shoes under his crib and could not fine them! I turned my head (I was on the floor) to see the bottom of a shoe through the hole of hamper.

I giggled, and so did he as I pull each shoe out of the hamper. The robe was the most surprising item of the bunch. It is a long, heavy robe, so it would have taken some time for those little hands to pull it over his head and get it into the hamper- taller than he is.

I love my creative, sneaky toddler!

Seriously Though

2009-02-21T08:29:00.003-05:00

I can't shake that feeling...

The need is creeping up on me...

The wondering and wishing is beginning to take its toll...

My mind can't stop trying to decide 'when'...

My heart is calling out for it...

My subconscious is playing tricks on me...

What am I talking about? The bug. I am slowly getting the bug again. Somebody help me!!! Make it stop! I'm being greedy. I need to control the urges. My husband will never go for it. Rylan will not like it. But nevertheless, here I sit. Trying to talk myself out of thinking about it. About having the "bug". You know what bug I'm talking about, don't you?

UGH.

Weekend Update...... A Week Late

2009-02-20T07:25:00.003-05:00

Rylan's aunt and uncle came in town over the weekend. They offered for us to bring Rylan to the hotel for some pool time. He had a BLAST!!! He could not get enough of his uncle! They goofed off and played all day. This was Rylan's first time in a big pool, so it was a big deal for us. He took to the water like a fish, kicking and splashing. I am going to put him in swimming classes this summer. It was a really good time!

On V Day, our friends renewed their wedding vows. It was their 10 year anniversary! Joe and I both were honored to be a part of their renewal. Here's a pic of us. I'm only posting it because it is SO RARE these days that we have our picture taken together, ya know?

I'm not really that tall, I'm wearing heels! :-) I thought it was time for a V-Day weekend update, considering today is Friday and we're gearing up for a new weekend. Thankfully, we don't have any plans yet. Thank you for your sweet comments on my last post! I just need to calm down. I have a wonderful life! I just wish I more time to enjoy it. Rylan and I have the day together, so I'm scooting off here to play with him! Have a great weekend!

Can't Blame It On The Hormones....

2009-02-16T13:01:00.003-05:00

I cried this morning, I mean really cried. Actually it was probably more like bawling, bawling my eyes out. The tears streamed down my face. I would get them under control then look in the baby mirror to find Rylan sleeping away in his car seat, and down they would pour again.

You see for the past few weeks I have been daydreaming about staying home with Rylan. I feel like I am just dumping him off while I go to work. I want to be with him. I do not want him to feel as though I am trading his life for some extra cash (and of course that is how I feel). It's a constant emotional roller coaster and I am beginning to feel completely exhausted and run down from it on top of feeling like a terrible mother whose child's life is fast forwarding in the blink of an eye in front of her.

So this morning when I carried Rylan into my in-laws' house the sobbing only worsened. Do you know that I didn't even get Rylan a decent breakfast? We split a banana and then he had a string cheese before we left the house. The guilt is indescribable. I am sure that I made an absolute fool of myself this morning. Poor things, they just wanted to watch their grandson, they didn't sign up for a freak show daughter-in-law with her bottomless bag of tears!

I know that Rylan is fine and will have a blast with his grandparents today. I am confident that he is in wonderful hands with all 6 of his grandparents, so it has nothing to do with worrying about him. I know that I can't blame this on the hormones. I am not pregnant and have not nursed for 7 months now, so what then? Is this normal? My MIL and FIL said that it is. They said they completely understand. My MIL said that we are doing a wonderful job with Rylan (very nice to hear by the way).
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I just feel like an emotional wreck. I have my 2 very special - irreplacable men in my life. I just need more time with them!

We'll save Joe for another blog post.... I should probably get back to work now. Thanks for listening!

On Blogging and Other Stuff

2009-02-14T07:16:00.004-05:00

I love blogging...... BUT.....
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....... There's never any time to blog. Through the day, I think to myself, "I should blog about this". Then of course when I get home I want to spend time with Rylan and Joe. By the time Rylan's asleep I'm normally right behind him. We sleep, then get up and that's my time with Rylan before I go to work. I'm sure most of you fellow working mommas are feeling the same way.

Speaking of being a working momma: I do not particularly care for it. Sure, if you're going to be a working momma, then I have the best situation possible or so I feel. My mom watches Rylan, and she lives just 3 minutes from the school where I work. I can leave at the drop of a hat without question for an emergency. Our principal has 3 boys, so she is very understanding.

I also have a couple of hours in the morning with Rylan. Of course the Debbie Downer in me has to mention that a lot of our time together is getting both of us ready to go. I plan on taking the summer off, so I am really looking forward to that. Ultimately, I want to be a stay at home mom again who subs once of twice a week. Financially, that will not work because we just bought a new car and my student loan is a pretty hefty monthly payment. OY. I hate to admit to myself but I think that I nixed my stay at home possibilities when I signed on with my current job.

You really don't care to read about my working woes. Rylan is just absolutely perfect! :-) Right now he is watching Sid the Science Kid, most definitely something he watched earlier this week, but he absolutely adores Sid! He will be spending the day with his grandparents while Joe and I take part in our friends wedding vow renewal. The venue is walking distance from our house, so I am hoping to bring him down and let him dance at the reception barring the music isn't deafening loud. Should be a fun time for him.

I suppose I should pick up the house as the girls are getting ready here and Joe's parents are watching Ry bug here too.

Have a good Valentine's Day!