Stupid Surgery…

Okay, stupid title, I know the surgery isn’t stupid, but I just hate that Ryder has to go through it.  On the eve of his surgery, Ryder has no clue what is going on.  He thoroughly enjoyed this teething biscuit, making a mess from his nose to his knuckles!

 

Then he took a bath and got all cleaned up.

 

Then he got all cozy in his pajamas, and spent some time with Mommy & Daddy in his bedroom learning how to crawl! 

Now he’s fast asleep, totally oblivious to what he has to face tomorrow.

I, on the other hand, can’t get it out of my mind.  My stomach is in knots and every part of me wishes I could just take this away from him and not make him have to go through these kinds of things. 

During his first surgery, I remember being so worried about the outcome…all I wanted to hear was that he was going to be okay and could finally come home from the hospital.  This time is so different.  The outcome seems so far away, now I’m worrying about everything leading up to that.  I’m worried about him not being able to eat all day, I never want him to have to be hungry!  I’m worried about the second that they have to take him from my arms, that he’ll look at me with fear in his eyes, I never want him to feel alone or scared.  I’m worried about the anesthesia, and the surgery, the recovery, and yeah, I guess I am worried about the outcome.  I hope they can fix whatever is wrong while they are in there, and that this surgery doesn’t lead to another, and also that his kidney function has gotten better and not worse.  **Deep Breath** and then I remind myself that we have a God that is in control, He knows the outcome already, He loves us and He loves Ryder even more than we do!  So that puts a peace back into my heart, it helps me to regain my strength, and gives me the ability to tell Ryder, and myself, that everything is going to be okay.

Happy Beautiful Sunday!

  A Beautiful Day…

Means Beautiful pictures!

So happy to have my camera back!

Thanksgiving: Takes 2 & 3

But no pictures!!!  I failed horribly!  Not only did I not take any pictures, but I got my camera out to take a picture (which never happened) and I left my camera at Grandma’s house!  So now I have no pictures of our Thanksgiving, and won’t have any pictures of our entire weekend since I won’t get my camera back until after Church on Sunday!  Ryder is probably enjoying the break, this is literally the first day that he has ever not been photographed!

So, even without pictures to prove it, I will say that we had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We had lunch at Memew’s house and then dinner at Poppy & Nana’s house.  The food was all delicious, as always, and we really enjoy spending quality time with the families! 

Ryder was a trooper, he was in a great mood all day, and was probably most thankful for all of the attention he got!  He ended the day with rosey red cheeks that were broke out from all of the lipstick kisses, and he smelled like five different perfumes all mixed together.  He’s such a ladies man ;-)

So Thankful

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.”                                                                    ~Psalm 100:4-5~

♥ My God, My Savior, He is amazing, He has blessed me, He protects me, He comforts me, He is with me always.

♥ My Husband, I love him so much, and he loves me back, I am thankful for the relationship that we have and for the person that he is.

♥ My son, he is my joy and my motivation, his smile and laugh brighten my heart, I thank God for him each and every day.

♥ My family, all of them, I am thankful for their support, for their unconditional love, and for their presence.

♥ We are healthy, we are alive, we are fortunate, we have great friends, we are able to work and make a living, we have love in our hearts, and we are loved in return.

Today and always, I am thankful, for the things listed above, and for so much more…

One Word Wednesday

**Thankful**

The Evolution of Ryder’s Hair

In the beginning, it was dark & wavy

In just a few days, he had his very first Faux-Hawk

Then, it all began to be slicked over to the right

The sides started growing, so everything just went forward

Pretty soon there was hair everywhere and we were able to spike it (this was definitely a fan favorite!)

That didn’t last long though, because he started balding

And getting a receding hairline

                                                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the cowlick’s started forming

The sides were bald and the top was long, so came the forward Mohawk    

 

And the comb over, which we liked to call the Trump look

Soon after, it started looking like we just placed a toupee on his head 

  

His hair got lighter and lighter in color and just had a mind of its own, some days it would get really fuzzy

And other days, the best thing to do was just one big spike(another fan favorite!)

                                                                                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He even developed one little curl in the back

And each month, it just gets thicker,

Fuller,                                       

 

Longer,                                                                          

 

and crazier!

                                                                

and longer                                      

 

and crazier                                                    

                                                   

and even longer                      

 

and even crazier!!                 

 

When you put a hat on it, he doesn’t even look like the same kid

The solution to the madness….leave in conditioner (yes, our 8 month old needs product in his hair!)

Did you think the solution was going to be a hair cut??!!  No way!  Not yet.  There’s a lot more evolving left to be done.

Thanksgiving: Take 1

My family decided to do Thanksgiving a little early this year.  We like to make our rounds on the holiday’s and see every side of our family…the only downfall to that is that we’re rushed and don’t get to have a long visit at any place.  So having Thanksgiving at my Mom’s a few days before Thanksgiving worked out really nice this year!  We were able to eat a huge, delicious meal, and spend time visiting with the fam. 

Ryder playing in his jumper at Yaya’s

Hanging with his Uncle Dwayne

Sitting on Yaya’s lap eating his Thanksgiving Dinner (sweet potato puffs!)

Mommy with the thing she’s MOST thankful for this year!

Turkey makes him sleepy too!

I always have big plans to take lots of pictures…and then I get busy and forget to take out my camera!  So that’s all the pictures from our first Thanksgiving, no group shots, no family pics, none of my nieces, no pictures of our delicious feast.  Maybe I’ll do better on Thanksgiving Take 2 & 3!

I didn’t have my camera at the grocery store earlier that day, but Ryder sat in the cart like a big boy for the first time ever, so I had to capture that on my cell phone:

So Adorable!

He’s Definitely Not a Lefty!

Have you ever noticed that Ryder hardly ever uses his left hand?  Probably not!  But I’ve been noticing it for a while now, I brought it to his doctors attention and we’ve been monitoring it since he was about 4 months old.  We try to work with him on it a lot, when we hold his right hand down, he will use it…so we know he knows how…but it’s like he just chooses not to.  And now since he has been choosing not to for so long, it is very weak and uncoordinated.  Incase you have no clue what I’m talking about, here are some examples:

 

See?!  He keeps his fist clenched and his arm close to his body, and uses his right hand to do everything.  But, when we hand something to him in his left hand, like his sippy cup, or a toy, he will use it, especially if his right hand is already occupied.  

He’s going to need both hands for some important milestones he has coming up, like crawling and pulling up, so I decided it was time to take action.  We started by first getting him an x-ray to see if maybe some damage was done to his arm or shoulder sometime that is making it uncomfortable for him to use it.  The x-ray came back clear, no breaks, sprains, fractures, or abnormalities, so that’s a blessing!  Now, we’re waiting on a referral from his doctor, maybe get him some physical therapy to start strengthening it so that he’ll use it more. 

Want to know what Ryder has to say about all this?  He was very vocal on the way home from his X-Ray the other day!  He wanted to make sure his DA-DAAAA knew how much he hated having an X-Ray done (I’ve never heard him talk this much, or this loud, in the car, so I had to record it…).  See for yourself, well there’s no picture, so I guess hear for yourself:

 

So hopefully it’s nothing serious, I’ll definitely be posting about his progress.  This could be one of the delays from him being premature, his left hand just hasn’t caught up yet.  Or that he simply prefers to use his right hand!  I guess we’ll see as time goes on.  Either way, he’s absolutely perfect in our eyes, just the way God made him! 

8 Months Old!!

    

I think this month went by faster than all of them!  I’m not sure why, but it really feels like I just wrote a 7 month post.  But, here we are a whole month later…let me tell you what’s going on this month:

• Ryder weighs almost 17 pounds now!  He’s finally getting meat on his bones.
• He still fits some 3-6 month clothes and has moved up to 6-9 months.  He’s wearing a size 3 diaper now.
• He eats 3 meals a day now: Yogurt, Fruit, or Oatmeal for Breakfast, a vegetable for lunch, a meat/vegetable or pasta/vegetable combo for dinner.  Plus he has four 6oz bottles in between.
• He has tried all of the Stage 2 baby foods, loves to drink juice out of his sippy cup, and has become a pro at picking up Puffs and putting them in his mouth. 
• He still puts everything in his mouth, toys, blankets, fingers, toes, it doesn’t matter, he just loves to chew on things.
• His absolute favorite thing to do is BOUNCE!  He loves bouncing in his jumper, but now he wants to bounce even when he’s not in it!  He’s going to have some strong legs!
• He rolls to get wherever he needs to go, there’s no point in even putting him on a blanket anymore!  When he’s on his tummy he pulls his knees up and has started rocking.  He’s inching his way along, like a snail, slowly but surely!
• He’s so giggly, and has the cutest laugh!  You can look right at him and tell he’s a very silly boy. 

Probably the biggest change I’ve noticed about Ryder this month is that he really wants to be a big boy!  When I’m feeding him, he tries to take the spoon out of my hand so he can do it himself (such a mess!), sometimes during the day he will refuse his milk from the bottle but as soon as Aunt Vicki puts it in a sippy cup he drinks the whole thing!  He doesn’t want his puffs handed to him one by one anymore, he wants 3 or 4 poured onto his tray so that he can pick them up and do it himself.  And he absolutely does not want to be held like a baby anymore!  It’s so sad, but if I try to hold him in the cradle position, he squirms and grunts and tries to sit up, making the point that he is NOT a baby anymore so I better not hold him like one… :*(  Little does he know, he IS still a baby, he’s MY baby, and I think I’m always going to feel like that! 

One Word Wednesday

**Peek-A-Boo**

It All Started With a Kiss

8 years ago, today, we had our first kiss…

**Back when this guy was just a twinkle in his Daddy’s eye**

 

Ryder has only been in our lives for 8 months, but it’s hard to remember what life was ever like before him!