Well, I’m sad to say that Hummer didn’t make it! Against all of our efforts to help Ryder’s first fish survive, he just didn’t make it. Daddy was quick to go to the pet store to replace Hummer with…H2:
Hopefully he’ll take to his new environment better than Hummer did! And just for the record, Ryder has no clue that Hummer has now become an H2…so lets just keep that between us, K?!
Ryder went for his 2 year check-up yesterday and he did so good! He stepped right up on the scale to get his weight and height, let the nurse get all of his vitals, and let “Docta Cray” check him from head to toe without much of a fuss! They even had to prick his finger to check his iron & led levels. I told him he could have a book when he was done, so he stayed focused on the end prize.
I’m happy to report that my boy has finally had some growth!! He was 24 pounds and 34 inches which now puts him in the 10th percentile…moving on up! His iron levels came back fine, ears looked good, and development is going wonderfully! She quizzed him on all of his colors and he would come back with way more information then he even had to and we would just laugh. She said “Hey Ryder, can you point to something red in this room?” without even looking up he said “dat stool over dere is red!”
When he was all done they went to the book closet together so he could pick out his book. His Doctor said “Ryder what kind of book do you want??” he said “ummm, I want a book about planets!” He is too much. So he got "Goodnight Moon” and that was the end of that. We left with a prescription for a left hand night splint that was requested by his therapist.
Just because I never have any pictures of Me & Ryder together, I had to steal this from Diana’s blog:
Still can’t believe my boy is 2 years old!!!
Things were looking a little crazy around here today! We all woke up feeling good and were excited to go through Ryder’s presents and start getting things put away. He got some really cool additions to his Harley Room, like these signs from Pop-Pop & Karen:
This motorcycle lamp that was passed down from Nana & Pap-pap…AND Ryder’s very first pet fish from Jamie, how cool is the aquarium with the orange rocks?! We tried to get him to name his fish Harley, but he insisted on naming it Hummer!
The first present Ryder opened at the party was from Diana & Bryce and there were bath tablets and bath crayons in the bag which are 2 of Ryder’s very favorite things…so he did not forget about them! He kept asking as he was opening other things “where did my tablets go?”, he told me this morning to “go get my tabwets, dey in da Humma truck!” and couldn’t wait to take a bath!
That little face is still cute all scraped up. He hasn’t even mentioned his boo-boo today, so thank goodness it’s not bothering him like yesterday when it was raw and I’m sure it was burning.
It was nice going through the presents at a much slower pace today! Ryder is such a sweet heart, he truly appreciates things, even if it was just clothes he would say “here mom, some clothes for da closet!” I can’t even say that he has a favorite thing he got because he seemed equally as excited about everything, and took turns playing with it all. He got some awesome new Blue’s Clue’s stuff, monster trucks, motorcycles, lots of fun outdoor toys, so much cool stuff, he is really a blessed little boy!
I can tell you though that the house as a whole has a LEAST favorite toy! This dinosaur whose eyes light up red and his mouth chomps open and closed like he’s going to eat you and he roars really loud and scary!
The dogs think it is an intruder, Ryder is terrified of it, and truthfully the red eyes kind of freak me out a bit too. The only person who is enjoying this…Daddy…yup it’s his favorite toy now, of course, because he can torment us all with it. Daniel probably knew this would happen when he bought it!
Pop-Pop took Ryder to the gun show today which gave me & Daddy a chance to get all the new stuff organized. We were able to set a lot aside to go to Nana & Pap-pap’s house, stash a bunch in his closet to savor the flavor of the new toys for a while, get everything else put together or put away, and get our house back in pre-Birthday condition!
I have to leave you with this video of Ryder opening the package he got in the mail from Kristen. I don’t think the stores sell Blue’s Clue’s stuff anymore, but Penny, Nicki, and Kristen all managed to get him some, and I’m glad I was able to capture his reaction to one of them on camera, because Blue’s Clues is a BIG DEAL around here!:
I deserve a free pass, right? Okay I need to use it because I have not been on top of my blogging game with this Birthday. I’m so disappointed in myself :(
With that said, Ryder’s birthday festivities started on Thursday night when we met my family for dinner to celebrate his 2nd birthday & Sydney’s 12th Birthday! I brought my camera, but forgot my memory card at home! So absolutely no pictures of that, but Ryder got lots of fun presents from the fam, including this guitar from Yaya:
She asked him a few weeks ago what he wanted for his birthday and he said a black guitar! She couldn’t believe he asked for something so specific, but of course she was on a mission to find him a black guitar. The funny thing is that Daddy’s favorite song right now is called Country Boy, so of course this is Ryder’s favorite song too and he always asks to watch the video on YouTube, and now he has a guitar just like Aaron Lewis!
Ryder’s birthday party was today and we had such a great turnout! The weather was beautiful and so many people came out to his Harley party to celebrate with us! Thanks to everyone for coming and for all the AWESOME presents Ryder got! He’s a very lucky guy. Here are some pictures from our day:
Not long after the party started, Ryder fell off the golf cart and scraped his nose, lip, and forehead. He handled it better than I did, of course, I just felt so bad that he got hurt on his Birthday. So he wasn’t really himself for a while afterward, but he pulled it together and enjoyed cake, presents, and the pinata with his friends! The rest of the afternoon into the evening was spent playing and enjoying the beautiful weather. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day and are so thankful for all the special people we got to celebrate with.
I can’t wait for him to wake up tomorrow so we can play with all his new toys! (That is if I can get out of bed, I definitely think I over did it today and am not sure I’ll even be able to walk tomorrow!)
Ryder ~
Just saying your name makes emotion pour out from my heart. Never in my life have I experienced such a deep love for something or such an overwhelming amount of pride and joy. Thank you for making me a Mommy and your Dad a Daddy. We have such a special bond from being your parents that we can often just look at each other and without saying a word know exactly what the other one is thinking or feeling about you.
As with your first year, your second year has brought some difficulties for you, but nothing you couldn’t overcome. A 1 year old being diagnosed with having a stroke is so shocking to most people, but for you it has just been another part of life. You push through all of the daily challenges you face by having a disability completely unaffected. You never complain about doctor appointments or constantly being at therapy, instead life is so fun for you and you just take it as it comes. Thank you for teaching me what true strength is, you are a fighter, and you my son are strong!
You have developed quite the personality. Your silliness mixed with your infinite vocabulary is the perfect recipe for laughter! No matter where we are or what we’re doing, you’re sure to make someone laugh, even if it’s just for the simple fact that so many words are coming out of such a little guy. You are SO smart, your mind is always working, observing everything that goes on in your surroundings and truly comprehending it all. I can’t help but laugh when I recall the time when we were questioning whether you would be able to walk or talk! You are extremely goal-oriented and are always on a mission to get something done. I can tell you will be a very hard worker when you grow up, just like your Daddy!
You are the definition of a Daddy’s boy! You love tools and motorcycles and monster trucks, 4-wheelers and dirtbikes, fixing things and tearing things up. But in the midst of all the manliness, you sure do love your Mama! One of my favorite things that comes out of your mouth is “Mommy, I take good cares of you!” as you cover me with your blankie because you think I’m cold. What a sweet boy you are. And to think of how caring you are to your baby sister who you have never even met yet just blows me away. I can’t wait to see you in action once she is born. Your love for Jesus is something that completely warms my heart. Your favorite song for us to sing together is “Jesus in the morning, Jesus at the noon time, Jesus when the sun goes down”. My prayer is that as you continue to grow you will always keep Jesus with you.
So here we are, on your 2nd Birthday. It makes me sad how fast you are growing up, but I’m loving every second of watching you grow. Happy Birthday Baby Boy! I hope this next year brings you nothing but happiness.
With all of my love,
~Mommy
P.S. Go easy on us, okay?! We can already see the signs of the Terrible Two’s creeping up on us…and we’re scared!
Okay so I’m a little early…but with all the Birthday festivities coming up, I didn’t want to forget to post! Plus I had 2 doctor appointments today so I have lots to share :) Here is what Alpha Mom says about this week:
Your Baby:
You:
I think I keep forgetting to note on here that I’ve been getting Braxton Hicks contractions for a while now, usually about 4-5 a day. My stomach is still feeling very tight and heavy and is getting so big that things are getting extra hard to do. Like carrying Ryder around, squatting down to pick something up, putting shoes and socks on, all that fun stuff.
Onto the appointments, the first one was another sonogram with the Perinatologist. It looks like they’re just going to continue to send me every 4 weeks to check in on the baby girl and make sure she’s doing okay, which she is! They say her insides look beautiful :) I think her little face is the cutest thing and I’m enjoying all of these sneak peeks at her! Today they looked a lot at her kidneys & brain specifically and said they both looked great. I love leaving sonograms with good news!
When I got to the appointment with my Dr. he had already read the report from the Perinatologist and said that my fluid was a little high. The highest they want it at this stage is an 8 and I was at an 8.3. He also had my glucose test results; the highest your sugar can be to pass is a 140 and mine was a 131. So yes, I passed!! But because my fluid was high, and my stomach was measuring big, and I was borderline on my sugar, he wants me to start testing my blood sugars and bring him my numbers at my next appointment. I also have to retake the glucose test prior to my next appointment in 4 weeks. Darn!
I’m not really sure about the other blood work I had done, my Dr. said it all looked good except for the Protein S, so he’s sending the results to the Perinatologist to see if he wants to follow up on that or if it’s fine, so we’ll see!
As for our stats, Maisy’s heartrate was 147 and I gained 4 pounds, which brings me to a total gain of 8 pounds.
Maisy was busy punching me while they were trying to take her picture, so her arms are kind of in the way, but here are a couple pictures anyway:
%5B4%5D.jpg "24 Weeks sono(4)")
%5B4%5D.jpg "24 Weeks sono(7)")
And here we are together:
Sorry we have been MIA, our next big project was in full effect this weekend which meant our whole house being moved around and…no computer! We decided to tear the carpet out of our living room, dining room, and hallways and replace it with wood floors. This ended up taking all weekend and into the week, but we are getting there! Alan has been working SO hard, we really appreciate him and everything he does. Of course Ryder had to help:
And even Mommy had to pitch in on the last row…
So we’ve been trying to keep busy while the house was being worked in, which was fun because we got to spend time with Jamie & Elijah:
And Me & Ryder had to get pretty creative finding things to do. We had breakfast and dinner parties on his bedroom floor, spent lots of time in the big boy bed, and he found a new favorite thing that he insists on carrying around with him:
Maisy’s pillow! What a sweet big brother he’s going to be. He would lay it on my stomach and say “here Maisy, you can lay on your pillow…..Ryder’s turn to lay on Maisy’s pillow!” Her turns were very short and his were very long, but that’s okay!
So that’s what we’ve been up to. It has been a little crazy having everything turned upside down, but I’m SO happy with the finished product that it will all be worth it in the end. So far we just have the living room back together:
(the only way we can keep the dogs out of our chairs is to pile stuff in them before we go to bed!)
Next project…Maisy’s room!!! Yay :)
%5B4%5D.jpg "25 Weeks (3)")
