Birthday Party

Happy 1st Birthday Ryan!

Birthday Party

I know everyone must feel this way but I truly can't believe Ryan has been with us for one year already. We celebrated his birthday on the 23rd with family and friends and everything went off without a hitch. Of couse we had more food then we knew what to do with but everything was just perfect. The weather was perfect, Ryan was happy the entire day and all the kids got along.

Daddy, Mommy and baby Ryan.

Cute Arlene helping herself to something yummy.

Birthday Party

The party gang. Hunter, Gracee, Keegan, Navy and Aubrey. Brooklyn had to leave just before this shot was taken.

Ryan loves his swing.

Swimming in the pool of balls with cousin Katie

Birthday Party

Birthday Party

Little man wasn't sure what to do with the little cake sitting in front of him so he was moving a bit slow to start.

The momentum continued.

And pure ecstasy was discovered

Birthday Party

Ryan loved opening his gifts. He sat in his little chair while Navy helped him with removing the wrapping paper.

Ryan loved everyone singing Happy Birthday.

Yummy

Birthday Party

Keegan and his mom Kara enjoying the slide.

Deborah and her granddaughter Gracee. Yes, Deborah is far to young to be a grandmother.

Of all his gifts he loved his forks. He didn't put them down once throughout the gift opening.

Birthday Party

Brooklyn and Ryan catching up after not seeing eachother for a few weeks.

Navy striking a pose.

Chuck was a huge help the entire day. We sure are happy to have him in our life.

Happy Birthday

Thursday, August 20th Ryan turned 1 years old. Unfortunately I had to work so the little man went to daycare. I couldn't possibly send him without doing my best to make his day extra special so in he went with a bouquet of balloons and a giant cookie to share with all his little friends. This week he moved up to the toddler room and needed a sleeping bag - no more pack and play. I still can't believe he doesn't crawl off during nap time but they tell me it works. Tom picked up Ryan from daycare and called me right away - he had a horrible bruise in the shape of teeth marks on his left wrist (again). Day two of the toddler room and the second time he was bitten. Tom questioned the teacher and her response was that sometimes the other kids get excited when someone new joins their class and acts out. OK, so I realize things like this happens but two days in a row and on his birthday - not to my kid. How about informing us of what is being done to help this other kid understand what he is doing is wrong - have his parents been notified - now that Ryan is learning to bite how do I teach him that biting is wrong? A little more explanation please. Friday I called and spoke with the schools director and she was able to answer all my questions. It seems there are two kids in the same class with this issue and a solution that was offered was to move Ryan to the other Toddler class - yes please. The next time this happens we're off to kickboxing class:)

So anyway, on to the festivities. For dinner we went to Happy Joe's for pizza. It is a family owned business with a few arcade games and a mini merry-go-round. Very kid friendly. The brought out a baby Sunday with a candle and placed it in front of Ryan. Out came a huge clown horn and the girl started honking the horn. "Attention everyone we have a very special birthday boy here today. His name is Ryan and he is turning one" the waitress yelled. The whole restaurant responded "awwwwwww" and all joined in to sing Happy Birthday. Of course my eyes filled up with tears and suddenly I realized that my baby was turning into a little man. The best part of evening was the look on Ryan's face. Between the horn, the sirens and the crowd singing, his expression was somewhere between a cry and a laugh - absolutely priceless!

1 Year Photo's

So everyone needs a one year photo right? Well I think someone forgot to tell me that the older the child gets the more challenging the experience gets. I have no idea how they got this shot with Ryan wearing the hat. I think it was on for about .02 seconds before he whipped it off and flung it across the room. Between a 1 year old and Bailey who wanted to sniff everything, Tom and I were running around the studio like crazy sweaty chickens. You can't tell but we had strategically placed little puppy treats in Ryan's pockets to keep Bailey from running off which I guess helped a tad. All in all the pictures turned out darling and the ones with Bailey will be forever cherished. These two have become the best of friends!

Trip to the Emergency Room

This past Saturday was a very busy day. After getting up with Ryan I quickly fed him breakfast and got us both ready for the day. Laundry, cleaning and Ryan down for his nap I jumped in the car and was off to the grocery store. Tom of course was home watching Ryan. I returned home to unload the groceries and grab the little man just as he was getting up from his nap. We went to a baby shower for Laura at the De Pere library which was very nice. Of course finding time to sit and relax was not on Ryan's mind - he was more interested in playing ball with the other kids and tearing apart the tissue paper as Laura opened her gifts. As the shower was coming to an end Ryan and I zipped home to pick up Tom and head to his parents for a graduation party for his sister. As we pulled into their driveway Ryan fell asleep for nap #2 which was great because this gave me about 30 minutes to recline in my lawn chair and gaze off into never never land. Before long the little man was up and ready to go go go. Dinner, cake and lots of chasing of the little one Jr. hit the wall. 8 PM and it was time to head home. Bath time is essential and helps Ryan unwind for his busy day so skipping this is just not an option. After story time and his bottle it was now 9 PM and he was fast asleep. I was finally going to kick my feet up and get some rest - yeeehaaaaa.

11 PM: I was praying to the porcelain god and experiencing incredible pain at the top of my rib cage - did I have food poisoning?

12 AM: More bonding time with the porcelain god and now the pain was spreading around to my back. Maybe I could sleep it off - perhaps pepto bismo will help.

1:15 AM: Burning pain through my chest into my back. I tried every position and the pain would not go away.

1:20 AM: After contemplating every possible option I woke Tom and asked him to take me to the Emergency Room. I don't know if he thought I was kidding but he couldn't even process trying to figure out what to with Ryan. There are a million people we could call but I guess at this time in the morning his brain just wasn't working.

1:45 AM: Aunt Pam arrived and we took off for the hospital.

2:00 AM: Checked in at the front desk. It is amazing how quick they move when you tell them that you have chest pain. When I checked in at the hospital with my finger in a towel and told them that I cut if off they didn't move half as quick as this weekend when I presented with chest pain.

5:00 AM: Blood tests, chest x-rays and an ultra sound the Dr. informed me that I needed my gallbladder removed. By now they had pumped me full for pain meds so I was no longer crawling up the wall in pain. They believe the hormones my body produced while I was pregnant caused my g-bladder to become infected and to produce stones.

7:00 AM: I was admitted into a room upstairs

10:15 AM: Wheeled to the OR and my g-bladder was removed

12:30 PM: Back to my room recovering.

Deborah came and took care of Ryan during the day so Tom could be at the hospital with me. Thank you Deborah I know our little man was in good hands and having a ball with his Auntie Deborah :) This entire experience really made me take a step back and realize that I can't do it alone. There was absolutely nothing I could do to prepare for this crazy experience and I had to rely on others to get me back on my feet. Sunday afternoon for some silly reason I was convinced that I was going home. I was sharing a room with a lady that was constantly throwing up and having other issues so my resting was extremely difficult. I was able to keep my fluids down, my vitals were perfect and I could get up and walk on my own. So why couldn't I get a bottle of pain meds and go home? The nurses didn't see a problem with my rational so they called the Dr. for approval. When they returned to tell me that the Dr. said I needed to stay the night I didn't take the news well at all. I had called Tom to come pick me up so there he and my little boy sat on the end of the bed while I cried. They pumped me full of pain meds and I quickly fell asleep. Later that evening Chuck arrived with a movie and butter cookies - yum! We didn't watch the movie since we had the neighbor in her feeble state next to us but we sat and chatted and ate the yummy cookies. It was so nice to have him there keeping me distracted from all the yucky hospital things.

Monday morning 7:30 AM: I buzzed the nurse and told her I would like to go home.

8:15 AM: The Dr. checked me over and gave me the green light to check out.

8:30 AM: Sitting on the end of the bed dressed with my bag of goodies waiting for Tom.

9:05 AM: Wheeling out the front door to the car. Free at last baby free at last!

I was so happy to be home with Ryan, Tom, Bailey and yes I'll say it Dottie. Before long I was fast asleep and not even a plane landing on the house could have woke me from my deep deep sleep :)

Recovery, now that is a different story. Why do men not understand that doing laundry within 24 hours of surgery isn't an option. I've become a bit of a freak about not wearing shoes in the house and keeping my floors clean with Ryan crawling around. As I sit here recovering I notice everything especially my messy house. I've been working from home all week so I don't have to use my PTO (thanks to Chuck for installing our wireless router) and between that and resting I don't have much energy for anything else. I do get out and walk twice a day and do as much as I can for Ryan plus I am feeling better every day put my patients for a full trash or things being left on the stairs is very low. Perhaps it's the medication. Thanks Tom, I know you are doing your best and I realize I am extra crabby but I hope you know I appreciate everything you do. If it isn't to much to ask would you mind taking out the trash? And no Brian a massage and nachos are not an option!

The Brew Crew

To raise money the Children's Museum held a Parade downtown Appleton that ran down College Avenue just outside my office. A group of friends and I quickly pulled together decorations and the theme "the brew crew" which represents the Major League baseball team here in Wisconsin. There were over 1,200 kids registered to participate but it seemed like there was double that when we started walking down the street. We had 9 kids in our group and they all had a blast. After the parade we all celebrated in the park with music, goodie bags and food.

Blocking the sun from baby boy's eyes.

Tom rocking out to the "Jock Jams" CD


The Brew Crew