Cookie Time!

On Christmas Eve, we all headed to Douglasville to make cookies and go to the candle light church service. 

And as you can tell from the pictures below ... Ryland had a lot of fun making cookies!

Good News!

All of the test results are back and everything is just fine!!  We definitely had the feeling that everything was ok with our little mister and that his soft spot was closing at a slower rate just because and for no reason at all!  But having it confirmed is wonderful!

The morning of the CT Scan ...

Last Friday morning we all woke up, got dressed and got straight in the car to head to Children's Hospital for Ryland's CT scan.  Ryland could not eat that morning so that he would be ready for sedation just in case they could not get a good picture with him awake.  Ryland was happy and having a good morning.

When we got to Children's, Kari came down to say HI.  He was happy to see her and show her the big train set in the waiting area.  He loved pushing the buttons to make the train go around the track.

While we were waiting in the radiology area Ryland got to pick out a Christmas ornament and we walked around to see all of the holiday decorations and the big fish tank.  We were actually early for our 9am appointment but they were able to take us back early.

Ryland did not get upset until we laid him on the xray table and started to velcro him.  He looked like a little burrito.  The nurse was so good and helpful in distracting Ryland as much as possible from being strapped down.  Tab and I put on the lead vests and we got to stay in there with him.   Tab had to hold his chin so that he did not move his head and I stood on the other side so that he could see both of us.  It only took one try and they were able to get a good scan!  He was such a big boy!  We were so happy that they were able to do it all without sedating Ryland.  And after it was all over the nurse gave Ryland a Christmas balloon!  He left Children's happy and was glad when we finally got to Goddard so that he could see and play with all of his friends.  

That afternoon his classroom had their Christmas party.  Tab and I went up there to eat treats with all of the kids.  After we all left his school Ryland and I made a detour and went to my office to pick up something that I had forgotten.   He loved running around my office and up and down the walkways!  There were so many toys and balls for him to play with.  It was a great ending to a long day!

Ryland's Favorite Sayings ...

"I love you mommy"
"I love you daddy"

**  I love that he tells us that he loves us now!!

"Daddy up with Santa"

** Ryland talks about how Tab climbed on our neighbor's roof to help put up a giant Santa.  I think he tells us this everyday and whenever we go outside and he sees Santa on the roof.  He was fascinated with Tab being up on the roof and with him helping Santa.

"Mommy sit" "Mommy up"
"Daddy sit" "Daddy up"

** Ryland loves to tell us where he wants us to be when playing with him. 

"Stop It" Stop It Please"

** Ryland definitely knows what to tell us when we are doing something that he does not want us to do.

"What is that?" "What is that?" "Mommy, what is that?"

** This is his favorite question!

"Where did it go?"

* I love it when we are playing hide and seek and he whispers this to us.

These are just a few of my favorite.  Ryland is talking up a storm now.  And saying full sentences and holding  conversations.  He has been doing this for a while but I kept forgetting to post it to the blog!

Rough Day ...

Our morning started out at Dr Loventhal's office for Ryland's 2 year check up.  We got great news on Ryland's development and growth.  And he actually stayed calm after Dr Loventhal came into the room and was happy up until he started to look into his ears.  This was a huge improvement because he typically loses it as soon as Dr Loventhal or a nurse walks into the room.  But on top of the great news we also got some not so great news.

Bad news #1 ... Ryland has an ear infection and tonsillitis :(  We had a feeling that he might not be feeling well because he had a rough night's sleep last night.  He typically sleeps through the entire night but woke up multiple times and both Tab and I ended up rocking him for a while during the middle of the night.  I was thinking that he might be waking up looking for his water cup that we usually leave in his crib and getting upset when he could not find it (since the "tooth" incident we have not let him drink out of sippy cups because we did not want him to put pressure on his tooth).  But now we know the real reason ... the poor boy was not feeling good at all.  He also started to lose his voice today from the tonsillitis.  Hopefully his medicine will kick in soon and he will feel like new!

Bad news #2 ... We have to go in for blood work and a CT scan at Childrens.  Dr Loventhal been watching his soft spot on his head for some time now because it has always been behind schedule on closing.  And since it has not closed completely he wants to run some tests to rule out anything that could be wrong. 

Height = 33 1/4 in.  21% percentile.  What a growth spurt!
Weight = 26lbs 15 oz 38% percentile.
Head = 52 cm. Still off the charts :)

After the check up, a flu shot, a toe prick and a prescription in hand we left Dr Loventhal's office went straight to see the pediatric dentist.  They were nice enough to squeeze us in so that we could get Ryland's tooth checked out.  It is located in the same building as Dr Loventhal's office so it was really convenient.  We went back to the meet the dentist and his assistant to talk about what happened and for them to get a first look.  Ryland did great.  He was not afraid and sat there with us the entire time and was such a big boy.  Tab and I decided not to go back with Ryland for his xray since we would not be able to be near him during the xray (we would have to stand on the other side of the room which we thought would be worse for Ryland).  So Dr Rosenthal (funny how his name is so close to Dr Loventhal's!) took Ryland and walked him back to get the xray and Ryland went without a fight.  We could hear him cry once they got back there but they said that he did not cry for long and the xray was over before we knew it.  And then they came out to tell us GREAT news ... the root was not cracked!!  He gets to keep it - YAY!!  We just have to keep a close watch on it to make sure that it does not move or change colors and go back in a month for another xray and check up.

So we left the dentist office with a huge smile on all of our faces ... and 2 Elmo stickers!  And then we went straight to Children's for his blood work.  We could not get his CT scan today because they have to make an early morning appointment since there is a chance that they might have to sedate him if he does not lay still during the scan (I am betting that this will happen because Ryland might be small but he can definitely put up a good fight if he does not want to do something!).  Ryland was really happy while we were waiting at Children's because there was this huge train set that he could push a button to make the trains go around the tracks.  He loved that and was sad to leave it when we had to go back to the lab.  And once we went back to get his blood drawn he did great.  It took the nurse a while to get enough blood out of his little arm (it felt like forever!) but even though he was crying he was being such a bog boy!  I am so proud of him.  On the way out of the hospital there was a hospital "helper" dog and they were giving out teddy bears.  The dog's name was Casper so we named our new teddy bear Casper.  Ryland hugged the bear all the way to the car and fell asleep holding it as soon as we got him in the car. 

It was a LONG and EXHAUSTING morning!  We go back to Children's on Friday morning for the CT scan.  And hopefully soon after that we will get a good report back from all of the tests.

The rest of Ryland's day was good.  He has been in a really good mood but did start running a fever this afternoon ... his first with this ear infection and tonsillitis.  So we are going to keep him out of school tomorrow.  CC and Pops are going to come out to watch him and he is excited about spending the day with them!

I hope all that has happened since his 2nd birthday is not a sign of what the next year will bring :)  Fingers crossed!

Great Family Times and Present Opening

JJ and MiMi, Miranda and Daniel and CC and Pops were all here this weekend to celebrate Ryland's birthday weekend and the holidays!  We had an exciting weekend!  Here are some of the highlights ...

- A trip to Scottish Rite when Ryland fell and busted his tooth.

- Making cookies and holiday candy!

- Our oven going out just as we were putting the first batch of cookies in and then having to cook all of the cookies in our toaster oven!

- Delivering cookies to all of our neighbors.

- Hanging out and watching Cars 2 (the movie)

- Playing with all of Ryland's cars and trucks and his new grill!

- Going to see the Christmas Lights at Life University only to realize that you need to plan on a 45 min wait to get in.  So we decided to go back home since it was already close to Ryland's bedtime.

Here are some pictures from our weekend. 

Ryland opening his birthday present from JJ and MiMi.  It was the cutest John Deer wheel barrel!  It took Ryland a couple of tries to learn how to balance it but he definitely has the hang of it now! 

Ryland opening his Christmas present from JJ and MiMi.  A huge John Deer truck!  Ryland loves it!  And as you can tell from the pictures Ryland has definitely mastered present opening.  He pulls off every piece of paper ... even if he has to lay on top of the present to get to it all!

Showing off his new birthday shoes from his mommy and daddy!   He was all dressed up in his Christmas pj's and jacket so that we could go see the Christmas Lights. 

Opening his birthday and Christmas presents from Miranda and Daniel.  Bubble bath, a new bear and a grill just like his daddy's!!

Merry Christmas!

HaPpY 2nd BirThDaY to RyLaNd!!

I cannot believe how fast the past 2 years have gone by! Ryland brings so much love and joy and laughter to our lives.  We LOVE our little "mister"!

Early morning birthday picture .... before his hair had been combed!

Eating his birthday banana for breakfast!  His favorite food!

One of Ryland's favorite things to eat are blueberry scones from Publix.  So I took some in for his class to eat for their morning snack on Ryland's birthday. 

Ryland opening a birthday gift from his teacher when he got to school.

Ryland had a great 2nd birthday.  We finished out the day eating pizza for dinner with all of our neighbors ... and a cupcake for dessert!  Yum Yum!

Santa and The Pink Pig

We met Chuck, Lindy and Maddie at Lenox Mall so that we could all visit Santa and ride the Pink Pig. 

Ryland was loving everything while we were waiting in line.  And definitely taking it all in.  We have been talking about Santa for weeks and Ryland loves to point out Santa and tell us what he says ... "Ho Ho Ho".  But he definitely does not like to get close to the real Santa!  As soon as it was our turn to walk up to Santa for pictures he lost it.  I sat down next to Santa with Ryland in my lap but that did not help so I did what every mom does ... I gave my screaming child to Santa and left him in his lap!  But just as soon as the picture was over and we rescued Ryland from Santa's lap he was as happy as ever.  So it definitely did not take him long to get over it.  Here are some pictures.

Waiting in line ....

Walking up to Santa.  And not liking it!

Trying to get Ryland to loosen his grip on me so that I could put him in Santa's lap.

So sad ... but classic!

Happy with daddy after it was all over!

After Santa pictures we all went to ride the Pink Pig.  It has been so long since I have riden it and Tab has never been.  It was a fun family ride!  Ryland really liked it and was so good during the entire ride.  He held on to his Pink Pig Pass the entire time!

This is Lindy and I trying to get a picture with the kids.  This never works anymore!  Oh well.

Uh Oh ... Our Trip to Scottish Rite ...

We were having a great Saturday morning.  JJ and MiMi were in town to visit and we all had plans on celebrating Ryland's birthday all weekend long!  JJ was playing the guitar so Ryland wanted his guitar to play along with him.  He was standing in the living room ... near the hallway.  He thought he was standing in front of the chair and he went to lean back and fell straight back ... on the hard wood floor!  It was the loudest and hardest fall that he has had.  And all of a sudden we saw blood coming out of his mouth and he was screaming.  And then we saw it ... his front right tooth was pushed back :(  His guitar must have hit his tooth when he hit the ground.  It was awful.  We were all still in our pjs.  And we were out the door and in the car to the ER within 2 minutes. 

Ryland was screaming and crying the entire way there and you could tell that he was in a lot of pain.  And then he realized that his tooth was loose and started touching it with his tongue.  The experience at Scottish Rite was awesome (minus the fact of why we were there).  We were taken back to the room and talking to the doctor within 10 minutes.   Ryland calmed down once we got there but since he is terrified of doctors and nurses he lost it again when they walked in the room.   The good news is that the tooth reset itself to the normal location and seemed to be tightening back up.  There was not much that they could do for us but tell us to make an appointment first thing in Monday morning to see a dentist so that they could take x-rays.  And to keep him on a soft diet until then.  So we came back home and stopped to rent Cars 2 on the way back. 

So far Ryland is doing good.  We have been EXTRA EXTRA careful in everything that we do!  No jumping, no rough housing, no running.  There has been a lot of tv, movies, painting and walking around.  If there is any chance that they do not have to pull his tooth out then I will do whatever it takes so that he does not have to go through that experience!  He has been eating A LOT of yogurt and mashed potatoes.  Our fingers are crossed that we will get a good report when we go see the dentist tomorrow.  More to come soon.

PS ... He hated wearing his hospital bracelet.  He is VERY picky about anything that goes on his body!

Happy "Car" Birthday Party!

Ryland had the best 2nd birthday party that a boy could ask for.  Great friends, great times and great memories!  And I have some A-M-A-Z-I-N-G friends that helped me get everything ready and they were the "brains" behind all of the ideas.  I cannot say thank you enough and I could not have done it without you!

Here are some pictures from all of the fun.

GETTING READY ....

Directing everyone outside to the garage where all the fun was located!

One of the box cars hanging over the table. 

Honk, Beep, Zoom ....



Front door sign ... welcoming everyone to the party ...

The cutest cookies ever!  Courtesy of Courtney ... all the way from Nashville!

The cutest cake ever!  Courtesy of Stephanie ... The professional party planner and cake decorator!

Checking out the cake for the first time.  He loved it!

LET THE PARTY BEGIN!

Ryland Blvd - where you can find your local body shop, parking lot, gas station and car wash!

Back inside for some fun and food!

And box car racing around the kitchen!

All of the kids ... Zachery Govan, Maddie MacPhee, Ellerie Hancock, Stella Govan, Jack Myers, Ryland Bullard, Hadley Hancock, Easton Selbee 

Time for birthday cake!  Ryland decided to grab an oreo while we all sang "Happy Birthday" to him.

And then stuff it in his mouth right before it was time to blow out the candles.

Needed to drink some water before blowing out the candles!

 

Time to dig in ... Ryland LOVES cake!

Change of clothes and one last group shot!  What a great party!  Ryland was exhausted after it was all over.