Saturday, July 28, 2007

RYAN LEARNS TO BAKE

On rainy days I wonder what to do with Ry. He loves to be outside so these days are difficult if they cannot be broken up with time at the park or in the yard. Today was one of those days. He was being so good until about 3 p.m. I decided to let him learn to bake. I watched his every move, of course. He helped put the flour in the bowl, put the cookies on the cookie sheet and begged to take them off when they were done, but that was my job! He loved standing on the chair next to me (we've done this before when I've had to cook or wash dishes and he wants to see what's going on)and thought it was cool to move the cookies into one large cluster on the sheet. We really had fun.

In addition to baking, he's learned how to put shoes on and so he brought Adam's shoes to me and put his little feet inside and sat around for a little while just looking at the shoes.

Enjoy the photos!


Wearing dad's shoes.


I like putting the cookies on the cookie sheet.


I'm so strong I can pick this up and give it to mum to put in the oven.


Ryan waits for the cookies to get out of the oven. (He was not allowed to take them off the cookie sheet... he had to watch mum do that job.)

Thursday, July 26, 2007

On motherhood and Harry Potter

Warning: random ramblings about being mommy and Harry Potter

A long time ago I made a post about being a mommy It was May 24... about a week after my doctor gave Ryan to Adam and said, "This is your son; he's yours for a lifetime." Being a mommy then was hard. I had no clue about what lack of sleep can do to a person or how difficult breastfeeding can be if you have no support from family or friends.

A year later I can say that there are still days when being a mommy is tough. Like this week for example... Ryan decides to scream in church (once) and we promptly took him out. The guy behind us says, "Geez it's about time!" This is the time in mommyhood when you want to punch someone, but can't because you're in church. Then Monday, he was a whinny boy. Just whined the whole day. I know he wanted to go outside, but it was raining and no matter what cool game or activity I came up with, he just wanted to be "owsie." Then Tuesday he was an angel. He got to go outside. The rain had stopped. Yay! Today he wanted to climb the stairs at Aunt Vanessa's house without anyone watching him and he didn't want to go to bed. And the kid never listens when I say no, but listens to daddy.

While there are days that are tough and make me want to pull my hair out, I wouldn't want to trade them for anything. He's so precious when he takes his two little hands and holds my face and gives me really wet kisses, over and over and over again. He laughs after every kiss. And I love it when he comes over when I'm reading a magazine and gently closes it to remind me I'm supposed to be playing with him instead (not that I've forgotten, I just thought I could sneak in some reading really quickly). I love it when he runs to the door when Adam gets home and claps his hands and squeels with delight. He's my sweet baby. A treasure sent from heaven.

Sister-in-law is experiencing the new mommy blues like I did. It wasn't easy, but we made it through. Her circumstances are different, but it's still tough. Babies don't come with instructions and they are all so different. What may work for one doesn't necessarily work for the other. This too shall come to pass and she will look back and laugh at thinking how complicated baby seems now. I do. I laugh thinking that I cried becasue Adam went to work and I was left "alone." I confessed this to my doctor at our two week check up and at six weeks she confessed that she was afraid I was in for some serious post-partum depression. We can laugh at it now, but back then it wasn't funny.

I've said it a million times, but I wouldn't trade being mommy for anything else. I love watching Ryan grow and learn. I especially love when he calls socks "shoes!" and tries to put them on our feet. I love when he's so brave and runs across the bridge at the park all by himself.

So this has nothing to do with Harry Potter, but I did finish book seven. I won't give anything away, but I will say I loved it. Adam had theories about Snape and he was right. And there was a theme running through them all, which I cannot discuss now, but at some later date. I think J.K. Rowling has grown as a writer and that her work has been clever. It'd be nice if she created another world for us to escape to sometime, but if not, maybe there will be other writers who write original things (not additions to Harry Potter or copycats!) that will be just as clever and continue to get children and adults alike reading.

Monday, July 16, 2007

She's here!

Here are two wonderful photos. One of Madison Lucy born Sunday, July 15 at 9:30 a.m. weighing 6 lbs 2 oz and 18 inches long. I am a proud aunt who hasn't seen her neice yet... Adam took these photos... I was at work yesterday afternoon when he visited.

Also here's one of my handsome Ryan playing in a drawer that I was cleaning out. He's hugging his buddy Paws.


Saturday, July 14, 2007

Another baby update

Sister-in-law will be induced today. She was having contractions last night and they watched her all night and decided to induce today. They think she'll have baby sometime late tonight or very early tomorrow morning.

Sister-in-law's father is still in hospital. The stroke did most of the damage on the right side of the brain. So he's loosing speach, memory and balance. He's starting some therapy today and they are also watching him because he has been having seizures.

Thanks again for the prayers. I'll post photos of Madison when she arrives.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Update

Seems like sister-in-law and baby are okay. She had an appointment with the doctor today.

As for her dad, the news is still sketchy. It seems as if the stroke could have been fairly bad, so continue to pray for him.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Prayer Request

Hello all...

My sister-in-law is 37 weeks pregnant and found out that her amniotic fluid is low, which is not good for baby. In addition, she found out today that her father had a stroke on Saturday. Apparently they were keeping the information from her so as not to worry her. She's a wreck now, as I can only imagine. Her parents live in New York so she's hoping for the OK from her doc to travel. Her name is Vanessa and her dad's name is Frank. I'll update when I know more.

Thanks again. It's so nice to have a wonderful extended family in Christ.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

A 7/7/07 Wedding

We attending a wedding yesterday. Here are the two best photos. It was a nice wedding, but the long drive has me tired today.



Chris and Sarah


Ryan and Dada at the table waiting for our food.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

More photos



Playing dress up with dada's tie.



Dada and Ryan sleeping together on Sunday.


What a mosquito bite under the eye can look like.