Happy 4th Birthday Rhyan!

My sweet Rhyan

4 years ago today, after a solid day in the hospital trying to get to meet you, you finally made your appearance in this world! I remember seeing your sweet face for the first time, holding you for the first time, kissing your sweet face... and wondering how in the world I would ever figure out how to be a good Mommy to you!

We survived, though, and here you are today... FOUR years old! I am so amazed at all you have soaked up in the last 4 years. You are smart, Miss Rhyan! You are perceptive and can always tell if something is wrong with someone in your family. You are compassionate and nurturing! You love to help take care of people (and your baby dolls, stuffed animals, etc). You are absolutely loving and precious.

You do not like to be woken up from your naps each day. If we have to wake you, we pretty much just open your door and let the noises wake you because we're "scared" ;-). You are a GRUMP if we have to wake you!!! Naps are still pretty much a daily thing around here for you, although there are days (usually 2 a month) that you dont fall asleep and just lay there quietly for usually an hour before getting up to tell me that you're ready to get up. Silly girl. Nap time is for MOMMY! Not just you ;-)

Having your nails and toes painted is something you love. You can be quite the tom boy and love to play outside and ride your bike, climb and jump and run... but there is also a princess inside of you that requires a dress and hairbow and black shiny shoes. I absolutely love that you are not 100% tomboy or 100% girly girl... its so easy to get to enjoy a wide variety of activities with you because of this!

Every night, you and I play a little game. Idk how it started exactly? Something that you did with your "Mayer"... and we expanded on it a little. You say to me "You're my favorite... lamp" and I say "you're my favorite... bird". We continue to say that we are each others favorite random object and each respond with "nooooooo! i'm not a _____" until one of us finally says, " I know! You MUST be my favorite little girl/mommy". Then we give BIG hugs (which becomes another game... to see who can squeeze the other the hardest!) and BIG kiss (where i remind you to NOT smile and keep your lips closed b/c i dont want to kiss teeth!).

You remind us all daily that we must say our prayers before we eat. Quite the pharisee, we are raising! haha... certainly, that is exactly what we hope to avoid! You also remind me to read your bible to you each night and at your current age, I love that we can ask you questions from your night time bible and you really try to figure out the right answers. And it cracks me up that every time I ask you what is one way that we can show God that we love Him, you respond with "obey Mommy and Daddy". And every time i ask you how Jesus showed that He loved God you respond with "he obeyed his Mommy and Daddy" LOL! We've got some work to do, but you're learning ;-)

You are a really great big sister. Of course, you struggle with sharing at times with Mack, but overall you are really helpful and kind to him. You try to teach him how to say the blessing and how to ride his bike, etc... you kind of go back and forth between wanting to be a baby (and trying to talk like one) and  really taking on your role of big sister. We understand this conflict in your heart and just try to remind you of what it was like when YOU were little like Mack and all of the great things you get to enjoy now that you're bigger. Helping you see the perks of being older brings you right back to wanting to be the big sister!

We have a great time shopping together. You're such a great little buddy and always help me find nice gifts for friends, nice clothes for myself, etc.

You love Spud and always make sure he has food and water, and you let me know if he needs something. If his ears flip inside out, you fix it and tell him he's a silly boy. You're so good with him!

Lately, you've been telling me that you think we need a bigger family. Your specific requests are for 1. A cat (not happening... i'm allergic! sorry girl!) 2. A brother for Spud (not happening... i'm sick of cleaning dog hair, and trust me... he doesnt want a brother!) and 3. A sister for you. Cause you already have a brother ;-) haha... So demanding!

You have weathered the changing of church's like a champ. It was SUCH a hard decision to change from the only church you've ever known... where you were dedicated and loved for almost 4 years! But you have taken so well to your new church (Bethlehem Church) and are so sweet to tell Mack that he is a big boy and shouldnt cry and just to have fun!

This past year you have potty trained, learned to talk in full on conversation, comprehended reasoning skills, learned all your letters and can write most of them, know all colors (except gray), developed a great love for singing and all things princess's,  stopped sucking your fingers in your sleep! (thank you Mavala Stop!) and so much more! Some things I could live without is how picky you've become in your eating and the tone in which you sometimes answer me.

I cant believe what this next year will bring... you will be starting pre-K in the fall, which is SO bittersweet. I know you are SO ready! You're so excited and tell your Daddy and I all the time about how great it will be and how you know that we will miss you, and that its ok. :-)

Your Daddy and you are little peas in a pod. You play together and you are always SO goofy around him!
You and your bother LOVE each other, too. I'm always surprised at what great friends you are and how well you play together. It makes me so glad that you are so close in age!

This past weekend leading up to your birthday, I went to a Christian children's ministry leadership conference. The whole theme of the conference was symbolized with a marble in a jar for each week from today till the time a kid turns 18. There were jars everywhere labeled with the ages and it was a real visual for how quickly time passes. I loved the idea and am starting a jar for you and your bother soon. I need to take a marble out each week so I can reflect on the week and think about how well your Daddy and I poured into you and made time matter. How well we loved you during that week. I look forward to that reminder, and hope that the Lord will guide us as to how to make each week of your life count as we disciple you!
 
More than anything, I absolutely adore being your Mommy. I struggle with learning how to be a good one, that much is still true. But my motive and desire is there, so I continue to trust the Lord and see Him for discernment and wisdom on how best to parent your precious heart. I treasure you, Rhyan Shlaine Ford. And I always will. Just in the way that NOTHING can separate you from the love of God, so it will be with my love, as well.

Growing Up

I'm amazed at how quickly Rhyan seems to be growing up. Its so true, the old saying that with children "The Days are Long and the Years are Short".

 One day, Rhyan came in the kitchen with her magnadoodle... she had drawn her first ever, by herself "R". She was kinda bashful about it, but oh so proud of herself.  I couldnt believe it! We work on letters some, but I rarely can get her to attempt to write one. She is very much the first child perfectionist and has the tendency to not want to try things unless she knows she can do it well... or at least practice in private where no one will see her struggle or try until she gets it "right".  So really... i was SO proud!

Back in December, we decided to let Rhyan try out gymnastics! We let her do a couple of "trial" classes at extreme tumbling in winder (not far at all from us!) and she seemed to like it, so we signed her up. She goes every monday for 45 minutes. We went through a brief period of her saying she didnt want to go (right after we signed her up, of course) but that quickly resolved.

This was on her first official class. There were 5 girls in the class. Now... there are two. And sometimes the other little girl doesnt come so Rhyan gets a private lesson! haha.

Rhyan really enjoys her "nastics" but doesnt really like to practice at home or show off what she's learned. Again, goes back to her not wanting to do things in front of us (specifically her parents... she'll try things in front of strangers more than us!). So, we try to get her to work on her bridges and handstands and flips, but she usually says she doesnt want to. And thats ok. We're not looking to train an olympian or anything ;-) Really, we signed her up to give her the experience of having something to do that is just "hers" before she starts school in the fall... but with this, I can look through the window in the observation room and see how she interacts with other kids and how much confidence she has/lacks. It serves its purpose.

Mckinnon: ONE YEAR!

Oh, little Mack..... you're a BIG boy now!!! (well, you were a month and 4 days ago... your mama's a little slacker lately!) You are the cutest, sweetest little boy i've ever met!

 And you are into EVERYTHING :-) So its a very good thing that you're so cute!

 And your big sister is showing you the ropes on just HOW to get into everything!

 You are standing up all by yourself and loving being outdoors and playing in the water!

And on this day, we saw you take your first step! (June 4th, i think?)

This month was a BIG month; you weaned from the bottle!

I was worried that you'd miss it since its such a wonderful cuddly time, but you were the easiest kid to wean! We started by cutting out your morning bottle at 11.5 months old. You were a little hungry for breakfast a little sooner so we bumped it up about 30 minutes. You also weaned to ALL finger/big boy foods at the same time. That transition was the easiest because you love ALL foods. If only you chewed a little better before swallowing.... one thing at a time, though. :-) So we'd get up and eat some oatmeal or a pancake and eggs or whatever at 7:30 and I offered you a cup of milk.

We were giving you a cup with a straw, but i started hating on them because they all started leaking. So one day, i decided to see how you'd do with a cup like Rhyan uses that you have to tilt back. I had to help you a little at first, but within 2 days, you were a pro! You catch on to things SO quickly! Especially when it involves getting food or drink :-)

We gave you 3 days to adjust to each bottle being dropped. And with each new phase of the transition, we were excited to see how great you did! I think its just another benefit of not letting our kids fall asleep with a bottle... you've never associated the bottle with anything other than food so as long as something replaced it, you were happy!

With Rhyan, i was always concerned with how much milk she took in. It was only about 8-10oz when she first weaned. However, you seem to think that milk is liquid gold. We have to actually limit you! Overall, you were so easy to wean. I kept you on the night time bottle until a week after you turned one.... but only because i loved holding you and seeing you get all drowsy as you ate that last bottle (it was the only bottle you ate before going down for a nap/sleep.... all other bottles came after waking from the night or nap). But eventually, your Mama decided it was time to let you be the big boy that you are. So one night i just got you ready for bed, read you a book and you went to bed like nothing had changed. Man, you're so big!

Another big change: your naps!

You started taking a REALLY long time to go to sleep in the afternoon so we had to shorten your morning nap to NO MORE than 30 minutes. You arent really ready to drop it yet, but we have to really limit it!

Here are some other hilights of this months milestones:

-moved up to 18 month clothes (fatty!)

-2 new teeth (lower laterals)

-standing alone

-taking one step on occasion

-still in size 4 diapers in the day, size 5 at night

-loving all foods. Except tomatos. Who can blame you, kid?

-you know that a cow says "moooo"

-your favorite game is to drop something and say "uh oh!" Its cute Until you start throwing food :-/

Schedule is pretty loose, but is as follows:

Wake between 7-7:30

breakfast around 8am

Independent play time around 9am

nap from 10:30-11

lunch around 12

nap around 1-1:30

wake around 3:30-4

dinner around 6

bed somewhere between 7:30-8 most nights.

 My sweet boy, you challenge me. You scream. A lot. And you cry if you get told "no". And you randomly lay in the floor and suck your thumb as if you never get to sleep. And you're cuddly and vibrant and you LOVE to be engaged and playing with your mommy, daddy or sister. You are absolutely a precious gift from God, just like your sister, and while there are days that i want to go far, far away to get a break.... every day, i am overwhelmingly grateful to be yours and Rhyans Mommy. The two of you bring me the most pure joy i've ever known, and i'm thrilled to have got

I know you want pics, but...

I dont have time to do pics this very moment. I do, however, have time to tell y'all that the sweetest things in the world to me right now are:

-Rhyan's kisses. Totally open mouthed with a little tongue. Sweetest thing ever.

-Rhyan crawling to follow me from room to room. Awwwwwwwww!

-How excited Rhyan gets when I get home or walk into a room.

and last but not least...
-Seeing just how much her daddy loves her. My greatest joy in life so far (aside from knowing the Lord) has been seeing my baby grow. The second greatest thing, by far, is watching my husband be a loving father. Seeing how he makes a fool of himself just to get her to smile... how he is so proud of the new things she does... listening to him talk about how cute she is and then smile a little... Its wonderful.

What was my life like before the Lord blessed us with this little doll baby?! I dont even want to remember! I know i enjoyed it, but it was nothing like this! *grateful*
Life is far from perfect. But, man, its good :-)

Rhyan's helmet and My heart...

I dont know how to express how i feel. Anxious. Fearful. Glad.

I'm anxious about her helmet for a few reasons. I'm hoping it wont disrupt her sleeping. I wonder if people will think we did something wrong that caused her to have to wear it. I wonder if it will bother her.

I'm fearful that she will slow developmentally. That it wont help. Or that it wont work as quickly as we'd hope.

I'm glad to be moving on with it. To be getting it and starting this process. So that in a few months, i can look back at this post and think "how silly was i to worry!".

I'm ready for tomorrow. But i dont think my heart is.
I really do realize that its not that big a deal. In my head. Its just this heart that bothers me!

But i take comfort in knowing that Rhyan is FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made. And that her Creator is also her Father who loves her more than I (is that really possible???) and that she is in HIS hands. Even for simple things like this that I, her worrier of a mommy, get upset over. He has it all under control.

Sometimes i just need to remind myself.

My, how time flys!

I know i say it all the time, but I really cant belive its been 11 weeks since I gave birth to our baby. What was my life like before her? She is pure joy to my life. God is SO good.

Often, this is how we find her after naps. She's quite the "scooter" and scoots down (at night) sometimes up to 2 feet!!!! For this reason, she's not swaddled at night anymore.

Loving her swing!

The sweet baby I will be leaving tomorrow to go back to work :-(
HAPPY BABY!!! Lord, how i'm gonna miss seeing this face all day long...

Progress!!!

We've had a busy week. Monday, my Mama kept Rhyan for a few hours so Jeff and I could sneak out for some yum-o breakfast at the Red Barn and a movie (transformers). Then Wednesday she stayed with my cousin Tracy (who will be keeping Rhyan when we both go back to work) so we could head out for Lake Lanier water park. We had a great time and Rhyan did great with Tracy (i knew she would) and it makes me so much more comfortable about having to leave her with someone. I have to tell you, Lake lanier has not changed and Jeff and I felt like a couple of (fatter) teenagers! We had a blast!!!

On Friday we took Rhyan for a physical therapy evaluation appointment at Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta (in duluth). She has a condition of her neck called torticollis which means a muscle in her neck is tight (and has been since birth b/c of the way she was positioned in utero) and she cant turn her head very well to one side (the left). Therefore, she is getting some head shaping that is not ideal on the right. We've been working w/ her at home prior to this visit to try to loosen the muscles and she's made progress, but we've not been successful in getting her to sleep with her head turned to the left, which is the only way the molding can correct on its own (w/o having to go into a helmet).

The therapist was super nice and said her torticollis is moderate to severe and she thinks she'll do well with therapy but that worse case senario, they could do surgery to "release" the muscle. Ok... so we're gonna work REALLY hard with her at home to avoid this, obviously. Part of what keeps her from turning left is that since her head is already flat on the right, her head naturally falls that way. So hopefully that will begin to correct itself, as well.

The therapist also said she's a little behind on her neck strength and needs tummy time during every wake time for as long as she will tolerate it. This, combined w/ all the stretches and exercises and massage of her neck, takes up most of her wake time for now and makes her fussy (which i hate... i much prefer to lay and talk to her and sing to her and have her smile and talk back rather than work so hard... hopefully this will get better w/ time!).

Last thing, and this is what i want to ask our friends to pray about. The therapist noticed some curving of her back which concerned her a little and wants us to see an orthapedist for an xray to see if she might have some structural scoliosis. This worries me a good bit b/c my cousin had severe scoliosis that required surgery to place a rod on each side of her spine to keep it from worsening. Thats pretty extreme, i know. But, of course, when its your child you fear the worse case. So PLEASE, would you pray with us that this is simply a case of her muscles being stronger on one side than the other (which she said is also possible). Again, my worry is b/c we 've had several people in the family with back issues and I dont want Rhyan added to the list.

But really, we are LOVING being Rhyan's parents. I cant believe how much she's changed already...

Upload Drama

Jeff and I were watching the video's today of Rhyan's first bath and the one we recorded last night (to prove to her that she didnt forever scream at bath time... she enjoys it now!). I have to say, i'm so glad we got a camcorder before we had her. I'm sure we dont use it right half the time, and we forget to use it for most fun/important things... but hey, we're new at all of this. I tried to upload the video's today, but after waiting over 30 minutes, i gave it up. So you'll have to settle for some new pics, instead.

This first one is the night of our date. We went to target and got a sling... she likes it, you think?

Safe and fast asleep in Daddy's arms...

Getting jiggy with it... while she stares at the fan (the object of her affection)

And here are some pics from today. After daddy woke her up to eat... STRETCH!!!!After she ate... spending more time being amused by the fan :-)
And tuckered out from all her hard work. Jeff told me she had fell asleep "with her crotch hanging out"... and this is what i found when i went to check. LOL.

We are still trying to implement the principles of babywise (eat/play/sleep... in that sequence). Its supposed to help her distinguish day from night better and get her to sleeping through the night faster. For that purpose, we have found success. She slept last night for 5.5 hours between feeds. What we are finding, though, is that she doesnt really like napping in the day, which her Dr. says not to worry about as long as she is sleeping that well at night, and to count our blessings (in other words, quit griping!). Our pastor and his wife did babywise w/ all three of their little angels... seriously, they have fantastic kids, and so i called them today to ask their advice. Ken said maybe Rhyan just likes more "wake time" and to try letting her stay up longer and take shorter naps. I dont know if it was a fluke, but it worked for this time. She stayed awake and up with us for an hour and a half and I laid her down (swaddled by daddy) awake. She grunted a bit and looked around for about 20 minutes and then fell asleep till her next feeding. No crying. Halleujah. So maybe we'll try that for a bit and see if more wake time is what she needs. She really is a good baby... I'd love to have her up with us more!!!

Ok, so thats a day in the life of. Hope you enjoyed. If not, Rhyan has a knuckle sandwich for you!

Date Night

...was a success. Jeff and i dropped Rhyan off at his parents at about 6pm. We stayed and chatted for just a bit and then headed off to Chili's to eat (thanks to the Kunis's who gave us a giftcard when Rhyan was born!). There wasn't a line (thank you terrible economy and faining popularity of the resturant) so we were seated promptly. We enjoyed split 2 dinners for the purpose of variety, talked a while about plans for the summer, what a good baby Rhyan is, etc... and headed off to target to pick up a couple of things. Mainly, I wanted to get a jelly bean sling. I've been eyeing them and decided that while I'm not a fan of slings for everyday purposes (ie: holding her in it while she naps) I do like the idea of having it for when she has wake time and I want to walk around the yard with her or when we go to church and she is going to be napping during that time already (but I'm not quite ready to send her off to the nursery). Anyhoo, I love it... and so does she!

So we got back to Gran and Grandad's about 7:45. We were only away from her for a little more than an hour. We didn't intentionally rush back... it just didn't take us long to go on our date. But it was a nice time. Ronni said that Rhyan woke up to eat just a few minutes early but then downed her entire 4 ounces ( i figured she'd be hungry as she hadn't taken a great feeding at 4pm). When we got there, she was awake and in her little car seat, sitting by her Gran while they ate dinner. What a great baby :-)

Oh, and Ronni commented on how great Rhyan is when you change her diaper. I've noticed this and mentioned it to Jeff, as well. When we first brought her home she'd cry with each change... now, she just looks around and enjoys having her tooshie cleaned... i mean, who wouldn't? haha!

Smiling Fool

We took Rhyan to a friend's yesterday for her first photo session... her "newborn" pics at one month old. Anyways, I was so worried that she would be fussy or sleep through the whole thing. Boy, was I wrong! She was asleep for about the first 5 minutes, then woke up and did AWESOME the entire TWO HOURS that Terrilyn took pics. The photo session was a gift from Terrilyn that she gave to me as a shower gift to be used for preggo pics or newborn session. And I was NOT having pics done of me or my humongo belly in the 9th month! Plus, she's cuter on the outside! Anyways, she was awake for the session and just stared at the lights. I cant wait to see them and will post a link for you all to check them out as soon as they are ready. For now, some candid shots from the house will have to do!

I caught this grin this morning

Tuckered out after her photo session. She actually slept through her bath and went straight to bed!!!!
"Aunt" Susan and Megan loving on our babies
Like Mother, Like Daughter...
After eating... such a happy girl!

Yummmmmm...milk.....

Just FYI

It really stinks to care about something that is out of your control. Really, its no fun at all.

In other news, I'm working on weaning Miss Rhyan to only nursing at night and in the morning. I've decided that I will enjoy life, and her, more if I do so. AND, this way Daddy gets to do some late night feedings... hehe... see, he'll be off work in a week and a half and its time to start sharing the night's equally :-) She just doesnt latch really well which affects my milk production (or lack there of). I've tried herbs and drinking more water and nursing more often. I finally resorted to taking reglan, which increases prolactin (the hormone you release while nursing... remember, that pesky hormone that makes you super sleepy while you nurse...) and I cant stay awake on it. So I'm done stressing about it. Well, i wish that were true. I do feel awful, but I just cant let this consume me anymore. I've given her a month of breast only and now its time to move on.

And I'm considering leaving her w/ a family member next weekend for a date night w/ Jeff. The thought petrifies me, but I know its necessary. And healthy. So lets hope that goes well.

Well, check out the post below. And i caught her smiling (dreaming of never ending milk supply, i'm sure) today and actually got a pic that i'll post tomorrow. Its presh.

Mothers Day and beyond

The last 2 weeks have been crazy! I never knew how much a baby would change my life in particular. Jeff still goes to work and has some sort of "normalcy"... but I've NEVER been at home this much in my life!! I wouldnt trade it for the world, but cleaning teeth is so much easier!
We've been trying to get Rhyan back up to birth weight since she lost 9 oz in the first 2 days and as of today she's at 7lbs 15 oz... 2 oz above birth weight. YAY!!! Her tongue was tied and they had to clip the little frenum under her tongue so she could properly latch on. Having said that, because of the delay in latching, i've not been producing as much milk as we'd like. I started taking some nasty herb yesterday called fenugreek to help increase my supply. In the meantime, we've supplemented some, and i have to say, its tempting to want to just switch on over to formula. She sleeps longer and better b/c it takes longer to digest and I'll admit that I covet the sleep. But for now, we're gonna keep on keeping on cause thats what Joe Dirt would do. Life's a garden, dig it?!

Mothers day was uneventful. She was up most of the night Saturday night. Jeff said he rocked her for close to an hour and had dozed off. When he woke up he thought that certainly she'd dozed as well, but when he looked down her 2 little eyes were wide open and peering up at him like "oh, goody! you're awake now, too, Daddy!". TOO CUTE! (b/c i was sleeping while this was going on... i LOVE weekends cause he helps at night!) So we didnt go to church like we'd planned b/c we were like zombies :-)

Anyways, I know no one checks this thing to read all about our lives. So on to the good stuff. Pics.

Her best imitation of spud begging

Trying to get her to burp!

Chillin w/ her (very handsome) DaddyLooking Cute as ever!

Spud has found good use for the boppy pillow, too!

Right after a bath... see, the hair can be tamed (for a brief moment)

Very awake and showing Daddy her sleeper
Mothers day

Discipline

James Dobson w/ focus on the family says that if you wait until your newborn is 2 weeks old to start working on discipline (scheduling your baby to work around your life) that your baby is 2 weeks behind. This has been the bane of my existence for 9 days now... getting Rhyan on some sort of a schedule. I need a plan, and the confidence to stick with it.

Rhyan is a beautiful baby... with a healthy set of lungs. I had said last week that we giggle when she cries b/c she almost never does... well, scrap that statement. Apparently, she just hadn't "woken up" yet. Now, in the evenings she gets pretty fussy and we just dont know what to do for her. We get her to sleep, and when you put her down she cries. Pick her up and she's consoled for a few minutes, then she cries for a minute more, then is fine for a few minutes again... so the cycle continues. In the morning she sleeps a good bit between feedings, but come evening time, she's a little booger!

So I am not only open to suggestions, but am begging that you take the time to write as much as you want and give us some advice on what has worked for all of you. One big issue for me is that i LIVE on a schedule... its the nature of my job that lends me to desire this, i think. And while i know that babies dont work that way, it'd be nice to have some consistency. And i do understand that she's only 9 days old... but i want to be working in the right direction. So please, HELP!

And i promise that if yall give me some good advice, i'll have more time to post more pics... which we already have over 100 of. HA! :-) She really has stolen my heart :-) And Jeffs. I watched tonight as he rocked her to sleep for the first time. SO sweet. He's really doing great with her and she's getting used to her Daddy. Whats really cute is when she tries to "root" on him to get fed... and he puts her paci right at his chest and says he's faking her out. Too cute.

Ok, get to posting some great advice.

Start of a new era

I decided to start this new blog out of frustration from blogsome.com's inability to upload pics quickly. I've never cared before, but seeing as how it is now crucial for all of you to see hundreds of pics of our baby Rhyan and her minute by minute progress... well, its time for change.

Plus, its only fitting that we leave our old blog behind and start something new... after all... everything is changing!!!

And its ok that you all are jealous of Rhyan's baby fro. We all are...