Sunday, February 28, 2010

These Are The Words I Would Say

Be strong in the Lord

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And never give up hope

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You’re gonna do great things

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I already know

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God’s got His hand on you

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So don’t live life in fear

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Forgive and forget

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But don’t forget why you’re here

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Take your time and pray

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Thank God for each day

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His love will find a way

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These are the words I would say.

As we are now approaching the month that Ryder was born, I can’t help but reflect on this past year and everything that he has been through.  I’m so thankful for this song, “The Words I Would Say” by the Sidewalk Prophets, it has such a strong message that reminds me of where my focus needs to be … and these really are the words that I want to say to Ryder as he grows.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Daddy’s Home!!

Daddy sure does get a warm welcome these days when he gets home from work!  There is a lot of anticipation as we hear the monster truck come rumbling down our dirt road, pull in our driveway, the engine turns off, the truck door shuts, the dogs are running back and forth from the window to the door, we hear footsteps coming up the porch, when finally, after all the build up…the door swings open, and then:

And this is just a glimpse of what a Daddy’s boy Ryder has become lately!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Valentine’s Blog Party

How adorable are these kids??  Today we had a Valentine’s Party for all the Blog Mommies & Babies!  As always, we had such a great time.  Just to give you a glimpse of the chaos that comes along with our get togethers, here is a video showing how much fun we can have, even when there are a bunch of conversations going on at once, pictures being taken, and children going in all different directions:

And that’s just 30 seconds…ha!  It’s so much fun!  I really enjoy these times we all get to spend together.  Here are some pictures from the day:

 Ryder & Bryce playing cars (their favorite thing to do!)Valentines 032

Ryder snuggled up to Caleb on the couchValentines 028

Carter man being silly “Bang, Bang!”

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Ryder & Owen have so much fun together, they were excited to see each other and played for hours!  I took so many pictures I had to make these best buds their very own collage!ValentineCollage

A group shot of the Moms & KidsValentines 030 Thanks to Jen for having us all over her beautiful home and being such a great hostess.  I wish I had pictures of all the cute decorations, Ryder was completely fascinated with the hanging decorations and the chocolate fountain!   

It’s always a blast, can’t wait to do it again soon!

And just incase you didn’t catch this in the photos, Ryder was wearing his very first tie!Valentines 030a

Friday, February 19, 2010

Eleven Months Old!!

11 Months One month away from One whole year old!  I can’t believe it.  It shows though, he is becoming such a smart, interactive little guy!  Lets see what Ryder is up to this month:

  • He’s still wearing size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothes.
  • He points at everything and wants you to name whatever he’s pointing at.  After you’ve told him a few times, you can start asking him where something is and he’ll point at it!
  • He says Dada, Mama, Nana, Bubba, and Dun-Dun when he points at his dump truck! He babbles all the time and his tone even goes up and down as if he’s having a real conversation.
  • He drinks out of a straw and has developed quite the appetite!  He can eat a whole grilled cheese sandwich all to himself (and still have room for yogurt melts when he’s done!)
  • He’s always on the go, he loves playing with all of his different toys and exploring.  He also loves being read to and wants you to start right over once the book ends.
  • He’s fascinated by balloons, magnets on the fridge, and the blender!
  • He has become a serious Daddy’s boy ever since they stayed home together when Ryder was sick.

10 Months 219

Wow, one month from now we’ll be celebrating Ryder’s very 1st Birthday ever (party plans are already in the works!).  I’m almost afraid to blink, I’m sure it’s going to be here faster than I can imagine! 10 Months 237

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Ryder’s Favorite Things

It’s time for an update!  Six months ago, I wrote this post about Ryder’s favorite things.  He was 5 months old then, and oh how things have changed!  Now, at 11 months old, let me tell you about his new faves:
DRINKING FROM A STRAW:
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This is Ryder’s newest skill/favorite thing to do!  He absolutely loves drinking from a straw and we can tell he feels like such a big boy when he’s doing it.  It shocked us the first time we let him take a “pretend” sip of our drink and he figured out how to take a real one! 
BATH TIME:
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Thanks to Carter for letting us borrow his old bath seat, now Ryder can feel safe and actually enjoy splashing around and playing with all of his bath toys!  He points at the faucet so that you’ll turn the water on, he loves to splash and play with all his letters that float around, and gets sad when bath time is done and its time to get out.
SNACK TIME WITH DADDY:
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Ryder enjoys doing anything that involves Daddy, but one of his favorite things is when they have snack time together.  Ryder sits on his Daddy’s lap and waits patiently for his bite…well, he’s patient as long as Daddy keeps the rotation “one for Daddy, one for Ryder, one for Daddy, one for Ryder”…if TWO for Daddy slips in there, Ryder will try to reach into Daddy’s mouth to get his piece back!  He’s no fool, especially not when it comes to snack time.
TOYS:
It’s hard to pick just one toy that is Ryder’s favorite, but I can narrow it down to a few.  Obviously his dump truck and his mailbox are at the top of the list, he knows exactly what they are when you say and heads straight for them when we go in his room.  He also loves his tickle me Elmo hand that rides in the car with him…and for some reason another favorite “toy” to play with is the magnets on the fridge!
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10 Months 262 Wow, having this little guy around is so much fun!  I’m sure his favorite things will change again and again.  One thing that won’t change is that he’ll forever be Mommy & Daddy’s favorite thing in this world!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

A Little Info and A Lot More Waiting

We met with the Neurologist today to try to get some insight as to why Ryder is having problems using his left arm & leg.  Wow, what a long appointment, we’re all exhausted. 

First of all, let me tell you that I’ve been praying that God would give us a Doctor that would explain things well and not be in a rush and leave us feeling confused (the worst feeling in the world for me is to feel confused when it comes to something as serious as my child’s health!).  Well I get a phone call on Friday saying that the Neurologist we had our appointment scheduled with had fallen on the ice and would be out of the office for a while, so our appointment was cancelled, but they were able to reschedule for the same day with a different one.  They told me his name so of course I Googled to get some info on the new guy because I was feeling really uneasy about the sudden change.  Turns out he is the head of Pediatric Neurology at the hospital we went to, and he sat in our appointment and talked with us for TWO HOURS!  It’s funny how God works things out.  It’s also funny how His sense of humor shines through with me…yes I did ask for a Doctor that explained things well, but two hours, that was a little much!  Ha, guess I’ve seen the other end of that spectrum now.

Okay, so you would think after two hours of talking and talking and talking that we would know exactly what is wrong.  Nope…all we know is that we definitely have to get an MRI and that there are two scenarios that he is leaning towards.  The first is that there is a malformation somewhere in Ryder’s brain.  For some reason (possibly because of his kidneys not functioning, causing toxins to get to his brain that should have been filtered out) something didn’t form right and they will see an area of dysplasia on his brain.  The other scenario is that Ryder had a stroke while I was pregnant with him (again, could have been from the stress he was under with his kidneys not functioning) causing damage to a certain area of his brain.  In both cases, the MRI would pin point exactly where the damage took place, which would allow the Neurologist to tell us what parts of the body that area controls.  The extent of damage that was done is dependant on the size and severity of the stroke or malformation, and the cause.  So a lot of the answers are up in the air right now (in the tight grip of God, exactly where I need them to be!) and we’ll find out soon enough.

There were some things that the Neurologist was able to tell us just by observing Ryder.  He said that he’s going to be a late walker, he just doesn’t have the strength right now, and it’s going to take some time for him to build that up.  He told us not to be discouraged (not that we were, we know how much determination this little boy has!), that he would definitely walk, and that when he does, the problems with his left leg/foot should correct themselves once he starts bearing weight.  He also said that Ryder’s social, interactive, and communicating skills don’t seem to have been affected at all!  We’ve heard this before, but it sounds great every time.

Needless to say, we got quite the education on the brain and how it works today!  Although it’s all really fascinating, I must be honest and say that Alan & I were wishing it wasn’t our sons brain being used as the subject matter.  One second we would be so intrigued by the Doctor explaining what the little green section in the back corner of the color coded brain he was holding controlled, “OH, WOW, REALLY?”.  Then a minute later realizing that the same section we were just excited about, could possibly be the section that has been damaged in Ryder’s sweet little brain, it turned into “oh….wow…..really?!”.

He’s not considered an emergency case (good news to us!) so we’re just waiting for them to send us an MRI date.  They’re booking into March/April, so looks like we’ll have another looooong wait ahead of us.  But that’s okay, I’m fine with that, even though we don’t know what the exact cause is right now, we do know that he needs to be rehabilitated with lots of Therapy, and so that’s the path we’ll continue down.  Not to mention, I’m not thrilled about him having to be put to sleep again, so the more space we can put between the last time and this time, the better I’ll feel about it.

So, that’s where we’re at on paper, stuck waiting…for an MRI, another Neurology appointment, and answers.  But here in the Marsh house, in real every day life, we’re putting our faith and trust in God and He’s going to keep us moving forward!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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My heart is filled with love today…and every day.  It’s the best feeling ever, it’s what keeps me going, I love…LOVE! 

Happy Valentine’s Day, may your heart be filled with love too <3

Friday, February 12, 2010

Making Progress

Ryder’s weekly Occupational Therapy sessions have been going really great and we’re making a lot of progress in strengthening his left side. 
 
You can see in this video that Ryder is playing with a toy in his right hand (as he always does) but when I ask him to grab another one with his left, he opens his hand and grabs it!  I know this seems like something so little, but in baby milestone language, it’s HUGE.  He gets major points taken off for not picking things up with both hands, not transferring from hand to hand, and not banging two objects together…all of which we’re so proud to say he’s beginning to do now!
 

The therapist has been showing me lots of stretches to do with Ryder on a daily basis in order to gain full range of motion in his arm, and help loosen his tendons that he keeps clenched so tight.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much these stretches have helped.  You know what else is going to help SO much??10 Months 300 10 Months 320Ryder got two splints during therapy today!  The first one is for him to wear when he’s crawling around or in his bouncer, it is going to help him stop clenching his fist, and relax his fingers and arm into a more natural position.  The second one is for him to wear when he’s playing, it pulls his thumb out and supports his wrist so that he can grab things and pick them up more easily.10 Months 28210 Months 312This orange ball is something else the therapist brought us and has been using to help Ryder.  He loves it and thinks it’s so fun because he gets to bounce on it and get rocked back and forth, his favorite part is to be upside down (of course…my little thrill seeker)!

10 Months 315One other thing that is really helping Ryder gain strength and start pulling himself up is this step that Aunt Vicki has for him (I brought it home to show the therapist how great he’s doing).  He goes up and down it all day…it amazes me every time I see him do it.10 Months 319     

To see all this progress he’s making, to watch him open and close his hand, put weight on his leg, climb up and over obstacles, every little thing reminds me what a big, mighty God we serve who is in control over everything…even my little babies tiny little thumb. 

When you see Ryder in action, you can see that his left side doesn’t quite work in sync with his right.  When he crawls, all of his strength comes from the right side, his left arm and left leg try to keep up but they drag a little.  I don’t know what causes this, but to see the determination in this little guy and to watch these struggles not slow him down one single bit just opens my eyes to the fact that he can handle this!  He can get through it, I know he can.  Look how much progress he has made already!

We see the Neurologist on Tuesday…

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Yaya’s Back in Town!

My Mom went to Hawaii to visit with my Sister-in-law Ashley and my niece Trinity while my oldest brother Tim is deployed.  She has been gone for 2 whole weeks…and we’re so glad to have her back!  Although I’m sure she’s not too thrilled to go from this:HawaiiTo coming home to blizzard left-overs, but I know she missed us like crazy and is so glad to be home, even if it does mean having to deal with a couple feet of snow & ice (lucky for her she has the best son-in-law ever who shoveled her driveway and made a path to her door!)

Look at these adorable clothes Yaya brought home for Ryder all the way from Hawaii:10 Months 246

Aunt Megan picked her up from the airport, so we met up with them on the way back.  Leave it to Megan to have the cutest hoodie ever to add to Ryder’s Paul Frank collection (she keeps my boy in style!). 

10 Months 250  He’s one lucky guy :-)