2010: Year in Review

January ~

Ryder was 9 months old when 2010 began, and he brought in the New Year sick (any one else see the pattern forming?). We had our first meeting with Early Intervention about Ryder’s delay in his motor skills, specifically his left arm, and this was the first time the possibility of a brain injury was mentioned to us.  This began his weekly therapy appointments.  He perfected the army crawl, and his vocabulary consisted of Mama, Dada, Nana, & Ba-ba.  Mommy celebrated her 26th Birthday and we ended the month with a huge snow storm!

February ~

We got more snow and spent the first part of February snowed in!  We celebrated our first Valentine’s Day as a family.  Ryder developed a great appetite and really enjoyed trying new people foods.  He had his first appointment with a Neurologist this month and we were told we were going to have to take him for an MRI of his brain. 

March ~

March was a HUGE month for us.  Let’s see…Mommy & Daddy celebrated their 2 year wedding anniversary, Ryder turned 1 whole year old!  We were asked to be the Honorary Family for the Kidney Foundation.  Ryder had to be put to sleep for an MRI, that showed that he suffered a stroke, and therapy continued.  He got his top two teeth, a great report from his Kidney Doctor, and had THREE birthday parties!!

April ~

We celebrated Ryder’s 2nd Easter in April, and he made lots of developmental progress this month.  His vocabulary exploded and he began to say lots of words, he said bye-bye to the ba-ba, and started pulling himself up to stand!  The weather started to warm up, we started a swim class at the YMCA and this is the month that Ryder’s obsession for the golf cart started AND he became a serious Daddy’s boy!

May ~

I got to celebrate my 2nd Mother’s Day this month!  Me, Ryder, Nicki, & Mikayla went on a road trip to NC to visit friends!  Ryder finally pushed up onto all fours and started crawling!  He had a therapy evaluation at Children’s Hospital and started weekly Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy through them.

June ~

Happy Father’s Day to Daddy!  Ryder tried ketchup for the first time this month and fell in love!  He also got a smaller version of his blankie sent to him in the mail, which was extra special!  I don’t know what he’d do without “little blank” today!

July ~

This month, Ryder got to enjoy fireworks during the 4th of July!  He loved them and talked about them for weeks afterward.  He learned how to climb in therapy and worked hard on walking…even taking his very first accidental steps by the end of the month!  Mommy & Daddy went on our annual camping trip and drove right through the Shenandoah River in Daddy’s BIG truck!

August ~

In August Ryder turned 17 months old and finally started WALKING!!!  This meant that he had to start wearing shoes for the first time in his life and that he was ready to be fitted for his very first Orthotics.  We enjoyed a visit from Uncle Tim who is stationed in Hawaii, and Ryder had a sleepover with Nicki & Mikayla while Mommy & Daddy were out of town.  One really fun thing we did this month was attend a Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball game where Ryder got to go out on the field and throw the first pitch to represent the National Kidney Foundation!

September~

This month Ryder got to go on his very first vacation…we went to Nagshead and had a BLAST!!  Ryder really enjoyed the beach, and loved our vacation home.  He also got to attend his first county fair and thought seeing the animals was so cool.  We had a meeting with his Neurologist and got to see what his stroke looked like, and we were SO blessed to find out that Ryder got approved for Medicaid and was going to be able to continue with therapy!

October ~

At the beginning of October, Daddy celebrated his birthday in a BIG way by buying a new Harley!  We participated in all the Halloween festivities…going to the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, dressing up as a shark, and going trick-or-treating!  Ryder’s favorite treat was definitely the lollipops!  Daddy was pretty surprised one day to come home to Ryder wearing a shirt that said “Big Brother”!  As soon as he walked in the door and saw Ryder he said “no wayyyyy, you’re pregnant??!!”  And I was!  So this month we started to imagine our life going from a family of 3 to a family of 4 (or 6…depending how you look at it!)

November ~

Yummm, November means Thanksgiving and lots of yummy food!  But it also means a time to reflect on the things we’re thankful for.  One HUGE thing we have to be thankful for is all of our friends and family who gather together to make up Team Ryder!  We raised almost $3,000 for the Kidney Foundation this year and enjoyed our 2nd annual Kidney Walk with Team Ryder!  We also saw an Ophthalmologist and learned about an eye condition Ryder has called VI Cranial Nerve Palsy that we’ll have to follow up with.

December ~

And finally December.  The month that ends out the year, but starts and ends before you even realize it’s here!  We took a trip to OC with some other Moms & Kids and had so much fun shopping and going to the Festival of Lights.  Ryder had the BEST Christmas yet!  He was so much fun this year and loved celebrating Christmas!

Now here we are, on New Year’s Eve, reflecting back on this action packed year that just passed by right before our eyes.  It feels like it went by so fast, but then looking back month by month I realize how much has happened, how far we’ve come, and how things have progressed.  I wouldn’t take back one second of this year…even with all of its ups and downs.  It got us to where we are today, and I like this place. 

Here’s to 2011 – I’m starting to realize that no matter how much I want to stop time or atleast slow it down…the future has so much to offer and I need to embrace it and enjoy it as it comes…because it doesn’t stick around long!