Where Are We??

 

 

 

We’re at a HOE-TAIL (Ryder’s southern draw version of hotel!)  That’s right, Hurricane Irene took our power away and we haven’t had it since 3:00 on saturday.  We stayed at CJ & Angela’s Saturday night, spent all day Sunday at the garage enjoying the beautiful weather outside, but when it still wasn’t back on lastnight we packed the kids up and drove to a hoetail!  Our house is so hot, muggy, and pitch black…there is no way we could keep the kids there.  So we’re pretending like we’re on vacation and enjoying our stay! 

Mommy & Maisy’s bed:

Daddy & Ryder’s bed:

Somehow Mommy & Daddy were up before the kids this morning!  That’s definitely a first…maybe we should look into getting some black-out curtains for their bedrooms!

Hopefully our power will be back on soon so we can get back home!

2 Month Dr. Appt

Maisy had her 2 month check-up today.  First let me say how extremely happy I am that we have our Pediatrician back!!  She had left the practice and we were soooooo upset about it because we absolutely love her, but she is already back in the area with a new practice and we were probably the first people to transfer!  Luckily our favorite nurse kept in contact with me and kept me informed on the move, so we were so excited to get there today and be back at “home” with the people we trust! 

Maisy weighs 11 pounds 6 ounces already!  She is in the 50th percentile for weight, so she’s right on track.  She is 23.5 inches long which is the 90th percentile for height!  It’s crazy to have a child completely on the other side of the spectrum considering Ryder just recently even made it onto the charts!  I have started putting her in 3-6 month sleepers because they fit better lengthwise, so I’m not surprised to hear she is so tall for her age.

I’m one of those paranoid Mom’s who doesn’t do more than 2 shots in any visit, so today she only got 2 of the shots they give at 2 months.  We will go back in about a month to get the other 2.  Not long after I got back to work, Nana called and said Maisy was having a really hard time from the shots.  She said her leg was red and looked swollen and she couldn’t calm down or stop crying.  I left work early so I could be there to comfort my baby but by the time I got her home she had fallen fast asleep.  Hopefully when she wakes up she’ll be feeling better!

2 Months Old!!

 

Maisy is TWO months old today!  Here is what she is up to:

• She is wearing 0-3 month clothes and size 2 diapers.
• She has started taking a formula bottle at night before bed and is still on breastmilk throughout the rest of the day.  She eats about 4 ounces at each feeding.
• She takes Zantac once a day for acid reflux (self-diagnosed by me!) and it has pretty much fixed all of her tummy problems. 
• No more fussy evenings, thank goodness!
• She has a normal bedtime routine now, getting her last bottle at 8 and in bed by 8:30.  Every night this week she has slept a little longer, starting with waking up at 4am and lastnight sleeping until 6am!  Yay for sleeping through the night!
• She is adjusting well to Mommy being back at work.  Nana says that she’s very content all day, she had a hard time napping the first day but seems to have settled in now and is sleeping & eating well there.
• She is such a strong baby…great head control, good grip, hard kicks!
• She still loves taking baths, her swing, and her big brother!  She even likes getting dressed and getting diaper changes, probably because I talk to her the whole time and that makes her happy :)
• She gives her best smiles in the morning!  She has also started to act like she wants to make noise, her mouth moves and she kicks her legs and swings her arms around, but no noise will come out yet!
• She hates the car so much.  It makes going places really hard but we’re doing our best to not let it hold us back so that she’ll get used to being in the car.  I can’t figure out what she hates so much about it, like if its the car or the seat or what…all I know is that she does not like it!
• Other than her episodes in the car she’s a great baby.  She seems to go with the flow and be pretty content with whatever we’re doing.
• She is oh-so-cuddly and sweet, I would hug her all day long if I could!

Here comes big brother to crash the photo shoot!  He says “Big brova’s comin’ Maze!”

Maisy has her 2 month Dr. appt on Friday and will get her first shots :(  I’ll update with her weight and all that good stuff then.

Can’t I Just Wrap Her Up?

And take her with me??!!!  I promise she’ll be good!  She’ll just snuggle close and keep me warm all day long!

 

No matter how much I beg and plead, I don’t think my work is going to go for it.  I’m going to miss this little girl like crazy while I’m at work during the day.  I can’t believe that 8 weeks has come and gone already!  So yes, I can wrap her up (in my oh-so-amazing Moby Wrap that was the best purchase I ever could have made and has gotten me through lots of shopping trips and house cleaning days!).

But I can’t take her with me :(  I’m not even going to ask if I can take this guy with me…

He has way too much energy for that place to handle!  I’m going to miss all of our activities we’ve been doing together (like this frame he painted for me to take to my desk and put a picture of him & maisy in!) and just all the extra time we’ve had. 

These babies are amazing and I’m so thankful for this time off that I’ve had with them.  Now maternity leave is over and it’s back to reality…

Luke’s Birthday Party

Was the perfect place for a photo shoot of Jaxon & Maisy! 

 

The little lovebirds were so cute hanging out on the couch together! 

We were there to celebrate this little man’s 2nd birthday though:

I can’t believe how grown up he is looking these days and all the words he is saying now!  Happy 2nd Birthday Luke, we love you bunches!!

And imagine this, I actually got in a picture with my baby girl!  (Good looking out Nicki!)

We were double booked for Birthday parties today so we had to do our first family split…girls went to one party and boys went to another!  Of course there will be no picture taking at the party Ryder went to, but I’m sure he’s having a blast and will tell me all about it when he gets home.

True Statements

My Daddy Makes Me Smile!

 

I Give the Best Bear Hugs!

This Mommy’s heart is overflowing with love for her beautiful babies!

Big Things Are Happening!

We got a Walmart!!  Yup, that’s right, I’m writing on the blog about a Walmart opening in our town because that’s BIG, right?!  No more 1 hour trips to civilization…it has come to us and today was the big opening.  You could ask anyone in a 30 mile radius what day the Walmart was opening and every single person knew, I’m telling you, it’s a big deal.  So big that Me, Angela, CJ, Ryder, Maisy, and Callie made plans to meet there this morning.  Sorry, no pictures, we were too busy throwing random crap into our carts that we don’t need, because that’s what Walmart does to you.  But atleast we have one now!
In other big news…look at this:

Now look closer:

That would be TWO stickers on the #2 section!  Only one more poop on the potty and Ryder gets a potty prize!  He’s doing great with the pee thing, as you can see we’re on lap 2 around the Potty Chart for going #1.  Still not ready to be in underwear, but we’re getting there!
There’s more big news…lastnight Maisy slept from 9 – 5:15!!  That was soooo nice!  Of course I was up watching the clock wondering when she’d finally wake up, but maybe if she does it again tonight I’ll actually get some sleep.  I’ll throw a couple pictures of Ryder & Maisy laying in her bed in here because they’re just too cute:



We joined the YMCA!  I’m really excited about it and we’ve had fun this week trying out a bunch of different things they offer.  This evening Me & Ryder dropped Maisy off at their daycare and hit the pool.  I apologize that Ryder shuts his eyes in every single picture I take of him now, I guess he’s anticipating my flash.

I have to apologize for not elaborating on the brace that Ryder had on lefty a few posts back, I was so excited about our library trip that I didn’t give the proper explanation that I should have known would be required from our oh-so-faithful blog readers!
 
This is a new splint that Abby (his Occupational Therapist) ordered for Ryder.  It has a supination strap on it, I had to go look up a good explanation of its purpose: Helps decrease abnormal tone and increase joint range of motion in persons with neurological disorders. The strap supplies the dynamic force needed for forearm supination. Applies a prolonged, gentle pull that places the upper extremity. Got all that?  On that note, Ryder saw his Physiatrist (rehab doctor) the other day and we’ve decided to move forward with getting some Botox injections in his left arm and leg.  We’re going to schedule it in conjunction with his next casting, so sometime in the spring.  In the meantime I’ll be doing lots of research to make sure it’s definitely something I want to follow through with, they keep pushing it as a treatment that would be great for Ryder and I keep turning it down based on the fact that he would have to be put to sleep again.  Obviously they know what is best for Ryder, look how far he has come already, so I agreed to atleast schedule it.  The best explanation I can give for the botox is that it temporarily paralyzes nerves, so injecting it into his arm and leg would make those nerves stop being spastic, he would then loosen up and they would better be able to work with his arm and leg and get better signals to his brain about the correct way to move.  Currently the nerves aren’t getting the right signals so they just kind of freeze which makes him clench his fist and not be able to turn his arm over, etc.  I want to do more research on side effects and how well it really works, but for now that’s the big news.
And…that’s all I’ve got! 

The Ryder Show

Good Morning and welcome to the Ryder Show!  I know that most of our blog readers usually check in and do their blog reading first thing in the morning before their day starts.  So grab a cup of coffee, watch, and enjoy this installment!  (The person taping the Ryder Show would like to apologize for the poor filming, it’s not easy to shake a rattle in the band PLUS keep up with the lead singer who tends to be all over the stage).

Hopefully your coffee gave you an ounce of the energy this kid has.  Or maybe that video completely wore you out like watching the Ryder Show tends to do to me.  So here’s a more mild version, the one Maisy wakes up to in the mornings:

On that note, we here at the Ryder Show would like everyone to have a GREAT Jesus Day! 

Maisy & Callie - BFFs

Brandy & Angela Oops, I mean Maisy & Callie, hanging out on their very first play date!  I can’t believe our little girls are finally here!  We are both so blessed.  Callie is such a sweet, tiny little thing.  Her & Maisy are going to have lots of fun growing up together.  Their playdates are boring right now, but me & Angela are both enjoying our cuddle time with these sweet little newborn babies before they become crazy like their big brothers!

Keeping Busy

Maternity leave is supposed to be all about resting, healing, and spending one on one time with your newborn…right?!  Maybe when I was on maternity leave with Ryder that was the case, but this time is WAY different.  It’s all about how much stuff we can cram in so that one second of this time off work doesn’t go to waste!  Some days I’ve taken Ryder to Nana’s so that Me & Little Miss can have our bonding time and he can get a change of scenery, but on the days he’s home we’ve found ways to have fun. 

We do so many treasure hunts throughout the day, it’s his absolute favorite thing to do.  His treasures have started to become pretty lame, but he doesn’t care, as long as there’s something waiting there at that X he’s thrilled!

The other day on Team Umi Zoomi they had “Just Because I Love You Day” so me & Ryder decided to join in.  We did things all day and said it was for Just Because I Love You Day… like baking Daddy these yummy sugar cookies!

  

 

And yes, of course you can have chips before dinner, just because I love you!

Wawa is mine & Ryder’s favorite place to go, so we’ve made lots of morning trips there to get Mommy some yummy coffee and get Ryder his special juice.

Maisy is not a fan of her carseat, so we take the chance of her screaming…but somehow getting our favorite drinks makes it worth it to us!

I decide to use this time off to do something productive…

That’s right, we’ve started working on potty training…again!  Since Ryder decided to completely boycott the potty for the past 3 months after he was doing so good, I had to get creative to get him excited about it again.  Every time he goes potty he gets to put a sticker on the chart to work up to certain prizes.  As you can see he has been doing great with going #1!  We’re back at square one going another lap around the potty chart because he still isn’t telling me when he has to go, I’m still asking all the time and bringing him to the potty.  Hopefully if we stick with it he’ll start remembering to ask to go.  No stickers yet for #2 on the potty though!

One prize Ryder got from the Potty Chart was a trip to the library!  This was his very first time ever going and we had so much fun!

I also made him a potty grab bag for Nana’s house, so when he goes potty all day long he gets to pick a treat at the end of the day.  Ryder loves getting prizes so I think all this extra incentive should kick the potty training into gear (Gotta love those $1 bins at Target!). 

Maisy pretty much just goes with the flow, whatever that is!  She makes it known in the car sometimes that she’s not happy, but other than that she likes all the action her big brother brings into her life.  Something BIG that’s going on in her life is that she moved out (of Mommy & Daddy’s room that is) and is sleeping in her crib in her room now!  She made the transition so easy, didn’t phase her at all!

So as you can see, we’re keeping busy around here!  I’m trying not to think about the fact that I only have 1 week left off work…I’m sure we’ll find a way to make it fun!

Hairbows and Tutu’s :)

Maisy got mail today:

Of course she had to go find the cutest not-too-girly hair bows that she knew I wouldn’t be able to resist.  And go figure, they matched the outfit Maisy had on perfectly.  So yes, they look adorable!

 

 

 

 

Maisy tolerated the bows well and seemed to enjoy her little photo shoot! 

Now what she did NOT tolerate was when I tried to take it one step further and make it a girly-girl afternoon by trying on her first tutu:

She didn’t want any parts of this…but she sure did give me some good air guitar and rock star faces to go along with that Rock Princess outfit :)