The blue cast

So here is Ryan's cast!

To usher in his 2nd year of life...or is he technically done with his second and started his third.....whatever - Ryan broke his leg!

He has what is called a 'toddler' fracture. At Ryan's age there is more cartilage than actual bone so any breaks do not show up on xrays for the most part. So after 4 weeks in the cast it will heal and be bone by then and then there will be another xray and then we will probably see the details of the break. Based on what happened and how he acted during the exam, the fracture is most likely in his tibia.

After wasting our time on an urgent care and 3 full days of no walking we finally got answers at a wonderful and amazing place called Cactus Pediatric Orthopaedics on Dobson Road by the hospital.

What is crazy is there was no big accident or fall. It was merely Ryan taking a big step down off of something. No swelling or bruising. Just screaming in pain!

We are grateful to those who specialize in understanding children's bodies!

So it will be a tough 4 weeks...okay it will be hell - I mean lets be honest. A two year old with a trampoline and a backyard, he is already having a difficult time with wanting to do what he used to do. I cannot believe how much it has changed our everyday life so far. I cannot imagine parents who have children break multiple bones. Maybe it is just his age and the fact that it is his leg.

Here is to hoping for the quickest 4 weeks ever!!!!

My big little man!

So my little Ryan turned 2 years old the other day.

Like other mothers do for their child I thought I would jot down a couple things about Ryan. I wanted a bunch of fun pictures but that little boy, cute as can be, is not photogenic and really tought to even take a picture - therefore difficult to capture how cute he is.

Likes:

Blues Clues
Circles (really all shapes but circles are easier to say)
LOVES the alphabet
numbers
naming family members
singing
dancing
splashing in the bathtub
sometimes he likes to cuddles
sometimes he likes to give kisses
balls
fruit snacks
he loves to jump and swing
coloring - this is his #1 obsession
snacks - specifically cheese snacks or cheese flavored (when he sees anything that looks like a snack at the grocery store he yells as loud as he can SNACK)!

dislikes

Having to be strapped down in his chair to eat
putting on and taking off clothes
when he wants something his brother has
when his brother takes something from him
when people leave the house and he can't go with them
when he is not allowed to play with candles
when he is not allowed to color

Ryan is pretty happy and extremely adorable but he has started to get mad very often or at least he has been demanding certain things I cannot always give him which makes him scream, cry, hit and throw tantrums to display how upset he is. At the same time that kid gets so excited about certain things and it is the cutest thing to see him jump up and down frantically and yell in excitement.

It is amazing to me to have a child where the language just flows. He talks and talks all the time. Everyday he says a new word or many new words. I am just blown away every day how that comes naturally to almost every child. I don't say that to sound dramatic or emphasize my parenting experience with Brody but that is all I knew was child who cannot say or communicate the simplest request let alone anything else which Brody still has a tough time with. Ryan can say people's name, I can give him directions, we can talk about things we see and he can do simple interactions with language such as saying, "hello" when I say hi. He says "love you" sometimes without me saying it first. There are so many aspects of communication that I just did not realize what it would be like to be a parent of a typical functioning child that this past year with Ryan has been wonderful and a brand new experience for me.

We love our little Ry guy and the happiness he brings into our lives.

Happy Birthday to my man and my little boy

Jake turned 29 on February 12th

Ryan turned 2 on February 13th

I will turn 28 on February 19th

So we had one big party yesterday. It was fun, despite all the crankiness of Ryan (who is most likely teething) and Jake not wanting to get any older - it is always nice to surrounded by family.

P.S. Ryan has been obsessed with "birthdays" for literally months. Every light is a birthday, we sing the song and then he blows it out. He always pretends to blow things out....so last night should have been extra awesome for him. There he was with three little candles on top of cupcakes and what did he do - just stared at the lights as if he had no idea what he was suppose to do!! It was just to funny :)

Lame to others but exciting for us

I have known for a while I am a lame mom. I do not have very clean children all the time. I am not clean all the time myself. I do not dress very nice cause every time I do my clothes are left stained and ruined from children or klutzy moments. It is a good day if I have showered the night before and I am dressed for the day before 9 am! I do not do crafts and my house is not even really decorated let alone the way I want it. It is not that all of that is lame since it is mostly due to being the mother of small children but the fact that I am okay with a life like that is lame.

But I knew I was truly lame when I couple weeks ago we made a purchase that was almost as exciting as having another child....

We now own a minivan!! We tried to deny how functional and helpful a minivan would be. Then over time we saw how it would be awesome to own one. The DVD player keeps Ryan from screaming the entire time we are in the car longer 5 minutes. And the door opening at the push of a button keeps Brody's attention from darting to the street to darting to the van. I wish it was a cool looking car but lets face it nobody ever really look very good with a car full of kids anyway (but that could be a cool concept for the next Fast and Furious movie)!

I am now 'Mommy'

It is not very important in the big picture



It is not necessary



But it is nice



After being a mother for almost 5 years I still have never been called, 'mommy'!



A weekend away apparently instilled some gratitude in Ryan and the way he is showing it is through his words. Now that I am home it has been like almost 2 full days and he has called me mommy 4 or 5 times!!



It is wonderful and I just LOVE IT!



Here is hoping to someday get the same from Brody :)