First Monday of Summer

One can never be sure how a Monday is going to go when your three year old tells you, "I need coffee."  I wasn't sure about today either.  Most years, this would have been my first Monday of summer vacation.  And most definitely would have been a day where there would have been nothing on the agenda!  Not the case this year.  I am participating in a week long technology training at my district office.  If today was any indication, this will be a memorable week.  We were given the creative task of filling up a large white board using text and illustrations. We were to use this to answer several questions about our journey in education and technology imagining it was four years in the future.  It was an amazing process and if you've never had the freedom to express yourself in color, size and free of constraint, I highly recommend it.  In my tech journey, I've also created a twitter account, an edmodo account, a glogster, learned how to use keepvid, downloaded new iPad apps, learned about Chrome, (I'm sure I've already forgotten somethings already) . . . phew!

I'm back!

There's no way I can write down everything that has happened since the last time I actually wrote on this blog.  I won't even try.

It's been three years of parenthood and I am constantly amazed by how much I love it.

So the point of this post is to just get writing again.

My current and soon to be past principal has inspired a bit of a technology streak in me.  I feel renewed and energized.  Reflecting on the last few years of teaching, I kinda felt like I was coasting.  So it's been a little bit of a revelation to feel like there's more to be done.  I'll be participating in our district's technology training this summer.  We got a family iPad. I learned how to make a QR code and I've been daydreaming about how I could use them next year in my job.  Thinking about a classroom website or blog also.  I have a whole stack of professional books to read this summer and I'm excited about them.  What's going on?!?

Progress

Just got back from our latest visit to the orthotist. Ryan's head asymmetry is down to 4.8 mm! Normal is 0-6. It looks like we'll continue one or two more months. We have seen the improvement for awhile and it's nice to see the scans and numbers to prove it. The numbers only tell one part of the story (two dimensions at one level) and looking at his overall head (all 3 dimensions) one can see areas for improvement. The ear asymmetry is also something we want to see corrected if possible.

Ryan is motoring all over the house. His favorite things to inspect are the large front window that looks out on the street, the doggie door and the cat door (previous house owners!) that is in the laundry room. He can pretty much stand up anywhere he can get assistance and has just started to take tentative steps when holding onto something. He has no interest in trying to walk when one of us holds his hands though.

Happy New Year everyone! Hope 2010 is a good one for all. I know we had been looking forward to closing the book on '09 and getting a fresh start.

I don't like cottage cheese.

Baby proofing, we don't need no stinkin' baby proofing!

Well, maybe we do. Ryan is into everything right now. He crawls everywhere and pulls himself to standing. No attempts at walking yet, which is just fine with us. The helmet has come in handy in protecting his noggin against major spills. Undoubtedly, there will be an adjustment period with some natural consequences when the helmet comes off. No idea when that will be. We keep hoping it will be around his birthday. It all depends on how fast his head grows.

We're in a holiday frenzy here. On Tuesday, we are leaving to drive to Crestline to spend Christmas with Diane's family. Baby's first road trip! Wish us luck!

It's been quite a month

November had us gripped in a fog of sickness and infection.

Our sweet dog, Tucker, declined rapidly after back surgery and passed away on the 30th. We miss him terribly and are sad at the missed opportunity for Ryan to grow up with such a great dog. They had already formed a special bond. They were very sweet and gentle with each other. We're glad to have some great pictures of the two of them.

On the other hand, Olive is enjoying once again being an only dog. Ryan has a special tone and unique "words" that he uses to "talk" to her. She is not impressed.

We're looking forward to a relaxing holiday time and it's also time to say goodbye to 2009.

Helmet Update

Ryan got his helmet (cranial band) a week ago. There was a break in schedule for the first few days of hours on and off. He's now wearing it 23 hours a day. So far, we've been blessed that he's had no complications adjusting to the band. His head is a little sweaty when we take it off but nothing too bad. There are no bright red pressure points or other issues. We feel very lucky. Ryan also doesn't seem to mind it at all. He continues to be the happy, goofy little boy that he's always been. It hasn't changed his sleep habits either. He gets about 12 hours a night. Mobility hasn't been an issue. He isn't crawling yet but is moving all over the place.

In other news: He loves to sit in front of his bin of books and pull them out and look at them. There are times that he fusses because he wants to be next to his books.

We Made a Decision

We finally made the decision that we will start helmet therapy for Ryan's head asymmetry. The aggressive repositioning had shown some improvement the first month. In the past month and a half he's basically shown no improvement. His asymmetry remains around 10 mm. He had a scan today for his helmet and it will be ready for initial fitting on the 19th. I'll be spending a lot of time between now and then kissing that fuzzy little head. After he gets his helmet, I'll only be able to cuddle his cute noggin for 1 hour a day.

This has been an agonizing decision. Here's a link to an article that helped us.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A14258-2005Mar7?language=printer

Favorites for Now

Ryan's favorite things as of today:

mom and dad (given a choice between the two, probably dad)

food - He's a baby bird just holding his big mouth open waiting for the food to come.

electronic singing plastic book - time with this toy has to be rationed (it's really annoying)

baths - He's a splashing fool.

peek-a-boo - especially when mom jumps out in the doorway

screaming at the most random times

using his tongue to explore his two (yes, now two) teeth (this leads to some interesting expressions)

any toy with a mirror

Teddy Bear Parade

It's the 24th annual Teddy Bear Parade today. I've only been involved with the last 14 though. The weather is nice and of course the whole school will turn out to watch. The kids all bring their teddy bears from home to cheer on the first graders when they march.

I wish Ry could be here. Next year he'll get more out of it. He does like to be out around people.
Now that he sits so well on his own, I've been just setting him down whenever I need to. Unfortunately for him, he's a dog magnet. He's been knocked over twice and he's not a big fan of being knocked over. Thanks, Tucker and Olive. They each have scored one.

Tooth and other new things

I forgot to mention that Ryan has a tooth now. Just one little tooth on the bottom. He does some funny little lip things now as he checks it out. We discovered that he's mastered turning from back to tummy when we went to get him up in the morning and he was sleeping on his tummy. Now I feel like I have to check on him more because one time his face was smashed into the mattress.

Ryan is working hard on becoming mobile. He scoots sometimes. He gets up on his knees sometimes. He leans over and puts his hands on the ground when he's sitting sometimes. Eventually, he'll coordinate everything and take off crawling. All good things in all good time. The house isn't anywhere near baby proofed yet.

I got him to eat a whole jar of peas by dipping the spoonful of peas into pears. And wonder of all wonders, he likes green beans! (Is that my kid?)

Again, No Helmet Yet

We went in for another head scan. Ryan's asymmetry was down again but just by .5mm. Since we had seen visible improvement, I think we were under the impression the numbers would be better. Because of that, we weren't prepared to make the decision to band (get the helmet) that day. We are again waiting another month and seeing if more progress is made. He will be 8 months at the time, still within the range to see good progress with the band if we start at that time.

This has been such a hard decision. I know in some ways we are in denial that Ryan needs the STARband. I just looked at his head all weekend knowing that he definitely needs the helmet. I can honestly say I cried and I know there will be more tears in the future.

More Solid Foods

So far, Ryan has tried rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, peas and prunes. The prunes were introduced on purpose after Mike described his latest bowel movement as "an acorn." Ryan loves his cereal; likes sweet potatoes and prunes; gags on peas and most recently goes on strike for banana.

We finally got approved to continue physical therapy. His first appointment in a month is tomorrow. He is doing so much more since the last time he went. He rolls over, spins on his tummy and sits without much assistance.

Busy Saturday

Ryan went to the Original Pancake House for the first time. He sat in his high chair and played with toys. We introduced him to banana. It's not necessarily his favorite but we'll keep giving it to him. From there we all went to the Bobcat Chase. By nine in the morning, it was in the nineties! Ryan lasted until 9:30 so Mike took him home for a nap. I stayed and did the half mile parent/teacher walk.

Ryan hung out in the waiting room of Lens Crafters while I had my eyes examined. Mike was there with him. He was holding court and flirting with everyone there. I thought I heard his voice at one point from the back. My prescription had run out for contacts and I tore my last pair in the morning. What timing! Thank goodness they have Saturday appointments.

Our little boy had his first big boy bath in the bathtub. He was getting too long for the sink. He had a blast splashing and kicking in the tub. The bath wound him up quite a little. I don't think we'll be adding a bath to our bedtime routine.

Big Boy

Ryan sat in a high chair at a restaurant and ate his cereal. His first dinner out! It was nice that they sat us in the back by ourselves so he wasn't distracted by too much.

He then got his first shopping trip at Walmart. Mike put a musical book toy in his lap on a lark. I don't think I'll let that happen again. The look of glee on that little boys face sold me. We came home with the annoying musical book. It's batteries may "run out" soon.

Right now he's in his crib wearing his new glow-in-the-dark skeleton pajamas. I hope he's not staring at himself and staying awake. I hear babbling.

No Helmet, Yet

Ryan had his head scanned again yesterday. It was accomplished much faster this time. The trick was let him suck on a bottle. That kid will get through anything if he can be eating.

His measurements actually got better. He went from being 13mm off to 10mm. The orthotist seems fairly conservative and we're going to wait on the helmet for now. We'll go in a month from now for another scan. If he's gotten worse or stayed the same, we'll opt for the helmet at that time. So, in the mean time we're trying some repositioning to keep him off the flat spot especially at night when he sleeps. No easy task now that he can roll over. If we can get him to around 6mm (normal deviation) than we won't have to helmet at all.

Ry is eating lots of cereal. Next week, we'll introduce some new foods. I can't wait to see his reaction. The video camera will have to be out for that. He's rolling from tummy to back in both directions and very close to getting back to tummy. I claim he just lacks motivation. The mechanics and strength seem to be there. No teeth quite yet. Soon, I'm sure.

I have to say that when I look at his sweet little face, I'm often overcome with emotion still. He's a little miracle. I never expected to feel so much for such a little one.

First Day of School

I survived another first day of school. Of course, we didn't get everything done. Filling in first graders on all the basics seems to take forever. I only had two kids write on their desks today. You'd think there were some things you didn't have to tell them. "Don't write on your desk." Seems pretty obvious to me.

On another note, little one is still not napping at daycare. AHHHHHHH!

sad

My cousin Joe was killed in a motorcycle crash last night. I'm sad. As a mother, I'm sad that a son is gone. As a daughter, I'm sad that a father is gone.

Ryan's 1st Blog Entry

mmmmjnmnnnmnmn nnnm nv nnv zQ` nZ n

Seriously!

This was Ry's nap schedule: (as written by daycare)

Naps:

8:45 - 9:00

11:15 - 11:35

1:00 - 1:05

1:45 - 2:10

Are those really considered naps? Seriously?

I put him down at 4 when we got home. It's been 1/2 hour. I expect him to sleep at least until 5. On the plus side, his eating schedule was every 3 hours today instead of every 2 hours. Poor boy just needs to sleep!