Ry's 7 yr checkup

My Ry-Ry is growing up!  There are times he actually sounds like an adult, and his sense of humor is definitely maturing.  Time is just flying by, I can't believe he's almost done with 1st grade and his reading has drastically improved!  This boy is always on the go, he's into ALL the sports:  basketball, soccer, football, swimming, etc.  I love that he is so full of life.

His annual checkup was at the end of April.  He weighed 55 lbs and was 49.5" tall which puts him in the 75th percentile.  He's on track to hit 6'1"!  Thankfully no shots this time around, though he did have to have a wart frozen off his baby toe.  He did so well!  My brave boy.

Yet another scar

My daughter has a knack for tripping and landing on her face, resulting now in her 3rd facial scar.  😞  I'm not sure if she tripped over her own feet or the floor but she landed on the edge of a wooden stool and received this pretty laceration.  This chick digs scars....

A quick trip to the ER and they were able to glue it closed.

It didn't even phase her, she was back to her normal self as soon as we left the ER.

Ry's Kinder Graduation

And just like that we have a 1st grader on our hands!  Ryland graduated from Kinder today (5/30/2017) with a huge smile and he earned the 'best friend' award.  The ceremony took about 45 mins to get through all 6 classes and they concluded by singing their class song "The Kindergarten Class" (to the theme of the Addams family) and the school song "Rowe Lane Rockets".  Afterwards they celebrated with a pizza party in their classrooms.  The school year flew by and just like that it's summer! :D

Quick yearly followup:  At his 6 yr checkup (in April) he measured 46 inches tall, weighed 48 lbs and is just above average (height/weight) for his age group.  Happy and healthy and ready to take on the world!

We are so proud of you Ryland!

Happy graduate!

Mrs Smith's kinder class and Ry's star on the red carpet

Carsyn's 3 yr checkup

I'm way behind on blogging so we'll keep this short and sweet.

Carsyn had her 3 yr checkup in October.  She weighed 32 lbs (50%) and was 38.5 inches tall (83%).  She also received her flu shot, thankfully daddy took her so I got to miss all that excitement.  Car-Car is our sassy, sweet little lady.  She's crazy smart and caring, always concerned and taking care of others.  Her favorite thing to do right now is play Dr.  She'll grab her medical kit, tell you you're sick and take buggies out of your ears.

Granted I'm writing this in Dec but she's now fully potty trained!!!  She only wears a diaper at night.  Way to go Car-Car!  No more pull-ups for us.  :)  Because of this she'll be able to move up to the next class room at daycare.

Her next checkup is at 4 yrs of age.

playscape at Phil's Icehouse 10/30/2016

hayride 10/16/2016

5 and 2.5 yr checkups

April was a busy month with Ry's birthday and the littles wellness checkups.

At Ry's 5 year checkup he weighed 41.6 lbs and was 44 inches tall.  That puts him in 50th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height!  Thankfully no shots were needed this time around.  He's a super happy, healthy and smart little guy.  Ry is now ready for Kinder registration!  I can't believe how much he's grown and how grown up he can be, he's always amazing me with his genius.  <3

Carysn had her 2.5 yr checkup at the end of April.  She weighed in at 28.4 lbs and was 36.75 inches tall.  She's also in the 50 percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height!  No shots this time, her next checkup is at 3 yrs.  Car-Car is an amazingly sweet, intelligent and healthy little lady.  She's always on the go, keeping up with her big brother.  <3

camping march 2016

Easter 3/26/2016

2 Months

2 Months Young - 12/28/2013

Carsyn turned two months young on 12/28 and had a great checkup.  She measured 21.75" (16%), weighed 10 lbs 1 oz (17%) and her head circumference was 39.2 cm (74%).  How in the world I managed to make such a petite baby I'll never fathom, she's much smaller than Ryland was at this time, although their head circumference is almost the same (Ry was 40 cm).  Carsy did receive shots this time around, 3 shots total and 1 oral, and she only cried for a short amount of time.  Thank goodness as it's hard for me to see my baby so upset.  The Dr is very happy with her progress.  She's very alert, has started smiling and loves to talk to us (cooing, squeals, etc).

sleeping on mommy 12/8/2013

love my bumbo 12/17/2013

Carsyn definitely prefers to be in an upright position.  We've tried her out several times in her bumbo and jumper, which she'll tolerate for 30 mins max.  What she really wants is for you to hold her up, but that gets very tiring very quickly.  Tummy time is still a challenge, she doesn't last more than 5 mins before crying...or she falls asleep.  ;)  Carsy is a fairly decent sleeper at night, usually waking up only once around 3 am to feed, but there have been a few nights where she's had one of us up every 2 hours and she'll only fall asleep if you're holding her.  :SIGH:  Lately after her 3 am feeding I've been using the swing to help lull her back to sleep.

tummy time fail = sleeping 12/18/2013

Carsyn loves the shower!  I think she finds the warm water soothing on her back, she never fusses when she's in the shower with mommy or daddy.  She's still eating about 4.5 ounces at a time.  We've tried bumping her up but she wont do it.  In the evenings she's a bit more ravenous and requires another 2 oz a couple hours after a feeding.  She's such a cutie after eating; smiling, cooing and talking.

All Mommy wants is a silent night 12/13/2013

This was Carsyn's 1st Christmas and she had the honor of sitting on Santa's lap at two different events.  She did great, of course she has no clue who Santa is, we still have yet to get Ry to sit in Santa's lap without freaking out.  We also took the kids to the Trail of Lights and Round Rock Rock'N Lights, ToL was great but we'll definitely wait to go back until the kids are much older (in 5 more years).  Carsyn enjoyed dressing up for all the holiday parties, Christmas eve church service and family gatherings.  I especially loved her red flower hat, very festive.  :)

Santa at the Oasis 12/1/2013

worn out at the HOA party 12/14/2013

Santa and family 12/14/2013

Trail of Lights 12/18/2013

Christmas morning

opening gifts

awesome owl mat

Christmas at Opa & Juju's

Nana

Carsyn's 2 Week Check-up

Carsyn's 2 week check-up was last Wednesday (11/13) and she made great progress.  She's steadily putting on weight, coming in at 8 lbs 2 oz.  You go girl!  She also measured 20 1/2 inches and her head circumference was 36.5 cm, putting Carsy in the 50th percentile for everything.  The doctors also had to take more blood from her heel for a second newborn screening.  They needed to fill five circles on a piece of paper with her blood.  Poor tater tot (as my hubby affectionately refers to our little lady) just didn't want to give up that much blood!  They had to poke both her heels and only managed to fill three spots.  They decided that would be enough and wouldn't put her through anymore discomfort, thank goodness!

Resting comfortably at home 11/18/2013

C's 1st wellness check-up

Carsyn's first check-up was this past Friday, she was 5 days old.  The doctor said she looked great!  She almost completely gained back the weight she lost.  She went from 7 lbs 7 oz at birth to 6 lbs 13 oz when she left the hospital, and was back up to 7 lbs 3 oz at her checkup!  She also shrank from 20 inches to 19 3/4 inches and her head circumference was 35.1 cm.  Overall she's running in the 50th percentile for everything.  Way to go baby girl!

My first outing 11/1/2013

8 weeks - 2nd checkup

3/26/2013 - 8 weeks and 3 days

Yup, this was the long Dr appointment where they go over all the information, give you your pregnancy packet, talk to you about tests and take a good 3-5 vials of blood.  Since I will be 35 years old a couple weeks before the baby is born, I'm eligible for the high risk pregnancy test called MaterniT21, apparently 35+ is considered advanced maternal age, PFFT!  It's a noninvasive blood test that tests for fetal chromosome variations (Trisomy 21, 13, 18).  Now just gotta make sure this is covered by insurance.  :Þ  This test can also determine the gender, so we could know what we're having as early as week 12!

I also had another ultrasound.  This time my new Dr actually had an old sonogram machine and could do it herself.  Usually I have to go to a different Dr for the ultrasound.  As the machine was so old the picture quality wasn't as great, everything still looked like a blurry blob.  However she said everything looks great.  The heartbeat was up to 193 bpm and I'm measuring on track.

Since I will have to have a c-section again, the Dr mentioned we could schedule for a week before the due date.  Therefore we're looking at Oct 25th as the potential due date.  :) 

19 Months

This past month has been crazy busy!  Halloween, Touch A Truck, Wurstfest, dentist appointment and a trip to the hospital.  Good grief!  Lets start off with the not so scary stuff.  

This year for Halloween (<-- link to more pics) my hubby and I dressed up as Lion-O and Cheetara from the 80's cartoon Thundercats, Ry was our baby tiger cub Tygra.  :)  For Ryland we converted a Tigger costume by adding a Thundercats patch, my husband found a shirt from Goodwill and altered some of his workout gear to make his costume and I found the pieces for my costume online (orange leotard, yellow tights, Thundercats patches).  My greatest find was my orange gogo boots from Goodwill!  :)  This was Ry's first year trick or treating, and he had a blast!  I think he actually enjoyed passing out candy and greeting the trick or treaters the most. 

Thundercats - Ho! 10/27/2012

Happy Halloween!  10/31/2012

ready to take on the hood

The following Sat was the Touch A Truck (<-- link to more pics) event in Round Rock.  Ry is all about trucks, construction vehicles and giant wheels.  :)  This event allows children the opportunity to explore vehicles of all types - public service, emergency, utility, construction, transportation, etc.  He absolutely loved watching the excavator in action and playing with the firetruck tires.

Touch A Truck 11/3/2012

mini excavator 

Firetruck!

The next day we headed to New Braunfels for Wurstfest (<-- link to more pics).  Ry was so excited he totally skipped his nap.  Going on a Sunday is AWESOME as it's less crowded which gave us plenty of time to enjoy the food booths and carnival rides with little to no lines!  Ry rode a carousel for the first time and danced with his cousins in Wursthalla.

Carousel at Wurstfest 11/4/2012

Dance baby dance!!!

cousin love

Ry had his very first dentist appointment in Nov.  We took him to Small Smiles which caters to kids and had plenty of kid friendly toys in the waiting room (including video games!).  After a brief tour we headed back to a semi private room to begin.  I wish I had snapped a shot of him in the dentist chair as he was all smiles and having fun sliding down the seat.  It was all fun and games until we actually had to begin the cleaning.  Ry Sat in my lap and I leaned him back into the dental hygienist lap.  The cleaning was quick, less than a minute, however he screamed the entire time.  I didn't realize how many teeth Ry actually had, even his canines are in!  At home he stands with us at the sink as we brush his teeth, so now we have to get him used to laying down.  Overall a good visit and Ry received an A- on his dental exam. 

At dentist office 11/14/2012

The cleaning!

Now onto the scary stuff.  The day before Ry turned 19 months, he woke up slightly warm.  We didn't think too much of it because he was acting normal, running around and playful.  We had a busy morning and took off by 8:30am for Emma's volleyball game, afterwards we took Ry in for a haircut and followed that up with an early lunch at Pluckers.  While we waited for our food Ry fell asleep on me (11:30ish).  He was still a little warm but we figured he was just sleepy as it was close to his nap time.  

waiting for our food...tasting lemons

sleepy baby

We left shortly after noon, and Ry was awake for the car ride home.  Once home I took him straight up to his room and he was out.  Just a few minutes later I heard a strange noise from the monitor.  On closer inspection of the video monitor it looked like Ry had the hiccups...but they were strange hiccups.  I decided to go upstairs and check on him in person.  Ry didn't acknowledge me when I entered the room.  As I got closer to the crib I noticed his entire body was convulsing and he didn't respond when I touched his back.  That's when I noticed his eyes were rolled up in his head, drool everywhere and his lips were blue.  I immediate grabbed him, ran downstairs and called for my husband.  Malek turned him on his stomach and was thumping his back while I called 911.  Ry wasn't making any noises and his body was completely limp.  Finally after about 1 min Ry started making a strange moaning sound, like nothing we've ever heard before from him, but at least he was breathing.  The paramedics and firefighters arrived shortly after that and started to work on Ry.  They took one look at him and said he'd had a febrile seizure due to a sudden spike in temperature, which is apparently very common for his age.  They immediately started to cool him down, removed his clothes, placed cold towels on his body and gave him some oxygen, his temp was 103.5 (probably higher than that before they arrived).  A minute or so later Ry finally gave a normal cry.  I have never been so scared in my entire life, I thought we were going to lose him.  It looked like he'd had a stroke.  As soon as he was stable the paramedics put him in his car seat, on the gurney and into the ambulance.  I rode with him to Dell Children's hospital.  The Dr told us Ry would be out of it for quite a while, a febrile seizure is equivalent to him running a marathon.  Ry recovered quickly at the hospital and they released us after 3 hours or so.  We still aren't sure what caused the fever as his throat, nose and ears were all clear.  By the 4th day his fever finally broke.  Thankfully these type of seizures do not cause any permanent damage and Ry will make a full recovery.  Now go hug your children.

Exiting the ambulance at Dell Children's Hospital 11/17/2012

Recovering

back at home

18 Months

Happy - taken before he received 5 shots :(

My little rascal is one and a half years young!  At his 18 month appointment Ry weighed 24 lbs 5 oz (30%), 32 1/4th inches tall (50%) and a head circumference of 49.3 cm (90%).  Ry also received 5 shots since we apparently missed the 15 month appointment.  :(  It's always heart wrenching seeing my baby cry, but luckily he recovers quickly.  The Dr is very happy with his progress and our next appointment is at 2 years.  We have noticed that Ry turns one of his feet in when he walks, the Dr isn't concerned and said that's quite normal at this age and he'll grow out of it.  We've also noticed that Ry uses his left hand the majority of the time...looks like we may have a south paw on our hands!  Of course the Dr said that could change over time as well.  

Too cute for just one mirror 9/23/2012


Ry was just promoted up to the next classroom at daycare (last Fri 10/19).  His teacher told us he was the only one in class who could recognize colors and was eager to learn more.  Ryland knows over 20 words and understands most things we say or ask of him.  That explains his big head.  :)  We recently caught him saying 'stinky' and 'stay' (to the dogs).  My mom swears he's said diaper and clean...but I have yet to hear it.
His ever growing vocabulary:

1. puppy, doggy
2. hi
3. bye-bye
4. night night
5. papa (opa)
6. Ju-Ju
7. Nana
8. moon
9. juice
10. thank you
11. stinky
12. stay
13. go
14. cracker, cookie
15. more
16. cheese
17. mama, daddy (sounds like dahdeeeeeee)
18. mine
19. sock, shoe
20. ball
21. yum
22. truck
23. no / nein nein nein (no in German)
24. oh no and uh oh (when very appropriate)
25. green
26. yellow
27. cat
28. broom
29. mummy (according to my mom)
30. fishie

At the end of September we took some extended family pictures with the Malek clan.  Below are some of our personal shots.  We should have the CD of professional pics from the photographer this weekend.

GQ potential!  9/30/2012

This is my 'cheese' face! 9/30/2012

And now for the worst moment of my life (to date).  We had a scare with Ryland at the beginning of October.  I was playing with Ry in our backyard, pushing him in his cozy truck (i.e. cozy coupe).  After a couple trips around the patio he got out and I thought he was done.  I should have known better than to leave his truck so close to the edge....I walked away to get something from the grass.  In that time Ry went back to the truck and tried to get in, as he did the truck scooted back and then went over the side of the patio.  I turned around just in time to see him and the truck going down, and his head landed on the sharp side of one of the walking stones.  He immediately started crying, I rushed over to him to find a huge gash on his forehead and lots of blood.  We rushed inside, called his Dr and headed to the ARC (clinic).  Luckily we didn't have to go to the ER and we avoided stitches.  The Dr was able to glue the wound closed.  I was and still am beside myself with guilt and grief.  Ry is fine, and the scar will heal well and lighten over time, but it will always be there.

The day after, all glued up - 10/2/2012

11 days later the glue came off - 10/13/2012

Getting better 10/20/2012

Ry-baby loves to be outside and one of our favorite things to do is walk over to the bridge in front of our house or the softball field backstop.  He's such an adventurous, energetic little soul. 

Strolling through the hood with my wagon 10/13/2012

Posing for mommy 10/13/2012

  

Getting ready for Halloween.  This guy ain't scared at all!  We visited Spirit Halloween and he was laughing and playing with the displays and kissing the zombie babies! 

I ain't scared! 10/19/2012

Preview of Ry's costume, before alterations - 10/7/2012