A few new things

Ryker's PT came to the house Tuesday morning with an idea. :) Since Ryker was about 3-4 months old the doctors have said he has a little torticolis (sp). Which means he has trouble turning his head in one direction. Its nothing big and nothing to worry too much about but his therapist wanted to give something a try. She put this tape on Ryker's neck that is supposed to stretch the left side and pull down on the right side. He didn't really like us holding him down so she could get the tape in the right spots but as for the tape itself, he doesn't even know its there. So here are a few pics of that.

It's kind of hard to see because its skin colored but it just goes up his neck and behind his ears. I guess it follows the muscle that's right there. 

It's on both sides

She'll keep working on all the other stuff and hopefully he won't have too much longer in PT.  A few other things are happening.  I am finally letting Ryker sleep in his crib!! I know, I know, crazy huh!? He's always slept in his nap nanny in our bed or in his Pack N' Play right next to our bed so it's crazy to think of having him away from me. We're only on night #3 but he's doing better. I've been sleeping in on his floor for the first few nights because I was freaking out about him waking up and being scared...yada yada yada.  But tonight, I'm going to try to sleep in our room and just have his monitor set up. We'll see if I can last all night. ;) After all, his room is like 5 ft away from me. More news is Ryker's big birthday is coming up!!!! I can't beleive he's going to be 1!! Seems like I should still be pregnant! We are planning a big water party for him at my parents house. And between all of my family and Chad's family it looks like there will be a lot of people there. I'm so excited for him!

Our next few weeks are filled with fun! A few weekends of camping with family and friends, family reunions, Ryker's birthday party and my 10 year class reunion! (Holy crap I'm getting old!!) So as you can see, we'll be busy busy for awhile. But once all this is over I'll be sure to post pics of all the adventures. Until then!

Quick update

A quick update on Ryker's PT.  We met with his physical therapist a few weeks back. I like her a lot. Her name is Lisa and she comes from EIRMC to see us once a week.  She's working on quite a few things with Little bug. Sitting up straight, crawling with both knees (he only puts one knee down and pushes with the other leg), pulling up and standing in the correct way, turning to his left (he's always had a little torticolis (sp?) when looking to the left), and a few other things that I'm sure I don't remember until she gets here and starts to work on them. :) Most of the time he likes it and really doesn't fight her. But she does work him hard so he starts to get tired and grumpy close to the end, so she usually finishes up with a baby massage. I wish I got a massage once a week!! Anyways, he's doing great and is already starting to improve. I have yet to sneak a few pictures of them working together. I want to get just a few as a bookmark for this chapter of his life.

Life is still busy and we are always out doing fun things. I'll try to write another post this weekend about what we've been up to. Until then!

More dr. appts. {sigh}

The doctors just can't leave Ryker's head alone. I'll start from the beginning (I should warn you, this could be a long one!). I should have gone to Utah for my great aunts funeral, but Ryker's 9 month appt was scheduled for the same day and I had some important questions that I wanted to get answered. Plus it was with his regular pediatrician who had been out of the office for a long time because of knee surgery. SO I skipped the funeral. Well, karma bit me right in the butt because I got a phone call that morning from the dr's office saying Dr. Edwards had hit his knee (the one he just had surgery on) on his way out the door, so he wouldn't be in for a few days. We would have to see a PA. So, we get to his appt. at 8:30 and go through the usual routine. Weight- 18lbs. 14 oz. Height-28 in. Head measurement- I don't even remember because she freaked out! Ok, HELLO, you've seen Ryker before! You have asked about his head and we've told you it's fine and been checked out. But no, after freaking me out about a few other things he wasn't "meeting", she told me that Ryker's soft spot on top of his head had closed and it wasn't supposed to close until 18-24 months. So we needed to see the dr. who comes up from Primary Childrens. She also informs me that she would like him evaluated by the infant/toddler program. She felt that he wasn't meeting a few milestones (not crawling or trying to pull up on things). The nurse brings me numbers for both programs and sends us on our way.

I call and make appointments with both and of course Google what happens when a soft spot closes at 9 months old. ......................FYI: DO NOT GOOGLE A MEDICAL CONDITION THAT YOUR CHILD MIGHT HAVE! The photos and info I saw on google terrified me! They all said that he was going to have to have surgery. Like MAJOR surgery. They showed babies who's soft spots had fused early and what they do is split them from ear to ear or forehead to back and remove part of the skull!! And the photos of the poor babies afterwards were horrid! Swollen faces, black eyes, and the incision!! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. No way could I have my baby go through this! I just had to hope and pray that Ryker's soft spot wouldn't need surgery. Our appt was 1 week away so I had all that time to worry about what Ryker was going to have to go through.  Well the day finally came and we met with Dr. Morales, a plastic surgeon.  He brings all of his own staff to the pediatric center in I.F. The 1st nurse we saw looked at Ryker and asked if we were there because of his forehead........uh no.....what's wrong with his forehead?? The 2nd nurse walks in and asks if we are there because of the flat spot on the back of his head.........uh no......there's a flat spot?? FINALLY, the dr. comes in and ASKS why we are there. He measures his head, checks all of his soft spots and says "so who referred you to see me? Because his soft spot isn't closed."  He actually seemed kind of irritated that he had to see us because there was nothing wrong with Ryker's head.  All that worrying for nothing. So, all in all, Ryker's head is big, but just fine. Maybe now they will leave it alone!



Ryker bug at 9 months old! Happy & Healthy as can be!

Next appt., the infant/toddler program. I'll be quick with this one. I used to work at The Learning Center with disabled children, so this program is not new to me. They evaluate your children in all levels; motor skills, fine motor, speech, etc. and for free might I add. To make this short, a social worker/service coordinator comes to the house with a developmental specialist and scores Ryker in all of these areas. They go back to their office, add up the scores, see where he's at on some scales, determines if he's behind, if he is eligible for treatment and then helps you coordinate that treatment plan.  They felt that Ryker lacked in his motor skills so he qualifies for PT.  We meet with them next week to set up our treatment plan. His PT will come from the hospital to our home to work with Ryker.  Just so everyone knows, Chad and I think that where Ryker is at developmentally (both mentally and physically) is just fine. But, we decided to give PT a chance. It can't hurt.  I will update everyone on Ryker's progress as we go. P.S. Ryker has started to crawl since he was evaluated. :)

That's pretty much it for now. We are excited for the summer to start and our weekends are filling up fast. We can't wait for all the family reunions and other fun stuff we will be doing!

It has been quite awhile

So from Christmas until now only a few small things have happened. Here are a few pics of what we were up too!

More shots :( 6 months! 16lbs. 11 oz. 26 3/4in.

Ryker rode a T-Rex!!

We didn't do a traditional LDS blessing when Ryker was a baby. So, when my brother Travis came up in Feruary we had him, my dad & my brother-in-law Mitch give Ryker a blessing at my parents house. (Yes we talked to the bishop before hand to make sure we were allowed to do it in a home.)  :)

Sledding in Island Park

All of my brothers and sisters (except my brother T.R. who passed away last August)

We go for a ride in the max in Island Park. Ryker loved it! Actually, he fell asleep.

Easter was great! Just like Christmas, I was way more excited about it than Ryker and Chad were. Of course Ryker got spoiled by us and his grandparents.

See, just a little spoiled....  :0

Hunting eggs with Daddy!

Coloring eggs at home

Coloring eggs at Gma & Gpa Keele's

SO WINDY and cold on Easter! Bundled up & hunting eggs!



I can't wait until next year when he can run around and find eggs on his own. No pictures with the Easter bunny this year. The line at the mall was rediculous.  We have done a couple of things since Easter so I will start a new post for that! This one is gettin' kinda long! :)



Christmas and beyond!

I'm so horrible at keeping this up to date. But, for now, here's the latest!

We left off with Ryker's 4 month appt. He was 14 lbs. 7 oz.  and 24 1/2 in. long! He was such a brave boy for his shots. I had to go alone to this appt. so I had to help hold his arms. I hate it! Daddy will be at all other appointments from now on! Anyways, Ryker was doing great and meeting all milestones. Dr. Edwards said he was looking good and nothing new on the size of his head. So far it is starting to level out on the average chart. He was still somewhere in the 20th-30th percentile for both height and weight.

Christmas was awesome! We stayed around home for Christmas and spent time with each family. I was way more excited Christmas morning than Ryker and Chad were! Ryker got spoiled by everyone! Here are just a few pics of our 1st Christmas as a family!

Ryker opening his 1st present at my parents house Christmas Eve

Oh My! Thanks Aunt Tahnee!

Us on Christmas Eve

Bug in his Christmas Eve jammies

Yay! Christmas morning!

Ryker and all the presents (don't mind the cat tail in the corner!)



Checkin' out his new stuff!

The aftermath!

His new pony from Gma and Gpa Young!

Merry Christmas!

So, Christmas is over and January has passed. We are ready for some new adventures! If we'd ever get some snow Ryker is totally ready to go play!

  Ryker is getting big and doing great! He'll be 6 months in just a few days! I can't believe he's been here 1/2 a year already! My the time flies! He loves almost any food I give him. Even avocado! He'll eat a fresh mashed banana but won't have anything to do with it from a jar. We just tried a sippy cup for the 1st time today! He thought the idea was cool but obviously doesn't quite have the hang of it yet.  He's finally moved up to 5-6 oz. per feeding and that's with the solids. He went to the dr. at around 5 months for a cold and weighed 15 lbs. 14 oz. so he's on a steady gain!

Yep, that's a Cabela's sippy cup!

He loves to play in his jumper and on his play mat.

 He's almost got rolling over down. He does pretty good going from tummy to back but gets stuck on his arm when going from back to tummy. I hope he gets it soon because he's started trying to roll in his sleep and wakes himself up. We've also started working on sitting up. He doesn't do too bad. Especially when he has the boppy around him. He loves sleeping on his side........no matter where he is!

Our next adventures will be SLC for a Hockey game, a few days in Island Park, a mommy and me swimming class and Ryker's 6 month check up! I'll be sure to update after all that!

Bugs 4 month check up and so on!

I promise I am working on a post that covers the last 4 months, but for now, here is just a quick update on what we are up to!

Let's start around Halloween. I was super excited that we were taking Ryker (my little dragon) to Boo at the Zoo here in Idaho Falls. We all bundled up and headed to the zoo. They have lots of lights and decorations and most of the animals are still out. Multiple local businesses set up boothes and pass out candy or small items to promote their business. Even though Ryker was still too small to really eat candy and "trick or treat", we still had a really good time!

                                                        
                                                Bug all dressed in his Halloween costume!

                                                             Ryker at Boo at the Zoo!

                                                      (Probably one of my favorite pics!)
                               Daddy and Ryker were tuckered out after a night of trick or treating

After Halloween, November seemed to fly by. Chad and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on the 22nd. It wasn't the most romantic anniversary we've had.  Chad had to work that day and we planned to leave for Arizona to visit my brother for Thanksgiving as soon as Chad got home. So we spent our anniversary driving through the night.  But, I must say, a trip to AZ was a great anniversary present! I LOVE the heat!  Like I said, we spent Thanksgiving in AZ with my brother Travis. It was the first time Ryker would meet his uncle Travis, aunt Reilly and cousins JJ, Owen and Tommy. It was a good time. Lots of warm weather, shopping and spending time with family.

                                                                    The Cactus Park
                                                             

                                                        Palm tree leaves with lights in them 

                               Uncle Travis and Ryker (ryker was a little distracted by the lights!)

                                                                 The Mesa, AZ Temple

                                          Mommy and Ryker at the biggest candy store in AZ

                                                                    On the road again

                                                 Bug at Santa's wonderland insdie Bass Pro

                                                              By the tree on Thanksgiving

                                            Ryker finally got to wear some summer clothes!

About a week after we got home from AZ, Ryker had his 4 month checkup.  He's a whopping 14 lbs. 7 oz. and 24.5 in. long.  He did really good for his shots, but for about 5 days after his shots, he was not a happy baby! (I'll upload a pic of him at 4 months as soon as I get them on this computer.) He's finally getting back to normal and going back on his regular sleep schedule (thank goodness!) So now we're preparing for the next holiday, Christmas! I'm very excited for Christmas! It really is my favorite time of the year! I've got the tree up and all the presents wrapped (about 99% of the presents under our tree are for little bug!) Just can't wait for Christmas morning to get here! Stay tuned for pictures of that!

                                                 Ryker at about 4 months old trying cereal!

                                                                    Happy Holidays!!