Preschool

We've finally decided on a place to take Ryan to get some socialization for the Fall/Spring. Dean and I were looking into daycare centers that we could let Ryan attend a couple times a week but weren't set on any place in particular. Then I remembered the church near my parents house, which my dad actually attends sometimes, had a Preschool & Kindergarten so I called to get more information. The 2 year olds can attend 1-3 days per week for 3 1/2 hrs each day but all that was available was 1 day per week. I decided to go see the place before making a decision and to ask more questions. I immediately felt comfortable with the director and got to meet the teacher as well. So, Ryan will be attending once a week, at least for right now. If other kids leave or drop out for some reason later in the school year, we can get on a waiting list and move to 2 days a week if we want. Tonight was the parent open house and we got to meet the teacher (again) and go over everything that will be happening during our childs 3 1/2 hr day. The day Ryan will be going, will be the day the Music teacher will be at the church so he will get to participate in that activity for about 20 minutes. They have snack time and lunch so this weekend we'll be out with all the other parents, buying a backpack & a lunch box. I'm excited yet nervous. I hope Ryan does well and doesn't have a meltdown or start throwing things if he gets tired. I told Dean tonight, I don't want to be too hopeful, but I DO think he will do well. He seems to listen to other adults and "mind" them almost better than he does us! For example, right now he is really pushing his limits with us by opening the fridge and wanting to take stuff out. We will tell him No and to keep it closed but it will take several times and us raising our voice or counting to 3 before he actually stops. However; with my mom, all she has to do is tell him once and he's done...what the heck??? So, somehow he thinks he can get away with more with us. This is why I think he might do well with obeying the teachers. Open house for the kids & parents is next week so Ryan will get to meet the teacher and other kiddos. We HAVE to get him some new shoes so I'll go to Stride Rite tomorrow & get a pair since we got him measured last week. We went to the mall by our house yesterday and learned that no one carries half sizes in toddler shoes...apparently major shoe brands don't make them. Hopefully, SR will have something on sale because I'm sure we'll be buying some more by November.

Some updated pics:

Eating an apple, which he got out of the fridge himself

Neurology appt.

I know...I'm just updating the blog about the Neuro appt we went to last Tuesday..sorry. Work has been nuts lately and I just haven't wanted to get on the computer at night other than to check out a few websites.

I went into the appointment thinking nothing was going to get done. That this doctor would be like most doctors I've gone to, or the nurses or some of the doctors at Ryan's pediatrician's office that we've had to see and tossed our concerns aside. BUT, I was wrong. I don't mind being wrong in this case. I felt very comfortable with the doctor and more importantly, so did Ryan. He came into the room, introduced himself and let Ryan start playing with different toys. He asked us about what had been going on and then physically assessed Ryan; his legs, his feet, etc. Of course he noticed Ryan's scar from his surgery and asked us about that. He saw Ryan toe walking & thinks it's possibly due to the stiffness in his left ankle & lower leg. He did confirm what I have read a thousand times, which is the fact that many toddlers toe walk and in most cases it's nothing to be concerned about. Most kids will outgrow it. However; in Ryan's case, he wants to be proactive now, rather than later and it be a much bigger problem. Also, the fact that with Ryan, his left ankle & leg are very stiff...so much so, that he was very surprised that Ryan was dismissed from PT. I did tell him that he was not toe walking or so stiff when he was released. So, he wants Ryan to start Physical Therapy with the PT's @ the Children's Hospital. He also wants Ryan to wear a night splint on his left leg. This will help with the stiffness and help stretch the heel cord. As far as Ryan's headaches are concerned, the doctor wants to do an MRI of the brain. If there are no abnormalities, he wants to do an MRI of the spine. So, the MRI is scheduled for October 9th and we'll know more (or not so much more) once that is done. If everything looks normal, then it might just be allergies or maybe it's his eyes (not the Neuro's opinions, just my research). Both Dean and I are blind as bats...me, being the worse, so I have no doubt that at some point in his childhood, Ryan will need to wear glasses. Actually, after Ryan was released from the NICU, we had to see the eye doctor and he did say Ryan had an Astigmatism in one of his eyes...let's just hope he doesn't have to start wearing glasses for several more years.

Fun times & a growth spurt

Last weekend we went to a local theme park a couple hours away. We thought at the time it would be the only weekend we'd be able to go since the next couple weekends either Dean was on call for work or we already had other plans. It was going to be hot but at least this park had a water area in it so we could all cool off. We headed out early even though we knew Ryan wouldn't take a nap and probably by early afternoon would be cranky...but I wanted to get there early, do everything and then leave when Ryan was so worn out that he really would nap in the car. This theme park had 2 areas for the kiddies. One was geared more towards the older kids but the other area actually had a few rides, Ryan could ride by himself. I was a little hesitant on the first ride but at the last minute, a little girl was able to ride with him which let me breathe a little better.



After the first ride, I felt a tad better about him riding the other couple rides since I knew the belt that held him in was pretty tight and the ride attendant had to put a key in it to release it. He loved the little cars, probably because he was able to ring the bell. Here's the video:

and another ride

We ate lunch and then went on the ferris wheel but by this point it was early afternoon and yes, Ryan was so tired. Tired= meltdown. Meltdown on a ride that lasts about 10 minutes=not fun. Finally the ride ended and we went to the water area. Ryan was over his meltdown and had a fabulous time. The boy loves loves loves water! As soon as we left the water area headed back to the car, Ryan fell asleep.

Every day this past week brought something new and Friday we found out why. Ryan had been fighting his naps, eating a lot sometimes but other times just throwing his food on the floor & some nights just plain grumpy! Friday evening we went to put his tennis shoes on and they barely fit. Yep, growth spurt! His sandals still fit..barely as well. Yesterday and today, every couple hours he's wanting to eat. We went to a birthday party yesterday which was after lunch but he still ate 4 chicken tenders, cherrios & 1 cupcake. We then came home and after drinking 6 oz of milk, he opened the fridge and said "melon" because he wanted some honeydew. Today has been the same way too. Ryan ate a good breakfast and at noon he took the Jr. Luncheables out of the fridge and wanted Dean to open it. He ate the crackers & chicken sticks then at 1:30 (when his lunchtime is) he ate green beans, cheese and 1/2 peanut butter sandwich. I know this is nothing compared to what he's going to be like when he's older though!

Outside in the backyard

Daddy's Boy

Ryan has been such a daddy's boy lately. He is always saying "da-e, da-e" and it's just so darn cute. Dean does so much as a father and I know I am very blessed to have such a wonderful husband who takes an active role as a father. If I happen to be in the kitchen and Ryan is in the den, I know when Dean comes home because Ryan is at the window or door and loudly exclaims "daddy" or rather "da-e".

waiting for daddy
new truck from daddy
hanging out with daddy


Ryan's getting very good at saying his numbers and letters. If we start saying 1, he will say 2, then we will say 3 and he will say 4 and he has gone until we've reached 10. He doesn't say it all the time or on his own but it's a start. We have the foam letters that stick to the bathtub but about half of the alphabet has made it's way downstairs. We make a game out of putting the letters into a bucket. Before I give him the letter, I say the letter and try to get him to repeat the letter...sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't, but once all the letters are in the bucket he dumps them out and we do it again. I've noticed this week, he will pick up a letter and yell out the name. He did this in the bathtub tonight. He said "T" when he picked up the letter and was so proud when he said it and obviously so were we!

PT Appointment

We had the physical therapy appointment today and it went well. Ryan's physical therapist that saw him once a week for almost 10 months last year came and assessed his toe walking. The last few days he has not fallen but once or twice so all we could do was tell her when he started doing that and how much he was doing it. The good news is that his toe walking is really no big deal. She says that he stands flat, for instance, when playing at his train table and that most of the time he is up on his toes for a few seconds but then right back down. So he's up & down, up & down and not constantly on his toes. He also walks flat in shoes and when he runs, he never runs on his toes. To her, all this means it's not a heel cord issue (aka Achilles tendon), otherwise he would not (or it would hurt him)stand flat and walk correctly. It's not a sensory issue either because if it was, he'd be constantly on his toes, his tiptip toes, almost like in ballet because he wouldn't want any part of his foot touching the carpet/floor. She did say his ankles were still somewhat stiff/tight but it's always been like that. He may grow out of it or it might always be there but it doesn't bother him and doesn't limit his mobility. She suggested some stretches we can do after he wakes up, which is when he seems to be the stiffest (aren't we all!). When we go for walks, we can look for hills to climb and we can encourage him to walk UP his sliding board, both of these will help stretch the Achilles tendon. Since she didn't see him falling, there's not much she could tell us about that other than maybe it was a growth spurt he was going through. We still go to the Neurologist on August 25th, but with this appointment today I feel a lot better. Ryan had a fun time showing off for the PT and flirting with the Early Intervention counselor and gave them both hugs when they left.

A couple weeks ago Ryan was once again playing with our Cordless Sweeper and I was going nuts because I was afraid he was going to break something with the long handle. Another preemie mom told me that you could get a toy vacuum and it looks like the real thing so I checked it out. It's made by Dirt Devil and it's the cutest thing ever! Why hadn't I thought of that sooner? So I had to buy it and it came today. It has a handvac that you can take off & it even sounds like a vacuum, although thankfully much quieter. I felt like writing one of those Mastercard commercials: Toy Vacuum: $24.95, Hours of entertainment for your 2 year old: Priceless. Okay, so it wasn't hours today, but he did play with it for 50 minutes which for Ryan is a feat! Plus it was almost naptime and he was getting tired.

More Milk

Who knew those two words would create sheer excitement around here but it certainly did this past weekend. Ryan certainly gave me a nice birthday present in the form of new words. Two years ago I got an early birthday present by getting to hold Ryan for the first time, 9 days after he was born and 3 days before my birthday.





I remember walking in to see Ryan that morning with my mom and the nurse asking if I was ready to hold him. I said "I can hold him?" "Really?" I just looked at my mom and we were both overjoyed but also a little sad because Dean wasn't there. He had already gone back to work but he would be there later that evening and I couldn't wait to tell him the big news. The nurse brought in a chair and got Ryan swaddled up and handed him to me. I already loved Ryan but until I held him in my arms, I didn't know how much I loved him. I remember just wanting that moment to last forever. I was able to hold him for an hour & gave him as many kisses as I could without my mom going nuts (didn't want me giving him bad germs or something like that). That was my first birthday present from Ryan and I will never forget that gift!

For my birthday this year I didn't even know he gave me a gift until after he said it. MILK. That was my gift. MILK. I (okay, my mom & Dean too) have been trying to get him to say that word for 7 months! 7 months and not one peep of the word milk. I occasionally would hear him utter "ka" but that is it. He didn't even use the sign for milk that often. As always, I asked him if he was ready for his milk and he casually said "milk" and ran into the kitchen to get his cup. I just laughed and 4 days later I'm still praising him every time he says the word! He also started saying "more". Another word that he would never say, however, he did sign this word. Now, if we can get him to say those words together- Wow, wouldn't that be a milestone! One thing at a time...well, one word at a time is fine with me right now.

Anybody who knows me pretty well knows that I'm a germaphob of sorts. I don't have my house sparkling clean or anything but it's more about public places. I carry wipes & Purell with me everywhere. All the time. Just the thought of people not washing their hands after using the restroom, sneezing or coughing and then touching a cart or a door makes me cringe. This is one reason why we don't let Ryan play in the mall play area. Since it was so dreadfully hot & humid outside this past weekend, I thought I would let go of my germ fears and let Ryan play in the mall play area at the mall near where I work. I walk through the mall every day going into work and have looked at the play area (yes, it's been taunting me!). It looked very clean & everything in there was soft & padded. There's even a mall guard that stands at the entrance of the gate and greets everyone! Ryan was thrilled of course and played til his little legs couldn't play anymore. Actually, he was hungry & thirsty from all the running around so we left so we could give him his snack and a drink.