I haven't really done an update since Ryan's first birthday, so here is whats been going on over the past 2 months.
Schedule
First of all, his routine. I haven't posted about Ryan's schedule in a few months and I want to make sure I have it all on record. Lets go back to the 9-12 month range...he was finally pretty regular.
Wake up around 7:00am and have a 6oz bottle.
Breakfast around 8:00
9:00-11:00 nap
6oz bottle at 11am
Lunch around 12
1:00-2:30 nap
6oz bottle at 3:00-4:00
Occasionally a late afternoon cat nap
Dinner around 5:30
Bedtime routine start at 6:30
Asleep by 7pm
The eating schedule did change gradually during these months though. He started eating more solids and real foods, we dropped the 4th bottle, introduced a sippy cup, etc. But the nap time was pretty regular... 2 naps, about 2 hours each.
At 12 months old there were a few more changes, like switching from formula to organic whole milk and weening off of the bottle. He also started napping a little bit later and going to bed a bit later. Here is our current schedule after making those changes.
Wake up between 7-7:30
Sippy cup of milk and then breakfast about 8:00
Nap from 10:00-12:00
Lunch around 12:30 and then a sippy cup of milk after lunch
Nap from 3:00-4:30ish
Dinner at 5:30
Start bedtime between 7-7:30 (with a cup or bottle of milk) and asleep by 8:00
This is our daily routine, but I would say that after Ryan reached a year old, he became much more flexible. Up until recently, he would be miserable and cranky if he wasn't sleeping by his normal nap or bed time. But now he is able to stay up a little later or adjust his naps based on what we have going on that day. I never thought this was going to happen and I'm excited to have reached this point. For example... we were totally off schedule in Florida, but as soon as we got back to Jersey, he returned to his normal routine without much stress. This will be nice once summer comes.
I am figuring he will drop that late nap soon and the morning nap will get pushed back later, but for now he seems to still want to take both. I will keep it for as long as he wants.
Food
Before getting into our current situation, lets talk about what Ryan's eating habits where like. This boy would pretty much eat anything! I never gave him something that he didn't shovel into his mouth. He was a good eater and didn't give me any problem. He just started getting to the point where he wants to feed himself, but when he uses a spoon or fork, food goes flying all over the house. He gets frustrated, but I am sure he will figure it out soon. At this point, he is eating 95% real food and only a little bit of baby food to supplement the fruits and vegetables. He especially likes the smoothie pouches when we are out and about.
Here is a list of the foods he usually eats and enjoys-
pears
apples
bananas
oranges
peaches
mangos
melon
pineapples
blueberries
oatmeal
waffles
pancakes
potatoes
peas
carrots
corn
avocado
edamame
green beans
sweet potatoes
grilled cheese
chicken pieces or nuggets
macaroni and cheese
yogurt
cheese
ground beef or turkey
meatballs
meatloaf
turkey
corned beef
french fries
sausage links
pasta and sauce
baked ziti
perogies
The only thing that he does not like so far... ice cream!! He spit it out, twice, and then refused to take another spoon of it. I am sure he will change his mind once summer comes.
But there has a been a twist to Ryan's eating plans. We recently found out why he is having these allergic reactions (he has had 2 serious reactions, and several mild reactions). Ryan is officially allergic to eggs, wheat, peanuts, almonds, cats and dogs. I"m going to have to right a different post about these allergies and what my game plan is. It is obvious from my food list many of the foods Ryan loves contain wheat and/or egg so we are in the process of totally changing his eating!
New Skills
On a lighter note, Ryan has been so much fun recently. Here are some things he has learned to do in the past 2 months.
-Crawl down the stairs
-Climb onto the couch by himself
-Climb up onto anything really
-Play with the cats
-Dance up a storm
-He can identify his nose, head, and feet
-He LOVES reading books
-HE talks all of the time, but he still isn't really using any words. Currently, I don't think he really has any words, but he says mamama and dadada in general a lot.
-He can understand thing...hard to explain, but if I ask him to get his book he will go and get it, or if I tell him to go get his golf club, he will find it and bring it to me. He understand "no" (even though he doesn't always listen haha), bath, cat, eat, food, go get your shoes, etc. She even though he is not talking at all, it is pretty clear that he is learning.
-He suddenly can use sign language to tell us "more" and "all done"
-Throw a ball
-Go up and down his slide by himself
-He tries to lock the front door when we are leaving the house and going to the car.
-He loves to comb his hair ( I guess that's from watching me do people's hair all of the time)
-He can blow kisses and give really good hugs
-He is still drooling A LOT ... too much. I am so over drool!
I am sure there is more, but that's what comes to mind as of right now. I'll update again later when cute things pop into my head.
Lastly, is 14 months to early to start the Terrible Twos?? hahaha I think we are getting started already. Ryan can throw a really good tantrum and had his first official meltdown in Target last week (because I didn't let him choke on a piece of pretzel). I think he is going to continue to keep me on my toes and demonstrate his strong personality throughout his toddler years :)
The Taynors
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
2nd Vacation- Palm Harbor, Florida
Last week we went on our family vacation to Palm Harbor, Florida (right outside of Tampa). Mike and I took Ryan for 5 days to visit my in-laws. They have a house there now so its a great excuse for a little family getaway. Here are the trip highlights...
Tuesday- We took Ryan on the airplane for the first time, and it went better than expected! I was really nervous because Ryan normally doesn't sit still EVER. He is constantly on the move. He doesn't like TV, he doesn't sleep in my arms, and he hates being restrained. So I couldn't image what he would be like on the plane. I took a chance and went with the "skip a nap and make him extra tired so that he can sleep on the plane attempt." Luckily we were pretty successful. I waited and gave him a bottle at take off, and then gave him his lovey and binky that he only gets at bedtime and nap time, and I help him tight in my arms, not letting him get down to move around. On the flight home he fought me for a while, but eventually fell asleep for a little bit. But on the flight home, it was close enough the bedtime that he fell asleep and stayed asleep the whole time. All things considered, it was not a bad experience!
Wednesday- early in the a.m. Mike and I went for a run on the causeway. It was nice to have a place to go on a running path right along the water. Then we took Ryan to the beach for the first time and we met up with Mike's Aunt Barbara and Uncle Wayne. I am happy to announce that Ryan loved the beach! He seriously sat in the sand and played with some sand toys very happily for about 3 hours. I was nervous because it was getting into nap time, but he was great the entire time! It was a perfect beach day, 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. After the beach we went out to lunch at Captain Jacks and then took a walk through town. Tarpon Springs has a street with tons of little shops, bakeries, and tourist attractions which was fun to see. Ryan slept in his stroller most of the trip. Later that evening, Matt arrived to visit us. We all went out to dinner at this great outdoor restaurant with good food and a live band. The best part was that it had a great view of the sunset over the Gulf. Overall a great day.
Thursday- Another run in the morning, and then beach day #2. Ryan was just as happy at the beach as the day before. Then in the afternoon we took a drive up to Aunt Barbara and Uncle Wayne's new house. They have a great screened in pool area so everyone went swimming, played volleyball and had a great dinner. I am glad we finally got a chance to see their house and I think they were really excited for us to come down for a visit.
Friday- We spent the entire day at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. What a cool zoo. By time we got there, Ryan was ready for a nap... so he spent the first half of the zoo sound asleep in his stroller. But when he finally woke up, he had an awesome time. It was pretty cool because he really got what was going on. He kept pointing to different animals and seemed to enjoy himself. He got to feed a giraffe, go on a "safari" ride, and pet the horses. Then we took him on some of the rides in the kids area. I would 100% recommend this zoo for anyone that's in the area....its a great set up for kids of all ages.
Saturday- The vacation was just about over, but we squeezed in one more morning run and beach day. One of the perks to going to the beach with a larger group is that everyone took turns playing with Ryan, and I had plenty of time to just lay in the sun! It was a great end to a fun trip.
I will admit, a week with the in laws has its challenges, but I would say the trip was a success. I was happy to be home on Saturday night and I think Ryan was too. I spent most of Sunday getting back to reality, and Ryan spent most of the day sleeping (he was exhausted from a very busy week). I am surprised how well he handled being so off schedule. He still had 2 naps every day, but they were at random times and sometime in his stroller. Then most nights he didn't go to bed til 8-8:30 which is way later than normal. I guess because we were so busy and doing fun things, it didn't bother him to be off his normal routine. And luckily, as soon as we got back to Jersey, he went right back onto schedule. All is good in the Taynor home!
Here are some pics of the trip:
Tuesday- We took Ryan on the airplane for the first time, and it went better than expected! I was really nervous because Ryan normally doesn't sit still EVER. He is constantly on the move. He doesn't like TV, he doesn't sleep in my arms, and he hates being restrained. So I couldn't image what he would be like on the plane. I took a chance and went with the "skip a nap and make him extra tired so that he can sleep on the plane attempt." Luckily we were pretty successful. I waited and gave him a bottle at take off, and then gave him his lovey and binky that he only gets at bedtime and nap time, and I help him tight in my arms, not letting him get down to move around. On the flight home he fought me for a while, but eventually fell asleep for a little bit. But on the flight home, it was close enough the bedtime that he fell asleep and stayed asleep the whole time. All things considered, it was not a bad experience!
Wednesday- early in the a.m. Mike and I went for a run on the causeway. It was nice to have a place to go on a running path right along the water. Then we took Ryan to the beach for the first time and we met up with Mike's Aunt Barbara and Uncle Wayne. I am happy to announce that Ryan loved the beach! He seriously sat in the sand and played with some sand toys very happily for about 3 hours. I was nervous because it was getting into nap time, but he was great the entire time! It was a perfect beach day, 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. After the beach we went out to lunch at Captain Jacks and then took a walk through town. Tarpon Springs has a street with tons of little shops, bakeries, and tourist attractions which was fun to see. Ryan slept in his stroller most of the trip. Later that evening, Matt arrived to visit us. We all went out to dinner at this great outdoor restaurant with good food and a live band. The best part was that it had a great view of the sunset over the Gulf. Overall a great day.
Thursday- Another run in the morning, and then beach day #2. Ryan was just as happy at the beach as the day before. Then in the afternoon we took a drive up to Aunt Barbara and Uncle Wayne's new house. They have a great screened in pool area so everyone went swimming, played volleyball and had a great dinner. I am glad we finally got a chance to see their house and I think they were really excited for us to come down for a visit.
Friday- We spent the entire day at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. What a cool zoo. By time we got there, Ryan was ready for a nap... so he spent the first half of the zoo sound asleep in his stroller. But when he finally woke up, he had an awesome time. It was pretty cool because he really got what was going on. He kept pointing to different animals and seemed to enjoy himself. He got to feed a giraffe, go on a "safari" ride, and pet the horses. Then we took him on some of the rides in the kids area. I would 100% recommend this zoo for anyone that's in the area....its a great set up for kids of all ages.
Saturday- The vacation was just about over, but we squeezed in one more morning run and beach day. One of the perks to going to the beach with a larger group is that everyone took turns playing with Ryan, and I had plenty of time to just lay in the sun! It was a great end to a fun trip.
I will admit, a week with the in laws has its challenges, but I would say the trip was a success. I was happy to be home on Saturday night and I think Ryan was too. I spent most of Sunday getting back to reality, and Ryan spent most of the day sleeping (he was exhausted from a very busy week). I am surprised how well he handled being so off schedule. He still had 2 naps every day, but they were at random times and sometime in his stroller. Then most nights he didn't go to bed til 8-8:30 which is way later than normal. I guess because we were so busy and doing fun things, it didn't bother him to be off his normal routine. And luckily, as soon as we got back to Jersey, he went right back onto schedule. All is good in the Taynor home!
Here are some pics of the trip:
Barbara and Wayne's house
Sleeping at the Zoo
Big boy walked around to see the animals
Feeding the giraffe
Honeymoon Island Beach
Family day at the beach
Hanging in the Gulf
Family picture while watching the Sunset
Sunset on the Causeway
Cutie
Taynor Family
Surfer Dude ready for the beach
Running and Working Out
I would never have thought that I would consider running and working out two different things. In the past, if I even ran for 5 minutes... that would count as my work out. But these days, they are two different things.
I am really proud of myself for some of the changes I have made with respect to exercises. I have finally gotten on a good schedule and I feel like I am back in shape (probably even better shape than I was before getting pregnant). I actually think I got even better at making the effort to work out once I went back to work, because then I was on a set schedule. I had certain days/times that became workout days. Most of my blog posts are written more for my own record, and this is one of them. Here is my current running and working out routine so that I have it when I look back.
I started working out at my brothers gyms (All Star Sports Academy) back in September and I have been going regularly ever since. They offer classes at 7am, 9:30am, and 8:00pm Monday through Friday, and at 9:30 on Saturdays. I go to all of the above. My goal is to go at least 3 times a week, but I try for 4. Currently my schedule is Monday and Thursday mornings, and Tuesday and Wednesday at 8:00pm. I would love to go every morning, but working kind of gets in the way of that. Its hard to keep motivated to go back out to the gym at 8pm at night (sitting on the couch watching TV is tempting) but I have become kind of addicted to how I feel after working out. Sooo that's my goal for the week. The best part about working out at Brian's gym is that it keeps me interested and motivated. Every class is a little bit different, it mixes cardio, plyometrics, weight training, etc. all into one session. Plus the people that work out there are great so it makes the classes fun. I am glad I finally got up the nerve to start working out with him.
In addition to that, I am officially in training for the Disney half marathon next February. I really really really want to accomplish this goal BUT that means I have A LOT of work to do. As of last month, I could not run a full minute without feeling like I was going to die, never mind 1 mile, and definitely not 13 miles! I decided I needed to find an actual training program and get started ASAP if I was really going to do this. I am starting by training for a 5K, then I will move on to longer distances (like an 8 or 10K) and then start the half marathon program. Currently I am on week 5 of a couch to 5K type program. I am proud to announce that during my 3 mile run the other day, I was able to do the first 1.5 miles without walking and after a short break, I was able to run the rest of the time!!! Woo Hoo huge accomplishment for me. Most people would laugh at this, but running a full mile is a big deal to me and my first step. So its now part of my routine to run at least 3 times a week (Thursday and Friday evenings, and Sunday morning), sometimes by myself and sometimes with Ryan in the jogging stroller. I have no excuse now that the weather is getting nicer, I just need to get out there and run as often as possible.
All of that being said, I feel pretty good. I feel strong and healthy and in way better shape than I was a few weeks ago. I really hope I stay motivated and keep this up for the long term!
I am really proud of myself for some of the changes I have made with respect to exercises. I have finally gotten on a good schedule and I feel like I am back in shape (probably even better shape than I was before getting pregnant). I actually think I got even better at making the effort to work out once I went back to work, because then I was on a set schedule. I had certain days/times that became workout days. Most of my blog posts are written more for my own record, and this is one of them. Here is my current running and working out routine so that I have it when I look back.
I started working out at my brothers gyms (All Star Sports Academy) back in September and I have been going regularly ever since. They offer classes at 7am, 9:30am, and 8:00pm Monday through Friday, and at 9:30 on Saturdays. I go to all of the above. My goal is to go at least 3 times a week, but I try for 4. Currently my schedule is Monday and Thursday mornings, and Tuesday and Wednesday at 8:00pm. I would love to go every morning, but working kind of gets in the way of that. Its hard to keep motivated to go back out to the gym at 8pm at night (sitting on the couch watching TV is tempting) but I have become kind of addicted to how I feel after working out. Sooo that's my goal for the week. The best part about working out at Brian's gym is that it keeps me interested and motivated. Every class is a little bit different, it mixes cardio, plyometrics, weight training, etc. all into one session. Plus the people that work out there are great so it makes the classes fun. I am glad I finally got up the nerve to start working out with him.
In addition to that, I am officially in training for the Disney half marathon next February. I really really really want to accomplish this goal BUT that means I have A LOT of work to do. As of last month, I could not run a full minute without feeling like I was going to die, never mind 1 mile, and definitely not 13 miles! I decided I needed to find an actual training program and get started ASAP if I was really going to do this. I am starting by training for a 5K, then I will move on to longer distances (like an 8 or 10K) and then start the half marathon program. Currently I am on week 5 of a couch to 5K type program. I am proud to announce that during my 3 mile run the other day, I was able to do the first 1.5 miles without walking and after a short break, I was able to run the rest of the time!!! Woo Hoo huge accomplishment for me. Most people would laugh at this, but running a full mile is a big deal to me and my first step. So its now part of my routine to run at least 3 times a week (Thursday and Friday evenings, and Sunday morning), sometimes by myself and sometimes with Ryan in the jogging stroller. I have no excuse now that the weather is getting nicer, I just need to get out there and run as often as possible.
All of that being said, I feel pretty good. I feel strong and healthy and in way better shape than I was a few weeks ago. I really hope I stay motivated and keep this up for the long term!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Favorite Things
I have many topics that I want to blog about (currently I am only blogging about them in my head) but work has been super crazy. The more I work, the less I blog... but I am going to make it my mission to get caught up on my blog when we get back from vacation.
Anyway, today I had a great day with Ryan. I am really loving this age. Here is a list of my favorite Ryan things these days.
1. When he is so excited to read his books that he climbs into his book bin and sits with them.
2. Our slow dances in the kitchen. We listen to music a lot when I feed him lunch or dinner, and then we are done, I pick him up and we dance around the kitchen. He loves it and I love it because I am sure the day will come when he will no longer want to dance with me.
3. His extra social personality. He "talks" to everyone (and everything including his toys), he waves to complete strangers as we walk past them, and he is always drawing attention. He is my little social butterfly.
4. When he is ready to get our of his crib in the morning or after naps, he throws his binky and lovies out of the crib. Then when I go back in to get them, he points to them as to say "hey, how did they get our there!"
5. Also when its time to get out of his crib, all I have to do is but out my hand and he will give me his binky because he knows he is not allowed to have it outside of the crib.
6. His awesome, very wet, kisses on our cheeks.
7. How he runs to the bath tub, trying to take off his own clothes, when he hears the bath water running. After lots of months hating baths, they are now on his list of favorites.
8. All of a sudden, he understands how to use sign language for "more" and he uses it correctly all of the time.
9. He points to things all over the house as to ask "whats that."
10. He loves his "kitty cats". He points to them, says kitty, pets them nicely, tries to give them hugs, chases their tails, and brings them their toys.
I could go on and on, but those are my very favorite RJ things as of right now.
Ryan is 13 months and 2 weeks old.
Anyway, today I had a great day with Ryan. I am really loving this age. Here is a list of my favorite Ryan things these days.
1. When he is so excited to read his books that he climbs into his book bin and sits with them.
2. Our slow dances in the kitchen. We listen to music a lot when I feed him lunch or dinner, and then we are done, I pick him up and we dance around the kitchen. He loves it and I love it because I am sure the day will come when he will no longer want to dance with me.
3. His extra social personality. He "talks" to everyone (and everything including his toys), he waves to complete strangers as we walk past them, and he is always drawing attention. He is my little social butterfly.
4. When he is ready to get our of his crib in the morning or after naps, he throws his binky and lovies out of the crib. Then when I go back in to get them, he points to them as to say "hey, how did they get our there!"
5. Also when its time to get out of his crib, all I have to do is but out my hand and he will give me his binky because he knows he is not allowed to have it outside of the crib.
6. His awesome, very wet, kisses on our cheeks.
7. How he runs to the bath tub, trying to take off his own clothes, when he hears the bath water running. After lots of months hating baths, they are now on his list of favorites.
8. All of a sudden, he understands how to use sign language for "more" and he uses it correctly all of the time.
9. He points to things all over the house as to ask "whats that."
10. He loves his "kitty cats". He points to them, says kitty, pets them nicely, tries to give them hugs, chases their tails, and brings them their toys.
I could go on and on, but those are my very favorite RJ things as of right now.
Ryan is 13 months and 2 weeks old.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Birthday Details- Construction Truck Theme
I have been wanting to write this post for 3 weeks now, but I was waiting on pictures to post along with it. My friend Jill is a great photographer and she came to the party to take pictures, your the best Jill! Here is how I went about planning and preparing for Ryan's first birthday party.
Theme- I picked the theme because I wanted something very boyish but I didn't want to do something that he is going to ask for in a few years. So I figured trucks are very boy but not a common request (especially not construction trucks).
Decorations- The initial idea came from a birthday catalog. So I went to birthday express and did some brainstorming. I didn't just want to buy the whole birthday set, but it was a good place to start getting ideas. From there we did the basic things like plates, balloons, constructions hats and cones.
Theme- I picked the theme because I wanted something very boyish but I didn't want to do something that he is going to ask for in a few years. So I figured trucks are very boy but not a common request (especially not construction trucks).
Decorations- The initial idea came from a birthday catalog. So I went to birthday express and did some brainstorming. I didn't just want to buy the whole birthday set, but it was a good place to start getting ideas. From there we did the basic things like plates, balloons, constructions hats and cones.
Banners- I wanted to have the birthday banners that a lot of people are using at kids birthday parties (happy birthday, high chair banner, 0-12 month pictures). The debate was whether I should make them myself or have them done. I know I could have made them and they would have been fine... but I decided to contact a friend of mine from growing up and ask her to do them. She does a great job, and these banners came out WAY better than if I did them myself. I highly recommend Uniquely Me Design if you are looking to have decorative banners made for any occasion (you can also find her on Facebook)! Thanks Tiffany!
The Things I Made: Now that I had the basic decorations and my banners, I had some ideas of what I could do to personalize it. I did a little bit of research online and I found a file that contained all different things to use for a construction themed party. You can print it all out using card stock paper and make your own decorations. So from that file I made construction signs, the tags for the favors, labels for the water bottles, and decorations to put in with the food.
Then I wanted to do something with some of my favorite pictures from Ryan's first year, so I made a photo collage in the shape of the number 1 to hang at the party.
Food- I kept the food pretty simple. I ordered sandwich platters and between my mom, mother in law, and sister in law, they handled the sides and salads. The party was at noon so I just did a light lunch. I had beer and wine (its not a party in my family without the booze haha). Plus I wanted to make sure everyone had room for dessert.
Cake and Favors- My sister in law was the one to get us our awesome cake! She found a baker by her that does beautiful custom cakes, and Ryan's turned out great!
In addition to the cake, I made home made "Dirt" pudding for dessert and chocolate cake pops for favors. This was my first experience with making cake pops, the first round went terrible. But once I got the hang of it they weren't so bad. I would make them again for another occasion. The hardest part was wrapping and tagging them after the chocolate shell hardened.
And lastly, Gymboree had a whole construction truck clothing line this spring, so I was able to get a cute shirt that went along with the theme!
Overall, I think it was a good day. I was disappointed about the abrupt ending but there is nothing I can do about that.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Big Boy Room
We won't be making this transition for a long time, but recently I have been thinking a lot about how I want to decorate Ryan's "big boy room." Maybe its because I did a gender neutral nursery, I am anxious to give him a little boy room. I have a vision in my mind of what I like, but I can't really find it online. I like the navy blue, white, and a red accent color scheme. I am thinking boats, sailboats, whales, nautical... something like that would fit this color the best. When I search this idea online, I find a lot of create crib bedding and nurseries that are decorated like this, but not much for an older boy.
I want to be able to find some of these links in the future so I will list them here for future reference. These are all for crib bedding, but at least its the right idea.
http://www.target.com/p/Sail-Away-by-Bedtime-Originals/-/A-13540460
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/speedboat-2-bedroom-set/?pkey=e%7Cboats%7C20%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C11&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-
http://www.landofnod.com/baby-crib-bedding/kids-bedding/sail-on-crib-bedding/f9956
This is a blog about doing a "Ships Ahoy" bedroom:
http://designdazzle.blogspot.com/2009/09/ships-ahoy-its-boys-room.html
Who knows, I'll probably change my mind several times between now and when we actually do the change, but there is no harm in looking around. I think at this point I know more about what I don't want than I do about what I do want. If we go with boats or nautical, I don't want pirates! And I want to try to avoid anything thats too cartoony. I like the idea of old fashion sail boats and a beach house kind of feel. We will see what actually happens.
I want to be able to find some of these links in the future so I will list them here for future reference. These are all for crib bedding, but at least its the right idea.
http://www.target.com/p/Sail-Away-by-Bedtime-Originals/-/A-13540460
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/speedboat-2-bedroom-set/?pkey=e%7Cboats%7C20%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C11&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-
http://www.landofnod.com/baby-crib-bedding/kids-bedding/sail-on-crib-bedding/f9956
This is a blog about doing a "Ships Ahoy" bedroom:
http://designdazzle.blogspot.com/2009/09/ships-ahoy-its-boys-room.html
Who knows, I'll probably change my mind several times between now and when we actually do the change, but there is no harm in looking around. I think at this point I know more about what I don't want than I do about what I do want. If we go with boats or nautical, I don't want pirates! And I want to try to avoid anything thats too cartoony. I like the idea of old fashion sail boats and a beach house kind of feel. We will see what actually happens.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Happy Birthday, Ryan!!
We figured out very quickly that Ryan likes to give me a run for my money, keep me on my toes. He loves giving me a story to tell. I should not have been surprised that we ended up in the ER 3 hours into his 1st birthday party! Before the trip to the hospital, it was a great day... so lets start with that.
The day started with Mike and I going in to wake up Ryan and sing happy birthday. He just sat in his crib looking at us like we were nuts. We quickly got up and dressed and ready and headed over to my parents house to get ready for the party.
The party was at my parent's and started at 12. We went with the construction truck theme which was a lot of fun to do. I'll talk about all of the details of the party and the theme in the next blog post. Ryan has lots of people that love him, so it was a very crowded party. My family and Mike's family were there, Pop Pop, Nan, some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and LOTS of Ryan's new friends. It was a bit crowded and overwhelming with all of the people, but it was great to see so many people who wanted to come and celebrate with us.
It was pretty much your typical 1st birthday party. We had a kids room full of babies (I think it was 10 babies under 2 years old), we all ate lunch, we opened presents, and we had cake. This is where things got interesting!
Ryan LOVED the cake. He couldn't get enough of it. He was smashing his hands and face in it, eating as much as he could, and just taking it all in. He really had fun doing the first birthday smash cake thing. I noticed he was rubbing his face so I let my mom do the cake cutting for everyone else and I took Ryan upstairs to get him washed off and changed. As soon as we got upstairs I noticed he was breaking into a horrible rash (or at least that's what I thought). I got nervous and called my mom up to take a look. By time she got upstairs, Ryan was completely broken out in hives. His face, neck, arms, and hands were all covered in huge, red, swollen hives. Ryan was hysterically crying and scratching his face until he was bleeding. As the hives started to spread down his body and all over his chest, I started to panic. My Aunt Diane is a nurse and my Uncle Scot is a paramedic, and they both thought the best thing to do was to get him to the emergency room just in case it got worse and started to restrict his breathing. So Mike, Ryan and I jumped in the car and got him to the hospital... leaving our 40 guests behind. At that moment, I didn't care. We just needed to get him help and quickly. Now the joke is that Ryan really knows how to end a party.
Ryan sobbed the whole way to the hospital. It was not his normal cry, but a very miserable, uncomfortable cry. The one positive is that when you walk into the Emergency Room with a screaming, red, blotchy baby, the nurses pay attention to you. We got help very quickly. The nurses got him back to see the doctor pretty much right away. In the hospital, like 5 different people had to come up and ask us questions. When they would ask what happened and I would say he had a reaction to the birthday cake, they would ask whose birthday cake he was eating. When I explained that it was his own first birthday cake, they were shocked. Apparently they never had a patient break out into severe hives eating their own special birthday cake before!
The doctor gave him a shot of Benadryll pretty quickly and the hives slowly started to go away. At this point Ryan was totally exhausted and falling asleep in my arms, but we had to stay for observation to make sure he didn't have a reaction to the meds and to make sure the hives were truly going away. We weren't there long when we were discharged. I kept thinking that some mom was just a few floors up, having her first baby, just like I was exactly one year before. By time we got back to the party, the party was over and cleaned up. The rest of the day, Ryan was pretty cranky and groggy. Even though he wasn't himself, the hives were almost all gone.
I went through the whole spectrum of emotions yesterday. I was excited for my baby's birthday, scared about the rash, panicked about the spreading hives, relieved when they started going away, worried that it would get worse, sad that Ryan had to go through that pain/discomfort, and disappointed that the party I planned and worked so hard on had to end in that way. By the end of the day I was exhausted. The next step is to see the pediatrician on Tuesday and then go to an allergist after that to see what was really going on.
So it wasn't the birthday I had planned for Ryan, and we had some unexpected drama, but I think overall it was a good day. Most of the party was a success and in the end Ryan was feeling better so everything turned out okay. One thing I know for sure, we will NEVER forget Ryan's first birthday!
12 Month Update:
-He is just about to switch to 18 month clothes
- Weight: 22lbs Percentage: 25-50%
- Just starting to transition from 12 to 18 month clothes and size 3 to 4 diapers
-Ryan is full out walking now. He will still crawl if he needs to get somewhere very quickly, but otherwise its all walking.
-He gives the best kisses, waves to the cats, plays by himself, reads his books, "talks" on the phone, digs through his toy box, and overall he is much more of a boy than a baby!
-He is talking much more. Not real words, but strings syllables together that sounds like sentences. When I ask him questions, he replies to me. Even though it doesn't make sense, he is definitely answer my question.
-He can identify things. If I ask him to get his book, he can walk over to his books and bring me one back. If I was were is Dad, he will point to a picture of Mike. This is crazy to me, because it really makes him seem so much more grown up.
-We are going to start transitioning off of formula bottles (not sure what we will give him instead just yet) and I am trying to give him more regular food and less baby food.
-There is probably so much more, but that's all I can come up with right now.
I probably won't be doing monthly updates anymore... I'll just update as exciting things happen. Right now I feel like Ryan changes every single day but I am really LOVING this age.
The day started with Mike and I going in to wake up Ryan and sing happy birthday. He just sat in his crib looking at us like we were nuts. We quickly got up and dressed and ready and headed over to my parents house to get ready for the party.
Ryan sobbed the whole way to the hospital. It was not his normal cry, but a very miserable, uncomfortable cry. The one positive is that when you walk into the Emergency Room with a screaming, red, blotchy baby, the nurses pay attention to you. We got help very quickly. The nurses got him back to see the doctor pretty much right away. In the hospital, like 5 different people had to come up and ask us questions. When they would ask what happened and I would say he had a reaction to the birthday cake, they would ask whose birthday cake he was eating. When I explained that it was his own first birthday cake, they were shocked. Apparently they never had a patient break out into severe hives eating their own special birthday cake before!
The doctor gave him a shot of Benadryll pretty quickly and the hives slowly started to go away. At this point Ryan was totally exhausted and falling asleep in my arms, but we had to stay for observation to make sure he didn't have a reaction to the meds and to make sure the hives were truly going away. We weren't there long when we were discharged. I kept thinking that some mom was just a few floors up, having her first baby, just like I was exactly one year before. By time we got back to the party, the party was over and cleaned up. The rest of the day, Ryan was pretty cranky and groggy. Even though he wasn't himself, the hives were almost all gone.
I went through the whole spectrum of emotions yesterday. I was excited for my baby's birthday, scared about the rash, panicked about the spreading hives, relieved when they started going away, worried that it would get worse, sad that Ryan had to go through that pain/discomfort, and disappointed that the party I planned and worked so hard on had to end in that way. By the end of the day I was exhausted. The next step is to see the pediatrician on Tuesday and then go to an allergist after that to see what was really going on.
So it wasn't the birthday I had planned for Ryan, and we had some unexpected drama, but I think overall it was a good day. Most of the party was a success and in the end Ryan was feeling better so everything turned out okay. One thing I know for sure, we will NEVER forget Ryan's first birthday!
12 Month Update:
-He is just about to switch to 18 month clothes
- Weight: 22lbs Percentage: 25-50%
- Just starting to transition from 12 to 18 month clothes and size 3 to 4 diapers
-Ryan is full out walking now. He will still crawl if he needs to get somewhere very quickly, but otherwise its all walking.
-He gives the best kisses, waves to the cats, plays by himself, reads his books, "talks" on the phone, digs through his toy box, and overall he is much more of a boy than a baby!
-He is talking much more. Not real words, but strings syllables together that sounds like sentences. When I ask him questions, he replies to me. Even though it doesn't make sense, he is definitely answer my question.
-He can identify things. If I ask him to get his book, he can walk over to his books and bring me one back. If I was were is Dad, he will point to a picture of Mike. This is crazy to me, because it really makes him seem so much more grown up.
-We are going to start transitioning off of formula bottles (not sure what we will give him instead just yet) and I am trying to give him more regular food and less baby food.
-There is probably so much more, but that's all I can come up with right now.
I probably won't be doing monthly updates anymore... I'll just update as exciting things happen. Right now I feel like Ryan changes every single day but I am really LOVING this age.
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