Mr Independent

I just had to blog about this because I just can't believe how fast William is growing up. There are so many things he's insisting he does on his own. He is now making or attempting to make his own sandwiches. The other day he wanted a sandwich for lunch and I was going to make it for him. He insisted he do it on his own so I pretended to do the dishes so I could supervise. He took out the bread, ham, mustard and took his step stool to climb on the cabinet to get a plate and cup. Then he started to put the mustard on (he made a smiley face) and then neatly put his ham on. I told him I didn't want him to touch the knives so I cut it for him. But he did it all by himself and he cleaned up too!! Then it was on to the drink. He took his step stool, got the milk out of the fridge, moved his step stool to the island and poured himself a glass of milk. I just couldn't believe my child is now fixing himself food. Tonight he wanted to make the macaroni and cheese by himself and I told him he was moving way too fast, I'm not ready for him to use the microwave, that has disaster written all over it.

Another disbelief is his morning routine. He gets himself dressed, brushes his teeth all by himself and then wakes me up. I have my alarm set but some days there is no need. He's already ready to go. He even fixes himself breakfast too. He wants to pour his own cereal and milk. Seriously this is CRAZY when did my baby boy grow up? I guess I can't call him baby boy anymore...tear.

Soccer Star

William had his first soccer game last weekend and he did awesome. These are just 5 year olds so the World Cup is far off, and it's pretty much organized chaos. As long as he has fun that's all that matters!



That's my boy!!



Thank God we have dental insurance, it's only a matter of time before he stops a ball and gets a foot in the mouth.



William getting a piece of the action.




Ryder's my little joey...he's so cute!




Aunt Michelle giving Ryder some love!

These are some of the best aunts ever to brave HOT weather to cheer for William.

William vs. Ryder

So Chris and I are going back and forth on the resemblances William and Ryder have. When I see the new faces Ryder has it totally reminds me of William at that age, but then again he's different in so many ways too. For starters Ryder's hair is so light. I do think Ryder resembles the Ladimir side a bit more than William however the birth mark William has in the middle of his forehead is an exact match to Ryder. It's so funny, what are the odds...Chris is to blame for stamping our children!




Ryder


William...check out that dark hair!




You can kind of see the birth mark in the middle of his forehead.

It's Soccer Time

William is back in soccer!!! I have been alternating t-ball and soccer and it just seems that soccer is a good fit for him. Maybe because there is way more running involved he's never in one place that long...perfect for a 5 year old! We'll see how the season goes, I do know this he's going to have so much fun!



Check out that intensity!


I'm not sure what he's doing here...what a kick though!

September so far...

September has come and I can't believe it's almost gone. Ryder is almost 3 months old and I can't believe it. He's officially sleeping in his bedroom. We tried it out this past Sunday and he took naps (which he never does) so we decided to push our luck and see how he would do that night!! SUCCESS!! He did great only waking up once. He's not sleeping through the night but he's definitely sleeping better so I can't complain.

As for William, he is doing awesome in school. We are in full swing rewarding him for his good behavior...say what you will but it works! We were off to a rocky start with him getting a few notes from the teacher sent home. Apparently William is really good at bugging his buddy and can't keep his hands to himself...I totally saw this coming. But after explaining to him that this is no laughing matter and taking a few of his privileges away he's turned a new leaf....at least for the moment. We have a parent/teacher conference next Wednesday so I really hope that goes well.

Chris is up to his ears with school. In addition to working he's still going to school to finish up his degree....he's almost there. I keep telling him this is the home stretch. I'm so proud of him, he's really setting a good example for our boys to follow.

I have been in full swing scheduling sessions and getting ready for the holiday rush. I've been buried editing which is why I have been slacking on this blog. I'm finally getting caught up! I hope it stays that way.

Let the smiles begin!!! Ryder is all about the smiles now!!



Ryder is getting so strong, look how well he's holding up his head!



Mom's Labor Day birthday...Ryder was pretty upset he couldn't eat the cake!



This is what my Sunday mornings are like....life is good!!



My big boy!!



Ryder just hanging out with his Papa. I can't get over how light his hair is.

Chris' dad Gary, stepmom Karen and brother Shane came to visit for a few days. They got to meet Ryder for the first time and visit with William. It's been a while since we saw them last...hope it isn't going to be that long of a gap between our next visit.

Sea World

During Labor Day weekend we went to Austin for some much needed R&R and my mom's birthday. We took advantage of the beautiful weekend and went to Sea World for the first time. Ryder stayed at home with my parents and Chris and I took William on Saturday. I honestly couldn't tell you who was more excited, me, Chris or William. We all had a funtastic day! We made it to all the shows and rode only one roller coaster. We thought William could ride the screaming eel but we were mistaken. He was too short. We told him maybe next year. The fact that he wanted to ride it and was so upset was pretty interesting. He kept telling the lady he's 5 and wasn't scared. Poor lady fell victim to William's begging. He quickly got over it when we saw the sea lion show which was our favorite. I can't wait to go again next year. This time we are going to bring our suits so we can do some of the water rides.

This was the only roller coaster William could ride...those are his arms up in the air. Next year we are going to ride the big ones...he's ready!

This was the best part of the whole day, Chris could have spent all our money just feeding dolphins. We all took turns feeding and petting these beautiful animals. William's face is priceless he was so excited!

The sea lion show was William's favorite of the day!

Kindergarten already?!

I seriously don't know where the time has gone...I can't believe William started kindergarten!! He did awesome and was so excited....as you can tell. His backpack was as big as he is. William walked right into his class and sat down with no problem. Yes I cried and yes Chris made fun of me...but I'm sorry that's my baby boy all grown up....next it's high school graduation. Oh I just got a realty check.

But he did great his first week. After 2 days of walking him to class on Wednesday I dropped him off at the parents drop off line. I couldn't believe I was watching my child walk from my car into school all by himself. I felt like at that moment the cord was cut. I know it sounds funny but his independence was so overwhelming. I just can't believe how fast he's grown up.

Surgery at 2 months

This past month we have had to visit a few doctors. A few weeks after coming home from the hospital we noticed Ryder's breathing and how loud it was. It progressively got worse and after sending a video of his breathing to the pediatrician she said we should visit and ENT. It turns out that Ryder has Stridor or also known as Floppy Voice Box. In a nutshell Ryder has extra tissue that flapped around in his airway that would occasionally cause him to stop breathing for just a few seconds, and made feeding incredibly hard. He also snores and breathes so loud that he wakes himself up. Which is why I think he has such a hard time sleeping. On September 1st he had surgery to correct this tissue and it has made a world of difference. He was sedated which really freaked me out. The doctors went through his mouth and cut away all the extra tissue. Technology completely amazes me. He was in the NICU for one night and came home the next day. He's seems to be a much happier baby, I'm still hoping the sleeping habits change but his feeding is much better. It was the hardest thing to see my 2 month old taken away to have surgery but thankfully Chris was there to give me support, I was a mess.

Ryder right after surgery...poor thing.

Ryder 2 months

Such a cute stinker...he's starting to really fill out!

Height 23inches - 50 percentile
Weight 10lbs 15ozs - 25 percentile
Head 38cm - 25 percentile

The 2 month check up sucks! Here is when the rounds of shots begin. Ryder had 3 shots and did awesome but is there something they can give the parent? He cried for just a little while then slept the rest of the afternoon....I'd sleep too. Shots are traumatizing.

Ryder 1 Month

Ryder has been the sweetest baby. He's my little angel and such a snuggle bug. I always say if he could he would burrow back in the womb.

Height 20inches - 25 percentile
Weight 6lbs 11ozs - 10 percentile
Head 34.5cm - 10 percentile

It was a SUPER Birthday!

William's 5th birthday was so FUN! It was Super Hero themed and William dressed for the occasion. He wore his Super William cape that his Nana made him and all the kids had different super hero masks to wear. It's unfortunate that because of the heat you are so limited on what you can do for August birthdays in Texas. Last year William had a swimming party so this year we wanted to do something different. We decided to BOWL!!! Lately William has been perfecting Wii bowling and we just knew having a bowling party would be exactly what he wanted! Everyone was having a blast!! William even stopped in mid-bowl to let Chris and I know that "This was the best birthday ever!!" Seriously that completely melted our hearts. What a sweet boy, and he totally deserves the best!!

William is 5!

I can not believe I have a 5 year old child! Nothing touches your heart quite like your first child. William is such an amazing little boy! I must say having a boy is awesome, having a little boy like William...a dream come true! He's completely unique in every way. I love how kind his heart is and how he loves to make everyone smile. He loves to be happy and make everyone around him happy too. I have heard he is a born entertainer... I couldn't agree more. 4 was such a fun age but it was hard work too. All the opinions come out and his independence. William had a big year, so many things happened. He learned to negotiate everything, went to a church school (Pre-K) and learned about God, oh and he became a BIG BROTHER!
4 was cool, but I know 5 will be even better!!


I love my child so much!!

In case there are any scouts looking for William to join their team here are his current stats.

Height 44 1/4in. - 90 percentile

Weight 45lbs - 75 percentile

BMI 16.2 - 75 percentile