Good evening!

My Wilton Course 1 Decorating class is over. I think I am going to go ahead and take the 2nd course. It was alot of fun! I really learned a lot. There were things that I just wouldn't have known if I hadn't taken the class. The 2nd class starts on Monday so I will probably go sign up then. Here's a picture of the last cake I made.



Ryker news, he has been making SO much progress. He is walking more than he is crawling. He is so proud of himself! He's also making progress on the speech front as well.

Ronin is learning so much as well! He's learned how to jump off of stuff..We have this bin and he'll say "doh doh doh!!" (for one, two, three!) LOL

The boys are just so funny and so cute these days. They are so active. Some days they just wear me out.



One more note, I wanted to mention Kalynn's party in case people are worried about Crypto that's been going on in the metroplex. I called them and they have already treated the water and there have been no cases of Crypto.

Anyway, that's about all I have to say for now! I need to go finish up dinner.

Evening!

We had a pretty good weekend. Our friend's and our friend's little girl's birthday was this weekend. So we went to go see them for that. They live in Shenandoah, which is close to Conroe and The Woodlands. They just moved there a couple of weeks ago. They used to live down the street from us, then they moved 30 min from there, moved to OK, and now they're there.

We left Friday morning. It was a little rough, the boys were crying because they were hungry for lunch. So we had to stop, and also to change their diapers. A 3 hour trip is really a 4-4 1/2 hour trip because Kalynn has to go to the potty, changing diapers, feeding, etc.

Anyway, it was great to see them. Their little girl is about a year younger than Kalynn, and they've known each other since they were babies.

While on this trip, I have discovered that Ronin is a little fish! He loves swimming. He says "Mimming!!" We went swimming and I let him jump (I held onto him while he jumped). He love love loved it. In fact, that little stinker tried jumping in by himself! Fortunately, I was right there. He was so cute, he'd stand at the edge (with me holding on to him), and he'd say "doh doh doh jump!!!" (trying to say one, two, three jump!)

Ryker loved it too, but he couldn't really get into the water with his tubes. We had some stuff to put in his ears too.

Anyway, I'm glad to be home!

Ryker's ear tubes

Thanks Molly!

Yesterday, Ryker had ear tube surgery..

He couldn't have anything to eat after midnight. He couldn't nurse after 1:30am. That night before, I wonder if he knew something was up or maybe it was his ears. Anyway, he woke up several times. Around 1:45am or so, he woke up and of course I couldn't nurse him. Bill took him and Ryker was NOT a happy camper. He screamed until about 3:30am or so. I couldn't sleep while he was screaming like this. It was very difficult as we had to wake up at 4:45am. Mom got here around 5am, I scooped up Ryker changed his diaper and we left.

The surgery went VERY quickly. I was taken to the recovery room after he was taken. I went to get a drink, went to the bathroom and before I was out of the bathroom, I heard Ryker crying. I couldn't believe how fast it went! He was crying, and the nurse encouraged me to nurse him. He was content for a few minutes, but then continued crying. Went home and he cried the entire way home.

You know, I wasn't nervous at all. Kalynn had surgery at 11 months and I think was a bit freaked out, especially when she woke up and was unconsolably crying. But I think that experience helped me. Plus, I knew he was in good hands, as the Dr is a friend of Bill's dad (who's also an ENT). If Bill Sr trusted him with his grandchild, then I trusted him fully.

The rest of the day went well. He was pretty much back to normal!

Submucosal Cleft Palate

I forgot to mention this..The ENT mentioned that Ryker has a submucosal cleft palate but really didn't go into detail about what it is..After reading it, it makes SO much sense.

Here's some info about what it is: http://www.cleftline.org/publications/submucous

It says that ear problems are very common. It also mentioned swallowing issues. I have noticed that Ryker does choke on things that I didn't think he could choke on. It also mentioned speech problems, for example, nasally speech. We won't really know until he speaks more, which hopefully, the ear tubes will help with that. He also has a "bifid uvula", which is common in submucosal cleft palate. His regular pedi noticed it but didn't say anything about a cleft palate.

I was reading that and everything clicked! It makes sense.. I need to mention the swallowing issues next time we see the Dr.

Afternoon!!

We had a Dr's appt today. Ryker's been tugging at his ears and sleeping like total crap. He has fluid. They did a hearing test and he has mild hearing loss, which is probably contributed by the fluid. He's probably had that fluid for several months. So, the ENT feels that tubes would be beneficial for him. Ryker will have his surgery next Wed.

Sad news :( "Scooter" died. Bill found feathers and wings strewn over the yard. Bill is really upset. Rest in peace little Scooter!

Bill holding the bird, which he named "Scooter" LOL





Kalynn holding the bird

Evening!! I'm sitting here waiting on my cake to bake. I need to have my cake baked and frosted by Wed. I figure I'd let it cool down overnight and then frost it Wed afternoon while the boys are taking a nap.

Yesterday, mom got me an early birthday gift. She got me this cake decorator set that I had been wanting. She got it for me yesterday since I need it by Wed. It's SWEET! Lots of cool and nifty stuff in there.

After that we went swimming at Andy and Kim's house. The boys LOVE to swim. Ronin used to and Ryker does call it "bath". But, yesterday, Ronin actually said "swimming". He said "Mimming!!" It was really cute how he said it.

Today, Ryker had therapy. I had been concerned with his speech. When my FIL was here, I had asked him to look at Ryker's ears (he's an ENT). He said that there was fluid behind there. I know that can be a factor in speech delay, so I am going to make an appt with an ENT to see what they say. They won't do an eval until that's taken care of, so to speak. Mariah (the gal from ECI) said that they don't consider a speech delay until they're 6 months behind. Ryker's 5 months behind..

So, we had a nest above our porch..The mama bird laid eggs and 4 hatched. One of them died :( But three of them flourished! We saw them every single day. Well, now they're out of the nest. One of them will go up to Bill and let him hold it. Bill named it Scooter LOL I got some pics, I'll post them here in a bit..

Tomorrow is payday and I plan on going grocery shopping with the kids. An excuse to get out of the house. They do pretty well out shopping for the most part.

Good afternoon!!

This week was pretty good!

Monday was our 7 year wedding anniversary! Lisa was so nice to offer to babysit. She got here around 5:30. I thought she did pretty well! We went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner, and then hung out at Barnes and Noble. AFter that I got ice cream at Marble Slab.

Wed, Ryker had therapy. That went well. I have to keep him out of a "W" sit. He sits on his bottom with his feet behind him, which looks like a "W". Something about stretching out his ligaments and can cause problems later. She said that if he isn't walking better by 2, then we really need to follow up with the Doctor.. Hopefully, he'll be walking by then..

Also, on Wed, I signed up for a cake decorating class at Michael's. So far so good! I am glad that I am taking this class. There are things that I would've had no clue if I hadn't taken the class. For example, I had NO idea that there were different consistencies of frosting that are used for different things.

Friday, we met our friends Naomi and Chad at the mall. We hung out there for a bit and then went to Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch.

Saturdays are usually "Mommy and Kalynn time". But this time, she wanted ALL of us to go..Honestly, it would've been easier if Bill didn't go. He was more of a pain. He doesn't like McDonald's anyway. Yes, I'm crazy. I take them out to fast food places by myself quite a bit. Things go more smoothly when I'm by myself.

Anyway, not much else is going on around these parts. Just same old same old.

Finally have a chance to post!!

This week was pretty good!

The kids and I went to Splash Factory on Wed with some moms from the DFW area message board. It was fun! The kids had such a great time. Kalynn's party is going to be there and I admit, I'm a bit excited for it! After that we went to Chick Fil A and I saw my friend Kristi there. It was just by coincidence! So, we had an impromptu lunch together..

Friday, Bill and I took the kids to the Cedar Hill fountains at Uptown Village. Yes, most of our outings involve water LOL

Saturday, we went to our family reunion. It was nice seeing everyone. I haven't seen them since grandma died. We ate, talked, Kalynn went swimming..It was fun. Then after that we went to my niece's first birthday party. The party was awesome! Allie did a great job. The kids had fun.

Today (Sunday) Kalynn had a birthday party for her friend Ava, who's our next door neighbor. It was at "It's a Girl Thang". It was SOO cute! The girls got to dress up in princess dresses, and the ladies did their hair, makeup and nails. It was really adorable. Of course, stupid me, forgot the camara.

Speaking of birthdays..Kalynn's birthday theme is going to be Pink Poodle In Paris..I have decided that I am going to make her cake.. So, I've been searching all over the internet to get some ideas.. Here are a few that I'm going to try (I am going to practice)
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2329885580014386786vsLlfT

http://cakefun.blogspot.com/2005/08/making-of-pink-poodle-cake.html

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/9/5955

(the last cake)

I attempted the other night...I didn't have enough icing, but hopefully, after a few practice tries, it'll turn out well. I am also going to make some cupcakes with paw prints on them..

If anyone wants to see latest pics of the kiddos, I have them all on my Myspace account!