Lots and lots of Birthday pictures!

It's been three weeks and I'm finally getting around to posting a bit about Rylynn's birthday bash. We had a wonderful time with so many of our friends and family. Although we didn't take an official head count, we had around 80 folks over for BBQ, calf fries and cake! There was silly string, a moon walk, bubbles and a pinata, all the components for a great party, right?

Fun with friends!

Gilly didn't make it easy for the kiddos!

The boys... hard at work

Time for cake!!

7 o'clock power nap! Then up for more partying! :)

The night ended with a "dance party" courtesy of the girls. I think all the kids slept well that night. Thanks again to everyone who came to share this perfect day with us! We love you all!!

What a Difference a Year Makes

At this hour last year, Gilly and I held our sweet baby girl entangled with lines, tubes and wires in our arms tightly. At around 8:00 the nurses finally told us it was time to send her back for surgery. We gave her kisses and had to put her in the hands of the medical staff and in God's hands. She was facing her first open heart surgery with odds that no parent wants to hear. Gilly and I waited near the phone in the CVICU waiting room for updates each hour. First she was sedated, then her body cooled, then her chest opened. Although each call meant she made it through a critical step, my nerves could not be calmed. I just prayed for God to keep her safe.
Our family sat close by waiting with us and praying with us. At 1:30 we saw the surgeon walking toward us with his report. Dr. Forbess told us that the repair went well and that there were no complications. I was so proud of our little girl!!
It was still an hour before we were able to see her wheeled through the hallway and still another hour before we made it back to her room. She was peaceful, but her little body was overpowered with the numerous "hardware" that she would slowly shed day by day. Even though these next 72 hours were still so critical and Gilly and I stayed by her side, I honestly can't really remember the details of them. The room was constantly filled with doctors, nurses, respiratory therapist, lab folks and so on. They monitored so many things at once, it was all so incredible. I don't remember if we slept or if we ate or how we really spent that time, but we were there with her.
It was still about 48 hours before she was extubated and could try to eat. But when she took that first bottle, the nurses and doctors were so thrilled as were Gilly and I. It wasn't long before we could hold her again and even change our first diaper! (Which was a total disaster.. I had a mess all over the wires for those poor nurses!)
Rylynn's recovery was super swift (in HLHS terms) and she seemed to accomplish each milestone just before she should have. God truly had a hand in her recovery and growth. So today I can once again thank Him for our blessings, we have a perfect angel because of Him.
Cinco de Mayo will always be a special day in our family, we have something so special to celebrate!!
With love. . .

Happy Birthday Rylynn!

Today is our sweet baby girl's birthday. We are so blessed to have her in our lives. We will be celebrating all day and I will give a full post soon.
With love. . .

We've moved in!

So even though we've been living in our home for the past 7 months, it hasn't really been the cozy home you hope for. We've had the miter saw set up in the breakfast area for the past three months and ever since tearing the paneling off the walls on New Year's things have been a mess. But the renovation is complete (except for a few small projects). We moved our furniture in on Saturday night and spent today hanging pictures and tidying up. It is awesome! I love everything about our place.
As Gilly and I played with Rylynn on the floor tonight after dinner I felt real contentment. It's the simple routine things that have been so disrupted with the construction that made me question whether we'd survive. But now I can say it was so worth it and I'm so proud of our home. I hope Ry enjoys growing up here!!
With love. . .

First Easter

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. The weather was great on Saturday so we were able to spend some time outside, unfortunately Sunday was not so pretty. In fact, the Easter egg hunt was even cancelled at church because it was too wet. I was disappointed that I didn't get any pics fo Ry outside in her dress, but she looked adorable in it. Here's a few that I wanted to share though.

With love. . .

Eleven Months

I can't believe Rylynn will be a year old next month. She has become a complete wild child lately! She just can't get enough of spending time outside. She sits in the grass picking up acorns, enjoys her swing or relaxes in her stroller. We have really enjoyed the weather this past week and have tried to take advantage of the warm evenings. She still enjoys her books more than ever. We spend lots of time reading each day. Of course, she is usually the one who reads to me. I just sit and listen as she jabbers and turns the pages. Her newest craze is crawling around our king size bed like a maniac while you try to catch her from jumping right off the edge. She giggles and squeals with delight and throws herself into the soft bed. We haven't had any major accidents yet, but I'm just waiting for the day that we can't get a hand on her and she tumbles right off the edge. I'm pretty sure it's coming.

My sisters have recently seen Rylynn first thing in the morning as she wakes with bed head and can't get over her crazy hair. So for the past three mornings I have taken pictures to document what I see each morning as she gets up. And I can assure you that these aren't the craziest or the top examples, I simply snapped pics three days in a row. What do you think?

I also failed to mention the addition of "Pup" to our family. He's a (not-so-cute) stuffed animal that Rylynn is attached to. Last week the Gilly, Rylynn and I made a trip to IKEA for some things for the kitchen. To keep her entertained Gilly grabbed this $5 puppy out of a bin and she held onto him as we wheeled through the store. Because he was only $5 we decided to take him home with us and for some reason she LOVES him. She sleeps with him each night and not just like they happen to share the same bed. She holds onto to him and sleeps tight with him. So now I'm thinking it may be worth a trip back to buy a couple more so that we can avoid that crisis that many parents go through because of misplacing or leaving a favorite stuffed animal somewhere!

It's going to be a busy weekend spending time with family and working on the house. I can't wait! Happy Easter to you all!

With love...

Rodeo fun

This last weekend we headed to the Austin Rodeo with Gilly's family. We had a great time, but had a hard time keeping warm. It was 38 degrees and the wind was blowing 40 mph! We were still able to enjoy the petting zoo and of course enjoy the rodeo. Rylynn's favorite was Elsie the Borden milk cow! And of course in true Rylynn fashion, she danced the night away as we watched the rodeo and later heard a little of Wade Bowen. She did crash for about 30 minutes, but was ready to go after catching a little cat nap.

We waited in the car for a bit before heading out into the cold.

Ry needed her snack before we hit the fairgrounds.

Doesn't she look snazzy in her pearl-snaps!

Ry loved petting Elsie...

... and the crazy little goats.

But she wasn't too sure about this moo-cow!

Time for a quick nap so I can do some more dancing!

Now it's time to get ready for the Easter Bunny! I can't believe Easter will be here in less than two weeks! I love this time of year!

With love...