We're B-A-C-K

*Huge sigh of relief* The Ryals family is officially back. Nursing school is officially done. I officially have my RN license. WHOOOOHOOOOO!!!! 'Cause know what that means? I get to enjoy some time just being a wife and Mom again. Spending more than a few moments with loved ones. Not having to figure out how to balance "student me" with "all the rest of me".  Just getting to...BE.

What's the first thing we did? Take off for vacation of course! We headed up to SC to visit family and outside of a VERY crazy attempted weekend getaway for Trey and I, we have been having a blast. I submit to you as evidence:

Oma & Robert at the park 

Surf Side Beach - Robert learns to boogie board

Washing off in the outdoor shower at Grandmommy's  after our time at the beach

 

  At "Jaws" beach shop in Murrell's Inlet, SC

 

Surest sign of a good day - a little boy passed out in his carseat (love that his new Camelback is still between his legs)

 

So there you have it - we are alive, and we are well.  Hopefully now you'll see us back around here a little [LOT] more often!



Wow. How on earth has it been an entire year since I posted on here? Oh wait, that's right - approximately one month after I wrote Robert's birthday post I started the accelerated portion of my nursing program. Everything after that is a blur.  To be sure much has happened in the last year, but it all seems to revolve around school.  I will try, as much as possible, to recap some things.

1. December 2012: started the accelerated portion of my program.

2. Jan 2012-Jan 2013: completed health assessment, pathophysiology, pharmacology, foundations of nursing, adult health, research in nursing, pediatrics, women's health, community health, genetics in nursing, and critical care nursing. This involved class from 8a-4p 3 days a week and clinical for @ 10 hrs two days a week.  Weekends consisted of completing clinical paperwork and studying since exams were every 1-2 weeks and usually involved hundreds of pages of material. 

3. October 2013: Robert decorates his first pumpkin.

4. November 2013:  Robert turns 2!

 We had a Saints tailgating birthday party with BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, Cheese-Its, veggies, and 2 football cakes.  One was chocolate cake with chocolate icing, the other lemon cake with white icing (what can I say, I'm not a chocolate cake fan).  Had SO many family and friends here and it was awesome!

5. December 2013: Christmas was spent with the Ryals side of the family.  This year we employed the little saying "Something you want, something you need; something to wear, something to read" for gift giving and it was quite interesting. I LOVE this idea for Robert as he grows, although I think it's safe to say that all of us failed miserably this year at sticking to it when it came to him. That boy made out like a bandit!

There are so many more pictures and stories that we could include, but I'd say these are a few highlights (not a real eventful year other than school, huh?).  As we move forward into the new year we are excited for my schooling to be wrapping up (this last semester is at a normal pace and I graduate in May!) and for Trey to be starting a new job.  This year holds many big changes and opportunities for us and we are both nervous and excited.  Most of all we are trusting God to continue leading us and watching over us just as he has this past year.  May 2014 also be a year of blessings in your lives!

Oh, and here's a couple pictures of me with clinical groups. You know, just so you don't think I'm making it all up =)

Year One

 

One year. Mommy and Daddy have kept you alive for one whole year little boy. Yay us! It has been the most tiring, challenging, patience-building, fun, amazing, rewarding year of my life (I'm sure your Dad feels the same). I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by and the little boy you are becoming.

You are a happy filled little being who is quick to smile and just as quick to laugh. You have definitely gained an opinion though about almost everything and you do not hesitate to express it/try to enforce it. You let out an ear-piercing screech and throw yourself backwards when we try to stop you from doing something you want. Your new thing is exercising your control by refusing most foods and, when you do accept it, chucking most of it off the high-chair. At least I know that you will always eat yogurt, hard-boiled egg whites, mushroom rice, and mandarin orange slices---you won't starve. There is no doubt though that you are set on what you want; you are already showing yourself to be a strong-willed child. I didn't expect to face such challenges so soon and while sometimes Mommy just doesn't know the correct way to respond, I pray daily that your "power" will make you a strong man of God. How amazing if you are as dedicated to God and following His ways as you are to trying to get the things you want now. You could change the world!

You are still our "big little boy". While you are now in the size clothes that match your age (12-month, a few 18-mnth PJs and shirts) you are in the 100% for height at 32-in and somewhere around 90% for weight (24lbs 14oz). You are tall and pretty thin, although it's no wonder since you NEVER STOP MOVING. You are Mommy's sterotypical little high-energy boy: nothing holds your attention for long, you love nothing more than to make messes and take things apart, and I can barely get you to hold still long enough to even give you a hug. You are an incredible amount of fun!

Your favorite "toy" right now is the broom. You also love the vacuum. I am praying this love of cleanliness and order continues since you currently often put things back where you found them (not toys, but many other things). It is ADORABLE. I'm also glad you've found some things you like since you've pretty much lost all interest in actual toys. Its things in the pantry/cabinets, on tables, and in Mommy & Daddy's bags that you care about. Oh, and the cat's crate---you love to pull the little kennel around behind you and put things in it. Oh, and to move the shoes to either the living room table or a big ol' silver pot we have...You are seriously just too funny little love =D

 

You will never know what a blessing you have been and are to us each and every day. I pray that God will continue to watch over you and richly bless you as you grow in wisdom and stature. We love you Robert and cannot wait to spend another year with you!

SOMEBODY TURNED ONE!!!

 

Pictures from throughout his first year

Hot Dog Bar! Guests enjoyed hot dogs with mayo, mustard,
ketchup, onions, pickles, peppers, cheese & chili. Chips,
fruit, and a veggie tray made up the sides.

Oma & Opa provided the home-canned
peppers



Chocolate fudge cucpakes with a Reese's miniature
in the center. Topped with homemade Peanut Butter
Creamcheese frosting and drizzled with homemade
chocolate ganache. YUM!

Robert's initial action was to palm the cupcake, frosting side up...

 

He figured it all out pretty quickly though!

Ahhhh, cupcake bliss!
 

Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated our wonderful Robert with us!!!

11 Months!

Dear Precious Robert,

Mommy must start this post by apologizing to you for not being disciplined in recording our memories. Whether it's your monthly milestones on here or jotting down little things in our black journal, I feel like I am failing us. Not only do I want you to be able to look back at your story, but I want the chance to look back and remember everything too---every sweet, precious moment of it. Taking care of you and the house, as well as going to school full-time, seems to eat up every moment of my day, but I believe that this is important enough that I need to find a way to work it in too. I'm afraid that I'm so far behind that there is no way to catch up, so I'll just try to remember what I can and do better from here on out (sorry y'all, this may be long!). I love you more than life my little man and can't even believe that in one short month we will be celebrating your 1st birthday!

• You are currently 31in long and weigh 24.5lbs. You are above the 95th% in everything.

• You are pretty much in the same clothes you were last time I wrote. You wear 9mnth or 12mnth shorts, 12mnth to 18mnth PJS, and size 12mnth for everything else. We are starting to move to some 18mnth stuff though as you are so long.
• You can walk! (started at 10mnths 3wks)
• You have 5.5 teeth---top two middle ones, bottom two middle ones, the bottom tooth directly to the right of the middle two, and the other one popping up on the other side (hmmm, what are those teeth called?)
• You "talk" all the time. You say "Dada" constantly but I'm still not sure if you ever use it in context yet. You have said "Mama" 2 or 3 times in the last week and it makes my heart explode in happiness!

• You are doing very well in daycare. All the teachers love you & you seem quite happy to have the joy of freedom to play with pretty much whatever you want in a room.
• You have experienced being sick for the first time. You got a runny nose soon after starting daycare and after about a month it turned in to a sinus infection. We started you on amoxicillin but it didn't seem to help---you actually got your 1st ear infection while on it! You also broke out in a head-to-toe rash. We don't know at this point if it was the medicine or a virus, so we'll have to keep an eye on you in the future. Now you are on a new antibiotic (Cefdinir) and we are hoping it clears things up, although you started running a fever (for the 1st time since this all started) while on it and pretty much just want to sleep. You are super happy though when you're awake.
• You are pretty much always happy =)

• You have discovered that you can put thing "into" and "over" stuff. You enjoy emptying out containers just to put stuff back in, throwing toys into your playpen, and chucking shoes over the baby gates and into the kitchen. You are also a huge fan of the tupperwear cabinent.
• We bought you your first pair of shoes this past month. You don't like them yet.

• We took you to the park for the 1st time. You weren't very impressed by the swings but LOVED climbing and going down the slide.

 

8 Months

Wow baby, you are 8 months old now! You are getting sooooo big and learning so many things so very quickly. Did you know

• You are over 30in long and about 23lbs
• You wear size 12m onsies, 12m shirts, 12m pants, 12m PJs, and 9m shorts. What can I say, you're tall!
• You can not only crawl now, but pull up on things too
• You are eating more and more foods. This month we've been doing a lot more "adult food". Besides toast sticks we do potatoes, fish, chicken, etc. You've also had your first taste of ice cream, a tiny piece of bacon, and more. So far, you love it all.
• You have 2 teeth! Both of your bottom teeth came in this month. You actually did quite well with it (normally you hear horror stories of babies teething): you would become somewhat cranky and very clingy for a few days right around when they were coming in, take more frequent but shorter naps, and would slack off on ounces of formula, and then POP---there the tooth would be.
• You went to the beach for the first time! When we went to see family in South Carolina, Daddy and I took you to Pawley's Island. You were fascinated by the sand, including figuring out whether or not it was edible, and you loved the water too. Mommy's not normally a huge beach person, but it was soooo much fun with you =)
• You are talking more, adding some consonant sounds in with all those little vowels. You still haven't come close to uttering "Mama" or "Dada" yet, but what you do say is always entertaining (and usually loud---we need to work on our inside voice)
• You finally figured out about reaching your arms up or out to people when you want to go to them. It thrills us every time.

You have always been a joy, but it is so much fun to see the changes that you seem to go through almost daily. You are growing up so fast and part of me wants to find a way to stop it and part of me is thrilled at what's to come. We love you SO much little boy!

7 Months

Hello Robert. You are 7 months old now and you are getting to be such a big boy. It seems like each day reveals new skills and a new adventure. This month:

• You not only get on all fours and rock, but you've actually learned the "bear walk" stance and try to use it to get around. You're not quite crawling yet, but you are getting closer & closer each day.
• You can get yourself into and out of a sitting position.
• You are eating 3 meals a day of baby/finger foods. You still do not like peas, & we discovered you don't like broccoli either. You love all fruits, toast sticks, fish, potatoes & sweet potatoes. You eat pretty much everything enthusiastically.
• You have started waking up an hour earlier than we've been doing for months. Most of the time you're pretty content to play for a while in your crib though, and for this Mommy thanks you.
• You went swimming for the first time. I thought you'd have a total blast, but really you were pretty chill about it. You just floated around in one of those little sling things chewing on the green plastic shovel...

• The best way to entertain you is to throw a bunch of random toys/things into some sort of bowl or bucket and let you go at it. You LOVE to dump the whole thing out and then explore each and thing in it.
• You wear 12month PJs, onsies, & many shirts (though some onsies and shirts are 9months), and you have 9month & 12month pants. The 9 month pants fit, but some of them are short...
• You learned how to blow raspberries and have begun to "talk" quite a bit when you play.
• You are starting to show your stubborn streak more and more, but you are still always full of smiles and laughter.
• You finally discovered the baby in the mirror---and you like to try to head butt him (seriously boy, you're going to break the mirror...or your head)

I'm sure there's a million other things I couuld write, & perhaps I'll come back & post them at the end if I think of them. Mostly though it just seems as if time is flying by. You are growing and changing faster than I can keep up and I treasure each and every moment with you. I love you buddy, happy 7 months!