My Little Boy is 2 today!

Two years ago today, at 6:29 a.m. my little boy made his entrance into the world. He weighed 7lbs 3oz, and was 18.5" long.

This is him at his 1st birthday party.

This is my little goofy, sweet, energetic boy today. My how things have changed. He used to be so small that I could hold him for hours and not get tired. Now I can only hold him for a few minutes, before my arms get tired. He can run away from his pregnant mommy very fast, and he's an excellent climber. He gives sweet kisses, and tells me "I Ov so much" while spreading his arms wide. He can count to three, and say over 100 words. He is my little buddy! He's such a big boy!

Happy Birthday Byron!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Fall Cleaning

We have had 2 very productive weekends in the Unruh house. Last weekend, we finally got motivated to weed around the hedges, spread the bark mulch that has been sitting there for a year and a half, and trim the hedge. It felt so great to get that done! Plus, now we don't have a big pile of bark in our driveway, so we can actually park. AND no spider nests! *shudder* It looks so nice. Since we waited so long we get the full benefit of seeing our project stay weed free until spring sometime! haha Then this weekend, we tackled the dungeon...er...garage. Now everything is nicely put in it's place and we got rid of some lingering junk that made it through the last 2 garage organizations. Of course the house could use a good cleaning as well, but I have to do that anyway. We're having people over for cake and ice cream on Saturday to celebrate Byron turning two. Hopefully I will remember tomorrow to post his birthday blog!

Fall is here!

Byron "driving" the semi.

I haven't written a blog for about 2 weeks, so I decided it was time to post again. Not a whole lot of fun things going on right now. With Ryan's post surgery bills, and the time off we're pretty stressed out about money right now. We always get through it, and I'm trying to remind myself of that, but it gets old. So I'm working on making a new budget and trying to cut out some costs here and there to help. It's sort of a game, but not one I like to play. haha

Tuesday was my 27th birthday, and it went very well. I woke up to some great notes and messages from friends with lots of Christian Bale pictures. NOW, that is the way to start of a day. ;) Then a friend took me to lunch at Dana's. I came home and finished my book, and then went to dinner with Ryan and Byron. I purposely avoided all things to do with work or cleaning, and it helped me enjoy the day. We also finally got our refund check, which helped a bit.

I cannot believe my son is going to be 2 in a couple of weeks. Time really does go by quickly. Even though he's a challenge at times, I wouldn't replace those sweet kisses and smiles for the world. Today, he taught himself how to do a somersault. I kid you not! I didn't show him at all. I was so stinkin' proud! I wish I could put him in gymnastics, but I really hesitate to take him to A.I.M. now that I have a deep understanding of their business practices. Too bad Wenatchee and TriCities are so far away. ;)

Ryan's surgery has REALLY improved his moods lately. It's almost annoying, because he's a totally different person. Much happier, and much more energetic. He picks on me constantly like a big brother or something. Even though it put us in a bind financially it will be wonderful for our relationship, so I'm glad we didn't wait. Especially with baby on the way. I could use more energy and smiles from him. Here is a picture of him waiting for his surgery. ;) See what I mean about his mood? :)

What's the word Big Bird?

This is a random post I guess, so bare with me.

We went to the doctor again, and she did another ultrasound (she was curious too) and we've decided it's a girl. So that is really exciting! Now I'll have one of each, and I won't feel pressured to have another child just to get a girl. We're going to name her Lillie Ellen. Both of my great-grandmothers were named Lillie & Lillian, and it's also Ryan's favorite flower. The middle name is my friend Val's. It's the best middle name I could come up with from someone I cared about that wasn't over used and didn't start with L. haha Plus, I think it has a pretty flow to it.

Ryan is healing up pretty well from his surgery now. He has his 1 month follow-up on Monday. So we'll know for sure how things are then, but he said he is breathing better now.

Byron is doing great. Busy as usual, and learning new words still daily. He's having some issue with going to sleep now after we went on a trip this weekend. I don't know if it's because he slept with me one night or what, but he wants me to cuddle him to sleep everynight. Weird. He normally just lays down and goes right to sleep, so this is really annoying. haha I mean, it's cute in it's own way, but I want to go back to the easy bedtime/naptime routine.

3rd Anniversary

Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary. We were supposed to find out the sex of the baby today, but the tech couldn't get a clear shot. She couldn't see any boy parts, but she couldn't see any girl parts either. So she said "well, I would guess a girl, but I'm only 60% sure." Grrrr! That's basically the same as not knowing. So I will see if I can get another view at it in a week or two. I was also only measuring 18 weeks again (I'm supposed to be 20 weeks by my estimated due date.) Since the last 2 ultrasounds have measured 18 weeks, I think she might be moving our due date back to February 5th. It's cool though, because that is the day before Ryan's birthday.
Anyway, Ryan got me flowers, and we went out to dinner as a family. Nothing to crazy, but we're kind of tight on cash right now with taxes coming up and medical bills and new truck tires. So...we celebrated small. I still feel like this is a big accomplishment. 3 years of marriage and almost 4 years together. That's longer than I've ever been in a relationship, so to me it seems like a long time. Yet, I am going to be attending my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary soon. That just seems like forever! Especially considering how trying marriage has been for us so far. I know some people it comes easier to than others. Ryan and I have very different personalities, but they are both strong and stubborn ones. So we do argue quite a bit, but on the other hand I feel like I can say whatever is on my mind to him, and not be afraid. I've never had that before. He's a very honest and upfront person, and I really respect that about him. I've always been a people pleaser (that drives him crazy.) So even though we are different I think we compliment each other with our strengths.
Plus, we make beautiful children together...not that I'm biased or anything. haha

A Bink-Free Zone & The Mad Talker

Everyone put your hands in the air, and wave them like you just don't care, because Byron doesn't need a Binky anymore! Whoo hoo. 1 week ago, Byron lost his last beloved Bink at a store. A while ago I made up my mind as soon as he lost that last one it was over. No more. I was really hoping this would happen before his 2nd Birthday, and look. IT DID! He still asks for it everyday, but I just say "sorry you lost it, it's bye-bye." Which leads me to my next topic of discussion. When he has his Bink in his mouth it's harder to understand what he is saying. So this week (Bink-free) I made a list of all the words he says. So far I'm up to at least 80 words. It makes me so proud! He learns a new word almost everyday, so it's possible by his birthday he could have around 100 words. Plus, it's just wonderful to be able to communicate with him. He still uses his signs a little, but usually he says the word with the sign. I would recommend teaching signs to any child, because it has been such a great help for us in communicating. When I started teaching him many people would say to me "if you teach him that he won't talk til he's 3." Oh really....he's talking a lot if you ask me! Besides, sign-language is a language of it's own. If he learns the word and the sign then he's really more bi-lingual. Even if he only knew signs it would be better than nothing at all! Do you know how many tantrums result from not being able to communicate their needs? It really helps alleviate that! Anyway, I'm just so proud of my little bug for his small accomplishments, and I had to share!

Tonsilectomy Files Part Duex

Well, Ryan had the tonsils out last week. What a ride that has been. The day of surgery went well, and he came home a little after 3pm. He had some trouble with the pain medicine the first night, and painted the bathroom with puke. Luckily, he had only had water or broth all day, so it wasn't too gross to clean up. I am a notorious "sympathy puker," but since having kids and dogs I have become a bit better about it. I just try to remember I love them, and say "it's not gross, it's not gross" over and over in my head. haha
Saturday night he started bleeding profusely again, so we had to make a trip to the ER. They patched him up with some "clot stop," and sent us on our way. The next two days proceeded without incident, but Tuesday morning I was awakened to "we have to go to the hospital again." So off we went, and 4 bleeds later they decided to take him back into surgery. He got a couple of stitches, and they had him spend the night. Talk about stressful and exhausting. It was so hard for me to see him like that, and to have to try to go in between the hospital and home. I wanted to be there for him, but I also had to take care of Byron. Toddlers and hospital equipment do not mesh well! It turned out to be the best thing for him though. They really monitored his condition and got the swelling to go down immensely. So he's on his way to feeling better, and day dreaming of cheeseburgers, pizza, Doritos, and Chinese food. ;) He's hardly eaten anything in the last week. So far he's lost about 15lbs, and no sign of being able to eat much for a while.