Life Is Good: Birthday Party Fun!!!

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Birthday Party Fun!!!

The Birthday Party was great!!!!! Thank you to all who remembered us on this very exciting day. It really meant a lot to me to have my friends and family around my little boy today...more than I could adequately say.

It was a little windy, but at least the wind kept the bugs and heat away. We had a wonderful time together. Everyone visited and it was great to just catch up with friends and family. Thank you again to everyone who has prayed for us and have been so involved in our lives continuously over these past 16 months.

We ate hot dogs, chips, and potato salad. After dinner we had cupcakes. They were decorated like grass and dirt with a 4-way stop in the middle. They even had one-way signs at the end of the roads. I figured every little boy likes grass and dirt, so why not have cupcakes that look like grass and dirt.

We had to have Ryan's birthday party in June since his real birthday was right in the middle of RSV season, but Ryan didn't seem to care. He had so much fun. He loves people, so having everyone around to be his audience was very exciting for him. I hardly saw him the entire evening. He was constantly on the go with someone. Needless to say he is now sleeping peacefully in his bed. He was a very tired little boy when we got home.

It's so funny how things work out wether or not you planned them to be a certain way or not. I sent out invitations that looked like stop-lights. At the time of the invitations the party had no theme, but as time went on I decided to go with a cars and trucks theme. Ryan has gained a new interest in cars and trucks. He loves them. He loves to drive them around the house, over the dogs, through the laundry basket, over my toes and everywhere else. Guess what Ryan got for his birthday...

Lots of new cars and trucks!

He must be one loved little boy because he got lots of other stuff too. When I get everything organized again I'll try to take a picture of all his new goodies and post it. In fact, as I get time I'll post more pictures of everything.

Thank you again. We love you all!!!

4 comments:

Jodi said...: Sounds like you had a great time at the birthday party. Happy Birthday (although belated) to Ryan!!; June 7, 2008 at 8:51 PM
Jodi said...: You'll have to stop by my blog. I have nominated you for an award.; June 7, 2008 at 10:24 PM
The Hull Munchkins said...: Happy Birthday Ryan! You are a cutie pie!
-Patty; June 10, 2008 at 8:26 AM
twin power mommy ♥ said...: Happy Birthday!
Love that lawn mower toy...Eli would really like it.; June 10, 2008 at 4:06 PM

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Brandy Danielle

Brandy is our firstborn, our precious angel baby girl. Her entry into this world wasn't without excitement. At 26 weeks I started preterm labor with contractions 5 minutes apart. With 10 weeks of strict bedrest, most of which were in the hospital, she made it to 36 weeks.
Brandy was diagnosed with "possible/probable" heart defect around 28-30 weeks gestation. After her birth she was whisked away to the NICU for monitoring and after a few days her defect was formally diagnosed and labeled...atrial septal defect and a cleft mitral valve.
Brandy, upon indications of failure to thrive and pulmonary hypertension, underwent her first of 2 open-heart surgeries at 4 months of age. A week after her surgery on the day of her anticipated discharge home Brandy coded for 13 minutes...a stoke.
From that point on Brandy's life was full of doctor's visits, endless crying, pain and suffering. She underwent another heart surgery, fundoplication and g-tube surgery, treatment for infantile spasms, and a mountain of tests and procedures. Her brain damage was extensive.
Upon counseling of our wonderful, most amazing heart surgeon, Dr. Christopher Knott-Craig, and many hours of prayer, we finally called in hospice and called off all of the extensive medical interventions and surgery needs that would prolong her suffering while possibly prolonging her life. Brandy, our precious baby girl...our angel...passed out of our arms and into the arms of her Saviour, Jesus at the tender age of 17 months.

Ryan Andrew

Ryan, our micro-preemie miracle, is a ball of life. After nearly a year of trying to conceive imagine our delight when we finally knew he was on the way. My pregnancy with Ryan was uneventful at first. It seemed perfect and with all of the precautions for preterm labor being taken and monitored we entered this pregnancy with cautious anticipation covered over by a whole love of naive excitement.
At 20 weeks we discovered our "Baby Peanut" was going to be a little boy. We began to make plans and began dreaming about the day we would meet our son.
Almost 2 weeks later everything changed in our lives. It wa a whirlwind of fear and emtions as I began to bleed, was sent for monitoring in L&D and eventually had an appointment with my OB only to find out that it was serious. I had incompetent cervix with hourglassing membranes. The doctor admitted me to the hospital immediately and an emergency cerclage was placed. The statistics were grim, but the hope was to keep our son inside for at least 10 more weeks. We only made it 10 more days.
Early in the evening of February 11, 2007 our son, Ryan, came into this world in emergency fashion at only 23 weeks 5 days gestation. He weighed 1 pound 8 ounces and was 12 ½ inches long. He was so tiny. All I could think of was “oh my goodness is he really that tiny? And is there any way he could actually make it?” I tried to hold on to hope, but in all honesty I had never met anyone with a baby born that early and that small that ever made it.
Ryan did make it! It was a long, hard road, but in the end he spent 90 days in the NICU. He was on a ventilator for 2 months. Finally on one fine glorious day in May we bundled up our 4 pound 4 ounce baby boy and went home...May 11, 2007.
Ryan is now a spunky, lively, strong-willed little boy. His laughter is contagious and his spirit is compelling. He is our miracle. There are no words strong enough to share our delight and joy that God has blessed us with this little boy.

Evan Alexander