It's December!

Wow! Quite a whirlwind it's been...thus my serious lack of blogging. We went to Indiana for Thanksgiving. I have been super busy at work the last few weeks. And, oh yeah, it's almost Christmas. Add some shopping and cooking and parties...whew! I could really use a vacation (or a couple snow days.) Here are a few snapshots of  our December so far...

Ryleigh has become quite the volleyball fan. The Mizzou team was undefeated throughout the entire season and we made it to several games - including the first round of the NCAA tournament. Ron had contacted a friend in the Athletic Department who said she had a surprise for Ryleigh. It turned out to be an autographed volleyball! How cool!
Unfortunately, Mizzou had their first loss and got knocked out in the second round by none other than the Purdue Boilermakers. But they had a great season and have a lot to be proud of. And they have one of the cutest fans around.

She was so excited to get a "Tiger ball." She did ask why they wrote their names on it. 

I think the popcorn was her favorite part.

We got our tree and decorated it.

Ryleigh's daycare had a holiday party and program. Her class sang two songs. Well, the teachers sang two songs, while the kids played the bells, cried, or in Ryleigh's case stared at the crowd of parents with a somewhat shocked look on her face. When Jax started to cry she couldn't quite figure out if she wanted to join him or not. Luckily she decided not to cry.

We got some AWESOME new stockings this year. They are HUGE, so Santa has his work cut out for him.

Pretty!
Question: Where are you supposed to hang your stockings when you don't have a mantle?

Ryleigh got her wheels!! Fancy purple wheels. She still prefers to be on the floor where she has more access to her toys. When we had a demo chair this summer she tipped over. Twice. She still remembers and will not let us live it down (talk about parent guilt!). So it has taken some coaxing to convince her that she is safe and will not tip over in her new wheels. I'm really looking forward to getting her out and about - for now the stores are just too darn crowded for a newly independent wheelie.

We got a couple inches of snow last weekend and were able to try out Ryleigh's new "sleigh." I just pulled her from our house to the trail. Don't let that smile fool you, she wasn't the biggest fan. I think she felt a little unstable. And with the crust of ice that had formed over the snow it was a little crunchy. She kept telling me, "I don't like it. It's too loud." I'm pretty sure that was just her excuse. Hopefully we will get to give it another try.

Awesome animation effects!!

Just a few days ago we got Ry's new braces. These are KAFOs (Knee, Ankle, Foot Orthotics) They go all the way up to her hips and should help keep her legs in line for some pulling up, standing and maybe even walking. I was really worried about them inhibiting her movement when she is on the floor and crawling. But when we tried them out for the first time at home last night she was moving around like an old pro. That was a huge relief and very exciting. We have to keep trying them out for 30 minutes at a time and make sure they aren't giving her any pressure sores anywhere. So far, so good.

So, as you can see we have been quite busy. Our house is definitely looking pretty Christmasy. I haven't done a ton of shopping, but we are as ready as we are going to be. And we are really looking forward to a visit from all the Kentucky Rowes next weekend!!

Seriously, our tree looks awesome, even without special effects. :)

Have a happy Christmas!!

July 4th and Other Stuff

Here are some photos from the past week or so...

June 27 we celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary with dinner at Les Bourgeois and gorgonzola cheesecake. YUM!
Thanks for the gift card Hugh!!

Hair accessories are becoming a BIG thing in our house.

Ryleigh loves this little people dollhouse and plays with it every day.

I mentioned the hair accessories... well "Misser Bear" likes to accessorize too.

We went out for a little 4th of July breakfast.

"Cheese!"

I discovered these Bud Light Lime Straw-ber-ritas.
Yeah, they're pretty good.

We enjoyed some relaxing stroller rides.

I found the Kona Shave Ice Truck! Whoop!!
Actually they kind of just came driving down our street, but still. 

Our 4th of July was pretty uneventful. Since Ron and I both had to work Friday morning, we didn't feel like keeping Ryleigh up late and trying to do the fireworks. We grilled and had a nice dinner at home. After Ry went to bed we sat outside and listened to everyone else blow stuff up.

Underneath all this fun is the story saga of our new patio. But that deserves a post of its own... Maybe one day soon I will share it.

Hope everyone had a happy 4th of July weekend!

The Art of Negotiation

Do all kids just instinctively understand they must negotiate all things? Or is it just their way of getting what they want?

Conversation this morning:

Me: "Hey Ry, why don't we leave blankie here today? You can take one of your animals with you instead."

She hands over her blankie and starts collecting one, two, three stuffed animals.

Me: "Oh, let's just take one."

She puts down Minnie Mouse but keeps Pooh and another bear. With bears in arms, Ryleigh says, "two."

Me: "Yes, you have two, but let's just take one."

Ry (hugging both bears tightly), "Both. Both."

I mean, how do you say no to that?

Answer: You don't.

When we got to school I we were able to leave one bear in the car, but Pooh had to come to school. Hopefully he survives the day. 

Weekend Fun

Why oh why must weekends always go by so quickly...

friday night
a tired girl doesn't need much more than her blankie and mickey mouse clubhouse while sitting on mommy's lap

saturday morning
she often insists on wearing her hat around the house...even during breakfast

Saturday afternoon, Ryleigh and I went to a birthday party for our friend Bailey. She turned five and her party was at Flipz Gymnastics. Ryleigh wasn't too sure about the situation at first, but it didn't take too long before she was having a great time watching the bigger kids bounce and run all around. She REALLY wanted to bounce on the big trampoline, but I was a little worried about her getting bounced and bumped by the big kids. We played with a ball, did some bouncing on a smaller trampoline and some climbing on the mats...

This is pretty awesome sauce y'all. As you can see her feet get in kind of 'cringe worthy' positions when she is doing this. She has some braces to help keep them straight, but to this point they are just cumbersome and inhibit her crawling and movement more than they seem to help. We are looking into other options. I'd say she's doing pretty well on her own. She is just so motivated to go go go!

saturday evening
family relaxation time

sunday afternoon
like i said, goof ball loves wearing her hat

And one more little video to make you smile. This is post-nap, so she sounds a little congested.

Ryleigh loves watching this video of herself. She cracks up every time.
Oh weekend, until we meet again...We'll miss you.

New Baby and Our Weekend

On Friday my sister Christy welcomed  a new baby into the world. A son after two daughters. He is just about as squishable as can be. I cannot wait to get to Indiana and get my hands on him!

Nolan Alexander

big sisters are in love

gah! just love him!

Luckily we live in the time of iPhones and I have been texted daily photos. And luckily my friend Christy here in Columbia will be giving birth to my surrogate nephew this week. So there is some baby squishing in my near future. I am so excited to meet these little guys!

Saturday I got in some sewing time, I am making some curtains for little baby P's nursery. Not a day too soon, right?

So I have a rotten(ish) toddler on my hands.

mommy says, "ryleigh don't drop your cup on the floor."
ryleigh gives mommy a dirty look. drops cup.
says, "uh oh" in the sweetest voice you ever did hear.
little turd.

Sunday we went to the Mizzou vs. Kentucky women's basketball game. Fun was had by all, until Truman the Tiger tried to get too close. But as soon as he was about 15 feet away, she was all, "hi! hi!" and waving at him. It's ok, I felt kind of weird taking her over to see Truman dressed like this anyway:

checking out "ry ry" on mommy's phone

It was freezing cold and the awesome parents that we are, didn't bring Ryleigh's hat with us. Oops. So I put my hat on her. Yes, I brought a hat and gloves for myself and not my child. That's Rowe, with an "E" when you're engraving my "Mother of the Year" plaque. But I digress...HOLY CUTENESS! I mean really.

Other highlights: Saturday we got a babysitter and Ron and I went to a birthday party with wine and dancing...a lot of wine. And I got a ton of laundry done. Hooray for weekends!!

While it Lasts

Saturday was an unseasonably warm day in Mid-MO. It's probably the last of our warm weather, so we got out to take advantage while we could.

She needed her hat because her hair kept blowing in her face while she cruised around in her stander.

She was having a great time in the swing, but kept saying, "ball, ball, ball...." So we handed her her purple ball and she was perfectly happy to swing with it. Silly girl!

YAY!

Now that things have slowed down for me at work I hope I can get back to more regular posts. I have some photos of the cutest little cow that still need to be shared.

Happy Monday!

Life, According to My iPhone

I have been super busy and not able to blog much lately. So here are a few little iPhone snippets from the past couple weeks.

600+ pounds of candy for the homecoming parade!

we had the prettiest tree on our street...

...and then all the leaves fell off

enjoying a warm october day

looking super cute for mizzou homecoming
don't tell pop she cheered for the tigers instead of the wildcats ;-)

pre-halloweenie

Awareness

October is Spina Bifida Awareness Month. I have been thinking a lot about what that means. I have never really made a big public announcement about Ryleigh's condition. I am not very active in the SB community. I did see this posted in one of the groups I'm a member of and thought it pretty much sums things up.

The thing is, I don't feel like a "Spina Bifida Mom." I do think I have a different perspective. I stop to appreciate the little things a bit more. I can see how easy it could be to take even the smallest accomplishments for granted. But I understand how something as small as this moment can be so special and amazing.

I guess I should say, this is a really BIG DEAL. With Ryleigh's lesion at an L2 vertebrae level, you wouldn't expect her to have much strength and use her hamstrings like that. This is functionality more like an L4 or L5 level, which is super awesome. We have been using electrical stimulation on her hammies nearly every day, and we just have to think that has helped with muscle strength. We have a lot of good things going for us, including a very motivated (and curious) child and an amazing physical therapist. We cannot even say the difference Gerti has made in our lives this past year. She is always pushing to try new things and and be aggressive with therapy options. The e-stim is something she has never even used on a child as young as Ryleigh. We are so so thankful for her, and for the First Steps program that helps provide services and equipment.

I say it all the time, but our daughter is one amazing kiddo. I can't wait to see what she'll do next!

love this goofy kid

Five for Friday

Five random thoughts and/or photos from our week.

1. I can't believe in just a few weeks we will be the parents of a ONE YEAR-OLD!!!

2. we found a pretty good way to entertain the wee one while we eat dinner.
clay critters, made in the u.s.a.

3. We finally got our new grill put together and fired it up this week. Yay!

4. our big girl is just about too big for her car seat.
we're planning on shopping for a new one (or two) when we are in STL next week 

5. it was a GORGEOUS day today at mizzou!
I think we're gonna get some more use out of that grill tonight. 

Have a great weekend everyone!!