A World of Firsts

Ryley has had many "first" already. He will be 4 months old on the 18th of December and already he has done more than some adults do in their entire life.

Thinking about it, it's hard to believe that in just 4 short months, we've had a baby, survived a major surgery, flew on a airplane 1/2 way across the country, rolled over from our back to our stomach and stomach to back, and has successfully been sleeping through the night for almost 2 months now.

Its funny people ask how Ryley is doing a lot. The greatest way I can think to reply is "he is better than new". He is a happy, healthy, thriving little boy. What a special Christmas gift he is. He laughs, smiles and coo's about just about anything which leads me to believe that he doesn't take the world to serious yet. I am thankful!!

Its funny how much you find yourself smiling and laughing with a baby in the house. I probably laugh more now than I have since I was a little kid. Ryley is a funny little boy :)

So cheers to the next set of first to my baby boy. Just don't grow up to quickly.

Reflecting for a minute

Today I sat in Ryleys room just for a few minutes to really collect my thoughts. I have always heard that having a baby changes you, but I never really comprehended it until Ryley was born.

He has taught me the single greatest gift that a child could ever teach his parent; patience.  Obviously he doesn't understand that at the moment but I hope to show him what he has done for me for the rest of his life.

He taught me to be patient when he was born, he certainly had no intentions of jumping into the world in a speedy fashion. I am grateful for the time he stayed cozy right where he was.

He is teaching me that the dishes can wait, the floor can be cleaned later and the laundry doesn't have to be done right this minute.

Every time he looks up at me or grabs my fingers to hold on I am reminded that he won't be little for long. Someday he wont want to hold my hand, this breaks my heart already just thinking about it. It's hard for me to think that each and every day he is "growing up". Don't get me wrong I don't want him to stay a baby forever, but his innocence is so sweet and I'm trying to figure out a way to preserve that as long as I can.

Just looking around his room today I asked myself, what does his room say to him. He has books that say things like, "you can be whatever you want to be in life", "we love your more than you'll ever know", and a book titled "Rules for my son". He has multiple blankets that were made just for him with love and so many stuffed animals he could start his own zoo.

But the bigger question to ask is, will he know how much he changed me? Most of you know I have always lived by the saying: If you are early your on time, if your on time your late, and if your late don't come at all. Maybe this is where I developed my obsessive compulsion to be on-time. I have also always has this strange behavior to make sure that the house is in "perfect" shape before I went anywhere, it didn't matter where it was, I could be going to the post office and I would have to make sure everything was put away, cleaned up and pretty much looked like a museum. For what you may ask. Well it really was because I always thought in the back of my mind, what if something happened to me? I don't want my mom and dad having to riffle through my dirty clothes to find something. Strange I know!! I guess I don't think about that so much now, I just figure "hey I'm coming home, I have a little guy that needs me".

However, now I would rather leave the pile of clean clothes on my dresser, a few dishes in the sink and a load of wash in the drier in order to spend those minutes with my little peanut.

So I guess it is true what they say. A baby will change you, it has changed me!

I love him more and mover every day and though I'm nervous about what the future brings I know for certain that he is loved so much, not only by Chris and I but by a community so far stretched that it's hard to wrap my head around it.