My littlest love turned 1 on April 3, 2011! I cannot believe his first year is already over. I still remember the day I found out I was pregnant with him. After many years of infertility, failed IUI's, and IVF's which resulted in a miscarriage and finally our wonderful twins, we did not in a million years think we would actually get pregnant on our own. Of course we joked that we would leave it up to chance and if it happened it would be a miracle. Boy were we surprised to find out we actually were given that miracle! The twins were only 7 months old when I got pregnant and Nick was getting ready to leave for Army Basic Training. The last two years of our lives have been filled with SO many changes. While we were a little nervous about logistics of 16 month old twins and a newborn we were so thankful and felt so blessed to be pregnant with this little boy. I felt such a strong connection to him from the beginning and for the months that Nick was in training he kept me from feeling so lonely in the middle of the night. The older kids all were able to be a part of the pregnancy and Walker especially formed a strong bond with Ryder while he was in my tummy. Walker always wanted to hug and kiss my tummy. For the most part he is still very patient with his brother and you can tell that they will be close as they grow.
Throughout my pregnancy I felt April 4th would be the day he would arrive (his due date was April 12th). We actually had a c-section scheduled for April 5th and my sister, Tracy, was scheduled to arrive the morning of April 3rd to help with the twins. My little love is not one to wait around. He does things in his own time. LOL Early on the 3rd of April I went into labor and finally decided it was probably real. We put the twins down for their morning nap and had Nate watch them while a friend came over until my sisters flight got in. When we arrived at the hospital they declared I was in labor (moving slowly but I WAS in labor). They talked me into doing a VBAC so I got ready for the long labor road ahead. I hoped it wouldn't be as long as my labor with Nate but of course it ended up being the exact same length! LOL 20 hours! I got that epidural as soon as they allowed me and I decided if I EVER have any more children - epidural it is! LOL That made such a difference. After a long day of labor I finally delivered after only 2 pushes at 11:44pm. IF we were still in Omaha, he would have been born April 4th. LOL How funny is that. I like April 3rd too. :-) Anyway, I fully believe VBAC is the way to go if you can do it. I was amazed at how quickly I recovered especially comparing it to the c-section with the twins.
Ryder has been such a joy from the beginning. He is so sweet and for the most part self-entertaining. He gives amazing hugs and his smile melts your heart. He wants nothing more than to do whatever Walker and Jocelyn are doing and of course sometimes they want him to and sometimes they want nothing to do with him. LOL I suppose that is the way it goes with siblings. I am in hopes that as he gets to approximately the same maturity level as they are it will be easier for them all to play together. They do pretty well now though.
We are not horribly fond of Fort Bliss / El Paso however we do feel very thankful that Nick did not have to deploy and he was able to be here for his birth and his entire first year. He actually just went to his first training away from us and of course he had to leave very early in the morning ON Ryder's birthday. Go figure. LOL BUT he was able to be here for birthday celebrations and he has really been able to form a good bond with Ryder over this year. Ryder is SUCH a Daddy's boy! He just lights up when Nick walks in the room and says Da Da! It makes me smile so much! Unfortunately training is going to keep Nick away quite a bit the rest of the year so hopefully we'll be able to make the most of the time he is here. These kids just adore their daddy. :-)
Ryder is now 25 1/2 lbs and 30 1/4-1/2 in tall. He's trying his best to catch up with the twins! LOL He is walking so great and climbing on everything that he can reach. He's beginning to be quite the daredevil. He is eating food like a champ and even using a fork and spoon on his own! He won't let me do it anymore. LOL He's down to 3 bottles a day (just for naps and bedtime) and he's getting better at laying down and going to sleep in his bed awake. Soon he'll be like the twins and I can just put him in bed, tuck him in, and say goodnight. Wow they grow up so fast! He says so many words now! His favorites are good job, thank you, puppy dog, Da Da and Ma Ma of course, Walker, sister, and bye bye. When he wakes up he wants to give his big puppy dog stuffed animal a big hug and kiss. He's just amazing.
He had a great birthday party. We had friends over and he loved opening presents and he did great with his cake and ice cream. Here's a picture of his "cake face" :-)
and one with me and the birthday boy:
On to the 2nd year my sweet little darling. I now have 3 toddlers!! YIKES! LOL Love them all to pieces!
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