Our Future Is Bright

Spring has been a blur in our household.   Lots keeping us busy … our house build, new friends, school, sickness, holidays, family visits and more!

Lots of outdoor fun has been had with the warm – and temporary tolerable – weather here in AZ!

"Car Wash"!

Sometimes you just need a power nap!

Ryan's "tree" ... a school project that has turned into our little project!

Springtime showed a lot of exciting progress with our house!  It went from the framed house to our home complete with keys in hand!   Here are some pictures of the progress … so exciting!

All Done!

Ryan's Room

Ellie's Room 

Ryan's own banister - at just the right height!

Helping mommy and daddy with a few chores as we get ready for the big move ...

We can’t wait to move into our forever home!

At the end of April we went to our very first LPA Conference!  Our Regional Conference was only a short way from home so we couldn’t resist checking it out!  Ellie stayed home with a favorite babysitter and Ryan got us to himself for the special experience.   We attended a parent meeting where we met with other parents who have children with dwarfism too!  Some are also little people and some are average height like us.  I really enjoyed hearing input from everyone - especially those who are little people themselves.  I got some great ideas and also reassurance that we are doing great so far!  We also went to the super fun picnic where we played and socialized.  What a fantastic group of people!  We sure are lucky to have this group. 

Mothers Day was a special day for me thanks to my awesome family.  We had my favorite breakfast – Starbucks of course!   With my mom in CA this was the first year we didn’t get to share the day together.  That was a bummer, but I know we can celebrate next time she is here!  She and I are good at that sort of thing :)  After a relaxing morning, Scott, the kids and I spent the afternoon at the pool together!  Another day full of sunshine!

Just after Mothers Day Ryan got a tummy bug that quickly turned into a critical issue and landed him in the hospital.  We went to the ER as instructed by his pediatrician for fluids since it appeared he was dehydrated.  But when we got there we found out that his blood sugar was critically low!  He was treated immediately by a fantastic ER department at our local children’s hospital.  I’m so grateful for that crew.  After he stabilized he was admitted since he was at such a low level.  It was a long and stressful 3 days but thanks to the doctors and nurses he did ok and is doing ok now!   The doctors don’t think that this had to do with his achondroplasia, but because of his small size it does make it a bigger issue.  Next step is a visit to metabolic specialist.  Wish us luck!

Ryan in the ER

"Sleeping In" on our 2nd morning during our stay...

Keeping busy as we start to feel better ..

After that rough patch, we ended the month of May on a high note … Scott and I are officially homeowners!  We are thrilled with our home!

Ryan finished the school year just after he got better – we can’t believe that he is already done with his first year of preschool!

Now that it’s summertime it’s starting to heat up! 

Checking out our new community pool ...

Ryan helping Ellie get her 1st haircut!

Kids' movie night!

Play Date at the "beach" :)

Movie day with our friends ... 1st time at the movies!

One of our last park trips in a while ... :)

Our future is bright for sure!

What a fantastic Spring.   I’m a lucky mum :)  

I'm a Boy. I'm Ryan

Lately I have come across a lot of conversation about how people see little people.  It's gotten me to start taking a close look at my own approach and also at how Ryan sees himself.  I want to share my thoughts and how I see things.  
My disclaimer is that these are my thoughts and also that I am only 3 ½ years into this so this is something I will likely have to revisit! :)

Dwarfism has so many different extremes.  Not many little people share the same health and experiences.  I have learned that my experience as a parent can be and has been different.  Our own attitude has a lot to do with it.  I'd like to think that I have created a happy and confident environment for Ryan, his family and our friends.  We are happy and it shows!

Now that Ryan is gaining awareness I tell him that he was born to be small just like some people have blonde hair, freckles, etc.  We are all different and this uniqueness has a lot to offer each other.  What a boring place it would be if we were all the same!

Do people notice Ryan’s difference and stare as we are out and about?  To be honest, I have never noticed anything bothersome - I make a point to think the best of any glance that comes our way.  They might just be curious.  They may simply think Ryan is adorable (since he is :))  Maybe they know a little person themselves.  
Everything is what we make it.  Call it ignorance.  Call it what you want ... but to me, seeing things in the best light is staying positive.  A positive attitude is all smiles.  Ryan has the best smile and he wears it proudly all day long - and that's what people see.  They see a smile.  A happy little boy.  
  
Do I fear the rude and ignorant?  Daily!  Like all parents I want my child to be happy and to fit in with his peers.  I'm filled with equal amounts of anger and sadness at these thoughts.  But when I look at Ryan these fears disappear.  And it's because of all we have done so far ... Ryan is happy.  He is confident.  He is shy.  He is social.  Ryan is funny.  He is defiant.  He is loud.  He is loving.  He is obsessed with cars.  He likes soccer.  He fights with his sister.  He hugs his sister.  He loves the park.  He sings.  He makes up stories.  Ryan is a three year old boy.

When I talk to Ryan about his stature, he simply states "I'm a boy.  I'm Ryan"  He's right.  It's pretty simple!

I’m proud to be his mother.  His dad is proud to be his father.  He’s taught us so much.  And I know he will teach many more too. 

“I’m a boy.  I’m Ryan.”

LOVING IT ALL

February just flew by!  It was a month full of so many exciting things!

It started out with a trip for Scott and I to Mexico!  Scott earned the trip with his work (Go Scott!) and he and I enjoyed some kid-free vacation time at a beautiful all-inclusive resort!

Here we all are at the airport ... Scott and I flew 3 flights in less than two days to get the kids to CA and get to the resort as soon as possible!

Ready to go!

Ryan all set up in his seat!  He's such a great travel buddy.

Three flights - including a red-eye ... and we finally made it!
Here's the view from our balcony ...

Pre-dinner "selfie" :)  Not too bad after traveling for two days!

Scott's welcoming gift!

Enjoying the feeling of boredom ...

It was a fantastic trip filled with great food, lots of wine of course, resting by the pool, and great company with Scott's management and fellow employees!  The kids and I are so proud of Scott's accomplishments at work.  We are rooting for him to qualify next year :)

Already time to say goodbye!

Meanwhile the kids enjoyed time with both sets of grandparents ... they had days and days of fun and hugs!  They loved their adventures!

Before heading back home to AZ, Mommy came to CA so that we could get Ryan to Stanford for some visits!  It was a busy 3 days with appointments daily!

Here we are passing time between appointments ... enjoying our "hike"!  Ryan got tired right when we turned around to go back ... so mommy got a little workout on the way back with 26 extra pounds to carry :)  Ryan's little legs tire easily, but his spirit never does!  He enjoyed the hike in both directions.

Ryan's appointments went alright ... his ENT and Audiologist said that his ears still have the perforations but they are looking good.  Probably will be something we have to fix down the road, but for now he's doing well - and at least the holes continue to act as ear tubes :)

His Pulmonary doctor did her check-up and though he is doing well overall we found out that he has some viral asthma that occurs with cold bugs.  Thankfully we were in the right place to figure that out - she set him up with some medication that helps and it's a non-issue for him day-to-day!

So overall lots of good news - as usual just lots of items to watch over.

Between appointments we made time for a visit to a local train display ... the kids both loved it!

After a fun visit in CA the kids and I packed up all of their new medications (since Ellie didn't want to miss out and had to see her old pediatrician while we were there - only to find she has bronchitis and viral asthma also!) and we headed to the airport to go home to daddy!

When we got home it was already Valentine's Day!  Perfect timing to get home to daddy and our friends!

On Valentine's Day we went to our favorite train park!

Here we are ready for the train ride!

Biggest smile ever ...

Ellie eager as usual :)

The train display here is fantastic!

Ryan ready to hand out Valentine's at our friend's Valentine's Day party!

Valentine's Day love didn't end on Valentine's Day for us ... we just love our new home and the progress it's making so quickly!

Scott and I went to the granite distributor to select our slabs for our kitchen!  So fun!

Here are the kids checking out the progress with us!  Ryan loves to point up at his room and Ellie's room.  And we love catching construction equipment and workers in action too!

It's been a busy start to the Spring and we are loving it all!

... on to the next adventure!

SO HAPPY TOGETHER

What a busy and exciting time!  It's been a while so here are all of our updates and pictures!  

September began with a trip to CA for Ryan's check-ups at Stanford.  It was a busy trip starting with a sleep study, but ended in smiles when we learned that Ryan's tonsil and adenoid removal was a success!

Post sleep study hair ...

Results are good!

At the end of September our little man turned THREE years old!  We had a special party for him at his favorite place: "inside park" - also known as Gymboree.  We had a Disney Cars themed party of course - and we all had a blast!

Now that he's three years old, Ryan is old enough to start school!  We started him right after his birthday since he also qualified for a speech articulation class through our school district.  It was a little bit of an adjustment but it didn't take long and he just loves school and his new friends!  And his speech is improving a great deal!  It's so much fun to hear what he has to say ... which is quite a bit!

Here we are on our first day of school!  We had a lot of fun!

And here is Ryan's first school picture ... what a cute little ham!

 Halloween was a lot of fun for Ryan this year ... we had a lot of fantastic parties to attend!  Ryan loved the trick-or-treating at each party and on Halloween night!  Collecting all his "treasures" was more fun that eating the load of candy thankfully!

 

 Our kitty cat and race car driver!

Christmas was a blast for our family this year too.  The kids loved their visit from both grandparents and of course from Santa!

Here's our cheesy family photo ...

At our LPA holiday party we had the option to have a lovely family photo taken ... too bad Eleanor didn't think much of the idea!

 A few pre-Christmas visits with Santa ...

Our new year began in the most exciting way!  Scott and I bought our first home!  We are doing a build and will move into our new home in June!
Ryan is thrilled to be part of the construction process.  He is already calling our current home "our old home" and is planning his new bedroom.
The four of us feel extremely lucky to be able to make this purchase and to permanently settle into our new community that we just love.

 ... on to the next adventure!!!