Winter Magic

Christmas came and went too fast! We had such a great time! The holidays are even more magical with kids. Instead of just stressing on schedules, gifts, obligations and money, I’m able to enjoy the real magic of Christmas again. The lights. The baking. The tree. The books. It’s so much fun to count the days with the kids. Since the kids are getting older, this year I was even more determined to make Christmas about more than presents. I think it went pretty well! 

Here are some of the fun ways we enjoyed the magic of Christmas ... 

Decorations! Here we are decorating our odd-yet-perfect shaped tree! 

Baking is my favorite part of the season. The kids loved cookie decorating ... and tasting ...

Mail is another favorite of mine. The kids enjoyed making Christmas cards for their special friends.

We've heard that making snowmen is another part of the season ... We had to improvise since it doesn't snow in AZ!

 Christmas lights are magical and such a beautiful site ... especially by boat!

A first for me ... Gingerbread house decorating! ... and tasting ...

 Special outings are a must over Winter Break! We had a great time at the zoo!

Another "holiday must" that is tricky in AZ ... But we made do! Snow angels in  the desert ...

And of course the most exciting tradition of them all ... Cookies for Santa and reindeer food!

... and Santa likes beer here. :)

And before we knew it, the BIG day came! What a special day we had. Santa treated the kids to some big surprises! And he even took notice that they needed some new socks and undies too! What a smart guy.

We are a lucky bunch. The holidays were a blur of fun and special time with family and friends. We even got visits from the grandparents! The kids were thrilled to spend time with them and to share in their emerging holiday traditions.

And before we knew it, 2016 had arrived! We started the New Year getting Ryan set up at our local Children’s Hospital. We love our doctors in CA but we have decided that we need to have our team near by. Before we were a week into 2016 we met Ryan’s new Genetic Team. And what a great team they are! The doctor spent over an hour with us and he’s eager to assist us with achondroplasia issues and also his hypoglycemia. He assisted in getting us lined up with the other specialists Ryan needs to see: ENT, Pulmonary, Audiology and Orthopedics.

This is going to be a busy year. But for us, it works best to be proactive and to manage the complications that Ryan currently has and also to be in touch for those that may surface. It's a lot for us - and especially hard on Ryan at times. Our little man sure is tough. As usual we couldn't be more proud. 

On to the next adventure … 

Look How Far He's Come

As usual the summer was a blur of heat, swimming and as many indoor activities I could think of. The kids had a great time getting settled in our new home and I was glad that we had more space to play and have friends over too.

Summer is busy with mommy teaching swim lessons and the kids’ activities. We are lucky to have friends helping us think of creative – and cool – play date ideas!

Here we are making the best of what Arizona has to offer us in the summer!

Pool day at our community pool! 

Ice cream treats!
... Ryan wasn't so sure about the cone and he didn't like the nuts ..

Ellie enjoyed the entire thing ...

 Ellie loves messy fun!

 When it's 115 degrees outside ... mommy gets creative with the games ... Here's the first round of "Foil Ball" ...

Ryan started swim lessons!

We practiced at home in our "pool" ...

Baking day!

School starts at the end of July on our year round schedule. Ryan was ready and excited to start his second year of preschool. He loves to learn and play with his friends. This year has been a better year for Ryan. He’s more confident and most of the kids know that he’s a little person so there aren’t as many questions and/or social challenges as last year. His teachers tell me that there are still some incidents where kids aren’t nice. I’m working on letting it go (angry mama bear instinct!) and he’s working on communicating in these situations. The confidence gets better daily. I’m really glad that he’s in school at a young age so that he can have practice in these situations. It’s also good for me … since I also need practice … I know that if I can get over it, Ryan can too.

Here’s Ryan on his first day of school!

The end of September is a very special day for our little man! Ryan turned FOUR years old! Time goes too fast, I can’t believe that he’s already four years old. Ryan celebrated his birthday with some very special fun. We had lunch with daddy at Ryan’s favorite restaurant – Red Robin of course. And a few days later we celebrated with a Disney Planes party with some special friends!

Special lunch ... 

Birthday Boy

Special birthday gifts!

Yummy!

Ellie likes cake too ...

Party time!

At the end of October we made a trip to CA for Ryan’s annual doctor appointments. We have kept him with the same specialists he has had since birth. ALL of his doctors said that he’s doing really well! We’ve been lucky to avoid a lot of complications that achondroplasia can have. We are still watching his ears since the ear tube holes never closed. For now, it’s nice since it’s like “built in” ear tubes. But in a few years we will have to have them closed. As of now they aren’t affecting his hearing – so Ryan’s caught in a lie … he CAN hear me when I tell him to clean up his toys. Nice try Ryan! Ha ha. Ryan’s Genetic doctor doesn’t require an annual visit but I like to check in with her since she oversees new needs and ongoing things. She and I decided that he has slight bowing in one leg that should be looked at by an orthopedic doctor just in case we can manage it. I am proactive when it comes to Ryan’s medical care and I don’t want to miss anything!

The trip was fun for the kids – we had a nice visit with family and friends over the weekend. And then Ryan – a trooper as usual – had doctor appointments Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. These aren’t all easy and they are time consuming. He is a champion. We are glad to have good news overall. He’s come so far, I am stronger and so is Ryan.

Here are the kids enjoying their visit in CA.

Only a few weeks after getting back home and it’s the holidays! What a blur this year has been. We kicked off the holidays with a fantastic Halloween! It was the first time we got to know a lot of our neighbors. What a great bunch we have! 

Our "My Little Pony Ballerina Princess"! 

(she made that up all by herself)

And our Garbage Man!

 "Trick or Treat!"

After a fun Halloween we ended November with a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Being out of state from our family is a bummer on some accounts but we also love being able to spend time with our new friends and each other. The kids had a whirlwind of a weekend with daddy home from work and their new friends.

Already we are getting ready for Christmas! Ryan's counting down until the day Santa comes ... and in the meantime I'm looking forward to getting the kids involved in as many holiday activities that we can. There's so much more to Christmas than Santa!

Already the end of 2015. It’s been a great year for our family and for our adventures with Ryan. We look forward to continuing our success from 2015 and finding new adventures in the new year too.

… on to the next adventure!