Let's Paint PlayDate

With alil brainstorming and creative inspiration from the internet, I hosted a finger painting play date for Ryatt and his friends. I took vanilla (sugar free) pudding and dyed it with food coloring. Gave each kid a egg crate of colors and let them have at it! We all had fun! Babies loved squishing the 'paints' in their hands and creating striations on their 'canvas'. Mommies had fun watching the little people discover. It was all around a good time.

Alterations Made to God's Original Design

Its 10:12am. We have been waiting in the cafeteria of the hospital for about an hour now. My little baby is having his extra toes and fingers nubs removed. Its a minor surgery and I really shouldn't worry but I can't help it. This is my baby we are talking about; the most precious life in my world. Ryatt was born with an extra toe (bone, flesh, nail and all) on each foot and the beginnings of an extra finger on each hand. How special is that! We are expecting for it all to be removed and reshaped to look "normal". Besides my concern for him going under, I wonder if what we are doing is ok in God's eyes. Ryatt's making was the Lord's miracle to us and here we are making alterations to him. Its like getting a personalized gift from someone and then taking it to get revamped the next day. Maybe im looking into it alil much...but I can't help it. I really wish this wasnt an issue. I wish he could keep his original blueprint and never be made fun of for it. I wish it would never be a problem finding shoes or have foot problems. But I know that's not how it goes. Which is why I know this is how it has to be.

I can't stop thinking about how he's doing right now. I can only keep my faith that the Lord has heard my prayers ; he's sent down an angel to look after his child to make sure all goes well.


UPDATE: My super duper strong lil man is recovering well and resting at home. He was released the same day and sent home with meds. Ryatt woke up refreshed, like he had a nice long nap (which he did lol) but because of the meds he took a second long nap when he got home. Hes rockin LSU colored casts on both legs and is learning to navigate on them. I dont think these purdy boots are gonna stop this boy from continuing his quest to walk.

To all our family and friends: From the bottom of our hearts; Thank you! Your support helped us keep our sanity through this stressful experience and was so greatly appreciated.

Ryatt's First Birthday Rodeo

We planned our trip for Louisiana for the past year. It was exhausting trying to cover every detail and making sure everyone in the family was on the same page. Then the day came, we flew off island and in 8 hours we were in the sticky humidity of New Orleans Airport. We arrived early early morning, the day before the big 1st Rodeo Birthday. There was so much that needed to be done; greeting the family, settling in with the baby, last minute planning- all while adjusting to the 6 hour time difference. But thanks to our wonderfully executed planning, there wasnt much left to be done for planning. Most of the arrangements were being taken care of or already done. After a quick run to a couple stores we were back at Granny's house catching up and recharging for the rodeo games that would start tomorrow.

Morning of the 22nd of July. Main Event. I wake up about 7:30am, Ryatt is still stretched out next to me sleeping soundly. I wiped my eyes of sleet and then watch him as he smiles in his sleep. I dont usually watch him sleep because usually hes the one waking me up in the mornings. But today, his first birthday, the little cowboy decided to sleep in and I let him. He stretched a big stretch and then cracked one eye open. Then the other. When his vision came into focus, he looked at me and smiled a big toothy grin. Ryatt was ready to start the big day! So Ill be honest; when I pictured how the first day (his birthday of all days) I imagined a super cranky- inconsolable- time warped- baby. But he wasnt any of those things. He was such a trooper adjusting to the change and the new faces. Anyway, we had big things happening and all I could think about is how amazing it was that we survived the first year. [Lets recap: only 12 months ago we were waking up every 2 hours to nurse a crying 7lb baby, sleeping less than 4 hours a night, changing 12+ diapers a day, cleaning spit up every hour, trying every trick to stop the crying, juggling house chores that seem to be worst when theres a newborn. All while dealing with my own healing and hormonal imbalances AND not kill each other. Geez. We are considering more kids?! ] Well, the hour came. We head over to Granny Bertha's house where we have set up the party. Good ol' shrimp boil going on, tables out, family chit chatting and here was the birthday boy. Ryatt's First Rodeo was the theme, so as soon as we got there we handed out cowboy hats, bandanas and star badges to all the kids and some adults. Now all that was missing was my family who were all (13 folks) on their way in from New Orleans.

I havent seen my family in two years; its been that long since I left Virgina to move to Hawaii with my sailor hubby. My mom came out to Hawaii for Ryatts birth, but that was it. Goodness, I missed them so much. I didnt realize how much until I saw them. I was rushed with emotion when the first car arrived. My mom, Tia Zuby, sister, brother, his girlfriend, and Jason, climb out the car. I hugged them so hard, so hard they probably felt my pounding heart. The water works start up and we slowly make our way over to the rest of the party. One by one we introduced everyone and immediately the attention went back onto the birthday boy. He was the reason everyone was there. Everyone wanted to see him and meet each other. Then the second car arrived and again my heart pounded hard. My Tia Maria, cousins and  their partners climb out the car. I longed to see them again, but this time there was one person I especially wanted to meet. It was my godson, Aiden, who was supposed to be born a few days before I left Virgina and instead made his debut the day after I landed in Hawaii. I never got to meet my baby godson and now I finally got to hug him. We bring them over to the party and festivities continue. The family was all together, getting to know alil about each other and chowing down on shrimp/corn/sausage/potatoes. Looking back it at the party, everyone was so happy just like I had imagined. It was perfect. But that wasnt it! The cake came out and moment I dreamed about was about to happen. My baby boy was about to be officially initiated as a one year old toddler! I baked him an over-sized cupcake especially made for him to tear into. Needless to say, there was no delay in the demolition of the cupcake. Ryatt tore through that thing like a hungry bear; and a generous bear he was, sharing fists full of cake with Mommy and Daddy. After the damage was done, we removed the cake, cleaned up the boy and proceeded with the party. What an exhausting day that was but it was soooooo fun! The next day was another fun day of family and celebration.

Its-a-coming! 14 days in counting

Its hard for me to believe just how quickly this past year has gone. I guess time flies when you are completely consumed with a little human child running around, changing his diapers, washing load after load of laundry and catching every little special moment of his development. We are exactly 2 weeks....yes, 2 weeks! ....away from Ryatt's 1st birthday. (Which also marks 1 year of full breastfeeding for us. YAY!)

Ryatt's birthday party is going to be a spectacular event! The whole family is ecstatic for the day to come! This trip means so much to us all.We are all flying into Louisiana for the week and it means the reunion of myself and my siblings (of whom I havent seen in two years), its the first time I get to meet my godson (who was born late the day after I left to move to Hawaii), its the first time both sides of the family meet and its the first time Ryatt meets his relatives. So much time and energy has gone into planning this and now the time is coming near! Anyway, I just wanted to brag alil about how freaking excited we all are. I really hope it all comes together nicely. And I'll make sure to bring my camera with plenty of batteries. ;o)

The Last Frontier

It must of been summer when Vitus Jonassen Bering discovered Alaska in 1741. The Danish explorer  fell in love with the irresistible lush green scenery and snow kissed mountain ranges that line the horizon of this vivacious state. This is my third visit to Alaska, but my first time coming in the summer months and  Im starting to see why someone would call this place home. Currently, we are stationed in Hawaii. A beautiful little warm asian infused paradise to some, but a smoldering lava rock to us. (Dont get me wrong, Im grateful for each sunny day and love that we have had the chance to live here.) Anyway, the chance to get off the lava rock was really nice, and even better when we got to breath in the crisp and refreshingly cool Alaskan air without frost bite. 

This trip has been the best yet! We stayed with my in-laws in their mountain side home for a week. At first we were a little worried about how Ryatt would adjust to the 2 hour time change but it didnt seem to bother his schedule. What really effected him was the 23 hours of sunlight. It was the weirdest thing! We'd look at the clock, 10:45pm, and then look outside...what?! it looks like its 2pm! The absence of the moon effected my husband and I most; we were going to sleep much later than usual and paid the price in the morning when little one woke us up at 5am to start the day. We never really adjusted to the constant daylight but that didnt matter because we were having such a great time. Theres so much to do in the summer in Alaska. We took advantage and did something each day we were there. With the sun always up, Summer Solstice its called, it felt like we had ALL day to do everything. In the week we were there we ate at our usual "must have" places. One place called Moose's Tooth has the best pizza in Anchorage. If you are ever there, you have to have a slice. They serve slices for lunch and have a full menu of gourmet pizzas that are packed with fresh flavors. And if you are looking for some Alaskan halibut, go to The White Spot in downtown Anchorage. Its alil hole in the wall place thats been serving up griddle style foods - breakfast and lunch- since....well I cant remember the date but its a long time. Theres only a few tables and a row of bar seats, so get there early bc theres always a line. They serve up a variety of dishes (Im sure they are all great) but we go there specifically for the halibut sandwiches. MMMMmm  thinking about the buttery-fried goodness is making my mouth water. Anyway, we did some shopping around there and got great deals on summer clothes. (go figure- we are in ALASKA, duh!) We HAD to visit Knights Taxidermy, which is the place of a reality show we watch called "Mounted in Alaska". So many fun moments could of been caught on camera but my procrastinating self totally forgot the camera in Hawaii so I all we had was our camera phones. Surprisingly, the few shots we did get turned out pretty good. Im happily sharing my favorites =)  ***blogger photo upload is down right now. photos coming soon.

Since it was summer, I insisted on doing stuff thats only possible in the warmer months. The coolest thing we did was take a tour of glaciers on the Phillips 26 Glacier Cruise. I saw mountain ranges that Ive only seen in pictures. We were surrounded with the perfect back drop and all we had was a camera phone. So on the cruise we got to see otters out in the wild, a giant male seal, tons of black-footed birds and endless mountain sides striped with waterfalls. The big event was a massive glacier that sat low inside the valley of  mountain sides and into the ice water. We marveled at the phenomenon for about 30 mins, waiting for the iconic cracking sound and the ice crashing into the water. There were lots of teasers for awhile and just as we pulled off, an echo rang across the sound and we witnessed ice masses crash into the waters like a snap shot the National Geographic. At this point the cruise was a complete success! (except for the lack of camera, of course.) 

We really enjoyed ourselves with our family. Ryatt was a little clingy but that was expected since he was in a completely unfamiliar place- even the weather was unfamiliar. He still had a great time playing with everyone, especially his GiGi. Even our flights there and back were fairly pleasant. Great travels, priceless family time and Alaskan adventures- its safe to say that this trip The Last Frontier was a successful mini vacation. 

Finger Foods 2

Ryatt LOVES these sweet treats! And I love that they are packed with much needed iron and vitamins. These cookies are a great dessert or snack. If you make them with infant oatmeal and fruit they could be a great breakfast.  Hope your little one enjoys!

Cereal Veggie Cookies
*These are soft. If you want a harder cookie add more flour

2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1/8 cup of butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup puree of carrot, squash, banana, raisin or pumpkin
2 tbsp of apple sauce
1/2 cup flour
1 cup of infant cereal
2 tbsp milk (or water or breast milk or formula)
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F and grease cookie sheet. Cream together the brown sugar and butter. Mix in the egg, vanilla, cinnamon, puree and apple sauce. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, infant cereal and salt. Add gradually to the butter mixture until all moistened. Add the milk (or which ever liquid you choose) a tablespoon at a time. Drop cookies onto the cookie sheet about 2inches apart and bake for 10-12mins. Refrigerate.

NOTE: This dough doesnt spread very much when baking so if you want a more traditional cookie shape, pull the cookies out the oven at about the 8min mark and press down on each cookie then return to the oven for the rest of the cooking time.

nom nom nom     nom nom nom    nom nom nom    nom nom nom    nom nom nom     nom nom nom


Coming Soon....
Oatmeal Raisin Cakes
Birthday Cake

Shape of a Mother

I love this. Ive been feeling alil self-hating recently. Picking out my flaws and dealing with my emotions has been hard on me, and unfortunately its been hard on my family too bc they have to deal with me. Im sure these emotions are coming from my raging hormones that are a result of my monthly coming back after being absent for about 20 months. To all the new mommies and the mommies of multiples, read some of the entries (and maybe share your story) of other moms and I hope you find some comfort as I did.


The Shape of a Mother