Showing posts with label ryan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ryan. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
this boy
is a big boy now. he said goodbye to binkie and chewy (his lovey) at the same time he moved into a big boy bed. my baby is growing up. *sniff* now if we could just get him out of diapers...
is enthralled with trains. and has been known to play with them for days* at a time.
*you know, with a night's rest inbetween!
is usually half dressed.
suddenly found a love for broccoli.
is still pretty much helpless when it comes to using his right hand.
loves milk.
has some gorgeous blue eyes. which may or may not get him out of trouble every now and then.
can have quite the attitude at times.
became a 3 year old today!!
happy birthday ryry! i love you!!!
is enthralled with trains. and has been known to play with them for days* at a time.
*you know, with a night's rest inbetween!
is usually half dressed.
has picked up on the phrase "dang it." i don't know where or how, but he says it—and uses it right. but the funny part about this is that he pronounces it "dune it." so when he gets frustrated and says "UGH!! DUNE IT!" it's extremely hard to keep a straight face while we tell him that he doesn't need to say that.
can count to 17. or somewhere around there.
loves ketchup. and chicken nuggets.
has had no seizures in over 8 months!! (praise the Lord and knock on wood!) we will have an appointment with his neurologist sometime this fall to figure out our plan of action. or non-action!
has no problem singing the B-I-B-L-E at the top of his lungs in the middle of target.
likes to shake his booty.
will lick anything and everything. including the hood of my car. right on the bird poop.
loves milk.
has some gorgeous blue eyes. which may or may not get him out of trouble every now and then.
does not grasp the concept of a baby brother or sister.
likes to sit on the potty and pretend to be a "towdowl" (turtle) by pulling the lid forward until it's resting on his back.
can have quite the attitude at times.
became a 3 year old today!!
happy birthday ryry! i love you!!!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
pyrotechnophobia
he's definitely not the pyromaniac of the family yet. for the third year in a row, ryan has hated fireworks. it started when he was 11 months old—he was lying on the living room floor, and through the mini-blinds he caught a glimpse of the "pretties in the sky", and freaked out. it was the same story at 23 months. we brought him outside to look at the fireworks and he instantly screamed.
so this year we decided to go buy some kiddie fireworks to do with him. we got chickens, roosters, a turtle, tank, parachutes, flowers, fountains, sparklers, smoke bombs, etc. we played it all up for him, saying we'd have fun and blow them up after dinner.
since fireworks are illegal in kansas city, we went to a nearby legal city to set them off. we got our chairs set up, and daddy handed ryan a couple fireworks. what he did next cracked us up. apparently when we said we were gonna blow up the fireworks, he associated that with birthday candles...!
after ryan "blew up" most of the fireworks, it was daddy's turn. unfortunately i didn't warn ryan what they were gonna do! he liked the sparks at first (notice his cute little laugh!), but when that first chicken whistled, he freaked out. pyrotechnophobia again. and when daddy "bloke" (broke) the chicken, it set him over the edge!
ryan cried for the rest of the time and repeatedly wailed "no want it fireworks, no want it fireworks....!!!!" so daddy told him we could leave. i put ryan in the car as ben set off some more fireworks. and wouldn't you know? things suddenly got much better (as you can see at the end of this video!)
all i can say is, for spending $20 on fireworks and only setting off about $1.50, it was definitely worth the funny videos we got!
so this year we decided to go buy some kiddie fireworks to do with him. we got chickens, roosters, a turtle, tank, parachutes, flowers, fountains, sparklers, smoke bombs, etc. we played it all up for him, saying we'd have fun and blow them up after dinner.
since fireworks are illegal in kansas city, we went to a nearby legal city to set them off. we got our chairs set up, and daddy handed ryan a couple fireworks. what he did next cracked us up. apparently when we said we were gonna blow up the fireworks, he associated that with birthday candles...!
after ryan "blew up" most of the fireworks, it was daddy's turn. unfortunately i didn't warn ryan what they were gonna do! he liked the sparks at first (notice his cute little laugh!), but when that first chicken whistled, he freaked out. pyrotechnophobia again. and when daddy "bloke" (broke) the chicken, it set him over the edge!
ryan cried for the rest of the time and repeatedly wailed "no want it fireworks, no want it fireworks....!!!!" so daddy told him we could leave. i put ryan in the car as ben set off some more fireworks. and wouldn't you know? things suddenly got much better (as you can see at the end of this video!)
all i can say is, for spending $20 on fireworks and only setting off about $1.50, it was definitely worth the funny videos we got!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
when the cat's away...
...the mice will play.
and give themselves a pudding bath.
and then when the cat comes back? the mouse will be
busted.
cat will learn to never leave mouse alone with pudding again!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
everything i know about God i learned from my children
i grew up in a Bible-believing, God-fearing, church-going, Christian school-attending home. growing up i learned a whole lot about God and Jesus and the Bible, and i thought i knew it all (which obviously i didn't and still don't!).
and then i had kids. i became a parent. instant love beyond all measure for this tiny helpless babe. from that point on, i started to understand God a lot better. i learned more about God than i thought possible through the miracle of being a mother. and while i'm not comparing myself to God, when you become a parent it's so much easier to understand how God sees us—His unfailing love; His ever presence; His mercy and grace; His omniscience; His forgiveness; His patience. i could go on and on... all these attributes of God became much clearer as i felt the same for my own child. and to think how much more God feels for me!
on to my point... yesterday was a bad day. i would almost go as far as saying it was an awful day. ryan is in the crying screaming fit stage, and we battled all day (and the day before, and the day before). my only reprive was his you're-getting-sent-to-bed-with-no-lunch nap. we even got to end the day with a screaming fit before bed time. you know, because going potty before getting into bed is definitely worth fussing over for 30 minutes.
fast forward to this morning. i was apprehensive about even getting out of bed today. what will set off the attitude bomb today, i wondered. it could be anything—from the color of his socks, to the temperature of his pop tart, to the expression on his teddy bear's face. regardless, it was a new day, and he deserved a new start and a second chance. and i don't think either of us would've been too happy if i left him in his crib today!
we made it through breakfast. we made it through going potty and getting dressed. i was amazed! i laid down on my bed relieved that we hadn't had a meltdown yet. and ryan followed. he climbed up on my bed and for the next 45 minutes, we played. we bounced, jumped, i was his jungle gym, we loved, hid under the covers, hugged, and laughed. "i love you ryan," i said. "love you mama too," he replied. i even got a snotty slobbery kiss. it was beautiful.
as he ran off to play, i continued to lie on my bed, pondering God and the new start that he gives me each day. The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. i'm sure there are days that i throw my own tantrums with God, let's say, yesterday for example. i didn't have the greatest attitude about my day. there were times i was upset, mad, angry, impatient, unloving, uncontent, etc. but because of God's love and his mercy, He has given me a new morning. a new day to start over and be a better wife, mom, and child of God. i can even hear him whispering in my ear, I love you, child.
i love you too, God! and here's my big slobbery kiss: muah!!
and then i had kids. i became a parent. instant love beyond all measure for this tiny helpless babe. from that point on, i started to understand God a lot better. i learned more about God than i thought possible through the miracle of being a mother. and while i'm not comparing myself to God, when you become a parent it's so much easier to understand how God sees us—His unfailing love; His ever presence; His mercy and grace; His omniscience; His forgiveness; His patience. i could go on and on... all these attributes of God became much clearer as i felt the same for my own child. and to think how much more God feels for me!
on to my point... yesterday was a bad day. i would almost go as far as saying it was an awful day. ryan is in the crying screaming fit stage, and we battled all day (and the day before, and the day before). my only reprive was his you're-getting-sent-to-bed-with-no-lunch nap. we even got to end the day with a screaming fit before bed time. you know, because going potty before getting into bed is definitely worth fussing over for 30 minutes.
fast forward to this morning. i was apprehensive about even getting out of bed today. what will set off the attitude bomb today, i wondered. it could be anything—from the color of his socks, to the temperature of his pop tart, to the expression on his teddy bear's face. regardless, it was a new day, and he deserved a new start and a second chance. and i don't think either of us would've been too happy if i left him in his crib today!
we made it through breakfast. we made it through going potty and getting dressed. i was amazed! i laid down on my bed relieved that we hadn't had a meltdown yet. and ryan followed. he climbed up on my bed and for the next 45 minutes, we played. we bounced, jumped, i was his jungle gym, we loved, hid under the covers, hugged, and laughed. "i love you ryan," i said. "love you mama too," he replied. i even got a snotty slobbery kiss. it was beautiful.
as he ran off to play, i continued to lie on my bed, pondering God and the new start that he gives me each day. The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. i'm sure there are days that i throw my own tantrums with God, let's say, yesterday for example. i didn't have the greatest attitude about my day. there were times i was upset, mad, angry, impatient, unloving, uncontent, etc. but because of God's love and his mercy, He has given me a new morning. a new day to start over and be a better wife, mom, and child of God. i can even hear him whispering in my ear, I love you, child.
i love you too, God! and here's my big slobbery kiss: muah!!
But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
Psalm 86:15 NLT
Thursday, February 25, 2010
technicality
this is ryan.
ryan likes candy.
ryan found candy.
mommy told ryan not to open the candy.
mommy failed to tell ryan not to eat the candy. and the wrapper.
technically, ryan obeyed.
mommy learned an obvious lesson.
the end.
Monday, February 15, 2010
not me! monday
welcome to not me! monday! this blog carnival was created by mckmama. you can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. but as for us...
i did NOT let ryan wear big boy underwear for a couple days just to make myself remember to take him potty. we did NOT have two successfull days with no accidents. and ry does NOT look super duper cute in his undies!
unfortunately, ry got sick last week so we've been taking a few days off. he did NOT have a fever last tuesday and wednesday, and then on saturday night i did NOT notice that he had a rash on his legs and arms. it did NOT turn out that the poor boy has hand foot and mouth disease. he does NOT have blister like sores all over his hands and feet, and inside his mouth. and i do NOT want to pop them so badly. (but don't worry—i won't do that!!!)
so remember last year when i realized that my mom had sent me the same birthday card three years in a row? well this year she didn't send me a duplicate, although she did tell me that was the first card she picked up in the store... anyway. every year mom sends samantha and ryan valentines. so i did NOT crack up laughing when samantha opened hers and exclaimed "MOM! THIS IS THE SAME ONE GRAMMA SENT ME LAST YEAR!!"
we don't usually do anything for valentine's day or get each other anything, so when ben had to work yesterday it was no big deal. but even though we don't do anything to celebrate doesn't mean i don't appreciate it when we do! so i was NOT super excited when he told me he'd go get dinner so i wouldn't have to cook! and then after dinner? ben and samantha were being quiet in the kitchen when suddenly he did NOT bring me the canola oil and ask "is this our vegetable oil?" when i told him yes and asked why, he told me he was just making sure it was okay. and then samantha, the queen of elusiveness, did NOT bring in the same oil and ask "mom? is this good brownie oil?" and then later, she did NOT bring me the rubber scraper and ask "do you want a lick of batter? it's not any special kind of batter, it's just brown batter."
well, it turns out that it was special batter. because can i tell you that those perfect ghirardelli brownies were NOT the best valentine's day present (and the best brownies!)?! Mmmmmm! i did NOT enjoy one for breakfast this morning. or two...!
here's to a good week—happy monday!!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
it's all in the day of a mom
today, i was...
a wedding coordinator—and helped samantha get barbie ready for her big day.
an architect—and made a blanket house for ryan.
a mechanic—and fixed ry's car.
a talent scout—and listened to a never ending concert performed by samantha montantha.
a short order cook—and made an assortment of foods for lunch.
a money launderer—and found some clean coins in the washer!
an interpreter—and figured out that 'wait a minute!' can mean something entirely different to a 2-year-old.
a heartbreaker—and didn't let ry have a cookie before lunch.
an explorer—and won a game of hide and seek.
a seamstress—and altered ryry's jammies with a safety pin.
a supervisor—and oversaw (overseed?) samantha wash the dishes.
a mediator—and stopped a sibling spat seconds before it started.
today, i was... a mom!
a wedding coordinator—and helped samantha get barbie ready for her big day.
an architect—and made a blanket house for ryan.
a mechanic—and fixed ry's car.
a talent scout—and listened to a never ending concert performed by samantha montantha.
a short order cook—and made an assortment of foods for lunch.
a money launderer—and found some clean coins in the washer!
an interpreter—and figured out that 'wait a minute!' can mean something entirely different to a 2-year-old.
a heartbreaker—and didn't let ry have a cookie before lunch.
an explorer—and won a game of hide and seek.
a seamstress—and altered ryry's jammies with a safety pin.
a supervisor—and oversaw (overseed?) samantha wash the dishes.
a mediator—and stopped a sibling spat seconds before it started.
today, i was... a mom!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
it's like getting behind on your bills
that's how i've felt the past three weeks. first you miss one payment, then decide just to wait to pay it with next month's, and something comes up and you need the extra money for new tires or something, then you start hiding the bills so that you won't have to see them, with the hope that they'll go away...
i'm sure all of us have experienced at least something remotely close to that. and no, i'm not behind on our bills right now. but rather my BLOG, and blog reading. (i'll get caught up on everyone's blogs, i promise! i just may not comment on every post!) really i had something half written to post on january 1st, and then that obviously didn't happen, and about 5 different things to post after that. but the more i went without posting something on my blog, the more i wanted to avoid it altogether.
so here's mymass payment ramblings from the last month that have piled up in my head:
Christmas was great! i actually hope to post something on that later. (yeah, we'll just see how that plan turns out...) i learned some things this Christmas though. to name a few...
i went to MN for 10 days to celebrate Christmas with my family, see my alaska gramma, and met my new grandpa! he had open heart surgery last friday and is still sedated, but getting better. thank you all for your continued prayers for him and my gramma!
my house is a complete and utter disaster. it's like getting behind on blogging—i don't know where to start. hence, i'm blogging today. yeppers, i'm making myself blog right now just so that i can procrastinate on housecleaning. it's a vicious cycle. but hey, at least my suitcase is put away and all the laundry from our trip is done!
i did something really stupid but funny the other night that deserves a post of its own. but just as a teaser, it involves me cooking mounds of food this weekend. let's hope that i don't burn down my house in the process!
samantha got me the perfect brownie pan for Christmas. it was actually very cute, because i knew that's what she was going to get for me. and when the infomercial would come on she would hint around and say, "don't you wish you had one of those, mom?!" and when we were in target one day and i was looking at a bar pan she said sternly, "mom, you don't need to get any pans for brownies or desserts because we have some at home, and maybe you'll get one for Christmas, OKAY?!" all that to say, i love my perfect brownie pan. i hope to write a review with the pros and cons, but you know how i am—in case it doesn't get blogged about, i'll tell you right now that i'd recommend it.
ryan is doing really good. he hasn't had any seizures since the last time i missed giving him his medicine. he is starting to use the right side of his body more, and is getting better at standing up and maneuvering the stairs. and he is definitely developing a mouth like his sister's—loud and never ending!
and now, i feel just a slight bit caught up. see y'all in another 22 days...!
i'm sure all of us have experienced at least something remotely close to that. and no, i'm not behind on our bills right now. but rather my BLOG, and blog reading. (i'll get caught up on everyone's blogs, i promise! i just may not comment on every post!) really i had something half written to post on january 1st, and then that obviously didn't happen, and about 5 different things to post after that. but the more i went without posting something on my blog, the more i wanted to avoid it altogether.
so here's my
Christmas was great! i actually hope to post something on that later. (yeah, we'll just see how that plan turns out...) i learned some things this Christmas though. to name a few...
my 6 year old daughter can still wear size 4T snow pants. albeit they were a tad short, but they worked!
ryan would be satisfied with a train, a car, and an airplane for Christmas.
it's the little things that are special—a spontaneous slow dance to silent night with my husband and children, my 2 year old boy singing sentimental Christmas songs at the top of his lungs, and a homemade, hand-written, heart-shaped note from my daughter that said "i love you SO much mom."
our family does not need 10+ dozen Christmas cookies. case in point—we still have over half of them left.
spaghetti noodles can be mistaken for oral stitches, and vice versa.
i went to MN for 10 days to celebrate Christmas with my family, see my alaska gramma, and met my new grandpa! he had open heart surgery last friday and is still sedated, but getting better. thank you all for your continued prayers for him and my gramma!
my house is a complete and utter disaster. it's like getting behind on blogging—i don't know where to start. hence, i'm blogging today. yeppers, i'm making myself blog right now just so that i can procrastinate on housecleaning. it's a vicious cycle. but hey, at least my suitcase is put away and all the laundry from our trip is done!
i did something really stupid but funny the other night that deserves a post of its own. but just as a teaser, it involves me cooking mounds of food this weekend. let's hope that i don't burn down my house in the process!
samantha got me the perfect brownie pan for Christmas. it was actually very cute, because i knew that's what she was going to get for me. and when the infomercial would come on she would hint around and say, "don't you wish you had one of those, mom?!" and when we were in target one day and i was looking at a bar pan she said sternly, "mom, you don't need to get any pans for brownies or desserts because we have some at home, and maybe you'll get one for Christmas, OKAY?!" all that to say, i love my perfect brownie pan. i hope to write a review with the pros and cons, but you know how i am—in case it doesn't get blogged about, i'll tell you right now that i'd recommend it.
ryan is doing really good. he hasn't had any seizures since the last time i missed giving him his medicine. he is starting to use the right side of his body more, and is getting better at standing up and maneuvering the stairs. and he is definitely developing a mouth like his sister's—loud and never ending!
and now, i feel just a slight bit caught up. see y'all in another 22 days...!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
brace yourself
this couldn't come soon enough. especially after ryan's tripping incident.
today we went and picked up his brace for his foot. and call me old fashioned, but for some reason i always thought it would look something like this:
ahem.
about a month ago ryan got fitted for a brace. it was quite an interesting process: first the lady put a double sock and a yellow train track on his foot and leg, then they wrapped some kind of tape around his leg that would harden. after it set for a couple minutes, she used her train scissors, and cut along the train track. then she cut one of the socks off and removed the mold of his foot!
pretty darn cool if you ask me. then we got to pick out what color we'd like and what ribbon we wanted. of course we had to choose the sport one!
so today we went to try it on and try it out! ryan did great with it on. it didn't even seem to bother him. it's designed to keep his leg straight and centered, and keep his toes up. and it's already working—he played around with a ball and was running and didn't even trip once!! the therapist was impressed!
so today he'll wear it for 2 hours. tomorrow, 3 hours, and the following day, 4 hours. if he doesn't have problems (redness around the foot that doesn't go away after 30 minutes) then he'll wear it as much as possible every day. he'll be able wear it around the house with socks and outside with shoes.
the shoe that the brace goes in needs to be a size bigger, so my plans were to go shoe shopping with him today. but coincidentally, i happened to buy two pairs of the same shoes in different sizes over a year ago. and they worked perfectly! thankyouJesus i just saved $35-$40!
so brace yourself, world. pretty soon this little man will be unstoppable and untripable!!
today we went and picked up his brace for his foot. and call me old fashioned, but for some reason i always thought it would look something like this:
image from yourprops.com
ahem.
about a month ago ryan got fitted for a brace. it was quite an interesting process: first the lady put a double sock and a yellow train track on his foot and leg, then they wrapped some kind of tape around his leg that would harden. after it set for a couple minutes, she used her train scissors, and cut along the train track. then she cut one of the socks off and removed the mold of his foot!
pretty darn cool if you ask me. then we got to pick out what color we'd like and what ribbon we wanted. of course we had to choose the sport one!
so today we went to try it on and try it out! ryan did great with it on. it didn't even seem to bother him. it's designed to keep his leg straight and centered, and keep his toes up. and it's already working—he played around with a ball and was running and didn't even trip once!! the therapist was impressed!
so today he'll wear it for 2 hours. tomorrow, 3 hours, and the following day, 4 hours. if he doesn't have problems (redness around the foot that doesn't go away after 30 minutes) then he'll wear it as much as possible every day. he'll be able wear it around the house with socks and outside with shoes.
the shoe that the brace goes in needs to be a size bigger, so my plans were to go shoe shopping with him today. but coincidentally, i happened to buy two pairs of the same shoes in different sizes over a year ago. and they worked perfectly! thankyouJesus i just saved $35-$40!
wrong foot, ryry!
so brace yourself, world. pretty soon this little man will be unstoppable and untripable!!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
furniture fighter
my specialist of screaming, blower of raspberries, carrier of steak knives, tackler of daddies, breaker of dishes, lover of trains, expert of disobedience, epitome of cuteness, and master of mischief...
...can now add fighter of furniture to his repertoire.
the nightstand won.
...can now add fighter of furniture to his repertoire.
the nightstand won.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
thankful thursday
there are so many things to be thankful about concerning ryan, but as my day unfolded, i discovered a few incidents to be thankful for.
somehow ryan stuck his head in the handrail on our stairs this morning. it was lodged pretty good. and the metal balusters don't budge. at all. thankfully, after pulling and maneuvering, i got his head out. i'm SO glad he didn't stick it in there any further, otherwise i would've been calling someone. (who would i call? the cops? a blacksmith? do blacksmiths even exist still? boy i'm confused. i'm so thankful that i got his head out!)
fast forward to right before lunch. ryan emerged from the kitchen carrying a steak knife. apparently he's just now tall enough to reach the counter. i am incredibly thankful that his clumsy little self did not trip on the air and fall and letsnotevengothere...
and then at lunch stupid me decided to give ryan orange slices in a glass condiment bowl. bad idea. yes, he ended up throwing the bowl on the floor, shattering it to pieces. once again, i was quite thankful that he was restrained to his high chair—i would HATE to have to pick pieces of glass out his feet!!
oh, and i can't omit the immense amount of thankfulness in my heart when naptime rolled around. talk about my cup overflowing!
and as i sit here pondering the unexpected events and close calls of the day, i am thankful that tomorrow is a new day. let's hope he got all the accidents out of his system today!
what are you thankful for today?!
somehow ryan stuck his head in the handrail on our stairs this morning. it was lodged pretty good. and the metal balusters don't budge. at all. thankfully, after pulling and maneuvering, i got his head out. i'm SO glad he didn't stick it in there any further, otherwise i would've been calling someone. (who would i call? the cops? a blacksmith? do blacksmiths even exist still? boy i'm confused. i'm so thankful that i got his head out!)
fast forward to right before lunch. ryan emerged from the kitchen carrying a steak knife. apparently he's just now tall enough to reach the counter. i am incredibly thankful that his clumsy little self did not trip on the air and fall and letsnotevengothere...
and then at lunch stupid me decided to give ryan orange slices in a glass condiment bowl. bad idea. yes, he ended up throwing the bowl on the floor, shattering it to pieces. once again, i was quite thankful that he was restrained to his high chair—i would HATE to have to pick pieces of glass out his feet!!
oh, and i can't omit the immense amount of thankfulness in my heart when naptime rolled around. talk about my cup overflowing!
and as i sit here pondering the unexpected events and close calls of the day, i am thankful that tomorrow is a new day. let's hope he got all the accidents out of his system today!
what are you thankful for today?!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
ryan 101
get comfortable and grab a drink—this may take a while! and pay attention because there's a test at the end.
just kidding! maybe...
last friday (oct 30th) i met with dr. h, ryan's neurologist, to go over the results of his MRI and EEG that he's had in the last 2 months. i was SO incredibly glad i recorded the appointment, because with big long medical words and an iranian accent (yes, i decided she is from iran, not india), i wouldn't have remembered one single thing!
i spent the weekend googling. and diagnosing. and writing down questions for dr. h. and after talking with her on the phone yesterday, i finally have some information about ryan.
here's what she said at our appointment:
from the MRI, both sides of ryan's brain are abnormal in different ways. the right side of the brain is abnormally larger than the left side. this is a rare condition called hemimegalencephly which can result in intrackable frequent seizures and also mental retardation.
ryan also has abnormalities on the left side of his brian. he has clefts, or slits in his cerebral cortex (the outermost layer of the cerebrum. you know, the ripply, wormy looking part of the brain.) due to migration defects or abnormal migration.
are you totally confused? yeah, so was i! as a brain develops inside a mother's womb, neurons in the ventricals of the brain migrate to the surface to form the different layers of the brain. and when problems occur with these migrating neurons, you end up with migration defects. (click on the link for some nice light reading. hehe!)
as for his EEG, the results showed slowing on both sides of his brain (meaning the rhythm of the brain waves is slower than would be expected). it also showed sharp waves (which indicate that partial seizures might come from that area) coming from both sides of the brian, but more from the left than the right.
now with ryan, dr. h is quite perplexed. with hemimegalencephaly (the abnormal enlargement on the right side of ryan's brain) it is common that there are abnormalities on the other side of the brain (which in ryan's case, there are) but usually the main symptoms come from the bigger side of the brain (the side with hemimegalencephly).
the confusing part is that ryan's main symptoms (weakness and delays in the right side of his body) are coming from the other side of the brain (the left side with migration defects). dr. h said this is unusual and was puzzling for her because after looking it up in medical literature, she couldn't find a similar report. she said she didn't really know how to explain that.
for what ryan's MRI showed, he is doing exceptionally well as compared to other kids with the same MRI results. he is not having frequent seizures (so far) and his delays are mainly physical (gross motor and fine motor skills) and not mental. as far as a prognosis goes, dr. h said we'll just have to go by what he shows us. most kids with the same diagnosis are not doing well.
soooooooo now that i've told you about the appointment, here's the update since talking with her on the phone yesterday! (hey, i warned you this would take a while!)
first of all, ryan had a seizure on thursday night (yeah, i forgot to give him his meds). it was different than his other seizures have been, but it started with his right hand shaking. this is good to know because it means that the seizure started on the left side of the brain (the side with migration defects).
secondly, in my googling and diagnosing, i came to the conclusion that ryan has schizencephaly on the left side of his brain (the side with migration defects), which is a rare developmental disorder characterized by abnormal slits, or clefts, in the cerebral hemispheres.
when i talked to dr. h, she told me that the left side of his brain is causing more trouble right now. so he may not have hemimegalencephaly (abnormal enlargement) on the right side of his brain. the radiologist diagnosed it as that, and that's what it looks like, but it just doesn't make sense, medically. the neurologist and radiologists have a conference each month so she's going to discuss all of this with them to try and figure out if indeed he has hemimegalencephaly.
she also said that it looks like he has schizencephaly on the left side of his brain. ah hah, i was right! there just may be hope for me becoming a neurologist yet! she also said it could be polymicrogyria, but i won't bore you with the facts of that.
our game plan right now is to see an opthamologist (hemimegalencephly can have some findings in the eyes. this could help diagnose which type of hemimegalencephaly he has). he will also see a rehab doctor (because of his right-sided delays) and a speech therapist (just for an evaluation). we will continue doing therapy once a week (i'll update you on that later!) and continue on the anti-epileptic drugs. and if all goes well we won't have to see dr. h for another six months!
bottom line, God made no mistakes when he formed ryan'slittle large brain. ryan has a few slight problems, but we are blessed that his health is SO well!
and now for your test: if you made it to the end of this post, A+!
just kidding! maybe...
last friday (oct 30th) i met with dr. h, ryan's neurologist, to go over the results of his MRI and EEG that he's had in the last 2 months. i was SO incredibly glad i recorded the appointment, because with big long medical words and an iranian accent (yes, i decided she is from iran, not india), i wouldn't have remembered one single thing!
i spent the weekend googling. and diagnosing. and writing down questions for dr. h. and after talking with her on the phone yesterday, i finally have some information about ryan.
here's what she said at our appointment:
from the MRI, both sides of ryan's brain are abnormal in different ways. the right side of the brain is abnormally larger than the left side. this is a rare condition called hemimegalencephly which can result in intrackable frequent seizures and also mental retardation.
ryan also has abnormalities on the left side of his brian. he has clefts, or slits in his cerebral cortex (the outermost layer of the cerebrum. you know, the ripply, wormy looking part of the brain.) due to migration defects or abnormal migration.
are you totally confused? yeah, so was i! as a brain develops inside a mother's womb, neurons in the ventricals of the brain migrate to the surface to form the different layers of the brain. and when problems occur with these migrating neurons, you end up with migration defects. (click on the link for some nice light reading. hehe!)
as for his EEG, the results showed slowing on both sides of his brain (meaning the rhythm of the brain waves is slower than would be expected). it also showed sharp waves (which indicate that partial seizures might come from that area) coming from both sides of the brian, but more from the left than the right.
now with ryan, dr. h is quite perplexed. with hemimegalencephaly (the abnormal enlargement on the right side of ryan's brain) it is common that there are abnormalities on the other side of the brain (which in ryan's case, there are) but usually the main symptoms come from the bigger side of the brain (the side with hemimegalencephly).
the confusing part is that ryan's main symptoms (weakness and delays in the right side of his body) are coming from the other side of the brain (the left side with migration defects). dr. h said this is unusual and was puzzling for her because after looking it up in medical literature, she couldn't find a similar report. she said she didn't really know how to explain that.
for what ryan's MRI showed, he is doing exceptionally well as compared to other kids with the same MRI results. he is not having frequent seizures (so far) and his delays are mainly physical (gross motor and fine motor skills) and not mental. as far as a prognosis goes, dr. h said we'll just have to go by what he shows us. most kids with the same diagnosis are not doing well.
soooooooo now that i've told you about the appointment, here's the update since talking with her on the phone yesterday! (hey, i warned you this would take a while!)
first of all, ryan had a seizure on thursday night (yeah, i forgot to give him his meds). it was different than his other seizures have been, but it started with his right hand shaking. this is good to know because it means that the seizure started on the left side of the brain (the side with migration defects).
secondly, in my googling and diagnosing, i came to the conclusion that ryan has schizencephaly on the left side of his brain (the side with migration defects), which is a rare developmental disorder characterized by abnormal slits, or clefts, in the cerebral hemispheres.
Symptoms can vary widely depending on the extent and the size of the cleft. Patients may show developmental delays that can range from mild to severe.... Paralysis of the limbs may be present... Abnormal muscle tone, including decreased tone (hypotonia) and increased tone (spasticity), can be seen. Some patients may have only seizures. Seizures usually present before three years of age.thank you, answers.com!
when i talked to dr. h, she told me that the left side of his brain is causing more trouble right now. so he may not have hemimegalencephaly (abnormal enlargement) on the right side of his brain. the radiologist diagnosed it as that, and that's what it looks like, but it just doesn't make sense, medically. the neurologist and radiologists have a conference each month so she's going to discuss all of this with them to try and figure out if indeed he has hemimegalencephaly.
she also said that it looks like he has schizencephaly on the left side of his brain. ah hah, i was right! there just may be hope for me becoming a neurologist yet! she also said it could be polymicrogyria, but i won't bore you with the facts of that.
our game plan right now is to see an opthamologist (hemimegalencephly can have some findings in the eyes. this could help diagnose which type of hemimegalencephaly he has). he will also see a rehab doctor (because of his right-sided delays) and a speech therapist (just for an evaluation). we will continue doing therapy once a week (i'll update you on that later!) and continue on the anti-epileptic drugs. and if all goes well we won't have to see dr. h for another six months!
bottom line, God made no mistakes when he formed ryan's
and now for your test: if you made it to the end of this post, A+!
Monday, November 2, 2009
not me! monday
i did NOT get ryan's EEG and MRI results on friday. and although i wanted to write an update that night, i was NOT incredibly confused by the diagnosis. so i have NOT been googling like mad this weekend. and after i read the first sentence of an article and was NOT totally perplexed by the terminology, i did NOT spend over 2 hours just reading about the brain and trying to understand basic stuff you'd probably learn in school.
i am NOT incredibly glad that i video recorded the appointment so that i could relisten to it at home. i did NOT just randomly hold the camera, so when i got home and watched it i did NOT enjoy watching the kids play during the appointment (and ryan sticking his tongue out at dr. h)!
i am NOT going to call the neurologist with some more questions today and hopefully get her email address in case i have more questions! then sometime i will NOT get an update for y'all!
* * * * *
in the process of making a cup of chai one early morning, i did NOT turn on the back burner for the tea kettle, all the while making sure the dirty plate (from the night before. not pictured.)
on the front burner was far enough away. and then i did NOT smell something burning. maybe the dirty napkin fell off the plate onto the burner? and then i heard popping. as i went to see what was happening, i did NOT notice that i had in fact turned on the front burner, thus causing the food particles on said plate to burn. i did NOT grab the plate off of the burner, totally forgetting that it would be burning hot and almost drop it, and quickly set it on the cutting board that was on the other burner. it did NOT melt a ring on my cutting board.for a cup of chai, it was totally NOT worth it!
* * * * *
we did NOT crack open the bags of 1-year-old halloween candy to see if they still tasted good. they were NOT still delicious. i did NOT double check their goodness. and we did NOT pass them out (along with our new candy) to the 100+ trick-or-treaters that came by. i do NOT think we should go buy some more clearance candy this week to save for next year...
ahem.
* * * * *
this morning i did NOT realize that i still have a love for sesame street. i did NOT pause my computer work to watch bert and ernie's great adventures...
* * * * *
as i'm sitting here on my laptop, ryan did NOT just bring me the broom and the stick vacuum. i am NOT gonna take a hint, get off the computer, and clean the house. well, maybe i'll clean after i go shopping...
happy monday everyone!!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
moving on...
we* have moved on
*ryan
from a love of ketchup
to a love
of
barbecue sauce!
not to worry, though. ketchup has not totally left the picture. ryan can still be found dipping his apple slices into ketchup...
what are your eat-out-of-the-container, can't-live-without, must-have favorite condiments?
Monday, October 26, 2009
not me! monday
last monday i did NOT spend the whole day cleaning for family that was going to come for a visit, only to take a break to go to the grocery store. i did NOT end up coming home with 23 bags of groceries!! and in the 3.5 days that my family visited, we only ate here twice. uh huh... i do NOT have a lot of food in my house!
this past week i did NOT have a blast with my parents and my three nieces (9, 7, & 4 years old) who came for a visit. we had only a couple mishaps while they were here... it was very warm the second night they were here, so i did NOT decide to prop the front door open to cool off the house. we got the girls to bed, dealt with some homesickness, and then got the girls settled in bed again. we were sitting around chatting when i did NOT hear screaming from their room. i bolted upstairs and as i was running down the hall a black cat did NOT come running out of their room and out the front door!!! nope, a stray cat did NOT come in our open front door, go up to the kid's room, and scare the panties off 3 almost asleep overly tired little girls. needless to say, the door stayed closed from then on...
while my family was here ryan slept in our room with us. so he would NOT wake up when ben got up for work. since then his sleep habits have been way off. instead of getting up at 9-9:30, this morning he did NOT wake up before 8am. i am NOT dreading the time change this saturday and having him wake up before 7AM!!! (here is your friendly reminder... daylight savings time ends on sunday, november 1st. don't forget to set your clocks back one our this coming saturday night!)
i have NOT forgotten to give ryan his medicine about 4 nights this week. ugh. i will NOT have to start writing notes as a reminder. and speaking of ry, his neurologist did NOT fail to call me this past week, or the week before with the results from his EEG. and because i don't enjoy calling them and leaving a message for them to call me back, i did NOT decide that i'm just going to wait until his appointment this week to find out the results. besides, dr. h has an accent and i'm NOT afraid that i won't understand her over the phone! so for those of you who have been waiting for results, i will NOT get them at his neuro appointment on friday!
on saturday night we (yes. the whole family. ben included.) did NOT go to joann fabrics to get a couple things. (we were NOT there until closing time!) after we finally left the store, walked to our car, and unloaded our purchases i did NOT decide that i would give the cart a shove toward the store and let it roll there so i didn't have to push it back. well maybe it was the slight breeze, or maybe it was the downward slope of the parking lot, but the cart started going straight towards the store and then did NOT veer way to the left (right in the picture) and was headed right for one of the 5 cars in the parking lot. ben did NOT see what was happening and did NOT sprint over to the cart just to grab it right before it plowed into the side of the lady's car. the lady that was NOT just walking out of the store... i was NOT laughing my head off at what happened, and i'm sure the people that were sitting in their idling car did NOT get a good laugh either! and no, i did NOT draw a picture again just to better explain it...!
happy monday y'all. go visit mckmama for some more not me! monday fun!
Monday, October 19, 2009
not me! monday
monday monday! it seems that i have done 400 loads of laundry this week. so now it's time to air the [not so] dirty laundry...
on saturday, ryan did NOT somehow change the snooze on my radio alarm clock from 10 minutes to 1 minute. so yesterday morning when the alarm went off and the radio came on, i hit snooze and rolled over. and then it came on again playing the same song. i hit snooze. and again, the alarm went off still playing the same song. in my tired state of mind i did NOT wonder why in the world the radio station kept playing the same song over and over again, and then did NOT feel stupid when i realized what had happened. i did NOT then turn off my alarm clock and go back to sleep!
* * * * *
remember that 47+ pounds of candy thatwe ben bought last november? well we do NOT still have about 4 unopened bags of it. and ben certainly did NOT suggest passing it out to the trick-or-treaters this halloween. after i vetoed that idea, i did NOT consider opening a couple of the packages to see if it tasted okay to hand out to the kids...
* * * * *
i have NOT been busy cleaning my house for the arrival of my parents and my three nieces later today. samantha has NOT been begging me to have the house clean so that she can impress them. i may NOT take a video of my clean house as proof. because this (a clean house) does NOT happen only about 2 times a year!
* * * * *
remember how i checked the mail in vain last monday? well my mail lady did NOT do the same thing! i did NOT laugh (and feel so much better) when she told me that last tuesday!
* * * * *
samantha has NOT started writing in a notebook-turned-diary recently, and last night she did NOT tell me i could look at it. she does NOT have the pages numbered like she's having a spelling test at school. and this is what i did NOT read:
i did NOT gasp when i read #4. it is NOT our neighbor boy! and she has NOT told him that she loves him already.... we are NOT in trouble!!!
* * * * *
i did NOT cook a real dinner for my husband 3 times this week.
'nuf said.
* * * * *
happy not me! monday!!
on saturday, ryan did NOT somehow change the snooze on my radio alarm clock from 10 minutes to 1 minute. so yesterday morning when the alarm went off and the radio came on, i hit snooze and rolled over. and then it came on again playing the same song. i hit snooze. and again, the alarm went off still playing the same song. in my tired state of mind i did NOT wonder why in the world the radio station kept playing the same song over and over again, and then did NOT feel stupid when i realized what had happened. i did NOT then turn off my alarm clock and go back to sleep!
* * * * *
remember that 47+ pounds of candy that
* * * * *
i have NOT been busy cleaning my house for the arrival of my parents and my three nieces later today. samantha has NOT been begging me to have the house clean so that she can impress them. i may NOT take a video of my clean house as proof. because this (a clean house) does NOT happen only about 2 times a year!
* * * * *
remember how i checked the mail in vain last monday? well my mail lady did NOT do the same thing! i did NOT laugh (and feel so much better) when she told me that last tuesday!
* * * * *
samantha has NOT started writing in a notebook-turned-diary recently, and last night she did NOT tell me i could look at it. she does NOT have the pages numbered like she's having a spelling test at school. and this is what i did NOT read:
1. I;m fablus. [yes, she used a semicolon instead of an apostrophe. and don't you love how she spelled fabulous?!]
2. God loves me.
3. I love you.
4. I have a boyfrend.
i did NOT gasp when i read #4. it is NOT our neighbor boy! and she has NOT told him that she loves him already.... we are NOT in trouble!!!
* * * * *
i did NOT cook a real dinner for my husband 3 times this week.
'nuf said.
* * * * *
happy not me! monday!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)