It is hard to believe that we are into our 4th week with Rylan. Last weekend we asked Aunt Lori to take a few family pictures for us.






Here is a great picture of my two guys and Ron's favorite... VWs. Maybe someday this oval will be Rylan's first VW. I can see this being a project for dad & son. :-)
This photo was taken after a fun filled afternoon with Aunt Anna and Grandma Bertling. I sat him down thinking he'd play with this book and toys and to my surprise a late afternoon nap was definitely needed.
When it is time to get the clothes off the line, Rylan gets a ride with the clean laundry.
I love his cement truck shirt and kacky shorts from Grandma Holub and here is a great picture of Rylan laughing.

Here are a few more pictures of Rylan.
We noticed this week that he is not a very good nap taker, but he definitely needs them. We try for a two hour nap in the morning and afternoon. Like clock work he wakes up exactly 30 min after he first lays down and then it might take up to an hour to get him to lay back down. He is such a fighter at going to sleep, but we still work at getting the naps taken, so he'll be in a good mood later. .
Winston and Rylan are still getting aquainted. Winston is being so great with Rylan and Rylan likes to watch Winston walk around the house. Rylan & daddy enjoy spending quiet time together after daddy gets home from work and before Rylan goes to bed
The picture of Rylan in his highchair & Winston speaks for itself. I can come up with many ieas that these two can be thinking of each other. I think it is such a cute picture. . Here is a picture of Rylan and I. I'm going to try getting someone to take a family picture of us soon, but "soon" these days is not defined. :-)

Rylan's 1st U.S. Doctor Appt

We had Rylan's first doctor appointment on Thursday, Aug 28 with Dr. Thomas at the Pediatric Center in Cedar Rapids. This appt was exactly one week after Rylan turned 9 months. He was two ounces shy of being 21 pounds and he is 30 1/2 inches long, so he is in the 50 percent tile for his weight and in the 90 percent tile for his height. Dr. Thomas noted that he is cutting a molar, so that confirms what we had suspected with the drool and pulling on his ears. She thought Rylan was a healthy and happy baby boy. We did have to take some blood and capture three stool samples for the lab just to make sure everything is okay and to confirm that he doesn't have any bacteria in his intestines that could be causing his belly pain. Watching him get his blood drawn was so tough to see. Strong daddy had to leave the room, because he couldn't stand watching his boy scream. I would have been right there with him, but I was holding on to him and I was thankful I couldn't see his face otherwise I wouldn't have been able to take it. We got the call later letting us know his labs came back ok on his blood work. We will see Dr. Thomas again in November for some immunizations after he turns one.

The first week with Rylan

The first week with Rylan has been great and it has been wonderful that Ron has been able to spend the first week off of work. We are starting to learn signs from Rylan so we know when he is tired or when he needs something. The first days home and in the beginning of the week he had a lot of problems with gas pains, so he was very uncomfortable. We now think that a lot of the pains were due to jet lag being in the sitting position for so long on the plane and it has taken a few days to get rid of the pains, but by the end of the week we could tell he was starting to feel better. Rylan is eating very well and he loves his baths. He is not taking very good morning naps and we can tell that he needs them, but he is taking on average a two hour nap in the afternoon. He loves his stroller rides! This week we are just trying to make him feel secure and comfortable. It is important this week to make sure he knows that Ron and I are his parents and we are here to take care of him. In the middle of the week, we took a ride to visit Brad Bohlken and Nate Curry (Daddy wanted to show him off a little to his friends). We also used the opportunity to surprise his will-be babysitter. She is very nice and thought it would be great for Ron & I to introduce Rylan to her and see how the other kids in her home act. Rylan and I also visitd Grandma Holub for a couple of hours and did a lot of floor time play. Great Grandma Holub also stopped by for a quick visit. Towards the end of the week, we were able to get him to take a two hour morning nap and a two hour afternoon nap. He is sleeping in his crib and wakes up about four hours after putting him to bed and then again around 2:30a.m. So far he is waking up about every hour to two hours after that. He basically just needs his pacifier put back in his mouth. He is waking up anytime between 5:30 and 7:30 in the morning. We really don't have a schedule yet, which is okay. We are very happy with how the first week has gone.

Sunday, Aug 24 with Rylan

After breakfast and with a little resistance in going down for a morning nap, we got in the car to go see Grandma & Grandpa Holub. They are letting us borrow their exersaucer to help keep Rylan challenged with his toys. While there Grandpa and Rylan bonded a little when Grandpa gave him a cracker. In the car Rylan got a little nap in so when we got home he was in a good mood for lunch. Then he got in the stroller and we sat outside on the patio while Ron mowed the lawn. It was a beautiful day and Rylan likes to be outside. Our neighbors, Denny & Sue Joslin came over to say high and meet Rylan. They also brought over a very cute bunny blanket that Sue had made. Then Morgan Murray stopped by to visit Rylan and so did Uncle Pete. Then it was time for an afternoon nap after lunch and when he woke up Aunt Anna and Uncle John were waiting to check him out. While slowly waking up, Uncle Travis, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Christine and his cousins Trey, Harlee, and Jordan stopped by to check him out. Rylan really didn't want anything or anyone, but Daddy. (I'm not sure if or how to rotate this picture, but I think it is too cute not to show.)

Our first day with Rylan, Sat. Aug. 23

Rylan woke up around 5:30 Sat morning and ate cereal with fruit. He then played well with this favorite toy from Uncle John and Aunt Anna.
Then we took a nice bath which he loved playing in the bath tub. Afer a morning nap, Grandma Bertling and Uncle John were waiting for him to wake up.
Rylan's second visitors were Grandma & Grandpa Holub, who brought Rylan his first ball and brought me some beautiful fall flowers. Then Uncle Pete & Aunt Lori visited. After their departure it was time to have a litle lunch and an afternoon nap. Kal Zimmerman stopped by to say while Rylan was eating lunch and we saw a quick smile.
During his nap he had a few more visitors. Larry & Tammy Lawrence stopped buy for a quick peak and so did Pat & Connie Brehm. JW Chapman also stopped in to see how Rylan was doing. In the afternoon, Dan, Connie, Zach, Cassie, Mackenzie Dietiker stopped by to say hi to Rylan and to bring us some yummy apple crisp.