What a Weekend!!

Oh my goodness! I have had the most wonderful, crazy, busy weekend and I just had to blog about it because I don't want to forget it!

Friday, mom, Ryan and I went to the Country Living Fair held at Stone Mountain Park. It was far and away the very best festival we have EVER been to! Pretty much every tent was offering something really amazing - so much so that we didn't know what to spend our money on. They were having classes and demonstrations all day long, and we sat in on a class about rug hooking. It was awesome! Rug hooking is something that I have wanted to get into for a very long time, and I always figured that it was pretty much the same thing as needlepunch, which I am really good at, but turns out it is actually much different. I learned so much and got literally ALL of the information that I need to start doing this as another hobby (and for profit...have you ever SEEN how much people charge for a hand-hooked rug?? Let's just say that the going price is SEVERAL hundred dollars!) Also, the lady teaching the class, Leslie Mccabe, sat with me and showed me how to do it, then she let me practice on her equipment! I think that I totally showed up the other ladies who tried it (both were over 50 and claimed that they had been hooking rugs for years!)

Leslie Mccabe and I!!

Mom and I both got some fantastic "treasures"...I got some handmade pottery dishes for Ryan's primitive kitchen, a great primitive crow stitchery, and some funky "Trophy Wife" tags for me and mom. There was also an artist there that mom and I both really admire - her name is Jeri Landers, and she does paper cuttings as well as write children's books and illustrate them. We have seen her at festivals before and we always buy from her. She is local, and a really nice person, plus her work is beautiful! She has started to do soldered charms, like the ones that mom and I both collect, with her paper cuttings in them. I got one with bunnies in it, as well a copy of her first book, which she signed for Ryan and wrote her a special note in the front cover.

My treasures from the first day!

We also saw Sue Whitney at the Fair - she is "famous" in our little world - she is frequently in magazines we like and she has written several books on Junk Market Style.

Sue Whitney!!

Mom got her picture taken with the "Ask A Country Vet" Doctor! He was extremely nice, and talked to us for a long time. As I was taking Sue Whitney's picture, he asked "is that lady famous or something?" haha. He seemed really underwhelmed that he wrote for Country Living magazine! He just kept saying "I'm just a vet from Ohio!"

There was bluegrass music floating through the trees and pumpkins were everywhere. The weather was gorgeous and I just wanted to live there, it was so perfect! I literally could not sleep Friday night because I had so many ideas running through my head of things I saw at the Fair that I wanted to make!!!

Friday night, my parents took us to try a new Mexican restaurant that I had heard good things about. It was good, but not as good as "our" Mexican restaurant in Loganville.

Saturday morning, I had a photo shoot for a little boy's first birthday, as well as some shots of him with his parents. They picked a great location and the pictures came out really nicely. I had a lot of fun shooting them - I am loving my "job"!!

After I got home from the shoot, there was a festival going on up in Snellville, so we went to check it out. Mom and I had initially wanted to get a booth at this festival, and we really should have because it was really horrible and we could have made a KILLING!! We would have been the BEST booth by FAR!! But Beren's Frozen Custard was there and Dave and I got some custard, so it wasn't a total waste of time!

Saturday night, Dave and I volunteered to be chaperones for the church youth group's trip to the corn maze. We had a really good time there as well, and got to know some of the youth a little better. There was an amazing sunset that night and the sky lit up with gorgeous colors of orange, red and blue. Then when the moon came up over the maze, it was peeking in and out from behind feathery clouds and looked as if a witch would fly in front of it any minute! It was so pretty!! Oh, and I got to pet sheep and goats, so I was one happy girl!!

Sunday morning we had a great guest speaker at church, and we really enjoyed his sermon. After church, mom, Ryan and I took Dave to the Country Living Fair so he could enjoy it as well. We had a great time, but we were a little disappointed because we didn't get there until 2:00 pm and even though the Fair wasn't over until 5:00, many of the vendors were beginning to pack up their things! The Fair was like a ghost town - there was almost NO people there and we pretty much had it all to ourselves! I am so glad that we had gone on Friday as well, because I would have been much more underwhelmed if Sunday had been my only experience there. Ryan got a TON of attention in her fabulous orange Halloween tutu. We could hear the "ooo's" and "ahh's" and the "look at that baby!'s" from 20 yards away. She was definitely the Belle of the Ball!

I bought a paper ribbon handmade from vintage papers and antique ribbon - it was one of the things that kept me up Friday night thinking about it, so I figured it was well worth the price! I am SOOO happy that I bought it...it may seem like junk to many of you, but I was so taken by it for some reason. It is my favorite treasure from the entire Fair. Oh, and did I mention that I can not WAIT to try and make one myself??!!

Other than that, we have just been chugging right along! Ryan is growing like a weed...I have already had to sort through her clothes and put away lots of things that she has outgrown. She is very alert and aware now. She holds her head up SO good, and a few nights ago she rolled from her belly to her side all by herself (she couldn't make it all the way over, but I thought it was a pretty big accomplishment for such a wee little girl!) She has a pretty good grasp on the difference between day and night. She still gets up twice a night to eat, but typically goes right back to sleep for us. She stays awake most of the day, with a few naps here and there. She has gotten to taste a few new flavors...just things that we may be eating that are mushy, I will put just a dab on my finger and let her taste...she has had vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry frozen custard, pumpkin cheesecake, and the inside of a peanut butter buckeye. Mom will let her suck on a Twizzler now and then, and she got a little bit of diluted apple juice one day. Sometimes we will put some milk in a saucer and dab our finger in it and let her have it that way...she typically cries when we stop giving it to her...I imagine that it is way better than formula!

Ryan has had lots and lots of visitors as well. Here are some pictures of friends and family that came to see her recently...

Ryan and grandpa

Ryan and her Nini

Ryan on her farm with her friend Melody (our friend Ami's baby) - she is just 2 weeks older than Ryan!! She is SO SO stinkin' cute!!

Ryan with her Auntie Katie

And here are a just few cute pictures of Ryan...

sleeping in daddy's spot :)

riding brother grimm!

Papa helping Ryan model another really cute outfit

I found the punkin I want, Daddy!!

Have a great week!!

~the Sullivans

Daddy's thoughts

So here it is...five and half weeks into being a daddy and I thought...Ryan might like to hear what I have to say as well!

Today is our 3 year anniversary and we are blessed to have a larger family this year (Grimm doesn't quite agree yet but he'll come around). I have to stop and think about how the past few weeks has gone and when I've really come through for Robbi when she needed me to as well as when I didn't. It is so easy to get caught up in the motions of what you "need" to do during your everyday life that sometimes you forget what you should be doing. Cutting grass because it needs it vs. playing with your daughter because well...she's your daughter and nothing is more important right now. Robbi has to keep me in check because honestly I'm not as creative as she is so the constant talking and storytelling is surprisingly weird for me. I stare at Ryan's pretty face and make small talk but don't know what to say. I don't love her less, I just need some work :) She will straighten me out I'm sure...

So today of all days, I should be praising Robbi and how hard she works to take care of us all. There is one obvious response that I am fatter because she is such a good cook and loves doing that for everyone around her to enjoy. I think you probably don't realize how much she enjoys using that talent for everyone's enjoyment. There are also those things that you don't normally think of...She is the one who remembers the birthdays (Sorry Nick, she was busy that day and didn't remind me), she is the one who thinks about savoring the important memories with trinkets and stories that have never been important to me as a man that historically starts over a lot. She calls me out when I'm being stupid and we make fun of each other lovingly. Those moments of fun and friendship are constantly mirrored by the moments when she makes me feel like no one else exists in her world but me. She may reach over to hold my hand when she is sleeping in the car on a long trip or she may just look a me and say something cute but I recognize that I couldn't live without those moments in my everyday life. Those moments that show me that she wants me to be the partner and friend that she shares everything with regardless of where it takes us. We talk about raising Ryan and other babies to come and what we want out of life in 5, 10, 25 and 50 years. I have never had someone in my life that I even thought about those things with.

I heard yesterday on the way in to work this song that a guy was dedicating to his wife of 25 years and between thinking of Robbi and Ryan, I couldn't help but getting water in my eyes (from the humidity I'm sure)...I've heard it before and thought it was pretty but never really cared about the song until this morning...sorry if this is cheesy...

I WILL BE HERE by Steven Curtis Chapman

Tomorrow morning if you wake up
and the sun does not appear
I will be here
If in the dark, we lose sight of love
Hold my hand, and have no fear'
Cause I will be here

I will be here
When you feel like being quiet
When you need to speak your mind
I will listen
And I will be here
When the laughter turns to cryin'
Through the winning, losing and trying
We'll be together
I will be here

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up
And the future is unclear
I will be here
Just as sure as seasons were made for change
Our lifetimes were made for these years
So I will be here

I will be here
And you can cry on my shoulder
When the mirror tells us we're older
I will hold you
And I will be here
To watch you grow in beauty
And tell you all the things you are to me
I will be here

I will be true to the promise I have made
To you and to the One who gave you to me

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up
And the sun does not appear
I will be here
Oh, I will be here.

I know sappy right...I felt pretty dumb for getting all emotional about it but it is what it is...

So...Robbi my looooove...I would not be able to do anything without you in my life. I didn't have a purpose, I didn't have goals or dreams, I didn't have a desire to make myself better. I was just here until you came into my life. Even now everything I do is to only provide for you and Ryan. I don't strive to make myself better for me but for you two. I love you and I love our baby that you made for us. Thank you for everything! You are the reason for me.

1 month old!

4 weeks old

Well, another week has flown by! Ryan is 4 weeks old today, but won't be "one month old" until Monday, the 27th...works out kind of weird, so just trust me.

Yes, she is still cute!!

Saturday, Ryan suited up in her Georgia gear to watch the football game with daddy. We lost, so that wasn't very exciting. We had a pretty sleepy day. I was EXHAUSTED, and Dave felt like I needed some "grown-up time" after having nothing but BABY for three weeks, so he asked my mom to come over and sit for Ryan while we had a date. He asked me what I would like to do, and I said that all I really wanted was a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. We had some Applebee's gift cards from various Christmases and birthdays, so we decided to be cheap and have dinner there before heading to the bookstore where Dave bought me my Pumpkin Spice Latte...oh how I love the Pumpkin Spice Latte! We had a good time...I think we both tried really hard to talk about things other than the baby, but I'm pretty sure she dominated the conversation. We didn't stay long at the bookstore...I could barely keep my eyes open and I was just drained.

Watching the Georgia game!

When we got home, mom was standing in the living room holding Ryan and looking pretty frazzled. She said "she hasn't slept the entire time you've been gone!!" (Ryan ALWAYS sleeps on my mom, so this was the first time she really got the full effect of an awake Ryan! haha!)

Sunday morning, we dropped Ryan off at Nana's and we went to church. Everyone was disappointed that we didn't bring the baby.

Monday morning, my grandparents came into town. My mom picked them up at the airport and brought them straight over to our house. All of the dogs "greeted" them at the door, and since Ryan was asleep in her room, we waited a while for the dogs to get used to Papa and Judy. After several minutes, Papa said "I didn't come to see these dogs! Where is that baby??!" So we went back and I woke her up and handed her to her great-grandpa for the first time...it was really cool to see how much they instantly loved her. We had nice family dinner at Buffalo's that night and had a really good time laughing and talking.

In good hands...Great Papa

A super cute blankie that Ryan's Great-Grandma Judy had made for her...it has Ryan Ella and both of her brothers on it!!!

Tuesday, we all went to Bass Pro Shop so Papa could get a knife, and I made homemade pizza for everyone that night. Wednesday morning, Papa, Judy, Ryan, and I hung out on mom's back porch all morning while mom and B went to the gym. I was practicing my photography and got some great shots of everyone with the baby. Later that afternoon, we watched old home movies from when I was a kid, and Dave grilled steaks on the Big Green Egg for everyone that night...needless to say, it was great. Thursday morning, mom took Papa and Judy back to the airport. I was sad to see them go. We really didn't do anything much except hang out and "loaf", but it was a really great week and I just had a really good time having them here.

Great-Papa Lee!

Great-Grandma Judy and Ryan

And today was kind of a cluster. I got up early to get ready to go to the Duluth Fall festival, and mom, Ryan and I drove all the way down there only to find out that it doesn't start until tomorrow. BOO!! I was wanting to go to a festival SO bad today! Well, on the way home we were hungry and just happened to be right next to where Dave works, so we swung by and picked him up to have lunch with us. After lunch, Ryan had poo-pants and I was changing her on my tailgate (yes, we are THAT country...I highly prefer to change her on our tailgates rather than on a changing station in a random bathroom....germs germs germs!!!)....so I am changing her on my tailgate and as I moved the dirty diaper from under her, she SHOT out projectile poo right at me!! I jumped back to avoid the splatters from the blast, and she JUST missed me by a hair!! From her butt to the end of the poo stream was at LEAST a good 18 inches...the girl has nice distance! There was poo all over her cupcake changing pad and all over my bumper! And then there was an aftershock that followed...this time the poo was more of a gentle flow rather than a violent shotgun, but still just as funny. Poo just kept coming and coming! We finally got it all cleaned up and under control, and eventually got a clean diaper on the child. We picked her up and handed her to mom to put in her car seat, and ***PLLFFFTT***!! I looked at mom, amazed by the sound and said "did she just poop AGAIN??!" Amazingly enough, yes, yes she did. Dave was all "let me handle this, get out of the way!" and he changed her diaper yet again. We finally got on the road and dropped daddy off at work and headed home. Ryan was awake and wanted "her music", so I looked for a disc with either Keith Whitley or Josh Turner on it...I found a disc that had 2 Josh Turner songs on it, and we listened to each song 15 times or so...no joke, she can tell the difference. When you put on something that is not Josh Turner or Keith Whitley, she fusses, but when you put on Josh Turner or Keith Whitley, she is content and goes to sleep...it is insane. And you can't play "Brother Jukebox" first...."I'm No Stranger To the Rain" has to be first, or the whole thing is ruined. At least she likes good country music!!

Oh, and if you are wondering how fast Ryan is growing, I had to adjust her car seat straps today...they were too low on her shoulders and I had to move them up a notch :(

Ryan wasn't cooperating in her boppy, so we had to take her 4 week picture like this...

So tomorrow we are going to the Duluth Fall Festival for real. Dave is probably going to keep Ryan with him for the day and they can watch the Georgia game together. I would like to take her with us, but I think it would just be easier on us all if she just stayed home.

This will be my last "weekly" posting. I am WAY too busy having a 4 week old baby to try to keep up a blog each week, so from now on, I will just be posting as I can, or as something significant happens :) sorry....

Have a great week!!

~the Sullivans

3 weeks old

We had Dave's mom and her husband in town last weekend. Saturday, Dave got up early and made breakfast for them (I don't like breakfast food) and then we took them to the Yellow Daisy Festival. I had never been on a Saturday before, and it is safe to say that I never will again...it was CROWDED!! We had to park all the way down by the Antebellum Plantation...like a mile away, and walk down to the tents. We had a good time though, and everyone seemed to enjoy strolling around and checking out all of the vendors and their crafts. I must say, the people watching was much better on Thursday...I think the locals come out during the week and tourists on the weekend. Dave and I got snow cones, but that was all that we bought for ourselves. We picked up a couple of Christmas gifts for people, but you may be one of them, so I won't say what we got!

Sunday morning, we all got up and went to church. Ryan really enjoys the music part of the worship, but she was fidgety and squeaky during the sermon, so I took her to the nursery and rocked her...I missed the entire sermon so I was a little bummed, but she will be staying at Nana's house on Sunday mornings for a while now until she is bigger, so I won't have to miss many more :)

Sunday was Grandparents Day, so my parents came over as well and we played yard games and Dave grilled ribs on the Big Green Egg. They were so good!! That night, my dad treated us all to frozen custard. We ended up having to make a quick exit, since someone (me) didn't bring a bottle with us and Ryan was fussy and starving apparently. (we were only going to be gone for like 20 minutes!!...lesson learned....ALWAYS take a bottle or 3). Ryan had a pretty bad night that night. She had some gas in her tummy again and she was upset for hours and couldn't fall asleep. I felt so bad for her...there isn't much I can do other than give her gas drops and hope for the best.

Monday morning, Grandma had to head home and Dave got to stay home for the day because he had some doctors appointments to go to. My mom came over with her dogs to hang out, and she kept Ryan while Dave and I took all of the pups on a walk around the neighborhood.

I forgot to mention last week that Ryan's umbilical stump fell off on Thursday, so Monday afternoon she was able to ditch the yucky old sponge bath that she never really liked, and have a REAL bath in her whale tub. She didn't like it....she LOVED it!! She didn't quite know what to think at first. She just kind of sat there and made her ooo face, but she was so calm the whole time and never even made a peep. She just relaxed and soaked it up!

My first bath!!

She had another big milestone on Monday...Dave and I wanted to go to the gym together that evening, so my mom took Ryan home with her. It was Ryan's first trip anywhere without mommy or daddy. We went to the gym for a bit and then had supper at mom's before bringing Ryan back home.

Tuesday, mom came over again to basically hold the baby all day so that I could get some work done. I worked on the computer ALL DAY LONG editing photos, answering emails, and printing. Dave had to work late, so Ryan and I ran some errands with Nana and Papa before meeting up with Daddy at Red Robin for dinner. That night, Ryan had a very good night. She woke up at her usual times to eat (1:00, 4:00, & 7:00), and for the most part, she ate and went right back to bed. This made mommy VERY happy! At her 4:00 am feeding, she was a little more alert and wanted to stay up for about an hour and a half, but I just happened to be wide awake too, so I enjoyed her company!

That sweet "OOO" face!!

Wednesday, mom helped me to run errands all afternoon. We had a pretty quiet evening at home, but Ryan had another bad night. She will get the hang of it all sooner or later! She was just a little fussy and you just have to keep moving with her - walking around, bouncing her, patting her back, singing, talking...I am hoarse from having to talk and sing so much!

I got my very first piece of mail this week! It's my very own Social Security Card!

Thursday, daddy got to stay home from work again, but he had to go to the hospital for surgery. He had some plastic surgery on his face to remove a cyst that came out of no where maybe a year or two ago and has just continued to get bigger. We wanted to go ahead and get it removed before it got any bigger, leaving a bigger scar. Plus, we have met our super high deductible for the year, so it all worked out great! The cyst was no big deal...chances are, if you ever saw him, you probably didn't even notice it. It was just a small bump on his cheek. However, the incision they made was WAY bigger than I thought it was going to be and he had to have real stitches...I was thinking MAYBE a butterfly bandage! I had to go pick him up from the hospital, since he was anesthetized for the surgery. They sent him home with some pain medicine, and he ended up sleeping most of the day. Mom, Ryan and I went to JoAnn fabrics and Target while he was out to just get out of the house. Mom wanted to buy Ryan a toy since she had such a bad night the night before. She got her a remake of one of those old wind up TVs that we all had when we were kids. I think she likes it :)

Daddy's scar...poor daddy :(

Thursday night, Ryan woke up at 1:00 am for her bottle, and she felt like partying....I figured out that she LOVES Keith Whitley, so Keith and I sang every one of his songs 5 or 6 times each while Ryan and I danced all over her room. Ryan had a wardrobe change, and countless diaper changes...she was just WIDE AWAKE!!! She finally dozed off at 4:00, but when I laid her down in her cradle, her eyes POPPED open...how dare I put her down!! I talked to her for a few minutes, which ended up waking up Dave, and he took her from me to try his hand at getting her to fall asleep. They walked around in the kitchen and 8 minutes later she was in her cradle sound asleep...8 MINUTES....whatever...I did all the hard work. haha!

You know, I don't want to ever sound like I am complaining about Ryan and her midnight parties. I really don't mind. Sure, some nights I am worn out and would do just about anything to be able to crawl back under the covers without having to soothe her to sleep for hours...I'm only human. But I just remind myself that she won't be this small for long, and I just want to enjoy this stage in her life as much as I can. I follow another blog of a family that lost their 4 month old son to SIDS last year, and NOTHING will make you cherish each and every split-second with your baby like this mother's words. Her story is gut wrenching and heart breaking, and it really puts everything into perspective. Ryan is just a baby...she doesn't understand that mommy is tired and wants to go to bed! She is awake, and that is all she knows, so I will be awake too and entertain her for as long as she wants :)

Today, Ryan got up at 7:00, ready for breakfast as usual, and she fell right back asleep after her bottle and we both slept until almost 11:00...this is pretty common of she and I. My good friend from college, Zakia, come to see Ryan tonight, so mom came to get the dogs for me. It was SOOO good to see her and to get to catch up. She brought some really cute outfits for Ryan, and we talked for a long time and she asked me a ton of questions about the delivery. She didn't believe me when I told her how easy it was and that I had zero pain! After she had to leave, mom brought the dogs back over and I made dinner for everyone. Ryan caught up on some sleep and gave me and mom a chance to watch an episode of Project Runway On Demand.

You may notice a common theme to our days...Dave has to go to work, and my mom comes over to help with the baby. And what a huge help she is. I am SO thankful that #1: I don't have to work, and #2: I don't have to do this alone. I am so very lucky. I would not be able to get anything done around here if mom didn't come over to entertain Ryan during the day for me.

So that was our week. I am so very excited for this upcoming week...my grandparents are flying down from Illinois to meet Ryan!! It will be Papa's first time on a big commercial airline, so it will be interesting to hear his take on the whole ordeal! I can't wait to see them and neither can Ryan!

I'm 3 weeks old today!!

Have a great week!!

~the Sullivans

2 weeks old

Our second week of being parents has been just as busy as the first!

I spent the last part of last Friday night extremely stressed out, as I realized that Ryan needed to have a professional photographer with an actual studio to do her newborn pictures. I looked all over the internet and had some great suggestions from friends. I was stressed because everyone wanted to charge an arm and a leg for the amount of pictures I was wanting. After hours of pulling my hair out and being pushed to the brink of a meltdown, I finally found a girl about an hour away that could do them for me ASAP, and at a totally REASONABLE price!! I was SO relieved and I felt like I had just won the lottery.

Saturday was a big day for us....it was the start of Georgia Football!! Ryan is still too small to fit in the 0-3 month Georgia onesies we bought for her, so I cut off the bottom of one and made it into a t-shirt for her. She paired her new shirt with some tiny red shorts, and she watched the game with daddy and mommy. The Dawgs won, of course...they were playing Louisiana-Lafayette...not a big game for us.

She is the CUTEST!!

Saturday evening, we drove up to Gainesville for Ryan's newborn photo shoot. As we took our exit off of the interstate, we were so envious of the beautiful countryside as we drove to the photographer's house. As we pulled up to the old rustic house, my eyes lit up! I could tell that this was going to be RIGHT up my alley!! Whitney, the photographer, was sitting on her front porch swing and greeted us warmly before taking us up the winding staircase to her studio. The house and studio were both GORGEOUS - I could not have decorated it better myself! Whitney was so sweet and patient, as it took Ryan over an hour to fall asleep for her "sleeping beauty" photos. Ryan projectile-pooped all over Whitney's hand and blanket, and she just said "oh-she pooped! No big deal!" We eventually stopped trying to get her to go down, and just took some awake shots. But after a couple of bottles, countless songs, stories, and lots of bouncing, she FINALLY went to sleep!! We got the most adorable pictures. They were JUST what I was wanting, and then some. I can not wait to get the disc of all of the photos so I can share them all with you....as well as plaster every wall in this house with them!!

I haven't gotten the disc of pictures from Ryan's photo shoot yet, but here are a few shots that the photographer shared with me on Facebook...

Ryan was such a beautiful model that Whitney asked us to come back later in the week to model some new hats for her....I was thrilled at the chance to get more beautiful pictures of our wonderful little girl while she is still this tiny!

Hat modeling

Sunday, we took Ryan to church to show her off. We have found a great little church out in Grayson that we have started attending, and are planning on staying at. It is quite small for around here, more like what I am used to back home. Everyone was so excited to see her! So many people came over to meet her and tell her how pretty she was. Some very nice people brought a big box of food for us, and then they took us out to lunch with several other people from the church! We had a really good time. We really like the people of this church - everyone is very sincere, not fake or superficial. Just good ole' nice people. They have already asked Dave, Ryan and I to be Joseph, Mary and Jesus in the Christmas program!! We are excited to do it! I will have a singing part, but dave and Ryan won't have any lines. Yes...Ryan will be playing a baby boy...I don't think she will mind....I mean, it's JESUS!

The first Sunday of each month, they have "Kid's Moment" at church, where they call all of the children up to the front and do something with them. This past Sunday, a man read "The Cost of Raising a Child"....it was amazing! Me, still being a smidge hormonal, had to fight back tears as he read it...it was so very sweet and Ryan was sleeping peacefully on my chest and I just started thinking about her growing up....sigh. Anyhow, I found it on the internet, and I wanted to share it with you all....

The Cost of Raising a Child...

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn’t even touch college tuition.

BUT $160,140.00 isn’t so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
- $8,896.66 a year,
- $741.38 a month,
- $171.08 a week,
- A mere $24.24 a day!
- Just over a dollar an hour.

Still you might think the best financial advice is: don’t have children if you want to be ‘rich.’ Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?
- Naming rights. First, middle and last!
- Glimpses of God every day.
- Giggles under the covers every night.
- More love than your heart can hold.
- Butterfly kisses and velcro hugs.
- Endless wonders over rocks, ants, clouds and warm cookies.
- A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
- A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
- Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up.

You get to:
- Finger-paint
- Carve pumpkins
- Play hide-and-seek
- Catch lightening bugs
- Never stop believing in Santa Claus

You have an excuse to:
- Keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh
- Watch Saturday morning cartoons
- Go to Disney movies, and
- Wish on stars

You get to frame rainbows, hearts and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother’s Day, and cards with backward letters for Father’s Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck.

You get to be a hero just for:
- Retrieving a frisbee off the garage roof
- Taking the training wheels off a bike
- Removing a splinter
- Filling a wading pool
- Coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
- Coaching a baseball team that never wins, but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
- First step
- First word
- First bra
- First date
- First time behind the wheel

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you’re lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

It’s the best investment you’ll ever make.

-- Authur Unknown --

Sunday evening we took Ryan and the boys to the park. We go out to one of the lakes at the park and let Grimm and Tonka swim for a bit...well, Grimm swims, Tonka wades. We find a big stick to throw and Grimm swims way out to retrieve it. He loves it. After the boys have had a chance to release some energy, we walk around the entire loop of the park, which is 3.5 miles. It is a great walk, very pretty. Ryan never even knew we went anywhere...she slept the ENTIRE time.

Monday morning, Dave let me sleep in! He likes to get up and cook himself breakfast and piddle around the house in the mornings, so he and Ryan did that while I caught up on my sleep. That afternoon, our friend Mikey was having people over to play volleyball at his house, so we took Ryan with us to show her off. Daddy played several games of volleyball while Ryan and I watched from the shade. Ryan was so good the whole time we were there! She really likes the warm weather, and she slept in my lap for almost 4 hours.

Tuesday, Dave went back to work. I was very sad to send him off, to say the least. Not only is he the biggest help and best daddy in the world, but I just really enjoy having him home. I miss him so much when he is at work all day. We missed him too much, so Ryan and I drove out to his work to see him! He was so excited to show off his new baby girl to his friends and coworkers. He carried her around the whole time as we walked around to the different departments. Before we left, the Engineers all got together and gave us a gift card to Babies 'R' Us!!

After going to daddy's work, Ryan got to go to the grocery store for the fist time. She needed some more formula, diapers and wipes, and a few other things. That night, I didn't get to bed until around midnight, and Ryan decided to be wide awake around 2:00 am...I got up with her for as long as could, but no matter what I did, she would not go back to sleep. At 5:00, I realized that I had only had 2 hours of sleep and it was really wearing on me. I wanted to do all of the night time stuff myself, so that Dave could be well rested for work. I hated to do it, but at 5:00, I had to wake Dave up and give Ryan to him. I was too tired to walk around with her anymore! He didn't mind at all, and told me that I should have woken him up much sooner, but I just feel like I have "failed" if I don't get her back to sleep myself. So far, she is a little confused on her days and nights...her most active time is from 2-5 am and she sleeps the hardest from 2-5 pm. But that is okay, she is new at this! She will get the hang of it, mommy and daddy just have to hang in there a little linger :)

Daddy feeding his baby girl

Wednesday morning, I was pretty frazzled because I woke up 30 minutes later than what I really wanted. I was running around like crazy trying to get everything done that I needed to do. We had to drive to Gainesville for another photo shoot, which we were very excited about. Ryan was pushing the age limit for a newborn shoot...it is best to do before 10 days old, and she was 12. I got her to go to sleep by rocking her on the photographer's porch swing outside in the warm weather. She was so good for 2 or 3 poses, but then she woke up. She wasn't really fussy, just wide awake. The photographer was able to do a picture of Ryan in a big crock of mine for me...it is probably one of my favorite pictures of all time. Ryan was awake for it, but I kind of think that makes it way better. She has such pretty eyes!

Wednesday night, our good friends Russ and Molly came over with their 3 year old son, Max. They were excited to meet Ryan, and Molly cooked us all dinner! It was so very sweet, and we had a great time catching up.

My mom has been sick for a week, and the doctor cleared her to be around Ryan on Thursday. Thursday morning, mom came over and was so happy to get to see Ryan! We took her to the Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain Park. It is a huge festival where everything sold has to be completely handmade...right up our alley!! Ryan was the star of the show - everyone who walked by her stroller would look at her and as they were passing, we heard them say things like "that's a brand new baby" or "how sweet and tiny". Tons of people asked about her and wanted to know how old she was....13 days and at her first festival!! I bought a piggy bank for Ryan's room...I have been wanting to get her one so badly, but all of the ones that they sell in stores are stark white, or pink, or polka dotted...just not something that would go in her room very well. But I found a hand thrown piggy at the festival that is just PERFECT. Love it!!

The perfect piggy bank!

Mom and I gave Ryan a bath, and Dave went to bed early, since Ryan has been having some trouble sleeping at night. Mom stayed over late to watch Project Runway with me and help with Ryan while I did a few chores. Mom had Ryan in a deep sleep and I put her in her cradle as mom went home. I was finishing a few things up around the house and I heard Ryan make a few noises. I went in to check on her, and I could tell that she was about to wake up, so I picked her up to try to soothe her back to sleep. I heard some noises in the garage, and had to wake Dave up to check it out...I am completely paranoid about people trying to break in...anyhow, it was a good thing Dave went to bed so early...he checked out the garage, and of course all was well, but just as he was coming back in the house, Ryan started WAILING!! We had never heard her cry like this before...she was completely inconsolable and I was almost in tears because I felt so bad for her. Dave figured out that it was gas, and told me that she was okay. She sounded so pitiful, and it is just heart breaking to hear your baby hurting like that and there is just nothing you can do about it. She cried hysterically for over 20 minutes, but had a few good poots, and eventually calmed down.

Friday morning, I got up in the morning with Ryan, and texted mom to see if she would stop at CVS on her way over to pick up some gas drops. She did, and she gave them to Ryan, and she seemed to really like them. Mom basically took care of Ryan all afternoon. She let me catch up on some sleep and clean up the house. Nana B stopped by to see Ryan, and then my brother John and his daughter, Aurora stopped by as well.

Around 5:00, Dave's mom got into town. Grandma and Grandpa Mark were very excited to meet Ryan. Grandma couldn't wait to hold her! We showed off her room and I made some dinner. We have the in-laws here with us until Monday morning, so we have a big weekend ahead! We are taking them to the Yellow Daisy Festival as well. Hopefully we have nice weather!

Grandma

So that was our 2nd week with little Ryan. Time flies!!!

Have a great week!!

~the Sullivans

Our first week!

Oh my goodness! Where did the time go?? I already have a one week old!!

Needless to say, we have had a very exciting week! Dave and I have experienced so many new things together over the last 7 days. And so has little Ryan!

So far, we are very lucky parents. Ryan is making this parenting thing pretty easy on us. (Knock on wood!!) She is a good sleeper and a good eater, a good pooper and a pee-er. We joke that she is the best baby ever because her poo doesn't even stick to her. It just comes right off in her diaper and all she needs is a quick wipe! Mom dubbed her "Teflon Ryan". :) She sleeps good at night, with just a few exceptions...but she was just getting the hang of things, so we forgive her. When she fusses, she is pretty easy to settle down. She loves being talked to and sang to softly. At first, she preferred Daddy's voice, but now she seems to prefer Mommy's voice. She is very expressive and makes lots of faces. My favorite is her ooo face (rhymes with "you" and "two"...not sure on the spelling). She raises her eyebrows, puckers her lips, and opens her eyes up really wide. I call her my little squeaker, because she instead of moaning or goo goo and gahing, she squeaks...ridiculously cute. She loves her bottle, and when she is done, she loves to sleep on my chest...and I love it when she does...she is so soft and snuggly and cozy and warm and she smells so sweet. This is making me want to go hold her right now....

Sweet little girl, all bundled up!

After she was born, we had some visitors in the hospital Friday night. Both of my parents were there and Barbara (Nana B). My parents brought us some McDonald's for a quick supper, and my brother, John, came in around 7:00 pm. I could tell he really liked Ryan. He couldn't wait to hold her and take her picture. Ryan's Aunt Holly and Cousin Aurora came around the same time. Aurora brought her best friend, Lexi, also. Everyone took turns holding little Ryan. After everyone left that night, it was just mommy, daddy and Ryan for the very first time. She had her first meconium poo for the nurses right after she was born, but she had another that night, just for us. Luckily, it was NOT silent, so we were able to change her immediately before it dried into the "tar poo" we had heard so much about, and it was no big deal. We laughed a lot at the dark chocolate Jell-O pudding in her little diaper. We had heard so many horror stories about how bad the first few poos are, but this just came right off in the diaper, and really nothing stayed on her skin. Lucky us!

Dave did most of the "work" that night, since I had only had about 6 hours sleep in the past 48 hours, and my legs were still a little tingly from the epidural. I was afraid to walk around with Ryan because I kept picturing my legs giving out and me dropping her. I tried to sleep that night, but it was tough! Each time Ryan would squeak, I would bolt up to check on her. I was so in awe of her, I just stared at her in her little clear plastic tub next to my bed.

Dave was a wonderful daddy, from the very first moments. I showed him how to swaddle her and change her, and the nurses showed us both how to feed her, but he didn't need anyone to tell him how to love her more than anything! He was on cloud 9! She woke up a couple of times in the night, and we fed her and changed her. It didn't take us long to get over the fear of breaking her...it seems like you are always so clumsy at holding a baby until you have one of your own!

Ryan and mommy

Saturday, the hospital brought us a very special lunch, which they call a "Stork Meal". It was a nicer-than-usual hospital meal, complete with chilled "champagne" (sparkling white grape juice...which tastes just like champagne anyway!). It was a special touch that really made me smile, and just another reason to add to the long lists of reasons that I was so happy that we chose this hospital. They really do all they can to go the extra mile.

"Champagne" to celebrate!

Dave and I enjoyed our special Stork Meal together quietly, and talked and laughed together as Ryan slept. The food at the hospital was actually really good...it is kind of out in the country, and all of the food was really southern...I can just imagine some little old southern lady frying chickens and slicing peaches down in the kitchen.

My parents came to see us again that afternoon. Mom brought us some Reese's peanut butter cups, and said that she would have brought flowers, but she figured we would just prefer to have $40...she knows us so well! Our good friends Mike and Jayme came later that afternoon. They brought us some flowers and a balloon, and took lots of pictures of us and baby Ryan.

Mommy in the hospital

We decided to stay an extra night in the hospital, since we wouldn't be able to leave until after 8:00 pm, and it just didn't feel right to pack up a baby to take home for the first time so late at night. Dave ran down the street to get me a salad from Wendy's and a burger for himself.

Sunday morning, my doctor came to see us. I thought she was coming to check me out to make sure that I was okay to go home, but her visit was really more social. She said that she just wanted to check on us and see if we had any questions. We took a photo of her with Ryan and had her sign Ryan's special book.

Dr. McGee!!

We got all packed up to come home, and Dave started to change Ryan's diaper to get her ready to come home, as I called the nurse to let her know that we were ready for our discharge paper work. As I signed us off for discharge and the nurse gave me all of our discharge instructions, Ryan was brewing a special treat for daddy...he started changing her poopy diaper, only to find out that she wasn't quite done yet! I ran and grabbed some paper towels and threw them under her just as a little poo splat fell on them...and she just kept going, and going....and going. Just as she would finish, Dave would reach for a diaper and she would start going some more! Then she peed everywhere, and pooped a little more...this lasted about 20 minutes and we were both laughing our heads off!! She finally finished, and we put her special homecoming dress on her, strapped her in her shiny new car seat, and they wheeled us out to the car. We hugged our nurse goodbye, and we were on our own!!

My very special homecoming dress!

Mommy's belly, after we got home...it takes a few days to go down!!

We got home around noon and mom had been here all morning cleaning for us! We came home to a spotless house, which is always nice! The boys were staying at mom's house while we were in the hospital, and Nana B brought them home after we all got settled in. Ryan was sleeping in her cradle in the living room, and neither of the dogs noticed her at first. Tonka was the first to spot her, and it was love at first sight!! He was so curious, sticking his nose as far as he could through the cradle bars to get a whiff of his new baby sister. Grimm hasn't taken to her yet. At first, he was very jealous. He is always afraid that any newcomer is going to steal a bit of his thunder. He has started to warm up to her a little bit, but he really doesn't pay her any attention. Tonka, however, stands guard next to her crib when she is napping in her room, lays at our feet when we feed her, and sneaks kisses from her when she is in her bouncy seat. He is already very protective of her!

My big brother, Tonka, checking me out!

Brother Tonka, guarding little sister

Monday, mom, Barbara, and Cathy came over to see the baby. It was Cathy's first time getting to see her, and she held her for a long time. Mom and I gave Ryan her first at-home bath while Cathy read the paper to us that told us how to bathe her. After they left, Dave and I took Ryan for a walk around the neighborhood. As we were getting home, the lady across the street was in her yard and the lady next to us was pulling out of her driveway. They both spotted the baby stroller at the same time and came darting over!! They ooed and ahhed over Ryan and talked to us for quite a while.

Nana B

Aunt Cathy

Tuesday, we took Ryan to her first doctors appointment. While we were in the waiting room, Dave and I were smacked in the face with the very real fact that we were going to have to get used to being around other people's children....other people's completely rotten, horrible children. Our waiting room experience was the opposite of peaceful, and we jumped for joy when the nurse came out and called our name!! Ryan had to strip down completely and she decided to have a pee on the table scale. She weighed 7 lbs 5 oz. Once we were in our room and everyone was dressed again, the doctor came in and we LOVED her!! She was so great! She was young, nice, easy to talk to, and you can really tell she adores babies and loves her job. She told Ryan over and over how beautiful she was, and she answered a lot of questions for us.

Our friend, Susie, stopped by after work to drop off a huge box of newborn diapers that her 3 month old had grown out of. We were just about to run out, and were going to go buy some more, but they grow out of them so fast that when she offered them, we gobbled them up! My parents came over and brought their dogs to introduce to the baby. J. Otis didn't really care too much, but Maisy was OBSESSED with Ryan. She was very curious and sat next to whoever was holding the baby at all times. Mom made dinner for us all, so I wouldn't have to cook, then we went to get some frozen custard. Ryan slept through the custard...I tried to give her a little taste on my finger, but she was out of it and didn't care.

Wednesday, daddy spent the day getting caught up on some household stuff and mommy made chocolate chip cookies for everyone. My mom came over and made chicken-n-dumpings so I wouldn't have to cook again...we have eaten very well this week!!

Napping with daddy

Thursday was a busy day for our little girl! She woke up around 8:00 am and had some breakfast. Then she sunbathed in her window for a while since she has a touch of jaundice. Then she had some lunch and then it was bath time! We were all going a little stir crazy from being cooped up in the house all week, so we took Ryan to Nana's house for the first time. Dave mowed her back yard while mom and I took Ryan shopping at Old Navy! Then we came back to our house for a photo shoot, which didn't go so well...Ryan was wide awake, and I was wanting more of the sleeping beauty photos. That night, our friends Greg and Valerie dropped by to meet Ryan. They were so very sweet and brought us dinner as well!! Valerie is in the process of making a playmate for Ryan - She and Greg are 14 weeks pregnant! We are so happy for them!!

Tanning in my window

Bath time!

Modeling for my photo shoot

And today (Friday) was another busy day for our little lady. We all got up this morning and went to my physical therapist's office so everyone there could meet Ryan. Everyone was so excited when she came in! My doctor held her, and she was ready for lunch, so we fed her while we were there. Next, we were off to Wal Mart to grab some game day onesies for the Georgia game tomorrow. Then we went to the produce stand for some fruits and veggies. Then daddy had to drop off our tattered American flag at the American Legion and then we had some dry cleaning to pick up. When we got home, our friend Samantha stopped by on her way to work to meet little Ryan. Ryan slept in her arms for over an hour and I told her all about the delivery day.

Actually, she's got daddy wrapped around HER finger...

So that was our first week with our little girl. I don't know where the time went!! I am so sad that she is already a week old! This is going to fly by, and it is really depressing to think about how fast she is going to grow up...can't she just stay little forever??

Precious.

The Sullivans

Have a great week!!

~the Sullivans