Ryan's first food

June/July 2008

June was uneventful with a few notable exceptions. Erik's mother- Susan and step-father- Alex came to visit us, and not only did they come to visit us, they fixed our sprinklers and helped entertain our children!!! It was wonderful:) Reid was in heaven. Grandma and Grandpa let him get dirty, got him bubbles, gave him an ice cream cone, and most importantly gave him an audience for his antics. We had a very nice visit with them. They went for an adventure after leaving us and even came back by to finish the sprinklers (it had rained too much before). Couldn't ask for more than that!!! Ryan also had a great time with his Grandparents.

That same weekend we also got a visit from my friend Holly and her girlfriend Jaime, it was short but sweet and it was nice to see them.

Ryan had his 4 month appointment (almost at 5 months) and he weighed 18lb 5 oz which was 85th %ile, was 26 inches long which was 70th %ile, and his head was 44cm which was 75th percentile. He rolled over from his back to his front for the first time this month. He had been rolling from his front to his back since last month, but then developed amnesia about how to do that. Ryan also giggled for the first time at the end of the month- there is not a more joyous sound:)

July was a bit crazy for us. In the beginning of the month we drove up to Newnan for the 4th of July. We left on Wednesday afternoon and got there late Wednesday morning. The boys did great on the drive. Reid loved getting to see all of the road work. He loves to look at all the construction equipment. We had a wonderful visit. My Grandmother was there too and she is always wonderful to be around. We ate ALL day long on the 4th.























Then on Saturday my uncle Will, Mary Beth, Cole, and Casey came over. Reid was yet again in heaven. Casey was fantastic with him and let him tag along with her all day. He was such a happy guy. Cole and Erik played Rock Band all day. Erik left with my Mom and Mark on Sunday and the boys and I stayed with Carrie and my Grandma until Thursday. I took Reid to see his first movie which was Wall-E since I had baby sitters for Ryan. I wasn't exactly sure how Reid would react, but I did not expect what happened at all. We got into the theater right at the end of the previews. Reid sat in his own seat right next to me. When the movie started he was completely still. So still that I asked him if he was okay a couple of times. I was slightly worried about him so I asked him if he wanted to sit on my lap, he said yes. Well not 5 minutes later, he PASSED OUT asleep on me. I can't tell you the last time that happened. He slept for maybe 20-3o minutes then woke up refreshed and rejuvenated. I think his little brain got so overloaded that it had to shut down. It kind of concerned me a bit. Anyway, he was definitely very well behaved and we had a fun mommy-son outing. On Thursday, Carrie and I drove back to Jax with Reid, Ryan, and Claire. That could have all gone terribly wrong, but was pretty much fine. There were a few tricky moments, but nothing horrible.



Carrie stayed with us the following week. We had a good time. Unfortunately for her, I was frazzled a lot of the time, and we stayed very busy, but I really enjoyed having them here. Rollin even stayed for a couple of days, which was fun.



Other than that Erik has hopefully completed the CPA exam. We are awaiting his results from his final test. That will be so nice to have done!! He is full-swing into a major software change at his company, which should keep him busy at work for the next few months.



Ryan is doing great, he turned 6 months on Saturday. We had a nice period of sleeping and now he is fighting his sleep. I am not sure what to do about it. It might just be time for him to have more of a consistent routine. He is mobile and rolls from front to back and back to front. He also rolls all over the living room!! We are to that point where we have to really be careful about what we leave on the floor- actually what Reid leaves on the floor. He is sitting up quite well but still falls over occasionally. He is much more interested in what is going on around him. He loves playing with toys and even manages to put the shapes into the shape sorter (with the lid off). He loves Reid and seems to be quite amused by him. He is a really sweet guy and HUGE. The most recent weight was around 19lbs. His 6 month appointment is next week, so we will see just how huge!






Reid is also doing very well. He amazes us everyday with his language development. It turns out that he also has a pretty good golf swing for a 2 year-old:) We have been quite impressed by him. We are still doing Gymboree once a week. Reid is still very much enjoying it. Potty is still going quite well. He has lost the being dry overnight, but that had to be a fluke anyway. Sometimes he still does wake up dry. He so far has always stayed dry for naps though. We have finally gotten rid of Reid's last evidence of baby-hood. Through a lot of bribery, the paci is gone!!!

Reid will be starting a mothers morning out program in the fall. It will be Tuesday and Thursday from 9-12. I think this will be a good introduction to school for him without being too overwhelming, his best friend Kayla will be in his class too, so I am hoping that helps as well. I am hoping that this will be an opportunity to get Ryan in Gymboree too since Reid will be occupied. Reid is excited about starting school and knows it starts in September. It will be interesting to see how he does with it. I have never left him in a situation like that. He usually handles things much better than I think he will so hopefully this will hold true for this situation as well.


I am doing fine. The night before Erik left when we were in Newnan, I had some kind of anxiety attack. After experiencing this, it confirmed for me that I was experiencing that and NOT pre-eclampsia when I was in the hospital again after I had Ryan. After having these off and on for about 3 weeks, I feel normal again. Hopefully I have some tools to cope with them should they happen again (and if not, I have some drugs). I have definitely learned that I really do need to be making exercise a priority. I am hoping Erik and I will start a routine of going on walks with the kids after dinner. It is nice for us to not only get outside and get some exercise, but also to catch up with each other. I also think it is good for the kids to see us making it a priority to be outside and exercising. Besides my mental issues, I just got a nice raise at work- all the nurses did- so that was nice. I am still working weekends. It still works for us. I am still hoping that in the not too distant future, that we will find a way to get more quality family time in.


I guess that is basically it for now. The Hirsch's are signing off:)