Recent Pictures

I haven't been doing a great job putting new pics of the kids on here so everyone can see how quickly they are both growing up! Here's some of my favorites from the last couple of months:

Rylan-1 month

 Rylan-5 weeks



Rylan-5 weeks

Rylan-5 weeks

Rylan-7 weeks

And yes, I know he is now 9 weeks.  I will get the camera to the computer soon and download the latest.  I promise I will try to be updating more regularly now.  As for now, enjoy!

Up Yours, Diabetes!

Forgive me for the crudeness of the title, but no other words can capture the essence of Avery's birthday, which was nearly 2 months ago. I know, it's been a while since the last entry, but trying to balance the needs of an infant and a 2 year old take every single bit of time I have. In an earlier blog, I had mentioned how Avery's day was extra special, not just because she turned 2, but also because of everything she got to do.  In our diabetes education class, the instructor said that on birthdays, forget about the diabetes.  To allow yourself to have cake, favorite foods, basically, forget about a special diet for the day.  Because it's your day.  Well, since Avery can't make these decisions for herself yet, Chris and I decided to make them for her and her day was chock full of the good stuff!

Lunch was pizza.  Avery LOVES pizza; Chris made homemade pizza, which in our opinion tastes a whole lot better than the stuff out of the cardboard box anyway.  She was so excited when she saw him whipping it up in the kitchen.

 Dinner was one step better.  What better way to celebrate turning 2 than going out to McDonalds, eating and then playing.  Not only did she get to have chicken nuggets and french fries, but to top off the meal, she enjoyed ice cream!!!  She absolutely adores going out to eat anyway, and to be able to have ice cream in addition to french fries, well, she was just in heaven!

Baby brother Rylan out to McDonalds already.  Only 10 days old.

And then of course, the best way to end a good meal is to run it all off...with poor Daddy.  It must have been 100 degrees in that all glass room.  Mommy had to end up taking a turn too, but it was much shorter than his.  Avery loved running up and down the stairs and even seemed to make a couple of friends.  (Or at least followed a couple of kids around, copying everything they were doing.)

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  We love you so much!

Avery's 2nd Birthday

Avery had her second birthday on August 4th.  Chris was still off work for his two week vacation, so we were very lucky to have Daddy at home with us all day.  We started off by opening all her new presents from Mommy and Daddy.  This year we had a sport theme, it seemed.

She immediately took the clubs out of the bag...

and then used the bag as a "vacuum."  She continues to play with her "vacuum" everyday.

In addition to the golf clubs and vacuum, she also got a t-ball set, a basketball goal, and a doctor's kit.  She now enjoys giving Daddy his "insulin" with her play syringe before meals, and also checks his finger with her thermometer (which is about the same size as her meter.)

Avery had a special day with lots of visitors, and a special outing that I'll write about in a later post.  I can't believe our little baby is already 2!

4 Years Later

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary.  Time has definitely flown by;  Chris and I were just talking earlier about how in the past 4 years, it seems like we have constantly been pregnant or taking care of a baby.  We always knew we wanted to have a family right away; the house definitely is a lot more full now than it was the day after our wedding!  There have been plenty of bumps in the road already, but I couldn't feel more blessed to have Chris as my husband.  I know he and I can make it through anything and everything.  Happy anniversary!

Our first family photo with Rylan.

Daddy's 2 Weeks Off

Chris was fortunate enough to have enough vacation time to take two weeks off work for Rylan and then to be at home with all of us while Mommy recuperated from surgery.  I was definitely bummed on Monday morning when Chris had to get up and head off to work again; I could really get used to him being at home all the time!  While Chris was off work, he and Avery got to have plenty of father/daughter time.  Aside from staying at Dad's with her in Wichita, he had been taking Avery to the library to check out new DVDs, going on walks, giving her baths, and most of all, introducing her to one of her favorite new activities:

Now every night she asks Daddy to go "water flowers."  I think he has just as much fun as she does!

Rylan Dean Unruh

Welcome to the world!  On July 25th, 2011, we welcomed our son, Rylan Dean, into the world at 7:50 a.m.  He weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and was 19.25 inches long.  Definitely our big boy we were told to expect!  Everything went perfectly well during the c-section; Chris and I had some alone time with our little guy in the recovery room and then we were able to take visitors a couple of hours later.

Of course, our most important visitor was able to meet Rylan as soon as she arrived in Wichita.  Avery wasn't too sure about Mommy being in a hospital (probably due to her recent experiences with doctors and hospitals) but quickly warmed up to baby brother.

Daddy makes the best pillow!

Rylan and I were both dismissed from the hospital on Wednesday around lunchtime, so we were back in McPherson by mid-afternoon.  It felt wonderful to shower in our own house and eat food from our own kitchen.  Huge thanks out to all the grandparents who helped out so much while we were in the hospital.  Ron and Pam took care of Avery the morning of the c-section; Dad hosted Chris and Avery during the two nights that Rylan and I were still at Via Christi; Mom stayed in the hospital overnight with me both nights to help out with Rylan when I could barely sit up in my bed.  We are so lucky to have family that will basically put their lives on hold to help out however they can!  

Avery's First Haircut

Avery had her very first haircut yesterday morning.  Yes, she's almost 2, and I had been dreading taking her.  I wasn't worried about her behavior, I just couldn't stand the thought of her hair getting shorter rather than longer.  Turns out all the worry was for nothing.  She looks absolutely adorable.  She only got her hair trimmed and layered a bit.  Her hair is now curlier than ever when it's wet!  Our only holdup was Avery did not want to sit in the chair, only the chair up front.  She would not sit on my lap either, so we ended up having to hold her while she got her hair trimmed.  She also refused to let the stylist put a cape on her.  Here are a few action shots at the salon:

Not sure what I was doing, but Avery seems very serious. 

All in all, a pretty successful first trip to the salon.  No tears, good hair cut, and plenty of crunchies to eat afterward!