FINALLY A BEACH DAY!

I have been dreaming of the day where I could lay on the beach and watch my kids enjoy the summer weather. Today we packed up all our garb and headed to the local beach. The beach is located in a Regional Park and has a beautiful playground right on the water. It was 90 and sunny so I was a little concerned about Taylor overheating but we managed to all stay cool and enjoy a nice summer day.


Riley made a TON of new friends and wasn't impressed with the filth of the MN sand and lake. He is so used to cystal clear aqua blue water with white soft sand, that the mud paste of the lake beach was hard to adjust to. He kept saying, " Uck, Uck, Uck". He finally got over it and enjoyed playing with this huge water pump on the beach. Taylor showed off his baby abs and layed out and checked out some chicks. He has a lot of work to do on his tan.


Auntie Carolyn stopped by and helped us enjoy the day for a little while, which was a nice surprise.


Days like today make you realize that it is possible to live in MN. and be happy. The thought of -30 degrees is still in the back of mind and I know we will soon be dealing with the ice, snow, and blistering cold. We are thankful that today was beautiful we had a wonderful time!!

One heck of a Friday....

I was already dreading Friday because Riley was scheduled to have surgery. I was anxious and nervous for my baby! I woke up Thursday morning and could barely swallow. I was SICK! So Friday morning we decide that I shouldn't go into the Children's Hospital so sick, and instead I should get into see a doctor. Matt takes Riley to the U of M in the morning and I run into my clinic....sure enough STREP THROAT!!! I have a temp of 102 and all I can think of is Riley. I wanted to be there so bad but knew it was in the best interest of everybody else if I didn't go. So I picked up my medicine and waited by my phone for updates. After about an hour and a half the surgeon comes out to report that they found Riley's second testicle in his stomach and she had to remove it, because it was so badly damaged. He did great and woke up just fine. Whew! A few hours later Riley gets discharged and Matt gets a call on the way home from the hospital from his boss. His boss informs him he has been layed off. Valpak had been sold (which we knew) and there wasn't a job for Matt. Okay great, so now Matt is unemployed, and we are facing a lot of pressure! Riley layed around for most of the evening and is kinda crabby but the incision looks great. Just as our "great " day was ending we looked out our window and saw this amazing Rainbow. This happens every so often and it is so beautiful. Here is the pictures of our view of the Rainbow and a cute picture of Taylor in his new Bumbo chair! Cheers to better days......

Well baby checks

We recently went in for our well baby checks. At two months, Taylor is in the 90% for height and weight. At two years, Riley is in the 95% for height and 75% for weight. I guess our boys like to eat! We discussed Riley's speech with the pediatrician and she said that Riley is right on track. He can say a few two word phrases, and about 30 words consistently. He also always says, "See you guys!" everytime we leave anywhere. (Even if we don't know the people) Riley also had his preop. physical and got the go ahead from the pediatrician to have the surgery. This means that on Friday we will be down at the U of M hospital, while Riley gets a diagnostic surgery done. I am anxious but ready to get to the bottom of the missing testicle.
Today we are heading to get professional photos done of the boys together. I have warned the studio that Riley's favorite word is "NO" and that Taylor can't quite sit up on his own. So it should be an interesting shoot. Currently Riley has found my make up bag and has applied blush, eye liner and mascara to his face....uh the life with a two year old. In other news Taylor is almost sleeping through the night. He goes to bed around 8 or 9PM and wakes up at 4AM to eat. Then he sleeps until 7am or so. The down side is Taylor is NOT a napper. He is smiley all day long, and if I am lucky he might take one 30 minute nap! Well we are off to the wonderful studio to attempt to get a good shot of the boys. Wish us luck:) I will try to post results when we get them.

Riley getting pumped up for his birthday party!

Here are a few pictures of his big day! I can't believe our baby is two!! Thanks to all the family who came to help us celebrate, it really meant a lot to see you all:)

Haircut!

Daddy gave Riley his first ever haircut! Riley didn't really care for the cut while dad was doing it, but he seems to like his new hair cut now! Here are a few pictures of Riley's new do!

Brotherly Love

I am noticing that Riley is starting to pay more attention to his new little brother. If we are all out in the living room watching T.v. Riley will come out and join us. He likes to give Taylor kisses and tries to tickle him. Before long I think they will be best buds!

Photo shoot take one

Today I tried to get a good photo of the boys together. I assumed Taylor would be the challenge but Taylor was the easy one. Taylor was all smiles and was giggling the whole time. Riley....not so much. Here are the results of todays shoot...... I swear to God I did not teach Taylor how to give "the finger".

Two boys= two surgeries

To follow up on our trip to the U of M Pediatric Urology Clinic, I thought I would give a quick update on the current status of the boys. After examining both of the boys, the urologist scheduled both of them for surgery. Riley has seen a few different doctors regarding a undescended testicle. They have yet to locate the testicle, and thus it could be in his stomach. The ultrasound is not showing any signs of a testicle in his tummy, but they need to make sure there isn't one. So they are going in through his bellybutton with a camera, to try to see where that darn thing is. If they don't find one, then there are no other surgeries needed. If they find a healthy looking testicle, they will push it down into his scrotum. They might also find a mass of tissue that once was a testicle, in which they would remove that tissue. This will be Riley's second surgery on his stomach, and I am sure he will do just fine. Riley's surgery will be in the second week of June.

Taylor has yet to be circumsized. He was born in Florida, and they had just passed legislation that considered circumcision a cosmetic surgery. So we moved to MN. and they told me he was to old to have it done in the clinic. We were referred to the U of M Urology department. The urologist examined Taylor and decided it was way to risky to do it that day ( due to the way his skin had grown around the area). She highly recommended that we sedate him at 6 months and then she would have to do some "nifty" work to make it look right. Okay-- by this point i was so overwhelmed-- I mean is it really worth it just so he can have a nice looking penis??? I started to second guess my decision, but Matt agreed to have it done. He told me that it was important to him that Taylor be like his brother. So surgery number two will be taking place in September. Taylor's surgery will be short and very non-invasive but still so scary!!

Above is a picture of my two rascals in their limo on the way to the clinic. They actually both behaved very well, we escaped with no crying or screaming!!

Already shaving

Yesterday, Riley disappeared into the master bathroom, and I was busy with Taylor in his room. So I didn't think much of it, until I heard this motor running in the master bathroom. So I put Taylor down and ran into the bathroom to find Riley looking in the mirror shaving his face. It was so cute, I guess he wanted to be like daddy!!! I didn't even know he knew how to turn it on, he surprises me everyday.

Potty Training, No Problem!

Okay so I would love to report that we breezed through potty training with no hurdles. We have made progress, but we are no where near complete. At first Riley seemed to like to sit on his fancy Elmo potty. He would do it without us having to urge him. Then he wanted a bath everytime he sat on the potty ( with no results) so we started taking 3 baths a day. So we still hadn't had any results in the potty. I then stopped the bath routine, in hopes that once we got results he could have a bath. I explained this to Riley and he smiled. The next morning I ask him to try to use the potty. He runs into the bathroom and sits on the potty with his jeans still on. So I rush over and pull them down, thinking THIS IS IT, WE ARE GOING TO DO IT! Riley has a seat on the potty and all of a sudden starts making the peeing sound with his mouth. I was shocked, and before you know it he stands up and starts clapping for himself. I double checked to make sure he hadn't gone, and he was already half way in the bath. I pulled him out of the bath and tried to explain to him that he had to actually pee in the toilet. He started laughing! So he understands the concept of what to do, but still has not done it. Since he is not yet two, I am going to back off. At least we have the idea introduced to him, right?? We will slowly keep working on it, I guess. I will post some new pictures soon, better run Riley just woke up and doesn't sound too happy:(

P.S. Tomorrow we go for a visit to the U of M Pediatric Urology clinic, where Riley will be getting a follow-up ultrasound on his undescended testicle, and my little Taylor will be circumcised... PLEASE PRAY FOR ME TOMORROW!!LOL