Days at Home (For Real This Time)

We did eventually come home to our house- despite what our neighbors may have thought. It was nice, even if it was a little daunting. And it helped that my mom came up a few days later and stayed the week. It also helped that Ryan is no longer stinky.

We took him to the hospital for his Orthopedic check-up and the surgeon took one whiff of him and told us that the cast would have to come off. Oh bummer. :) Our Orthopedic Surgeon that we met at Primary Children's Hospital was actually a Doctor from Shriner's Hospital (also in Salt Lake)- so all of our follow-up will be and has been at Shriner's. Dr. Hennessey took a minute to sit and explain the newest X-Rays for us- which was so interesting! Because of how crazy things were when we were first admitted to Primary's- nobody really took the time to walk Shaun and I through some of Ryan's actual injuries- beyond the fact that he was in serious condition. So, to be in a more relaxed setting and have the opportunity to look at the new scans was really kind of nice.

She showed us that when the right side of the pelvis was crushed (and you could see all the breaks)- it actually moved the left side of his pelvis- almost twisting it. So while the right side was broken- we were actually waiting for the left side to straighten itself back out. And because of all of these things- Dr. Hennessey would not just cut the cast off and recast. She wanted him put under anesthesia so that she could get the cast on tightly in order to hold both sides the way they needed to be held. We arrived at Shriner's at 8:30 in the morning and didn't walk back into my mom's house until 9:00 that night. It took ALL day- which was good- it just meant that they did things the way they wanted to- and they wouldn't release him until he ate and peed.

When we got home we set Ryan up on the loveseat in the living room with plenty of pillows and blankets (and chocolate milk- he was a rotten eater throughout the weeks he was in the cast- so the fact that he would eat ANYTHING was so exciting). We had buckets of toys set up around the room and anything else we could think of that he might want. Ty was the best big brother ever though- anytime Ryan wanted a car or a coloring book- Ty was the first one running to him with the requested toys. Ty always made sure that Ryan had enough to drink and would sneak him packets of fruit snacks when we weren't looking.

After what happened with the last cast- I was a total freak when it came to keeping Ryan and his cast clean. And if any of you know me- know that this isn't a total surprise. I bathed Ryan in the kitchen sink- he liked soaking his toes (I think because he got some joy out of being able to splash me- maybe it was like a retaliation because I was making him wash his hair every day).
But like I said... he did NOT like having his hair washed. But wash it I did- every morning and he cussed me through every second of it. I kept telling him that I always win- but he didn't believe me.
For a change of scenery- once in a while we moved Ryan to Shaun and I's bed- where we would be immediately joined by Ty. They loved watching movies on the bed- our saving grace was Winnie the Pooh. Ryan has never been much of a movie/TV watcher and the fact that we found anything that he would sit still for was something you could almost kiss! Ryan's favorite is the "Super Sleuths" and we watched them over and over and over again.
As Ryan got stronger he also wanted to be more mobile (surprise surprise), so he also spent some time on the floor- where he kind of looked like a turtle laying on his back- his feet up in the air and the cast rocked him back and forth.
Anyway- we are excited for the cast to be off and life to move forward again. We are so grateful for what a trooper Ryan has been (even if he has been a grumpy little bear for the majority of the time) and even more grateful that it looks like things are going to heal the way they are supposed to.

Easter

Easter dawned bright and... snowy. Yeah. I keep trying to get Shaun to move me to Mexico so that I never have to look at the white crap ever again- but it's apparently a work in progress. Anyway- I wanted there to be a few pictures up of the holiday...

We started the day with airing Ryan out- he still stunk pretty bad because of the poop and we found that if we used my mom's hairdryer on the cool setting- we could kind of dry him out. It stunk to high heaven and we'd have to open all the doors to complete this "airing out" process (my poor parent's house may never be the same).

Ty had a blast running around in the snow looking for eggs. Because the snow was kind of fluffy- the eggs kind of got buried in the snow- making it more of a treasure hunt than anything else.
Ryan even got to be a part of the egg hunt- with dad's help of course!
Ty LOVES his new baseball mitt- and kept grandpa outside forever just so that he could keep playing.

Poop

So this last week was pretty eventful... On top of EVERYTHING else that has been going on, Ryan picked up a flu bug during one of his doctor appointments at the hospital. Yeah... Usually throwing up is enough for me to handle- but Ryan also got a case of the trots that was rather... explosive (I'm not trying to be gross... I just want to describe the situation). Wednesday night, we had poop up the back of his cast, out the sides of it and down the legs. It didn't really even get on his sheets or his pajamas. The cast pretty well contained it. I tried my darndest to reach up, in and around the cast to get everything out- but I wasn't even close. I could still see it and smell it- but there was absolutely NO way to get it all cleaned out. I called his orthopedic surgeon the next morning and she told me that there was a chance that once it dried out that he would be fine. The clean freak inside me wanted to scream at her- but since I don't have any initials behind my name (like M.D.), i decided to give it a try. Unfortunately- I don't think it ever really dried out- Ryan is such a sweaty little kid- that I think it just continued to be all moist inside the cast. As a result- anytime you walked past him- it was like walking next to an open sewer drain. I got to a point I could barely even hold him- if I got too much of a whiff- I had to make a run for the bathroom. It was awful. Props to my dad- he would still take Ryan for walks even though he smelled so bad.

This weekend was also Easter weekend- something that my boys really weren't ready for. Ty understands why we have Easter, and when asked about it- he promptly replied that Easter was about "Jesus being Resurrected," so I feel like we got the important message across- but neither of the boys even knew what an Easter Bunny was. Ty was totally confused as to why there was a bucket full of candy and eggs all over the place- but he was more than excited to find a new baseball mitt hidden in the basket. In fact- he immediately put it on and demanded that someone go out and play catch with him. He was not good- but improved upon practice- he and Grandpa even rallied to a total of 7 catches at one point! The Easter Bunny was also smart enough to make sure that Ty got a softer version of a baseball so that when it inevitably hit him in the face- it wouldn't hurt too bad...

Grandma Jacki and Papa Orllo also made the trip to Salt Lake to come and visit us while we were staying with my parents. Ryan thrives on visitors and lit up when he saw familiar faces. I think Ty was excited to see them too- they took him out for ice cream- and I think that the break was more than welcome to our little four year old.

Shaun was able to stay until Monday afternoon, since this was his Spring Break (yeah... we were supposed to be in St. George this weekend). We were all sad to see him go, but knew it wouldn't be too much longer before we were home for good. Shaun is such a huge help and comfort to me- I always hate it when he has to go.

Tuesday we had an appointment with Ryan's Orthapedic surgeon, Dr. Hennessey. She is actually from Shriner's Hospital in Salt Lake- which I have never really heard a whole lot about or had a lot to do with. We actually had to MapQwest it in order to find the right place. My mom came with me, and so did Ty, not thinking that it would be an overlong appointment. We checked in and talked to the Orthapedic Resident about Ryan and the pooping incident (we had him all but covered by a blanket in order to keep the smell contained and at a minimum). We also got to have new X-Rays taken, and the Resident took a minute to sit down with us and explain the pictures. When Ryan's right side was crushed- it broke his pelvis in three places on the right side- but at the same time- it also moved the left side- almost twisting it, and kinking the spine at the same time. This totally made sense- but no one had taken the time to explain all of this to us before. It was nuts seeing how much progress Ryan's body had already made in correcting the problem- but it was also a little sobering to see how far it still had to go in order to be back to normal.

It took Dr. Hennessey all of two seconds to decide to re-cast Ryan. I told them to make sure they take in their gas masks when they took the old one off. We were actually taken right upstairs and checked into the hospital. They couldn't get Ryan into surgery until 3:00 that afternoon, and it was only 9:00 in the morning- so we had some time to kill. But Shriners was absolutely AMAZING! They had a HUGE play/rec room for kids to play in- and we took Ryan for wagon rides to and from the gigantic space and Ty was in heaven! He got to see a magician, a banjo player, he made a butterfly and played basketball. Ryan was a trooper- he couldn't eat until he was out of the operating room- so we had to come up with some ways to keep his mind off food. The Dr was actually going to have him put out under general anesthesia again before she would even think about re-casting him- so the prep for that seemed to take forever too. Once he was finally in the OR- it only took about 45 minutes before he was wheeled back into his room- and he totally flipped out. Ryan apparently has a hard time coming out of anesthesia- and couldn't stop crying. A carton of chocolate milk helped a little bit- but it took some time before he finally settled down.

The nurses had to make sure that Ryan could eat and pee before they would let him be discharged- and we didn't get back to my mom's house until about 9:00 pm... We were ALL so tired. I still can't believe how good Ty was the entire time. He is so amazing- and I think that he may have a future in medicine- he is soo nosy!! He has to know what every machine and wire is for and doesn't rest until ALL of his questions are answered.

We spent the rest of the week gathering up our things and on Friday, we loaded up in my mom's car and drove to Logan where we met Shaun. We had a quick lunch and then our family headed on up to Montpelier. Home has NEVER looked so good. We all slept so well Friday night. We spent Saturday cleaning up and trying to figure out the best way to situate Ryan for the next three weeks. We ended up putting half of a mattress pad on the loveseat and covering it in blankets and pillows- trying to pad him enough to make him comfortable. He seems okay when he goes back and forth between his loveseat and the recliner- in fact- we even took him out to Sacrament Meeting this morning. He actually did really well (granted it was only an hour- but it was the longest he's been out for any period of time that he wasn't just laying down), and everyone was so happy to see him- we have had a wonderful support group up here and I am more than grateful for all of the love and concern that we have had from the people here.

It looks like things will be pretty quiet for the next couple of weeks- I don't think we really have plans to go anywhere, and I'm assuming that care-taking for Ryan and Ty will take most of my energies anyway.

I'll keep you updated and hopefully we'll get some pictures up from the last week. Sorry it was just text this time, but I'm on Shaun's computer and don't have access to my pictures.

Days Home (Sort of)

After we were released from the hospital, instead of going all the way home to Montpelier just to turn around and come back for follow-up visits all week, Ryan, Ty and I decided to stay in Salt Lake at my mom's. It was also kind of overwhelming to think about going home and trying to figure everything out all by myself. Ryan has gained about 20 pounds since the addition of his cast- and everytime I pick him up I feel like I am either going to have a baby or a hernia. So the idea of the addition of extra arms (my mom, dad and sister) was more than a little bit appealing.

Ryan's new hangout is on grandma's couch- surrounded by all the pillows we could find. Because of the way Ryan's cast is on him- when you lay him flat- his legs are sticking up in the air (he kind of looks like he's in rigor mortis or something), so he's propped up at every angle. Unfortunately, Ryan has never been much of a lay-around kind of kid- so he's going nuts. He hates TV and now he's stuck staring at one for most of the day. We try to keep him entertained- but it's hard coming up with new things for his fingers to do.

His favorite way to release his frustration at being kept still all the time is walks. And again- I am so grateful for the helping hands that my family has offered me. I can only hold and carry Ryan for so long because of how heavy he is- and the bar that separates his legs cuts my baby in half- so I can't hold him close to me for long periods of time either. He loves grandpa though, and everytime Ryan sees him, he holds his hands out and says "Wanna Walk." I think Ryan welcomes the distraction and the opportunity to sit in a little bit different position.
Ryan also LOVES visitors. And I want to say a big THANK-YOU to everyone that has made the effort to come and say hi to him. He just lights up everytime the doorbell rings. My grandma and my uncle even made the effort to bring their dogs to visit (which Ryan was so excited for).
And then there's Ty- who has been such a trooper through all of this. He's been a little quiet- and I don't know if that's because he's still in awe of everything that has happened or if he's just tired (like everybody else). In his quieter moments of reflection- he comes up to whoever is around and says things like "I wish my brother never got runned over." Or "I wish Ryan didn't have his hip broke." I wish I could open up his little brain and find the memory portion- and then just erase the time frame of about 11:00 until 12:00- maybe replace it with a video of a dancing elephant- so that he doesn't need to relive the images that haunt Shaun and I's memories everytime we shut our eyes. I am so amazed at the amount of love that Ty has for his brother and his ability to want to take away the pain from his brother- it just seems advanced for a 4 year old.

I am also so grateful for my cousin, Nicole- I don't know how we would have survived these last few weeks without her. She has a little boy that is the same age as Ty, and they have invited Ty to Wheeler Farm, to Preschool and on playdates- it has really made Ty feel like he is a part of every thing that is going on- and at the same time- he isn't stuck sitting in the hospital all day. So thank-you, THANK-YOU Matt, Nicole, Daniel and Liz- you are lifesavers!!!!

Days in the Trauma Unit

Ryan was moved from the ICU into the Trauma Unit on Tuesday (I think- the days are really blurred there for about a week), which, while still scary- was a much more relaxed environment and we started to think that the light at the end of the tunnel was maybe an exit rather than a train.

Once we had been there for a day- we were given the all clear to even hold Ryan. This was such a huge relief- the entire time that Ryan was conscious during the last few days- all he wanted was to be held by either Shaun or I... and it was just one of those things we couldn't do. Ryan's trauma doctor wanted him to be absolutely still so as not to disturb the liver, which was slowly starting to get it's HCT levels up. Plus, moving him any more than was absolutely necessary also disturbed his pelvis and collarbone.

Ryan's spirits started to improve upon the move as well. He was still more than a little irritated at the fact that he couldn't move, and it helped that he was allowed a thickened liquid diet. Again- because of the severity of his liver lacerations, he wasn't allowed to eat for about four days (something that if you know Ryan at all- is all but impossible. He just LOVES to eat), so when we offered him a banana- he went ballistic. In retrospect- it was actually kind of sad- he grabbed at the banana like he had never seen food before and was afraid that he never would again. He was so focused on the banana- that he ate a good portion of the peel as well. He wouldn't let us take the banana long enough to peel it for him- I think he was afraid we were taking it away. He ended up throwing the last part of the banana at Shaun because once we did wrestle it away from him long enough to peel some more for him- he was so angry that he wouldn't take anything from anyone.

We were able to cheer him up a little bit though. Grandma Janet came to visit shortly after that and she brought a Winnie the Pooh balloon for Ryan to look/play with. He loved to hit it- but it kept getting away from him, so we ended up tying the balloon to the iron bar that connected his legs in the cast. It worked out pretty well- and it was so nice to finally see a smile on Ryan's face.

We also found that Ryan had started his own following of nurses over here on this side of the hospital too. While still angry at Shaun and I for the banana incident (and he wasn't too fond of anyone that came in wearing a white coat)- he loved the nurses. He found shortly after his move over into Trauma that he was wearing a bunch of leads that were attached to his chest. He also figured out that if he pulled one of the leads off, it started a machine beeping and one of the nurses would come running in. We would go home at night to rest, and when we came back in the morning, the night nurses would have all these stories of Ryan pulling off a lead whenever he needed some company. He would pull one off, wait for the nurse to come in, and then he would stick it back on.

Ryan was also visited by his share of doctors while he was in the Trauma Unit- and again- this was where we started to realize the real danger that he had been in when he was admitted to Primary Children's. I think the doctors were kind of vague in the beginning- maybe it was so that we as parents didn't freak out- or maybe... okay- really I don't know. And there is the possibility that I had a hard time concentrating on EVERYTHING that they were telling us. Anyway- besides the pelvic breaks (which we found out when he was taken back into the Operating Room- the Orthopedic Surgeon had to actually re-set the bones his his pelvis because of the way that they had broken- I am so grateful that he was put out during all of this) , the collarbone break and the lacerated liver- Ryan also saw an Ophthalmologist because of some pretty bad bruising he had behind his eye, which they are hoping won't manifest itself in some type of permanent blindness in the right eye. And because of the hit on his head (which was classified as a mild traumatic brain injury) from the bumper- he is at risk for the next six months for seizures.

It's more than a little overwhelming- but I can't help but think that he'll be alright in the end- there is a reason this little boy is still with us. He must have bigger things to do in this life because his Heavenly Father decided to keep him here with us.

Days in the ICU

I know that I have been remiss in keeping the blog updated through the last few days- but when I look back at pictures... it just makes me sick to my stomach. The more that we find out about the injuries that Ryan received- the more we realized what had happened inside his little body and it makes me want to throw up. The nurse that Ryan spent the longest time with, Tracey, told me that I would want a ton of pictures of the time here in the hospital so that we could see the progress that Ryan has made- but for now... Blech.

To be fair though- Ryan was still Ryan, even hooked up to all the machines that he was and even while drugged up. It was more than a little relieving to hear stories from the nurses and doctors about pieces of his personality come through.

One of the Pediatric Residents that was on duty Sunday was doing her rounds at about 6:00 in the morning and was doing an assessment on Ryan. She was asking him simple questions- along the lines of "Can you hear me?", "Can you squeeze my finger?" Ryan would nod or shake his head in answer to her questions. She continued down her list and asked him "Can you open your eyes?" To which Ryan nodded his head- but kept his eyes closed. She sat there for a second and then asked him, "Will you open your eyes?" Ryan nodded his head again and opened his eyes for her. She told us the story later when we were sitting in his room- joking about the fact that a 20 month old had given her an English lesson.

It gave me hope to hear stories like this- it made it easier to believe that despite the tubes and beeping machines that my Ryan was in there somewhere.

Everything Can Change in a Moment

We have definitely had a wild ride these last few days- none of which I hope to EVER repeat. We spent this last weekend in various hospitals and have learned more about trauma accidents than I ever cared to know.

We started the weekend innocently enough, up in Declo- hoping to spend a quiet weekend with Shaun's parents. We spent most of Saturday morning playing out in the yard, about 11:00 we kind of went our separate ways in order to get ready for lunch. I ran into the house to grab my purse and Shaun went into the garage to put together a booster seat for Ty. Papa ran to put the pitchfork away and move the truck around to the front of the house. Ryan ran after Papa... only nobody noticed. Papa backed the truck up- and Ryan got in front of the bumper. The back bumper knocked Ryan to the ground and before Papa could get the truck stopped, the back tire ran up and over the right side of his body.

I heard the screaming and ran outside- at first I thought Ty had been hurt because of how hard he was crying and shaking- but he kept saying over and over "My brother, my brother." I finally grasped the situation and ran to Shaun- who had a hold of Ryan. Jacki had run into the house to call 911.

One of the Kidd's neighbors, Lisa, is an EMT and arrived first and was able to get Ryan laying down and some oxygen started. The ambulance wasn't far behind. Ty started freaking out again at this point- I think because of all the activity that suddenly sprung up around him and the fact that we were all talking around him. He started shaking, so I picked him up and we walked over to the ambulance and met the police officer that had arrived on the scene. We talked about what had happened for a second and what all of the people were doing to Ryan. Ty settled down a little bit and Shaun and I climbed inside the ambulance with Ryan, Lisa and the Ambulance Man (who's name I have forgotten). We headed to the Burley hospital where the ER team took Ryan and did some X-Rays and got him stabilized. They were so impressed with the fact that Ryan not only stayed conscious, but was relatively calm during their exam. Before they even finished their tests- life flight was called from Twin Falls to take Ryan down to Primary Children's Hospital down in Salt Lake City.

Once Life Flight arrived, Ryan was loaded into the back with two other Life Flight EMTs and the pilot strapped me in next to him (I was worried that I wouldn't be able to go with Ryan- what with me being 7 months pregnant- but in the end my worries were for naught). It was so overwhelming to sit in that helicopter... We took off and headed towards SLC. The flight itself took about an hour- but we were delayed once we got there because the pilot had never actually flown into the U of U or Primary's (the two hospitals are right next to each other). So he kept circling the area- he was under the impression that the hospital was next to the stadium... which it's not. I kept trying to point him up the hill- but I am assuming he thought I was an idiot. Eventually he found the helipad that he was supposed to land on- but because of the wind- he couldn't get the helicopter to touch down on the pad the way it was supposed to. We would start to lower down and would get just above the cement when the wind would whip the back of the helicopter around and we'd have to start all over again. The pilot tried 4 or 5 different times and some different approaches, but couldn't get it down. So we ended up landing on top of the U of U hospital.

Once we touched down, we were met by an oversized golf cart (for lack of a better description). Ryan was loaded onto the cart and we all climbed on. Then the cart took us for a ride that reminded me a little bit of the ride "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" at Disneyland- we whipped around corners and flew through traffic. I had to keep checking behind me to make sure that Ryan hadn't flown off the back. It was nuts and I was more than relieved when we wheeled around to the ER entrance of Primary's.

I followed Ryan into the ER- and I think the enormity of the situation really hit me when I walked in. The ER was so full of people and beeping equipment and yelling and nurses running all over the place... all for my son. I got sick to my stomach as I watched them run their first assessments. As they transfered him to CT- I had the opportunity to run out to the Waiting Room- where my family had gathered (Shaun had called them once we took off from Burley- unfortunately Shaun could not go in the helicopter with Ryan and I, so he drove down to Salt Lake with Ty, Jacki and Orllo) and I gave them a quick update- which in reality- wasn't a whole lot of information- because I didn't have a lot of information. What I did know at this point is that his pelvis was broken and there was a great chance of more internal injuries. I then was escorted up to CT where Ryan was scanned and they found that he had a severe lacerated liver. Apparently Drs classify liver injuries on a scale of 1 to 6. A 6 is basically a non-functioning liver and Ryan had a severe 5. With liver injuries- the best form of treatment is to "Watch and Wait," so nothing surgical was needed at this point. The scan also revealed that his pelvis was broken in three different places. So the Trauma team had Ryan moved up to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for further treatment.

Once we were there and halfway settled- I started taking some pictures. I know it sounds morbid- but I almost wish I had had my camera earlier. Maybe one day Ryan will think pictures of the helicopter would be kind of cool. Anyway- below is a picture of the bruises, cuts and scrapes up and down Ryan's body.

Ryan was sedated pretty early on, but he had a really hard time understanding why neither Shaun or I would pick him up (he didn't understand that we couldn't). So he laid on his back with his arms in the air, yelling for "Mama" and "Dad." It was so hard to sit there and only be able to hold his hand.
One of the first things that happened was Ryan was given a breathing tube- this actually happened before we took off in the helicopter in order to have more control over the functions of his body. But once we arrived at Primary's they added an NG tube that helps with actually pulling fluids OUT of Ryan's airways. He had a cold prior to getting hurt and was having a really hard time coughing- so this tube "helped" him to do that. He was also hooked up to a ventilator to help him breathe. It was awful though. All the sound went out the breathing tube- so his cries were silent- but he still had big alligator tears coming out of his eyes.

And yes- his face is super-puffy. When the tire was on top of him, all of the blood from his abdomen had to go somewhere- and one of those somewhere's was up to his head. And it didn't help that enroute to Primary's he was given almost a pint of blood- so he had a ton of extra fluids in his body. I thought his eyes were going to explode they were so swollen. And it didn't help that his Drs put a pretty big neck brace around his neck since his spine had not been cleared of injury.

Sunday morning Ryan was taken into the OR for the casting of his pelvis. The new X-Rays that were taken that morning showed the breaks were actually spread out- there was one in the front, one on the top of the hip and the other was back by the sacrum. The cast they put on him was pretty extensive- it starts about mid abdomen, and then goes all the way down the right side of his body and ends at the ankle. Then it also wraps around his body and goes down the right side down to his knee- and to top it all off there is a bar between his legs to keep them separated and to give some strength to the cast. Drs also found another break in his right collarbone- but apparently the break was clean enough that it would heal itself.

The picture below shows the NG tube and the breathing tube a little better.
Ryan was given a big boy bed on Monday in the hopes that it would help settle him down. Because the bed was bigger- it allowed Shaun and I to get closer to him, without having to pick him up. His liver injury is such that he can't really be moved- and needs to lay flat for at least 4 days. The cast helps with that- but it doesn't stop him from freaking out when we don't pick him up. It's so hard to tell him no when it's all that he wants.

Monday afternoon he was able to get rid of the breathing tube- which meant that he also was able to come off of some of the heavier sedation drugs. And that was kind of a catch 22- it was good because he was more lucid and able to tell us what hurt and where- but he was also able to get really mad when he didn't get what he wanted. Which was: Eating, Going and being held. His Dr told us that he wouldn't be able to eat for several days because they wanted the liver (which aids in digestion) to be absolutely silent in order for it to repair itself the way it needed to. It was so hard to see him cry, ask for food and hear his stomach growl all at the same time.

We were able to have a few visitors though to help break up the days and to keep his mind off food. His favorite visitor was his brother and Ty was extremely nosey... He had to know everything that they were doing to his "Baby Ryan." And I think that Ryan liked to have Ty there too- something about his big brother was very calming to him.

Swelling is starting to go down in his face on Monday afternoon...

Grandpa JB was also able to sneak away from work for a few minutes to come and visit Ryan. He brought his iPhone with him and Ryan sat and played with it for a while when he got worked up. Grandpa has an app that has all of these animal pictures on it with the corresponding sounds. Ryan loved it.

Ryan also got to have a few bites of a slushie on Monday evening... He was pretty excited, but the few bites almost wore him out and he got very sleepy afterward.

Tuesday Ryan finally got some food!! He got a slushie for breakfast and he was moved out of ICU into the Trauma Unit (this is a good move). Ryan was SOO excited about the slushie. He would take a bite and go "Mmmmm... Num Num Num" and immediately open his mouth for more.

One day he may shoot us for the next picture- but the fact that he was peeing is AWESOME. So we took a picture of it.

Tuesday he also lost the oxygen tube and most of the puffiness was gone from his eyes. Though they are so bruised that it looks like he got into a pretty good fight (which is partially true- he just lost a fight with a truck- Shaun thinks that Ryan could have won if it had been a car instead).
He rested much easier once he was moved to his new room- which has been a huge relief.
Ty came for a visit Tuesday and the two of them snuggled on the bed for a little while and Ty showed Ryan how to play a video game that he had brought for him to play. It's probably a little beyond Ryan at this point- but the fact that he was with Ty more than made up for the fact that he didn't understand anything. Ty's companionship is something that I think Ryan really misses. When Shaun and I walked into the room this morning- he almost got angry that it was us and we hadn't brought his brother. He just kept repeating "Where's Ty?"

Anyway- at the end of today, Tuesday, things are really looking good. When we left the hospital this evening, Ryan was able to lose the catheter (which he showed his excitement for by peeing on his dad promptly after it's removal) and all IV's. He is a much happier little boy now that he has some actual food in his tummy (he got a banana and a smoothie for a snack this afternoon and some milk and applesauce for dinner) and he pooped.

We are so grateful for all of the progress that has been made the last couple of days and know that our son is truly blessed. We are so thankful for the phone calls, the prayers and the messages that we have received. Thanks to all of you out there for the love and support- we wouldn't have made it through this far without it.

Just Another Day...

I know that I haven't been a great blogger as of late- but I keep waiting to have something to blog about- you know- so that I don't ramble on aimlessly about nothing. But then I got thinking- that's all we're doing right now. The snow won't stop falling and there is already a ton out in the yard... We just kind of hang out inside- which doesn't make for much of an exciting tale to tell. But- be that as it may- I also think that there might be something to documenting some day to day activities for us to look back on later.

Ryan is getting bigger and his personality is really starting to come out. He loves his older brother and wherever Ty goes- Ryan is sure to follow. It's kind of like watching "Pete" and "Re-Pete." And no-one can make Ryan laugh like Ty. I was attempting to take some new pictures of Ryan this morning and he wouldn't even look at me- but he sat there and giggled at his older brother. Stinker. He also loves playing "ball." One of his favorite ways to show off at the moment is to sit and show you all of the different things you can do with a ball. He'll show you how to throw, kick and dribble. And he's so proud of himself- he just laughs when he's done.

I have also recently discovered the beauty of this little product known as "Mod Podge." Yes, I'd heard of it- but never really done a whole lot with it... Until now!! I have been using it a lot in my Achievement Days activities- mostly because it's cheap and it goes a long way. This last week- my girls were working on a goal in "Living and Learning the Gospel." It's important to know where you come from, and so we were studying our ancestors. Each of the girls had to bring a sheet of information on someone in their family (and a picture if it was available). We all shared our stories- and I reminded them of how important it is to keep track of this kind of thing so that our great-grandkids have some fun stories to tell their friends in Achievement Days. So- in an effort to cement that idea- we decorated/made journals for them to take home. I had a lot of fun with this activity too... can you tell!? I love journals- I really do think it's important to keep a record of who you are- I carry a notebook around with me everywhere.
I also discovered that mod podge can be used on pretty much anything. I cut out some letters from a cardboard box that I had in the garage and then bought some paper at the scrapbook store (in Logan mind you- the scrapbook store here in town has the variety of a brown paper bag)- mostly ones that had different kind of sports balls. Then I covered the cardboard with the paper and... Instant (and cheap) decor for the boys' room! Not that either of them really care- but I like the look of it!

I have also been attempting to act more like a girl. I have gotten into a really bad habit lately- since I go nowhere and see no one- most days I am in sweats with my hair in a ponytail. Gorgeous, I know. So in an effort to break free of my winter rut- I pulled out my bag of nail polish from my working days. I've been pretty good these last few weeks. It helps that Ty always notices when I change the color and he always makes comments on the ones that he likes. This week- I painted my nails a color that I thought was purple- but once I got painting- it turns out it was a really deep navy blue. It was still pretty- so I left it. When Ty saw it though- you would have thought that I had painted HIM blue. He was so NOT a fan. He asked me why I would want BYU on my nails. I had to promise that next week I would only paint them red. There's a chance that we've created some kind of red monster...
We have also been visiting the library more than we usually do in the summer- mostly because it's a different four walls than the ones in our living room. It's good though- I hope that my kids learn to have a love of reading that will carry them throughout their lives. So far- Ty is my big reader. He loves the library- and literally will spend hours there if you let him. We checked out a few new books- and one of them has pretty much made it onto our "Favorites" list. It's called "What if the Shark Wears Tennis Shoes?" by Winifred Morris. It pretty much captures the very essence of Ty Kidd. It's like the author actually knew my four-year old and then wrote a book about him. Hilarious. You have to check it out if you get a chance!!
I have also been filling my afternoons with music. Not that I'm actually getting a chance to play my gorgeous piano or even listen to some pretty music... I have been teaching!! Crazy, I know. We have good days and bad ones- but for the most part- it's been pretty good. I am not sure how my piano teacher kept from beating some of us over the head with a metranome because I know I am more than tempted on some days. I have seven students, and have just had to open another afternoon because of all the incoming requests for lesson times. I'm not sure if that means I'm good or if there is just a lack of other teachers in the area. Because I'm not in the least bit humble- I'm going to say it's the first. :)
I guess that's really all there is to say for now. I just wanted you all to know that we are indeed alive and haven't been eaten by the Abominable Snow Monster (yet). I just have to close my eyes every once in a while and remind myself that winter always ends. It may snow 15 months out of the year- but there for a little bit in the summer- we do get a chance to hang out in the sun and get some "Funshine in the Sunshine" as Tigger (from Winnie the Pooh) tells us. And maybe we can get a little bit in during the winter too... Of course- it has to stop snowing first...

The Persistence of Memory

I recently visited a friends blog, and found this brilliant quote on one of her posts.

"The existence of forgetting has never been proved: We only know that some things don't come to mind when we want them." - Friedrich Nietzsche

This seems to describe my very existence these days. I can't remember anything. I would like to blame it on pregnancy brain- but there are these new studies out that claim that there is no such thing. It doesn't make me feel any better about trying to "hear" something that ought to smell. Or the fact that I keep putting cereal boxes in the fridge. Or that I can't remember any of the commitments that I have agreed to. Or (and this is probably the one that bugs me the most at the moment) is the disappearance of my toothbrush. I have put my toothbrush away in the same place for the last three years (or basically since we have moved into this house). We have a cup that is in our medicine cabinet where we keep toothbrushes. But when I went to go brush my teeth this morning... It seems to have walked away.

How do you lose a toothbrush!?! I'll keep you updated... Until then- don't ask me to do anything that you REALLY want done- chances are I'll forget that we even talked.

What's for Dinner?

The other night- we tried something new for dinner that turned out really well. And because I love it when I find tried and true recipes on other people's blogs (that I know and trust), I like to share what I find too. And the best part... it was so EASY!

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1 bottle salsa

1 can black beans

cheese

Cook chicken on stove, turning to brown on both sides.

Add salsa and beans and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium low and let simmer for five minutes.

Put cheese on top and let sit for another five minutes.

Serve with tortillas/ tortilla chips and whatever else you want to garnish it. Ty liked his with sour cream and extra cheese. I liked guacamole and Shaun put everything on it. It was really good!

Baby Deja's Blessing

A few weekends ago we went back up to Declo for baby Deja's blessing. It was so much fun to have EVERYBODY home- it's been a long time since we've all been under one roof- totally chaotic (think about it- we had 8 adults, one of which who is pregnant, 2 kids, 1 baby and 1 puppy)- but it was a lot of fun. I personally want to thank Jacki and Orllo for putting up with ALL of us- because I know it's a lot of extra work to have that many people running a muck. (okay- I also don't know why it's underlining everything... but just roll with it)

Anyway- here is our baby girl of the hour... She looked so sweet in her little dress of white, and matching little bow! I can't believe how big she has gotten! We went out to visit about a month ago- and it's crazy how they change. I'm sure that mine did too (obviously they did at some time since I have one that's in pre-school and another one that at the moment is in his crib yelling "MAMA"), but it's just so much more prominent when the baby you are watching is just from a distance and you only get to see her once in a while. Thank goodness for emails, blogs and texts...

Ryan's favorite part was having the refreshment table so accessible. He has finally gotten tall enough that- if he stood on his tip-toes and reached up really high- he found he could reach the strawberries (and later- the brownies). He loves to eat and he was right in his element here. I thought it was kind of cute though...

Moments of Cleverness...

Okay- I have moments of cleverness- they are few and far between- but they do show up on occasion. I am the Achievement Days leader in our ward, and as such, I have to try to come up with different activitites that will get our girls to come (we live in a very in-active area). So- I saw this absolutely adorable idea for clipboards on one of my favorite websites (mwrites), and after some trial and error- I figured out how she had done it.

We spent the evening talking about goals and how important it is to keep our goals in our sight, so we made these mod-podged clipboards for them to hang on their walls.

First you take an ordinary clipboard (they make these in little sizes too- which I think would probably be more fun to make- but WalMart only carries the big ones), and add some scrapbook paper... apply the glue and... Viola! Amazingly crafty pieces of organizational beauty. I use mine when I teach piano lessons- it has made life so much easier!

ITS A GIRL!!

Okay- I have long neglected my blog and it's time to rectify the situation. First and foremost... We had our big ultrasound at 21 weeks... and (as you may have guessed from the title of this post)... It's a GIRL! We are all so excited (Ty probably is the most excited- he told me that if I didn't have a girl this time that we would need to get a new mom that could have baby girls- can you feel the love?), and have started amassing all things pink- though for whatever reason, I can't quite get myself to rip the tags off yet... like it's going to jinx it or something. Not that another boy would be bad- but I hate to spend the money on the pink and then have to put it on a baby boy.

Anyway it's been fun (though Shaun may have a different word for spending his time and money shopping for petite pink pieces).