2 years ago.....Sunday???

So, as most of you already know, my little princess will be 2 years old on Sunday. We have so much going on between now and then that I decided I will give my birthday tribute to Ryan now....what's a few days going to hurt?? We are having 2 birthday parties this weekend for Ryan to split up the amount of people. I know it sounds crazy but I'd rather do that then try to fit everyone in my house at one time. That would equal out to be almost 60 people. Last year for her first birthday, we had 65 people but we had rented out a clubhouse to the condo that my uncle owns. That was a lifesaver.

Ryan's medicine is doing it's just it seems because she is looking much better. Her 2 year well check up is Monday so we will see if the left ear infection is clearing up. The skin infection looks much better and with the help of our good friend Mr. Neosporin, the scab on her nose is almost gone now!! Her nose is also not running as bad as before. YAY for Ryan!!

So, here we go!!!

On December 11, 2007 I went to my last doctor's appointment as a pregnant woman. My due date was actually on the 10th but those are never accurate anyways. :) I had received a second ultra sound 2 weeks prior to get an estimated fetal weight because I had gained 65 lbs. They knew I had a big baby in there and needed to get an idea of what they were working with. At that appointment, the doctor told me that I was getting induced and told me to check myself into the hospital that evening at 6 pm. I was also informed that I should eat a really good meal before hand because once in labor, all bets were off. And, most of you know that you DO NOT tell a woman that is 9 months pregnant that she cannot eat!! That's just wrong on so many levels. haha. My mom treated Jay and I to Olive Garden that night and when we left, we went straight to the hospital. I was so nervous and anxious and just couldn't wait to meet my sweet little girl. I was just dying inside to see what she looked like!! When we got to the hospital, we settled in and just waited...and waited.....and waited.

At 8 am the next morning, December 12th, I was started on the I.V. drip to induce my labor. At 9 am I was considered to be in active labor. I remember thinking "wow...that was FAST!!!" My contractions were very strong and I was in a lot of pain, but I wasn't dialating. At noon, the doctor's broke my water for me to see if I would progress any. I received my epidural around 6pm and then we waited some more. I didn't know what was taking so long but I didn't like it. I was so miserable. Finally, at 1:00 am...yes....the NEXT morning, I had just hit 9 cm. The doctor told me since Ryan had been without fluid and that she hadn't dropped at all that the best bet at that point was to deliver her via c-section. Woo Hoo....let's just get this over with!!! I was disappointed that I wasn't actually going to "give birth" but at the same time, I just wanted to see her. I agreed to surgery and within 5 minutes, nurses and doctors were coming in to prep me. I went back to the operating room and got strapped to the table. (which by the way is a very scary feeling knowing that you cannot move because of the meds, and then having your arms strapped down also) The surgery started and I didn't even know it....I didnt feel a thing. But I guess that's the point right?? lol. At 2:14 am, I heard the cries. The most amazing sound I've ever heard in my entire life. The nurses took Ryan over to the table to get her wiped off and make sure she was ok, then told Jay to get her and bring her over for me to see. We both had tears of joy streaming down our faces. When I looked at her for the first time, I knew what true love was. She was BIG, and beautiful, and PERFECT!!!!

TO RYAN:

You are my everything, my whole life, and my precious gift. You will never in your life know just how very much you mean to me. You have made me so much more than I ever thought I could be and for you, I am forever grateful. You have brought a light to my life that I never knew could exist. Every day with you is truly a blessing and I couldn't ask for anything better. I cannot believe you are (almost) 2 years old. Time goes by way to quickly. I look forward to times when you are older, like your first day of school, your first sport that you try, and your first school dance. I cannot wait to share those special times with you and help guide you along your journey through life. You were born with a VERY special heart, and sometimes things that you will go through may not always seem fair, but GOD made you this way because He knew just how strong you would be. You have endured A LOT in your 2 years of life and will continue to go through many more things. Just know that I am ALWAYS here, holding your hand along the way. You are the BEST gift I have ever received and I thank GOD every single day for bringing you to me. Please know just how much I love you and care about you.....you are my everything princess!!!!

*wiping tears away* WOW....this is harder than I thought. I actually just took a 15 minute break in between these 2 paragraphs. I have added some pictures for all to see of Ryan when she was born, and a couple when she was just a few months old. I cannot believe how big she's gotten and how smart she is!! She really amazes me EVERY day!!!

Ryan Sue Sweeney 8lbs. 7oz. 20 inches long

sleeping beauty.....so precious

born on December 13, the 12 days of Christmas baby!!

just over a month old


almost 4 months


Oh how things change. I remember how much she loved that excersaucer. That was the best thing in the world to her!!! Now, she gets really happy when I paint her nails....haha. She is the love of my life and I am so blessed to have her.


I will update again sometime next week with pictures from the birthday bashes!!! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week and has a GREAT weekend!!!

It just keeps on coming.....

Geez....sorry it's taken me a while to get back to the posting. Been pretty busy around here. Let's get down to it....Ryan's appointment went GREAT!!! We got to CCHMC on Friday morning hoping for the best and that is what we got. Ryan's gradient was 39 and is now 40 which is worse but not by much. AWESOME!! We have been told that as soon as the gradient gets up to 50, Dr. Hor (cardiologist) will be speaking to Dr. Hirsch (cath doc) about setting Ryan up for another Cardiac Cath with balloon. Last year, we found out just a week before her birthday that she would be getting this procedure in January, so her birthday and the Holiday's weren't that great. I didn't feel there was much to celebrate with everything happening to Ryan. This year, however, things will be totally different. We now have a lot to celebrate. This year, we will not have surgery on our minds.

Ryan's sats during her sedated echo

during the echo...sorry it's fuzzy, this pic was taken on my cell phone

After Ryan's echo, I swung by the gift shop to exchange a bracelet that I had bought for a necklace just like it. It's called the "always in my heart" jewelry....you can buy a bracelet, necklace or keychain and then you buy little charms to put inside of it. VERY CUTE.

you cannot tell what's in it, but I have 5 charms. A heart that says "hope" in it, a circle with a princess crown that says "mommy's princess," a red heart that says "daughter," a little girl with a dress on that has Ryan's birthstone in it, and a charm in the shape of the letter "R."

The ride home from the hospital didn't go too well because the nembutal that Ryan was on is the DEVIL!!! I cannot stand that med because of what it does to her the rest of the day. She was SO CRANKY. Once we got home though, she fell asleep. Dr. Hor called me to tell me that for the first time ever.....Ryan doesn't have to come back for 6 WHOLE MONTHS!!! That is amazing news. Ryan was down for the count for her nap so I started on getting some things done around the house, and that's when I heard the THUMP!!!

The thump was Ryan falling out of her bed. EEEEKKS......since she was still heavily medicated, she was unable to walk. Well, since I wasn't in her room I do not know exactly what happened but when I ran in her room, she had a pretty decent amount of blood on her face. Jay grabbed a washcloth and got it wet and we wiped her off. All of the blood was coming from the rug burn on her nose and not from the inside of either that or her mouth which was a relief. Poor girl....I can only imagine how bad it hurt. That wasn't the end of it though....it just kept coming.

Ryan was sitting on the living room floor and I went to the kitchen to grab her a little snack. I was getting some animal crackers ready in a bag for her to eat, when she suddenly jumped up and darted for the kitchen. We couldn't catch her quick enough and since she was so wobbly, she fell....HARD. When she slipped on the kitchen floor, somehow her left ear hit right on the corner of the wooden baseboard. So, the top of her ear is swollen and bruised. She's been through it!!!! It doesn't stop there...........it just kept coming.

As the day progressed on Friday, Ryan's nose began to run, and run, and run some more. I was hoping it was nothing more than a case of the sniffles, but I was wrong. Friday night was HARD on her because she wasn't feeling well. She woke up at 2 am and didn't go back to sleep until 5:30 am. When she got back up yesterday morning at about 8:30, she was S-I-C-K!! Fever was 100 but the amount of mucus coming from her nose was HORRIBLE!!! She couldn't breathe out of her nose AT ALL. I waited until 1 pm when the peds office opened and called to get her in, but they couldn't get her in until today at 1:20pm. We were ON IT.

We got to the doc today thinking they would just give her an antibiotic for the sinus infection and we would be on our way. Well, she got the prescription for augmentin, however, it's for her sinus infection, left ear infection, and skin infection. The skin infection happened because the scab on her nose came open, and her yuckiness leaking out of her nose, went in it. UGH. It doesn't look that bad though. I'm sure you all probably have this mental image of this disgusting looking infection on her upper lip but that's not the case. It's just a large scab that's red. Ryan will be on the meds twice a day for 10 days. We are still having her birthday party next weekend though because once on the meds for a few days, she will no longer be contagious.

St. Nick came last night to visit Ryan and she just LOVED everything he had to give her. Here are several pics!!!

digging into her stocking

wow....a GIANT pen.

scribbling on her new Disney Princess paper with her new GIANT pen

more nail polish...she loves having her nails painted.

her favorite....the "Dora the Explorer" bubble bath!!! (see the scabbed nose? :(

We have so many reasons to celebrate this year and I am so thrilled at how Ryan's appointment went, but I'm not forgetting the other families that are not so fortunate this year. My heart goes out to you all. Rather it's that an appointment didn't go well for your child, your child is in the hospital, or your child earned their wings way to early in life....my thoughts and prayers are with you all!!! ALWAYS!!!!!

this is now in our yard. the snowman moves up and down!!! TOO CUTE!!!

I am really looking forward to Ryan's birthday next weekend. I don't like the fact that she is one year older, but I love all the new things she is learning and seeing how much she changes on almost a daily basis. She talks better everyday and is just so amazing. Oh, and just an FYI, she weighs 31 lbs. and is 34 inches tall. ALMOST 3 FEET!! haha.

I may not get around to updating again this week but will post a birthday update next weekend for sure!!! I hope everybody had a great weekend and that you enjoy the week ahead!!

It was a Happy Thanksgiving...now we need prayers!!

Oh what a Holiday!! We had a lot of running around to do this past weekend. I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!! On Thursday, we packed up the kids and stopped by my mom's. We didn't stay long because we were headed to my Aunt's to eat, eat, eat!! Once we got to my Aunt Beth's house, we all hung out and talked and then it was to STUFF our FACES!! I was trying to relax as much as possible because I knew I had a L-O-N-G night of shopping ahead of me. LOL. After we ate dinner, we were going to drive over to Jay's sister's house. At Sue's house, we had some dessert and the kids had a GREAT time playing with all of their cousins. They always love it at their Aunt Sue's. (Just to anybody that doesn't know, Ryan's middle name is Sue. She was named after my mother, Sue and Jay's sister, Sue. Fits pretty well!!) After we had some good family time, we were ready to head home. I had forgotten my camera so I have no pics. UGH...I hate when I do that.

When we got home, Ryan was quickly put to bed since she had fallen asleep in the car. We changed her clothes and down she went. I was in a hurry to get some warmer clothes on and head to Toys-R-Us to meet up with my cousin Kate, and her fiance, Justin. We met at 10:00 pm in anticipation for the crowd. Their doors opened at midnight. The line was SOOOOO LOOONNNNGGGG. It was a mad house. It wrapped all the way the ENTIRE shopping plaza which is HUGE!! Once we got inside, we rushed around to get everything we needed and made a mad dash for the line. From the time we got in, to the time we left, was only an hour. YESSS!! We then got to our cars, threw everything in the trunk and headed to Wal-Mart. We got to wal-mart at about 1:20 am and their sales didn't start until 5 am. We got a spot in line for a camera that Kate was purchasing and then went to walk around. Justin stayed in line while Kate and I went looking. The employees at that particular store are not really that concerned about the little items that people want. All of the sale items have signs on them stating that no items can be put into your cart or taken from that spot until 5. However, items like clothes, and little toys, are not a huge concern. They are more worried about people getting ahold of the electronics because some people wait in line ALL NIGHT for those things and it's not fair is somebody just goes up and takes one. So, with that being said, we grabbed ALL the little stuff that we wanted. I got some new bath towels for us, as well as some clothes for Ryan. I also grabbed some "Dora the Explorer" strawberry scented bubble bath. She will be SO excited about that!! Since we had most of our stuff that we needed, we just sat and waited as the clock kept ticking. Once 5 am hit, it was CRAZINESS!!! We ran around the store to grab 3 or 4 last minute items and then headed for the checkout. It went by SO QUICKLY. We were checked out and out the door within 15 minutes. You just can't beat that!!! We headed over to Target where the doors were already open and picked up some more hot sale items. All in all it was a pretty good night. I got everything on my list at all 3 places and made it home by about 7:45 am. Not to bad. It was well worth it because with everything that I got, had I not gotten it all on sale, would have probably cost me about $200.00 more than what I spent on everything. NICE!! I'm sure you all think it's crazy but hey, isn't that what the Holiday's are all about??

getting ready to leave for Aunt Beth's house









aren't these 2 such a cute pair? Ryan has been thrilled to have her "Bubba" around more





OK, so here comes the prayer part of this post. Please say a prayer for Ryan. We are taking her to CCHMC on Friday morning for another echo WITH sedation. She will be given nembutal again but this time, it will be an injection. They gave it to her orally last time, and she didn't do so well. It took her longer then expected to fall asleep and they had to give her the MAX dosage. This time, with the injection, it should "hit" her quicker and be a little easier to deal with. Please just pray that everything goes well. She is then scheduled to see Dr. Hor on Monday and have an EKG. We may be able to get the results on Friday, but if not, we will wait until Monday. I will, of course, keep everyone posted.



MORE PRAYERS NEEDED!!! Please say a prayer for Logan Jack's. http://www.whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com/. He had his cardiology check up yesterday and it didn't go so well. Another surgery may be in his near future. Logan has already been through so much so stop by his page and check it out. WE ARE PRAYING FOR YOU LOGAN!!!



Also, Derrick Carter needs your thoughts and prayers as well. http://www.carolinacarters.blogspot.com/. Derrick also had a follow up and his first open heart surgery will probably be scheduled to take place by the end of January. WE ARE PRAYING FOR YOU D!!!!





here is a silly video of Ryan....the second one is sort of dark but it is her dancing to Janet Jackson while we were watching the American Music Awards a few weeks ago...SO FUNNY!!!