Intake evaluations

Yesterday, a woman came to our house to start the evaluation process for Ryder and speech. In the course of an hour, we sat in his room and played with dinosaurs, Legos, cars, and crayons. At one point he just sat next to me and colored, all while we did a large intake questionnaire on his overall development. He did so good! So the next step is to have a speech therapist come to our house, probably next week, to do an indepth speech evaluation to see what Ryder's specific needs are and to see how "severe his delay is", which I am not going to lie, sounded intense. But we are happy to have the process started and to see how comfortable he was with the initial session. I was so nervous for how the whole thing was going to go, and really, it couldn't have gone better. Ryder was relaxed, he was not shy of the woman and I could tell he felt so comfortable being in his own space. We are interested to see what comes next for us in this process, and we will keep you posted. Thank you for your words of encouragement. What amazing family and friends we have!

iced coffee

Kit will tell you that he really didn't get into coffee until Ryder was born.  It's a hard thing to even think about not having on a regular basis, and now with two little people, usually he is needing a caffeine hit throughout the day. So I have been on the look out for new ways to get the legal addictive stimulant and I think we found one that is going to work perfectly!

The Pioneer Woman has an iced coffee recipe that we have been wanting to try and so we finally got our act together and made it. 

Kit is very excited about this new addition to our refrigerator!
Also if you want to make it a really fun treat, just add some Hershey chocolate syrup♥.

failed photo attempts

I tried so hard to get Ryder and Eden in a picture together on Easter, but between meltdowns and naps and being distracted with family, it did not happen.  So I thought that I would try to get a picture that involved props.  I had it all planned in my mind: Eden would be in bunny ears and Ryder would be holding her.  (I know there are a few places that this plan could go wrong, but I was hopeful...)

It started out promising:

But what I wanted was both kiddos in the shot.

Here is what I got: 

Fear

 and complete distress.

Pure torture, for everyone involved.

Then while I fed her, Ryder thought he would give the ears a try:

Then Eden passed out.  I jumped at my opportunity:

I am finding that getting both kids in a shot takes both Kit and I to make it happen.  We have many years to keep trying.  

(I'm sure my family will love that♥.)

egg salad recipes

In college, our caffeteria served egg salad on squaw bread, and it was such a favorite of ours!  Every time we hard boil eggs, we think about those sandwiches, so of course, the topic came up again with easter eggs. Since dying eggs, we have over two dozen eggs in our refrigerator right now that are waiting to be made into something tasty.  I have researched a couple of recipes that I am thinking of trying and thought I would share them with you!

These I found on all recipes.com and they had the highest ratings:

You can try this one with paprika, or this one with lemon and dijon mustard. 

Or you could try this one from foodnetwork.com.

Either way, we are excited to try some of these out.

ps, The one thing that Ryder does not want to eat are eggs.  The kid eats things like stuffed green olives, curry chicken, and spicy chili but he is not fond of eggs.  We keep trying♥.  

blessings and prayers for Ryder

We spend lots of time in Ryder's room, between legos, building forts, and reading.  I find that my eyes wander around the room to what we have put up on his walls. We wanted to be intentional with what we put up in his room, so  we have created a few little spots that I wanted to share with you that have become special little places in his room where we have chosen to display special verses or prayers/blessings:

Above his crib:

The verse that we chose for his dedication (Zephaniah 3:17

On his dresser:

The verse that our friend Jamie prayed over him on his second birthday (Deuteronomy 30:20):

(Placed in a frame that I painted orange and put cork board in)

The blessing book that we had family put together:

(We hang these on his magnet board above his chair)

I want so many things for this little man's life and I realize how many things I have no control over, but what I can do is just cover him in prayer, and the truth is, to have them out puts prayer on the forefront of my mind.  Thank you for those that have joined me in praying for Ryder (and Eden).  You are such an amazing community to us!

siblings

Moments I want to freeze:

I love my kiddos...

a little irony

Last friday at Ryder's 2 year check up, our pediatrician evaluated Ryder as delayed for speech.  She thinks his comprehension is well beyond where it needs to be, but his ability to express himself through words will need a little help from a speech therapist.  I was so bummed.  I was bummed because I envisioned that we were going to need to take him to a doctors office, that the evaluation would take place in a sterile room and I just knew that an environment like that would freak Ryder out.  I felt bummed for times that I had reprimanded Ryder for acting out frustrations, realizing that he was probably so irritated that I didn't know what he wanted or how he wanted me to do something.  (plus, he's two...)  I felt bummed because no one wants their child to be "delayed" in anything.

Well, after talking with family and calling the regional center, I feel so much more informed and relaxed!  They are planning to send a therapist to our house so that Ryder is the most comfortable, being in his own environment.  They will give us tools and exercises to help Ryder communicate and express himself, which will minimize some of the frustration that he gets right now when we just don't understand him.  (However, he is still going to be two when this process is over, so I am sure there will still be "frustrations" for both ourselves and Ryder♥)  

I also realized that he won't be "delayed" for long.  I mean, the irony is not lost on me that MY kid is delayed for speech.  Everyone, just get ready, Ryder is about to take the words he knows, the language that he has created, and turn it into some serious talking.  (I mean come on, he's OUR kid...)

I don't know the time line for things but I will keep you posted on how it goes.

Thank you for those who have shared encouragement with us!  You are so appreciated!

(I can't wait to see when his words start coming AND he continues to use his hand and face gestures that he uses now... it will get crazy!  He is Italian after all...♥)