Mommy's Little Helper

So Rylee is pretty much the most perfect child EVER! Not that I am biased or anything. :)

But seriously, what 11 month old do you know that WANTS to help mom do laundry....well, my 11 month old LOVES to help pull clothes out of the dryer and even take them out of the laundry basket. If only I could teach her how to fold and put the clothes away. She loves laundry so much that she even wants to play in the dryer!

WE HAVE A TOOTH!

Rylee has her first tooth!! I am soooo excited. She is the last one in her class to get a tooth - I was starting to wonder if we were going to have to buy her a flipper! (For those of you who are not obsessed with reality tv, a flipper is a set of false teeth that those little girls in pageants wear so that they have a full set of teeth)

Her tooth is on the bottom, front, left side (my sister can probably tell you the exact name of the tooth, but whatever). Every time I try to take a picture of it she sticks out her tongue, but hopefully I can get one soon.

Rylee's Surgery

Rylee had her ear tubes put in yesterday along with having her tear duct probed. I was nervous (to say the least) about my baby having surgery, but it went so well! We had to check in to the hospital at 6:45 in the morning - anything before 8:30 is very hard for our family :) We got checked in and then they changed Rylee into the cutest little hospital gown. She was so good - she didn't fuss at all when they came in to take her vitals. She wasn't allowed to eat before the surgery, so around 8:00 she started to cry because she was so hungry. The nurse brought in a wagon for us to let her play in and hopefully keep her occupied. We had the best time walking the halls of the hospital in the wagon. Rylee laughed and talked to everyone that we passed.

The surgery lasted all of 15 minutes - I only had time to read one article in People before they came to take me to the recovery room to meet her. She was a little fussy when she woke up, but after a bottle she was good to go. We are so thankful to have this behind us!

She was so adorable in her hospital gown!

This was after the new had worn off of little red wagon.

All Finished!

Christmas - a little late

I honestly thought that after I finished school I would have so much free time on my hands.....I am not really sure when that will start. :) Between work and the holidays I have not skipped a beat since walking across that stage. As a result, I never posted anything about Rylee's first Christmas.

There were several "firsts" this Christmas. Obviously it was Rylee's first Christmas, but it was also her first time in snow (I'll get to that later). It was also the first time I have spent Christmas Eve without my sister. :( Back to the snow - on Christmas Eve we were planning on leaving around noon to head to Breckenridge to see my mom's side of the family. When we left Melissa the skys were blue and it really wasn't that cold. As we got closer to Denton the sky turned darker and it started to snow. By the time we got to Run Away Bay it was a full blown blizzard! We really should not have been driving in that weather, but I was determined that Rylee would spend her first Christmas Eve at Grandma Turner's house - that is my FAVORITE part of the holiday and we were not going to miss it! So, Curt's mom let us borrow her Taho which is a 4 wheel drive and we headed west. It normally takes us 3 hours or so to get to Grandma's....this time it took 5 1/2 hours! But we made it! Unfortunatley, my sister and brother-in-law were not able to make it from Oklahoma because I35 was shut down.

Anyway, here are some pictures from Rylee's first Christmas!

Opening presents at Big Mama's

Family picture at Big Mama's house

The whole family (even Roofus) at Grandma Turner's

Opening her presents in Breckenridge

Family in snow at Grandma's!

Eyes and Ears.....

We finally got some good news yesterday about Rylee's ear infections and her clogged tear duct. I haven't posted much about her eye, but ever since she was born she has had a clogged tear duct in her right eye. Basically, the water can't drain from her eye so it builds up in the corner (under the skin) and gets infected. We have to massage it and clean it out several times a day and it is soooo nasty. She wakes up every morning with her right eye matted shut.

The pediatrician kept telling me that it would clear up on its own, but it never has. My sister had this problem as a baby and had to have surgery on her eye, so we figured that Rylee would have to have the same procedure - we were right.

We found out on Wednesday that Rylee has to have tubes put in her ears because she has had a constant ear infection for four months. While I was talking to the ear doctor about her procedure I mentioned her eye problems and he suggested doing both surgeries at once so that she wouldn't have to be put under anesthesia twice. All I had to do was clear it with the eye doctor and we would be good to go. So, I called the eye doctor and was able to schedule an appointment for today. I went in expecting her to say that we had to wait until Rylee was a year old to do the eye surgery, but she was 100% on board.

This is such an answer to prayers. Our poor little baby has had ear aches and a nasty eye for so long and I am so ready for her to be able to see and hear comfortably.

Done and Done!

Put a bow on it.....I'm done! After two years, one baby, and what seems like THOUSANDS of trips to Dallas, I finally have my MBA. Graduation was on Saturday morning and I am so glad to put this chapter of my life behind me. It was a great adventure, I made some amazing friends, and I learned a little bit too. :) I am so glad to finally have the time to stay at home with my family and to watch Rylee Bear grow. Thank you so much to my amazing family and friends who have supported me over the past two years - it was a long road with several unexpected turns, but you know what they say.....its all about the journey, not the destination!

Our family! Could not have done this without my amazing husband!!! Open your eyes Curt, its finally over!!!

I had to buy Rylee an SMU dress for graduation - but it's all maroon and white from now on!

My wonderful study group! We made it all the way through together!

Santa Baby!

We FINALLY made it to see Santa today! I have been looking forward to this day for a very long time and it was everything I wanted it to be and more! Curt, Rylee, and I waited in line for an hour and a half for Rylees 30 seconds with the big man! She was amazing....no tears at all! She loved Santa and all of the jingle elfs that were on hand to take the pictures. This was definately a great start to a wonderful family tradition!