Ryan's Birthday, Friends and Date Night

A Letter from Ryan

How are you? Mom and Dad say I’m getting to be a very big boy. I’m almost 1, ya know? We’re going to have a big birthday party and my friends Ethan and Riley are going to come and we’re all going to have cake and play with balloons and wrapping paper. I can’t wait.

I’m a pretty good walker now. Dad loves to help me practice. I’ve done 51 steps in a row. That was when I was following the other little kids on our vacation. Our vacation to Bethany Beach last weekend was so fun. We went to this big sandy place with water. Mom and Dad each took one of my hands and we walked out by the waves. I loved to get my feet wet. I wanted to walk right in but they never let me. They set up a little baby pool on the sand so I could play in it and I crawled in and out all the time. I got so sandy! I thought it was fun to put sand on my head and in my bucket.

Daddy is so excited to be done with school. He only has one more week and then a bunch of hard tests. Then people will call him a ‘second year’. Dad likes his young men calling. All those boys want to hold me all the time, but I don’t mind. Mommy just got a new calling … Beehive Advisor. She’s excited.

One of my favorite things right now is to be thrown off the bed. It makes me giggle. Then I try and get off as fast as I can. I know how to get off the bed all by myself. I also know how to go down the stairs by myself too. I’m sleeping all the way through the night and Mommy and Daddy love it. I take one 3 hour nap every afternoon and Mommy really likes that. I wake up and play in my crib until Mom comes to get me.

Love, Ryan

Busted Water Pipes

We still don't have water!!! Can you believe it? On Thursday someone woke us up at 6:00 am to let us know our front yard was now a geyser. (ya know, like ol' faithful!!) Well our pipes busted and water was leaking like a river down our yard and driveway. CRAZY! We had to have our water turned off and live like pioneers for a day and a half. Luckily before they turned it off I did a load of wash, showered, washed the dishes, went to the bathroom and filled up a whole bunch of containers of water and put them in the fridge for later use!!! Good thing I did. There are some guys working on the pipes outside... looks like a real pain... but we still don't have our water back. Our vacation came at a very good time! Hopefully everything will be back in working order by late tonight!!! We're crossing our fingers!

Grandpa Polley’s Brain Cancer

I just talked to my mom on the phone last night, June 1st. She just got back from a week with her parents in Las Vegas. My grandpa has a cancerous tumor in his brain. It’s so sad. He is starting to lose some speech and memory. If you ask him a question like... what’s your wife’s name? he can’t answer it but if he’s telling a story then he’ll say “last year Reva and I...” The brain is so complicated. He has a really hard time trying to communicate what he’s thinking, almost like they have to play charades. It frustrates my Grandpa a lot... he knows what he’s trying to say but can’t say it... he knows he’s not doing very well and it makes him mad. It’s really hard on my Grandma and my mom... very emotional. He had brain surgery on Thursday and so far it hasn’t helped too much. They don’t know how long he has left or how fast the cancer will spread. I hope that I will be able to see him again and show him my cute baby boy, Ryan.

Well, I’ve been done breastfeeding for about three weeks now and still no period. I’m anxious to have one or to find out I’m pregnant.

Date with Chris

Hello!! We just had a fantastic weekend! Last week Chris ‘asked me out’ and set up babysitting for Ryan for Friday night. I’d been looking forward to it all week. (It’s amazing what romance and dating will do for a marriage!) He wouldn’t tell me where we were going. We dropped Ryan off at the O’Briens and then headed downtown Bethesda to a yummy Mexican Restaurant called Rio Grande. It was so fun to be just the two of us! We walked downtown for awhile after dinner and found an outside band that we listened to for a while and then found a HUGE Barnes and Noble that we looked through for awhile and then walked back up to a movie theatre to see a movie. We had such a good time being together!!

Weekend with Friends

Saturday we got up early and headed off to Chris’ softball tournament. It lasted longer than I thought! 8:30 - 1:45! At 2:00 I went to Michaels to do a scrapbook class demo. A lot of interest... no one signed up. Then I went and watched Chris’ soccer games. At 7:00 Lisa Curran, Terri Breinholt and Geneva came over and we worked on pasteling FHE packet stuff. It was really fun. I’ve got everyone hooked on pastels. It’s good except I taught them how to shade and now Lisa and Terri take so much time on theirs that by the time they are finished they look better than mine!! They left at midnight and Sunday morning at 7:00 I was exhausted! After church we had Amy and Christian Carlson over for sweet n sour meatball dinner and then at 6:00 had the McDermott’s and O’Briens over for some games and rootbeer floats. We just love to have people over!!

Phone Call with the Waltons

On Sunday night I talked to my family. Brian was so funny... I was talking to him about how Ryan’s birthday was coming up. He said, “Is he going to be 2 years old?” I said, “No, he’s only 1”. Brian said, “I thought he was one when he was born.” I said, “No he started at zero!” He said, “You mean I’m really 10!” It was so funny! Everyone is so excited for Ryan and I to come. Amy said it was going to be so fun having a sister again. It’s only 2 and a half weeks till we get there! Crazy, huh? I’m excited too but I’m going to really miss Christopher. He just finished his first final today and wasn’t too pleased. He’ll get a B in the class and is bummed. He’s studying like mad for his next three exams. He’s done on Friday at 3:00 and of course is SO EXCITED! Well we just took Ryan over to the mall to play around for awhile. He got so excited when he saw the play area. It was cute.

Ryan’s 1st Birthday Party

Hi! My husband left me. He’s off playing army with his little buddies, driving hummers, flying in helicopters, shooting m16s and getting hot and sweaty. He left on Wednesday morning, (Ryan’s birthday) Consequently we had Ryan’s parties early... On Saturday afternoon we had Ryan’s “FRIEND” party. After a morning filled with Chris’ baseball games we bought some helium balloons, wrapped a present, made a salad and headed over to the Carlsons for the boys party. We put the three of them in high chairs beside each other and fed them dinner and then their own little birthday cakes. Ryan loved his icing but didn’t get nearly as messy as Ethan or Riley. He’s such a polite little boy!? They each opened one present outside on the lawn. We got a little spiral race track for Ryan. He loved it... and so did the other boys. They opened theirs and rushed over to play with Ryan’s. The Chuggs were there and Carter brought the boys a present too. He gave Ryan a golf club and ball. SO cute!! Ryan loves to try and ‘whack’ the ball around.

Fathers Day and Ryan’s Family Birthday Party

Sunday was Father’s Day!! I gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting on “HUSBANDS”. I was so nervous about it. It’s such a personal topic that I was scared I’d cry the whole way through. I did very well though. I started with how Chris and I met and every one laughed when I said... “it’s a good thing FOR HIM that I was on the list.” I also read my “To my Future Husband” letter and of course was emotional all the way through that. It was so good to have over. After church and dinner Chris opened his Father’s Day Present which was basketball shorts from the GAP and then Ryan got him matching T-shirts from Old Navy with a cute letter that made him cry.

Monday Chris and I rented and watched AT FIRST SIGHT and spent the evening together. The last of many many nights. I miss him and he’s only been gone two and a half days. I especially miss telling him all about my day so that’s why I’m going to be so detailed right now. I have to tell someone?!!! Wednesday I taught my first scrapbook class... a kids class. 2 girls came. It was fun and I’ll get $50 so it’s not bad. Wednesday night I invited Geneva and sister, Deanne, Amy, and Jenny over for homemade pizza and visiting. It was really fun... then when everyone left Deanne stayed and we watched YOU’VE GOT MAIL. Such a cute movie.

Schedule at Night

Yesterday I took Amy to the airport and then stopped off at a nearby park and Ryan and I watched the airplanes take off and land. We sat on the dock and ate pop tarts together. It was fun. I would’ve thought that I’d be able to get more done with Chris being gone but so far I really haven’t. Except I love being able to go to bed whenever I want to. Usually I have to beg Chris to come read with me etc. and it’s always later than I want to. My most productive time is nap time and after 8:30 when Ryan goes to bed. Since I weaned him we feed him a bottle and then take him up to his crib for bed at 8:30. The first couple nights he screamed for a half hour but now it’s only a couple minutes if at all. It’s so wonderful to have the evening to ourselves. Chris thinks we’ll put him to bed at 8:00 next year so we can have husband/wife time from 8:00 - 9:00. Then I’ll go to bed while he studies. Then we’ll both wake up at 5:00 or 5:30!!!? Yikes! I don’t know about that. It would be nice to eat breakfast with Chris though.

I’m getting so excited for my little vacation. I leave next Wednesday. I’m not excited about the plane ride. I know it’s going to be SO long, but I guess I’ll survive. My mom and sister are so excited for me to come. Amy said, “I’ll actually have a sister again. Hee hee! Can’t wait!!

Ryan Sick at Church

I just got back from church this morning... early!! I don’t know what’s the matter with Ryan. He started to get fussy in Sacrament Meeting so I took him out and held him and he screamed and screamed and screamed. I wouldn’t put him down though cuz I didn’t want him to learn that he could come out here and play. Finally when primary started I put him down and he screamed even more. Nothing I did made him happy. Lisa Curran finally suggested that I just go home and take care of him and they will get a sub for my class. He screamed all the way home. When I got inside I took his clothes off (cuz he was so sweaty) and gave him a bottle and he was fine again. He didn’t even want his bottle... he just wanted to play with his toys. I think he realized his dad wasn’t in church with him.

I’m so excited for Chris to come back tonight... but he’s just going to repack and then leave me again. At my parents house I’ll be distracted but I’ll still miss him So much. At least we’ll be able to talk on the phone!!

Yesterday I took Ryan to the pool. He loved to walk around in the baby pool. He loved to get his face wet too?!! Then he couldn’t breathe and would wipe his face and then he’d want to do it again. I took him in the big pool with me and he thought that was really fun. Not scared at all! I think we’ve got a little fish on our hands.