8 Months

My little Ryan Cathleen turned 8 months old this month!  And I have to say it's quite crazy to me that she is now 2/3 of the way through her first year.  I feel like I say this a lot, but seriously, where on earth has the time gone?

Eating:
Ryan continues to have mama's milk as her main nutritional content, nursing approximately 5-6 times in a 24 hour period.  My goal has always been to make it to a year of breastfeeding, but I have to say, she has become increasingly more interested in what's going on around her then with eating.  At least during the day, so we'll see how much longer this lasts.  She also eats pureed food three times a day (morning, afternoon, and evening).  I have to admit, I had big goals of being one of those Mom's that makes ALL of my baby's food, but to be honest, it's hard to find time to make my own meals let alone hers.  So, she gets a mix of Mama Scurlock's concoctions...and Gerber's. :)  She will eat most things that I give her, but especially loves fruit...and Puffs.  Those dang Puffs could entertain her for hours!


Auntie Anna (Antenna) and Ry matching at church.

Mobility:
We officially have an army crawler in the house this month.  Ryan started pulling herself along right at the beginning of the month and has quickly perfected the art of belly crawling around the house.  She will get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth but has yet to figure out that she could be a lot faster and have a lot less carpet burns, if she would crawl with her tummy off the floor.  Although I have to say, she's fast enough as she is.  I can't turn around for one second anymore without her getting into something.  She's also learning to pull herself up, which quickly led to the crib being lowered. Baby proofing needs to happen stat!

Sleeping:
Ry continues to be a rather good night sleeper, usually going down around 7:30pm and waking up sometime around 7:00am.  She rarely wakes in the middle of the night anymore and about 3-4 times a week wakes around 5:00am for a quick nursing session before she's back to sleep for a few hours. Her daytime naps continue to be a slight challenge, but I have come to the conclusion that my child is just never going to be a stellar napper.  She takes 2-3 naps a day still and goes down in her crib easily, but the length of her naps range from 30 minutes to 2 hours, most falling in the 1 hour range.  It is just not predictable which makes getting things done tough.

Ry and her twin cousins Cole and Jacob.

Other Tidbits:
Ryan cut 6 teeth this month. Poor Mama.  She now has a full set of 8 teeth (4 top, 4 bottom).  It was rough, but they are through and I am hopeful that we will have a bit of a break before it's time for more to come in.  She actually is a rather good teether but I don't think it's fun for anyone no matter what.

Baby torture.

She also started babbling this month.  Her first "word" was "ba ba ba ba" followed quickly by "ma ma ma ma."  And don't you worry, I will forever hold over Josh's head that Ryan's said "mama" first.  She did eventually say "da da da da" too.

Ryan has started to develop some sense of stranger anxiety.  She started crying when I leave her at the nursery at church and is hesitant even when I'm holding her if she doesn't recognize the people around her.

Her favorite things are doggies, Puffs, bath time and Mom and Dad.

Her least favorite things are car rides, green veggies, and strangers.

Josh and I can't imagine life without this little bug.  She is so fun, even on her not so fun days.  Tonight, after she'd been asleep for awhile, Josh asked if we could wake her up to "play."  To which I quickly replied, absolutely not! But in all seriousness, we love this little girl and we thank God every day that He entrusted us to be her parents.

Love Month

One of the many perks of having children is that it gives you even more of a reason to celebrate holidays.  Combine that with a love for dressing up my little girl in clothes, especially pink clothes, and you've got yourself a Valentine fashionista.   I definitely took advantage of the 2 weeks prior to February 14th and dressed up my real life doll in her Valentine's day best, practically every day.

If only I looked this good on a daily basis!

Josh is still in New York for a couple more weeks doing a pediatric rotation.  Ryan and I feel so sorry for him in the cold snow, working minimal hours each week, eating out at fun New Yorky restaurants, visiting the main NYC attractions, and visiting old friends from Grenada and England...yes we feel awful for him.  We have no idea how he's surviving.

Anyway, I lucked out that even though he was in New York, I still had the best Valentine a girl could ask for.  She could not get any cuter.

Kisses are free for Mommy though.

Baby firsts come and go so quickly.  First smile, first laugh, first roll, first foods, and now yet another first is in the books, first Valentine's Day.

Starting Over

It's been almost six months since I last posted in this little space of mine in the blog-o-sphere.  Six months.  And it's crazy to think how much has changed.

My little baby Ryan Cathleen transformed into a little girl.

Just Born

7 Months

I hope to catch you all up on the life of my Ryan soon.  She becomes more entertaining every day.  She doesn't miss a beat and constantly keeps me on my toes.  And she brings so much joy to my heart.

Josh is less than two rotations away from finishing his fourth year.  We anxiously await residency placements and life after medical school.  It's hard to imagine life without school, although life without tuition payments sure sounds great.

My absence here is due to many things, most of which I have no intention of sharing.  It's easy in the age of social media to assume that everyone's life is perfect.  After all, we blog about, tweet about, Facebook about, and Instagram about all the picture perfect moments in our lives.  We have gotten pretty darn good (myself included) at making our lives, families, careers, children, homes, etc. look idyllic online.  And perhaps, your life is.  But chances are, each and every person is fighting a battle that nobody else knows about (no matter what their Facebook says).  What I will say is this. 

Marriage is HARD.

Medical School is HARD.

Motherhood is HARD.

Life is hard.  If you don't think so, well I guess maybe you're lucky.  Or perhaps you haven't faced a storm in your life.  But more than likely you will, someday. And it will probably come when you least expect it.  God never promised that we wouldn't have to fight battles or that we wouldn't face difficult times.  In fact, I think He uses the challenges in our lives to draw us closer to Him.  Our faith is strengthened during the struggles of life.

I hope to post a little more frequently than every six months from here on out.  I can't promise that each post will be picture perfect (although my child is pretty perfect) :), because life just isn't. But it will be real.

Ryan's First Vacay

Some people would say that taking a 1 month old on her first vacation is a little crazy.  I mean aren't Moms and their newborns supposed to be cooped up in their homes for months after they are born?  Well, then I guess I've gone a little nutty cause we went home to Bakersfield for a week AND took a trip to the coast.   And as if that's not wild enough for you, I did it by myself!  So I guess you'd better check me into a mental institution. :)

1 Month Old: August 3, 2013

Since Josh has been so busy studying for his Step II, I decided to take the opportunity to go to Pismo Beach with his family.  Having family to help out with Ryan is ALWAYS wonderful, but I was definitely nervous about driving the 3 hours home to Bakersfield, alone, with a one month old.  But, I shouldn't have been scared.  My angel baby slept the entire way home.  She really makes things a little too easy.  I'm guessing my next child is going to be quite the handful to make up for how easy Ryan is.

We spent the first couple of days at my parent's home so that I could get my hair done (amazing) and go to a dentist appointment (not nearly as amazing).  And Ryan got to meet lots more of her family including her Great Grandma Gerrie and her Great Grandma Scurlock!

Great Grandma Scurlock

She also got to meet Papa B!

And of course, she spent a little time with Grandpa Fairman too.

After three days at home in Bakersfield, we headed to the coast with Josh's family.  Ryan got to meet her three boy cousins, Jacob, Cole, and Caleb.  Jake was especially smitten with "Baby Ryan."  He was very concerned with which blanket she used, whether her pacifier was in or out, and why she doesn't have any teeth.  Three year olds are too funny. :)  He couldn't get enough of her!

She also got to meet her youngest Uncle!  Uncle Andrew wasn't quite as enamored with her as cousin Jake, but for a 13 year old boy, he was great with her.

Ryan enjoyed her first of what will most likely be many many trips to Pismo Beach.  And I successfully (with the help of Auntie Kristin) nursed in public.  On the beach.  In the sand. Winning!

All bundled up for the drive home from the beach.

We had a great trip but it was nice to come back to Redlands after a week away.  Needless to say, Daddy was very happy to see Ryan and vice versa. 


They had to catch up on a weeks worth of snuggles.

So, we survived our first vacation with a baby.  Hopefully, Josh can join us on the next one! 

FOUR

With all the excitement and changes in our life regarding Ryan's arrival, I've kind of slacked on mentioning that other big thing in our world. Medical school.  It's kind of taken a back seat in my mind, but definitely not in Josh's. 

He hit a huge milestone this past week.  He finished his final rotation of third year and he is officially a fourth year medical student.  Did you read that!?! Fourth Year. As in 3/4 of the way through medical school.  Like only ONE year left!  And really, it's less than one year since he will finish his fourth year rotations in April 2014.  People said it would all fly by and they were right. It amazes me that we are quickly closing in on the end of this medical school thing.  Of course then we get to start that thing called residency which is longer and as some would say, more challenging.  But we'll focus on that when we get there. :)
Josh is currently on a 3 week "break" from rotations.  He is studying to take the Step II CK (Clinical Knowledge) portion of his board exams.  His days are very reminiscent of his Step I study days last summer.  He took the CS (Clinical Skills) test in mid July.  Once he finishes the exam, he'll start his fourth year electives.  He's also preparing his applications for residency which he will submit in September.  We THINK he's going to apply for General Surgery.

Well he's "ALMOST" one.  Close enough!

Daddy's girls. We're so proud of him.

So basically, there's a lot going on in the Scurlock household and as always, change is our only constant.  We are getting pretty used to that at this point.  And while there are still some hurdles to climb (passing the CK, finishing residency applications, going to interviews, matching) we are celebrating the here and now.  We are fourth years baby!

Ryan: Week 3

During Ryan's third week, we really started to fall into a routine of eating, sleeping, and pooping.  Rinse. Repeat.

Her umbilical cord FINALLY fell off this week.  It took just over two weeks.  I was actually a little sad because I felt like it meant that she was no longer a newborn! 

The highlight of the week was Grandma Lala coming to visit from Bakersfield.  Twice!  She just can't get enough of her first grand-daughter. And I mean, can you really blame her?

Lala helped Ryan get her first real bath since her cord had come off.  And can I just say that this child absolutely loves baths! She goes into a trance as the warm water rushes over her. They have become part of our nightly routine now.

She definitely resembles her Mama.

We did some shopping with Lala and so of course Ryan had some outfits added to her ever-expanding closet.  Lala even insisted that we put one of her new outfits on in the store!  Lala was a huge help with Ryan, especially at night.  She says she "prefers fussy babies."  Lala you can come visit us anytime!