Flat Head

We've noticed that Ryan's head is very flat and we hoped that since he's been off it during the day it might start rounding out but unfortunately it hasn't changed. So, we saw a specialist just to make sure since this is the time for an issue to get fixed if there is something medically incorrect. He does have positional plagiocephaly which means there's some asymetry to the shape of his head (looking downward on his head, but not looking at him straight on from the front). The doctor thinks it developed that way because of pressure to one side more than the other against my pelvis in utero (hence the siatica from 5 mo. on). He doesn't think it will merit a helmet but has advised us to give him 2 to 3 hours of tummy time a day. This is so he'll learn to roll over soon and we can put him to sleep on his tummy rather than his back. The poor little guy has certainly improved at being on his tummy but still screams bloody murder after 5-10 minutes of it. He's more agreeable to tummy time on the Boppy pillow than flat on the floor and does okay if he's on an ottoman looking at us eye-level and there's constant entertainment and distraction on our part. So, we're working on it but are far from the recommended 3 hours a day. We see the specialist in a month and will have another update then.

Four-Month-Old Photos

We just got Ryan's pictures back from our friend Mark and they turned out great. If you like Mark's work, you can see more at http://www.markjacksonphotography.com/.

Ryan is changing rapidly and is really becoming aware of his surroundings. Just tonight he reached out to pet Callie on his own for the first time.

First Photo Shoot

Our friend Mark Jackson does photography on the side professionally and personally so he and his fiance Lindsey Kiliany gave us a photo shoot for a baby gift. They came over to our house last week to take the pictures and while he's still editing them, he gave us a teaser and sent us a few pictures.

(of course Callie is completely cooperative and Ryan is tired and ready for bed at this point)

Ryan's been teething lately which is too bad for the little guy. Last night he was sitting up by himself on the kitchen table between Todd and me and was up to 60 seconds when all of a sudden he let out his "something hurts" cry and went from happy to wailing in an instant. Needless to say we picked him up so weren't able to see just how long he could sit by himself. He does well on hard surfaces but tips over almost immediately if he's on a bed. He still isn't rolling over and continues to not like tummy time but is getting better at it (as evidenced by the picture above).

Fourth of July

Fourth of July is bigger than Christmas in our family. We took Friday off and went to the lake Thursday evening and came back early Monday morning so that we could enjoy a long holiday weekend. Our friends Jeff and Kelli got a new boat and new dock last week so we went to their place Thursday and part of Friday (sans Ryan). The new boat is awesome and we had a great sunset cruise followed by a chilled evening breaking in the new dock. After staring at a computer screen all week, there's nothing we love more than that first night at the lake sitting outside under the stars - especially if we get to spend it with our best friends. We enjoyed the rest of the weekend at our place with Steve and Jane. We also got to see lots of our friends the Riggins who were in from Tampa and are hopefully moving back soon so we can have more lake weekends together. Todd's best friend Zach Collins and his family just moved back from Tampa last week (strange, I know; we had two friends in Tampa for short-term work gigs) and are buying the place next door to us at the end of the month so they made a day-trip down on Sunday. We can't wait to have them there on the weekends!

We returned Monday and ended up getting a newer car to replace the Camry which recently started having issues after almost eight years of no trouble. We got another silver sedan but it's a little sportier than the grocery getter and has all-wheel drive which will be good for my winter trips to Topeka. We also got to see the Collins' new house in KC and are glad to have them back from Tampa. And, we finalized Ryan's child care! Starting in mid-August he'll be spending 4-5 days a week with a nice woman named Susan (our parent's age) who watches a few kids in her home in Prairie Village.

Ryan has discovered his feet and loves to play with them... almost as much as he likes chewing on his fingers. He's sitting up a little better, but not quite on his own yet. He changes everyday and is getting more and more personality. He sleeps from 9'ish to 6:30'ish about half the time and the other nights wakes up once around 5:00 or 5:30 and just requires rebinking so we're almost there but have yet to rest all night long consistently.

(Jake Riggin, Cade Riggin, Ryan, Charlie Collins)
We're already speculating about all the trouble these
four boys will get into playing together at the lake.

(with Kelli and Jeff on their new boat then on their new dock)