TOO CUTE!!!!!

Here is BIG sister Riley with her little brother Brenden. She wanted to share her ice cream with him the first day he was home. She is always going up to him and shaking his hand and saying, "Nice to meet you Brenden." She has made the adjustment to having a baby around.

This morning Riley told her dad to go and take a shower and that she would watch Brenden. She just sat there watching him. No, Ben did not leave the two of them alone but I thought it was cute that she wanted to care for her brother like mom and dad do. Brenden enjoys having his sister around. He laughs and smiles all the time when he hears her voice or sees her face. They have a bond already.

PICTURES !!!!!!!

BIG SISTER WAITING TO SEE

HER LITTLE BROTHER.

Mommy and Brenden waiting to go home.

BRENDEN GEORGE RINGMAN

Well the wait is over and Brenden George was born Thursday 9 August 2007 at 6:37 pm. The day was long and full of waiting. Planning a delivery sounds like fun but it not. It's full of waiting and being pushed back due to too many natural active labors. Once we made it to the hospital and was put into a labor room I was in labor and having contractions about every 2-3 mintues. When the doctor came in to tell me it would be in the next half hour, she told me "If we don't get you back there soon you will have this baby naturally." My contractions patterns were better then those women who came in in active labor. I guess either way Brenden was going to be born on the 9 August. Here are soon ALONG WAITED pictures of the little guy.

BRENDEN GEORGE - 7lbs. 14oz - 21 inches

THE WAIT IS ALMOST OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well with just hours to go before Brenden George is here, I am running around unable to be completely prepared for what is about to happen. Knowing the date is almost worse then letting things happen on their own. I have not been able to sleep for the past week and that is only going to get worse once a new little baby is in the house. I have been feeling things or so I think I have then I think its all in my head. When you want something sooooooo bad your mind will tell you anything. But tomorrow 9 August we will have our second baby. The time is pending based on the number women in natural labor. The nurse who took my blood today said that last month there were 216 babies born at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital. I asked about this month but she had not looked at the books to know. I will have to find out tomorrow how many have been born up to the time Brenden cames. Life at the hospital has been crazy and busy for everyone.



My mom and dad made down on Monday and will be here to help care for Riley while mommy and daddy are at the hospital with Brenden. She has been wonderful and knows that something is going to be different after tomorrow. I am not sure if she is completeley ready either. Only time will tell. I will post pictures and information as soon as I am home and able to get to the computer. I know everyone wants to see what the little guy will look like but the internet only goes so far here.



On this final note I want to let you all know what I think Brenden will weigh and how long he will be. Brenden George Ringman - 7lbs. 8oz. 21.75 inches long. He will have lots of hair and look like his mommy.

PLAYING IN OUR "BABY" SUIT

Riley loves to wear her "baby" suit and play in the livingroom like its her "BIG" swimming pool. She also enjoys sunbathing in the doorway. Here are a few pictures of her in her baby suit.

Beautiful Butterflies!!!!

Here is a picture of the most beautiful butterfly that anyone will ever see. I know that it looks like it has two heads but those faces are pieceless. This was taken at the Toledo Zoo. We walked through the butterfly house and saw many butterflies the same color has this one in the picture. When we walked out and around the building Riley stood in this frame and asked to have her picture taken. This was a surprise because she did not like to have her picture taken at all that day. Our day at the zoo was wonderful.

Family Picture

This is the last family picture of us as a family of 3. We will be a family of four in just a few days. This picture was taken on 7-7-07. We were going to a friend's wedding, thats the only way I can get Ben to dress up. We had a great time.

Swimming with Daddy

Here are a couple of pictures of Riley and Ben in our BIG pool. We went shopping for a couple of things that we needed to get for Brenden and Ben found this pool. I think he was more excited about it then Riley was. We came home and he put it up right away and went swimming. He had to really talk Riley into going but she loves to go swimming now.

WE MADE IT BACK!!!!!

After learning that it would cost more to fix laptop one we decided to go and get a new one. So today we went out shopping and found one that is wonderful. We will still see about talking to Dell and what we can do with the other computer but for now we will have a computer to update everyone. With just a little over a week until Brenden's birthday I thought it would be nice to have some pictures of him on the web page when he arrives.


We are looking forward to all the company that will be here to visit with The Ringman's. I also have a few pictures that I would like to share with everyone. Let me get things ready and my camera set up on this computer and I will post some new pictures.


I will be going to the doctor on Thursday for my last appointment before D-Day. Last week we meet the doctor that will be preforming my c-section and she is wonderful. She is also the head of Labor and Delivery. She too said that I made a good choice about a repeat c-section because my hips are not large enough to delivery children naturally. And once again she informed me that I would have a large baby this time around too. Brenden is in the head down position but he had not dropped yet. So we will she what is said in a couple of days when we return for our 38 week appointment.

4 weeks to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With just four weeks to go until Brenden's arrival. I would like to know what you all think he will weigh and how long he will be. But before you go and through out some number let me give a little bit of information.

Riley - 6lbs. 14 oz and 21.5 inches Before she was born I was told that she was going to be an 8 lb. baby because my belly was measuring bigger then what it should have at the time.

My doctor said that Brenden will be a least a pound bigger then Riley because once again I am measuring bigger then I should be at this time. Now Ben was unusually small for a full term baby weighing in at 5lbs. and I was an average baby weighing in at 7lbs. 14oz. So with this information I would like to know what you all think this "little" guy will weigh. Since we already now his birthday we will be guessing on his weight and height. You may even guess how much hair he will have and who he will look like. Riley looked just like daddy at birth but is now a little cutie and looking like her mommy.

The last post shows a picture of my belly and how large I am at 35 weeks. This may help you and it may not.

GOOD LUCK!!

35 WEEKS!!!

Well with just 5 weeks to go to my due date Ben and I have decided to go for a repeat c-section. So with that I will only have 4 weeks to go because Brenden will be born on August 9, 2007. I will go and meet the doctor who will deliever Brenden on August 2 and we will know a time. We have been playing with the idea of a repeat c-section all through this pregnency due to Ben being redeployed to Iraq. We have come to understanding that they will receive orders to be leaving some time in mid to late September. This will allow Ben and Brenden to bond a little before Ben leaves for 15 months. We are looking forward to having a family of four.

"POTTY TRAINING"

Well we have been working hard at getting Riley potty trained before the arrival of her little brother, Brenden. Things went VERY well yesterday at school. She came home in the same clothes that she went to school. But today was a different story, an hour after I dropped her off I received a phone call asking to bring Riley another pair of shoes because she had had wet herself. OK so I guess on accident is not bad but then while we were home she had another accident. I guess she will go when she wants to and then she can be lazy. I am still very proud at her progress. I am just thankful for the fact that I wont have to buy diapers/pull-ups for two children at the same time.

Well I tried to bring up the pictures of the house both inside and out but I unable to at this time. I will keep trying until something works. For now enjoy your weekend.

31 WEEKS TODAY!!

Well I made it to 31 weeks. I will go to my 32 week check up in one week (nest Tuesday). I am going to find out my results from my sugar test. Yep I had to go and take that 3 hour sugar test because the one I took at 28 weeks came back high. I will also have to make that very important decision about having a repeat c-section or a "naormal" delievery. I am not sure what I want to do at this point. I am sure my body will let me know when the time comes and I have to decide. Since I have been home I have been able to work on Brenden's room and get things in order for his arrival. We have a few more things to do and his room will be ready to go. His room has a sports theme. Not only have we been working on the house but we have also been working with Riley on potty training. She is doing great. She lets you know when she has to go and she have been doing both jobs in the toilet too. We are almost ready to use panties all day and night now. Even when she is at school she goes to the bathroom on her own. I am very proud of her. She just decided that she was not going to go potty in her pants anymore and Grandma Ringman helped her get started when we where home visiting. Now using a public bathroom is a challenge for Riley right now. She does not like to go to the bathroom unless its at a house or at school. This may take a few months. I know how she feels because I was the same way for many years. I am sure it will get easier the older she gets.

Well enjoy "hump day" Wednesday and hopefully I can get a few more pictures posted here soon.

HERE ARE A FEW NEW PICTURES!!!!!!

Nana and Riley being silly and smiling BIG

for the camera.

Here is Riley and Jackson (cousin) playing

Ring-around-the-rosie.

Riley had a great time playing with Jackson. They had lots of energy. Watching the two of them play made me smile and laugh. I now know how Riley will be with a little brother of her own to play with and mommy. She loved holding Jackson's hand and pulling him in the wagon while we walked around the zoo. Riley shared her soda with him and made sure that he was doing the right thing. It was lots of fun and brought smiles to everyone's face.

Here is a picture that I found of Riley and her daddy. Riley is just a few weeks old.



As we await the arrival of Brenden Ringman, Riley is getting more and more involved with the pregnancy. She has a Brenden in her belly too. He has been moving a lot in the last few days and it feels as if he is running out of room in there. I know that we still have about 2.5 months left but its starting to feel little he is growing faster then my belly is right now. I am still not as large as I was with little Miss Riley but I think little Mr. Brenden will be bigger too. I go to the doctor on Tuesday for my 28 wk. check up, we will see what it said at the point. I am also hoping to come home soon to visit with the family and attend graduation parties. Tuesday's appointment will tell me if that is possible or not. Keep your fingers crossed that I can still travel that far. Oh and we are planning to have a repeat c-section with Brenden too. I think that it will be easier for everyone if we know what day he will be arriving. Some maybe on Tuesday we will have a delivery date.

We are still working on getting the other computer fixed. I guess we have learned that its not that big of a deal for us to have a computer or not so I am sorry I will try to work on that in the next few weeks.

School is done for the summer and I will have lots of time to work around the house clean up Brenden's room and get things in order for his BIG day.

LIFE GETTING BACK TO NORMAL!!?

Well my surgery went well. The doctor believes that I passed the stone before I went in on Thursday. He could not find the stone once he was up in there. So to help pass anything else that may not have come out then or during surgery he placed a stint in me. It's a long tub that goes from the right kidney to the urinary tract to help keep it open. Yes is sounds painful and it is very uncomfortable. Using the bathroom is a difficult task. Not only am I 26 weeks pregnant and use the bathroom all the time already this nice little tub has me going just about every 30 mins. or so. The first day I was home I thought I had to go all the time and nothing would happen. It's getting better but its still going to be a long time until Monday at 8:15am when I go back to the doctor to have this thing removed. Throughout this whole process the baby (which still does not have a name yet) is doing great. His heart rate is wonderful and the OB doctor who took care of me during surgery was very pleased with his heart rate at this stage of pregnancy. Grandma Ringman came down to help care for Riley while I was unable to pick her up and do all those wonderful mommy things. It was great to have the extra hands and caring heart here to help. Riley loved the company.

Sorry we are still waiting to have the laptop fixed. I will try to post some pictures this weekend from the desktop but I dont know how well it is going to work. I will get some pictures on here soon.

BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!!!

Well its been a roller coaster ride for me and everyone around. I have kidney stones and will be going this Thursday to have them removed. Yes that means surgery. I will stay over night the night before so the OB doctor can monitor me and the baby before, during and after the surgery to make sure there are no changes. Things are still crazy with just moving and being ill with these kidney stones. Riley has handled all of this well so far. We will see what happens in the next couple of days when mommy is not at home again and in the hospital. She has been a great girl. She is still working on her potty training and doing a good job with it. She is letting us all know when she needs to go. Sometimes its in time and other times its a little late but its the idea that matters right now.

We are hoping to get our computer fixed this weekend so we can post some pictures of the belly and Riley. Well we will share more later. Have a great weekend.

COMPUTER PROBLEMS!!!!!!

We are having computer issues at this time. We are going to have to send our computer off to be fixed. The power has been burned up or something like that so there wont be any pictures posted until our computer is fixed. I can leave short quick notes on the computer at school until the end of May when school is finished.

Riley's surgery went well yesterday. She went to day care and things went well. She had some nasty drainage this morning from one ear so we will see how much she has tonight and from this afternoon. I go to my OB appointment on Friday for a regular check-up (24 weeks). I am still waiting to talk to a specialist about my kidneys. I will let you all know when I know more too. Until then things are going well. We are making progress with potty training Riley and getting our new house in order. There is a lot to complete before our little arrives in August. Have a great weekend and I will share more later.

SO MUCH TO TELL!!!!

Well where do I start. There has been a lot of changes here in Tennessee since my last post. Ben and I signed on our new house just before Easter weekend. We went home to spend time with family and friends. Other then being down right cold we had a wonderful time. When we returned home Ben went to the field for the week and I had a doctor's appointment and everything was well at that point. Riley also went to her ENT doctor and they have decided that she will need tubs to help drain the fluid off her ears. That is where we are going this morning. We are going to her pre-op appointment to sent the date and time of the "surgery." This brings me to the end of last week.

Well on Wednesday I went to the ER to see if I had a bladder infection. I noticed that my lower back was sore and that my pee was not pale yellow anymore. They checked me over and sent me home with meds for a UTI (urinary tract infection). It seem to be working well until Friday. I woke and did my daily routine. When I was dropping Riley off at daycare I noticed that my lower back was causing me some serious pain. I thought that it was because I was holding Riley to much so we sat down and it seemed to get better. Well I went on to work and things just got worse. I tried pain meds and that did not help. I left early to go to the OB clinic. They are so over whelmed with pregnant ladies that it took all morning for me to be seen by someone. Then she told me that the pain was being cause by the baby laying on that side and my body changing. Now that might have been a good answer for a first time mom who had no idea what labor pain was but I was not happy. I went home and tried to rest to help relax the pain. Well resting was out of the question I started to get sick from the pain. I could not do much of anything without feeling the pain all over my lower back. I called back and they sent me to Labor and Delivery. There I was seen by an OB doctor who admitted me to the hospital. He was thinking it was kidney stones. If it was not that it was a serious kidney infection. I spent four days in the hospital with an IV and pain meds. During this time you wonder where is Riley I had a girlfriend go and pick her up from daycare and call about getting Ben home from the field. Everything went well. Ben came home and took care of Riley and he moved the whole house with his co-workers. So when I came home I came home to a new house. Well results from being in the hospital are still unclear. I am going to be going to a specialist to see if anything else can be concluded from this experience. I go back to my OB for a scheduled check up on Friday.

Pictures of the house and the family will come soon. We have just had lots on our plate this month.

The Wait is Over!!!!!

We made it to our 20 week ultrasound. You will be happy to know that we will be having a Little Boy come August. We are looking forward to his arrival and choosing a name for him. When we were pregnant with Riley we were not able to agree on a boy's name. I guess we have lots of time to think of a name. We will keep you all posted with names we like. I know you all want to see some images of this new little boy, so here they are.

Here he is!

Side profile with his arms bent and reaching for his toes.

He looks like he is dancing.

Here is a front picture. You can see his face with eyes closed and his

two little hands right under his chin. He seemed to be happy. It

looks like he is smiling.

Here you can see his side profile with his left arm up by his face.

This is a picture of the baby's feet. He had his legs crossed at the ankles.

APPOINTMENTS

Riley went to her 2 year physical and ear check up appointment today. She is growing like a normal two year old. She is 30lbs. and 33 inches tall. We are going to go and see an ENT (ears, nose, throat) doctor with in the next couple of weeks. She is still having lots of fluid behind her eardrums and Dr. Henry does not want this to cause issues for her later. From what he can see she is hearing and her speech development is right on target. We will wait and speak to the ENT doctor and learn more from there. She is very independent and is talking more and more everyday. She loves the fact that she is going to be a BIG sister. She has made the BIG move to the next class at daycare and is in the 2/3 class. Riley is learning more then she needs to know from this class. Some of her learning are not the best but she is learning some great things too.

Next Thrusday March 29 is our well awaited ultrasound. I will have pictures of the growing belly and hopefully of the baby on Thrusday. We did have a scare today. I went the ER with some spotting. I was nervous and scared but I was checked and everything is OK and everything sounded great. The heartbeat was strong and everything is growing ok accoring to the doctor I saw. We will learn more in a week.

17 WEEKS

We have 3 weeks before we go for our ultrasound to learn the sex of our baby. Here a of picture of me and my little belly. Let me know what you think. BOY or GIRL??? Pictures are not my favorite right now and Ben is not good at taking them. Hopefully he will learn one day. This baby acts a lot different then Riley did. First of all "he" is sitting lower and "he" is not as active as Riley. I am also A LOT smaller now then I was at this point with Riley. The only things that I can remember being the same are back pains and my breast beening tender. Other then that everything is very different. But you decided for yourself.

LIFE CHANGING CHOICES

Ben and I have made the choice to go and buy a house. We have found the one we liked and have made an offer. We have also found out that we will be home owners in the next couple of months. We found a house that is three bedrooms, two baths, and a gargage. There are some changes that we are already planning to make to the kitchen and the laundry room doors need to be updated. We look forward to having a place that we can say is ours. It will be nice to be able to paint the kids rooms any color that I want and the rest of the house too. Living under someone else that has not been possible. Lots of changes are going to be happening in the next few months.

At the end of this month we will find out the sex of our unborn child. March 29th at 1:30 centeral time we will be having our ultrasound done. Hopefully this baby will be like Riley and show us. I know that every child is different and it already shows through this pregnancy too. I am not as BIG as I was with Riley and this baby seems to be a night child. This I don't like because Riley and I are both morning people. We will have to change this child to be a morning person too.

Look for more updates on the house and the baby later.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RILEY!!!!

For Riley's second birthday we went home to Michigan where she had time to spend with her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. We all had a wonderful time. I can't believe that my baby girl is 2 years old. I still see her as my baby not my toddler. She seems to act a little more grown now too. She is really working hard on her potty training. She is doing a good job. She likes to wear her panties but she also forgets to tell us when she has to use the potty so she potties all over. She does not like that so hopefully it will help her understand to go in the potty. We will just keep working on it and it will just happen.

Here are a few pictures from Riley's birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa Ringman's house.

Presents!!!

Oh, more closthes!!!

TEA TIME!!!
Making sure her baby's hairbow is just right!!

Time for CAKE (BROWNIES) and icecream!! We like the idea of brownies and icecream but Riley was not sure about everyone's singing talent. Look at her faces. Smile for a brownie and very serious when we all were singing "Happy Birthday".

LEARNING TO CHANGE THE BABY!!!!

Ok, this is Riley's bed. She likes to play with her babies and change their diapers like mommy and daddy do with her. On this day I noticed that she was coming and going from her room. She was playing quietly, should have checked then right!!! Well I just thought she was having fun and she was keeping busy. Then when it was time to change her diaper I went into her bedroom to notice that she had used up all the wipes in the box, so she went and opened a new package of wipes to use. It was helpful to me that she opened them but I noticed that half of the package was used. I guess she wanted to make sure her baby was clean. All I could do was laugh. Riley was so proud that she was changing her baby that she told her daddy when he got home. Then she wanted to take her picture with her baby and a couple other babies too. She too her "time-out" chair and she put her babies in her lap and asked daddy to take their picture. She is ready to be a BIG sister. She takes great care of her baby dolls and loves to play.

HAPPY GROUNDHOG'S DAY!!

According to the famous groundhog "Phil" we will have an early Spring. Well when we look out our windows you would not believe that. We woke up to about 2 inches of snow and ice. All the local schools are closed and post was delayed for a few hours this morning. From what the weather channel is saying we are going to receive more of this white snow this weekend as temps stay around 34-32. Well here are a few pictures of what you would see if you looked out our windows here in Tennessee.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

WE POST THIS ON HERE SO EVERYONE CAN SEE WHAT IS GOING ON WITH US. IF WE DON'T START GETTING REPLY'S BACK WE WILL BE SHUTTING THIS PAGE DOWN. WHEN YOU GET ONLINE TO SEE THE PAGE THE LEAST YOU CAN DO IS LEAVE A MESSAGE. THANK YOU.

BENJAMIN RINGMAN

Learning with Animals!!

Riley took this picture by herself. She loves to take pictures.

Here is Riley playing on her computer with her panda bear. She allowed her bear to help her type and play the games that she was playing. Riley is learning to share. She takes turns with her animals and baby dolls. This is a good sign for us and the new baby. Which brings me to the fact that she has changed her mind on weather she wants a baby brother or a sister. At first she was saying a brother (boy baby) but since there has been a couple of boys at school who have been picking on her she has changed her mind. She wants a baby sister (girl baby). We will find out in just about 8 weeks (2 months). Riley too is growing like a weed. She has learned to open all the doors in the house and now she can open the screen door. We have to watch her because she can get out but she can not get back in by herself. We have to keep the front door closed now because I am afraid that she will end up outside with out me or daddy. She is also trying to potty train. This is fun!!! She wants to wear her big girl panties but then she forgets to go and sit on the potty. She does not like it when she pees on herself. When she is wearing her diapers she is tellling me when she needs to be changed. She is trying. We will just keep working and see what happens. Hopefully by the time baby two is here she will be pretty much potty trained and we wont have to buy diapers for two children.

Riley taking care of her baby. Must be bed time.

MONTHLY DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT

Well today I started the great walk of monthly doctor appointments with baby number two. I was assigned to a wonderful nurse practitioner, Ms. O'Quinn and her asstitant Mr. Watzson. Very personal people. They were both here at Ft. Campbell during the first baby boom. I had a normal appointment. I talked about my delivery and pregnancy with Riley. We pulled my record and went through what I should be thinking about for the next appointment. I need to think about weather I want to have a repeat C-section or try for a viganal delivery. Ms. O'Quinn could not go through this with me since she does not deliver babies. She did explain to me that I will see a DOCTOR next month to have my insides checked and to go over the pros and cons of a repeat C-section and a viganal delivery. Lots to think about between now and then. I guess I have seven months to fully decide. I realize that with a repeat C-section I can plan to have family here before the baby is here and hopefully Ben will still be here too. The only thing that I don't like is picking my baby's birthday. I would like to have the baby choose for him/herself.

Well here is what I learned at this appointment. I gained NO weight, my blood pressure was great, Fundal height (uterus) measures 10-12 cm which is right on track for a August 16 due date and the Fetal heart rate was 158. Which going by the old wise tail (heart over 140 would be a girl) this baby should be a girl but Riley's heart rate was in the 140 rage and she was a girl so she did not follow the wise tail. We will have to wait until the end of March to find out. Riley and Ben are pushing for a boy and I am just wanting another healthy beautiful baby. More about the baby in a month.

WAITING FOR DADDY TO COME HOME!!!!!

Riley and I have been on our own for the last three weeks while Daddy (Ben) is at school. He will be home late tomorrow night. Then he will be home for the weekend and then he will be off to the field for a couple of weeks. From what the guys are saying Riley, the baby and I are going to be on our own a lot until the guys deploy again. Yep that's right redeployment will be taking place in early August. Hopefully the baby will be early and the deployment date will change between now and then. I don't want Ben to miss the birth of this child. But with the army and a new baby anything is possible. They both have a mind of their own and will do what they want too.

Riley and I have been busy working and spending lots of time together. She is battling the day care cold right now. Which means we are up at least three times a night coughing and crying for mommy and daddy. Hopefully it will pass soon and she will be healthy again.

Working on a puzzle. Mommy was helping but she was doing a good job picking out the next piece.

Riley is sharing her Binky and her cup of chocolate milk with her new puppy.

Riley has stated that she wants a baby brother and that is will share her toys with him. She has been taking good care of her babies here at the house and making sure they are not crying. Riley also rocks them in her rocking chair and covers them up with her blankets. We are looking forward to seeing her around a new little person that lives at the house with us. She loves the babies at day care and greets them every morning and afternoon when we leave. I guess only time will tell how things will work out.

OUR FIRST DR. APPOINTMENT!!!!

Well I had my first doctor's appointment today (if that is what you want to call it). I filled out all my medical history and had blood work done, along with a sugar test. I learned all about CF and what I might or might not feel with my body changing over the next 30 weeks. Yes, that's right I am 10 weeks pregnant today and have a long way to go. They have estimated my due date to be 16 August 2007. If this little person is anything like his sister he too will be early and we will have a baby closer to Daddy's and Grandpa Ringman's birthday. Life will be full of surprises as our lives are going to change with this new little one.

We were also informed today that Ft. Campbell is yet another baby boom, thanks to deployments and our soldiers return. So again doctors appointments on post are going to be close and on top of each other. We will not want to miss one because we wont be able to get back in on time. I have many friends going through this process with me this time. It will be fun to compare notes and see how life is going for them too. I look forward to growing and learning more about this little person. Ben is hoping once again for a BOY. I on the other hand just want another health happy little baby. Yes a boy would be nice but I think a girl would be just as nice too. Only 10 more weeks and we will find that out.

I will have my first real doctor's appointment next week Friday, 26 Jan. This will be the time I will meet my mid-wife. I hope my experience this time will be as nice as it was with Riley. We will keep you posted.

BACK TO SCHOOL, BACK TO DAY CARE!!!!

Well today Riley and I are back on our routine. Getting up to go to work and school. She could not wait to get back to school after being home with family for the past three weeks. She walked into school like she knew what to do. Things around the house have changed. Daddy left yesterday (Sunday) to go to school for two weeks down in Georgia. Riley is already missing him and looking for him. She ask, "Where is daddy? Where did he go?" I have to remind her that he is at school.

We are going back to the ear doctor today. We are looking to see how her ears are doing. They have been filled with fluid since August. The last appointment her ears were not infected but there was lots of fluid behind her eardrums. We have been on all types of meds to help but I don't think it's helping like they want them too. Today will tell us what are next step will be with her and her ears. We will keep you posted with all the doctor appointments that will be coming up with both Riley and I. We will learn of a due on the 18 January 2007 for new little one. I am still saying around the first week of August. Time will tell. Enjoy your week.

A VISIT TO THE ER!!!!

Well we made it home. Just after one day of returning home from our visit to Michigan, Riley and I made an unexpected visit to the ER. Yesterday morning (4 Jan. 07) Riley fell while running and playing. When she got up she was crying and holding her right arm. This was not normal for her. She usually gets up and continues to play but today was different. She would not use her arm and she continued to hold and protect it. We set off for the ER at 1030 am and got right in and had x-rays taken. While we were waiting for the results Riley tried to use her hand but just couldn't. The x-rays showed that her hand was not broken but they splinted it any ways. The doctor said that this would help her heal and if she took it off that that means she is ready to use it. Well I laughed because two mintues after the nurse left Riley wanted the splint off and tried to take it off herself. We did manage to leave it on for the night. While playing she had a hard time not using her right hand. We had learned that Riley is right handed and she kept forgetting that her right hand was out of use for the time. Today however we woke up and she took off the splint and started to use her hand again. This was a great move. She is back to her normally two year old self and loves to get into everything.

A VISIT TO MICHIGAN!!!

Our trip home to Michigan was full of many events that were full of love and family. Riley was able to spend time with all her cousins on my side of the family. There is a total of 6 grandkids for my parents and we were able to have everyone together for our Christmas this year. This has been a task that we have found very difficult to complete. Here is Riley with her cousins. August, Savannah, Brock, Jackson, and Gabby.

What a cute bunch of kids!!!

OUR NEW BIGGEST TOY!!!!

Riley enjoyed her new jeep truck. We were able to get it put together and the battery in for Riley to begin to ride. She does not do too bad but it does go a little fast for her but she likes to pretend with her baby. She puts her baby in the seat and buckles her in and then she plays that they are going to school and work just like mommy and her do. She will have lots of fun this summer when she can ride outside. I will be looking forward to this too because it will help me loose that baby weight. Here is Riley and her BIG girl Jeep (truck).

SANTA CAME!! SANTA CAME!!!

Merry Christmas! We had a wounderful morning. Riley was very excited to see all the presents and her new dolly and swing. She enjoyed opening up everything and playing with all her new toys. Once again she received more then she needed. She is growing up so fast, its hard to belief that she is almost two and going to be a BIG sister.

Here we are playing this morning with our baby and swing. Riley received a computer and she played with it all morning. She also wanted her kitten to play to so she helped her kitten push the buttons. She did a nice job playing with all her toys.

Daddy helping Riley play with her new toys. This toy is one that Daddy picked out all by himself. This was Daddy's first Christmas with Riley and I had a great time watching them. Ben did a great job helping her open her presents.

Here is Ben playing with his new toy. He received his drill. Along with his drill he received a tool box. He opened everything up had to pack it up in his box. He his really turning into a handy man around the house and in the yard.

A NEW BABY AWAITS!!!!

Ben, Riley and I just found out that we are awaiting a new little person. If I calucated correctly we should have our new arrival in early August. That will make Riley and her sibling 2.5 years apart. Which will be nice. Riley on the other hand has 9 months to decide that a sibling will be nice. Right now she does not want mommy to have a baby. You ask her "Do you want mommy to have a baby?" Riley reply is "NO!" I am sure that will change in the next few months when she sees my belly grow and the movement that comes with that growing belly. That is the least of my worries at this point. I am worried about Ben's re-deployment that will fall at about the same time have the due date. Having a new baby and a toddler for a third tour does not sound like a whole a lot of fun but a good challenge. I am sure I will have lots of visitors during that time. We will keep you all posted with life in Tennessee.

HELLO!

She was waiting to meet Clifford the BIG red dog.

She was scared and cried very hard.

Just a little note to say Hello. We made it through Thanksgiving and now we are working towards Christmas. We (Riley and I) put the Christmas tree the day after turkey day. She had a great time. She likes to look at the new oridments. She does not like to hide (wrap) the toys to give them to other friends. She thinks everything is hers and does not want to share.

On the other hand I am almost finished with my teaching assignment. I will be looking for another teaching job. Things are looking good. The principal that I am working for now said that there are jobs aviable in January and if that does not work out for me. There is a job fair in April that the schools hire on the spot. I have also been asked to take a preschool at the day care that Riley attends. Things are looking good.

Sweet little girl. If you look close you will see that she was not happy. She does have a hair bow in again.