First Earthquake

4 weeks ago today at 11:42am I was in hard core pushing mode but today while I was cleaning the kitchen floor and Ryan was enjoying his swing we were rattled with a earthquake. I have been in California for about 4 1/2 years and haven't really had much experience with earthquakes. Today's quake was the largest I have felt which is only fitting given that it was Ryan's first experience. Of course he was unfazed enjoying the movement of the swing while the music played and fishes turned above him. After I realized what was going on (mirror shacking, dishes rattling, TV shacking) I immediately grabbed him and stood in the middle of the room not really knowing what to do. I remember someone saying to get under furniture but our kitchen table is glass so I figured that wasn't the safest place so I stood by the door and called Ted express my panic. Ted calm as usual asked if we were OK, kind of chuckled at me, told me to turn on the TV to see where it was and how big and he would call me later. I really need to educate myself on what to do if we are hit with "the big one" everyone says will come one day. Happy 4 week birthday Ryan!!!

Time for a diaper change........

Muscle Man.....

Lets dance........

Tummy time.........Ryan gets a little frustrated!!!

Make sure the sound is on -his noises are adorable.

Crying Time

These days Ryan has been determined to show me his temper. I can't wait until the terrible twos. I think it is because he is sick of me by the end of the day and misses his dad.

Tired from crying...............

Saturday was the annual Teran family reunion in San Diego. I enjoyed the day so much I only took one picture. Ryan slept the entire day but was a big hit with the crowd.

Maya loves her cousin Ryan.

Happy 3 Week Birthday!

It has been 3 wonderful weeks since Ryan's arrival. He has changed so much. He is more alert, eats a ton and loves to test his my patience.

Tummy Time

Ryan loves his Boppy Pillow.


Happy Times........


Ryan got a little tired after tummy time.


Thank you Chad and Megan for all the cool USC stuff.

Visit with the Teran Family

Sunday was a big day for us. It was our first road trip. We traveled to San Diego to introduce Ryan to the Teran family. The plan was to leave at 9am to get there by 10am. Getting us all out of the house is a little more challaging. I stressed about it for two days, worried I would forget something or that it would be to much for Ryan or for me.
The first time we went to the doctors office I forgot a diaper bag. I made a check list, packed a bag the night before, and tried to time Ryan's feedings so he would sleep in the car. Everything worked out but not because of my plan but because Ryan didn't want to sleep the night before. He slept the entire way down and the entire visit with the family, and all the way home. We had a great time, Ryan got to meet his aunts, uncles, and 8 of his 2nd cousins. Little does he know there are a lot more family members to meet. He will meet the rest of the family at the end of the month at the family reunion.


Happy 2 Week Birthday!

Grandma and Grandpa Time

Grandma and Grandpa Reynolds are here to visit Ryan for the first time. He melts their hearts as he does everyone he meets. He really likes grandma, he pooped for her 3 times in a row and gave her a little spray during changing time. Grandma hasn't put him down in the last 24 hours. She is already planning on taking him fishing, teaching him how to ski (Ski not snowboard), planning his 21st birthday in Vegas, and teaching him to drive. Grandma told Ryan that Grandpa would buy him a car. I think I will need to get that in writing. I can already tell that G&G R will be spoiling Ryan. I am all for it, I believe that is what grandparents are for. My grandparents spoiled me rotten and I turned out ok.

We are on a three hour feeding/sleep schedule contrary to what Ted wrote about sleeping 8 hours a night. He gained 3 oz in 3 days getting him back to his birth weight. That is a good sign he is getting enough to eat but we are still have issues with breastfeeding so I am going to give it until the end of the month to see if we can work it out.

We are not sure who Ryan look like but there are few features that are definitly mine. He has my long fingers and toes. Those of you who know Ted and I know that he has made fun of my long toes since the day we met. Now Ryan and I can gang up on him.

My point of view..............

Well I figured I should write some truth. For those who read the blog and don't know Ted he is a BIG fan of the Dodgers, USC, Godfather movies, Law & Order and good wine. Ted will bring the humor to the blog. Arizona people don't worry I will try my best to get Ryan exposed to AZ teams, not sure I will win but I will try.
I can't believe it has been a week since the big day. First of all labor is hard even with an epidural. Nothing you can explain or imagine unless you have been through it. I have to thank Dayna at Pilates Plus who helped me prepare for the 14 hours of labor. Ted would like to share that the nurses changed the epidural cartridge 3 times, I don't think that is too much. I was afraid to use the drip button they give with fear I would run out, little did I know they don't let you run out. My advice is anyone who is planning on getting drugs you don't need to take the birthing classes. My nurses and midwife were wonderful. I have to say I was very impressed with Kaiser. The other part is no one told me how you feel after the birth and for how long. You mothers out there know what I am talking about. I am not sure if I will ever walk the same again.

Time has flown by and I am not sure what I have been doing except going in circles. Between doctor visits and getting Ryan's blood drawn for Jaundice we haven't been home all day since we have been home. He has been such a champ, it has been much harder on Ted and I then Ryan. The last two times he didn't even wake up, thank god for the car seat! The levels have been going down so we might be able to avoid a doctor until his 2 month visit.

Ryan also is labeled as a lazy sucker (not sure who he gets that from) according to the lactation consultant. Feeding time has been really interesting, I think Ryan is as frustrated as I am.

I am not sure how much I will keep up with posting comments but I will keep the pictures coming.












Thanks for everyone thoughts and prayers. We are lucky to be surrounded by wonderful family and friends.

Week One

Before anyone starts to give me crap about the colors of the blog background, know that I am already working on getting it changed. One thing at a time so be patient.

Anyway, today is Tuesday July 8th and I just finished my first week with Ryan. He is the perfect kid. He sleeps 8 hours a night...usually from 10pm - 6am but that fluctuates a bit and sometimes he sleeps from 11pm until 7am. Either way, it's all good.

During the day he pretty much keeps to himself. I can tell that he's just taking things in, playing it cool, wondering what the fuss is all about. During the day, he sleeps for 3 - 4 hours at a time. When he wakes up, he doesn't cry he just puts his mouth in a drinking position and then we feed him. Afterwards, he burps on his own about 30 seconds after he's done. He nods towards the pack-n-play and then he falls fast asleep for another 3 - 4 hours.

He pee's pretty regularly but only when he's sleeping and never without a diaper. He poops every 12 hours on the nose and again, always in the diaper. The poop has been solid and very easy to clean. Again, him looking out for us.

During the day when he's not sleeping, he is already throwing a baseball across the room. His direction is getting to be pretty good as well. It didn't start out that way but now he can hit the air conditioning control and turn it off and on whenever he wants. I like this because he likes the house cool like me. Erika is not such a big fan but she'll get over it. That's what blankets are for. His favorite Dodger is Russell Martin and he can almost say his first word.....FERNANDO.

In any event, things have gone pretty easily so far. I haven't had any of the problems or experienced any of the headaches or late nights that people were telling me about. I'm almost done with my second bottle of wine tonight and Ryan is putting his mouth in that drinking position again.

I'll write again soon but don't hold your breath.

My First Week

Finally...I'm here!!!!

I can't even begin to tell all of you how excited I am to be here. I don't even know where to start and what to say first. There are so many things going through my head right now...my great parents, USC football, the Spirit of Troy, my mom's new car, my own 42 inch flatscreen plasma above my crib (bed not house), Dodger baseball, Daddy's wine, drinking from a can (get it Richard), summer in Orange County, I'm a July birthday (barely but of course), did OJ do it, who killed J.R. and "leave the gun...take the canoli".

As most of you know, I was born last Tuesday at 12:12pm. It was getting really cramped in there and I actually popped that water balloon I was in on Monday night. It took me a little while to manuever my way out but I finally did it.

Once out, I spent some quality time with my parents. I thanked them for caring for me for the previous nine months and just when I was starting to relax, the circus showed up. In came one person after another.









First was grandpa Ted and Uncle Paul. Then it was Amy, Amanda, Racquel, Jennifer, Weston, Jessica, Scoot and Allison. Everyone seemed nice and polite but that Weston...there's just something about him that I can't put my finger on. Anyway, ater a while everyone left and Dad and I watched the Dodgers beat the Astros 7 - 6 in a come-from-behind victory. I pooped and pee'd and everyone seemed pretty excited about it for some reason.

The next day, mom and I got a new room in the hospital. It was about half the size as the first room but it was ok...I have no ego. Anyway, it was cool. I still had nice nurses and we watched the Dodgers win again, this time 4 - 1 against the same Astros as the night before. I wrote my name on the whiteboard so that the new patients in the room would know that they were following in the steps of a greatness. I didn't want to stick around to see them though. I didn't want to take away from their special moment. After all, I can relate to the commoners. As I did yesterday, I continued pooping and pee'ing and I can't understand why everyone is so giddy about it.

I finally got to go home on Thursday and boy oh boy was home everything that I thought that it would be. Mom had set up my room exactly as she said she had and my TV was exactly where dad said that he put it...directly above my crib to watch replays of USC games. I have a play area and a swing downstairs (I think I'm going to really like that swing - Thank you Amy and Steve Blum), and a huge bedroom full of toys upstairs.
I stopped pooping today until I can figure out what all of the commotion about it is. We watched the Dodgers beat the Astros 5 - 2...my first sweep and now we go to Frisco. I already hate the Giants.

I also got to meet Uncle Richard, aunt Frances and my cousins Maya and Gabi. I don't know why uncle Richard buttons his shirt all the way up like that. Aunt Frances was funny with her comments about nothing in particular. Maya was awesome and Gabi seemed gassy with all of her grunts while pointing at me.

I met aunt Kelly today too. I can tell that her and I are going to get along really well...or at least her friends and I will.

Friday...the 4th of July. My Aunt Shannon came to visit.

My first 3-day weekend and I'm still not pooping. The Dodgers beat the hated ones 10 - 7 and it kept me up all night. I was so happy to beat them and I could tell that it made everyone else happy also. I cried and pee'd but I did not poop again. Dad was so happy that he drank 2 bottles of his 2004 Insignia (I hear that's good stuff and I can't wait to crack that open with him and a good steak). I celebrated so much after the Dodger win that I slept through the firework show. Happy birthday Aunt Jen Jen and Becky the B.

Saturday...Dodgers lost. Daddy and I drank ourselves to sleep.

Sunday was cool. We beat the Giants 5 - 3 to take 2 out of 3 from those guys and my first weekend was a good one...so good that I decided to poop today. I also got to meet Lloyd, Kelly, Bryan and Morgan. They're all nuts!! I can't wait to see them again.

Monday was more of the same. I slept, pee'd, pooped, sat in the swing and watched the Dodgers win again, this time against los Bravos. Some guy named Kuroda pitched 7 perfect innings and ended up throwing a one hitter in the 3 - 0 victory. If the Dodgers can continue hitting, I like their chances. Dad likes wine and I love to sleep in mom's arms and on dad's chest.

I'll write soon.

The Beginning...

Hello everyone...Erika and I have set up this blog so that all of you can keep up on the things going on in Ryan's life. From time to time you will see additions to the blog from Erika, me (very rarely) and even Ryan himself will chime in on things as he sees them. So enjoy the reading and the pictures. I'm sure that we will all be speaking soon.