Stryker's First Birthday Party

It's a baseball party! I mean, what other kind of party would you expect from our family. Stryker's first birthday was held at our home (Green Stadium) with baseball cutouts on the door & mailbox. The menu made you feel as though you were at the ballfield: popcorn, mini bacon cheeseburgers, peanuts, nachos, Coke, & Sprite. Having so much attention as well as a few playmates (Jeremiah, Lance, Tripp, & Chaney) made Stryker extremely excited. Thank you so much to everyone who made this day very special for Stryker & our family. The cakes were compliments of Jane Ellen at Vestavia Country Club. It was delicious! Stryker had party favors for everyone - baseballs, baseball tattoos, & baseball mints. I also appreciate the help of Coco. She drove up the night before to help decorate as well as cleaning after the party. We definitely had a blast! Can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays with this little guy.

Birthday Boy

Birthday madness

I'm coming off a sugar high!

this ribbon tastes good

fascinated with the ribbon

PRESENTS!!!

just like daddy

this cake is quite yummy

do you want some?

#1

not sure I like this icing on my fingers

I've never had this stuff before

let's dig in!

blowing out candles with daddy

the delicious cake

candles lit, let's sing

playing with his buddy Jeremiah

can you guess? (Stryker on left, Jeremiah on right)

Hey!

smiles all the time

baseball decor

the main birthday cake

What's up Lance?!

12 month check-up

Stryker had his 12 month check-up at the pediatrician this afternoon. With Logan at baseball practice, Stryker was stuck with his mom being the mean one. I say that because he would be getting shots. Thankfully, it was only 2.

It was a good check-up. There were many things discussed:
1. health: the pediatrician said Stryker was doing well & looked good
a) weight = 20 pounds 3 ounces (20th percentile)
b) height = 29 3/4 inches (50th percentile)
2. start drinking whole milk in bottle: this means no more formula!!!
3. start weaning off bottle (as he is ready)
4. can eat eggs, seafood, & introduce peanut butter slowly
5. next check-up at 15 months

Afterwards, Logan met us at party supply places in Birmingham to stock up on Stryker's birthday decorations. We were able to enjoy a nice family dinner at Outback (thanks for the gift card grandmomma). Stryker ate his first cheeseburger. He loved it!

My (unique) Valentine's Day

Most people would not consider this a wonderful Valentine's Day, but in our family, this was classic.

Seeing that my job requires early mornings, I rolled out of bed but not without kissing my sweet husband's shoulder & saying "Happy Valentine's Day Log, I love you." He gently reached for me to return to bed repeating "Happy Valentine's Day, I love you." Wish I could have been able to stay by my hubby's side, but work was calling my name. I left that morning whispering "Happy Valentine's Day" to my little boy since he was still sound asleep & wishing Logan good luck in his games tonight. I rushed to work, hoping & praying for an early day so we could make it to the baseball games. Wallace was playing a double header at home against Vin. beginning at 3pm. Coco & Fletch are enjoying the day with Stryker at our house until I get off work. The weather was beautiful, sunny, & relatively warm. What a nice surprise on a game day...or romantic holiday for others!

Arrival to work brought good news which quickly turned into even better news. My schedule in the afternoon consisted of a 2:30pm patient. After a few of my co-workers saw my schedule, they informed me that our office assistant would be glad to call & see if my patient would come earlier. Long story short, my patient agreed to come at 1:30pm because it fit in her schedule better. How awesome was that.

I was out the doors at work around 2:30pm & on my way to load up my family for the game. We all piled in my car with Fletch sitting in the back with Stryker (yes, by HIS request). It was the first game, top of the third inning when we arrived at the stadium. The only bad news of the day was that Wallace ended up losing both 7 inning games.

Valentine's Day is also a birthday of one of the managers at Wallace. His grandmother & parents invited everyone to the his apartment for dinner. Dinner was baked spaghetti, garlic bread, & cake. Everyone ate to their hearts desire, even Stryker. The apartment was filled with laughter, fellowship, & balloons. We had a great time!

The dreaded flu

Stryker visited a pediatric orthopedic surgeon today at Children's Hospital. His adducted thumbs were the purpose. Our OT Andrew thought it would be a good idea to have an examination of Stryker's thumb joints. X-rays were taken of both thumb joints which came back normal. What good news! The orthopedic surgeon informed us that we were on the right track working with Early Intervention.

After this long doctor's visit, Coco & I headed to the pediatrician's office. Our poor little started having a runny nose & coughing Sunday in Panama City. We were afraid of Stryker getting the flu because several of the baseball players had the flu in Florida. Our worry became reality. Stryker had the flu. Thankfully, Tamiflu is cleared for children as young as 6 months. Stryker finally recovered but not before several long nights of fussiness, coughing, fever, crying, & screaming.

Walking with support

Today, Stryker had another therapy session with both OT & PT. I was at work; therefore, unable to attend. Logan & Coco were able to be there for the session. Andrew (OT) was able to get Stryker to take circles off pegs & then place them back onto the pegs. Stryker was also able to hand toys to Andrew when asked. Wow! He's making great progress! Kristi (PT) told me that she was excited about how well Stryker was doing. He loves to show off in front of people so he was able to stand independently while Kristi sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" - the entire song without falling! She wants us to work with him on standing independently in order to prepare for walking. Stryker must have listened well because he began walking with support of a toy for about 30 minutes when he got home. He would hold onto his train & walk without falling! His little legs looked so cute taking steps. I'm thinking an independent child is what we have on our hands now because he would get upset when the train hit furniture & we gave assistance to turn the train around. He loved walking. I hope walking independent is not too far away!

The down-side of therapy today was the news of needing a pediatric orthopedic hand specialist to look at Stryker's thumbs. The therapists are still questioning why his thumbs want to stay adducted during fine motor skills, especially since the MRI was negative. We were able to get an appointment for Monday, February 7th. Praying we get answers.

Circus

We made it!

elephant show

person shot through air while on fire

the circus wore him out

clap! clap!

zebras

wide-eyed

Jeremiah enjoying the show

so much going on!

our seats were very close

The circus came to town & we attended! Stryker & I brought our dear friends (Jeremiah & Julianne) with us. Our seats were amazingly close. Stryker loved all of the lights, animals, & action. Stryker's little eyes were wide-open the entire time. Not sure he blinked very much. When he really liked something, he would smile, clap, & look at me as if he were saying "did you see that momma"! Such a sweet boy. I would name the animals as they entered the stage. He would listen & then watch closely to observe their movements. It was special to take Stryker because I have fond memories of my mom taking me growing up. We will definitely be back next year, maybe with daddy. It was nice to spend time with my little boy & friends. Thank you Jeremiah & Julianne for coming with us!

Go Lions!

my baseball boys

Coach Putman, Chuck Davis, & Logan

having fun with Wallace gear on

Baseball season has officially begun!! Wallace had their first double header today starting at 1pm. Coco kept Stryker today at our house. The hospital census was low allowing me to get off at 12pm! I was excited about surprising Logan early & seeing the games from the beginning. Coco came with Stryker & me. Stryker was decked out in his Wallace sweatpants, mock turtle-neck shirt, jacket, & toboggan. He looked so tough! We sat up high behind home plate to cut the wind off us. Coach Putman had the managers clean one of the extra pressboxes for Stryker to have somewhere to play. Thanks Coach but Stryker wanted to sit in the stands & watch the games. He watched the games entirely & so intently. My little baseball player! Logan's pitchers looked great along with the rest of the team. Wallace played Motlow Community College (TN). They have never swept that college...until now! Welcome to WSCC baseball, boys! Sorry, I get carried away when talking baseball.

First game: 7 innings, score = 4-1

Second game: 7 innings, score = 5-3

The second game allowed Head Coach Randy Putman to win his 800th win at Wallace. There's not another coach to achieve this milestone. Way to go Coach! Immediately following the second game, all the players pulled their shirts off to display white t-shirts with bright orange "800". It was great! There was a short congratulations meeting with all the players, coaches, & friends/families by the dugout. Coach Putman was presented with a plaque. Happy 800th win Coach! Ready for more wins!