Blessed

I just peeked in on Ryker sleeping. It is one of my favorite activities because he is just so peaceful and sound asleep. Tonight I was reading some friends' and friend of friends' blogs. One was recounting all of the challenges she has with her special needs child who struggles with tremendous health issues that demand ongoing extensive and expensive care. Honestly, I feel so incredibly blessed with Ryker. He is healthy, happy, outgoing, athletic, sweet, loving, adventurous, confident, strong-willed (okay, maybe sometimes I don't love that...). How did I get so lucky with my kid?

Chivalry!

Last night we were returning from a BBQ in Oakton. It was about 9 pm, Ryker was very tired, dark, lightening flashing, BIG rain about to come down and BOOM! I hit a pothole and blow out a tire on Rt. 66. Damn! Damn! Damn! I had no choice but to pull over (to a shoulder that people regularly drive on), put out the flares and begin changing the tire in my nice white dress. Fun. My dad did teach me to change a tire, but the last time I had to do it was something like 20 years ago... Thankfully a very nice man noticed me, the damsel in distress, and came to my rescue. He said he saw baby in the car (thank you Ryker!) and has a 3 year old daughter. It turns out that he owns an autobody repair shop. Nonetheless, it wasn't a pleasant task and I was so thankful! Thank God for chivalrous men!

Lala and LuLu

I can usually figure out the origin of Ryker's words. Sometimes it is a little harder because it could be either English or Spanish. Neither Marilu nor I can figure out where "lala" comes from. Do you know what that means? Shoes! Marilu thinks it mights comes from "bola" because his sneakers have balls on them. If you ask him to get his "shoes" or "zapatos" he understands, but his word? Lala!

Much to her disappointment, he has begun to call Marilu "LuLu." She wants him to call her "Tia" or "Madrina." I was looking at Allure magazine the other day and there was a picture of Eliza Dushku (star of Dollhouse and no, I didn't know who she was either). Ryker kept pointing to her and saying "LuLu! LuLu!"

On the road again...

As I was packing for a weekend in San Francisco with Andrew, Ryker decided to play "night night" in my suitcase. He got his blankie, curled up, pulled the top over and said "night night." He had a great time with Marilu and I didn't have a single worry about him. In fact, I only spoke with him once. It seemed to be a bit confusing because it made him aware that I wasn't there when he really hadn't noticed..

Ryker's Baptism

Ryker was baptised on Easter Sunday at Epiphany Catholic Church in Georgetown. Over 50 family members and friends came to celebrate with us. Marilu is his Godmother and Marvin his Godfather. Thank God for Marvin because he was the only one who could answer Father Lee's questions! I was too busy trying to keep him out of the baptism pool... Steve and Joanne Lamm hosted a brunch complete with Easter Egg Hunt and pinata. Fortunately, the weather was great because everyone would not have fit in the house!

Keelin comes to DC!

Keelin was finally allowed to travel with Andrew after 18 months in court and 30,000 Euros in legal fees. We had a great weekend celebrating Ryker's baptism. On Friday we went to a Bunny Party at the Smithsonian, followed by the carousel, butterfly and Hope Diamond exhibits at Natural History. She saw the White House, Washington Monument and the Capitol. On Saturday she went to see the Hannah Montana movie and then the fireworks downtown (Cherry Blossom Festival) and the Lincoln, Korean and Vietnam Memorials. Sunday was the baptism and Easter Egg Hunt. We then went to the zoo in the afternoon. On Monday we went to the Baltimore Aquarium and Keelin and Andrew went out on the dragon boats. THEN, Keelin and Andrew flew back to Belfast. Whew. It was an exhausting weekend but we had a great time. Keelin said she loved the weekend and wished she could live with Ryker. He's been looking for her ever since she left. He goes from room to room "Kee? Kee?" It's very sweet, but also sad...