Today marks the start of a new path in my life. Several months ago I decided that I would like to pursue nursing as a career. There had been many changes that had happened in a short period of time that led me to this decision. Today is the first day of my first class. This next year will be spent taking biology classes and a couple of other non nursing classes and I hope to be in the nursing program at either Muskegon Community College or Grand Rapids Community College soon. MCC had a 5 year waiting list as did GRCC, but GRCC had a part time LPN program that only had a 1 year waiting list. My plan is to start there (hopefully next fall) and then transfer to GRCC. This is a very exciting time for me and it is the first time that I have had something specific in mind that I wanted to do. I am still young, but have lived long enough to know that life can happen. Things could change and I may be unable to pursue this, but as of now, this is where I am going.

On another front, I think poor Ryan has heat rash. He had tiny pink dots all over his tummy and back yesterday, and today they are all over his face and legs. That kid can't get a break. I am sure he will survive, but I hate to see him that way. He continues to do new things everyday and Rob and I are both amazed at how much he is learning.

I hate to post my thoughts without posting a picture, so here it is. This is Ryan with his cousin Adam.

Here is a blast from the past. Last year at the Miles' 4th of July Celebration, Ryan was only about four months old. He is here with his Aunt Missy, who is now close to having her own baby. I hardly remember what it was like to have such a small baby. Now Ryan wants to do everything himself, including playing with scissors and plugging things into an outlet. I can't believe how fast time goes by, especially when a baby is in the picture.

P.S. Isn't Missy soooo beautiful???

Ryan captured a toad last night. We were out in the back yard watching Ryan run through the sprinkeler and he disappeared behind the biggest tree we have. He reappeard with a toad in his hand. Don't worry, Rob ran to the toad's rescue immediately and carried it to safety...away from Ryan. He is so curious these days and we are always so amazed at the things he can do.

Another funny Ryan story...Missy and I took Ryan to the beach on Thursday. Ryan played in the sand and ran from me to the water and back. All of a sudden he started saying "goggy, goggy". (This is Ryan for "doggy"). It was a seagull. Aparently, all animals are "goggys" to Ryan. I love it!!!

I spent this evening just watching Ryan. He loves to walk into a room, walk around the room and then walk into another room. He did this for about twenty minutes tonight. Between rooms he would come to me and I would tickle him. He would laugh in anticipation just waiting for me to get him. I was amazed at what he can understand ("Ryan, sit down for a minute" and he does). I am amazed at how exciting walking is to him. I am also amazed at how darn cute he is!! I am so thankful for this wonderful gift.

This is a picture of my grandpa. We recently found out that he has liver cancer and has only a few months left here on earth. This picture was taken on May 29th, a day spent at my parents house fishing, taking boat rides and being with family. My grandpa wanted this day to make sure he did go fishing and did ride the boat "one more time". It's hard to know how to act around someone who knows he is spending his last months here. Do we talk like we are going to miss him or do we ignore it and pretend like he is going to be OK. I haven't answered that question for myself yet, but I do know that I will miss him. He has always been such a loving person. He has never let any illness or pain get the best of him. He has been in the ICU at Mercy Hospital recovering from heart surgery and only talk about how he wants to get out and go "up north" to go hunting. And I am not sure that he has ever missed a hunting season. I hope that I can have the courage and perseverence that he has had. We will be spending Father's Day with him tomorrow...probably our last. But he is a fighter. Maybe he has other plans.

Ryan has had a rough week this week. Sunday he was in the ER due to a fall off the stage at church. After hitting his head, profuse sweating appeared and then came the projectile vomiting. We waited in the room while the doctor and nurse observed for a couple of hours, and then were sent home. He was OK. Yesterday, I received a call from Teri (our wonderful daycare provider). She said that there was blood in his diaper and he was a very unhappy baby. A doctor visit later, we found out that he has some tears...well, you know where. He is doing better now, just has a very red bottom. I am so thankful that he is such a strong, healthy boy and seems to bounce back from everything.

On another note, I have a comment to my post!!! It is amazing. And of course, it is from my good friend Angela. Ang is my most intimidating friend. Not because she acts that way, but simply because of her sweet nature and awesome talent. I secretly want to be just like her. And she is right about blogging. It seems that when we do find time in our busy lives to get together with our friends or family, there never seems to be time to talk about our inner thoughts. I, too, am glad to be able to learn more about my friends.

Ryan at 3 days

Well, Rob has been trying to talk me into blogging for quite some time. I have never been good a journaling (many of my journals are about two weeks long) and I was concerned about the frequency of visitors to my blog. However, after reading Rob's blog and clicking the links to Angela's blog and reading a few of her posts, I decided to try it. After all, this will be a good way for me to talk about my son and how smart he is and keep my friends up to date on life with him. So I'll start...

Last week I was thinking that we were getting past the "really hard times" with Ryan. After all, he is now walking and can understand and respond when we talk to him. But, like always, just when I think this parenting think is getting easier, we have one of those days. Nothing I did yesterday made Ryan happy. He fussed when I picked him up, threw his body around to get down, and then cried when I put him down. There were mashed potatoes from lunch smeared all over the high chair and all over the floor. I wanted to clean the kitchen, spend time with Ryan, make him happy and take a shower all at once (it was almost 1pm). I finally figured a way to get everything done and started to play with Ryan in the living room. Like most days when we have playtime, I ended up just sitting and watiching Ryan do his own thing. I was amazed, as always, that in just 15 short months, he had mastered so many new things. Just then I didn't care how hard many of our days would certainly be, I just felt so blessed to have such a healthy, beautiful baby. Oh, and of course, proud that he has such a high IQ!!