My First Surgery

I was born with a cleft lip and palate. Here's a picture of me at about 4 weeks where you can see it up close:


On July 19th, Mom woke me up at 3:15. I'd been trying to sleep in longer, so I thought it was kind of strange, but I never turn down a good meal so I ate it right up. Then Daddy came and woke me up at 5:15. I figured something strange was going on and I hoped it was something fun. Then they took me back to that big brick building where we stayed when I was born. We waited a long, long time. Mom says that's because they rescheduled my surgery from 7:30 to 9:30, but all I know is that I was getting really really hungry and no one was doing anything about it. I cried and tried to let them know, but they wouldn't do anything, so I just gave up and went back to sleep. Here we are waiting:


Here I am in the weird gown they put on backwards. It had pictures of rocket ships on it.


All the sudden Daddy gave me to this guy:


The next thing I knew I was waking up and my mouth felt all funny. Mom and Dad weren't anywhere around until these two ladies took me upstairs. I had my very own room with a crib that Mom said kind of looked like a jail cell and Dad said looked like a bear trap.


Mom and Dad were saying I looked a lot different and kind of swollen. I felt so out of it, I just slept a lot. My grandmas and my Grandpa Harry came to visit, along with my cousin Elliott, my Aunt Merlaine, my Aunt Janelle, Shelley, and some other people too.



I can't move my arms and they wrap me up tight at night. I'd just like to touch my face where it feels funny, but I can't reach it no matter how hard I try.


Eating's kind of hard and they give me some bad tasting medicine, but mostly it's OK. The nurses were really nice and Mom stayed the night with me. I got to go back home the next day and Mom made me a special "nest" to sleep in my little crib. Here I am on my way home in my car seat:


I heard them talking about another surgery next year -- how far away is a year? I hope it's a long time...

My Second Month

Mom and I go to the doctor's office every week to see how big I'm getting -- I'm getting huge (I was 11 pounds 2 ounces on July 13th)! It's been over a hundred degrees here in Boise and our house gets pretty hot, so I like to hang out like this:


This is the outfit I wear so mom won't call me "the baby":


This is one of my cowboy outfits; it came from Georgia:


We've been taking more baths now and I sure like it. I've gone in a couple of pools too. Daddy holds on tight so I won't drown, but I float pretty well.


Here I am with my Grandpa Rydalch:


Twenty three of my Rydalch cousins and ten of my aunts and uncles came over for a barbecue so we could meet before I had my surgery. They are really fun. All my cousins were having a water fight with my daddy, but I was too little to play (maybe next time). My Aunts Britta, Kristen and Erin held me a lot and it was fun.

This is my "Auntie" Shelley. She comes over to see me a lot and we hang out.

Here I am at two months with my bunny. See how much bigger I am!

My First Trips

I took my first trip when I was four days old. My cousin Elliott and I went to a barbecue at Big Willow where my Uncle J.G. lives. Daddy had been helping brand, but I wasn't big enough to help yet. It looks like fun because you get to be so dirty!


My Aunt Catherine rode in the back of the car with me and Elliott. My Aunt Janelle said that was because all the kids had to sit in the back. Catherine is fun. I think she understands me pretty well.

Here's my Mumsy's progeny. She got her first two grandkids (me and Elliott) within about six weeks. We're trying to keep her on her toes.


My first overnight trip was to visit Mumsy at Raspberry Ranch. Daddy and Uncle Josh got to play with concrete, but I had fun too. I got to see the playhouse Mumsy got for me and Elliott, but they wouldn't let me stay there yet. Mumsy gave me a bath. I was kind of cold, so I don't look like I'm having much fun.


Mumsy and I like to hang out and sometimes she helps feed me:

My First Month

Lots of people come visit me. They all talk funny and make weird faces at me, like I can't understand anything, but I get it. My Mumsy's cousin Tommy came over with these great chairs he made for me and my cousin Elliott. Elliott is a lot bigger than me in this picture, but some day we're going to wrestle and I'm going to win!


Everyone is fascinated by my feet, especially Mumsy (that's my mom's mom Carol). They say they are pretty long, but they seem pretty normal to me.

This is me working out:

Grandma Rydalch comes to see me and we rock a lot in the chair and in the swing. She's such a kind and gentle lady -- I'm glad she's my grandma.


Sleeping is one of my favorite things. I can sleep anywhere. Here I am sleeping in my muscle shirt (I have big muscles!):


This is the day I turned one month. I don't know why my mom has to take all these pictures, but I do like the bunny... See my six shooters? Those are from Mumsy.

Coming Home

I got to go home on Thursday May 17th at 2 days old. As you can see, I just love being strapped into my car seat:


At home, Daddy gave me a tour, including my very own room with the bookcase he made me. They tell me I'm a lucky kid, but I think they're the lucky ones!

My Arrival

Here I am world! I was born on May 15, 2007 at St. Luke's in Boise. It was a pretty big day for me, my mom and my dad. Here are some photos while we were at the hospital: