Big News!!

Life was good... I was eating lamb chops...



and ice cream cones...

Then last Wednesday (August 13), I woke up to my Aunt Libby. My parents were gone. My Aunt Janelle came and got me and Libby and they took me to the big brick building again. This time when I got there my mom was in one of the rooms and had on the hospital dress. She looked really tired and she was kind of pale. My Mumsy was there too and everyone kept looking at this little baby...

They kept showing me this little baby and I thought, "What's the big deal? I've seen lots of babies..."

Daddy told me that the baby's name was Alice Gertrude Rydalch. Wow, we have the same last name. She had really small wrinkly feet and really long skinny hands. They said she was a little smaller than I was as a baby - 7 pounds 11 ounces and 20 1/4 inches long. They said she was my sister, which I don't really understand.

At first, she cried some, but then she was pretty quiet and I decided maybe she was OK.

I got to hold her and that was fun, but she's kind of heavy.

Mom changed her out of her hospital clothes and into a cute outfit.

Then they put her in a car seat. She screamed. I thought it was kind of funny.

Do you know what they did next?!?? They brought her home with us. What??!! I don't know how long she's staying, but the longer she's here, the more I like her. I guess that living with my new baby sister will be OK.

Another surgery...

You shouldn't always trust your parents. Mine woke me up one day in the middle of the night and tried to feed me. I wasn't hungry; I was tired. Then they woke me up super early and wouldn't feed me - and then I was hungry! Mom only gave me a little water.

Then they took me back to the big brick building. It was still dark outside.

After we waited a while, they took us back to our own room and they put me in a purple rocket dress.

Then I got to play with a bunch of toys...

All the other kids were wearing purple rocket dresses too. I met William. His mommy and my mommy know each other.

They gave me some cherry stuff. I got really sleepy and don't really remember the rest.

I do remember waking up and Mommy and Daddy weren't there. It was scary. The people in blue took me upstairs to my own room and I was happy to see my parents. I was hurting and there were tubes and cords hooked to me. It wasn't very comfortable.

Mommy and Daddy said I looked like a big fish because the doctor had put a stitch through my tongue and it was hanging out of my mouth. I couldn't move my arms either. It was crazy. I didn't like the hospital.

My mouth felt so strange. Mommy says that the doctor closed my palate and fixed my lip on the left side. She says I don't have to go back for a very long time.

What do they mean?

Today, I went with Mom and Dad back to the brick building, but the man in the blue outfit didn't look at me, he looked at mom. That was after a lady made TV on Mommy's tummy. The TV looked like something from Daddy's Star Trek show, see:





They say I'm going to be a big brother. What do they mean? It's supposed to happen on August 6... Let me know if you find out anything!

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 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: