I feel so bad that I am so behind on my blog. I didn't really realize that so many people liked to read it, until I haven't posted for a couple months and everyone wants to tell me about it. Over the last few weeks, i've realized that it is a nice way for family so far away to maybe feel a bit closer.

The last few months have been nice. I haven't had to travel much for work so i've been able to spend a lot of time with Ryker. He is getting so big. He has 6 teeth coming in now and boy are they sharp. He is beginning to want to pull his knees under his little body and push himself forward, usually this results in his forehead being shoved across the carpet. We're working on our eating habits and Ryker loves his freeze-dried yogurt bites.

We had a consultation with our orthodontist, Dr. Yamashiro and also, our plastic surgeon, Dr. Siddiqi at Primary's a few weeks ago. They were both so happy with how Ryker's cleft repair is healing. Dr. Siddiqi asked to take pictures for his photo album. We are preparing now for our next surgery. Ryker will have his soft palate repaired and his prosthesis removed and a new one replaced on June 19th. I can't believe he will be 1. This last year has been so full of ups and downs but has gone so fast.

Ryker recently took his first airplane trip. I'll post pictures as soon as I can get them. I didn't take my camera but my mom did. My grandfather in Alabama had been sick for a while and so my mom and dad and Jyl and Ryker and I were planning to take a trip back to visit the middle of this month. We had been busy making flight reservations, hotel accommodations and everything else when my mom and dad got a call late on Thursday March, 5th that my papa jess had passed away in his sleep. It felt a little overwhelming. It wasn't necessarily unexpected but deep down I wasn't prepared. It had been almost 9 years since I had last seen him and I was really looking forward to our visit later this month. Now, all of a sudden we are packing our bags to make a quick trip for his funeral. We flew down late, late on Saturday night. Luckily, Ryker slept the whole time. We arrived in Birmingham, Alabama at around 11:00 on Sunday morning. We made a quick stop at the hotel and then at the Wal-mart to buy Ryker supplies. After that, we spent the rest of the day at papa's house. It was nice because almost all of our family was there, minus 3 cousins, it was the first time in over 20 years we were all together in the same place. Ryker was such a good boy and loved all the attention. The next day and a half were a whirlwind. Once the commotion settled down and everyone started home, we got to spend a few quiet moments at the cemetery before we came home. This was the most peaceful time. I am so lucky to know that even though I didn't get to tell him good bye, he knows that I loved him and missed him, and missed the time we didn't get to spend together, we'll be reunited again.

The flight home was late afternoon, Ryker slept the first half and then for the last two hours, he sat on my mom's lap with big earphones on, watching Madagascar 2. It was so funny. He didn't even mind the big earphones on. It was a great trip. Ryker did better than expected and the time we got to spend with our family was priceless. I hope they know how much I love them.

I swear i'm going to try to update more frequently. TRY being the keyword.