Dance Dance !

I've always enjoyed spending time with Ryu. It makes my heart melt when I see him interact with other kids. This is a video of Ryu and Mya. Mya is my friend's daughter and she is older than Ryu, but that's fine Ryu absolutely adores her. I don't have many friends with children that I actually hang out with.

I have barely involved myself with mommy and baby time with other people. Erika (my coworker) is really the only person that I have had play dates with. I'm sure that when Ryu actually starts school he will have more friends. I think it worked out well that I hang out with Erika because we are the same age and she understands the schedule of parenthood. Most of my friends that do not have children do not understand that I can't just go out any time I want to. If I do go out I really love being able to bring my son around.

Hopefully when Ryu starts school we can have more play dates.

Ryu Turns 4 (Star Wars Theme) Part 2

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Welcome to part 2 of Ryu's soiree. Are you getting tired of me seeing the pictures from Ryu's birthday yet? I love how the kids enjoyed being outdoors. I didn't get in the water because I was running around making sure everything was ready outside. I also didn't feel like getting in the water until it had cooled off. The weather that day was horrible. At first we checked the weather forecast for that day and it showed that it was supposed to be cool with a chance of rain. Sean was hoping that the weather would turn around and sure enough it did. It got so hot that day! By the end of the evening I had noticeably gotten sunburned throughout my shoulders, back, and arms. It was not a fun feeling the next several days after.

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It was a fun day and honestly I wouldn't change anything about it. I wish that our other friends and family were able to join us, but hopefully next year when he turns 5 they will be there.

 

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The cupcakes were far from perfect and were made last minute. Sure, they're not perfect but at least everyone enjoyed them and that is all that matters. These cupcakes are all vegan. We forgot that I ruined our last cupcake pan so we had to improvise which is the reason and excuse as to why they look slightly odd.

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So much for writing more about the party. I think we all know how a child's party usually turns out. This one was fun, short, and simple. We all had a great time. I'll be posting more about the last bit of the party tomorrow. Once again thanks to everyone who made this happen.

 

 

Ryu Turns 4 (Star Wars Theme) PT 1

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I want to thank our family and friends who greeted Ryu a Happy Birthday. I want to thank all our friends and family who was a part of Ryu's 4th birthday. On July 28th Ryu turned 4!! The evening before was so hectic because I was getting our place ready for the birthday party. There was a lot to do, but well worth it! We had prepared for a "Lego Themed/Star Wars" birthday. It was tons of fun and I am so glad that our friends and family were able to join us.

Unfortunately, my mom had work that day, but she managed to stop by in the morning. My grandparents also had prior engagements but they dropped off a bunch of balloons and food! Ryu was so thrilled with his balloons. He was very happy and excited to see them in his room. For the whole month he had been asking us every day if it was his birthday yet. I wanted our place to be fixed up before Ryu's birthday, but due to funds we are still in the process of putting our place together. I'm sure with time and patience our home will come together, but I'm glad that it was at least clean enough for our guests!

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We decided that it was going to be a pool party since it was so hot outside. It was perfect to have everyone enjoy the pool and have a bunch of food to go along with it. Sean and I (mainly Sean) were in the kitchen cooking up a storm (I did the night before) to get ready for the festivity. For some reason I misunderstood some of my guests and thought that they were going to be able to make it. We made so much food that we had leftovers for a good while. My grandmother even made two huge trays of spaghetti for the children. 

We are fortunate because we live at the downstairs end unit of the complex. The pool is right in front of our place and you can view the pool from our patio. There is also an area to BBQ and eat. It was so convenient for us since we did not have to walk for nor did it take us a long time to clean up. I loved the fact that the eating area was also not far from the pool. Food was accessible without any issues, well aside from the bees and flies. We left the food covered because the flies were a pain.

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I used mason jars for the candy, but quickly ran out to cover the top. The lollipop handles were too short so you could see them, but I don't think anyone cared much for it. The kids had goodie bags and I had an assortment of candy in it too. We didn't have a pinata. I guess we just felt that we had nowhere to hang it safely and not get stung by anything and we didn't want to do it indoors. Hopefully we get the opportunity to do it next year.

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Here is a picture with Ryu and the ladies, ha! He was so excited that he had friends coming over to swim that he still talks about it to this very day. He always asks me if his friends can come over and swim with him.

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It was a small, but fun party. I am already thinking of his birthday party for next year and what kind of theme we want to go with. I want to be ready for his big 5th birthday! I love him so much and he deserves the best! Thank you again to all our family and friends for the love, birthday wishes, and gifts!

Learning How To Write

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Ryu has made incredible improvement with his speech since he started his IEP program. Though his program is on hold for now until September (which is when school starts for him again), he continues to improve greatly in his daycare. If you have followed an old blog of mine I had written multiple posts regarding our journey with Ryu's speech disability. We were told that he may be autistic in the beginning which could be the reason why he was not talking at the time. I then took the initiative to place him in the IEP program hoping that he would improve.

Ryu has been in the IEP for one whole school year and he will be starting the program in a month. I am extremely proud of my little one because he has come so far in a year. We are now in the process of teaching him how to write. I bought some workbooks and flashcards for us to review when Ryu is with me. We have been rewarding him with stickers after each session he completes. We told him that once he fills a whole calendar month with stickers that he would be rewarded with a toy of his choice.

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I really enjoy sitting down with Ryu and teaching him how to read and write. When I was Ryu's age my grandfather taught me how to read and write by the age of 3. Sure he is 4, but everyone develops differently. I give those stay-at-home parents who chooses to home school their children two thumbs up because it gets difficult, frustrating, and it requires extreme patience. However, knowing that you are helping your child in the process of learning is a very rewarding feeling.

Ryu's Room Decor

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It's been a while since I've posted anything related to home decorating. I figure I'd share with you all the before and after pictures I have.

When we first moved in we still had Ryu's old crib and was using that as a bed for him. It was pretty much converted into a day bed. I was proud of the minimal decor I had in his room that I put up. We decided to place Sean's shelf (it was actually my idea) into Ryu's room so that he had storage for his toys and clothes. We did not have much moving in. We had a few things here and there, but we lived in a smaller apartment and when we moved into this place we had so much space that we did not really know what to do with it at first (or at least I didn't). I made sure that the first room that I would take care of was Ryu's. I just wanted him to feel at home and be comfortable in having his own room. I didn't have my room to myself until my sister moved out and joined the military.

 

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Since Ryu's birthday we have made a few changes. A few pieces of furniture from Sean's grandmothers home went to us and that gave us the opportunity to add more storage to Ryu's room. I am very thankful that we have these pieces because it has helped us a bit. We received a bed and a dresser and we didn't have to buy any of those items for his room. I was considering buying Ryu a toddler bed, but instead Ryu now has a full-size bed.

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For a while Ryu had a lot of open space to play around. He was completely fine with that since he made a lot of mess scattering his toys around (not fun when you have to clean it up). We slowly showed and explained to him that if you make a mess you have to clean it up. He's been pretty good about picking up after himself before bed time.

The bed and dresser came the day before his birthday and it was the only chance Sean got to get it over. We spent that evening getting his room together before he came home. We even added a TV (an older tv I bought from a friend) and DVD player on top of the dresser for him. It's not connected to cable so that he does not get used to watching TV all the time. We also get to monitor what he's watching by buying the movies or shows that he gets to watch.

The morning Ryu came home for his party he was surprised and happy about his room. I'm glad that he was alright with us taking away the space in his room for a bigger bed. There is still some area to play, but not as much as he had before.

 

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This is what Ryu's room looks like from his door way.  He still has a lot of walk room and I've noticed that since he got his bed he does not care to play much on the floor anymore. He prefers to be on his bed.

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I still plan on adding family pictures and posters on either his shelf or on his wall, but we are still in the process of decorating. Ryu has this fascination with maps and Sean grabbed his old Globe from his dad's place. I am trying to find a huge map to place over his headboard for him. I have browsed Pinterest for ideas on how to add personal touches here and there. I am most likely going to continuously take pictures if we do any other updates to his room. I had a lot of fun decorating his room to the best of my ability and with the resources that we had. I am happy with the outcome. In the beginning I was not a hundred percent with how it all came together, but with time and money it will get better.

Poor Baby Has Pneumonia

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My poor baby has pneumonia! He's been sick since Sunday afternoon and I have no idea how it started. He was absolutely fine that whole morning and then he took a nap and after waking up that's when his fever decided to spike up. Seriously, has this happened to any of your children? I feel so bad and helpless because no matter what we do he's just not feeling good and there's not much we can do but have him rest and wait for the medication to work. He was rushed to the E.R by Monday morning and they told us to follow up with his pediatrician, but they said it was just a virus going around right now. Virus!?! he continued to be sick and his fever had been going up and down from 100.0 - 103.8!! That's fucking scary to think that my child could pass out at any minute because his fever was so high.

By the time it had reached Thursday and the lack of sleep that Sean and I had we definitely knew Ryu was just way too sick and had to go back to the Dr. However, this time we took him back to see his pediatrician. She listened to his chest and told me that he was wheezing and wasn't sure if that was a new symptom or if was already brewing since Sunday. We took him to get an x-ray and mind you I was a nervous wreck! I could not wrap my mind around Ryu being this sick. I was upset that the E.R didn't manage to take an x-ray from the beginning. When the results came in it was affirmative that Ryu's right lung was full of fluids and has pneumonia. He's back at home now resting and had to go back to the Dr today for a follow-up. He's on antibiotics and wasn't admitted but we have to keep an eye on him. We also shouldn't kiss him, share food, or drinks with him at this time. I even went all out and washed his sheets and clothes to make sure that it doesn't spread. I also decided to sweep and mop our floors at home just to make sure it's clean. I'm still on a cleaning spree to make sure that nothing spreads because we can't afford to be sick.

It's so scary having a kid this sick. Ryu's been sick before but never this intense. I almost fell into tears because I wasn't even sure what the fuck it was to begin with.

Of course I googled it like what some parents end up doing: Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs. The air sacs may fill with fluid or pus, causing cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills and difficulty breathing. A variety of organisms, including bacteria, viruses and fungi, can cause pneumonia.

Pneumonia can range in seriousness from mild to life-threatening. It is most serious for infants and young children, people older than age 65, and people with underlying health problems or weakened immune systems.

Antibiotics and antiviral medications can treat many common forms of pneumonia. - MayoClinic.com

I know that Ryu will be okay in no time, but as of right now I don't even want him going outside and getting worse. I just want my little man to feel better soon!

Four in July!

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No, no not fourth of July, but Ryu will be four in July!

I cannot believe that is going to be four. I can still remember it like it was just yesterday when he was born. I remember lugging around a giant belly and completely being over it. I wanted him to enter the world as soon as possible, but instead I went through 12 hours of labor and an emergency C-Section.

I remember blogging about his birthday each year and how much he has grown, but I cannot believe that he is already going to be four. It's been four years since Ryu became my son and it still feels surreal to me. I now have a little boy and not a little baby which makes me sad, but at the same time I am so proud of all the obstacles he has overcome. If you have followed my blog before you would know that Ryu went through a phase of not talking and at one point the Dr. told me that he may be autistic. He has been in the program for over a year and it is so refreshing to know that he has greatly improved in his speech. I have considered placing him in preschool, but it's really up to the provider at the school he currently attends. She has to let the school know if Ryu would need further speech therapy which would require him to have an IEP provider side by side with him. Honestly, I think I'll wait another year before placing him in preschool or kindergarten.

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This picture was taken by his Godfather Roland on his first birthday. Typically everyone thinks that a child's first birthday party needs to be big. To be honest we went big, but now that I think about it the party was mainly for the adults more than anything. I went with the Pixar movie UP as a theme. It was so much fun and extremely hot at the time. I rented a bouncer and cotton candy machine.

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We took him to Travel Town and this would be the first official birthday that Papa got to spend with us as a family. At the time Ryu loved trains and Sean suggested that Travel Town would be great for his second birthday. We even rode the little tram around and he had a blast!

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For his third birthday I found a mini deal on Groupon for a small animal reserve. It wasn't the greatest place, but it wasn't so bad either. He enjoyed seeing the animals there, but I quickly realized that we have to take him to a zoo! One year later and we still haven't done so. I'm still debating on what we should do for his birthday this year. I was thinking of maybe hosting a birthday party for him in our new home, but I'm still being indecisive about it. All I know is that I'm completely blessed for having this little man in my life. I am also blessed to continuously have Papa Sean in our lives helping us mold Ryu into this respectful young man. I do hope that our family will continue to learn and grow with each other as each year passes us by.

I only wish good things for my family and I can't wait to continue making new memories with Ryu. He has brought so much joy into my life that words can't even explain. I never thought in a million years that I would be a mom in my twenties. He's taught me so much and I only wish to return the favor and teach him morals and manners.  Thanks to the family we have I know that he will be loved and taught well from all corners of the world.

Mama's Little Helper

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It amazes me how big Ryu is now. I see him throughout the week, but even then I feel as if every morning that I see him he's just a little bit different. A lot has happened in the past year and I'm extremely happy that he has progressed greatly with his speech problem. I can still remember the time when we started the process of getting him into a school program to help his speech and it's so crazy how he talks so much.

I was making Siopao today and decided to take pictures for my blog and he comes into the kitchen and asks me what I was doing. I responded that I was cooking. He insisted on helping me so I let him make a few pieces of bread with the remaining dough I had. He wanted to add cheese to it as if it was pizza. He enjoyed helping me roll out the dough and using a cookie cutter to get the shape he wanted. I was also quite surprised that he was getting down and dirty with me considering how he's against getting dirty. I also love how he allowed me to take a picture of him with his huge smile! I'm not only surprised, but thrilled that he's willing to help me out on his own. I learn something new about Ryu everyday and I'm so proud to be his mother.