Posted Jul 15, 2007 8:43am

Wow! A lot has happened over the last week and a half. Of course we went to the Pediatrician and that information was in my last post.

On 07/07/07 Ryan had his biggest outing yet. He got to go to his Uncle Tobin and Aunt Shelly's wedding in Midwest City. It was beautiful. Then Ryan got to go the reception. There was lots of good food, good live music, dancing, and fun. He was alert and awake the entire time during the reception and seemed to really enjoy the activity and "confusion". It was a great time. He must have been tired when we got home for he went to sleep, wouldn't eat his 11:00 meal and slept for several hours undisturbed and very
restful.

On 07/11/07 Ryan turned 5 months old!

This past week has been one of our least busy weeks. Ryan only had one appointment on Monday. Grandma came over and played with Ryan a few times this week. That was great. Ryan and I took a walk a couple of times during the week. One day this week the weather was a little cooler than normal. It was beautiful...a great day to take a walk. He likes to take walks. The vibration of the stroller lulls him to sleep every time. Last night we went to Guthrie to meet some people and eat at Pizza Hut. When we got there we found out that a big part of our extended family had come. It was like a small family reunion. We had a great time. Again, Ryan seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself. He was alert and awake for the biggest part of the evening. He seemed to want to just take it all in. I am starting to think our little man is a little social bug. He seems to be most alert and content when there is lots of people, noise and confusion. It is so funny to watch him. He just looks around. When someone talks to him directly he often times looks right at them. It's like he is paying attention only to that person and that person is the only thing important to him at that moment. Another thing we noticed last night was that Ryan stayed awake in the car, both coming and going. It is the first time he has ever stayed awake while in the car without being upset. He just looked around the entire time.

Just over the last couple of days Ryan has started smiling at us. I can't get him to smile every time, but a couple of times I was talking to him, playing with him and was able to get him to smile. Wade and I are so excited about this. We are looking forward to those big toothless grins. SoonerStart said we could expect to see him start smiling even giggling at any time now. Kim (SoonerStart) said preemies often stay on task for their real age in the areas of social, emotional, and cognitive development. Their major delays are usually in the areas of motor development.

This upcoming week is a busy one for us. Ryan has 3 different appointments; although we may cancel one of those. We will be seeing Dr. Scott on Wednesday. If his eyes are still doing well Ryan will no longer see Dr. Scott regularly, and his next appointment will be in a year. Our most anticipated appointment is with Dr. Reyes on Thursday. We are hoping, hoping, hoping that Ryan will be taken off the oxygen on Thursday. It could happen!

I posted some new pictures. The diaper pictures I took during his "dot" changing session. Hopefully you will be able to get a good picture in your mind of Ryan's size. He is wearing a newborn size diaper and is laying on my lap. The last couple of pictures are of Ryan and his big sister. Brandy was 2 months old in the picture, and Ryan is 1 1/2 months old (adjusted age) in his picture.

Thank you again for all your prayers and encouragement. We love you all.

Please pray for this family: CarePage Name: BAYLIEJEAN . Some of their extended family is from our community, and I've known the family for a long time. They are a very special family, and they have such a beautiful family. Please pray for little Baylie. Leave them a note of encouragement if you feel led to do so.