I don’t even know where to begin. So I’ll start at the very beginning… a very good place to start. When you read you begin with ABC, when you sing you begin with do-re-me.
Oh, excuse me, I got distracted. I am not Julie Andrews and I am certainly not nanny to six children. I am, however, a mother to three lovely children. One of whom spent Halloween in the hospital away from his family. I’m starting to dread holidays. And let’s be honest, on a scale of 1 to 10 of important holidays, Halloween is about as important as Grandchildren’s day (sorry to all the grandchildren I just offended).
That did not stop me from crying to and from the hospital at the thought that we were going to be making family memories without a vital piece of our family. Ryan didn’t seem to mind… here he is in his holiday duds. As the nurse and I struggled to get his onesie over and under all the lines and tubes coming from Ryan’s little body I explained, “Ry-Ry, this is a t-shirt. Most people wear something like this every day to keep themselves warm. It’s made out of cotton.”
Ryan hasn’t worn clothes for 6 of his 8 months and I sometimes worry he will think it’s normal to run around with only a diaper on. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. First, we need to work on breathing, then we’ll work on modesty.
I returned home at lunch time and set about icing Henry’s birthday cake. Henry shares his birthday with Halloween (bwaa-ha-ha-ha-ha). I asked him if he wanted to celebrate it another day so he didn’t have to compete with Trick-or-Treating but he prefers to do it the same day. I don’t blame him. Here are the girls icing his cake. They did a pretty good job of it.
With the finished product. They both have icing on their face.
We sang Happy Birthday and then the girls helped Henry blow out the candles.
We ended the evening by going Trick-or-Treating. The girls chose to be medical professionals (surprise!). Natalie was a nurse and Ainsley was a doctor.
Natalie walking in the costume parade…. you may remember she won a prize last year for Most Original costume. She really wanted to win another prize this year (she didn’t). She talked about it while getting dressed and while getting out of the car. They didn’t give out a Most Original prize this year, but they did give out a “Cutest” trophy. I stood there wondering how that made all the other kids feel to single out one child (who happened to be a baby under a year old who didn’t care at all that she was the cutest) as the cutest. Doesn’t that indicate the others aren’t as cute?
Here are the girls getting candy… (sorry they’re blurry, I think our flash didn’t go off)
When we got home, Natalie divided up her candy and gave out what she wasn’t interested in to the kids who came to our door. She and Ainsley were so excited when we got visitors. Natalie was so gracious – she even said, “You can take more than one if you want to.” Sunday after lunch the girls were looking over their candy deciding which pieces to eat for dessert. I noticed Ainsley didn’t have much candy and asked where it all went. “Oh sorry, Ains. I gave out a lot of your candy last night. Is that okay?” Natalie said. “That’s okay, Nat.” Ainsley responded. I had to laugh out loud that Natalie gave more of Ainsley’s candy away than her own, but frankly, I’m not surprised. And, I’m also not surprised Ainsley wasn’t that upset. She is an extremely content child and once again this year got through about half the houses before wanting to be carried and commenting that she had enough candy.
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(c) 2016 Leighann Marquiss
Comments (20)
Hmmm…do you think giving away your sister’s candy is as much fun as spending your sister’s money when we go shopping?? LOL
Your little man looked handsome in his t shirt. And your girls were cute drs and nurses. Where did you find the scrubs?? Glad you found some.
Love ya lots.
So cute. Love his BIG smile. He didn’t seem to mind the shirt so much.
Sorry you spent it apart from Ryan…but the thought of getting him well enough for future Halloweens and holidays together…. PRICELESS and worth all the present tears.
Hugs mommy
The girls looked so cute and so did Ryan. I’m sure it was hard making the memories without him, but just stay posotive, he will have plenty of time to make memories with you guys also. I love the big smile on his face with his Halloween shirt on. I don’t think he really minded wearing clothes. Hopefully that will stick. I’m glad you guys had a good weekend and Happy Birthday to Henry.
BEST WISHES AND GOD BLESS
http://www.ryanschd.blogspot.com
and I just noticed little teeth peeking out.
Awwww….your little pumpkin is just so sweet. Look at those impossibly long eyelashes! It should be wrong for a boy to have such long eyelashes…sigh.
Awe so cute! Ryan looks so precious in his Halloween tee & the girls look awesome in the costumes! Glad everyone had a fun time! 🙂
Girl, the strength that God has given you amazes me everyday! You are such a light at CNMC….frankly they are as amazed by you as I am! Sorry we didn’t end up being roommates last week for very long…A had a miserable night Tuesday night….I think they felt like he shouldn’t make everyone else miserable too! Stopped by to see you on Friday…but only got to wave to Ryan and chat with his lovely nurse.
The girls were adorable in their hospital garb…and Ryan’s smile is so sweet it brought tears to my eyes! I know we’ve talked about this before but dividing time and memories is one of the hardest things for me about A being in the hospital! Here’s to many holidays at home….in the near future!
Ryan is adorable…my brother is named Ryan and we call him Ry Ry too! AND my hubby’s bday is Halloween as well! How funny…it is a very fun holiday to have a bday on, isn’t it! Hope your little man comes home soon!
man, ryan was smiling so big!! he looked adorable, and of course, the girls looked great too. i can’t believe they didn’t win cutest. it was prolly rigged!!
happy birthday, henry!
I’ve been following your blog for some time now and am just amazed by your faith and strength. It shows in the way you verbalize the love for your entire family. Sometimes I know that we don’t ‘feel’ like we have the faith or strength to keep going in times of adversity.
Thank you for showing me that it is possible to keep fighting the strong fight. I need to be constantly reminded when I’m facing lifes challenges (which I am currently in the midst of) that all of this is in God’s hands and to keep on trusting through faith. Just as you show through your writig. This blog is a good outlet for you and helps to keep me encouraged.
Thank you, Kelly in Seattle
It was well worth negotiating all the tubes to get that super cute photo of Ryan smiling in his pumpkin shirt. Great photo of his first Halloween!
I love that Natalie thought it best to give away her sister’s candy. Ainsley better watch her closely as the years progress…
You are such a blessed family!! Thank you for sharing the pic’s.
I think it’s funny that Natalie “regifted” the candy 🙂 And Ryan would have won “Cutest Baby” had he been home with you all. Maybe next year? My husband has a Halloween birthday as well.
Mara
Ryan looked so happy with his t-shirt on! My thoughts and prayers are with your family each week!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a wonderful son, my Henry IV. You look so much like Clayton in that photo that I thought it was him.
They are so cute.
ryan looks so happy in his outfit and love the girls profession. Eli wanted to be darth vader so he could attack all the bad guys and bad germs. lol
i love that the girls were medical professionals! and ryan looks ADORABLE with his smile (and his shirt) on!!!
just checking in –
karin
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