My little guy is 5 today!!!

5 yrs old

I cannot believe my little guy is 5 today! He really isn't little anymore! I told him he couldn't grow up anymore since it makes be sad, and he told me he has to, meanwhile his little brother kept telling me not to be sad! He will be in kindergarten in August and I just cannot believe it!

I still remember when I thought I was pregnant with him....it was the end of April in 2003, I was working at our church (Grace Fellowship) and I was on my way home from work , driving on the Northway, when I got a whiff of the fresh cut grass. Prior to having Riley, I did not like the smell of fresh cut grass, I guess maybe that comes from growing up near the city and not in the country (which is what I thought the Capital Region was when I got there for college, which later became what I called home). It smelled sweet and I really did not mind it as much. When I got home I told J what happened and that I thought it was strange. I think I waited to take a test out of fear that I wasn't pregnant since we tried for 1 1/2 years and I had a miscarriage that March (I remember being on bed rest and watching the beginning of the Gulf War, which was also the time that B was pregnant with Cammie and Christa was pregnant with Jared, and little Miss Ashley was born) but we were so excited to find out out we were going to have a baby!!! :) It was finally our turn...we were the only couple in our group of friends who weren't pregnant or didn't already have a baby and I wanted to be pregnant so bad!!!! We decided to wait until we had an ultrasound to tell everyone, friends and family, our news which also happen to be J's 30th birthday and we were having a party from him. We had our first pictures of the baby and I gave them to my mother to look at and she said to me as she was looking at them, "Why are you giving me pictures of Kristan's ultrasound." She obviously didn't get it until I told her to look at the name on the ultrasound picture. Then of course, she started to cry! Little did I know that both of my parents (who are divorced) were anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first grandchild.

My OB was great but a little on the neurotic side. At each monthly visit I was reminded that J was a big guy and I was on the petite side so I needed to watch what I ate (stay away from carbs and sweets) or else the baby was going to be a big one! I really didn't listen....it was a frequent occurrence for me to get bread bowls from ABC for lunch (remember those days Roo) and eat it all or have a candy bar! :) I loved being pregnant until the last few weeks, then I was ready for this baby to get out!!! The week Riley was born I had gone in for false labor and as I was getting discharged, the nurses had my OB on the phone and she asked if I wanted to be induced and I said yes!!! Being induced gave all of my family that lived out of town a chance to be there. I called Mama Yo (as my kids called their grandmother) and she made arrangements to be there at the hospital and Pee-Paw (as my kids call their grandfather, thanks to their cousin Kaitlyn) to fly in from Memphis. We got early since I had to be there for 6am and remember J and I looking at each other and saying that the next time we came home there would be three of us instead of two (we were so ready for us to be three).

Labor was fine. During this time my mom arrived and was visiting with us, J explained all the machines I was hooked up to and they were looking at the machine that monitored contractions and my loving mother said, "Lex ,you are having a contraction" and me, not so lovingly said, "I know mother." Soon after that, my wonderful epidural was administered and life was good!! As we were waiting the arrival of our addition, J was roaming the halls as I slept, and he bumped into friends who were going through their own labor. J walked into the room and said, "Look, who I found." and in walked the Nygaards. (Hello, Nygaards! Ian was born a few hours before Riley...Happy Birthday, Ian....Nygaards, we are forever bonded!!! :)) At around 6:30, my OB came in to check on me before she went home for dinner and told us it was time!!! At 6:52, she announced that it was a boy and we welcomed Riley Allan Ridgway in our lives!!!! Pee-Paw arrived just as J walked into the waiting area to tell everyone that they had a grandson!!! He weighed 6 lbs and 15 oz and life has never be the same! ;P

As I said in the beginning of the post, I think about that day and I cannot believe that he is 5 years old!!! He is growing up to be the sweetest little thing and he daily makes my heart melt by telling me a secret...his secret is that he loves me!!

BTW - Most of Riley's infant pictures were actual photos...we weren't caught up in the digital era hence the 9 mo picture at the top...that was the youngest photo we had on the computer and I was too lazy to scan a newborn picture.

Thanks for sharing in my celebration of my little man!!!