FUN Weekend!

Memorial Weekend 09' is complete and the Crowell household is still recovering. We are a tired bunch after our crazy busy weekend. We started the weekend with an impromptu dinner with our friends Phil and Heather Reichert. They are our 'go to' couple when we have a free evening or if we want to go on vacation. We plan an outing with them once a month but every once in a while can sneak in another. This is what happened Friday. Within an hour of deciding to go we were headed to Tony's..our favorite dinner spot. We always have a blast and can literally talk about ANYTHING...and we certainly do. And after a rousing game of "name that 80's song on Sirius radio" on the way home we called it a night. Saturday we had a BBQ at our house and enjoyed the company of some of our favorite people. We enjoyed a delicious meal, great conversation, dancing on the deck, and even a movie outside on a big ol' screen...someone gave Aaron the new Star Trek movie that is in theatres right now. Shhhh...don't tell. And although there were no "trekies" at the party, they enjoyed it none the less. Sunday we headed to the Malterer's and had a big ol' BBQ with our new Messiah family. All of the girls had at least one classmate there, so everyone had a blast. We have thoroughly enjoyed our first year at Messiah and have been amazed at how friendly and welcoming everyone has been. We can't wait for many more years in this wonderful community. After that we headed to the Reichert's house for swimming and more food. We always have a blast at their house and have a hard time leaving. Most of the time Aaron and Phil are snuggled on the couch sleeping as well as Jordan and Olivia. :) We finished the evening off with delicious homemade ice cream. Yum! Olivia caught some zzz's with Goliath. On Monday we headed to the Loop with the Martins and had lunch at Blueberry Hill. The girls always enjoy looking in the shops...hopefully we will not get hooked on piercings and tattoos though. :) And what holiday weekend would be complete without shopping? We finished off the weekend with a trip to the Galleria...swimsuit shopping and Cheesecake Factory...probably not a good combination. :) And so tonight (Tuesday) by 7:30 pm every Crowell was snoozing on the couch after a yummy pasta dinner. Some of us took just a nap while others (the twins) were in bed for the night! Summer is right around the corner...2 more days of school. Yippee!

Ryan Update

Well, Baby Ryan is amazing everyone with his progress. He is tolerating all the poking and prodding like a champ. We are even getting glimpses of some attitude peeking through. :) But the most amazing and exciting news of all is that yesterday he had a poopy diaper! The nurses were ecstatic especially since this wasn't to be expected for some time. The bowel is getting absorbed very fast and he might have surgery over the weekend or early next week if everything continues to stay on pace. He is doing remarkably well and is such a cute baby!

My last post I mentioned that Ryan had David's nose and Jack's mouth. Well, I thought about that and realized that I didn't give any credit to Erin...my adorable sister-in-law. So let me rephrase....Ryan has the Mattingly mouth (not sure if Erin has it.. but definitely her dad and brother).

While I am on the subject I just wanted to brag on my sister-in-law a bit...she is a fantastic mother and my nephews are the luckiest boys around(not to mention my brother)! She has been such a trooper during this pregnancy and fiercely protected and loved this precious baby. She has been such an inspiration to everyone in our family and has handled this challenge with such dignity and grace. My heart skips a beat when I think of the moment when Ryan is placed in her arms for the first time. It won't be long!

PS I took these pictures yesterday...he doesn't even flinch now. He is getting used to Aunt Jenn's camera...:)

PSS Another update: Ryan has now had the respirator removed as of tonight and is doing fantastic. He now gets to suck on a pacifier that every once in a while gets dipped in sugar water! Yum! This boy is making progress faster than I can update. Keep it up Baby Ryan!

Ryan Mattingly Killion

On May 14, 2009 our family welcomed with love Ryan Mattingly Killion into this world. At 11:10pm he let out a cry that was music to everyone's ears...since he was 5 weeks early we didn't know what to expect. We immediately began analyzing our little miracle and quickly determined that he had David's nose and Jack's mouth, beautiful dark hair and the biggest hands I have ever seen on a baby (possibly my gigantic hands?). He was absolutely precious!

We knew that his birth would be quite a roller coaster since at his 20 week ultrasound it was discovered that he had gastroschisis. This is a condition where the intestines form on the outside of his body. We knew that he would need to quickly head to surgery after delivery which is exactly what happened. At around 12:30am he was brought to surgery where they attempted to place the intestines back in his body. It was determined that there was too much on the outside so they are slowly going to insert them back inside over the next few weeks.

We are all so incredibly blessed that Ryan has tolerated everything so well. He is a fiesty little guy that will be wrestling with his big brother Jack in no time. Lucky for him, he has wonderful parents that adore him... not to mention grandparents, aunts and uncles, and 7 cousins that can't wait to get their hands on him. I do believe though that as his Godmother I should be pretty close to the top of that list. :) We LOVE you Ryan and pray for a speedy recovery. We will be counting the days until you can come home. We are so thankful that our tight circle just got a little bigger with the addition of YOU! :) Love, Aunt Jenn XOXXO