I don't like that dog anymore... those were the words Ryker kept saying over and over again as we were driving to the ER to have his face stitched back together. Last month when we were visiting Stephen's sister in Arizona Ryker was bit on the face by their family dog - completely unprovoked and from out of nowhere! I think I am still in a little bit of shock over the entire incident because I guess when you hear about dog bites you just think that's one of those things that's never going to happen to you - but unfortunately it did. Luckily Stephen was standing right next to Ryker and Throttle when it happened and I was only a few feet away so we just threw Ryker in the car and rushed to the hospital. Twenty-four hours and two hospitals later we were finally released and able to go home. Without a doubt the longest day of my life!!

To say that our stay in the hospital was frustrating would be an understatement. It took us almost twenty hours just to have the plastic surgeon come in and perform the procedure. But he was soo worth the wait! As soon as he came in I finally felt a little bit of relief. He was confident and capable and knew exactly what he was talking about and for the first time I finally felt like their was someone who was going to be able to make Ryker's face look as good as it could (because I'll admit I am a little bit vain and his bite takes up the majority of his cute little cheek). Less than an hour later Dr. Schmelzer was done stitching Ryker up. They did stitches on the inside which you can't see, and then they stitched him up on the outside as well. So for now I just tell Ryker that the girls are going to love his scar someday...

I am so grateful to have Ryker in my life. I am so grateful that he wakes up every morning a happy and healthy little boy and that he is blessed with the unending energy to do naughty things and drive me crazy - because I realize know what a blessing that really is!! The entire experience was both physically and emotionally draining. I think Ryker handled it the best - he was a heart-breakingly good patient. He really was a brave little boy!

Ryker on his first day home after the Hospital.

This is a picture of Ryker taken last week at his "big boy" party at Chuck E. Cheese which he finally earned by mastering the potty. I thought I'd put this in at the end to show that his little cheek is healing really well, he'll probably always have the scar but hopefully it will fade over time and not be so noticeable, unless you know it's there.