Fun in the Sun

Today we had a really fun playdate with Ryan's little friend Maya who is 14 months old. We went to Lake Mohegan for some fun in the sun. So funny because the first time Greg and I brough Ryan to the sprinkler park and inthe water at lake Mohegan Ryan was NOT that into the sprinklers or the water and screeched if we dipped his feet or put him down near the sprinklers.....welll today it was another story. I believe it was because Maya was enjoying the sprinklers and because Maya got into the lake up to her chest. Believe me the water was not not all that warm. But they had tons and tons of fun. It is so funny how children pick up things just from watching other children. And I just have to add once again Ryan will be that little chubby kid at school who will eat everyone else's food because today Maya's mom had brough a little snack of grapes and cheerios for Maya and Ryan did not want anything to do with his sippy cup and cheerios I had brought for him...oh no he wanted Maya's cheerios and Maya's grapes. So funny Maya's mm had handed some grapes over to me to peel for Ryan and he would not eat them from me he would only eat them from Maya's mom and I have to say Grapes are really annoying to peel how sweet of her mom to do it for Ryan.

Yesterday we had a fun filled day with Caroline. Went over her hosue for lunch and Ryan and Caroline chased each other all aroudn the house. Caroline is walking now I can't believe it and she is so steady on her feet and she can walk all around her house without getting tired. Ryan did not take his eyes off her Greg and I think he will be walking very soon but we are not pushing it at all! We enjoyed a relaxing stroll around boothe memorial park and then headed home for a much needed nap.

Tonight I decided to make some baked apples with cinnamon and baked sweet potato for Ryan to try as finger foods. I have to say I tried the baked cinnamon apple myself and they were so so yummy I hope Ryan will like them. We have been branching out this past week and this week with new finger foods. He started throwing his peas and carrots last night so i figured it was time for something new. Ryan loves pirate booty...I know not that nutritious only after he eats his veggies of course. Tonight I steamed him some yummy kale for tomorrow....yeah he does love it I mix it with plain yogurt. He also had bits of super mushy steamed broccoli with parmasan cheese which he loved and small pieces of pork and pureed peas and applesauce. For lunch I gave him bits of cheese and small pieces of bread because he kept eyeing my turkey and cheese sandwich. Of course he always wants what I have he did also have some pirate booty for lunch but only after his carrots and yogurt. Some ask me why I bother making all Ryan's food but the truth is I love doing it knowing that his nutrition is coming from the best whole food sources.

So I think I may be leaving Ryan for the first time ever with my parents next month for a wedding Greg and I are attending in North Carolina for friends of ours. Greg is the best man and there are so many wedding festvities planned it sort of stresses me out a bit to bring Ryan but I do worry because he has never been away from me for more than 10 hours at a time not overnight yet. I do have some frozen milk but not enough for the entire weekend so I have decided to pump each night before bed to store some more milk for Ryan in hopes it will not throw me into oversupply again but I doubt it. I decided not to start Ryan on cow's milk early and will wait until after his first birthday so for now I will pump a little extra each day so he will have breastmilk. Gotta love my medela pump could not live without it! I am so not a fan of my advent hand pump...takes way too long. So gotta get pumping now.

Have a great weekend. Love to all.

Jen and Ryan

Cape Cod Vacation 10 Months Old!

2007-08-25

We had such a wonderful week vacationing at the Cape! It was so great to spend time with the family and we were so happy that the Flynns and Strattons could come too. We missed Uncle Paddy..he was in Nashville for a bachelor party. We had a beautiful week and the weather was fantastic could not have asked for a better week. Even puppy Dylan had a blast!

Greg got to play tons of golf with the boys while Ryan and the ladies enjoyed some leisurely beach fun! Ryan enjoyed the beach and seemed to really enjoy his feet inthe sand. We managed to not let him eat too much sand. The water was a bit too cold for swimming but we did dip his feet a few times. Ryan enjoyed his sun tent and played peek a boo while inside. Ryan and Dylan enjoyed long stroller walks with Grammy Sharon. He really enjoyed spending time with both sets of grandparents and all his Aunt's and Uncles. We cherished the time spend with the family! And we ate tons of yummy lobster too. It was such a memorable vacation the first time for a Stratton/Flynn family vacation. Thanks to the Mackenzie's for lending us their beautiful home on the Cape with plenty of room for all of us.

It was sad to leave and end the vacation but we are all so glad to be home. There really is no place like home. Take a look at some of the photos from our vacation. Love to all.

Ryan

Goodbye Great Grampy.....

Just wanted to dedicate this one to Great Grampy who passed away last Friday. He will be missed greatly. See a copy of the Eulogy from his funeral below.

Grampy 10/27/1908-8/10/2007

Welcome family and friends. Do not be sad today because our Grampy is finally at peace. He would not want us to be sad today but to remember; all the good times we shared with him his witty sense of humor, his charm and his zest for life.

Our Grampy Henry Demarais grew up in Colrain Massachusetts he loved to reminisce about his old home were he lived for over 50 years…he was so proud of all the hard work he put into making his house a loving home. He was one of 11 brothers and sisters with one sister Catherine still living. At the age 12 he had to leave his education behind to work at the mill to help support his family. He did not have the opportunity to finish school past the 6th grade. Henry was brilliant in so many ways and had such practical instinctual wisdom… not the knowledge you get from a textbook but the knowledge you get from working hard though life experiences. He went on to live a very successful life. Henry was a hard working man who took great pride in everything he did. He got married at the age of 27 to a lovely woman named Juanita. After Juanita passed he later remarried a sweet woman named Shirley. Henry and Juanita went on to have 3 beautiful girls Sally, Paula who passed away from colon cancer in 2002, and Sharon. He made a living working in a factory for 50 years known as Kendall Mills located in Colrain. Henry also had a second job on a farm milking cows at night to help support his family. Henry had 6 grandchildren; Billy who passed away in 2004, Vickie, Roxanne, Tim, Freddie, and myself, and 5 great grandchildren, Danielle, Mason, Colin, Connor, and my son Ryan.

Henry kept a tool box in his closet at the Morgan Allen house and would go around repairing things in his apartment. He worked hard his whole life and took pride in everything he did. As time passed by he became unsteady on his feet yet he stood tall and proud refusing the help of others. Even at the tender age of 98, up until a few months ago, he was living completely independently; cleaning his own apartment, making his bed everyday, grocery shopping with Mike and Elaine, fixing himself 2 meals a day, and doing his own laundry (although the last six months mom said that he had a laundry girl to help him but if she was not there right as expected you better believe he was dragging that dirty laundry down the hall to do it himself). He had a closet full of new clothes but insisted on mending his old clothes. He kept a needle and thread and would patch up holes in his pants, sew missing buttons and mend old socks and slippers. This is the kind of man Henry was.

Henry would cruise around Greenfield in his little motorized cart in search of adventure. He would drive his cart to the center of town to Brads for breakfast, to Dunkin Donuts for his donut and cup of coffee and to various nursing homes in the area to visit with old friends. He even got hit by a car 3 times (That we know of, anyways) while cruising around town in his little cart….And each time he got right back up again and hopped back on. That little cart was his independence……his “Rolls Royce”

I often asked myself, “How did Henry stay so young?” It is because he stayed young at heart…his mind was always thinking. He was constantly moving…he loved brisk morning walks or rides in his cart, his afternoon naps, and he loved to dance! And most importantly he loved spending time with family and friends.

One day not long ago while mom and Sally were cleaning out his apartment they found he had put Band aids on the corners of his cabinets…..Sharon and Sally were so puzzled as to why anyone would do such a thing…then they figured it out…Henry had provided himself with padding to shield himself from injury if he fell. And we all know he fell many more times than he cared to admit. This is they type of practical brilliance Henry had.

So on this day PLEASE remember Henry for the proud, independent, hard working gentleman that he was. Although it is not easy to say “Goodbye” Do not feel sad for Henry. God has called upon him to Heaven where he is at peace in his final resting place. Henry’s spirit will live on forever through the lives of everyone he touched with his presence. AMEN. Thank you.

Surprise visit

This week Ryan and I decided to surprise Grammy Sharon with a visit for the day on Tuesday. Stupidly I did not call anyone or tell mom or dad I was coming and after driving for an 1 1/2 hours I really had to pee! Of course Ryan was asleep in the carseat and when I pulled in the driveway no one was home. Mom, Dad,a nd Freddie were all at work... and of course mom and dad got a new front door and gave me a key which I conviently misplaced so I was locked out. So no worried thank goodness mom works intown we went to her work so I could use the bathroom and get her key. Needless to say I now have a home key thanks Daddy! Grammy and Grampy were so happy to see Ryan and it was such a great surprise. Grammy has been alittle down with Gret Grampy and everything so I think our visit really perked her up a bit :) It was so great to spend the day in Agawam. We had a wonderful visit. Grammy we know how hard it is for you and we are always here for you! Glad we were able to cheer you up a bit.

Wednesday we had a playdate with Caroline and the babies played inthe playzone and the tunnel. Ryan just loves that tunnel and he loves to play peek-a-boo and roll around in the tunnel. Boy were they tired after Ryan and Caroline both took 2 hour naps after their playdate. So both moms had a little rest too. I ahve been trying to rest when he rests jsut so I can keep up with him when he is awake as you all know Ryan is constantly on the move!

Today we had a demo music together class in Trumbull. We are trying to decide what activities to sign up for this fall. We took the summer off and are ready for some fun this fall. The music class was great. Ryan seemed to really enjoy the class. He as constantly moving throughout the entire class and crawling alla roudn the room. My biggest concern is that he may get distracted and and become disengaged in the class activities. Then there is always swimming on Tuesdays that we know he loves. Any suggestions?





Michelle cam over for a visit today. It was great to see her. She had not seen us since the begining of May. She was so impressed with Ryan and all of his gross motor skills. He aws such a flirt with her and screeched at her with delight. Puppy Dylan also loves Michelle too and got lots of hugs and kisses too.

Well tomorrow it is back to work. Heard it is suppossed to rain...too bad:( Hope everyone had a great weekend. Hope to hear from everyone soon. Love you.

XOXO Ryan

Ryan's 9 Month Photos

Ryan 9 month photos

Here are Ryan's 9 month photos. Also just an update....All of Ryan's bloodwork was normal! Enjoy the photos.

Love,
Ryan

Second Time's a Charm

Ryan went for bloodwork again today and the second time was a charm...YAY! This time (the neurotic mom that I am)I did some research during Ryan's AM nap. Gasp, gasp...can you believe he napped for 2 1/2 hours? Now I know he does this for Polina (his sitter)on a regular basis...yes she even has to wake him sometimes after 4 hours!!!! but he never naps this long for me. Anyways I was not sure what to do with myself this morning while he napped so I decided to call the blood labs around in the area to find the best pediatric phlebotimist trained with babies and she happened to be 5.71 miles away in Stratford and all the labs in the area raved about this woman so we went there today. I made sure this time he was well rested and well hydrated he nursed and had lunch before we left and at last SUCCESS on the first try. Oh thank goodness I was so stressed and he was so well behaived I won't say no tears but very few! and with a quick recovery this time. Much better than the last trip to the lab. I told the woman she did such a fantastic job and I would be bringing him back should he need more blood work in the future. Glad that is over.

We then headed to mom's group across the street from the lab to say hello. We saw a few of Ryan's little freinds there and it was great to catch up with everyone. Ryan was very quiet at first I think slightly traumitized from the bloodwork that and there were 15 moms and 15 babies plus the group facilitator in a room smaller than my living room so we were a little tight. After some of the mom's left Ryan began to move around and it was my usual workout chasing after him and after I got tired it was time to leave. I was tired so I was happy that Ryan decided to take an afternoon nap so Dylan and I decided to take a short rest on the couch. Then we played with Sophia (our neighbor's granddaugher who is 2 1/2) for a while. She jsut adores Ryan and he really loves her baby swing.

Tomorrow we plan on trying something called stroller strides. Stroller strides is a fitness program designed for moms to exercise with baby in tow. From what I hear it involves brisk walking with the stroller or jogging and weight training too... mostly outside and during inclement weather the classes are held in local malls indoors. It is soemthing new and we are willing to try it out to see how it goes. Also next week we have a trial music together class. We are trying to decide what classes to sign Ryan up for in the fall. I will give you an update on how the trial classes go.

Hope everyone is staying cool. It's gonna be a hot one tomorrow. Love to all.

XOXO Ryan

Great Grampy update....still hanging on....Not eating well but very determined to hang on a while longer. We just hope he does not suffer too much longer! XOXOXO to Great Grampy we love you!