Adventures in Toddlerhood

Allergy Update

2008-09-12T11:54:00.003-04:00

So we went to the allergist again yesterday for Ryan's food allergy testing and the good news is he is not allergic to any foods. I think they tested the most common foods: egg, wheat, soy, dairy, tree nuts, peanuts, and I also had them check for pear too but they were all negative so just the dog and dust mites. We have been trying our best to keep Dylan out of Ryan's room and will have to think about tearing up the carpet in his room. Ryan will sometimes fall asleep on the floor for naps and occasionally at bedtime and I notice the rash is worse on his face when this happens the rug must be pretty dusty. But it is nice to know he does not have any food allergies so I can stop giving him soy nut butter and jelly and bring on the real peanut butter.

So yesterday at drop off for preschool it was so sad. I dropped Ryan off and little Liam was sitting in his mommy's lap crying mommy mommy and there were 3 other children crying hysterically calling for their mommies. I guess the second day is sometimes harder than the first for some because they know what to expect more or less. Ryan sort of took off for the toys and gave me sort of a worried look through all the commotion. He took my hand and wanted me to come to the play area with him so I went and stayed for a moment and then sort of scooted away so he would not start crying too. Honestly I would not blame him if he did cry I even felt like crying after seeing all the kids so upset. Poor little pumpkins. I am sure it is always like this in the beginning. I showed up a little early for pick up and observed all the children happily playing outside on the climbers. It was so great to see them all interacting and playing nicely. They did not notice the parents standing outside looking on. But as soon as they did some started crying calling for their mommies. Of course Ryan ran away from me and refused to leave the outdoor play grill, then he ran back towards the seesaw and I had to pry him off and tell him all the children had left and it was time to go home. I also got my first piece of artwork from Ryan. I proudly displayed it on the fridge for everyone to see. I asked Miss Karen and she said that Ryan had tasted the markers. I thought it was amazing that he actually even participated in the art project so this was huge. He usually loses interest in anything that requires sitting after 5 sec or less unless it involves food of course.

I also had my 26 week check up and all is well. This pregnancy is flying by at lightning speed now I wish I could slow things down a bit and catch my breath. Basically I am pretty sure I have decided on a repeat c/s this time around. It was so weird to sit in the office with the Dr. look at the calender and actually pick my child's birth date. He took out the calender and asked me which day was good for me... if I had a preference. I mean so different from the first time around when you are waiting and guessing in anticipation and anxiety about when it will happen and when it did it was shear chaos! Poor Dylan... I will never forget! I was taking a rest on the couch with Dylan lying on my chest and my water broke. I freaked out and threw Dylan and unfortunately he got smashed on the coffee table then we threw him in his crate and left him there without food or water or a bathroom brake for nearly 14 hrs. Poor puppy not this time though I promise to make better arrangements this time for Dylan. Now we know for sure. I have already made arrangements with Polina for Ryan. She will take him that morning and keep him overnight and someone will pick him up the following day at some point. I still need to speak with my dog walker regarding Dylan but I am sure he will be fine. Less than 90 days and our little bundle of joy will be here. And we have lots to do before he comes!

Hopefully the weather will hold out this weekend we rescheduled our date night and booked a sitter. We also plan on organizing a bit this weekend to make room for baby items.

With all this cool weather I had to organize Ryan's dresser and assess his fall clothing situation and I realized this poor child is not going to fit into any warm weather clothing from last season. Thanks to Meme she bought him 2 winter coats and 2 pairs of snow pants and some snow boots so he is ready for winter! I have slowly started buying him a few warm weather items. I had a coupon at Kohl's and got a few items there. A few pairs of pants, a few sweatshirts, and some warm feece Pjs. Then I hit Old Navy and got a few more items there so I will be ready when the cool weather hits. Old Navy is having a huge baby sale everything is 40% off if you happened to need anything. I also picked up the cutest Halloween costume for Ryan too it was also 40% off. Could not see spending $40 plus shipping for the cookie monster or Elmo costume we had decided on. I only payed $16 for this costume and it is absolutely adorable I promise preview pics soon. Ryan and I played dress up last night and tried his new fall wardrobe on including the Halloween costume and they all fit really well so yay no returns necessary.

We miss you Daddy and can't wait until you come home tonight hope your meetings went well! Have a safe trip home!

First Day of School!

2008-09-09T15:22:00.002-04:00

First day of school for Ryan today went great! I dropped him off no problem when I got there there Ryan's little friend Liam was standing at the door calling our for his mommy....so sad. In we went Ryan took off for the toys and did not look back. I said hello to Miss Karen and said he should be fine and off I went. What did I do with my free time you ask?? Well prior to drop off we went for a power stroller walk so I did not need to run to the gym after all. It did feel weird walking back home with a stroller and no child. I had actually contemplated leaving it there but it looked like rain and good thing b/c it down poured here! Anyways I headed to destination maternity in Westport to add to my maternity fall collection. I realized that I really don't have much for fall in terms of maternity items so I picked up a few items and headed home for a quick shower then before I knew it it was time for pick up.

The same little boy who was standing at the door at drop off was indeed in Miss Karen's arms at pick up crying for his mommy. Poor little thing in fact all the children seemed to be crying for their mommies except Ryan who practically ran away when he saw me come in the door. No surprise I knew he would not want to come home with me! Honestly I think he would have been happy to stay with Miss Karen all day no separation anxiety here. So I looked at Miss Karen on my way out with Ryan in my arms and she said he did great no problems. She also commented on how he was such a climber and very adventurous....Not sure if that was a compliment on Ryan's behalf or a gee this little one is handful sort of comment...so I just sort of smiled and said oh yeah he's a climber thanks see you Thurs... Anyways off we went home to have lunch and a nap and my little chatterbox had a lot to say.

I asked him all about his first day at school on the way home and he replied
"Ry Ry go to cool"
With a big smile.
I pulled in the drive way and he replied
"Aya go to coo"
for our neighbor Sophia I had told him many times that she goes to school too.
Then while I was making a yummy lunch of mac and cheese with broccoli he repeated over a thousand times
"don't cry baby"
I asked if a lot of babies were crying at school today and he replied
"yeah"
Then I asked did Ry Ry cry at school today? and he replied
"NO"

According to our conversation Ryan's first day of school was a complete success!

Happy Birthday Meme!

2008-09-08T14:59:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we surprised Meme with a visit for the day for Meme's birthday. It was such a beautiful day and we were so happy to spend it with her. We stopped by a yummy Italian bakery on the way for some yummy birthday cake and went out to lunch with everyone. Ryan sat at the head of the table and kepted everyone entertained. Ryan enjoyed spending time with Meme and Papa and Uncle Freddie. Mom hope you had a great birthday glad we could spend the day with you.

Saturday we had a birthday party over at Maple View Farms in Orange. What a great place for the kids. They had pony rides, and and ice cream truck and some other farm animals. There was also an inflatable jumper and lots of playground equipment for the kids. Thankfully the weather did hold off but it was so sticky out that day I felt like we were in an outdoor sauna but the kids sure had fun. And I got to catch up with Sarah Caroline's mom who has gone back to work full time. We also go to see some other moms/kids from our music class.

Saturday sadly due to Hanna we had to cancel our date night. Our college sitters are back in town for the school year and we were looking forward to a romantic dinner just the two of us but with all the hype about Hanna we decided it was best to reschedule. Good thing we did b/c it was pretty fierce out there on Sat night certainly not safe to be out and about.

I think we have decided not to have a kiddie party for Ryan this year. I think he will be too young to remember much but after Saturday's party I feel like should still have one. I actually feel bad because we have been to so many birthday parties for other kids turing 2 and I feel obligated to have a party for Ryan. We are still contemplating a trip to Sesame place in lue of a kiddie party. Not sure yet. It just seems like so much work and kiddie parties can get pricey too.

Not looking forward to Greg's upcoming travel plans later in the week but luckily there are only short trips planned. But one this week and another next week. Just difficult to get out of the house in the AM for work.

Ryan has his first official day of pre-shool tomorrow. I need to pack his little Ryan bag from Auntie E with an extra outfit and some wipes and diapers. I took a look at this months calender and this week is "get to know you week" and next week they start into structured activities like arts and crafts. I can't wait for that first art project from Ryan it is going to be so special. I hope he enjoys his time away and I hope he makes lots of new friends and learns to share and interact with those his own age. Still not sure what to do with the free time tomorrow morning...maybe hit the gym, run to Trader Joes who knows. I am so excited for Ryan though I hope he enjoys "school" Our little boy is growing up so fast!

Where to Begin....

2008-09-05T11:02:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates we have been enjoying our vacation and I usually only have time for updates at work in between patients and I just realized last night it has been 11 days since I have been to work. Wow there is alot to catch up on I am not sure where to begin.

Last week we packed the car and headed to Boston for my conference and Greg's "work" golf tournament which I hear he and his dad spend in the VIP sky box....what a tough day at the office. Anyways my conference was good mostly a review of protocols and such. Am I the only one who finds sitting in a class room all day listening to people ask stupid questions already reviewed by the lecturer (just to make themselves look smart when in fact it makes them look dumb b/c the content was already gone over 2 min ago) utterly annoying and a total waste of my time. There I said it I am impatient at times and I felt annoyed at times from others who were not paying careful attention. Anyways it did take me back to my grad school days of sitting in a lecture hall all day and reminded me how I really would much rather be at work than sitting in a classroom all day staring out the window wondering what Ryan was up to....

Anyways when the co-investigators started going over the results from stage 1 of the trial that really sparked my interest and I am ecstatic to say that all our hard work is paying off and there have been very positive results in stage 1 and we will continue on with stage 2 this fall this stage will run a total of 12 months compared to 6 months for stage 1. But this clinical research brings about positive new exciting options to treat type 2 diabetes and I am honored to be a part of this exciting clinical research.

Okay enough about work let's talk about Ryan....He spend the first leg of the trip with the Flynn's and they had such a great time. I was told Ryan was very talkative and had a lot to say. He got to spend time with his Great Grandparents too. He actually slept very well in the pack and play we were a bit concerned with the whole big boy bed transition. Not sure how much longer this will last but for now it works. I was told by Ryan that Granddad actually spilled a bit of "moo moo" and that is pretty much all Ryan has been talking about every morning this week as I pour his milk in the morning. "Granddad spill moo moo" Hope you all enjoyed having Ryan for a visit and thanks again for watching Ryan and Dylan for us! I know it must have been exhausting!

My parents took him for the second half of the trip I think 6 days of Ryan and Dylan would have been too much for one family. Ryan also got to spend some more family time with his Great Gramma, and Great Aunties and second cousins. By the end of the trip he was becoming a little "Dennis the Menace" but I think it was a combination of being away from home for 6 days, being over tired, and missing his parents.

What a amazes me the most is as my parents packed up the car and headed south to Fairfield Ryan clapped his hands and said "Mommy Daddy Yay!" and when my parens pulled up to the house Ryan exclaimed "YAY HOME" which we thought was very advanced for a 22 month old to actually realize he was in the car on the way home to see mommy and daddy! It just warms my heart that he actually wanted to go back home and that he missed us. Thanks Mom and Dad for taking the boys I know Dylan can be a handful too. (Each time I called The Flynn's and Mom and Dad for an update Dylan was either howling, barking or crying) Poor puppy I think he missed us too.

The Cape was so wonderful it was so great to see all of our friends. It was so weird to sleep in until 9 and go out to dinner and not have to worry about rushing home. We ate lobster and drank fine wine (not me of course) and went to the beach. The boys played golf- what vacation is not complete with at least a few rounds thrown in there. Jonathan and the ladies enjoyed a leisurely bike ride on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Can pregnant people ride bikes? Yes they can and it was so much fun too! What a spectacular end to summer, beautiful location, great friends and conversation, great food, and lots of relaxation! I did not want the vacation to end but I desperately missed Ryan and Dylan too! It was really nice to get away but we could not have done it without the help of our families!

So more updates (it has been 11 days after all):
Tuesday we went to the allergist. Ryan has had this questionable rash all summer long we were told it was a heat rash but I know it is more than that. So I wanted to find out what was going on. Well they did the first round of skin testing which is only environmental no foods allergens until next week. OF course with all the sneezing, runny noses, itchy eyes I thought for sure it had to be ragweed or pollen but of course NO! None of that the only positive environmental allergen is to the Dog. I explained that we had a hypoallergenic non shedding indoor Maltese. But the Dr. said no dog is truly allergy free that the allergens are in the dog's dander and saliva. So obviously the best solution would be to get rid of the dog. The allergist claims that this would get rid of all the symptoms including the running nose, itchy eyes, sneezing and the rash. The second best solution would be to keep Dylan out of Ryan's room and get rid of the wall to wall carpeting in the house. I think for now we will go with option 2. Otherwise we thought of maybe Dylan taking a little vacation for a month or so to my parents(perhaps when the new baby arrives)and see if the symptoms improve greatly or not. I mean Dylan is a huge part of our family and we could not just get rid of him. There is a slight chance Ryan may out grow the allergy too...we will have to wait and see. Ryan has never truly been free from the dog because whoever watches Ryan when we go away also takes the dog too. Polina does not have a dog yet he still has allergy symptoms at her house too. Who really knows we will know more at the next visit.

Wednesday of this week we had out first day of preschool a "get to know you day" for all the new kids and their moms and some siblings too. It was so great to see all the other little 2 y.o running about and get to meet their mom's. The teachers are both really great with the kids too. Karen Ryan's teacher actually pulled me aside and asked if I felt their would be any issues with separation with Ryan next week on the first day of drop off. I laughed and told her the only issue would be at pick up that he would not want to come home with me! As it was that day when it was time to leave I had to pick Ryan up and bribe him with a munchkin to leave with me. I think it will be great to see how he does interacting with others his age without me there. I also give this woman a lot of credit she plans a craft everyday with the kids. I can't wait to hear if Ryan actually sits and participates in the craft or tries to run around and eat the stuff.... might be different if he sees all the other kids are participating. Also it will be his first experience with having juice as opposed to water or milk. They provide a mid-morning snack and juice at school. Hopefully he will not refuse his milk or water..but hey it is only 2 days a week. I ordered some cute name labels to label his things for school each day we have to pack a bag with a change of clothes and a couple extra diapers. (Thanks Kerri for the suggestion I went with the Mabel combo pack for school) Karen also tole me that some of the children will be starting potty training and if your child takes an interest they highly encourage use of he potty. I thought Great! Maybe if he sees the others using the potty he will take more interest too instead of only telling us immediately after the fact requesting to be changed.

Yesterday and today Ryan has been on a fast. Refusing most of his food. Not sure why exactly? Last night Greg had to bribe Ryan to eat his filet mignon with ice cream....What can I say Daddy is a softie. I would not have given him the ice cream b/c he did not eat his dinner. But he took a few more bites in between the ice cream bites. I wondered if he was sick but he appears to be feeling okay and sleeping well acting appropriately. Perhaps he is working on his two year molars again... I did make his favorite chicken tortellini soup for lunch today so hopefully he will eat that. This morning he even asked for oatmeal with apples Auntie E introduced us to a new oatmeal called simply harvest. We got spoiled b/c Ryan and I usually eat the regular Quaker oatmeal from the canister the plain one and this one has a little sugar in it so we like it a bit better. Anutie had the maple pecan but I bought the apple cinnamon one b/c we are holding off on all nuts for right now until the allergy testing is complete. I still mix it half and half with plain and we have both been eating it everyday for breakfast and for some reason today he did not eat it. Maybe 4 days was too much and he was ready for a change. Any how I am sure he won't starve. Just more questions for our 2 year check up next month.

Hope everyone is all caught up with the past weeks happenings. Have a great weekend!

Our Last Hoorah....before baby #2

2008-08-25T10:33:00.005-04:00

So Greg and I are very excited and gearing up for out last hoorah before baby #2. We are starting off in Boston for 2 nights I have a work conference and Greg has a Deuche Bank Golf Tourney (for work...what a cushy job...I am way jealous) Anyways then we head off to the cape for a long weekend sans baby to spend with 2 other couples both newlyweds...(ahh such bliss). SO that is a total for 6 days away from our little boy! Are we terrible parents? We have split up Ryan's mini vacation too 6 days with a highly energetic almost 2 y.o would be too much for just one party to handle so we have divided his trip among his loving Grandparents/Auntie and Uncle who are looking forward to their visits! He will be spending his first overnight with Grammy and Granddad, Auntie Erin, and Uncle Brian for the first half of the trip then will be headed to Mimi and Papa's for the second half. Hopefully he will be a good boy for everyone. We will miss our little boy terribly but we desperately need some adult time to ourselves! Thanks to everyone for offering to spend time with Ryan! Could not have done it without our families. Erin sorry for sounding like an overprotective mother!

Weekend Re-cap
Greg played in the labor day classic over at the Ranch Golf club all day Saturday so we spent the weekend at Mimi and Papa's. Ryan and I had such a fun day we took a nap went shoe shopping and then to church. With the cool weather this past week I tried to put his sneakers from last April on his chubby little feet and could barely velcro them so I knew it was time for some shoe shopping. Turns out he grew another half shoe size still an extra wide so it makes shoe shopping difficult not a huge selection but we did find a cute pair of sneakers in his size. Thanks Mimi and Papa for treating us! Then we headed off to church. This was my first experience bringing him to church (Mimi and Papa have brought him several times) He actually was quite good. Of course did not want to sit still but that is totally expected at this age. We went armed with snacks, water, and some keys to distract him. We was such a good boy!

Sunday we decided to try out Six Flags New England with Ryan. Papa had won 2 tickets from a golf tourney and he wanted Ryan to have them. Boy was it hot out but Ryan did not seem to mind he is such a little dare devil. Of course his favorite ride was the kiddie coaster. Greg took him on all the kiddie rides while I snapped photos. Ryan loved all the rides and of course wanted more. They do have a lot for toddlers but probably not work the money right now (our tickets were valued at $99). They have wiggles world and looney toon town with a lot for toddlers. Luckily Ryan is tall for his age and could ride all the rides with an adult. But after 2 hours he was pooped and looking like he had had enough so we headed back home for a much needed nap. Since he enjoyed six flags so much we are still thinking about taking him to Sesame Place in PA for his birthday. I hear it is only 2.5 hrs away and has much more for this age.

New Happenings
Ryan now uses many full sentence phrases more than 3 words in a row and will often ask for help when needed.

He will often call out "mommy more moo moo pease tanka".

When he starts whining for something we tell him to use his words and he will often tell us what is needed. It is like a new revelation in the Flynn house to actually be able to communicate with Ryan

Upon waking in the morning he almost always ask for oatmeal and blueberries his favorite. "mommy oatmeal booberries pease"

Trying to work on distinguishing between colors. Can now recognize blue and red and of course yellow (his favorite color)

Almost always tells us when he has pooed immediately requesting to be changed now if only he can tell us before so we can put him on the potty....

Will be starting school next week. We have a social a get to know everyone parents too on Wed. Scary to think Ryan is starting preschool already but I think he will get a lot out of it. It will be 2.5 hrs per day twice a week and the best part is it is right up the street from our house. I have mixed feelings about starting school. Our playgroup that was started when Ryan was only 4 months old is slowly coming to an end. We all met about a year and half ago and the 4 of us have been getting together weekly ever since. Two of our kids are starting preschool this fall. One is sadly moving away and the other my closest friend of the group started her first day back to work full time today and her daughter is in daycare. Most of all I will miss seeing the kids and all the new things that they do each week and of course I will miss our mommy conversations too. But Ryan has really enjoyed his weekly play dates with the "girls" and often asks for them throughout the week! I am so grateful to have met this wonderful group of moms and babies I don't know what I would have done without them! I am so sad that we will not have our weekly play dates anymore but I am happy to see our kids growing up. We have promised to at least meet for girls nights out at least monthly but it won't be the same. We do still have our Tuesday afternoon playgroup. And I know a lot will be different in a few months with baby #2. But I am a little sad and I hope we will all keep in touch!

Big boy bed update so far so good. Will occasionally wake in the night and Greg will go in to check but he rarely gets up from his bed. Naps are sort of so so sometimes he falls asleep on the floor but at least he is still napping.

Having some skin issues with Ryan... lately more than heat rash we think. Has patches of what looks like eczema on his face, back of his legs and his neck area. Still rubbing/itching is face a lot. We have eliminated nuts with little to no improvement. I have been using aquaphor with some relief. But we have an appointment with a pediatric allergist a week from Tues so hopefully we will get some answers. I have a feeling Ryan has inherited my terrible allergies.

Likely I won't have time to update until later next week...I will be busy packing and doing laundry. So hope everyone enjoys the last weekend of Summer! We are very much looking forward to our last Hoorah!

The Exhibitionist!!

2008-08-18T19:32:00.002-04:00

Ryan is an exhibitionist! Lately he has been running around the house after his bath naked! He escapes just as we are drying him off...it is a funny site to see him running about squealing in delight! It becomes a challenge to get him to sit still long enough to get his diaper on and get him dressed! We end up bribing himwith baby powder....for some reason this child loves baby powder!

Ryan is slowly learning his numbers and colors too. Now he can recognize the difference between yellow and blue in the past his response was "yellow" to everything. He was holding two rocks in his hand today and when asked how many he had he replied "two" We are trying to work on colors and numbers everyday at bedtime. Still enjoying his big boy bed. Loves to go to sleep in it at night and miraculously has consistently slept all night for the past week in the big boy bed!

What a great weekend spent with family. Saturday we had a few friends and their little ones over for dinner. Greg put together a special "kiddie" dinner table for the kids to eat their dinner at and of course they all sat there for 0.5 seconds! But that's okay they did eat a little and they certainly had fun.

By Sunday we were all pooped! We enjoyed some family time at the park with Ryan and then we all took an extra long family nap. Then we headed to Silverman's farm in Easton for some peach picking. We ended up going to the petting zoo there instead and decided it was a bit too warm for peach picking. So we skipped it and headed to Westport for a little shopping but stupidly forgot our stroller. We decided to do a little shopping anyways and Ryan did listen to us and surprisingly held our hands as we walked down the streets. He ran around Vineyard Vines and started to lose it a bit so we decided it was time to leave....(did not really need to be spending money in there anyways)!

We ended up going out to dinner to our favorite Chinese restaurant in town Lilac House. Ryan is a huge fan of the steamed vege dumplings, miso soup, and chicken and broccoli...yum yum. I know the food is a bit salty for him but once in a while it is a special treat for us all. He was such a good boy at dinner. He kept repeating "Lilac House" while at dinner. We think it may be his favorite restaurant in town too.

Currently I hear lots of movement upstairs it is 7:50 PM and Ryan is supposed to be in bed.... I wonder if he is jumping in he is big boy bed?? Greg went up to investigate I will get a full report when he comes back down stairs..... We think Ryan is enjoying his new found freedom related to the whole big boy bed thing...... Scary to think our little boy is growing up so fast!

Pregnancy Cravings!

2008-08-15T13:23:00.004-04:00

So I am almost 23 weeks now and I had a great check-up earlier in the week. The baby has a big strong healthy heartbeat and is measuring right one target. I have gained 8 lbs so far but it feels like a lot more! Of course I had to discuss my pregnancy cravings with the midwife (who was with me during labor with Ryan- my favorite in the practice) she is awesome. I talked with her about my weird craving for fish tuna sandwiches, all kinds of other fish salmon, cod, sole, and especially sushi (which I definitely cannot have) So weird even when I was pregnant with Ryan I craved tuna and all sorts of fish! In the first trimester the thought of fish actually gagged me but now I can't get enough of it. I am really trying to stay to the twice a week fish thing but it is so hard for me. I really wanted a tuna sandwich while at Panera with a friend on Wed but I knew that I had already had a tuna sandwich earlier in the week and that we were having fish tonight for dinner. Bummer! I settled on the sierra turkey instead but just not the same! I did have a california roll last week while out to dinner sans fish eggs...it was so yummy! I am hesitant to eat event he cooked sushi rolls and vege rolls just b/c I know they are prepared on the same surface as all the raw stuff. I also crave a glass of good wine with dinner which again I know is totally off limits! I know some women who will drink a glass or two in the third trimester but not me. I will wait until after the baby is born.

I also talked to the midwife again about a possible VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean section) I mean I had talked with my OB Dr. about this at a previous visit and he had strongly discouraged that. The midwife who is very holistic of course disagreed! She told me I had CPD (cephalopelvic disproportion) due to Ryan's posterior positioning in the birth canal that is why I had the c/s. She assured me that it was based on the position only that the widest part of his head was the presenting part which made a success vaginal birth almost impossible. And no pitocin this time around if I do decide on a VBAC this medication produces artificial stronger uterine contractions increasing the likelihood of uterine rupture which can be fatal....yikes! I just hate to go through labor again only to end up in surgery anyways. If I decided on a scheduled c/s I can make arrangements for Dylan and yran and there will be no surprises! But then again a repeat c/s has its risks too...it is major surgery and each time an incision is made scar tissue forms and the uterine wall is thinner at the incision site. This puts you ar higher risk of having complications with a subsequent pregnancy. I know again my medical background mostly works against me! It is scary when you know too much. I am leaning more towards a repeat c/s but still considering a VBAC have a few more weeks yet to decide.

On another note. I am feeling lots and lots of movement. This baby is very active just like Ryan. And in fact he woke me up last night with his little hiccups just in time to see the medal ceremony for the gymnastics around 12:30- 1 AM. Suddenly I think the hiccups annoyed him and he became very active either that or he really wanted me to see who won the gold medal last night! Glad I could see it even though I was half asleep and did not have my glasses on...

In other news Greg and I have a wedding tonight so Mimi and Papa are coming down to take care of Ryan... should be interesting how the bedtime routine goes in the big boy bed for them. All I have to say is thanks so much Mom and Dad be firm I know it is hard and most of all GOOD LUCK! I am sure Ryan will play all his tricks to try and prolong bedtime! Last night he fell asleep on the floor bunny blanket in hands by the gate and I transferred him to the bed without a problem. But again he slept well all night and I ended up waking him around 7 AM. He was a tired little boy. I told him you were coming today and he is so excited! Thanks a bunch! Looking forward to the weekend hubby will actually be around the entire weeekend no golf...What a shock this will be our first full weekend as a family in like 5 months! Looking forward to a relaxing weekend with friends and family!

Second night in the Big Boy Bed....

2008-08-14T14:00:00.002-04:00

Second night in the big boy bed went pretty well. He went down without a fuss in and out of the bed a while then I heard him run and jump in bed and he stayed there all night until Daddy came home around 12:30. He took a shower and made a little noise and Ryan woke up calling for Daddy so Greg slept in the room with him last night but Ryan slept in his bed until this morning. I think they got up around 6:30.

This afternoon for his nap he jumped in the bed and I told him I was going downstairs for some lunch but he had to take a nap in his big boy bed. He stood at the gate for a while crying about 10 minutes. Then I heard him run and jump in bed and I just checked the monitor he is in the bed fast asleep. I think he is tired though we were over Christian's for a playdate this morning and the boys played and played and tired themselves out! Thanks for a fun playdate Christina! It was great seeing you and Christian!

I hope Ryan continues to sleep in his big boy bed. I am just glad he is still napping. Thanks for all the encouraging comments! Okay I will stop with the annoying updates and talk about something else tomorrow!

First Night in the Big Boy Bed a Success....

2008-08-13T16:46:00.003-04:00

So Yeah our first night (sans Greg) in the big boy bed was a complete success! Greg is away for work but coming home tonight Yay! Anyways Ryan went down without much fuss last night. He was extrememly tired though. There was a lot of in and out of the big boy bed and finally I told him he had to get in his big boy bed and go to sleep I had to go downstairs now. He stood at the gate and cried only a few minutes then I heard him run and jump in bed and sure enough I looked in the monitor and he was asleep in his bed....Hooray! And the best part was he slept all night and then I heard him at the gate this morning....."Mommy out" So I went and got him and told him how proud I was of him that he slept in his big boy bed! He was very proud of himself too. Hopefully he will continue to sleep in the bed! Yay Ryan such a big boy!

Ryan and his Big Boy Bed!!!

2008-08-12T14:40:00.002-04:00

Ryan likes his new big boy bed! (age 21 months)

Ryan are you getting sleepy yet??

Ryan likes his new bed but will he sleep in it???

Hmmm....I can actually get out?!?!?!....Who needs sleep really??

Okay Day #1 in the big boy bed...He is upstairs in his room NOT napping...playing??? Certainly NOT in his big boy bed sleeping. Has been up there for 20 minutes. Cried a little at first then played..then stood at the gate calling..."mommy please....mommy please out" Now crying again. Not sure if maybe this was a mistake I was hoping for at least "quiet time" Sadly the video monitor only shows his bed not the entire room so I have no idea what he is actually up to in his room. Not a whole lot for him to get into thankfully. I am going to try and attempt to ignore him a bit more and see if he gets tired enough to go to sleep (hopefully that is the plan anyways) I will give it a try and see...... Wish me luck!

First ER Vist...certainly not the last I am sure!

2008-08-11T15:07:00.002-04:00

It was a crazy week last week sorry for the lack of updates. Last week Ryan tripped and fell tearing his face up and we had our first ER experience. Yes he tripped and fell and cut his face and I knew from the looks of the laceration he would definitely need a stitch or two. If I had taken the suturing workshop I would have done it myself (yeah right just kidding taking them out was pure torture enough for all of us especially me!) But anyways the people over at Bridgeport were very kind and gentle they kept us waiting and were slower than molasses...I mean we were there 2 1/2 hrs for a few teeny weeny stitches that took all of 5 minutes but anyways they did a good job and they were friendly and courteous. But trying to keep a rambunctious toddler occupied in a tiny room for 2.5 hrs was sheer torture and we were in a hurry to get there I grabbed the essentials only and did not put much thought into toddler entertainment. Greg and I were looking at each other wondering what the heck was taking so long! I mean the child was climbing everything in site and we thought to ourselves gee if we sit here in this tiny not so childproofed room any longer our child will need more that just a couple of stitches! Luckily the cheerios and snacks kept him occupied for short time but finally I went to the nurses desk to speak up. Sounding as polite as possible went something like this....

"Um hello excuse me our son is losing his patience a bit and getting a little impatient is there anyway we can move things along a bit....sorry I hate to sound pushy...Thanks so much!"

The nurse gave me a sort of confused look and said yeah he is getting his supplies together now...The kind of look that says geeze don't be so impatient lady! Obviously these people don't deal with toddlers regularly. I mean it is not like the place was all that busy I think we were the only ones there!

Anyways they literally mummy wrapped him and taped him to the table for the procedure and he screamed bloody murder it was really hard to watch! But it was finally over and Ryan, Greg and I were thoroughly exhausted from the mornings events! They told us to come back to get them removed but I did not want to put him through that again and who knows how long they would have kept us waiting! So I took a bunch of sterile supplies home from work and took them out myself...it was not pretty but it was better than bringing him back there.

Otherwise things have been fine with Ryan he did not seem bothered by the stitches at all. I just hope he does not get a big scar on his face. We all survived and he hopefully won't remember!

I think we have decided after this recent injury we will put him in a toddler bed this weekend. He is still climbing although it has improved I just feel like it is another accident waiting to happen. I bought a headboard to match his bedroom furniture and I am thinking of transitioning him to a toddler bed first then putting him int he twin bed. It just seems so big and high up for him now I think the toddler bed would be a better transition for him. His little friend has the fire engine bed and he climbed right in and got under the covers and would not get out of the bed so I am hoping he will like the race car bed.

Greg won his golf tourney yesterday so he is now the best player at his club. It was called the club championship and has been going on for two weeks. He played 18 holes on Sat and 36 holes yesterday to win the match! We are so proud of him but I am glad it is over. He promised to lay off the golf a bit for the rest of the season b/c he has not been around a whole lot this summer and we really need to spend more time together as a family! I am happy to have him around more often now!

Excited to be watching the olympics every night! In fact I have been staying up so late I am tired today! I just love it. Any other big fans out there?

Finally a few new pics!!

2008-08-05T20:57:00.003-04:00

Ryan and his friend Lila at a play date last week

Ryan out to dinner using chopsticks

July 4th weekend

Beach Fun and random stuff too...

2008-08-04T08:36:00.003-04:00

Since Daddy was golfing all weekend in a golf tournament Ryan and I decided to have a little fun of our own and ventured to the beach yesterday. It was a lot of fun and the perfect beach day. We got settled and Ryan ran off to chase some seagulls abandoning his beach pail and shovel. He ran all the way to the Marina and as I un-packed I kept my distance to see if Ryan would look for me. No he didn't this child has no fear of anyone and could have cared less if I was even at the beach with him or not. But finally I called out to him and he came running over only to get distracted again my the seagulls. It was really cute. Finally I talked him into walking back to the blanket with me and we made it back eventually. We decided to go swimming the water was really warm I noticed there were jelly fish in the water and I had read about it in the town paper that they were out early this year. I figured they were harmless there were a ton of people in the water. Funny just my luck as I was belly high in water splashing around with Ryan I felt a funny sting did not think much of it then it started to tingle and burn....and it was in a place where no jelly fish has gone before. The worst place you could possibly get stung. Oh well at least he did not get Ryan. I contemplated calling the OB but I figured what will they do anyways and it seems a bit better today. But anyways it was a lot of fun playing with Ryan at the beach :)

Ryan now refers to himself as Ry-Ry in the third person. Everything is Ry-Ry do. Ry-Ry this Ry-Ry that. It is really funny. He will actually now point to baby pictures of himself and say Ry-Ry. Before he would point to himself and say baby. For example he absolutely would not let ME give him some raisins out of the container this morning! He immediately protested Ry-Ry! So I gave in and he reached his little hand in to grab a handful for himself. I have also noticed he makes less of a mess (on some days) eating his morning oatmeal. Usually ends up eating most of it rather than missing his mouth and his bib (if I can get one on) was surprisingly left untouched this morning. Did I also mention for the past week Ryan has been insistent on sitting in his high chair again not his booster seat for meals. Funny we were just about to bring it down stairs and set it aside.

We were really surprised at dinner last night because Ryan inhaled all of his dinner at lightning speed. I made grilled salmon, carrots, zucchini and herb roasted potatoes and he loved every bite of the salmon and and veggies and even asked for more. Greg and I were so surprised. See last week it was a totally different story at meal times he would poke and push the food around and maybe take a few bites here and there. But for the past few nights he has been inhaling large quantities of food at mealtimes. I guess we better enjoy it while we can maybe he is going through a growth spurt because his appetite comes and goes.

So funny story about the zucchini....Polina gave me this enormous garden fresh zucchini it was the biggest zucchini I have seen. So I decided to make zucchini bread and I found a yummy recipe online and it called for 2 c of grated zucchini I was thinking oh wow perfect it will use alot of zucchini. Well 2 loaves later and even after grilled zucchini for 3 last night I still have half of this enormous zucchini left. What ever shall I do with it? Maybe make more zucchini bread and freeze it? More grilled zucchini? It was super yummy.

Oh I also wanted to thank mom for the green bags! They are so awesome and I highly recommend them. I was looking all over for them. I hear you can get them at CVS but I did not find them there in Fairfield. Well I happened to mention the fact I was looking of these bags and of course mom had some....she has everything! So she gave me some and I love them. I buy a whole bunch of produce and it stays fresh all week. The secret is these spectacular green bags. I put green bananas in them and they stay fresh all week. I take them out a day or two before I need one and it usually ripens well on the counter. I had used them for apples and nectarines too. You really have to dry the nectarines off first or they will get moldy. Don't wash the produce first just dry it off and place in these magical bags and it will stay ultra fresh. Apparently produce releases a gas which causes it to ripen quickly especially in warmer weather and these green bags apparently catch the gas or something and absorb it. This week I tried strawberries and grapes. Seems to be doing well so far. Thanks mom these bags are great! And I find we are wasting a lot less food!(Something we are notorious for) Oh I also wanted to mention I found this great fruit and veggie wash at Trader Joes that has grape seed extract or is it grapefruit seed extract? Anyways it is supposed to remove all the pesticides and chemicals and waxes from your produce. So while we do try to buy organic if we don't I don't feel so bad about giving it to Ryan if it is washed in this veggie soap. Just wanted to share.

Oh Thanks Auntie Erin and Grammy and Granddad for offerring to watch Ryn for us so I can attend my conference in Boston later in the month to kick off phase 2 of my diabetes trial. We are all meeting in Boston for 2 days to discuss the logistics of phase 2 and talk about the results of phase 1. Should be a lot of fun and Greg will be staying with me too to keep me company and to attend the Deuche Bank golf tournament.....(For work???) NO seriously I guess one of Genpacts's clints is hosting it and they invited Greg and some others to attend. What a cushy job! Anyways Ryan will enjoy some quality time with his Auntie Erin and Uncle Brian and His granparents too. Then my parents will take him for the long weekend and Greg and I will get to enjoy our "last hoorah" as we call it before the new baby. Our last true vacation that we will take alone for a long time to come. We are spending time with 2 other couples for the long holiday weekend for some rest and relaxation and lots of golf I am sure! Thanks family for taking care of of Ryan! What would we do without you?

Sleeping better now....

2008-08-01T09:13:00.002-04:00

So this week Ryan has still been climbing out of his crib but much improved from last week. He is not actually getting out this time. We try and bribe him to put his legs back over and not jump out. I know it sounds silly but we pretty much do ANYTHING to keep him in the crib at this point. Greg was putting him to bed last night and I walked by and Ryan had a pillow, a golf book, and Greg's blackberry in his crib along with his usually "night night" stuff his 2 bunny blankets, his doll, and his blue blankie so there was a whole lot of stuff in his crib last night but hey it works for now. And he is napping better again I have to bribe him to stay in the crib at first even for naps too and he is napping between 1 1/2-2 hrs for us not as long as previously but it is better than no napping. And yes he is napping in the pack and play for Polina and apparently not climbing out.

How did this improved sleep pattern evolve? Well we pushed bedtime up an hour earlier. I guess we got a little layed back with daylight savings and summer and the days getting longer and gradually over a period of months we were slowly pushing Ryan's bedtime further and further back his summer bedtime routine started around 7:30 8'ish and by the time he was upstairs actually asleep it was more like 8:30 9 ish and I guess at this age they are super sensitive to that and gradually Ryan got more and more overtired. Then Greg and I were left eating dinner at 9:00 and having no time to ourselves to unwind because after dinner and cleanup it was nearly 10 PM and we were both exhausted ready for bed. Now this week our new routine is Ryan has his bath at 6:30 and he is upstairs in his crib at 7:00 and asleep by 7:45 and it is no nice. He is napping better. Behaving better and seems much more well rested. Alleluia. But we are still thinking of switching him to a big boy bed soon just to avoid a potential injury from crib climbing!

Yesterday Ryan went for his second haircut. I get a little sad each time we go because I feel like they are cutting of his little baby hair the hair he was born with. After each haircut so far he totally changes. He looks more and more like a little man and not a baby our little boy is growing up so fast!

We got our infant seat back this week. I had lent it out to one of the Dr's in the practice for one of his twins. It is still in perfect condtion. You know who jumped right in it and tried to buckle up when he saw it. It has been a real source of entertainment for him for the past few days. He really got a kick out of climbing in and climbing out and buckling the straps and trying to un-buckle them. I just had Greg bring it downstairs last night. Boy I never knew all this baby equipment could amuse a toddler for so long. It was like buying a new toy for him!

Just wanted to share the highlight of my morning today and pretty much for the past few weeks has been Ryan climbing in bed with me and waking me up with a cry out for "Mommy" and a great big hug and kiss. So sweet I cherish these moments! Have a great weekend!

HELP!!!! No Naps and Lots of Crib Climbing!!!!!

2008-07-28T12:09:00.003-04:00

So yeah it is official a week with literally no naps and a week full of crib climbing and I don't know what to do! Ryan effortlessly in a foul swoop will now climb out of his crib at home over 100 times in 5 minutes and each time has a lovely smirk on his face squealing in delight at his proud accomplishment. He now no longer naps for our babysitter Polina climbs out of the pack and play opens the door to his room and aimlessly roams about her immaculate home until she discovers he is up to no good. He has been climbing out of the pack and play at Nancy and Jack's house and even started climbing out of the crib at my parents house over the weekend. It has now been a week with no naps and bedtime is now a 1.5-2 hr minimum process. So now we are faced with an extremely over tired 20 month old who adores his new found freedom of climbing out of his crib at will and becomes even more mischievous especially given the lack of sleep! Just a few weeks ago he was sleeping 11 hrs at night and taking 2-3 hour naps now he sleeps only 9 hours per night with no naps! HELP!

So here is my dilemma after discussing this situation on multiple occasions with numerous fellow mommy friends (of course their little ones are sleeping so nicely in their cribs NOT climbing)And my big question is this....Option A: Do I put him in a big boy bed and end the climbing thereby forfeiting his nap and deal with months of nigh time awakenings and wandering? or Option B: continue with the current situation and hope it is a phase he will get over but somehow I doubt it..... For example a friend of mine with 2 children ages almost 1 and 3 chose option A in anticipation of her second son to ensure the older one would be in a big boy bed and she could use the crib for the newborn she did this months in advance to prevent jealousy of her older son finding a new baby in his bed she did this not for the same reasons I am faced with.... her older son was NOT climbing. I would seriously keep Ryan in his crib until age 5 if he was sleeping well in it not climbing. Anyways so her older son slept GREAT for the first week then started wandering getting in bed with them. She even tried putting a gate up and her son would stand there all night and scream bloody murder until they let him come to bed with them. I don't know. I already have major insomnia from the pregnancy I am not sure about this wandering issue. Oh and another thing I hear is once they go into a big boy bed naps are forever OVER! It becomes independant quiet time...Ha yeah right not in our house! So the best part of my friend's story is as soon as her older son started sleeping in his bed nearly 4 months later her new baby was born and she was once again faced with sleepless nights for another 4 months that is almost a year of not sleeping at night.

So I have already looked into buying a bed rail and I am thinking of maybe even converting Ryan's crib to a toddler bed first then having him sleep in a big boy bed with rail freeing up crib for the newborn. My only reservation is the no nap issue. Just being pregnant and tired all the time I do like to at least put my feet up and rest a little in the afternoon. But I guess there will be very little rest when the new little one arrives. I was just trying to enjoy my rest time while it lasts. Let's just say I can't wait for school in Sept!

But please offer me any suggestions you may have I am totally desperate in need of some good advice!

Other weekend news Greg and I enjoyed a wonderful Saturday together. Our original plan had been to visit Granddad and Grammy but I still had a lingering cough and Ryan still has a bit of a drippy nose so we opted not to infect any of the Flynn's. It was too long of a drive for Greg to make alone in one day. So we opted to spend some quality time just the two of us. We dropped Ryan off early on Saturday morning and my parents watched him for us. Greg and I decided to go out to lunch (where we had our first date nearly 9 yrs ago) and to a farmer's market and them we went to see Sex and the City. What a cute movie! It was so great to spend the day together and catch up something we have not done it what seems like forever! Thanks mom and dad! You are the best!

Yesterday we went over to Sarah and Jamie's house along with Grazi her husband and Katy and had dinner with them and their kids. I was very hesitant to bring Ryan b/c he had no nap and seemed kind of irritable but he fell asleep on the way but once we got to Sarah's Greg happily volunteered to stay in the car with Ryan a few minutes so he could rest. Well after a half hour I went outside to find both boys sound asleep in the car together...no surprise there. So I gently knocked on Greg's window and told him to come inside. It all turned out fine both boys were refueled and Ryan played so well with the other children. It was a wonderful evening spend with great friends!

So please give us some suggestions on our current dilemma! Thanks in advance!

Compund Phrases!

2008-07-25T09:39:00.002-04:00

It all started with "Diyya pobby" for Dylan go potty...part of our morning routine. Greg and Dylan along with Ryan stand outside and say Dylan potty and keep repeating it until he goes both. Now lately we have been noticing Ryan will say two words in a row like "mommy moo moo" or "Dada upee" he will also say things like "iii pease" for ice please. Lately I am not sure where this ice obsession has evolved from. I am guessing it is from teething...we think Ryan is getting his bottom second year molars. I am hoping it is not pica (urge to eat non-nutritive foods such as ice and dirt-both of which Ryan will gladly eat) from an iron deficiency anemia.

Time out!
So Ryan found himself in time out for the second time in his life. The first time was about a month ago for deliberately running towards the street after I clearly said NO and he clearly understood with a smirk as he went charging for the street. This time we were at a play date and first time I let it go he bit Sophia they were in the tunnel I could not see what was happening so I just said very sternly "Ryan NO BITE!" The second time occurred after lunch and he clearly bit her he was provoked they were fighting over a stuffed bear but still biting is a severe offense and not tolerated at all. So I said again "NO BITE" time out. I removed him from the situation and sat with him on the stairs I did have to keep placing him gently back on the stairs b/c he kept getting up to leave. This occurred about 5 times and finally I figured he got the picture. By this time it was nap time all the kids were starting to lose it and we headed home for a nap. But on our way out Ryan spotted his "time out" area on the stairs and ran over there to sit. Funny though I was reading sometimes children do that. I do recommend this book I am reading I think it will actually work out well for us. It was recommended by a bunch of Friends with older children. If you are at all interested in the the "time out" approach to discipline get this book. Not sure of the author I can double check but the title is "123 Magic" So far the book is really helping. We will see.

In other news I have lately been whipping out our vita mix. It is basically a very overpriced blender Greg and I got suckered into buying about 5 years ago at the Big E. You know those areas int eh Better Living Center where they do all the demos and offer free food samples and you feel like you have to have their product even if you don't really need it. Yes and it gathered dust for a number of years until recently. It has a super powerful motor and we used to make all kinds of things in it like homemade peanut butter, almond butter, salsa, soups, smoothies, ice cream...stuff like that. Well lately I have been making a vegetable pureed soup it is really yummy sort of a more nutritious twist on tomato soup. Here are the ingredients: (Not sure if you can actually make this in a regular blender or not but it is really tasty).

2 medium tomatoes
1/3 cup peas
1/2 carrot
1/4 celery
1/4 c red or green pepper
chicken bouillon cube
onion powder
dash of black pepper
tiny bit of chicken broth to thin (it is a really thick soup)

I actually felt adventurous and I made my own tomato sauce for chicken parm yesterday using (really simple and very tasty too)

1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1/4 c olive oil saute a few minutes
2 cans of crushed tomatoes
1 tsp of sugar (cuts the acid a trick from Meme)
dash of salt
fresh black pepper
lots of fresh parsley 1/2 c approx
lots of fresh basil 1/2 c
some onion powder to taste
let it simmer for an hour or two uncovered (you can cover but the sauce will not thicken)
Oh and I almost forgot I put 1.5 c of the vegetable soup above for a nutritional boost

I could not believe Ryan was not that into the chicken parm maybe took a few bites but he loved the spaghetti and sauce. Devoured it. Good thing I was able to sneak those veggies in somehow. Right now we are off our veggie kick. Ryan pushed the broccoli around on his plate. Oh well.

Okay one more recipe not as nutritious but somewhat healthy with hidden veggies:
My mac and cheese (this is actually a half portion)
Barilla whole wheat Plus elbows cook until just before aldente about 6 min 1/2 box
1/4 c whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp of earth balance (trans fat free spread I think canola oil based) Can use butter
brown stirring frequently for 5 min
add 3 cup milk I used 1 c whole milk 2 c 1%
stir for 7 minutes
add 2 cup of sharp cheddar cheese
and 1.5 cup cauliflower puree and thicken a few minutes
Add the elbows and cheese mixture to a 9x9 casserole
mix plain bread crumbs with olive oil to moisten and sprinkle on top of mac and cheese
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
This is another of Ryan's favorites

I know I did a lot of baking/cooking this week too but I was just so excited to finally have a new working oven. I wanted to try it out. Oh and Ryan and I made M+M cookies too (Meme's recipe)

How did I do all this with a curious toddler? I let him help well sort of. He got his stool and he had his own pan and spoon and he helped too. Yesterday was one of those days with a limited nap requiring lots of one on one time. Ryan also picked some fresh basil and parsley for me from the deck. It only lasted for a short time but he was also my sauce taste tester too and he approved. I will admit the cookies I made after he went to bed for fear that he would eat them all. But the sauce he did help with.

Sadly I don't think I will be making the visit up north to visit Grandadad Jack who is still recovering from his surgery b/c I am getting over a cold and still have a lingering cough. Ryan is pretty much over his cold but still has a bit of a runny nose. Pretty sure he will be well enough for the visit but not sure about me. Will have to play it by ear and see how we all are in the morning. Doubt we are contagious at this point but would hate to give our colds to "Dad dad" impeding his recovery. Glad to hear you are doing so well!

Over comitted!
I know you are all dying to know how my work meeting went on Mon. I have not been asked to attend in almost a year so I knew something was up. The meeting agenda consisted of the following: Plans to open a new office in Orange- Hooray! Closer to me and 5 minutes from Polina! Plans for one of our partners to retire. Plans to add on a third day upon my return from maternity leave. Most likely a M-W-F work week due to preschool arrangements. Not the best scenario I won't have 2 days off in a row but I do have to drop/pick Ryan up from school. Also this I am sorry to say I should have said no to but you know me I can't really say NO under extreme pressure....I foolishly agreed not only to pick up another day okay that is not unreasonable but to actually agree to ALL the data entry for my diabetes study while on maternity leave recovering from a c/s. nursing a newborn, sleep deprived, and chasing after a busy 2 y.o. HELP. I really think I have lost my mind. My plan of action is this I will do it but I will do it at the office. I could do it from home but it would be difficult. Ryan still pulls the keys off my computer so I think it would be best to eliminate distractions and go suck it up and head into the office. I plan on dropping Ryan off at Polina's and taking the newborn in the carrier into the office. It will probably only take me 1/2 day a week 3-4 hrs to complete. I know it is crazy but I feel obligated to help. Hopefully it won't be too bad. What do you all think??? Did I totally over commit??? Will I survive? HELP!

I know I am lacking in the photo department I will post some new photos soon!

Mommy!

2008-07-21T13:01:00.002-04:00

Ryan now calls me Mommy! It is so adorable. He always used to call me Mama but lately last week he started using Mommy instead. When he wakes in the morning I now hear "mommy!" Instead of "Mama!" Still refers to Greg as Dada. But he has various nicknames for everyone.

Me: now Mommy occasionally still mama but rarely
Greg: Dada
Grammy: Mimi
Grampy: Papa
Uncle Freddie: Eddie
Granddad: Dad Dad
Polina: Pia
Caroline: Ine
Dylan: Diyya or Dow Dow
His Bunny Blanket: Bubby
Ryan (himself): Ry-Ry
Milk: moo moo

Ryan has recently become more vocal in pronouncing his words and will usually try to repeat what we are saying most of the time. Past few weeks has started using compound phrases like "How are you?" "Mommy up" "Dada hat or Dada shoe" I read that they start with the compound phrases around age 2.

Weekend Re-cap
Saturday we had a fun play date with our neighbor Sophia Daddy pulled the kiddos around in the driveway in the wagon at lightning speed and they just had a ball in the kiddie pool. We put the slide to the climber right in front of the pool so when they go down the slide they go crashing into the pool. They just love this and it tires them out so much! Then after lunch and an afternoon nap we headed over to Elephant Steps in Norwark for a Birthday party. What a great place for this age. They have a padded gym area with soft climbers and slides and a great water room. Then the kids had a little bubble show and before we knew it it was time for cake and pizza and the party was over. What a fun time. Ryan was so pooped after. But they do parties there and they have classes and open play too. A bit pricier than playtime village in Monroe $12 vs $8 or $9 but more options so we may have to make another visit for some free play.

Sunday and today Greg is playing in the New England something or other golf tourney over at Laurel View Country Club in Hamden so Ryan and I decided to tag along for the ride and continue on to Agawam for a surprise visit at Mimi and Papa's. They were so happy to see us for the day and Ryan got to go to the park and play in the pool. Then we both took a little afternoon nap and went to meet Greg. I am glad we decided to go to my parents b/c being cooped up inside just the two of us would not have been as much fun! Thanks Mimi and Papa for such a fun visit! It was great spending the day with you! It was so hot yesterday and I hear today is even worse. Not sure how Greg can play in this heat! He is really hard core!

Oh I almost forgot. Friday I enjoyed a girls night with a few moms over at Barcelona. We don't get out much you know. We enjoyed a evening of fun conversation great food and drinks too (well not for me) but the others sure had fun. Barcelona is such a fun atmosphere and it is a great place to go in a small group b/c you can order a bunch of tapas and share. The wine/drinks I hear are also fabulous. It is such a great group of moms. All our kiddos are roughly the same age and 2 moms have new babies and two of us are expecting or second.

Friday I also stopped off at a consignment store for a swing for the new baby (thanks for the tip Kerri! I wish I had had more time to check out the clothes though). I have twice been on Craigs list trying to get this very same swing but so hard to coordinate schedules with people and pick a time and place so I decided to call over and they had just what I needed for less too. I had been wanting a cradle swing for the new baby a newer model one that reclines and swings both back and forth and side to side. But I had refused to pay $130 for a new one. I am so pleased with the one we bought and you know who was also so excited to play in it too. I think he entertained himself in that infant swing for over an hour and he even refused to get out of the swing to eat his dinner so he ate in the swing too. I knew Ryan would want to try it out a few times and that is why I really wanted to buy a second hand one and not borrow from a friend b/c I worry Ryan will break it I think he may be over the weight limit I will have to check. But anyways I think Ryan approved of the swing and he was well aware that the swing was not for him we told him he could try it but that it was for the new baby and he hopped in saying "baby, baby" so we think he got the picture. He was just trying it out to make sure it was in working order for his little brother.

Tonight I have a work meeting to discuss potentially picking up more hours when I return from my maternity leave next spring. One of the Dr's will be retiring...So we will see how this goes over. I think I am ready to pick up maybe another day next spring but I know it will be difficult trying to get out of the door on time. The one thing I know for sure is I won't be returning full time anytime soon b/c Ryan starts preschool in Sept. on Tues and Thurs and I won't be able to work these two days b/c I need to be able to drop him off and pick him up. It is only for 2.5 hrs twice a week but I think it will be good for Ryan to interact with the other kids. I am mildly concerned about the germ factor though especially with a newborn but I will have to get over it!

Tomorrow we are supposed to be getting our new oven delivered HOORAY! I know it is way too hot to be baking but I really do miss having an oven!

Stay cool! I hear it is a hot one out there!

It's a Boy!

2008-07-18T10:15:00.003-04:00

So happy to let everyone know it's a boy! We are very excited! Had our ultrasound yesterday. Everything looks great and he appears to be very healthy. We had a slight scare they thought they saw a heart and stomach defect but the second ultrasound by the perinatologist at Yale showed normal organ development! Still very stressful. I will not truly be able to relax until he is born! But we are truly blessed to have our little Ryan who is healthy as can be and our new little baby boy on the way too! I just know that Ryan will really enjoy being a big brother!

In other news Granddad Jack is doing very well after his triple bypass surgery. He is expected to make a full recovery and may even be coming home today. So miraculous how far advances and technology in medicine have come. Again we are so happy to hear he is doing well! We love him very much and We hope his recovery goes smoothly! Thinking of you always!

In other news our oven died last week and I had an estimate to fix the darn thing and it was over $400 so we opted to buy a new oven even though our oven is only 5 years old. But it actually would have cost more to fix our current oven than to just buy a new one. So it should be coming next Tuesday. Not that we use our oven a whole lot in the heat of summer but I do miss it and I am looking forward to making Ryan some homemade mac and cheese and chicken fingers! We have been grilling alot and using the cook top!

Also last week my car died and I had Ryan in the car and groceries from Trader Joes and fresh fish from the fish market. I got back into the car leaving Swanson's and... hmmm funny my car would not start. Ok no big deal I will try again....still nothing. Then I start to panic slightly it was really hot out and I had Ryan and all these groceries in the car. So I reach for the instruction manual....not really helpful. I call Greg he is just leaving work thank goodness and is about 1/2 hour away. Okay that's not so bad but it was 85 degrees out with all this food in the car. So I just happened to glace across the street and to my surprise there was a service station there. So I figured why not just call...I have AAA but by the time they come Greg would be here. The guy over at the service station was so incredibly nice I explained my situation.....sounding desperate and he came running over with a jump start. Sure enough it was something so minor... my car battery. But he did advise me not to drive anywhere far or it may die again. I am thinking gee I have to go to work tomorrow.... So I just happened to ask if he had another battery to install for me and just my luck he sure did and he was happy to put it in. Gee how lucky and I. By this time Greg came and picked Ryan up along with the groceries and all was fine! I am so thankful I was in the right place at the right time! I mean the car could have died anywhere like New Haven or the Merrit. You can only image how horrible that would have been!

So after recent events from the past week we have a lot to be thankful for. Sometimes with the hustle and bustle of everyday life we tend to forget about what really matters in life. I wanted to actually start keeping an appreciation journal of all the things in life that I am grateful for and to look back at this journal when I am feeling down or stressed.

Today I am greatly appreciative for:
Ryan Alexander-the bringer of much joy to our lives, also extremely grateful that he is as healthy as a young boy can be!
That our new baby is developing normally and appears healthy
For having a supportive and loving husband who is always there for us!
Our constant loving companion Dylan
The heatlh of my parents and brother and all their love and support
The health of Greg's parents and siblings and all their love and support
And our extended family members too.
That we have a loving home to come home to everyday
That I have a child care provider that loves our son as much as we do
That I have the most wonderful job and I work with caring compassionate individuals
That I have such wonderful friends and family who support us in everything we do.
That Greg and I are in good health.

And the list can go on and I know I am forgetting some stuff. But just to keep in mind when the stresses of everyday life really seem to get to you try and look back upon what really matters in life and appreciate all the things you can be grateful for it just might make you forget about what upset you in the first place! I really want to become a more positive person and focus on the good rather that the bad things in life! That life is too short to dwell on negativity!

Quote from Greg yesterday

"Everyday that Ryan walks this earth is the happiest day of my life!"

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Please Say a Prayer for Granddad Jack!

2008-07-12T09:46:00.002-04:00

So just a quick update....we are headed to Boston to see Granddad Jack today. Was experiencing some chest pain yesterday and Nancy had to call 911 (she probably saved his life) Turns out after a cardiac catheterization (procedure where they look for blockages in your main vessels of the heart) that he has 4 blockages includeing a main artery blockage. So he is on a ballon pump to hold his arteries open and will need emergent quadruple bypass surgery this weekend(open heart surgery or CABG). So we are packing up the car and headed to Boston. The good news is that Jack did not have a heart attack just the blockages (also known as CAD- coronary artery disease or atherosclerosis-fatty plaque build up) and looks like they prevented one with the cardiac cath! Please say a prayer for us! Will update more when we know more! Thanks for thinking of us!

Baby Girl or Baby Boy??

2008-07-11T09:37:00.002-04:00

So I guess the big question these days is Baby Girl or Baby Boy? Ryan will now point to my belly and say "bebe" It is so cute he actually knows something is up. Take the poll and let me know what you think!! I am curious to know what others think...

When we ask him "Ryan are we having a baby boy or a baby girl?"
He replies "yeah" "Okay but do you think it is a boy or girl?" Responds still with "Yeah" So no help from him. Funny though random people and friends have voiced their opinion we will have to wait a little longer to see who is right.

At first I really did not want to know I wanted it to be a surprise but Greg really wants to find out and now I am pretty eager too. We will have to wait a few more days though until our level 2 ultrasound next week. Of course most importantly we hope to find out the baby is healthy and if cooperative we hope to find out the gender. It was funny with Ryan we found out right away before she even started he was showing us his rear end with his legs wide apart...there was no mistaking it he was clearly a boy! Hopefully this one won't be too shy to let us take a peak too.

Other baby news I am starting to feel a little movement. Tiny arms and legs moving about. A little sooner than with Ryan. This pregnancy is just totally different all around. Still with some occasional nausea and fatigue but my appetite is much better now Greg and I even got Reese's sundaes the other night after little Ryan was in bed b/c we did not want to share for fear he might eat them all.

Speaking of that what is the verdict on peanut butter? I forgot to ask the pedi in my numerous visits the past 2 weeks. I recall earlier that he had mentioned wait until age 2 for peanut butter/peanut products or age 5 if you have a family history of a peanut allergy. I know Ryan has had walnuts, almonds, cashews and other nuts. Has also had numerous baked goods with nuts and I know Polina gives him slices of almonds almost everyday. I packed a soy nut butter and jelly sandwich today which he seems to like so I think he will really enjoy peanut butter someday just wondering what everyone else was doing on the peanut butter thing? And also what about shellfish like shrimp? Is that age 2 or 5? I do have an allergy to soft shell crab but not any other shellfish. Funny I had this strange aversion to all fish in the first trimester and now I am craving fish and light tuna...weird. I haven't tried tuna yet with Ryan but he does like salmon and mild white fish cod, tilapia.

Looking forward to our visit with Grammie and Gradddad this weekend. Ryan can't wait to see you guys! Have a great weekend.

Kiddie Concert on the Green

2008-07-09T19:41:00.002-04:00

Today we went to our first PBJ kiddie concert on the Sherman Green. It is every Wed on the green. I thought oh I will get there early at noon and get a good spot...Ha all the good parking was already taken but I got lucky and found a sweet spot on the street. The place was packed! It was really fun but very hot. We met some of our friends there today. Two are sick so it was Ryan and Sophia today. They were both jamming and dancing away. Ryan's favorite spot was sitting in Sophia's stroller. My master plan worked we all know Ryan would rather snack then eat lunch while visiting with his friends. Since the concert was not until 12:30 I fed him lunch here first and packed my lunch and brought lots of snacks. He ate an entire half of grilled cheese and barely touched his cheddar bunny snack trap at the concert....while I sat and enjoyed my lunch. Oh and of course I forgot my camera but Ryan also got to meet cookie monster. It was so cute Ryan did not want to give cookie monster a hug but he did pet him nicely. Poor cookie monster must have been ready to pass out in that get up on a hot humid day like today.

Other news over the weekend Ryan had his first time out! He actually started for the road (terrifying) I said NO! we do not go near the road and he looked at me with a grin and took off. I chased after him and told him he was going in time out. I had to hold him on the deck stairs as he cried for an entire minute but I think he learned his lesson he did not go back towards the road again. Auntie Erin told us he was old enough for time out and it worked. I am thinking of getting the book 123 Magic for discipline guidance as we approach the terrible two's...I think we are there already.

Trip #3 to the pedi in just 10 days... hypocondriach mom maybe? Anyways Ryan had been itching and rubbing his eyes and his rash on his face hands arms and neck was getting worse too so I thought it was time for another visit not to mention yesterday morning he had rubbed his eye so vigorously the pink membrane under his lid has swelled into the white of his eye it was scary looking. His whole eye was red and swollen. Of course and hour later when we got to our app the eye looked totally fine....but he still had the rash. Call me crazy but better to be safe than sorry. So the diagnosis was bilateral allergic conjunctivitis or allergy eyes. And the rash... Mimi was right as always prickly heat...the treatment....allergy eye drops for the eyes and witch hazel and cornstarch baby powder for the rash. The rash is worse today from the heat but it is nice to know it is pretty benign.

Pregnancy update...17 weeks now and feeling so much better. My appetite has returned and I am so much less nauseous now a bit tired but I can deal with that! This pregnancy is finally starting to be pleasant and feel not like I can start and get some things ready for the new baby. We still have a lot of work to do and we need to clean our basement and make room for baby/toddler stuff. I am getting anxious to get the room ready for the baby and clean out one of my dressers for newborn clothes. Maybe we can get some stuff done when Granddad and Grammie come for a visit this weekend. Looking forward to seeing you guys.

Stay cool!

Coxsacki False Alarm!......Phew!

2008-07-02T21:06:00.002-04:00

So the neurotic mother that I am I convinced myself Ryan had contracted Coxsackie virus. A common but serious viral illness common in toddlers in the summer/early fall months. It is a horrible illness that has plagued nearly everyone we know recently. The presentation and signs and symptoms are different in each individual. But mainly loss of appetite, high fever, sore throat, vomiting/diarrhea, and sores on the hands, feet and in the mouth. It is highly contagious. Why did I convince myself Ryan had this horrible virus? Because I noticed a rash on his hands and face Monday night and worse Tuesday morning. I looked at some pictures of coxsackie virus on the internet courtesy of Dr. Sears and convinced myself those indeed were the lesions Ryan exhibited. I even consulted with Michelle and she said it sounded like he had it (although she admitted it was hard to diagnose over the phone)...oh and he had loss of appetite and diarrhea the day before for Polina also symptoms of the disease. So again being the neurotic overprotective mother that I am I cancelled our lovely play date with Sophia at the Longshore pool and scheduled another sick visit with the pedi.

If my child does not have coxsackie surely he will have it after playing/touching every single germ infested toy in the office waiting room. Dr. strong said he has seen sooooo many cases of coxsackie the past few days. I am thinking to myself...nice and Ryan touched every toy in the waiting room...oh well. But seriously the rash is not coxsackie thank goodness it is however an allergic reaction we are thinking he is allergic to Sabrina. But no worries he is fine. The rash on his face and arms is still present but not getting worse.

Glad to know we can head into the holiday weekend free of illness (we hope) and still keep our holiday plans. Hope everyone has a very safe and happy 4th of July!

Ryan's Phrase of the Day

2008-06-30T19:40:00.002-04:00

Ryan's phrase of the day...."How are you?" Can't believe he actually said a three word phrase! He kept repeating it over and over again.

Weekend Re-cap

2008-06-30T09:24:00.003-04:00

We had a wonderful weekend at Grammy Nancy's and Granddad Jack's for Nancy's surprise 60th birthday party. What a big hit! She was totally surprised! So glad we could be a part of the big surprise! Even with all the cars she had no idea there was a party going on as we pulled up to the house. She thought it was a neighbor's graduation party. Then she saw the ballon on the mailbox and the caterer's in the garage! That was the dead give away! The morning of the party the girls were in charge of getting Nancy out of the house so Erin had booked mani/pedi's for us at a local spa. Meanwhile Nancy thought this was just a part of her birthday weekend and it was... little did she know.... meanwhile the boys were busy getting the house ready for all the guests and the caterer with Ryan and the two dogs...well one got loose! My Dylan had a free run around the neighborhood luckily the Flynn's live on a quiet street but still off a main rd. I guess Ryan of all people was trying to "help" capture Dylan. Who would run faster away from Ryan out of fear than anyone else. Finally I guess Dylan followed Greg back into the house b/c he knew Greg was getting some chicken for him (his favorite treat) Phew! But the pary was so much fun and everyone had such a fantastic time. It was so great to see everyone and meet all of Nancy's friends. Jack made a fantastic slide show for Nancy that was really special. What a fantastic party!

Other events....as quoted by Auntie Erin "did you ever think you would be forcing your son to eat cake and frosting? and what about shoving sugary popsicles down his throat for breakfast?" Well that is exactly what happened this weekend. Yeah we were desperatly trying to get him to take his antibiotics for his bee sting infection. Well it just was not happening! We practically tried everything under the sun to get this child to take his medication...good thing the pharmacy gave me alot extra b/c there were numerous doses wasted (they must have known)! Here is just a small list of the things we tried mixing it with: oatmeal with bluberries, berry flavored yogurt, a popsicle, a swig of med followed by pirate booty, water, milk, a full container of applesauce, cake, a spoonful of frosting, waffles with extra maple syrup, and he was just not having it. I am confident in saying there is absolutley no way possible this child got the correct dose of medication for the 3 days it was prescribed. Thank goodness it was only twice a day and thank goodness it was only for 3 days....maybe this is a good sign my child will not like the taste of bubblegum (it was bubblegum flavored).

Sunday Grammy Nancy and Auntie Jen took Ryan to the park while the boys played golf and Auntie Erin, her mom and I enjoyed a leisurly lunch at PF Chang's and shopping at the Natick Mall. It was such a nice afternoon. Ryan really enjoyed playing at the park...Another quote of the day from Ryan as he got out of the car at the park "All Right!" and off he went running towards the slide. So cute I was telling Grammy usually when we get to the park he says "whooohoo" but this time it was "all right" so cute. It warms my heart to think of the little things that make Ryan so happy in life things like spending time with his granparents and Aunts and Uncles and things like going to the park, petting Sabrina (the Flynn family pet), snacking with Great Grammy Rose, entertaining people with his charm, getting a popsicle (not followed by medication). So cute the little things in life they appreciate so much.

It was great spending the weekend at the Flynn's. Glad the party was a big hit. It was so wonderful to catch up with the family. Thanks for a wonderful weekend everyone!

Attack of the Bees Addendum!

2008-06-27T14:08:00.002-04:00

I had to add this. Conversation with Ryan this morning at breakfast. Goes something like this...

I take a look at his hand and then I feel his arm and I said "oh shit thats really warm and swollen"

Ryan replies while eating his oatmeal and bluberries "shit, bee!"

Greg walks in "what did he just say?"

I reply "oops" Christina warned me about that.

Thought you all would get a kick out of that I taught our son a swear word and now he relates it to bees...Nice!

Attack of the Bees!!!

2008-06-27T10:45:00.003-04:00

Poor Ryan and Polina were attacked by a swarm of bees late Wed afternoon. I heard she was checking the mail of a neighbor who has been traveling. Her neighbors mail had been on hold but Polina periodically will check. Apparently a family of bees/wasps/hornets were living in the mailbox and when they opened the mailbox they all came swarming our attacking the two of them. Poor little Ryan got stung on his neck and his hand. Polina got stung on her hand.

Both ended up having to seek medical attention for their bites! Polina was in the ER late last night and given a steriod she is being treated for a possible allergic reaction. I noticed on Thursday morning Ryan's left middle finger was a bit red and slighlty swollen. I though nothing of it. He was not complaining and did not seemed bothered by me pressing on it. By dinner time it had swelled significatnly and I felt a little warmth (tell tale signs of infection include: Heat, Redness, Warmth, Purulent discharge) well he had 3/4 symptons present late last evening. I put a call in to the pedi and he assured me it was a normal reaction to a sting and I had double checked the dose of Benadryl with him. The pedi advised me to call in the Am if no improvement. He went to bed all was well.

This morning we noticed his his finger was still swollen slighly worse but now his entire hand was puffy and it appeared his arm was a bit puffy too. Still red with the warmth radiating up his arm. This to me was cause for alarm. So lucky for me Greg was working from home today and was able bring him to the pedi. I did not have to miss work. It is hard for me to miss b/c I only work the 2 days. I just got nervous b/c we are headed out of town tonight and I want to make sure all is well with Ryan. So Greg called me at work and as suspected he has a minor cellulitis or skin infection and is now taking antibiotics. Poor little man. Lucky for us to know he is likely not allergic to bees. I hope he is better soon.

It is so sad though b/c Ryan is now petrified of all bugs..."bees" as he calls all insects. There was a fly buzzing around the dining room at dinner last night and Ryan totally freaked....shouting "bee bee" and crying covering his face with his hands. Poor little man. I tried to assure him it was not a bee that is was a fly and he would not bite. But somehow I don't think he understood I had to move him into the kitchen so he could finish his dinner. Then I felt so bad he was so upset I ended up giving him a pop after dinner and that made him smile.

Poor little Ryan we hope he is on the mend soon. But to cheer him up we promised a visit to Grammy Nancy's and Granddad Jack's and that really made him smile! He has been saying "Dad Dad" all week! So cute. Looking forward to our visit! Have a great weekend!

Yesterday was Grammy Nancy's 60th Birthday. Happy Birthday from all of us!

Pictures from the weekend...

2008-06-23T20:52:00.003-04:00

Ryan's new picnic table and chairs. Daddy still to assemble table that matches chairs.

Strawberry picking with Daddy

The big "Geeuck" that took us to the picking area!

Ryan Goes Strawberry Picking!

2008-06-23T13:22:00.003-04:00

Greg and I took Ryan Strawberry picking yesterday. It was a lot of fun and the strawberries are at their peak for ripeness! Ryan's favorite part was riding to the field in the big Geeuck! (tractor truck to and from the picking area) He also really enjoyed eating the strawberries too. It was hard to try and hide the evidence that he had been eating the berries b/c he had red juice all over his hands face and clothes! He did some picking but mostly eating who can resist a fresh ripe juicy strawberry? It was defintely a fun activity although not sure how things would have gone over if Greg was not there to help. I did most of the picking while Greg sort of entertained/encouraged Ryan to pick some too. He actually got a little upset when it was time to leave b/c he really wanted to go back on the "geeuck" again!

Ryan has now started a very bad habit of running over to our neighbor's if we are outside while they are eating begging for food. Thankfully my neighbor thinks it is cute and she really enjoys feeding Ryan but I feel so bad. He sits right at their patio table and helps himself to whatever they are eating. The problem is that they eat earlier than us and Ryan is usually hungry for dinner when they are eating. We try to hold off on dinner until Greg comes home so we can all eat together as a family but I guess maybe I have to start feeding him earlier. Yesterday he took off and helped himself to dinner at their house a turkey hotdog, then polished off his own dinner of chicken sausage, peas, and applesauce. Geez it is a bit embarrasing and I am not sure what to do. He literally runs over there when he sees them eating and I think it is worse now b/c he knows he will get something. Sometimes he runs so fast I can barely catch up to him. Our little Ryan is becoming a food obsessed little boy. I mean it is not like we don't feed our child....what is up with this?

Ryan and I went tagsailing (is that a word?) this weekend in search of bargains on baby gear for baby #2. Not much luck and really a bad idea to bring Ryan b/c of course he wanted to play with all the toddler toys and of course we have planty of toys right now for him. I am looking for gently used pack and plays and a baby swing in good condition and maybe a changing table. I actually had to pull him away kicking and screaming at one tag sale b/c he wanted to stay and play on the ride on toys. The next 2 tagsales we stopped at I actully left the windows down and kept him in the car on the phone with Mimi and Papa (Grammy and Grampy) Next time I will plan to leave him home with Greg or find a sitter for tag sale outings. I am new to tagsailing. This was actually my first time. But I have quite a few freinds who have made out quite well with stuff on the cheap in good condition or even for free...are you supposed to haggle with these people and try to bargain them down? I did end up buying 2 board books for $1 and a Melissa and Doug wooden cube puzzle for $2 but I did not try to bargain...should I have? I know C3 has had good luck she found a cozy coupe for $5 and another friend found a wagon and a cozy coupe for free. Pretty cool!

I will post pictures from our stawberry picking adventure soon. Oh did I mention we went out to lunch after and Ryan and Greg both had stawberry stains all over their clothes.....gotta love oxy clean that stuff gets anything out!

Pregnancy update-

Feeling much better. Now 15 weeks had a great check up last week got to hear a strong heart beat right away. Still apprehensive about the delivery I still have 3 more months to decide but I am leaning towards another c/s with this one. I was a bit discouraged b/c I lost weight since my last prenatal check up but I am hopefull to start gaining soon now that the extreme nausea thankfully has passed and my appetite ahs improved. It was a bit concerning for me though b/c I am down 5 lbs at the same check with Ryan but I guess every pregnancy is different ,y Dr is not concerned. Still a bit tired but so glad to have the nausea hopefully past us for good. Dealing with a few other issues now but very minor. We have our level 1 u/s in a month yay and if the baby is cooperative will hopefully find out the sex! I would really rather be surprised but Greg really wants to know so I guess we will most likely find out. I am happy to say I am also taking part in a research study at yale looking at stress levels of pregnant women. Very interesting. Since I have recently conducted a diabetes research study here at work I am very open to helping others find our more through medical research. It is a totally non-invasive study looking more at behaivor and thought patterns as well as stress levels through out pregnancy. Interesting... I am hoping it will be worth the time spent. More updates to follow..... But finally things are really starting to look up!

Help Ryan only wants Mama!

2008-06-20T14:51:00.002-04:00

This is new I would say it started only a few weeks ago and very gradually but now it suddenly hit me today and I was showering and a curious little voice kept calling out "Mama, mama, Mama" and then curious little fingers kept opening the shower door as water sprayed all over the bathroom....there was much whining each time I pulled the shower door shut. It just further adds to a busy morning in the Flynn house as we all scurry around like mice trying to get ready and get out the door. This frenzy of a morning routine is no one's fault but our own we try to sleep as long as possible and finally forcefully pull ourselves out of bed to get ready. But now Ryan only wants Mama to get him up out of bed, Mama to change his diaper and get him dressed (refused to take his PJ top off for Greg as I commented send him to Polina's in his PJs if he insists some things are just not worth fighting over) finally he agreed not pleasantly though. I think he even hit Greg a few times as he was picked up to get changed.

It is the same sort of thing with breakfast and even the other day as I dropped him off he only wanted me and I left Polina's as she held my screaming kicking child! We have also started a crying/whining routine of standing at the gate calling for me as Greg is trying to put him down for bed. I try not to go upstairs or go outside to water the flowers or something so he does not hear me. It makes it dificult on Greg. Not sure if it is just a phase but we are hoping he will outgrow it soon. It just makes it hard on everyone. Greg wants nothing more than to spend time with Ryan and usually lately all he wants is me.

I sum it up to this I am always home with him during the week. For the most part it is Ryan and I most of Saturday while Greg is playing golf so that really only leaves Sunday and lately Greg has been playing in a tournament both Sat and Sun for the past few weeks (now ended) and for the most part Greg is not around much in the mornings or evenings many times he leaves before Ryan is up and is home after he is in bed. Not sure if this is lack of time spent with Daddy or he just really wants mommy. I have started to encourage Greg to spend more time with Ryan if he is home like giving him a bath and putting him to bed and getting him up if he is home. Seems like a stuggle for them both now but I am hoping in the end it will improve the situation.

Ryan is starting to get a bit more demanding in some areas and I feel this is normal for his age. He now throws a fit when it is time to leave the park, and when it is time to come inside to wash up for dinner/bath/bedtime. We usually have to pull him away from our neighbors kicking and screaming. I find it msot challenging these days to get dinner on the table in a timely manner b/c Ryan is constantly demanding my attention and gets jealous if I am chopping or at the stove and sometimes will throw a fit. I also find when I am cooking or cleaning he looks for mischief to get into such as the dishwasher the tv buttons the dog food and such. Last night Greg came home for dinner and played with Ryan in the backyard while I got dinner ready and can I tell you how pleasant it was to prepare a meal with out Ryan pulling at my clothes or pushihng me away from the stove, or whining for attention. It was sooo pleasant. Not sure how to deal with this when Greg is working late. Any suggestions? I try to let him help but really there is only so much a 20 month old can do in the kitchen.

Hopefully this is just a phase he will out grow. Don't get me wrong for the most part Ryan is a very happy easy going child. I am touched that we have such a close relationship but at the same time I want him to enjoy spending time with his Daddy too. I will continue to encourage more time with Daddy when at all possible.

Ryan's First Haircut

2008-06-19T14:46:00.001-04:00

Toady we enjoyed a fun day at the beach with Christian and Christina! We were a little late in meeting them because for some reason Ryan decided to wake up at 4:45. I stupidly went into his room and scooped him up ( I was still half asleep)and I brought him in bed with us....big big huge mistake. He rolled around decided to climb on us and kick us. No sleep for anyone not even Dylan who got fed up and left the bedroom. Finally around 6 AM Greg got up and took Ryan down stairs so I could get some sleep and they ate breakfast. Greg attempted to put him back to sleep in his crib and Ryan kept climbing out like a little monkey and each time Greg put him back in the crib and finally he ended up back in bed with us kicking and climbing. I thought no way. He was so overtired! So I tried to put him back in the crib. At this point he was so tired he was rubbing his eyes and attempted to climb out three times but I think he was so tired he actually stayed in the crib. Only problem now is we are held hostage in his room for naps and bedtime to ensure he stays in the crib! But I sat in the big chair and kept careful watch until he finally fell back asleep around 8 thank goodness. So we all went back to bed and I got him up at 9:30 so we could meet Christian and Christina at the beach.

The boys had so much fun they played and played. At first Ryan stayed on the blanket eating his snacks not wanting to get his feet dirty but he quickly was in the sand chasing the waves. What a perfect beach day not to hot and not a cloud in the sky! Here is a special trick to keep sand off your childs hands/feet try a little baby powder! Christina had some today for the boys and it really works! Thanks for such a fun day!

So since Ryan took a bit of a cat nap this morning we decided to head over to Snip Its after the beach (it is right on the way home) for a quick haircut. I had been trimming Ryan's hair myself and Greg commented that it was a bit uneven and we really ought to take him to a professional and I agreed. We had heard from a friend that one of the stylist there has a tendency to trim off a bit too much but we had a coupon and decided to take a chance anyways. Well the stylist we had did a fantastic job. They were very kid friendly and Ryan was such a good boy until the very end when she took out the clippers I think it may have been the sensation in combination with the buzzing noise that may have frightened him a bit but he started to cry and squirm a bit so I ended up giving him a pop and then he settle down. But I would go back again I think they did a great job a bit pricey at $18.95 plus tip but that is Fairfield for you!

I took a trip to Ikea yesterday and picked up Ryan a table and chairs set and a kiddie picnic table. We are still in search of new patio furniture for our deck if anyone has any suggestions for something inexpensive. I have actually been eyeing a teak set at Walmart. I just have to convince Greg it is the right set for us! Greg put together the picnic table last night and Ryan enjoyed his lunchie while sitting at it today. Hopefully we can assemble the table and chairs soon. Gotta love Ikea it is so inexpensive but you have to be an engineer to put their furniture together.

Also yesterday was Ryan's Great Gramma's birthday and we again wanted to wish her a very Happy Birthday! We love and miss you very much and hope you are doing well!

Take a look at some of Ryan's pictures below!

Ryan and Daddy at the Yankee Doodle Fair on the big slide!

Ryan with a bluberry mustache and beard while enjoying his "pop"

Ryan at Snip Its before

Ta Da! So handsome Ryan!

Ryan Loves Popsicles!

2008-06-13T16:34:00.002-04:00

For the past few nights we have been giving Ryan a special treat after dinner...a popsicle and well he just Loves this! We have actually created a popsicle obsessed baby! He now knows exactly how to say "pop" "more pop" "more" when the popsicle is gone. We had been giving him regular popsicles from stop and shop you know the kind with all the sugar and high fructose corn syrup and artifical colors and preservatives...you know the really really bad stuff.( I don't even give him juice but I was giving him those popsicles) Well then I decided that I should be a better mom and give him a healthier alternative so I made him some homemade pops the other night using a kit I bought at Bed Bath and Beyond and I pureed a ripe peach, pear, banana and a little orange juice and voila! Fresh healthy popsicle and thankfully he liked this one just as much while they may not taste quite as good as the artificial ones I feel a lot better giving him these. I know I am a bit neurotic I will admit it. That and I try to fend him off at dinner time with fresh or frozen veggies instead of junk. But I have to confess while at a playdate yesterday he ate 2 cranberry orange muffins, pirate booty, and stole "Ine's" yogurt smoothy at lunch time! Yes he actually took it when we were not looking and sucked the entire drink down in a single gulp...must have been much better than his milk.

Although he may look like a health nut on paper...but our child also ate a lean cuisine dinner earlier in the week rice and beans to be exact smothered with extra cheese and sour cream to combat any adult spice. My lack of cooking and nausea have come to me giving my child lean cuisine frozen meals for dinner..sad I know but he actually loved every bite. Does anyone have a yummy super easy recipe for some good rice and beans? I am really trying to do better in the nutrition department now that I am feeling a tad bit less nauseous.

Two nights ago he ran over to the neighbors after dinner (we were eating out on the deck and we left the gate open and he got away) and decided to sit at their picnic table and inhale an entire bowl of chips veggie chips but still. The child just finished eating dinner followed by a "pop" and then my neighbor went in to fill the bowl again and he inhaled that one too. I think Ryan is secretly becoming a closet junk food junkie! They thought it was so cute I kept thinking what a little piggy stealing junk food like that oh and this is not the first time. Oh well I guess we should be thankful that he actually eats I know some children will not even eat much at all.

Also to add to my neurosis I kept Ryan away from all pupblic play areas this week b/c coxsackie virus is going around...that ment no trips to the library, playtime village, or the mall play area. Just to be safe I would like to try and avoid this nasty virus at all costs. Some of the s/s include mouth, hand, and food sores, and a high fever. Self limiting but still if we can avoid it I would like too. So we stayed low at home and playdates with friends outside.

I cannot wait to go home tonight to see the finished product of our kitchen renovations so far it looks so fantastic! I will post some updated pictures soon! Happy Father's Day to all the Dads! Have a great weekend.

Kitchen Preview!

2008-06-11T20:46:00.002-04:00

Take a look! Here is a preview of our kitchen renovations. New countertops and tile installed. Tomorrow they are going to grout and sand the walls. Friday they are painting and then they should be done. We love the renovations so far! The first 2 pics are of the old kitchen before and the following pictures show the new countertops and ceramic tile backsplash. Take a look and let us know what you think!

Thanks Auntie Jen and Uncle Paddy!

2008-06-08T20:16:00.002-04:00

Wanted to shout out a special thanks to Auntie Jen and Uncle Paddy for staying Saturday night to watch Ryan so Greg and I could go out to dinner to celebrate his Birthday! I know Ryan really enjoyed spending time with his Auntie and Uncle! Thanks so much! We went to Ibiza in New Haven it is a spanish restaurant in New Haven that got great reviews on Zagat. The food was great but maybe not worth going all the way to New Haven for. Plenty of restaurants that are just as good or even better right here in Fairfield but we wanted to try something new. After our dinner the romantic evening continued at Lowe's! Where we were on a mission to pick out a color for our kitchen. Sadly our Sat nights sans baby have come to this. But there are many perks to a visit to Lowes at 9 PM on a Sat. No crowds and more than enough help if you have questions, no long lines at the check out, and prime parking spaces. But the good news is that the work finally starts on our kitchen tomorrow, new counter tops, tumbled marble tile backsplash, and a fresh coat of Martha Stewart signature paint in Sugar Cane. Decisions decisions who knew how difficult picking a paint color can be?

Whew what a scorcher today was. Ryan enjoyed some time splashing around in a kiddie pool and running through the sprinkler with our neighbor Sophia. We enjoyed a visit from Grampy and Grammy they came to pick up our puppy for the week. Thought it might be too stressful for him with the contractors here. I know we baby him but we call him our first born. He truly is spoiled!

Yesterday we hit the Stratford Day street fair. It was so much fun and Ryan had a blast. We brought our wagon and he was so excited to be pulled around in style. It is so magical to imagine the world through a 19 month old's eyes. Everything was so exciting to him. He jumped around in a huge bouncer, played on the slide and climber, walked around trying to push/pull the wagon, tried freshly squeezed lemonade for the first time he loved that(hey it had a ton of sugar but it was hot out!)

Update...poor Greggie! Friday was his birthday and I was so nauseous I took Ryan and we went right upstairs and I locked us in my bedroom too sick to move until Greg came home at 7. He literally amazingly amused himself for nearly an hour in our room. Played with some toys then lost interest but then I asked him to keep looking out the window for Daddy and he would look and call out "Daddy Dadda" Hope the neighbors were not wondering what he was doing near the window shouting.... then he amused himself playing with Greg's golf books and alarm clock and then turned the tv on/off eight hundred times as I layed motion less holding my breath so I did not get sick until Greg finally came home. All the while it was Greg's birthday and I had plans to make cupcakes for Daddy with Ryan. Unfortunately that did not happen. My only saving grace was that Greg came home, fed, bathed, and put Ryan to bed. Then he made me some chicken soup and we watched Juno and I was feeling much better! What a good Daddy/husband and on his birthday too! I have found that jolly ranchers actually curb my nausea for at least a short period of time yay! My rash is much much improved and I felt pretty okay Sat and Sun thankfully. Hoping now that I am almost 13 weeks to be feeling better soon.

Stay cool! I will update pics of our kitchen soon!

Ryan uses the potty for the very first time! Hooray!

2008-06-05T21:30:00.002-04:00

I know I have been slacking majorly with updates but I have been feeling Terrible with a capital T:( Anyways I just had to let you all know that Ryan has for weeks now been telling us poo poo when he has a poopy diaper mostly he does but sometimes not. But yes he has been telling me after his bath last night and tonight that he had to go poo poo. Last night I said okay lets get on the potty and he sat on the potty and farted. Tonight again he told me after his bath that he had to go poo poo I said again lets get on the potty and he squatted over the potty (did not actually sit) and actually pooped in the potty! Hooray! He was so proud I quickly ran and got the camera and took a picture of him standing next to his first poop (like Jon and Kate plus 8) But we were both so proud and I made a big enough deal that I hope he will do it again but I don't want to push it only if he mentions it again. I do have a few friends who's kids are in pull ups if he continues I may look into it again I will let him tell me when he is ready but this is huge!

Okay I know I have been slacking in the updates. We had our 12 week u/s yesterday and all is well the baby is growing and healthy with a very strong heartbeat! Such great news we will still have to wait another 6-8 weeks to find out the sex. My rash is improving I went back to the dermatologist and we both agreed it was better. The nausea is not getting any better but hopefully we will see an end soon. The extreme fatigue is actually much better but I still find myself nodding off watching Martha while Ryan is napping. I am so thankful that Ryan is such a great napper I hope it continues it is like he knows I do not feel well and I need the rest. Such a good baby! (yeah except Tues when he threw my newly potted Gerber daisy over the side of the deck...yes both of them...nice!) But yes he is a good boy most of the time no one is perfect!

Some of Ryan's new words this week:
"Bampa" grampa
"Dad Dad" Granddad
"Pia" Polina
Bubbles
"Ine" for Caroline
"Beeya" for Buya a thing he does with Daddy
"Yeyyo" for yellow
"boo" for blue
"durty" for dirty

Oh I also wanted to let you all know that Greg is going to be on the cover of the 2008 Vineyard Vines Catalog with some of his friends. I have not seen the cover yet but I heard from a friend. Look for him he will be with 3 other boys wearing khaki's, blue blazers and pink cape cod VV ties. Hey if genpact does not work out maybe there is modeling in his future!

Pregnancy #2 not so much fun!

2008-05-28T08:45:00.003-04:00

So pregnancy #2 is not so much fun thus far.....will there be an end to the nausea and now this mysterious rash out of no where? I have been to 3 Drs. now including a specialist and no one can really help me. So I continue to take my aveeno baths at night drug my self into a coma with Benadryl and slather harsh steriod cream all over. I really hate to complain but this pregnancy is soooo different from the first and I feel like there will never be an end to this feeling lousy.....all the while chasing after a highly energetic toddler. Morning sickness...ha who nicknamed it that? For me it is more like afternoon/night sickness....hits about 3PM and sometimes I am so nauseous I can't even stomach dinner! Let's just say there has been a lot of take out going on here lately. Sorry to vent but I feel better already and actually today was a pretty good day compared to yesterday!

Thankfully Ryan had so much fun over the weekend he has been completley pooped at night and falls fast asleep and has been sleeping in later than usual and taking longer naps so I am able to rest. Today I was just so darn tired after Ryan woke from his afternoon nap that I threw a bunch of toys his push buggy, cozy coupe and his digger and we sat out on the deck. Mostly I just wanted to confine him so I could sit down and put my feet up without having to chase him all over the house. The deck is pretty indestructable (I think) But at one point I ran in to get my watering can to water the flowers and he had pushed a chair to the edge of the rail and appeared to be trying to escape. Luckily I got there in the nick of time or it would have been really ugly. But for the most part Ryan and Dylan were both pretty content outside confined to the deck.

Did I mention Ryan has become so much more independant. Will actually play quietly some mornings while Greg and I run around like lunatics trying to shower and get ready for work... He has become quite chummy with Mr. Dylan and will take toys and play with him and chase him....unfortunately for Ryan Dylan is not all that into Ryan at all! He is more scared and runs like mad. But some days he is too tired and just puts up with the abuse. What a good puppy!

Welcome battle highchair...yeah Ryan actually refuses to sit in his highchair and has now for the past week! Last week Greg (still in his work clothes) attempted to put Ryan in the highchair for dinner kicking and screaming. He put his plate of food in front of Ryan and wouldn't you know Ryan decided to hurl his plate at Greg and squash landed all over his dress shirt...nice! So Greg then picked screaming kicking Ryan out of the chair and Ryan then decided to grab Greg by the ears and yank them....yeah can you believe it? So Greg was so upset that he had just been completely acosted by a 19 month old. Needless to say that night Ryan got to sit in the regular chair and he happily ate some of his dinner minus the sqaush that Greg was wearing. Sometimes you just have to give in....

This week I have just avoided the highchair altogether. Everytime I even went near it with him he cried. Luckily I have managed to distract him while securing him in the booster seat for mealtimes lately but there are some mornings where I just don't have the energy to fight him and he happily sits in the regular chair eating his toast and oatmeal. And my mom even witnesed a lower scale version of Ryan refusing the booster seat and she gave me a stern look and replied "Now who is boss here"? I know I should be more stern but there are some days I am and some I just give in. What is a tired mom to do?

Tonight at bedtime I only had to ready Baby Elmo once (I read really slow and made sure he copied everything Elmo did in the story to kill time anything not to have to read it eighty times over that alone can make a non-pregnant person nauseous)!through before Ryan quickly handed me I had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew followed by Cat in the Hat. Then it was a quick movement into the crib just a hint of protest but by the time we were downstairs it was done. And I was able to enjoy my Aveeno bath and have a little time to relax before bed.

Ryan Loves Elmo!

2008-05-24T11:48:00.002-04:00

He's gone Elmo crazy! We have started this bedtime ritual of dinner and bath followed by storytime. Ryan's favorite story of all time is Baby Elmo. I think Greg and I have pretty much memorized the entire book cover to cover. As soon as we are finished reading he immediatley replies more and hands the book to us again. We usually end up reading Baby Elmo at least 10 times before convincing him we need to move on to another book. Then we usually turn to Dr. Seuss I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew (one of Uncle Freddie's childhood favorites) which by the way sadly Greg and I have started memorizing by default as well. But this story is much longer so 2 times and we are pretty good and tired by then. Baby Elmos still remains his all time favorite....we have even used Elmo to bribe him at night...

We tell him...
"Baby Elmo is going night night now and he wants Ryan to go night night too"
Ryan's response to this is "No"!
When asked the question "Ryan who is your favorite Sesame Street character"?
He responds "Eaymo"
He even has an Elmo bathmat, Elmo phone, Elmo silverware, Elmo T-shirt, Elmo placemats (a special treat when we eat out), and Elmo stuffed toy. He just adores Baby Elmo.

We also seem to think his favorite color is yellow. He actually was reading a book of colors during one diaper change this week and he called out "Yeayyow" I quickly looked to see what page he was on and he was indeed on the yellow page with a duck and a piece of cheese titled Yellow! I thought wow does he really know what yellow really is? I thought for a brief moment maybe he knows how to read but no I don't think so. He loves to say "yeayyow" when asked what is your favorite color. But sadly he thinks cookie monster eats crackers and that he is yellow too....

Anyways we are headed to Ma for the long weekend to celebrate our anniversary! I can't believe 4 years has passed by so quickly! I know poor mom and dad have to watch Ryan again for us while we spend the day in the Berkshires at the Cranwell resort and spa on Sunday (an anniversary tradition) but somehow I don't think they will mind too much. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

What a fun weekend spectacualr in KC!

2008-05-20T20:55:00.002-04:00

Trying to recover still from our weekend spectacular in Kansas City from Jonathan's wedding. Can't believe mom and dad survived a week with our crazy puppy and 4 days with their overly energetic grandson! While talking to mom on Sunday before we left to come home I heard a bit of desperation in her voice as she proclaimed "Honey please please don't miss your flight home" Thanks so much could not have gone without you guys! It would have been nearly impossible to bring him at this age.

Basically the entire weekend was so much fun! It was so great to catch up with our friends. I did feel like I was back in college at a bar crawl only pregnant, sober, and nauseous only not from drinking. Ha every night I ended up heading back to our room solo and not really all that early like 11:00- 12 AM so I thought I did pretty well. But the others were out pretty late and had a bit too much fun....

The wedding itself was the most spectacular event we have ever been to! The wedding ceremony was such a cultural experience and started off dancing in the streets of KC on the way to the ceremony along with the groom. Then members from Meeta's family came over to welcome Jonathan in front of Union Station and there was a short ceremony in the lobby with the groom before heading into the actual wedding ceremony. Meeta looked so stunning in her sari (both the bride and groom wore tradiitonal Indian clothing for the ceremony) The entire ceremony lasted approx 2 hours. Then the bride and groom changed into their formal wedding attire and we all enjoyed a Indian feast. We felt so special to sit at the head table with the bride and groom. The wedding was absolutley beautiful. We were so glad to be a part of their special day. Congratulations Meeta and Jonathan!

So needless to say I am completley exhausted from the weekend events. I am happy to say I was so distracted from all the events that the nausea was not as bad as I anticipated but as soon as we returned home it came back. Luckily I got to rest a little today. I was so surprised to comeback hometo cold rainly weather. The weather in KC was so warm and sunny.

Here are a few photos from the weekend.

Union Station where the wedding ceremony and reception took place

Meeta and Jonathan during the ceremony

The head table-our table

The happy couple

Meeta's gown was stunning!

Leaving for the midwest!

2008-05-15T08:36:00.003-04:00

Today we head out to the midwest for the Isenburg/Patel wedding. We are very excited because we can't wait to spend some adult time together and catch up wtih some old friends. Meeta (Jonathan's fiancee) is so sweet and I cannot wait to meet her family. The couple have been planning a Hindu ceremony and I know Meeta has been back and forth to India picking out fabrics for the big day. I am sad to be leaving Ryan but I know his grand parents are more than thrilled to be spending quality time with him. It is so comforting to know that he does well without his parents for short periods of time. The last time we left him was for the same amt of time back in Sept for the MacKenzie/Molloy nuptials down in NC.

We had such a good morning and Ryan was such a good boy. He ate some toast with strawberry jam and had milk for breakfast and then he ran all around the house squealing in delight and giggling (I think he had a sugar rush from the stawberry jam). Then he found an oven mit and this was just the greatest thing ever. He ran around the kitchen iron chefing! We are certainly going to miss him very much! But thanks mom and dad for taking care of him you are the best!

So this pregnancy has been very different to say the least. Unfortunately I have not been feeling well at all and I am a little nervous about our trip b/c I do not feel much like socializing and staying out late these days. My dress barely fits and I feel like a blimp in it! I prefer to crawl into bed with some gingerale and call it a night starting about 7 PM or so. Greg has done an amazing job with Ryan these past few weeks and has been home every night to feed him (I gag feeding him his dinner) and give him his bath and put him to bed. I don't know what I would do without him. Basically after lunch it is all down hill. Te extreme nausea and sheer exhaustion hit me about 3 PM. Thankfully I am able to rest when Ryan naps. But the evenings are really horrible and I feel so so terrible. And I don't remember feeling quite this bad when I was pregnant with Ryan.

So I am a little worried that I may have to duck out of the evening festivities early some nights but I am sure everyone will understand. I will just make sure I have some crackers and gingerale on hand back at the hotel. I am hoping for an end to the nausea soon but I think it will be around for a while. Back to the Dr.s next week for another check I will keep you posted.

Ryan's new words this week:

Geeuck (for truck)
Elmo (his favorite)
Lila (one of his girlfriends)
Poo poo (when he has a dirty diaper)
moo moo (for milk)

A Mother's Day to Remember

2008-05-12T10:51:00.002-04:00

What a wonderful Mother's day! Here are some of the highlights of my very special Mother's Day yesterday...

-Ryan slept in until 7:30 AM and woke up babbling in his crib (not crying out Mama! Upee!)I picked him up and hugged him tight telling him he was the best mother's day present any mother could ever wish for and he smiled in delight.

-Made it to my 8 AM gym class despite waking later than usual

-Enjoyed a long peaceful shower without inerruption while the boys were out to breakfast at Einstein Bagels and running last minute errands

-Got to eat my entire breakfast in peace without having to share more than half with Ryan.

-Had a wonderful visit with my parents and Uncle Freddie. One of the highlights of the day was celebrating mother's day with my mom.

-Enjoyed an outdoor BBQ grilled to perfection by Greg. Enjoyed celebrating Uncle Freddie's B-day with cheese cake and chocolate ricotta cake...yum

-Enjoyed a long afternoon nap

-Enjoyed all my very thougthful Mother's day gifts from everyone

-But the best part of the day was spending time with my family that is always the greatest gift of all. Thanks everyone for such a fantastic Mother's Day!

Hope all my mommy friends had a wonderful day too!

Oh just to recap Saturday too. Ryan and I took a trip to Stew Leonards Saturday morning. What an experience he got to see baby cows and sample a ton of delicous food. They have a ton of singing animals and farm people up and down the isles. It is such a cool pace for small children Ryan just loved the whole experience but I think his favorite part were the samples of cookies, cheesecake, guacamole, and hummus he got to try along the way. We were able to pick up lots of fixins for our mother's day feast plus a few extras for the week. They have the best ice cream/dairy products and meats there! I may just have to make another trip again soon! They have the best homeade rice cakes that really calm a queasy stomach!

Then we enjoyed a family dinner at Quatro Pazzi our favorite Italian place in town and if you get there early they are super kid friendly. The highlight of Ryan's dining experience was the Elmo/sesame street place mat and eating bread and ice cubes. Oh and him and I are huge fans of their parmesan crusted sole..Yum

Leaving for Kansas City soon. Excited to spend some adult time with friends and I know Ryan is looking forward to spending time with his grandparents! Have a great week.

Sore Bottom :(

2008-05-07T20:28:00.002-04:00

Poor little Ryan caught the tail end of the stomach bug Greg had last week....and sadly I fear we have passed it along to the C3 family too. Ryan has now had diarrhea for the past 5 days. I started him on a strict BRAT/Braty diet for the past 2 days. (Bananas Rice Applesauce Toast/Yogurt) He does not however seem bothered by this at all despite having a very red sore bottom! I took him to the park today and yesterday to get some fresh air. You would never know this child is sick he runs and runs and plays and climbs. Eating and drinking well. The main concern with any stomach bug is the risk of dehydration. I gave him a pedialyte popsicle today and he loved it! He kept asking for more but I told him they were all gone and handed him some saltines instead. He seemed satisfied with the crackers.

I know these stomach things always take longer to resolve especially in children but poor Ryan must be so sick and tired of the Brat diet by now. If it continues beyond a week I may take him to the pedi. I did call them yesterday and they assured me that it would resolve in a few days not to give him any added sugar or fruit (aside from the applesauce and bananas)It is so tough to see your child sick.

So due to the sore bottom we have been spending lots of naked baby time! Ryan just gets a huge kick out of this and squeals running around the house in delight. We try to let him linger naked as long as possible especially after his bath. I have started using triple paste on his bottom and this has made a huge difference in the rash in only one day! (thanks for the tip C + K)

Anyone have any other suggestions for the never ending diarrhea? Thanks and sorry to be so graphic!

Diaper Explosion Monday!

2008-05-05T11:21:00.003-04:00

Just another crazy Monday morning. I woke up and got ready for work and shortly after Ryan awoke. Greg picked him up out of the crib and gave him to me "gotta let the dog out" and he was off.... Yeah and our child was super stinky! How Greg could not tell I do not know. But I have a super sensitive nose these days and I can smell poo a mile away almost immediatly as soon as you open the door. So I put our stinky boy on the changing table and un zipped his jammies and I knew it was an explosion. It was all over his onsie up his back and up his belly....sorry to be so graphic I tried and tried to wipe him off (I think I used like 8 wipes) no such luck so I made an executive decison to give him a half bath..yep in the bathroom sink. Which was sort of a bad idea but frankly I was too lazy to give him a full tubby so the sink just had to do in a pinch. I could see my breakfast time escaping me as I tried my hardest to scub his bottom, back, and belly in the sink whch was overflowing at this point. Picture a 30 chubby baby in a tiny bathroom sink...yeah it was a sight to see. All the while he was grabbing at anything and everything. And of course my worst nightmare. He managed to grab Greg's toothbrush and put it in his mouth (remember he just got over that nasty stomach bug a few days ago?) Yeah so I nearly lost it. I had reminded him last week to throw it out and get a new one but I guess he forgot (I immediatley put it in the trash). Needless to say if Ryan gets away not getting the bug this time around I will clearly diagnose him with having an iron stomach!

Oh well I managed to have breakfast after all. Scrambled eggs and toast with jelly. It is the only way to calm the nausea I have to eat a lot of protein in the morning. And sometimes I actually dream aobut breakfast at night too. Odd I know. But there was a time when Ryan loved scambled eggs but sadly those days have come to an abrupt end. He no longer will even look at an egg. So I ended up sharing my toast with strawberry jam and he loved that of course then off to work. And to top it off I was only 10 minutes late to work but there was no way I could skip breakfast. Those days right now are over. Although I was the last of the Dr.s to show up usually I am the second but no harm done. Dr. W and Dr. A are almost always running later than me but not today. Oh well it is turining out to be a good morning anyways the sun is out and the weather is suppossed to be nice.

Not to much to report over the weekend. Greg recovered from his illness you guessed it on the golf course Sat. I was feeling so so so over the weekend so Ryan and I sort of layed low and napped. We did go to Sakura our favorite Japanese hibachi restaruant on Saturday. Ryan was so scared of the fire. He winced and almost cried and leaned towards me while in his highchair for comfort. It was really cute there was another boy across the table about 17 months old and pretty much him and Ryan had the same reaction to the fire. Ryan loved the food. The noodles are his favorite and he even ate some steak and chicken. He enjoyed dipping his apple wedges in the mustard sauce. Yesterday we went to Sunny Daes for ice cream. Boy did Ryan love it. I ordered a small vanilla soft serve and he managed to hijack my entire cone and eat most of it. He could not get enough then we hit the mall for some last minute touches on Mother's Day gifts.

I made frozen chicken patties for dinner last night b/c I was too tired to cook and I though Ryan might enjoy them they were similar to chicken nuggets only patties instead. Well I cut some up for him and gave him some ketchup and a few apple slices. Guess what he did with the ketch-up...no interest in the chicken...liked the apple....but decided to scoop the ketch-up with his hands and eat it straight up...then demanded more. I tried to dip the chicken in the ketchup but this resulted in him licking the ketch-up off and spitting the chicken out. So what did our son eat for dinner last night? Mutiny due to ice cream and mall snacking. Ketchup and apples...yum yum. The things toddlers do is so bizzare especially when it comes to food. Hopefully he will eat better for Polina....the child practically eats her out of house and home!

On the Mend

2008-05-02T16:32:00.002-04:00

So Greg is on the mend recovering from the stomach bug. You know he is feeling beter if he is at the driving range and that is where he was when I called at lunch time to check in on him. I am sure fresh air will do him good I told him not to over do it though. But anyone who really knows Greg knows that even a bug won't cut into his golf game! So glad he is feeling better.

So I was in Target yesterday buying some things to disinfect the house with and I had some Method cleaning products in my hands. They are organic environmentally friendly cleaning products but after reading the back it said very clearly NOT antibacterial and I thought I needed a good antibacterial agent to kill off all the germs so I went with the good old fashioned clorox. I fear that I amy have gone a bit overboard with the cleaning though b/c poor Dylan got sick from all the fumes. He kept walking across the floors I had bleached. I did have all the windows open too. But maybe I will still consider switching over to the earth friendly products next time around.

Oh yeah also while changing my sheets over I discovered not only does our front loading washer and dryer eat socks especially baby socks but apparently they also eat full sized fitted sheets. Yes a full sized fitted sheet went in but apparently did not come back out and I searched the entire basement and linen closet with no luck in locating the sheet. So at present we have mix matched sheets on our bed. Oh well at least it is clean right?

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Stomach Bug..... Ughhhh (Again)

2008-05-01T13:57:00.002-04:00

The terrible stomach bug has plagued our house yet again......poor Greg was violently ill throughout the night and still not feeling great today but better thankfully. Dylan kept him company....such a good puppy! Thankfully I had already planned on Ryan going to Polina's so I could get to the eye Dr. for a check up. But now I will rest a little and put on my rubber gloves and disinfect the entire house before I pick him up tomorrow. Yes Polina is a saint I asked her to keep him over night so I could disinfect the entire house and keep him away from the germs for a day. I think Greg should be better by tomorrow.

Anyways my morning was extremely productive despite a sleepless night. I was at Target at 9 Am picking up somethings for Uncle Freddy. His birthday is in a few days and I wanted to get him some special surprises! Then I hit BRU to return a few items and to use the credit to buy my parents a video monitor for their house. Grammy Sharon is a little worried our little monkey Ryan may try to jump out of his crib while we are away in a few weeks. She is very nervous to babysit for us now but I assured her she can watch his every move in the video monitor haha! Then I hit the Milford mall for my eye app. Geez our silly eye care insurance did not have any providers in town so I decided to play it safe and go to the mall rather than venturing into Bridgeport....you never know if you will end up in the nicer areas or the ghetto. But even with eye care insurance the glasses and contacts were not cheap. I know it is partially my fault I did pick out another pair of Coach frames but that is just in case I have to wear my glasses in public.

So now I will take care of sick hubby and clean ( I actually really enjoy cleaning!)

Oh also wanted to wish my parents a very Happy Anniversary! Hope you have a fantastic dinner!

Weekend Re-Cap

2008-04-30T20:11:00.002-04:00

Okay I know it is already Wednesday and I am just now re-capping the weekend events but I have been a bit tired lately. We started off visiting our friends way over in Cheshire for a little get together. Lama is a friend of mine from work and she has a daughter Maya about the same age as Ryan. I have not seen Maya since she was a baby and she is now 18 months old where does the time go? Ryan really had a blast playing with Maya and all her cool toys and her power wheels ATV. Lama made these fantastic zucchini chips dipped in parmesan cheese then baked in the oven that I can't wait to try. We had such a great time catching up!

Sunday we spent the afternoon with the McCashews for a fun BBQ and we got to finally meet the C3 family. It was so great to spend time with all of you. Caroline is growing up so fast and it was so amazing to see her cautiously walking all around with such a huge proud smile on her face! What a whole new world for Caroline! The food was so fantastic and I had been craving a nice big juicy burger and Kerri your mom's pie was just to die for. It was great catching up and getting to know the C3 family and little Christian who is so adorable and very sweet. Welcome to the neighborhood! We look forward to spending some time with all of you again soon!

Yesterday we had a quick visit from Grammy and Granddad on their way home from Florida. They were passing through and they brought goodies for Ryan. Grammy brought Ryan a little stuffed animal and some cool shark beach shoes. Ryan just loved his new treats! I think Dylan was eyeing his new stuffed toy though. It was great to see Grammy and Granddad it had been a while. They really enjoyed their visit with Ryan and had commented on how different he looked even though it had only been a little over a month since we saw them last. Welcome home I bet Sabrina (the family pet) was so happy to see you guys! Thanks for stopping by!

Today we had a lunch play date with our new little friends Christian and Christina. It was a bit chilly but we decided to head over across the street to the park anyways and the boys played and played. Ryan loved to get his hands dirty in the sand and go down the big slide while Christian enjoyed the swings. It was great to spend time with you guys today. Thanks for coming over!

I made enchiladas tonight for dinner and to my surprise Ryan actually loved them. He thought the tortillas were a bit hard to chew but he loved the meat and black beans and guacamole topped with Greek style yogurt (instead of sour cream). They were really cheesy and yummy I just hope the taco seasoning was not too much for Ryan's tummy. I gave him some applesauce for dessert just to cool things off in case it was a bit spicy.

Glad to have the sunshine back again. But we desperately needed the rain. Hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Picking out Toys at Target

2008-04-25T14:57:00.002-04:00

Wednesday this week we headed out to Target in search of a beach hat and some other summer stuff. I was stopped in the outdoor toy isle picking up a little tykes beach ball sprinkler for Ryan for when the weather warms up. He was sitting in the shopping cart and all of a sudden I hear him "uhmm, uhmming" and pointing at a big yellow digger truck. (Kerri we have been reading the set you gave him for his b-day and his favorite is the book with all the trucks!)I picked up the box and looked at Ryan and I said "do you want that"? and he replied "ummm, ummm' pointing and signing for more so I handed the truck to him and his face lit up with a big huge smile. It truly was a magical moment. For the first time ever he actually picked out a toy and from the moment we brought the truck home and took it out of the box he has not stopped playing with it.

Also Ryan is still cutting his eye teeth and still not a happy camper. Eating a little better than earlier in the week but still not great. Actually today for the first time ever at drop off with Polina I actually pulled out of her drive way with him kneeling on the ground screaming for me not to leave. It was really heartbreaking. Polina assured me that he would be over it in a matter of seconds and to just leave or he would get worse so I listened to her and pulled away with my heart in my throat. Lately he has been so clingly and whiney due to the teething. I can tell he is so uncomfortable but I don't want to keep shoving more Motrin down his throat between the teething and the leg injury we have almost gone through an entire bottle in 3 weeks I am trying to gage back a bit. Ice cubes definitley help! I even bought sugary popsicles at target too to try if I get desperate. Any other suggestions? I can't wait only one more tooth to pop through and then we will be done for a while! These eye teeth have been a nightmare coming in. Ryan seems so uncomfortable.

Other new happenings around here. Ryan has a few new words: car key, doggie, wuv you, me do, bad dog (sounds like dow dow) favorite words include car, baby, and dada.
Lately has become obsessed with cars and absolutley has to sit in the driver seat if we are standing near my car or Greg's car. Also likes to play dress up with mommy's purse and shoes, also daddy's shoes. Likes to wear Daddy's hat. Ryan has also become more independant and will sit and play quietly on his own with Mr. Potato head, or his favorite books or his legos.

Thanks for all the well wishes. Have a great weekend everyone!

Beach Play date!

2008-04-24T13:11:00.002-04:00

Ryan at the Beach Today!

Ryan and Lily enjoying the sand.

We enjoyed a play date at the beach today. It was the perfect beach day for the kids. Not too hot and not too cold. Ryan and Lily really enjoyed playing in the sand although they were both more interested in the snacks/cellphones/cameras than the beach toys Suz and I lugged! It was great they pretty much stayed on or near the blanket and did not wander off too much and they did not seem interested in eating the sand this year. Although Ryan did taste a few rocks. So yes due to all the cheerios and goldfish at the beach this morning there was major mutiny at lunch time but that was expected.

Okay I have to ask how many of you clicked on the photos from the previous post to see the big news?????

Enjoy the warm weather!

Enjoying the Warm Weather!

2008-04-21T20:55:00.003-04:00

Ryan in his red car "Beep beep toot toot"

Ryan deep in concentration.....notice the tongue???

Look at those chubby cheeks people!!

18 Month Stats

2008-04-16T19:50:00.002-04:00

Ryan had his 18 month check today! I can't believe where the time has gone he is such a big boy now. Weighed in over 29 lbs up 1 lb from 3 months ago and stands at 34 inches tall! He got a clean bill of health...HOORAY! We are so thankful. We had a great visit with Dr. Strong he is the best! He even gave Ryan a special "horn" to play with and he was so delighted by this. The sheer joy onhis face and it kept him quite entertained for the entire physical exam. It was an empty paper towel ring and he kept blowing into it and speaking into it like a horn and Dr.Strong played along. You can tell he really loves children and he is a great Dr! It was the first check in 18 months where Ryan did not need any shots so it was a very very happy day today!

And after we left the check up we stopped by the Italian Deli (my favorite spot in town) for some lunch stuff and I stood Ryan up near the counter with all the meats and he took a few steps! This was huge b/c he has not walked in a nearly a week since the accident. I was so excited. The people in the deli just love Ryan and they know his name and the girl at the counter commented how she enjoyed seeing Ryan grow up.... I have been bringing him with me ever since he was a small baby. The staff is so personable there and they have the best meats there yum!

What else is new???? Did I mention Ryan was walking...sliding rather... down the steps earlier in the week and we told him to hang on to the railing and be careful and he looked back at us and replied "I know"! I almost fell down the stairs it was in perfect context too! His vocabulary has really taken off and we are all very impressed.

Ryan can now feed himself with a fork and spoon very well. He actually eats oatmeal a little on the thicker side and even soups thickened with butternut squash. It is quite impressive he used to make a big huge mess...well he still does...but at least now he actually gets most in his mouth. He barely lets us feed him anymore.

I love walking into Trader Joes and seeing the sheer delight on Ryan's face when I hand him a balloon! He just thinks it is the greatest thing in the entire world! He usually almost immediately lets it go and then points and goes "hmmm hmmm hmm" so I jump up and grab it. Then I usually end up tying it to the zipper on his coat so he can play with it while I shop. We now make it a weekley sometimes biweekly outing just to get the balloon and of course the frozen chocolate chip cookie dough for cookies I have been craving. Seriously you have to try them they are the BEST prepared chocolate chip cookies ever!

Glad the weather has finally warmed up here. We have been enjoying getting outside and seeing the flowers bloom and the robins scurrying around building their nests and the other signs of spring. Have a great week!

A Little Better Everyday

2008-04-14T17:43:00.003-04:00

Ryan has been getting better a little more each day. He is now standing up a few times a day and I hear he took 2 steps today for Polina. This is huge b/c all he did for us all weekend was crawl around on the floor. We think it is a bad sprain at this point that will take time to slowly heal. It is just so hard to see your child in pain not to mention the fact that he is scared to put weight on his left foot. It is so hard to see Ryan crawl when just last week he was running. Sometimes you take everyday things such as walking for granted.

Also on Saturday we pulled an embedded tick off Ryan from the back of his head. We are pretty sure it was a dog tick. Not sure where he could have picked it up but we think maybe Dylan brought it in from outside. I called the pedi AGAIN and he assured me it was pretty common this time of year and not to be alarmed just to watch for the erythema migrans (bulls eye rash) or an unexplained fever. So we will keep a careful watch and hope for the best. Otherwise things are status quo here. We have been taking lots and lots of long stroller walks...pretty much the only thing Ryan can do outside at this point...so sad we hope he starts walking soon.

Thanks for all the well wishes for Ryan and thanks for thinking of us.

Injury Update...

2008-04-11T10:59:00.002-04:00

Hooray no broken bones but still non-weight bearing a bit concearning but Ryan is in much better spirits today! And such a good boy for the x-ray....Daddy said he was perfectly still just cried alittle b/c he was scared. We brought him over to the pedi right after the x-ray (they are so wonderful and saw him right away) and still no visible swelling, redness or bruising. Likey a bad sprain but if he is still not weight bearing on Monday he will need to see an orthopedist (bone Dr.) for further evaluation. It is possible (although unlikely) he may have a tiny small fracture somewhere in the leg. Baby's boes are so tiny therefore making it impossible to visualize a tiny fracture on an x-ray film. So we will wait and see if he is better on Monday. It is so hard to see Ryan so sad and wimpering in pain unable to walk or even stand. We hope he is better and will keep everyone updated. Thanks again for thinking of us. Have a great weekend.

First major injury :(

2008-04-10T20:44:00.003-04:00

So we had a terrible scare today at the park. Ryan and friends were enjoying the nice weather it was nearly 70 out there today. Ryan decided to go down the big slide and of course I went with him and he ended up jamming his left leg pretty badly all the way down the slide. He started screaming and then wimpering so I sat down on a nearby park bench with him and took his shoes, socks and pants off to assess for any bruising or swelling...none visible. But he refused to bear weight. This went on for about a half hour then finally I made an executive decision to put a call in to the pedi (who I love!) and they agreed to see him right away.

After a thorough examination...still no visible swelling or bruising or redness all tell tale signs of a major injury (but Ryan's little baby legs are so darn chubby it is hard to imagine any more swelling there)it was determined that he likely had a very bad sprain no fracture. He had full range of motion of all his extremities even the injured side. He suggessted we hold off on the x-ray until the morning if there was still no change with refusal to bear weight. He did not feel it was necessary to expose him to radiation unless he was still non-weight bearing tomorrow morning. But what a scare.

Thankfully Greg came home at lunch to spend the afternoon with me. I was really feeling sorry that I had not been more careful with him at the park. I know it was an accident but I can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt "If I had only done....instead of ....." But Greg reassured me it was an accident and not my fault. Thanks Greggie you are the best!

But poor Ryan refused to bear any weight on his left leg all day....and continued to wimper on and off but some smiles and playfullness in between but lots of wimpering and lots of tears. He just sat on the couch all afternoon. We did take him out for a stroller ride around the neighborhood and that seemed to perk him up and he was his usual playful self in the tub at bedtime. Motrin seemed to help ease the pain a little and he went to bed without a peep. Poor little guy was completley traumitized and collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

Our hope for the morning is he will wake up jumping in his crib like he normally always does and all will be well and we can avoid the x-ray all together but only time will tell. It is just so heart wrenching to see your child wimpering in pain and not be able to comfort them. I will try to keep everyone updated. Thanks for thinking of us.

Keeping me on my toes!

2008-04-04T15:22:00.004-04:00

So we had a scare yesterday and of coure it all happened literally as Greg and I were rushing around the house trying to get out the door for work on time (which almost never happens) Greg was cleaning up breakfast dishes and I ran upstairs to brush my teeth. Ryan must have wandered into the bathroom somehow during all of this and climbed up to grab a scented oil room freshner high up in the bathroom. Apparently he tipped it over and spilled it all over himself it was very questionable as to whether he may have injested some. We were not sure. It was almost empty and most of the oil was on the floor but it was all over his pants and his shirt and we tried to smell his breath and there was a faint odor...but who really knows. At this point the scented oil had permeated the entire downstairs and he had the fragrance saturated in his clothes. Just to be on the safe side I had Greg call the poison control. Luckily although it is not recommended for small childrent to eat the scented oil it is apparently non-toxic. The woman was not too worried and told us even if he did injest some it would not harm him (phew!). But to give him some water and check his mouth for irritaion. My what a scare I told Greg we really cannnot trust him not even for a second and we must know what he is doing at all times! It may have been the first call into the poison control center but I am sure it will certainly not be the last (I hope it is though)We promised each other to be more careful to make sure all the bathroom doors are closed at all times and he is always in sight!

I received a call from Polina- Ryan's babysitter at work and I gasped I thought oh no he had a reaction to the scented oil or something terrible happened. She rarely calls me at work! But no thank goodness she was calling to see if I wanted Ryan to spend the night with her seeing how he would be there in the morning again. Usually he is not there 2 days in a row but I am putting extra time in at the office this week some of the Dr's are away. So at first I said no b/c I would miss him and I really look forward to picking him up and putting him to bed. But after talkuing to Greg he changed my mind. He had been traveling so much and we really have not had a lot of time just the 2 of us so I decided to leave Ryan overnight. We ended up going to a very nice dinner Japenese Hibachi and then out for ice cream. It was such a fun night Greg and I felt so weird and all we did was talk about him the entire night. We wondered what he was doing several times throughout the night. I did not sleep well at all I was so afraid he would wake up scared and realize he was not in his bed at home. But when I dropped his lunch off in the AM he did not even want to give me a hug was too busy playing. Polina has a heart if gold and he loves being there with her and her family. I guess he slept like an angel from 8PM until a little after 7 straight! We are so lucky to have her to take such great care of Ryan. It is nice to know we can leave him there overnight should the need arise!

Other happenings this week. As mentioned earlier Ryan is teething big time and decided to bite his friend's cheek at a playdate this week. They boys were playing so nicely then all of a sudden Ryan leaned over to give Jack a hug and he decided to kiss him on the cheek...which then turned into a bite! Ouchie! Poor Jack! He screamed and cried and Ryan just stood there with his mouth wide open staring! Jack had a bruise on his face and his cheek was red. Not to mention I was completely mortified and felt I had to leave the playdate right then and there. Not sure why he decided to bite his friend...he sometimes playfully bites Greg and I but never another baby! I don't know if he feels the need to bite from teething as he is biting everything... even his crib. He even tried to bite a huge rock at the park the other day... major OUCH! That brought about a few tears. Not that I am trying to make excuses for the biting incident but I am just trying to understand why. Ryan is usually so kind and friendly towards his friends. Luckily he has not done it again but I still feel terrible about what happened. Any advice to nip this one in the bud before it becomes a real problem?

Looikiong forward to the weekend! I hear that Grammy and Grampy and Uncle Freddie may be paying us a visit Yay!

Lunch Today!

2008-04-01T12:33:00.002-04:00

This is huge. Ryan actually ate a little over a quarter of a turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread with a little mayo! I am so happy he likes sandwiches now it has made my life so much easier especially when we are out and about. So today we each had a turkey and cheese sandwich, strawberries, and some pirate booty. This all started of course at a playdate where Ryan ate most of my turkey sandwich. Still begging for my "wa wa" but I guess you can't win them all.

My New Dog Dow Dow!

2008-03-31T16:00:00.003-04:00

Ryan has given Dylan (formerly "Diyya") a new name. His new name is now "Dow Dow"! At least we think that is what he is calling him. He also has this daily ritual of standing over Dylan's water and food bowl and shouting and pointing "Dow Dow" and some other mumbled phrases. We are not quite sure what he is saying but he started doing it over the weekend and has done it the past 3 days now. Not sure why he calls Dylan "Dow Dow" now either but it is quite entertaining at least!

There has finally been an end to the mutiny and Ryan is finally eating better. We think it was definitley his teeth and his nose has stopped running like a faucet too. I caught a quick glimse in his mouth and both eye teeth are almost all the way in. He now has a full set of teeth up top and we are waiting for 2 more down the bottom plus his 2 year molars. I am thinking maybe we should bring him to the dentist soon I will have to check at his 18 month visit next month. I have lots of questions for the Dr. mainly I want to know what he thinks about the begging for food issue....

This morning Ryan woke a little before 7 and I though "oh no'! I had not eaten my breakfast...I try to avoid eating in front of him especially in my work clothes because then I end up sharing my bowl of oatmeal with him and he ends up eating most of it and I end up starving by the time I get to work and him and I are wearning most of it. So I try very hard to eat before he wakes up to avoid this on work days and Greg had an early flight for work today and was gone before we got up.....so I grabbed the monitor and ran down stairs to eat in a flash. I noticed he did not cry he was mumbling in the crib and talking talking away. So cute...anyways I saw him lean over the crib and grab a book from the ottoman and he sat in his crib reading for 1/2 hr!!!! Quietly reading Shiny Dinah (A choo choo train book we read before bed every night) This bought me more than enough time to eat breakfast and get dressed and dry my hair! I normally don't let him play in his crib b/c I want him to associate the crib with sleep but I thought hey why not escpecially since Greg was not there to help in the morning and getting out the door on time can be a bit of a challenge. I hope he does this more often!

Other wise we had a quiet weekend at home. Not too much going on. Oh we found a great toddler park about 1 mile from the house that Ryan really enjoyed. They had a bit more stuff geared towards children of this age group compared to the park across the street. Our tile and counter tops should hopefully be arriving sometime next week and the work will begin. It has been slow moving getting things ordered from Lowes. But that is soemthing to look forward to. Greg and I enjoyed our fun night out on Saturday. We went to Ola Martini's it is a Carribean/latin themed restaurant in Orange. It was really yummy and then we went to Friendly's for dessert yum. It was great to get out. Hope everyone has a great week.

Mutiny Returns!

2008-03-27T21:37:00.003-04:00

So the mutiny at mealtimes has returned.....I am going to go ahead and blame teething on this one but who really knows. Ryan started with the mutiny earlier in the week. Thankfully has been eating an extra large breakfast but scant amounts at lunch and very little dinner (although ate for daddy last night) Wants to eat cheerios/annie's bunnies/and booty though and has been eating fruit. My oh my the things they want to eat to survive. Partly it was my fault I sort of gave into him today and let him eat whatever. So in the end we will call it one and a half meals today plus some snacking. I did manage to hide his dinner/lunch of chicken pot pie in some applesauce ....sneaky I know and I have not had to use this trick in a while but it somehow always works. I know he is cutting his eye teeth and 2 molars. Was a bit off all week actually whiny and clingy. I did give him so baby Tylenol and gave him an extra long tubby bath and put him to bed early and that seemed to do the trick. This parenting thing truly is a guessing game at times. Somehow I feel that with the second one it won't get any easier....that I will still be guessing.

On another note...I caught Ryan jumping on the dishwasher door again today for the millionth time...he likes to use it as a stepping stool to get to the counter where his little toddler hands can grab things like my purse, the dog leashes, keys, my cell phone and the such. Somehow he only does this about every other second we are in the kitchen. It got so bad today I finally ordered an appliance latch from one step ahead and I am hoping it will work if not I may have to call the childproof coach we hired last year for some suggestions. I have to do something before he snaps the door to the dishwasher off. I can't imagine how much longer it will hold up with a 30lb toddler jumping on it 80 times a day. I even tried duck taping it shut (looked extremely ghetto but it was worth a try) but the little sneak just ripped the tape off in 0.5 seconds flat. I will cross my fingers for the latch to work. Thanks mom for finding it online!

I just finished watching a tivo'd episode of Jon and Kate plus eight where the kids all had the stomach bug and it took nearly 2 weeks for the bug to run through the entire house can you even imagine? Kerri glad to hear you are all on the mend from that nasty stomach bug. Sorry to hear that you had to deal with it twice in one season!

This week happenings:
Tuesday we had our music class and I have to say Ryan is getting better at listening and sitting during circle time. It is a little embarrassing though b/c he insists on hugging each and every child in the class and somehow not every child wants to be hugged. He has also recently become obsessed with pulling little girls hair clips out of their hair every where we go. Then later that day we had a play date with the ladies from Bunko and Ryan hijacked Lily's snack trap and ate all the goldfish inside. Then Ryan and Lily decided it would be fun to get into her diaper bag and pull all the wipes out all over the floor practically every last one. All the while the moms and I were catching up and we thought the kids were playing nice in the play zone....haha.

Wednesday we went to the aquarium and it was a bit overwhelming and chaotic b/c there appeared to be multiple school field trips and children running recklessly all over the aquarium and it is quite challenging to chase after a toddler and push a stroller at the same time while battling multiple children running all over....but I think he enjoyed the trip. My mommy friends and I just looked at each other and shrugged at all the wild and crazy children running about (something to look forward to in a few years).

Today we had another play date here and in 0.5 seconds we instantly felt like we were on an episode of Jon and Kate plus 8 but with only 4 children and 4 adults. There is never a dull moment in our house. But They were playing well together for the most part it is hard to reason with toddlers in general especially at this age. They don't understand what the word "share" means and I find it challenging to discipline Ryan in front of other moms and his friends. I try my best to remove him from the situation and/or distract him but that is not always an option. Just wondering how all the other moms deal with discipline and trying to enforce it wwhen others are around such as at a play date or out in public. Let's just say that today was one of those days where I was thankful Ryan went to bed early, thankful to see Greg walk through the door from work, and thankful to be going to work tomorrow. It has been a very busy hectic week and I am so looking forward to the weekend. We booked a sitter for the weekend and plan on a night out for ourselves...hooray.

I know it may seem like I do a lot of complaining but I really do enjoy every second of everyday I have with Ryan and I cherish all the good and bad times we share. I just feel like sharing these experiences with all of you. Thanks for listening.

Happy Easter

2008-03-24T15:16:00.002-04:00

2008-03-23 Ryan 17 months

We enjoyed a fun filled Easter weekend up north in MA. Greg returned home from his business trip (with major jet lag!) and we picked up Auntie Jen and Uncle Paddy and all rode up Ma together. Greg, Ryan and Uncle Paddy enjoyed a peaceful nap (click on the photos above to see the cute pic of them napping) on the way while Jen and I got caught up with new happenings.

Thanks to Grammy and Granddad "Dad Dad" (as Ryan calls him) we were able to enjoy a fun night out with Greg's brother and sister and their spouses. It was so great to get out and enjoy a night of adult converasation minus the distractions. Grammy and Granddad enjoyed their little visitor for the weekend. Ryan received many new toys/treats from the Easter bunny. He especially enjoyed his new tricycle and will soon be pedaling away (now he scoots). He also received some treats hidden in the plastic eggs pictured above. Thanks to both sets of Grandparents and the Aunties and Uncles for their generous Easter goodies for Ryan!

Grammy and Granddad also watched Ryan on Saturday so Greg and I could do a little shopping at the new mall in Natick. It is so huge now and I love window shopping (thats about it) in all the new expensive stores there called the collection. But I did find a dress for a wedding we are headed to in Kansis City the end of May that was the goal of the shopping visit. It is hard to dress shop with a busy toddler who hates to sit in a stroller once it has stopped moving:)We hear the grandparents took him to an Easter party in town where he charmed everyone there. Got to meet some close family friends for the first time. Greg and I were sorry we missed the party.

We enjoyed a fabulous Easter with Greg's side of the family and Ryan got to spend some quality time with his Great Grandparents and his Aunties and Uncles. We had a wonderful hoiday and it was so great spending time with the family. Ryan enjoyed the egg cracking - an Armenian tradition at Easter. Everyone gets a hard boiled egg and we crack them against our partner and the last egg standing unharmed wins. I think Uncle Paddy won this year but Ryan definitely enjoyed the game as well. Thanks to the Flynn's for a wonderful weekend. It was great seeing everyone!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Click on the link above to see some updated photos.

He's gone Dada Crazy!

2008-03-19T11:39:00.003-04:00

Dada...Dada...Dada....is all that Ryan has been saying since Daddy left for the far east. He gets up in the morning and goes running over to Greg's side of the bed and says "Dada" and looks at me it breaks my heart. In the car today "dada, dada" I really think he misses Greg. But he will be home in 2 days...HOORAY! I never thought I would survive being left alone with Ryan while Greg is off traveling for work but it gets easier and easier and Ryan and I find things to do and of course I have my snuggle bunny Dylan to cuddle with at night after Ryan goes to bed....what would I do without little Dylan?

So the begging for food thing is getting a little worrisome....I am worried that we have Ryan trained like a dog...you know the kind that beg and whine for food literally every time you sit down with something to eat. Well that has been happing more and more lately. I really started taking notice during our trip to Florida. Everytime some one in the house sat down with a snack or a plate of food there was Ryan right beside them with a little whine "uhmm...hmmm..hmmmm"...begging for a bite. And he will go up to complete strangers as well like at the airport waiting at the gate people around us were snacking and one little girl had some goldfish crackers and there was Ryan right beside her "hmmm...hmmmm..ing" away begging for some. The mom thought it was really cute and was more than willing to share but Greg and I were quite embarrassed. By the looks of Ryan you can tell we do not starve the poor little guy. But yesterday it was apparent again. We had a playdate with some of the babes from the neighborhood (some moms I met at Bunko) and 2 of the moms were eating some blueberry cake and there was Ryan begging for a taste after he had already eaten 2 yes count them 2 entire snack traps filled with puffs the host mom had handed to the babes (baby snack I have not given to him since he was 7 months old or so...apparently a real treat for him) he would not even share he hijacked both snack traps and ate them all and I specifically gave him a snack on the walk over to prevent this (an entire snack trap of grapes an 8 oz sippy cup of milk and a stick of cheese)! Again it was quite embarrasing so I do not know what to do. This cannot go on or he will continue to beg for food. Like I said earlier Ryan will grow up to be the little chubby kid at school who steals everyones food and lunches! A friend of mine suggested maybe I am not giving him enough fat in his diet b/c he eats lots of fruits and veges but I give him whole milk and full fat yogurt and cheese. I don't want to pump my child with lard then he will really ballon up! Any suggestions? I plan to bring it up to the pedi at his 18 month check next month. But we need some help....it seems to be getting worse. People must think he is starved. It has gotten really bad with the sitter too. I pack him a ton of food and he still ends up eating a ton more. Oh and Monday I had a chocolate bar on the dining room table and I was getting dinner all of a sudden I heard silence and I knew the little squirt was up to no good. I peered in the dining room and there was Ryan perched on the chair with a chocolate bar in his hand (Greg brought home chocolate from London...Yum) and he had a big piece of chocolate in his mouth. What amazes me is that he knew to peel back the wrapper. I had not eaten this in front of him I dug into it one night after hew as asleep but the little food thief stole a taste. I find myself secretly eating after he goes to bed or when he is napping b/ I don't want him to see me eating and beg for a taste....HELP!

New words this week
Baby
Broccoli
"a bee" not sure what this is maybe baby?
"pease"for please
What does the sheep say? "ba ba"

On another note I wanted to thank my parents for coming up last night to keep me company and help with the kitchen renovations. We are stripping the wall paper and the tile and countertops are ordered so hopefully we will start the project as soon as the supplies arrive. Thanks mom and dad for coming to help!

I will upload some new pics of Ryan soon. I just got my computer back it was being repaired after Ryan ripped some of the keys off. Hope everyone has a very Happy Easter!

Lost....my voice that is...

2008-03-14T14:19:00.003-04:00

So I totally woke up this morning without a voice. I was feeling under the weather over this past weekend and by Monday I was feeling better. Wednesday I had a girls night out in a loud restaurant and we were kinda shouting...Yesteray I was a bit hoarse and today absolutley nothing... I miss my voice moslty because I use it often. Ryan looks at me in a strange way I guess I was sort of clenching my throat to talk to him today and he looked at me all worried clenching his throat..it was adorable. But seriously Greg is away in London and its just the boys and I minus my voice. It is also very difficult at work too. The Dr's can't hear me, my MA can't hear me and the patients can't hear me. I can't even talk on the phone. Ironically Greg called me today and it was noisy in the background on his end and he could not hear me (he didn't know I lost my voice). I guess you don't realize how much you really use something until it is gone. Hopefully it will return soon.

So yeah Greg is off traveling again. He is coming home for the weekend though, yipee! But sadly is leaving again for India on Sunday..but at least he will be home for Easter. We plan on heading up North to spend Easter with the Flynn's :)

The Ladies Man
So Wed we had a playdate at Katy's and I think I have mentioned before that most of Ryan's little friends are indeed ladies. He is such a charmer and just loves to hug everyone. He would try to gently give the girls hugs or touch their arms to hold hands and they would push him away. We have been practicing "gentle" with him on Dylan so he will learn to pet Dylan gently. I think it is sinking in (we hope). But yeah the girls don't seem to want hugs from Ryan. Oh and Sophia and Ryan stole Katy's keys and stood at her front door for what seemed like forever trying to stick the key in the lock. I wish I had taken a picture! It was really cute. Lately he is obsessed with my keys. I really have to disarm my car alarm because he almost always sets it off! It is really enbarrasing because I don't know how to turn it off so I just sit there like an idiot waiting for it to go off.

Easter Basket
Anyone have any good ideas for Ryan's Easter Basket?
I was thinking of putting in the following items:
new tooth brush
toothpaste
new bunny blanket
maybe a new outfit for spring
a new CD
toy magnet for the fridge
socks
cheddar bunnies
new puzzle or board book

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Enjoy the warm weather!

Finally Back on Track

2008-03-10T14:47:00.003-04:00

So Ryan is finally back on track with the napping thank goodness starting Friday took a nap for Polina. Over the weekend I was feeling a bit under the weather so Greg took care of Ryan most of the weekend ( I have such a supportive hubby!) and thankfully he napped really well for him. And surprisinly adjusted to the daylight savings time change quite well....although we did do everything an hour or so later yesterday. Woke up an hour later, lunch, nap, dinner and bedtime all approximately an hour later mostly my fault though.

Kitchen renovation update
Started ripping down the hideous wallpaper in our kitchen. Had a contractor come and measure for our new counter tops and tile backsplash. Now trip 3 to Lowes (sans baby...get so much more accomplished minus the distractions) Ryan will only sit in the cart if it is moving. We tried letting him out and then he didn't not want to get back in during our last trip to Lowes which was a nightmare....Ryan was really overtired. Shopping with a toddler in a hardware store is quite interesting to say the least and can be quite dangerous at times. Anyways we almost have the tile picked out for our back splash got it narrowed down to 2 choices (hooray!) picked out the countertop and narrowed down the paint choices. We are taking small baby steps and plan on renovating one room at a time. Hopefully plan to really get started in the next few weeks.

Updates
I feel like I have a baby parrot at home everything we say/do is somehow repeated Ryan style! For example I was feeling under the weather over the weekend and if I coughed...Ryan did a little fake cough, if I blew my nose...Ryan pretended to take a tissue and blow his nose! As my mom says they learn by example and it is so true!
New words
moo! for what does the cow say.
ehwo for hello
boots
bat for bath
still signing eat for hungry
will now point to fridge if thirsty for milk
will blow on his food if it is hot
says cole if food is cold
all gone
beep beep when we get into the car
I heard him actually say car for the first time
wawa for apple ?not sure where that came from.

Looking forward to warmer weather! I can feel it already I have spring fever. Have a great week!

Total Mutiny.....No Naps for Ryan!

2008-03-05T21:32:00.004-05:00

Mutiny Mutiny Mutiny!
Ryan has decided since we returned home from Florida that he does not need a nap...AT ALL! Yeah I am not kidding. It has been torture for me but he is happy as a clam and does not appear tired. Bedtime has been pushed up to 7 PM (thank goodness) and he goes down without a peep...very strange. But absolutely no naps. I desperately left him in his car seat parked in the garage today b/c he fell asleep on they way home from playtime village so I just left him there I even ran out every 5minutes to check on him and the little rebellion....after only a short 45 minutes his little eyes were open and he was babbling away all by his lonesome in the car so of course I picked him up and took him out and he appeared well rested. Geeze can anyone help me? It is strange b/c he actually did nap on vacation and I don't know what happened but since we have been home no naps??? What is up? I am exhausted! Can't get anything done.

The Bunkettes
So I went to play Bunko on Monday night with some moms in the neighborhood. I had never heard of the game before but apparently it is big here in Fairfield. Once a month the "bunkettes" get together and play this mindless dice game, chat about our children and about life, sip cocktails, and sample hor dourves. It was so much fun! I felt so privileged to be asked to join in. And all of the women at Bunko are young new moms with 1-2 young children and the best part is they all live in Fairfield and most in the neighborhood. I even got invited to another playgroup for Ryan. I told Greg that I have more friends in Ct since Ryan has been born than I had before we had him. He has given he quite the active social life.

New Words
Why is it that only the mom can understand the language of their toddler? Ryan talks a lot but to some they may just think he is babbling nonsense but he is actually attempting to communicate with almost every word that comes out of his little mouth. Like for example he looked at the shower this morning and said "waer" and I knew he was saying water but to most it was not as obvious. He also says "cole" for cold. Today he picked up the phone put it to his ear and said "eeeooo" for hello also relatively new. Loves to talk on the phone will actually talk to Grammy and Grampy on the phone babbling away for nearly 15 minutes.

Other New Happenings
Ryan will follow simple directions, participate and listen more tenativly in music class (used to just wander aimlessly not wanting to participate)
Will sing in the car and make animal sounds like "moo" for cow, and "quack, quack" for duck when the animal songs come on (his favorite).
Points and squeals "Dog, dog"! I swear he has x-ray vision. Will spot a dog a mile away and point and shout in delight. Ryan loves dogs of any kind.
Now will occasionally pet Dylan with gently hands as opposed to terrorizing the poor puppy.
If asked by Daddy "who and I"? replies Dada. If asked "who am I" by mama or anyone else for that matter replies "Dada" I guess it is a default answer to the question.
Ryan is cutting his eye teeth...not drooling quite as much this week.

It is supposed to be gorgeous tomorrow near 50 degrees we hope to run around at the park and attempt an afternoon nap. Hopefully maybe if I am luck I will get an hour to myself....keep your fingers crossed.

Our family trip to Bradenton

2008-03-02T21:35:00.003-05:00

Ryan age 1

So we started the vacation off by being stopped by the security team at Bradley International Airport apparently they found traces of explosives on Ryan's stoller....geeze I think they may have made a mistake. But seriously glad they were thorough. We got escorted by the team and frisked down even Ryan had to get frisked poor baby....and they hand searched all our carry ons and almost confiscated the cold pack I had for Ryan's milk...hey I did not want it to sour we were headed to Florida after all (apparently these are not approved liquids by the TSA). It was all good we survived. Ryan was pretty good on the plane we made a major mistake though and totally deprived him of his nap hoping he would snooze the whole trip..unfortunately an hour and a half into the flight after he had been eating non stop since we boarded the plane he had had it and that was it he was really overtired and past due for his nap. He actually got red in the face and started screaming but just for a few minutes. I looked at Greg in a panic and said "do something quick...anything" and very calmly he got up from his seat crying baby in arms and he walked back and forth for a few minutes until Ryan peacefully fell asleep for the remainder of the flight..thank goodness. Thank you Greg....how do people travel with babies alone? Could not do it I don't think. Thankfully the trip home we passed security checks (I had wiped down the stroller but was worried about the powdery substance on the suitcases from the oatmeal mishap)and he was a perfect angel on the way home. Needless to say he literally ate the entire 2.5 hour flight home..hey we just kept feeding him whatever to keep him quiet! Of course after all that food he pooped and I had to change his diaper in the nasty airplane restroom totally not baby friendly quite frankly it was my worst nightmare! The flight attendant laid down a blanked for me but of course Ryan was touching everything in sight..I cringe just thinking of all the germs you know me I am such a germaphobe! But I tried to wipe things down one handed with Ryan in my other hand but it was difficult and of course I wiped his hands down after but it is not the same I am sure all you moms know how I felt but I had to change his diaper he actually started to cry and wanted his pants changed immediately or there may have been another scene. But I got over my fear and changed him there in the tiny dirty airplane rest room as he touched every dirty little apparatus he could reach....and we still lived to talk about it. One day I will look back and laugh. But I am the mom who will run out to the car to change Ryan there rather than change him in a public rest room. I can only image how potty training will be in public. I will be the mom with the portable travel potty in the back of my car I just know it!

So we had a wonderful time in warm sunny Florida. Not a hint of rain and felt right at home in Grammy and Granddad's condo. Ryan really enjoyed spending time with his Grandparents and Auntie Jen and Uncle Paddy. We missed Auntie Erin and Uncle Brian but we hear they had a blast in Mexico. Ryan enjoyed running around at the beach chasing the seagulls, and walks around the condo with Grammy and Granddad, and trips to the playground just around the corner. Ryan did get into a little mischief though...as always. He took Uncle Paddy's cell phone one night after his bath and ran away so quick..no one noticed and then you hear "uh oh" from the bathroom...yep he threw it in the tub... and that was the end of it. I was just about to drain the water. He is just so quick. And of course you saw the photos of the oatmeal as we were packing up. Now we can look back and laugh. Paddy we owe you a cell phone! So sorry about that!

What a perfect winter weather get away! We had such a fantastic time. Greg and I even got to sneak away for 2 days alone....one day for shopping at the outlet mall and for another for a day at the beach. Thanks Grammy and Granddad for a wonderful vacation. We really enjoyed spending time with the Flynn family.

And of course thanks to Grammy and Grampy for taking care of Dylan while we were away. We know he had a mini vacation in Ma too. Glad to be home but sad to leave the warm weather and sandy beaches of Bradenton. Back to reality we are headed back to work tomorrow. Hope you all enjoyed the photos.

Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo....

2008-02-24T10:48:00.002-05:00

Ryan has discovered the cuckoo clock at Gramy and Grampy's house. He just loves the cuckoo clock and will sit and wait for him to come out. All weekend long "cuckoo cuckoo cuckoo". His new favorite word.

Hooray Greg is home from India! It was 26 hours door to door on his journey home. Poor Daddy and he is so jet lagged with the 10.5 hr time difference. We are so excited to have have him home safe and sound.

Did everyone enjoy the snow? We took Ryan out sledding yesterday and he absolutley loved it. The faster and the bigger the hill the better. He even knew to hold on after the first few times. My parents got over 8 inches of snow and it was quite a challenge for Ryan to walk in the snow it was past his knees. And poor Dylan looked like a bunny hopping in the snow it was practically over his head. He literally was a snow ball when I brought him in. I had to put him in the shower to defrost his paws and belly at least he had his fleece on. Ryan really enjoys the snow. Today we took him out and he played and played and hopefully tired himself out so he will sleep on the 3 hr plane ride to sunny Florida.

Hope everyone has a great week. We will have pictures and updates when we return. Thanks to Grammy and Grampy for taking care of Dylan the puppy for us while we are away.

Priceless....

2008-02-19T20:27:00.002-05:00

So Greg called this morning just to say hello and see how we were doing. Of course he wanted to say hello to Ryan too so I gave him the phone (I had it on speaker so I could hear too) and Greg said to him "who am I"? and Ryan replied "Dada" It was absolutely priceless! I ran downstairs to get the video camera and I told Greg to ask him again and I turned the camera on and of course...No way! Totally not happening again. It was the I only do that once trick. Oh well too bad it was really cute though.

Just a few other new happenings.
Ryan can count to 4. "on, tooow, tee, fooo"
When asked "What the duck says" He replies "caaack, caack, caack"
Favorite words: "up, oh oh, dog, thank you, all done, dada and Mom"!
Always says thank you when given something he wants like a cup, or a toy, or his bunny
Can follow simple directions for example "put your diaper in the trash" and "knock on the bathroom door"
Knows where his mouth, nose, eyes, ears, chin, legs, toes, arms, hands, and belly button are.
Dances and tries to sing when music is played....more like a hum
Recognizes pictures of family members
Thinks Dylan is his best friend (well technically he is....not sure the feeling is mutual on Dylan's end...he sometimes runs and hides from Ryan)

Ryan and I had a play date with some of our friends Caroline and Sophia. I was just telling their moms that exactly one year ago was when we first started getting together for play dates. We met in our swim class and have grown very close since. I remember seeing what little tiny babies they were in the first class and Ryan did not even know how to sit up on his own. We pretty much got together every Tuesday after swim class. Grazi and Sarah have become such great friends to me and to Ryan. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Caroline, Sophia and Ryan grow and play together. The things that they do and say together are just absolutely priceless. How Sophia still called Ryan "Caroline" today. And how Ryan ripped Sophia's pretty barrette out of her hair....he wanted a taste. How Ryan pushes Caroline in the little wooden wagon. How Caroline smiled stamping her feet in delight when we arrived. How they hug each other and wave bye bye to each other. Oh and how Ryan tried to sit in the little toy baby carriage. As the petite polite girls played with the pretend kitchen...Ryan climbed up the side of it as if it was a stepping stool to get on the couch. He is such a boy and the girls are such girly girls! It has been such a blessing to have these wonderful people in our lives and I don't know where I would be in this world without them. We talk about anything and everything and Sarah and Grazi have given me the best advice. I just wanted to thank you both for being such great friends. Thanks for all the great memories we have experienced so far. Ryan and I look forward to many more play dates in the future!

So glad to have Grammy and Grampy here to keep us company today while Greg is traveling. Even got to get out and get a pedicure for our trip. Yay! Have a wonderful week. Can't wait until Greg returns home!

Bye Bye Dada....

2008-02-16T22:02:00.002-05:00

So sad here in the house. Greg left for India today and I always get soooo sad to see him leave. The three of us had such a nice Saturday together the boys had pancakes while I went to my early morning spin class then Ryan helped Daddy pack his suitcases. Then we all went to the park to play. Ryan had his afternoon nap and we went out to dinner as a family before Greg had to leave. I only shed a few tears as he hugged me goodbye I tried not to let the toddler see me cry but he did so I quickly stopped. But thankfully I have Ryan and Dylan here to keep me company while Greg is away. Looking forward to our warm weather vacation next week.

Tomorrow we are having a play date with Bjorn and Arik. Their Daddy (Greg's boss)is also traveling to India with him. I don't know how Sylvie does it with the 2 boys and Victor is traveling more than Greg these days and they do not have any family at all in the U.S. I already told Sylvie to warn Bjorn that Ryan may eat his play dough and throw his matchbox cars tomorrow.

Oh did I mention it is becoming a challenge to type these days because the toddler got a hold of my laptop and ripped off the E and V key. The enter key was already missing he tore that one off quite some time ago. For some reason the toddler is very obsessed with the laptop! I try not to use it in front of him but I forgot to close the top the other day and he got his little hands on the keys and ripped them off. Ryan also loves the phone too. There is so much baby drool in the phone that people actually say on their end the sound is quite muffled....hmmm maybe it is time for a new phone. The toddler also managed to lose Daddy's blackberry today and we were frantically looking for it before he left for his business trip. Finally after calling it several times it was found under the couch...phew...We really need to stop letting the toddler hijack our electronic equipment.

Not much else new around here....Ryan is eating much better this week we think he is making up for last week. Hope everyone has a great week ahead. We are hoping Greg has a very safe trip and return home. We miss you more than you know!

Finally an end to the mutiny...?

2008-02-12T21:13:00.001-05:00

2008-02-12 Ryan 15 months

First of I have to thank everyone for the comments regarding the baby mutiny episodes from last week. I am happy to say that today was a very good day. Ryan ate and slept and napped well and overall less clingy and very happy...hooray. But yes feeding the toddler is the biggest challenge I have right now. For example the toddler ate all 3 meals without a fight today.... and napped for 3 hours without interruption. This all in one day is completely unheard of....and yes there was less drool today and less clinginess (is that a word?) and overall he was in a very pleasant mood today. Who knows. I got so nervous over the weekend about the mutiny which went on for 3 days (nearly refusing lunch and dinner all 3 days) combined with the fussiness and clinginess and our upcoming travel plans better be safe than sorry so I put a call into the pedi on Sat. afternoon. I dreaded doing this after all I carry the beeper for our practice once a month and I dread it when the beeper goes off....you never know if it is a simple question or a complete disaster on the other end. To my surprise it was our pedi and he was super sweet and assured me Tylenol would do the trick (and it did) and he agreed to see him the very next day. Who knew our practice had Sunday office hours? Glad I called. Turned out that it was just his lateral incisors coming in up top. Phew no ear infection that is what I was worried about. I know I am a bit neurotic about the toddler but when it is your child you lose all your common sense and assume the worst at all times (at least I do anyways). Glad we can rest assured it was just a bout of nasty teething..... But thanks everyone for your words of wisdom and encouragement! C3... it is nice to now we are not alone in the mutiny department....McCashew..hopefully Caro won't be as picky seems like she is a very good eater....Jenny... thanks for the tips! Ryan seems to prefer room temperature food too like Ava!

The toddler enjoyed some fun in the snow today. He had a ball! I bundled him up in his snow pants and boots and he had so many layers on he could barely walk. Ryan enjoyed playing in the snow and even took a little taste. Him and Dylan chased each other in the yard and we even ran into our neighbor Luke while enjoying our fun in the snow. Luke was also having a snow time photo shoot in his backyard. Luke lives 2 houses over and is 14 months old.

So We enjoyed a quick visit with Grammy and Grandad on Sunday they stopped by to pick up some baby stuff for our trip. That was such a huge help I can't imagine having to fly with all our baby equipment. I feel like we have so much more stuff this time around in comparison to our trip last year. Kerri good luck with your packing! I am all about lists too!

We are entertaining the idea of updating our kitchen. We really need to rip down the hideous wall paper, paint the walls, update the counter tops, and add a tile back splash. We poked around at home depot and Lowe's last week and got some great ideas. We got one estimate on the work last week and are awaiting another. Boy this came out to a bit more than we anticipated (I think it is always the case) Now we need to figure out if it will all be worth it...mainly we are updating to help improve the resale of our home in the future. Greg and I really want to do some of the work ourselves but realize it will be a challenge with the toddler and Greg's demanding work schedule. Plans are up in the air for now. Decisions, decisions, decisions. I am sort of all or nothing in terms of the renovations.....

Check out the new pictures..some from Caroline's cheerio themed b-day bash...and others of Ryan in snow and at Playtime Village. Have a great week! Thanks again for all the great feedback!

Baby Mutiny at its Best!

2008-02-07T21:43:00.000-05:00

Mutiny, Mutiny, Mutiny today! Yesterday I went to a work dinner and Greg fed Ryan dinner and of course (only for Daddy) he gobbled everything up and more. But today it was a totally different story. For breakfast he actually did fairly well ate scrambled eggs, mango, and had some milk, mutiny occurred with the strawberries and plum, and oatios/heart to heart cereal soaked in milk (which I hear from Polina he loves) apparently only for her he spit it back out for me and hand picked the strawberries out and piled them up on his tray from the bowl of fruit and ate only the mangoes leaving the plums in the bowl. So odd how toddlers manage their food. For lunch I offered him some whole wheat couscous, chicken broth, garden burger and squash....mutiny mutiny mutiny only took maybe 5 bites after I disguised it with mango. I sneaked a few bites of a healthy snack of cottage cheese and spinach after his afternoon nap though. Then for dinner I offered him left overs from last night. I guess he takes after me in the fact that I hate eating anything more than once in a week. It was slow cooked pork with apples, broccoli, and rice but he ate some bites only after I drenched it in apple sauce.

Hopefully he will do better tomorrow here is what I packed for him.... mangoes, strawberries, kiwi for snacking, chicken and rice for lunch, cottage cheese, yogurt, spinach for afternoon snack, and pirate booty but only if he eats all his other food.

I have come to learn in these past few months that feeding a toddler is quite possibly the most challenging aspect of motherhood for me now that and also my mission to tire the toddler the days that I am home which I am happy to say I managed to do 2/3 days this week...not too bad! Thank goodness the little menace is sleeping now and I can finally sit for the first time today. Sorry for the lack of blogging but it seems that this past week the toddler has had quite the burst of energy and has managed to burn me out.

Teething woes continue... I think Ryan is cutting some more teeth. Biting everything in site and refuses to take his right hand out of his mouth. He has it wedged so far back the only part poking out of his mouth is his chubby wrist and part of his hand but all fingers are in the mouth. I have tried to feel around for new ones pushing through but this is very dangerous one can risk having their entire finger/s completely bitten off if not careful! The toddler loves to bite anything and everything! I have suddenly become paranoid that Ryan does not know how to swallow that maybe something was wrong with his esophagus....then Greg added but he knows how to swallow food...oh yeah, duh. Anyways I have observed other toddlers Ryan's age and it seems that none of them seem to be drooling as much as Ryan and it is rare to even see a toddler these days wearing a bib. BTW if I don't keep a bib on this toddler at all times I would be changing his shirt every 0.5 seconds. It seems to me that the child does not know how to swallow his own saliva so he lets it drool out onto his bib/shirt. I think I may address the issue with the pedi at the next visit... I don' think it is anything urgent b/c since birth Ryan has never gone a day without a bib therefore I do not believe he has ever swallowed any saliva ever!

The preschool debate. So want to know how snooty Fairfield can be...I posted on another mommy board a question about preschools in town for 2 year-olds and opened another huge can of worms. I got nearly 20 responses most of which were very helpful but some were responses like "oh don't you know it will be hard to find a good preschool now....most of the good ones fill up at least a year in advance!" Also there are a few in town that are close to $12,000 a year FOR PRESCHOOL! So I put a few calls in and I will see when I hear back. There are only a handful in town that offer 2 yo programs and according to some moms they are probably likely getting full for 2008-2009 school year. Still looking into our options. Either way I think Ryan will do well with or without preschool at age 2. Most programs start at age 3. Either way it is worth researching a little.

Our first music class started on Tuesday. It is really a great class. All the toddlers in the class are all close in age 15-18 months (Ryan being the second youngest) compared to the sign class that was mixed ages newborn to age 4. The teacher is wonderful Ryan is learning how to sit in a circle, follow directions, play musical instruments, and sit on a blanket for story time. It is so cute she opened her story time blanket and Ryan went running over was the first to sit down...the other toddlers followed suit. What a great class and a nice group of toddlers and moms.

I will be busy packing for Florida this weekend. The Flynn's are driving down Sunday and making a pit stop to pick up some toddler equipment to bring down to the condo. I hear that McCashew is also packing for a warm weather get away the same week. We should compare lists Kerri to make sure I am not forgetting anything imprortant. BTW we had such a wonderful time at McCashew's first birthday celebration! Caroline is such an adorable baby and she is so grown up now! Her and Ryan really enjoyed playing together! I think Ryan made a new friend with your mom too! Ryan is looking forward to seeing his grandparents this weekend and thanks for taking some of our stuff in advance. Hope everyone has a great week!

Mission this Week.....Tire out the toddler!

2008-01-31T14:16:00.000-05:00

2008-01-31 Ryan and friends 15 months

Okay so my mission this week was to tire out the toddler....and I think we were able to accomplish this! As mentioned earlier Ryan is a highly energetic 15 month old who gets EXTREMELY bored at home and when this occurs he seeks out the opportunity to get into serious mischief! What a disaster this can be at times so my mission this week was to get out and literally exhaust him so he would pass out so I could have a few precious hours to myself. Sometimes I wonder if going back to work full time would be easier and I think to myself...yes most definitely it would be easier but not as much fun. So here is a re-cap of what we have been up to for he past 3 days.

Tuesday we went to the Milford mall to meet up with Sarah and Caroline. I never imagined I would let my child climb all over the Milford mall play area and touch those germy cars and animals....but times have changed yes I can't believe it...me the total germaphobe can say this but I have learned that Ryan will be exposed to many many germs in his lifetime and hopefully he is old enough to handle it now. I still cringe a the thought of it though. Ryan and Caroline played and played and tired themselves out in that play area (mid week there were not that many there) and Sarah and I were able to enjoy a very peaceful lunch at Panera while the children just sat in their strollers (yes he actually sat very happily in the stroller eating a grilled cheese)glossy eyed ready to pass out. It was the most pleasant lunch outing we have had since Ryan was born. They barely made a peep and Sarah and I got to enjoy our lunch and share in adult conversation for what seemed like forever.

Wednesday we met Jen and Tyler at the Maritime Aquarium for some more fun! Ryan and Tyler just love the mini aquarium at the library so we thought they might enjoy the big aquarium too. Tyler was really into the fish...Ryan on the other hand was more into running around the open area and climbing the stairs. He did enjoy the fish too but mostly loved to roam. It was perfect mid week for him to run around. Lots of the exhibits have little steps up to the aquariums and Ryan just loved climbing these but after a quick peak at the fish he was off running. The best part is that we practically had the whole place to ourselves and there was really no where for Ryan to run out of my reach. Boy that sure tired him out! That was the most he has ever walked/run in his life! They also have a great play area for children under five with padded mats and things to climb on so we stopped by there at the end. And Ryan really enjoyed the sea otter and seals too! It was definitely worth the trip and we hope to get back soon with Greg.

Today we checked out Playtime in Monroe. It is basically this huge indoor play area. There are cozy coupe's, tricycles, tons of other ride ons, little houses with pretend play (themed with cars/trucks, food, dress up, baby dolls) and a huge tiny tykes climber and little slide. Ryan met his friends Caroline and Sophia there and they ran and played until they exhausted themselves! It seemed pretty clean and there were a ton of moms and babies there. They also have a smaller gated area for pre-walkers/crawlers so they won't get trampled by the bigger kids. We thought of getting a membership here but with Spring around the corner and our music class starting back up next week we will pass on it for now. What a huge difference it makes to get out with Ryan and let him run around!

My second mission is to look for used toddler toys. I hate paying full price for toys that Ryan is bored with in 2 weeks time or will out grow. I bought a little push buggy for him for his first birthday and I can barely stuff him in it now. We only used it for a month or so and now his feet are dragging and the seat belt is way too tight around his chubby middle I just feel like it was such a waste of money now. But I did find a cozy coupe on Craig's list for only $25 in excellent condition and I also found a tiny tykes climber for only $30 that we may be picking up this weekend. So we are trying really hard to stick to our plan for 2008 which is to save money for a bigger house and so far in the month of Jan we have managed to keep to the budget.

"Uh OH" is now Ryan's favorite word. He started saying it a few weeks ago and now is constantly saying it and in the right context too....very impressive he says it everytime he or I drop something it is adorable. He also says thank you when we give him something he wants. The newest thing he did today was say "Toot Toot" after I said "Beep Beep" Greg and I always say "beep beep, toot, toot" if we give him a ride on his ride on little car and this morning I said "beep beep" as we were getting in the car and he replied "toot toot". I know I just have to brag a little our little boy is just so smart. He also hugs his little friends and their moms when we see them and says "bye bye" while waving when we leave.

I contemplate about going back to work full time soon but can't decide...it has been exactly one year since I went back part time and I feel like it is the best time now to go back before we think about a second one....but to go back to work and leave all this......not sure I am ready just yet but then again will I ever be really to return to work full time??? Who knows....

Check out the photos above! Auntie E Ryan drags that bag of books everywhere adn will sit and read them often and Grammy N Ryan loves his rocking horse a ton!

Visit with the Flynns

2008-01-27T13:28:00.000-05:00

2008-01-27 Ryan 15 months

Yesterday we had a visit with the Flynns. Ryan celebrated a late Christmas with his Aunts and Uncles. Auntie Erin and Uncle Brian had a minor flood at their house and Auntie Jen and Uncle Paddy were celebrating Christmas in Sweden this year. So we enjoyed a git exchange and family time with the Flynn's yesterday. It was so great to see everyone and thanks for making the trip to CT! We had a wonderful time and Ryan really enjoyed seeing everyone!

Ryan was mommy's little helper yesterday and helped me sweep and vacuum the house. He is obsessed with the broom and the vacuum and loves to help clean. I hope to keep this up and teach him to clean up after himself. Check out the pictures above to Ryan cleaning the floors. I even gave him a wet rag and he wiped his finger prints off the stove and I wiped down the counters. I realize I am a bit of a clean/neat freak....but we gotta start them off young these days.

Not much else going on we are planning a family outing this afternoon to check out the new whole foods. Looking for some new food options for Ryan. Hope everyone is doing well and miss you all.

Here's what he ate yesterday
oatmeal with sweet potatoes and banana mash
strawberries
milk

pastina with chicken carrots, celery, onion, sweet potato and squash
milk

snack
few cheese tortellini
grape tomatoes
apple
milk

squash and pasta for dinner
few grapes

Ryan on the (running) Move!

2008-01-24T20:43:00.000-05:00

2008-01-24 Ryan 15 months

Today we had a play date at the Stepping Stones Children's Museum with Caroline and Sophia. Ryan just loves these girls so much and had to give them both great big hugs when he saw them. Ryan and Caroline carpooled with us and they held hands the entire time in the car...how sweet. So Ryan is totally on the (running) move now and I knew it would be a challenge at the museum today but I was determined not to use the monkey backpack (although at times I was so wishing I had it). For example as we were checking in at the museum and paying Ryan took off on me and literally started running wild throughout the museum squealing in delight and I had to abandon he cashier in search of Ryan....luckily he got distracted at one of the exhibits and I was able to capture him. Of course course sweet little Caroline stayed right next to her mom in line. Again same sort of story as we were checking our coats in the coat room he literally took off it took two adults to contain him as we hung up our coats. Luckily they have a toddler terrain area specifically geared towards children 3 and under so that was a lot of fun. They had a table with play dough...Ryan just had to take a little taste. He really enjoyed the slide and climbing up the steps. Really he just loved to run around the place! Some of the activities were a bit old for Ryan and his friends but we had a wonderful time! There was a water scape exhibit that we were going to try put but there were a lot of older children there and I was worried that Ryan would run away from me there. We checked out the rain forest exhibit but I think it was a bit too old for them but they enjoyed roaming around. It was a lot of fun but a bit pricey at $18 for the day for both of us. We passed on the seasons pass I think maybe next year when they can enjoy a bit more. We are planning on trying out Playtime Village next week.

Pretty much my life story these days is doing ANYTHING to get out of the house so I don't go nuts! Ryan is just at that stage where he is happiest on the (running) move and he gets bored in the house and I find he gets into more mischief when he is cooped up indoors. We have been frequenting the Fairfield Children's Library so Ryan can roam around and run. I seriously have issues keeping up with him and at 28lbs picking him up kicking and fighting me is quite the workout! So it has been my mission in life to seek out activities for us to partake in out side of the house! We have been to the park in the freezing cold twice this week. The upside of going to the park in the middle of January is that you have the entire park all to yourself.

Baby MUTANY at dinner time again tonight. Absolutely refused his dinner despite the fact that I broke down and offered him 2 different options. I think he had a very busy week, a lot of activity today, and too short of a nap and was just overly exhausted by the time dinner time rolled around. He fell asleepin my arms nursing and went to bed an hour earlier tonight! He even shed a few tears while in his highchair. That was it I broke down and ....gasp...ended up giving him some Oatios and Goldfish for dinner...I was desperate and it was the only thing that he would eat.....HELP anyone else have a rebellious toddler during mealtimes on their hands? On a positive note at least I did not end up wearing the chili he refused tonight.

Here's what he ate today
oatmeal 1/2 baby 1/2 adult with cinnamon, sweet potato, banana and raisins
1/2 slice raisin toast
entire pear
milk

lunch
spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower puree
plain yogurt
cereal bar
few goldfish
milk

snack
pirate booty

dinner
refused chili (which he gobbled up last night)
refused whole wheat eng muffin pizza (which he gobbled up yesterday) maybe he is just bored
ate a few bites of apple
goldfish/oatios
milk

packed a large bag of food for him tomorrow I know he will eat Polina out of house and home for sure! I already called her to give her a heads up. My mission is to again try to get lots of good stuff in throughout the day so if he refused dinner I will know he at least ate something....any other suggestions?

Also if anyone know any fun things to do with toddlers to burn off excess energy please let me know ASAP! Thanks.

Visit with Emily

2008-01-22T21:56:00.000-05:00

2008-01-22 15 months

Emily (my college roommate) came up from D.C. for a visit to meet Ryan and celebrate my birthday. It was such a fantastic weekend and one of the best birthday celebrations ever! Thanks so much to Greg for watching Ryan so Emily and I could have some "girl fun" we went shopping, got mani/pedi's, went to dinner and then out for drinks with our other roommates from UMASS, saw 27 dresses, and even went to the Gym for a spin and kickboxing class (we could barely walk after) What a fun weekend! Emily thanks so much for visiting it was just like old times I miss you so much!

Other news Ryan and his Daddy cheered the Patriots on Sunday to their victory. There are even pictures of Ryan wearing his sweatshirt...Go PATRIOTS! Thanks cousin Jim for the sweatshirt!

Ryan has been a little better in the eating department but still some nights dinner is not his best meal. We have ventured into the Annabel Karmel Super Baby Foods cookbook and Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfield. Emily and I made a bolognese sauce with hidden vegetables and surprisingly Ryan gobbled it right up but not before he threw the first bite at me....Yes and it was all over me the chair and the dining room floor. Lucky for me he only does this with me...go figure...would never dream of throwing food at his Daddy or Polina. To his surprise after he threw it (and yes it is sooo hard not to laugh but I bite my tongue I want to keep a stern face to let him know throwing food is incorrect!)He actually liked the taste. His new thing is that he says "HOT" to everything we put in his mouth regardless of if it is hot or not. Very cute....

Good news at the office. All my hard work is finally paying off...but not without a few mini meltdowns of course...but we have finally randomized all 7 patients...Yes the last participant was randomized today...HOORAY. Thank goodness! No one knows how much work these clinical research trials are! Whohoo we are finding a new promising treatment/possible prevention for Diabetes. And the results so far are astonishing. I can't give away all the juicy details but lets just say this everyday medication (likely sitting in your medicine cabinet at home) is really working very well to improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetics with slightly uncontrolled diabetes. We are almost half way through the trial....but wait there is more... phase 2...lucky for me! Seriously what a great learning expereince and to one day look back when the drug is approved and marketed and say....Geeze I helped make that happen... will all be worth it in the end! Wanted to share the news and this great accomplishement with all of you.

Here's what he ate today:
Breakfast

Apple
1/4 banana
kiwi
oatmeal
milk

Mid morning snack
Buckwheat ricotta bluberry pancake
milk
sliced peaches

Lunch
Bolognese sauce with orzo pasta(deceptively delicous recipe)
milk

snack
Earth's best apple cereal bar
milk

Dinner
water
broccoli/cauliflower/cheese chunky puree
(refuses unless slightly pureed)

Keep the toddler food ideas coming! I appreciate all the suggestions! Thanks

15 Month check

2008-01-16T15:20:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update on Ryan's 15 month check.....He is 28 lbs exactly and 32 1/4 inches. He gained 2 lbs and 3/4 of a inch in 3 months still in 90th percentile for height and weight. Hooray! He is a totally healthy and very happy little boy. He took 3 shots todayy like a champ DTaP, HIB, and Hep A. Next checkonly one shot and then none until he is 4 HOORAY! I had mentioned how Ryan ahs started testing the waters with mealtime and he suggested not offerring goldfish or pirate booty or cookies as a snack only to be given after the meal to ensure he eats all his healthy fruits and veggies. He also suggested more meat. Hope everyone else is doing well. Please post a comment with any new and exciting healthy meal options for Ryan. Thanks alot!

Almost forgot what he ate today:
Breakfast
1/2 mug of baby oatmeal mixed with a few scoops of quaker oatmeal (trying to transisiton to regular oatmeal) with cinnamon and a few raisins and banana slices
milk
mango and pear pieces (refused kiwi which last week he loved!)
1/4 mug of frozen blueberries

missed AM snack had pedi app

Lunch
pastina, chicken, peas, carrots, squash mixed with chicken broth
more pear slices (refused kiwi again....I give up for today)
vege pirate booty (only after he finished per pedi)
milk

Snack
cheese stick
few grapes
milk

Dinner
few bites of a chicken and cheese whole wheat quesedilla earth balance spread (I think it was a bit too tough for him to chew)
attempted humus and whole wheat bread but refused again will try tomorrow at lunch
lentils with spinach, pastina and yes some chicken broth
2 arrowroot cookies (after the meal)
milk and water

Playing in the snow!

2008-01-15T17:02:00.001-05:00

We headed North this past weekend for a quick visit to see the Strattons. It was an early birthday celebration for me. Greg and I enjoyed dinner and a movie and my mom made me a birthday dinner and had a cake on Sunday. While we were visiting Ryan got to spend some time playing outside in the snow wearing his new snow boots. We have not had much snow here in CT. But up in Agawam they still have a good amount and got even more yesterday. Ryan held his grandparents hands for the first few steps but once he was sure of himself he was off and running! My parents have a big huge backyard for him to run around and play in. He must have tired himself out because he napped and slept really well while we were there. I wish I had got a few pictures of him playing in the snow but I have misplaced my camera charger and I MUST find it soon! I am missing out on so much.

We also stopped by the Saroglou's to meet Tyler on Saturday. He is so adorable and he looks just like Bernie. He is doing really well and his parents and grandparents are just beaming with joy! Congratulations to Lori and Bernie! Tyler will soon be running around chasing after Ryan! Glad he has a new little friend to play with.

Hooray Greg will be coming home today from his trip to Texas. We are so happy and we missed him so much even though it was a short trip. He will be tired though he has had conference calls with his boss over in India at 3 AM and this morning at 6 AM. Geeze! Hopefully he will get to sleep on the plane home.

Today Ryan and I met our friends Jen and Tyler over at the children's library. When we first arrived it was just us and another mom and her daughter but after an hour the place was packed there must have been at least 15 babies and mom's there. They have a gated baby play area called the Farm with soft padding and blocks for the babies to climb on. The rest of the floor is a designated children's library and there is a castle to climb in and a train to play in and lots of other fun things for children to do. Ryan just LOVES to RUN around here and he squeals in delight running all over. I practically have to corner him and pin him down when it is time to leave. Chasing after a busy highly energetic toddler is completely and utterly EXHAUSTING! But I am loving every minute of it!

So tomorrow is my birthday and I am so sad that I only have 365 more days left in my twenties....it has been the best decade of my life so far. I am really sad to be getting older I have really enjoyed life as a twenty something and I don't want to get any older. If I had one wish I really would like to hold time in a bottle for at least another five years! Not sure what the plans are for tomorrow so far I just have plans for Ryan's 15 month check in the morning. I think we will spend a quiet evening at home. Gotta rest up for the weekend. Miss everyone and hope you are all doing well.

Oh I did find my charger so I will post some new pictures soon!

This is what Ryan ate today:
for breakfast
1/4 banana, few slices of mango, pear, apple
1 scrambled egg
1 1/2 slices of cinnamon raisin toast with earth balance spread (no trans fat)
handful of Oatios (organic cheerios)
milk

mid morning snack
milk
few goldfish crackers (we were out and about)

Lunch
large serving of chicken soup: roasted chicken, chicken broth, few TBSP of roasted carrot puree and squash puree
milk

mid afternoon snack
Plain whole milk yogurt
spinach puree
few bites of my bluberry yogurt (he insisted!)

Dinner
1/2 chicken apple sausage (from Trader Joes minimally processed all natural no preservatives)
few bites of squash (I know he ate it for lunch...thought I would try)
apple/apricot sauce (no sugar added)
milk, water

Rebellious Toddler??

2008-01-10T20:04:00.001-05:00

I think we have a bit of a rebellious toddler on our hands with little Ryan. At least with Mommy anyways...funny though he appears to be a perfect angel a "delight" for Polina and for his grandparents. Yesterday we were guest at a play date and the little boy who is 2 1/2 kindly offered to share his toys with little Ryan (The menace...well Ryan insisted on throwing Bjorn's toy cars all over the living room and then decided it would be fun to rip apart the car track and throw the pieces of that as well. Poor Bjorn was so upset and did not understand why this little menace had taken over his home and all his toys. He was practically in tears and shouting at Ryan (in German) to stop throwing his toys around. Poor little Bjorn. Once again another victim to Ryan's path of destruction!

For example today he insisted on pulling all the clothes out of a cabinet I have in our room.....yes each article of clothing one by one until they were in a pile on the bedroom floor. He also threw all of his clothes that were neatly folded in a laundry basket...threw them on the floor too. Then pulled all the books off our bookcase, ripped the cord from the monitor out of the wall, threw Greg's alarm clock on the floor (all the while I was trying to get dressed and clean up the mess of clothes) Then we moved onto a path of destruction in the bathroom. As I was brushing my hair he pulled all the shampoo bottles down and managed to open one of them. I saw out of the corner of my eye he had something wet and was rubbing shampoo on his legs...uggg at least he was not dressed yet still in his jammies, thankfully but still a mess. Then on to his bedroom he ripped his alarm clock right out of the wall and threw the humidifier on the floor, climbed onto the ottoman and was standing in rocking in the chair rocking with an evil devilish smirk on his face all while I was tending to the mess in the bathroom and putting his clothes away. This all occurred before 8 AM. I was ready to pull my hair out! Some days he will play "nice" and other days like today he goes on a path of destruction! Our new battle is trying to keep Ryan from climbing on the couches and ottoman in the living room. He LOVES to do this and will kick and scream if we re direct him. This afternoon I picked him up off the couch b/c he was climbing and pulling after the table lamp (which was replaced he already broke one)He then started to kick his legs and then he threw himself on the floor kicking his legs and screaming! My oh my are we into tantrums already?

On another note Ryan has been testing the waters with meals as well. The little boy who used to inhale anything and everything I put on his tray has been taken over by a rebellious toddler who loves to bat the spoon away, spit food out, and throw food on the floor. Today was not too bad but once last week and once this week he went to bed without dinner. He absolutely refused the options I placed in front of him and frankly I was too tired to keep offering more options and cleaning up the mess on the floor. I figured if he is really hungry he will eat and if not he can wait until breakfast. I am not going to get in a game of making 5 different meals for him at one sitting just do not want to start that. Then he will learn to always get his way. He Today he ate 1 1/2 slices of whole grain cinnamon bread, a kiwi, some mango, banana, and a little scrambled eggs (usually eats 2 eggs maybe ate one today) for lunch he absolutely refused his yogurt and spinach/broccoli that he loves, instead ate some cheese, strawberries and blueberries a few Angie's cheddar bunnies. Then took a nap when he woke I knew he would be hungry b/c he did not really eat his lunch I offered an apple meatball (turkey meatball mixed with apple sauce and baked)an apple which he gobbled up, some leftover rice and peas which he refused. Just not a vegetable day today! Then for dinner he ate some homemade mac and cheese (whole wheat pasta, milk and cheese baked in the oven also freezes well) half a Dr. Prager's veggie burger but only after I drenched it in ketchup (who knew that toddlers like condiments as well) Like I said he usually is a great eater but not today. Funny though eats a ton for Polina and stuff he won't even touch for me, also eats better for my parents and for Greg than for me. Funny they must know they can test the waters more with mommy. My meal time game plan goes as follows...He most definitely always eats a super large breakfast sometimes two in fact, I try to get lots of veggies in at lunch, lately dinner is somewhat of a challenge so I know at least he was had 2 decent meals for the day if he refuses his dinner. I have read that children often become rebellious at this age and picky with food and that often times dinner is the least likely time to get them to eat. So I guess it helps just to know that this is a normal stage.

Finally the little menace is in bed and the house is quiet for the moment. I am only counting down the hours until he wakes in the AM. Thankfully our little helper is coming in the morning so I can run and do a few errands. I ask myself how do people do it with multiple toddlers at once? You all know how I LOVE Jon and Kate plus 8. Let's just say I do not know how she does it but then again that is why she is on TV. Does anyone else out there have a rebellious toddler on their hands? HELP!

Stomach bug Ughh

2008-01-08T21:43:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates! I had that awful dreaded stomach bug last week! Kerri good thing we did not stop by on New Years Eve! I got to ring in 2008 plastered to the bathroom floor but not because I drank too much! Thankfully "team Ryan" came to the rescue there was no way I could take care of him I could barely get off the couch to let poor Dylan out. Greg took Ryan to Polina's for the day and then my parents came down from Ma to take Ryan for a few days so I could recover (I think they were itching for an excuse to spend some extra time with Ryan) But seriously thanks so much mom and dad. Greg would have had to stay home with Ryan and risk being exposed to this nasty stomach virus. Thankfully no one else but me got sick but it is currently running rampant through the office at work. The secretary had it over the weekend, Dr. Menon, and now today his assistant....gasp I just hope I do not get it again! This bug is so contagious and I just know I caught it at work from the patients. Ugghh thank goodness we are over it I hope we don't get it for another 20 years (that was the last time I had it). So thankful Ryan did not get it.

Other news Ryan has become obsessed with the broom!.....Polina has a broom she keeps outside her door to sweep her backyard patio and this morning as soon as I opened the door to get him out of the car he practically ran to the back door to get the broom....and he would not let it go. He loves brooms, shovels, ice choppers...pretty much anything with a handle. Did I mention his favorite Christmas gift a little broom from Grammy Sharon that says Suzy homemaker on the side. Yes Ryan loves to clean. He loves to take paper towels and wipe his tray from his highchair and wipe the sink with his wash cloth. I hope this continues. His favorite word seems to still be "Oora" for hooray! I just love it. He has become so much more talkative in the past few days. It is so funny he loves to mimic whatever I say. He also says "aal da" for all done. He is really starting to have such a curious personality about him.

This morning while making my morning bowl of oatmeal he reached in the lazy susan and grabbed the container of raisins and sat on the floor amusing himself for like minutes eating the raisins out of the can. I though it was so cute! He was very careful not to shove too many in his mouth at once too....I briefly envisioned having to do the baby heimlich on him.....they must have to too sweet after a few handfuls because he lost interest and moved in on my bowl of oatmeal with bananas so we shared it together and then we were off to start the day. I find it slightly easier to get ready for work with him now. He usually finds random things to amuse himself...like the container of raisins, we also have a food bag to drop off to the local soup kitchen and he enjoys taking the food out and putting it back in the brown paper bag, he also discovered the magnets on the refrigerator...while I am brushing my teeth in the bathroom I give him his toothbrush and we brush together in unison, or he will play with the shampoo bottles in the shower...knocking them down and standing them on the shelve again.....the cause and effect really captures his attention and you can see his mind working and that brilliant smile at the success. Oh and he loves the light switch too! The list goes on.....

More updates later...off to bed for now...in the AM trip to Stamford for a play date with Bjorn and finally get to meet Arik (Victor-Greg's boss and Sylvie's new baby)

Congratulations to our friend Jenny who had her son Tyler last Friday Jan 4th (click on the link above for details). He is doing well born early at around 29 weeks. Thinking of you Jenny and congratulations hope Tyler continues to stay strong!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T21:22:00.000-05:00

Wanted to wish everyone a very happy healthy 2008! We had a wonderful New Year's eve last night. Greg and I enjoyed a romantic dinner without Ryan but of course like always all we did was talk about him and how much we missed him and how we could not wait to pick him up :) But it is so nice to actually enjoy a meal without having to eat it cold and or inhale it! We definitely enjoyed the quit evening alone as a couple. We picked Ryan up and did not even attempt to keep him up to ring in the new year he was just too pooped. Greg and I did stay up but barely.

We started in on some of our resolutions today! We organized our kitchen cabinets and sadly I threw out a ton of expired dry goods I am embarrassed to say. But at least now the cabinets are nice and new and we know where everything is. Wanted to also thank my parents for the new Martha Stewart pots and pans! They are sparkling and we are going to throw our old ones away! I can't wait to cook with them. Thanks mom and Dad!

Next we hit the Trumbull mall for some returns and managed to limit our spending to only $10 dollars which included dinner out (to Ruby Tuesdays we had a gift card) Greg actually feels like we made money because he found an extra $20 in his coat pocket unexpectedly....don't ya just love that? But seriously this was a huge step for us we had absolutely no impulse buys at all! Although the temptations were there with all the after Christmas sales but we walked away without spending!

I do have to share this story. While walking around Lord and Taylor today....A middle aged couple shot me a dirty look and the husband muttered loud enough for me to hear" God I can't believe she is yanking that kid by a leash"! I felt so offended and I really really wanted to speak up and say something like.....'Um excuse me yes I have my child on a leash...would you rather I let him either a) sit and scream in his stroller kicking and throwing a fit b/c he wants to get out, b) let him run around the store aimlessly leaving a tornado in his path, OR c) let him run around the store so some stranger can kidnap him"....I mean geese he really made me feel very self conscience about having Ryan on the leash if that's what you want to call it. I mean what do you all think about the whole leash thing? It is not like I am going to use it until he is 5...it offers him some freedom to move around instead of being miserable strapped in the stroller the whole time and he LOVES to walk and run around and he was laughing and giggling the entire time! And he is still way to young to understand he has to stay with me and not touch everything. I actually bought the monkey backpack (leash..I hate to call it that) for the airport for next month when we go to Florida to tire him out so he would sleep on the plane. It is basically a little monkey backpack with a long tail on the end I can hold on to to keep him close to me if we are walking in a crowd I have only used it twice but now I am very hesitant to use ti again....I mean that man made me feel like a child abuser/very bad mother! Help!

Also wanted to let you all know that our friends Lori and Bernie welcomed their first baby Tyler Paul on December 30th at 6PM weighing on at 8lbs 1.0z and 21 inches long. The proud parents are doing very well they came home from the hospital today! Congratulations Lori and Bernie we are very excited for you and can't wait to meet little Tyler.

Hope everyone had a very Happy 2008!

New Year's Resolutions

2007-12-30T20:21:00.000-05:00

So Greg and I have made a few New Year's resolutions that we want to share with everyone. So far we have really tried to stick to them even though it has only been a couple of days....

-Ensure that 2008 is the BEST year for Ryan!
-Spend more time together as a family
-We will try to eat healthier...limit junk food (not totally eliminate it though)
-Try to exercise more at least 3x week
-Try not to spend money frivolously
-Try to limit trips to walmart/target/golfer's warehouse/Dick's/golf galaxy
-Try not to eat take out/limit dinner's out (limit once a week)
-Limit purchases made at the grocery store (we end up throwing food away a alot)
-Try to rid our house of useless junk by selling some of it on Ebay
-Clean our basement and garage
-Donate clothing to the salvation army/goodwill/big brothers
-Try to live a simpler life
-And the list goes on.....but you get the general idea

BABY MUTINY!

I know I have discussed this in earlier posts but it has been very evident lately! We call it baby mutiny....Ryan has a little bunny that he sleeps with and cuddles at night and for naps. We have designated the bunny to stay in the crib so it does not get lost and so he associates the bunny with sleep. Well he decided that he would exercise his baby mutiny on the new bunny we gave him for Christmas. Gasp.... We have in the past rotated 2 bunnies with Ryan one for home and one at my mom's without a problem. But now that he is a bit older now and understands more there was major bunny mutiny going on when handed the spanking new ultra soft bunny blankie. I literally had to hide the old bunny blanket and stuff the new one in my shirt for a while before he would even look at the new one. Eventually after 2 days he finally took to the new one..phew. But there is still baby mutiny going on when he wakes form his nap and when he wakes in the morning. All we have to do is peer in the baby monitor and if the bunny is on the floor (baby mutiny) we know it is definitely time to get up.

POTTY TIME

Greg and I decided to get Ryan a new potty over the weekend. I know it is way way early for potty training but we wanted to see if he had any interest in sitting on it (with his clothes on) I was thinking of popping him on after bath time to limit the amount of clean up if he happens to poo in the tub. Knock on wood has not happened last week. So we wanted a basic simple potty minus the bells and whistles not to distract him from actually going potty and after a little research we decided on the baby bjorn potty (had pretty decent reviews for boys)So we practiced today and told Ryan to sit on his new potty chair and he DID it! We yelled HOORAY! HOORAY! and Ryan had a huge smile on his face clapped his hands and repeated HOORA HOORA. It was the cutest moment ever. He will now sit on the potty on command and smile shouting HOORA HOORA! We are not pushing the pottying but want him to familiarize himself with the potty so it is not a scary experience for him we want it to be a positive one.

NEW YEAR'S EVE

Tomorrow Greg and I are getting out of work early and headind out to a romantic dinner sans baby. Polina is watching Ryan a little later tomorrow she will feed Ryan dinner and get him in his jammies while Greg and I enjoy an early dinner at Pane Vino in Westport.

TEETHING WOES

Ryan was a bit overtired tonight before dinner and appears to be cutting 2 molars, and seriously like 6 others, 2 sets of uppers including his eye teeth, and a set of lowers. He was extremely irritable not his norm and nothing we did seemed to calm him down. We tried giving him a snack, rocking him inthe rocking chair (his favorite), self feeder with apple (baby mutiny), tried ice (repeat baby mutniny!), tried nursing, tried singing and walking around the house, nothing seemed to do the trick for more than a few seconds! Finally we gave a dose of Tylenol and tried a bath in the ducky tub and played with some bubbles (his favorite...something magical about bubbles!) and he was cured! Thankfully we are almost certain it was teething he has been drooling like mad and putting everything in his mouth, gagging himself with his hand, and I could feel the teeth erupting on his poor sensitive gums. He was so happy after his bath. I tried to give him some meatloaf, mashed potatoes and broccoli for dinner but again their was baby mutiny going on he ended up only eating the broccoli and a few bites of mashed potatoes...I think he mouth was too tender to chew the meat. Oh I have to add that Dylan LOVES baby mutiny during meals! He sits right under the high chair with his head up waiting for baby mutiny to occur! We think it is his favorite time of the day!

Here are a few links to some of our ebay items we hope to add to them soon!(you will probably have to copy and paste in your browser)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESEX:IT&item=150200540006&_trksid=p3984.cSELL.m315.lVI

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESEX:IT&item=150200524905&_trksid=p3984.cSELL.m315.lVI

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESEX:IT&item=150200545868&_trksid=p3984.cSELL.m315.lVI

Wishing everyone a very happy healthy 2008!

Ryan meets Santa

2007-12-23T21:52:00.001-05:00

Ryan got to meet Santa today at his friend Caroline's house. Santa made an appearance for all the children at the party. Ryan really enjoyed his visit with Santa and was running around the house looking for him. He even got to sit on his lap for a picture. Thanks to the Scott Family for hosting such a fantastic holiday party! Here are a few more pictures from the party.

2007-12-23 Ryan and Santa 2007

Christmas Preview

2007-12-22T22:47:00.000-05:00

Today we had a little pre-Christmas celebration with the Flynn's unfortunately Auntie Erin and Uncle Brian, and Great Uncle Steve were not able to make it. Erin and Brian had a leaky roof in their guest bedroom closet and Uncle Steve's hot water heater flooded his condo. Auntie Jen and Uncle Paddy are celebrating with the O'Reilly's in Sweden this Christmas so it was just 4 of us in Fairfield this year. We were so excited to see Grammy and Granddad today and we had a wonderful visit. Thanks to Grammy for providing dessert and some yummy side dishes. Thanks for making the trip to visit us today we had so much fun. And Ryan just loves his new rocking horse. Here is a little Christmas preview of a rocking horse given to Ryan by his grandparents.

Did I mention that Ryan LOVES to entertain himself with the laundry basket? He loves to climb in and out and in and out. It will capture his attention for literally at least 20 minutes which buys me time to fold, sort and put laundry away, strip bed sheets and make beds, tidy up the bedrooms and the like....every second that I can occupy this busy body I try to do a little something here, a little organizing there if you know what I mean....and you all know I am a total neat freak! So I have to take advantage while he is playing happily! Take a look.

Here is Ryan playing with some wooden blocks Daddy brought home from his trip to Japan last week....again Ryan happily played with them in the big red chair for close to 20 minutes before he started throwing them at Dylan and I ouch! And boy does he have good aim...of course he thought that was so funny and it is hard not to react to wooden blocks being pelted your way!

Also Here is a cute picture of Ryan brushing his teeth....his favorite thing to do these days. He loves to brush his teeth...I only hope this continues once the novelty has worn off!

Just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas to all our family and friends we hope to catch up with all of you soon! Looking forward to our visit with the Strattons on Christmas day!

Hooray Daddy's Home!

2007-12-16T20:41:00.000-05:00

Hooray Daddy is finally home from traveling the far east...was visiting Tokyo, Shanghai, and Beijing. He really enjoyed his business trip and got to meet a lot of interesting people and got to have a little fun too. He went to the Chinese Opera, ate authentic Chinese food (which by the way in case you are ever in China consists of Duck tongue and shredded jellyfish) needless to say Greg prefers American Chinese food. I have to laugh he even insisted that we go out to dinner to our favorite Chinese restaurant The Little Kitchen in Westport last night so that he could eat some "real' Chinese food. He also did some bargaining at a Chinese silk market. He describes it as a big huge warehouse of "pirated" goods everything knock off you could imagine. He said it was 7 floors of wall to wall merchandise. The merchants would yell to him "mista mista how much money you got?" Greg said that was a fun experience he came home with a huge duffel bag of stuff for us. Don't worry no toys with lead paint.

So we spent a relaxing weekend at home. Greg got to spend a lot of quality time with Ryan. Here are a few things that Ryan can do now:

When asked the following...Where are your teeth? Ryan can point to his teeth or yours?
Can point to your belly button or his.
Can't point to his nose but can say it.
Can turn light switches off can sort of turn them on with help.
Can pucker up and kiss you when asked
will open his arms and come running over when asked to hug me
Can say Mama, Daddy, Diyyan, thank you, hot, nose, Na Na for nurse
Can sign more, light, eat when he is hungry, and milk
We all know Ryan is always hungry but he will actually go over to the refrigerator when he wants milk and he goes over to his high chair when he wants to eat.
He loves to do whatever mommy is doing...loves to brush his teeth and his hair
loves to help mommy clean up in the kitchen...likes to sweep with the broom and throw things in the trash (not always trash though)
Will sometimes put his toys away in the baskets when it is time to clean up
Likes to play in the laundry basket and put clothes in the basket and take them out
Has become part mountain climber...a recent development...will actually climb on/off the couch and ottoman, climb and stand on the arm of the couch, climb and stand on his learning table and then on the coffee table (yeah we had to move the learning table to the center of the room b/c he now only uses it as a step stool not to play with)
Has mastered the stairs going up and down!
While shoveling snow on Friday before greg came home I gated him in the kitchen and left the door open so I could keep an eye on him. He just stood there staring at me with his face pressed up against the glass with his tongue out. It was really cute.
And he loves to clap his hands and dance to music.
Now literally RUNS around the house giggling/squeeling in delight if he gets out of the gates.
Oh and his most favorite thing to do is tip Dylan's water bowl over....poor puppy had learned to drink and eat when he can...he never knows when or if we will remember to put his water/food bowls back down.
Oh as Greg calls it "baby mutiny" when he throws food off his tray he has lost interest in....yes even his arrowroot cookie today at dinner while Greg and I were trying to scarf down our food. We will resort to feeding him first then feeding ourselves after he has gone to bed so we don't have to inhale or abandon our dinner. Or we will end up with "baby mutiny" all over the dining room floor. We actually think he may have regretted throwing his arrowroot cookie because he peered down at it while frowning and pointing....oh well.

Could think of so much more that the list could go on forever. Ryan has changed so much can't even remember where we were only one year ago. Seems like time is going by so fast. We can't believe he will be 14 months tomorrow. He is so full of life full of energy. He is constantly moving and constanly learning new tricks. I love trying to imagine the world through his eyes.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I heard everyone in MA got tons more snow today. My parents got a total of 15 inches. Maybe we will have a white Christmas this year.

Bath Time.....not so much fun for mommy...

2007-12-12T21:08:00.000-05:00

Okay I know this is going to sound really really gross but lately bath time has not been that much fun... for me anyways... um yeah Ryan has been totally pooing his brains out in the tub luckily for me at the very end but still...YUCK! And it has just been with in the last 2 weeks at first I thought okay maybe it is just a phase but today he did it again and it was a ton of poo.....and usually Greg is there to help me clean up but not today. He is still in China will be home very soon HOORAY! We do miss him a ton but he is enjoying his visit there..okay back to the poo...um yeah today I let him play a little in the tub a while after we washed up and he went to stand up and then sat down and stood up and that is a tell tale sign that Ryan is about to poo... and poo he did but I scooped him up just in time before he sat back down. I managed to pour half a jug of bleach down the tub just to get all the poo cleaned. So I guess no more play time in the tub...let's just get in...get clean... and get out before we can get dirty again. But then will he poo all over me while I am getting him dressed because if so I would rather he poo in the tub.... HELP, any suggestions? I told Grammy Sharon that he did this again tonight and she laughed and said "gee I am glad he did not do that for Grampy and I when we gave him his bath this past weekend....." Any advice for me? Is this early potty training? Help me out guys!

Anyways Ryan and I are gearing up for the big storm tomorrow. I have work tomorrow instead of Friday and Ryan will go to Polina's. So I have an extra pair of socks in the car with my snow boots, a brush for my car, extra food for Ryan in case Polina has to give him dinner, Pj's just in case I get stuck, hmmmm what else? Got the snow shovel and paw thaw near the back door. Plenty of gas in my car... Not sure how long it will take to get home but it did take me 2 hours to get home last Friday in the snowy/wintry mix we got right before rush hour. Hopefully if it gets bad all the patients will cancel and I will take off early.

Greg should be home sometime Friday if all goes well with the weather and delays. He has called everyday to check up on us. He said that China has been alot of fun so far but he is totally jet lagged his business partner is also jet lagged and has been over sleeping poor... Greg has sort of been on his own in the mornings. He got to do a little shopping today at some giant flea market....he called me all excited as they were leaving and said
"I got Ryan a cute Polo golf jacket and a sweater."
me: "oh cute what size did you get like a 2T or 3T?"
Greg says " no I guesstimated.... the sizes are all in Chinese"
me: "oh duh"
So cute to know that he is thinking of us. Ryan misses his Daddy and looks for him every morning. It is so cute it just breaks my heart. We hope Greg has a safe trip home and we can't wait to see him soon.

Hope everyone gets home safely tomorrow! Grammy and Granddad are so lucky they are in Florida enjoying the warm Florida sunshine and playing lots of golf. Hope you guys are enjoying your vacation. We miss you.

Thanks Grammy Grampy and Uncle Freddie

2007-12-10T22:56:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note.....Thanks so much to Grammy, Grampy and Uncle Freddie who stayed with Ryan and I over the weekend and helped us get out the door this morning while Greg is away traveling. I get lonesome especially on the weekends because that is when we all spend time together as a family. So I was so ecstatic to have the company this weekend! It was such an enormous help you have no idea. I was able to spend time with my family, finish our Christmas shopping, make Christmas cookies with mom, go to the gym, get extra sleep, and get out the door for work on time this morning (I usually run about 10-15 min. late). It brings tears of joy to know that I have such loving families on both sides who will go out of there way to be there for Ryan and I while Greg is traveling. It is not easy but we are getting used to it now with a little help from our families! Thanks guys could not have asked for a better family or better in-laws! Glad we are all so close. And we wanted you all to know how much Greg and I truly appreciate all that you do for us. Looking forward to seeing everyone again in a few weeks!

Locked out yikes!

2007-12-05T22:07:00.001-05:00

Yes I knew it would happen at some point...goes something like this. Ryan and I were on our way to the car after sing and sign class and chatting it up with Sarah and Caroline as we approached our car and Ryan decided to play with my car keys (yes I am totally blaming this one on him LOL) and of couse set off my car alarm so now everyone is staring at us in this strip mall parking lot and here I am fumbling around with my keys in the car trying to shut this stinking alarm off! Thankfully I was holding Ryan I dropped the keys on the driver seat stepped back and the door shut...Yes locked with the keys in it thankfully not with Ryan in it...so here we were standing outside in the freezing cold and it was snowing. But thankfully Sarah was there with us too and she kept me calm told me to go back inside to the music studio and ask Leslie (the instuctor) to use her phone to call AAA. Leslie was so great she sat Ryan down in the studio with some toys while I was kept on hold FOREVER with AAA and no I did not have my member ID it is on my keys locked in the car duh! Anyways Sarah stayed with me until I got off the phone with them and she even gave me Caroline's snacks for Ryan because we all know hungry Ryan is not a happy Ryan! I did have a snack and his milk locked in the car. Sarah was so sweet she even let me use her cell so I could call Greg but there was no answer. But all was well Ryan was happy all we had to do was wait for AAA it only took them an hour. In the mean time Ryan played, ate Caroline's yummy snack, and then we decided to trial the next music class for 1 1/2 year olds while we were waiting and before we knew it the time went by and in less than 5 sec the AAA guy had our car open. I kept saying to myself...gee i hope this guy does not moonlight as a car jacker..it was that easy! Gotta love AAA have had to use them alot thankfully not recently though. Anyways not exaclty how I wanted to spend the afternoon it could have been much worse.... I had wanted to pick up dinner at Soup Thyme on my way home they have THE BEST soup you will ever eat but they were closed by the time we left...oh well. I came home and made homemade butternut squash soup...it was so delicous and easy too. Got the recipe off food network. Anyways thought I would share. Like the title says more of the same today...adventures in toddlerhood....

Sorry now new pictures left my camera charger at my parents...bummer...hope to get it back this weekend!

Weekend with the Babysitter

2007-12-04T20:18:00.001-05:00

So Greg and I left Ryan with a babysitter for the first time at night.....I was a little nervous but everything went smoothly, thankfully. We found the best babysitter she is an elementary education/psychology major in a 5 year master's program. In my desperate search for a babysitter I had posted signs at Sacred Heart but only in Nursing, Education, and Chemistry/Biology departments. I had a few inquiries but this sitter seemed like the best fit for us. I never knew how hard it would be to find a babysitter and find the RIGHT sitter for our family. You see I am super neurotic about certain things..like setting the rules of our house. Also it is quite different setting ground rules to someone other than a close friend or family member. I felt sort of mean....what do you guys think about these rules?

1. Ryan is only allowed to eat in his high chair- (Demonstrated Heimlich maneuver) no wandering with food
2. Pacifier and bunny blanket stay in the crib for nap time only
3. No TV for Ryan want to prolong this as long as possible
4. Light house work...translating to please pick up the toys and clean the dishes ect.
5. Please try to be on time

I know these seem like basic common sense rules but you would be surprised. I took a lot of advice from Sarah (Caroline's mom) before deciding on a sitter. Thanks for all the helpful tips!

So anyways sorry to get side tracked...We ended up leaving Ryan with our sitter on Sat for my work Christmas party. She was left to put our sleeping giant to bed and then left to deal with Dylan the puppy who tends to bark a lot when I am away. She said he only fussed for a few minutes when she put him down and then he was asleep. I told her to call us around 9 PM so I would not spend the entire night worrying if he slept or not that way I could enjoy the rest of the night and not have to call and be the neurotic mother that I am. So She did a fantastic job and cleaned up the toys and the dishes. And the best part is Ryan really likes her a lot.

We left him with the sitter again on Sunday so we could do a little Christmas shopping....Greg said "wow she gets to see Ryan in full force and all his babying she does not know what she is in for" You see on Saturday night she only had him for an hour and a half before he went to bed for the night...but Sunday she had to give him lunch and a snack and put him down for a nap. Like I said earlier she is doing a fantastic job and Ryan really likes her alot. He flirts and bats his eyelashes at her it is so cute. He even did not notice when we left on Sunday.

So yeah leaving Ryan with a sitter was not easy for me. It is very hard for me to leave him..I don't want to miss anything or have anything happen to him...But I realize now he is a year old and I feel a bit more comfortable now that he is older. I do feel that Greg and I deserved this night and day out alone sans baby. We did miss him the entire time though but it was so much easier shopping and running around the cowded mall without lugging around a stroller. Greg and I got to spend some great quality time together before he leaves for his trip it was so nice! We are so thankful that we found the right sitter for our needs.

Yesterday when I picked up Ryan at Polina's her husband was playing with him and he called him Dada...I though it was so cute...he does call Greg Dada or Daddy, but he also calls Uncle Freddie Dada too so we are thinking he at least associates Dada with men who knows....

Today we went over to Sarah's for a play date. Ryan just adores her baby dolls and Caroline has a little baby carriage and he just loves putting the baby in the carriage and pushing her around. He even gave the baby a ride on the rocking horse. So cute all the babies seem drawn to this baby carriage. Ryan and his friends are at the stage where they really enjoy pushing/pulling anything, and they love the concept of putting things in a basket and taking them out over and over again. Ryan and Caroline tooks turns on the rocking horse and sat together rocking in the big chair.

Ryan also had a new found love to play in our upstairs stand up shower. He loves to step inside and practice stacking the shampoo bottles up and knocking them down. It makes it easy for me to to ready in the morning but he ends up getting a little wet sometimes. He almost dropped his little bunny blanket in the toilet today (practicing his favorite skill putting things in and taking them out)....thankfully I caught him just in the nick of time...phew...gotta remember to keep that toilet down at all times. That would have completely sabotaged nap time and been a complete disaster!

Hope Grammy and Grandad are enjoying the warm sunny Florida weather. We are all feezing cold up here. Miss everyone and we hope to see you all soon!

I Love Daddy!

2007-11-28T21:31:00.001-05:00

2007-11-26 Ryan 13 months

Here are some pictures from the past weekend. Hope you all enjoy. Some are from Uncle Brian's 30th birthday party, Thanksgiving with the Flynn's and the Strattons and Ryan in his rocking chair. We are so happy to say that Ryan has started saying DADDY...Yay! He will now recognize Greg and call him Daddy instead of Da Da. It is so cute he gets so excited to see his Daddy now. So happy to say Greg missed the boat on the trip to India...his passport was going to expire next Feb and they denied his visa only allowing him to enter unless it was a dire emergency. So yay and his trip to China got moved back to next week so he can come to my Holiday party this weekend. We are so excited to have him home this week.

Ryan had his sing and sign class today. He is learning more and more...today he actually followed some simple instructions by placing some dishes in a container when it was time to clean up the toys. Also one of the girls in his class said "no no no" to Ryan as he was banging on some cabinets and she escorted him back to the circle to my lap....the teacher commented on how Lily was telling him to stop banging on the cabinets and return to the circle with mommy. It was so cute! He also loves to dance in the class too. As soon as the music was turned on he started moving his hips and swinging his arms side to side. We really have to get it on video it is soooo cute. He even danced for Frank, Teresia, and Sofia today (our next door neighbors)

So I wanted to share that it can be difficult to get groceries done with a grabby toddler. We went shopping yesterday and for some reason Ryan kept grabbing everything in close range of the shopping cart...weather it be those plastic produce bags, the produce itself, bags of anything you name it. I finally just gave him my cell phone to keep him happy he kept grabbing at my purse...then he thought it was so funny to throw it on the floor and then whine when I took it away I finally said enough but he whined some more and people started looking so I gave I gave in yet again. Then as I was loading up the car I almost forgot my cell phone in the back of the shopping cart that would have been disastrous I am sure it is bound to happen one of these crazy days.

Next stop was A & S fine foods for some meat...they have the best in town but to my dismay there were no parking spaces at the deli and I really needed meat...Darn it why did I pass up the meat at the grocery store? Anyways I had to wait until someone pulled out so I could pull in so Ryan in tow off to the deli we went....
Goes something like this.......
They sort of know us there and talk to Ryan and all was good he was standing near the glass peering through looking at all the raw meat there were a few people ahead of us and of course a few seconds before out turn Ryan found the shelve at his eye level with all the bags of single serving chips and he started grabbing and throwing them around the deli...I am chasing after him trying to put the bags back neatly on the shelf and I hear...
"next in line can I help you"?.....
I run back over give my order.....Ryan bolts for the canned goods...
I run back pick him up and now he starts to fuss trying to shimmy out of my arms....
I did not want to make a scene others started looking....I put him down....
"something else miss" From behind the counter...
I glance over to see Ryan is batting his eyelashes and flirting with the girl who came over to say hello. I think to myself good distract him from more destruction please....
I turn back and finish up my order. No sooner and I reaching to get my meat and I see Ryan going for the small green hand held shopping baskets and yes he toppled them all over...
CRASH they went lucky for for me the cute girl Ryan was flirting with said...
"oh how cute let me get that"...I am thinking to myself smiling while grinding my teeth yeah..really cute.

Note to self settle for meat from the grocery store...,,even if it is not quite as good as the meat from the Italian Deli....must learn to lower standards a tad to help improve efficiency while food shopping with a toddler.

So yeah my point was that I had booked an extra day with Polina today in anticipation of Greg;s travel plans I thought I could use the time to run errands because I thought it was going to be alone this week but as it turns out I was able to do some fun stuff for myself...went to the Gym, did a little shopping and stopped by work for an in-service on our new Optifast medical nutritional weight loss program we will be starting in Jan. Really looking forward to this program rumored to have a high success rate and patients lose on average 50-75 lbs in the first 12 weeks...seems still a bit unrealistic to me but we will see what happens. The patients will get their visits with us covered by insurance if their BMI is greater than 35 with co-morbid conditions such as HTN, Diabetes, High Lipids, and such. the patients have to buy all the food which consists of these really yummy shakes, bars, pudding, and soup.....and that is all they eat for 12 weeks. The best part is it is managed by a physician and myself so the patients will know what is in the food is safe. I tried the shakes myself they are quite tasty just don't know if I could eat only that for 12 weeks straight. They provide 100% balance of carbs/protein/fat and all the vitamins/minerals you would need. Dr. menon claims that he drank a shake for breakfast and it was so filling he was not hungry until lunch. Basically our new program is a healthy alternative to bariatric surgery. The people at Optifast claim to have 80-90% compliance and drop our rates are low providing we offer the proper encouragement and couseling on a week to week basis. I am optimistic about this new program weight loss has always been an extreme interest of mine clincially so I will keep you updated with the program.....geez between this and the diabetes study I will be busy...but busy is good! Good news the study is closed for screening..Yay! less work for me. Glad this job is keeping me on my toes and I am truly enjoying every second. How lucky I am to enjoy the work I do and still be able to spend time at home with Ryan....so what if it involves chasing him through the Italian Deli...

Not too much else going on here. We are just so happy to have Daddy home for now even if it is just for a little while. Hope everyone has a great week. And talk to you all soon.

Holiday Flynn Family Extravaganza

2007-11-25T10:57:00.000-05:00

So our Thanksgiving holiday kicked off on Tuesday night. We packed up the car and picked up Auntie Jen and Uncle Paddy for the trip home to Medfield. Thanks to Auntie Jen for driving everyone safely. Greg and I were too pooped to drive. He had been away for a golf outing and did not get home until very early Tuesday morning then had to work and I had to work back to back days mon and tues to get Friday off so we were both a bit too tired to make the long drive to Medfield. We had strategically planned to leave after Ryan had his dinner and bedtime bath. We put him in his warm fleece jammies and off we went. About a quarter into the ride I felt a wave of panic that I forgot to pack Ryan's little blue bunny blankie and his pacifier both are needed to get Ryan to sleep at night. These were the last two items left to be packed from the morning... would we have to turn all the way around and head back to Fairfield to retrieve these precious items? Phew I founf them hidden in the side pocket to Ryan's overnight bag. Once I gave him his pacifier and bunny he fell soundly asleep in the back seat. Ryan uses these items for comfort at night and for naps. You would not believe all the gear we had to pack for the trip home... our SUV was so packed poor Auntie Jen could not see out the back. It took Ryan a little while again to settle down in his pack and play at Grammy and Granddads. We felt bad for the poor guy he woke up in the middle of the night to unfamiliar surroudings and go scared. Greg decided to sleep on the floor in Ryan's room so in case he woke in the night he would not get scared. What a good Daddy.

We enjoyed a leasurely moring on Wednesday it was such a relief not to have to fight the traffic the day before the holiday. Even better was we could hand Ryan off to Grammy and Granddad in the morning so Greg and I could get a little extra sleep. Grammy and Granddad took care of Ryan so Greg and I could do a little shopping at the Natick mall too. Then we celebrated Uncle Brian's 30th birthday and everyone came over for dinner. Auntie Erin made a delicious birthday dinner and we had cake too. Then Auntie Erin and Uncle Brian headed to East Granby to spend Thanksgiving with the Majewski's. We missed you guys but glad you had fun and we heard the turkey trot was alot of fun.

Thursday we spend a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Flynn's Great Gram and Granddad came over we also saw others from the Flynn extended family. Grammy Nancy made such a beautiful Turkey day feast. Ryan enjoyed his first turkey dinner with all the fixins. He got a little overwhelmed at first but enjoyed the company and seeing everyone. Ryan tired everyone out running around the Flynn house. Thankfully we were able to really wear him out so he napped and slept well...phew a huge relief for us. Dylan and Sabrina (the flynn family dog) even got along a little better this time around. He seemed right at home.

Friday we headed home to Agawam for my 10 year high school reunion. It was a lot of fun I got to catch up with a lot of old freinds. We did not stay that long it was really not our scene but it was nice to get out and see everyone.

Greg was suppossed to leave for India on Saturday but unfortunatley for him his working Indian visa had expired so he now has to renew it on Monday then head out. Lucky for him his boss's visa had expired as well so it did not make him look so bad. Yay we got to spend 2 extra days with daddy before he heads out to India and then to China this will be the longest time he will be gone nearly 2 weeks :(

So Saturday Greg and I got to enjoy a special date night while Grammy and Grampy gave Ryan his dinner, bedtime bath, and put him to bed. Such a good baby did not give them any fuss at all. Greg and I enjoyed dinner at Judies our favorite spot in Amherst brought back lots of good memories of UMASS then we went to movies and saw American Gangster......such a great movie I highly recommend it I mean we do not get out much and this was totally worth the wait! What a fantastic date night for Greg and I.

Now it is Sunday morning and Grammy and Grampy have already been up chasing after Ryan and they had a fun trip to the grocery store..Ryan loves to ride in the shopping cart! Greg and I got some much needed rest. Now sadly it is time to pack up the car and head back to Fairfield. Hopefully we wont hit too much traffic headed home.

Just wanted to say a special thank you to both sets of Grandparents for spending lots of time with Ryan so Greg and I could rest up. It will be a tough 2 weeks with Greg away but we have lots of activities to keep us busy. We cherish spending time with our families and yes they do adore Ryan as much as we do. It is so amazing how Ryan can capture the attention of everyone in the room and put a smile on their face. He is such a bringer of joy and this will be a Thanksgiving holiday weekend that he will never forget! We love you all and thanks again for everything!

Weekend with Grammy and Granddad

2007-11-18T21:17:00.000-05:00

Weekend recap goes a little like this....Starting with Thursday we had a play date at Sophia's and Ryan had so much fun with all his girlfriends- Sophia, Caroline, and Lila. So funny to watch them all "toddle around" seems like not that long ago we were all trying to keep them from crawling off the picnic blanket now we are all trying to keep them from running away. These toddlers have alot of energy! Then on Thursday the mom's enjoyed a fun girl's night out at Sakura my personal favorite Japanese restaurant. It was so nice to get out with just the girls and not have to worry about entertaining the toddlers. I actually got to sit down to a nice dinner without interruption..gasp my first uninterrupted meal in a while. Greg and I usually inhale our food I hardly ever get to finish my meal these days because Ryan also inhales his food too. It was a fun night out something we have to do more often!

2007-11-18 Ryan 13 months

Friday the Flynns came down to stay with Ryan while Greg and I enjoyed a fun night out in the city for his holiday party. It was at Tuscan Square in Rockefeller center. The food was fantastic and all of Greg's co-workers were so nice. It was great to meet some of them. We even danced a little. What a late night though we did not get in until nearly 1 AM the latest we have been out in over a year. 2 nights out in a row was alot for me thank goodness the Flynn's took Ryan in the morning so we could sleep in a little. They really enjoyed their visit with Ryan. Even Auntie Jen came in from the city to visit for a while. We enjoyed dinner at Bangalore on Saturday night together before Auntie Jen caught her train back to the city.

Today we enjoyed a restful day at home Grammy and Granddad played with Ryan in the morning while I hit the gym and ran some errands. Greg left at 3 Am for South Carolina for a golf outing with Neil. Grammy and Granddad got to spend the day with Ryan. He is just bursting with energy and I think he tuckerd out his grandparents I know he tuckers me out everyday! Ryan just loves his grandparents so much and really enjoyed the weekend visit. Him and I were so sad to see them leave!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. We will be spending Turkey day with the Flynn's this year. Ryan can't wait to see his Great grandparents. Miss you all.

Finally on the Mend!

2007-11-14T21:13:00.000-05:00

Hi So Ryan is finally on the mend. He had a little cold that started last Friday with a runny nose and little sad cough....no fever though. We have been cooped up for the past 5 days it was the first day Ryan has been out of the house except to see Polina on Friday and Monday. We spent a quiet restful weekend at home so Ryan could rest up. We decided to go to our music class today but skipped LLL meeting yesterday due to a runny nose. I did not want to be that mother who brings a sick child out. I even contemplated all day weather we would make it to music class today but we did and surprisingly he did well aside from a little whining and a slight cough. He is also drooling like crazy poor Ryan he is getting his eye teeth and first year molars all at once I can see the eye teeth poking through and I can feel the molars too. I did break down and I gave him his very first dose of Tylenol today due to the teething whoes....he was whiney and clingy after class and seemed so unhappy so I figured he was in some pain. It seemed to help ease him a bit he ate dinner ( 3 of Grammie's yummy meatballs, squash and whole wheat couscous and half an apple for dessert) no lack of appetite here and I figured if he had a sore throat he would not want to eat. I am guessing all the drooling is attributed to teething and not a sore throat. Anyways he went to sleep without a peep, thankfully.

We decided to start interviewing for a local babysitter for Ryan. Although I am sure his grandparent's don't mind the excuse for a visit to take care of Ryan we really do need someone local at night...gasp...maybe Greg and I could even go out together at night for dinner alone. Right now we have both sets of grandparents babysitting for our holiday parties but we really need someone local. So I decided to post flyers in search of a babysitter at Sacred Heart University in the school of nursing, education, and biology areas. I have already heard back from a few inquiries that seem promising. So I will let you know how it goes.

Update on the diabetes study...After 5 screened participants I have 2 patients who actually met the criteria to enlist into the study. They have passed the screening process and are now eligible for RUN IN which is a month long period where the patient actually has to take a placebo three times a day (they think they are getting the actual drug but everyone gets placebo during this time period to ensure compliance) if they have less than an 80% compliance with the placebo rate then they are disqualified from the study. Yes I actually have to count all the pills they return. Only then after they complete RUN IN are they actually randomized to the study. This study is really a great learning experience and I know we are trying to find a new drug for diabetes but it is sooooooooo much work and somehow I am stuck doing EVERYTHING......identifying the patients, screening the patients aliquotting all the blood for the lab (I feel like a chemist), and doing all the data entry (I am sooo not good with computers)...not to mention I have no idea what I am doing and I am constantly on the phone with the people from Harvard and GWU all the while I am supposed to be seeing patients and precepting an APRN student form UCONN. It is alot for me but let's just say my days seem to fly by. But I am sad to say it will be like this for a while.... once the patient is randomized to the study it is 8 weeks long plus a follow up period..the screening process alone is roughly 6-8 weeks so that will be until next Spring at least.

Looking forward to Seeing the Flynn's this weekend for a visit. They are watching Ryan so Greg and I can go into the city for his work party on Friday. It should be a lot of fun. We used to go into the city all the time and I can't believe I have not been since Ryan has been born. Hope everyone has a great week and Talk to you all soon. Hopefully Ryan will be feeling better by the weekend! Miss you all a ton!

Quote of the day....

2007-11-11T13:19:00.000-05:00

Okay Greg and I woke up this morning and as usual Ryan was "babying" around as Greg calls it. Ryan was on his usual path of destruction! Loves to bang,hit, throw things around. He was throwing things in the dirty laundry bin and running all around upstairs. He took the phone and started pulling at the cords and trying to put them in his mouth.....Greg looked at me and said "Are we in the terrible two's early?" LOL LOL! Ha I told him welcome to my world on a daily basis! More to follow.

JF

Ryan's First Haircut

2007-11-09T21:08:00.000-05:00

2007-11-09 Ryan 12 months

So Wednesday I decided to give Ryan's wavy locks a little snip...frankly I was tired of Greg always saying he had a mullet in the back. I really wanted no part in getting his haircut at all but one of Ryan's favorite past times involves him twirling his fingers around the hair near his ears in his highchair while he is eating thereby leaving caked on broccoli, melted cheese, sweet potato (whatever he happens to be eating that day) becomes permanently embedded in his sideburns until bath time. So yes we decided to give him a little trim. Surprisingly he sat still and those curious little fingers tried to grab the scissors a few times...gotta love toddlers with sharp objects. Anyways we managed to get through the first haircut but looking back now I feel so bad for poor Ryan. I took way too much off the top and left most of the mullet in the back..oh well as Greg says it will grow back right?! He is still cute even if now he has a bigger forehead. I think through all of this I have learned a valuable lesson that is to have your child's haircut be done by a professional or risk having them walk around with a "bowl cut on top and a mullet in the back" Checkout the pictures and see for yourself I really did not get a good picture of the back but I will try and get one for another post.

On another note we have managed to get our anorexic puppy Dylan to bulk up a bit...you can still feel all ribs and bones when you pick him up although they are not as prominent....I should open a homemade baby/dog food business I could make alot of money marketing this..anyways Dylan now eats slow cooked kosher chicken with carrots/celery/onion with chicken broth and whole wheat couscous with a scoop of dry kibble. I know this is pathetic but it is literally the only way we can get him to eat anything at all. I have tried every dog food under the sun from dry kibble to wet canned food..he even snubs his nose to all types of treats like the expensive organic pumpkin treats (which Ryan really enjoys I am embarrassed to say that I think Ryan has eaten more of the treats than Dylan has not really but Dylan hides them all over the house and you know who finds them and thinks they are cookies for him to eat..NOT)So I have resorted to once a week making a huge kosher chicken in the slow cooker with veggies and Greg, Ryan and I will eat it for dinner then Dylan will eat the left overs for a week then the process repeats. Well it beats throwing the food out...Ryan and Greg are so not big fans of left overs. So that is the story with Dylan we are happy to say he no longer needs his doggie Meclizine for shorter car rides 1.5 hours or less but I think the trip to Medfield this Turkey day will require us to drug him with half a dose...you never know we might run into stop and go traffic and that just sends him over the edge. He is so anxious in the car sometimes but lately he has really mellowed out, thankfully. But I am sad to say when it comes to having visitors over the house he still goes into full fledged ATTACK mode regardless if you are the mailman, the cable man, a friend, a neighbor...it is quite embarrassing but that is Dylan in a nutshell our favorite family pet would not trade him for a million dollars.

Unfortunately Ryan woke this morning with a runny nose sneezing and coughing...I think he caught a small cold. Polina said his nose ran like a faucet all day..poor little pumpkin. He acted like himself, playing, napping eating a ton as usual. I am not too worried I just to hate to see his little nose all goopy and runny and his poor little cough. Poor Ryan he was snoring like a freight train last night...At least I am pretty sure it was Ryan and not Greg... It is so sad to see your child ill even if it is just a cold. We had to cancel our plans for tomorrow we were supposed to head down to Stamford to meet our friends they have a 2 1/2 yr old and a new baby and the last thing we want to do is infect their entire family especially not little Arik. So we will reschedule for another time. Not too much planned for the weekend just want to rest up so Ryan gets better soon. Hope you are all doing well. Miss you have a great weekend.

XOXO RYAN

Happy Birthday Grampy!

2007-11-06T20:35:00.000-05:00

2007-11-06 Ryan 12 months

Weekend re-cap (I know I am a bit slow it is already Tuesday) We headed up North this past weekend to celebrate Grampy Fred's birthday. Unfortunately Grammy Sharon was not feeling well over the weekend but thank goodness she is on the mend:) Greg made my dad a fantastic birthday dinner- chicken Marsala, lemon broccoli and rosemary roasted potatoes (Thanks Martha!) It was delicious and instead of birthday cake we had pumpkin pie yum. My dad, Greg, his dad and his friend John all enjoyed a round of golf at the Ranch on Sunday. We had a lot of fun even though hit was a quick visit. Grammy and Grampy took out my old rocking chair that I used as a small child and Ryan just loved it. He really enjoys rocking in the big "grown up" rocking chair here and at Grammy's too. He also amused himself with the laundry basket for at least a half hour. He kept climbing in and out and wanted Grampy to push him around in the basket. It was amazing that he actually knew how to get out of the basket all by himself...we only had to hold the sides of the basket so it did not tip over. But he knew to hoist his chunky legs over the side one at a time. Oh by the way just to let you all know Ryan know how to climb to the top of the stairs and get down on his own. To get down he goes backwards on his tummy...not that we are encouraging this at all but good to know. Polina actually had a split level ranch with 4 -5 steps that he freely goes up and down with supervision of course.

Ryan and I hosted a play group with others from the neighborhood today it was a lot of fun. We joined the Fairfield mom's club and they sort of section off the chapters according to where in Fairfield you live. That places us in the North chapter. I have to say this small play group is great! But overall the moms in this club are not that friendly and some are rather snooty and they did not make Ryan and I feel welcome to the few events we tried to attend. We prefer those our age in the play group. There are so many babies Ryan's age in the area most with in walking distance to the house. We had 9 month old twins, Billy and Allie, 10 month old Tommy, and 12 month old Max. Max and Ryan were so funny...all they did the entire play date was get into trouble together and eat Cheerios! The twins were so cute they just started crawling a few weeks ago and remained stationary for the first 45 minutes I think they were scared of the bigger babies either that or they were just taking it all in. This mom is a super mom she showed up at the front door with a baby in the Bjorn one on her hip and two diaper bags one on each shoulder! I was amazed at how she managed to get out the door the same way...I had offered to help but she said she was so used to managing them on her own...wow! I can now picture this mom in my mind every time Ryan and I are having an off day. I don't know how she does it. Anyways the playgroup was a success and everyone seemed to have a good time. We will be meeting every two weeks and it is nice because we can rotate hosting the group and we are small enough not to feel overwhelmed.

So Ryan had the all American dinner tonight. Parmesan chicken fingers- baked in the oven- another Martha recipe, Mac and cheese (from a box...come on I made the chicken fingers from scratch I did not have time for the homemade mac and cheese too..hey at least it was Annie's organic)and a broccoli/cauliflower puree combo...to my surprise Ryan still prefers his veggies pureed and will eat more this way...he is very particular about the texture of his food. Then I gave him a little homemade pumpkin bread for dessert which he loved. Then it was off to bed. Surprisingly the time change has not affected Ryan too much still sleeping well (knock on wood). Sorry I have to add this too. I have been trying to brush his teeth at night the pediatrician recommended we do this to prevent cavities. Ryan does not mind this at all afterward I usually give him the toothbrush to practice with and he sees me wetting it in the sink...so today he decided to wet his tooth brush in the dog bowl and stick it back in his mouth (gasp luckily I caught him in the act before the brush hit his mouth and I had just scrubbed Dylan's water bowl) But part of me was mad that he dipped his baby Einstein tooth brush in the dog bowl and part of me was thinking wow this kid is really smart that he wanted to wet his toothbrush. hence the new title of the blog...adventures in toddler hood. Kerri like Caroline and Reese Ryan is totally obsessed with Dylan and like Reese...Dylan takes so much abuse from Ryan pulling his tail and his hair and stealing his toys...I think he puts up with it because he is so terrified and does not know what else to do but stay still and take the abuse or run like hell!

Hope you guys all enjoy the rest of the week. Miss you all and hope to see you soon.

Get to know your neighbors

2007-11-01T20:49:00.001-04:00

I just have to share this experience with you....yesterday I took the video monitor outside so Dylan and I could play a little in the yard while Ryan napped for 2 1/2 hours (YES!) and I noticed a little static on the monitor. At first I thought it might have been sleeping giant awakening but it was just static (phew!) so I decided to change the channel from A to B and to my surprise I got a clear view of what looked to be my neighbor's baby's crib (2 doors down). At first I thought this was really funny then I thought some more about it. What if they cold see/hear us too? Should we ditch our monitor? Just an FYI for anyone who has a video monitor your neighbors may be getting to know you a bit better than you think.

PS Greg and I are enjoying Ryan's Halloween candy he really made out with a lot of loot:)Too bad he does not know what he is missing.

XOXO RYAN

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T21:23:00.000-04:00

Ryan had a ball in the center of town trick or treating with his friends. There were so many children out and about. The town really did a great job making it a great day for the kids. In the center of town all of the local business opened their doors from 2-5 PM for trick or treaters. Ryan met some of his friends in town and had so much fun. His lion costume got alot of use YAY! Then we went trick or treating in our neighborhood with Sofia. Sofia and Ryan had so much fun riding in the wagon. What a great night for the kids. Halloween is such a magical holiday and Ryan was just so cute in his lion costume. Hope everyone had a great Halloween.

XOXO RYAN

2007-10-31 Ryan and Friends Halloween

Time for an upgrade!

2007-10-31T12:39:00.000-04:00

Okay guys I just had to tell you all it is time for an upgrade(in diapers that is) We had a huge poopy blowout this morning in our size 4 cruisers (must have been the oatmeal and blueberries for breakfast)I have to say this has not happened since Ryan was a teeny tiny baby....but yes it is time for an upgrade I was trying to use all of these size 4's but I ended up changing bed sheets yesterday morning...upon awakening Ryan had soaked through his pj's, his sleep vest, and his sheets and now the blowout today. So it is definitely time for the bigger size which I must say he has worn these by far the longest! I did give his little tush a quick little bath in our upstairs bathroom sink which was disastrous (I do not recommend doing this) He sat down started splashing and the sink over flowed on to the floor but in the end I had a very clean happy baby! Happy Halloween everyone.

XOXO RYAN

Weekend Re-Cap

2007-10-30T21:25:00.000-04:00

2007-10-30 Ryan Halloween Preview

So Saturday Greg got to come to our make up class for our sing and sign class. It was so special to to have him there so he could learn some of the signs. Not sure if Ryan will catch on to any of the other signs besides more but we will keep trying. We went to Soup Thyme (my favorite lunch spot) for lunch in Monroe with our friends and got Ryan down for a power nap to rest up for the Halloween Spooktacular.

We had so much fun at the party. All the babes looked really cute in their costumes. It was great to see everyone we had not seen a while. Kerri- your whoopie pies were so delicious! Ryan really enjoyed them too! There were certainly a lot of people there. All I kept thinking to myself was that the host of the party has some MAJOR baby proofing to do (her twins are still non-mobile). They had a lot of candles and lit pumpkins and I kept picturing our little lion up in flames. No but seriously he did do pretty well although he did almost pull some of food off the table along with the table cloth a few times. Poor Ryan he was so good he kept his costume on the entire time and by the end of the night we took the hood off and his head was all sweaty!

Sunday we headed North to Agawam for a baby shower for our friends Lori and Bernie. They are expecting their first Jan 1st 2008. Greg and I got to do a little shopping while Grammy and Grampy got to spend some quality time with Ryan. It was really nice out and they got to take Ryan for a stroller ride.

It is official today Ryan looked straight at Dylan pointed at him and said "DIYYA" He now says Mama, Dada, Dog, and Diyya. He sort of signs for more with food and if I hold up cereal versus fruit he will point to his preference. His new annoying thing he does is he sits in his high chair and bangs his head on the back with all his might and thinks this is so hilarious! I am just worried he will tip the highchair backwards.

There is hope for us yet with the cow's milk he is now taking to it a bit more but not great. Taking small sips from his sippy cup only with a straw and it has to be room temperature or warmed not stone cold. But a week now of just nursing in the morning and at night and in the moring. But I still worry that this is not enough fluid he takes only sips of milk or water during the day. I know he does eat fruti and yogurt but I am not convinced this is enough. Still not pumping at work. I feel like I have so much free time now (not really).

So I am taking part in a research study through the Joslin Diabetes Center and NIH (National Institute of Health)for work and we have worked really hard trying to get up to speed with the logistics and I am expecting my first potential participant on Friday and I am so anxious/excited (just hope I don't mess anything up). We are trialing a new drug for treatment of type 2 diabetes it is so exciting and I am so lucky to be a part of it. I will let you know how it works out.

So Happy Halloween! No major plans just plan on saying hello to the neighbors with the little Lion in tow. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

XOXO RYAN

Halloween Preview Ryan the Lion!

2007-10-27T16:44:00.000-04:00

2007-10-27 Ryan the Lion!

Yay MORE!

2007-10-27T14:44:00.000-04:00

Okay we had to make up our sing and sign class that we missed on Wed and I can finally say that all this sign language is paying off YAY! Ryan can now sign for more! He loves to do it during meal time especially. Not sure if he will catch onto the other... signs we have been trying to teach him but only time will tell. They say that hearing children who learn sign language will speak earlier, use complete sentances, and comprehend more. Still Ryan appears distracted during the class at times his friend Caroline is really into the class and she can sign a lot! Hopefully we will be able to communicate with Ryan more through sign language. It is a rainy lazy day today! Gotta rest up for the Halloween Spooktacular!

XOXOX Ryan

Teething Woes...Again ughhh

2007-10-26T21:06:00.000-04:00

So it is official Ryan is getting his first year molars. I wondered why he kept sticking his entire hand in his mouth while pointing his finger down his throat and finally today realized that yes he is indeed getting his first year molars. To my surprise he actually let me feel them poking through all the way back there! It was funny I did think something major was wrong last night when Ryan woke from his 2+ hour nap (that he so desperately needed) he was so groggy and clingy so we decided to go for a stroller walk with Dylan of course. And little Ryan was slumped over to one side of the stroller sort of dozing off even though he just woke from his nap. On walks he usually babbles holding on the the sides of the stroller kicking his chubby little legs in delight but not yesterday. I kept peering through the window to see what was going on. Even when Dylan barked at a nearby dog Ryan did not make a peep...totally unlike him he is usually so nosey leaning out of the stroller to see what the racket is all about.

Then when we got home from our walk it was dinner time and Ryan practically refused his dinner come to think of it he barely ate his breakfast refused his afternoon snack and only had a few bites of his lunch...again totally unlike Ryan to refuse any type of food! While Greg gave him his bedtime bath he just sat there....bath time is his favorite time and he usually tries to climb out of the tub always stands up several times and he always splashes and giggles in the tub. But last night no smiles or splashes or attempts to stand. Greg noticed he felt a little warm and was not feeling like himself so we took his temp and it was 100.7. I nursed him and put him down in his crib and he went to sleep right away. I was going to give him some baby Tylenol but he fell asleep so peacefully.

Before I went to bed I just had to pick him up to feel if he was still warm (I am so paranoid he will have a febrile seizure) so I told myself if his fever was the same or higher I would give Tylenol but it had come down to 100.3 and he slept peacefully all night..... thankfully. This morning he woke without a fever and seemed a bit whiny and clingy again gave Greg a hard time getting dressed fell asleep the whole way to Polina's and whined as I was leaving dropping him off. I had called her last night to give her a heads up he may be a bit grumpy in the AM. I packed extra food for lunch and snacks not knowing what he would feel like and to my pleasant surprise it was as if he was never sick at all. Polina said he laughed and played and walked all around first time all day he did not crawl...only walked! And ate everything and I mean I packed him with alot of food...a pumpkin pancake, cantaloupe, grapes, kiwi, strawberries, 1/2 apple, 1/3 of a banana, oatmeal, yogurt, spinach, pirate booty, goldfish, and cows milk. And he took his cereal with cow's milk and drank only from is sippy cup today...HOORAY! Such a relief he is feeling better I was afraid we might have to miss out on the Halloween Spooktacular Kerri!

So yesterday while we were upstairs little Ryan took Dylan the puppy's toy looked right at Greg and said "DIYYA" as if to say Dylan in baby talk. It was so precious! And I think he has actually done this before but I was not paying that much attention. Usually when he takes Dylan's toys he brings them to his mouth and we say that's Dylan's toy and take it away from him. This morning as I was eating breakfast he took Dylan's toy again and walked over to Dylan who was laying on the ottoman and tried to hand the toy to Dylan who was asleep disinterested in it all. Greg and I were so amazed!

Yesterday we also had a weaning consult with Dr. Smilie and she was so great as always. She answered all my questions and we left the office feeling really good and reassured that we were doing the right thing. Our plan for now includes nursing only in the morning and at night and giving cow's milk and water as needed for fluids during the day. Eating yogurt and fruit is fluid enough similar to drinking a cup of milk or juice. And I totally agree with Kerri that we will stay away from juice for as long as possible lord knows Ryan does not need the calories and he would rather eat his calories in the form of fruit than drink them :) Dr. Smillie also said to ditch the bottle and only offer the cup at this point. Also she recommended restarting the vitamin D supplement now that the days are getting shorter and the vitamin D from sunlight is lessening. She also told us not to deny Ryan if he wants to nurse during the day for naps etc but to try and distract him or limit his nursing time to shorter periods. He seems happy with this and I can finally ditch my breast pump for good YAY! I did not have to pump today at work and it is so nice not to have to wash everything and store the milk and then cart it back and forth. This seems to be working for us for now and I will let him decide when he is ready to move on.

It is getting chilly out there. Ryan wore his mittens and hat today. He gets so mad when we put his mittens on! I think he feels like we cut his hands off! He was so grumpy this morning and putting his hat and mittens only exacerbated his mood. He fell asleep in the car with his hands straight up in the "I surrender to the mittens pose" Also Ryan went to bed with is "straight jacket on" as Greg calls it. It is really a sleep vest blanket which is basically a blanket with a head and arms cut out. I put him in it as he was standing up and he ran away before I could put his legs in and zip him up. Picture this a little boy running around his bedroom in a blanket. Literally looked like he was wearing an extra long super man cape only white and fleece, LOL. Looked like a cathedral length train on a wedding gown hanging in the back. You would think it would slow him down...NOT! ha ha! Okay seriously though it keeps him warm and he can't suffocate himself or kick the blanket off. They are great.

So hope everyone has a great weekend. We will hopefully get some cute pics at the Halloween party tomorrow night. Miss you all. Turning oi now it has been a very busy week.

XOXOX Ryan A.

Ryan and Friends

2007-10-24T21:39:00.000-04:00

2007-10-24 Ryan and friends

So today we missed our sign and sign class (oh I wonder if Jona was asking for Ryan?) to have a little party for Ryan to celebrate turning one with all his little friends. I managed to take a couple pictures before my camera battery died and I am embarrassed to say I could not get the TV to work so I was unable to show the slide show for the party today:( I am so technologically challenged it is a wonder I can manage the blog!) LOL. So Ryan protested his afternoon nap today but decided after lunch he was ready to go down and I had to wake him at 3 PM for his party I wanted to get him dressed in time for his guests.

The party was so much fun Ryan really enjoyed spending time with all his friends some we have not seen in so long. The babes had so much fun with all the new toys. The ball popper was a big hit with everyone. Also the sports center and the little tykes walker. Thanks to both grandparents for these toys. Ryan got so many new toys from all his little friends. I am thinking of putting a few away for later he seems to have so many new toys to play with now. I think Ryan's toys are taking over the living room not sure what to do with all of them. Poor Dylan had to be kept upstairs for the party. He was like a little gerbil clawing at the gate the entire time.

Tomorrow we have a weaning appointment with Dr. Smilie over at breastfeeding resources. I woke at 3 AM in wrenching pain due to a plugged milk duct. I had to apply a warm moist face cloth and wake sleeping giant to unclog it at 3:45 AM. Lucky for me he was more than happy to help me out and peacefully drifted back to sleep after. That baby has rescued me every time. If you get a plugged milk duct and are unable to resolve it on your own it will likely turn into a nasty infection called mastitis necessitating a high unpleasant 10 day course of antibiotics that wreak havoc on your tummy! Lucky fo me I have been able to avoid this at all costs thus far thanks to Ryan my hero! So I have alot of issues to discuss during our appointment tomorrow! Just a few of the topics include how to go about this weaning process and avoiding more plugged ducts (extremely common with oversupply). How to go about discontinuing to pump at work, how to get Ryan to drink straight up cows milk, sippy cup vs bottle, how to introduce him to like cold milk (yes I am still heating up his milk but a lot has to do with the fact that he likes it fresh out of the tap at body temp)how to get him down for nap without nursing him before, and what on earth to do in the future with the second one to prevent this huge oversupply issue that I constantly battle even after 12+ months. So hopefully for us Dr. Smilie will have some answers for us.

Oh I have to tell you guys that for the second time Ryan has got himself stuck in his crib! It happened two nights ago he was twisting and turning trying to get comfy and decided to stick his foot out of the crib then flip over. Well then all of a sudden we heard this wail of a screech and I glanced in the monitor and it was difficult to see but it looked as though he was stuck. Knock on wood once sleeping giant is down for the night he is out like a light without a peep. So for this it was highly usual and I bolted up the stairs and sure enough he was stuck so after some hugs and kisses and a little nursing he was happy again and drifted off to sleep. Ryan likes to comfort nurse alot not sure how this will go over when we stop nursing completely. Oh and today after I got Ryan Alexander up after his nap before the party I went to the Bathroom to wash my hands after changing his diaper and I heard that unforgettable screech again I went running back in his room only to find his arm stuck in the crib. he was reaching for his bunny blanket (his lovey) and in the process he managed to get the crook of his elbow stuck and twisted in the crib. Yikes after talking with some of the other parents today apparently this happens a alot and it is quite scary! With the arm I had a very difficult time getting him lose and he was very upset it must have hurt his arm alot to be stuck like that! Kerri- i am keeping the bumper on just so he won't get stuck. He has not tried to use it to propel himself out of the crib just yet:)

Anyways I have to go puree some spinach, sweet potatoes and carrots for Ryan. I will catch up with everyone soon. Miss you all!

XOXOXO RYAN

Oh yeah not to mention I could not get the slide show working, my camera battery dying, but did I tell you I forgot to hand out the goody bags at the party to Ryan's friends? Yeah this baby brain thing only seems to be getting worse the older Ryan gets! Sometimes I wonder how I manage to keep everything straight! LOL

Everybody Loves Ryan

2007-10-22T20:43:00.000-04:00

Okay I have to share this really funny story with all of you.... for some reason regardless of age all children are gravitated towards Ryan and everyone always wants to be his friend. For example Sophia our next door neighbor is constantly obsessed with Ryan. Every time I see her "where's Ryan" she asks over and over again everyday. She just adores Ryan and refuses to go in her house to ear her dinner if we are outside playing. Her Nana has to pull her away from Ryan kicking and screaming almost every night. The other day we were all outside playing with Ryan's new car and she absolutely refused to get in the car to go home even after Greg took Ryan inside for dinner and his bath. Her mother finally pulled her away kicking and screaming while securing her in her car seat. Sofia will be 3 in Jan.

On Wednesdays we have a sing and sign music class in Monroe and there is a little boy who is 4 named Jona and he just adores Ryan too. He comes to the music class with his babysitter and his little sister Anna Gret who is 2 1/2. I guess Jona talks about Ryan all the time at home and in the car on the way to class. It is so cute he wants to sit next to Ryan during circle time and even asks Ryan to guard his books/toys while he goes to the bathroom. Jona asked Ryan "where do you live, do you want to come over to my house and play" then after Ryan gives him a blank stare and no response Jona turns to me and says "does Ryan like Thomas the train I have lots of Thomas trains and videos, does he like tv? Can Ryan come over to play? It is just so so cute that this little boy is so into Ryan.

His little girlfriend Caroline flashes a big smile when she sees Ryan and the other day greeted him with a kiss. So cute. Ryan has such a great personality all the children just seem to love him. He has lots and lots of friends. I hope he grows up to be well liked by others. How can you not fall in love with Ryan he is just so lovable.

Looking forward to Ryan's play date party on Wed. Hope everyone has a great week.

XOXO Ryan

Happy Birthday Ryan!

2007-10-20T21:14:00.000-04:00

2007-10-20 Ryan birthday pictures

Today we had a little family birthday party for Ryan and it was so much fun! It was so great to see everyone. Special thanks to everyone who traveled all the way from Ma and NYC. It was such a very special day for Ryan and he was so excited to see everyone. Ryan got so many new books, toys and clothes. Our home is literally being taken over with baby toys! We had enough food for an army! We had ordered an Italian Combo 5 foot hoagie for the party and it was literally 5 feet long and took up the entire counter. I think we barely made a dent in the sandwich. I thought I had a picture but I am sure someone does I can post later! We also had tons of other yummy sides and a carrot cake and cupcakes. Ryan had his usual kale and yogurt for lunch but he did dig into some cheese and fruit and of course he had a yummy cupcake and ice cream too! He had strawberries for the first time today and he LOVED them! So yummy I think this may be his new favorite fruit!

I also wanted to thank Greg for putting together a very special slide show honoring Ryan and his first year of life. He really captured the memories of Ryan as a little tiny baby in the hospital to the big boy he is today. He even got all of his milestones in the slide show. I know it was a lot of work and it turned out to be the hit of the party. I think this was the first time I made it through without crying. Kerri it was great to see you, Steve and Caroline I can't believe how big she is! I wish we had more time for the kids to play!

The little blond girl Sofia in the pictures with Ryan is our neighbor's granddaughter. She just adores Ryan and he really loves her too. She is 2 1/2 and they play so great together. Sofia pretends to "babysit" Ryan when he goes over her house. It is so cute! She was such a great helper today assisting Ryan in opening all his presents. And Sofia just had a ball with all his new toys. Her and Ryan will have enough to keep them busy for a while!

So glad everyone could come to help celebrate Ryan's first birthday. It was so special to have everyone here. I know Ryan will look back at these photos someday and smile! What a great party! It is 9:30 and everyone in the house has been fast asleep for hours. Greg was the first one out he is passed out in the big chair snoring away. Ryan was the second one to fall sound asleep upstairs poor little dumpling so much excitement for a little baby boy. Even Dyan is asleep next to me on the couch too much excitmemt he missed his afternoon nap too! So much excitement for everyone for one day. I am feeling a bit tired myself so I think I will join the rest of the family and turn in for the night.

Thanks again to everyone for making Ryan's birthday a very special one he will never forget. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends to share these special celebrations with! Hope you enjoy the pictures. Love you all. Goodnight.

Love,
Birthday Boy Ryan!