Oh this kid

I put Ryan to bed tonight and told him I was going downstairs to workout. I go down and start my workout. (with my music playing). I hear Neil (husband) saying something to the kid. A min later he comes down laughing.
He pauses my workout and says "Ryan said you should go to bed because you are tired. I told him you are working out to get a healthy heart. Ryan comes back and said 'Yeah I know but I also make a good point about mommy going to sleep' hahahaha."

Oh this kid.
Every day is more awesome. Today we just cuddled for a bit after his nap. He told me how much he loves me and I told him how much I love him. We curled up and watched Shrek 2 after dinner.
He makes me laugh so much.
Sometimes I see the little baby I used to hold while he slept but that is becoming less and less. It does make me sad, I miss some things about him being a baby but then he will open his mouth and say something awesome, funny, sweet or goofy.

This kid is the best.  No lie.

Kids VS No Kids

Why is it a battle???
Let me explain.
A friend of mine posted this on his facebook.

http://www.mandatory.com/2014/07/08/an-average-saturday-morning-with-kids-vs-without-kids

He said "Right side, hands down!" Part of it made me laugh, others made me cringe. I wanted to write "Ryan would never act like this, its all how you raise a kid yada yada yada." Then it struck me. Maybe he is tired of his family assuming him and his wife want to have kids, maybe they are trying and not having any luck, maybe he JUST DOESN'T want to have kids. Or maybe it was just a funny thing is saw and it made him laugh.
Then I looked at the comments. WOW... I don't know the people that responded but goddamn, they are coming off as crazy breeders. Take a JOKE people. If your kid even remotely acted like this he is an ASSHOLE and you should feel bad. :D


SO I sent this link to my friend and told him he should post it to see if more people freak out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AhGvR0143s
HEH.

Long Easter weekend

Our long weekend was epic.

Friday morning I got up with Ryan. Figure Neil should sleep in, he has been working so much. We had a nice breakfast and then got in contact with Tara and The Parks (mike & janet). I meet up with Tara and Sloane (her daughter who is 8 months older then Ry). Mike, Janet and the girls, Alexandra and Chloe joined up a few min later at the park.

This is a very awesome park. Its near Taras place in Port Credit. It was such a pretty day, sunny and still cool but not WINTER in Canada cool. Toward the end Ryan had his coat off.
He ate a bagel, banana and box of rasins. To be fair we were there for almost 3 hours and we ran around a lot, I was starving by the time we left too. It was so cute cause at one point I had Sloane and Ry and we were running around these three weird small statues of random stuff. A turtle shell, a fish, a fox head and a boat... stuff like that. I was counting them as I ran hitting each one. At one point Sloane asked me to play chase with her. So damn cute. It was super cute to see Ryan and her high-five after going down the slide. hehe

WEEEEEEEE!

Mike having fun on the TeeterTotter

Ryan getting in on the fun!

After nap we went to see Joe and Ang and went to another park.
Almost got in a fight with a 5 year old asshole. There was a 'big kid' slide and Ryan had gone on it a few times. The last time I was going to let him on it this kid was standing there not letting him up. I say to him, "Will you move please, he wants to go down the slide, thanks." He looks at me and says "only big kids can go on here, you have to be 5 years old."
I look at him and say,"he is big enough please move."
He says, "you have to be a big kid, you have to be five he is not allowed."
I look at him and very serious I say to him. "Move now kid." like no humor no cute tone of voice. I put on my "I will fuck you up" face to a five year old because he told my kid he couldn't. No I am not above getting in a "who is scarier and bigger" match with a 5 year old.

He moved out of Ryans way. >:)

Saturday we both got up early like it was a work day. We had a fast breakfast and we were off to St Catharine's for an easter egg hunt with some buddies, The Parks! (again). What can I say, we like them.
I was a little shocked how great Ryan was on an hour long car ride. He was perfect! We stopped at Tim Hortons since we were early and got some coffees, bagel and apple juice and we were off again.

Got to the park very early so we were able to walk around before the crowd. Easter bunny was super scary to Ryan. Then we saw it.

RUNNNNNNN!!!!!!

Princess Leia and Chewbacca with bunny ears. Hmmmm okay. Not really an easter thing but I am game.

The Meaning of Easter?

We meet up with Mike, Janet and the girls. Mat, his wife Chrissy and their boys (X and Caiden).
I have never been to an easter egg hunt before this, especially one with little kids. There was a field roped off with caution tape. We all gather around it and holy wow it got crowded. A group of people went onto the small field and started throwing out chocolate eggs out of these huge boxes. Hundreds of them. We got the go ahead. Ryan was in the 1-3 year age group so we are allowed to go. It was so fun. Ryan was so good at it! He didn't understand what it is cause we dont give him candy but he loved the colours! After we went for a small walk to the trash can, just him and me. I tossed my tissue in and he tossed a candy egg in. hahaha

Go buddy go!

OMG YELLOW EGG MOM!!! Look yellow!!!

While Mat, Chrissy and the boys went home to prepp for brunch we went down to the festival part. WOW it was super packed but all the kids got balloons (Ryans was yellow!) so it was worth it.
Went to the brunch, spent a few hours playing with the kids and had a very good talk with Janet about kids, having more then one, loss of children and so on. It was a good talk and it just made me miss her and spending time with her.
After brunch it was pretty late like 1:30 late. Hmmmm 2 hours past Ryans nap time and he was still being good, a little drunk but good. Started the ride home and after a few min he was OUT (while hugging Neils coat and holding his balloon)

Mmmmm sleep.

We keep it casual at the Bank house.

Sunday was family day. It was a very nice dinner. Robin, Christina and Ellie were missed very much (Ellie was sick). What was very fun though was watching Ryan hunt for easter eggs. He was SO good at it. But again he would break open the egg to get the chocolate out and then leave it. Had no idea he could eat it.

Easter Dinner

OH I forgot in the morning he found his basket I made for him. He was sitting there eating all the goldfish crackers while Neil was making him pancakes (from scratch). hehehe
I got in a little trouble over that when I woke up. Then I did it, I gave him his first Kinder Egg. I was so excited cause I found Hot Wheels Kinder. After he ate it, which he did really fast, I pop open the kinder to find A PUZZLE. WTF! I think I even said "WHAT THE FUCK!" while Ryan was in my lap. Opps. But I was super disappointed. I wanted a car for Ryan, that would have rocked his world, he did like his new books though.

My new favorite picture of Ryan and I that Neil got.

Such a happy family, yay spring!

Bye dad!!!

Neil is traveling for a few days for work. We carpool and when I went to get Ryan from school we go out to the car and soon as I open it "HI DADDY!" and then Ry starts looking around. I tell him its just the two of us for a few days and we will see daddy on the phone tonight.

We get home Ryan goes running inside after I take off his boots "Daddy!!! NNNEEEEIIIILLLLLL!!!!" (Ryan has started to call Neil by his name which he is not pleased with). I had to explain again, daddy is not home but he will be back soon.

Neil facetimes with us a little, its pretty spotty but Ryan was so happy. After his bath he was calling again for Neil. Our routine is I give Ry a bath, Neil preps the milk for bed. I told him again it's just the two of us and to keep being nice to mom. He nods and asks for his milk.

Ryan slept all night till 5:50am which I count myself lucky for since he was up the night before at 3am, 4am, 530am and out of bed at 6am. Not to mention he went to bed at 7pm last night which is pretty early.

I gave him a bottle of  milk and took a shower. I get out of the shower to him crying. I go in and his diaper leaked pee so he is cold. I get him on the change table and I ask him if he would like a new night shirt. "yes mama" we do that... 

"ryan would you like some pants for your cold legs?" 

"yes mama"

"Okay buddy we can do that. After we get dressed we can say hi to cars."1

I open the blinds in his room and we look out the window and Ryan right away "Mama a bus".

I go over there and say "Lets wave at the people on the bus Ry."

Ryan comes back with "hi people, lots of people on the bus mama, lots."

We do into the livingroom he begs for a box of raisins. As I sit down with my computer to check email he is eating raisins at his table looking out the window.

 I say, "Hey Ryan, that is the only box you get today, THATS IT for raisins, yes?"

He looks right at me nodding "thats it mama, thats it."

WOW he has grown.

Sweet morning

Ryan slept in till 7:45 which was very nice after being out so late at a co-workers x-mas party where we sung a lot on a karaoke machine.

So far this morning I taught Ryan to say cheers after hitting cups together, his water cup my coffee. He knows that mom drinks COFFEEEEEE in the morning. He was trying to play ball with our cat Roag, he helped me with the laundry.
Its awesome. He is talking more and more every day and we are understanding more.

We are about to go out and do a little home and christmas shopping. I just wanted to do a fast update.

Our teacher at his school (aka day care), Miss Anna was even saying this week Ryan has jumped in developmental milestones. She was saying at lunch another boy was crying for his water and Ryan goes "Jeremy, go water" and was pointing at the little container they keep all the water cups in. They keep it low on a table so the kids can go and grab their own cup. She said it was funny cause Ryan was all "Gee dude, you want you water just go get it, its right there, no need to cry about it."

We had to sign reports about Ryan biting and hitting other kids on Monday, it was embarrassing. Well on Wednesday one of the little girls Judy went up and HIT another girl Chloe. Twice. (While we where there.)Chloe was crying so I told Ryan "see now Chloe is crying cause she was hurt, she ouch cause Judy hurt her. Why dont you go give Chloe a hug and let her know it will be okay."
Ryan went over and they hugged each other for a min. Ryan comes back to me and I say "see you made Chloe happy by being nice to her, not hurting or ouching her, hugs are very nice buddy."
He smiled at me.

He hasn't hit or bit anyone since. Fingers crossed it sticks. He is 19 months old, soon to be 20 months.
We are going to Florida soon. Can not wait for my mom and dad to see him. My mom was here in Oct but my dad hasn't seen him in 13 months. He has changed A LOT.

:D

Shit he is getting smart he wanted on the couch so he grabbed a pillow off the couch to put on the floor to give him a lift. damn it. Smart kid is getting smart. Proud and worried at the same time, welcome to the life of a mom.

Election Eve, Halloween and changes

I am hopeful. I am hopeful my country men will make the right choice. However I am also worried.
I think this sums it up very well.
http://robdelaney.tumblr.com/post/34643328161/after-sandy


Last Wednesday we took Ryan trick or treating for the first time. We went over to Mike and Janets to meet up with the girls.

 Alexandra and Chloe 

Sloane

Oh no, we dropped the bucket. Oh it was empty? Thats okay then.

After having a snack we were off. Ryan was a little worried at the first door but by the second he wants to hold the bucket, knock on doors and grab his own candy. He didn't even really know what candy was he just knew if he knocked on a door a grown up told him he was super cute and put stuff in his bucket or let him grab stuff.

 Ryan in the dragon outfit getting the hang of it.

 CANDY! (love Ryans face here)

 The group.

Ryan got really good at saying "trick or treat" and "thank you". Sounds more like "tickteet" and "tankyou" but it was still super cute.

I went up with Ryan to one house and helped him knock on the door, the guy saw my outline and thought it was older kids. He puts on a scary mask and throws open the door and sees four small kids 3 years of age and under and pulls of the mask goes "oh my, I am so sorry!" and puts the bowl out of good chocolate for the kids to get one. Ry looks at me, I say"its okay buddy go ahead." he takes one. He looks at me again... and reaches in to grab with a little toddler hand and get three bars! He puts it in his bucket, he goes to do it again. I try to stop him and tell him that is a little greedy, the guy holding the candy is laughing and telling me to let him! I smile and tell Ryan to say thank you and very embarrassedly scoot Ryan on to the next house.

This is the bucket of candy Ryan kept grabbing from, I am to the left with him trying to push/pull his hand away from the bucket gently.

It was a VERY fun night! After about 10 houses and some very full buckets we went back to Mike and Janet. Here is Mike. hehe

Or Doctor Park to some of you. (with his youngest daughter, the cupcake) yes he is dressed as an egg.

Janet had to stay home to hand out the candy to visiting kids.

Here are some cute shots of the kids enjoying the spoils of trick or treating.

 Mmmmmm chips.

Sloane is not big on eating candy but she LOVES the smell.

 SNNNNNNIIIIIFFFFFFFF

Alexandra likes the candy though. YUM!!! Good choice!

Janet enjoying the treats too. heh

Ryan just wants to ride the BMW. Another good choice!

It was so much fun. The next night Ryan was being so good he got Smarties for the first time, big shocker is that he liked them.

______________________________________________________________________

On to his 18 month check up and new awesome things he is doing.

Doc said he is big. He is about 3lbs over where he should be. So we cut his whole milk to 2% and cut it back big time. Or at least are trying to. I am also trying to cut back on carbs for him, he LOVES carbs so we are trying new stuff like red pepper or cucumber when we get home. He will be so hungry he will be shaking and crying so he gets a snack. Doc told me to stop letting him snack. I explained he gets two a day. One at school and one when he gets home and stuff like Banana, yogurt or apple. He was like "oh then thats okay." Bloody hell, its not like I am giving him ice cream and a bowl of crack. It's a friggn apple.

However just switching the milk will help a lot. (water no juice, not a fan of juice). If Ryan hasn't pooped I give him 1/3 pear juice and 2/3 water. Always does the trick.
Other then the 'weight issue' he is healthy.

On to changes.

He is growing up, what feels like, to fast. Eats with a fork or spoon or at least trying to. Gets mad when I try to feed him (I CAN do it mom!). Understands when he hurts me or does something he shouldn't (more later on this). Liked to give a treat to Roag (our kitty boy). Is starting to comunicate with me so much better. (more on this too). Loves to drink out of moms glass.

Sorry mom...
Yesterday Christina and Robin were over for dinner. (sister/brother in law). After dinner Christina, Ry and I were in the living room/sunroom. Ryan grabs my glasses and starts to twist them. I say something like "RYAN NO, those are moms glasses, DO NOT TOUCH, you know better." He gives them to me. I go on my knees and say to him " buddy those are moms only glasses, you know better then to touch, they are not a toy for you, okay hon." Ryan looks at me and says softly "sorry". I say to him. "buddy I am not mad at you, thank you for giving them back to mom, can I get a hug?" he hugs me and then we tickle fight.
It was epic. Other parents will get how HUGE this is. Hell I think even non-parents will get how huge this is.

I WANT IT...

This morning I take Ryan out of the crib, change his diaper (all the while he is chatting and laughing as I ask him about his night). I pick him up and as we leave the room he starts to cry. I go into the living room and set him down. I say "bud, you have to use your words or show mom what is upsetting you, do you want to show me?" and I hold my hand out. He grabs my hand and leads me back into his bedroom. He points at the computer mouse on the floor Neil gave him to play with and goes "da?" I tell him its okay to grab it. He smiles, laughs, picks it up, grabs my hand and we go back into the living room to play. I sit down with him and tell him thank you for showing mommy what upset him and he can always show mommy or tell mommy what he is upset about. Then he follows me in to the kitchen  points at where we keep Roags (cat) treat and says cat in Hungarian and apple (apple is his word for food). We take the treats out and Ryan gives a few to Roag. Ryan laughs, asks for some Cheerios and drink. Takes them to his table in the sunroom, sits down and eats them while I am making breakfast.

It's insane.

It's so cool.

I love it.

Response to Emily and other topics/ramblings.

My buddy Emily has a new blog. (newish mom!)
 She wrote this post and I was writing a reply and then realized my reply was longer then her post. Figured I would just post in my blog since its been way too long.
http://minkflamingos.com/2012/10/20/im-in-your-relationship-dropping-bombs


Wonderful post. And all very very true. As you (most of you) know Ryan was a breast feed baby. I was very adamant about that, we both were. So those first few days are so hard. Then the first few weeks. Neil would work all day, come home and help me, and then make us dinner and even feed me while I tried to feed Ryan. It's really about a united front, still is and I think always will be.

Couples that are on the verge of splitting and have a baby really confuse the shit out of me. Really?! You think having a completely dependent being is going to keep you together. BULLSHIT. When neither of you get sleep for 3 weeks and you find yourself arguing over who got more sleep last night that is the reality of having a kid.
"I was up at 1am feeding the baby and you were snoring, I remember, I put it in my iPhone app. It was so annoying and hard to not kill you."
"Really because I was up at 1:15 when Ryan cried and you were sleeping away and you were farting in your sleep." Then I would pull out my iPhone and open my "what to expect" app and show him exactly when I feed ryan, on what boob and when he went back to sleep.
Yes I was a freak those first few months. No surprise there.

You get shit on, literally, barfed on, sore nipples, blisters, not wanting to eat, not being able to eat enough, zombie like brain function, pissed you ran out of wipes and it's just when the kid took a huge dump and it's everywhere, mad you are home with the baby and hubby gets to escape to work, mad the wife gets to nap during the day, try to keep the house somewhat cleanish, make sure you are feed too, oh is that barf on your shirt? Well it's just one or two spots so it's clean enough, wash your hair every 3 days because you rather try to sleep... and so on. All the while bleeding, healing stitches and dealing with crazy hormones. (not to mention being aware you are crazy and feeling guilt over that.)

One thing I should mention, my son is 18 months old. (1 1/2 to you non-parents). And it's AWESOME. Yes we have a whole new bundle of issues, you always will. (NO HITTING RYAN!) But it's so awesome when he says "whatisthat mama?" (always wanting to learn) or when I get him from day care and he comes RUNNING when he sees me. The hugs, the dancing together, colouring on a piece of paper, him stealing all my food and I don't give a crap cause he is eating, laughing and then him laughing at me laughing and back and forth, running in circles cause is fun, hide and seek, tickling each other... it's amazing. Nothing like it in the world. I can not express completely how it makes you feel.

One thing to take away from this is; always ask how the dad is doing. No one ever asks the father "Hey man, how you holding up?" It's hard when a baby is breast feed and the dad can't really help they just see the mom going crazy (what happened to my wife?!). It's hard when you are up all night with a kid and then have to work and then come home to watch the kid (you can't feed) so your wife can nap or shower or just take a poop. Then said baby screams at you cause YOU do not have boobs and they just want mom and you just want everyone to be happy and to sleep. Dads are always under-appreciated.

When I was in labor I remembered hearing that, no one every worries about the husband/male. I did. I asked Neil how he was doing. I knew it was exciting/stressful/joyous/worried time for him. Being that Ryan was not our first birth I knew he was a little worried. We knew what was at risk. Watching the heart rate on the baby drop so low he was worried, seeing the crash cart and the always slight risk he might lose me, maybe both of us, I knew my husband was worried. The feeling of helplessness. Nothing he could do but stand by my side, hold my leg up and NOT LOOK DOWN THERE. Smile at me and tell me it was going to be alright. I had to ask if he was okay. I remember him laughing, the nurse and doctor being shocked I was worried about him. Why wouldn't I be? He is my best friend and this was something we were embarking on together.


Hmmmmm looks like two glasses of German wine makes me chatty and full of nostalgia. Chalk it up to wine, turning 35 next month and wine.
Oh I already said wine.

heh.

In unrelated news. I took my Canadian Citizenship test Friday. I am pretty sure I missed three questions. One I know for sure I missed. Oh well I can miss up to five and still pass. I should get a letter in 3-5 months. I will keep my US so I will be dual citizenship. Very exciting.
A HUGE step in securing my family since my husband is Canadian and my son is Canadian born.

Balloon?

Today Nhi (coworker) went to the Dollar store. I gave her a few bucks to pick me up a balloon for Ryan.
(mylar not latex).
It was waiting in the car for him today after his school (daycare).
Holy hell I love how excited this kid gets over balloons. On the way home we hit Old Navy so Neil and I could get some clothing for running this weekend in the Run for Your Lives Toronto Zombie Run. He was such a good kid. He walked to the store (holding my hand) and walked around the store with me for a bit. Neil took over while I was trying on stuff and then I took over while Neil tried on his stuff. He was just super good.
We had dinner together when we got home and while I was cleaning up Neil and Ryan chilled and watched some stuff on the iPad together for a few min. Then bath and then Gabi came to visit for a bit.
Ryan is just so much fun to be with when he is feeling good.

Makes my day when we pick him up from school and you just see his face LIGHT up when he sees us. He comes running for a hug. Doesn't matter right now who is there to hug him, Neil or me. He is just excited to see us. I love it. It makes all the stress and worry from the day melt in that moment when he is running and then when he squeezes your neck in a hug and starts his 'talking' you forget all the stupid things that happened that day. All that matters is the kid in your arms trying to tell you about his day with that happy/excited tone of voice.

I love my life.

Oh wow

All of August went by without me posting.
Wow.

I need to remember that the reason I started this blog was to remember stuff. To remember all the silly things you forget as your child grows... or as you get less and less sleep.

We just got done with a wave of sickness. A scary one this time. Ry started off with a fever at school last Monday. A slight one, not even enough for them to call us.
When we got home he had gotten pretty warm. We took his temp and it was 102.5 (there abouts).
Gave him some Tylenol and a bath and off to bed. Around midnight be woke-up crying. Took his temp and it was in the 104's. And not the low 104's.
Neil grabbed him and was giving him cool water while I called Tellahealth. Long and short of it was worry when the fever is in the 104, if it gets to 105 go to the hospital ASAP. 108 is when long term damage can happen.
Scary stuff.

He had the runny poops since Saturday (we thought it was because he was teething since he didn't want to eat much either and was fussy)
Tuesday Neil was home with him and took him to a kids walkin. They told us to come back Wend if he still had a fever for blood work.
Wend came and he was still feverish. If we didn't give him medication to keep it down it would spike up close to the 105 mark. I took him tot he after hours walk in at the hospital since the one Neil went to tuesday sucks. They said if he still had a fever to bring him back Thursday. Clean ears, nose, throat and chest so no worries there and he was drinking like crazy just NOT eating.
So thursday came and we didn't like how high his fever still was so we went to the hospital.

Now all this time he will go to sleep on his own and then wake up around 1-2 with a fever crying so we would put him in bed with us. We got smart and we just dosed him around 1am while he was sleeping before the fever hit. Thursday morning though it came back pretty strong.
So after waiting and tests we found out they think it was a Viral tummy bug. Guess it was going around.
After a catheter to get a pee sample, a swab in his throat to test for strep and a thermometer in his butt we found out nothing we could do but medicate him and try to keep him hydrated. Poor kid
Friday he was with Gabi while Neil and I went to work. Medication given every 4-5 hours to keep his temp down. Gabi was a little late on a dose cause Ryan was getting some much needed sleep and his fever spiked back up.
By Saturday fever was gone and he was in the mood to eat a little. Has some bad gas and poop that night but no fever. By Sunday almost back to normal.

By Monday he was back to being our awesome little guy.

He is 17 Months old as of this past Monday.
He is talking all the time, most of the time we dont understand what he is saying. He is STILL obsessed with balloons. Just yesterday I asked if he wanted more yogurt and he opens his mouth and points to it.
YES BUDDY! FOOD!
COMUNICATE with us!

I could care less how he lets us know he wants food or drink just as long as he starts letting us know before he goes into a rage.

Fast one

Man this blog has been hurting since i have started back to work and since Ryan has become so mobile.
He hit 15 months last week. He also had a wicked sickness called Hand Foot and Mouth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand,_foot_and_mouth_disease
It was a nightmare. Scared the shit out of us. Fever, not wanting to eat, crying, not sleeping, super itchy feet for a few days, they started to crack really really bad and were pretty much open sores. Within 12 hours he went from almost no signs of being sick to me wanting to take him to the hospital. (hurray for Tellahealth).
Yeah. Not fun.
He is much beter now. His feet are still pealing a little and healing. He has dots on his feet, hands and back of his leg still. Not on his face anymore which is good.


So 15 months... He is sort of talking. Says Ball, Blue, Bottle, Mom, Dad, NO (and shakes his head), Poop, Drink, ThankYou and a few other words. Some are hard to understand some are clear as a bell. Ball is really good. And bottle/drink. I am pretty sure he is trying to say water. He says Bat. I am trying to teach him batman.
He loves to hold your hand and walk with you. We walk together every morning and every evening to the car/house. He is so good about it. Will stand in the elevator waiting till the door opens. It's pretty cute.
He also LOVES to tickle. I will lay on the floor and he will pull up my shirt to get my belly, all the while laughing like crazy. Its pretty funny. We also play fort with a blanket. He loves to be superman. I lay on the floor, hold his hands and he stands while I put my feet on his belly. I lay down and put him into the air while still holding his hands and he flys around above me. He loves it so much. And I love it to because my dad used to do this with me. 
Ryan also plays 'hide and go seek' with Neil. It's more a scare and run he does. Neil will jump out and scare him and Ryan will run away laughing like an insane person. Then turn around and chase Neil.
He plays fetch which is really handy in the morning during the week when we are trying to get ready for work. Neil just asks him to get the ball. Ryan brings it, Neil throws it and Ryan gets it and brings it back to Neil over and over. He brings me his shoes when I ask for them, and sometimes my shoes too. 


I really need to update about our DR trip, our first camping trip and this whole past month. time is flying.


Alas, happy mom is happy.

So much

I have so much to write about!
This will be a short one since I am on my lunch break at work but hopefully I will go into more detail tonight.

So much has happened.
Ryan turned 14 months, we had an awesome fathers day weekend. Went camping for the first time (not so great at night) We had to leave around midnight, Ryan was coughing like crazy and couldn't sleep. Day Care Boogers strike again.
That was Saturday the 16th of June.

Monday the 18th - Monday the 25th we were in Punta Cana! We took an amazing trip just the three of us. So much fun.
More on that later as well.

Just two cool guys hanging out.

Update on Ryan. Still not talking so much. I am pretty sure he said 'Bottle' today and he does say mom and dad.

He is SUPER huggy and attached to us both right now. A little more to me. I have to calm down a lot of the time. I am a doer and I dont like just sitting I want to get up and go and get stuff done and I am trying to enjoy just sitting and playing with Ryan and reading a book together. Or even just cuddling. (which he did to me last week) I sat there with him for 10 min just cuddling. He wasn't ready to start his day and didn't give a crap that I was. He wanted to cuddle so that is what we did. On the floor in the living room. It was awesome.

Oh when he drops something he will point at it and go "utoh". And he will do it over and over until you pick it up for him. (if its a ball or something that he can not get too). Its pretty damn cute. He smiles like crazy! He has really got comfortable walking/running and climbing stairs. He needs help sometimes goes up or down and will hold his hands up for you to help him. He loves to be picked up and will come running to me with his arms up in the air going "UP" or at least it sort of sounds like up. He will also get his shoes and socks, bring them to you, sit down and wait for you to put them on. He liked to grab our shoes and try to put them on too. He does the same with shirts.
He got two molars while we were in Punta Cana. I think more are coming soon.

Every month is more fun then the month before. This kid is getting pretty kick-ass to be with.

Just so busy with home, work, kid and husband and to be honest the poor husband doesn't get as much time as he should. And tiny bit of time for me... and my Lego Batman game. :D

EDIT
Ryan is weened , his last feeding was Monday the 25th on the flight home. I am a little sad about this but we have other ways to bond now. He brings me books to read to him, we play hide and seek (sort of) and we have a lot of giggle fits together. Just another chapter in his life closed which means he is growing up.

You have to talk to your kids

Ryan has started to try to communicate with us now. I have to get a video of it. Its so damn funny.
There are also times when Ryan does something and I laugh and he will notice me laughing. Then he starts to laugh, then I laugh harder and then he laughs harder. We did this for almost 5 minutes the other night at bath time.
I blew a raspberry at him and he thought it was just the funniest thing in the world so he starts to giggle. I start giggling. We lean into each other just laughing and laughing. It was awesome. We were laughing so much Neil came in to hang out to see what was so funny.

This kid is so much fun right now. A lot more work in some regards (and less in others) but so just worth it.
When he was a tiny baby I marvelled at him and just the pure existence that was my son. Now I watch him and I am just swept over with this joy. He is his own person. He has thoughts and emotions and now he is trying to express them. This will include him pointing at something and asking with a question tone of voice "da dward?" whatever the hell that means. Or sometimes he will point with a demanding tone of voice at something (he wants it).
If he gets into something he shouldn't... lets just say he is walking around holding my iPhone, if I ask for it he will walk over to me and hand it over. Its nice. I know that will be short lived but at least he is polite for right now.

Here is a video Neil got this past Saturday of Ryan putting his stacker rings on his foot. He was cracking up like crazy (you see a little of this toward the end of the vid). He then came over and was putting them on my feet cracking up the whole time. Then Ryan and I both were tickling Neils feet. That was funny too. I love this point in his life. He is just such an awesome kid. Sleeping at night, starting to let us know what he wants, I love it. I do miss him being my little monkey but then he will do something like play hide and seek with me and I forget all about him being this tiny baby and enjoy him being my ever-growing son.

Enjoy.
Feet are so much fun!

Mothers Day

I have been so bad about writing on here since being back to work. Bad Mary.

Mothers day weekend was awesome. I got to sleep in BOTH days which was super of Neil to do. I know how much sleep means to us both. (we had a few rough nights with Ryan). Its funny, when you have a kid that doesn't sleep for a year you get sort of used to it. Then when the kid starts to sleep its really hard when he regresses and has a few rough nights.
Sunday I woke up a little early though. I come out in to the main part of the house and Neil sees me. I get "What are you doing up! Go back to bed you are going to ruin your surprise." (this coming from the kitchen) I see Ryan walking toward me with a charger cable in the living room. I start laughing and tell Neil its all good I will hang out with Ryan in the living room while he works on my breakfast surprise.

Neil brings me a cup of coffee while I play with Ry. We all sit at the table as Neil brings out maple syrup and his pancakes he made from scratch. YUM.
Plain ones, blueberry and chocolate chip!
Some of them are a little crispy around the ends but they are so so yummy. Ryan ate about 4 of them. (small ones) I think we both liked the blueberry ones the most which shocked Neil and me. I am not a fan of stuff in my pancakes but the blueberry ones were so yummy. Got an awesome picture of Ryan with blueberry all over his face which was funny. He shoved a blueberry up his nose and was laughing but by the time I got the picture he had pulled it out and set it to the side.
I got a super sweet card that Neil signed and helped Ryan to sign. Put a crayon in Ryans hand and helped him write it. I also got a $25 gift card to Tim Hortons which is pretty cool. The night before Neil got me Batman Arkham City. SCORE!

We ended the day at Rita & Tim's place for a really nice family cook out. Mothers day and Sandor's Birthday (grandpa). Lucy was even there (doggy).

All and all it was a pretty sweet mothers day. I think my favorite part was either the card or having pancakes with my two favorite men in the whole wide world.

 Saturday before mothers day we had a BBQ at Rita's house, just the three of us.

 Mmmmmm blueberry pancakes (nose blueberry in the lower right corner)

My super awesome fantastic kick-ass card. :D

________________________________________________________

Update on the stuff Ryan is doing now that he hit 13 months this week.
He sleeps all night about 90% of the time and wakes up between 530-7am.
He walks with no issues, though he had a rough time yesterday in Milk & Janets yard with his new sandals on.
I am pretty sure he can say 'thanks' and Gabi will back me up on this. He LOVES milk, finally he is drinking cows milk and when he sees an empty bottle he will go crazy till you give him milk. We are trying to wean him off breast feeding at bedtime. Trying to get it down to only morning boob and then hopefully in a few weeks none.I think around 18 months we will wean from the bottles of milk.
He loves bath time still. We found he also loves sandboxes. I saw a little of it last week when we were at the park playing but yesterday and Mike & Janets he really got into it. They have an awesome sandbox with a lid on it in the shape of a crab. Its on sale right now at TRU.
Neil and I are going to get him one for the grandfolk's place.
He still doesn't talk much. He says daddy and mom no problem but I have not noticed any other words just yet (other then thanks). We were looking up developmental milestones and on talking he is a little behind. Other things he is super ahead. Like turning the pages in his book, running after a ball, bending over to pick up stuff, sharing with you... using everything as a phone but knowing the phone really is a phone.
He is such an active kid. I am so happy he is back to being my happy guy again. For a little bit he was super whiney and just in a bad mood. Maybe he had tummy pain like I did this past friday (felt sick all day and then come home and barfed everything up). If he has the sick feeling like me no wonder he was grumpy and not wanting to eat. Poor guy.
Hopefully we will be tummy bug free for a bit. I can handle the boogers thanks to day care but the tummy pain SUCKS and Ryan having a tummy bug super sucks.

Happy Birthday my love.

(Sorry for the lack of posts. Been busy trying to get the house in order before the big day and to get ready for work and Ryan ready for day care... sad mom is sad.This is my last day of mat leave. Ryan gets shots Wednesday morning with Neil and then off to day care Thursday.)


This time last year Ryan was 2 1/2 hours old and all Neil and I wanted to do at this point was stare at him, hold him and sleep. I was struggling to breast feed Neil was struggling to not pass out. Also it was snowing last year... this year it is sunny, 9c and green is growing on the trees.
This 8lb 12oz ball of screaming love was ours.
Now he is just such a monkey. He walks and is starting to get really good at it, he loves to hug and he kisses you too. It's a big open mouth with a lot of tongue but he means well. Ryan that is, not Neil. heh
He loves to play, go on swings, car rides (thank god for front facing) dances to music, plays the piano with Neil and for the most part sleeps all night. He takes baths in the big tub (without me in it) and loves to play in the water. He still chases after Roag (kitty) like crazy. Not such a fan of the tv when we do have it on anymore. (thank goodness). 
I think he is really enjoying this large house. Last week I was in the kitchen and he comes walking in (my mom was watching him in the living/sunroom) he grabs my dish towel and goes running down the hallway toward the bedrooms with me chasing him giggling (both of us that is). He looks up at me while playing and just gives me this HUGE grin. Every night when Neil comes home he is so thrilled to see daddy.
I also think Ryan is trying to talk. (god help us).


Saturday we had a birthday party for him. It went great! We had a lot of people over and I think they all had a good time. Ryan was napping for the first part of it so when Neil brought him out of the bedroom into the living room area FULL of people he cried for a minute, a little overwhelmed. Once he got his barings he had a great time. 

 Before the party started

What the hell is going on?!

 Lets play!

 Baby feet are so cute.

The banner I made from birth to 11 months.

 What should I do with this?

Its all good honey, eat the cake, it's good!

Christina thought he was too neat so she helped out a little...

She painted a Van-dike on him with icing. hehe

Eat the cake!

Outfit change after cake, looking like a pimp son!

 Such a cute kid

Tired dad is tired. (but did an awesome job cleaning while I was getting Ry to bed!)

Now that Ryan sleeps it's hitting Neil & I how LUCKY we really are. Ryan is a pretty easy going kid. Yeah he is a little attached to me and to the boob still (about 3-4 times in 24 hours but I am hoping to just be morning and night when day care starts). He gets nasty when tired or hungry but really, who doesn't?

He is such a happy kid that smiles at everyone, he is outgoing and loves to play. He is not shy, a brat or mean. Everyone loves him, strangers comment on him an how happy he is all the time. He LOVES other kids. Neil and I really got lucky with Ryan. I can not wait to see what the next year holds for us and how much more he will change. 

This past year has been a blessing and I will miss my little man Monday-Friday 8:30-5pm like crazy. I know he will have fun, I know this is healthy for him, I know I have no choice, I know I will be out that door at work at 4:58 everyday to get to him, I know I am very lucky to have had a year off work to be with him. I wish I had more, I wish I could have done more. This kid really is the center of my life and I love being his mommy.

Alas its time for me to work and bring home the money so maybe one day we can put this kid through med school. 

Little dude, one day if you read this, know that I love you with every fiber of my being. You are a physical representation of the love I have for your dad. For that I thank you everyday. Also you are so awesome. Keep being a kick ass baby/toddler/boy/man and know I might one day be your friend/confidant/sounding board/leaning post... but I will always be your mommy. I hope you always will look up to me like you do now. I really hope I never let you down. It can be a lot of pressure being a mommy and I will not always be perfect but I promise, for you, I will try.

Yeah I cried a little. So what?

101 posts... how many are about sleep?

Neil had enough of crying waking kid last night. (waking up every 2 hours or so the past three weeks)
He slept on the floor next to Ryan's crib and we just let him cry it out. I would hear Neil every few minutes tell Ryan he is okay and start to hum a little. I worry that Neil will have a mental breakdown from the lack of sleep. THANK GOD Gabi is taking him Wednesday night so we can work on the condo and get a good night rest before the move Friday. Also hurray for earplugs. Note to self, find another pair for Neil.
I have my fingers crossed tonight is a little better. Neil said one of the times crying was because he pooped. Ryan does not like poop in his diaper.

Mike made Neil (and me) feel better cause he said he spend most of his night in Chloe's room. They put a bed mattress on the floor to start bed training her and with her teeth coming in Mike sleeps in there with her. I think the bed on the floor is brillant. That way is the kid gets off they just roll onto the ground and can make the way back onto the bed, they don't fall out of the bed. I know Alexandra had a guard on her bed and then those foam mats around her bed. Or at least she did about 6 months ago when I saw her room.

Move is starting to feel more like a move. Our kitchen is pretty much done. I had to leave some stuff so I can cook but that will take about 10 min to pack. I have created a wall of boxes up stairs in Tim's living room. Ryan was very kind and let me pack a lot yesterday. I am going to try to pack a bit in the bedroom today and then off to the condo to meet the carpet cleaners.
Not sure how to do that. Should we hang out while they clean so should we leave for a bit?
 I had Neil take our pressure gate with him last night and some foam mats. I think I will gate Ryan into the kitchen. I will clean a bit before the carpet people come and then just spend my time cleaning the kitchen with my Hydrogen, water and lemon cleaner mix I made. Baby friendly and works pretty good to cut grease and clean water spots. Neil said Gabi got most of the stuff out of the kitchen but I know how busy they are so I will just pack up the rest of it for them.
They spent last night moving the rest of the stuff out of the condo. I can't wait to see it now. Neil said he loves the big open space so much he sort of doesn't want to put anything in there. Thankfully we dont have that much. Most of it we got the past few weeks off Kijiji. I am sort of excited to see how the carpet cleaners do, if they get the furniture dents out of the carpets so we can put new ones in. heheh

Christina came by last night as well (meeting with the DJ) and dropped off some NumNum crackers, the cupcake stand and those cute sock shoes I wanted from the states. I will try them on Ryan today and see how they fit. Tiny bit worried the size 6 might be a little big. We shall see. I have no doubt he will grown into them.

 This is the view from the sunroom, you can see part of the living room, dinning room and into the hallway.

This is the tree in Ryans room. Neil and I got a little carried away cause we finally have a nursery for the kid. Joe and Ang did most of it and Neil outlines the leafs. We are waiting to finish it till later cause this would be the easier part to do. My job is the baseboards on Wednesday. Dan is coming over tonight to help and Tara said she might be able to come over Wednesday for a bit depending on when Chris gets home. Gonna put them both to work painting.

I think we have spent about 1,500 at home depot so far. This house better look amazing when done darn it.
:D

Worst dream ever

Just woke up to a phone call telling me no Zumba today due to March Break. Perfect timing of a phone call.


In the dream things were great. We had a nice house (Neil, Ryan and I) and Neil convinced me to volunteer at a community home helping people out. Mentaly challenged, depressed, bad home situations and abuse cases. About a week goes by and my childhood friend Heather comes in. We were so happy to see each other. We were catching up when she told me they wanted me to live there. They showed me a very nice room and said it would be for just me. I told them that was sweet but I was living with my husband and son, why would I live apart from them? Neil comes into the room and tells me that he thinks it would be good for me to live there and I can help out full time. I start to get scared and I ask if he is trying to divorce me. Him and Heather look at each other. She starts to pull stuff off the shelf like Ryan's birth announcement my mom made us. I start to get pissed asking why that is here... Neil starts to cry and turns to me and says "Monkey, Ryan has been dead for over a year."
I start to freak out and I am screaming "no he isn't I just took him to day care today!"
Neil starts to really cry and Heather came over to me and hugs me. Then the phone woke me up.


Worst dream ever.


When I was telling Neil the dream just now I started to cry so hard I choked on getting out the "Ry is dead" part. That is how I know my period will be here soon. 
heh

New stuff Ryan is doing

I made the huge mistake of teaching Ryan how to tickle our feet. Opps.
He is obsessed with it. He will chase me down to tickle feet. I was playing on the floor and I laid down and put my feet in the air. He tried to climb my legs to get to them.


Also yesterday for the first time he was clapping his hands together! I was so proud of him. I have been trying to teach him that and waving. He sort of waves (open and close hand). He is also getting better at walking while only holding one grown up hand and standing without any help (nothing to lean on or hold) he can do it for a few seconds now before falling. I think he will be walking on his own by 11 months old. He is almost 10 months now.
Video of him clapping while I feed him.


He kept rubbing his face because his teeth are bugging him big time still.


He is pretty good about leaving stuff alone. I tell him no, leave it and then explain why. AKA "NO leave the iphone alone, that is mom's toy and you have all your toys you can play with. Thank you."


Sleep is still a huge issue right now. Though the teeth on the bottom are almost out. The one on the right is out all the way and almost done, the one on the left has cut through the gums but still coming out. The left big top one is cut out and almost done and the right big top one is just cutting out now. There is also a small one on the left top coming out. (this is on top of the two on the bottom he already has) Hopefully he will have the seven by April.
I guess its good they are all coming out now so fingers crossed in April when I go back to work we can have a few months break of teething so he sleeps.
Last night I was so worn out I just didn't even care to fight with him on sleeping. I fought at 12:30 and gave him bottle only (weak chamomile tea) and at 1:45 I put him in bed with us and got him to sleep with no drink or boob. At 3am I just didn't give a shit anymore I was so tired and I wanted Neil to have a good night of sleep I gave him boob. He was also up at 4:30 and 5:30 and then up for the day at 6:30. Tired of people telling me to 'stick it out' easy for you to say when you are not the one up all night for a week straight.
I was supposed to take the car and go grocery shopping but I am so tired that was the last thing I felt like doing today. So it is laundry and clean the house a bit day and sleep cause I have Zumba tonight.


Here is a video of Ryan dancing while I blend up some cantaloupe for him. He is now dancing when I use the blender or vacuum. Its pretty darn cute...
Dancey dance dance.


Ya know what, if all we get is a kid that has sleep issues I will take it. He is healthy and a pretty happy kid over all. It could always be much worse as we know first hand. Now to remember this at 3am when I am so tired I have a hard time walking.


Also Neil was super sweet last night and got me chocolates (the expensive kind!) and my favorite cinnamon hearts YUM! We had a great dinner out Monday (the 13th) with no kid. Went to Milestones. Sooooo yum.