New school, round 3

We switched schools for Ryan at the end of his school year and now starting into Summer school.
So far I feel good about it. I am not sure if it is that I am in the better place (emotionally), Neil and I are in a better place, or its just timing.
When we moved Ryan from Peekaboo to a Montessori school we thought he would like it. It had uniforms (so cute) and great teachers.

Something we did not think about too much was that we had just moved a few months before (while being homeless for a month) WRITEN HERE or that it was the middle of a school year would be such huge issues.
Ryan did NOT do well. Now he was learning and he was growing and changing and he was also have behavioural issues. BAD ones.
Around March/April the owner and principle of the school meet with us. Ryan had pushed a kid and he hit his head on a table. The kid was okay but that was the last straw for the school. We were giving till the end of the school year and we were not allowed to come back. I was sad about this because I loved his teacher. She was sick (like spent the night in the hospital) and she STILL called me at work and talked for 45 min with me about Ryan. After seeing we were on the same page the only thing we could do to change was start having time out with him. That helped but we were looking at time out 3 times in the course of 2 hours sometimes. It was brutal.
Do not raise your voice, stay calm, be there but do not engage until he has calmed down. it is SUPER hard.
Happy to say he is MUCH better, today was the first full on melt down in almost a month. (during soccer). He cried and grunted in the car but no screaming or hitting me. After we had a very good talk.
Maybe its that he is 3 and we give him more freedom. Maybe he feels that I am a happier person (running, eating better, its summer so I don't have the winter blues).

Back to my original thought, Ryan's first day of school was July 2nd. We walk in and right away we see Sloane there. (THANKYOU!) Ryan runs over to her and hold her hand. We go together to put Ryan's stuff in his cubby slot. I ask Sloane to show Ryan how the water dispenser works and introduce myself to the teachers again, warn them of his forgetting to pee and give Ryan a big hug and kiss (and Sloane too) and tell him to be kind, use his words and have an awesome day.

He wears no uniforms in the school, also because its summer its much more chill (a better way to introduce him) and he has Sloane with him in the morning and afternoon. She is 8 months older and is transitional into the older class. But they have those 2 hours together. I am so grateful for her. They can sometimes be a bad influence on each other but she is also a huge calming part of his life. Someone he has always known. And someone he loves.

(splash)

So far its going so great, he likes his teachers and he even got an invite to a party from this super cute little boy that told me Ryan and Sloane are his best friends (OMG so cute).
Overall things are going great. I really hope it keeps up! Oh crap. I hear him waking up from nap. More to update later. I promise to keep this up better starting now. Ryan is changing so much and saying the funnest things and sweetest things "you are a pretty princess mommy!"
I have to keep track of this awesome kid.

Been forever! (new House, Ryan update)

I am such a slacker. Really should try to NOT start each post with that!
So after being homeless for a month, going on an awesome cruise with my husband and kid (more on that in another post) and visiting family in Florida, staying at Robin and Christians place for a week while Neil traveled (taking care of a sick 2 1/2 year old and a dog is NOT fun alone) and then back to Rita and Tim's for a few days.... we moved into our new place and I LOVE IT.
I think Neil agrees with me on that one. Its perfect. Well if it had a dishwasher it would be perfect but its pretty damn close. We are settled in now that we have been there for 6 weeks and it feels like we have been there always.
I do miss things about the old place. I miss being so close to Rita and Tim and Gabi and Sandor. And I miss our huge window room with the amazing view. However the upside to the new house (town home) is we have a yard and a basement and garage and SO MUCH ROOM. So much storage. So much everything. Ryan loves it too. As a bonus the stairs keep me a little more active too.
I know in the spring and summer its going to be amazing but even in the late fall I love it. Winter will rock because of the fireplace. A FIREPLACE. Love.

Ryan is so grown up so much. He remembers stuff we told him weeks ago.
He moved over at school to the preschool class. I knew it was a matter of time since he was about to be 2 1/2. We don't like it as much. The girls are very nice but we both felt for the money we were spending he should be learning more. So we signed him up for Montessori school. The switch over will happen after new years.
That being said we started the party training for real. No half assing. Last Saturday, after soccer, I put him in underwear. He wet himself almost right away. We talked about it and put new underwear on. The true test was taking him to Ikea and picking up our buddy on the way. Ryan pee'd in the toilet at Ikea (there is where sanitizing wipes are super handy!!!)
I wiped down the potty and had him hop on. Another thing I wish I would have known, SKIP THE POTTY SEAT. Kids can hold themselves up. He did so great. Trick is put them on the potty nonstop every 30-60 minutes. Now we don't really use a potty seat at home anymore. He always says he wants to hold himself up. Another tip is even if your kids is still in diapers if you see underwear on sale BUY IT. In Canada underwear is super expensive. Like $12 for 3 pairs. Just beyond silly. I found a deal at Costco for 6 pairs for $8 of Calvin Klein so right now Ryan is wearing nicer underwear then me. hahaha

OH also Ryan got his flu shot on a Thursday and by the end of the day he was in pain with his arm. Some tylonal fixed that but the next day his arm was red, hot, swollen and in pain. I didnt know but that can be a side effect. He was not himself for Friday and Saturday. By Monday it was back to normal but it was a little scary.

I need to right a post about Halloween and the cruise. Maybe I will do that tonight if I have the energy (still sick)

We sold our condo and we have to be out when?!?

So whats new?

Ryan talks in full sentences. "mommy I am so hungry can we have eggs and toast and eggs and melon and eggs?"

He loves cars still and trackers.

He thinks he is batman all the time which is so damn cute. He  has bee hugging on me a lot lately. We are spending a lot of time together. This past weekend Neil had to work a photo event so it was just Ryan and I. He always get a little more attached to me when that happens. Not worried about it,  just trying to enjoy the hugs love and "mommy come here and play with me" while I have it.

Trying too get him to use the potty more. He is a little better at school. He regressed a little and was not going at all for almost a month. I think because of the move… keep reading.

We sold our condo, not for what we were hoping (which was high) but for what we needed and we got a townhouse. I am so excited about moving in. Downside is we have to be out  of the condo nu August 30th and our move in date is Sept 28th (we get the keys on the 27th).

What does that mean? Well it means a trip to Florida from Sept 1st to the 5th. Mini cruise out of Port Canaveral on the 5th-9th then we fly home on the 9th in the evening. I get to see my folks and my sister and a few friends which is awesome AND I get to go away with my boys on a cruise. Ryan hasn't been on one yet so I am very excited to see how he reacts to a huge boat, I think he is going to love it. They have a kids club which he can spend some time in so Neil and I can just have a few hours alone or take a nap on the deck. Or just eat a lunch without cutting up food for Ryan. Most of our time will be spent with him, that is the point of taking him with us but it will be so nice to just go for a walk around the boat just Neil and I. 

I plan on one night just a dinner with no Ryan as well. We got a balcony so in the night time when Ryan is sleeping Neil and I can chill out there and enjoy the night and sounds of water while we relax.

Then when we get back we will be stay with Rita and Tim (aunt and uncle) which is super awesome of them to let us crash there for 3 weeks with Ryan. All our stuff is going in pretty much a POD. They drop the container off, we fill it up, they take it away to be stored for month and then on the 28th they bring it to our new place for us to unpack. THEN my mom is visiting us in early Oct for Canada thanksgiving.

We have a LOT planned.

Fall is looking to be very exciting because Summer was a little unloved due to trying to sell our condo. We missed out on a lot.

We are trying to make up for it. Zoo visit with the Doiron's, picking berries with the Doiron's and Parks was a lot of fun. Trip to St Jacobs market for Gabi's birthday with Christina, Robin and Ellie. Swimming at Lily and Hugh to celebrate Rita's birthday, Ryan went to a Jays game for the first time this summer thanks to free tickets from Mike (awesome seats) tons of BBQ's at the Doiron's new place. Their daughter Sloane and Ryan as super tight. And we started this summer with a trip to Canada's Wonderland with the kids which was an awesome way to kick it off.

Wow after reading this I guess we did do a lot this summer. 

Neil and I just ended the summer with a trip to the EX last Friday which was awesome. First year we didn't take Ryan with us. I feel like he missed out a little but it was good to have some time with just Chris and Tara… no kids.

So that is what is new with us. I am going to try my best to update more. Right now I am doing a photo everyday for a year on my Facebook. I think next year I will do it on here.

Funny

About every 5 min Ryan had been doing something this morning that makes me laugh like crazy. Kid you are one funny dude, from the things you say to how you smack your mouth like an old man before you eat something you like.
He keeps saying "over in the bath time " or sits down in the pomp chair and leans back and goes "okay fireworks go!" at 730 in the morning.
Pushing the seeds out of his watermelon this morning "EWWWWWWW mommy EW!" I give him a piece with no seeds and he offers me the one he has been poking with his fingers to get the seeds out "mommy eats this one."
Um no thanks bud.
I had to go to the bathroom and he is screaming "WOW what a big guy mommy." I says "yes Ryan is a big guy." he goes "NO mommy is a big guy for going tolet. YAY MOMMY!"

See what I mean, so damn funny.
And now he is superman for eating the watermelon with seeds. "in the finger batman, SUPERMAN yeah. In the finger... SUMERMAN dooob doooob doooob, Im making trackers with trackers superman"
what?!

Toddlers are a lot of work but so awesome.

Teething... again?!

I hate teething, makes my awesome  kid into an evil one.
Though last night was different. The final four teeth are coming out and its taking a while so we will have a few rough days/nights and then back to awesome kid.
Last night was rough. Two servings of Tylenol  numbing gel when it was bad and ended up at 1am putting the spare futon mattress in Ryans room for Neil to sleep on.

What makes this better you may ask? Well when Ryan was crying Neil asked is his teeth hurt and he said yes. Neil asked if he wants the numb goo and Ryan said YES! When it was on he curled up on Neil for a little bit and when Neil asked "Do you want to go back to bed." he said yes.

Not just screaming and screaming and screaming. He communicated with us.

This kid is growing big time.

Milestones
He knows all his colours. Even White, Pink and Purple. We are working on Black, Brown and Silver now.
He loves to say "Ryan did it" or "mom did it."
He gives me nice kisses on the lips if I ask and if he is feeling goofy he will give a sloppy wet kiss which has become a game if I am holding him and he knows I can not get away.
He asks for people he hasn't seen for a while, like Tim or Aunt Nina (Christina) and even Baby Ellie.
He will try new food if he is in the mood but is not afraid to make a face and let it fall out of his mouth while saying "ew gross."
He sings A LOT (which is awesome)
He reads a lot with us on the sofa. In fact he rather sit down with one of us and read a book then watch TV which makes us (neil and I) very happy. Though he is starting to understand our computers and will grab Neils iPad and ask for Cars (a game or video). He plays a spelling game sometimes but we limit it because he gets mad when you take it away.

Just a quick update before work.
Happy Monday!

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.

Hitting and Biteing

WOW

On the way to bath he bite me hard enough to leave a wicked mark and when I said OUCH! He slapped me. I put him on the change table and I held his face and told him he hurt mom and he hit mom and why would be do that? We do not bite or hit, I told him he hurt me again and mom would NEVER hurt him cause I love him so why would he hurt mom so much? He looked right at me sort of sad looking and said "Im sorry." Not sorry but I am sorry.

wow.

just wow.

I told him it was okay and he should be sorry for hurting mom but when we are upset we should use our words. I told him I know he is tired and coughing (not feeling great) but he should not hurt mom. I said I was happy we talked and he understood I asked him if we can high five for talking so we did. Then I asked if he understood he should talk to mom, he nodded and we went off to the bath.

it was pretty good.

I am so happy he understands me. He gets it. He knows he hurt me, he knows he shouldn't. Because of that I know he will hit me, sometimes by accident  sometimes when he is mad, but we can talk about it.

I love that.

When he is tired or not feeling well he regresses. He stops using words too and just grunts at stuff. I think I let him go past his bed time also. He didn't nap much at school so I am to blame for it a little. The first clue should have been around 6:45 when he stopped saying "apple" and "food" and started grunting and screaming a little. I kept saying "Bud, do you want apple? Do you want cracker? Do you want food or drink?" and he just kept doing this grunt and high pitch squeal. Oh well, none of us are perfect but we both tried. :D

Holy shit that bite hurt.

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.

Day care update

Ryan slept from 8pm till 6:30am. Almost 11 hours!
I think he was just so worn out.
I am watching him on my lunch break now. Neil sent me this this morning...
He said he thinks Ryan is the responsible party.

LOL

Right now he is just playing on his own and being a good kid. I sure hope they try to get him to nap soon.

You can sort of make him out in the orange shirt.

See you in a few hours little man.

Birthday and day care

April 17th was a lot of fun. We hung out, cleaned, went shopping, played, went on the swings, slid down the slide and after we got home from getting Neil Ryan had a cupcake. This time it was rainbow chip and I put a tiny bit of frosting on it.
He loved it.

 Forget broccoli, give me cake!

 Hmmmmm

 Hey dad, try this out!

Nomnomnom

April 18th Neil took me into work and then was off to the doctor with Ryan.
He got his 12 month shots, in his arms, poor kid. We also found out he is 27.5lbs and 78cm (30.7inches). He is in the top 90% (which means he is a big dude)
He should drink whole milk (not 2%) No peanuts till 2 years of age (or peanut butter) and he had a rash (which might be athletes foot) on his feet so we have to cream him up at night and try to leave shoes off.
Neil and Ryan had a great time together while I was back at work. Neil gave Ryan a piece of twine while he was on the phone with Revenu Canada about our taxes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD-MBzrmJL4
Its pretty damn funny and it made my first day back to work go better.
My guys picked me up a little early and Neil had a frosty for me as a treat. It was awesome.


Today... today was the first day of day care. I was so 'butterfly belly' this morning. Ryan had no idea what was going on. We went into day care and after asking about the sign in for video over internet we took him to class. I let the ladies know Ry has a rash on his feet and to try to keep shoes off him and the milk was in the bag (breast for now, we really need to go grocery shopping). The young black lady (really need to learn her name!) took Ryan from me and told me "go have a good day." She put Ry in the middle of the room and he had his back to me and started playing. Neil took my hand and lead me out of there. I was crying. Not much just a few tears. Neil grabs my hand, puts it up in the air and turns to me and says "Lets celebrate, lets go to mexico! Ryan is their problem now!" I couldn't help but laugh.


I was pretty busy at work and trying to get into the swing but I did go online a few times to spy on Ryan. I saw him playing, being rocked, being hugged and cuddled, I saw him do the tired lay down and thought to myself "Oh they better put him to bed soon." I saw him step over another kid, play with a ball, eat, drink, walk around and have a good time.
The lady Rita told me he had two servings of tacos at lunch. LOL. And it also looks like he drank his whole bottle of breast milk at 4. Maybe I should give them two bottles? He ate pita, tzatziki, oranges and the fruit I gave them. Damn... kid can eat. I guess it's all the playing with other kids.
I am trying to get him to drink only from cups so we shall see. I will have to talk to them about that and what they think.
He was covered in boogers which was super gross. It was nice to bathe him tonight. Lets just say all the kids there have runny noses and its hitting my gross out factor pretty hard.


This is his report card.

(click to enlarge)

 I get one everyday.
 I fill out the small section to the top left and the ladys fill out the rest. They were really happy with how much he ate and drank but he didn't sleep. The 30 min nap he did take was on a hippo pillow in the main play room. Rita said he went to sleep in her arms around 11 (which I saw) but when they put him down in the crib room he woke up. She said they left him there and he chatted and cried a little. Hopefully he will sleep for them Friday. He was in a GREAT mood on the drive home and tonight while he ate dinner and played. He had a nice bath (a fast one though cause he kept trying to lay down in the water). Now he is sleeping. I am doing some wash and then time to make lunches for Neil and I. (and a shower)
I will confess tonight after bath, after saying goodnight to daddy and kitty Roag, after breast feeding and teeth brushing I let him sleep on me. I sat in the chair in his room while he slept on me just staring at him while the sun was setting. I was in there about 10 min longer then I needed to be. I wanted to hold him longer but we need to sleep train him again, he is getting bad. I just sat there cuddling him looking at him and smelling him and kissing him. Trying to engrave in my brain how he feels in my arms.


I know I am being dramatic... I also know other moms reading this blog will get this and nod in agreement to that feeling. The old cliche is true, they grow up way to fast.


Love you little man.