Ryan
Topic: Ryan

It's been a bit of a struggle for Ryan - and us! At first I thought he took the move fairly well. When Sarah brought him back from Winkies on Tuesday, Ryan asked for his chair, but was otherwise ok. However, that night he woke up crying three times. Over the last couple of days, he's been very out of sorts. The last night he woke up twice; once at 12:30am, then again at 4am, and was up for over an hour!

Poor little dude.

I'm sure it's tough for him, not truly knowing what's going on. He hasn't been napping, so he's been exhausted, too. Larry got him to nap this afternoon, but not without a lot of unhappiness - for both Larry and Ryan!

Two more nights in the house, then that's that. We're into the hotel until we leave. 

Autumn Pictures
Topic: Ryan

Last Sunday, Sarah did autumn pictures up at the base. Click here to see Ryan's proofs: http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/ThumbAccess.aspx?e=3197062

(The password is: Ryan.)

Enjoy!

ps - Blast From The Past!

Click here for Ryan's photos from last year:

(Yes, that's the same shirt. )

Halloween 2006

Ryan Bits
Topic: Ryan

Today Ryan had his first visit to the dentist. Nothing is wrong, it's just that since we're leaving soon (and I've been derelict in my parental duties and haven't gotten him in before), we thought it'd be a good idea to take him in. He did really well. He sat in the chair and kept pretty still. He was definitely wary, but intrigued as well. The lady who did his mini-cleaning did a great job talking to Ryan, gaining his trust, and keeping his interest. The only part Ryan objected to was having his teeth examined by the dentist. For that exam, Ryan's head was in the dentist's lap, while I had the rest of Ryan on my lap. The dentist said if Ryan yelled, that would actually help, because then at least he's be able to see Ryan's teeth. Leave it to Ryan to find a way to yell and hide his teeth at the same time! I'm so proud...

I'm happy to report that Ryan's teeth are fine. I asked about the pacifier, and apparently there's no damage from it as yet. However, we are planning on weaning him off of it when we get back to the States. He is using it less, which is good. We're not about to take it away before a major move though.

On the potty training front, things have been going very slowly, but they have been going (no pun intended). I don't expect Ryan to be out of diapers any time soon, but we are at least moving in the right direction.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before or not, but a few weeks ago, Larry was holding Ryan before bed, saying goodnight. Ryan rubbed his hand on Larry's beard and said, "Grass!" I started laughing! I thought it was inventive of Ryan to come up with that word, since he didn't know the word, "beard." 

Ryan's Third Birthday
Topic: Ryan

(Click on the above slide show to view as a web album.

The first photo is on our way down to RAF Croughton, the next several are from Filey, then Ryan's birthday. The rest are around the house, and the next to last couple are from a friend's birthday party. The very last one is a candid at home in a shirt Ryan got for his birthday.) 

On September 18, Ryan turned three. Time does fly! We decided to have a low key, weekday celebration. I took Ryan to Winkies, a nice indoor play place. We were joined by three of Ryan's friends (and their moms). I brought cupcakes, and that was the extent of it. Winkies had candles and matches, which I hadn't even thought of!

After the kiddos played and had lunch, we put three candles into a cupcake, lit them, and sang Happy Birthday to Ryan. Ryan LOVED it! He just ate it up with a spoon! He put his hands on his cheeks and as my friend Sarah put it, looked like he'd just won Miss America! I had no idea if Ryan would even get the concept of being sung to, but he sure did. It was so much fun watching him enjoying it so much.

It was such a nice, relaxed, stress-free birthday. Both Ryan and I really enjoyed it.

When Larry got home from work, we went to Toys'R'Us to pick out some toys. Of course Ryan loved that!

All in all, not a bad birthday.

Ryan's Birthday!
Topic: Ryan

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Choosing My Battles
Topic: Ryan

Over the last few weeks or months, Ryan has become very picky about what he wears. He'll only wear a few different things, which is shame because he's got a lot of cute clothes. However, I've decided that what he wears is a battle I'm not going to fight. It's just not worth it to me. As long as he's in clean clothes, I'm happy.

This morning Ryan picked out Nemo PJ's. I tried to convince him to wear something else, but he really was intent on those PJ's. So that's what he's wearing. I figure in the grand scheme of things, no one is going to care what he wore when he was two. And I really don't want to get into a battle of wills that will result in tears and shouting on both sides! So that is why today Ryan is dressed in his Nemo PJ's. (At least he decided on socks that match the PJ's. That's not always the case.)

And after all, who wouldn't want to wear PJ's all day now and then?

Haircut and Spider
Topic: Ryan

This is a record for me: six posts in one day!

First, our Ballad of the Enormous Spider comes to an end. We put new batteries in the spider-sucker, and out it went. Buh-bye.

Second, below are some before/after photos of Ryan's haircut. WARNING!! The last two photos in this album are of THE SPIDER!!! That is why I didn't post it as a slide show. Click on the thumbnail below to view the web album. It's all Ryan until the last two. Just wanted to make sure nobody saw anything they didn't want to. (I have to say, it's hard to get proper perspective on the spider, since unless you know how big the sucker is, it's hard to tell the relative size of the spider. Let's just say, it's big.)

 

Second Haircut (and spider)

Pop Quiz
Topic: Ryan

Pop Quiz: Your toddler's most favorite shirt is beyond dirty. You strip it off, causing your toddler to scream and cry. You present other clothing options which are summarily refused. You have been patient and nice, never raising your voice, or resorting to violence. You have even tried reasoning and explaining the situation to said toddler, to no avail. What do you do?

I have chosen to let him stay upstairs in nothing but his diaper (and socks), until he decides to be reasonable. There's a baby gate on the door to his room. He is on the outside of it, so whenever he's ready, he can come downstairs, put on clothes, and have breakfast. Heck, he can come down and have breakfast in just his diaper, if he wants. However, he has chosen to stand in front of his door wailing and crying and screaming, in hopes that I will dig his dirty shirt out, and put it on his body. (I do plan on washing it as soon as possible.)

I wonder what Super Nanny or Dr. Phil (or any child-rearing guru) would say? 

Fever
Topic: Ryan
This evening Ryan spiked a fever of 102. This morning he woke up warm and out of sorts, but rounds of tylenol throughout the day seemed to help. He was even running around the house yelling in the afternoon! However, it caught up to him. I gave him some ibuprophen, and his fever went down to 99. Whew! I've got him down to bed, but I'm guessing it might be a rough night...

Thomas Recall
Topic: Ryan

I heard about a product recall on Thomas the Tank engine toys. I am pleased to say that although Ryan has a ton of Thomas toys, none of them are among those recalled. Yay!

I know I am still dreadfully behind. I will try to rectify that as soon as I can... Until then, I hope everyone has a great Father's Day!