Table and Chairs
Topic: Ryan
For a while now it's been occurring to me that Ryan will soon grow out of his highchair. I also know that around his age now you're supposed to transition your kid out of the highchair. There's just one little problem: We don't have a dining room table. Larry and I follow the grand tradition of both my parents and his dad of just having a coffee table. I was at my next door neighbor's house last week, and noticed her two year old daughter had a really nice little table and chairs. I thought that might be the solution for Ryan. Yesterday Larry and Ryan and I went to IKEA and got a cute little table and two chairs. At dinner we sat Ryan down at his table and it worked out really well. The only problem was, the table and chairs aren't finished. After only one use they were sporting spaghetti sauce stains. *sigh* So I guess we will have to sand and finish the table. No biggie I suppose. I am just NOT a DIY kind of gal. Today I went to the bx in search of table cloths. No dice. The girl working there suggested Darley Mill, so I guess I have an excuse to go there now.
I have to say that Ryan rolls with things so well. I'm the one who has a hard time with his transitions. I just can't bring myself to put the highchair away just yet. Whenever Ryan reaches a new milestone or level of development, I'm always excited and proud. However, part of me is always a little wistful for the stage now past. So far Ryan has been great at letting me know when he's ready for what. I do believe he's the child development expert here!
(That picture was taken towards the end of September.)

Party Photos
Topic: Ryan
Party Pics Here are some more pictures from Winston's birthday party. Enjoy!
PS - I did something rude to Ryan today. I boiled his funky pacifier (upon suggestion from my friend, Theresa). I put that one next to the new one he's been rejecting. He put the boiled one in his mouth, took it out, put in the other one, gave me a look like, "What the heck?" then put the boiled one back in, and in it's stayed.

Part II
Topic: Ryan
I forgot to mention another thing Ryan says a lot, which is, "ha," the first part of the word, "hot." If we say "hot," he'll say, "ha." He also says it if he sees us drinking something out of a mug. And how can I forget one of Ryan's favorite things to say? "No." He mostly makes the sound of the word, rather than meaning it. Although, sometimes it would seem that "no" means "no."
So I suppose Ryan says a lot more than I gave him credit for.
On the crib-climb front, Larry arranged it so we can have a baby gate at the foot of the stairs (the stairs in old Victorian style homes just weren't made for accommodating baby gates), and one in Ryan's door. We would have liked to have had the one upstairs set up so that Ryan could come into our room if he wanted, but the way the house is, that just isn't possible. It may be that Ryan won't climb out of his crib for a while or ever, but we did need baby gates anyway. It's nice to not have to worry about him getting halfway up the stairs before I can catch him. I do plan on letting Ryan get plenty of practice going up and (especially) down the stairs, but now I get to pick and choose when! Let me add that the cats are not at all happy about the gates. Our cats are lazy even for cats, and although they are perfectly capable of jumping the gate, they prefer to meow plaintively on whatever side of the gate they're on at the time.

Ryan Report
Topic: Ryan
Lately Ryan's started walking in our shoes. I thought it was cute so I took a picture.
The following was inspired by Kate's recent blog entry about her daughter's expanding vocabulary:
Ryan does "talk" up a storm. It's just not in any language I understand. However, for several months now, things have been creeping in that sound like parts of words, or maybe even almost whole words. (This is not including the "dada" and "mama" sounds made early on.) The first one I remember is "gah" as in the first part of the word, "gone." After feeding him, I would say, "All gone," and Ryan would say, "gah." Before we came to the States for Christmas, Ryan said, "Yay!" (I think I wrote about that.) Last night I was talking to Ryan/myself saying that I needed to organize Ryan's clothes. Then Ryan said, "cwo," which sounded like he was trying to say the first syllable of "clothes." Today he actually said the word, "toe." On the changing table I name body parts (legs, feet, toes) and I grabbed his toe and he said, "toe." Yay! It's so cute to hear his voice say actual words. It's different than his babbling. It's as if he's trying out a foreign language, which I suppose is what he's doing. He's fluent in his own language, but he's slow and deliberate when trying out English. As excited as I am about his starting to almost talk in our language, I will miss hearing him speak in his own.
PS - I have to say that Ryan is taking the mother of all naps right now. He's been down almost three hours! He was up at 7:30 this morning, and just would not nap until around 1:45pm. Sometimes he gets all over the place with naps, but it usually evens out eventually.

5 of 10
Now Playing: Blue purring, "Friends" muted on tv.
Topic: Ryan
This picture is from Dec. 10. I've decided to put up some random pictures of Ryan now and then, just for the heck of it. They are just snapshots from daily life.
Last night Ryan woke up in the middle of the night for the first time since he adapted to this time zone. Actually "awake" isn't what I'd call him. He was sitting up in his crib fussing, kind of half asleep. All it took was a quick cuddle and he was back out.
Lately Ryan's current pacifier has been getting pretty grungy. Washing it doesn't help. It's developed its own distinctive odor (and probably its own eco system). I got out a new one in the same color, the exact same model. He's having none of it. You can't fool him, either. He knows which one is the seasoned one. I guess it takes time and effort to get it just how he likes it. I've thought about throwing away his current one (which I will do eventually), but I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with the fallout.
As for the crawling-out-of-the-crib fears I've been having, my friend Kate pointed out that perhaps Ryan just won't (her daughter can, but doesn't). That was an option I hadn't thought of. Hope we're that lucky!
Next week I'm going to have to leave Ryan with someone he doesn't know. It won't be for very long and I don't really have much of a choice. Most of me is pretty sure it'll be fine, but there's that first-time mom part that has to worry.
On a different topic, apparently sometime in the last decade, Timex started making their "stop" and "start" buttons separate. Since I've only had one new running watch in about that long, this came as a revelation to me. At least now I can finally use my new watch!
It was nice to get out and run by myself today. I enjoy taking Ryan with me, but since Larry will be gone, tomorrow will be my last shot at running solo for the next two months. It was a beautiful day. There was lots of sun and not too much wind. There were a lot of people out running.
Before Larry, Ryan, and I left the States, we mailed ten packages back to the UK. We sent them in two batches a few days apart. So far, five of them have arrived. Oddly, they are the ones we sent later.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Lasagne
Topic: This and That

First of all, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Larry's mom, Joyce!
The weather has been wacky today. It's gone back and forth between rain and sun, with sometimes both at the same time! The one constant has been really bad wind throughout the day. Yuck.
Last night I went to a meeting for a babysitting co-op that my friend Sarah is forming. All the ladies involved are nice and have their own kids. It seems like it's going to be a good thing. I realized though, that I'm not sure I'm up for babysitting other people's kids. I'm an only child who never babysat. I don't know jack all about kids past whatever Ryan's current age is (I parent by the seat of my pants). And honestly, the thought of changing some other kid's poopy diaper kind of grosses me out. I don't know how the millions of other people do it, but my hat is off to them! I figure that being a part of this co-op will broaden my horizons, and after all, it's free childcare! With doctor's appointments on the horizon and Larry gone, it will be nice to know there are people that can watch Ryan. I just hope that watching other people's kids won't be as bad as I'm fearing.
Not much is on tap for the weekend so far. It's Larry's last weekend here for a while, but he's been sick all week with a cold. Also, if the weather stays like this, it'll be hard to want to go out in it.
Oh, I almost forgot! I've been meaning to share this. This is funny. For some reason, Ryan finds the word, "lasagne" hysterical! Say that word and he starts laughing like crazy! I have no idea why.
Also, Larry watched Ryan last night while I went to the meeting. When I came home, I found that Larry had taught Ryan how to "slam dunk" his nerf type ball into the seat of his jumperoo. Ryan was loving it! This is exactly why little boys need daddies. I never would have thought that up.
And finally... the photo to the right is a random one I took with my cell phone. No special reason.

Ryan Report and Random Thoughts
Topic: Ryan
Didn't write yesterday. Oops. Had quite a streak going!
I have to say a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Larry's Uncle Barry! Hope it's a wonderful one.
This morning Ryan was awake at 5:45am. I have no idea why. I went into his room, turned on the space heater and his crib aquarium, gave him a cuddle, then put him back down. I heard him off and on for the next 45 minutes (while I was trying to get back to sleep). I don't know when he woke up, but sometime around 8:30am I finally got up and got Ryan out of his crib.
It's hard to get up in the morning because even though the days are slowly getting longer, when the weather is crappy (like it is today), it's still dark.
Yesterday Ryan was 16 months old. I know somewhere around 18 months, kiddos start being able to crawl out of their cribs. I've been pondering the repercussions of Ryan reaching that milestone. Of course safety is an issue. We've been getting along ok without using baby gates, but I think they will be a must. All the bedrooms are upstairs. Ryan's great at going up, but still learning how to safely go down. Also, there's furniture in his room that he will probably want to climb, so that will have to be moved. No biggie. The thing that I am really wondering about is: how on earth will we get him to nap and stay in bed at night??? I suppose we can put a gate in his bedroom doorway. However, he'll still be free to roam about his room. I know in the grand scheme of things it isn't a big deal, but I'm a first time mom and it's what's concerning me right now. Any other moms (or anyone else for that matter!) feel free to give me some advice on how you handled/would handle a little one being able to climb out of his crib. Thank you! (BTW, Ryan is able to open the door to his room, so simply closing his door won't work.) Larry's going to be gone for a couple months soon, so I figure Ryan will probably pick that time to reach this milestone.
Tonight a friend of mine from MHS is having a meeting to set up a babysitting co-op. Should be interesting. Hope it works out. I've got an appointment next week and the CDC is booked for the next month.
I took Ryan in the babyjogger and we went for a run. It's very windy and cloudy out. Not too cold though. I tried out a new pair of running shoes. Can't tell if they'll work out yet or not. They seem ok so far.
Larry's been sick with a cold or flu or something for the last several days. I think part of it is stress from work and getting ready to go to BNCOC.

Let There Be...
Topic: This and That
There is now light in the sky at 5pm. Yay! Not much, but at least some. Today it was sunny in the morning. Yay! Took Ryan in the jogging stroller and went for a jog.
Ryan was awake at about 7:30am. Guess I need to take getting to bed earlier more seriously.
I just looked at a list of Golden Globe nominees and winners. I can honestly say I've never heard of probably half of the movies on there. At least I'd heard of most of the tv shows, though I haven't watched the majority of them. Ever since we moved to Germany, then to England, and especially after having Ryan, my pop culture knowledge has completely gone to pot. Not that that's a bad thing, I suppose. That's that many more brain cells freed up for better info. (such as theme songs and character names of children's shows!). Seriously, it is weird to lose a common frame of cultural reference, even if the references are about inane things.

Billy Mills
Topic: Featured Link
Larry came across this article and shrared it with me. Bill Mills Speaks In Advance of Torch Relay It's a couple of years old, but is still relevant. The article is brief, yet encompasses so many things.

What Sleep Patterns?
Topic: Ryan
Ryan slept through the night wonderfully yet again. It's his napping that puzzles me. The last few days he, as I like to say, played the starring role in the compelling drama, "The Boy Who Refused To Nap." He'll be obviously tired, but just won't nap. He usually takes two naps a day, but the last couple of days it was a struggle just to get him to take one. Now this morning, he went down for a nap just fine. Go figure!