Superheros

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero".-- Marc Brown (childrens writer)

 In our house, you can be both, anytime you want.   Just a typical Saturday morning at 7 am in our house.....

Ryan - Five Friday Funnies

Ryan,

Man, have you turned out to be a funny boy.  You are creative, imaginative and a true negotiator.  Every day, you make me laugh .  I could listen you play with your superheros for hours - you boss them around, come up with amazing adventures for them, and you make almost of the bad guys be good.  You are super talkative, just like your mama - we could be in the car for hours and you never stop talking.  I have not written a Friday Funnies in a long time so here are some to kick off the weekend:

1.   You did something bad the other day and I knew it the second I walked in the house because you were waiting for me at the door with a pouty face and a sad voice.  I asked you what was the matter and you said nothing so I said "Maybe I should ask Elizabeth."  Your response?  "Elizabeth, can I talk to you for a minute?"  You whispered in her ear and I asked what you talking about.  Your said "Oh, nothing.  Just talking about what we are going to do tomorrow"  (you asked her not to tell me what you did)

2.  We went to Woodbury Commons the other day and Grandma met us. When Grandma left to go home, she told us she was going to one more store and she went one way and we went the other. When we passed the store Grandma went in, you asked if we could go in and see if she was still there.   I said ok and you walked right in and up to the saleswoman and you said "Excuse miss, but did you see my friend?  Her name is Grandma and this is her favorite store"

3.  You were looking for a bag that had trains in it.  You knew exactly what the bag looked like, exactly what was in it and exactly where you left it.   Daddy said that maybe you were mistaken and that you left at Grandmas and you turned right around and said "I left it right here.  I don't believe a bag can walk and a bag doesn't have legs so it can not be at Grandmas and I am very upset about this"

4.  Your favorite expressions lately are "Are you for real?",  "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?", and "This is going to knock your socks off".

5. You are able to unlock the apartment door by yourself and you know you are not supposed to open it for strangers but you let our neighbor in the other day while I was in the bathroom so I told you that from now on, you are only allowed to open the door for mommy or daddy unless it is a real emergency and that if anyone knocks at the door and we don't hear, you have to come tell us.  Without hesitation you said "Well, what if I am at Grandma and Papa's house and they are in the attic with Michael and there is glass up there and Max is at the door with a present for me.  Can I open the door then?"

I love you funny boy

xoxoxoxo

Sometimes......

it is really hard to leave the house in the morning.   Today was one of those days - I just wanted to play with the kids for longer. From the minute they woke up, they were both super cuddly and giggly, alternating between jumping on my bed and jumping on grandma.  Then Dylan decided to put on a "hat" and so did Ryan and the two of them were running around cracking up laughing.   The only way we could get a picture was to line them up for a race - of course, as soon as I said "ready, set", Dylan would take off running yelling "GO!!"

 I mean really, who would want to leave this and go to work??

How brothers should be....

On Saturday, we took the boys to a place called Leapin Lizards in Port Chester.   Aunt Carrie and Mom took Ryan last year and recently Ryan has been talking about it a lot.  Leapin Lizards is an indoor playground with tunnels, mazes, ball pits and other foam obstacles that the kids can run, climb, bounce and slide through.  It is hard to explain how big the place was but the picture below is about 1/3 of the size.

I knew Ryan would have a blast from the minute we walked in the door.  While we were registering and the kids were taking their shoes off, Dylan was screaming "Me Dillie go, me dillie go" but I was worried that he wouldn't be able to climb some of the things or would be too little.   Well, Dylan needed very little help and when he did, Ryan said "Mommy, don't worry.  I will help him" and help him he did.

For the next hour that we were there, the boys were practically inseparable.  Ryan followed Dylan.  Dylan followed Ryan.  And in the few times they were separated, Ryan would come out and search for Dylan and as soon as he found him would yell "there he is" and take off saying "Dillie, here I come".  At other times, Dylan would be looking for Ryan yelling "Ya Yi, Ya Yi".  (that's what he calls him).  Jay and I had the best time watching the two of them having the best time, not just because they loved playing there, but more because they loved playing there together.

I am amazed every day by the things that Dylan can do.  I remember thinking that Ryan did things that were not normal for his age - he was always wanting to play with the big kids at the park and tried to copy anything they did.  Dylan does the same with Ryan (hence the booboo on his chin) and is ridiculously strong and fearless.  The video below amazes me for two reasons: that Dylan could do what he did by himself and that Ryan waited for him, cheering him on the entire time.    

The kids spent a lot of time in the ball pit and of course, as soon as Ryan dove in head first, Dylan did the same.   They were both rolling around cracking up laughing and I was amazed that not once did they throw balls at each other ( I was sure one of them would end up crying)

We all had a great day at Leapin Lizards and it is quite possible that Jay and I had more fun than the kids.  I don't know if I ever saw them get along so well and it really was fantastic to watch them play together. As I stood there listening to them laugh, I just kept thinking "this is exactly how it should be - 2 boys, brothers, best friends forever"

Subway

When you go out to eat, do you ever think about what is going on in the kitchen? Who makes your food? Is it clean back there? Well, wonder no more!! If you are a frequent visitor of Subway, this is what might be going on in the kitchen:

The other day, Jay went to get the car inspected across the street from Subway and left the boys with mom while he talked to the guy - when he came back, he found this. I think Ryan must have been sucking in his stomach because he is not that skinny.

Dylan, Where are you?

It has been a very long time since I put up a video so here is a short one until I can get some more up

Friday Funnies

Haven't done these in a while but Ryan is seriously funny lately, and in this case, looks DO count for something.

The bigger Ryan's vocabulary gets, the funnier he becomes - I really don't know where he gets this stuff.

Recent Conversations

1. Me: "Ryan, please don't do that, you are going to break it" (while he was bending a playdoh cover)
Ryan: "Mommy, I'm not breaking it, I'm collapsing it"

2. Ryan: "Daddy pushed me in my belly?"

Me: "Why did he do that? Were you bad?"

Ryan: "I love you so much mommy" (fyi, he was being bad)

3. (out of the blue conversation)
Ryan: "Gamma, you a bad boy"

Gamma: "Why Ryan?"

Ryan: "You broke my baseball plate all in pieces, all on the floor" (it was true and I guess Ryan is holding a grudge about it since it happened about a month ago)

4. Ryan: "I have to take a nap now?" (he calls all sleeping, even at night, a nap)

Me: "Yes Ryan, it is bed time - it is dark time now so we have to go to sleep"
(next morning at 5:30 a.m., tap tap tap on my head)

Ryan: "Mommy look, look (while twisting my head off). Its not dark time, its blue time. I wake up from my nap"

5. "Mommy, I love your necklace" as he played with it. It broke 2 seconds later (not his fault, it was a cheap necklace) and he said "I really so sorry mommy, you have a band aid? You have tape? I'll fix it". When he realized it couldn't be fixed, Ryan said "Mommy, I don't like your necklace. Take it off"

Funny statements

"I need some munkshons" said when we went to Dunkin Donuts, talking about munchkins

"I like this. It is so tasty"

"It was an ax-sink" (an accident)

"I have good havior" (I have good behavior, lol)
"Look mommy, I nuts!" while jumping from couch to couch

Special Agent Ryan

There is a new tv show on the Disney Channel called Special Agent Oso which has become a big part of our lives and has clearly had influence on Ryan's storytelling. Oso is modeled after James Bond and he is a panda that helps kids with special missions. Each mission has "3 special steps" and Ryan has incorporated 3 steps into many parts of his day, going to the bathroom and going to bed specifically. Apparently, Dylan also has special steps that I was unaware of. When Elizabeth and Ryan were leaving to go to Gymboree yesterday, Dylan was whining a little bit and Ryan said "Mommy, you stay here, watch Dylan. You do 3 special steps. Step 1, Give Dylan milk, Step 2 change diaper, step 3 give bath. no got songs (ie: don't forget songs)" I am so glad Ryan is here to tell me how to take care of Dylan - I don't know what I would do without him - haha. It amazes me everyday how smart and funny Ryan is, how great his vocabulary is getting and how aware he is of the things going on around him. I really love that he is already looking out for his brother and I hope that he always will!

Friday Funnies

1. Ryan probably watches more tv than he should but some of the shows are educational and Ryan seems to be learning some things from them. Sort of. For example, the other day, Ryan was jumping from couch to couch yelling "Say Stupid, Say stupid" and I couldn't figure out where he learned that. I finally realized he was trying to say "Say Sube!" which Diego always says when he climbs up something, which is pretty much every episode. (sube is spanish for to go up)

2. Ryan is not happy when his tv turn is over. As soon as we turn off cartoons, he promptly declares "No no, I don't like peoples" - peoples being any non-animated tv show.

3. Ryan has been working on his jumping lately. I would say he should probably hold off on the hurdles for a while




4. Sometimes, I think that Ryan is going to have a tough time with the new baby and getting used to me being around, but not necessarily there for him. My last day of work was Tuesday and on Thursday, I went with Ryan and Elizabeth to see what story time at the library was like. When we got there, I planned to drop stuff off at the Salvation Army (2 doors down) and told Ryan I would be right back. When I came back 5 minutes later, Ryan and Elizabeth were outside waiting for me and Ryan was crying. When I asked why they were waiting, Ryan said "Ryan screaming" so I asked why he was screaming and he said "Ryan so, so, so, so, so sad mommy. Mommy Ryan best friend. Mommy no go byebye. Bebet go byebye" In some ways it was adorable and I love that he says I am his best friend and that he wanted to spend time with me, but it also made me feel sad for him that soon he will have to share my time and Jay's with the new baby.

5. On the other hand, it seems that Ryan is getting very excited about becoming a brother - too bad I don't really think he knows what that means. This weekend, Jay and I tried to finish up final preparations for the new baby and Ryan was very excited to help. He wanted to help wash all of the baby clothes, "helped" Jay put the baby swing together and even practiced swinging the "baby" (a stuffed dog) by pushing the swing since there were no batteries in it. I remember when Ryan was a baby, he never wanted to sleep and the only way to get him to sleep was to rock him. As soon as you would put him down though, Ryan would wake up and one of the few ways to get him to stay sleeping was to put him in the swing. My dad often said he didn't like the swing because he thought that it went too fast and rocked the baby too hard. If he didn't like it before, my dad definitely won't like it now since Ryan's version of "gently" pushing the swing is basically the highest level and then some. As soon as Elizabeth got to the house this morning Ryan couldn't wait to tell her all about his weekend and said "Bebet, baby is coming. I brother" and proceeded to tell her about the swing, the clothes etc and that "Swing baby - Ryan too big, I brother".

Friday Funnies

1. For the past two weeks, Ryan has two new sayings, both of which he uses often: "I so sad" and "I so happy". Both make Jay and I smile equally. Ryan always says "I so sad" for the same reason - he is trying to avoid doing something. Most often, he says it at bed time. He scrunches up his eyebrows and looks at me very seriously and says "Mommy, I sooooo sad", each time filling his voice with Oscar-worthy despair. When I ask why he is so sad, the answer is almost always the same "I need water, please". Oh, to have such sadness in life. After he drinks the water, he takes a deep breath and says "Ah, I so happy" and lies back down. Ryan is really though one of the happiest children I ever saw and even strangers notice it. Ryan has been telling us lately how happy he is which, as a parent, is really the best thing to hear. If he is having fun, he will say "Ryan so happy" and if he sees us smiling at him, he will ask us if we are happy too. You bet we are Ryan - We love you so much!!

2. We are trying to teach Ryan his full name and where he lives - We now have a son who thinks his name is "Ryan Jungle" and he lives in Newark.


3. Jay and I are really trying to prepare Ryan for the new baby although I am guessing that nothing we could do could make him really get it. Ryan got a book from Omi and Poppy that we read to him about being a big brother so now, whenever a conversation comes up about the baby, Ryan says "I brother", haha. The other night, Ryan insisted on laying across my belly because to quote Ryan "Baby need ABC's, Baby need twinkle" and proceeded to sing the baby all of these songs. It was so absolutely cute and when Ryan was done, even gave the baby a night night kiss (of course, he then stepped on my stomach to try and climb out of the bed).

4. Speaking of songs, Ryan has become much more interested in singing along with whoever is singing. As previously mentioned, we sing to Ryan every night after books and one song we sing is the ABCs. While I knew that Ryan could sing part of it, I was totally caught off guard when he started singing it on his own the other day. I love it!!

His other current favorites: Where is Thumbkin (but he only sings about "Pumpkin", "Snowman" and Pinkie"), Emily (from Thomas and Friends), and You are My Sunshine.


5. Because we don't have a train table at the house, we set up the tracks either on our coffee table or floor. I am getting much better at making elaborate, twisty tracks but Jay is still the best. Generally, Ryan will play with the trains on the track and doesn't try to destroy it, but every once in a while, he decides to break the tracks. When he does, the conversation is almost always the same:
Ryan: "Uh Oh Mommy/Daddy. Tracks all a mess"
Me/Jay: "Oh no. How did that happen?"
Ryan: "Ryan do it. Track all broken"
Me/Jay: "Why did you do that Ryan? Do you not want to play with your trains anymore? We can put the tracks away"
Ryan: "No, Ryan play trains. Ryan fix track - I do self." and he usually does a pretty good job fixing it.


Bonus video: I meant to put this video in last Friday's post, but I accidentally put it here and decided to just leave it. 7:30 pm in our house can only mean one thing: time for Diego!

Friday Funnies

1. Last week, Jay's day off was Tuesday and he spent the day with Ryan. When I came home, Jay told me that Ryan was a really good boy so when they went to the store to buy dinner, he told Ryan he could pick out whatever snack he wanted - he chose a loaf of oat bread.

2. The same day, Jay said Ryan ate all day long. Ryan is now strong enough to open the refrigerator and if we do not keep the kitchen door closed, he will go in there and take whatever he wants. As soon as I walked in the door after work, he said "dinner mommy, come" and led me to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Our conversation:

Ryan: "Cheese please" and handed me a ball of fresh mozzarella that was for our dinner. I don't think that Ryan has ever eaten mozzarella before
Me: "Ryan, I don't think you like that cheese, how about this cheese" and handed him a slice of American cheese

Ryan: "NO, this cheese" and pointed to the mozzarella.

So I cut him a piece and as soon as he finished he said "More please. Cut faster"

3. We have a new routine anytime I leave for work (or anyone else leaves our house). Ryan walks whoever is leaving to the elevator, we all have to karate chop the down button which he finds totally hilarious, then everyone gets a high five. After you get your high five, he yells "Down low, too Slow".

4. Not funny but an update of Ryan's five current favorite things:
- Food: A-cots (apricots) and "white" donuts (the powdered kind)

- Any tv show on Noggin (Max and Ruby, Blues Clues, Dora and Diego) (check back later for a video of him dancing to Diego)

- The expressions "Don't worry", "Be right back" (with his hand help up saying wait) and "Faster".

- Anything Thomas (he loves his trains and could play with them ALL DAY LONG, especially linking them together so he can carry all of them easily at one time). video of trains to follow also

-sleeping on "mommy pillow" when he gets up in the middle of the night

5. As I have mentioned before, Ryan and Grandma walk me to the bus every Friday. Each Friday, we stop at Lenz's Deli to get Ryan a poppy seed muffin and then go to the bus stop. Some mornings, we end up having to run to the bus so I don't miss it but other mornings, we have time to sit together and wait. There are three seats at the bus stop and usually Ryan sits in the middle (for 3 seconds), Grandma sits on one side and I sit on the other. For the past two times, someone has been sitting in one of the seats and Ryan has walked right up to them saying " 'cuse me. mommy seat." as as he tries to push them off the bench. Who knew you could be polite and rude all at the same time?

Five Friday Funnies

I think this Friday entry will be my new addition to the blog for 2009. Rather than having multiple posts of random "Funny Rhino" stories, I will save them all and post them on every other Friday, or more frequently if Ryan continues to be super funny.

Five Funnies

1. My parents and Uncle Michael came over on the 3rd for lunch. While they were all there, Ryan was running around like a nut and threw a tambourine at me. He knew right away that he did something bad and put his head down. When he looked up and saw we were all still staring at him, he said "Sorry Mommy". I said, "Ok, thank you Ryan. We do not throw our toys" and he started talking a mile a minute, hand gestures included and said "Gamma.......throw......" Yeah mom, I am pretty sure he just blamed you.

Doesn't he look like he is thinking "Don't you dare think about touching MY pizza"?

2. "Freeze" is Ryan's new favorite command. He says freeze when it is bed time and I am getting ready to leave his room.

3. Anytime Ryan hears a noise but can't see where it is coming from he says "Listen, what that noise?" and does this:

4. The other day, Ryan woke up at 4 and Jay went to bring him in our room. When he got in the bed, he kept saying to Jay "Daddy, go, get out, go" (today, he tried to kick me out). Eventually getting sick of getting kicked in the head, Jay left the room and Ryan turned to me and we had this conversation:

Ryan: "Mommy, where daddy go? Daddy go work?"

Me: "No Ryan, he went to sleep in the other room because you told him to get out. That was not nice"

Ryan: "Daddy sad?"

Me: "Yes, Daddy is sad because you were mean"

Ryan: "I sorry Daddy"

5. Latest excuse to not sleep: "Mommy, come back. Feet got out cover. No door lock". Well Ryan, of course your feet got out of the cover, since I heard you kick the blanket off as I was leaving the room. And no, the door is not locked, it is just closed.