How I spent my birthday

How did I spend my 32nd Birthday? At Sesame Place of course -isn't that how everyone spends their birthday?? Jay and I decided to take Ryan to Sesame Place for the day and it was so much fun. We took Ryan once last summer and he had a good time but really didn't understand what was going on. He also couldn't walk yet so that really limited the activities we could do. Even though I thought Ryan would enjoy himself more this year, I was surprised how much Ryan loved everything. From the moment we got there, he could not contain his excitement.

He kept running ahead of us, and running back yelling "Mommy, Daddy" and pointing all over trying to tell us about everything he saw. We had decided to spend the extra money so we could go to the "Breakfast with Cookie Monster and friends" and I think it was worth every penny. When you arrive at the breakfast, Cookie is there to greet each child and Ryan ran right up to him and gave him a huge hug. (later on, he even tried to pry cookie's mouth open to see if cookies were in there).

Also at the breakfast was Ernie, Bert, Big Bird and the Count.

Ryan was not afraid of any of them and went up to each one, gave them a hug and a high five. The nice thing about the breakfast was it was not too crowded and the characters walk around for about an hour so Ryan was able to go up to them a number of times and really spend as much time with them as he wanted to. While Ryan loved all of the characters, he seemed most interested on Bert and on multiple occasions, went up to Bert and told him a story - when I say he told him a story, Ryan was blabbing for about 3 minutes non-stop and was talking with his hands the whole time. At one point, Bert looked over at me and I am pretty sure he was thinking "Lady, what is your kid talking about?" Well, finally, Ryan let Bert know what he was saying - he took Bert by the hand, looked at Jay and I and said "Bye" and led Bert out of the restaurant.

After the breakfast, we went on a few water rides before heading over to one of the many kiddie pools. Ryan had a blast just splashing around and Jay and I had the best time just watching him. He was laughing so hard that it was not impossible not to laugh with him.

After the pool, we spent the rest of the day going on other rides, watching some of the shows and the parade later in the afternoon. If you want to see more pictures from the day (there are a lot more), you can click here

The Lake

We took Ryan to a lake for the first time today, a private lake in Pinehurst. Ryan loves swimming in the pool, but has never been to the beach so I was not sure how he would do. He loved it!! As soon as we got there, Ryan walked right over to the edge of the water and started playing in the sand.



It was not long before he just started walking in, all by himself. Jay and I followed right behind him, thinking that he would stop as the water got deeper, but he kept venturing farther out until the water was just hitting his chin and I could see under the water that he was standing on his tippytoes. Jay picked him up and brought him closer to shore and Ryan started crying and kicking so Jay said that it was too deep there. After going through this routine about 20 times, Ryan started saying "deep deep".

We eventually let him walk deep enough so it went over his face, then quickly picked him up thinking it would help him understand he was not tall enough to go out that far. Nope. He thought it was the funniest thing and then kept practicing keeping his mouth closed so the water would not go in his mouth. I still don't know why he would not do this in the pool (insisted we hold him, even though he could stand), but I think if we go to the beach/lake again this summer, we are going to have to bring a life vest. What a great day at the lake!!

Polar Bear Polar Bear, What do you hear?

Do you hear Ryan screaming in your ear?

Omi, Jay and I went with Ryan to the North Carolina Zoo today in Asheboro and had a great time. Ryan loves the Eric Carle book Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you hear? so it did not surprise me that he ran right over to the glass at the NC Zoo to get a better look at the polar bear. It was about 90 degrees out and clearly, the polar bear was too hot to move so we told Ryan that we would come back later and see the bear because he was sleeping now. Ryan started screaming for about 5 minutes straight "Wake up, wake up" and was banging on the glass. Soon enough, all of the other kids were yelling too, not that it did any good.

Ryan did get plenty of attention from the sea lions though.

Of course, the Rhino curse wears on and Ryan was asleep by the time we got to the Rhinos, so count that as strike 100 in my attempt to get an updated blog header of Rhino with a rhino. We did get a lot of great pictures at the zoo though and here are some of my favorites.

Erika and Richie's wedding

After months of anticipation, Erika and Richie's wedding finally came and it was a perfect day. They could not have asked for better weather and the day went off without a hitch, except for maybe the excitement at hair and make-up place which ended with all of us getting our make up done for free (wonder who asked for that?). Erika looked absolutely beautiful and Richie so handsome and it was obvious to everyone how happy they are together.

While I was helping Erika get ready and taking pictures, Jay had the task of getting Ryan ready for his very important role as Ring Bearer. I felt bad that Jay would have to get Ryan in his tux alone while getting himself ready at the same time, but Ryan looked so adorable (and Jay very handsome)when they came downstairs that I started to cry (I cried pretty much the entire day, especially during my speech).

Ryan hardly fussed with his tuxedo and participated in pictures with the groomsmen much longer than I thought he would. I think that it definitely helped that he got to stay in between Uncle Michael and Richie most of the time - I guess logically, you would keep the three most handsome Bridal Party members together anyway, right?



I was very nervous about how Ryan would do in his function of ring bearer and I could not have been more proud of how good he was. For the ceremony, Ryan and I walked down the aisle together and I am happy to say that he did not throw the pillow or scream. He seemed a little bit nervous but man, did he look cute!!

When we got to the end of the aisle, Ryan sat with Jay and did not make a peep for the whole ceremony (so glad we had his pacifier) which was beautiful. Once Erika and Richie said their "I Do"s and were announced as husband and wife to all of our cheers, we took a few more pictures and then it was time for the party to begin!!

During cocktail hour, we had some time to relax in a private room with the rest of the party which was perfect because I worried Ryan would not eat much with so many distractions around him. Boy, was I wrong. He ate more than anyone else in the room and we discovered that he likes spanakopita - I think that Ryan ate 10 of them and sat down in a chair right next to where the server was standing so that he could take more whenever he wanted.

As soon as the reception began and the music started, Ryan could not wait to get on the dance floor, maybe to burn off all the food he ate, and he gave everyone quite the show

After his first act, everyone clapped which only encouraged him to continue. When he received no applause the second time, he clapped for himself until everyone joined in. When it was well past Ryan's bed time, we brought him upstairs to the babysitter so that we could continue to celebrate with the bride and groom and dance the night away. I guess we were having too much fun dancing though because I don't have any pictures of Jay and I dancing together. I do have plenty of favorites from the day though:

We had such a great time at the wedding and can't believe it is already over. Congratulations to Erika and Richie and wishing you a lifetime of love and happiness.

21 months - Letter to Ryan

Dear Ryan,

You continue to be more and more talkative and get funnier by the day. Here are some of your current favorite things/funny things you do (and some pictures that are totally unrelated but are thrown in just because you are cute):

Favorite bedtime song: Edelweiss, from the Sound of Music. I am not sure why/when I started singing this to you (some time in late May maybe) and every night you beg me to sing you "ice". As soon as I am finished, you say "none, none" and hold up one finger, meaning "one more time, please". "None" started because before I read you your last book before bedtime, I usually hold up one finger and say "Ryan one more book", and you would hold up one finger and say "two". Quite the little bargainer you are trying to become. Recently though, I guess knowing you are getting one more only, you say "none". Your other favorite song of the month: If your happy and you know it. Your favorite "happy" things to do are: clap your hands, give thumbs up, say hooray (which is everyone's favorite to hear/watch), and wiggle your arms.

Favorite Yankee: "Je-Ta". It is ok that you don't know your name, as long as you know that your favorite Yankee is Jeter, you are good to go. Now, we need to start working on the Jets chant. It is almost football season after all.

Favorite saying: "I dit" You want to do everything by yourself and don't want help and say "I dit" (i'll do it) to let me know that. You say it ALL THE TIME.

Favorite food of the month: Waffles with applesauce on them. Daddy says that the only reason you have them with applesauce is because I hate syrup and refuse to give it to you (or give you dry waffles) and I guess that is true. Sorry that I made you a waffle weirdo! You love them so much that one day grandma was over and didn't know what you were saying and you kept pointing to the oven (I cook them in there) and then the freezer until grandma figured it out.

On the not cute or funny front: As time goes on, you have gotten wilder and more daring. This month marked our first (and hopefully last) trip with you to the emergency room (June 11). It was 6:45 a.m. and you were standing on the toilet seat, playing with the light switch and pulled your arm away and fell when I tried to get you down. You banged your head on the back of the toilet paper holder and started crying immediately. I picked you up and was hugging you to calm you down and then realized there was blood all over the back of your head. I was trying VERY hard not to panic (was not successful) but you were so strong and brave, calmed down very quickly and began playing with your cars again within minutes, your hair still matted down with blood. When Elizabeth came, I told her what happened and told her you got a booboo and I started crying - you saw me crying and came over, gave me a hug and then pointed to the scab I still had on my foot from when I dropped a chair on it a month before and you said "Booboo", seemingly worried about me and not understanding how worried I was about you. I decided that we should go to the hospital, just to be on the safe side. The doctor cleaned out the cut and said that he didn't think you needed stitches, but did give me a pamphlet about what to watch out for after an infant head injury. #1 on the list: Drowsiness. Yeah, thanks Doc, now that you see my child is about to take a nap, let me know to watch out for drowsiness. So then, I spent the rest of the day at work calling Elizabeth every hour asking such valuable questions like " Does he seem normal?", "Is he breathing?" "Are his eyes tracking properly?" I am surprised that she didn't tell me to stop calling to ask such stupid questions (another reason I love Elizabeth) but each time I called, she told me that you were fine and your head wasn't bothering you at all. After work, Daddy and I met you and Elizabeth outside and after Elizabeth left, the three of us walked home together. When we got closer to your house, you asked to get out of the stroller so we let you get out to play since you spent most of the day inside taking it easy (well, that is what you were supposed to be doing). Of course, you had to run, not walk and despite my screaming at you to stop and walk, you kept laughing and running and eventually tripped and fell. As I was about to start crying again for the 100th time of the day that you were again hurt, I watched you get up, brush the dirt off your knees which were then all scraped up, heard you laugh, and off you were again, running down the path. You are 100% boy, so amazingly tough and fearless- Part of me feels that it is fantastic that you are so tough and not a cry-baby at all, but at other times it worries me because you are so daring and have no fear and I am afraid that you will keep getting hurt. I wonder sometimes if as time goes on and daddy and I have more experience being parents, if we will worry less about you getting hurt. I am pretty sure the answer is no and that the type of worrying will just change.

I love you forever and will worry always,

your mommy

Lucky Strike

Grandma, Grandpa, Jay, Jasmine, Michael, Ryan and I tried to go to the Botanical Gardens today. We got all the way to the Bronx before it started to rain so we decided instead to head to the Palisades Mall to go to the New Lucky Strike Bowling Alley there. It was a very cool place and it was also Ryan's first experience with bowling. In addition to the main bowling section, they also has a kids bowling area. For a dollar, you could bowl a full 10 frame game on a short lane (bumpers included although I didn't figure that out until the 5th frame) and the balls were a little bit bigger than balls you would use in Skeeball. Like all big kid things he does, Ryan loved it.

As soon as our game ran out, he tried to take the balls off another kid's lane and Grandma let him of course. He even tried to roll a regular bowling ball when we started playing

- too bad he doesn't understand "taking turns" -- guess we need to work on that along with sharing!!