My Cuz

In the middle of my very fragile state- I did have a very special visitor that helped in taking my mind off of my pain. My cousin Owen stayed overnight with us on 2 different days so mommy could help out Auntie Nina and Uncle Jeff. Owen spent one night, then flew out to Arizona to see his grandparents, then finished off his travels at our house for another night. The first part of his stay was a bit difficult because I was in the thick of my illness/teething...but that tail end visit was awesome. We played with Play Doh, colored, painted, played and ran hard, and just goofed off together. I love having my cousin around and he definitely helped my attitude...Thanks Owen- come spend the night any time!!!

Tough Toofer Times

I have been a LOT out of sorts recently because of this dang  2 year wisdom tooth. (Ummm- I am almost 3- why am I just getting these now???)  At first mommy just thought it was me starting my "terrifying threes" but I swear it is not that. I have been feeling really yucky due to this wisdom tooth coming in and because of that I have been argumentative, whiny, crabby and I basically break into tears at the drop of a hat. Apparently I have 3 more of them that need to come in- so please say a prayer for all of us over here @ Casa Ryan. One for me so my teeth to come in quickly and painlessly- and another one for mommy and daddy to give them strength to survive my moods...

Date Disaster

OK- so something I need to keep in mind for the future when trying to impress the ladies...do not puke on yourself and your mother in front of cute girl! Antonella, her mommy (with baby bump) and daddy came over this weekend and the evening started out great. Mommy and daddy's earlier fears of me potentially having a  cold all seemed in vain when no apparent symptoms presented themselves while our guests were over. So- after spending some quality time with Antonella playing, coloring, running around and eating, we were all quite surprised when I very suddenly regurgitated cupcake all over mom. After that- the evening came quickly to an end as far as our guests were concerned...but my night of sick continued on. A 103 fever and a sleepless night followed and one of my 2 year molars decided to cut through on top of me getting this nasty cold. Hope I did not gross you out too badly, Antonella. Can we have a do-over soon? I promise I'll be in tip top shape and the suave debonair ladies man that you are used to.

Happy Birthday, Grettie!!

I am not the hugest fan of princesses, but when combined with physical activity, they are pretty darn cool! Greta turned 3 and had a princess themed gym party. I know she had to be excited- and I was literally beside myself with anticipation just waiting for the party to begin! Running, jumping, music, tumbling, a huge parachute, a ginormous inflatable jumping mat, pizza, juice & cake. IT WAS AWESOME!!! You sure know how to turn 3 in style, Grettie...thanks for letting me share in your super cool fun filled day!

iPad , iGiggle

Just to piggyback on my last post- here I am playing a game on daddy's iPad!

Technology + Me = Meant To Be

I mastered daddy's iPad within mere hours and now I have tackled mommy's laptop computer. She thought the internal mouse would be too hard for me to maneuver- but I proved her wrong. My 'rents are amazed at how easy it is for m to navigate through all of these electronic devices. Often I do not even need their guidance and instruction, I just seem to intuitively pick up on what to do and how to do it. So- after setting me up on PBSKids.com and starting the Cat in The Hat puzzle- I pushed mommy out of the way and wanted to try it by myself. The puzzles were no match for me...so then mommy switched sites and found my heaven...a Dino Dan Dig!!!! An hour later, she had to drag me away from the computer kicking and screaming. If left up to me I would play all these "educational" games all day- too bad it is not up to me, though- because I have a feeling that some technology usage  limits are going be placed on me, darnit!

A Very Ryan Holiday

I love my huge family because it means extended holiday celebrations. All of the "Ryans" came to our house to celebrate this year which was cool because I got to show off my room to my cousin Maggie, Aunt Sarah, Unce Rick, Robbie, Nana and "soon-to-be" Uncle Joe. Auntie Nina, Courtney, Uncle Jeff, Papa and Owen had seen it before. CiCi even got to join in on the festivities the consensus was that she is an "honorary Ryan" not only for the day- but forever. So- the day was filled with awesome family time and fun cousin playing. Owen and I even wheeled our new Cars suitcases from Nana and Papa around like toys. In fact- I played wth mine for many days afterwards. How could I not- with an extending handle and multi colored light up wheels. Can;t wait for the summer, Nana & Papa- me & my suitcase are going to come invade so we can have more family fun!

Please excuse the lack of pics...mommy fell down on the job and thought that entertaining was more important than taking pics for my blog! Ugh- the audacity!

Undeez

Mommy has not pushed me at all to potty train, which I REALLY appreciate. It is times like this that I am glad that she reads up on parenting and listens to the advice that kids, especially little boys, will take their time with this and will show signs of readiness when, well- when they are ready!! Well- I am beginning to show some very very tiny signs. The other day, I stumbled upon my underwear drawer and was immediately taken with my tighty whitey dino undies!! I wanted to wear them and did not care if it meant putting them on over my pj's. I wore them for my nap and for the rest of the day. Mommy even let me run around in just my underpants and no diaper. It was liberating!! I only had interest for 2 days- and did have 2 accidents, so although I am showing interest- mommy does not think that I am quite ready yet. When she would sit me on the potty, the only thing I would do was fart- but that is better than nothing, right?  Guess this is why boys are so proud of "tooting" later in life. When potty training- even a little gas is considered progress!!!!  One word of wisdom, though- mamma...make sure you stock up on the dino undies- because although the sports & car ones are cool- I really like the dinos the best and have a feeling I will demand to wear those every day!

Jack-isms

Mommy got me this decal for my new room and I love it.  Seeing this cool phrase "definition" stare at me each day in my room made me think about all the funny things that people say. Mommy and I decided to write down some of the funny things that I say that make her and daddy laugh. Here are some of the top ones so far in 2011...

1. "That smells like tasty!!" on seeing a sealed pack of cookies that I very much wanted to eat.
2. "Mom- help...I can't find me!!!!" apparently I lost myself while hiding under the covers on mommy & daddy's bed &
     could not get myself out.
3. "Ewww...daddy is dirty!!" upon seeing daddy's bare hairy chest.
4. "But I just don't want to open my mouth!" a retort when mommy asked me to please eat a grape.
5. "Mom- did you hurt your sock??" after mommy dropped one of my very heavy and sharp metal airplanes on her foot.
6. Convo between me & mamma...Mom said "Jack you are crazy!" referring to something I had just done, to which I replied
     "I am a l'il crazy, but mom..you are really crazy!!"
7. Pointing a pruney finger at mommy after an exceptionally long bubble bath..."Look, mom- it is like a blueberry!"

Snow Day

Last year I had a love/hate relationship with snow...this year LOVE/LOVE!!!! Not only did I want to go out into the snow (the begging and pleading to mommy was actually embarrassing) but I wanted to play, throw, jump, sled, roll and lay in it! Mommy wanted to show me how to make a snow angel- but the minute I laid down on the snow, I just instinctually knew what to do and mommy did not have to teach me a thing!! The sled that mommy pulled me on was fun- but jumping off the pile of snow, which CiCi named Mt. Ryan, was super awesome high flyin' fun!!! Playing baseball with CiCi using snow as the ball and a stick as the bat was also a highlight...and the low point of the day was the face full of snow when I face planted. That was the end of winter wonderland fun for me...so inside it was for "lukewarm" hot chocolate (no marshmallow's thank you  very much) and the remainder of the day in my fleece jammies. So- the verdict is in...I LOVE a good snow day!!

Play Date

Mommy and I host a play date at our house the first Thursday of every month. It is fun for me because I get to play with cool kids and share my toys and it is fun for mommy because she gets to drink coffee and talk to other mommy's. Sometimes these play dates are chaotic and other times more reserved- but always fun for both mommy and I! This last play date was especially heartwarming for mommy because she got to see me do more than "tandem" playing, which is playing next to another kid without really interacting. This time- myself and 2 other kiddies my age were actually interacting and causing mischief!!! At one point mommy heard footsteps not where they should have been in my room- but right overhead around the area of her bedroom. So- she decided to check on me, Aubree and Caden. Well- she found us in her bathroom and we did not even know that she was standing in the doorway listening. Each of us was standing at the tubs edge- peering in and looking at one another. We were all asking one another "can you get in?? can you get in??" then we all responded "No...uh uh...not me." Mommy just thought it was the cutest thing and was secretly appreciating our united act as she ushered us from the bathroom and closed the door. It was one of the first times that she saw me in cahoots with other kids- all on the same page- engaged with each other playing with, not just next to one another. I bet later that day when she had to help me clean up the chaos that was my room, she no longer had those warm fuzzy feelings!! 

Happy New Year!!

This year the Ryan family rung in the New Year about as mellow as you could possibly get. During the day- Mommy and I went to Monkey Joe's- and indoor kiddie fun bouncy place where I wore myself out. I hung with some kiddos from my playgroup and literally moon bounced myself right into a nap. After that it was just a fun day of quality family time playing with my football guys- then off to bed WAY before midnight. Despite having bought fixins' for ginormous shrimp, filet mignon and risotto, mommy and daddy proceeded to have a white trash meal of chicken wings and green bean casserole without me- ringing in the new year planted on the couch flipping in between the various television count downs feeling quite grateful that we were not in Times Square or any other glitzy locale, but in our wonderful new home. Normally we might all think that this was a lame way to ring in 2011- but it just felt right after the crazy flip-floppedness of this year to just have it be just our little family spending time together and celebrating what a great year 2010 was and looking forward to how wonderful 2011 will most assuredly be...