Ryan seems to have really gotten the hang of this whole walking thing - he is steady on his feet, can change direction easily, and rarely crashes. He can even step over the lower edge of the baby gate between the kitchen and the dining room, which is impressive.
Here's him wandering around our front living room this evening - he sees the cat behind me in the dining room, but he knows that if he heads towards him, Peter will most likely run away. I'm amused that he his also carrying on a conversation with himself - I'd love to know what he's thinking about!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
1st Birthdays - Round One
Today was the first round of 1st birthday parties we will attend in the coming weeks. First we we celebrated with Ali and Keegan, then Princess Rowyn.
Ali and Keegan were fun to watch as they each experienced birthday cake in their own way. Keegan got right to the heart of the matter, while Ali took time to savor each bite of frosting.
Ryan got to taste chocolate cupcake with white frosting and sprinkles for the first time... he was sneezing frosting boogers for the rest of the day!
Finally Ali dug into the actual cake part of her birthday cake...
Then we were off to Dawn's house to celebrate Rowyn's big princess day. We hung out with her and the other kiddos I met at the Survival for New Moms group - Turner, David, MacKenzie and their parents.
Ryan ate more chocolate cake (no frosting this time)
Ryan and Kenz enjoy one of Rowyn's presents
Next up, Ryan's party on the 5th (Turner's is also that day; we won't be able to do both!); David and Kenzie's are the week after that.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Walking Man
So, Ryan had a great first day of Kindergarten yesterday, followed by his driving test (which he aced) and Prom Night. We also found out he got accepted to Stanford, Carleton, Hawaii, UC Berkeley and DU (Montana State is his safety school)...
Oh, am I getting a little ahead of myself? I meant to say - Look Who's Walking! Every milestone he reaches, though (four teeth and another one on the way!) reminds me that he won't be this small snuggler forever - heck, he's already bypassed 'tiny snuggler' and is well on his way to becoming "ew, Mom - don't kiss me in front of my friends".
He's totally got the Frankenbaby gait down:
Speaking of friends, we went swimming with David and Turner, two other 11 month old boys, on Sunday. We set them up on the wall and encouraged them to jump into our open arms. Taking after his mama, Ryan would not jump, but oh-so-cautiously lowered himself into the water holding my hands, careful not to splash water into his eyes or - heaven forbid - actually get his face wet. That's my boy!
He was really happy to just chew on his rubber duckie - it must have felt good on his sore gums!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
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Date Night
Before Ryan was born, everyone said "Oh, be sure to go out to the movies and to dinner now, because you won't have time once the baby arrives, and you'll really miss it." After Ryan was born, everyone said, "Now, you have to take time for a date night for you and Sam AT LEAST once a month so you can reconnect as a couple."
Obviously everyone doesn't know us very well - we are not big moviegoers, and I love to cook, so the only meal I really enjoy eating out is sushi (because I am not willing to risk serving raw fish at home). Before last night, we had been on three dates since December 5, 2008 - in March Sam took me out for sushi for my birthday while his parents stayed with Ryan; in July we went to see "A Little Night Music" at Central City Opera (not sure if it counts as a date since Keturah came with us, but whatevs); and in Kauai we went out for cocktails while my dad and stepmom stayed at the condo with Ryan.
A couple of weeks ago, Sommer asked if we'd watch Kenz for an evening while she went to see Peter play with his band. Kenz and Ryan had a great time, and Sommer offered to watch Ryan sometime while we went out. This weekend is Sam's 38th birthday and I have to work tonight (opening night of The Tales of Hoffmann), so I suggested we go out last night for dinner and a movie, leaving Ryan with Sommer, Peter and Kenz.
We headed to Baker St. Tavern at Belmar for pub food, but it was packed, so we went next door to Mark & Isabella. We had been here with the Haces right after it opened last December, and were not terribly impressed, but we thought, "eh, they've had almost a year, maybe it's better." Um, that would be a No. The best thing I can say is my $3 glass of Montepulciano was great. Other than that, I could have cooked a better meal for much less than what it cost us to eat there.
We headed across the street to the movie theater to see Men Who Stare at Goats. It stars George Clooney and Ewan McGregor, so I didn't really care what the plot was, but the NPR movie critic gave it a great review, so we forked over our $20 and settled into our seats.
As the lights dimmed and the movie started (after 45 minutes of commercials and trailers for movies I certainly will not pay full price to see), I remembered the main reason why we don't like to watch movies in the theater - the other audience members. The woman sitting behind us had THE MOST ANNOYING laugh, and she kept saying "I don't get it, I don't get it" when there was an ironic or satirical moment. There was another person somewhere behind us apparently suffering the death throes of consumption as s/he coughed almost non-stop through the entire movie, and a guy in our row who laughed hysterically at every little thing, whether it was actually funny or not. The movie itself was pretty good, though I certainly could have waited until it came out on DVD.
So there you go, Everyone - we went on a date, it was nice to sit and talk over dinner about things not related to the baby, and we held hands during the movie (awwww!). Ryan and Kenz had a great time, though he was still wide awake when we picked him up at 9. We still prefer piling blankets and pillows on the floor of the TV room and popping in a Netflix DVD after Ryan goes to bed (we have a surround-sound theater system in the basement but we can't even motivate to go down there). I am eternally thankful that we have a hot tub, too - we spend at least one evening a week soaking under the stars and talking about work, the child, life in general - and it doesn't cost us a dime (well, beyond the electric bill, and the cost of chemicals and test strips, and our water bill when we refill it, etc., etc., etc.).
This is just like the car at Grandma & Grandpa's house! 
Obviously everyone doesn't know us very well - we are not big moviegoers, and I love to cook, so the only meal I really enjoy eating out is sushi (because I am not willing to risk serving raw fish at home). Before last night, we had been on three dates since December 5, 2008 - in March Sam took me out for sushi for my birthday while his parents stayed with Ryan; in July we went to see "A Little Night Music" at Central City Opera (not sure if it counts as a date since Keturah came with us, but whatevs); and in Kauai we went out for cocktails while my dad and stepmom stayed at the condo with Ryan.
A couple of weeks ago, Sommer asked if we'd watch Kenz for an evening while she went to see Peter play with his band. Kenz and Ryan had a great time, and Sommer offered to watch Ryan sometime while we went out. This weekend is Sam's 38th birthday and I have to work tonight (opening night of The Tales of Hoffmann), so I suggested we go out last night for dinner and a movie, leaving Ryan with Sommer, Peter and Kenz.
We headed to Baker St. Tavern at Belmar for pub food, but it was packed, so we went next door to Mark & Isabella. We had been here with the Haces right after it opened last December, and were not terribly impressed, but we thought, "eh, they've had almost a year, maybe it's better." Um, that would be a No. The best thing I can say is my $3 glass of Montepulciano was great. Other than that, I could have cooked a better meal for much less than what it cost us to eat there.
We headed across the street to the movie theater to see Men Who Stare at Goats. It stars George Clooney and Ewan McGregor, so I didn't really care what the plot was, but the NPR movie critic gave it a great review, so we forked over our $20 and settled into our seats.
As the lights dimmed and the movie started (after 45 minutes of commercials and trailers for movies I certainly will not pay full price to see), I remembered the main reason why we don't like to watch movies in the theater - the other audience members. The woman sitting behind us had THE MOST ANNOYING laugh, and she kept saying "I don't get it, I don't get it" when there was an ironic or satirical moment. There was another person somewhere behind us apparently suffering the death throes of consumption as s/he coughed almost non-stop through the entire movie, and a guy in our row who laughed hysterically at every little thing, whether it was actually funny or not. The movie itself was pretty good, though I certainly could have waited until it came out on DVD.
So there you go, Everyone - we went on a date, it was nice to sit and talk over dinner about things not related to the baby, and we held hands during the movie (awwww!). Ryan and Kenz had a great time, though he was still wide awake when we picked him up at 9. We still prefer piling blankets and pillows on the floor of the TV room and popping in a Netflix DVD after Ryan goes to bed (we have a surround-sound theater system in the basement but we can't even motivate to go down there). I am eternally thankful that we have a hot tub, too - we spend at least one evening a week soaking under the stars and talking about work, the child, life in general - and it doesn't cost us a dime (well, beyond the electric bill, and the cost of chemicals and test strips, and our water bill when we refill it, etc., etc., etc.).
What, I wasn't supposed to dump the entire container of snacks on the floor?
This is just like the car at Grandma & Grandpa's house!Oooh, Kenz has fun bath toys!
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