Early March

We have been quite busy the last couple of weeks. For some occasions I have taken photos, others I just forget. We started the month of March out by going to see Meema and Meepa for a quick visit. Meepa even babysat Ryan while I went to get my hair done. Lucky Meepa, Ryan slept almost the entire time I was gone. Meepa did learn that Ryan likes to be tossed in the air. Here are the two counting down until blastoff time!



I wouldn't say Ryan is a daredevil. He doesn't climb on stuff and never strays when we're out places. Here he is on Meema and Meepa's couch, we put him up there to see how long it'd take him to get down. Needless to say, he wasn't crazy about being "stranded".

Getting into things and making messes is more up his alley. See exhibits A and B. Getting into Meema's kitchen cabinets and shredding some napkins he found.

While on one of the playdates we attended in March (that I didn't get photos of), twice I found Ryan in the bathroom unrolling and shredding toilet paper. Sorry Kristen, I owe you a roll.

While going through some 18 month old clothes, I found this 12 month outfit. It was great timing 'cause it barely fit. It was too cute not to photograph him in this hat. You'll notice him playing with his socks - one of his most favorite toys, as well as Bubba Bear on the floor. Bubba is Ryan's new love. One day he picked the bear out of the toy bin and started cuddling and kissing him. It was sooooo sweet. From that day on we've tried to include Bubba Bear at mealtimes, storytimes, and bedtime. How'd we get the name Bubba? Well I used to have a stuffed animal named Bucky Bunny and my mom was forever trying to get me to pronounce things so she'd say "b, b, Bucky - put your teeth together and go b" One day while in line at a checkout, an older lady in front of my mom and I asked what my bunny's name was. I proceeded to try to get the lady to say the rabbit's name just as my mom did, however for whatever reason, I changed the name to f, f . . . well you can figure out the rest. Mortified, my mom drug me away from the store. So in keeping with that theme, we now have Bubba Bear, put your teeth together and go b,b, Bubba.

On my previous posting, I mentioned that we'd be taking some fieldtrips. Below are some pictures from the Grayslake Open Gym. It was a nice set-up. They had a lot of balls, riding toys, hula hoops, and plenty to keep kids entertained for the hour. Ryan even found a little girl to play hide-and-seek with.

He should know how the grocery cart works, it seems like he spends enough time riding in them.

The Leprechauns were giving away the location of their pot of gold early this year. I took a few pictures from my moving car of this beautiful rainbow one day. This one turned out the best.

Ryan and I had a lunchdate, just he and I, at Olive Garden one day. He was a good date, keep conversation light, didn't hog all the breadsticks, and let me have the mint.

It was also this month that we had to say good-bye to a family friend - my Alero. I absolutely loved this car, it has always been a great vehicle for me. However times are a changing and while this car was many things, spacious it was not. So it was time to bid the Alero a fond farewell. May you find a happy home - and not be stripped down and be sold for parts.

Enter, our new car. See I got to put the 100th mile on it!

The 2011 Kia Sorento. 3rd row seating! Hello space.

Another fun event that I unfortunately forgot to capture in photo was a dinner with our friends the Bleims. I used to work with both Pam and Rodney at Vernon Hills Park District. They have 2 daughters (12 and ~8) and twin 4 year old boys (whew!). It was great to catch up with them. Funny to see Ryan so shy in his own home, but he eventually warmed up and laughed right along with the big kids.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all. Next post to include more photos from playdates, fieldtrips, Breakfast with a Bunny (guess who's the bunny again?!), and Ryan's 18 month photos.

Second Part of February

We've been pretty good about having Ryan on a set schedule, his days are typically as follows:

8am - Breakfast 10:30-Snack 12:00-Lunch 1:30-Nap 4:00-Snack 6:00-Dinner 7:15-Bed



I've found that it's much easier to do things with Ryan in the mornings than try to cram in fun in afternoons when he wakes up from his nap. He goes with me to exercise class 2 or 3 mornings a week which still leaves 2 or 3 days to fill with fun stuff. Our music class ended this week, so that'll free up some Wednesdays, I've attended - and now even hosted a playdate for the moms/kids in the mom's group I'm in, and recently I've decided to look for "fieldtrips" for us to take - you know other than the grocery store.



One day we decided to visit the local Bounce House business. I don't know what it's called, but for $8 we sure had a hoppin' good time. There was nobody else there the day we went, so we had the whole place to ourselves. In this first picture, you can kind of see the layout, and how small Ryan is in comparison to the bouncers. Next time we go, we'll have to bring dad too. Twice, I successfully was able to carry Ryan up the bouncer's steps so we could slide down. However, I don't think that was the smartest or safest thing I should've done. Two of us would've been better.





We spent most of the time bouncing in the tiger bouncer. Ryan liked it, and liked it more when I would turn somersaults.

I don't know if he spent more time on his feet or trying to stand up. It sure wore him (and me too) out, we both napped that day.

Upcoming fieldtrips to include, Grayslake Open Gym, Lindenhurst Open Gym, Round Lake Area Park District's Children's Museum and their Nature Museum. Always open for ideas! For now they're all indoors, but hopefully it won't be long until we can be outside again.

Had to include this random picture of Ryan eating. For being Dean and I's child, Ryan sure is a fussy eater. But when he finds something he likes, he'll go to town on it (ie applesauce, yogurt, waffles). In this case it was teddy bear graham crackers. You can see he's got one sticking out of his mouth and a reserve in the hand, but what you can't tell are that he's cheeks are fully inflated with about 5 others. Too funny!