If Harry Potter Were in a Mom's Group

Mom’s groups are a lot like Harry Potter's experience at Hogwarts (okay if you don’t know anything about Harry Potter this entire first paragraph will make little sense so just stop reading).

So on the first day of school Harry meets Ron by chance at platform 9 ¾, then he meets Hermione because there is no where else for her to sit on the train. Imagine how different the story would be if Harry had met Malfoy on the platform? Or Crabbe and Goyle couldn’t find a place to sit and ended up next to Harry? Harry would have likely joined Slytherin. Voldemort and Harry would have ruled and terrorized the entire wizarding community. Okay I might have gotten slightly dramatic there but you get the point, your friends and therefore you can be completely altered because of happenstance.

Well that is sort of like mom’s groups, you end up talking to who you are seated near, and you fall into a group within the main group. Your group of friends is completely different then they would have been if you had simply taken another seat. I lucked out and met my friend Lindsey at the very first meet-up, we were sitting face to face across the table. Now I see her almost everyday (yeah I know it’s a lot but it’s nice to have someone to do things with). Our children know each other well and I always have someone to call when I just need to leave the house or want someone to hang out with. It’s crazy to think that if I had been 10 minutes later to that meet-up in February I would have been at the other end of the table and might not know her at all.

Here's to sitting in the right seat at the right time....

Favorite Things

Ryan is growing up fast so here is a quick list of his NEW favorite things:

Favorite Toys- anything with wheels, he loves to push them all over the house

Favorite Foods- Fish sticks, black bean burgers, apples, carrots and peas

Favorite Place - Library, swimming pool and parks

Best Friend- Mya (as shown below)

He is just starting to learn to draw and whatever he is drawing with he ends up covered in (paint, chalk etc). He is done with bottles and and likes the freedom of sippy cups. He can use sign language is say "hi", "more", "all done", "please" and "Smart" (He learned "Smart" from Blues Clues, I didn't teach him that one)

That's all for now...

Random Pictures at 14 Months

I haven't had a blog entry for awhile compiled of random pictures so here goes it... Pure Joy

Ryan's new table, just his size

I couldn't help myself... come on how cute is this?

Ryan making Rachel a Thank You card for letting us stay with her.

Best We Can Do

Sometimes being a mom is really hard. Sometimes you look at your child and realize that at that moment you have NO idea what to do. The scary part is as a mom the buck generally stops with you. You are the final say, you make the final decision, and if it all goes wrong it is essentially your fault.

Ryan has started to develop an attitude, if he doesn’t get his way he pitches a fit. In fact on two occasions he has gotten so angry when told “no” that he has bitten the "offender". What do you do with something like that? As a parent I feel responsible like I somehow taught him to behave that way. Before you judge me, I honestly never give in, when I say “no” I stick with it, even when he throws himself to the ground or throws something I stick to my guns.

I just have to remind myself that he doesn’t always understand why I am saying “no”, he doesn’t see the danger in what he is trying to do. He doesn’t understand why he can run on the sidewalk but not in the road, or why he can play with toys but not electrical cords. I can understand his frustration, he keeps getting told "no" without any real understanding of why.

So if you see me walking down the aisle of the grocery store while my kid screams/ throws a fit please don’t judge me too harshly. Understand that kids are just starting to learn about the world and they haven’t quite got it down yet. When I let Ryan scream in the store it is not because I am too tired or too lazy to do something about it. It is actually that I know if I give in and let him have or do what he wants just to make him quiet that I will be teaching him that screaming is how to get what he wants. I really don't want to teach him that lesson.

Kids test us, that is how they learn. I am trying to be the best teacher I can be. I am taking it one day at a time; I’ve never done this before. I just have to have faith that if I hold my ground he will come out the other side better for it. I don't know if this method is the right one, but I'm the mom and it is my job to try my best, so here I am trying my best.

Until tomorrow when the rules change again...

Something New Everyday

Ryan has started learning things that we aren't teaching him. He watches everyone and everything so close and he is starting to take what he learns from that and applying it to himself.
For instance he tries to share everything: his milk, pacifier, books, toys.... if someone asks him for something he gives it even if he really wants to keep it. He has also started shaking his head when trying to say yes.
My favorite thing he has started doing is cleaning up. He likes to put away laundry and empty the dishwasher. His favorite thing to do with his toys is to put them back in their containers. Even his chalk, I will dump them out and he will put them back in the bin they go in, he will even take the chalk I am using out of my hand so that he can put it away.
I love watching him discover something new, and everyday it seems as though there is something new.

Watch what you say and do around him, I don't want him picking up any of your bad habits!

Handsome Man

My Grandma just sent me some pictures, I couldn't help but post them :)

Ryan and his Uncle David

I assumed when my brother David left for Chicago that Ryan would forget who he was by the time he saw him again. I mean Ryan is only one and still figuring things out. However, when Ryan saw David for the first time in Chicago he got the biggest smile on his face and was super excited, he completely remembered him! Apparently they really are two peas in a pod and that is hard to forget even for a baby!

Trip to Chicago

Ryan and I went to Chicago over the weekend (Saturday to Tuesday). It was the first time that we had traveled without Don. I wasn't alone because my mom and grandmother were there and my brother is currently living in Chicago, but it is a lot more work being the only parent around. We had a great time and Ryan was super excited to see his Uncle David and Great Grandma Gr.

The first night we were in Chicago Ryan and I stayed with Rachel. She has come to visit Ryan in NC 2x (one was for the birth) so it was great that we got to go to her this time. She had a BBQ Saturday night so we were also able to see Jess, Nicole and Courtney. It was a lot of fun to hang out at her amazing new condo and see old friends. Let me tell you, when you have a 1 year old and someone offers to pick you up from the airport, have whole milk and fish sticks ready when you get back to their place and they offer to host you for the night, you should accept and be their friend forever.

(Below: Rachel and Nicole)

After our time with Rachel was up, we went to stay at the hotel with my mom and grandma, the sleeping situation worked out perfectly and it was nice to have family so close. Our first order of business was meeting up with my brother and cousin Erin and going to the Museum of Science and Industry for the Harry Potter exhibit. The museum was a lot of fun and it was great to see Erin.

(Below: David, Erin and I)

(Below: The Weasley's Car!)

The rest of the trip was spent walking, checking out David's office, ordering in food and relaxing.

Though the trip was a lot of fun, it was great to get back to Don last night, Ryan and I both missed him a lot.

Rochester Children's Museum

Every year we try to get together with a few of our college friends, this years trip was to Rochester to see our friends get married. It is always a good time seeing them and I always wish we had a little bit more time.
Rochester has been hit hard by the bad economy but they still have an amazing children's museum, besides the wedding it was the highlight of the trip. I didn't take any pictures at the wedding because I was too entertained with Ryan dancing but if anyone else took some of him that I get any I will post them later. I did however take a lot of pictures at the children's museum, here are a few.

Ryan loved the fish (and he was fittingly wearing his Finding Nemo shirt)

Car Racing, there was a big ramp and the cars would fly into a bin at the bottom, Ryan was entertained by this for like 15 minutes.

This was like the game operation, except Ryan liked when the buzzer went off so I'm not sure he got the concept :)

Giant Legos

Sesame Street Stoop.

Wall Of Mirrors

Ryan loved the "grocery store" he put things into the cart and then went to check out and scanned the food, he even got a receipt.

His favorite thing at the grocery store was the cheese, he cleaned them out. This big one took him a long time to get to the cart but the kid was determined.

Pictures of Rochester to come

We just got back from a trip to Rochester New York where our friends Beth and Brett got married. There are a lot of pictures, but I have to go through them, so before our trip to Chicago I will have them up! This picture is cute so I thought it could tide you over until then.

Berry Picking

We are trying to go out and do things we haven't done before so on Friday we went blueberry/ blackberry picking. It was so much fun! On top of that we have our freezer stocked with yummy goodness.