this kid says the craziest things!

Here are some things Ryan says that make me laugh:

• You Rock!
• I slow dance with girls. (Steve prompted him to say this when Ryan was swaying along to "Find Yourself", the closing song from the movie Cars)
• No, not today.  Saturday. (in response to various questions like, do you need a diaper change?  shall we take a bath?  do you want to put your shoes on?)
• Delicious!
• Watch out, Montie, Ryan coming! (said to our dog when we enter the house)
• ohhhhhh...mommy....look what I have...cooooookies! (and then he takes out his play cookies)
• no, I good (in response to questions like "are you still hungry"?  "do you need a diaper change" "do you want a drink?)
• his sing-along versions of "Real Gone", "Life is a Highway", "Sh-Boom", and "Route 66" (the last one gets him making a funny rockin' out squint and pout as he shakes his head back and forth) with lyrics that sound like "GO SAYNLEWIE CHOC'LATE MIZURI" (for "goes to St. Louis, down to Missouri)
• his recitation of The Lorax.  He's memorized most of the story - I think he knows it better than I do!

just a quick update

• December brought excellent holiday celebrations with friends and family.  It's always a hectic time as I'm finishing up grading for the semester and then trying to prep for Christmas.  However, we really enjoyed time with our families and friends at things like Christmas in the Park, my annual cookie baking day with my girlfriends, Xmas eve at my parents' house (this year was Espana year with paella on the menu instead of our regular posole and tamales...what, someone didn't tell you that we're actually a Mexican family?), and Xmas day with the Stachnicks and Lius. 
• Just before the new year and through mid-January, we went to Albert and Pat's home in Hawaii Kai.  We got to spend time with Valerie, Nathan, Daniel, Eleanor, and aunt Grace in addition to visiting places like Haleiwa, the Honolulu Zoo, the Waikiki Aquarium, and the beaches at Ko'Olina and Ala Moana Beach Park.  
• At the end of January, Steve and I got away to Sonoma to celebrate Wendy and Sharon's birthday.  It was a great weekend of wine, excellent food, and fun with our friends.
• Flu season took Ryan and I out (we're still recovering) of school for some time, although I'm battling to go to work so that my students can keep moving forward with their work.  While I have to work this week, Ryan and Steve went up to the snow with some of our friends.  As of 6 PM today, Ryan was already having fun making snowmen.  The picture is of Ryan with Gia, Tim and Wendy's daughter. This is his first time to the snow, so I'm sad that I can't be there but am happy to hear that he's having a good time.
• Bad news of the season is that our dog, Montie, was diagnosed with cancer.  It's showing in her skin; the lesions are what initially drove us to get her checked out several months ago.  However, after going through different tests to get her diagnosed, we now know what caused the lesions and are currently having her go through chemotherapy.  It's not really about curing her as this form of cancer is very aggressive, but we're trying to make sure she's as comfortable and as happy as possible.  If you were to see her now, you'd never guess anything is wrong.  She is still super hyper, wants to go out for walks and to play fetch, and will eat anything that is put in front of her or left out within her reach, so we're happy that at least she's feeling well enough to be acting like her usual self.  We're also watching Kobee right now, so we have two princesses in the house (one is sleeping on the futon on the floor, one is sleeping next to me as I type this).

Cisco myPlanNet

I designed this game. It sapped most of my Chi over the last 9 months. But it's released. Seems to be going well so far!

Cisco myPlanNet on Facebook

Happy Fall! Happy Halloween!

Ryan now loves his school and seems to have made some friends (Cole and Sebastian are the names I hear most frequently when I ask who he played with at school).

We braved the traffic and went to Half Moon Bay this year to get pumpkins and play around the pumpkin patches.



During a non-soccer weekend, we took Montie to Carmel and stayed overnight. It was a gorgeous, warm weekend, so we went to the leash-free beach and played fetch with Montie in the waves. Ryan spent his time watching Montie and smashing sand castles. We also stopped in at the Dennis the Menace park in Monterey on the way back and visited the train, maze, and playground.



For Halloween, Ryan and the Rosenthal twins (Joe and Brian) all went as dinosaurs. Steve and I dressed up as cavepeople, although Steve was more into his costume and new personality than I was.

September update

Ryan started daycare. He was supposed to have a trial run before classes started, but then we both got sick, so the first day I was back to work was his first day going solo (we did have a few days where we went and stayed at the center together, so he wasn't totally unfamiliar with what was going on). If you saw Steve's facebook status, you know how some of it went:
me: so, Ryan, what did you do at school today?
Ryan: (matter of factly and in a happy chirpy voice): I cry.
me: and what else did you do?
Ryan: Played cars. Ate apples and fish (goldfish crackers).

Day two involved more crying. Day three involved crying but by the time I left the building, he wasn't screaming his head off, so all was well. I'm used to dealing with his crying (see previous post) so it's not really a big deal to me. One of the student teachers said that she's noticed some progress as each time he gets and stays less upset, so that's good. The staff is really great about caring for the kids who are having a hard time seeing their parents go, so I know he's in good hands.

His vocabulary and pretend-play are really fun to see in action; he'll do things like pretend to make food for us and then give it to us. When we ask, "what is this?" he'll tell you a different food item each time (asparagus, pizza, cookie, mushrooms, jelly sandwich, nectarine, cake etc.) and wait until you pretend to eat what he's given. Then, he'll run back to his "refrigerator" (it's an empty wine refrigerator) and get more things for you. Cars is still his favorite movie; now he'll chime in with "OHHH YEAHHHHH" at the start of the movie (just when Lightning McQueen says it) and can be frequently heard saying KACHOW! (another McQueen saying). Yes, he's watched it a bit too much, especially when he was sick. Another favorite thing to do is to go "too fast" (he really means "fast") and run around the house, often while pushing his pretend lawn mower or his "vacuum" (it's that toy that you push and it makes a popping sound -- I know many of you had this when you were a kid). Sometimes it's while he chases Montie. ah, there's no peace and quiet in my house unless people are sleeping!

and so begin the terrible twos...

Actually, Ryan isn't that bad, although a daily meltdown of some sort is getting to be more normal than not (at least it doesn't last too long). This one came about because he wanted to see what was on the camera and I didn't let him hold the camera. Here was a moment before the meltdown:



Usually, the meltdown is because he wants to watch more Curious George...or doesn't want to stop what he's doing to get a diaper change...or wants to play in the car rather than sit in his car seat...or who knows why. Sometimes he'll stop yelling to tell me "MAD BOY!", which makes me have to work hard not to laugh. I just tell him that I know he's disappointed, when he's calm he can leave the room, and then I walk out of the room. Ah, the joys of motherhood.

Yes, I'm procrastinating

I have a TON to grade before this Friday's deadline, but here's a quick update:

• my friend Anna got married on 5/16 to Hayes Ruggiero! I've known Anna for 32 years and have never seen her happier than this day. The wedding was in Santa Cruz on a gorgeous day, and the eats were excellent at Bittersweet Bistro in Aptos. AWESOME band and lots of fun!
• Ryan is still talking up a storm. Short sentences and excited declarations are his thing (ride in mommy's car, play blocks, play outside in water, Montie/Kobee crazy, awesome!, ooh -- big truck, ooh -- loud plane). He's still pretty even tempered although an occasional outburst occurs (like when he rammed me with his head).
• Kate, Barbara, and I ran/walked a 5K on 5/30 in Alameda. It benefitted Girls, Inc. and was sponsored by See Jane Run (their tagline for the race was "I Run for Chocolate and Champagne", which is what sold us on this race). We weren't particularly fast, but considering that I did not train at all, we did just fine!
• Crazy time of year is here: grades are due on Friday and I have much to do. Sorry if I've been out of touch with all of you! Gotta go now!!