A visit from Nana and Matt

This past weekend, my parents (Ryan's Nana and Grandpa D'Agostino) came to visit. We had a nice, relaxing weekend together. We didn't do much else other than enjoy each others company and just hang out. Saturday morning we took Ryan to the library to pick out a couple new books, he loves the books he picked out and I'm a little worried about how we'll be able to convince him he needs to return them when they are due! Saturday night the 5 of us went to dinner in Little Italy to celebrate my birthday earlier in the week. Ryan had a great time at dinner and we could not have asked for him to behave any better than he did (he even ate!) He kept saying very loudly "Hap BIRthday mommy!" On the ride home from dinner, I thanked him for being such a good boy at the restaurant and he said loudly "Hap BIRthday Mommy!" I guess that was my gift :) Sunday morning we all went out for a nice brunch and then enjoyed the beautiful late summer day but sitting on our back patio while Ryan played with his sand and water table. We enjoyed visits from Mike D and Ryan's Uncle Pat, and then we grilled out for dinner. As always, it was a great visit and we were sad to see them go, but they will be back next month so we are already making more fun plans. A few funny stories from the weekend....

*** Saturday afternoon we were sitting around and all of a sudden, Ryan yelled out "Matt!" We all started laughing - Matt is my Dad's name and he must have heard my mom yell it at one point earlier in the day. From that point on, he alternated between Matt and Grandpa when trying to get my Dad's attention. He then started yelling "Tim" when looking for Tim. He and I had the following conversation -

me: "Ryan, what is Grandpa's name?"

Ryan: "Matt!"

me: "What is Daddy's name?"

Ryan: "Tim!"

me: "What is Mommy's name?"

Ryan: "Mommy!"

me: "What is Nana's name?"

Ryan: "Nana!"

This made me realize that my mom and I yell at Tim and my dad a lot more than they yell at us!

*** Ryan and my Mom were talking about beer during the day because Tim was drinking a beer. When Pat stopped in, we offered he and his three co-workers traveling with him a beer. Ryan got very excited and ran to the fridge "I get it!!" and tried to get right in on the action. Later at dinner I said to him "Ryan, do you want your milk?" His response? "I'll have beer!"

*** Sunday we were packing up to leave brunch, I picked Ryan up and he looked around at everyone in the restaurant and yelled "Bye Guys!!!" I'm still not sure who he was talking to!

...Cause you're there for me too...

Yesterday a friend at work said to me "I was telling someone that you and your friends are just like the TV show 'Friends.' You all really do things for each other. My friends and I don't do things like that!" I took it as a really nice compliment and it's true - we always have each other's back and are there for each other, I wrote about this same thing not too long ago on here, when I talked about all of us starting to move away from the city and each other. Thanks to all of my friends for coming out to celebrate my birthday last night - I had a blast!!

Raise the roof!

Straight into the crossed arms rapper pose...

It's my party...

Well, ok it wasn't his party, but today Ryan went to a birthday party for Emily, who turned 2. Emily is part of the Saturday morning playgroup we belong to in the city. With such hectic summers, vacations, weekends away, etc, we have not seen our playgroup friends all summer so it was great to see Ryan B., Alivia, Jake and of course Emily, the birthday girl (we missed Ava, who was on vacation in the outer banks). Ryan practiced singing "Happy Birthday" the entire ride up and back from the party, but during the actual party he had a little stage fright. The party was held at My Gym - a big indoor play area for kids with lots of things to climb on and bounce in. Ryan had an absolute blast, he ran himself ragged for the entire hour and a half we were there, stopping briefly to take a bite of birthday cake, and then he was off again! His two favorite spots - the ball pit and the trampoline!

Bouncing with the birthday girl - Emily

Bubbles!!

This hat did not stay on for long...

Ryan LOVED this little girl

Look at the little flirt!

The paper, the paper

Crossroads

I don't deal well with change. And things are changing.

For the past 9 years, I have been lucky enough to live within 2-3 miles of almost all of my closest friends in Baltimore. For the past 4+ years, I have been lucky enough to live mere blocks away from most of them, a quick cab ride from others. I feel blessed to have met such fantastic friends post college, and be part of such an extended family. In a place where I have no blood relatives living close by, these friends are my family. These are the ones with who we have celebrated birthdays, engagements, weddings and births, no to mention too many parties and happy hours to count. These friends visited me in the hospital when I had Ryan. They decorated my house with signs and balloons that were waiting for us when we brought Ryan home for the first time. They have babysat on numerous occasions, almost all of them at one point or another. And the ones that have not, have offered to. They have helped us move from apartment to apartment and finally to our first home. They are available at a moment's notice when we need anything at all. This was demonstrated to the extreme a couple weeks ago when I wasn't feeling well, and needed to go to the ER. My friend Amanda was over within minutes to stay with Ryan so we could go. She and her husband, Mike, slept on our living room couch (and floor) while we were tied up in the ER for 8 hours, arriving home at 5:30 AM. (Thankfully nothing was wrong!) They were there when we needed them like they and others have been so many times before. I have had some of the best times of my life with this group of friends, and have plenty of stories and memories and pictures to prove it.

But things are changing. One set of friends has just signed a contract to sell their house and build a house in the county, west of Baltimore City. Other friends are preparing to put their house on the market within weeks, and also planning to move out to the county, South of Baltimore City. Other friends have talked about putting their houses on the market in the spring, looking to move North of Baltimore City. And as for Tim and I, we're not quite sure yet what we're going to do. Part of the reason I love where we live is that I love being able to see most of our friends within 10 minutes. I like walking to their houses. I like when they show up unannounced at our house for a visit on a Saturday afternoon. I like impromptu cookouts and gatherings because if we are all sitting at home with no plans on a Saturday afternoon, why not do it together? I like that Ryan knows almost all of their names. So when they leave the city, a part of me will leave with them.

I know friendships like these will not change when our geographical locations change, but it is going to be a hard adjustment. I will miss seeing each and every one of them as often as we do now. Like I said, I don't deal well with change. And life is changing. We are lucky enough to have had the last 5+ years of fun times, but we are all growing up now.

So we are at a crossroads. I'm not sure where we will end up, we have a lot of thinking and planning to do. But things will never be the same. It makes me happy and sad at the same time. It reminds me of a quote used so often in to describe high school in yearbooks yet I find it fitting for this situation.

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." I'm smiling from ear to ear.

Blog Shout Out

I wanted to give a shout out to two food blogs of friends I have been following recently. Both girls are an inspiration with eating well and exercising. They have embraced these as a lifestyle, not a temporary "diet." Since I started following their daily writings, I have been inspired to incorporate things like Almond Butter, Oatmeal, Flax Seed, and Greek Yogurt (just to name a few) into my daily diet. Elizabeth and Britt - you both rock and inspire me! I was lucky enough to meet Britt once, although briefly. Elizabeth - I would love to meet you someday too! The three of us can catch up over a glass (or several) of wine. Luckily wine is part of both of their healthy lifestyles :)


Check out their blogs!

http://www.ourlifeisdelicious.net/
http://www.runnerbelleats.com/

How quickly we forget!

I find lately that Ryan will do or say the cutest thing, and then I forget about it almost immediately. Since this blog is for me to share with others as well as document events for myself, I wanted to add a few recent anecdotes before I forget them!

Over the weekend it was very hot here, well into the 90's. When we got in the car on Sunday, after it had been sitting idle for over 24 hours, the car was HOT! I put Ryan into his carseat and he was immediately saying "Hot! Hot!" I told him I knew it was hot in the car, and he looked around and started blowing, as if to try and cool it off. It works for his food, right?

Tonight, Tim poured me a glass of wine while Ryan was eating dinner. Ryan immediately raised his milk cup, looked at me and said "Cheers?"

In an effort to get Ryan to eat more veggies, I mixed broccoli with his mac'n'cheese. When he took a bite containing broccoli, or a bite of broccoli alone, we cheered for him and clapped our hands. "Yay Ryan!" we said to encourage him to eat more, as he is not the best eater (what an understatement!) A few minutes later, I took a sip of my wine and Ryan looked at me, started clapping and said "Yay Mommy!"

These seemingly normal moments are what keep us laughing each and every day. I can't wait to see what he comes out with next, as he is talking more and more all the time!

"The beach!"

Today when I woke Ryan up I tried to act very excited about him going back to school today after a week away. When I told him he was going to school, he said "No School!" I then said he was going to see his teachers Crystal and Monique (who he loves) and he said "No Crystal! No Monique!" So I asked him what he would like to do today instead and his answer? "The Beach!" Sigh. Me too, Ryan. Me Too :(

Ryan and Lizzie

This past week in NJ, Ryan and his cousin Lizzie had a blast. They were born only 3 days apart, and I have a feeling in the years to come will be getting into lots of trouble together! I had to devote a separate blog entry to Ryan/Lizzie pictures from the week because there were so many cute ones. Watching them run around, laugh hysterically, hug each other, and try to hold hands with each other was hilarious! After dinner each night, they would sit on the step leading into the house with their sippy cups, yell "Ready, Set, Go", run towards the picnic table where we were all eating dinner, then run back to the step and do it all over again, laughing the entire time. It warmed my heart to see Ryan get along so well with all of his cousins, and especially with Lizzie, his partner in crime! Each morning when she woke up, he was in her face, waving and yelling "Hi Lizzie! Hi Lizzie!" even when she wasn't quite ready to play yet. Yesterday, I asked Ryan what was his favorite part of vacation and he said "Lizzie!" Today I asked him again if he had fun with Lizzie and he said "Ready, Set Go!" Too cute :)

LBI '09

This past week we spent in Long Beach Island, NJ with Tim's entire family and had a blast! Ryan had a wonderful time seeing his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins - Andrew (15), Rachel (11), Kayla (8), Colin (6), Alec (4) and Elizabeth (21 months). I cannot put into words what a great time we all had so I will just show you some of my favorite pictures. We miss everyone already!
Running with Colin, Kayla and Lizzie In the water with Uncle Pat

Will my head fit in here?

The whole crew
Mommy and Ryan - spent 8 hours on the beach our last day

Redhead picture! - Kayla, Colleen and Ryan

Kayla reading to the two youngest cousins

Andrew and Rachel giving Ryan a ride

Grandma, Papa and all the grandchildren

Rachel, Ryan, Lauri and Amy

Ryan and Rachel ("Coco") Grandma and Papa

Andrew, Rachel and Kayla
The Hansen Family
Colleen and Kenny - the newly engaged couple!

Leaving vacation is always tough....

Happy 15th Birthday Andrew!

Happy 15th Birthday Andrew! We are so happy we could be with you to celebrate!

Catch up...

I have not been blogging much lately - posting some pictures here and there but not really telling any of the day to day stories that have Tim and I laughing out loud so I thought I'd catch up! Ryan woke up with a fever today that has only gone up as the day has gone on. I'm sure it's just one of those no name viruses with a fever and no other symptoms, as he is pretty much acting normal, but we will keep an eye on it and call his Dr tomorrow if the fever continues. So while he naps....I blog!

What has Ryan been up to lately? He is talking up a storm!! He has too many words to count and also attempts to repeat everything we say - both good and bad! We really have to start watching what we say when he is around! He also sings. He sings along with us to the ABCs, Take me out to the ballgame, Row, row, row your boat, Wheels on the bus, Elmo's song and Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani! Yes, you read that correct - Apparently at school they play a song of kids singing pop music, and he gets very excited when this song comes on and tries to sing along. It is hilarious! Sometimes he doesn't like my singing voice and has been known to cover my mouth and say "mama! mama! no mama!" when I am singing. I guess he also realizes I might be just a little tone deaf. Sometimes he breaks out into song on his own - his favorite song to start singing alone is "That's Elmo's World!!!" and he sings those same 3 words over and over at the top of his lungs. Fine if we are alone, not fine if it is 7 am and we are in a beach house with many other sleeping friends (this past weekend!) In addition to singing, he is counting to 10 (ok, so sometimes he skips a number here and there!) and stringing some words together like "Daddy work" and "mama glasses" when I have my glasses on. For some reason whenever anyone leaves the room he thinks they went to the bathroom or to take a shower and tells us so! Another fun thing he does is "talk" on the phone. He has always listened to voices on the other end but now is starting to respond to questions, and says Hi and Bye, sometimes ending with "love you!" - my personal favorite :)

Ryan is also starting to remember a lot! A few weeks ago we spent the day at the beach with my Auntie Sue. Since then, whenever we ask him if he wants to go to the beach, he says "Auntie Sue!" I guess he associates her with the beach. This past weekend, our friend Mike kept telling Ryan his feet were stinky to make him laugh. Last night I was getting him ready for bed and told him his feet were stinky (they really were!) and he said "Mike!" I guess he remembered Mike telling him that.

There really are too many hilarious stories to keep track of but he is a happy, fun loving and easy going kid. He definitely has my extreme personality and is a tad dramatic (yes I am admitting he takes after me) but he is generally laid back like his Dad and goes with the flow. We are having the best time with him and this is such a fun age! Saturday we will be heading to the beach again, for a week with the entire Doody family and we are looking forward to a lot of quality time with Ryan's cousins, aunts, uncles, Grandma and Papa. I'm sure the week will only bring more stories of his antics!

Avalon 09

This weekend we packed up the car and headed to Avalon, NJ. Our good friend Kim's family owns a house in Avalon, and Tim and I have spent many weekends there over the past 6 years, including both of our 30th birthday weekends back in 2005 (yes, I am giving you an idea of how old we are!) In 2006, we rented a house in Avalon with the entire Doody family and again last summer with 4 other families, all friends of Tim's from college. So Avalon has many many special memories for us and we always enjoy going there. It is a beautiful, quiet town with a gorgeous beach. This was our first time spending the weekend at Kim's with Ryan, but I was not too worried. Scott and Annette also joined us for the weekend and we had a wonderful time! Ryan was a great traveler and loved being one of the gang as always. Kim has a pool, and lives a block form the beach so we had the best of both worlds - Beach in the morning and then pool in the afternoon (after Ryan took a LONG nap). My favorite part was the early morning walks we took to the beach, when barely anyone else was there and we had the beach to ourselves for Ryan to run around, chase birds, and just have a blast. I love that our friends are so welcoming to Ryan and include him in everything we do. Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Shull for opening their home to us, we had a great time seeing them again! This was the perfect beach warmup weekend for us, we leave next Saturday again for one week at the Jersey shore with the Doody family. Ryan was really getting excited about the ocean by the time we left, and I know he will have a great time splashing around with all of his cousins. I can't wait to get Ryan back on the beach, and me too! There is just something about sitting in a beach chair, toes in the sand, listening to the waves crash...to me it is the most relaxing place in the world and the remedy for any bad mood or stress.