Ryan Starts Soccer

Ryan started AYSO soccer this year and is having a blast. We love watching him play. He gets this look in his eyes and he means business. He runs as fast as his little legs will take him because he loves to get the ball and score goals. The season did not start out like this. The first game he ran off the field and said he was too tired to run anymore. He had been running around with the rest of his team looking like a giant swarm of bees. He never really touched the ball, fell down a few times and just didn't have a clue as to what was going on. Having played soccer for twenty-something years, I was heartbroken. I looked at Sanjay, and I knew he was thinking the same thing. How could we (2 former soccer players) NOT have a soccer playing son? He had been in soccer class since he was 2, loved kicking the ball with us outside and running around like crazy, so what was going on? It almost became a joke with the other parents on the sidelines. Our child ran around like crazy, never touched the ball and was exhausted. Something had to change. I thought I would be that parent that never bribed my child. I was wrong. I knew Ryan just needed a little motivation to get in the game and play like we knew he could. Before each game we told him he could have frozen yogurt from his favorite yogurt place if he played hard and tried to score goals. That was all we had to say to him. Ryan played each game post bribe aggressively and scored goals in most games. There were a few games where he didn't score goals and when we told him how great he played and how proud we were of him for giving it his all, he would frown and say," I wanted to score a goal!" It was not because of the yogurt, but just because he loved the feeling of scoring. After each goal that he scored he would smile at us and pump his fist in the air. It was very cute. Needless to say, he is very excited for spring soccer.

Father/ Son Bonding

Football is big in our house. Most weekends you will find Sanjay watching football. Most of the time, Ryan is right there next to him watching. UCLA football is even bigger in our house. This year we decided to get season tickets again. Since Regan will not sit in one place for longer than a few minutes, Sanjay takes Ryan to each home game. Ryan really looks forward to the games. I'm not sure if it is the actual game that he likes or if it's the hot dogs, kettle corn, ice cream, and marching band. Nontheless, I'm happy that they are able to have this time together.

Halloween 2012

This year for Halloween Ryan dressed up as a policeman and Regan dressed as Snow White. They wore their costumes to my workout class, to the library for story time, to the Halloween frolic in town, and to trick or treat. I did not think Regan was going to dress up this year. Initially I bought her a bumble bee costume. When I tried to put it on her, she screamed, cried, and threw a tantrum. She kept saying, "Regan no want it!" I thought maybe it was too small. I returned the costume, took a few days to rethink it and decided she would be Snow White. I ordered her costume online and when it came I enthusiastically pulled it out of the box telling her what a pretty dress it was. She was not impressed. I tried to put it on her and she screamed, cried, and threw a tantrum screaming, "Regan no want it!" I thought for sure she would not end up in a costume this year. When the day finally arrived for her to wear the costume, she said," Regan pretty dress and put it on with no tears. I was shocked, but kept telling her that is was a very pretty dress. She loved it! Each time throughout the day when I would take it off and put it back on her, she never cried. She just kept talking about her pretty dress. Ryan loved his costume from the second I bought it for him. He would put it on whenever he could. He had a great time trick or treating and would run from house to house yelling, "Come on Daddy!" Regan and I walked a bit slower, but Ryan would wait at each house for Regan to come to the door with him. When we were finished trick or treating we came home to hand out candy. Ryan wanted to be in charge of handing out the candy to everyone who came to the door. He would get so excited when he saw kids walking to our door. He was very serious about his "job" and would make sure to give each child 2 big pieces or 3 small pieces of candy. At the end of the night I asked him what he liked better; trick or treating or handing out candy? His answer, handing out candy. That's my sweet boy!

Ryan's First Day of Preschool

Ryan started his second and final year of preschool on Sept 5. He has a longer day at school this year than last. He starts at 9:30 and gets picked up at 2:30, three days a week. I thought he would love school this year, just like last year. He did summer camp this past summer with this teacher and he has lots of friends in his class. Boy, was I wrong! I dropped him off on the first day, took lots of pictures, went inside with him, took more pictures, gave him a hug and kiss and left. When I picked him up that day he said he cried at school. He told me he missed me and that the day was too long. I thought it would be a one time thing and the more he went to school, the better he would be. It is actually quite the opposite. From the moment he wakes up on a school day he asks if he is going to school. If the answer is yes, he will whine and cry until we get to school. Once we get to school he has a full-fledged breakdown sobbing saying he doesn't want to go. Each day I hand him to the teacher as he grasps onto me for dear life. I hug and kiss him and leave. It is a horrible way to start the day, and I feel terrible leaving him. I know he is better after I leave but hearing your child cry and prying him off of you is never a great feeling. When I pick him up from school he is excited to see me, and will always say that he had a great time. I'm hoping it will get better soon, but we are about a month into school and it is still the same. Ugh!

Regan is 22 months old!

The past month has been filled with many new sentences and many new emotions. Regan loves to talk about herself in the third person. She says things like," Regan hair, Regan pretty dress, Regan blanket." She also loves saying,"Mommy, Daddy Ryan, Regan, Lucy." When she walks into a room she always says,"Hello," and waves with a straight arm and only her little fingers moving. She loves to run, prefers Mommy right now and will never let Mommy and Ryan go anywhere together without her. She has become a very picky eater and likes to eat pasta, pizza, blueberries, freeze dried bananas, pumpkin pancakes, cheese, chicken (sometimes), salmon, and crackers. It is pretty frustrating that she won't eat what we eat, but I keep trying to feed her everything. If I give her a fork and spoon to use, she will give anything a try. Usually after a bite she hands me her bowl and says, "Don't want it." Regan has also been adjusting to having her brother back in school. It has been difficult for her, and on the first day of school she cried because we left him at school. She is also becoming increasingly difficult, or shall I say, strong willed. She wants what she wants, when she wants it. If she doesn't get it, there is a huge meltdown to follow. I am talking about banging her head on the floor until she has a red mark, putting her fingers down her throat to make herself throw up, throwing anything that is in her reach, and screaming at the top of her lungs. This started a few months ago, but is getting worse the closer she gets to 2. I usually make sure she is in a safe place and give her space to tantrum. And, yes, sometimes this happens when we are out in public. I am THAT mom with THAT child! Regan has a big personality with two very strong moods, very happy or very grumpy. She reminds me of myself more and more each day. It is frightening. She is a smart girl and can say all the letters of the alphabet, can count to 20 and knows most animals and the sounds that they make. She likes to look at books alone, but has a hard time sitting still so I can read a story to her. I see some similarities between her and Ryan, but for the most part they are very different.

Regan is 20 and then 21 months old!

These last few months have been so busy that I haven't been able to sit and write. Regan is such a little girl these days. Hard to believe my baby is almost 2! She has quite a personality and is a bit of a wild child. She has a very sly smile that she shows us when she knows she is doing something she isn't supposed to do. Because of her brother and his obsession with his blanket, she too now has the same obsession. Her's is worse than Ryan's because we have to take her blanket everywhere. We have a car blanket and a bedtime blanket. Bedtime blanket must stay in Regan's room. Car blanket goes everywhere else; the car, the house, family's house, the stroller. Some of the cute and funny things she says are: Hold you, Mama- when she wants to be picked up, Where are you Mama?- when she can't find me, Mommy, up, up, up- when she wants to get out of the stroller or high chair, she calls fire engines- dire dingin, instead of saying Grandma, she calls my mom guppy, she constantly says please, thank you, and bless you, she can count to 20, but won't do it if you ask her too, just when she wants to, and she loves singing loud.

Ryan's Last Few Days of School

We almost made it through the year without Ryan getting in trouble at school. He had 2 days left, just 2 days. I guess he could not help himself. He tried to hide it from me, but just like me, he could not keep it a secret. Slowly, the story came out. We were having lunch after school and Ryan said, "Mommy, I cried at school today." This never happens, so I was a little worried and started asking questions about his day. Finally, the truth came out. He said the class was at their tables eating snacks. He was sitting next to a friend who was stacking her snack cups. Ryan knocked down her snack cups and that made the girl upset. He was told to sit at a table and eat his snack by himself. That is the ultimate punishment for Ryan. He was so upset that he told me that he cried and wanted me. It made me sad to hear that he was upset, but I explained to him why it wasn't okay for him to do that and that his teachers did the right thing in putting him at a table by himself. His response,"But, Mommy, she was playing at the table during snack time. Remember, we don't play when we are at the table, we eat." I guess he really does listen when I talk.