Christmas 2011

Christmas came and went with the blink of an eye. Ryan tried so hard to behave before Christmas because he knew 'Santa was watching,' that it backfired on us, and we had breakdown after breakdown and lots of timeout time. It was exhausting. Every night as I put him to bed he would tell me,"Mommy, I was naughty today. I'm sorry, I'm not going to be naughty tomorrow." The next day the same behavior would rear it's ugly head followed by time out and another evening of promises. It's hard to be 3 and behave when there is so much to look forward to. Aside from that, this was Regan's first Christmas where I felt like she actually 'got it.' She opened up some presents and actually played with the toys inside instead of being entertained by the wrapping paper and boxes.

Ryan reminding me how he stands with Santa. He had to wear this shirt many times before Christmas to convince me that it was true.

Santa picture #1

Santa picture #2, not so successful

Picking out our tree at the Christmas tree lot

Ryan's picture in our local paper. We walked in the Holiday parade and he was lucky enough to have his picture taken and published in the paper.

All smiles on Christmas morning.

Regan is 15 months and a few days old!

Regan turned 15 months old on the 5th. She is quite a steady walker now and loves to walk away from me as fast as her little feet will take her. She is not very fond of being held these days and will wiggle her way out of my arms. She just wants to walk on her own.

Her vocabulary is expanding everyday. She clearly says, Hi Daddy, Hi Ryan, milk, cheese, book, please (peez), oh baby, oh blanket, pretty and touchdown complete with her hands in the air (thanks to Daddy).

Regan will repeat anything you ask her to, so Ryan loves to tell her to say things. Of course he says things like,"Regan say pack n play," "Regan say motorcycle." He will never ask her to say easy one syllable words, it must be a complex word. It is pretty funny to listen to her try to say these words.

Some other noteworthy details: Regan's eighth tooth came in this month, she loves to dance when she hears music, peek a boo is still a favorite game of hers, she loves to run to her Daddy and give him kisses and snuggle with Ryan in our bed each morning.

Regan is 14 Months Old!

Regan turned 14 months old yesterday. She really made my day. She said, "Mommy," twice. This is a very big deal because she does not call me anything. I'm not quite sure why, but all she says is Daddy, Daddy, Daddy. She gets very excited when she sees me, but doesn't say anything, so for her to finally call me Mommy, not once but twice was a huge deal.

Regan also took 6 steps by herself yesterday, twice. I knew she was on her way to walking, but was very surprised when I took her to the park today and she took off walking, all by herself! Now when I pick her up, she just wants to walk. It is the cutest thing! I know my life just got way more interesting, but what a great couple of milestones!

Some Late Fall Pictures

Halloween 2011, the fireman and ladybug


Hanging out in the stroller for Mommy's workout












Family picture on Thanksgiving



I like this one too!











The cousins

Regan is 13 Months old!

I told myself I probably could not keep up with the monthly birthday posts, and I was right. Although it keeps me accountable each month, it is hard to do. Part of the reason I would post Regan's monthly birthday pictures and stories is because I didn't want to have a second child with only a handful of pictures to look at when she was older and a baby book that was never updated. I'm trying to keep up with it, but each month just passes so quickly.

Regan is now 13 months old. She is not walking on her own yet, but she will hold my hand and walk or walk pushing one of her walking toys. She will stand on her own for a few seconds, then realizes no one is holding onto her and drops to the ground. Just in the last month I have noticed huge changes in her vocabulary. She baby babbles constantly, but in addition to that has picked up new words and some words have become more clear. Last month she would drop things and say "Uh." This month she drops things and says, "Uh oh!" Last month she said,"Ee I ee I," this month she says,"Ee I, ee I oh!" There are times when it sounds like she is singing part of the ABC's when babbling, but I think it is too early to tell. She says,"All done," very clearly as well as,"More" while doing the sign. She says,"Milk," and points to everything and says what sounds like,"What's that?" When I tell her what the object is, she laughs and points to something else and says again, "What's that?" She continues to say,"Hi Daddy!" very clearly and has started to say Ryan which sounds like Ry-Ry.


Some of Regan's favorite foods right now are cheese sandwiches, hummus on tortillas, yogurt, broccoli, peas, applesauce, waffles and pumpkin pancakes. She is a good eater and will, for the most part, eat what I put in front of her. She really likes to feed herself and would prefer that over someone feeding her.

Regan has become pretty independent. She enjoys playing alone and does not need anyone to play with her. She also enjoys playing with her brother, but is perfectly content on her own. Something new for Regan is she has become clingy. When I leave the room, she cries. Even if Sanjay or Ryan are still in the room with her, she cries. Her little personality is finally starting to come through. She has been scrunching up her nose when she laughs and making really cute, silly faces.

Ryan Can Read, Workbooks, and Candyland

A few months back I decided to start doing flashcards with Ryan. He is always eager to learn, and I enjoy challenging him. I looked up a website on sight words. I wrote the words on flashcards and introduced 4- 6 words to him each day during lunch and dinner. By bedtime he knew all of the words on the flashcards for that particular day. Let me remind you that this is a boy who would memorize books at age 2. He has this crazy ability to memorize things so I figured, why not take advantage of it. As of today he knows all of the preschool sight words and more than half of the kindergarten words.

Since we go to the library weekly and check out books, I started to choose books that had the sight words in them and are designed to help kids recognize the words and essentially begin to read. Although he does struggle with a few words, he can read the books that I bring home each week. I am absolutely amazed that he has taken to reading and flashcards so easily. Today he was in time out and when I went to get him I find him in his chair going through his flashcards. He just really enjoys reviewing flashcards and reading books. To him, it is another "game" that we play. He has also recently got a few preschool workbooks and cannot get enough of them. If I tell him there is no time to do a workbook page, it upsets him. I love the fact that he loves to learn and looks forward to it everyday. He really impresses me and I am so proud of him.

As an early Christmas gift, Ryan received Candyland. He loves playing the game, but with it comes the concept of winning and losing. I'm sure this may upset some people, but I really believe children need to understand that in games and in life people win and lose. I feel like these days schools and parents are trying to get away from saying that there are "winners" and "losers." "Everybody wins," is a line I often hear from others and it drives me insane. At some point, maybe not at 3 years old, kids need to learn that they may fail at something. They need to learn how to cope with it and how to move on.

Ryan and I played Candyland a few times the first night we opened it. As I won the first game he began to get upset, which I expected. I told him when you lose you don't pout or complain, at the same time, if you win, you don't brag about it or celebrate excessively. I said, when the game is over, win or lose you shake the other person's hand and say,"Good game." He is only three and a half, but he needs to learn that things are not always going to go his way. I understand this is a big concept for him, so we are easing into it. Needless to say, we probably play between 3- 5 games every other day. I can tell he gets upset when he loses, but tries not to let it show and is super excited when he wins. This is a learning experience for him, but also a life skill that he should be aware of at this age. Regardless of winning or losing, Ryan really enjoys spending that quality time playing games with his dad or me.

Regan is 1 year old!!

Regan turned a year old on November 5th! We had a small party with family and a couple close friends. When Regan woke up on her birthday, Ryan insisted that she wear the "birthday hat." Like the agreeable little girl that she is, she wore it with a smile.










I tried to get some pictures of Ryan and Regan together before the party. It didn't go well.













The Birthday cake









Time for Regan to eat her first cupcake!





Hanging out at the end of the party.








Happy First Birthday Baby Girl!!