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Saturday, July 24, 2010

Learning New Things

Over the last few weeks we have stayed busy taking care of Ryan and working! Lareme celebrated his 30th birthday at Canyon Lake and I have been working more on my photography! I put on a surprise party for Lareme at canyon Lake and we had a blast! We ended up staying out there a lot longer than expected! I'm glad that so many could make it and enjoy his birthday! Around this time of year I begin to get sad and the school year starts back up. This year hit me a little harder than last. I really miss teaching but I know that I am where I'm suppose to be taking care of my little girl! Sometimes I just wished I was able to do both, but I know its better that I am home and if I did go back to work I would be wish I could spend more time with my baby girl!

We have had one hot summer but over the course of these hot days we have had a few good days! The other night was nice so we took Ryan to the park. Here are some pictures of her swinging! At first she as sure of it (probably because its been so long since we have been to the park) but once she was warmed up she loved it!



Over the last few weeks we have notice so much growth in Ryan!
Potty Training 101

So this week we have experienced major progress with Ryan's potty training (aka EC) The other day I bought some little panties for her to wear around the house and she has been doing awesome! She usually will go potty 3 or 4 times a day and have an accident or two a day! The best thing is that we only go through 2 diapers a day!! Ryan has officially learned to communicate with us when she needs to go potty! She will either crawl to the bathroom and sit in front of it or she will crawl on my legs and grunt! It's amazing how much she is picking up! She now cries when she has an accident and I'm not sure why. If she understands that she is suppose to go in the potty and is upset or just doesn't like to be wet, either way she's showing progress! I thought her reaction was interesting because we have never shown any negative response to her having an accident. Kids are much smarter than we give them credit for!

New things that I'm doing
-Ryan has learned that she can drop things and pick them back up. Over the last few days she has been picking up food and dropping it to just pick it up again to put in her mouth! She has also discovered the cup holder on her tray and likes to put her food in there and take it out and then put it in there again.
-Ryan is now on a roll with walking with assitance. We have a little stroller to push and she loves pushing it around. She's getting strong and I bet will be walking before we realize it!
-Ryans has learned how to turn pages in a book! Its amazing how quickly they learn! Ryan and I spend at least 20 m inutes a day reading and she loves it! (I think I enjoy it more though)
-When Ryan talks to us she now will say "Aie ya" Whatever that means but she says it all day long! Its pretty cute!

My new favorites
-Loves to hold her bath toys while she sits on the toliet!
-Her Wheat Thins, Dorritos, Veggie Straws

My new discoveries
-Ryan's discovered that she LOVES pickles! We were eating subs the other night and she devoured the pickle given to us!! She loved it!
-She's found her voice! For the last few weeks Ryan has been screaming! Just out of the blew you will hear her high pitched squeal.
-She has learned that she can feed her Daddy food! She loves to do it too!
-She has learned that she can CLIMB and hang over the couches and beds! She loves climbing. She's my little monkey!

The silliest thing Ryan's doing
-Today Ryan was following an ant with her eyes! Then she decided to chase it! While crawling around she would try and smash it! It was so cute!
-Ryan now has decided that she can only eat a snack if she has one in each hand. Its so funny! She won't even attempt to eat the snack until she has at least two!






Saturday, July 3, 2010

On Saturday we went down to down town Mesa for the 4th of July Celebration. Happy 4th btw! We also went to go see the Founding Fathers Presentation! Our friend Helen is an amazing photographer and she was presenting her new collection of Captured Miracles at the Mesa Center for the Arts. They are amazing!! You can see her work here. Anyways Ryan was all decked out in her Red, White and Blue but I didn't take any picture, however I did today! Not the same outfit but she is still cute :)
Doesn't that face melt your heart!! This is how she looks at her Daddy when she knows she's in trouble!!! Now who's in trouble...ahaha my daddy's girl might get away with more than she should!
I couldn't help myself!! I had to take a picture of these cute shoes!! Ah I love little girls!! Aren't they fun!

This week Ryan started clapping! She loves to clap. Whenever she hears music or someone acts excited she gets a big smile on her face and claps! :) Ryan also is beginning to crawl really fast! She is all over the place now!
I know many people think I'm crazy but I have started to potty train Ryan. All I've been doing is when she is getting ready to poop I put her on the potty! I have had incrediable success with this so far! For the last 9 days she has only had one stinky diaper and that was only because we didnt have a bathroom nearby. The best thing of all is she stopped herself until we got home and finished when I was able to put her on the potty! I really think she is making the connection! It's amazing!! This next week we are going to start working on the sign for potty so she can communicate to me when she needs to go! Wish me luck!!
So I've been reading up on this early potty training thing because so many people think I'm crazy and I found out that in other countries (China, Africa) where diapers are not readily available, babies are potty trained by the age 1. I also discovered that babies were potty trained by 18 month in America before the 1940's when Pampers came out. I guess when Pampers came out they had a Doctor endorse the fact that early potty training could cause pyschological issues. However recent studies show there is no negative effect on early potty training if done properly. I also read that some people begin to potty train at 3 months!! Thats crazy! Its all very interesting! So I'm going to try some of the new tactic I read about this week and see how it goes!!

At 9 months I have discovered and learned some of Ryan's favorites

Favorite toys- Touch'n Feel books, ribbon, combs, and paper (notice how 3 of the 4 are not baby toys)

Favorite Food- Bread, Cheese quesadilla, CHOCOLATE! She tried spagetti and mac'n cheese and loved them both! Yogurt and pears!
Favorite things to do- READ, Play with daddy and sit on his shoulders, Hang upside down, and the newest CLAP