We had the harmonica put away for a while and brought it back out last week. I must say I probably wouldn't be able to do 2 instruments at once (just like I can't pat my head and rub my tummy at the same time!) so this impressed Dean and I. And just for the record, he keeps saying cheese & cheesecake because it's the video from the camera--hence he thinks his picture is being taken.
Playing music from Karen Perry on Vimeo.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Update
I can't believe it's been almost 3 weeks since I last posted! Next week will be September..good grief! Between work, doctor's appointments (me & Ryan)& errands our days, nights & weekends are pretty full. We were trying to get Ryan caught up on all his shots before he enters daycare (after Labor Day). He had 3 shots to get, the MMR, 2nd dose of the Hep A & the Varicella. Yesterday he got the last of the shots so he is ready to go. Luckily shots don't even phase him now..he just loves getting the Band-Aid afterwards!
Ryan is talking and singing all the time now. I've posted this before but I'm still amazed how quickly he started talking once he was put on antibiotics & then he started talking even more once his adenoids were removed, since that cleared up his congestion. He is much like Dean in crowds & new surroundings...quiet! We started going on a consistant basis to my friend's church recently but Ryan has yet to "come out of his shell". Hopefully the more he's around the same people every week, the more he'll open up. As soon as we get to the parking lot, he's a chatter box though! And if he is telling us something and we don't answer, he'll say "mommy" or "daddy" until we acknowledge him. He's definitely a 3 year old! He knows what he wants & if he doesn't get it or can't do it himself, he'll make it be known. For example, he likes putting on his own shoes and tries so very hard to put on his socks. Every once in a while he'll get the socks on but mostly we have to step in and do it because he gets so frustrated trying and ends up throwing a temper tantrum...and boy does that get ugly. He's been 3 for almost 6 weeks and has probably gone to time out at least one day out of every one of those weeks. Some toddlers scream, some toddlers kick, some toddlers lay on the floor and cry. While Ryan does occasionally do those things, mostly he throws (and screams). If he doesn't get what he wants or like in the case of not being able to put on his socks, he gets mad and throws something. Throwing is something we do not tollerate. AT ALL! We don't even let him throw balls in the house. Hence, why he gets a timeout if he throws. That is, after we've warned him. I'm sure our neighbors might be thinking nasty thoughts (and probably scaring the poor lady who is 7 months pregnant) about us because timeout is in the corner at the bottom of our stairs. Right by the wall adjacent to our neighbors. Ryan likes to not only cry as hard as possible (did I mention he's a drama king?) but also scream bloody murder...like something you'd hear from a horror movie. Oh yes, screaming..another new trait that appeared about 2 months ago. I have no idea where he got this from but it's not music to the ears. We love our little preemie prince but he's not always prince charming and we find ourselves saying...how long until he's 4? Um, yeah, maybe 4 will be better..haha.
We went to the amusement park again, this time later in the day so we could be there during the evening since they have fireworks. Then we found out Ryan doesn't like fireworks. Well, he likes to look at them but did not like the noise. Of course part of me wonders if that has to do with his slight sensory issues (yes, me and my paranoid ways) but then again, he wasn't the only kid holding his hands up to his ears. We had a great time as usual and he got to ride most all the kiddie rides.
Ryan is talking and singing all the time now. I've posted this before but I'm still amazed how quickly he started talking once he was put on antibiotics & then he started talking even more once his adenoids were removed, since that cleared up his congestion. He is much like Dean in crowds & new surroundings...quiet! We started going on a consistant basis to my friend's church recently but Ryan has yet to "come out of his shell". Hopefully the more he's around the same people every week, the more he'll open up. As soon as we get to the parking lot, he's a chatter box though! And if he is telling us something and we don't answer, he'll say "mommy" or "daddy" until we acknowledge him. He's definitely a 3 year old! He knows what he wants & if he doesn't get it or can't do it himself, he'll make it be known. For example, he likes putting on his own shoes and tries so very hard to put on his socks. Every once in a while he'll get the socks on but mostly we have to step in and do it because he gets so frustrated trying and ends up throwing a temper tantrum...and boy does that get ugly. He's been 3 for almost 6 weeks and has probably gone to time out at least one day out of every one of those weeks. Some toddlers scream, some toddlers kick, some toddlers lay on the floor and cry. While Ryan does occasionally do those things, mostly he throws (and screams). If he doesn't get what he wants or like in the case of not being able to put on his socks, he gets mad and throws something. Throwing is something we do not tollerate. AT ALL! We don't even let him throw balls in the house. Hence, why he gets a timeout if he throws. That is, after we've warned him. I'm sure our neighbors might be thinking nasty thoughts (and probably scaring the poor lady who is 7 months pregnant) about us because timeout is in the corner at the bottom of our stairs. Right by the wall adjacent to our neighbors. Ryan likes to not only cry as hard as possible (did I mention he's a drama king?) but also scream bloody murder...like something you'd hear from a horror movie. Oh yes, screaming..another new trait that appeared about 2 months ago. I have no idea where he got this from but it's not music to the ears. We love our little preemie prince but he's not always prince charming and we find ourselves saying...how long until he's 4? Um, yeah, maybe 4 will be better..haha.
We went to the amusement park again, this time later in the day so we could be there during the evening since they have fireworks. Then we found out Ryan doesn't like fireworks. Well, he likes to look at them but did not like the noise. Of course part of me wonders if that has to do with his slight sensory issues (yes, me and my paranoid ways) but then again, he wasn't the only kid holding his hands up to his ears. We had a great time as usual and he got to ride most all the kiddie rides.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Vacation post #2
Our plan was to leave Ocean City early and drive back down to Williamburg in order to get to the water park soon after they opened. Well, since we were having so much fun in OC (okay, we woke up late and were slow in getting checked out and then couldn't find a breakfast place that wasn't overly crowded), that didn't happen. As so happens many times on vacation, plans change. Because of hitting the rush hour traffic (which is pretty much all the time around this area) when we got to hotel in Williamsburg it was close to dinner time. We decided to hit the theme park instead. Once at the theme park, we realized that probably wasn't such a great idea. It was sooooo hot and humid! All we had to do was stand still for a couple minutes and sweat was coming off our brow. We did let Ryan ride a few rides before leaving.
I was in no mood to put up with the humidity that night so we left, ate a late dinner and went to bed. The next morning we got up and hit the water park. It was recorded breaking heat again that day but at least in the water, it didn't seem too hot.
By mid afternoon Ryan actually was ready to leave. Poor thing was worn out. We left and made our way back home. The next day we took Ryan to see his first movie- Toy Story 3. He loved it! We weren't sure how he was going to do at first. He rarely sits down for longer than 10-15 minutes at home to watch something on TV. I guess having the big screen, popcorn, gummy bears & no distractions helps though. He sat through the entire 90 minute movie (with one potty break)! The following day we took him to the Living Museum. It is similar to the Aquarium we took him to a few weeks ago, but it focuses more on all things living (or have once lived). So there were many things to see but I think my favorite was the dinosaurs! They were so lifelike.
Ryan had a great time and adapted so well to everything while on vacation. I think Ryan is still trying to catch up from the late nights, no daytime naps and all the activites we did during the day. Plus last week we took him to Vacation Bible School at my friend's church. He really enjoyed all the crafts, games & just being with the other kids but was tuckered out by the time he got in the car (it ended at 8:30pm each night). I really enjoyed being able to sleep in a little though over the weekend :-)
I was in no mood to put up with the humidity that night so we left, ate a late dinner and went to bed. The next morning we got up and hit the water park. It was recorded breaking heat again that day but at least in the water, it didn't seem too hot.
By mid afternoon Ryan actually was ready to leave. Poor thing was worn out. We left and made our way back home. The next day we took Ryan to see his first movie- Toy Story 3. He loved it! We weren't sure how he was going to do at first. He rarely sits down for longer than 10-15 minutes at home to watch something on TV. I guess having the big screen, popcorn, gummy bears & no distractions helps though. He sat through the entire 90 minute movie (with one potty break)! The following day we took him to the Living Museum. It is similar to the Aquarium we took him to a few weeks ago, but it focuses more on all things living (or have once lived). So there were many things to see but I think my favorite was the dinosaurs! They were so lifelike.
Vacation post #1
Finally..it's the vacation post. I figured I'd divide the posts up since it would be extra long if I tried to do one post and I could post some pics in both. Things have been hectic at work & home since we got back from vacation but I now have the time to post what we did & where we went on vacation. While we would have loved to go out to San Diego to visit friends or Florida to visit family, it just wasn't feasible this year so we had to look for something to do closer to home. As you may know, Ryan loves the water. There is an indoor water park (Great Wolf Lodge) not far from where we live but to stay there for even one night you need to take out a loan! Okay, well maybe not everyone needs to, but for us it's just ridiculously expensive. So, my friend went on a google search for a cheaper indoor water park and came up with a place in Ocean City, Maryland. It was a "family resort" less than a mile from the boardwalk and had 3 pools. An outdoor pool, an indoor pool with a slide and an outdoor splash pool. As soon as she told me about it, I researched it some more and was sold on it. So, Francis Scott Key Family Resort is where we stayed. I cannot say enough good things about this place. It was clean, the staff was friendly, they offered free shuttle service to and from the boardwalk, great prices and package deals but most of all, the pools were fantastic! The indoor and outdoor pools stayed open late (10pm) and the splash pool even stayed open until 8. Ryan had such a great time and the only reason he was willing to leave to go back to the room at night was because he was pooped out! We will defintely be going back because 2 1/2 days was not enough time to do all the things there is to do in Ocean City. We wanted to stay longer but since we booked late, they didn't have any rooms available.
The first night of our vacation we stayed about 30 minutes away from Ocean City. We were anxious to get our vacation started but since we couldn't book the FSK for Sunday and all the other hotels in OC were way to expensive for one night, we booked what we thought was a decent hotel about 30 minutes away in a small town. Well, when we got to this particular hotel, even the outside looked dirty & old.
I read the reviews of this hotel online and they were decent and I've stayed at a Quality Inn before, hence why I booked the place. But, they must have been made up because this hotel was the pits. We decided to just check it out so we went in and got our room. When we opened the door to the room, my friend saw a wadded up piece of toilet paper with cookie crumbs all around it on the floor. I was getting Ryan out of the car and all I heard was "ewwwwwwww". Of course I immediately thought it was some kind of bug! Once she said it was TP, I said oh but then came her next finding which then made me freak...Yes, it was a bug!!! In the window there was a cricket!!! EWWWWWW. One of those big jumping crickets!!!! That did it for me of course. The lady from the front desk was approaching at this point to bring us the rollaway bed for Ryan. I told her we didn't need it and when I told her why, she just said "oh I can kill the cricket"...ummm NO lady, I'm terrified of bugs and would never stay somewhere that had one!! Even if you killed it! Meanwhile, Dean walked in the room with Ryan in tow and proceeded to the bathroom where he turned on the light and noticed mold all around the whole bathroom. My friend and I were yelling telling him to come on and get out before they both got some kind of disease..haha! Once back in the car, we all took a purell bath! Luckily, we were able to go down the street to the only other hotel in town (actually there was one other one but it was just as scary looking as the one we left) and it was new and very nice. And to top it off, it was right next to the Wal-Mart & Ruby Tuesday! The pool was indoors too so we got to eat, go shopping and swim!
This was the first time Ryan had ever slept in a hotel and he had a blast. He loved having his own big bed (twin rollaway bed).
We got up the next day and drove the rest of the way up to Ocean City. We were able to get prechecked in to the FSK (Francis Scott Key) and have an early lunch in the restaurant.
After some time in the the pools, we were ready to clean up and go down to the boardwalk. We were so excited as soon as we walked onto it.
Being from a beach town you'd think we would be used to having a beach and wonder why would we vacation at another beach town. Well, while Virginia Beach does have a boardwalk, it's nothing like Ocean City. Virginia Beach's boardwalk is lined mostly with hotels, not shops. Most all the shops are on the street side. Ocean City's boardwalk is lined with shops, arcades, places to eat, rides & attractions! Fun stuff!!!
This was thrilling to us! We could walk the boardwalk, shop, eat, & look at the beautiful beach!!! (yes, lots of exclamation points because I am still excited about it..hehe). So next couple days, that's what we did. Walked, shopped a little, ate, swam & just enjoyed our time in Ocean City.
The first night of our vacation we stayed about 30 minutes away from Ocean City. We were anxious to get our vacation started but since we couldn't book the FSK for Sunday and all the other hotels in OC were way to expensive for one night, we booked what we thought was a decent hotel about 30 minutes away in a small town. Well, when we got to this particular hotel, even the outside looked dirty & old.
This was the first time Ryan had ever slept in a hotel and he had a blast. He loved having his own big bed (twin rollaway bed).
We got up the next day and drove the rest of the way up to Ocean City. We were able to get prechecked in to the FSK (Francis Scott Key) and have an early lunch in the restaurant.
We walked around the property and about the time we were going to change to go in the pool, our room was ready. Then we went in the pool!
this was the Pirate splash pool with 6 slides
in the indoor pool
After some time in the the pools, we were ready to clean up and go down to the boardwalk. We were so excited as soon as we walked onto it.
Being from a beach town you'd think we would be used to having a beach and wonder why would we vacation at another beach town. Well, while Virginia Beach does have a boardwalk, it's nothing like Ocean City. Virginia Beach's boardwalk is lined mostly with hotels, not shops. Most all the shops are on the street side. Ocean City's boardwalk is lined with shops, arcades, places to eat, rides & attractions! Fun stuff!!!
This was thrilling to us! We could walk the boardwalk, shop, eat, & look at the beautiful beach!!! (yes, lots of exclamation points because I am still excited about it..hehe). So next couple days, that's what we did. Walked, shopped a little, ate, swam & just enjoyed our time in Ocean City.
play area on the beach..they had different ones
all along the beach
eating at "Dead Freddies" a pirate themed seafood
restaurant..DELISH!!!
playing on the pirate ship @ Dead Freddies
on one of the many rides located on the boardwalk
enjoying a lollipop
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