Weather Report

Granpa Fraser gave Ryan a weather station for his birthday, and Ryan has been learning about temperature, humidity and barometric pressure. He thought it was fun going over the Siskiyou Mountains on our way back from Modesto watching the barometer fall so low it went off the meter.

The first thing Wednesday morning as we were getting ready, Ryan came in to us and before even saying good morning, announced

"I looked at the barometer this morning, and it's going to be a sunny day."

He was right. It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day! Sadly, today it is very rainy, so I made a tent out of our kitchen table, and they are playing camping (my rainy day ideas are totally spent!).

Kicks

Ryan's favorite part of Taekwon Do is kicking. He is fairly inept at it yet, but he loves it! His class this week focused a lot on kicking, and I thought it was amusing that each time it was Ryan's turn to kick, the instructor lowered the bag for him. I'm not sure if she was afraid of being kicked in the knees or if she was trying to help him out, probably a little of both.



He's the youngest and smallest one in the class and gives quite a bit of entertainment for the parents who are watching. He is working hard though and has learned his first four steps and was given the next four this week, which we will work on along with his kicks especially keeping his arms in position.

Overcoming Fears

Ryan used to love to swing high when he was very young, and then something happened when he was about two (we have no idea what) and he became terrified of moving through space whether it was swinging or being lifted up off the ground or whatever. Once when we went to see the Singing Christmas Tree, Daddy took him to see the orchestra pit during intermission and was going to lift him up so he could see better. Ryan FREAKED out, threw himself flat on the floor crying and would not budge (or listen to reason) until Daddy promised not to lift him up again. Thankfully I was at the other end of the stage and pretended I didn't know those two disruptive people! I still tease Ed that if he wasn't such an ogre of a dad who always heaved his kids into orchestra pits this never would have happened.


Today he was too afraid to stand up on
these, but he's doing better overall!
The last several months he has begun to loosen up a bit and do some things he previously wouldn't even consider. He likes to be pushed in the swing more than just one tiny push and is even climbing on the outside of jungle-gyms several feet up in the air. Last night he asked Daddy to throw him up in the air, and though he grapsed at Daddy's arms and shirt, he did allow him to do it several times. Sounds minor, I know, but really it's a very big step for him!


Sometime recently Ryan learned to pump his legs to get himself going in the swing, and he said something yesterday while he was doing that that I wondered if I'd hear him say, "Higher, higher! I can't make it go high."

Sunny Day

It was a beautiful sunny day today, so on our way to WinCo, we stopped at Lake Sacagawea Park to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine. I passed up another of our favorite parks on the way because it was crawling with kids, but for some reason this park never has anyone there and today was no exception. The kids had the whole playground to themselves as usual. Unfortunately, despite the sun, it was a bit chilly, so we didn't stay too long.

What's Up With Ryan?

I can't believe it's been three weeks since I posted on Ryan's blog. Poor boy, I'm sure he's feeling lost in the shuffle a bit lately. He's been doing pretty well, but I can tell the stress of everything with Abby and having so much attention focused on her daily (be it negative or positive) is affecting him a bit. He's acting out a little and even had a few wetting accidents. I've been trying to give him some extra attention and do some things he likes (like playing Blokus with him), and hopefully he will feel more secure again soon.


He had a great time in Modesto with Gramie. He got to spend four hours alone with her while we took Abby to her evaluation, and he had a blast. He was well behaved in the van during our LONG ride to and from, and he thoroughly enjoyed our new DVD players for the van! Our ride home took 14 hours, so we didn't get home until almost 11:30pm. Much to my surprise, Ryan didn't fall asleep until we reached Scappoose, which is about 10 minutes from home! He was one tired little boy the next day...we all were.


Having fun on a ride at the mall in Modesto.