Wednesday 21 September 2011

Chewy Chewy CHOMP CHOMP!

Ryan is getting his first tooth! About time with all the drooling, night waking and grumpy periods.
:)
Very exciting stuff.
Poor little guy, its all red and ouchy looking.

(click to enlarge) 

 Neil was reading some interesting stuff about baby teeth. Like did you know a baby tooth can come out and then reseed back in? That's pretty cool and a little gross.

Anywho. I tried to upload a video to youtube of Ry being super chatty but its not working for me right now. Ill try again. I also want to write a blog about memories, strangers touching my baby, and the fact that RY is 5 months old this past Saturday.

Good lord the time is flying.
Soon he will be crawling, walking, hurting himself and eating cat hair balls that always pop up RIGHT after I vacuum. 


EDIT. Got the video uploaded. YAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xbFmeiqK2Y

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Grandma from Florida visits.

My mom come up to visit us and to enjoy some nice fall weather (Florida is flippn hot).
This is a recount for me to look back and remember. Bit boring so feel free to skip down to Ryan eating beans.

Mom got in Thursday afternoon/early night. Neil picked her up from the airport and we all went out to Jack Astors for dinner. We sat on the patio which was nice and a little dangerous. In Ontario people can smoke on the patio so we had to sit far from everyone else. We had Ryan with us. It was a lot of fun, a little loud but mom enjoyed her dinner.

Friday I took Neil into work and had the car for the day. I had a doctor appointment at noon and after a quick nap with Ryan we hit up Costco. Mom loaded us up with diapers, paper towels, some out fits and meat which was pretty awesome. We had a nice cook out with Rita and Tim that night and just hung outside for a while. Gabi joined us for dinner (Sandor was off to Thailand). Gabi and my mom went to the South Side Shuffle for a show and one of Gabi's favorite singers, Cheryl Lescom.

Saturday we took her to the South Side Shuffle (Jazz fest) in the afternoon. That night we had some grilled steaks and just spent the night outside chilling drinking wine and beer. Ryan had a great time too and ended up falling asleep on Neil, was pretty sweet.

Sunday we went to the farmers market and had family dinner with everyone at night.

Monday we took it easy and just chilled during the day ( mom, me and Ry). When Neil got home we took mom to Spoon and Fork (Thai). She ever had Thai food before which is a big shame, it is one of my favorite foods (along with french). 
Oh who are we kidding, all food are my favorite.
She got the mango chicken and sticky coconut rice and loved it! Neil and I got red curry, its pretty spicy there so we didn't offer any to mom. She can not handle heat in food!

Today (Tuesday) Mom, Ryan and I went for a walk. I was happy mom joined in on our morning walk. We cut it a little short but she had a good time. We chilled around the house and I made Chow Mien for dinner. Robin came over for a visit.

Wend we are planning on going to Cora's for breakfast nice and early so Neil can come and then I take mom to the airport around 2 to catch her flight home. I wish we would have done more but the point of this trip was for my mom to see and visit with Ryan and she did. I think she had a great time. Man she can make this kid giggle!!! (video below)
_______________________________________
Today Ryan had green beans for the first time.
I was pretty happy he ate them with ease and didn't spit it out or even make a face. So far he likes and eats apples (home made) sweet potato (premade) and green beans (home made). I have the home made peaches in the freezer still and will add those into his diet next week. I am still really scared to give him carrots since his reaction to them last time was SO BAD. I am keeping his foods really simple till he is about seven-eight months and then I will start putting chicken with broccoli in his diet and mixing foods up. Right now I am keeping it apples and cereal for breakfast and sweet potato (or beans) and cereal for dinner. Sometimes I skip the cereal depending on how many servings of food he gets. NO SALT, NO SUGAR. Everything I have read says no seasoning in his food for a while yet. His little body can not handle salt or peppers.

He is still mostly breast milk and he is slowly going more between feedings which is neat. Sort of hurts me on certain days so I have to pump enough to relieve. Which works out because I use that milk to mix the cereal.

Wow this post is pretty boring. Sorry guys.
Ill make up for it with cute videos & photos

Ryan getting almost his whole foot in his mouth.

(As always click photos to enlarge.)

 Sitting in the cart at Costco and happy about it

 This kid loves to be outside! (south side shuffle in the jogging stroller)

 Neil feeding him... yummy food!

 Watching Roag is so much fun!

 Today's walk with Grandma L! YAY!

ALSO a BIG shout out to my sister on her birthday. Happy Birthday Laura!!!

Monday 5 September 2011

O.Noir a review of sorts (pretty long and detailed)

Yesterday started off with Burlington Rib Fest with Joe and Angela.
The night before we lost a backup hard drive on our Drobo.
All our videos are on there not to mention the only back up we have of our thousands of photos of Ryan. Keeping that in mind we meet up at the Tiger Direct with Joe and Angela in Burlington and figure we can car pool from there. 

We all pile into our car (with Ryan in the car seat in the back). Good thing Ang and Joe are so thin and we were off.
Yesterday was not the nicest day but the cloud cover and slight mist did help to keep the heat at bay which is important to a certain 4 1/2 month old.
We walked around a bit, got some BBQ and enjoyed ourselves. After we had our fill and the sky got a little darker we were on our way.
Neil and I got some 'bad' ice cream. We got soft serve with pineapple but the pineapple had turned so we had to toss it which made us a little sad. However better to be safe then sick when we had such awesome plans for the evening time.

Side note, it always pleases Neil and I how GOOD Ryan is when we take him out. He was just looking around at everything at the rib fest. Only ate once in four hours (didn't want to eat just wanted to look around) and took a little nap in the jogging stroller. He is SUCH an amazing kid when he is outside and there are new things for him to look at.

Got home, showered, washed down Ryan, got dolled up and off to drop the kid at the grand folks place.

Now those of you whom are not lucky enough to live a block from your parents, I feel sad for you. IT IS AWESOME. Gabi and Sandor are SO amazing with Ryan it really is a blessing to have them so close and SO WILLING to take him! I always tell Neil I feel bad dropping Ryan there because he can be a hand full and he always reassures me his folks love having him. They also reassure me by THANKING us every time we drop him off!
Like I said... awesome.

Neil and I were baby free for the night and feeling good. Made our way downtown to pick up Robin (Neils Bro) and Christina (Robins girlfriend & all and all a pretty kick ass chick).

We make it to O.Noir a few minutes early, its amazing how on time we are without the kid! After getting an email from Gabi that Ryan was taking the bottle and being a great kid I was able to stop being a worry wart mom and enjoy our night.

You go down some steps and into the restaurant. The lighting is very dim. You are greeted and asked if you have a reservation. The lady points you to the left, there are a bunch of closed doors as you make you way down to the end of the hall. At the end there is a large room with a few tables in the center and a few places to sit, also a big bar. You are given menus and asked to select what you want.
We chatted for a bit and decided what we were all having.

Christina & I had
Starter : Grilled Calamari on a mixed Green Salad (I had no starter)
Main : Marinated Shrimp with Herbs, served with dried Tomato Risotto 
Dessert : SURPRISE

Robin & Neil had
Starter : SURPRISE
Main : Five Spice Filet mignon served with Potatoes and Vegetables  
Dessert : SURPRISE

And we got a bottle of wine to share, wondering how they were going to refill our glasses. A bottle of wine pours perfect between four people so the server brought the already filled glasses to our table.

At O.Noir they hire blind servers. Our server was great, her name was Chris.

After placing our order we were taken to one of the doors in the hallway and introduced to our server, Chris. She explained to us that we were going to enter the doors behind her and once those were closed go into another room. We got into a line and put our hands on the left shoulder of the person in front of us. Off we went.

We were seated right next to the door. Neil and I were next to each other. Robin was across from me and Christina was across from Neil. Robin and I had a wall next to us. There was a placemat with texture in front of you with a small plate in the center. The fork was to the left and the butter knife to the right. Chris explained all this to us. On our small plate was a little thing of butter for our bread (which Chris put right on your plate). She put the wine glass to the right of me and put my hand on it. (same with our water). This room was BLACK. No light whatsoever so your eyes never adjust. Its pretty cool, you sort of have static in your vision and Christina even was a little dizzy at first. She said she felt like she was on the boat (movement).

Chris explained everything as she did it and was wonderful!
After chatting and light laughter everyone got starters. Since I didn't get one it was very enjoyable to pay attention as everyone tried to eat. Robin and Neil were trying to figure out what they got and Christina was talking about her salad (not to big a fan of it). The guys liked what they had though.

On to the main course. Neil and I were worried. Almost all the reviews said the food was bad. Some said like bad wedding food and others said cafeteria quality. I am a bit of a food snob as is Neil. 
The guys got the steak first. It smelled amazing. It comes out cut up already. I asked Neil for a peice. After reaching for his arm and slowly making my way to his hand and fork I had a peice. It was pretty damn good. Really nicely seasoned and I could tell it was more on the rare side like Neil asked for.

Christina and I got our food. It smelled awesome as well. I felt it lightly with my fingers on my left hand while I held the fork in my right.
I was able to get some risotto (which was sort of dry like a rice not the normal wet risotto I was used to). It was GOOD. The shrimp was nice and big, not over cooked and had a great flavor. It was funny as Christina tried to give a fork full of risotto to Robin and it ended up on him.
I think we all enjoyed our dinners and cleaned our plates pretty good.

The dessert was a sort of moose like chocolate cake with a thin layer of real cake on top. I got a HUGE fork full and got it all over my face. Christina confessed to us later she ate the cake with just her hands. :D
Neil also confessed he had a huge piece of butter on his nose for almost 10 min before realizing it.
We had some coffe and ordered a little extra sweets and chatted for a while in the dark. (Neil and I shared the Fruit Sorbet and Christina got some vanilla ice cream).

It was nice to just sit in the dark enjoying a coffee. I think I agree with Neil that the best moments where sipping the wine and coffee. However the dinner part was fun and really enjoyable.

After we were done you come out of the room (hands on shoulders again) and go into the hall way. The dim light is very bright and it's hard on you at first. You sort of just stand there blinking for a while.

I would go agian and there are a few people I would love to take there. Sunday is a great day to go. If Liz and Chris (our friends from Virgina) ever visit us again we are going to take them there!

I hoped you enjoyed my long review! 

Now to some from breakfast, dry my hair, go get our son and hang out with Robin and Christina again.
Have a great labor day!


Saturday 3 September 2011

Food round 2 and bottle issues.

Thursday Neil took me to Le Castile. It was so friggn' yummy. It sort of felt like Hogwarts meets Haunted Castle at Disney.

Photos are on facebook of food and such.
Our server over shared a little though. We learned that his ex wife was a boozer and he got custody of his son and step daughter but his step daughter came home at 18 preggers and he was married twice. He likes having a son more then a daughter but I think thats just cause of the ex wife...
Yeah sort of made our romantic meal a little more side show/drama theater.
heh

I made apples for Ryan yesterday and gave him a small taste. He really liked it! So at 10am today I gave him 5 bites of cereal and 3 bites of apple mush. We shall see how he does. I am trying to breast feed him less. He ate last at 9am and then napped a little. I gave him the apple and cereal and now he is in his exerciser thingy bouncing around. 

Poor peanut is teething like CRAZY. We have a few teethers and I tried a wet wash cloth of his. I put filtered cold water on it and gave it to him. He looked really confused. I hate to medicate him. I read about putting a little children Tylenol on the gums so I might try that before we go to Mike and Janet's today.

Yesterday I took him to Gabi and Sandor's to try to get him to take a bottle. Gabi told us Thursday after we dropped him off he was okay for a bit and then once he realized we were gone he screamed to the point of getting hives again. I figure if I bring him there at least once during the week he will be happy there again. Its funny how just not taking him there for two weeks he forgets and gets in the habit of being around Neil and I. 

Sunday we are going to leave him with Gabi and Sandor again while we go diner at O.Noir with Robin and Christina. I was going to have him stay overnight but now I am not so sure.

Anyways I digress. I had some boobie milk in the bottle for Gabi to try to give him in a bottle. I hide from him and Gabi went at it. After trying for an hour (I came and tried as well) he passed out for a bit. Neil came over and we all tried with formula. He only wanted to chew. By this point he had not eaten in over 3 hours. Which is HUGE for him during the day. I refused to breast feed while we are at Gabi's I wanted him to associate bottles with Grandma. If I caved in now he would learn boobies if he has enough of a hissy fit.

It was a battle of the wills and we tied. I refused to feed and he refused to eat.
We went home around 7:30pm and I feed him at home.

Neil thinks it was his teeth bugging him not the bottle. All he did was chew. Neil got him to eat a little formula but he was more interested in chewing. The bottle didn't make him mad after the nap. In fact he was laughing and smiling so that is good.

Okay I need to go clean while we have the time. This weekend is gonna be a little busy and my mom comes into town this coming up Thursday. I want her to relax and not worry about cleaning my house! I am a firm believer in a clean house for company (that stays with you). 
And by clean house I mean really clean. (ceiling fans, vacuum up spider webs in the corners, bleach out the fridge...)
So time to get to work because I haven't clean like that since she came to visit when I was 41 weeks preggers. NO it wasn't nesting darn it...

okay maybe it was.


Thursday 1 September 2011

Four Years...

Four years ago today I married my best friend.

Yup people, its gonna be one of those posts. Gay, full of romance and ridiculously drawn out.
I suggest skipping unless you feel like being sick.


Neil, my husband, the father to my son and my best friend. I think about you at least 20 times a day. When I see something funny you are the first person I want to share it with. Even if sometimes you don't want me too (Ryan pooping).
I try to make sure to say good bye to you every morning with a kiss and hello to you every night with a hug.

I know a new baby can be a romance killer but with every touch or butt smack you let me know you still care. I hope I convey the same.
You make me happy with every silly joke, long drawn out story or when you make our son giggle and smile like an idiot.
Sometimes I want to kill you or smack the crap out of you but at least you keep it interesting.

The past 10 years we have had amazing ups and crushing lows but through everything you are there for me always. You have shown me so much and in a lot of ways shaped and changed me into the person I am today. When I am scared to do or try something new you push me. Even though I fight you don't let me back down and always support me through it. If its roller coasters or ATVing in Aruba I always have a fun time.

You remind me to not be a old fuddy duddy and to live life. You push me even when sometimes I want to be left alone, but you always have my best interest in mind.
Thank you for giving me two of the best things one human can give another... your time and sharing a new life (our awesome son).

 If you really think about it we have made it through so much good and bad. Long distance relationship, you moving back and forth from Canada to Florida, me moving up and struggling with that, getting married, traveling (though that is always a blast!), the loss of our daughter and the birth of our son.
 I am excited to see what the next few years have in hold for us. I know it will be at times fun and other times stressful but I know one thing I can count on is you by my side and always ready to put a smile on my face.

I'm sorry I didn't get you a donut yesterday, it was selfish of me. I owe you one Krispie Kream Donut.

Now feel free to call me gay and make fun of me... though I know really this touched you. But you will never admit to it. heh.
(this is the face you will make at me after reading this)

See, I know you way too well.