Freedom of the Seas

We had such a fantastic time on the cruise! Pictures to come next week, but for now, here were the highlights:

We went with my family: my mom, Anju, Anjay, Avani, Aria, and Arjun. Ryan had SO much fun hanging out with his cousins, and was really sad to see them leave yesterday.

The ship - Royal Caribbean, Freedom of the Seas. I think we had 4300 passengers or something crazy like that. Anju and Anjay did the rock climbing wall, the kids enjoyed the H20 zone and we had fun watching people wipe out on the FlowRider. Amazing amenities on the ship. Royal Caribbean definitely does well with the entertainment and activities. There was never a boring moment, never a time when there wasn't something fun to do, and the production quality with the shows was pretty amazing for a cruise ship.

Our rooms: We were in the VIP suite at the very back of the ship (yes I know it's aft Justin) which basically meant we had a huge balcony that looked out over the water. Totally awesome. We also got special seating at all the shows, and access to the super secret concierge lounge where they handed out free drinks from 5-8 every evening. We all took advantage of the lounge but the boys especially did it up, making friends with Patrick, the bartender. VIP status didn't mean as much as we thought it would, (I never saw a butler), but it was nice to have some extra perks. And the balcony alone was worth it.

Embarkation day: I got food poisoning. Not a good way to start.

Day 1 - At sea - Had fun getting dressed up for the formal evening and singing karaoke.

Day 2 - Labadee, Haiti - It's a private Royal Caribbean island, so the crew basically takes all the food and drink from the ship and makes a "picnic" for the guests. Justin and I did a kayak tour while Ryan hung out at the beach with the rest of the family.

Day 3 - Ocho Rios, Jamaica - It was pouring in Jamaica. At the time we were hoping they would cancel the excursions, but thankfully they didn't. Justin and Arjun did the ATV tour while Anju, Anjay, and I went ziplining through the trees. We had lots of fun although our clothes may not have survived the rain and mud. Ryan, Avani, and Aria hung out with Nani on the ship running around the balcony.

Day 4 - Grand Cayman - Our underwater observatory tour was canceled but we did get a tour of the island and trip to the turtle farm. Justin, Ryan and I spent the afternoon at the beach where Ryan kept tasting the water and saying "salty". Genius I tell you. In the evening we did more formal wear and more karaoke (this time the classic "I Will Survive"). And saw a great ice show.

Day 5 - Cozumel, Mexico - Lots of shopping. In the evening we hit up the nightclub and I danced like a crazy woman in front of people I would never see again. Fun!

Day 6 - At sea - It was a little chilly (probably around 70) so we did some indoor activities like bingo, trivia, etc. This day went by way too fast. Ryan enjoyed the water park even though it was freezing out. I defrosted him a bit by putting him in the hot tub for a couple of seconds.

Yesterday we spent about 10 hours in the Orlando airport (and we were the lucky ones able to get home at all). Ryan didn't seem to mind being stranded, he was a huge fan of the moving walkway and we must have gone on about 50 rides. He was way too excited to nap, so we figured he would conk out on the plane. Nope. He was definitely tired, but wouldn't lie down, and just kept getting more and more exhausted. He finally fell asleep around 10 to be woken suddenly at 10:45 for landing. Overtired + possible ear pain due to cold + possible nightmare about a dog = MAJOR MELTDOWN. He writhed and screamed for what felt like an hour but was probably just 15 minutes. And I'm usually one of those really apologetic parents, but I was myself in danger of a meltdown and instead of apologizing, I was silently daring my fellow passengers to say anything.

All in all, loved the cruise. We had so much fun playing blackjack at the casino, participating in all the activities on board, enjoying the ports and excursions, and eating like it was going out of style. I'm still full. It was especially fun with a kid since we got a chance to visit a bunch of ports without having to pack and move. This comes in really handy with a toddler.

That's all I can remember for now, but I'll post pictures soon.

Random Update

I keep thinking I need to update the blog, but first I want to download Halloween pictures, or recent trip pictures, or post about that thing that happened 2 months ago. This is stressing me out, so instead I'm just going to post as things happen. And if I happen to miss some photos, I'm sure you'll see them on facebook anyway someday.

A couple of random updates about Ryan:

1 - He's hilarious these days. He constantly goes around pointing at things and saying "I like it" in a way that's a weird combination of Forrest Gump and the kid from those Life Cereal commercials in the 80's. We rented a huge truck for our trip with the Summerses to Annapolis for Thanksgiving, and EVERY time we got out of the car he would say "Mommy, I like it. I like the car." Over and over and over again. (It also works when he doesn't like something. He saw a dog he didn't like and mentioned to us about 50 times that he didn't like the dog.)

2 - He's smart enough/old enough to tell us what hurts. Last night Ryan had a low-grade fever, but he kept pointing to his ear and saying it hurts. Now considering Ryan likes to point at things and say "ow" all the time while laughing, we weren't quite sure whether to believe him. Plus he usually gets a really high fever with an ear infection. But he kept insisting that it hurt so we took him to the pediatrician's office this morning, and low and behold, he has a bad ear infection in that ear. Turns out it's good to listen to your kid.

3 - He's a manipulative little devil. Normally when he touches something he's not supposed to, Justin and I tell him "no touch" and he repeats it back and then doesn't touch it anymore. Yesterday morning he came into our bedroom, reached under the bed, and turned off our power strip. I told him "no touch" and he pretended not to hear me. So I kept saying it asking him to confirm, and instead he threw his arms around me to give me a big hug and kiss. He refused to acknowledge what I was saying, instead trying to distract me with kisses. I'm on to you kiddo.

Videos

My mom bought us a video camera when Ryan was born, and it's been sitting and gathering dust on our mantle. Last night Justin connected it to our computer and found that we had taken various videos here and there, just never downloaded them. So for your viewing pleasure (Nani and GiGi, this is mostly for you), here are links to several of the videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FKSRdgnMhM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia9DAex6YS4

We've just downloaded these, more to come from earlier in the year.

Random Musings: Mommies on One Side, Daddies on the Other

This post isn't really about Ryan, but more about the effects of parenthood. In the last couple of weeks, Justin and I have both gone out for dinner with friends while leaving Ryan with the other parent. I went with the "girls" and Justin went with the "guys". Now this is great, I love getting together with my girlfriends, and I generally organize these outings, but it's not how it used to be. I was always one of those girls that got along with guys better. I spent much more time at KDR than I did at Zeta back in college, and to this day some of my best friends are guys. It's interesting to me how becoming parents has segregated us into gender groups. Suddenly I find myself talking to other moms about breastfeeding or other baby stuff while the guys all go out to a cigar bar. In the past I would have been at that cigar bar with them (other girls too), but now I don't go. And although I miss my guy friends, I think a "Saru + the dads" dinner out would be kinda strange even though it never used to be. And in some cases, I spend more time with the wives of my old college friends than I do my old college friends. It's not bad, they've become my friends too, it's just different.

So this holiday season, Justin and I are going to throw an adult party (get your mind out of the gutter) where the girls and guys can mingle once again without the babies running all over the place. If you live in the Boston area, stay tuned...

A Big Tumble

I don't particularly want to relive this, but as this blog is also a diary, I feel the need to document what I'm sure is the first of many times where Ryan causes my heart to stop. Ryan fell down the stairs on Saturday morning. He's fine, we called the doctor and he's not exhibiting any worrisome symptoms. This is how it happened:

Ryan has been doing the stairs by himself for a couple of weeks now. As he was learning, we would go down a couple of steps in front of him so to catch him if he fell. He's never fallen or slipped, so little by little we gave him more breathing room. Over the past several weeks he's been doing them all by himself much to his delight. On Saturday morning, we were getting ready to go to Target to pick up a couple of bins for his puzzles. Justin went downstairs first and then Ryan followed. I was getting ready in my room when I heard a thump and then Justin yelling "OH MY GOD!" Now seeing as Justin is the calm one, and I'm the one who panics, this terrified me. From what Justin could see, Ryan fell from the top of the stairs, did a couple of cartwheels in the air, and landed against the wall at the bottom sideways. Luckily his head didn't take the brunt of the impact, it was pretty evenly distributed across his body.

Ryan cried for a minute and then asked to go outside. We checked his head, limbs, everything and he didn't have a bump or scratch on him. Once it was clear that he was fine, I burst into tears and couldn't stop. Ryan came over to me, gave me a big hug and asked if Mommy was sad. I explained to him I wasn't sad, I was very happy that he was ok, just a little scared.

We're back to standing a couple of stairs below him again much to his dismay. It's going to take me a while to be able to back off again, I just hope I'm not hovering over him when he's 18 trying to go down the stairs by himself. Hehe. He didn't seem to learn from his fall either, 2 hours later he was jumping up and down at the top of the stairs. The good news is that he doesn't seem traumatized by it, the bad news is that he doesn't seem to have developed a healthy respect for gravity yet.

Buses and Bedtime

Ryan loves buses. He loves trains, cars, and excavators too (don't ask) but he LOVES buses. Everyday on the way home from daycare, he points out every bus he sees and yells "bus! bus! bus!" until I acknowledge the bus he saw. Then as soon as the bus is out of sight, he wants more buses and yells "bus! bus! bus!" until he sees a new one. He gets pretty frustrated with me for not finding the buses too. I think next weekend we should skip the apple picking and fairs and just head to the local bus depot. The kid would be in heaven.

The other subject of this post is bedtime. Now, Ryan has always been a great sleeper. He's such a great sleeper that when people with kids ask me how he sleeps, I answer tentatively for fear of being hit with something. Part of what has worked for us is establishing a routine. It's not long or too elaborate, but it's very consistent and Justin and I each play a specific role. Here's our basic routine:

One of us dresses Ryan in his pajamas and overnight diaper. We brush Ryan's teeth. We read 3 board books or 1 full length Dr. Seuss book. We do "family hugs" and then we all kiss his little stuffed Elmo goodnight. Justin takes Ryan to shut off the lights, first the hall light, then the room light. Then Ryan gives Justin a hug and kiss and comes to me. He gives me a hug and kiss and I put him in his crib while I sing a song (the same one since he was born). I say "night night" and "I love you" and he does the same. I close the door and we're done.

Tonight, I learned the downside of this consistency. It totally freaks Ryan out when one of us is missing. Although I have to say, he whines when I'm not there, but totally throws a fit when Justin's gone. Luckily this is very rare. Tonight Justin went out and I put Ryan to bed alone. All was fine until we finished the book. Then he started screaming for Justin. I tried to do the Elmo voice and make him laugh, which distracted him for about 30 seconds on the way to the light switch, but when it was me and not Justin helping him shut off the light, he lost it. Screamed for the next 30 minutes for Daddy. Mind you, he didn't ask for him once in the 2 hours between getting home from daycare and finishing the book. But when Justin's specific part of the routine came, and he wasn't there, it was very upsetting to him. Since I'm headed out of town next week for a business trip, I find myself wondering if we should just deal with this anomaly as it comes, or try to switch up the routine every once in a while so it's not SO super consistent and hope it doesn't screw up his ability to go to bed the other 95% of the time. The weird part is that when we put him to sleep at someone else's house and transfer him, he doesn't really care about the routine. It's only when it's in his room.

Ryan's Latest Bag of Tricks

It is absolutely amazing watching Ryan learn new words and concepts these days. Every day he has a new skill or trick and his sentences get longer and longer. Here are some of his newest tricks:

Counting: He can count to 10 in both English and Spanish although this is mostly memorization. Realistically he can count to 3 - he can count and recognize 1, 2, or 3 of something, after that he just keeps going till 10.

Alphabet: He can sing the alphabet song, but can't yet recognize all of the letters. Video of his singing to come soon (I've only captured him singing until V, then he gets distracted by the iPhone... I'd post this version, but really the best part of the song is the "double doos").

Communication: Longest sentence to date I think was "I want to see Uncle Josh". He also goes around these days saying he likes everything, i.e. "I like applesauce. I like Daddy."

Manners: He's more polite than I am. He says "please", "thank you", and "excuse me" ALL THE TIME. Over and over again. It's getting a little absurd frankly.

Personality: He's kinda a neat freak (perhaps mild OCD tendencies?) He likes things to be in their place and insists that his empty sippy cup goes into the sink (not that I mind!) He's also really good about sharing his toys and taking turns if you ask him. I'm not sure what they're doing at his daycare, but it works.

All in all, he's doing great (although I wouldn't mind if he put on a little weight - sometimes he resembles one of those starving children ads. He eats, I swear!)