My Past and Present and Future

Past ~ I liked school with (Seyco) my friends Callie and Jacob, better when Ms. Freeman (my Mommy told me she was sick) left and Ms. Michelle took over. She was nice and we had more fun. The girls in the class who were being mean started to be nicer and I had more fun. Still didn't learn much. About three weeks both of my schools stopped and now I am on summer vacation. So, far I don't miss school at all. I have been busy with making my toys and dreaming of being a toy maker, I even told the entire audience at my Seyco graduation that I want to be a toy maker when I grow up. 

Recently, I went to a convention with my Mommy and met her friend Ms. Shelita. I then went to look at a huge collection of lego displays, since I like to play with legoes. Then off to the Super Hero Arts and Crafts in one of the convention center rooms. It was fun. My favorite part was playing with a new friend (for a day). 

Present ~ Now I am doing a lot of fun stuff at home with my Mama and little sissy, Ella. I like to make my toilet paper roll animals and play with legoes. Daddy is helping me learn to read and I am ready for summer. I am going to do a Basic Concepts learning workbook and I have already done 5 pages. I really like learning. My favorite thing to do is rhyming words and finding patterns and my Mom says that I am really good at it. My favorite TV shows to watch right now are Jack and the Neverland Pirates, Bratz movies, and Phinneas and Ferb. 

Future ~ Starting next week I will be going to Summer Camp at the YMCA. I will also be doing the Sibling class with Ella at FUNdamentals with Ms. Jen. It is one of my favorite "schools". Oh, and another favorite summer activity coming up is Vacation Bible School next door at the church. I will also be doing two Summer Reading programs one through Harford County Public Libraries and one through my NEW SCHOOL, Fawn Area Elementary (that is the program the wants me to do the workbook)! My Mama likes to plan a lot of stuff to keep me busy. 

School, Birthdays, and the New Year.

I am enjoying my two school programs. I go to Seyco Nursery School on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I go to KD Kids. My favorite part of Seyco is playing with the fake food, during free play. I am learning my letters with the letter puppets. My favorite letter WILL be R, when he or she shows up. My best friend at that school is Callie. I like her because she is pretty and because she plays gently like me. My teachers at Seyco are Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Gemmil and they are nice. I like them because they help us learn.

K.D. Kids is fun too! Mrs. Baltzer, the teacher, is great, because she helps me with my art projects. On special occasions, we get to make ice cream and that is yummy. K.D. Kids is special because non of the kids get in trouble and because there are high school students, who are learning to be teachers. Alayna is my best friend at that school.

I am 5 now! I turned 5 a little before Christmas last month. My actual birthday was on December 6th, but we celebrated early this year in November. I had a family party with Lulu, Gramps, Mom-Mom, Pop-Pop, Mommy, Daddy and Ella at Mom-Mom's house on Thanksgiving this year. My party theme for that was Hello Kitty. That weekend we had a kid party, too. The theme of that was Rapunzel. My friends and I had a fun time playing games, like pin the crown on the princesses. We painted little fairy tale figurines, too. We also went outside and did a scavenger hunt for crowns and pulled strings on a castle pinata. Presents and cake happened last and I had SUPER FUN time!

Now it the New Year and I want to get better at putting on my seat-belt. I also want to get better at going down the stairs. We are planning Chuck E. Cheese this week if I get 20 stickers on my good job calendar. We are also planning on going on my first plane ride to Disney World in Florida in October!!!

End of Summer and Beginning of the School Year!

We went to the beach in the beginning of September. I loved putting my feet in the water. Oooooooooo!!! In the beginning of the week Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop came to visit us at the beach. I liked going to see the fish and the under-water animals at the Aquarium with them. Then we went to the Boardwalk, just Mommy, Daddy, me and Ella. I enjoyed walking on the boardwalk, playing the games in the arcade and riding on the little rides (big rides were not open- off season)! Then on Thursday Aunt Amanda, Gramps and Lulu came to spend time with us at the beach. I loved spending time with Aunt Amanda, because I don't get to see her very often, because she lives in California. I love taking long walks with her. The walk at the beach was soooo long that we almost walked to Sunset Beach, but the sticks were blocking us. On the way back home from the Beach, we stopped at the Cape May Zoo. The snow owl was my favorite animal at the zoo.

I have been sooo busy since getting back from the beach. My new school started at Seyco and I really like it. My teacher's name is Mrs. Freeman and her assistant Ms. Gemmil. My best friend at that school is Callee. I like doing everything at school with my new best friend. I really like the letter people that they use to teach letters: N (Nosy Nose), A (Achoooo). I am going on my first ever real field trip tomorrow. We are going to Brown's Orchard.

I am also back at the high school for their KD Kids program. It was nice to see Mrs. Baltzer and my friend Alayna.

Art Projects

Hello, this is Rylee. I LOVE to do art projects. I love and love and love to give them to my friends. My favorite one was the big wheel, where I had to find pictures of transportation that had wheels. I learned that airplanes have wheels. It was FUN!

New Things I am Doing and What is Coming Up This Summer and Fall!

I am really get better at playing the Wii car games! I don't drive off the road or get stuck anymore.
This summer I have some new classes. I am now going to a pre-sports class called Sports Mix and FUNdamentals. I like every part of both classes. At the end of June and through-out July, I will be going to Gymnastics. I am excited!!!! I am also going to Vacation Bible School at the Faith Orthodox Presbyterian Church next door the second to last week in June. YAY! Then FUNdamentals in August! Then the BEACH!!! WHEW! And then in September I start PRE-K - 4 year program at SEYco! I am looking forward to a new school and new teachers and making new friends. I will also stay @ KD Kids, too ; ) A LOT of fun in store for the next year or more!

Praying.for Ella.......

So, my Mommy reminded me that Ella is turning 2 soon. I really thought that when she turns 2 she will be able to walk without her walker. My mommy said that she may not ever walk on her own, but Mommy said, "We can always hope." I said, "Mommy, do you think we can pray to God, too?" She said that we could always say a prayer. I love my little sister and I pray that Ella will walk on her own.

Cleaning up and other big girl stuff....

I know how to clean up and get dressed and jump up and down. Ella can't do all that stuff. I feel sad for her.

Yet, I am happy that I can do those things. I can also do tricks like standing on my hands. I can stand on one foot and spin on one foot! Mommy says, 'WOW!" when I do that.

I like this week better, because I am making the right choices and not getting into trouble. I am not doing bad stuff. This week I am saying please and thank you, helping around house, helping my Mommy with Ella, and using my listening ears much more than the last couple of weeks. SO, I have been getting A LOT of stickers for listening and using good manners. So, soon I will be able to see Tangled with my Mommy.

(Me and my sister Ella playing. Ella is learning how to walk in walker. I

am sooo proud!!!)

Tantrums

Normally, my Mommy writes these posts through my eyes, today Mommy is narrator:

Rylee Margaret was an EASY baby in many ways. Of course, sleep wasn't perfect, and there were some bumps in the road with breast feeding, but overall she was a joy to be around. Happy, no major illnesses and hardly any tantrums. She seemed to have a bit of seasonal disorder in the late Fall and early Winter, because every year she has trouble sleeping at that time. We had to do cry it out every early spring, because she would need to sleep with us for any of us to get sleep. That stubbornness exhibited in her fits in her crib were precursors to what we have been going through with our little 4 year princess since Ella was born. She LOVES her sister and NEVER really acts out towards Ella, but it comes out in many other ways lately.

Transitions ARE THE MOST DIFFICULT times lately: Getting dressed, tub time, and cleaning up, leaving a fun place, etc..... are the times when she goes ballistic. She had a 2 month spell of this in May and June of 2010 and she has been tantrum-ing at least once a day for about a month and half recently. We have tried time outs, sticker charts, spanking, taking away toys, etc... Things are better this week, but nothing really seems to work when she is in this mode.

Also, she has developed HUGE fears / phobias around her booboos and stairs. She fell down one stair in early February, which until recently, I had forgotten about, and ever since that she is EXTREMELY afraid of stairs again. The "boo-boo" from that minor fall was virtually non-existent. She spends much of her time asking for band-aids and obsessing over lines in her hands, saying that they are booboos.

Next Tuesday, we are taking her to Dr. W for a behavior appointment to address these major tantrums over minor issues to find out what we should be doing.

When she isn't tantruming, she is an amazing little girl, with an awesome imagination. I feel as if I spend much of my day negotiating with a four year old, instead of playing and enjoying our time together. Hopefully we will all find happier moments soon.

What I Can DO!!!

rylee ~ I just typed my own name!!!!!

I can do tricks, like standing on my hands and feet with one foot up!

I can recognize most of my colors.

I can recognize the letters: L, R, E, X, Y, O, Q, Z, B.

I know all of my ABCs!

I know how to count from 1 - 12 without messing up!

I know most of my shapes, including diamond, triangle, rectangle, oval, circle, square. I know that a stop sign is an octagon.

I know how to rhyme now. I know that cat and bat rhyme. : )

I know how to use my imagination by playing dress up, puppet shows, and making up lots for stories and songs.

Updates from August 2010 until January 2011

A lot has happened lately. We went to the beach and I loved it. Swimming, playing in the sand were just part of what we did on our September beach trip. We also went to the Cape May zoo, Ocean City boardwalk and Lucy the Elephant in Margate, NJ!

The rest of September and October were fun! We spent a lot of it with Lulu and Gramps and Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop, because Daddy was away in China, and other parts of Asia for 3 and 1/2 weeks. He left on the 14th of September and didn't return until Oct. 8th. It was a loooooong time and I missed him A LOT! So, did Mommy and Ella. Yet, he was home for Halloween this year and he went Trick or Treating with us. It was Ella first time going and she did okay. She went to 4 houses. I went to 12 though! A few days before that we had a Halloween party here at my house. My buddies came. I was Daphne from Scooby - Doo and Ella was a kitty cat.

November we had Great Uncle Blair's 60th birthday party and Gigi's 93rd birthday party at Lulu's house. We also had Thanksgiving here at our house with Lulu and Gramps.

December as always was very busy!! I turned 4 and had a birthday party at a bouncy house called Jump On It! All my best friends came (Alyssa, Alayna, Josie, Jack, Robbie). It was sooo fun. Then came CHRISTMAS!!!! I loved it this year. We celebrate with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop here at home on Christmas Eve. Then had Santa and Mom/Dad presents here at home Christmas morning. Then we had a loooong, fun Christmas Day at Lulu and Gramps'. I got to see my Aunt Amanda on Christmas and for almost 4 other days. She spent two nights!!!

January has been busy with play-dates and friend and family birthday parties. Great-Grandmom Tuttle just celebrated her 94th year!

Beach!!!!!

I am sooo excited to be going to the beach soon : ) My Mommy and Daddy and Ella will alllll be going with me and we will be staying for a whole week. YAY! I want to build sandcastles and play in the ocean. And go swimming in the ocean. And when I am in the ocean I might see a whale and then go under the water. We will be staying at a beach house. My mommy tells me it is pretty big. We have to bring our own sheets and towels. I will also bring toys to play with. This is going to my third time at the beach and Ella's first. I will try to teach Ella how to build sandcastles too. There is a zoo near-by the beach and we will go see the animals. My favorite is the elephant.

A Poem that My Mommy Wrote for Me When I Was a Month Old

The "Baby" Blanket (to Rylee written on January 15, 2007)

Beauty, innocence, happiness, joy

all wrapped in the blanket of you.

You drape your limbs across my body,

Wrapping me in the warmth of your love.

Curling your finger around mine

And looking into my eyes,

You bring the silkiness of trust

Into my life.

Softly I caress your back

To let you know of my faith

In Miracles,

In Life,

In YOU.

A few of my favorite things by Rylee

My favorite color is.....red.
My favorite shape is ....a circle.
My favorite movie is ....Robots.
My favorite person is ...Alyssa.
My favorite TV show is...Little Einstein's.
My favorite book is......Bumposaurus.
My favorite toy is ......Spike Jr.
My favorite place to go is .....Aunt Heather's house.

Robots by Rylee

Robots are designed to walk and / or talk in a way like people. They can have fingers. They can wheel around like Wall-E. Unlike cars that we drive, robots do things on their own. Not all robots resemble people. They have jobs or "directives" as Eve-A calls it in the movie Wall-E.

Gravity is what I learned about today by Rylee

Today I learned about gravity. I said to my Mommy and Daddy, "Gravity makes my poop go in the potty." My mommy laughed and so did my daddy. If we were on the moon, our jumps would be bigger, because there is less gravity. I did some experiments to test gravity. When I put a piece of paper on the part of my Daddy's arm that points down the paper dropped down. When I put a piece of paper on my Daddy's flat part of his leg it stayed on his leg. I had a fun time testing gravity and learning about it.

Donkeys have big ears

A donkey is grey. Today I found a donkey, that is what I wanted to look up on the internet. They make funny sounds. They say "heeee hawww". Donkeys are different than horses because their ears are bigger. That is what I learned today!

Rylee's Birthday Party ~ 2009 ~ 3 years old

Disney Coloring Game

Disney Coloring Book

Click here to play this game

Mommy's Memories of My Birth

Rylee ~ My First Child is Turning 3 in Less than a Month!!!Share
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 12:14pm | Edit Note | Delete
Rylee Margaret was born on December 6th, 2006, so she will be 3 soon! I have a moment to reflect and I am amazed at what I see! She is the light of my life and she has changed me sooooo much in her 3 short years on earth! She is the total package of intelligence, wit, beauty, empathy, and kindness!

This day three years ago, I was extremely big in the tummy, the nursery was ready and decorated with duckies, and I was sooo ready to have my first child! I had a closet stocked with diapers, clothes, etc....from the 2 lovely showers that my friends from work and my MIL threw for me!

The weeks between this day 3 years ago and Dec. 6, were of high anticipation! Heather had me at the mall walking the baby out! I had braxton hicks off and on, but nothing that sent me to the hospital. She (I knew from several U/S that baby was going to be a girl) was a stubborn one and was soo comfy in the tummy; at 39 weeks she was measuring big, so an induction date was set for 12/8 : )

Yet, she had other plans and my mucus plug came out with some mild leakage of fluid on 12/5. My on-call doc, Dr. Swanbeck told me to go the the hospital and get checked out! I was only 2 CM, but the fluid test revealed that I was leaking amniotic fluid, so I was officially checked in at 11 pm on 12/5. With pitocin, a long early labor and one stall out, epidural, feeling every contraction in half my body, a short active labor, an even shorter transition, a doctor hurrying down the hall, and only 10 minutes of pushing, Rylee Margaret quietly came into the world at 8 pounds 5 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long, reddish blond bundle of joy!

She was a really laid back infant, except at night when she had difficulty with gas (not enough of a tooty butt)! She slept a lot during the day and had to be ROCKED A LOT at night! I enjoyed 3 months of breastfeeding. Yet, she was very much a lazy bfer, so we switched to formula and she grew leaps and bounds ; ) As a baby (3 months ) she was interested in everyone and everything around her! She was and still is enamored by people in general! When we go to our favorite store, Target, she waves and says hello to all! She gets really mad when people don't say hello! LOL! Sleep was great from 8 weeks until 10 months and then teething occurred and we (Ian and I) didn't sleep much at all until she started to walk at 13 months! During the day, she would nap three times still, which helped A LOT!!!

Other than sleep issues, some minor temper issues, and her stubbornness, Rylee has been a very sweet, happy-go-lucky toddler! Well, that is until potty training! NOT going wonderfully! Yet, she is an awesome big sister to her 7 month old baby sis, Ella! She loves her friends (Alyssa and K.C. are her BFFs), family (Gramps - my dad- tops her list), her cat, Phin! She loves playing outside, she has an inquiring mind about what makes the world work! Her language skills are AWESOME! Once the binky goes, her mild lisp should disappear. She loves make believe, puzzles, dinosaurs, helping Mommy, My Little Ponies, art projects (especially those that involve glue or paint), Ella's toys (LOL)!

I am soooo excited about her turning 3 but I am also missing her as a baby = Bittersweet feelings all around!

Rylee's 1st Birthday Party ~ 2007