Last 2 Days of Fun

We had our final two fun days of Christmas Vacation, though there are still 4 days left for us to recuperate from all the fun:

On Tuesday we went to the Mall of America Nickelodeon Universe. Rylie got to ride the rides. The first ride was the carousel, on which she got to ride on Spirit's Mom, this was a very big deal and she was happy to talk about the fact that she rode on Spirit's mom during the rest of the rids.

Next we went on a Diego Van that went up in the sky in circles...mom was a little scared of the heights but Rylie thought it was fun to ride on the "school bus".

Then we went on a Train ride, that was fine, but not as exciting as Spirit's Mom.

Then Daddy took Rylie on a balloon ride, she thought that was great, not only was dad on the ride with her, but it was like Minty's balloon (a new My Little Pony video she got for Christmas).

Then mom and Rylie went on Blues Clues, which was fun, but she had ridden before.

Then Dad and Rylie rode the big trucks around the moose.

The day was full of excitement and Rylie didn't want to leave, but mom and dad had had enough of holding Rylie in long lines, it was very busy.

On Wednesday we went to the Minnesota Children's Museum. They had a special dinosaur exbit that was the highlight of the trip for Rylie. We had been telling Rylie for days that we were going to go see dinosaur , so on Wednesday morning when she woke up and we asked what she wanted to do, she said "go see dinosaurs!" That was the first room we went to, they had a bunch of dinosaurs and even dinosaur eggs.

Rylie enjoyed petting all the dinosaurs and one even got a hug.

She says her favorite was the T-Rex, and he as scary. She says he was trying to "eat my hand."

Rylie also liked the baby room that had some little slides and bridges you could walk across.

They also had an ant room where you could call through the ant tunnels. It was a tight fit for mom, but since we didn't know where they holes came out someone had to go with her.

The other room that she liked a lot was a town, they had a bus, a post office, a doctors office, a house, a kitchen, a grocery store, and a few others. Rylie had fun in the dog house, cooking in the kitchen and grocery shopping.

After the museum we went to a famous St. Paul diner called Mickey's Diner. It was quite the experience, we sat at the counter and watched the cook make all the food. It was very small inside and very busy. Rylie got 2 big Mickey Mouse pancakes that the cook made special for her. When he asked her name and we tole him it was Rylie, he said that is a boy's name, to which Rylie replied "no, I'm a big girl." The food was very good, and Rylie ate all her pancakes, we were shocked she was able to eat all of them, but then again they were really good. The Mighty Ducks I, II, III, Jingle All the Way and A Prairie Home Companion movies contain scenes that were shot on location at Mickey's.

Big Girl Bed and Swimming!

Last night Rylie slept in her big girl room. She moved some toys and stuffed animals there during the day and all day we asked her where she was going to sleep at night, to which she replied in my big girl room. But when the time came to go to bed, she wanted to sleep in her little girl room. So when Mom and Dad went to bed, we moved her;) When she woke up she did cry a little, she does not normally do that, but she said she knew where she was...in her big girl room. At nap time today she didn't want to sleep in the big girl room. I have a feeling we may be moving her for a while.

Today's fun event was that we went swimming at the Maple Grove Community Center. Last time we were there they had just opened the outdoor pool, so it had to have been in May. Rylie didn't seem to remember it. She was excited to go swimming and excited when she saw the pool, but not so excited when we went into the pool. She didn't want to walk in on her own, she wanted to be carried, and then once in the pool she would not let go of dad's neck. We held onto her for about 20 minutes before she started to get use to it. She liked the area that had bubbles (like the bathtub in mom and dads bathroom). Finally we got her to stand in the shallow end and she began walking back and forth from mom and dad. That was fun. We spent the next 45 minutes with her walking around the pool. She liked to "dip", go up and down in the shallow water by bending her knees. She also liked to jump in the pool, or have mom and dad help her jump in the pool (she was not ready to jump alone). She tired to go under water and dad had to show her how to hold her breath with her mouth closed so that she would stop swallowing the water. Overall it was a very fun time, she was not ready to leave so mom and dad offered her a chocolate malt (shake) from McDonalds. She was promised this yesterday when mom and dad rented a movie and we came home only to have her ask where the cheesy burger and chocolate malt where?

We also have a new word...Glassable which means breakable. As we have told her things are glass and breakable she has created and learned the meaning on Glassable meaning don't touch.

The Princess and the Frog

Yesterday we took Rylie to see her 1st movie at the movie theater...Disney's The Princess and the Frog. Every time she saw the commercial she asked to watch the movie, so we finally got to go see it. She did very well, she was very impressed with the big TV. When the movie was starting she was making comments about all the things on the screen..."those are stars" "I love dalmatians" "that is a frog." We had to keep telling her not to talk, the theater was pretty busy. She tried to sit in her own set for awhile, but that didn't last too long. Once it got dark she ended up on Mom's lap. She did get a little tired during the movie, since it was so dark, but she didn't fall asleep. Towards the end of the movie she was back and forth between Mom's lap and Dad's lap. She is pretty proud today of the fact that she saw The Princess and the Frog in a movie theater, but I don't know if she would sign up to go to another movie anytime soon. Tomorrow we are going to the swimming pool and she has said she will be going down the toddler slide by herself. Last time we went to the swimming pool was last winter, so we'll see if she remembers it.

Daddy, Rylie and Mommy Snowman

Christmas Morning

So yesterday Santa came to our house. On Christmas Eve Rylie was telling us that Santa was not going to come, and low and behold he must have dropped a present on his way flying over our house because 1 present ended up coming early. Christmas morning when Rylie woke up I told her that Santa came and brought her presents, to which she replied, no he didn't. Keep in mind that Rylie says no to just about everything right now. So we went downstairs and what was there? Presents.

Every time she would get a gift to open she would tell us that it was "a big present" I think of the 20ish presents she got only 2 were not big. She would open one present and then be excited to get what ever it was, lets use a horse as the example. Then she would get another present and before she even opened it would say "its another horse." The good thing was that most the items had multiple so she would get 2 horses, 1 princess dolls, 2 books, etc. She was just so happy with the 1st one that she need a 2nd one (see post on the other Cookie). 2 must always be better than 1 in Rylie world. There was 1 present that she was not sure what is was, so she said oh a box, still happy as can be...it was the game Memory so that she can find the match. She thought for about 1/2 the presents that she needed mommy to help open them, until mommy went to the other room to get a garbage bag and she realized that if she did it herself she didn't have to wait on me. That is when her new favorite phrase came into play..."I do it my big self." Right now everything is about doing it her big self...walking, getting out of the car, taking off her coat, anything she can try to do her big self she does. She was pretty good about knowing what was in each gift with just the smallest hint, The My Little Pony symbol, she knew it was Ponies, the yellow dress on the doll she knew was Snow White, the mice on the back of the box she knew was Cinderella. Now all she wants to do is play with her toys, we went to Target this morning and as soon as we got home she ran it to play with her toys. Most of the playing is with the new barn and horses, to which she points and says "That's Rylie Barno." Not sure why she adds an "o".

Oh, and for that one thing she wanted...another Cookie...the new cookie is not as great as old Cookie, she wants him with her, but he does not get the privileges that old Cookie gets, sitting on the table, sleeping in bed, going to the store. I wonder what would have happened if we had just switched out old Cookie? She did think that new Cookie was old Cookie when she saw him in the stocking, but when she saw that there were 2 Cookies she squealed with joy.

Rylie Christmas 2009 (90 photos), by Lindsay Eden

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Doggie Shirt

This morning Rylie got up and I started to dress her for school. I had picked out her baby leopard outfit, but she said "No mommy I want to wear my doggie shirt." She has a number of doggie shirts so I pulled out the one that she tells everyone has cookie on it but "No mommy, not that one." So I tried for the red long sleeve tee shirt with a dog on it. She wore that last week, but I was really hoping that she didn't want the red dog sweater that I bought for Christmas. Everything she wears to daycare ends up a stained mess. But I am sure you can guess what the response was to that red tee shirt..."No mommy the other red doggie shirt." I pulled it out and she says "yes that one." I told her that if she wore it she could not spill on it or get it dirty, "no mommy I will not spill on it." She got to wear it and it actually made it home clean. Maybe I should try that everyday.

Rylie and I went to the mall today with my friend Amy for lunch and some shopping. We were at Old Navy and I found a yellow and white shirt for Rylie that I loved, the sad part was they didn't have her size so I picked up the same one in blue and white. I asked Rylie if she liked it and she said..."no mommy, I want a pink shirt." I told her that I didn't like pink...to which she replied "but I like pink." We knew this was going to happen someday, I just figured she would be a teenager by the time she disagreed with me, not 2:( Needless to say she got a pink shirt.

Another Cookie

As we are working our way to Christmas we keep trying to get Rylie to tell us what presents she wants Santa to bring her. She is not really sure what this means and thinks that you only get presents on your birthday or when the grandparents come to visit. Well today we had a break through...she told me that she would like Santa to bring her another Cookie. Cookie is her stuffed animal dog who she loves more than any other toy she has. We have been looking for another Cookie, to replace the current cookie who stinks. So I asked if Rylie got another Cookie if we could throw away this Cookie. Oh no, she would like 2 Cookies! So now that is the only present she wants for Christmas...Another Cookie. What to do? How do you deprive her of the only gift she really wants? Santa may just have to order another Cookie. It could be interesting to see what really wins out another Cookie or new toy horses. Guess we'll wait and see:)

But Mommy Said...

This morning while I was dressing Rylie I told her that today is Friday, so that means tomorrow she doesn't have to go to school. She didn't seem to take much into what I said. As I told her goodbye when I was leaving for work she told me to put on my coat, hat and mittens. As I got to work I received a phone call from Daddy telling me that he was told by Rylie that mommy said she didn't have to go to school today. I guess she was listening but didn't understand the meaning of tomorrow. Opps! Maybe I'll try again tomorrow.

A Big Dog Party!

Yesterday at daycare they got to bring their favorite bedtime story. Rylie picked to take the book "Go Dog Go" which is one of her favorites. She has heard this book so many times that she knows a lot of the key parts. One part that is repeated a number of times is "Do you like my hat?" to which Rylie states the next line "I do not like your hat." Well at daycare when they read it to the class she made it almost to the end of the book when the dogs are headed to the tree. The book asks "Why are they going to that tree? Will they work there? Will they play there?" At this point Rylie yells out..."They are going to a Big Dog Party!" The teachers thought this was pretty funny. I am surprised that Rylie was able to contain herself until the end of the story, I thought fore sure she would have been helping them read the whole story, not just giving away the end.

How do the Piggies Eat?

Yesterday Rylie put her tongue on something medal outside at daycare and got it stuck. She got it un-stuck fine and they said it didn't seem to bother her, she did have a little bloody spot on it when we got home. So in keeping with the Christmas Story theme I had an idea of another thing in that movie that I might should try with her. She is not wanting to eat anything right now. The last 2 nights we had chocolate chip Mickey Mouse and Snowman pancakes so that she would at least eat something, and I got to thinking maybe I could teach her to eat like a pig. That worked in A Christmas Story with the mashed potatoes, right? The downfall would be the mess, not just for me but for Rylie who can't deal with "sticky" hands, I hate to think what she would do with a sticky face. Nala and Kodi would be happy to clean her up after if need be, I'm sure.

Taking a Break

Rylie does not want to ride in a cart at the stores right now and as soon as you get to the back of a store she wants to be carried...at 30+lbs that is not ideal. Today at Home Depot Rylie was being a bit crazy. She was dancing and running around. As we go into the car Eric told her she was not listening. To which Rylie replies..."I am not going to listen, I am going to take a break!" We assume that is what they kind of call a time out at daycare. They are not able to give time outs but they have "quite time" where they sit and read a book away from the other kid - or "take a break". We may need to change time outs to taking breaks at home...it seemed to work for nap time today as well.

What is the meaning of a word?

You can always tell when Rylie is trying to learn the meaning of a word. When they learned shapes everything was a "circle" for a while. Matching was a big one...everything was "kind of a match" for months. Now they are working on sizes so everything is "kind of the same size". We are getting better at not just agreeing. With things being kind of a match you could usually find something about them that was kind of a match...same color, same shape, but never really a true match. With the same size we are saying "no, which one is bigger" and she usually knows the answer. The other thing that we keep trying to get her to understand is what is a names. She thinks all dalmatians are named dalmatians and they are not dogs. For whatever reason the other one we did to explain names was what are mom and dad's names. She got that figured out really fast, she nows if you ask her what is mom's name that it is Lindsay and if you ask what is dad's name it is Eric. Then you ask what is Rylie's name and she tells you her name is "big girl". Ahh, we were getting so close.