Our Adoption(s?) From Taiwan

Random Cuteness

2009-09-06T19:47:00.003-04:00

Playing Grandma's piano:

Our little "trainiac" modeling his railroad crossing T:

Interesting choice of attire:

We just returned from a week at the beach, and hopefully will get those pictures posted soon!

Summer '09 Portraits

2009-09-06T19:03:00.000-04:00

Ryan's Daycare Carnival

2009-08-15T23:44:00.008-04:00

Cotton candy, a balloon penguin, a bounce house, and a steam engine painted on his cheek.... What more could Ryan want?

"Emmy Wedding"

2009-08-15T23:23:00.011-04:00

Last weekend, we attended my cousin Emily's wedding. Ryan had a blast, and is still talking about "Emmy wedding." A few days after the wedding, we were looking through a catalog of Halloween costumes, and as soon as I turned to a page which showed a little girl in a bride costume, Ryan jumped up and exclaimed, "Emmy!!!!!"

The bridal limo was an antique firetruck, which the boys enjoyed checking out.

Although the DJ didn't play the Thomas and Friends theme, Ryan spent a lot of time on the dance floor.

Ryan also got to spend lots of time playing with his cousins, including a game of checkers with Dylan.

He also tried out Dylan's scooter.

Our last big event of the summer will be a week at the beach with Ryan's grandparents, aunt, uncle, and 2 cousins. Ryan is so excited about it that Rob and I have to spell out the B-word when we talk about it, or he (Ryan, that is) has a big tantrum because he wants to go NOW. We'll be taking lots of pictures -- check back in a week or so!

2009-08-15T23:10:00.002-04:00

Ryan's hockey attire is similar to his pizza-making attire. (He's not in pain -- that's just his new exaggerated smile when he poses for pictures!)

Ryan's newly painted train table. It used to be all unfinished wood, so when Ryan first saw it the morning after I painted it, he said "I can't see my table." :-)

My mom and I on our recent 3-day trip to California for a friend's wedding. I missed Ryan (who stayed home with Rob), but enjoyed having enough "me" time to read 1 1/2 books in a single weekend. I'm rarely able to read that much in an entire month.

The Naked Pizza Chef

2009-08-03T23:39:00.008-04:00

Ryan's favorite food is pizza, and when I saw pictures on Beth's blog recently of her 2-year-old son Brady having a blast making pizza, I thought it would be a fun Sunday afternoon activity for Ryan and me. Ryan had been running around the house all day wearing nothing but his Thomas undies and saw no reason to get dressed for the event.

2009-08-03T23:02:00.006-04:00

This morning, I woke up around 4 a.m. and discovered Ryan sleeping at the foot of our bed. He has always slept in his own room, but lately has started asking to sleep with us, which we have only allowed if there is a thunderstorm. Last night, he apparently climbed up in our bed while we were asleep. When the sun came up, we were amused to see that he had brought all of his bedtime essentials with him: teddy bear, stuffed Thomas, Penguins pillow, cup of water, spare pacifier (in his hand), the airplane book he's been sleeping with for the past week, and his new "soaker" ball that he can't wait to take to the pool. :-)

July pictures

2009-08-03T22:39:00.007-04:00

Ryan chasing bubbles on a *cold* July day. (The weather this summer has been very un-summer-like).

Ryan with his new big wheel trike. His feet don't quite reach the pedals yet. He loves the flag.

On July 9, we celebrated 2 years as a family! We wanted to take Ryan out for a fun outdoor activity like the zoo or an amusement park but had to postpone due to unpleasant weather, so we went out for Italian ices and to "Bunna-Mona" (Barnes and Noble, where Ryan loves to play with the Thomas trains and look at train books), then spent the evening reading books at home.

We are so proud of our sweet little boy, and can't believe he's going to be 3 years old in 3 months!

July 4th weekend

2009-07-18T13:03:00.024-04:00

We spent July 4th weekend with Grandma and Grandpa R, who Ryan has become very attached to lately. He asks where they are all the time, and couldn't wait to go visit them. On the way, we met up with Ryan's cousins (who were on their way home from Grandma and Grandpa's) for lunch at Arby's, where the 3 boys tailgated in Grandpa's car. We spent Saturday at a summer fair, where Ryan enjoyed riding the horse-drawn carousel. Naturally, the weekend also involved lots of corn on the cob and a trip to our favorite ice cream store.

2009-07-18T12:04:00.006-04:00

In June, we went to Rob's college fraternity reunion picnic. Ryan had a great time playing beanbags and playing with the other kids (almost all girls). He also ate about half of the world's largest cupcake.

Strawberry Picking

2009-06-14T22:38:00.005-04:00

More random pictures

2009-06-14T22:35:00.002-04:00

2009-06-07T18:01:00.009-04:00

Ryan still enjoys playing at the water table we got him last summer. He was particularly excited to wear his new Thomas trunks -- the minute I told him we would be going outside to play in the water, he stripped his shorts right off in the kitchen and headed upstairs to get his trunks. We need to get him a new Taiwan flag T-shirt -- I cut the onesie "flaps" off this one after he became potty-trained, so now it's too short :-)

This is a picture him playing at the water table last June.

A few other recent pictures. Ryan likes to dump his blocks out of this tote and sit in it. The first picture below shows the exaggerated "say cheese" smile he's been making lately when he poses for pictures.

More Mother's Day Pics

2009-05-16T23:44:00.026-04:00

Here are the rest of our pictures from our Mother's Day excursion to the animal park. (See also May 10 post.)

There were lots of birds. Ryan particularly liked the macaws.

Attempting to summon one of the funny-looking fuzzy chickens:

Ryan feeding the reindeer a carrot (which consisted of hurling it to the ground inside their pen).

Ryan and the hairy cattle checking each other out:

Another friend:

Ryan also liked watching the coatamundi (a badger-like animal), who he got to feed through a chute:

Feeding the bunnies with Daddy:

Watching the tigers sunbathe:

Naturally, there was also ice cream, this time in the form of a cookies-n-cream popsicle. Ryan is a such a meticulously neat eater that even this made only a minor mess, consisting of a cookie crumb mustache and a few drips on his jacket.

Ryan's fixation with organizing objects compelled him to hang up all the keychains in the gift shop.

Our little monkey:

The other day, Ryan drew his first picture of me (preceded by the announcement "I draw Mommy!") and proudly posed with his creation.

Could I possibly be any luckier that this sweet little boy is my son?

The Ryan Mobile, and Visit with Grandma and Grandpa

2009-05-16T23:12:00.012-04:00

Ryan getting ready for his first ride in our new minivan, a/k/a "the Ryan-mobile."

He also had a great time running around at the car dealer:

Playing ball with Grandpa:

Posing with Grandma and Grandpa:

This is one of my favorite pictures of Ryan and my mom.

Ryan loves the "Five Little Monkeys" book Grandma got him.

Kid in a candy store.... A visit to Grandma and Grandpa's isn't complete without a stop at this local chocolate maker for their awesome homemade ice cream.

Ryan is always sad when it's time to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa (hence the pouty expression).

Grandma and Grandpa's pretty pink dogwood:

And my new (and first) orchid, which I am hoping not to kill:

April Visit with Family

2009-05-16T15:55:00.022-04:00

Finally getting around to posting our pictures from the past few weeks....

The last weekend of April, we visited my sister's family, including Ryan's 3- and 5-year-old cousins, then Grandma and Grandpa joined us for a day. It was an unseasonable 80 degrees that weekend, so we took the boys to a few playgrounds and, of course, out for ice cream.

Ryan and Elliot hanging out:

Ryan and Dylan at the playground:

I like how Ryan appears to have a halo in this one. (On his good days, I might believe it :-)

Ryan was hesitant to go down any more slides for the rest of the day after the very stressful experience of finding a firefly, which he thought was a bumblebee ("bummy bee"), on this one:

He finally went down this one, at the next playground we went to, after a thorough inspection revealed no bummy bees.

Dylan seemed very pleased with himself when he managed to gain control of Ryan's Thomas snack container.

Ryan pretending to suck his thumb, which he does as a joke to get a rise out of us. He cracks up when we pretend to object to it.

Sweaty and exhausted after playing outside all afternoon:

Ryan insisted that Dylan acknowledge his current boo-boo, a minor scrape on his elbow that he claims happened on the "peegom" (playground) at daycare.

Watching "Cars," a favorite of Elliot and Dylan's, which they introduced Ryan to during our family vacation last summer.

When Grandma and Grandpa arrived the next day, Ryan rushed right over to show off his boo-boo as soon as they walked in the door:

Ryan and Dylan playing with the Tupperware:

The three cousins (Ryan loves to pose when other people are in the picture with him):

Ryan checking out the flavors at Coldstone. I had to assure him that they would make cookies-and-cream for him.

The boys at the Coldstone playground:

Watch out, Ryan's at the wheel!

Ryan with Grandma and Grandpa (and a belly full of ice cream):

Elliot, who started playing T-ball this year, showing me his team hat.

He also enjoys performing on the piano.

Ryan had fun playing with Elliot and Dylan's trains (of course) and parking garage.

Grandpa reading to Ryan and Dylan:

The "kids' table":

Ryan is very into "hiding" lately:

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T18:44:00.004-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and moms-to-be! We spent the afternoon at an animal park/petting zoo, which Ryan really enjoyed (a few of those pics are below). I've been pretty lax about keeping the blog updated since returning to work full-time, but will try to post the rest of today's pictures, along with pictures from our visits with family the last few weekends, sometime this week.

2009-04-22T07:36:00.008-04:00

Ryan may be getting big, but he still fits in the kitchen cupboards!

Yep, he still wears that hockey jersey all the time -- but at least he has pants on this time. (I note that "jersey" is pronounced "zee-bee.")

Here's Ryan in the same cupboard almost 1 year ago:

We have found 2 to be a very fun (and non-terrible) age. Ryan has been asserting possession of things for a while now (as in "no, that's mine!" if the cat walks within 5 feet of him while he's playing with his trains). Lately this has taken on a new form that we find very amusing and sweet. If the cat (Alby) walks up to me to be petted while Ryan is nearby, Ryan will often say, "No, Alby, that's MY mommy!" and will run over and wrap his arms around me. (Or, if it's the dog seeking Rob's attention, "No, Jessie, that's MY daddy!") I just want to keep him this little and sweet forever!

April/Easter '09 photos

2009-04-18T11:48:00.019-04:00

Heading to the playground on a sunny afternoon:

The baseball egg Ryan made at the Easter celebration at daycare:

We also dyed eggs at home last weekend:

Ryan enjoyed hand-painting designs on the eggs.

But his favorite part by far was rearranging the finished eggs in the carton, over and over and over.... He cried when it was time to put them away.

The finished product:

After Ryan went to bed, the Easter Bunny came.

Ryan was excited to find a Sir Topham Hatt car and a Lightning McQueen car in his Easter basket (and immediately arranged for them to crash into a plastic egg).

After a quick glance through his new Curious George book, he was ready to dig into his candy. He was a big fan of the Reese's cups, as you can tell from his expression in the second photo below.

We spent Easter Sunday at Grandma and Grandpa G's. Ryan normally refuses to stand still and look at the camera for pictures, but he was all excited to pose with Grandpa and his cousin Jimmy that day:

Ryan's cousin Hannah (the only little girl on either side of our family), playing in the tunnel the Easter Bunny brought her and her brother.

Ryan blew kisses to Jimmy and Hannah when they left:

Showing Grandma his new cars:

Hamming around on the recliner:

Playing with trains is still Ryan's favorite indoor activity. He loved watching his battery-powered Thomas pull all the other cars around the track, until Thomas was confiscated after Ryan decided to throw him in Daddy's glass of water.

Ryan (f/k/a Yoda) in his Star Wars shirt:

Random Pictures

2009-03-29T20:09:00.010-04:00

Long time, no post.... Ryan will be 2 1/2 on April 1. He continues to amaze us every day. He has a great vocabulary, speaks in complete sentences, and can identify the numbers 1 through 7 (thanks to the numbered engines on Thomas & Friends). He also loves talking on the phone. He is now fully potty-trained, and even wakes up on his own when he has to go during the night. He also frequently asserts his independence, which has led to a recent increase in tantrums :-)

The Thomas dance is still going strong. (Ryan doesn't know this yet, but we're taking him to see "Thomas & Friends Live on Stage" in May!)

Ryan really enjoyed our visit from Grandma and Grandpa last month. Here he is hanging out with Grandpa (who built him the train table in the second picture):

One day Ryan dragged his stepstool out of the powder room and made himself a front-row seat in front of his hockey video:

He also likes to pretend things lately, such as pretending he's a baby (crawling and wanting to be rocked), pretending to suck his thumb (when he's always been a pacifier user), and in this picture, crawling under the blanket on the couch and pretending it's bedtime. He usually laughs when he's pretending something, but he managed to keep a straight face here.

Ryan likes to play with the big Lego bus at Grandma and Grandpa's. (My 5-year-old nephew refers to the toys my parents keep at their house for the kids as "Grandma and Grandpa's toys.")

An attempted family photo. We gave up after 10-15 shots; you can imagine what the rest were like if this was one of the better ones :-)

Most of the time these days, Ryan looks so big and tall and grown-up, so I like this picture from last month, where he still looks a little baby-like:

We've been receiving lots of questions about the status of our second adoption process. For various reasons, we have decided to put things on hold for now. However we ultimately decide to proceed, we are so thrilled to have Ryan that we couldn't possibly feel incomplete.

Potty Training, Round 2

2009-02-26T20:49:00.004-05:00

A few months ago, we blogged about Ryan's great interest in using the potty around the time he turned 2. After a week or two of wanting to sit on the potty about 20 time a day, the novelty had worn off and it seemed he wasn't really ready to be trained. So we waited about three months and tried again this week. We're using the method where you keep the child pants- and diaper- free (at home, of course) for about 3 days until they learn to get themselves to the potty as soon as they feel the urge to go. It worked really well for my sister's boys at this age -- and, as a bonus, has made for some fun pictures....

Our next project is breaking him of the habit of raising his hockey stick in the air (see below) every time he "scores a goal" -- which, according to Ryan, is every time he hits the puck. (That will be Rob's project, since he was responsible for introducing Ryan to NHL hockey.)

Here's our big boy on day 3 of potty training -- wearing pants and Lightning McQueen briefs that he kept dry all afternoon! -- doing the dance he invented for the music on his Winnie the Pooh video:

Bounce U

2009-02-21T14:43:00.023-05:00

Last weekend, we attended the birthday party of Ryan's cousin Elliot (5) and friend Erin (3) at "Bounce U," an indoor play center with various "moon bounces" and inflatable slides and obstacle courses. Ryan LOVED it. Most of our pictures came out blurry because the flash on our camera wasn't working. Fortunately, my dad and sister took a lot of pictures, and even a few videos.

The second slide was bigger and better:

Ryan going down the big slide with Aunt Liz:

Ryan's cousins Elliot and Dylan on the slide:

Ryan in the basketball moon bounce.

Ryan's favorite activity was the obstacle course. (I wasn't successful at uploading the videos of this, but will try again in a separate post.)

He also loved the air-powered tee ball. We like how the blurred bat looks like a light saber in this one. (Too bad he didn't wear his Yoda costume to the party.)

After an hour of bouncing, sliding, and batting, it was time for birthday cake. Check out the expressions on Ryan's face when I told him it was a Thomas cake, and then when he saw it:

The birthday kids with their cake:

It was no surprise that Ryan managed to snag the Thomas train shortly after the cake was cut.

Waiting for cake:

I wish Ryan would dig into nutritious food the way he attacks cake.

Dylan enjoyed his cake so much that he licked the plate. (This appears to have been the most photographed event of the day.)

Ryan with his fruit punch mustache:

A rare picture of Rob and me together:

2009-02-21T13:56:00.007-05:00

Our blog posts have become less frequent since I returned to work full-time at the beginning of February, after being home with Ryan most of the time for the past 18 months. The new arrangement is working out well -- I'm enjoying my work, and Rob was able leave the job he didn't enjoy (to put it in polite terms). He is now focusing solely on the business he started a few years ago, which allows him to be home with Ryan 3 days a week. Since Ryan enjoys daycare, he still goes 2 days a week, as he has since last summer when I was working part-time and Rob was at his former job.

We'll post our recent pictures over the next few entries.

Here's Ryan playing hockey wearing his shades and backward hat. His hockey obsession has really exploded in the last few weeks. He has a vinyl-covered foam puck that he hits around the living room, and lately he insists on taking it to bed at night and during naps.

Playing with his trains in another great outfit:

Hanging out with his Civil War (Union soldier) Boyd's Bear. He is very attached to his stuffed animals lately. He sleeps with 5-6 of them, carries them around the house, and usually takes one or two along on car rides.

Reading with Daddy:

St. Croix photos, part 7

2009-02-01T14:04:00.011-05:00

Miscellaneous pictures taken throughout our vacation....

Rob and Ryan wearing their flag shirts:

Ryan directing Rob in sandcastle construction:

Ryan was in a terrible mood when Rob took this picture of him, but I love how it came out:

One evening Ryan took a break from his usual picky eating and decided to taste a chicken wing:

Ryan wandering the sidewalks of Christiansted with his teddy bear:

Hanging out at the beach:

Taking a break in the shade:

Ryan examining a flower he picked from a shrub outside our cottage:

Looking cool with his shades and Thomas sippy cup:

Pretty tropical plants and flowers:

There were always little green lizards (geckos maybe?) on the outside walls of our cottage.

We also saw lots of what I think were weasels running around at the resort, but they always darted away too quickly to get a picture.

We had delicious tropical cocktails for dessert on our last night of vacation. Ryan enjoyed doing "cheers" (that's milk in his cup!) and playing with the umbrellas from our drinks.

Ryan looked pretty glum about having to go home to the snow and ice the next day:

St. Croix photos, part 6

2009-01-31T23:15:00.012-05:00

On our last full day of vacation, I took a morning boat trip to Buck Island, which is a (largely underwater) national park off the north shore of St. Croix. People visit Buck Island primarily to snorkel the reef off the east side of the island, but the initial stop at Turtle Beach on the west side was worth the trip in itself. The water is crystal clear and an unbelievable shade of green-blue.

Picture of the east side of Buck Island (no beach on this side). The reef is behind where I took this picture from the boat.

Due to the current that day, we weren't able to snorkel the full length of the "underwater trail" (which is marked by bright blue tiles on the ocean floor), but the coral structures were fascinating, and I saw 2 stingrays and 3 barracudas, along with all the usual tropical fish. I wish I had taken an underwater camera.

St. Croix photos, part 5

2009-01-31T22:29:00.008-05:00

The waterfront at Frederiksted, the city on the west shore, was one of the prettiest places we visited.

It was also the first place we were able to find pizza, Ryan's favorite food.

The sidewalks, in both Frederiksted and Christiansted, are covered by arcades, which Ryan called "tunnels."

Just outside of Frederiksted is Armstrong's *awesome* homemade ice cream. They make all kinds of tropical flavors, like mango, passionfruit, guava, soursop, pina colada, and Kola champagne (which is a Jamaican soft drink -- the ice cream version tastes like a watermelon Italian ice). Ryan stuck with his favorite, cookies and cream.

He liked the frog mural on the wall.

But was afraid of the lizard on the outside of the window.

The drive along the west coast was beautiful. The water was calm and clear, and the beaches were nearly empty. The west side of St. Croix is green and lush, in contrast to the arid eastern half.

St. Croix photos, part 4

2009-01-31T21:55:00.013-05:00

Pictures from Point Udall, the easternmost point in the United States:

Buck Island can be seen in the distance (more on that in a later post):

Ryan exploring the Milennium Monument, a stone structure built in 2000, representing the intersection of 2 M's.

After Point Udall, we drove along the north shore of the island. The landscape along Cane Bay reminded us of Hawaii:

More pretty sights along the north shore:

Gas on St. Croix was the cheapest I've seen in about a decade. There is an oil refinery on the island, and the gas tax is only 7 cents per gallon. The lowest price we saw was $1.28.

We had local food again that night. The goat stew (my dinner), red snapper (Rob's), and passionfruit punch were awesome, so we were glad we decided to ignore the propaganda plastered all over the doors :-)

St. Croix photos, part 3

2009-01-31T21:32:00.008-05:00

Pictures at Christiansted harbor:

We went out for West Indian food that night for dinner. Rob and I both had curry chicken and mofongo, a Puerto Rican dish consisting of mashed plantains seasoned with garlic and bits of pork rind. The mofongo was very tasty, but sat in our stomachs like lead afterward.

Ryan saved his appetite for ice cream:

Chickens/roosters and stray cats are always hanging out on the sidewalks of Christiansted.

Some of the colorful buildings in Christiansted:

The steeple of an 18th century Lutheran church in Christiansted:

St. Croix photos, part 2

2009-01-31T20:58:00.008-05:00

Some pictures from around the resort:

Old sugar mills, like this one at our resort (a former sugar plantation), are located all over the island:

The view from our patio:

Ryan in front of our cottage:

And posing in his swim trunks:

Another afternoon at the beach:

Ryan insisted on bringing his teddy bear, "teh-beh", which he has grown very attached to over the past few weeks.

We had a few good sunsets, despite being on the northeast side of the island.

St. Croix photos, part 1

2009-01-31T20:23:00.009-05:00

On our first morning, we walked down to check out the beach right after breakfast. (Speaking of breakfast, our resort had a fabulous buffet every morning, which included tons of fresh tropical fruit. Ryan couldn't get enough of the mango for the first several days -- after that, he discovered danishes and refused to eat much of anything else.)

At first, Ryan was afraid to step in the sand (which he also refused to do during our entire week at the Outer Banks last summer).

But after we got a container and filled it with ocean water and showed Ryan how he could pour it onto the sand (he loves playing with water), he decided it would be fun to sit in the sand and play, and it was hard to tear him away to go back to the room to change into his trunks.

We had most of the beach to ourselves, and the view in both directions was beautiful.

We returned later, in proper beach attire, and Ryan had a blast playing in the sand.

He did take great care to pick all the sand out from between his toes afterward. (He has a general aversion to getting his feet dirty.)

From snow to sand!

2009-01-25T13:20:00.016-05:00

Yesterday we returned from an 8-day vacation on St. Croix, our first vacation together as a family of three. Ryan was a *great* traveler. He loved being on the airplanes and was so well-behaved during our two long travel days. Flying into San Juan (one of our layovers) and St. Croix brought back memories of the last time we had flown to an island -- when we went to Taiwan to meet Ryan in July 2007. When we told Ryan that we were going on vacation on an island, he automatically said "Sodor!" (the island where Thomas the train "lives"). Same response when we told him that he was also born on an island. So we've been teaching him that he was born on the island of Taiwan, and he will repeat "Taiwan" after us.

We had to leave for the airport at 5:00 am, so we left Ryan in his sleeper, and just put his coat and shoes over it for the first flight. What an outfit!

After he overcame his grogginess, he enjoyed watching the airplanes outside.

Later, he amused himself by tucking in his teddy using his security handkerchief as a blanket, often pulling it up over teddy's face, which looked rather morbid :-), and by practicing his jumping skills (with Rob's assistance).

We received a LOT of overt stares as we walked through the San Juan airport during our final layover. It was the first time since we became a family over 18 months ago that people looked at us to an extent that made me uncomfortable/annoyed. Fortunately, we did not have that experience in St. Croix, where people did not seem shocked or stunned by the concept of a mixed-race adoptive family (or at least did not feel the need for prolonged staring). Everyone there who commented on Ryan simply said that he was adorable or asked how old he was. There was one very friendly shop owner who first said how cute he was and then started talking to him and expressed surpise that he spoke English, which I found amusing.

We finally arrived at our resort around 9:30 pm last Wednesday. Ryan was very excited about his traveling "big boy bed" (a kids' aerobed), which we got him for the trip since he will climb out of a crib.

The warm climate also meant that he got to wear his "Kick Panda" pajamas from Santa for the first time.

We'll post our pictures of St. Croix over the next several posts.

2009-01-18T12:27:00.009-05:00

We've gotten about a foot of snow over the past few days, so today Ryan got bundled up and went out to play in the snow for the first time. He wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but then decided he liked it. For some reason, he laughed and clapped every time a car drove past our house. After Daddy shoveled for a while, Ryan got out his "snowblower" to finish the job.

Our Little Nudist

2009-01-17T10:05:00.001-05:00

Lately Ryan insists on being unclothed when we're hanging out at home. He has a specific procedure that he follows. First, he takes his pants off. Then he comes up to me and says "hot, hot" while tugging at his shirt. So I help him take his shirt off. Then he puts on his Mater shoes. It's probably only a matter of time until we receive reports that he's been stripping at daycare :-)

2009-01-16T13:46:00.001-05:00

Some random pictures from the past few months....

These were taken during the phase when Ryan wanted to wear his mittens all the time:

This is the reaction we get when we suggest that he might want to take his mittens off for certain activities, like eating cereal:

The mitten attachment may have been exacerbated by the fact that his mittens have a hockey theme (hockey being one of Ryan's major interests, second only to trains).

The mitten phase was followed by a (much briefer) boot phase:

Playing with the Thomas train set at the train display he attended with Daddy and Grandpa over Thanksgiving weekend:

Building a block castle...for his blocks:

Christmas pictures, part 3

2009-01-11T11:17:00.022-05:00

We spent Christmas Eve morning at home before heading off to Grandma and Grandpa R's. Santa brought Ryan a wooden train set, some books and puzzles, blocks, a truck, "Kick Panda" pajamas, and a Thomas "place setting." (About half of the lights on our pre-lit tree -- the first and last we'll ever buy -- had burned out since last year, and it took so long to fix the lights that we never got around to hanging the ornaments.)

Christmas day at Grandma and Grandpa's:

Yet another visit from Santa!

More trains! (Ryan wanted to open presents wearing just his diaper. We compromised on a onesie.)

Ryan the picky eater refused to try the pork tenderloin or sweet potato casserole that Grandma made, and insisted on saltines and water for Christmas dinner. Grandpa said even prisoners eat better than that these days. Ryan never turns down Grandma's toffee-like "Christmas bark," however.

On Christmas night, we went on our traditional, and always entertaining, "tacky lights tour." This Peanuts nativity scene including Woodstock in the manger has to be one of the most spectacularly tasteless displays we have witnessed in over a decade of annual tours.

We also saw some beautiful sights, like this tree which appeared to be lit with tens of thousands of lights:

After 3 visits from Santa in less than a week, we hoped Ryan wouldn't be disppointed when there were no new presents under the tree when he woke up the next morning.

The day after Christmas, Ryan's cousins joined us, and we all went to a gigantic model train display. Ryan was afraid of the fast-moving trains at first and wore a serious expression the whole time, but as soon as we finished the tour and exited, he wanted "more train," complete with the hand sign for "more." (Train is currently pronounced like a cross between "cane" and "gain.")

Ryan was thrilled that Grandma and Grandpa gave his cousin Dylan a basketball set that he could play with too.

Unfortunately, the only time we're able to get the 3 boys to pose for a picture is when they're lined up on the couch watching a Thomas video. (Ryan is hoping for one of those awesome Star Wars outfits as a hand-me-down. Rob is disappointed that they don't come in his size.)

The boys hovering around Rob:

Ryan and Grandma:

On the way home, we (Rob, Ryan, Teddy, and I) stopped at a Cabela's to show Ryan the fish tanks and animal displays. However, he was most enthralled with seeing a pacifier floating in the black bear's pond (another toddler had just tossed it in -- Ryan would not have been laughing if it were his own), and the pizza he had there for lunch.

Christmas pictures, part 2

2009-01-11T10:33:00.020-05:00

Pictures from our Christmas celebration with Grandma and Grandpa G:

Ryan was fascinated with the train decals Grandma had on her refrigerator.

He provided the pre-dinner entertainment, Christmas carols on the piano.

Santa came!

Ryan's favorite present from Grandma and Grandpa was a Thomas raincoat (more on that later).

He has become an expert present-opener:

He also assisted Grandma and Grandpa with their presents.

Grandma made a delicious ham, but all Ryan wanted for dinner was a bowl of Kix.

When we were done eating, Ryan led everyone in "5 Little Monkeys."

The following day, as I was hanging Ryan's Thomas raincoat in his closet, he started sobbing -- because he wanted to wear it. For the next 1-2 weeks, he wore it indoors for several hours each day.

Christmas pictures, part 1

2009-01-11T09:28:00.010-05:00

Ryan had fun decorating the tree with his toy cars.

Showing off his Christmas train shirt:

Our attempt at a Santa picture this year was a disaster. A cookie didn't help, nor did having me sit on Santa's lap.

Despite how traumatic the experience appears to have been, to this day, every time we drive past our neighborhood clubhouse (which is where we saw Santa), Ryan points and exclaims "Santa!" (pronounced "Datta"), and when we ask him if he had fun sitting on Santa's lap, he says "YEAH!!!"

Ryan's favorite part of the Christmas season was riding the train at the mall. He was afraid at first, so I rode with him the first time (fortunately, there are no pictures of that). He then wanted to ride the train ALL afternoon, and had a big tantrum when it was time to get off after several expensive rides.

2009-01-07T19:50:00.007-05:00

It feels like forever since we've blogged, other than those 2 very brief posts in December. We're working on getting all of our Christmas pictures uploaded (and hopefully also a video clip of Ryan's updated Thomas dance, which has evolved somewhat over the past several months). But for now, here are two pictures from this morning, when Ryan decided to accessorize with a striking combination of his Taiwanese headdress plus Mr. Potato Head's glasses (upside-down, no less).

(Yep, that's Kung Fu Panda -- which Ryan calls "Kick Panda" -- on the heavily fingerprinted screen behind him.)

(Apparently a major railway disaster occurred on our (former) coffee table this morning.)

More pictures coming soon!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2008-12-23T21:46:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas to our family, friends, and fellow adoptive families and bloggers!

2008-12-11T17:38:00.019-05:00

Today is exactly 2 years since we first saw Ryan's sweet little face, via 4 pictures e-mailed from Taiwan. We decided to copy an idea we've seen on other blogs and start taking a picture of him holding one of his referral pictures every year on his referral anniversary. (We didn't do this last year, so I substituted another picture below, which was taken one day after our first referral anniversary.)

I thought it was funny that he held the picture right in front of his face! Then when I told him I wanted to see his face, he held the picture up over his head.

This was more what I had in mind!

1 year ago:

2 years ago:

The last two years have been quite a journey, for all 3 of us!

2008-11-23T13:13:00.022-05:00

Last weekend we got together with two families from our local Taiwan adoption group at the "children's museum," which is basically a big indoor educational playground for kids of all ages.

Ryan had a blast in the 3-story climbing structure (although he was only able to get to the bottom two of about ten levels).

Playing the piano with Sarah:

Playing with blocks:

Baby Kai wasn't able to participate in most of the activities, but he enjoyed hanging out in his sling and watching the bigger kids:

Checking out the curiosity cupboard:

Racing cars down the tracks:

Playing at the birdseed table (Daddy seemed to enjoy this activity too).

Watching the ball travel through the maze:

Naturally, Ryan also wanted to go down the slide over and over. The warning sign stating that it is a "very fast" slide was no joke! And to get to the slide, you have to walk through a room whose floor is at a 45-degree angle, which was very disorienting and much more difficult to navigate than you might think!

Taking a break:

His favorite part was, of course, the trains.

He laughed and clapped every time the train went down the hill:

"All done!" (and in dire need of a nap!)

2008-11-23T12:55:00.004-05:00

A friend of ours recently sent us these two beautiful pictures of Ryan that she took during our outing to the pumpkin farm last month. Thanks, Marie!

Big Boy!

2008-11-16T18:03:00.008-05:00

It seems too good to be true, but Ryan practically potty-trained himself in the past week. He started wanting to go in the bathroom and sit on his potty all the time, and he almost always "produced" at least a little something. We've had him in pull-ups temporarily for convenience and he's been keeping those dry, so he'll be graduating to underwear later this week. I bought him a few packs yesterday -- Thomas, Kung Fu Panda (which, of course, he calls "mama"), and Elmo. His waist is so small (many of his 12-month pants still fit him, except for being capri-length) that I was worried we wouldn't be able to find small enough underwear -- the smallest size available is 2T-3T -- but the dryer seems to have done a good job at shrinking them down to size.

Here's Ryan inspecting his new underwear:

After I opened the package, he tried to put a pair on over his jeans:

We're so proud of our big boy!

2008-11-07T21:38:00.006-05:00

This is what 5:30 p.m. looks like when Ryan skips his nap:

Ryan chowing down on his favorite new junk food -- cheese curls:

Toddler hockey!

(Ryan wants to wear his Mater (from "Cars") shoes ALL the time -- even with his sleeper.)

Ryan's Write-In

2008-11-04T13:27:00.004-05:00

Ryan is proudly wearing his "I Voted" stickers after casting his ballot (twice)...

...for write-in candidate, Thomas the Tank Engine. He doesn't look very optimistic, does he? Neither are we.

Playground Pics

2008-11-03T18:50:00.017-05:00

We've had several warm days lately, so we've been spending lots of time outside before the winter weather comes. Ryan's favorite outdoor activity is going to the playground. He especially likes the slides.

Halloween, part 2

2008-11-03T17:45:00.006-05:00

Ryan must have really enjoyed Halloween -- he wanted to wear his costume again on November 1. He wore it all evening while playing inside.

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-31T21:52:00.015-04:00

Ryan had a great time trick-or-treating tonight. He caught on to the procedure very quickly and enjoyed going from house to house filling his pumpkin with candy, and the Yoda costume was a big hit.

(He hid behind my leg at the first house we visited, but once he found out that candy was involved, he waved and said "bye-bye" and took off for the next house.)

Daddy and Ryan reviewing the loot:

We can't believe how much our little guy has grown since last year!

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-29T22:28:00.005-04:00

Lights out!

Happy Halloween!

And congratulations to our new friends Kim and Kent, who just brought their baby boy Kai home from Taiwan!

2008-10-29T22:21:00.003-04:00

Ryan's new hobby is cutting the grass.

He has also developed a sudden interest in popsicles (which he never wanted when the weather was warm).

Watching "Thomas & Friends" with the cat.

Costume Party

2008-10-25T15:22:00.012-04:00

This afternoon Ryan dressed up in his Yoda costume for our homeowners' association's Halloween party. The first several pictures sum up his mood upon our arrival -- it was close to his naptime and he seemed overwhelmed by the crowd. I wish I could look even half this cute when I'm in a foul mood!

Then it was time for treats, and he suddenly warmed up to the concept of a Halloween party. This appears to be the moment he spotted the cookies:

He was too busy stuffing mini Fudge Stripes in his mouth to say "cheese" for the camera.

After polishing off 3 bags, he went in search of more.

It turns out we got 2 costumes for the price of 1 -- when he's tired of wearing the hat, he becomes Ben Kenobi.

2008-10-23T22:07:00.004-04:00

Today Ryan and I went to pick out a pumpkin to carve for Halloween. Here he is posing with it.

Quite a difference from last year!

Ryan's First Train Ride

2008-10-21T10:13:00.017-04:00

This past weekend, Grandma and Grandpa took Ryan for a scenic train ride on an old-fashioned steam engine (like Thomas).

Our tickets informed us that produce would not be accepted as payment, that passengers would be enlisted to help remove any livestock blocking the track, and that the railroad is not responsible for "lost goods or kids." We were also warned to "watch out for card sharks."

Another rule was posted inside the train cars:

Ryan was a little apprehensive about the noise the train made when it pulled into the station, but once we started moving, he enjoyed the ride.

He felt compelled to announce "dark!" every time we went through a shady area.

Here he is answering the question, "Ryan, what's Thomas's number?" He also says "one" (which he pronounces like "Juan" with the vowel sound drawn out) as he holds up his finger.

Ryan wanted to sit with Grandma and Grandpa for most of the ride, but whenever the whistle blew (the noise scared him), he would come snuggle on my lap for a minute, then go back to Grandpa's lap when he felt safe again.

(If Ryan had recognized this sign as a railroad crossing, he would have said "ding! ding! ding!" as he does when he sees the black-and-white striped ones when we're driving.)

While rooting through Grandma and Grandpa's cupboards over the weekend, Ryan found a pink and purple sippy cup (I'm not sure why it was there, since they have only grandsons!) Ryan insisted on drinking out of it and carrying it around all weekend, favoring it over his Thomas cup. Maybe it reminded him of the pink sheets he slept on in Taiwan :-)

More random pictures

2008-10-16T22:45:00.007-04:00

Ryan playing in his Elmo tent:

Still wearing the fire hat, even at meals. (We are trying to get him to keep his feet off the table -- it was funny when he was 10 months old and didn't know better, but at 2...not so much.)

He won't be small enough to hide in the cupboards much longer :-(

Showing off his Halloween shirt (and getting a high stick penalty):

Ready for bed:

Don't tell Ryan....

2008-10-15T18:37:00.002-04:00

I caught the cat laying on the track of his "Take Along Thomas" set during his nap. This scene would undoubtedly trigger a "MINE! MINE!" fit.

(Update: When Ryan saw this picture on the blog, he said "Alba, mine!")

Happy Fall!

2008-10-12T16:28:00.019-04:00

Today we went to an apple orchard/pumpkin farm for our monthly outing with some other Taiwan adoptive families in our area. It was hard to take many pictures because it was so crowded. Ryan had fun climbing on "Noah's Ark" (especially walking up and down the ramp), and going through the hay tunnel, an enclosed maze constructed of bales of hay. I wish we had gotten a picture of the gleeful expression on his face when he exited. Suffice it to say he made the sign for "more" and immediately re-entered.

We also had freshly popped kettle corn (which Ryan couldn't get enough of), and stocked up on crisp, juicy apples -- my favorite part of fall.

Ryan spilled water all over his shirt and insisted on taking it off and walking around shirtless -- another picture I wish I had gotten. (Good thing it was 80 degrees out today.) He was clowning around on the way home, so I took several pictures of him in the car. I think the last one below is one of my all-time favorite pictures of him.

HAPPY FALL!

2008-10-11T10:56:00.006-04:00

Ryan got a potty yesterday! Lately he's been telling us "poop!" right after he goes -- or sometimes he just grabs a new diaper from the diaper basket and lays down on the floor waiting to be changed (instead of running off and putting up a struggle like he used to). His daycare teacher also reported that he wanted to sit on the potty the other day. We weren't going to push potty training when he's barely 2 years old, but since he's been showing an interest, we thought we'd provide the "equipment" and let him decide when he's ready. We got him a bright red potty (his favorite color) and decorated it with Thomas stickers. He's already wanted to sit on it 3 times since we set it up last night.

Daddy and Ryan just left for Barnes & Noble (Ryan likes to play with the Thomas trains in the children's section). Ryan left the house wearing his firefighter's hat that he got at daycare yesterday.

(He's holding his stuffed "monster", which I think is Target's version of Ugly Dolls.)

Some other recent pictures....

Chief Ryan examining his "Finding Nemo" ball:

Our little dairy monster -- he loves his milk and yogurt -- must be how he maintains those cheeks!

2008-10-08T22:14:00.009-04:00

This past weekend, Ryan and I had the opportunity to get together with another adoptive family -- Beth, Alan, and Brady -- who we've gotten to know through blogging and a Yahoo Group of families who adopted through our agency's Taiwan program. We are also both at a similar point in our current adoption processes, so we'll probably be bringing home our second children around the same time in 2009 or 2010 (and maybe even traveling together!) We met for dinner at Romano's Macaroni Grill on Sunday evening. I can confirm that Brady (who is 20 months old) is every bit as cute, sweet, and smiley in person as he looks in the pictures on his blog and below! During dinner, Brady showed off his animal sounds (he does a great coyote impression), while Ryan spent most of the meal eating ketchup from the end of his straw.

Here are some pictures of the boys together (taken after the all-chocolate birthday cake, as you can see from Ryan's shirt in the second picture).

Ryan listening to the waiters sing "Happy Birthday" in Italian. He's holding his Thomas and Friends Halloween DVD, a birthday present from Brady.

Blowing out the candle:

Pumpkinville

2008-10-06T16:39:00.017-04:00

Today Ryan and his cousins went to Pumpkinville, a pumpkin farm with a petting zoo, hayrides, and lots of slides.

Ryan enjoyed saying "hi!" to all the farm animals in their pens (including adorable baby goats!), but quickly attached himself to my leg in the area where the goats were roaming around free and kept walking up to us wanting to be petted.

He did pet the horse.

He enjoyed the tire tunnel....

And doing his Thomas dance on the moon bounce....

And whatever this was....

But his favorite activity, by far, was all the slides. There was a hay slide, several inflatable slides, and a spiral tunnel slide. He went down with Uncle Alex and with Mommy, and then all by himself.

Farmer Ryan driving the tractor:

Snack time!

2008-10-05T22:02:00.016-04:00

After Dylan's birthday party at the fire station, Ryan and I spent the weekend with family and friends, including Sunday morning at the playground, watching football with Grandpa, and reading with Grandma.

Ryan especially loves to climb. Last week our little Spiderman came home from daycare with a brushburn on his belly and a "Boo-Boo Report" informing us that he had tried to "climb the brick wall" (i.e., the outside of the building) during outdoor play. Fortunately, the playground offered better options.

The evening concluded with a viewing of the Thomas and Friends movie, where everyone (under age 5) participated in the "official" dance to the theme song.

The October birthday boys:

Another birthday!

2008-10-04T19:23:00.011-04:00

A few days after Ryan's 2nd birthday, his cousin Dylan turned 3. Dylan had his party at the fire station. The firefighters showed the kids their firefighting attire, let them explore the firetruck, and took them for rides in the truck.

(Ryan has carried his Thomas snack container around almost 24/7 since he got it for his birthday. I suspect it will be in all his pictures for the next few months.)

Coloring between fire calls:

Clear the roads -- Ryan's at the wheel!

Ryan got impatient waiting for the ice cream to be served.

As usual, he ate his cake with two forks.

Happy Birthday, Dylan!

Party Time!

2008-10-04T15:39:00.015-04:00

We celebrated Ryan's birthday with our families last weekend. We had a ball/sports theme for his party. (Obviously, that decision was made before the magnitude of his Thomas the Train obsession became apparent.)

His new Thomas toys were instant favorites -- he carried them around all evening after opening his presents. But it was the Mickey Mouse playhouse that was the biggest hit overall. Ryan also received a "Ni Hao Kai Lan" video, a Thomas video, a bowling set, and lots of cute clothes.

Ryan couldn't resist taste-testing the cake.

After cake, Ryan guided everyone through the Thomas dance.

On Wednesday, his actual birthday, Ryan was thrilled to find a Thomas and Friends placemat at the table. That night, we celebrated with ice cream cake. He also got a hockey stick, a hockey shirt, and another Thomas video.

All the partying wore Ryan out.

Look Who's Two!!!

2008-10-01T15:59:00.018-04:00

Ryan is 2 today!!! We had lots of pictures taken at his 2-year portrait session this morning. It was so hard to narrow down which ones we wanted prints of, but we were able to buy a CD with all the shots so that we could post them here.

A look back at Ryan on his 1st birthday:

We celebrated Ryan's 2nd birthday with our families last Saturday. We'll post the party pictures this weekend, after we gather them all from the multiple cameras they were taken on.

Happy Birthday, "baby" boy! We are SO proud to be your parents!

Here it is....the "Thomas" dance!

2008-09-28T15:03:00.005-04:00

This is the dance that Ryan does to the "Thomas and Friends" theme song.

2008-09-21T15:24:00.001-04:00

Here's a preview of Ryan's "Thomas the Train" dance, which consists primarily of arm movements. We're working on the video.

At one point, Ryan decided to get down from the couch and continue the dance on the floor. In the upper right corner of the picture below, you can see Rob's hand as he tries to follow Ryan's moves.

Dragon Boat Festival

2008-09-21T12:15:00.003-04:00

On Saturday we went to the local Dragon Boat Festival. Ryan was very moody that day, but seemed to enjoy watching the dance and martial arts performances for a while. Rob and I had very tasty Chinese chicken and bubble tea, but the only food Ryan showed any interest in was the potato chips that he saw one of the vendors eating.

There was a calligrapher who would write any name in Chinese characters on a bookmark, so we had Ryan's birth name done:

We didn't get to see any of the boat races since we had to get Ryan home for his nap, but this is what the boats look like:

This is the legend behind the Dragon Boat Festival:

The Dragon Boat Festival traditionally falls on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar.

The Races are held to commemorate the death of Qu Yuan, the legendary Chinese poet and patriot who lived during the Chou Dynasty almost 2000 years ago. He held a high position in the court of one of the major states of the time, but was eventually exiled by corrupt government officials. Qu Yuen wrote many poems expressing his great love for his country and his people, lamenting his own fate.

As a final protest against the government, Qu Yuen cast himself into the Mi Lo River.

The local fishermen were so moved by his gesture that they raced in their boat to try and recover his body, beating the water with paddles to prevent the fish from devouring him. They also threw rice dumplings into-the water to succour his spirit. To prevent the sea serpents from eating the rice offerings, the dumplings were wrapped in silk bound with five threads in the colours of the emperor.

As this tradition developed boats took the form of dragons to appease the controller of the waters, and ensure a safe and swift journey.

Today..., Dragon Boat Races re-enact this historic scene.
(from http://www.dragonboat.com.au/db_legend.htm)

This is another link explaining the history and modern-day celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival: http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/festival/dragonboat/dragon.html

The man at the TECO (Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office) booth gave Ryan a Taiwanese headdress, which looks like the ones the men wore at the aboriginal dance performance we saw at Wulai in Taiwan. It was too big for Ryan's head, so we put it on his tiger in the "Asian animal corner" of his bedroom.

Apparently Ryan didn't want the panda to feel left out -- he ran across the room to get his sun hat for the panda to wear after I put the headdress on the tiger.

Today I taped the band down to a smaller size, and Ryan has been wearing it around the house all morning.

2008-09-20T08:51:00.010-04:00

Ryan LOVES chocolate graham crackers -- can you tell?

He suddenly decided one day that he wanted to wear his bib, after not wearing one for almost a year. One day he wore it all afternoon, even while playing with his blocks and puzzles. Must be part of the same dress-up phase where he likes to put on hats and shoes.

He also banned his high chair and graduated to a "big boy" booster seat this week.

Sometimes he tucks in his stuffed panda, who he calls Mama. The other day he laid her down on the windowsill, covered her with his napkin, patted her back, and said "night-night, Mama."

Time to get up!

Ryan also likes to color. (We got him the giant floor pad after he colored on the living room walls last weekend.)

Red is his favorite:

Reading with Daddy:

Ryan's language skills have taken off explosively within the last 1-2 months. He talks all the time, and (finally!) uses words to tell us what he wants. I've lost track of all the words he knows, but one of his current favorites is "mine!", although he usually says it in a cheerful tone....at least for now. He often says it when he finds the cat laying on one of his books.

He has recently become obsessed with Thomas the Train, and does this awesome dance to the theme song. We finally captured it on video this afternoon, so we'll try to post a clip in the next few days.

Summer Vacation

2008-09-14T08:23:00.024-04:00

Ryan and I spent the first week of September vacationing with my family at the Outer Banks. I'm finally getting around to posting pictures....

Ryan danced (in his car seat) to Grandma's "Mamma Mia" soundtrack on the drive down:

Ryan's first view of the ocean, with his new best buddy, Grandpa (currently pronounced "Geppa"):

He refused to stand on the sand, but he liked to watch the waves and let me dip his feet in the ocean.

His cousins (who are 4 1/2 and almost 3) loved playing in the water.

Ryan enjoyed all the ungated stairs at the beach house and took advantage of being able to go up and down whenever he pleased.

Running up the boardwalk to watch the sunset.

He also enjoyed pushing the stroller around -- maybe he's practicing for when he has a baby brother or sister.

Sunset over the sound:

Ryan hung out with Grandma while we climbed the giant sand dunes. His cousin Dylan was the first to reach the top, then he and his big brother Elliot rolled down.

Going down the big slide at the playground:

Ryan and his cousins discovered that they like Old Bay chips.

Ryan has been wearing his sunglasses on his head lately.

There was also lots of ice cream, of course, and donuts for breakfast on the morning of my 35th birthday. Judging by his expression here, I think he enjoyed them:

On the last night, we went down to the beach to take pictures (it was very windy, as you can see from my hair), then went out for ice cream at sunset. Ryan and I both wore our crab shirts :-)

It makes me nervous when I see these two conspiring!

We left a day early to avoid Hurricane Hanna. You can see the effect it had on the weather the day before it hit.

Ryan loves looking at this last picture. He points to each thing and say the word for it -- "nain" for rain, "cack cack" (quack quack) for the duck on his hat, "ba-ba" (his pacifier), "choo choo" for Thomas the Train on his shirt, and "mama" for his panda.

We're already looking forward to our next vacation (just the three of us), a trip to the Caribbean after Christmas.