Ryders 1st day at new Montessori

He was super brave (again), and had a great 1st day at Country Montessori.

Ryder's 1st day of Jr. Kindergarten

Today was Ryder's 1st day back at Oak Knoll Montessori after the summer break. Based on last years experience, We were worried that the departure was going to be rough. Ryder was super brave and didn't cry a bit! When we got there, he immediately started playing with his buds in the playground. We watched for a few minutes and figured we should get while the gettin was good. We said bye to him, he gave us both hugs and kisses and went right back to playing. We left and I went back to work and Kia went home to an empty house. It is always bittersweet.

Here is some video of Ryder showing off his cool new backpack:

 

#current events

We just moved to a new condo in Rancho Bernardo. And the A/C leaked and we had to get a ton of work done. Temps were in high 90s.

US is contemplating intervening in Syria civil war

 

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Zoe 1st day of 2nd grade

Zoe began 2nd grade today.  She has Mrs. Sawyer and is in a split class with both 2nd and 3rd graders.

Just like last year, she was super brave and walked into class without looking back.  Me, Kia and Ryder were there to see her go. 

Video of Zoe pulling her 1st tooth

 

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Zoe finally loses first tooth

After months of Zoe having her first loose tooth, it finally came out. Better yet it happened on her 7th birthday. We tried to pull it a few days before but it wasn't quite loose enough and Zoe lost her nerve and didn't want to risk it (totally understandable).

So on her 7th birthday, she pulled it herself! We got it on video to. I'll post video ASAP. In the meantime, below are some pics. The tooth fairy came and left her 4 quarters.

Another cool thing that happened is there is a birds nest outside our home and the bird had baby eggs. They hatched on Zoe's birthday to! Pretty cool.

Ryder's art

Here is a sample of Ryder's early art:

Ryder is learning to spell

This morning at 6:30 am sharp, Ryder came out of bed all excited and says to me: "Dad, I wanted to come tell you I can spell Wat. R.A.T.". I said how'd you know that? And he said "I just sounded it out in my head. Aww.ah.t. Wat."

Note: during school week, we have to shake Ryder out of bed to get him up at 6:30. Weekend? He's out of bed and raring to friggin go.

Pool - Ryder

Been forever since I posted, I know this. Harder and harder as life takes over. Got an iPhone with the Blogger app, so I should be able to post more frequently. It's all about convenience.

So, Kia is in Las Vegas his weekend with Her girlfriend Tiana. I took kids to the pool yesterday and we had a blast. At some point, this muscle bound freak came in. Zoe swims over to me and whispers in my ear: "he has more muscles than you". I really had no comeback to that. It was a fact.

Ryder is now calling Zoe "Zo Zo". It's cute. He used to call her Ya Ya.

Scare!!!!

This morning, as Kia and I were "enjoying" our coffee, the kids were playing in their room. They usually play really well together w/ the occasional dust up - where one of them comes whimpering out of the room crying.

Well, this morning, as we were trying to chill, we heard Ryder crying and then Zoe screaming "MOMMY, DADDY, COME!!!!!" So, we have both kids in their bedroom crying and screaming, NOT your ordinary cry or scream; the kind that sends parents into an instant panic. We've only heard that scream once before in Virginia when Zoe fell on top of her Princess Crown and it poked her in the back.

Anyway, Kia and I, once we realize the severity, go into "parent panic" and run to their room. As we get in there, Ryder is behind Zoes bed - between the wall and the bed - and Zoe is standing there freaking out. Not knowing what the hell is going on, I lift the bed and scream for Zoe to get out from underneath the bed - meanwhile, she is behind me, near the door to the room - not even under the bed. Ryder is screaming and crying, but seemingly OK.

When the dust settles, it turns out that Ryder, in an attempt to exit from underneath the bed via the back, got his head stuck between the bed and the wall. I believe his nose was in the way.

Jesus... that probably took 6 months off of Kia and my lives.

Here is Ryder giving the "thumbs up" sign:

 

 

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Ryders 1st day of school

Yesterday was Ryders 1st day of school at Oak Knoll Montessori. He was a bit uncertain at 1st. As we'd try to sell it to him, he'd deflect - for example: "You can go and do art projects and learn your letters..." He'd reply - "I can do that now at home with you Mommy".

 

 

So, we were unsure how he'd react. Anyway, we the day finally came. We dropped Zoe off at her school and then took him.

 

We got there and met with Ms. Candy. We took Ryder to his class and the teachers took him right in. He was immediately swept up and began doing Montessori stuff - the 1st thing he did was build a "wood tower" with Mrs. Brisson. We watched him for a few minutes - from a distance and then said good bye to Rydie and left.

He didn't cry or anything. He sat there with Mrs. Brisson doing his tower as we left. Kia picked him up at 12:15 and he'd had a great day!

 

Here are pics:

 

 

That is Mrs. Brisson:

The hat is a "George Washington" hat and is his 1st project in his new school:

 

Another Birdsong kids milestone...

 

 

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Scrabble

Yesterday, Kia and Zoe played Zoe's 1st game of scrabble. Her 1st ever scrabble word was "Load":

They played again today and Zoe started the game off with the word "Zoo" utilizing 2 blank tiles! Later in the same game, she played "Jewel".

Zoe does Nutracker

Zoe was in the San Diego Youth Ballet's production of the Nutcracker. It was an amazing production and Zoe was awesome in it. I was most impressed by her courage and enthusiasm. During her performances, she had a smile on her face from ear to ear and it was obvious that she was happy to be there. Here are some pics:

Here is a link to pics taken by the Union Tribune (Zoe isn't in any).
One day, Zoe hopes to be Clara. I can't wait to watch as her ballet "career" develops.
Next up - Beauty and the Beast.

Ryder and Dad at his 1st MLB Baseball game - Padres vs. Rockies

Today I took Ryder to his 1st baseball game. We got tickets through his baseball team - Lil Sluggers. The seats were field level. It was a perfect day. The game was at 1pm PST. We hit the road and Ryder took a nap in the car on the way.










We arrived in plenty of time, so I let him finish his nap. When he woke up, we took off for the stadium. As we were heading for our seats, a stadium employee gave us some tattoos.


We got to our seats before the game started so we were able to hang out at the fence and watch the players warm up. We were on the visitors side - the Colorado Rockies - and as we were watching the pitchers warm up, the pitchers coach seemed to zero in on Ryder and approached us with a baseball in his hand. He proceeded to say "hi" to Ryder and gave him the ball! Ryder said thanks and the coach went back to his business.





We went back to our seats as the game started. It was a great game and Ryder was into it and a good sport. In/around the 3rd inning, as the teams were switching from offense to defense, I sent Ryder down to the gate to watch. Again, one of the Colorado players seemed to zero in on Ryder. As I watched him approach, there was a line of kids, Ryder being the youngest, and the player was looking at Ryder. As I watched, I thought - "he's gonna throw the ball to Ryder and Ryder won't be able to catch it". So I hustled down to him and made eye contact with the player. He saw that i was Ryders dad and tossed me the ball. I gave it to Ryder and thanked the player. As Ryder and I walked back up to our seats, some of the fans were watching and one guy gave Ryder a high-five. So, on Ryders 1st day at a MLB game, he got 2 baseballs!





The game was long, but great! The Padres were up 11 to 7 in the 7th inning. The Rockies loaded the bases up and then got a home run/grand slam to tie it up! When they tied it up, i was like... "this can NOT go into extra innings", because Ryder was growing inpatient. In the bottom of the 9th inning, the Padres got 2 guys on base and another guy hit a walk off single to end the game!!!!
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=24842771

After the game, I took Ryder to run the bases! The Padres do a special thing where they allow kids to get on the field and run the bases. He did great! He was super brave - cuz I couldn't go on the field with him - and he ran the bases like a pro because Coach Jeremy taught him how. As he got to home base, I could see the beginnings of panic in his face as he struggled to find me, but i callled him, he saw me and all was well.



It was a fantastic day and you really could not ask for a better 1st father/son day at the ballpark than today.




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Location:Via Venzia,San Diego,United States

Ryder "runs game"

Kids cleaning their room tonight before bed. Zoe doing all the work... Ryder comes out and reports to Kia that "Zoe isn't helping". Kia says "Ryder, Zoe always helps, don't try to run game on me". Ryder walks triumphantly back into the bedroom saying "I runded game on momma".




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Location:Via Venzia,San Diego,United States

Ryder gets his medal for T-Ball

This past Saturday Ryder finished his Tball season. He did great and will be playing with the 4 year olds next week! He's a great hitter, runner and thrower... We are working on his catching-not to mention his attention span.







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Location:Via Venzia,San Diego,United States

Zoe's 1st day of 1st Grade

Today was Zoe's first day of school as a 1st grader.

Here she is walking towards school



Here is her baby brother providing moral support on her first day




Mom-great picture




Dad



Zoe, heading into class




Here is Zoe as a newborn baby... They really do grow up fast.

Location:Via Venzia,San Diego,United States

Ryder and "fearlessness"

So, the other night Kia read a book to Zoe and Ryder. In the book there is a monster who is looking for its "hairy toe". The picture of the monster develops and the full picture is shown on the last page. So, Kia reads the entire book and they both laugh and love the book. Shortly thereafter, Ryder starts to be scared of being left alone foe any amount of time. Its been going on for some time now. We are hoping it's a phase and he'll quickly outgrow it. He literally wakes up in the middle of the night and runs to our room screaming/crying in a panic. It's sad because the fear is obviously very real to him... But... Would be cool if he outgrew this soon.

 

On another topic, Tonight after dinner Zoe asked if she could have some W-A-T-E-R. She spells things sometimes to not trigger Ryder. So, hearing this, Ryder says: "can I have some W-X-Y-Z? That spells ice cream"

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Ryder can swim!

So, lately Ryder has been wanting to swim without his floaty. Mainly because Zoe can now swim as my last post indicates. So I've been letting him go without his floaty in the hot tub and he's been practicing. He'll go off the step and start kicking his legs trying to keep his head above water. He can keep up for a few seconds... After a few days practicing like this, he determines he is ready and just puts his head down into the water, floats on his tummy and starts to move forward using his legs completely holding his breath.

He's so excited he wants to show mommy. So we go to the "cold tub" and:

 

So, he does that a number of Times and then I decide to get him to jump off the side of the pool and:

 

 

 

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Lucky

We had to put The Luckster down today. Very, very sad day. He was such a good dog. Loyal to the very end and never a bad bone in his body. He showed up on our doorstep June of 1998 and left us June 2012. We love you and will always miss you Lucky. You were a good dog.

 

 

 

 

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Zoe can swim

Today Zoe officially learned to swim on her own. The last two trips to the pool she has been swimming without her life jacket with our supervision. But today she reached a milestone...

She can swim, come up for air and then continue swimming. In fact, she swam across the entire pool! She can even do it without coming up for air.

She can tread water to.

I took this week off work, so I was lucky to have been home to witness it. She was so proud of herself and it showed in her smile. We couldn't be prouder.

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Location:Via Venzia,San Diego,United States