O-pus

My mom always told me that Matt didn't really start talking until he was two because I was always talking for him! Thus, I assumed because Kaelen talks so much, Ryan would follow in Matt's footsteps. Wrong. Ryan has exploded onto the scene verbally and doesn't seem to be slowing down. He is very strong willed and now combined with the words to go with it he is not easy to persuade.

"No", "Mama" and "Daddy" were early favorites. He then progressed to animal noises and now is naming all of the animals in his books! Our favorite Ryan word is "o-pus" which is slowly turning into octopus and he is obsessed with them. He goes crazy if he sees one or if someone draws him one, which Kaelen often does. We are going to have to get him to the aquarium soon so he can see a real "o-pus".

The two and three word sentences are coming together and it is so fun to watch him develop. It is especially funny to watch the two of them talk and play now because there is so much more they can do and say to each other (which is not always a positive thing but they are learning to work things out slowly!).

When did they get so BIG?

Ryan is almost a year and a half and Kaelen will be four in April! They are both developing into amazing little people and I don't want to forget all the little things that are happening in their lives. So I am going to write a blog AT LEAST every month telling about what KK and RyRy are up to, even if the writing is not as thought out as I would like.

Ryan has gone from a stumbling grunter into quite a motor mouth who is quicker than I would like at times. He loves to climb, run, read books and most of all do anything and everything "kk"is doing. He currently follows her around and grabs her things and says "mine" which she responds with a stronger "mine" and takes it back. He colored something today and was so proud that he did something like she does that he ran into the house holding it up to show his daddy. It was priceless. During the cold and snow we have found that he is not quite as Nordic as his sister, but I am sure that will change in time. I am not sure I would like all of that gear on me when I am just getting good on my feet. He has added some much needed comic relief to the house these past few months and I have really appreciated that!

Kaelen is developing faster than I could have ever anticipated. She is now really drawing pictures, writing words (her name in particular), swimming on her own (for a bit) and really working things out on her own. She can be quite a challenge but that comes with the territory when you have an independent child. I am most proud of how caring she has become with her brother. She reads to him, shows him how to do things and really watches out for him (now, I am not saying this is all the time...). I heard her say in a little kid voice, "You can't do that pappy, you could get hurt" when he was trying to climb something yesterday. She is always telling Kurt and I how well we do things (nice job daddy/mommy) and encouraging us when we are playing games, etc.

Parenting is no easy job but they so great and I am lucky to be their mom.

AMs at the Beardsleys

Ryan gets up at 6 or 6:30 and he is ready to go. He doesn't need his morning coffee, he needs food (and a lot of it!). After he is fed, he is off to play. Climbing on top of chairs and tables is his favorite thing to do right now. When he gets on top of the table he starts his one foot dance that I have to record one of these days.

He usually attempts to climb the stairs a few times to try and get to his sister's room. I like to let her sleep as long as possible but Ryan can't wait for her to get up so he can play. She eventually saunters down the stairs and he lights up. She loves every minute of it. She gives him a hug and a "smoochie" and then she is off to get some breakfast (usually waffles).

After breakfast it is time to play. Lately it has been Legos, Legos and more Legos. He can pull them apart, put a few together and definitely knock down towers that his sister builds. She is usually pretty easy going about it in the morning and we laugh as he runs away expecting to be hit or chased. They are starting to play really well together which is so fun to watch.

After the morning routine it is off to the gym or another activity we have planned because my coffee(s) finally starts to kick in around that time!

He's a "loverboy"

Ryan is hugging and kissing everything in sight lately. It started with hugging his sister and now he hugs just about anyone his size or smaller. He will stand in front of the person and stretch his arms out wide. He then walks towards them, tilts his head to the right and wraps his arms around them. He follows that by resting his head on their shoulder and saying "aaahhhhh".

Earlier this week he added "smoochies". Kaelen got a "smoochie" in the tub. He leaned over her with his mouth wide open and then placed his lips on her face. It was priceless. We encouraged him to give us some more and so he continued. His lips sometimes come together but most of the time it is a wet one.

Kaelen told me that because Ryan hugs and smooches so much she is going to call him loverboy. I am not sure what is more disturbing, the fact that she is going to call him that or that she knows the word.

And here is an example of Mr. Loverboy's smoochies:

Beardsley dads and daughters!

Uncle Steven is such a character!

Thanks Joanie!

Monday was the Tufts 10K in the Boston Common. Kaelen, Linda and I ran the races (Kids K and 10K). Ryan ran bandit at the end of the Kids K and Kurt ran a few blocks beside me bandit! Ken and Mary came to watch the kids while I ran the race. The weather was unbelievable and everyone had a great day.

Kaelen started the day off by getting right into the front of the pack of the kids race warm-up. She looks so small compared to all of the big kids but kept right up with them jumping and counting. She was a trooper waiting for the race to start (making them wait almost 20 minutes at the start was excruciating). As soon as they took off is looked like she was going to be trampled so Noni jumped right in and ran behind her so she wouldn't get hurt! KK came around the bend chugging her arms and looking great. She shook Joan Benoit's hand right after she crossed the finish line.

Noni was on Ryan patrol when he apparently wanted to run to the finish line with the other kids. He ran up to Joan Benoit and Noni prompted Joanie to give him a high five for his efforts and she did!

Last, but not least, I shook Joan's hand when I crossed the finish line after being cheered on down the straight away by Kaelen, Ryan, Kenbo & Noni after being surprised by my awesome husband along Comm. Ave! Joan doesn't know the Beardsleys but we certainly know her after Monday!

Quarterback princess?