Ryan turns 3
Ryan was lucky to have his birthday on the same day as his party this year. (That's so cool when it works that way!) We celebrated in Plano with a Texas-style BBQ and swimming party. Family from Oklahoma and Frisco were in attendance at the Healy house, as well as several of our college friends. Ryan loved his pirate-themed day and seemed to handle all of the excitement very well.
(Notably, nearly everyone in attendance was a former college swimmer-turned-parent. So it shouldn't have been a surprise that every single child at the party was extremely comfortable in the pool. I thought Ryan would be the youngest swimmer of them all, but Madison -- daughter of Zhawn and Stephanie -- was the showstopper. At just 2 1/2, she needed no help at all while swimming around the pool. And she was calm the entire time.)
So, who is Ryan at 3?
- He knows his colors, shapes and letters.
- His favorite letters include R, B, M, D, and K. (Ryan, Brendan, Mom, Dad, and Kelsey.)
- He can count to 10 if you ask him, though on his second try he'll mix up the numbers. Some days he'll even count to 20.
- His favorite toys and games include his red Power Ranger; Lightning McQueen aka "The Rookie," Mr. The King aka "The Legend," and Chick Hicks aka "The Runner-up"; Rescue Heroes; any kind of cars; Chutes and Ladders; Uno; and seemingly any toy Brendan is playing with.
- His favorite sports are swimming, t-ball and soccer. He can also spiral a football rather well, which is impressive since neither his mom nor dad can. He's clearly his father's son, as Ryan has been swimming like a champ all summer. (Ken claims he was jumping off the diving board at age 2. Ryan was, too.) In the past month, Ryan has started using his arms in a freestyle-like motion. He has a calmness and comfort about him in the water that isn't too common for his age.
- Ryan can be incredibly gentle with his baby sister, or he can tackle her like a football player. She doesn't seem to mind either.
- Ryan has learned how to engage his big brother in the endless sibling annoyances that drive every parent crazy. (Yes you did. No I didn't. Yes you did. No I didn't. MOM, he's touching me!)
- Ryan's communication skills continue to improve. I can understand him most of the time. He uses great sentences and has been working on using his words instead of melting down.
- He goes through stretches in which he'll nap every day, then he won't nap for a week. Thankfully, he's rather content reading books in his bed, then playing quietly so that mom has her rest time (which isn't rest at all).
- Ryan doesn't say Kelkey anymore, which makes me sad. He outgrew that about 5 months ago.
- Ryan says swimsoup for swimsuit, which always makes me smile.
- Ryan is tall for his age, but very skinny. I don't know where he gets it. (He's at the same height as Brendan at the same age.)
- He eats all sorts of food, though he's pickier lately. However, he will at least try different foods. He eats a peanut butter sandwich for lunch nearly every day. He loves bananas, strawberries, peaches, watermelon, pineapple, apples, breakfast bars (apple cinnamon), lasagna, meatballs, pizza, fruit snacks, anything chocolate, suckers, pancakes, licking the brownie bowl. Hmmm ... clearly he loves sugar.
- He goes to bed between 8-8:45, depending on whether he napped. I only let him nap an hour so he won't fight too much at bedtime.
- He loves reading books!
- Ryan will begin preschool two days a week, beginning Tuesday.
I can hardly believe I have a six-year-old first-grader. Brendan has definitely matured in a year, and some days he appears to be 8. Other days ... well, who doesn't want to act younger every so often?
Brendan's birthday was celebrated with five friends at the Colony Swim Club. It was an all-boy party. He had such fun swimming with mostly friends from school. This is the year of the Lego. Brendan loves putting together the sets and he received several as gifts.
So, who is Brendan at 6?
- Brendan is 48 inches tall, which means he can ride more water slides and amusement park rides. It also means we have to begin paying more for his admission into those parks.
- Every night before bed, we read books and then do math. This tradition started way back when he moved to a big-boy bed, and we used counting as a way to settle him down. For years, we have counted while we rub his back. Last year, Ken began adding math problems to the equation and began counting in different patterns (by 2s, 5s, 10s, 100s, 3s, etc.). Brendan loves it and does quite well.
- Brendan can read some familiar words, though we haven't practiced much this summer. At the end of kindergarten, he was reading beginner readers with few hiccups.
- He continues to love drawing and coloring. He often draws pictures of Pokemon characters, Transformers, Star Wars, etc.
- Brendan loves "writing" books!
- Brendan swam on the swim team for the first time this summer and really enjoyed it. He is so comfortable in the water now and enjoys going off the diving board and down the slide. Next summer, he'll be learning how to dive.
- Brendan enjoys baseball most and also plays soccer.
- He has an impressive vocabulary that never ceases to amaze me. He'll sit and listen to me a read a book to him for hours. (In fact, he earned several prizes this summer for the Canton Public Library's summer reading program.)
- Brendan is riding his bike without training wheels. He's so proud of this new skill and loves the freedom.
- Brendan is a wonderful big brother and is learning more about his responsibilities with each day. He often gets snacks for Kelsey or finds her a toy. I don't want to know how he does it, but he can even get her out of her crib (without anyone falling or crying). Other days, Brendan will play with Ryan as a friend, not a brother. Those are some of the best (and quietest) moments in our home.
- Brendan's favorite toy is Lego. He can build sets on his own, with maybe a question for me when he can't find a certain Lego. Currently, he's doing the 7-12 year old sets. I think he'll be ready to move up by Christmas.
- Brendan continues to be a picky eater, but on good days, he'll try something new. For example, today he devoured mac and cheese at Ikea, even though it doesn't look anything like the mac and cheese at home. Three weeks ago at a birthday party, he wouldn't touch it because it was different.
- His favorite foods include pizza, peanut butter sandwiches, Spaghetti-Os, meatballs, lasagna, baked ziti, ravioli, peaches, strawberries, bananas, apples, grapes, ice cream, and chocolate chip cookies. He also enjoys s'mores.
- Brendan has an incredible memory. He has never seen any Star Wars movie or show, yet he can rattle off every detail anyone has ever shared with him.
- You can see his little brain working diligently to put the pieces of his world together, to analyze what appeared to be everyday events and make sense of them in his older, more mature world.
