Bringing you the most useless information on the internet

Category Archives: Ryan

Another Year Older

Posted on by Posted in Ryan Leave a comment

It seems somewhat fitting that I chose to move the website to the new host at this point in the calendar year. Prior to the update posts, the last post here was from May of last year talking about Ryan’s birthday. Well, as birthdays are known to do, his birthday rolled around again and we celebrated his birthday with family on Mother’s Day and then followed it up with his friends party this past Saturday at Palasad North.

Pictures are posted above – hover over the ‘Pictures’ option below the Surfergeeks logo and then choose the entry for his birthday. Or, for the truly lazy, you can just click the link here.

Once again, the weather, while threatening rain, held off so that we host outside. Once again, Scott, Kyle, and Blaine were in the pool. This year they were joined by Alex & Ryan however! AND, as an added bonus, the pool wasn’t anywhere close to green! A great time seemed to be had by all.

This year, for his friends party, Ryan wanted to have it at Palasad and do some bowling. He invited Rhys and Alex from Beavers and six kids from his class. Of those six, five of the invites went to girls, one went to a boy. Smart kid. Of the six, five RSVP’d that they would come and all five showed up! Everyone seemed to have a great time bowling – even the ones that didn’t look like they had ever seen a bowling ball before. Our party was hosted by Ally and Schylar. Schylar was a noobie and was in training. She did great and it provided the kids double the attention. All the kids seemed to have a great time. There were no meltdowns by our guests and we didn’t lose any! So have a peek at the pics if you want.

African Lion Safari (with Pics!)

Posted on by Posted in Alex, Entertainment, Ryan

As most of you who visit this page now, we went to African Lion Safari on Thursday with Laura, Carmon and Kamara. It was a great day. Ryan was actually old enough to appreciate it this time and Alex may remember it this time. Oddly enough he doesn’t remember the last trip which is very unlike him. When asked, Ryan’s favourite part was the choo choo ride. Alex’s was the “big kid’s splash pad” that he spent a good chunk of time in.

Unfortunately all was not great that day. Near the end of the day (literally on our way out of the park) Alex went through this little kids obstacle course type thing. The last part was to climb down a chain ladder with wood rungs. It’s about a 6′ climb down. The base has some thin padding. Sadly, Alex though that the padding was softer and thicker than it really was. He sat on the edge of the ledge and dropped down instead of using the ladder. If anyone is keeping track of such things, a 6′ drop is bad for a 5-year old’s feet. At first he couldn’t put much pressure on it but he was able to move it about so we knew it wasn’t broken. He slept on the way home but could walk into the house with a bit of a limp. The next day he started off the day saying it was sore but said it felt better shortly after getting up. There’s a bruise but other than that he’s okay.

Also, the pics are posted. Just hover over the “pics” button at the bottom (don’t click it!) and then when the menu pops up choose whatever album you want to look at.

Ryan’s Birthday

Posted on by Posted in Ryan

So the little goober turned two a few days ago and today was the party for the family. It rocked. Ryan cleaned up. Like any kid he had absolutely NO interest in clothes and they were quickly (and literally) tossed aside in favour of the toys. If you want to see some pics click here. As you’ll see, he LOVES his swing that he got from Uncle Ken & Aunt Marlene. The ball pit is also a big hit. Really – everything is a hit. He spends some time playing with one thing before moving onto the other. I will neither confirm nor deny that the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks that Travis & Nicole provided are a big hit with me! 😉

New Pics!

Posted on by Posted in Alex, Ryan

How about this?!?! SAME DAY SERVICE!!!! Snapped a few pics earlier today of the kiddos playing outside on their new swing set that the Bowler and Stewart families got them for Christmas. Lemme tell ya – INSTANT hit! Also a few pics of Alex on his scooter going up and down the sidewalk.

Click here.

Looking in both directions

Posted on by Posted in Alex, House, Rantings & Ravings, Ryan

I think, somewhere in the blogger Charter there is some declaration that come December we must write about the year that was. 2009 was a year of change. I got to spend the beginning part of the year at home with the boys. Then, come mid-year I became a stay-at-home Dad. Then, come fall I decided to head back to school for a complete and total career change. Alex started school. Ryan started walking. Ryan started to make sounds that actually resemble real words!

I don’t really want to go into great details about the year that was. It was what it was. With the prospect of 2010 (that’s Twenty-ten please) right around the corner and looking promising I’m not wanting to spend time dwelling on what 2009 was or wasn’t.

Looking ahead, I start school in just a few weeks. That begins four years that will completely change my life. I’m not deluding myself – it’s going to be a challenge. It is going to result in a radical change to the family structure around here that I’m hoping the boys will weather without *too much* disturbance. Going back after almost 15 years is daunting. Being 41 when I graduate is daunting. Thankfully, I have Nikki’s support to encourage me and keep me focused. I’ve got purpose; a reason to succeed this time around.

One of those reasons has a big year ahead of him as well. I see 2010 as being the year that Alex REALLY starts to grow and his interests shine. As I write part of this he was sitting eating supper. Mythbusters was on TV and he was totally engrossed by it. His curiousity knows no bounds and I look forward to taking that journey with him.

Odds and Sods

Posted on by Posted in Alex, House, Ryan, Uncategorized

Kind of a catch-all post to bring you loyal readers up to speed on what’s happening at good ol’ Casa del Surfergeeks.

First Up: Kinda pissed. DHL tried to delivery my autographed copy of Windows 7 Ultimate today and we were out getting milk. Damn kids and their need for milk. Okay, we were buying HE laundry detergent too.

Second: Speaking of HE laundry detergent (how’s that for a smooth segue?), our new LG Washer & Dryer get delivered tomorrow! Yay! Can’t wait to play do laundry with them. Had to finish unhooking the old washing machine today. THAT was a bitch! The water hoses were rusted/corroded onto the taps. Vice grips got the one off but the other held fast. Ended up breaking out the Dremel with a cutting disc attached and cut the fucker off.

Third: Speaking of cutting things off. Get well soon Mike!

Fourth: Mike H can’t make poker next weekend.

Fifth: I’m out of segues.

Sixth: Alex is doing okay in school. Not great unfortunately. I tried to convince the school that it was simply his absolute genius that was the issue but they weren’t having any of it. Just kidding. The teacher actually is very impressed by his reading skill. Apparently there is some type of level that JK/SK aims for and it’s level 4. He’s already at level 2 a few weeks in. Unfortunately, he’s also being bad at school. He’s switched from Mrs. Woods’ class to Mr. C’s class and I think it’s going to be really good for him. He’s already showing an improvement in doing what he’s told at school.

Seventh: We’ve all got some type of cold/flu in the past couple weeks. The worst of it is over and nobody died. Nikki still can’t talk very well and has managed to miss pretty much a full week of work. Thank god for sick pay.

Eighth: (the more I stare at ‘eighth’ the more I think it’s spelled wrong) I’ve registered for school! Yep; hopefully come January I’ll be @ Fanshawe taking Architectural Technology.

Ninth: Alex just reminded me that one of the fish died at some point last night. Poseidon, like the god he was named after, is no more. Alex & Nikki gave him (her?) the ol’ flush-a-roo before school. Gotta say, I’m pretty impressed that she managed to keep them all alive this long.

Okay, I’m about out of things to say that I can think of off the top of my head. Maybe if I posted more I wouldn’t need to do this huge catch-up posts. Until next time! Later!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that…

Posted on by Posted in Alex, Entertainment, Local Politics, Rantings & Ravings, Ryan

Long time no talk peeps! I never realized being unemployed could be SO busy! I’ve ALWAYS respected stay-at-home parents and knew they did a LOT of work. Now I know first hand and yep, it’s just as hard as I thought it was!  So this is sort of a catch-up post of various things. Read on.

Pictures: One of the main reasons y’all stop by. They’re missing. I have to rebuild those pages still. Gimme some time. There will be new pictures soon too!

On Birthdays: Alex turned 4 yesterday. 4-fucking-years-old! I can’t believe it. It does NOT seem like I’ve been moulding him in my image (poor little bastard) for 4 years now. On the plus side – I’ve managed to keep him alive for 4 years! W00t!

Elections: I swear to fucking god that if that liberal fuck forces ANOTHER election this quickly I will NEVER vote for them EVER again. If you could form a political party from all the heinous and murderous leaders from history with Hitler at the helm I would vote for that party over the liberal party. Yes, I would choose a genocidal psychopath over the liberal party. I won’t even dignify their importance by capitalizing the word liberal. Fuck them. As for the provincial branch of that party – sucks to be them. They’re getting painted with the same brush.

Gross misuse of resources: Sending eight (8!!!) OPP officers with one (1!!!) bylaw officer to inspect some guys farm because he has a lot of cars in various states of disrepair (although ALL driveable) on it. Oh yeah, and he uses these cars to make a living. He makes youtube videos that pay him over $11K a month.

Okay, enough ranting about miscellaneous shit. On to the good stuff: VACATION!!!

Nikki’s parents were awesome enough to send the four of us to Niagara Falls for a few days earlier this week. From Sunday to Tuesday we were guests of the Embassy Suites Fallsview for a relaxing (???) time at our Wonder of the World. Sunday we arrived and did the obligatory cruise down by the falls. We saw that parking was $20 there and figured that we’d maybe find a cheaper place to park. We ended up parking up at the Fallsview Casino for only $10. We walked back down the STEEP hill and went on Maid of the Mist. It was a little cool but quite nice. Alex checked out the falls a bit but, for the most part, hung back toward the middle of the ship. It may have been a little overwhelming for him or something. Hell, it’s still a little overwhelming for me and I’ve been on the boat before. After the boat ride we grabbed a ridiculously overpriced bite to eat. Our timing was absolutely perfect as it POURED rain while we were inside eating and cleared up right away. We walked back along the gorge and headed back UP that steep hill to go check into the hotel. That sucked. The climb that is. Checking into the hotel was smooth. We were on the 11th floor with an AWESOME view overlooking both the Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls. The rest of the day was spent chilling at the hotel – down in the pool then back to the room. We ate supper at the TGIFriday’s in the hotel. Okay…maybe lunch wasn’t so expensive… After supper it was just an uneventful evening in the hotel room. There were fireworks over the falls at ten o’clock so we watched those. Had to call it a night shortly after that as morning came early and we had plans.

Up and at it early Monday morning. Down to the 9th floor atrium for the buffet breakfast. The hotel has a Keg Restaurant inside as well and this is where they have the breakfast each morning (spilling over into the lounge if necessary AND the TGIFriday’s on the ground floor if it’s REALLY busy). The Keg has a STUNNING panorama of the gorge. The breakfast itself was excellent! It wasn’t a HUGE selection although it covered ALL the breakfast basics and had an awesome cook-to-order omelette bar. Ryan ate like a little pig and Alex, who usually is slow to eat, did a great job as well. After breakfast we struck off to Marineland. Nikki can’t remember ever going and, while I know that I went, I don’t actually remember going. The first thing we did was head to the “kiddie-land” rides. Alex was reluctant to go on any rides but finally made the decision to tackle the Ladybug Coaster. From that point on he was hooked. All he wanted to do was go on rides. We had to leave the area to go to the dolphin/sealion/walrus show and Alex wasn’t really interested at all in that – he just wanted to go back on the rides. He did like feeding the deers though. If you ever go to Marineland, take your own food. It’s WAY overpriced. For a kid’s hot dog combo, regular hot dog combo, and burger combo, along with a juice and two pops it was almost $30! I tried offering them Ryan in exchange but they apparently preferred money. After spending a day at Marineland we headed home for a swim in the pool. The plan was to hit-up Dave & Buster’s, go for supper, then Nikki & Alex were going to check out the magic show that our package included tickets for. That was the plan. During the swim we realized that we didn’t have time to do D&B’s so we decided to shelve that until Tuesday – after we checked out. After we swam, we got dressed and went across the street to Applebee’s for supper. Alex wasn’t the best little boy during supper and it was really up in the air whether he’d be good to sit through a magic show. When we got back to the hotel he ultimately decided for us when he ended up getting sick. Sorry magic dude, maybe next time.

Tuesday was checkout day. Up early, down for breakfast and back to the room to pack and relax until closer to checkout time. We head to Clifton Hill and spend a couple hours in Dave & Buster’s. For those that don’t know, D&B’s is an arcade/eatery. Our package came with a $60 card for the place. All the machines spit out tickets based on how you do and you can cash in the tix for prizes. Alex liked skee-ball. I ROCKED the Deal or No Deal game. After running out of credits there we went down Clifton Hill to Falls Ave and then back up, stopping at Boston Pizza for lunch. It’s kinda funny – Clifton Hill is arguably the MOST tourist driven area of Niagara Falls; possibly even moreso than The Falls themselves. Yet it was here on Clifton Hill where the food seemed to be the most reasonably priced. After lunch, we headed back to the van, got everyone settled in, and headed for home.

People talk about needing a full week to fully enjoy Disney World. I’ve no argument with that at all. However, I also believe that if a family wanted to take part in most of the things that Niagara Falls has to offer, a full week is required there as well. Perhaps even longer if you wanted to do all the tourist traps on Clifton Hill like the 4,293 different haunted houses. There’s LOTS more we would have liked to have done but just simply didn’t have the time, or, frankly, the money.

What we did have was an AMAZING three day vacation that we didn’t think would happen this year. There are hundreds of pictures and some video. I’ll get the pics posted as soon as possible. I’ve got them on the computer but I just need to get them up onto Picasa and the link posted here. Gimme a couple days.

First Words

Posted on by Posted in Alex, Ryan

So I’m pretty sure Ryan has said his first words.  Rob disagrees though and just think it’s babble.
First, some back story.  Alex’s favourite show is “Little Einsteins”.  And in the show to start their rocketship, the characters ask the viewers to slap their knees and say “pat, pat, pat.”  Alex has been doing this non-stop.  Even when he’s not watching “Little Einsteins” he’ll break out into “pat, pat, pat.”

Well, yesterday all of us were in the van heading to Costco to get groceries.  In his seat, Alex starts to yell, “pat, pat, pat” and slap his knees.  Suddenly, Ryan starts to slap his own knees, and start saying something.  As mentioned above, Rob thinks it’s still just babble, I’m positive he was saying, “pat, pat, pat”.

And later that night, when I was putting Ryan to bed, I was talking to him, telling him that I was sure he was saying, “pat, pat, pat” in the Van.  As soon as I said the first “pat”, Ryan starts saying it too, and slaping his knees.  That just confirmed it for me.  Ryan knows his first words.  I now look foward to the many more to come!

9 Months

Posted on by Posted in Alex, Ryan

Oops. A day late. But then I worked all day yesterday. So, anyway, let’s get to the update.

By nine months, Ryan…SHOULD be able to:

-work to get a toy that’s out of reach – Yup. He zooms to his toys now.
-look for a dropped object – yup.

…will PROBABLY be able to:

-pull up to standing position from sitting – he still doesn’t sit, but he can pull himself to standing from lying down.
-creep or crawl – yup.
-get into sitting position from stomach – nope.
-object if you try and take a toy away – yup.
-stand holding onto someone or something – ALL THE TIME! He doesn’t like lying down or sitting at all, he’s always standing now.
-pick up object with any part of thumb and finger – yup.
-say “mama” or “dada” indiscriminately – it’s still just “baba”
-play peekaboo – no.

…may POSSIBLY be able to:

-clap hands or wave bye-bye – both.
-walk holding on to furniture (cruise) – Yup. Back and forth along the couch all day.
-understand “no” – I don’t think so.

…may even be able to:

-“play ball” – haha. Alex rolls the ball to him, he just stares at it and laughs until Alex runs to get it back and do it over again.
-drink from a cup independently – haven’t tried.
-stand alone momentarily – nope. He let’s go of the couch, but it’s usually followed by a thunk and him falling to the ground.
-stand alone well – see above.

Ok and now for a little Alex update. I was coming out of the bedroom today and he looks at me and says, “Am I going to toot?” Before I can respond, he let’s one rip. He says, “Yup.” LOL. He doesn’t even need to hold his finger out to pull that joke!

7 Month Update

Posted on by Posted in Ryan

Let’s see how Ryan is doing this month.

By seven months, Ryan…SHOULD be able to:

-feed self a cracker – I’ve given him an arrowroot cookie and he can do pretty well with those.
-razz – yup.
-coo or babble when happy – yup.
-smile often when interacting with you – yup.

…will PROBABLY be able to:

-sit without support – He still can’t do this.
-bear some weight on legs when held upright – yup.
-object if you try to take a toy away – oh yeah, big time.
-work to get a toy that’s out of reach – yup.
-look for dropped object – yup.
-rake with fingers and object and pick it up in fist – yup.
-turn in the direction of a voice – yup.
-babble – yup.
-play peekaboo – not yet.

…may POSSIBLY be able to:

-creep or crawl – yup. The baby gates are back up.
-pass a cube or other object fron hand to the other – yup.
-stand holding on to someone or something – he’s very close. Rob keeps trying to get him to do this. He can do it for maybe a second or less.

…may even be able to:

-pull up to standing position from sitting – no.
-get into a sitting position from stomach – no.
-play patty-cake or wave bye-bye – no.
-walk holding on to furniture – no.
-say “mama” or “dada” – no.

6 Months

Posted on by Posted in Ryan

It’s another month and Ryan is a little bit older. The progression seems to be so much faster with him than it was with Alex. It’s probably because I know what to expect this time around.

Well, here’s the update.

By six months, Ryan…SHOULD be able to:

-keep head level with body when pulled to sitting – yes.
-say “ah-goo” – yes.

…will PROBABLY be able to:

-bear some weight on legs when held upright – yes.
-sit without support – not yet. He has a habit of pushing with his legs and rocking which knocks him off balance.
-turn in a direction of a voice – he responds to his name and always looks at Alex when he’s talking.
-razz – yes.

…may POSSIBLY be able to:

-stand holding on to someone or something – no.
-object if you take a toy away – maybe. He does cry when a toy he is playing with falls out of his reach.
-work to get a toy that’s out of reach – yes.
-pass a cube or other object from one hand to the other – yes.
-look for a dropped object – yes.
-rake with fingers a tiny object and pick it up – yes.
-babble – not yet.
-feed self cracker or other finger food – no.

…may even be able to:

-creep or crawl – no.
-pull up to standing position from sitting – he can’t sit yet, so no.
-get into sitting postion from stomach – nope.
-say “mama” or “dada” – nope.

5 Months

Posted on by Posted in Ryan

Time for another monthly milestone.

By five months, Ryan…SHOULD be able to:

-hold head steady when upright – yup.
-on stomach, raise chest, supported by arms – he can push up a little bit, but not for very long.
-pay attention to an object as small as a raisin – yup.
-squeal in delight – yes and quite often.
-reach for an object – yup.
-smile spontaneously – yup.
-smile back when you smile – yup.
-grasp a rattle – yup.
-keep head level with body when pulled to sitting – yup.

…will PROBABLY be able to:

-roll over – not yet, but he’s trying.
-bear some weight on legs – yup.
-say “ah-goo” – yup.
-razz – yup.
-turn in the direction of a voice – yup.

…may POSSIBLY be able to:

-sit without support – he’s very close. He can go a few seconds before he topples.

…may even be able to :

-pull up to standing position from sitting – nope.
-stand holding on to something – nope.
-object if you try to take a toy away – nope.
-pass an object from one hand to the other – yup.
-look for dropped object – nope.
-rake with fingers a tiny object and pick it up in fist – nope.
-babble – nope.

Four Months

Posted on by Posted in Ryan

Ryan is officially four months old today. He keeps getting bigger and bigger. I’ll have to go through his clothes again soon to get out the bigger sizes for him.

Anyway, here are the updates.

By four months, Ryan…SHOULD be able to:

-on stomach lift head 90 degrees – yup
-laugh out loud – he’s a giggly boy.
-follow and object in an arc 180 degrees – yup.

…will PROBABLY be able to:

-hold head steady while upright – yup.
-on stomach, raise chest, supported by arms – not yet.
-grasp a rattle – yup.
-reach for an object – He has a hanging frog on his car seat, he has started reaching out for it.
-squeal in delight – you bet.

…may POSSIBLY be able to:

-keep head level with body when pulled to sitting – yup.
-roll over (one way) – yup.
-turn in a direction of a voice – He always and turns and looks at Alex when he talks.
-say “ah-goo” – Sort of. He makes noises, but they are more like moans or hums.
-razz – yup.

…may even be able to:

-bear some weight on legs when held upright – Rob says he does, I haven’t noticed it.
-sit without support – he’s trying, but not yet.
-object if you take a toy away – nope.

3 Months

Posted on by Posted in Ryan

Another milestone has past, and Ryan is another month older. He gets more and more active every day. I only have a few more months left on mat leave and they are going by too fast.

By the end of this month, Ryan SHOULD be able to:

*on stomach lift head 45 degrees – yup.

…will PROBABLY be able to:

*laugh out loud – yes, it’s so beautiful.
*on stomach lift head 90 degrees – not yet.
*squeal in delight – yup.
*bring both hands together – yup.
*smile spontaneously – yes, and he does it a lot. He’s a very happy baby.
*follow an objection above face 180 degress – yes.

…may POSSIBLY be able to:

*hold head steady when upright – he’s got great head control. I almost never have to support his head anymore.
*on stomach, raise chest supported by arms – not yet.
*roll over – not yet.
*grasp a rattle – yes.
*pay attention to an object as small as a raisin – I haven’t tested this one yet.

…may even be able to:

*bear some weight on legs when held upright – nope.
*reach for an object – nope.
*keep head level with body when pulled to sitting – nope.
*turn in the direction of a voice – I haven’t seen him do this. Although when he’s facing Alex and Alex starts talking he will look at his brother.
*say “ah-goo” or similar vowel consonant combinations – he talks all the time.
*razz – nope.