2009 Xmas Program from roman maestas on Vimeo.
Dancer_1 from roman maestas on Vimeo.
One of Ryla's favorite activities is drawing. She has recently perfected the art of the "smiley face" and loves to incorporate it into everything she draws.
We have discovered that a dry erase board is the best invention when it comes to kids and drawing. We don't waste a ton of paper and she loves to wipe off the board and start a new picture. As you can see in this picture, Ryla is very proud of her smiling sun.
Having been introduced to a computer in my young adulthood, it is really mind blowing that the children of today will know more about computers by the time they reach their early teens than I do now. When we first toured Ryla's pre-school I thought it was funny that there was a computer in the classroom. I remember thinking, they are three how much can they do on a computer?
Ryla is quickly taking after her daddy and is already becoming quite the techie. The computer is now one of her favorite activities. I was a little skeptical at first with how much she was really doing on her own. I thought maybe Roman was doing the majority of the navigation. I was so wrong. Ryla knows how to use the mouse and can easily play the learning games on the kid-friendly sites she visits.
We were at the library last week and she wanted to play games on their computer. This is a computer in the kid section that is pre-loaded with educational games. Ryla sat at the desk, put on the headphones and once I launched the program she did everything herself. It was really amazing to watch her. She was laughing and shouting out answers of the game, a little too loud for the library, but it was so cute!
Roman has an old computer that still works so we are pondering the idea of making it a game computer for Ryla. We are thinking it might make the perfect Christmas gift.
Halloween is one of Ryla's favorite holidays but what kid doesn't like a holiday where you get a ton of candy? Well, dress-up is one of her favorite games so she was super excited to get a new costume for Halloween. After much thought, our little princess finally decided to be Snow White for Halloween this year.
Ryla had a whirl-wind of Halloween festivities. She attended a Halloween party at her pre-school the weekend before Halloween. It was a great time. They had games set-up in each of the classrooms with treats and lots of snacks. She had a great time playing with all of her friends.
On Halloween, we went to The Wildlife Experience with some friends and did the "trick or treat off the street" event. It was a lot of fun for the kids. They were able to play games, make crafts and of course, trick or treat. We ended the evening by trick or treating around the neighborhood. Ryla got so much candy that I had to carry her bucket because it was so heavy!
Now that the holiday is over, she still wants to wear her costume and she is already talking about trick or treating again next year! There is nothing like celebrating a holiday through the eyes of a child.
This year we went to Indiana to visit family in October. This was the first time Ryla had been there in the fall and there was so much to do.
Evansville had their annual Fall Festival the week we were there. Ryla had a great time on all the rides and she loved playing the carnival games. We also watched the annual Pet Parade which was absolutely adorable.
Like any good vacation, the week flew by. Each day was filled with fun and relaxation. It was great to see all of our family. Ryla talks about the vacation all the time and can't wait to go back!
When Ryla first started potty training we made a potty chart. Every time she used the potty she put a sticker on her chart. We told her when the chart was full we would take her to Elitch's as a reward.
In late July she finally go her reward! We had a fun-filled day at the amusement park and Ryla loved every minute of it. She rode all of the rides in kiddie land and even rode the Raging Rapids and the Ferris Wheel with mom and dad. She loved the Raging Rapids and thought it was hysterical when water dumped on mom and dad.
We completed the day with face painting and a few games. It was a great time and we can't wait to take her back next year.
One year ago today Ryla started pre-school. She was so excited to be going to school and took up with it right away. Looking back over the past year we can't believe how much she has learned. Her pre-school has a "core knowledge" curriculum so they study the basics everyday. They also have a mandarin immersion program so she takes a mandarin language class once a week. Ni' Hao!
Ryla has also made a lot of friends over the past year. It is so cute to see her hug a classmate goodbye or watch her holds hands with a classmate as they go to the playground. She is always talking about her friends.
This picture is from her first day of pre-school. I can't believe how much she has grown over the past year!
Ryla has finally hit the milestone that every parent looks forward to...being potty trained!
It is sometimes hard to watch our little girl grow up. It is bittersweet to see the milestones she reaches that remind us everyday that she is no longer a baby. I often get weepy from having to buy her shoes in the "big girl" aisle instead of the "baby wall" or measuring her on her growth chart. This however, was one milestone that I was happy to reach!
By quick calculations I estimate that we have spent close to $1000 each year on diapers and wipes. Wow! It will be nice to see that money go to her college fund instead of to the pooper.
Ryla is very proud of herself and loves wearing her big girl undies. She has even mastered the dreaded public bathroom...although I have to tell her a bajillion times not to touch the toilet.
Now, only if I could get the cats to go on the toilet! Life would be bliss.
Last weekend we decided to get out of the city and spent a long weekend in the mountains. This was Ryla's first trip to Grandma and Grandpa's mountain cabin and she had a blast!
Our days consisted of hiking around the mountain, fishing, riding ATVs and visiting the horses. Ryla even got to ride her first ATV and horse! Her favorite activity was feeding all of the wildlife with Grandpa. Every morning they would set out food for the squirrels, chipmunks and birds. Ryla got a big kick out of watching them eat the food. We also saw several deer all around the property. They were very friendly and would stay pretty close.
We had a great time and took a lot of pictures. You can see the rest of the pictures on Flickr under the 2009 Cabin Visit set.
As of Monday night we are officially pacifier free in our house! It's no secret that Ryla really loved her pacifier. We swore when she was a baby that we would never have a toddler that still sucked on a pacifier. Well, fast forward three years and our little girl was still using her pacifier. 
As the new school season begins so does another type of class, dancing! Ryla started dance lessons this week at Colorado School of Dance. She is taking the Pre-Tap and Ballet class which includes 20 minutes of tap lessons and 20 minutes of ballet lessons each week. There are 8 other girls in her class and she is already making new friends.You know your baby is becoming a big girl when she begins to have regular visits to the dentist. Ryla had her second dentist appointment this morning with Boraz Pediatric Dentistry. Their office is super kid friendly and Ryla had a great time. The waiting room has a ton of toys and books, they even have three Playstation consoles set-up for the kids to play. It is hard to get her leave she has so much fun!
At her appointment today, they checked over all of her teeth and gave them a good cleaning. Ryla chose the raspberry flavoring for the cleaning and kept saying "Mommy that's yummy". The dentist said that her teeth are growing perfectly. She doesn't have any cavities and her gums look really good too. They ended the appointment with a fluoride treatment.
For being such a brave girl the dentist gave her a Snow White sticker, a miniature windmill and a coupon for a free shake at Red Robin.
I know the above picture doesn't really have anything to do with the dentist - I just thought it was a great picture to share!
The day that is most dreaded in our household is bath day. Even though Ryla enjoys sitting in the bathtub playing with her toys, she HATES to get her hair washed or water on her face. The picture above says it all. Once we start washing her hair the screaming and crying begins. Even though we feel sorry for her we wish that she would learn the love the water. We don't want her to miss out on fun summer water activities as she gets older and grow up with a fear of water.
Last night during bath time everything was going along as usual except the crying was not as severe. She did scream for her Daddy a few times but once her hair was washed she was happy again. Now, some of you may remember that Ryla took swimming lessons when she was 9 months old. At that age she really seemed to enjoy the water and was even learning to blow bubbles. Last night I decided to try some of the tricks the swim instructor has taught us to see how Ryla would react. It was truly a miracle! By the end of the bath Ryla was putting her face in the water and blowing bubbles! She was very proud of herself and I think she enjoyed having control with the water.
I still don't think she will be happy during any future hair washings, but I do have hope that she will get over her fear of the water. The next test will be taking her to the local swimming pool and maybe signing back up for swim lessons. Wish us luck!
It is no secret that Ryla is a very laid back little girl who is more cautious than adventurous, but all of that changed when we took her to the Parker Country Fair this summer. We discovered along with Ryla that she loves rides! The roller coaster was her favorite but she really loved all of them. She was very brave on every ride and had the time of her life. The only thing she hated was waiting in line, but who could blame her?
She also enjoyed the petting zoo, riding a pony and the bounce houses. We took several pictures of her exciting day at the Fair that can be seen on our Flickr site under the "Summer 2009" set in the Ryla Diane collection.
Ryla had her 3 year checkup today. She lucked out at this appointment and was able to avoid shots. She did get her blood pressure taken for the first time and she did great! She kept saying "just like mommy does" and held very still for the doctor. Her blood pressure was 74/44 which the doctor said was perfectly normal for her age. Ryla measured 38 inches tall (75th percentile) and weighed 32 lbs (60th percentile).
The doctor also checked different "skills" that she should have by this age. He had her point out different colors, jump, draw straight lines (vertical and horizontal), draw circles and undress herself. He also had her tell him a story so he could check her verbal skills. She passed every test with flying colors. He also said that she is one of the healthiest patients he has since he has only seen her twice outside of her well exams.
She ended the appointment with a lollipop and a sticker which made her very happy. Now that we are back home she keeps wanting to take my blood pressure with her play doctor kit. So cute!
Ryla got a Barbie Jeep for her 3rd birthday! She has been very interested in sitting in the Jeep and playing the radio (yes, it has a real working radio) but she has never wanted to drive it...until today. She hit the streets in Parker and disregarded all traffic signs and signals. She still has a lot to learn but is already becoming a very good driver. We have video of the big day that will be posted soon.
