Busy Little Bee

Ronan's been a busy little boy the last few weeks. There is so much to update! Here's a summary, with pictures to follow.

1. He speaks! We were a bit worried that Ronan wasn't saying hundreds of words and complete sentences by the time he turned two. We knew his hearing was fine and he's always been social and loving so we didn't think he had an emotional disorder. But at age two (a month ago), he was saying the same 15-20 intelligible words that he'd been saying for many months, hours and hours of happy babble that we couldn't understand, and no sentences... Our doctor said, "Don't worry about him. He's fine! Come back to me in six months if he's still not speaking."

And then, just as we started to wonder if we should get him to a speech pathologist, Ronan started talking. Just like that. In a week, his 20 words became 40 words, and then 80 words, and now, four weeks later, he says over 120 words! In the last few days alone, he has learned to say bike, money, purse, potty, monkey, hot dog, honk, mine, yucky, meat, bug, and yellow! He has even started to string some words together like "Where are you?" It's amazing to hear our previously babbling little boy speak. His voice is almost foreign-sounding... soft and tender and more measured, like when he tries to say the "L" in please and the "S" in yes.

2. We joined a great tiny tots program at AcroSports, a performance and circus arts place in SF near our house. Every Sunday morning, Ronan gets to tumble, roll, jump, swing, sing, and dance with a group of other toddlers -- and Mom and Dad get to go too! They teach the kids to jump and roll safely, and also to balance themselves, which will no doubt come in handy once Ro hits the school playground. Mostly, it's a lot of freedom and fun for Ronan and he loves every second of it.

3. Two weekends ago we threw Grandma Linda's 60th birthday celebration / Bon Voyage Party in LA. We chose an Italian restaurant called Pane e Vino as the venue. It had a gorgeous enclosed patio that made us feel like we were in a tiny European town, right on Beverly Blvd in LA! The setting was perfect. Bougainvillea in bloom. A little waterfall. Lots of sunshine. Good food and wine. Most of all, Linda's closest friends and family (well, most of them), who came to share their joy and love with her. We went around the table and everyone spoke about when they first met Linda and how she has affected their lives. It was breathtaking to see friends who have known her for over 30 years speaking of their early days together. Ronan cuddled with his grandma for much of the lunch and then played "auto mechanic" in the restaurant parking lot, going from car to car inspecting the wheels, door handles, and exhaust pipes. What a special time for us all, made all the more poignant since the guest of honor just moved back to Wyoming. We miss you already, Mom/Grandma!

4. It was on this trip to LA that we learned that Ronan is on the TSA watch list. That's right, the list with all the possible criminals and terrorists. It's ridiculous all around, laughable if it weren't so annoying. We explained to the agents that HE'S TWO, but since his name is on the list, they have to do all the extra security to make sure he isn't, for instance, hiding dangerous gels and liquids in his diaper. (Just kidding on that last one.) We're slogging through the paperwork to get him "cleared," and if that doesn't work, I've been told by friends at work (who were also on the watch list for a time) to get our local congressman/woman involved.

5. At the Burbank airport, while we waited for our delayed flight, Ronan and a few other boys formed an impromptu airport playgroup. There were little airplanes, little cars, and lots of motor noises. Even more entertaining for Ronan, though, was a cute little baby in an infant stroller. Ronan LOVES babies, which is a little surprising since I kind of thought that boys didn't go ga-ga over babies. Every time Ronan sees a little bundle in a blanket, he runs up to try to hold it and kiss it, saying "Bay-bee! Bay-bee!" Ronan tried earnestly to talk to the little bundle in the airport, showed him his toy truck, smiled extremely big, very close to his face, and very gently stroked his hair and his cheek. The baby was flinging his hands by the tags on his stroller (in the way that infants do), and Ronan kept moving the tags out of the way and saying "No, no" in a big brotherly way. Very, very cute!

6. Over the past few weeks, Ronan's energy level and volume in public have gone up several notches. He has become a very LOUD Energizer Bunny. Not sure why this is. We tried going out to dinner with him last week, at a nearly empty Chinese restaurant, and he spent 0 time in his highchair, and an hour running around the restaurant with a pair of chopsticks, laughing, squealing, saying "HI!!!" to strangers, and rolling around on the floor by the kitchen. We knew it was past time to go when he plucked the burglar alarm sensor off the door and the staff had to reattach it. We chalk it up to his being in "that stage." I don't know if it's the terrible 2's or just Ronan being his exuberant, joyful, and loud self. In any case, we're going to start explaining the concept of his "inside voice." Any ideas are welcome. :-)

That's it for now!