Well friends, we made it! Ryan is officially a TODDLER now!
We woke up in the morning (who am I kidding, I woke up at 4:30 and barely slept after that because I wanted Ryan to hurry up and wake up--this is DEFINITELY a first!). Ryan finally woke up around 6:15. We went in, sang happy birthday, gave him extra birthday cuddles and hugs, got him dressed, and brought him downstairs.
He opened up his two big presents from us:
He rode in the wagon a little bit and absolutely LOVED it (as you can tell) :)
We pushed his first nap until after 11, so he would be awake for his birthday party and not have to take another nap at like 2:30 or anything.
He had a GREAT time yesterday at his big birthday party (minus getting his birthday bruises from falling down the front porch stairs). He got to eat some birthday cake icing:
He wasn't very sold on the cake/icing. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure he liked it, but he was definitely skeptical about it. He made quite the mess out of his smash cake though:
We feel very blessed and thankful that so many people were able to celebrate this important milestone with Ryan. It's been a year of ups and downs, lots of cuddles, lots of awesome memories, lots of tears, lots of learning (for both us and Ryan), but most of all, lots and lots and lots of love. It's crazy to think how much has occurred over the past year, how much we have accomplished, how much we have grown, and how much our worlds have changed because of Ryan, and all for the better. We are really looking forward to this holiday season and giving Ryan the best childhood we can.
We can't wait to see what's in store for us for the next year!
Here is a picture of my sweet angel the other day, napping while we were in the car:
I can't believe Ryan's about to have his first birthday. One whole year old. It's crazy. It's crazy how quickly time has passed, particularly in the past few months. Those first few months seemed to take forever and time trickled by so slowly. Then, something clicked and all of a sudden, Ryan is 6 months old...8 months old...10 months old...having his first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, and now he's about to be a year old. My sweet baby is not a "baby" anymore. He's a full-blown toddler, constantly running from one thing to another, rarely stopping. He just goes goes goes goes all day long. He (sometimes) crashes for his naps, and then he's up, ready to investigate and examine everything around him. He's amazing!
Ryan playing with the Dino-"roar". He LOVES this toy.
The Dino-"roar" is one of Ryan's favorite toys. He pushes these plastic balls into the top, and they roll in different directions, and music plays and lights flash. He does this all day long. He also has figured out that if he just pushes the ball in halfway, it will trigger the lights and music, and he's perfectly content doing that, too.
He's beginning to understand so much too! We'll ask him where various things are, and he'll point at them. He's beginning to say a couple of words and will try to say more words when prompted. It's awesome to listen to him try to communicate with us. Even when he falls down or hurts himself, in the middle of crying, he'll sometimes try to put together all of these jumbled syllables and sounds that don't make a bit of sense, but it's like he's trying to explain what happened. It's adorable!
So much has happened since the last post! Ryan is now a seasoned walker--he goes everywhere he wants to and even to places he knows he's not supposed to go! He learned how to walk backwards and to the side just within the past week.
He's learned how to clap his hands:
He's learned how to point to things and he's learned how to consistently wave hello and goodbye, too!
He's learned how to say "UH OH", and he loves to say that when he intentionally drops his spoon when he's eating dinner. Super cute! He also loves to smile mischievously when we tell him "no" to something and he continues to do it (note: he WILL drop this behavior sooner than later).
He's learned that some of his toys can move all on their own (I guess, with the help of batteries, but I think that's an advanced concept for him right now):
We celebrated Halloween (Ryan was a bat):
We walked him to the houses on our street (only 3), and he got some awesome loot! One of our neighbors even gave him some applesauce instead of candy, which I thought was really sweet :)
I can't believe he's going to turn ONE YEAR OLD soon.....this year has been the fastest and the slowest year (if that's possible). When I look back at everything that Joe, Ryan, and I have been through, all that we've learned, all the hugs and kisses we've given and received, and how much our lives have changed for the better, it makes me get all teary and emotional (surprise surprise).
Look at my sweet nine-and-a-half month old sweet boy!!! He's taking unassisted steps! He took many many more steps by himself earlier today, but of course when it's time to record them, he decides he doesn't want to showcase his skills anymore :) I got two steps on video, and then the rest are while hanging on to Joe's hand. I CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S WALKING!!!!
In other news, he's cut his top right tooth (that was #2) and his bottom left tooth (that was #3) and now he's working on his top left. He pretty much looks like a jack-o-lantern, which is perfect for this time of year with Halloween coming up! :) Anyway, his top left tooth is REALLY close to coming in. I can't believe all these changes have happened just within the past few weeks!
One thing he hasn't changed is his sleep schedule. Remember in the last post when I said that he finally slept through the night from start to finish TWO WHOLE TIMES? Yep, still hasn't done it since :) I think he likes the cuddle time that I give him in the middle of the night :) He also has quite the case of separation anxiety, so these middle of the night cuddle/feeding sessions are extra special when he screams bloody murder when I put him back down in his crib and try to leave the room. :) Despite the sleeping habits, I LOVE his budding personality, his endless giggles and smiles, the way he gives kisses by attacking my face with an open mouth, the way he melts my heart by saying "mamamama". I wouldn't change him for the world :)
I fell off of it and it sped away, and hasn't returned to pick me up yet...
Anyway, here's the latest video of Ryan being Ryan :) He's 8 1/2 months now!
This video pretty much sums up our life right now! :) Having fun with Ryan, following him around while he explores his world, trying to keep things out of his mouth, etc. He finally cut his first tooth last week and another one is very close to coming through, too! He can stand for a couple of seconds on his own before plopping down and scooting away, but I haven't caught that on video yet. Still not sleeping through the night consistently--last week, he slept from 7:30pm-6:00am without feeding, without waking up...TWICE. And he hasn't done it since :) He's gotten into the habit of waking up anywhere between 3:00-5:00am for a feeding, and it's hard to ignore him when he says "MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA" in between cries :) My sweet boy!
We're celebrating Ryan's 7 month birthday at Topsail Island!
Ryan's first dip in the Atlantic Ocean!
Ryan hasn't decided whether or not he's going to be an ocean baby yet. He was VERY interested in the sand and waves, but wasn't too fond of the cool water on his first dip. Topsail holds very special memories for both me and Joe. We both vacationed here (separately) when we were kids and we're excited that we can continue to make Topsail a special place for our family for many many many years to come!
Ryan has officially started crawling! Our big boy finally figured out how to move forward lots of steps instead of backwards! Sometimes he drops down and does an army crawl on his belly, but for the most part, he's on his knees or on his feet, kind of like a bear crawl. Either way, it's super cute! He has also perfected sitting up by himself and does it all the time!
This past weekend, we finally hooked up Uncle Carl's Christmas present to Ryan. It's a race track, complete with little cars, lights, and a "finish line". Watch the video to see for yourself:
I plan on using this toy to teach Ryan all about inertia and centripetal force when he's older (like 12 months).
Over the past week, we've also discovered that Ryan LOVES sweet potatoes:
And while it looks like he made a big mess, this is huge progress, my friends. Sure, he has some on his shirt and has smeared it all over his tray, but it's not in his hair, his ear, his eyes, or his nose like the first few times we gave Ryan solid food. We also discovered this past week that feeding him is so much easier when he has his own spoon to play with and to distract himself with.
He also enjoys avocados, but not as much as sweet potatoes:
We tried avocados before sweet potatoes...can you see the difference in the mess? He's learning his manners!
To the father who can put Ryan to sleep so effortlessly (most of the time). To the father who I've dubbed the "baby whisperer" because Ryan will sleep so much longer when you put him down for a nap than when I do. To the father who can make Ryan giggle when he's upset. To the father who our baby LOVES LOVES LOVES to play with. To the father who makes Ryan SO happy! Ryan is SO LUCKY to have you as his daddy, Joe!! We love you!!
I think I need to admit that I probably won't ever be "on" the wagon again....
Here's our sweet wonderful boy and his cousin, Levi!
Ryan gets to spend lots of time with Levi, which is great. Ryan LOVES watching Levi run around and make noise and stuff. He's much more smile-y when Levi's around, which I think is SO cute!
So, I know I haven't posted a lot of milestones--like Ryan turning 6 months (!!) on June 8th. I don't know how working moms find time to do anything except take care of their baby, prep for the next day, and laundry. I guess I'm still trying to find some balance.
Anyway, Ryan's 6 month appointment went well. He weighs in at a hefty 17 lbs 11 oz and roughly 26 inches. He also has a big head (90th percentile!). All in all, the doctor says he looks great, he's happy, he's healthy, so what more could I ask for :)
So, some new things. Ryan is SO CLOSE to crawling. This past Friday, he took two "crawls" forward. He's been a pro at scooting backwards, and has been able to take one "crawl" forward for awhile, but hasn't managed more than that. I think maybe in the next week, we're going to have an official crawler on our hands! I guess we should start baby-proofing....
Since Ryan loves to bounce and bounce and bounce, we borrowed a doorway jumper from our friends Jake & Jennifer. Ryan LOVES this jumper. He spends SO much time in it and is perfectly content to bounce and bounce and bounce. The bonus is that it wears him out so he seems to take a little bit longer of a nap!
Ryan's also started on solid foods. So far, he's had rice cereal, oatmeal, applesauce, and avocado. He didn't really like the oatmeal or the applesauce, but was a fan of the rice cereal & avocado (mostly).
Some more exciting news--Ryan is officially a big cousin now! Deniz (Joe's sister) gave birth to Alexander on June 7th, so now we have another boy cousin to get into mischief with later on! Lots and lots of boys!!
Ryan's 25 week picture also captures a major milestone. Ryan fell asleep on the way home from Oma's house this afternoon and Joe transferred him to his crib so he could sleep more comfortably. Ryan is the king of 30 minute naps, so after 30 minutes, I heard Ryan babbling in his crib. I walked in and saw the back of his head, so I figured he was practicing crawling. When I came closer, I saw that NO! he wasn't crawling, but he had apparently SAT UP ALL BY HIMSELF! I'm so bummed that I missed seeing him do this, but I'm so proud of him!!! So awesome!!
This past week, Ryan has also had his very first cold, which I think was scarier for me than him. It started with Ryan acting a little funny this past Saturday night, followed by a fever, and then lots of congestion. Instead of letting him sleep in the crib, we had him sleep in his Rock N Play because it was inclined and not flat (to help with his congestion, etc). His sleep has been alllll jacked up, so Joe and I have some more work cut out for us in terms of sleep training him (again!). Ryan's on the mend now, thankfully. Through it all, he was still a very very happy baby!
Yes, I fell off the wagon for awhile, but I'm hoping to be back on track soon.
Ryan, 24 weeks and sucking on his lower lip :)
There's our happy boy!
Ryan is still progressing MAJORLY with crawling. He definitely has the leg motion, but hasn't quite figured out how to move his hands. Once that happens, our lives will change incredibly. We haven't started baby proofing at all, and I have a feeling that will come to haunt us!
So, this past weekend, Ryan attended his very first wedding! He did GREAT during the ceremony--didn't cry or fuss at all. The reception was another story. Ryan wailed for a little over 2 hours and would not be soothed. No walking, bouncing, feeding, or shush-ing would suffice. I thought he was probably overtired, but even after getting him into a dark room and trying to feed him, he still wouldn't stop screaming. Eventually, I put him in his carseat and swung him back and forth and he finally drifted off. I figure this is just evidence that he is a very regimented little boy and does not like deviating from his routine! It took us a couple of days to get him back into his regular schedule and routine. Mommy and Daddy definitely learned their lesson that sometimes, a babysitter is worth it :)
We have a 3 day weekend coming up (hooray for Memorial Day!), so we can't wait to spend it with Ryan!
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
