Where's the wagon?

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!

On the beach!

Isn't Ryan so cute?

Happy 7 Months, Ryan!

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!

crawling, crawling, crawling

Look at Ryan go!

It's amazing how quickly he's improved just within the past few days!

moving, racing, and eating!

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!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!!

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!!

6 months! (a little late)

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!!