Go, Ryan, GO!!!!

We got a good video last night of Ryan walking around.

It's amazing how quickly he has improved!!  I guess we really need to start baby-proofing the house and get some baby gates.....

Look who's WALKING!

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 :)

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!