13 Months

 

Ryan understands tons of words but is so far a man of few words and only a small set of sounds he uses.  Lost of "guh guh guh" or "dah dah dah" sounds.  He likes to extend his arm out and sort of flip his hand and declare "da da da".  Not sure what that means yet but he does that a lot.  

Last night I said "uh oh" to him as he tossed his pants on the floor during a diaper change.  He actually repeated me and said his version of "uh oh" several times.  Enough I even caught it on video.  I even got him to say it once for his dad to which we clapped for him.  After that we asked him to do it again and he skipped the "trick" part and wanted us to go straight to the clapping for him lol.

He loves playing in his car.  Love this little guy!

His favorite things are picking out books to "read" and bringing them to us.  He will hand you the book and then sit down on your lap to page through the book.  If you are lucky you might get to read a few of the pages.  He especially loves books about animals, dogs specifically are a favorite.  He also still loves to toss around balls.  

Happy 1st Birthday Ryan!

Big 1 Year old!

Mr cool ;)

 Look at me walking!

At my one year checkup!

Ryan had a nice first Birthday Party!  He had so much fun that he didn't have a nap until 4 or so in the afternoon!  His new toys must be good ones since as he opened each one the kids at the party took off with them to try them out!!  Since he is just one he didn't seem to mind.  

Mommy and daddy got him his very first car track.  Meemaw and papa got him a ball popper which is a HIT with all the kids!  Grandma and Grandpa got him a new ride on motocycle toy.  He likes all the buttons that make noises. He likes his new toys but his Big sister was more excited about them.  New stuff to play with :).

He makes lots of different noises and sounds but as far as I can tell he doesn't really have any words yet.  He says dadadadada a lot, but hard to say if he every clearly says dada talking about his dad.  I still haven't gotten that first mama out of him, but I know that will come in time.  He is very effective at his grunts and non verbal ques to get what he is after!

His favorite drink is a sip out of a big persons glass.  The water they have in that is far superior to what they put in his straw sippy cups of course ;).  We are still working on learning to like more solid foods.  He is a big milk fan (mommy's) and at least that is nutritious! 

His favorite game has to be tossing a ball with either hand and watching it bounce on the tile and then going after it.  Repeat over and over again.  He also enjoys this game outside because everything is better outside!  He LOVES to be outside and has been known to get upset when we have the nerve to let the dog out and he has to stay inside!

10 Months Old!

He didn't want to be held still by his big sister so this is the best we could do

 Ryan is already 10 Months old!?!  This year is flying by so quick!  He is still mommy's little buddy and does NOT like "strangers"..  That part is just like his Big Sister!  He is a mover and will crawl pretty much anywhere.. even if maybe he shouldn't.  He loves to open and close cabinet doors and drawers..  Still need to baby proof my kitchen more for this dude! 

Big boy balancing on his own

 I have taken a couple of independent steps here and there but I'm not quite ready to walk on my own.. although that is coming quickly.  I am very quick at cruising or crawling.  I want whatever is on the end table that I shouldn't have.  

Stats at 10 months
21lbs 6.5 oz (71%)
29 inches (58%)
HC 46.5 inches (81%)

In general such a happy little guy :).

It is hard to get a clear shot as he is too busy moving!

First day of Kindergarten (8-3-15)

Jillian 1 month old

 Hard to believe I'm sending this little girl to Kindergarten already!?  How did she get so big?!!

Her seat for the year

First day of Kindergarten picture

When asked about her first day.  She replied that it was "Great!" but a LOT longer than Pre K.  You got that right kiddo.  Pre K was only 3 hours 3 days a week.  Kindergarten is 6.5 hours long roughly 5 days a week!  She had to be tired after her long day however she wasn't grumpy.  I did get up before her today, which is unusual so she was def tired!

Sporting her new backpack made by her meemaw and her lunch box

Mommy and Daddy are still taking her to school at least for this year.  She might look big, but she is still our little girl!  Meemaw and Grandma will be picking her up each afternoon.  Yesterday after her first day her Meemaw came to pick her up.  The teacher asked her if that was her grandma.. to which she replied no my grandmas isn't here lol.  She has a very clear distinction in her mind who grandma is and who Meemaw is.  Had to explain that one to the teacher.  

9 Months

He finally got a tooth right at 9 months!  Bottom left came through first.

Showing off his new toothers

This boy likes to move and wiggle!  He crawls, climbs, cruises along whatever he can.  He is very clear when he indicates he wants down and basically throws himself to the ground.  So if you are holding him you better hand on tight!  So far this month he has gotten 3 teeth with the 4th almost through.  So he almost has all 4 front teeth on the top and bottom.  His new skill is grinding his teeth..  ahh.. that sound is awful to my ears.

Still working on solids.  He will eat them sometimes.  And just for fun some days he likes one thing and the next day he won't touch it..  Little stinker.  Also keep "baby" food away from him as he wants nothing to do with that. He does much better with bites off of mommy's plate.  Cause hey if mommy isn't eating it why should I?!  He also gets very excited about sips of water from big people cups.  He does a pretty good job of drinking from a big cup with help of course.  Usually ends up with a partially wet shirt though.

Vacation 2015

This is what Ryan thought of the car ride... the reason we tried to do our driving while he slept!

We drove up the night before an stayed in a hotel with a pool.  The kiddos loved it!

Swimming with my babies :)

It was a long drive so we had to use our back up drivers lol!

or we might have just be killing some time in a parking lot ;)

This year for vacation we rented a house on Dayton Lake in Michigan.  The house was right off of main highway but far enough off the road it felt very private, plus it was set on 6.5 acres!

View from the dock - it was a long haul back up to the house

Her favorite part the 4 power wheels she could ride around!!

Her favorite one was the barbie Jeep and it was actually the fastest of all of them!

Several evenings were spent fishing.  Jillian loved helping aunt Susie fish!  As long as she didn't have to touch the fish or get to close.  Although she would hold a wax worm and hand it to Susie to put on the hook!

The average size fish they caught! 

This little guy LOVED being outside!  Anytime that door opened he wanted to go along and go out!

She loved that she got to sleep on a "bump" ie bunk bed.  She did eventually get that right!

 We had several outings this year.  The kids and I hung out at a playground while the others took a bike ride through a town near Lake Michigan.  Another day we went to the Potawatomi Zoo.  Jillian loved feeding the animals, especially the fish. This was right next to an awesome looking park with a splash bad an huge playground set mainly in the shade.  We only stayed a few minutes as this was right after the zoo and everyone was ready to head back to the house and rest.

We visited the Fernwood Botanitcal Garden where they had a stick house.  That was pretty neat.  They also had a swing inside of a tree. The tree branches touch the ground all around so it was like a secret fort and Jillian liked this.  Some of the others saw a Hummingbird moth which was a very interesting bug.  

Jillian's favorite thing was our day at Lake Michigan.  While the water was of course FREEZING cold she loved the afternoon of swimming.  When we made her get out to warm up a bit we played in the sand on the beach.  Mommy, daddy, and aunt Susie (and Uncle John for a little while) got in and swam with her in the water.  The walk back up to the car was hard for her little legs.  It was quite a hill and add that it was walking on sand.  She fell asleep on the way home.  I think everyone took naps after that trip.

7 Months.. now 8 Months

7 Months old!!

I learned to crawl and walk along the couch this month!  I have to learn how to move to keep up with my Big Sister after all!  I have been making some new noises.  I want mommy to be close or holding me at all times!  Others may hold me only when I decide it is OK lol and then only for a limited amount of time.

7 Months - getting wiggly so hard to get a picture!

Yep Look at me I stood up all by myself  @ 7 Months

Proud of himself for cruising along the couch to the end table @ 7 Months

7 Months old and crawling, well Ryan crawling he drags his right leg along

Walking along the couch to get to the end table cause they put the good stuff on it like TV remotes!

8 months old!!

That last month sure did go by fast!  I'm improving my crawling skills.  This moving thing is pretty cool cause now I can reach way more stuff!  I like to pull up and stand by the couch or by my play table or by the bath tub. Well I pretty much just like to stand as much as possible!

8 Months old - getting better at this crawling thing

You want me to hold still for a picture silly mommy, I don't have time for that!

Big sister got him to laugh

He got mad when she tried to hold him on her lap for a picture so this also works

Pre K Graduation

3 Questions they asked all the kiddos: 1. What was your favorite part of preschool, 2. What do you want to do this summer?, 3. What do you want to be when you grow up? (Answers read by the Teachers)

Our Pre K Graduate! Soon to be a Kindergartener!!

Sillly Girl

I couldn't get her to keep her eyes open very well for my pictures

Her Teachers: Mrs Lewis & Mrs Gill

Our Big Girl is just 2 school days away from officially being a Kindergartner!! How did she get so big?!?!  Her school had a nice little graduation program for the kids last night.  The asked all the kids the same three questions and rad the answers last night.  They had a slide show of pictures from the beginning of the year till now showing all the things the kids have done.  What is great is that they will email us all of those photos on Friday :)

If anyone has ever asked Jillian what she wants to be when she grows up she has always said a Nurse like her meemaw.  However her answer for last night was a Pilot.  I asked her what changed her mind.  She said she didn't know how to draw a Nurse!!  (They drew pictures of said professions they choose)  She then asked me if she could still be a Nurse even though she said Pilot!  I of course told her she could be whatever she wanted.  She didn't quite grasp the concept that she didn't have to be what she choose today.  I used to say I wanted to be a Nurse too until I saw what they did and well now I work in a office instead!

Ryan 5 Months!

First time in a big swing on his 5 Month birthday.  It was a little chilly but he clearly didn't mind!

Big sister wanted in on his 5 month pictures!  He is becoming more playful and she has noticed and loves to entertain him and make him laugh!

My happy boy! He likes hanging out in this way better than laying down.

He is getting really good at the reach and grab!  Nothing is safe.  This tray entertained him and his big sister.

Time sure seems to be flying by quickly especially with the second born kiddo.  Somehow this guy is already 5 months old!  We love him and can't imagine life without our big guy!  

5 Month Stats

17#5oz  - 68%

26 3/4 inches -  86%

Head 43 12 cm - 80%

He is really starting to recognize people. Seems especially true when mommy comes home from work to see him.  He starts by giving me a big smile and then if I don't go hold him quick enough he will start to fuss.  He is very much mommas boy for now. 

The vacuum which used to be tolerated by him now terrifies him.  I know the things are loud.. sorry dude momma still has to sweep up sometimes! But now I get to run the sweeper and hold the 17 lb baby.

He loves to grab a fist full or hair or my shirt or the glass I'm trying to drink out of.  Basically whatever he can get his little hands on.  He likes having something to play with.

Baby Ryan @ 4 Months

4 Months old!

 This little big guy is already 4 months old!  By my own measurements he is now over 17 lbs and is 25.5 inches long.  He goes in next month for a checkup.  Will be fun to see how his size compares.  I know he is now a solid 3 lbs bigger than his sister was at 4 months. 

Ryan LIKES

Baths - although I swear he is trying to escape with as much as he wiggles

Being held (by mommy the most for now)

Nursing (he is clearly a good eater)

Smiling/Laughing (especially at his Big Sister)

Standing up with you holding his hands - probably so he can chew on them

Chewing on everything - mommys fingers taste pretty good apparently

Hanging out after my bath while Big Sister plays.  He was laying down on the bath mat, but he is wiggly!

DIS LIKES

Laying down on his back for too long!

Laying down on his belly for too long, so yeah basically laying down is no good!

Having his nose cleaned out.. sometimes you gotta

Mommy walking away from him (you know to do laundry or something horrible like that)

I like to chew on everything!

Like I said I like to chew on everything!

Well Baby Checkup

He was checking out the pattern on his boppy pillow for a long time.

Ryan has his "2 month" baby well check up.  He was due for this in December, but due to the holidays and such they weren't able to fit him in until now.  He is about 2 and 3/4 months old at this visit.

Our big guy with fingers in the mouth!

Stats: Weight 15#5 (84%)
          Length 24 3/4 inc (85%)
          Head Size 42 cm (94%)

Ryan likes: to sit up or be held upright
He doesn't like laying down in your arms (he might go to sleep if you do that!?!)
You may only lay him down in your arms to feed him ;). He clearly likes his milk!

He has become very alert and startles very easily to new sounds or sudden sounds.  He went along to Story Time with his big sister on Monday and they were singing a song where they shouted suddenly.  Man he did NOT care for that.  He went from smiles to a frown instantly and cried.  He got scared.  I will remember to cover his ears next time!

He has learned how to whip his legs up and turn to either side.  He has very nearly turned almost all the way over, but that darn arm is in the way.  He tolerates tummy time and can raise his head up but usually chooses not too.  I mean can you blame him it is apparently a big noggin.

He has also found his hands and he frequently has them in his mouth chewing on them.  I'm pretty sure he gnawed on his hand to hard last night and made himself cry.  Poor guy!  He has a strong gummy bite. 

It doesn't have to be my hands, mommys will work too.