Routine

I don't have a whole lot to write about. Things have actually been fairly normal and in routine lately. We have been busy but nothing out of the ordinary. Ryan has been doing well for the last several weeks. He did get sick with a stomach bug yesterday but it seemed to only last a few hours. Even when he was sick he didn't stay down, he was up and playing. And thankfully he is feeling much better today. He is doing well and growing like a weed. He is out growing so many clothes so quick and right now is in between sizes (12 month pants are too short and the shirts and shorts are too tight but the 18 month pants are too long). Ryan is eating a lot more things; almost about everything we eat. He still isn't walking though. I guess he is just so good at crawling he doesn't see the point in walking. I know that is why he didn't crawl for awhile so who knows. It will come soon I'm sure because he pushes everything around (boxes and his wagon are his favorite). He is learning new words too. Last week we taught him how to say kitty and now he says it every time he sees our cats. He is also getting much more interested in them (which I am sure they are very happy about). He likes to pet them (well, actually smack them and this is why they don't like him) and thankfully they have been good and not scratched him. That's about all we have been up to. I am going to try to start taking more pictures but just haven't thought about it lately. Here are a few pictures I do have from the last couple of weeks.





Here we are at the zoo in the lorikeet exhibit. Ryan really thought the bird was neat.








Crazy hair after waking up. His hair has gotten long in the front and is usually sticking up in the mornings. I have to wet it down and brush it daily.

He loves his wagon! He pushes it all the time. Should have saved my money and not bought him that step start walk-in-ride, he never uses it.

We bought him some more blocks for his wagon. He just loves blocks! He likes for us to build something so he can destroy it, he likes building things and of course just loves to throw them.

Here he is pushing a box around. I bought diapers one week and couldn't take the box up to his room because he was having so much fun with it.

Fun times!

Ryan is so much fun! As he has gotten older he has become more vocal and more mobile (as kids do) and we are having so much fun with him. Yes, all this brings new challenges but it also brings new rewards too. Lately, he has been talking more and more. Some things we can understand but most is still just gibberish. He says hello and bye, uh oh and of course da da and ma ma (and Jonathan thinks Ryan can say baby but I haven't heard it, lol). Plus, we have gotten him to say Disney twice! This settled an argument we were having about our vacation too. We are going on a cruise in January and Jonathan told Ryan if he said Disney we would go the day before our cruise leaves. Ryan said it and Jonathan and I looked at each other and said "no, that didn't happen". Ryan then looked straight at us and said it again clear as could be! He hasn't said it since then but Jonathan said he only had to say it once. So, I guess we are taking Ryan to Disney World in January too.

We took Ryan for his 1 year checkup on August 6th. He weighed 22lbs 2oz and was 29 3/4 inches long. Once again that puts him right in the middle. Doctor said he was doing great! Ryan still isn't walking but is getting much better at walking while pushing things so it won't be long before he is running all over the place. We have also moved him up from the nursery to the toddler room at daycare. So far, he has done pretty well with this but you can still really tell when he doesn't get a good nap in that day. That transitioning from two naps a day to one has made for a few rough evenings. I think he really enjoys playing with the "big" kids though. He is eating a lot more table food now too (mostly because he needs to at daycare but I guess I need to let him grow up too). He really seems to enjoy most of it but when he is tired he does not want to feed himself, he just doesn't seem to have the patience for it. Overall, Ryan is such a fun baby and we are really enjoying getting to play with him and watch him grow.

Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks. Most are of us playing at home. Two are of Ryan at our church SS class cook out. They had horses and Ryan got to sit on top of a horse for the first time. He loved the horses!! He thought they were so neat and intriguing.

Here we are at his doctor's appointment. We had to wait for awhile and I had forgotten all the toys in the car, this was my attempt at trying to entertain him.

Ryan has developed a bit of an obsession with phones lately. He will pick it up and say hello. He has even started putting his hand to his ear and says hello. Surprised he doesn't try to text on it from watching his mommy, lol.

Here he is trying to share his blocks with me. He is so great at sharing! One big plus I think he has learned from daycare.

Ryan loves pushing his wagon around. He is getting so much better at standing and walking while pushing something.

Ryan has begun another phase of clapping about everything. But it's still cute (to me at least).

Jonathan and Ryan playing in his playhut.

Pushing his walker. It won't be long before he lets go and starts walking.

Crawling under Daddy's legs.

Ryan really liked seeing the horses. He got so excited watching the big kids ride the horse so we let him sit on top of it. He loved it!

He was even brave and touched the horse without anyone telling him to.

Jonathan was pulling Ryan in his lego wagon. It was a bit small for him but he enjoyed it.

Ryan's 1st birthday!!!

Wow, I can't believe a year has passed since Ryan was born. Looking back through the pictures and blog posts I am filled with memories (and tears). I am amazed at how much my life has changed and how much I love my beautiful son. It was amazing watching him grow and learn through out this first year. Jonathan and I both feel so blessed to be parents to a wonderful sweet baby boy (yes, I will still call him my baby). I thank God every day for allowing me to be Ryan's mommy.

Now on to the party. We had Ryan's birthday party on Saturday and it went so well. We had the party at my brother Kenny and sister-in-law Jennifer's house (thanks again!). We had a small party with family hoping Ryan would feel comfortable with a crowd (he doesn't usually do too well with crowds). As a big surprise my twin brother Chris, sister-in-law Nikki and nieces Aubrey and Hayden came down from Illinois for Ryan's party. It was so nice to have them here and to see them. We opened presents first and Ryan did well with this. He didn't understand but with some help from his cousins he figured out how to tear the paper and enjoyed the excitement (the girls were so happy to help too). I had to stop him from eating the wrapping paper a couple of times. He enjoyed the boxes, of course, and now that we have the toys home and he can play with them he enjoys them too. Next was cake and ice cream. Ryan has never had cake or ice cream nor any sweets really (besides just the Gerber puffs and wagon wheels) so this was a big shock for him. He did really well and dug right in. It was so adorable!! He would take a bite and say "mmm" and take another and say it again. By the end he was a huge mess and ready to get out of the spot light. After a quick bath we swam in the pool. Ryan loves water and swimming so this was a great way to end his party.

On Monday (Ryan's actual birthday) we took him to the Newport Aquarium. We all enjoyed looking at the different kids of fish and spending time together. Ryan got to see a big sea turtle up close and personal (well through the glass) as we walked through the glass tunnel. Along with some sharks and big fish. We got to see Jonathan's favorite, the penguins, and many other water creatures as well.

We had a great weekend celebrating Ryan turning one! And while I am sad that he is not a small baby any more I am excited about what God has in store for his future. Each and every day brings something new and it is so neat to see him grow and learn.

Here are a some pictures from Ryan's party and of his birthday.

Opening presents!

He enjoyed pushing this box around.

Trying to figure out this wrapping paper thing.




His great-grandmother got him a card that sings happy birthday. He really liked it. At home he would open and close it trying to figure it out.

Ryan's cousins were helping him open his presents and figure out his toys, they were big help for a one year old who couldn't open his presents quick enough.

Here is trying to eat the wrapping paper.

Getting the hang of it.

Pushing a box, he loved that part.

His dinosaur cake that I made him. It turned out ok (not as nice as I had hoped) but it took much longer than I had anticipated. Next year I think I will order his cake and save my time for playing with him.

I made him a cake shaped as a 1 just for him (minus the food coloring, didn't want to have to scrub his skin clean).

Singing happy birthday to him.

His first bite. He dug right in.

Enjoying his cake.

And the after math. Any time he is done eating he starts pulling at his hair and this day was no exception as you can tell.

Playing in the pool with Daddy.

He loves being thrown in the pool.

Playing in the pool with his cousin Brandon. He had a lot of fun playing with Brandon.

This was the day of his birthday. Here he is playing in the Playhut we bought him. He loves playing in this!!!

The only picture we took at the Newport Aquarium.

11 1/2 months

Well, we have been busy as usual. Thankfully, nothing out of the norm has been going on; just working and spending time together as a family. After several weeks of one of us being sick, teeth getting pulled, doctor's appointments, etc. it was nice to have a weekend where we just relaxed and spent time together. And we will really need the rest because next weekend is going to be so busy. Not much to report other than Ryan is moving more and more. He is doing so much better "creeping" along the furniture but I still think it will be a little bit before he lets go of that furniture and takes his first step. But he has been proving me wrong since day one so we will see what happens. I haven't taken a lot of pictures over the last several weeks but here are a few of the ones I have (batteries in my camera died and I kept forgetting to buy new ones).

Two weeks ago we went to the park at Juniper Hill here in Frankfort. We didn't stay long because it was so hot outside but we did get to enjoy a few things with Ryan. We tried to go to the Silverlake Park by our house but there were too many bees. Jonathan was running every where and we didn't even make it to the playground before he ran back to the car (can't blame him since he is allergic but it was still funny). Here is the best picture we could get, Ryan wouldn't look at the camera. (the bruise on my arm is from the IV when I got my wisdom teeth removed, this was a week after. I have never bruised like this but I am pretty sure the nurse stuck me 4 times, it took 3 weeks for the brusie to go away).

Ryan cheesin it in the tub. He still loves his baths and loves to play. More and more though he is standing in the tub. He has had a couple of nasty falls and last night he got his first goose egg on his head from a fall in the tub. I felt so bad that I couldn't catch him, I tried but he was all soapy and slippery. But it didn't seem to face him and the swelling went down with in a couple of minutes.

And last, here are a couple of pictures that I took today. Ryan loves bananas. He will sit with Jonathan and eat an entire banana. And he has starting saying banana (doesn't sound perfect but we know what he means :)

This one is so cute of them sharing a banana.

Ryan and Mommy!

You can tell he was up to something by the look in his eyes. Still such a cutie though.

11 months!

Ryan turned 11 months old on Friday (July 2nd). Unfortunately we didn't really get to do anything for it because I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed. I really thought I would be up and at it within a day or two. But I was so wrong! I am still in pain. We didn't leave the house but once the whole weekend. I forced Jonathan into letting me go shopping and we weren't out but for maybe a half an hour before I said I wanted to go back home. I have a big bruise on my arm where the nurse stuck me four different times; apparently she couldn't get the needle in my vein. Plus, I have a nice bruise along my jaw to go with it. The swelling is going down but I still look like a mess. Sadly, we didn't get to do anything for Ryan's first 4th of July so we won't have any stories to tell about him being scared of the fireworks. But there is always next year. Hopefully by then he will enjoy them and we can skip the scarred phase.


Ryan is doing so much right now. He pulls up everywhere he can and will take a few steps while holding on to the coffee table, crib, etc. He babbles all the time and seems like he has conversations with himself. His favorite words are still dada and mama though. He has really improved with his finger food eating over the last month too. The last cold he got (right before he got tubes in his ears) produced a lot of mucus and he was refusing to eat almost all finger foods, even the little puffs that he had been eating for months. He would just gag on everything that went in his mouth unless it was thin. But thankfully after that cold cleared up he began eating tons of finger foods. His favorite right now is cheese hands down. He also enjoys bread, bananas and apples. He does pretty well eating carrots, peas, green beans, broccoli, and chunks of sweet potatoes too. We are trying to branch out his foods and I am trying not to push my picky eating habits on to him. Ryan is adjusting to living closer to daycare really well too. It took him some time to get used to sleeping longer at night at home (instead of part of it in the car) but right now he is usually sleeping 11 hours at night. He usually naps for an hour and a half to two hours twice a day. Sometimes at daycare he only takes one nap though, guess he just really wants to get up and play with his friends. It's been so much fun watching him grow and learn new things. His personality is really taking shape. He is a very happy baby but when he is tired he gets fussy. I also think he is going to have a temper when he doesn't get his way (I have no idea where he gets that from) and he hates being held down (just like his mama on that one). Lately we have been playing with his shapes ball and he has gotten pretty good at getting the shapes in the right holes. I was very impressed at how quickly he caught on to that. We are also in the process of weaning him from his bottles. Ryan has been doing so well with drinking water out of his sippy cup that we decided to put his milk in it and he did really with it. So, we are switching one feeding at a time to a sippy cup at daycare. We haven’t started weaning him to whole milk yet (waiting until his first birthday; which is sadly less than a month away) so he still nurses for his feedings at home.

Here are a couple of pictures I have taken of him over the last couple of weeks.



Making a mess in the kitchen. He loves pulling everything out of the cabinets.

They went on a walk one day at daycare and sent me this picture through text.

He was too busy playing with his new toy that I couldn't even get him to look at me to take a new picture. I bought him this over the weekend hoping it would keep him occupied over the weekend while I was resting from having my wisdom teeth removed. It really did help.

The next day he was available for pictures.

Trying to get the X in the hole, this one gives him some problems but he can usually get it if he works at it.

He has been very patient with learning how to put the shapes in the holes but if he gets frustrated he will just chew on the pieces.

The new view when I go into his room to get him out of bed.

Fun filled weekend!

This past weekend we went to Louisville to spend some quality family time together and to celebrate our anniversary a little early. Our anniversary isn’t actually until Saturday; however, we are closing on our house on Friday and couldn’t go out of town this coming weekend so we decided to celebrate early. Anyway, we went to Louisville for a quick trip. We took Ryan to the zoo and had so much fun despite it being so hot. We got there early but it was still pretty hot. We saw the elephants “working out” and Ryan enjoyed watching that. We watched the giraffes during their feeding (long line so we didn’t join in the feeding, just watched) and once again we got a good expression on his face seeing just how tall the giraffes are. We saw one of the gorillas going crazy trying to attack some monkeys he saw through the glass in his cage. Jonathan and I found this very amusing but Ryan was very wide eyed. We played in the water/play area for a little bit but I am not for sure what he thought of that. I think he enjoyed getting cooled off but was a bit overwhelmed by all the kids running around that it made him a bit nervous. I held him and we walked around under the sprinklers to cool off. But the best part of the zoo this time was the penguins. They loved Ryan!! We walked into their room and there were several people in there but the penguins weren’t really doing much. Once we got up to the glass there was one penguin who stared at Ryan for a couple of minutes then started doing tricks for him. It was so funny! Ryan really enjoyed it. Then a bunch of them joined in. I don’t think I have ever seen penguins actually pay any attention to the people watching them but they sure did that day. Even though it isn’t a long drive from Frankfort we still stayed in a hotel to relax. Ryan loved playing in the pool! He really thinks he is a big boy and several times tried to push off of us. He is really going to be a water baby. He enjoyed the room and was so good. Except he did get his finger cut on a mirror in the room and it took quite some time to get it to stop bleeding. Luckily it wasn’t a deep cut but we did have to fill out an accident report at the hotel and they switched our room so he wouldn’t get cut again. We went out to eat, did some shopping and just relaxed. Overall, it was a great weekend. It was really nice to get away, relax and just focus on spending time together. We close on the sale of our house on Friday (please pray every thing goes smoothly) and we are very anxious to get this step done and over with. Below are some pictures I took over this past weekend.

At the zoo checking out the giraffes.

Playing in the sprinklers.

Watching the penguins.

The penguin watching Ryan.

Back at the hotel, Ryan playing with the mirror (just before he cut his finger).

Playing in the pool with Daddy.

Back at home eating dinner; peas, carrots and cheese.