This stage is SO fun! We had a blast with this sweet, big boy this month. He is growing up so fast and attempting so many new words. He's even trying to put multiple words together like, "Bye bye dad-dy" and "Uh-oh car" and babbling throughout the day while he plays. I've tried to sneak up and record his babbles but he always catches me and stops. They sound like, "Guppy guppy guppy, cup, cup" all jumbled together. It is too cute!
Walking Sideways, High-Knees, and Dancing:
He's liked walking backwards for a little while now, but this month he added in sideways walking and "high knees" that his cousin Maddox taught him. He says it while he's doing it "hiney, hiney, hiney!" and it is hilarious! He also loves to dance. Dancing with the dancing Santa at Nonna's house was a highlight this month, and anytime he saw a pretend Santa outside of Nonna's house, he would say, "Santa. Datz" and start wiggling his body. :)
Sound of Music:
Another major highlight of this month is his love for the Sound of Music. He will randomly start swaying and singing, "Coo Coo, Coo Coo" and also loves the "pup pup" or puppet song. He will run to us during the day or before bedtime and say, "Dad-dy dad-dy! Coo coo" when he wants us to play the song for him.
Dad-dy's Boy:
And speaking of dad-dy, this buddy boo is ALL about daddy these days. To the point where if I ask if he would like for me to help him with something, he looks at me and says, "dad-dy." Watching them together is the sweetest, and the timing honestly couldn't be better with Baby Girl's arrival right around the corner.
New People & Church:
He has become much more timid around new people or people he doesn't see as often. He does this little shy face and stays close to our sides until he feels comfortable. He also REALLY doesn't like being dropped off at church. We've tried all different approaches to making this easier on him, but it clearly makes him upset so I'm not too worried about forcing it at this point. He'll love going one day and will understand that we'll always come back to get him, but for now, I'm happy to either watch the message online or sit out in the lobby with him.
New People & Church:
He has become much more timid around new people or people he doesn't see as often. He does this little shy face and stays close to our sides until he feels comfortable. He also REALLY doesn't like being dropped off at church. We've tried all different approaches to making this easier on him, but it clearly makes him upset so I'm not too worried about forcing it at this point. He'll love going one day and will understand that we'll always come back to get him, but for now, I'm happy to either watch the message online or sit out in the lobby with him.
"See"
This month he has started to use the word "see" quite a bit. Like when I tell him that his milk is all gone, he will say "see" as if he just wants to make sure for himself. #totallymychild
I have actually found myself saying to him that he just needs to trust that mommy is telling him the truth when I don't have "proof" of whatever it is he wants to see, haha.
Sports:
He loves all things sports and will gravitate to balls over all other toys right now. And he's surprisingly quite good at catching his little football when we throw it to him!
Potty:
He has continued with his interest in the potty and even asked to go poo poo on the potty when we were at Nordstrom one day. I'm quite thankful this asking-to-go-in-public was a one time thing this month because squatting in front of a public restroom holding your 16 months old son up while 8 months pregnant is super awkward and uncomfortable, hah.
A few nights he has called us back into his room after we've put him down to say that he needed to "poo poo potty" (he will pee pee and poo poo on the potty but calls everything "poo poo") and sure enough, he got his pee pee or poo out and then when back to bed without a problem. It is so funny to us that he's shown so much interest and has had so much success early on with the potty, but we're not pushing anything and I definitely wouldn't we're working on potty training with him- just letting him go when he says he needs to and telling him how proud we are of him when he does.
Little Helper:
He loves helping and having jobs. When he sees a spill he will say, "uh-oh, pill (spill)... waap" (wipe) and grab a towel to wipe up the mess. The cute things is that he'll leave the wipe on the floor and start moving it around with his foot which is what Matt and I do I've noticed. He is watching us more than we realize! He also loves to "weep" (sweep) and use the dust buster and find pieces of "yuck" and throw them in the "tash" (trash).
His other favorite job (an odd one I'll admit) is pointing out where all of Tally's poo poo is in the backyard and then telling us to get a bag to clean it up. (To be clear, this is done almost daily as it is... but this month he's wanted the pointing-out part to be his job.) ;) There is a confession related to this new-found job that I will be sharing on the 15th of this month, so stay tuned. It's a good (bad?!) one. ;)
"Hmmm":
"Hmmm":
When you ask him where something is, he puts his hands up to his cheeks and turns his wrists and says, "hmmm" as he looks. I've caught myself doing the same thing (minus the hands turned up to my cheeks, hah) so it's cute that he's mimicking my words.
Sleeping & Bedtime Routine:
He has been napping and sleeping like a champ these days, usually sleeping at night from 8ish to 7ish and has transistioned to one longer nap in the middle of the day. Some days he'll still cat nap in the morning if we're in the car, but he mostly does a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. It's actually been pretty nice to have the morning open and have that good stretch of time to get things done in the afternoon!
He loves to pray, sing songs, and have his back rubbed before bed. He has been loving snuggling with his Mickey and bear and usually wraps his arms around either of those animals, lays his head on his lamby blanket, and then wants us to cover his with his other blanket and rub and sing songs. He's got a plan and loves a good routine. Again, #totallymychild
But the nap-time / bedtime routine is surprisingly shorter and easier than it has been in the past. We used to read a number of books, but now he plays so hard before it's time to go to sleep that he's usually ready to just drink a little milk, get in his crib, and have us sing a few songs before he passes out. This is also great timing with Baby Girl's arrival quickly approaching!
Big Brother Prep:
Ryan seems pretty aware of the Baby Sister in mommy's belly and will say her name with the biggest grin on his face! Matt and I were so surprised the first time he did this. It is so cute to hear how he says her name! We feel pretty confident that he is going to be a great big brother. As hard as plays, he is still so nurturing and sweet and seems to really love being around other babies and kissing on baby dolls. We can't wait to watch him be a big brother!
Mr. Independent:
For the most part, he likes to walk everywhere and does not like to hold hands or ride in his stroller. He also likes to sit in big seats over high chairs when we are out to eat. He is surprisingly great going up and down stairs and will hold on to the railings to do it by himself (with us nearby) or say, "help" if he thinks he needs a hand to hold. He has a pretty good sense of what he's able to do so we let him take little risks like trying the stairs by himself or climbing up on things when we're nearby. I'm not sure if this is more because of him or because of our personalities as parents- it will be interesting to see if we are the same way with a girl!
Kisses, Yes, and Bet-ter:
When he does take a spill, he usually pops right up and holds up whatever hurts while making the kissing face so that we can kiss whatever hurts. He will usually say, "Ma-ma, Ma-ma" or "dad-dy Dad-dy," make the kiss face while walking over to us, answer "Yes" when we ask if he needs us to kiss it, and then say, "bet-ter" after we give it a kiss. Sweet boo. We love him so much!
"Essss"
The word that Ryan uses the most is "Yes" except he usually says it like this, "Esss" or yes without the "y." It's also usually accompanied by clapping hands which is my favorite. The day he starts saying yes with a "y" and not clapping will be a sad one.
Nursing:
He nursed for the last time on the night of December 6th. Sweet boo, I honestly think he would have nursed through kindergarten if I had let him. He's done really well with it this month and seems to understand that he's a "big boy" now. We read a lot of "big brother" books that showed the baby nursing and the big brother drinking milk and talked about what a big boy he was now. He asked to nurse for probably the first week and then randomly after that, but always did really well with taking his milk instead. I really didn't want to make him stop before he was ready, but I was worried that he may feel jealous of his sister getting to nurse and wanted to set him up with his "big boy" role with enough time before her arrival so that he will hopefully understand why she gets to nurse and he doesn't.
Sleeping & Bedtime Routine:
He has been napping and sleeping like a champ these days, usually sleeping at night from 8ish to 7ish and has transistioned to one longer nap in the middle of the day. Some days he'll still cat nap in the morning if we're in the car, but he mostly does a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. It's actually been pretty nice to have the morning open and have that good stretch of time to get things done in the afternoon!
He loves to pray, sing songs, and have his back rubbed before bed. He has been loving snuggling with his Mickey and bear and usually wraps his arms around either of those animals, lays his head on his lamby blanket, and then wants us to cover his with his other blanket and rub and sing songs. He's got a plan and loves a good routine. Again, #totallymychild
But the nap-time / bedtime routine is surprisingly shorter and easier than it has been in the past. We used to read a number of books, but now he plays so hard before it's time to go to sleep that he's usually ready to just drink a little milk, get in his crib, and have us sing a few songs before he passes out. This is also great timing with Baby Girl's arrival quickly approaching!
Big Brother Prep:
Ryan seems pretty aware of the Baby Sister in mommy's belly and will say her name with the biggest grin on his face! Matt and I were so surprised the first time he did this. It is so cute to hear how he says her name! We feel pretty confident that he is going to be a great big brother. As hard as plays, he is still so nurturing and sweet and seems to really love being around other babies and kissing on baby dolls. We can't wait to watch him be a big brother!
Mr. Independent:
For the most part, he likes to walk everywhere and does not like to hold hands or ride in his stroller. He also likes to sit in big seats over high chairs when we are out to eat. He is surprisingly great going up and down stairs and will hold on to the railings to do it by himself (with us nearby) or say, "help" if he thinks he needs a hand to hold. He has a pretty good sense of what he's able to do so we let him take little risks like trying the stairs by himself or climbing up on things when we're nearby. I'm not sure if this is more because of him or because of our personalities as parents- it will be interesting to see if we are the same way with a girl!
Kisses, Yes, and Bet-ter:
When he does take a spill, he usually pops right up and holds up whatever hurts while making the kissing face so that we can kiss whatever hurts. He will usually say, "Ma-ma, Ma-ma" or "dad-dy Dad-dy," make the kiss face while walking over to us, answer "Yes" when we ask if he needs us to kiss it, and then say, "bet-ter" after we give it a kiss. Sweet boo. We love him so much!
"Essss"
The word that Ryan uses the most is "Yes" except he usually says it like this, "Esss" or yes without the "y." It's also usually accompanied by clapping hands which is my favorite. The day he starts saying yes with a "y" and not clapping will be a sad one.
Nursing:
He nursed for the last time on the night of December 6th. Sweet boo, I honestly think he would have nursed through kindergarten if I had let him. He's done really well with it this month and seems to understand that he's a "big boy" now. We read a lot of "big brother" books that showed the baby nursing and the big brother drinking milk and talked about what a big boy he was now. He asked to nurse for probably the first week and then randomly after that, but always did really well with taking his milk instead. I really didn't want to make him stop before he was ready, but I was worried that he may feel jealous of his sister getting to nurse and wanted to set him up with his "big boy" role with enough time before her arrival so that he will hopefully understand why she gets to nurse and he doesn't.
Eating at the food court in a big boy seat!
Music class with Aunt Dre and Reynolds
Little shopper checking off the grocery list! This was his first time pushing the kid cart, and I honestly think it won't be long before I can send him in on his own. ;) ;)
Loving on his baby :)
Playing in the backyard and finding sticks for Tally
Christmas at Nonna and Papa's!
Santa with his cousins :)
This buddy loves to eat!
Searching for poo poo :)
Lunch date with mommy!
Zoo playdate!
While I was at a baby shower, I got this text from Matt. He had Ryan at Party City (in his pjs) trying on Minion hats. Hahah- gotta love daddy-in-charge time!
Ryan loves to play hide-and-seek when Matt gets home and again after bath. One of our favorite things he does is put his face against the wall to "hide" and then turns around with a big grin like, "Here I am!!!" The funniest.
Getting an extra bath in the sink after his first bath. I honestly can't remember what spilled but the sink seemed like the best option and Ryan thought it was awesome.
Making ornaments at Mud Monkey with Aunt KK, Jackson, and Riley!
Christmas PJ Party!
Loving on Baby Nora :)
While I cook dinner, Ryan usually takes out all of the pots and pans, or one night he brought in some of blocks and sat on the floor next to me while I cooked- sweet boy. :)
Sweet Tal let Ryan make him necklaces and put them on him.
Target elevator selfies :)
Ryan loves this Minion billboard in one of our malls. We visit it multiple times whenever we go to this mall. He thinks it's the greatest thing and always waves bye to it before we leave.
Botanical Gardens with Aunt KK, Jackson, and Riley!
One day while I was folding laundry, I watched Ryan work really hard on getting himself in the dryer as I folded. After lots of grunting and pulling, he hoisted himself in there and then looked back at me with the proudest face. Sweet buddy.
Visiting the horses with Papa, Noah and Maddox after his cousins' trapeze performance!
Getting ready to enjoy the Happy Birthday, Jesus cake with Noah and Maddox. :)
All four of us crammed in our guest bathroom for buddy's bath- this picture cracks us up- we look like bobble heads.
"He-wo?!" or sometimes just, "whoa?" :)
Learning how to eat a candy cane with daddy
These two. I love watching how Ryan wants to do whatever his daddy is doing.
:)
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