Ryan: 18 Months

Ryan,

A year and a half seems like such a big milestone! You have grown and changed so much since the last time I wrote you a blog post, when you were just 1 year old. Daddy's nickname for you these days is "Big and Tough". You are developing quite a goofy personality! You have regular spurts of silliness when you will break out into your "happy dance". It's pretty amusing to just sit and watch you entertain yourself. You are such an active boy, always running around, wrestling, and climbing.
Your eating habits have gotten a little bit better, and your chubby cheeks and belly are proof of that! Sleep is still a major issue for us. You end up in bed with Mommy and Daddy every single night and most days still do not take a nap. Your only words are "Mama", "Dada", "Baba" and "Daw". You do seem to understand a lot of what we say now. You have all 16 of your baby teeth now, except you're still working on your 2-year old molars. They may have already cut through but you bite me whenever I try to check. We recently spotted your first freckle on your arm, and you will proudly show it off when asked.

Likes:

Cars, crunchy salty foods, playing with "Daw", being whispered to, hitting, eating yogurt, choo-choo trains, stacking toys, playing outside, VeggieTales, screeching, throwing, dogs and cats, emptying the dishwasher.

Dislikes:

Sleeping alone, soft finger foods, staying still, being told no, diaper changes, playing alone.You make me smile every single day and you are truly one of the biggest blessings in my life. I love you, my sweet boy!

Painting Projects

A few months ago I hinted at a green wall that was being painted in our house but I don't think I ever posted pictures. Last week we tackled another painting project, so I thought I'd share pictures from both rooms. First up, our family room. Here is a reminder from when we first bought it:
Right after we moved in:And today, 18 months later, with two accent walls painted green:Next up is our living room. Here it is right before we moved in:Right after we moved in:And today! Adam put up a chair rail and painted the lower half a chocolate brown color, keeping the upper half the same cream color.What room should we transform next?

Week of Adventures

Sunday night I looked at my calendar and realized I had absolutely nothing scheduled for this week. No MOPS meetings, no Dr. appointments, no playdates. No major shopping or errands to do, and the house was even relatively clean. So I declared to Ryan that it would be a week of adventures!

I vowed to take Ryan somewhere new and fun each day this week. I had plans to take him to pet farm animals at our local Ardenwood farms, plans to walk him around my college campus, and lots of other fun things. I started the week off Monday morning by packing a picnic lunch for Ryan and I and going to a local park for lunch and some playtime. We had fun eating on the grass and then playing on the playground. Ryan even napped for 45 minutes when we got home! What a great start to our week!

But then right after Ryan woke up, I started feeling "off". Pretty soon I had a wicked sore throat and just wanted to collapse on the couch. And now here I am, still sick and too tired to do much adventuring. I am hoping Ryan doesn't get my cold, so that we can at least fit in one more adventure by the end of the week. Otherwise this is the kind of "adventure" Ryan will be getting himself into around the house.

Whispers

For about the past week I have been "whispering" Ryan to sleep at night. I was laying down on our bed one night trying to make Ryan sleepy. I started whispering in his ear, and when I pulled away he immediately grabbed my head and yanked me back down to his ear. The tickling on his ear must have relaxed him so much that he drifted off to sleep.
So now every night when we lay down, Ryan grabs my head and pulls it to his ear. I whisper all sorts of things to him. I tell him what we're going to do the next day. I pray for him. I tell him bedtime stories. I'm sure it's just a temporary way to get him to fall asleep, but it's pretty cute!

Comprehension

Ryan still doesn't say much, so it's comforting for me to know that he understands a lot of what I'm saying.

He can point to the following body parts upon hearing the word: eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, head, hair, ears, fingers, toes, belly button, chin, birthmark (on his wrist), owie (on his knee).

When I ask him to help me with the dishes he opens the dishwasher for me and unloads the dishes one at a time, handing each one to me. I timed us the other day and we unloaded it in 3.5 minutes flat. I like to call it dishwasher olympics.

When I tell him it's time for his bath he runs and grabs about a million washcloths to throw into the bathtub. (One for each body part I guess!)

When we're playing outside he can correctly point out the following things: trees, cars, grass, rocks, flowers, leaves, sky, airplane, truck, kitty-cat, doggy.

The other day I was lying on the couch and I asked Ryan to go get my cell phone and bring it to me. And he did! I'm beginning to think Ryan could talk if he wanted to, but he just chooses not to. He's a stubborn little guy!

Toddler Wrestling

Ryan has learned the sport of wrestling. He absolutely loves tackling Adam and I if we dare to lay on the floor near him. He'll climb onto the nearest piece of furniture and then dive off on top of us. And of course Ryan thinks it is the silliest thing ever. His uncontrollable giggles are so cute! The other day Ryan's friend Eli toddled over from around the corner. Here they are below in my car a few weeks ago.
So when Eli came over, the two boys started wrestling on our front lawn and it was hilarious! They took turns "hugging" eachother, which always resulted in one falling over with the other on top of him. There were even a few choke holds. We've got a couple of future wrestlers on our hands!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

I love comparing pictures of Ryan from one year ago to now. It's amazing how quickly babies grow into little people. One year they are babies who sleep during their first trip to the pumpkin patch.The next year they run around picking up and throwing pumpkins. Maybe running a little too fast.

Pantless Playtime

Weaning Teething and Crying, Oh My!

I have decided that I do want to wean Ryan. However, since he seems to be getting his 2y molars it may not be the best time to do this. And if I'm not going to nurse him to sleep anymore then I need a new strategy. And I've got nothing. The last 2 nights Ryan actually fell asleep with Adam, without being nursed. But in the middle of the night he was hysterical and would not go back to sleep until I nursed him. Teething pain? Who knows!?
I have also been thinking we should convert his bed back into a crib. While having it as a toddler bed hasn't made things worse, it also hasn't made things any better. And it has presented us with a couple new "issues". Like last night when Ryan woke up crying at 1:30am. I went into his room and found him underneath his crib. Stuck. Poor little guy!
So basically at this point I'm just really confused as to what my next step should be. Do I deliberately NOT nurse him before bed, and just let him scream and cry in the middle of the night? Do I go back to the crib? If so, how do I get Ryan to fall asleep in it? And maybe even stay asleep? I need a manual for this guy. He's so confusing.

Screen Time

Ryan loves to watch TV/movies now. It's good and it's bad. I typically let him watch a 30-minute program in our bedroom while I'm getting ready in the morning: showering, getting dressed, making the bed, etc. Some of his favorites are Veggie Tales, Finding Nemo, and Lady & The Tramp.
But now whenever we go into the bedroom Ryan immediately races over to the TV and turns it on. He gets so focused on watching it that I can leave him alone and he usually won't budge an inch. I must admit that it sure comes in handy when I need to get something done! Like I said, it's good and it's bad. I often wonder if I'm letting him watch too much TV at such a young age.

Drip

Here is my winter vegetable garden, complete with broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, purple and green cabbage, spinach, chard, and strawberries!
Adam and my Dad installed a drip system so I don't have to spend all day watering.I'll update with pictures in about a month. Grow veggies, grow!