BIG News!!!

Usually I only update about once a month, but there is some pretty great news to share! Ryan is so excited that around March 29th, he will be getting another little BOY cousin! My brother and Jen found out that their little bundle of joy will be a boy! They came to breakfast with a blue bib for Ryan and said that they got him a present... but that they would need it back. I'm pretty slow sometimes, but I understood immediately. Our family is really excited!

Ryan has also really learned a lot these last couple weeks. He is now able to sit in a normal highchair at restaurants, which doesn't seem like it would be a big deal, but just try telling Ryan that. He was looking at everyone like "look at me, I'm a big shot now!" He was smiling and laughing and looking at people at other tables like he couldn't understand why they weren't all looking at him too.

The sippy cup that he used to just hold and bang around, now is grasped by both hands and brought directly to his mouth. He loves to drink from it, it's adorable.

He is able to get around pretty easily now when he is on the floor. There is no word to describe how he gets from A to B, but he does it quite well. He scoots a little, then rolls then scoots again, backward, forward, whatever really. Yesterday he scooted himself toward our TV and knocked all the DVD's onto the floor....and then rolled his way over to the end table next to the couch and dumped out a basket full of remotes and things. He's quite proud of himself.

His jumper is still his favorite toy, he always has other little toys in the trays in the jumper and when he drops them onto the floor, he looks down at them, trying to figure out how to get it back and then finally looks at me. I go pick it up and then he smiles at me like he is saying thank you, he is so polite already :) He loves to blow raspberries now too, if you do it to him, there is a good chance he will do it right back. It's very cute...until he does that with a mouth full of squash, which has happened more than once, that was nice.

Still doesn't sleep through the night, I am just going to have to make my peace with the fact that our child hates to sleep at night. We are up with him several times each night, but this phase won't last forever, so I guess I just need to relish in the fact that our little baby needs us at night. Plus Joe said that, "it's okay, I enjoy our priceless pillowtalk" Pretty witty for being such an off hour. That was last night at 2:00 AM after we had spent 20 minutes talking and watching Ryan rock back and forth in his crib faster than we have ever seen... soon enough he is just going to take off flying. He enjoys practicing his skills at all hours of the night. Just wait until he starts crawling.... then we are really in for it.

6 Months!!!

Well, I am taking advantage of a long nap out of Ryan and writing this a little early. Sometimes it takes me about 20 tries to complete a blog entry so, I figure I might as well! We are creepin up on the 6 month mark and I really can't even believe it. I think I say that every month, but really....half of a year old already?! It's insane to think about it! My mom and I went to get pictures developed at Costco and were scrolling through the 1,687 photos that were taken in the last 6 months.... yup, you read that correctly, 1,687 pictures were taken of Ryan in the last 6 months. Anyway, its just so crazy to see how much he has changed and grown in the last 6 months. He started out as this little teeny tiny peanut that couldn't do anything except for eat, sleep and cry. Now he is smiling and laughing, getting up on his hands and knees, playing with toys, sitting up, reaching for things that he wants. He is just such a boy instead of a baby now.

He is getting up on his hands and knees trying to crawl, but I think it will be a while. He tries so hard but just ends up falling down. His bottom teeth still haven't popped through, but the bumps are more pronounced now. Ryan is OBSESSED with Penny. If she walks into a room, he will drop his toy and stare at her and just watch whatever she is doing. If he is on the floor, he will get up onto hands and knees and squeal because he's so happy and excited. Then he tries to move to get to her, lunges forward.... and falls down. This is repeated several times :) Her days are definitely numbered, once he can crawl, she is in for it!

One of my favorite things is the moment that Joe gets home from work. Usually Ryan and I are in the kitchen getting dinner ready. As soon as Joe walks in the door, Ryan hears his voice and starts looking around. Then as Joe enters the kitchen and Ryan can see him, he starts smiling like crazy. He loves his daddy so much!

In the last month, he has started eating oatmeal cereal again, and now he really likes it. I give it to him in the morning and in the evening. In the last 2 weeks, we have swapped the morning oatmeal for sweet potatoes, which was last week. He made hilarious faces, like I was feeding him a bowl of dirt or something equally as awful. For some reason, he kept opening his mouth for more though! He only ate a little each time, I didn't force it, so when he was done, he was done. Then this week he has been eating avocados. It's so funny because with each thing he tries, he makes a totally different face while tasting it. So far, so good with both. I think I will try butternut squash next. Then maybe move onto some fruits. Making his food has been really fun to do, I can't wait to try other things too! He used to sit in his bumbo chair while he ate, but now he sits in his little high chair. He looks so cute in there! He holds onto his sippy cup and bangs it against the table top, throws it on the floor and looks at me like "umm, are you gonna pick that up mom?" Then I do, and he does the same thing again. He's so funny!

His jumper is still his favorite toy, he goes in there and just starts trying to sprint. His little legs move SO fast!

I can't wait to see what he is up to a month from now!