Flashback Photo of the Week

Now that Ryan was 7 months, here he was showing us he was over the bouncy sheet and it was time to put it away.  He was officially on the move (army crawl) and didn't want anything holding him back.

Hello?

Ryan loves to hold conversations with a mystery person on the phone.  He did this today while riding home.  I guess it was a good thing he wasn't driving.  We don't want to encourage driving while talking on the phone...or he needs a hands free device.

Lunch with Elbow (aka Elmo)

Williamsburg - Friday was one of the best days in Ryan's life so far.  He got to meet and have lunch with Elmo.  He also got to meet Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Bert and Ernie.  From the time they came on stage, he was in awe.  He waited patiently for his turn to meet each character and then gave them big hugs.  We thought he wasn't going to let go at some points. There was probably no better experience for our little guy.

Busch Gardens

Williamsburg - On Friday Ryan took his very first trip to Busch Gardens. He started the day taking a nap while Daddy rode some roller coasters.

After lunch, Ryan enjoyed riding rides. He started with Sesame Street Forest of Fun. Check out the fun water area.

Then he picked a duck and won himself a stuffed frog.

He then rode more rides with Mommy and Daddy.

And then Grammy.

It was a long day and he totally passed out on the way home.

Flashback Photo of the Week

This was Ryan one lazy Sunday a year ago. The outfit

he is wearing is one of the first things his Daddy bought him as soon as he found out he was boy. It took nearly seven months for Ryan to grow into it.

I Love It Loud!

This video sums up Ryan's dance moves and how he likes to listen to music. For him, the louder the better. every time you turn it down, he stops dancing to turn it back up. Here he is showing off his awsome dancing with Elbow and a little blanket dancing thrown in at the end.

Row Row Row

One of Ryan's other favorite songs is Row Row Row Your Boat. Check out his awesome singing and how excited he gets!

Sliding

Look...Ryan can do the slide by himself!

Flashback Photo of the Week

A year ago we Ryan began getting around on his own. Here you can see his attempts at the army crawl. He did this for quite awhile before he figured out how to crawl properly.

On Top of Spaghetti

One of Ryan's new favorite songs in "On Top of Spaghetti". He has liked it since getting a DVD where Snuffy sings it and chases his runaway meatball. His favorite part is the sneezing. He now adds the sneeze sound effect at the proper moment. (He also likes to ride down the road and fake sneeze over and over)

Budding Artist

Woodbridge - We have a budding scribbler on our hands. He enjoyed the morning scribbling (and trying to eat) his new crayons. Check out the final product.

Prince William County Fair

Manassas - On Saturday, Mommy and Daddy took Ryan to the Prince William County Fair. There was so much to look at. Ryan saw bunnies, chickes, goats, sheep and cows.

He also played in some corn with Mommy.

Then he ate chicken nuggets and french fries with Daddy. He sure does love dipping his fries in ketchup.

He capped off the evening with playing the duck game. He pulled 3 ducks out (and splashed a little too).

He did a great job and won himself a new ball.

Too Much Energy

Woodbridge - Ryan is 18 months old and FULL of energy. For some reason he thinks he needs to add to that by attempting to drink a Rockstar Energy Drink. We could not handle him bouncing off the walls after that. Fortunately, the can was never opened.

Tall and Skinny and Chatty

Today Ryan finally had his 18 month check up. (It was supposed to be 2 weeks ago, but he was sick). He is 23 pounds, 9 ounces (the 10-25th percentile for his age) and is 33.5 inches tall (the 75-90th percentile).

He is a skinny kid. Some of his 12month shorts still are really baggy. A lot of his 18 month shorts are too big and don't even think he could keep up his 24 month shorts. Hopefully he will fill out a little more so he won't be in clam diggers come fall.

The good news is that he is healthy and meeting all his milestones.

In case you were wondering, here are the words that Ryan says:
Mama
Dada
No (that is a favorite now...ugh)
Peaches (all fruit is peaches, but sometimes he will try to say pineapple)
Doggy
Hi
Bye (these two he will say to any stranger he sees in any store)
See Ya (usually said after bye)
Ball
Night Night
Yummy (this could mean any meal or that the food is yummy)
Socks
Outside
Elmo (as previously stated, pronounced Elbow)
This
Moo (aka milk)
Up
Open
Book
Beep Beep (either when referring to a car or singing the Wheels on the Bus)
Woo Woo (while talking about trains)
OK
Row (as in Row Row Row Your Boat)
Uh-Oh (often said while throwing something or just after throwing something)
Bubbles

He can also tell you what a cow, snake and chicken say.

Flashback Photo of the Week

A year ago we were experimenting with different types of food. Ryan never cared for pureed jar food. Over time we found that he liked the thick, chunky textures. He was much happier once we went to straight table food.

On this occasion, Ryan was having carrots for the first time. Unlike the experience with peas, Ryan really liked the carrots. Funny thing is that peas are now Ryan's favorite vegetable.

Swinging and Ice Cream

Gloucester - After doing all that work farming (and a nice long 4 hour nap), Ryan enjoyed some playtime with Mammy and Belle and Aunt Skeeta. Mammy and Aunt Skeeta taught Ryan to swing on a big boy swing. After they got him going, he figured out how to keep the swing going and going and going.

After the fun, we all had dinner together, followed up by yummy orange push ups.

Farmer Ryan

Gloucester - Mommy, Daddy and Ryan visited Mammy and Peapooh this weekend. Ryan had a good time playing and helping. He has actually turned into a very good helper and likes to be involved. One thing he did was help Peapooh pick tomatoes. He would pick ripe and green tomatoes and put them in the bucket. He also put the ones Peapooh picked in the bucket too. After they were all picked, he insisted on carrying them to the house. Check out his bountiful harvest.

Flashback Photo of the Week

Before bed time and when Ryan had much longer hair, Daddy played with Ryan by swinging him around. Ryan has always been a bit of a daredevil, so he thought this was great.