Ryan's Crib: 2 Years 9 Months

This little guy is just an absolute riot these days! He is such a great combination of extremely confident and yet so reserved and cautious. He still desperately needs his Mama, and still sucks on those two fingers and plays with my hair when he gets a tired or scared or nervous; the difference being that now if I'm not in close proximity, he'll play with his OWN hair.

Ryan had his first big owie in November, when he ran into a dresser and busted open his cheek :( I was back and forth on whether or not to go to the ER, and kinda wish I had now, as he's got a scar that hasn't really lessened a ton since then :(

Physical Development

Ryan is still easily in 3T clothes comfortably, but he's still got this tiny little waist and bum, so they still fit about as loosely as they did before. Some of his 3T jammies are a bit short in the tummy, so I will need to pull out his 4T ones soon. He's definitely due for a growth spurt here soon, as his pants are still a little long on him, even if he's not typically stepping on them anymore. Seeing as how he's the 3rd boy to wear some of them, the elastic has gotten a little worn on some of the pants, and for a kid with a tiny waist, we've had to retire some of the pants earlier than anticipated. Sissypants is starting to give him a run for his money as far as size is concerned!

Teething

All his teeth are through now! The sleep has been FANTASTIC in our house lately, but leading up to now in the past three months, he has been a hot, whiny little mess. His 2-for-1 tooth isn't super noticeable anymore these days, but I did address it at his last dentist appointment, and the dentist assured me that he would have two teeth to replace it when the time came, when he's in 1st grade or so.

Sleep Habits

Ryan is still napping almost every day, but skips very occasionally. His naps are getting shorter and shorter, though. Where two months ago, he would still nap that 2-4 hours on the weekends, now we're lucky if we get 90 minutes, and it has been less and less coinciding with Kinsley's nap, so that's been hard for me on the weekends. I hate this transitional phase with the kids, where they NEED naps still, but push back so much when it's time for them. I'd rather they just cut them cold turkey at the right time.

While a few months ago, he was really a huge fan of bedtime, lately, he has been balking at it more. He got this little dose of what it's like to stay up later, watch a movie and have popcorn over Thanksgiving break, and now he just wants to do that EVERY night, so he throws a huge fit every night when I say "no". He settles VERY quickly, though, when I start reading books. He LOVES them. He usually sleeps really well in his own bed, but just over the past month, he will occasionally come up and crawl in bed with me in the night and then settle right in.

Speech Development

Ryan is a little chatterbox! He talks nonstop and for the most part talks in broken sentences. Sometimes the way he says things don't make sense, but I can usually understand him. He's funny and silly and if he really likes you, he may tell you to go to "Poopytown" or call you a "Poopy butthole", so obviously we have some filtering to do with his big brothers around.

Eating

Ryan has been on a milk binge for a while now, and while he's not typically super irritable, I think it's teeth. He just pushes his food around on his plate most of the time, and might take a bite or two, but usually it's just "cuppy, milk, Mommy".

He is definitely really fond of "snacks" and will eat most of whatever snack it might be. He is oddly not very overly fond of sweets. If you give him a cookie, there's a good chance that the cookie will sit there with a tiny bite out of it and Cashel or Kendrick will find it and finish it for him. His favorite meal is "cheese and cocks", which means macaroni and cheese and hot dogs. I really hope he never learns to say it right, because it's so adorable when he says it lol

He hasn't been sitting in a high chair OR booster seat both at home and restaurants for the past 2 months for sure, but it has been a while longer. Kinsley has claimed the high chair, and that works for us. He's messy as all get out, but he was just as messy in the high chair too, so we deal.

Toddler Behaviors and Discipline

I'm thinking maybe I'm just so used to them now that it doesn't phase me? But yeah, he's still a tantrummy toddler. He is most definitely testing his limits, and I'm trying my very, very best to not let up my diligence so it will pay off.

I HAVE, however, been trying extremely hard to focus on making sure his needs are met on time, however, to keep the unnecessary tantrums at bay. If he's tired or hungry, I give him a little more slack, especially if I'm an hour late getting him his lunch or supper, or he hasn't had a nap and it's 3pm or something. He's generally a really sweet kid, but he's just a typical tantrummy toddler at this point. I'm very grateful that his behaviors don't seem worse than the typical toddler in light of the hard times his first couple years of life.

Likes

This kid loves his Mama like no other kid I've ever met! If I would hold him all day long every day, it wouldn't be too much for this guy.
Sucking on those two fingers...ALWAYS. It has actually amped up a bit more recently, since he has been working kinda nonstop on those 2-year molars. They are ALL IN, though, so hopefully that subsides a bit now.
He loves his Daddy so, so very much! We've not been seeing him quite as frequently the past few months, what with the busy activity of the fall, Daddy going through a rough medication adjustment, and the holidays. Mark can't handle the activity level with ALL the kids in tow these day, so it has been a tough time trying to adjust :(
Candy! This kid LOVES candy, and he's always looking for it. My other boys weren't this crazy about it, so this has been new for me. I'm fairly certain his favorite holiday is going to be whichever one gives him the most candy.
Swinging.
Choo Choos! He LOVED his ride on the train up in Duluth to pick pumpkins in October.
He asks to see "Justin Time" on Netflix the second he gets home and the first thing in the morning. Cashel and Kendrick went through a bout with him a year or so ago, so we're all too familiar with every single episode.
Exploring
Being "one of the boys". He LOVES his big brothers.
His siblings - Kinsley too :)
Snow! He stays out playing as long as he possibly can! I'm really hoping this milder winter continues so he can truly enjoy playing in it for a lot longer!
Cousins! He LOVES going down to the farm in Iowa to see all his cousins.