21 Months

Oh my goodness is this kid a HOOT these days! He is so funny, and energetic, and just silly much of the time. I'm not really sure any of us can really keep up with this one right now, but aside from his loving to yank on my hair all the time, and starting to get kinda bossy, we're managing. He is a hoot right now, and we have to be super careful not to just laugh at him when he purposely does naughty things. He has mastered "no" and knows when to say it these days, so that's "fun". He is OBSESSED with "Bay a bay" (Barney), pickles, hot dogs, and tractors.

Physical Development

Ryan went through a major growth spurt recently, making all his 24 month and 2T stuff fit perfectly. Prior to this past month, we were having to cuff all his pants about 3 inches, and now we don't have to cuff them at all, so yowza is he growing! We've known that it was coming, however, with how horribly restless he has been while sleeping. Pair the growing pains with teething, and it has been a bit of a month for him.

Teething

We've been working on those darn 2 year molars already off and on, which has left a lot of restless nights. Most of the time anymore, we don't even know why he sleeps so restlessly, but we expect it all the time, so it isn't even a thought to us that he would ever continue to sleep all night in his own bed like he has done once this quarter. He still has nothing to show for all the discomfort, though, unfortunately.

Sleep Habits

Ryan is still taking a solid 1-3 hour nap every day, starting anywhere from 11:30am-1pm, depending on when he woke up that morning. He usually wakes up after about 45 minutes to an hour, and then if you go lay with him, he'll go right back to sleep and stay there another hour or two.

For night time sleep, he usually is out by 7:30/8pm and then wakes anywhere between 10:30 and midnight to come upstairs and crawl in bed with us.

We can always tell when he's tired (either before or after naps or bedtime) because those two fingers are in his mouth. Usually he doesn't suck on them when he isn't tired.

Speech Development

We're adding a LOT of words to his repertoire this quarter. He is currently probably at about 30 or so words, including:

• "No" (which means both yes and no and I don't know haha)
• "This"
• "That"
• "Ca-hel" (for Cashel)
• "Mommy"
• "baby"
• "Bah-ha-na-hay" (for Barney)
• "Milk"
• "Wata" (for water)
• "Go go go go"
• "Kiss"
• "Buckle"
• "Push"
• "Pickle"
• "More"
• "Shoe"
• "Boo!" (he picked this up around Halloween, and now he likes to tell Kinsley "BOO" all the time)
• "Gampa" (for Grandpa, which used to be just "Pa", but he added the "Gam" more recently)

He recognizes a ton more than that, though. He does know "Daddy", but usually he doesn't say it out loud. A lot of times I'll say something silly, and I can tell he understands, as he'll just kinda get this silly grin on his face and put his chin down to his neck and look up with his eyes. I've yet to capture it on camera, but it's hilarious!

Eating

For US, eating has NOT been Ryan's thing this quarter. He has been channeling his inner Cashel when it comes to milk, and if we give him milk first, he wants nothing to do with any other food, which is maddening. But if we give him food first, he just whines and throws his food on the floor until we give him milk. However, this is just the trend for us: At daycare, apparently he eats about anything.

Things he WILL eat for us include apples, clementines, shredded cheese, chips, hot dogs, smoked sausage, a few bites of bacon (that usually end up chewed up on the floor) and popcorn. He really likes meat. He'll drink water and milk. He will eat a cookie sometimes, but not all of it usually - just a couple bites. He also likes french fries, but only from a restaurant - not at home. And he likes tots. Veggies are hit and miss. He'll gnaw on a baby carrot, but he doesn't actually eat them. He also loves dip, but with his hands, not even a spoon or chips or veggies.

All of this is in snacking sessions, though, because if you actually try to put him in a high chair and serve it to him, he has nothing to do with that.

He has been boycotting the high chair, actually, and prefers to sit at the table with the rest of us, but you can imagine the mess. We do enjoy that, though, since it frees up the high chair for Kinsley. He's still just not quite ready for the table, though. We'll allow it on those days when we aren't eating something messy.

Toddler Behaviors and Discipline

We're all out tantrum-my much of the time right now. Ryan is pretty dramatic too - even more so than his brothers were. We see it mostly when we tell him he can't watch Barney all day long, in which case he literally lays down on the floor and screams. He does it pretty gently too, and he doesn't typically flail his arms and legs. It's hilarious!

What isn't hilarious, however, is when he flails his head back when he gets mad about something. I've been almost convinced he head-butted me hard enough to break my nose twice. He has a hard head!

We usually can offset it at this point, and we usually just ask him to go calm down or remove him from the situation. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. He isn't really at a stage where we intend to discipline him too intensely right now, but he does seem to be beginning to understand consequences.

Likes

• Santa! He has a couple pairs of Santa jammies, and when he wears them, he runs around saying, "Ho Ho Ho". It's ADORABLE!
  
• Sucking on those two fingers...ALWAYS.
  
• Making messes. Give the kid a sock, and he'll find a way to demolish a room. Seriously. This kid has talent!
  
• His Mama. This kid loves to be near me every chance he can get. I usually have to be carrying him around if he's not totally occupied by...
  
• ...BARNEY! Oh my word does this kid love Barney. He'll wake up early on the week days just to watch Barney.
  
• Dip. No veggies or chips required. Oy!
  
• His baby sister. He is so in love with her!
  
• Did I mention...his Mama? It's worth repeating. This kid just adores me, and tends to cling to me.
  
• Being a big kid. Ryan wants to do all the things the big kids do.
  
• The Polar Express. Every time we've had it on, he will stop whatever he's doing, he actually DOESN'T suck on his fingers, and he just stares at it in awe. When the train is on, he'll whisper "choo choo".
  
• Cookie dough.
  
• Farming. Oh boy was he a big fan this year! We're hoping that next year ends up being a better year for tractor and combine rides, as he was in LOVE!
  
• "Pa", which has now become "Grandpa", and I think we're all a little sad that he's learned that one. "Pa" was so adorable!
  
• Leslie Patricelli books. She has a huge fan base at this age in our house! We have Potty, Hair, Yummy Yucky, Fa La La, Boo and Binky already, but he could read these every night.
  
• Laundry basket rides. We've reached this awesome phase where the big kids still enjoy doing this...and...ARE WILLING TO PUSH HIM AROUND! Score for finally seeing the benefits of multiple kids lol We used to have to push around Cashel and Kendrick when they were little, and it wasn't awesome on our knees and backs.
  
• Riding this particular 3-wheeler.
  
• Making super cheesy faces and getting people to smile or laugh.
  
• Chicken Chow Fun. Cashel discovered this while having his special overnight with Grandpa and Grandma, and it has become a Chinese staple when we order anymore. All the kids will eat it.
  

Dislikes

• In spite of this picture, he HATES wearing hats and mittens. He takes them off usually every time we put them on. We're fortunate it hasn't gotten too frigid just yet.
  
• As is typical of ANY 21 month old kiddo, being told "No"
• Food. Right now, aside from chips, fries and hot dogs, he just doesn't really care for food. He doesn't get those often, though, so...
• Chicken nuggets. I haven't asked at daycare if he will eat them for her, but he absolutely will not for me.
• Sleeping alone. The kid has to be holding onto my hair when he sleeps. We're hopeful that a cabbage patch doll with hair for Christmas helps in this area. It would be nice to not be woken multiple times a night with a knee to the back and a slap in the face.
• Don't you DARE touch his chest strap on his carseat. HE is the buckler now. He's pretty good at it, too! But he throws a HUGE fit if you do it for him.
• Also, don't you dare open or close the garage door for him. He wants to "Push".