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".

First Ride on the Jet Ski (Summer 2017)

Ryan is probably my absolute bravest little guy on the water. He took his first short spin on the jet ski with Daddy last weekend, and was totally enthralled. We'll probably wait until next year for another ride, but he seemed to have fun, anyways!

15 Months

I know. Don't even know how we got here. Ryan is just...well...he's becoming this big kid, and I'm not even remotely prepared for that mentally.

Ryan is growing like a weed these days, and he is seriously the happiest little man. He's very seldom cranky, although he certainly has little periods of separation anxiety that are a major struggle for us. He stayed in that separation anxiety phase SIGNIFICANTLY longer than his big brothers ever did. We kinda wonder if it has to do with Mama's ever expanding belly and the baby to come, but for the time being, it isn't too bad, which we're grateful for!

Physical Development

Ryan is still the smallest of all our boys at this age, but he still is growing like a weed! He's wearing size 4 diapers still (although he would easily fit into size 5), and approximately 27lbs and last we had him measured, he's over 30 inches.

He's beginning to really fill out those 18 month clothes he has been swimming in since he was 8 months old, and we had to switch him up from his "baby" shoes to the big boy ones.

Teething

Ryan has almost all of his first set of teeth in, aside from his 2 year molars. His incisors aren't really very far through, but they have all broken the surface, which is good. We're really hoping that whole process takes a big break here for the next six months, as historically, 2 year molars take a LONG time to come in. We've hardly touched any OTC pain meds during his teething process, as he just likes to suck on his fingers and play with Mama's hair in the midst of it. Life has been wild and crazy these past few months, so I tend to enjoy just kinda relishing in it, and he seems perfectly content to let that be his coping mechanism, so the fewer the meds, the better ;)

Sleep Habits

Ryan sleeps approximately 12 hours in an average day. I feel like that's not really enough, but he doesn't seem sleep deprived in the least bit, so I guess we'll just go with it. He is down to 1 nap most days now, usually for between 1-2 hours. On the weekends, however, if I'm laying with him, or there when he wakes after a couple hours, he'll go back to sleep and average more like a 3 hour nap. We're actually trying to add in a morning nap again, since he never makes it to lunch before passing out in his food without really eating. So far, so good with that. He'll nap in the morning around 9am for a bit, and then again around 1pm.

For night sleep, he sleeps usually from approximately 8pm-6am, and most of the time wakes up on his own. This isn't without a wake up a time or two in the night, usually just to search for Mama. We've been working so hard to wean him from sleeping with us in preparation for when the new baby arrives, but before much longer, Daddy is going to have to start being the one to sleep with him in the night, or else we're going to have a problem come August.

Speech Development

Ryan knows only a few words at this point, but he understands a LOT more than that. He clearly will say, "Mama" (which sometimes he switches and purposely says "Ama"), "Dada", "Dat (that)", "Dis (this)", and "Yeah". He understands when we ask him to bring something to us or put something in the garbage can or in the sink, and he'll do it. When we mention time to "eat" he gets excited if he's hungry, and when we say it's time for "tubs", he gets REALLY excited.

Eating

Ryan is typically a really great eater as long as he isn't teething. He tries about anything, but especially loves sausages, blueberries, grapes and spaghetti. I have been trying (unsuccessfully, a lot of the time) to steer clear from tomatoey-sauce type meals (i.e. spaghetti, goulash, lasagna, etc.) as they give him a rash around his mouth, but those are some of his favorite meals, so it's hard to deny him. He's big into milk like his big brother Cashel was.

We've been slowly working on introducing utensils, but he mostly just likes to flip things around when he uses them, and still prefers using his fingers to get things to his mouth, even yogurt and such haha :)

He's still taking a bottle while we do our bedtime routine before bed with slightly warmed vitamin D milk, although he usually just takes sippy cups during the day. He likes milk or water, and if we notice he seems cranky and gassy, we'll give him apple juice sometimes. He loves to drink ice water out of Daddy's Nathan water bottle, just like all our other kid have.

Toddler Behaviors and Discipline

Ryan has certainly been working to perfect the toddler tantrums, but it's VERY obvious that so much of it is due to how slowly words seem to be coming to him. I'm probably wrong, but I swear by this point with the other boys, they had more words than just, "Mama" and "Dada" under their belts. I know, however, that once he can start talking and communicating better, that all starts to get a little better.

For the most part, we're just going with re-direction as far as discipline is concerned, and while he really seems to enjoy slapping ya in the face, it helps to just hold his hand and say "no" firmly for now, even if it takes a few times.

Likes

• Sucking on his two fingers on his left hand
  
• Blueberries and Grapes
• Being part of the action
  
• Making messes
  
  
• His big brothers
• Playing with Mama's hair
  
  
• Taking of sunglasses and putting them on.
• Squawking
• Doing things himself (especially eating - don't you dare try to give him a bite while holding on)
• Dipping food in sauces (ranch, ketchup, applesauce, etc.)
• Eating like a big boy with utensils
  
• Swimming
  
  
• Books! Especially his favorite: Where is Baby's Belly Button
  
  
• Bath Time!!
  
  
• Drinking out of our Nathan water bottles
  
  
• Running around nekkid

Dislikes

• Being told "no"
• Being left out of the action
• Teething
• Not being able to get through the baby gate at the top of the stairs.
• Big brothers trying to carry him around
  
  
• Being constrained
• Getting his diaper changed or clothes changed
• Getting buckled into his carseat. He's so ready to see what's going on in the car these days, but at bare minimum we need to go at least a few more months of rear-facing before switching him.
• Baby Einstein, if big brothers will ever let him watch it.
• Being strapped in his high chair. We need to pull the booster seat out soon, I think.

To Ryan on your First Birthday

Oh my sweet little boy :) Words cannot express the joy you bring to our lives, Booboo :) It's hard to believe how much our lives have changed in the past year. It hasn't been easy adjusting from 2 to 3, but it's also so very hard to envision our lives without you. Man, were the days with 2 so much easier haha :) But really, it's not you, I think it's mostly just the ages your big brothers are going through right now. You're the easy one!

A year ago, I was snuggling you after an exhausting labor and delivery, and the world just felt right.

It's hard to envision you so tiny and helpless right now: You're so full of life and energy and gusto. Your smile is so contagious with those two enormous front teeth and that super cheesy face :) I love to listen to you giggle and your complete inability to hide your emotions.

Watching your relationship grow with each of your big brothers just melts my heart :)

It cracks me up to see you still suck on those two perfect little fingers, just like your Daddy did when he was little. We spent way too much time at the beginning of your little life trying to get you to stop before I started back to work before we just gave up and let it be.

Your "little" hands have grown so big from those early days.

You had (and still have) such a peaceful little face while you sleep :) I could watch you for hours, which I did while on maternity leave. You are still sleeping with Daddy and I at night, and I can't even sleep without you there at this point. I love waking up and staring at your sweet little face beside me, even if I could do without the hair pulling and face slapping at 3am for a bottle ;) Thankfully, those nights seem to be fewer and further between, so we're crossing our fingers.

If I've learned anything over the past five years, it's how fast these years go, and I don't want to change one single exhausted part of it. I may not always think clearly, but I'd rather be tired than miss out on these moments with you, little man :)

How the time has passed so quickly, I cannot tell you. Sometimes it physically pains me. I have to remind myself often that God has only just given you to us for a while, and we don't know how long.

There have certainly been days this past year where I wondered how you would make it out alive with those crazy big brothers of yours, but you made it out with flying colors, and I'm giggling inside thinking about all the payback they'll be seeing the coming year, with you being mobile now, and starting to climb. They'll learn soon enough that nothing is safe :)

I thought you were going to be my last baby, and as such, I've spent so many more hours staring at your little face while you sleep, taking it all in. It has been so good for my soul in the midst of a crazy, exhausting, tumultuous year for us. You have been my sunshine, as I've watched you grow. You aren't sassy and naughty and you don't talk back, and you don't have major tantrums just yet, and I've needed that this past year.

I'm nervous about the year to come. I'm nervous about the level of crazy our lives are about to endure. I know because we've been in the crazy zone since Cashel was about 15 months, and we're entering into that phase once again with you in the next few months. It won't help with your big brothers egging you on.

My wish for this year ahead, no matter how big my belly gets, how full my lap gets, and how exhausting my nights are, that you know how much you are loved. I hope that even through the fog sometimes, you clearly see the most important parts of life, that being our love for Christ (and more importantly, HIS love for US) and our love for each other. Because oh man do we ever love you!

Happy Birthday, Ryan Charles!

Love,

Mama