Playing Catch-Up

Well, either it's been a busy summer, or I've just been a little lazy in getting things posted. Sorry friends, and especially grandparents. I pledge to do my very best at posting every week. So now, we play catch-up.

Fridays...

Almost every Friday we go to Gram and Papaws house to play. Why? Because your cousin Stone comes to Gram and Papaws house on Fridays. You two are going to get into sooooo much trouble when you're older. I can just see it. It's a good thing you're cute!!

Trouble...

Speaking of trouble...

...you don't need that much help finding it. You figured out how to pull out the wipes from the wipe warmer. Such a luxury, a wipe warmer. Well, sorry to tell you, Bub, but after the THIRD time you completely emptied it, the wipe warmer had to go. Not even spankings kept you from doing it again, you just like making messes!

Elvis...

Mommy went to Memphis for a few days with her friend from college. She had a whole lot of fun, but missed you oh so much. She got you this cute shirt at Graceland.


New fun thing...

These were Daddy's in college. You like to put them on a walk around. You're so funny.


Crossing Paths...

Our church has a retreat each year called Crossing Paths. It's a great way to "cross paths" with people you may not even see at church on a weekly basis. Gram and Papaw came too!!

You loved playing on the playground.

And you rose the merry-go-round...TWICE!!!


Eating with a fork...

You're getting so big. You've started eating with a fork! I can't believe it. If it can be stabbed...look out!!!

We're so proud of how good you are with a fork. I like how you say "mmmmm" when you get it in your mouth.

"Do we really need to take this many pictures?" Yes.

Sometimes is just easier to use our hands, though.

Ahhh, Mom, you caught me! :)


Uncle Doug's Bot...

We went to Uncle Doug's work for a fall festival, but really to see a transformer robot he built. It was really cool!!!

He used spare bus parts to make it. It could stand up and squat down, move it's arms up and down, shoot "bullets," and even talk! Now he gets to go to different states to show it off!!

Riding on Daddy's shoulders. He says it's the easiest way to carry you now that you're so big.

The only picture I could get of you and Stone together.

"MMMMMMM corn on the cob!!!!" Gram let you have a taste and you came back over and over again for more.

A new friend...

We have a new friend that comes to stay with us for a few hours on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. He's a little over a year younger than you. He will be crawling soon, and then the fun will start!!


Silly face...

I just like this picture.



Pretend play...

I've noticed on more than one different occasion you are pretend playing. I don't know exactly when that is "supposed" to start. Here I caught you "drinking" from a cup. You still drink out of a sippy cup, so I'm assuming you are imitating what you see Daddy and I do. So precious. I've also caught you making your animals do things. I'm not sure if they're walking or what, but you're playing with them and not just chewing on them or throwing them. You also like to put things like blankets, baskets, or even Bear on your head and walk around.

(I also want you to notice the mess of toys. Instead of neatly being in your closet, where Mommy puts them, you like to drag them all out into the middle of your room. And if they have many parts, you make sure those are all out too. Thank you.)

Mommy and Daddy come home...

Ryan, Daddy and I went to see our great friends Kyle and Vicki Graham in the Dominican Republic. We went for a week. While we were away, you stayed with Grandma and Pops for a few days, and then Gram and Papaw the rest of the time. We were oh so happy to see you when we got home. You did so much growing while were gone. Grandma taught you how to say "duck" and "deer." And while you were with Gram and Papaw you had several teeth start popping through your gums. That meant some not so fun diapers for Gram. Sorry, Gram. We're still working on getting those teeth all the way through!

From Grandma:

Ryan is having a big time here! He kept getting into his stroller yesterday (after we had already gone for a long walk!) and wanted to go for another ride. I told him we weren't going to be able to go for another walk that day. So he rolled it into the kitchen where I was fixing supper and tipped it over and stood behind it spinning the wheels around and around. Then he climbed into the stroller (while it was still tipped over onto the floor) and sat in it for quite awhile - very proud of himself. He finally got tired of sitting there and went into the living room to get his toy truck. So I turned the stroller back upright. He brought his truck into the kitchen - took one look at the stroller and told the stroller a very firm "NO!" and then tipped it back over the way he had it and crawled back into it with a smug "I won - I got the stroller to obey me!" look.

He's been eating and sleeping well. Yesterday he had chicken breast, green beans, and Spanish rice for supper. He slept from 8:30 to 7:15. Today he had a medium sized breakfast, stayed awake all morning (we kept him busy!) ate lunch at 11:30 (chicken nuggets, peas and carrots, cantaloupe and watermelon) and went down for his nap at 12:15. It is finally warming up so we will go to the zoo when he wakes up from his nap. I gave him a bath last night since he'd been outside on the deck and we had some bug spray to wash off. When I said, "Let's go take a bath!" he went over to the stairs and rattled and pulled on the makeshift gate as hard as he could to try and pull it open. When he wasn't successful, he attempted to dive over the top of the gate! I went over and opened up the gate and he scrambled up the steps as fast as he could and made a bee line for the bathroom! In addition to his other bath toys I put some of the nesting plastic cups in the water which he thoroughly enjoyed.

He can say "deer" and "duck" pretty well now, but is not having much luck with "buffalo". He still says nothing for "Grandma" but will sometimes say "Pa" for "Pops" when he sees Steve. He is pretending more and more. He opened the cabinet with the baskets and pulled them all out (which is fine) and then put one on his head and wore it proudly as a hat for about 15 min. When we were at Wal-Mart, he wanted to hold the outfit we got for Anna. So in the car on the way home he was holding it and playing with the large rectangular tag on it. Then he held the tag up to his ear and pretended it was a phone! I've seen him turn other things into a pretend phone, but not a piece of cardboard!

We had a great time at the zoo yesterday. We went late afternoon after Ryan's nap and he especially enjoyed the fish and cats (can't remember what they were called - they were small with very tall pointed ears) because they came up very close to the glass. He was also interested in the turkey, ducks, and geese. He rode in his stroller part of the time but loved getting out and walking/running down the areas that had wooden planks (esp. in the Oklahoma Trails exhibits) because his shoes would make a noisy clumping sound on the wood. His favorite animal was actually a very tame squirrel along one of the paths. We got within a foot of it and then it scurried over by a bush and then over to a tree so Ryan chased after it. It reminded me of how David used to chase the birds when he was 2! His indoor lawn mower toy has four shapes to sort and drop into holes. He can get the circle in the correct hole every time now. It's amazing how much more he understands - things like "Where is your truck?" "Go get your monkey", "Do you want to go outside?" etc. Today when Steve was going to take him out in the backyard, he went over and banged on deck door, then went and got his jacket (without us asking him to) and tried to get it on - draping it over his head, over his shoulder, etc. - it was pretty comical - one of those things I should have gotten a picture of!

At Gram and Papaws. Papaw sent this picture to us so we could see your smiling face even though we were far away and could even talk to you on the phone.

Home at last.


More silly faces...

Out to lunch with Gram and Papaw!

WHEW!!!

New Words

Well, I don't know if I've made a list of all the words you know yet or not. So...

Your very first word was "Dadda". That made your daddy very happy of course. Then came "Momma", and next "ball".

You have added a few more now. Your favorite word, of course, is "no." You'll just be walking around the house saying "No. No. No. No. No." You'd think you hear that word often. :) You haven't said the word "yes" yet, but you know what it means and can nod your head. You have on occasion said the word "Bible." You especially say it when we sing Jesus Loves Me. You also say it when you're about to do something you know you're not supposed to.

Your cousin Anna Lily was born last week!!! When we went to see her in the hospital you said her name several times (It sort of sounded like Nana). That was very exciting!!

You also know several animal sounds. Bear, elephant, fish, lion, monkey, dog, cat, cow, and snake. You can even see a dog or fish and make the sound without being told what it is. Even if it's a cartoon drawing of one!

You understand a lot more than you can say. If we ask you to find "Bear" you can go find him. You can do the same thing with your cup. When we ask if you want a snack or want to eat, you start walking towards your chair.

We've added a new favorite song to your list. "This Little Light of Mine." When we sing it you will sometimes hold your finger out and make the motions. You like to say "No!" when we say "Hide it under a bushel." And you also like to blow when we say "Won't let Satan blow it out."

It's amazing how fast your vocabulary and understanding of language is developing. It seems like every day you could add new words to your repertoire.

Just a picture of when Mommy and Daddy went on a date to see Wicked. You stayed the night with Gram and Papaw.

When Daddy Comes Home for Lunch

We have so much fun!

I go a-walkin'...

RYAN YOU TOOK YOU FIRST STEPS ALL BY YOURSELF!!!! It was Wednesday, July 8th, 2009. Gram and Papaw were at the house with us and I was just trying to get you to stand on your own, and when you did you walked right over to me. It was about 4 steps. Right now that's about all you'll do. So exciting!!!

This is not the video of the very first steps. It was taken the next day, but still just as good.

Up, Down, All Around

...and everywhere in between. We love you!

Just Plain Cute

Now that your hair is getting longer it curls in the back. When it's hot and humid it curls all over. I LOVE IT! And I don't want to ever cut it!

Ready for swimmin'! You have two "speedos" for swimmin' in the pool when it's hot. You are a little timid about the water, but I can tell it's growing on you.

Behind on Blogging

Sorry Grandparents and Friends, we're a little behind on blogging.

We went to the Witchita Mountains with Grandma and Pops, and Aunt Mary and Uncle Philip. We went for two days and had a lot of fun. We did some hiking and just relaxed. Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures.

Mommy went for a walk by herself and when she got back you and Daddy were looking out the window. I didn't know why until I turned around. We were staying at the Wild Goose cottage and quickly understood why. These geese and gosslings were coming right up to our porch. We fed them chex mix. So cute!

We took some toys for you to play with. This microphone has become one of your favorite toys.

Weird Bird

I always check on you "one more time" before I go to bed at night. This is how we found you one night.

It's not that you're getting to big for your crib. You just love to cram yourself up into the top corner of it. Too cute!

Surgery

We knew since you were teeny tiny that you would have to have surgery at some point in your first year or two. Ryan, you were born with a hernia. The doctors said that it wasn't too bad so it could wait until after you turned a year old. The anesthetics would be easier to take then. Exactly one month after you turned one year old you had the surgery. You also had a circumcision revision.

The surgery was set fo 9:45 so we planned to be there at 8:15. As we were about to leave the hospital called and said they were running ahead of schedule and asked us to get there ASAP. I guess that was good, because you weren't allowed to eat any breakfast and you always wake up ready to eat!

When they took us back to the pre-op room they explained everything, again, that they would do. Lots of nurses and doctors came in and out and talked to us. They gave you a stuffed panda bear and had you change into a gown.

After a little bit they gave you something called "giggle juice" to help you relax. Daddy and I could tell it was kicking in when you would look up at me and all I had to do was smile and you would crack up. We started getting a little nervous because we knew that meant it was coming soon. We might have teared up a little.

The nurse came to get you and I watched her take you down the hall. She had to hold onto your back because you were so out of it you were swaying. Daddy and I went back to the waiting room where Gram and Papaw were waiting. I cried a little bit. Gary Medley, an elder from church, came and prayed with us. The hour-and-a-half seemed to last forever.

When the surgery was finished the surgeon came and told us that everything went great, and that we could go see you in a few minutes. A nurse soon came to get us and led us back to the recovery area. You were still asleep. We were warned that you may be very upset and cry a lot when you wake up because the anesthetia may confuse you. Not long after we got there you began to wake up. You very quietly moaned and opened your eyes. The nurse said we could pick you up. You were underneath a warm blanket, but didn't have anything but a diaper on. You were still hooked up to a heart monitor and a saline IV. You did so great!! You cried for just a few seconds, but then just laid your hed down in my arms and then in Daddy's arms when he held you. You slowly started drinking your milk and we got to go to a room where Gram and Papaw could see you.

You were so groggy and just wanted to be held. We brought your bear and blanket and you liked that.

Slowly you began to wake up.

Getting tickles from Mommy.

Feeling much better.

We had to carefully take care of your incisions, but you have recovered so quickly. We're so proud of how big you are!! We thank God that he brought you through the surgery safely, and that he helped the doctors know exactly what to do to help you get better.