Ryan: 12 Months

Sleep

Yay for some routine!  I feel like we are finally in a good spot with Ryan's sleep.  At night, Ryan sleeps a good 11-12 hours (sometimes longer).  He goes down at around 7:30 and sleeps until around 7 or 7:30 most mornings.  When we worked on naptime, I decided there wasn't a need to work on 2 naps when he would transition to one nap a day soon anyway.  So he takes one good nap after lunchtime...I usually try to get him down around 1:00 and he will sleep about 2 hours most of the time (sometimes less, sometimes more).  I am so, so glad we are at a good spot with this (knock on wood!)

Eating

Ryan sure loves his food!  I feel pretty certain that he would eat for as long as someone would sit and put food in front of him!  He absolutely loves milk - thank goodness!  He usually drinks 2-3 sippy cups of milk during the day.  He will also do water in a sippy cup if we are out on a walk or spending extra time outside.  For breakfast, he has been having some mini pancakes.  Lunch has been formula mixed with cereal (until the big Costco container of formula is gone...I swear it is lasting forever!) with a nutrigrain bar or some ham and cheese.  Dinner is usually whatever we are eating plus some baby yogurt or applesauce or something.  If there is food out, he wants to be right in the middle of it all!  And at his party, he did some serious damage to that smash cake!

Weight

At his 12 month appointment, he weighed 22 pounds, 9 ounces!

Length

Ryan was 29.75 inches!

Size Clothes

He is in size 18 month clothes!  It is so fun to see him wear some of the same outfits that Jack wore at his age!

Size Diapers

Size 4!

Hair color

It seems like he is going to be a blonde baby too!  He finally has enough hair that it gets messed up and can be brushed around a little bit!

Eye color

Sweet baby blues! Love all the blue eyes around our house!

Looking Like

Of the three kiddos, I think Ryan looks the most like Brad!  And I'd say when people mention it, they all say that he takes after his Daddy for sure.

Nicknames

Little Dude, Rhino, Baby

Favorite toy

He got lots of new, fun toys for his birthday!  I haven't gotten many of them out of their packaging yet, but I know he will love them.  He absolutely loves pulling up on the train table -- and of course wrecking the tracks and throwing the trains on the floor.  Jack is not a fan of that :)  He also loves the weebles and bristle blocks and Duplo blocks.  Ryan loves the big activity cube with little alphabet blocks that he got for Christmas - he actually prefers knocking all the blocks off the top and then tossing them around!  He also has started really liking having a lovey to sleep with...whenever I lay him down I make sure a lovey is close to him and I think he has gotten used to it.  And then he also plays with it when he wakes up!  He hasn't been particular to a certain lovey, but he just likes having one with him.  He also has reached the stage of pulling all the books off the bookcase - he loves to look at books!

Firsts

The biggest first for Ryan recently was his first birthday!  What a fun celebration we had!

Milestones

This boy is BUSY! He still has not started walking, but he is an expert crawler.  In fact, we often compare him to a sea turtle!  He is obviously pulling up on anything and everything - and cruising - and getting around however he needs to!  He is also starting to stand up for himself...Jack has started taking his toys from time to time.  Well a couple days ago, I watched as this happened and to my surprise, Ryan headbutted Jack!!! Of course it wasn't hard or anything, but it definitely gave me a sneak peek of what I have to look forward to :)  And oh goodness - once they gang up on Katie, we are in trouble!  Ryan has also figured out that all the cabinets at his level in the kitchen open up, so when he is close to them, we have to basically stand over him and against the cabinets :) -- we have the one with cleaners, etc locked up!  He has taken to toys a bit more, so he doesn't immediately go for the stairs, but I have walked behind him as he climbed the stairs all the way to the top.  When he holds onto our hands, he is getting much better about taking efficient steps -- I feel certain he will be walking oh so soon!

Talking/Words/Sounds

 He is still saying the same noises and words...but his latest is the "nanana" sound.  He tells me "no, no" once I have told him "no"...and he says "hi" and "bye" with quite the southern accent these days!  And even though it isn't words, he is figuring out how to tell us he needs something.  Actually, tonight at dinner, he was so loud!  He has a squawk he makes when he needs his milk.  The pediatrician actually laughed with us and agreed that he makes a sound that sounds like a pterodactyl!  He also says the "bababa" sound a lot!

Anything else?

I think Ryan has learned from Jack - he has always been a sweet boy, but now he has started flirting and charming anyone that will pay attention to him :)  I love watching all of the kids play together (fairly nicely).  Katie is so sweet to Ryan and he just loves it.  And anytime Jack isn't with us, Ryan is constantly glancing over at his carseat - he definitely misses him!

 

 

 

 

Happy 1st Birthday, Ryan!

Well here it is...my teeny baby's first birthday.  For some reason this one has hit me harder than the other two of them...and I am sure it is because my last little guy is now 1.  We had our last first birthday party yesterday (another post to come on that).  And the time leading up to today was a reminder of what I was doing last year - prepping for Jack's party and not having a clue that I would be having a baby!  A year ago this past weekend I was getting ready for Jack's 2nd birthday party -- and a year later, to the day, I had Ryan's first birthday party!  Whew.

 

Just look at that sweet face.  It honestly does not feel like it is even close to a year ago.  I know we have been busy, but goodness this last year has absolutely flown by!  I definitely miss having a teeny baby at my house - but I definitely don't miss the sleep deprivation.  Those cheeks...that cute nose....those lips.  Amazing to think that Ryan was our smallest baby at birth and has definitely filled out now! 

Not the best lighting, but goodness gracious.  I can just smell the new baby!  This little man was about to meet his big brother and big sister here...his life would never be the same :)

And one more.  That was one of my favorite newborn outfits on little Ryan.

And wow. Twelve months later he has turned into a boy that loves his family, loves to eat, loves to dance, and has decided just today that he wants to try to walk.  Life will definitely be more interesting when the third bambino is walking and running around!

And now...now the last piece to our family puzzle is growing up WAY too fast.  Happy birthday, sweet boy!  We love you so big and are so excited to watch you grow and learn. 

 

Ryan: 11 Months

Sleep

Knock on wood, I think we are doing better in this department!  I posted not too long ago about the struggles in getting Ryan to nap.  Well it seems we turned a corner!  And also seems that he has just taken the plunge into one good nap a day -- I'll take it!  That does mean we don't spend as much time in the car in the mornings because he will fall asleep, but that is aokay with me!  He goes down for his nap after he eats lunch - so usually around 1:00 give or take.  And he will usually sleep a good two hours...sometimes even three!  Yay!  And he is still doing a good job with sleeping at night - he goes down around 7:30 or 7:45 and will sleep about 11 or 12 hours!  So thankful we have made improvements in this department!

Eating

We are just doing the best we can in regards to this.  Table food is definitely not a problem!  Ryan would literally just keep eating as long as someone is sitting there putting food out for him!  He loves ham, cheese, yogurt, applesauce, and really just about anything!  Drinking his bottles is a whole different story, though.  As in - he won't...except the one at bedtime.  So we have resorted to mixing 5 ounces of formula with baby cereal for breakfast and lunch (and also giving him some table food then) and then a 9 ounce bottle at bedtime.  That puts the total at 19 ounces - and he should be getting about 20 each day.  Close enough for me!  In a few weeks we will put some whole milk in the sippy cup and see how he does with that.  He is definitely figuring out the sippy cup - he smiles so big when he actually drinks some!

Weight

Nothing official...but according to the home scale, he is about 23 pounds.

Length

Nothing official here!

Size Clothes

Ryan is wearing 12 month clothes for sure.  I did put an 18 month outfit on him the other day and it was only slightly baggy on him.  So I think we will be making that transition soon!

Size Diapers

We are finishing a box of size 3 and then it is on to size 4!

Hair color

His hair is continuing to grow in a little at a time - sometimes it looks more brown and sometimes it looks blonde!  Can't wait to see what color it really ends up being!

Eye color

Blue!

Looking Like

He still looks a lot like Jack did at this age - but with Katie's eyes.  Though I do think he is starting to develop his own look too!

Nicknames

Little Bud is a new one (at least I think)

Favorite toy

Anything!  He plays so well with toys now - and it keeps him busy for a long time!  He does love the weebles.  And big blocks.  And he likes to swing out on the swingset!  He does love the walker and sometimes the exersaucer.  And he likes the play table thing.  Oh - and now that he can pull up, he loves to wreck the train table!  He destroys the tracks and tries to chew on the train cars.  And he pulls up on the play kitchen and it really looks like he is trying to cook a meal!  And he is obsessed with the rollercoaster thing we have - he keeps trying to crawl to the top!

Firsts

We left Ryan in the nursery at church for the first time a couple weeks ago!  Now when we take him, they say, "Ohh! He is the smiley, easy baby!"

Milestones

Ryan is active!  He can crawl SO fast!  I guess he has learned that he has to move fast to be able to keep up with Katie and Jack!  He is pulling up on everything and climbing stairs.  He wants to stand up in place oh so bad, but he hasn't mastered that just yet.  In the walker, he runs everywhere.  I think he loves the freedom to explore other rooms in the house (downstairs, obviously).  He will be walking in no time I feel certain...this summer should be interesting with three wild kiddos that are all mobile!!  Ryan also loves to play peek a boo and is always so proud of himself!  He is also pulling up all the time in his crib - we finally (and by we, I mean Brad) lowered it to the middle level last week!

Talking/Words/Sounds

I actually remembered to start a little list!  He says the following things: dada, dog, up, byebye, binky, boo, mama, and uh oh.  Of course I know what he is trying to say because I am with him all the time.  Someone else probably wouldn't be able to tell :)  And we are trying some baby sign language - "more" and "all done" - but he just laughs at me when I try to get him to do it!  Silly guy.

Anything else?

How on EARTH is Ryan just days away from turning ONE?!  Goodness.  It really feels like he was just born.  Wow.  Time sure does fly!  He is a sweet, easy-going guy for sure (aside from the fact that he won't take a bottle)!  It is so fun to watch how he lights up when Katie or Jack play with him.  And it is also fun to watch his reaction when Jack takes a toy from him :) With three kids, it becomes survival of the fittest, so I think he is learning that he will have to stand up for himself around here!  And while he does love to have mama snuggles, Ryan would rather be down exploring!  He also loves to dance - anytime there is a beat, you can count on him to dance around!  And as of now, he only has two teeth!

 

 

 

 

Ryan: 10 Months

Sleep

I think this should be broken down into two separate categories for Ryan: naptime and nighttime. :)  So, here we go.  1: Naptime.  Awful!  Unless we are in the car.  Or I have time to sit and let him sleep in my arms.  It is so frustrating!  He won't nap in his crib (as in - will cry for 2 hours if I leave him in there...will not cry it out and give in and nap!).  Well, that may be a bit dramatic - maybe it is a rare occurrence that he naps in his crib -- that is more like it.  Which means I can't get much done!  With Katie and Jack I knew I could bank on naptime to be productive, but not so much with Ryan!  I am hoping that maybe this summer he will get on a good routine around the time he would naturally switch to one nap a day.  And 2: nighttime.  We seem to be doing pretty well here.  Since we have started laying him down earlier, he isn't waking up (knock on wood).  So we try to get him down at around 7 and he will sleep a good 11-12 hours.  When he does finally get on some semblance of a routine (it is bound to happen sometime, right?!), I am curious to see how that affects his bedtime!  A recent challenge here is that he is such a mommy's boy that he won't eat for other people or won't stay asleep for them.  That's frustrating for everyone involved!

Eating

This has been a little bit of a challenge this month - though I think we finally have a new routine down! He has 3 bottles a day - 8 ounces each - and 3 meals a day.  He wakes up to an 8 ounce bottle and about an hour later, he will have breakfast.  A lot of time lately he won't drink the whole bottle (there was one day last week he would literally only drink one ounce), so I will mix it with cereal if there is any left.  He has also had some stage 3 baby food that has fruit and oatmeal.  And he loves pancakes!  He eats lunch - loves ham, yogurt, applesauce, bread, cheese.  He will have another 8 ounce bottle around 3pm.  And then dinner around 5:30 and another 8 ounce bottle at bedtime.  The only food he has had that he flat out refused to eat was avocados.  I am going to keep trying them and see if he will learn to like it!  He also loves the baby snacky things - puffs, yogurt melts, and things like that!

Weight

Nothing official here - but according to the scale at home, he weighs 22.6 pounds!

Length

Nothing official here!

Size Clothes

Ryan is in 12 months and it all fits perfectly!  The footed jammies are perfect and the outfits work just right too!

Size Diapers

Size 3 is working perfectly right now, though I wouldn't be surprised if we try size 4 sometime soon!

Hair color

He seems to be getting more hair!  And in the back it actually looks brown, but on top it looks blonde!  So odd. 

Eye color

He's got those sweet baby blues...so sweet!

Looking Like

He is his Daddy's son for sure!  And Brad and his mom both say that he looks a lot like Brad's dad as well.  Though in regards to siblings, he and Jack favor each other a bunch!

Nicknames

I'm not sure if there are any new ones or not....Little Bud for sure.  I think that's it!

Favorite toy

He loves anything on the floor!  He isn't as impressed with the walker or the exersaucer anymore - he wants to be down on the ground and moving around!  He likes the oversized bead-looking toys that snap together.  And he still likes his car keys.  And he really likes his Sophie - he squeaks it a LOT!  He also loves to pull up on the little white rocking chair...he would do that for as long as we would let him I think!  He likes to play with the weeble toys.  And he loves a block toy that has a ball inside - he loves to spin the ball around! He loves crawling to the stairs and pulling up - he is so proud!  He does like the entertainment table - it just needs new batteries so it will actually make noise!  He also likes to play with kind of ball - and he likes to chase it across the room if it rolls away from him.  He also loves to swing - thank goodness!  We have been spending more time outside since the weather has been nice, so he spends a lot of time in the swing when we are out there!

Firsts

Ryan had his first sledding adventure this month!

And he had his first vacation this month - of course he wanted to eat the sand at the beach... 

...and he got to swim for the first time...

 ...and go to Disney World for the first time!

 And then he had his first Easter as well!

Milestones

We have a crawler! Like crazy quick crawling!  I love watching him - he gets this really determined look on his face and then takes off after something!  And he is pulling up on things - and starting to cruise around.  Oh goodness. 

Talking/Words/Sounds

I have not done a good job with paying attention to his various noises! AH! He does the "dadada" and "mamama" of course.  And he does a "t" sound...and "g" and "n" and "b".  He also has started saying "da" when Sadie is around - maybe he is attempting to say "dog"!  And he loves to make a monkey noise - who knows if it is intentional, but he certainly cracks himself up doing it!

Anything else?

I know one thing we need to work on is the sippy cup...he only has 2 more months of bottles and formula (you're welcome, bank account), so we better get cracking on getting him more used to sippy cups!  We do give them to him at meals with water in them, but all he really does is chew on them.  He is a great eater - now that he is into solid foods, he definitely prefers that!  Maybe at meal time he just wants to eat and not worry about drinking - that's gotta change over the next couple of months!  Ryan loves watching Katie and Jack....Jack especially!  They laugh at each other and just have a big time.  Ryan also loves Sadie - he thinks her tail is hilarious when she wags it!  Ryan also loves to dance!  He will jive around to the beat of a song - and actually to the beat!  It is so funny...and he loves it!  He is also definitely a momma's boy...whenever I get home from running errands or whatever, he will crawl across the house and attempt to climb me like a tree!  Silly guy.  And he loves to "snorty grin" - and if you snort at him, he will snort back!  And he will do it as long as you are willing to keep snorting :)  Here is a prime example of the snorty grin...

And here are some more pictures from the last month!  It is amazing how much his look changed from the first picture to the last (at least to me)!...

 

 

 

 

 

 

...how are we two months away from the big first birthday?! Wow.  That is just amazing to me!  Slow down time!