9 Months

Our 9 month old baby is as healthy as can be. He is now 21 lbs and 29 and 1/2 inches. His height is charted in the 90 percentile- weight is only around 50th. His head on the other hand is a little off the charts! Poor guy can't fit into most 18 month hats! He has become so mobile so quickly. He has started to be restless at the changing table and moves to reach and open anything he wants. I didn't realize how true it was that babies love everything that is not a toy. Some of Ryan's favorites are cardboard boxes, remotes, cell phones and stings from a hooded sweatshirt. At the end of every month, I reflect on how much he has grown and give thanks for all the joy the little guy brings to our lives. My favorite moment of the month was after we took Ryan to see Danny Gokey at Summerfest. I threw his little soccer ball in the air to keep him entertained. Then I made animal noises while the ball was in the air. He was hysterically laughing the way home! It is amazing to see the world through his eyes: every discovery and milestone is truly remarkable.

8 Months

8 Months of absolute joy and wonderment have filled our lives! Ryan is growing so quickly. He is so active and strong now- especially evident when we "try" to change his diaper. It has now become a 2 person job. He is trying to reach everything within his eyesight- keeping him on his back for 10 seconds is nearly impossible! Ryan has also become more expressive- his favorite facial expression is "ooooo". Our little buddy is now on the move. He is army crawling everywhere. His favorite "toys" to reach for are cords, remotes, shoes and the sound system. He is still as smiley as ever: smiling at pictures of himself on the iphone, exchanging smiles with anyone and everyone at church, smiling at his reflection in the car window, smiling as he claps for Tiger Woods or American Idol contestants, laughing at Aunt Chris as he destroys the tower of blocks she just built on Easter...we can't help but smile and laugh with him everyday! We continue to live each day with more love in our hearts than we could have ever imagined. To the joys of parenthood!

7 Months

7 Months

Wow! Time continues to fly. Ryan is growing up so quickly. He has already outgrown his infant car seat so we are now carrying him in and out of the car and he is sitting in store carts independently. Ryan is now more interactive, mobile and independent. Some of our favorite moments have been: reaching hands out for mom, grabbing and holding Madison's paw in the air, rotating 360 in 5 seconds- we are thinking he may begin to crawl soon and "raking" all the touch and feel books. While it has been a wonderful month of firsts, it has also been a scary month of firsts. Ryan had is first visit to Children's Hospital for his first high fever (105.6- yikes!). He was amazingly alert and stable though. The doctors told us it was a virus and early stages of bronchitis. He is still a little under the weather, but keeps smiling! We cherish each day that passes and try our best to hold onto all the wonderful small moments.

Ryan Laughing