16 Months

Our 16 month old has become very independent and helpful too! He loves to put his hat, mittens and coat on (one arm!). I am always surprised when he mimics our behaviors, like crossing his ankles. Since Joe leaves for work with a bag and I always have a purse on my shoulder, Ryan now finds anything with handles (reusable bags, purses, gym bags, a toy cd player...), waves and says "bye" while walking toward the door. We have also noticed he understands diaper change, high chair, downstairs, night, night time- he will go to that location. He remains a happy guy. He is always smiling and laughing. He is just a bundle of joy.

Favorite activity this month- having battles with daddy, making a surprised face.

Merry Christmas (Aunt Ali and Nana got a smile out of me!) Ryan loved receiving a gift in his stocking from St. Nick. He was so thrilled that he kept checking his stocking every morning for about a week. We think this has led to his new fascination with oven mitts and gloves!

Bringing out the Christmas decorations- Ryan loved the Christmas season. Every time he saw a Christmas tree, inside or out, he would say "ooooo!". He would make me laugh driving- I'd wonder why he said "mama, oooo!" Sure enough there was a house decorated with lights. At Dona's house, he would point and say "oo oo" until she would turn on the tree lights. He was good about not touching the tree- he would test us though. One time he walked by the tree slowly, took the remote he was holding and touched the tree with it. He looked at us a smiled- stinker. His favorite ornaments to grab quickly and run away with were The Little Mermaid, Two Snowmen and . Only one ornament casualty. The Nativity scene was harder for him to stay away from because of all the animals. The donkey and sheep were often missing. One evening he came into the kitchen saying "Rar rar rar rar" moving both animals up and down.

Mom and Dad didn't prepare me! We were so surprised at his reaction. He loves people- will give everyone hugs. We thought this reaction might surface next year- boy were we wrong! The ironic thing is that he was (and is) obsessed with Santa. Whenever he sees an ornament, decoration, plate or even a Coca Cola can with Santa, he shouts "Nanta, Nanta"! He has three Weebles (Santa, Rudolph and a Snowman) He loves Nanta, but insists on having all three on his chair (he will scream and point until he has them all!)

Happy Thanksgiving- what a wonderful time stop and think of how blessed and truly grateful to be healthy and happy!

Meeting Donald Driver- Ryan's favorite sport to watch is football. He loves playing with daddy's mini helmet collection.

Visit to Minneapolis- Visited Aunt Jenny and Jonathan, then got to see my best buddy Caden and his mom and dad for his dad's surprise 30th birthday

Our Trip to the Wilderness!

We had a wonderful weekend relaxing at the Wilderness with family. Ryan was awesome: adapted to a crazy schedule, sat in the stroller and high chair, let everyone hold him, gave Uncle Pat lots of hugs...just a happy guy. Enjoy the photos!

Ready to Swim

Swimming with Gramma

Loved the Slide

"Ahoy"

Me and Aunty Jenny

Hanging out with Aunt Jenny

I loved the water swing

Me and Daddy

Playing with Mama

Playing

Peek-a-boo mom and dad- you thought I was sleeping!

Snuggled up after swimming

On our way home

15 Months

It has been another wonderful month of great growth and development. Ryan is all over the place and into everything. He has cut three molars this month! Red cheeks, drool and a hand in the mouth are commonplace. However, he is still such an easy going guy. Some of his new physical feats are climbing on and off of things like his Mickey car, walking backwards and Some of our favorite new developments are:

• Nodding his head when asked questions- "Did you have a good day at Donna's?", "Are you ready for a nap?"
• Pointing to body parts: nose, eyes, hair and belly button
• Doing had gestures with songs- he heard me say the word caterpillar and then grabbed my fingers to do "Fly butterfly, fly" just like we do when sing the Caterpillar song!
• "Mmm-ahh"- blowing kisses with sound effects- so cute!
• He has started mimicing real life actions- putting daddy's hat on, wearing Maddy's leash and mom's sock as a scarf, trying to use the hair dryer and putting his arms through his coat sleeves
• He runs to mom with a huge smile and open arms when she pick shim up at daycare (Drop off is still the same: no waving, blowing kisses or "buh-byes"...he is focused on making his triple decker graham cracker sandwiches! I just am grateful he feels safe and happy without his mom!)

He is also developing his verbal skills: he now says "Baba", "ball", "okay" and lots of chattering. Joe and I both think we heard "I lay down now", "love you" and "I love ma". He continues to be fascinated with all vehicles. He loves watching trucks and buses go by, makes car noises when "driving" them around the room, gravitates towards the firetruck and bus at Grampa and Gramma's and now makes a "bmmm, bmmm" sound when he plays with his boat in the tub. We have also had our first instances of time out worthy behaviors: bit mom on the leg, hit mom and, the best of all, (hehe)...he not only pooped in the bathtub, but decided to pick it up and throw it at daddy! We were in shock, grossed out and laughing all at the same time.

Right after I looked at the picture below, it finally sunk in that he was no longer a baby. I knew his crawling days were in the past, but he still had the baby face. But now his baby features are fading...his hair has grown in, the chubby cheeks no longer. My baby has grown into a little boy in a blink- it's unbelievable.

He continues to be an amazingly loving, calm and happy little boy. Our daycare provider said she wishes she could have 5 Ryans. His happy personaility is infectious. We get told all teh time by family, friends and even strangers how adorable, happy and well-behaved our little man is. We respond with bigs smiles and thank yous. For we know know how truly blessed we are. We thank God everyday for our most precious blessing!

14 Months

My first thought when I compare his 13 month picture to his 14 month is not about how big he is gotten, but what a difference in weather. It looks like we have gone from summer to winter in one month! Crazy! Despite my longing for Fall weather, we have had a wonderful month in the Dahms family. We ran in the Susan G Koman Race for the Cure, celebrated Grandma's 75th birthday and uncle Pete's 50th and I got to spend an extra day with Ryan when my school's power was out. Ryan continues to grow and change everyday. The biggest and most obvious change is that we have a runner- walking is a pastime for Ry Guy. With running comes the mess he leaves in his wake. He is into anything and everything. As a result, this month Ryan has learned some new lessons to live by:

#1 Don't run really fast with pot in your hand- you could fall and bump your nose.

#2 Don't try to squeeze between two pieces of furniture- you might get your head stuck!

Along with being more mobile, he is much more vocal. Responding with "Mm hmm" when asked questions, or "Ohh" when we tell him something. We are getting small moments of 2 way conversations which is super fun! His favorite new hobbies are being chased (He LOVES it!) and playing with daddy's mini helmets during games on Saturdays and Sundays! He also has started to dance more. On the way to daycare this past week, "I've Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas came on the radio. He started bopping up and down in his car seat- it was hysterical!

I have told our friends and family who have babies younger than Ryan that although I look at their baby's developmental stages with fond memories, I have not once longed for Ryan to be back at a certain stage- I absolutely love every new stage and continue to absorb every new and amazing development- whether it be major like walking or minor like hugging stuffed animals. Each new discovery he makes or milestone he reaches causes such awe and wonderment in us, how can we help but feel unbelievably blessed and grateful for the life and love God has brought to our lives!

13 Months

I think am I finally over the shock of receiving an email 1 month ago titled My Toddler This Week instead of My Baby This Week. It is official: we have a toddler. I have come to terms with it (I think!) Our walking man makes it hard to call him a baby anymore. He is just growing up before our eyes. If you last saw Ryan at his 1st birthday, you would hardly recognize this little guy. He is on the move and into everything. Some of his new favorites and tricks are pulling out all the Tupperware, hiding toys in cabinets, hoarding mini helmets, dog leashes, safety edges and others in his pack and play, saying "Nana", blowing kisses, patting us on the back and pointing to things he wants. It has been fascinating watching him learn to walk- the progression of skills is amazing. Over the weekend, he has gone from using furniture as an anchor to pull to his feet and stumbling around...to now standing up on his own, walking from room to room, turning 180 degrees, b-lining it to a toy...it's incredible! While it was been an adventure filled month, it has been a sentimental month as well. Ryan transitioned beautifully from nursing to cow's milk. It was tougher on me than him, but we are enjoying our snuggling time before bed. I have also returned to school. I thoroughly enjoyed my summer with Ryan- most of the time I feel so blessed to have had the summer with him, yet at other times it is a sad reminder of what I am missing while I am at school! I believe that God helps me through these tougher times in my life.

When I first dropped Ryan off at daycare when he was 4 months, he smiled at all the kids. Knowing he was happy comforted me as I drove away. Then after my 1st day back-to-school this year, I went to pick up Ryan from daycare...I pulled in the driveway, got out of the car and saw Ryan waving. Then he said "Hi Mama!" It was then that I knew everything was going to be okay! I love this little man so much and pray that God gives me the strength to be the best mom I can possibly be.