2 Years Old!

The 2's have officially begun! Ryan's age is no longer counted by months- whoa, this is going to be a big step for me! My baby is growing up! Ryan continues to talk more and more everyday. His happy demeanor, mannerisms and desire to be independent keep us smiling and laughing all the time. 's His favorite thing to say is "what's that?"- at the grocery store, on a walk, at the zoo...anywhere "what's that?". I think it the precursor to the repeating preschool age question "Why?".He is definitely very curious about the world around him. He still absolutely loves all forms of transportation. He loves to point out airplanes, big trucks, tractors, fire trucks and, the Ryan favorite...trains. He has become a train enthusiast- "ding, ding, choo, choo". He knows the difference between a highway overpass vs. a train bridge. He also knows all the books that have trains and will turn to the page(s) and just stare at them. He shouts "train, train" whenever he sees one while we're driving, on tv, or if he hears the train whistle at the zoo (this happens about every 5 minutes at the zoo). Needless to say, riding the train at the zoo is a must. When we visited our friends Anne and Pete in Rhinelander, they took us to the Lumber and Railroad Museum. It was a big hit- however, the restaurant where we ate lunch with the overhead train and tracks was just as exciting!

Here are some highlights this month:

• He says "bless you" after we sneeze- he even fake sneezes so we can say "bless you" to him
• After having chip and salsa at Chili's, he opened his mouth wide and screamed- the salsa apparently was a little too spicy for him
• Sets his 3 books up in the bed slats like mama does every night
• At Michael's, he chose to take off his shoes and put them in the cart. After moving them to check out, I guess I never book them back in the bag. When we got home, I asked him where his shoes were. He matter of factly replied "In the cart."
• He was playing with our video camera bag one afternoon. Then it went missing. We were asking him if it was in the den. He said "yes" After looking for a while, Ali and I started looking in his room. He came in and said "No, no, no". We asked if it was in the den closet, he said "Yea". Sure enough, it was in a basket under a baby quilt. He knew!
• At Ali and Steve's wedding, after the first formal picture, he loudly stated "All done!"
• At Maggiano's, the waiter asked which dessert I wanted for him: cookies, ice cream or sorbet. I chose cookies, then he said "Ice cream too!"
• When our friends, Jill and Brett, and their 15 month old son Caden came to visit, Ryan did a pretty good job sharing his toys. One time Caden was playing with his popper that Aunt Jenny gave him. He started to take it away- he said 'Mine". I told him yes it was his, but that he shares his toys. He looked at me, then walked back to Caden, took the popper from him and said 'Thank you" and smiled! I guess he has good manners!

23 Months

Our baby is almost 2! We can tell in energy and independence. He continues to be curious about the world asking: "wat's at?" and tries to use his words to communicate- he looks us right in the eye, talking on and on. We usually respond "I don't know what you're saying." Then he'll repeat the same exact sounds with the same intonation, but we still can't understand. It's quite humorous. He is getting good at showing us what he wants or what he sees. He has started pointing to leave the room and throw trash away. Ryan is also getting closer to the potty training stage. He asked to go potty so he sat down. When he said all done, I asked if he went pee. He said yea. I didn't see anything in the potty so I said "No you didn't". Then he said "Yea, see? and pointed. Sure enough- there was a teeny tiny bit in the potty. It was an exciting moment. Here are some of the other highlights this month.

• New Words: lawn mower, thank you, Donald Duck, ice cream, sure, our house, Sesame Street, "More please mama", pool, sorry, boat, train, airplane...and he'll repeat a lot of what you say like when grandma said "darn, darn, darn", Ryan repeated it with the same expression.
• We went to DisneyWorld- he loved the characters, night parade, fireworks, boats, trains, buses, waterslide, water fountains...it was a wonderful vacation
• When he tries to jump, he can now actually jump with both feet in the air
• Loves to run and play at the YMCA movement class with mom
• Shouts "Zoo" and "Y" whenever we go to the zoo or the YMCA- sometimes he ever throws his fists up in the air too
• After breakfast, he usually asks to "Go buh-bye"
• Said "Bapa" when he saw a Harley Davidson sign in the car
• Ali and Steve babysat- they were amazed that he just laid down in his crib and went to sleep at bedtime
• Lots of timeouts for screaming- his new favorite activity. We had to turn the cart towards the wall for a timeout three times in Target last week. After every time out, he says sorry and gives us a hug.
• He pushes the center console down in the car with his foot
• Remembers places- like our neighbor's motorcycle in the garage- he'll point and say momo, he also says "Bapa" when we get close to Grandma and Grandpa's house

22 Months

Ryan's vocabulary has grown tremendously this month. It has been super fun watching him communicate more. Some of his new words/phrases are: Hi Mama, I love you, towel, Minnie, berries, giraffe, plane, tight, Brewers, backpack, socks, Maizy, Grandma, Ali, van, bike, boat, Buzz, Woody... One of my favorite things he said was when he was riding his Tricycle in the basement. He started to whine while I was putting laundry into the washing machine. I looked at him straddling the bike, walking back and forth and said "You're fine". Then he said " I'm stuck!" Turns out he couldn't get off the bike. He is also becoming a comedian and appreciating humor more. For example, he will throw a blanket over his head and walk around laughing. Here are some of our other favorite memories this month:

*First trip to the zoo as a family
*Requesting Oso (Disney channel) when I turn on the Today Show every morning
*Elm Grove Memorial Day Parade
*Points to a section of his plate where he would like you to put each item of food
*Walked up the stairs holding the rail all by himself- I was amazed!
*I always read three books every night- he started counting with me "1,2,3!"
*Calls our dog Maddy, Madison and Moose (like Mama)
*Requests the ABC's - he says "C's"
*Helps sing Old McDonald-He adds the new animal every verse and How Much is that Doggie in the Window- he sings "Woof, woof"
*He says "ight" when Daddy straps him in the car too tight
*Knows elbows, knees, ankles and neck
*Responds yes or no in appropriate situations and also chooses milk or water at meals (he usually wants both cups)
*He insists on giving the baby a a hug and kiss every night- he lifts my shirt over my tummy and kisses and hugs the baby

21 Months

YES, I'm going to be a big brother! Baby is expected around Dec 11, 2010!








"Our lives have been changed forever with the blessing of this second baby! Our active 21 month old keeps us on our toes- we think this second pregnancy will fly by because we are so occupied with our ever changing toddler. His vocabulary expands by the second and his new discoveries and adventures keep us saying "He is so amazing!". We are totally, utterly and unconditionally in love with our son. We are thrilled to see him develop as a big brother. He already gives my tummy hugs and kisses. He even says night-night to the baby. Here are some of the month's highlights:

• Reads to stuffed animals
• Feeds Maddy his cup and puts a cyclinder block by her mouth like a microphone
• Signs more please- says "sss" for please
• Playing with cars- making noises
• Playing dog with mama- woof, licking, crawling on all 4's
• Climbing into his high chair and buckling straps
• Insists on Elmo everytime we turn on the tv
• Loves to fill the "Piggy" with coins at Grandma and Baba's house
• Insists that everyone in the room sing ABC's, dance, say "Oh Toodles", jump-he will point and say dada or mama until we do what he wants
• New words: stuck, bus, juice, truck, momo, cheers, Manny, Daisy (dog), Ash (Ashley), Buzz, Ste (Steve), Enny (Jenny)- still waiting on Ali