Ryan's First Christmas

It is hard to put into words how special this past year has been to Jeff and me.  We were very excited to have our first Christmas as a family of three.  We enjoyed a day playing with Ryan and all of his wonderful new things.  The weather was even nice enough for us to take a quick walk around the block and let Ryan enjoy his new car! 

Thank you to everyone who made Ryan's first Christmas so very special.  Even though many of you could not be here to celebrate with us in person, you were in our hearts and on our minds! We love you all! :) 

Ryan with some of his Christmas loot..

Ryan's new hat from his Great-Great Aunt Doe..

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Santa arrived at our house just as expected on Christmas eve...

That is one big tree..

He left packages for all the good boys and girls...

Wait a minute Santa...you are supposed to leave the gifts, not open them! 

and I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Mommy's Helper

This afternoon I was unloading the dishwasher and all of the sudden looked up and Ryan was there to help.  So now he helps with laundry and dishes...oh and he helps take care of the floors.  He dust mops with his pants and eats whatever he can find on the floor!  

Caught in the act...

I have always heard the saying about when your child is quiet you know that they are into something.  Well, I had never actually experienced it until today.  Ryan loves to crawl into the bathroom and knock over the trash can.  It is metal and makes loud banging noises.  Well this morning I heard no such banging.  I decided to peek around the corner and as soon as I did I thought...I need to take a picture of this.  

Ryan found the toilet paper roll.  He was having a grand old time unraveling the toilet paper and trying to eat it.  I had to fish toilet paper out of his mouth.  The child eats everything!  

Anyway...it was fun this one time and cute but from now on unrolling the toilet paper is a No-No.  

Ohhh this is sure fun....

Nothing to see here Mommy...I am behaving perfectly..

If I turn on the charm she will let me keep playing....

Time for a taste before the fun is over...

Balloons!

Every time we go to the grocery store Ryan notices the mylar balloons.  Normally we will play with them for a few minutes and then push the cart away and get our groceries.  Today Jeff decided to let Ryan hold onto the balloon while we did our shopping.  The balloon provided endless entertainment.  We decided to bring our $4 mylar balloon home and Ryan loves it.  Too bad it will only last a week.  

I love my balloon...

Come here you....(oh yes and he is holding onto the ballon with both hands standing up completely on his own!!)

Secret Project...

We can't say exactly what Ryan is working on, but here are a few photos of Ryan's super secret art project.  He actually did really well and didn't try to eat the paint!  He did get a little by his mouth towards the very end but he didn't try to shove a fist-full into his mouth either.  

A very focused painter...

Santa's Little Helper...

Pictures of Ryan acting silly in his Christmas PJs.  

What is that thing???

Ryan's new face...make us laugh so hard...

9 Month Dr. Visit

Today we had Ryan's 9 month well visit.  Ryan's weight gain has really slowed down (which is great for me and my back as he likes to be carried).  He currently weighs 21lbs 7oz and is a little over 28 inches long.  This puts him at the 50th percentile for height and weight...so average.  :)

Ryan is developmentally right on track which makes me feel great as a parent.  The best part of our visit....no shots!  YAY!  

Oh and Ryan's ears are healing up nicely.  The doctor said that his ears looked great.  Great news! :)

Thank you Emily!

Ryan received a Christmas gift from his friend Emily today.  I decided it would be ok for him to open up one gift before Christmas.  Ryan tore right into the paper!  We took the cars out of the package and Ryan had lots of fun playing with them!  

Thank you so much Emily!!  Ryan loves his new cars!  

First Ryan read the card...

Then he tore the paper...

Hmmm...this box is neat..

ohh cars...

Faces of Ryan...

Today has been a very low-key day for us.  Ryan isn't feeling all that well but when he is up, he wants to play.  I decided to grab my camera and snap a few pictures of him throughout the day.  Enjoy a few of the faces of Ryan. 

 

Ryan loves looking out the window...

I used to make this face when I was a baby...

He sticks out his tongue when he is thinking (and check out those long lashes!)

tired face...

uh-oh, not a good face...

My favorites...

Sick Baby...

For several days Ryan had been suffering from the common cold.  Yesterday I went to my cookie exchange with the Moms from group and right as I was leaving Jeff called asking me how long til I got home.  He said that Ryan had been really fussy and had a fever so he gave him a dose of Tylenol.  When I got home, Ryan's fever was pretty much staying the same.  We called the doctor and they told us to just monitor him give him more meds and bring him in the next morning.  Finally after hours of fussing, Ryan fell asleep at 7pm.  When he woke up at 9pm, he was burning hot.  His cheeks were bright red and his fever was over 103.  We decided to take a trip down to the hospital ER to get him checked out. 

After a couple hours at the hospital and a cute yellow "shirt" (Jeff said I am not allowed to call it a gown b/c those are for girls).  We discovered that Ryan has a double ear infection.  One of his ears is really bad.  Poor Baby!   Ryan seems to be feeling much better this morning but will be spending the day at home getting lots of extra cuddles from Mommy.  We will likely head back to the doctor tomorrow to make sure the medicine is working well.  

Needless to say, this was not exactly how we wanted to spend Ryan's 9 month birthday!  

This was how Ryan took his nap this morning...he looked like he had been sitting up and then just leaned over and fell asleep.  His chest was fully touching the mattress.  Oh to be so flexible.  He looks like he is practicing yoga. 

Nine Months

I can't believe my baby is 9 months old, that is 3/4 of a year!  The time has just flown by.  Ryan is learning more every single day.  It is fascinating to watch him change on a daily.  Ryan is now cruising around all of the furniture in the house, crawling in, around and through everything and trying to stand on his own without the support of furniture.  He will usually pull up on a table and push back so he can stand on his own.  He is good for a few seconds and then he plops down to his bottom.  

It was difficult to get pictures of Ryan since he was sick and not really all that happy yesterday, but I was able to snag a few.  

Napping with Daddy..

We go back to the doctor on Friday for Ryan's 9-month well visit and we will get updated height and weight measurements.  Last night at the ER they weighed him and with clothes and a wet diaper he was 21lbs 12oz.