Computer Whiz

Tonight after dinner I sat down near the computer and Ryan started grabbing for anything he could reach.  He instantly found the keyboard and started typing away.  Ryan had fun hitting all the buttons on the computer then checking out the screen to see what he had done.  He is a computer genius already, like father like son.  

New Discoveries...

It is incredible to us how much Ryan has changed in just a few short weeks.  He is now exploring everything with his hands.  He reaches out to feel his Mom and Dad's face, he found his feet and toes, he knocked over Mom's drink at Starbucks (it was empty and iced) and he really plays with his toys now.  

Ryan is not crawling yet (thankfully) but he has started to scoot.  We can put him down on his tummy and within seconds he has moved a couple of feet in any direction.  If we lay him on his back he immediately flips to his tummy and starts to scoot.  I am afraid of what is in store for me once he truly is mobile. 

If you remember back a few years to the super-bowl beer commercials where the guys said "Waaaasssuuuuuppp" with their tongues out...well Ryan does that now.   In addition to the "moo" sound, Ryan now loves the "buzzzz" or "zzzz" sound.  He just giggles every time we make that sound.  In fact I probably have those sounds more in the past couple of weeks than I have in my entire lifetime just because it is fun to make him laugh.  

I am amazed with Ryan every single day.  There is nothing more incredible in this world than looking into your child's eyes, hearing them giggle, seeing their wonderful smiles and watching them learn.  Babies are truly a gift from God.  Jeff and I are very blessed.  :) 

Weekend fun...

This weekend Jeff made arrangements for us to head down to the new National Harbor on the DC/MD border.  It is a new construction and lots of businesses have not opened their doors yet, but it was still really neat to check it out.  We stayed overnight at the Gaylord National.  The hotel is very nice, although Jeff and I both think that the Gaylord Texan has a lot more interesting stuff to look at inside.  

Inside of hotel...

Outside of hotel: 

Ryan playing with Daddy...he loves to make faces/touch his Daddy's face:

Family Pic:

Ryan was fascinated by the fountains (they were going with music and lights)

Sunday we headed over to Jeff's boss's house for an afternoon pool party/cookout.   Nancy, the boss's wife, just loved Ryan to bits.  She volunteered to babysit for us any time so that we can go out on a date or just get a few minutes to ourselves.  Jeff and I are looking forward to using her babysitting service very soon!  We had a wonderful time at the party and Ryan was such a trooper being out and about all weekend long.  

Thanks Auntie Brooke

Yesterday one of my best friends from childhood sent Ryan a package of onesies.   When I opened them up I literally laughed out loud.  I quickly washed them all because I could not wait to put Ryan in one of them.  The big decision --- which one should Ryan wear first?  They are all precious and rather than change him 5 times this morning, I decided to just take a picture of the rest.  

Thanks Auntie Brooke, I love you and can't wait to see you soon, Ryan.

Too cute...

We went to Lowes to get supplies for our curb appeal project today (we will post pics when the project is complete -- our goal is Sunday).  Since we were going to be outside I decided Ryan needed a hat (even though he was enjoying the shade in his stroller).  When we put Ryan into the car, I snapped this picture because well...he looked too cute.  I have learned to carry my camera with me at all times because you never know when the perfect photo opportunity will strike.  

Ryan has become a drooling machine in the past few days so his must-have accessory for the time being is a bib.  Oh, and no...I do not put hats on my son sideways.  It turned because he was moving his head around quite a bit.  

Bye-Bye Baby Blues....

Those baby blues probably won't be blue too much longer.  Every day Ryan's eyes are getting a little bit darker.  Right now we aren't sure if they are going to be hazel or brown but they definitley are not going to stay blue.  Ryan's right eye is the one that is changing the most right now, his left eye is still pretty blue.  The right one looks more like a sunburst of color.  

What color do you think Ryan's eyes will be?

My Tuesday - By Ryan

Mommy said that I could tell everyone all about my day...so here goes.  

I woke up bright and early, had a yummy bottle for breakfast then started my play time..

I was still a little hungry and my toy looked tasty...

Then I spit up on my pajamas..Mommy thought it would be a good time to take some pictures

Before nap time Mommy wanted to read me a story, but I beat her to it.  Couldn't she tell I was busy and didn't want my picture taken while I was trying to read?

Mommy and I went to our class at the library after my nap.  When we got home she made silly faces at me...

Note from Mom:  Excuse the poor angle of the video.  If Ryan sees the flashing light he stops what he is doing and stares at it.  

Weekend Photos...

Another great weekend in the Abbott house and a busy week ahead for Ryan and me.  Yes, it is possible to stay at home and still be busy.  We have something going on every single day of the week.  Here are a few pictures of Ryan from the weekend.  

I had just told Ryan we were going to Target...he already dislikes shopping (the best pouty face I have captured yet)...

This is how Ryan rolled around Target:

Playing with Daddy after church waiting for lunch (who knew a burp cloth could be so fun)

Ryan can entertain himself for minutes on end in his bouncy seat, exersaucer or jumperoo now...

For comparison Ryan is in the same seat at 1 week old (his entire body did not fill up that middle green portion)...oh and notice all the hair!  

As Promised..

I was told yesterday that I needed to put up some new videos of Ryan.  I agree.  He is getting big so very fast.  Here is a video of Ryan rolling over from a week or so ago.  You can hear how excited I was to finally capture it on film! 

 

Smilin' Ryan is Back!!!

My happy baby has returned!  For some reason Ryan's 4 month shots kicked his butt.  Strange because they were the exact same ones that he got at 2 months.  Ryan ran a fever for a day and a half which was scary to me but supposedly "normal" and he was eating about half as much as he normally did and sleeping about 18 hours out of the day.  He still gave us little smiles here and there but you could tell that he just didn't feel so hot. 

Today he woke up smiling and kicking in excitement to see me.  He is having fun playing with his toys this morning so I think we are back to life as usual.  

Ryan's exersaucer makes animal noises (cow, lion, dog, duck and cat).  Every time he hits the cow sound he lights up.  If we make the cow noise he grins ear to ear.  He also really likes it if you make the oooooo sound kind of like a ghost.  Anyway, I am thinking of getting him some sort of cow toy since he seems fascinated with them for the time being.  

Oh and in other news...we booked two trips to Texas last night so call us for details if you want them.  And...tonight is my first Mom's night out!  I am so very excited!!!  

A Visit to the Dr.

We just returned from our 4-month appointment.  Ryan is 25 inches long and weighs 16lbs 7.14oz.  He is in the 50th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight, or as the Dr. put it...he is a healthy boy!  There is no better feeling than hearing a medical professional consistently use the word perfect when they are talking about your child's heath and demeanor.  (He probably says that to just about everyone!)  

Jeff and I both really like our doctor.  It is really too bad that he is in semi-retirement.  He doesn't want Ryan starting solid foods until he is 6 months old as there are not really many calories or nutrients in solid foods.  Babies can really live off of formula or breast-milk alone until one year.  The foods they get before one year old are just considered "practice" for real foods later on.  I am really glad that he told us to wait until Ryan is older for solids because I am not looking forward to more interesting diapers just yet.  

Ryan took his shots well and is now relaxing/napping away in his crib!  

4 Months!

Our baby is 4 months old!  The time has gone by entirely too fast.  I told Jeff that if the next four months go by as fast as the first four months have, we will have an 8 month old in the blink of an eye.  

Ryan is doing more and more every day.  It amazes me how quickly babies learn and how much they are able to take in every single day.  Ryan laughs at his Mommy and Daddy now.  That giggle is the most wonderful sound in the world!  We have been blessed with one of the happiest kids I have ever met.  He smiles all the time.  He is rolling over all the time.   He is getting into a routine.  Jeff and I have never tried to put Ryan on any kind of schedule.  We have always done everything when Ryan needed it (feedings, diapers, naps) but now he has put himself on a schedule.   Ryan consistently sleeps from 7:30pm til 6:30am.  YAY!!  Oh..and Jeff and I are pretty sure that Ryan is teething!  Yikes...teeth!  He can't grow up this fast.  

Tomorrow Ryan heads to the doctor for his check-up and shots.  Wish me luck as the shots are harder on me than they are for Ryan.

Ryan and Daddy in their matching hats...

Pictures!!

Today is Ryan's last day as a 3 month old.  I am excited and sad at the same time.  He is just growing up too darn fast.  We take tons of pictures of him.  He probably thinks that a camera is part of my face by now.  Here are a few pictures we have taken in the past couple of weeks.  I hope they make you smile.  

Tummy time while Mommy was trying to do the dishes...

Ryan in his exersaucer....making funny faces.

ahhh...all that play makes a baby sleepy.

Woah Baby!

Today my Mom's group had a morning play date.  At this point in time the play dates are more for the mommies than they are for the babies.  There were 17 Moms there, 18 babies (none older than 7 months).  I really enjoyed getting out and meeting some more great Moms!!  

Ryan had his arm around this little girl for a while.  The girl in the pink dress was upset...once her Mommy laid her down, Ryan grabbed her hand.  My son...the ladies man.  

Emily....Ryan wanted me to tell you that you are still his favorite little girl!!

One Year Ago....

Exactly one year ago yesterday Jeff and I got the news that changed our lives forever.  Two pink lines...three times.  Yes, I took three pregnancy tests (just to be sure).  We were both very excited but very nervous at the same time.  Most of you know our history with early losses.  We prayed that things would be different this time and that God would bless our family with a healthy, happy child.  

God is amazing.  Maybe I should emphasize that a bit more.  God is AMAZING!!  Jeff and I are incredibly grateful for the son that we have been blessed with.  I used to pray for a healthy child and a healthy pregnancy.  I never dreamed that we would be blessed in quite the way that we have been.  Ryan is truly a gift to us.  We were chosen to spend our time on Earth with him.  I cannot begin too describe how incredible it is to be Ryan's Mommy.  I honestly believe that we were chosen to have this child for a reason.   I am so thankful to have this wonderful little man in my life!

Keep on Rolling...

Well...my child is mobile.  I am not sure how I really feel about it to be quite honest.  I am glad that he is developing and progressing.  At the same time I am a bit bummed that I can no longer leave Ryan playing on his play mat or smack dab in the center of the bed while I brush my teeth, go to the restroom or change clothes.  

Yesterday Ryan rolled from his tummy to his back for the first time.  Then today he did it several more times.  Tonight he was laying on his back and rolled over to his tummy.  Then he went back to his back and rolled onto his tummy again.  It was his little game for the night.  

I tried to get out the camera, but he is just camera shy or something.  Every time I push record this red light starts blinking and he becomes mesmerized by the red blinking light and stops doing whatever he was doing before. 

In other news...yesterday was my Aunt's birthday.  I love her to pieces!  I made a cute little sign and snapped a great picture of Ryan.  

Why Ryan?

Out of all of the millions of names out there, how did we finally decide Ryan was the name for our baby?  Let me share...on October 31st we found out that we were going to have a boy.  We already had several girl names picked out that we liked but could not find any boy names that we found all that great.  We knew that because we could not find any boy names that we would probably end up having a boy and well...we were right.  

We were given lots of suggestions in the months leading up to the birth of our son.  Jeff and I had a little list but we did not share it with very many people for many reasons.  One, we didn't really want opinions.  Two, we weren't sure if we would end up using any of those names anyway.  Three, we wanted something to be a surprise!  

We went to the hospital thinking that we would probably name our child Evan Michael.  We liked Evan because it wasn't the most popular name out there.  The name had no meaning other than we liked it.  We also had two other names on our list, Jacob (we would call him Jake) and Ryan.

The moment that our little boy was born and I saw his face, I thought that he looked like a Ryan but I didn't say anything to Jeff.  The nurses quickly rushed Ryan to the warmer to get him breathing (that was the scariest moment of my life).  Once he was stable Jeff came over to the bed and whispered in my ear "I think we have a Ryan on our hands."  It was amazing!  Both of us thought that the name Ryan fit our son before we had even said anything to one another.  

Ryan was not official until the day after he was born.  We wanted a little bit of time to sleep on it.  I think that we picked the perfect name for our son! 

Happy 4th of July

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays of the year.  Maybe it is because it is during the summer...maybe it is because of the fireworks.  I don't know really why I love the 4th so very much.  Unfortunately, it was quite a dreary, rainy day here.  Ryan was asleep before the fireworks started (7:30pm).  We were shocked that he managed to sleep through what sounded like a war-zone around here.  (Fireworks are allowed in the city here so you hear explosions all around from late-June through mid-July).  

There are more firework shows tonight so maybe we can try again!  

Here are a few pics of the newest American in the family celebrating July 4th! 

Ryan figured out how to "lounge" on the couch yesterday...

Tummy Time Faces

Ryan has a love/hate relationship with tummy time.  He used to scream every time we would put him on his tummy but is slowly coming around.  Now he usually makes it between 10 and 20 minutes before he has had enough.  He is more talkative during tummy time than any other time of the day.  Here are a few of the faces of Ryan. 

The High Chair

For the past month or so Jeff and I have been eating dinner while sitting on the floor playing with Ryan.  While it is nice on occasion, I decided it was time to put the high chair together and get Ryan used to sitting at the table while we eat.  The chair has wheels on it and Ryan really enjoyed being pushed around the kitchen.  He seems to like the high chair...like most things.  :)