all things Ryan: 9 months

My baby is 9 months old! He's still as sweet as can be and he's up to 19.5 lbs (40th %) and 29 inches long (80th %). Here are his monthly chair pics and his current quirks and happenings...



~ He kisses! Of course, he's been getting kisses regularly for 9 months now. We didn't teach him to kiss. In fact, I first noticed him kissing the animals in his books. Now he kisses us. Normally he waits til we ask for a kiss but today he started copying us kiss one another...so in other words, when I kiss Chris, Ryan leans in and kisses Chris too. He kisses with an open mouth and sometimes he slips in a little tongue. And like us, he can't help kiss himself (or rather his reflection in the mirror).

~ He's such a happy, easy going baby, however he certainly requires his sleep. He currently takes 3, 1 hour naps a day and sleeps about 10 hours at night.

~ Ryan said his first word: Mama! He's been practicing his 'mmm' sounds for quite sometime now and there were many times I heard mama or mamamamama in his conversations. It wasn't until Chris got up with him in the middle of the night and Ryan said 'Mama' that I knew he was saying it.

~ He's working on waving. He's done it a few times, with a lot of coaching, but he's not sure it's something he wants to stick with just yet.

~ He's starting to army crawls towards more than cell phones. And his technique is improving.

~ He loves playing with paper. In fact, he gets a present from the mailbox everyday! I knew that junk mail had purpose.

~ Still no significant drinking from the sippy cup but he does take sips here and there. I've tried inticing him with apple juice (100% organic and sugar free of course) and homemade prune flavored water (cause he loves his prunes) but he just refuses most of the time. Oh, and unless he's laying on his back he won't even entertain the idea of putting it in his mouth. And bottles, absoultely not!

~ He's such a ham! He loves to make his silly face for the camera.

~ He couldn't be a more loved baby!

Baby's 3rd Visit to Texas

We all had to get up at 4 am to get to the airport on time. Chris wasn't able to come with us this time around, so Ry and I were on our own for the flight. Fortunately, he was great. He flirted with everyone! Unfortunately, he was so excited he couldn't sleep. And he certainly wasn't willing to sleep at Nonna's house. So, by the time he fell asleep in the car, on the way to his Great Mamaw's birthday party, he was over tired. Apparently an hour nap in the car was not sufficient because he was so overwhelmed when we arrived. He wanted nothing to do with anyone other than me. At least at first.

This was the face he made when anyone picked him up or even looked at him. Poor sad baby.

He warmed up to Uncle Dustin, so long as I was right there.

The following day he was back to his usual happy, rested self...

Nonna accompanied us on the flight back. He played full force for the first 1.5 hours.

Then passed out for the last hour...

Happy 88th birthday Great Mamaw!

on the move...

For the last several weeks Ryan has been perfecting the army crawl.

Although you can't see Chris, Ryan's face tells you just how silly his Daddy looks crawling on the floor.

He only travels for something incredibly important: cell phone, computer, crisp sheet of paper. He's certainly in no hurry to become more mobile, and I'm enjoying the little time before he's in constant motion.

1st Trip to the Zoo

Chris, Ryan and I went to the Richmond Metro Zoo this weekend with our friends, Kevin, Jenn, and 16 month old Patrick. It was a totally different zoo experience this time around as it was the boys first time to see all the animals. Both boys, and all the parents, had a great time!

"Brown bear, brown bear what do you see?" "I see a Ryan looking at me."

"Wait, I thought I was a monkey?"

Patrick and Kevin admiring the birds

Jenn befriending the penguins

Cause, everyone needs a picture of a warthog...

They keep Mommies here...

Good times feeding the giraffes!

Ryan and the Rino's

The zoo is exhausting!

backyard fun

wind blowing through his hair...

spending quality time with Mazie...

enjoying a book in the great outdoors...

hamming it up for the camera...

mesmerized by the blowing leaves...

ok Mom, enough with the camera...

all things Ryan: 8 months

EIGHT months already! He's weighing in at 18 lbs, up, I mean down 1 lbs from last month. Uh, oh. As for length, he's 28.5 inches tall, up 1.5 in from last month. Here are just a few of the many things I hope to remember about this month...

Monthly Chair Picture


~He's such a mellow baby. Don't get me wrong, he's constantly exploring while awake. He loves playing with his toys, books, zippers on my clothes, and just about anything else he can get his hands and mouth on. Along with being calm, he's also a pretty quite baby.


~He will bend over backwards to see a TV or get to our computer or blackberry.

~He continues to sleep through the night, most of the time. If he does wake, he nurses and then it's back to bed.

~He's started squishing his face. He started doing it when he was frustrated, but now he does it just to be silly. It makes me smile every time.


~He wakes up incredibly happy. He usually plays in his crib awhile before requesting to be let loose.


~He still sucks his thumb when he's sleepy or upset.

~He still uses rolling as his primary method of movement but he's now incorporated a slight army crawl. He seems to have zero interest in getting on his knees for a true crawl.

~He still loves the Moby. Here he is being my taste tester. Mmmm.....pureed prunes!


~He's become a bit more selective with his foods. He prefers fruits over veggies. His most recent new foods are whole milk yogurt and blueberries.


~He's decided to completely refuse the bottle. He won't even entertain the idea of the bottle. He swats it away as if disgusted by the thought. This has, by far, been the most challenging issue this month. We've substituted one daytime bottle for solids. While we offer a second bottle during the day, he generally refuses, so we then mix some milk into his solids and he takes it like a champ. To top it off, he won't take a sippy cup either! This is likely the cause for his weight loss which we are working on.

~He recently found his penis! Grabs it at every opportunity. Perhaps this is what prompted him to learn to undo his diapers...

~So, add ortho to the list of specialists seen. Nonna noticed Ry's thumbs were unsymmetrical. Yes, his doctor father, nurse mother, and his pediatrician didn't notice this. Anyhoo, his right thumb is smaller than his left. Diagnosis, uh, unequal thumbs. If his function is compromised it may need medical intervention in the future but I highly doubt it.

~He continues to be such a happy baby. He laughs at the silliest things which in turn makes me do the silliest things. But few things are funnier to Ryan than Mazie...eating ice, scratching her head, tap dancing for food, hilarious!

~Just when I think I couldn't possibly love him more, I do!

~BONUS~

He was being such a ham during the 'monthly chair photoshoot' I just have to share...