The littlest Texas Schleicher is growing up! :) At the ripe old age of
4 months, Ryan is becoming more interactive and more fun by the day! In the
past month, Ryan has become so much more aware of and interested in his
surroundings. He loves to grab objects and bring them to his mouth to explore.
He prefers being held facing out or standing up in someone’s lap so he can see
what’s going on around him. He smiles frequently and tucks his head bashfully
toward his shoulder when giving his biggest smiles. Ryan’s laughs are coming
more often and more easily (mostly while being tickled but also at silly noises
and goofy faces). Ryan giggles and giggles when being bounced up and down on
someone’s lap or on the “suspension bridge” at our neighborhood playground.
At his 4-month check-up, Ryan measured 27” (98th
percentile) and weighed 17 lb. 8 oz. (93rd percentile). Our big baby
is wearing size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothes. We are so thankful that he is
growing and developing normally and that he’s a pleasant, sweet baby!
Ryan has seemed to develop a fairly consistent rhythm to his
days. He still takes three naps a day (mostly still in his swing and always
swaddled tightly). His first two naps longer (1-2 hours), and then he takes a
short 30-minute catnap around dinner time. He still gets up twice most nights
to nurse but then thankfully goes right back to sleep. During the day, Ryan has
decided recently that he only wants to nurse on one side … which means that he
wants to eat again only 1.5 to 2 hours later. Like one of Kim’s friends said,
Ryan seems to prefer to be “half full.”:) On the positive side, though, we don’t see much spit up since Ryan certainly
isn’t overeating and Big Brother Ian only has to entertain himself for about 10
minutes since Ryan is done so quickly.
It’s bittersweet (though mostly sweet :)) to see Ryan lose some
typical newborn traits. Ryan can now easily keep his head steady while being
held and lift it high during tummy time. He keeps his hands unclenched and
likes putting them together or bringing them to his mouth. He’s drooling like
crazy and likes to blow spit bubbles, too.
Ryan can definitely recognize his family members. He saves
some of his biggest smiles and heartiest laughs for big brother Ian. He loves
when Daddy talks to him. And, he generally prefers to be in Momma’s arms,
especially if he’s tired.
This month, Ryan had his first cold. Poor guy! He also got
his first haircut. Kim trimmed about an inch from the back of his hair and a
half-inch near his ears. There’s still plenty of hair left on his head!
Ryan’s favorites include bath time (including LOTS of
kicking and splashing in the water), being held, being “worn” in the Moby Wrap
or Baby Bjorn, being outside, grabbing onto Momma’s hair and neck skin :), seeing his reflection
in the mirror, his “activity gym,” and his bouncer. He does NOT like loud
noises (he startles very easily) or when we try to feed him a bottle.
Big Brother Ian certainly isn’t changing nearly as much as
his little brother, but he’s definitely growing. Even friends that see him
regularly comment on how tall he’s getting. We haven’t measured him lately, but
his pajama pants ARE getting shorter on his legs and he’s getting amazing close
to being able to reach high enough to turn light switches off and on by
himself. That probably means that we need to get out our winter clothes box and
see how many pants we have that will actually fit him once the weather turns
colder. Ha!
Many of his favorites continue to be the same … trains,
ANYTHING that is “coupled up” (since it reminds him of a train), construction
vehicles, water, sand/dirt/mud/rocks, pretend playing, and books. He still
frequently asks for stories but wants to dictate all of the events. For
example, he’ll ask to hear the story of Princess and the Pea and then, while
Momma or Daddy is telling it, interrupt the story every few seconds to add
characters (usually himself or Sally, the bad listener) and completely revamp
the story line.
Overall, Ian seems to love being a big brother. When we’re
out on walks, Ian likes to “teach” Ryan about everything he sees. Ian likes to
make sure Ryan has a toy within reach at all times and loves making Ryan smile
and laugh. Of course, there are moments when Ian will be frustrated by Ryan’s
crying (or having to share Momma and Daddy’s attention), but the good moments
are certainly outweighing the bad.
In typical three-year-old fashion, Ian alternates between
wanting to be completely independent and wanting to still be a baby. He likes
knowing about things ahead of time and appreciates routine and consistency. As many
kids do, Ian likes to test the limits and try to do things “just one more time”
to see what will happen. He certainly knows what our “buttons” are and how to
push them. Thankfully, though, he’s still eager to please and (especially when
he’s gotten enough sleep) a sweet, predictable, loving little boy.
His vocabulary continues to crack us up. Kim overheard Ian
telling Ryan, “Don’t worry. You’re just a little congested,” one day when Ryan
had a cold. It’s funny when he knows a phrase but doesn’t quite understand what
it means. He’ll say, “That isn’t fair!” even about things that he likes. It’s
especially funny when he pulls out random British phrases from the Thomas the
Train videos (“stuff and nonsense!”).
We chose to not send Ian to 3-year-old preschool this year.
This gives us a chance to save that tuition money for when we’ll NEED it in the
near future. Plus, Kim is just not ready to give Ian up yet! That time will
come all too quickly (likely even next year in a two-day-a-week Pre-K). Kim is
trying to be more intentional about planning some specific literacy activities into
our days a few times a week, though we’re certainly not going overboard (playing
is still one of the best ways of learning for now, we think!). Ian IS very
interested in letters and numbers, so we’re just trying to follow his cues. He
also really looks forward to daily calendar time right after breakfast!
Ian continues to do well going to three-year-old Sunday
school by himself. He also has been loving our library’s preschool time (which
Momma and Ryan attend with him). In addition to songs and stories, the story
time also includes a simple craft project at the end. Ian especially loves
projects that include glue or scissors!
We thank our Lord for a fun month and look forward to seeing
what He has in store for us in the coming weeks!
