Ryan is half a year old!

Ryan is half a year old! What a fun age! It truly feels like only a few weeks ago that we brought Ryan home from the hospital! The next six months will probably skip along just as quickly. 

Ryan’s biggest milestone of the last month is that he learned how to sit on his own! He rarely topples over anymore and can even lunge for toys that he wants and then come back to a sitting position.  Ryan still doesn’t roll over much but he can rotate while he’s on his belly (usually to get a toy that’s out of reach).

EVERYTHING goes directly into Ryan’s mouth, if it’s up to him! He’ll reach for anything in the hands of the person holding him (or just try to dive at the object with his open mouth!). He also loves clutching Momma’s hair and trying to chew on that. He’ll sometimes gnaw on his thumb but his toes seem to be his favorite “toys.” 

It’s so cute that Ryan can now communicate his excitement by flapping his arms up and down. He gets especially excited to see family members … and loves to give all of us big, open-mouthed, sloppy kisses! He continues to “talk” a lot, often very loudly. “Ohhhhh” is his favorite word. He’ll sometimes throw in a consonant or buzz his lips, too. 

Ryan continues to be a good eater, nursing every 2-4 hours during the day. We started solid foods (bananas were first). The first day seemed to go really well, but he hasn’t wanted anything to do with foods on a spoon since. We’re sure that will change! :) Ryan is still waking up multiple times each night to nurse or be rocked. We’re starting to wonder if sleep training is in the future, as it doesn’t seem to be resolving itself. Ryan continues to be a good napper, though, taking two long (usually 2 hour) naps each day. He’s starting to give up the short evening nap and is going to bed a little earlier instead (usually by 7:30). 

Ryan continues to be mellow, pleasant, and just plain easy. We’re thankful that Ryan isn’t as fussy in the evenings as he was during the past few months. That makes for an easier time for Daddy while Momma is tutoring some evenings! 

At Ryan’s six month check-up, he weighed 19 lb. 3 oz. (79^th percentile) and was 27.75” long (89^th percentile). His big head is in the 99.83%! :) The doctor commented that Ryan was the happiest baby she’s seen in a while. Ryan was very pleasant the whole appointment until it was time for shots! Ryan seems to be doing well, but the doctor was a little surprised that he isn’t rolling over consistently yet. She said that he’s probably just developing on his own timetable but suggested that we call Early Childhood Intervention just to rule out any muscle issues. We don’t feel super concerned (it may just be that he’s perfectly mellow and happy in whatever position he’s placed on the floor … so why roll over?). A dear friend reminded me that her now school-aged, healthy, beautiful daughter never rolled over! We’re praying that Ryan that there are no major issues and that he just starts rolling over on his own even before ECI comes to evaluate him mid-December!

A highlight of the month was having Grandma (from Michigan) come visit for a week. Ryan (and Ian, too) got lots of attention and love! Dressing up as Santa for Halloween was also fun. He looked so cute, if we do say so ourselves! :)

 

Some of Ryan’s favorites this month included the exersaucer (he’s fascinated with the white ice cream cone on it!), the rock-a-stack rings, peek-a-boo, splashing in the big bathtub, being outside, and being sung to (especially “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”). 

We thank God each day for sending us such a sweet baby in Ryan David!

in the exersaucer

the white ice cream cone

the rock-a-stack rings

in the jumperoo ... so far, he could take it or leave it!

our sweet boy!