Ryan is 8 months old!

Time keeps marching on … our mellow fellow is now 8 months old! He’s still as happy as ever, smiling and giggling often. We’ve added “happy flapper” to his list of nicknames. Whenever he’s happy or excited, it looks like he’s ready to fly away. So cute! :)

 

It seems like Ryan is learning new things each day. Mobility has definitely been Ryan’s primary focus this month. He’s not crawling yet, but he certainly is working on it! We can almost see his mind working as he watches a toy roll away, and then he moves from his sitting position into a crawling stance, and then he rocks back and forth before falling onto his tummy. Then, he tries to wiggle and rotate while on his tummy to get what he wants. He often will start scooting himself backwards … sometimes even the whole length of a room! Ryan prefers being on his belly to being on his back and will roll over immediately if we lay him on his back. Ryan continues to pull himself up to his knees, but he still needs a little help to get all the way up. Once he’s standing and holding on to something, he can stay that way for a long time! 

scooting backwards across the kitchen floor

standing at an activity table

  (scooting backward)

It has been fun to hear Ryan’s “vocabulary” develop this month, too. He babbles constantly and seems to focus on a certain sound for a time before moving onto another one. His favorite babbles are dada, mama, mummum, and buhbuh. He’s definitely social! He loves hearing himself talk and still readily smiles at anyone who talks to him. Just in the past week or so, stranger anxiety has started to develop. Ryan will immediately cry if he can see Momma or Daddy but is being held by someone else. For the past couple of months, we’ve been doing some basic sign language with Ryan. A few times, it seems like he’s signed “all done” at an appropriate time (while eating) or waved good-bye when we were leaving, but most likely it’s purely coincidental. ;)

(video of Ryan vocalizing ... mainly his manly "grunting" and some arm flapping :))

Ryan is still not the biggest fan of ANY kind of pureed baby food, though he has made some progress in the past month. At times, he seems to at least kind of enjoy some of the sweeter foods (like pears, peaches, and mango) and will swallow 8-10 spoonfuls before stopping. Other times, he will keep his mouth tightly clamped shut, turn away, and/or gag on the food that we actually get into his mouth. Interestingly, Ryan seems to do better if we feed him coming from his right side. (Good suggestion, Grandpa! We never would have thought of this!) Ryan enjoys bringing small bits of food (especially yogurt melts) to his mouth, though he will generally spit them out and/or gag before swallowing them. His favorite part of being in his high chair is getting a sippy cup! He gets VERY excited at the sight of the cup and will try hard to get water out of it!

A highlight of this month was spending Christmas with Matt’s family in Michigan and Minnesota. Ryan was spoiled by all of the attention from Grandma, Grandpa, and lots of aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family. He even got to meet his Great-Grandma Schleicher! Ryan enjoyed all of the gifts that he got for Christmas, but he seemed equally interested in chewing on the wrapping paper. He also attended his first wedding (for Matt’s cousin Sandra and Lonny). He also got to see snow for the first time. Apparently, he can take it or leave it; he had NO reaction when we let him touch it! :)

 

We had Ryan’s first ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) appointment with the occupational therapist. She’s a cheerful, laid-back Jamaican lady who has an amazing way of working with little ones. It was fun to see her evaluate Ryan’s motor skills and eating habits, watch her teach Ryan some things, and hear her suggestions. Overall, she didn’t seem to think Ryan was too behind. She said she thinks Ryan will be crawling in the next couple of weeks! She suggested that we have Ryan stand on the floor by the couch and use the couch as a “table” to play on so he can work on maintaining his balance. She didn’t seem too concerned about Ryan’s eating and confirmed that we should stop the eating session whenever he seems upset or not interested.  She will be a wonderful resource over the next few months.

"playing" at the couch

We finally transitioned Ryan from his pack ‘n’ play in our room to his crib upstairs. We were waiting for him to sleep through the night to move him …. oh, well! He actually is sleeping a bit better in his own surroundings but still gets up 1-2 times a night to nurse. He continues to be a good napper, taking two longer naps a day. He still prefers being swaddled while sleeping.

Some of Ryan’s favorites include cuddling, playing in the exersaucer, being outside, knocking over his stacking cups, reaching REALLY far distances, playing with the flaps on lift-the-flap books, chewing on books or toys, finding crumbs and fuzz on the floor, and holding onto strings and tags. Ryan also likes bubbles, bath time, maracas, and balls. Ian continues to be one of Ryan’s favorite people; Ryan seems to laugh most quickly when Ian is entertaining him. Thankfully, the feeling is mutual. Ian’s first question when awakening is usually, “Where’s Ry-baby?” 

Ryan loves cuddles and kisses

Bubbles in the bathtub are fun!

We feel amazingly blessed that God sent us Ryan (and Ian, too). What an honor it is to be a parent and get a front-row, up-close view of our Creator’s handiwork! And, what a privilege that we have our Savior’s guidance (through His Word and other Christian friends) and forgiveness (for those many times we stumble!) along this journey.

playing with Tupperware lids is fun ...

almost crawling

wanting to pull up while helping Momma put clothes in the dryer

Ryan loves the swing at the neighborhood playground, especially if big brother swings right beside him!

Thank you, God, for our sweet 8-month-old! :)