Big milestones always seem to be nostalgic times for us! We
spent a lot of this month remembering back to how big Kim’s belly was, how
wonderful it was to meet Ryan for the first time, and how precious it was to
see Ian give baby Ryan kisses in the hospital a year ago. We’re in awe of how
quickly the year has seemed to skip along and how God has designed babies to
grow, change, and learn SO much within a year’s time! What a privilege to be
eyewitnesses of this growth! We feel so humbled that God chose us to be parents
of Ryan and Ian, and we are amazingly thankful that we can rely on HIS strength,
even through sleepless nights, parenting disasters, difficult decisions, and
trying days. God’s strength is certainly made perfect in our weakness! What a
blessing to have a Heavenly Father whose love is unconditional and unchanging!
And what a blessing to have two amazing gifts in Ian and Ryan!
Ryan’s big focus this month was on mobility. He started out
the month crawling everywhere VERY quickly (especially when he was motivated by
something, like the dishwasher being open). Throughout the month, he enjoyed
walking while holding on to someone’s hand (usually just one). Then, on May 6,
Ryan took his first steps while playing with Grammy! Since then, we’ve seen him
progress quickly from two or three wobbly steps between two people to walking
10-15 steps independently to changing directions/avoiding
obstacles/stopping/restarting while walking longer distances. Ryan usually
walks with his arms up for balance and a proud smile plastered on his face. It’s
adorable! :) He
also enjoys walking behind his Cozy Coupe (outside) or push toy (inside).
Ryan continues to work on communication, too. He still
primarily speaks jibberish with amazing inflection. :) He most often relays his
wishes by pointing, grunting, and/or opening and closing his fist. Every time
we carry him through the kitchen, he’ll start opening and closing his fist
quickly and leaning out of our arms toward the utensil cup on the counter. He
LOVES wooden spoons and would like to be holding one (or two) constantly! But
he is learning more and more words (some of which he probably knew last month,
too), including Mama, Dada, airplane (ah-pluh), ball (bah), open, brr (when he
hears the word “cold” or feels the cold fridge air) and water (ah-wa … we think
he may know Spanish! Haha!). He’s getting better and better and being able to
follow simple instructions.
Our active boy would like to always be on the go. Ryan doesn’t
like that reading books, getting diapers changed, or cuddling all mean slowing
down. He’d much rather be walking, crawling, trying to climb the stairs,
throwing an object, pushing a toy, or putting objects inside of one another.
Though it’s certainly too early to determine what Ryan’s strengths will be, we
often call him our little athlete since he seems quite interested in any sort
of sports equipment and is relatively coordinated with things like “batting” a
ball along with Ian’s toy golf club.
Ryan is now the proud owner of five teeth – two on bottom
and three on top. One more top tooth is on the way. Baby teeth are so cute!
Ryan
got his first ear infection (and antibiotic) this month after a couple of weeks
of congestion. :( He
also had a reaction to the MMR vaccination he got at his 1-year well-check -- a rash over his entire body. The
doctor compared it to a super mild (though non-contagious) case of measles. The
poor guy has had such a difficult time with sleep (short naps and many wake-ups
at night) through his illnesses. Though he has been understandably more whiny
and clingy, we’ve been really impressed by how even-tempered he is even when
tired and sick! He still is our mellow fellow! Ryan seems to prefer sleeping on his stomach.
We are still having to be extra creative and patient in the
eating department for Ryan. Ryan always likes yogurt and sometimes likes
applesauce, pureed mango, bits of bread, Cheerios/puffs, and frozen
blueberries. He also seems to be VERY interested in anything long and crunchy
(like Cheetos, apple slices, or carrots). Ryan seems willing to try most
anything but, within seconds of it entering his mouth, he spits it right back
out. He didn’t even seem to like his birthday cake and ice cream! (Certainly
THAT will change!) We haven’t figured out if it’s a taste or texture issue, but
we’re just continuing to try lots and lots of different types of foods in hopes
of expanding Ryan’s repertoire. When Ryan went in for his one year well-check,
he thankfully seems to be growing just fine, despite his picky eating habits.
He’s 30.25” (65th percentile) and 23 lb. 15 oz. (67th
percentile). Unfortunately, though, his routine 1-year-old blood work showed
that he has anemia –which makes sense since he’s not a huge fan of any
iron-containing foods! So, we’re working extra hard now to give him iron
supplements (which he also doesn’t like) and are continuing to push proteins
and iron-fortified cereals. We pray that his iron levels are back up where they
should be when he is rechecked in a month. On a positive note, Ryan is doing great
drinking from a sippy cup, and we’ve started giving him whole milk with each
meal.
Some of Ryan’s favorites include magnets, wooden spoons, water,
dancing to music, laying down on the floor, opening and closing
drawers and cabinets, pushing trains and cars, balls, and pots and pans.
He enjoys being
outside playing in the sandbox, swinging in the swing, bear crawling (knees up)
on the grass, pushing his Cozy Coupe in the cul-de-sac, and finding all sorts
of random pebbles, leaves, and acorns.
He still loves his “game” of throwing or
hitting a ball, crawling to get it, and then repeating the process as well as the
game of “finding” Momma hiding behind the loveseat or of "finding" Ian hiding in the closet.
He also LOVES helping to
unload dishes from the dishwasher. He’ll take one plate or bowl out at a time
and hand it to Momma. Momma has to work quickly, though, as he’ll drop it if
she’s not fast enough at grabbing it!
Like many toddlers, Ryan thinks emptying
out drawers, cabinets, and shelves is quite fun. Unlike some other toddlers,
though, Ryan routinely picks up a majority of what he gets out! What a little
helper! When he finds clothing laying in Momma and Daddy’s bathroom, he will
carry it over to our bath tub and drop it right in!
Thank you all for your support, encouragement, advice, and
especially prayers throughout the past year!
