ONE!

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” (65^th percentile) and 23 lb. 15 oz. (67^th 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!