Sitting Up

I am a big boy!

Here I go!

And...gone!


We have been working with Ryan on sitting up. Much like his rolling over, he seems to have no interest in doing it on his own. He spends a fair amount of time in his exersaucer and jumparoo (have no idea what it's actually called, this is my name for it, it's the thing you hang above a doorway with a spring so the baby can jump around). He also spends time in his Bumbo chair which he is doing much better in, and now more than ever, he is logging in serious time on his tummy. But when it comes to sitting up, he still needs a lot of assistance. Our pediatrician felt that Ryan was completely on track with his milestones, but when I look at other babies, I see many who can sit up unassisted at a much earlier age. My Mom keeps saying, let's face it...he is held a lot, coddled and fussed over constantly...why would he want to do anything on his own??! It's true. It is time for tough love! Ha ha, that is a joke, but we do need to work him out a bit I think. I know he will sit on his own eventually, just as he will do everything else eventually...when he is ready.
And as I have said in an earlier post, I also think much of it is his personality. He is a very easy going baby and usually content doing whatever. So perhaps he will need some gentle nudges along the way. In the meantime I think I could learn a thing or two from little Ry guy about being content with where you're at in the present moment...

Growing Up

Ry and I had a photo shoot the other day. Upon reviewing the photos, I started realizing how much he is starting to look like a little boy. I never notice this in the every day; it is only by looking at and comparing photos that makes me take notice. I can't believe how much he has changed in 6 months!

A Day Like Summer

It definitely turned out to be a beautiful day. It was hot out! What happened to 70 degree days?! Well, I don't want to complain, we were able to enjoy the great outdoors and that is always better than sitting inside. We did go to the arboretum but never got out of the car. After waiting 15 minutes in a line of cars to get in, upon entering we found out that there was only shuttle parking and barely any at that. So we drove out and told Ryan that he would have to wait a little longer for his first experience at the arb. He seemed okay with it. We live only 10 minutes away and figured a stroller ride is a stroller ride to Ry at this point. Instead we walked around my parent's neighborhood and ended up running into Sarah, Madeline and JT (Sarah's parents live down the block!) and stopping to talk to other various neighbors along the way. Ryan loved the attention and was quite smiley for everyone!
He had his 6 month appointment on Monday and it went well. His height is 28 inches and weight is 18lbs 13oz (90th and 75th percentile, respectively). He is long and lean! We seem to be on track with all of his milestones. However, he has rolled over, as I have mentioned, but still not regularly. I know he is very strong because when I try to roll him back to tummy he really resists- big time! (he has currently only rolled tummy to back.) I don't know if it just doesn't come naturally to him yet, or if he is just so mellow that he could take or leave rolling over. When we put a toy just out of his reach he looks at it and tries to reach it briefly, but then usually just moves on to something else. Many times when he is on his tummy and he has pushed up a couple of times, he just lays his head down to the side and is very content doing just that (and I must admit, it is very cute. He just lays there as happy as can be, usually smiling and babbling away). He is so easy going that sometimes I think he is very happy just going for the path of least resistance. The mellow-ness he gets from his Daddy; going for the path of least resistance he gets from me! We'll see what the future holds for Ry and his rolling; until then, there is much laundry to fold....

Storytime with Gram

Keith was out of town this week and my Mom offered to come over for a slumber party last night. It works out to be such fun because my Mom and I stay up to talk and drink wine in the evening, and in the morning she is here to play with Ryan before he goes down for his first nap.
Here they are reading together this morning. It is supposed to be 82 degrees today so after lunch we will all head over to the arboretum for some fun with mother nature. More to come....

Signs of Spring

I have to post this photo of our Magnolia tree. It is having a great spring so far, unlike the past couple. Usually we get snow or a freeze right after it just starts to bloom, killing off the new buds and any chance of it reaching full bloom. After a long and very cold winter, I am thrilled that we got a chance to see this young tree in all of it's glory.
I wish I was more of a photographer...one of my new goals. A better camera and an eye for more artistic angles. Although I did take this one while holding Ryan....

Weekend Bliss

It is Saturday night, I just put Ryan to bed, there is a wonderful breeze coming in the window (yes, the windows are open! Hooray for spring) and I am settling in for a quiet night at home. Keith went to the Cubs game with some friends and the house is completely silent. I don't even have the TV turned on; I am just appreciating the quiet and occasional sound of a bird chirping.

My "weekend" is drawing to a close, as my work week begins on Sundays now. I am off on Friday and Saturday and I must say that I have really come to enjoy it this way. On Friday it was 72 degrees and sunny. Truly, a perfect day. I thought of many things that I could do with Ryan, going here or there, but opted to just stay home and take him for a nice long walk to the park in town near our house. Just Ryan and I. Keith was golfing or else he surely would have joined us with Scout and Charlie. At the park I put Ryan in the baby swing, not sure how it would go over (or if Ry would quite literally "go over"), and it was a huge hit! He loved being in the swing, just hanging out. He sat in it as I pushed him for several minutes, looking at all of the newness around him, and every few minutes he would start giggling out of the blue. It was the sweetest thing and made me giggle quite a bit as well. Those are the small moments that fill me up as I wind down the weekend and start my work week.

Photo Madness

I am experimenting with slideshows on the blog. I currently have 2 of the same ones posted in different locations until I figure out what I want to do where. In the meantime, enjoy!

Six Months!

Ryan is days away from being six months old and I can hardly believe it. He is growing up so fast, and it is only by looking at photos that I realize how much he has changed since he was born.
Keith and I have been so blessed with such a happy and healthy boy. It is amazing how curious he has become about everything. We have entered a whole new phase! Ryan loves reaching out for things that he is interested in, particularly faces, clothing and jewelry! I have noticed this mostly when I am trying to put him to bed. Even if he is tired, he will start grabbing my face, earrings or scarf and then smile as if he wants to play. I can no longer rock him to sleep unless he is extremely tired because he just squirms and reaches out for interesting things. Which leads to my next topic, a favorite one....sleep!!!
It is a small miracle, but Ryan is sleeping through the night with zero interruptions. He is no longer swaddled. In fact, we put him to sleep in just his sleep sack with BOTH ARMS FREE!!! And he goes to sleep! And doesn't wake up in the middle of the night needing to be comforted or repositioned or anything! It is such a gift to know that he can soothe himself back to sleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night. He goes to bed at 6 or 6:30 and sleeps until about 6:15 am. We had been putting him down "drowsy but awake" for naps starting about 4 weeks ago, and he learned how to fall asleep on his own. About 2 weeks ago, we started putting him down awake at bedtime and usually within 15 minutes he is asleep. It is a beautiful thing. Of course there are nights here and there that he wakes up and needs us and I must admit that I do like feeling needed once in a while!
I can't wait to see how much he weighs and how much he has grown at our doctor's appointment next week. He is eating cereal and veggies right now and will start with fruit this weekend. He is still rolling over sporadically and is starting the "sniper crawl" when on his tummy. One of his favorite activities is to sit on a lap and look at a book. He likes the small cardboard books and will stare at the pictures and turn the pages back and forth for several minutes at a time...well beyond the length of time that his attention span typically lasts. Bookworm??? Hmmm.....

Weekend photos

Here are some photos from the weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Brown were in town and Ryan got much attention and love. We had a lot of fun having the whole family together!

Go Broncos

Look at this big boy on his Broncos blanket! I can never resist a photo of Ryan wearing just a onesie!