Rylan has grown by leaps and bounds since his last update at 14 months. He is now walking all over the place, and wants to climb on everything. This is a kid on the move. He’s also a walking disaster. Seriously, he gets so excited that he tries to run and ends up smack on the floor (or into a wall!). Thankfully, he’s tough and has recovered quickly from some pretty nasty spills, but it would be nice to make it through a day without a new bruise or bump. Oh, the life of a little brother who wants to keep up with the big kids.
Rylan 14 Month Summary
Can I even call this little guy a baby anymore?! I guess at 14 months he is now technically a pre-toddler, but I think we will stick with baby for, oh, the next 17 years or so. We have been pretty busy for the past few months, so it really does seem like he just turned one. And he is just as cute and sweet as ever.
Rylan finally took his first steps a few weeks ago, and we were all excited thinking that he was ready to take off walking. But in typical “I’ll do as I please” child fashion, he is having none of it. Once he realizes that he is actually faster crawling than walking, he immediately drops to his knees. He even gets mad when we try to get him to walk. I guess you can’t blame him since he really just wants to chase his brother around and not have to concentrate so hard. His other gross motor skills have really improved recently though. He loves balls and can throw and catch really well. He’s also gotten more adept at playing with puzzle type toys (the “insert the square into the right hole” kind) and is super proud that he can now tee up the plastic golf ball, which he then attempts to hit with the club. Did I mention he comes from a family full of golfers who are quite possibly more excited about this than his first word?
Rylan 12 Month Summary
Rylan is 1! I honestly can’t believe it. Although he is acting older, he still has his precious little baby face, leaving me in a slight bit of denial over the whole year-old thing. I pretty much refuse to take him for his first haircut. I mean, look at that hair! You only get those crazy baby hair pictures for so long, and I plan on dragging it out as much as my husband will feasibly let me. It doesn’t help that he’s pretty much grown out of all his baby clothes (although I am more than happy to say farewell to onesies – those snaps are the bane of my existence). Thankfully, he seems to fully grasp his role as “baby of the family,” and is constantly laying his head down on my shoulder and smiling sweetly, or doing a little fake crying just to get your attention. He knows just the way to melt your heart and seems in constant pursuit of eliciting an “awww” from all those in his presence.
Rylan 11 Month Summary
I seriously cannot believe that my little baby is just one short month away from being a year old. That whole saying, “The days are long, but the years are short,” totally applies to how I’m feeling. With his cute little baby face, Brad and I are always remarking that Rylan seems younger at this age than Brandon did. Maybe that’s why it surprises me so much when he grasps a new concept. He’s beginning to understand processes lately, and likes knowing what to expect. As most mothers would recognize, he is in the pulling everything out stage – emptying a drawer or basket of clean diapers takes no time. Clapping is still his go-to move (everyone loves that he knows “If you’re happy and you know it”), but he has also gotten the hang of using signs for “more” and “all done” at meal time.
Rylan 10 Month Summary
I’m sure this past month has flown by for everyone, but seriously, where did 2012 go?! I’m still humming Christmas carols around the house! Somewhere in all this mayhem, Rylan made some huge leaps beyond the baby stage. Christmas was a lot of fun. We visited both mine and Brad’s family, so the boys had like 4 Christmases total. Can you say spoiled! Santa brought both boys trains, with Rylan’s being this larger Disney one with little characters in it. So far, I seem to like it way more than him. Maybe it was being around lots of family members over the holidays, or maybe it was just his time, but he’s seeming less and less like a baby everyday.
Rylan 9 Month Summary
This past month has been all about movement for Rylan. Long gone are the days where he will contentedly sit in our arms. Now he’s rearing to go and will wiggle and squirm until he’s down on the ground where he wants to be. He’s still only crawling about half the time, as he seems to get really excited and realizes that he actually moves faster pulling himself on his belly. Poor kid’s gonna give himself rug burn. Even bottle feedings have become a bit of a challenge since he doesn’t want to sit still the whole time.
Rylan 8 Month Summary
This has been an interesting month for Rylan. He’s had constant cold like symptoms for the majority of the month, which has thrown him off a bit. It’s left him congested and not wanting to eat as much as he normally would. He’s still been really happy, but had more fussy moments than ever before. I finally took him to the doctor and they said he was totally clear, so I’m attempting to resume our normal life of play dates and gym/church nursery visits (I’m a crazy stickler for not bringing your sick kid around others – my attempt to put out good mommy karma).
Rylan 7 Month Summary
Rylan turned 7 months old this past weekend! Time continues to fly as we’ve had a busy month – numerous trips for Brad & I, a long visit from Grandma, and a quick trip down to see Uncle Cameron get married. Rylan also had his first real cold this month. He has been a trooper through it all and kept his happy disposition.
Rylan has been very active lately, and is on the verge of crawling. It’s funny how I couldn’t wait for Brandon to be able to crawl, but with Rylan, it’s kinda nice being able to put him down and not worry about him getting too far or into trouble. That comfort is pretty much out the window, as he has mastered the inchworm and can work himself across a room in no time. I still can’t leave him alone in a sitting position as he tends to throw himself at whatever he is trying to grab. I’m beginning to wonder where his sense of self preservation is, or if little boys even have one at all!