Ryder's birthday ticker

Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

Harper's birthday ticker

Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

Shepherd's birthday ticker

Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

Monday, October 31, 2011

Ryder: 10 months and his first Halloween

All within the past several days Ryder has been to the doctor for his first sick visit, turned 10 months old, and celebrated his first Halloween. On Wednesday he was super lethargic and ran a mild fever; that disappeared quickly, but by Saturday morning he had developed a "barking" cough. Since both Andrew and my brother got the croup when they were little, we knew it was nothing we wanted to mess around with. Fortunately our pediatrician has office hours on Saturday morning, so we headed straight there when they opened. The doctor said we caught it early because his chest didn't sound too bad, but he might have a cough that lasts a week or two. She prescribed some medicine to help keep his airways open and basically keep him comfortable. It has worked well, and he is definitely on the mend! (By the way, there is nothing more adorable AND pathetic than a baby with a hoarse voice--he was raspy and squeaky for a couple of days until his coughing really kicked in).
He loves his dump truck!



following Mommy down the hallway

At 10 months old, Ryder likes: crawling all over the house, standing at the couch and tables, rolling toys and chasing after them, reading books, shaking his head "no", waving "hello" and "goodbye", playing peek-a-boo, "barking" at the dogs

Ryder dislikes:  lying still for diaper changes or to get dressed! (This includes costumes, as you will see below).






all decked out in his Halloween t-shirt, Frankenstein socks, and his first pair of jeans

caught in the laundry room!



getting into his crab costume

"Mom, is this a giant snowsuit???"

"I am NOT happy about this!"

distracted for a bit by the pumpkin

"I can't even move--this is ridiculous!"

throwing a temper tantrum:
"I'm just gonna lay here until you take me out of this thing!"

crabby little crab

so mad, yet so adorable!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Family Time

What a great weekend with the family! Pops and Grann came up for a long weekend in order to see everyone and help Mammy and I celebrate birthdays. We enjoyed having them at our house Friday night, and then we all spent the day in Richmond together on Saturday. It was a whirlwind trip, but it was great to see them!


Could he do a toothpaste ad, or what??

a lap nap with Daddy and monkey


reading with Grann

hanging on her every word


"Will Sing for Food"






celebrating 93 wonderful years!









Thursday, October 13, 2011

Our not-so-chunky monkey

I took Ryder to his 9 month well check-up today, so I have some stats to share. He got his final Hep-B vaccine and a flu shot--neither made him very happy--but the "Toy Story" band-aid distracted him and helped him forget about the boo-boos underneath. While waiting for the doctor to come into the room, he was highly entertained by the thin tissue paper that's stretched across the bed. He sat and kicked his feet and then slapped at it, grinning at the scratchy sound it made. :) We also looked through some of the children's books the doctor keeps in the room, and Ryder made his "Ah Ah" barking noise at pictures of any animals he saw. I just love to imagine what's going through his mind. Overall it was a good visit and the doctor gave him a clean bill of health!

height: 29 1/2 inches (83rd percentile)
weight: 20 lbs. 10 oz. (47th percentile)
head circumference: 46 1/2 cm (79th percentile)

In the past two days Ryder has mastered saying "dada". He will babble it over and over again with lots of emphasis on the "d" sound. (DaDaDaDaDaDaDa) Andrew is enjoying this new sound because Ryder's been saying "mama" and "baba" for a while now.

Here are some pictures from the past week:

enjoying the Fall Festival parade last weekend

standing at the coffee table and "talking" to me

part beaver???



sitting in a basket of clean laundry--I was carrying him around the house and he got the biggest kick out of it!


looking out the window at Ashley on the front porch

cooking in the kitchen with Daddy

Ryder "helped" Andrew make my birthday cake. :)

Notice who has the spatula!



some standing, crawling, and babbling