Ryder: 20 months

A funny Ryder story:
Occasionally when I get Ryder out of his crib in the morning, his sheet and/or pj's are a bit damp from diaper overload. This was the case the other morning, and here was our conversation:
M: Honey, you feel wet. Did you go pee pee in your bed?
R: No, rain. Wet.
M: It rained in your bed and that's how the sheet got wet?
R: Yep.
Needless to say, I cracked up laughing! He knows that when it rains, everything gets wet, so it was logical to him that it must have been the rain that got his bed wet too! A couple of days later the same thing happened, but this time he blamed it on "brown brown", his brown bear pillow that he sleeps with. Now it's kind of a joke each day, and he takes turns blaming his various stuffed animals even if his bedding is still dry. :)

someone found a fish tape in Daddy's tool collection

I asked Ryder to smile and say "cheese!", and this is what he did. :)

such a goofball!

creatively climbing the stairs

"Is someone going to drive me around, or what?"

buckling up!

Buckles, Doorknobs, Pockets, and Wheels

What do these things have in common, you might ask?  They happen to be Ryder's latest obsessions.

Buckles: (a.k.a. "bupples")
Ryder loves to fasten the plastic buckles that can be found on his changing pad, high chair, stroller, and car seat. Andrew even has an old belt with this style buckle, and it has become part of Ryder's toy collection for the time being. Luckily Ryder hasn't figured out how to unbuckle these things yet, so he will ask for help, and I'll unbuckle them at lightning speed while saying "Abracadabra!" as a way to distract him. I know if he sees me unbuckle something even once, he will catch on and I'll have to worry about him making a great escape.

Doorknobs:
Ryder closed himself in Andrew's closet the other day while playing in the bedroom. As I headed over to open the door, the doorknob jiggled back and forth a few times before the door pushed open and Ryder emerged with a huge grin on his face. What a sense of accomplishment! :) He had to play this little game about 20 more times, of course, before he got bored with it. Now he likes to try every doorknob in the house--time to child-proof all of the knobs!

Pockets:
From time to time I've put little rocks in his pockets when we're playing outside, but the other day was the first time he noticed that his shorts had pockets without me pointing them out. He put his hands in them and just walked around the house like that for a few minutes. He looked so adorable, yet so grown up at the same time! Now he'll rotate between just putting his hands in them and shoving puzzle pieces into them. I will definitely be checking his clothes more carefully now before throwing them into the washing machine!

Wheels:
It is amazing how much this little guy loves ALL things with wheels: cars, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, and bicycles. He has even noticed them on the bottom of his pack 'n play that is folded up in the corner of my bedroom. If we're in the driveway, he has to point out all of the wheels on our cars--and that's a lot since our driveway looks like a parking lot! I think I have a theme for his 2nd birthday party. :)

Note: I apologize for no pictures this time. I have to save something for his 20-month post on Friday!

Pregnancy update--26 weeks

It's hard for me to believe that Baby Girl's arrival is only 3 months away! I started back to work on Wednesday, and I know that once the school year gets into full swing the time will really fly by! No major changes since my last post-- I'm enjoying her "tumbling" routines that usually occur right after I eat and anytime I sit still for a period of time. So far she is definitely just as active as Ryder was during pregnancy. Now if only we could come up with a name...

26 weeks

Extended Family Fun

On Saturday we spent the day at Steve and Alison's house because Steve's brother, sister-in-law, and niece were also in town. Andrew had met and hung out with them before on a couple of different occasions, but I only knew them from stories Steve has told. We all thought it would be fun for Dailyn (almost 3) and Ryder to play together, and we were right. They got along so well, and with their blonde hair and blue eyes, they could definitely pass for siblings. We also joked that since they're not actually related they would make a cute couple one day. :) We enjoyed sitting outside while the kids chased each other around the yard and held "dance parties" in the screened-in porch. We probably should have just set up a video camera to tape the entire day, because there were way more funny and adorable moments than we were actually able to capture in snapshots.

Ryder admiring the tie-dye shirt Andrew made for Dailyn

Auntie Ali bought them the coolest popsicles! Ryder didn't move from this spot until his was gone and he was a sticky mess!

practicing for his role as big brother???

Fortunately, Dailyn was very sweet about sharing her baby doll and stroller with Ryder. :)

fascinated with a fly crawling across the table

Auntie Ali with her niece and nephew :)

sharing some blueberries and goldfish crackers

Steve and his brother Dave in charge of the kids

Awww!

preparing for the Johnson family tie-dye photo

Dave, Tracy, Dailyn, Alison, and Steve

(As you can see, Ryder and I didn't get the tie-dye memo!)

If you look closely enough, you can see a mosquito on Ryder's forehead! The poor thing now has a red bump between his eyes. :(

sniffing mint leaves from Ali's garden

a spontaneous hug while Ryder wipes his face--doesn't it look like he's sad and Dailyn's comforting him?

"Wheew! Now this is what I call relaxing!"

"What a day...I'm beat!"

Ryder and Zoe

(note: The last time we were at their house, Ryder created a "doggy door" by pushing out the screen on the bottom of the door. This time the door stayed propped open so it wouldn't get man-handled!)

Cute and Cuddly

While giving Ryder a bath the other night, Andrew decided to have a little fun with our little man's hair, which is in need of another haircut soon. I think he looked like a little sumo wrestler! :)

Tonight before bath time, Ryder wanted to "rock rock" with his two puppies and brown bear pillow from his bed. What better time to get out the camera?!

"Daddy, the flash is so bright!"

kisses for puppy

Baby Girl's second "photo shoot"

I went back to the doctor today for another sonogram to get the last couple of pictures that the baby just wouldn't cooperate for last time. Luckily today she was very agreeable, so the technician got the pictures fairly quickly and then I was able to just enjoy watching her on the screen. She was in a face-down position, kind of like she was crawling, so it was fun to watch her kick her little legs and flail her arms like she was punching. I am definitely feeling her movements more and more each day!

Baby:

Weight: 1 lb. 13 oz. (up 9 oz. since last sonogram two weeks ago)

Heart rate: 150

She's measuring 25 weeks 5 days, which is one week ahead of schedule. Another big baby on the way???

the perfect little footprint! 

(We have one just like it from Ryder's first sonogram).

24 weeks, 5 days

Me:
Total weight gain: 10 pounds
Blood pressure: 120/63

I'm definitely starting to feel "big" now. I spend a lot of time on the floor playing with Ryder, and it's not always so easy to get back up again. Bending at the waist is becoming quite the challenge, and Andrew likes to remind me that the baby will probably grow another 8 pounds before everything is said and done. :)

Next appt. --> Wed., September 5th

Ryder's 19-month stats

I feel like Ryder has grown up so much over the short time I've been home with him this summer, both mentally and physically. Based on his doctor's appointment today, the pediatrician said his stats reflect those of an average 2-year old, so my little man is ahead of the game! :)

Height: 34 1/2 inches (91st percentile)
Weight:  29 lbs. (81st percentile)
Head Circumference: 49 cm. (77th percentile)

He only had to get one shot today, but after being contained in the small exam room for the short amount of time it took for the nurse to get his basic stats and the doctor to perform a quick check-up, he was ready to leave. Needless to say, he was not happy when the nurse and I pinned him down on the table for the 3 seconds it took to give the shot. However, the nurse saved the day when she applied a Cars band-aid to his "boo-boo". And it wasn't just any band-aid; it was more like a sticker, and the car was blue, which just so happens to be Ryder's favorite color right now. I got him dressed and we headed home, where he couldn't wait to show Daddy the car on his leg. What was even cuter was that for the rest of the evening he would periodically lift up the leg of his shorts to sneak a peek at it, like he was checking to see that it was still there. I believe that it even survived bath time tonight because he wasn't ready to part with it yet. :)

Mommy's shoes and Daddy's car

I'm enjoying this stage of Ryder's life where he thinks Mommy and Daddy are super-cool and he wants to be just like us. I'm no fool--I know there will come a time when we are the last people he will want to hang out with. (Hopefully that phase will pass quickly!) Whether it's the food we are eating, the cup we are drinking out of, or the fact that we are washing our hands in the sink, he wants to have or do the exact same thing.

Out of the blue, Ryder came clomping into the kitchen the other day in my Crocs. :)

(a.k.a. my "watering the garden" or "taking out the trash" shoes) He proudly said "Mommy's!" before shuffling back out of the room.

"Hmm.....where should I go first?"

dodging doggy "land mines"

"Jackpot!"

Ryder has been obsessed lately with Andrew's Volkswagen Vanagon. He wants to sit in the driver's seat and pretend to drive or play in the back where he can walk around. (And of course Andrew loves that Ryder loves the van!) When we go outside, this is where Ryder always ends up.