Finger painting

We have gotten into the habit of closing every door to every room in our house that isn't completely child-proofed so that we don't have to keep chasing Ryder around. Lately, though, we've been slacking off a bit with the laundry room door. The most he ever does in there is open and close the washer and dryer when they're not in use. Well, we kind of forgot about the small can of paint in the corner of the room because it has been months since he last tried to pick it up, and it was too heavy for him to actually lift. Until today. Andrew had just gotten home from work and I was getting Ryder a little snack when I heard a THUMP! coming from the laundry room. It wasn't followed by any kind of cry, so I asked, "Ryder, are you ok?" Silence. I walked around the corner to discover Ryder squatting by the paint can, his hands making circular motions on the floor. He looked at me with a confused look on his face, and I looked at his hands to see that they were covered in white paint. I wanted to laugh and grab the camera, but I did NOT want the paint mess to spread. I stripped him down to his diaper (since there was paint on his shoes, pants, and shirt) and carefully carried him to our bedroom to show Andrew what had just happened. We decided that this definitely warranted an "emergency bath". By this time Ryder was crying because I was holding him and restricting the use of his hands; he cried through the entire bath, probably because he thought we were going to put him to bed in the middle of the afternoon without any dinner. :) He cleaned up just fine, but his clothes, (and my pants) are another story.

showing remorse

mug shot--definitely guilty!

the "crime scene"

(Thankfully Andrew was able to clean it up, minus a couple of spots in the grout).

Evening on the deck

Welcome, spring weather! Since Ryder is in love with being outside, the warmer temperatures make for some very relaxing enjoyable evenings while dinner is cooking on the grill. :) Yesterday Ryder discovered where we store our blongo ball game (a.k.a. ladder golf) and had a great time "chewing" on the rope. He is also a big fan of climbing up into the Adirondack chair and in and out of his wagon.

I love those blue eyes!

Look at those muddy little shoes!

getting a lesson on how to open and close the door of his wagon

"Hmmm...what else can I hide in this little compartment?"

"This golf ball is delicious!"

"How do I get out of here again?? I'm stuck!"

(Notice his cup he put in the trunk?)

We had to get him his own miniature Adirondack chair when we saw them on display at Lowe's.  (Note: The puddle of water under the chair isn't from him! It had rained the night before).

Silliness

Ryder was walking his crab last night (a little wooden toy on a string that makes a wonderful clackety-clack sound on our hardwood floor) and cracking me up as he made laps around the house. He was practically running, as if he were truly doing it for exercise. I grabbed the camera, but as soon as he noticed I was pointing it at him, he stopped. But his silliness didn't end there...

Ryder: 14 months

Why can't every month have 31 days? When I don't get the chance to write '31' as part of a date--and I write the date dozens of times on a daily basis--I have a hard time remembering to do Ryder's monthly update. :(
Ryder continues to surprise us almost daily with things he has figured out how to do. Here are a few changes since my last update post.

• He loves to "help" me do laundry. He will hand me the clothes, 1 item at a time, from the washing machine so that I can put them into the dryer.
• If you say "Follow me" or "Can you come help me?" he will reach one hand up to hold your hand and walk with you.
• He loves to jump on our bed, with Andrew's help of course! He smiles his big toothy grin and laughs.
• When we tell him it's bath time, he initiates a game of running away so that I'll chase and capture him. I've heard some of his best belly laughs this way!
• He LOVES to be outside, and if we say the word, he will head for the front door and reach for the door knob. He can reach it now, but fortunately hasn't figured out how to turn it! The basement door now has one of those child-proof plastic door knob covers just to be on the safe side.
• He's beginning to learn how to climb up furniture. He can almost get up onto the couch or chair by himself, and then he screams or whines for help. The problem is, once he's on the furniture he has no concept of gravity. He just dives forward, and without Andrew or me there to catch him, he would have hit the floor face-first many times. The first time he actually falls will be a rude awakening!

sitting in a "goldfish" pond

"Cheese!"

"Mom, do you have to follow me everywhere? I'm going shopping."

depositing toys into the fireplace

(I will only take them out when he's napping so he doesn't see how the fireplace screen comes off!)

an abandoned cart

wearing his "big boy" pajamas

If you ask him where the car is, he will look down and point to his tummy.

14 months or 14 years?

He loves to get in and out of the car since he loves opening and closing doors--over and over and over.....

A new role

Today I became an aunt!! :) My nephew, Parker, entered the world this evening at 6 lbs. 14 oz. and 19 inches long. (tiny, in my experience!) I haven't had a chance to talk to my sister yet, but according to my mom, everyone is doing great. They did text me a picture, and when I showed it to Ryder to "introduce" him to his cousin, he looked at it closely before putting his cheek against the screen--his version of a hug! That alone brought tears to my eyes! Angela....welcome to the world of motherhood. It is the most amazing, life-changing experience, and you will be a wonderful mommy to your little boy!

Cabinet Clean-out

There's no telling these days what I'm going to find when I open my kitchen cupboards. You see, Ryder likes to move things from one cabinet to another or put some of his toys in places you would least expect. An assortment of animals from his refrigerator magnet farm set showed up the other day on the shelf alongside the flour and baking powder. Some packages of peanut butter crackers ended up nestled safely in a stack of baking pans. Tonight while I was doing the dinner dishes, Andrew and I managed to catch our little "helper" in action. Ryder emptied an entire cabinet, even getting into the breakable pieces I keep in the very back. (Those were immediately placed up on the countertop to avoid any major catastrophes). After playing with his findings for a few minutes, he started handing them to me one piece at a time so I could put them back, and then he wanted to close the door himself. I love the fact that he inherited my "everything-back-in-its-place" mentality--at least for now! :)

"I'm goin' in!"

headed back in for more

"Now you see me..."

"...now you don't!"

"Here, Mom. I found these for you."

(part of the cleaning up routine)

being sweet to old Cody :)

Exploring the Great Outdoors

We're forecast to get our first real dose of wintry weather tomorrow (ugh!), but today was yet another spring-like day. We headed outside this afternoon to let Ryder do a little exploring; he is still pretty hesitant when walking in the yard, but he will take off running on the deck and driveway!

"I found a stick!"

He has to taste everything.

trying to shake the tree like he shakes all of the furniture in the house

no fear!

stealing a kiss from my busy little man :)