A run in the park

Several times over the past week Andrew has taken Ryder to the playground in our neighborhood after picking him up from the babysitter. The weather has been beautiful, and it's a great way to let Ryder run off some energy so that he's more content for the rest of the evening. Today I joined them as the official photographer since there's no way I can climb and chase him around! :)

1 plastic ball + 1 fenced in blacktop = how to wear Ryder out

Yes, this might look like a game of fetch that you'd play with a dog, but Ryder loved it!

House guests

My cousin, Nick, and his fellow bandmates needed a place to stay for a couple of nights while finishing up a tour on the East Coast. Andrew and I were happy to be able to host the guys since it isn't very often that we get to see Nick. There were 9 guys in all: 5 in Nick's band, and 4 in the band traveling with them. Andrew had set up our basement like one big dorm room, so besides eating together for meals, we hardly knew they were around. Ryder especially enjoyed the company; I think he thought they were at our house just to play with him! :)

Tuesday night dinner--Ryder was just one of the guys!

Ryder pushing on Nick and telling him to "fall down!"

Nick was a good sport. :)

Ryder got to eat his pizza at the coffee table Wednesday night so he could hang out with everyone.

building blocks with Nick

Big boy bed

Ryder has made a smooth transition so far into his big boy bed! Andrew set it up on Friday afternoon, and we made a point to make a really big deal out of how only big boys get to sleep in this kind of bed. I was nervous about how Friday night would go: would he stay in bed or end up trying to climb back into the crib instead? I turned the volume up more than usual on the monitor and checked the video screen several times during the night to make sure he was still in bed. Turns out I had nothing to worry about; he loves having a real pillow and all of his animals to cuddle with and actually slept in later this weekend than he has in a long time. :) When it's time to go to bed he will lay down so Andrew and I can tuck him in and give him a kiss goodnight, and then he grabs a stuffed animal under each arm and is asleep in no time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this bedtime routine continues!

On Saturday we took lunch to Mammy as part of a belated birthday celebration. She couldn't believe how much Ryder is talking, and I think she was worn out just watching how much energy he has! Here are a few pictures from our visit.

enjoying Mammy's walker

Ryder enjoyed playing with the "mommy" and "baby" flamingo

"Mammy has such cool toys!"

a worn out little boy!

Pregnancy update: 34 weeks

My appointment Tuesday was so uneventful that I literally could have just talked to the doctor over the phone if it weren't for the fact that I don't have a Doppler here at the house to hear the baby's heartbeat. I was in and out in under 20 minutes, and my next visit will be October 30th. (That begins my weekly appointments--I'm definitely in the home stretch!)

33w6d

Me:
blood pressure: 104/64
weight gain: less than a pound since my last visit
belly measurement: 34 cm (only a few days ahead since I'll be 34 weeks tomorrow)

Baby: 
heart rate: 140's
still extremely active! I think she's enjoying her last couple weeks of having enough space to move around freely, because she's been tumbling, poking, and prodding me constantly.

My to-do list:
-get a flu shot
-buy and wash some baby girl blankets and sleepers
-set up the swing and pack 'n play and put the infant car seat back in my car
-buy Ryder a "big boy bed" so we'll have the crib for baby girl

Graves Mountain Apple Festival

Yesterday we hopped in the car and headed west towards the mountains for an apple festival. Andrew grew up attending this annual event, and he knew both Ryder and I would enjoy it. We know we won't have too many opportunities for weekend getaways as a family of three, so we wanted to take advantage of it. The rain that was expected in the afternoon blew right over us, and it ended up being a beautiful day. We brought home a box of fresh-picked apples and one tired little boy, so the day was a success!

Andrew and Ryder went on the hayride together, and of course Ryder's favorite part was seeing the "big tractor".

It's starting to look like fall!

crates and crates of apples

Andrew and Ryder waiting to get off the hayride

an ENORMOUS cow--I wish Ryder had been standing closer to the fence for a size comparison.

the back of an antique fire truck parked at the farm

"dirty fire truck", as Ryder called it

Ryder wanted to climb every animal's pen. Luckily the animals were used to so much attention and were very friendly. This cow licked Ryder's shoe and his hand before the visit was over.

"Hi, cow!"

digging in (and throwing!) the rocks

my adorable little bee

climbing...again

Playing with the animals + running up and down the hills = passed out!

Pregnancy update: 32 weeks

Baby Girl has definitely hit a growth spurt! By the end of most days I feel so heavy that I have a hard time believing I will last 8 more weeks. I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, and a C-section is officially scheduled for Nov. 27 unless she decides to come earlier on her own. I asked my brother if he minds possibly sharing a birthday with his niece, and he's okay with the idea. :) Even Auntie Ali is fine with possibly sharing her birthday on the 23rd, so we'll just have to wait and see!

32 weeks

Me:

blood pressure: 125/65

total weight gain: 15 lbs.

belly measurement: 33 cm. (This means I'm measuring a week ahead of schedule now since I just turned 32 weeks today). The doctor is going to keep a close eye on this at my next appointment and possibly order an ultrasound to determine the size of the baby so we know what we're working with!

Baby:

heart rate: 145

She is very active, especially in the evenings when I finally have a chance to sit down and put my feet up. She's like a pinball, literally bouncing around and causing my belly to take on some strange shapes! I'm very curious as to what her personality will be like because she already makes me laugh. :)

Ryder: 21 months

In the pictures above he was being silly and saying "Boo!" Needless to say, I think he's too adorable to be scary. :)

New developments:

• recognizes opposites:
• 'big' and 'little'....he will even use a high squeaky voice if something is little, and a low deep voice if it's big
• recognizing when lights or fans are 'on' or 'off'
• 'open' and 'close'
• 'clean' and 'dirty'
• 'inside' and 'outside'
• knows the moon and stars are out at "night-night" when it's dark
• knows that 'green means go' and 'red means stop' (He's quite the backseat driver now when we reach a traffic light!)
• loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ("Mick Mou") on Disney Jr., and Goofy is his favorite
• identifies certain letters of the alphabet no matter where he sees them: D for Daddy-o, M for Mommy, P for puppy (or Pops), R for Ryder, A for Ashley (or Ali)
• says "Boo!" to get a reaction out of you (the crazier you react, the better!)

Expanding vocabulary:

It seems like his word bank has increased exponentially over the last month, so here are some of the most noticeable new words, in no particular order. (They don't all sound exactly like they should, but he's understandable and consistent with them!)

• pillow
• bed
• truck
• van
• firetruck
• airplane
• window
• kickball
• socks
• shoes
• tie-dye (Hmm, I wonder how he ever learned this one?)
• T.V.
• remote
• tools
• turn (He will say 'turn, turn, turn' as he twists a lid on or off)
• stuck
• ice cube
• milk
• cold
• cereal
• school
• pool
• chocolate (He loves the chocolate Teddy Grahams, or 'chocolate bears')
• pumpkin
• drain (At the end of bath time, he grabs all of his toys before they can go down the drain!)
• colors (red, blue, green, yellow, pink, purple, brown, orange, white)  He uses them correctly most of the time!

It's so hard for me to believe that 2 is just around the corner!