Here are some of the highlights and big topics for my big boy:
1. I'll input the weight/height/and development stats here after tomorrow's pediatrician visit.
2. Ryan talks a lot!! If you went back an read my posts from a year ago, I was concerned he would never talk, his speech was delayed, but now that he has gotten the hang of it, he doesn't stop talking. From the minute he wakes up to the minute he goes asleep he is talking. He asks a lot of questions and tells us silly stories and sometimes I think he just likes hearing his own voice :)
3. Speaking of speech, he goes to see a speech therapist once a week. We started going back in November based on the recommendations of his preschool teachers. He had the eval and they recommended therapy to help improve his skills and help to battle the drool issue. Ryan really likes going, but at this point I don't know if I notice a huge change. He is still difficult to understand, but I would say that his level or sentence structure and putting together thoughts has definitely increased.
4. On that topic... he still drools. Ugh! I can remember asking when he was 3 months old, and 6 months, and at a year old- When is he going to stop drooling? Well the answer so far is, Never! I can't tell if its a swallowing issue, a lazy issue, a sensory issue- but he still drools frequently. Its a point of discussion for the pediatrician tomorrow, what can we do to fix this problem.
5. Kids say the funniest things- Its true! Some of my recent favorite expressions that he uses are "Oh man" after anything that doesn't go well. Then he has his favorite pick up line "Whats your favorite truck?" and he expects you to have a detailed response (for example: an excavator with a tall boom and a big shover on tracks not tires). He is also starting to imagine things, so when talking about trucks or boats or houses, he always wants to know the size... so a popular question is "How big is it? Show me with your hands." We tell Ryan that Patrick will be able to play trucks and blocks and sports with him when he gets to be bigger like him, so now every day Ryan asks "Is he bigger yet?" almost expecting him to go from baby to big boy over night. Lastly, since he has figured out the concept of parents, he now calls Gigi and Pops and Grandma and Grandpa our parents... for example he won't say "We are going to see Grandma", instead he will say "We are going to see Daddy's parents. I could come up with a million more, but those are my favs, too cute!
Also, because of the Olympics being on TV, Ryan and Mike started doing their own creative ice dancing routine. After the final lift and spin, Ryan will face his audience and say "Ta Da, Thank you Thank you" as he bows several times. I need to get it on video... super cute.
6. Ryan's favorite things- Umm Trucks, and more trucks, and all different kids of trucks. He likes playing with trucks, looking for trucks on the road, building trucks, reading books about trucks, talking about trucks, watching truck shows on TV and the iPad... life is all about trucks right now. I know more about construction trucks now then I ever have my entire life. Ryan's favorite is the excavator, mine is the Feller Buncher, and Mike's is the bull dozer. Everyone has to have their own favorite truck.
Besides trucks, some other interests are boats and dinosaurs. Just like with trucks, he likes to talk about different kinds of boats, look them up online, generally he gets pretty obsessive on certain topics.
7. Because of the interest in boats (and whales should be on that list too), he is back to loving baths. He will on his own, run upstairs, take off all his clothes and yell to us that he is ready for a bath.... and this occurs randomly at any time during the day. No wonder the poor kids skin is so dry and sensitive.
8. Segway into his skin issues- I feel like they are a little bit better this winter. He is still dry and has some eczema/chapped spots on his face but in comparison to last winter its pretty good. His ankles and hands and behind his knees are all looking really good.
9. Favorite day time activities- Like most kids, Ryan's favorite things to play with can change from week to week, but generally his favorite things to play with are his duplo building blocks, Hess trucks, his train table, and play doh. Then next on his list would be doing puzzles (like real puzzles, not the shape ones), cooking in his kitchen, coloring, and building with his tools. He has just recently started pulling out his golf and baseball things again... its like he understands that its almost spring time and golf and baseball are in season.
10. He is into singing songs. We listen to "songs" in the car and he sings along, and we catch him singing in bed and singing while he plays. He is pretty good at remembering all of the words and just singing to pass the time.
11. We are finally starting to play pretend (I feel like girls do this playing pretend thing much earlier than boys... or maybe it was just not something Ryan did) but all of a sudden the last few weeks Ryan wants to play pretend with us. Some days we are all dinosaurs and we are chasing each other around the house acting like our dino characters. He really likes the Paw Patrol show on Nick Jr. so we play a lot of that. He is Chase and I am Marshal (and everyone else from the family has a character) and we have to pretend we are that character and go on missions. He gets mad if I call him Ryan... its Chase and he is a pup!
12. Lastly his schedule- I am living off of reading the posts about his schedule from when he was a baby (to use as a guide for Patrick) so even though it is boring, I need to post about it.
Normal day is pretty straight forward...
Wake up between 6:30-7
Breakfast between 8-8:30
Whatever the days activity is from 9-12
Lunch around 12
Nap from 1-3
Play time after nap
Dinner anywhere between 5:30-6:30
Hang out and bath time
Normally in bed around 7:30
This is very general, but we are much more flexible with his routine then we were when he was younger. He can nap early if we have something in the afternoon, or later if we have a busy morning. He can go to bed early if he had a crazy day, or stay up much later if we have something planned in the evening. As long as we generally follow this routine and he still gets a good nap, he is flexible.
Thats it for now! I do have some behavioral/developmental concerns, but thats a post for a different day... after I talk with the doctor. Todays post is all for fun.
Birthday party- We had his birthday at Gymboree and he LOVED IT! I was surprised how well it went. Noah, Blake, Brooklynn, Eloise, Mason, Bennett, Emma, Charlie, Angelo, and the babies Patrick, Henry, Briggs, Julia, JJ, and Sophia all came to celebrate.
The theme was trucks (SURPRISE). Even though we did that for his first birthday, I had to give the kid what he loves.
Here are some pictures of Ryan at three and from the birthday party!
