22 Months Old

July has been a BIG month for Ryan! We moved into our new house and he's had no problem transitioning. Adam and I went on vacation so he spent a fun-filled week staying with both sets of grandparents and with Abbie & Wade. Now that baseball is over, he's been able to spend large amounts of time with Daddy at home and exploring our new town.

Activites:

• Swimming at the town pool. He loves the zero-entry and walks right up to his chin! He even went under the water, accidentally, and didn't freak out.
• Playing outside, but when it's as warm as it's been, he's likely to say "Too hot, go inside" after a few minutes
• Playing with his little tractor and wagon he got for Christmas 2 years ago from Great-Grandma Boote. He loads up the wagon with various toys (usually a truck, a few animals, a microphone, and if the balance works right, a ball-popper toy) and then pushes the smoke stack to watch it go. This can occupy him for up to 20 minutes.

• We hooked up the sprinkler in the backyard and Ryan sticks his head right in the stream and then runs away laughing.
• Ice cream! which is usually followed by calls for "moh ice keem pees" (still no r's)
• Going to the Splash Pad in a nearby town with both Adam's parents and several times with Abbie & Wade. When grandpa sprayed him, he said "Grandpa time-out!" He's also fond of giving Nika time-outs outside, usually for trying to take food off his tray.

• Riding in the bike buggy. We bought it from one of our new neighbors and he proudly puts on his helmet and crawls in. We hope to do more biking once it cools down.
• Naming everyone or everyone's things. Like "Daddy sweet cone (corn), Mommy sweet cone, Yi-yun (Ryan) sweet cone, Nika no sweet cone"
• Announcing (usually falsely) that he has a "dirty diapuh"

• Helping cook or bake (brownies, mashed potatoes, popcorn, etc.)
• Driving the tractor with Grandpa (and run down the driveway after him when the tractor leaves)

Ryan's speaking continues to develop and this month we've noticed improvement in answering questions instead of just repeating what we say. For example, if asked "Where does Mommy work?" or "Where do you live?" he'll answer with the correct company and town. When asked "What did we do today?" he has answered "plant trees" or "gamma's house" or "splash pad" We can usually understand what he is saying (the video of his "recap" is an exception) and it is so helpful that we know what he wants to do, eat, or if he's too hot, cold, thirsty, or tired. he ask for what he wants, like "more casserole," "watch baseball," "go downstairs," "read a book,"or "Nika quiet!" He's also vocal about what he doesn't want, like "no bath." He likes to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Ring Around the Rosey" but he concentrates more on doing over-exaggerated motions rather than getting all the words right. He likes to count but usually goes "1,2,4,6,7,10 yay!"

Summer has been so much fun and we're having a blast watching him grow up (so fast!) He's a great little guy whose smile can make my day!