2 Years Old

Ryan is 2 years old! What a blessing the last two years have been. I know parents everywhere warn you how fast time can go, but it's still hard to imagine how fast he's grown up!

Ryan continues to be a healthy, happy boy. At his 2-year checkup, he measured 36" tall (80th percentile0 and weighed 32.6 lbs. (90th percentile). As he's neared the 2-year mark, we have definitely noticed some "twos' behavior such as more whining, crying, and an occasional meltdown, but he can also be a delight to play with.

The variety of food he eats is increasing (with the help of our wonderful day care provider) and he will actually eat a few vegetables willingly (as long as you let him shake "pepper on the peas." His favorite foods are still grapes, toast "with pink jelly", yogurt, Special K, cheese in various forms, mini muffins, "sketty",  and of course, ice cream. He can feed himself independently and has even mastered cereal with milk! He has a hearty appetite at some meals, and no interest at others. This morning, for his birthday breakfast, he destroyed 5 mini blueberry muffins, scrambled eggs, and yogurt and is currently asking for more of all three. :)

Ryan loves playing with this farm and tractors, his Little People sets, stacking blocks, and building with Kids K'nex. Outside, he loves tackle football, playing at the park, drawing with chalk, and kicking the football.  Other activities he likes are going to football games, volleyball games, soccer games, and the grocery store! His favorite teams are the Vikings, Hawkeyes, Raiders, and Dutch! So pretty much he cheers for any team he sees dressed in purple, red, or yellow.

Ryan has ventured a little outside the usual Sports Center and football, baseball, and golf as far as TV-watching. His favorite TV show is Super Why. Mommy wasn't as impressed with the recent episode of Dinosaur Train called, "All Dinosaurs Poop."

Speaking of that, we have regressed in any sort of potty training. Ever since we moved, he has refused to use his little potty and shows little interest in it. I guess neither of us are ready to tackle that milestone yet. We're just working on brushing teeth, washing hands, and not throwing food on the floor.

Ryan is in the "curious" stage and constantly asks, "..uts dis?" (What's this?), and "...uts Nika doing, uts Daddy doing, uts Mommy doing." Thankfully a lot of times he answers his own questions (usually "being naughty, at school, at Pizza Ranch," respectively. He likes to be independent at certain things like brushing his teeth, stirring things while helping me cook, getting into his car seat, and combing his hair, insisting, "RYAN do it." But if he gets frustrated stacking blocks or setting up his farm, he'll readily ask, "Need help."  The "give kids two choices to help them feel like they have some control" usually backfires with him as he'll choose BOTH option and then get upset if he can't wear his football jammies AND monkey jammies at the same time. It is also difficult to be both "upstairs" and "downstends" at the same time.

Ryan loves his new cousin, Baby Saylor, and is learning how to get along with older kids at daycare. I think he fights like a brother with T who is 6 months older than him, but it's good for him to toughen up a bit. He seems to be pretty sensitive to what he sees and has figured out how to show he's scared of something (usually by cowering into your shoulder and whimpering "not scared, buffalo"). He'll spend the rest of the night telling you how he's not scared.  He hates watching anyone fall or get hurt on TV--he has cried watching a lady fall off a horse on America's Funniest Home Videos and burst into tears when a cowboy got bucked off a bull during a rodeo. (I guess he could learn a few things from my cousin, Jory.)

Development-wise, his large motor skills are very good. He can throw a ball pretty accurately, kick a football, and can even hold-out and drop-kick a football (if he's lucky). His small motor skills are improving with a little more interest in coloring, manipulating small objects like hooking up the wagon to his tractor, and playing with K'nex.  He language skills seem to impress people too as he can speak pretty clearly in several-word sentences. No "r" or "s" sounds yet, but you can believe Grandma's working on that.  He also has a good memory, remembering people's names, what they played with last, and even what their houses look like.  Last weekend he commented on "Aunt Kim's car" as walked by it, even though he hadn't see it in several months. He is starting to understand "tomorrow" and other days of the week. He'll tell you "Gamma B---- come on Wednesday!"

Overall, we have a sweet, smart boy (doesn't everyone?) and we couldn't imagine life without him...although I would imagine it would involve sleeping a little later on Saturdays.

WE LOVE YOU RYAN! 

Happy Birthday!