2 Years, 1 Month

Some of Ryan's favorite things to do lately include running around the living room, tackling anyone who tolerates it, playing soccer and football in the backyard, and going to music.

We are working on manners like not interrupting, waiting his turn, putting away his coat, asking with a "please" and receiving with a "thank you." We are also working through the tantrum phase as he learns that we are not going to do everything he wants. He has an interesting coping mechanism--when he gets very angry or frustrated, he purses his lips very tight and blows through them, then pauses, then make a very high-pitched staccato scream, pauses, and repeats. It's very hard not to laugh.

He is also developing a few stall tactics at bedtime. After bath and books, he won't fight going into his crib, but then dictates which CD to play, which 2 books he wants to bring to bed with him, the arrangement of his stuffed animals (moose, teddy bear, big puppy, cow pillow, rhino, and Catty), the level of light from his touch lamp, and how many people are on the prayer list (as many as he can think of). The good thing is, even if I leave and he cries, it lasts about 30 seconds before he gives up and goes right to sleep. With an 8pm-6:45am consistent night schedule and 1.5-2 hour nap, I have nothing to complain about.

Conversations with Ryan are getting more entertaining now that he asks and answers questions and has a little longer memory.  The other day we asked him what he wanted for supper and he said, "Ummm, I like veg-a-bles, chi-cken, and patoes." We kept talking about other things and all of a sudden he wildly interrupted to announce, "I LIKE MEATBALLS TOO!" When we were driving in the car, he launched into a long narrative along the lines of: "Mommy! Haybales! 2,4,6,7,8,9,10,11. Cows eat hay. Not Mommy, not daddy, not Ryan, not Nika, only cows eat haybales. Cows eat grass. Silage. Cornstalks beds. Gampa feed the cows. Drive tractor."

Ryan's new favorite food is ice cream cones. My mom found miniature ice cream cones which are perfect because they hold about 1 Tbsp of ice cream and he doesn't know any different! He has asked for ice cream for breakfast and sometimes negotiates for "just a lil' bit nilla ice cweam."

As the weather gets colder, we hate losing the ability to play outside at night, but will start spending more time reading in the bean bags or playing farm in the basement. It might be a long winter, but I have a feeling he'll keep it interesting!