2 years and 5 months

Ryan's imagination has taken off a lot this month. I often catch him playing little make-believe scenes with his cars, farm animals, or other toys. He'll also have make-believe phone conversations, but loves having real ones on the phone, too. He has decided that shadows (and the dark) are scary and he often talks about "scawy munstews" but we can often overcome this by pretending to be superheroes and fighting off the "bad guys".

He loves the Go Fish! CD we have from the library and we've heard him singing along to B-I-B-L-E and other songs. He also frequently acts out 'Daven and Goliaf" which consists of him swinging his pants or other cothing object over his head for a slingshot while telling you (the giant) to fall down. He enjoys wrestling and riding on our back or shoulders like a horse.  We've gotten to play outside in the snow a bit this month where he loves using his own scoop and riding in the sled (not fast, though, he tells you to walk "slowy"). He is great at controlling the ball when playing soccer and I've caught Adam pitching to him, and having him pitch in the basement. I think they're ready for Spring!

He's gotten pickier about food and won't often eat meat or potatoes, but he loves vegetables (broccoli, corn, peas) and eats fruit except for pineapple and pears.  He also loves drinking hot cocoa with marshmallows when we come in from the cold! His favorite treat is ice cream with chocolate on top.

Ryan has loved building whether it is forts out of blankets and couches, towers out of Legos (including one that almost reached the ceiling), roads out of blocks, or just a huge pile of all the pillows and blankets he can find in the house.  He's gone to quite a few basketball games this month but the action doesn't seem to hold his interest. Divide and conquer still seems to be the best method when trying to complete things like clothes shopping.

He will now ask to take a nap when he's tired, but will sneak out of bed several times at night before he actually goes to sleep. We've had to convince him several times in the past few weeks that it was still nighttime and not time to get up (we usually give this a shot if it's before 6am).

Ryan is certainly in the midst of the crying/whining two's, but we love the fun times making goofy faces, learning new things, and having fun together.