2 years & 9 months

Ryan has been enjoying his summer although it's been too hot to do a lot outside. We've enjoyed swimming a few times and have also used the sprinkler, the hose, and buckets to keep cool. He continues to enjoy his playset, especially the sandbox. Inside, he still likes setting up all his "sets": farm animals with fences, tractors and wagons, cars, and wooden blocks. He also can independently build "zoos" on his Lego table, usually sorting all the same colors together.

His facial expressions and funny questions/antics are only getting sillier. He'll ask a questions and end it in "Why, Mommy, Why?" to make mundane things seem completely dramatic.  Such as, "Why are we having hot dogs for supper. Why, Mommy, why?" or "Why does Nika have to go outside? Why, Mommy, why?" He also loves to be tickled when we rub his back at night.

People ask him about being a big brother often and he usually just shies away or doesn't answer. He does pat my belly sometimes and talk to the baby. He says my belly is getting "big enough." Oh boy, I wish.  Sometimes he says he's going to have a "brudder" and sometimes a "sister" and talks about how he's going to teach the baby how to do different things, like go down the slide, and play tractors.  One night in the middle of singing a song, he asked the inevitable question, "How is the baby going to get out of your tummy? I was semi-prepared for this and told him, "The doctor will help get the baby out." And Ryan gave me a questioning look, asking, "But the doctor doesn't have any tools?" I just said the Doctor will know what to do, so he doesn't have to worry about it. I have a feeling the questions will only increase. We are planning to bring him along to the 20-week ultrasound in a few weeks and he seems excited to "see pictures of the baby in your tummy."