Ryan: 3 years and 3 months

Ryan had a BIG month. With the birth of his new brother, Cohen, which brought him lots of "big brother" gifts and Christmas, he's made quite a haul.  So far, Ryan has been a great big brother, calling Cohen his "little buddy" and always wants him to lay on a blanket or playmat so he can dangle toys in front of him. He also likes to share things like his blankets and toys and says, "Cohen can have them because I'm not using them anymore."

With all the new toys, we've rotated a few out and Ryan has some new favorites. He absolutely LOVES playing with trains on tracks, whether at our house or at either grandparents' house. He also got some fun new farm equipment and expanded his herd of cows, so we've been building lots of fences and farm setups, even combining the farm with the trains so his new "Sodor Dairy" cars can haul milk.  He also got some new Lego people so we've been building houses instead of zoos.  He's much more into games and the current favorite is Hi-Ho Cherry-O. He has also gotten very good at puzzles and can do them independently, including a new Thomas the Train puzzle. He still craves our attention, though, and will often ask if someone will play with him.

We've had a few "attitude" issues lately, mostly around not wanting to eat what we have for supper (or using good manners to do so), not wanting to take a nap, whining about playing the ipad, and chasing Nika or acting too wild in the house. This could be normal 3-year-old behavior, or normal 3-year-old-with-a-new-baby-in-the-house behavior, but we're just thankful he hasn't regressed in other areas, such as potty training.

Ryan loves to tell stories and can spend over 2 hours talking to himself in bed (when he's supposed to be taking a nap). He will also rearrange all this pillows/stuffed animals/blankets in his room. He is in a bit of an "interrupting" and "questioning" phase and will ask us to explain just about anything he hears us talking about or anything he sees on TV. (Don't try to watch a parade or a football game if you want to hear what's actually going on.)

A new favorite activity this month has been playing in the snow. The first time he went out to "help" scoop the driveway, he made two half-hearted attempts to shovel and promptly fell to his back, made a snow angel, and started catching snowflakes on his tongue. He's also gone sledding a few times, including a trip to the Alton hill, which he deemed "too scary".