Ryan still is not walking consistently, but he’s doing a lot of other things. He’ll take a spoon and try to feed me with it, use a brush to brush his hair, attempt to put hats on his head, use his hammer and tools to try to pound things, etc. He even picked up my dangly earring and tried to put it back on my ear, holding it up and then letting go to see if it would stay. He’s really figuring out how stuff works. He seems too young to be able to do all of that, but then I realize that he’s almost 11 months, so it’s really pretty normal. I think because he’s not babbling as much or with as much variety as Addie was at this age, I tend to view him as younger or not able to understand as much. I know that typically boys are slower in the language department. For all of you working on your second babies, you will be amazed at how quickly you forget stuff – how soon things are supposed to happen, when the nap schedules changed, etc. I don’t even remember when Addie started really using her first words. Thank goodness I wrote it down. Speaking of, Ryan does consistently say "DaDa" to Matt, and also to the fridge, where he loves to look at pictures of Matt and I. I ask him to say "MaMa," and he smiles great big and says, "DaDa!". Addie did the same thing. He seems to make Moo sounds sometimes, and he has been making a clicking sound when he sees giraffes – we never knew what noise to make for a giraffe, so we make a clip-clop hoof sound for giraffes, zebras, and other hoofed creatures without a distinctive noise. So now Ryan will pick up a giraffe and make the clicky noise. We went to the zoo yesterday and saw the two week old baby giraffe that was just born, and Ryan was intrigued by all the animals. I have a photo book that I made two years ago when Cammie came to visit. She was three and Addie was 9 months, and we did lots of stuff at the zoo while she was here. So this year, I tried to get some new pictures in the same places with the girls two years older. However, the crawl-through aquarium was closed and the carousel was broken, so there went two photo ops. Oh well.
Caiti leaves to go back in about two and a half weeks. We will be gone all of next week while she’s home with Ryan, and then we will start the big massive house purge to begin separating stuffed animals, toys, clips, markers, craft items, doll clothes, underpants, toothbrushes, blankets, etc. that very swiftly became mixed together. And even so, I know I will probably have a big box of Cammie’s stuff to mail her after they leave, as I find more things that I missed. This will be a good thing though, because Ryan has outgrown a lot of the infant type toys now so I can FINALLY pass them along for good.
Matt and I are SO looking forward to our cruise. We haven’t left Ryan since he was born almost a year ago, and while that may not seem like a big deal, we are both committed to making the effort to get away with just each other. Sometimes we don’t always feel like we need a break from the kids, but we trust the advice of older couples who say to make the time for each other even if you don’t think you need it. Marriage has never felt like work to either of us (at least the relationship between Matt and I hasn’t; taking care of kids is a different story!!!!), so we want to keep the connection strong. When Addie was littler and it was just the three of us, most of the time there was nowhere we’d rather be than home with her, but we both realize that you have to tend the relationship before something happens. Call it preventative care. So anyways, we’re going to have a blast. Matt’s best friend from high school, Eric, is coming along too.
Finally, here are the pictures of the dress-up area. I still haven't gotten the curtains, but they will come one day. The dress was a stamp, and the flower thing was a stencil. I have a few other stamps, but I'm not sure where I want to use them - I don't want to clutter up the wall just for the sake of stamping.
The border was wallpaper that I got on clearance ($5 for the whole huge roll) and then I cut it into thin strips to make the border. It's pink and purple stripes, which are kind of hard to see in the picture.
Oh, we got this pool at Target on clearance for $15. I love the sunshade, and it's actually a pretty good sized pool.
That's all for now....got to use the nap time wisely and constructively!
Hope ya'll have a great trip. You're right, I think every marriage needs just the parents to have time together regardless of how things are going.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the dress up room. Wow! Maybe you can come decorate for Brielle :)