Ryan is 7 months old!

What a joy Ryan is each month as he grows and changes daily. Here are a few words that come to mind that describe his personality lately: happy, smiley, determined, loving, stubborn, funny and social. Ryan is becoming even more interested in the world around him and I can tell he is learning new things everyday. He is especially fond of his kitty, Toby and if the cat comes into a room you can be sure that Ryan will be coming after him rather quickly with a smile on his face and jabbering away. He continues to wear size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothing. Most one piece outfits have to be 9 months for the length. He has a few 12 month onesies that fit already too. Shorts and pants that are 6 month still fit just fine. The past month has been full of new milestones. Here are a few of them:

• Sitting up unsupported- now gets to ride in grocery cart up front and high chairs at restaurants
• First two teeth on the bottom
• Starting to pull up on things like his bookcase, the couch, the coffee table underneath ledge, and especially people (we lowered the crib mattress)
• He is laughing more and more and sometimes at the most random things which we think is so funny
• His smile is really developing and just getting cuter! He smiles at anyone in a store who will smile back or pay attention to him
• He does get startled at strangers getting up in his face (lady at suzushii and G.O. nursery) and will cry when he gets scared- including extended family or friends he hasn't seen in awhile (sorry Lisa & Kacey)
• He attended his first TCU football game (out of the womb- he went to all of them last year too!) and his first visit to Dallas Cowboys Stadium. He had a good time for the most part (got sleepy and scared of the noise at times)
• He is scooting like crazy and can get places fast! He is getting up on all fours much more often and rocks back and forth with an occasional movement forward on all fours. I think he is just days from being considered truly crawling
• He is now combining consonants and vowels, some sounds we've heard lately: dada, baba, gaga, mama
• He had his first bath in the "big boy" tub Aug 13th and has done them that way ever since. He enjoys sucking the water out of the washrag and playing with toys
• He is pushing back when on his tummy and is able to push back to a sitting position from there. I actually found him sitting up in his crib the other day after a nap which surprised me since I've only seen him do it a handful of times.

Looks like we have more baby proofing needed soon. I have been intending to buy two gates (soon!) as well as foam stuff to cover the edge of the fireplace. Other than that just a few cabinet locks for harmful places and I think we'll be good. Ryan's feeding schedule is becoming much more routine, although we still have days that are an exception. His typical day consists of wake up-nurse 7:30-8am, play, saucer (while I eat), his solid foods-fruit and cereal around 9-9:30am, typically long nap 2 hrs shortly after that (while I clean the house and shower). Nurse around 11:30-noon, play and read books, jumper time, nap around 2:30pm for about an hour, nurse again around 3:30-4pm, then play again- sometimes TV (generally the news, but I try to put on a kid show every now and then such as Yo Gabba Gabba-recommended by cousin Leigh), occasionally I will get another 45 min nap out of him right before dinner times, but not always. He'll nurse again around 6-6:30pm then eat solid foods-veggie and fruit with us at dinner. Bath time is 8-8:30 then I nurse him to sleep- really more of a comfort thing for him than a necessary meal I think, so eventually I do think I should try to cut this out, but it works for us. He is still waking up once almost like clockwork between 4-5:30am. That's a typical day in the life of Ryan! When I say typical I mean for the last week or two because it seems he is always changing things up, but they follow the same routine just different hours. Favorite solid foods continue to be sweet potatoes, pears, peaches, apples, squash, and bananas. He is even starting to take cereal okay- not always great, but better. The only things I've found that he really hates are peas and plums. We are doing well with our introduction of the foods for 6-8 months. We still have pumpkin, mangoes, nectarines, zucchini, parsnips, turkey, tofu and barley. Then at 8 months he can start his first dairy with whole milk yogurt and mild cheeses! I really think he will love those!! Up to this point I've been making almost all of his baby foods, but I've recently started switching over to jars and store bought because it's easier when you're out running errands and saves a lot of mess in the kitchen. Some foods are still easy to make and definitely are economical (avocado, banana, carrots), but others are just as pricey to purchase (pears) and then prepare and for a few the preparation is a pain in the neck. (peaches, plums) I just keep my eyes peeled for coupons and price cuts and stock up that way! :) Hope you've enjoyed our Ryan update. We sure love him!!!