Oatmeal Cookies

As promised, here is the recipe for the oatmeal cookies I made last week. I think the key to their yumminess was using Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips! YUMMY! :)

2 sticks of butter (I did use butter, not margarine)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups Quaker quick oats
1 bag of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix first 5 ingredients, then add the next 4 all on top before mixing together. Last, stir in the oats and chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate ghiradelli and they were sooo good!) Spoon them onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy! (If you don't like chocolate...weird... you can always mix with 1 cup of raisins or nuts, or both leave them out entirely)

Ryan is 15 months!

Ryan is now 15 months old. Latest stats from his Dr's appointment: 32.5 inches (90th%) and 25lb 7oz (smack in the middle between 50-75th%)
Here is a (hopefully brief) post about the latest in Ryan's world.

New Vocabulary:
*Wee (for car rides or pushing/pulling toys around on the floor)
*E-I-E-I (part of Old McDonalds Farm)
*Juice
*Ball (more clearly than before)

Clothes 18 months, (some pants and shorts still fall off, but mostly these fit)
Diapers size 4
Shoes size 5W

Sleeping 7:30-7:30 or 8-8 or any combination of these... Two naps which generally total 3 hrs a day. Usually 2hr in the morning then 1 hr in the late afternoon. Occassionally if we are running lots of errands in the afternoon we give up the last nap. I can sometimes get away with pushing him past the morning without a nap on Sunday and Tuesdays and napping right after lunch around 12:30-1pm for 2-3hrs, but these days usually make for a cranky baby. I think in the next month we will likely be down to one nap though.

This month Ryan has had a few off weeks with food- he has been very picky and ultimately caused his quantity of food to decrease and amount of milk consumption to increase. At one point I realized he was drinking 30-36oz of whole milk a day if I would let him. So, last week I started cutting him back and not allowing him to have any milk before lunch or dinner and only giving him 4-5oz after he acted like he was finished eating his food. So, he is now drinking closer to 20-24oz a day instead which seems to be helping encourage him to eat more food. He is still all about crackers, peanut butter, oatmeal squares, raisins, edamame, guacamole and ocassionally will pick up and eat green peas. He discovered watermelon last week as a fruit he would finally eat on his own and goes back and forth on grapes and dried apple. He has finally given up letting me feed him any apple sauce and doesn't want anything to do with it. Regarding yogurt, it just depends on the day. Bacon, turkey, mac 'n cheese and toast are also favorites, but he won't have anything to do with eggs or most vegetables. A new find at Sprouts are veggies that are dried or baked (not sure) and sliced sort of like chips that he occassionally enjoys as a snack. In the mix are carrots, green beans, eggplant, zucchini, and beets to name a few.

This past month Ryan:

• Loved Easter Egg Hunting (several times)
• Loves the outdoors especially water
• Loves wagon rides and going to the park
• Loves pushing the doorbell and going to help me get the mail
• Loves other children and saying "hi", "bye bye" and blowing kisses but still not a fan of being left in the church nursery or Moppets on Tuesdays
• Loves the zoo and all animals really- even visiting Petco to see cats, dogs & turtles
• Loves sitting in "big people" chairs and can climb in a few of them without any assistance
• Loves being covered up by all his stuffed animals (makes him so happy!)
• Loves reading books and has a new favorite "First Words" by Baby Einstein
• Just got his own first toddler chair from pottery barn kids with his name on it which he loves sitting in to watch his nursery rhyme video and to read books on.

April was a busy month and Ryan is growing and changing everyday. We are standing up against his temper and trying to get his tantrums under control with consistency and discipline. Major tantrums are still few and far between, but this little guy certainly does have a temper. Overall, his temperment is very happy, loving, goofy, and always wants to be the center of attention. I think he is going to be a very social little guy and perhaps even the "class clown". Hopefully we can teach him respect and obedience so that does not become a problem in school one day. :) We love you, Ryan!

Lounging in his new chair- he is such a sloucher already!

Look at that back curl! What a cutie pie!

One of his current favorites! Loves being with his stuffed animals

Faucet Fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usfBiPrw5XM

Ryan just loves water. He always likes to "help" me while I water our plants. Today, he decided to try to drink directly from the faucet.... Pretty funny. I guess he can drink from a water fountain now??

~Emily

FW Main Street and TCU Easter Egg Hunt

Two posts in one weekend, who am I? I'm actually tearing myself away from the couch in front of the TV or a book in bed (even though I am utterly exhausted) so that I can update via blog our last two busy days in Fort Worth.

Yesterday, we enjoyed walking around Fort Worth's Main Street Arts Festival for a few hours. While there, we enjoyed some music in Sundance Square accompanied by some tasty Reata tamales, dip 'n dots, apples w/ caramel & pecans, and of course lots and lots of artwork. There were some lovely pieces, many of which were out of my price range, as well as some pretty jewelry that I didn't look to closely at because I really don't need anything new right now.  We walked down to the creative kids area for the first time in forever, but most of the activities are just about 6 months- yr above Ryan's age right now.  I really think next year he will enjoy more of the painting, molding, coloring, face painting, etc. We let Ryan run around a little bit, but it was pretty hard with how crowded it got, so he was rather frustrated to be cooped up in the stroller. Here are a few photos in Sundance Square as he enjoyed dancing to country music.

Ryan loves sitting in "big boy" in chairs lately

Ryan with Daddy at Main Street

Dancing to the band

Happy boy at Main Street

Today, after church we headed over to Fort Worth once again for the TCU Picnic and Easter Egg Hunt. It was so very windy, but we were able to scarf down some chicken salad sandwiches, tomato and mozzarella salad, fruit, and drinks. (and cheetos for Ryan) Next, we headed over to the Easter Egg area and Ryan got his picture taken with the Easter bunny. I thought for sure he would throw a fit about the bunny, but he was IN LOVE! It was absolutely adorable. He would turn around and look at her face and smile and say "hi" and lean into her for a hug. I think he enjoyed touching her soft furry hands too. Anyways, he threw a huge fit when I made him get off her lap for the actual Easter Egg hunt. Too funny! He really wasn't too interested in the Egg hunt today either, but sat next to his basket and would pick up an egg, bite it, then throw it on the ground. He didn't want to stand at all, just sit. We wound up with 4 eggs, 2 cups and a ducky bath toy, but it was pretty cut-throat out there for being a 3 and under group... Cousin Charlie kindly shared one of his extra stuffed animals with us that was of a pig with bunny ears- very cute! Cousin Naomi also joined us at the Easter Egg hunt and I think she enjoyed simply walking everywhere which is a new skill she has definitely mastered. After the eggs Ryan sat on the bunny's lap two more times and we visited with friends before heading over to my Aunt Kristi's house to visit for an hour.  From there, Ryan stayed with Nana and Grandaddy and Mike and I went to our Lifegroup from 4-6pm followed by picking Ryan up and heading home. Quite a busy day. Easter will be pretty crazy as well, then I think we might have a less crazy weekend headed our way- THANK GOODNESS! Here are the Easter Hunt pictures:

Family Photo

So cute of Ryan before the hunt

Family Photo

Daddy and Ryan

Ryan LOVES this Easter Bunny!

"Hi" Miss Bunny

Ryan LOVES this Easter Bunny!

Ryan LOVES this Easter Bunny!

So very sad to leave the Easter Bunny

Ryan sitting among the eggs

Cousin Charlie and Ryan

FW Zoo Trip and Telephone Video

This week we made another trip to the FW Zoo. I believe this was our 3rd trip for the year. Perhaps 4th? We became "members" this year because I knew it would be a good place to go and get out of the house and that Ryan would really enjoy seeing all of the animals. This week we got to see the white tigers for the first time. The last few times we had gone they were not yet out. This tiger was pacing back and forth by the window which was so neat to see them up close and I know Ryan wished he could pet him which was funny. Ryan also loved the monkeys and really noticed them as they were swinging around. There was a pregnant monkey in one section and also a little baby monkey which was super cute. We joined Lauren & Naomi, Melissa & Juliette, Angela, Elizabeth & Elaine for a picnic lunch followed by about 2.5 hours of zoo time. This was also the first time we have spent any money at the zoo as we splurged for some Blue Bell Cookies 'n Cream ice cream.  The lady actually gave Ryan a small cone with a spoonful of his own for free!! Isn't that sweet? I'm not sure if it's a normal thing or if she was just being nice, but it was his first individual ice cream ever and he LOVED it! Here are our zoo pictures.

Watching the white tiger

Ryan checking out the bird

Angela's oldest daughter, Elizabeth

Me, Ryan, Juliette & Mel

Me and Ryan

Lauren and Naomi

Ryan has become obsessed with telephones recently. It really doesn't matter what kind iPhones or landlines, but he loves pushing the buttons and holding it up to his ear and saying "hi." So, last week I was letting him play with our telephone and heard him saying "hi.... hi... DADA DADA.. bye bye" he was almost screaming like he was trying to get his Dad's attention and it was so funny. So, I ran and grabbed the camera and followed him around for some of the conversation. Ryan has also gotten really good at blowing kisses good bye recently which is super cute. So, feel free to check out the video at this link- it's about 2 and a half minutes long I think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSwbWhSr1ko

Ryan is 14 months!

These are photos of our cutie pie in the bluebonnets off of E Broad in Mansfield. Since bluebonnets are the state flower of Texas and so pretty I was excited to take Ryan's first pictures in them.  I had intended to last year, but he wasn't able to sit up on his own yet which would have made the photo session on my own rather difficult. Now, our little handsome guy is 14 months old! Here is my update on the past month.

Clothing: 12-18 month

Diapers: Size 4 (Pampers Cruisers are our favorite)

Naps: Generally twice a day, first one is about 2 hrs, the other around 1 hr. 30

Times: 10am and 3:30/4pm

If Ryan misses his morning nap (which has happened a lot lately) he will generally go down after lunch around 1pm for 2 hrs and that is the only nap he will take that day. He has done okay with this, but I still push for the two naps when we can. It makes for a happy Ryan and happy Momma!

We turned around his big boy car seat to forward facing this month (I was delaying due to safety, but finally decided it would be easier on us all only to see the news report the next day recommending waiting until age 2...of course... As always our goal is just not to get into any accidents!)

New foods: Homemade chicken nuggets (loves!), pasta fagioli and bread sticks at Olive Garden, Andres Mint, Honey (at Babe's), raisins, honey bunches of oats cereal (loves!), cinnamon toast, turkey sausage. Ryan is pretty much eating everything we do now, but is picky about temperature and how the food is presented. For example, he might not eat something cut up, but will eat it off of the big portion. (ie: banana, apple) Also, with warm foods as long as they are hot he will eat them, but as soon as they get cool/cold he will spit them out and if I warm it up again he will continue eating... weird I know! Since Ryan is eating what we do it really makes me watch what I eat in front of him because he will want some, so that's been pretty good for my eating choices as well.

New Vocabulary: Baback (backpack), es pees (yes please), hot, and joos (juice)

Ryan can identify when asked by pointing to his head, ears, nose, hands and feet. He really prefers pointing to your nose though. Ha! He will bring many specific toys or books to you at your request (knows them by name). It's amazing the information he seems to be soaking up right now. Ryan loves stacking cups, blocks, and rings. He even stacks random toys on top of one another sometimes to see if he can. He stacks 2-4 blocks sometimes properly and sometimes not. He is just now really showing interest in his shape sorter toy as well, but doesn't get all the shapes in correctly- mostly just the circle and square currently. Ryan is enjoying refrigerator magnets and I'm hoping to buy him some of his own pretty soon. He has also figured out his corn popper pushing toy. Before this month he would just carry it around and hand it to you or throw it. This month Ryan started using a baby fork and spoon. He is better with the fork, but still has more work to do to master feeding himself with it, but he loves it and takes great pleasure in being handed his own utensils.

Ryan can be such a great helper to me when he is in a cooperating mood. He can help unpack groceries, load and unload laundry, throw away trash and other household chores. He is really into wanting to hold and carry things around especially items that are really too big or heavy for him, but it's precious to see him try. Perhaps this is a "boy" thing? Mike and I are pretty impressed at some of the things he can carry that we wouldn't have thought he could do. Wagon rides and trips to the park are still almost daily and one of his favorite things to do. Ryan in general just loves to be outdoors. He runs around in the backyard and blows bubbles with me and helps to water our flowers and herbs with his mini watering can. He also loves to go out and get the mail. If it involves getting to go outside you can guarantee when asked you will receive a quick, "es pees" and happy dance as he runs over to the door.

Overall, Ryan is such a happy, energetic, and funny little boy. We enjoy just watching all his energy in the evenings and he has so much fun with playtime and wrestling with his Daddy. We are still struggling with temper tantrums when things don't go his way, but I don't expect that to really diminish anytime soon. Typically around nap time or bedtime is time that he falls apart most easily, but he can certainly throw a fit during the day due to frustration and not getting what he wants. Often, the greatest task is just getting him to settle down and take a minute to realize what he is upset about and how much easier it is to fix with simply asking or gesturing to us "nicely" as we say. My biggest concern is he can get upset so quickly he will sometimes throw himself backwards or bang his head into a wall, door, or even floor and I'm worried he will seriously injure himself not intending to.  I am really not anxious for that first trip to the ER so I am prayerful that it is not soon.



Ryan is 13 months

Our busy little boy celebrated his 13th month in Fort Myers, FL meeting his Great Grandparents Bob and Betty Gaynor.  Ryan is lucky to have now met all 5 of his great-grandparents that are still living. We had a great trip to Florida and I will post just a few photos here.  At 13 months, Ryan is still wearing size 12 month clothes  and some of the pants are still falling off. Our favorites are the ones with adjustable waist bands. He is moving on to his 18 month pj's now and and all his spring clothes are size 18 months so he will be in most of them soon. He wore a few shorts and tops in 18 month this weekend. The tops fit great, but shorts are still too big. We started with size 4 diapers this weekend as well. Ryan's shoe size is a 5 and he has a new pair of sandals that his Daddy bought him in FL and some cute brown stride rite shoes for every day wear. We don't have an official update on weight and height until Ryan's 15 month appointment, but at his 12 month he was 23lb 5oz and 32 inches, so probably just a little over those. This year he won't be gaining and growing at the rate he did as an infant (according to Dr) he should only gain about 3-4 lbs this year unlike the almost 15lbs he put on from birth to his 1st birthday!! Apparently the average gain in the first year is 14-16lbs so he was right in the middle.

I don't feel like Ryan added very many words this month, but is still using most of the vocabulary that he already learned. The only words I could think of that are new are "ball" and "thank you" (sounds more like dain tu, but mimics our inflection when we say to ask for something nicely).   He still enjoys reading books and is starting to really enjoy some of the new ones he got for his birthday. Some that he has brought me more recently are: "Mommy's Best Kisses", "Chugga Chugga Choo Choo", "That's not my tractor" and his peekaboo books.

Ryan seems to be a very picky eater lately. I am still trying to get him to try new foods and give him opportunities to self feed, but he would be happy to just have milk, apple juice, a whole apple, peanut butter sandwiches, gold fish and graham crackers every day. On our Florida trip he mostly got his way unfortunately. Occassionally I still try to sneak in some baby foods to supplement his eating, but he's not a fan of that anymore except sometimes yogurt. He loves any kind of potato so I generally try to have those a few times a week. He is still not a big fan of pasta, but we can occassionally sneak some in. He is more open to eating ground beef than any cold lunchmeat or grilled chicken. Avocado, edamame and pees he will go for, but green beans, not a chance! Hopefully we will discover new favorites soon that he will enjoy. At least I know he's getting his grains and protein no problem! It's the fruits and veggies that we need to increase.

We have had several visits to our area park this month and even a visit to Lakes Park while in Ft. Myers.  Ryan also enjoyed his first visit to the FW Zoo this month and really liked the jaguar walking around and various birds. Ryan loves stroller rides as long as you keep moving and is loving walks in his new red wagon from his Great G&G Gaynor. Ryan is walking very fast these days and yet still hardly notices things around him so he will trip over toys, books, shoes, etc and we are still getting several scratches, bumps and bruises. I hear it's the mark of the 2nd year... injuries... Let's hope they stay minor. :)

While Ryan is a turning into a very sweet and loving little boy who loves giving hugs and leaning in for kisses, he also is developing quite the temper and attitude.  This little guy knows what he wants when he wants it and has trouble showing patience for food or things he desires. He has started this yell/scream that Mike and I already find rather annoying when he is wanting something he is not getting. We are trying to teach him to ask for things nicely and that we don't respond to him when he speaks that way.  Also, when throwing a temper tantrum Ryan tends to hit his head/face with his hands in frustration or bang his head on a wall or door.  Ryan even sometimes throws himself backwards, which always worries me that he will bust his head open on the tile floor.  Most of the times he has been on carpet or I've been right next to him to catch him, but it's a little challenging.  I know this is one of those things he will grow out of, but we are currently trying to make sure that we are picking our battles and disciplining appropriately.  We do however welcome any advice if you've experienced the same things. 

Lastly, this month Ryan's Daddy celebrates his last birthday in his 20's so be sure to wish him a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY on March 10th!!  Two of Ryan's uncles (My sisters husband and fiancee) also had birthdays this month so happy belated birthday to Uncle Christopher and Uncle Phillip!! 

Ryan checking out his new "crib" at our hotel

Ryan enjoyed playing around after we set up his crib

Ryan's first day at the beach- Ft. Myers, FL

Ryan checking out birds, boats, and waves at the beach

Gaynor genes run strong from G&G to Mike and Ryan

Playtime with coasters at G&G's home

Group auto picture at the Gaynor's home

Ryan with his Great G&G Gaynor

Last group photo of our trip after lunch

Father and son- We sure enjoyed our visit to Florida!