Replica

Ryan loved this "toy" at Gymboree. We got home from class and I decided I could make this! I didn't have a plastic bucket, but I did have a box. Ryan plays with this box daily loading things into the box, dragging the box around the house, unloading the box, putting himself in the box, etc. What a hoot!

Gymboree pull toy. . . My homemade replica . . .

Petting Zoo

Ryan loves animals. I just knew the petting zoo would be a hit! I'd say I was right!

We headed to Zoomer's, a great petting zoo around the corner in downtown San Juan Capistrano.

There were goats . .

There were more goats who loved Ryan back . . . And then there was the train . . .
It was a great afternoon at the petting zoo followed by lots of hand washing (actually, a soaking bath)!

Blake Family Christmas 2010

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First Word

Finally we have a real word! It's so exciting and heart melting!

For those who have seen Ryan eat, it's no surprise that his first "real" word is related to food. And for those who have seen Ryan eat a banana, you will certainly not be surprised that his first word is exactly that! "Nana". . . . it's simply heart melting. Every morning, we bring Ryan downstairs for breakfast, he raises his arms up to the counter where we keep the fruit and says, "nana". We try to diversify his diet, but how can you say no. At least he's not asking for cake, right? So, every day he eats at least one "nana". . . and there are many days where Ryan eats more that one "nana"!

Speaking of food, here are Ryan's current favorites:
- "nanas"
- tangerines (my grandpa would be so happy)
- strawberries (are you sensing a theme here?)
- cheerios
- wheat crackers (aka: "cookies")
- pumpkin (gross)
- peas
- yogurt
- cheese
- cauliflower (just like his mom!)
- chicken

Breakfast with Santa

Last weekend, we took Ryan to have breakfast with Santa at the Aliso Country Club. Ryan slept through the breakfast, but woke up in time to meet Santa. Please keep in mind this was Ryan's 3rd visit with Santa as I thought the more he visited the man with a white beard, the more comfortable he'd be. Wrong.

Santa is much better when viewed from behind the safety of a door.

14 Month Update

Ryan's 14 month update:

>> Ryan loves to read. I usually bathe Ryan at night, get him in his jammies, and then Paul and Ryan read a few stories together. It's quite cute! Ryan walks over to his bookshelf to pick a book (or 5), then walks it back over to Paul who sits on the floor. Ryan climbs into Paul's lap, and they read the stories. Sometimes Ryan has the attention span for 2 books, and sometimes he has the attention span for 1 page!

>> Ryan adores his "lovey". He chews on it, sleeps with it, snuggles with it and, when he has a cold, wipes his nose with it. Needless to say, it get washed regularly, but it is starting to turn from a bright baby blue to more of a dolphin grey.

>> Ryan is quite talkative. He babbles all the time. His understandable vocabulary includes, "Mama", "Dada", and "Ana". Ryan can point to a picture of his "abuela" (aka: GRANNY) and his "Abu". We have pictures of the grandparents above his changing table and Ana has taught him to point to everyone by name. He get's a little confused with 2 "grandpas".
>> Ryan can point to his nose and get's very excited when he can point to your nose (he tries to pull it off your face).

>> Ryan LOVES his chair. He likes to climb up on it, stand in it....basically he does everything except sit in it!

>> Ryan loves his various push cars. He climbs on them, hits the buttons and makes a racket. Then he pushes them until he hits something, abandons the car and goes to on to the next vehicle. Very southern...

>> Ryan is on the go! He has a tremendous amount of energy. Besides eating, sleeping and pooping, he has added exploring. He is ALL OVER THE PLACE and has learned to toddle quickly (aka run). This means anything within reach or that can be in reach with a climb is in danger (like a roll of toilet paper!). But he does everything with a smile and a laugh. Thankfully, we taught him early how to go up and DOWN stairs (with supervision of course!).

>> Ryan is quite fearless. He'll go into a dark room and close the door behind him, walk down a dark hallway, and explore new spaces without a moment of hesitation.

>> Ryan LOVES to wrestle and be tossed around. He is a true boy - digging in the dirt, eating rose petals (this is as close as we get to smelling so far) and playing with snails.

Over all Ryan has grown a TON in the last 14 months. I guess the concept of "time flies" really applies here. Check back for more updates!

All I want for Chirstmas is . . . . TOILET PAPER!

Ryan loves to pull things. He's been caught pulling normal pull toys, but it's most entertaining when he becomes attached to pulling things like strands of New Orleans beads, spools of unrolled ribbon, and most recently . . . . ROLLS OF UNWOUND TOILET PAPER! Last week, Ryan was playing while I was getting ready. Suddenly I noticed it got very QUIET, so I went to find Ryan. I walked into a 1 year old GRINNING little boy who had a full roll of toilet paper spread all over the upstairs (from his room to the bathroom to our room to the bonus room).

And now Paul wonders why he has to use the toilet paper that's folded nicely on top of the toilet rather than on a roll. What, the toilet paper is as good as new! Just call me "environmentally friendly"! :)