ryan is [8] months old

we have the happy ryan that we still see . . .

but then he quickly changes to the not-so-happy-ryan.  mostly when he can’t do everything his big brother is doing.

Wes and I are reminded hourly of how different our boys are.  Nate didn’t start crawling until well into his 9th month of life so to have Ryan start crawling at 6 months was a shock for us and now that he’s ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE, on and in to everything, . . . we’re still adjusting.  I thought Ryan was going to be super laid back after he was so content in my belly and such a mellow baby during the day – boy were we wrong.  This boy wants action and he figures out a way to make it happen all day long!

A little bit about Ryan at 8 months old:

. Like I said, he’s absolutely everywhere.  He is starting to get better at the “traditional” crawl on his hands and knees but always reverts back to his army crawl.  It’s currently the faster way to get around.

. He is a CLIMBER.  Nate was not.  So once again, Mr. Ryan is throwing something new at us!   He can already scale just about anything and make his way to where he wants to go.  Because of this – he almost always has a goose-egg on his head somewhere from crashing.  His latest is when he crawled all the way in to our big master-bathroom bathtub . . . he pretty much tumbled in after he climbed to the top!  He pulls himself up on absolutely everything.  He’s getting used to the falling/crashing because a lot of the time he doesn’t burst in to tears . . . just gets up and tries it again.

. loves all food: baby food, snacks, crackers, big-people food.  If he sees you chewing something – he will attack you to try to get it out of your mouth.

. speaking of eating – he absolutely loves to eat dirt, leaves, grass, rocks, etc.  He LOVES to be outside just so he can crawl around and eat nature.

. He is a CRAPPY napper.  Most days he sleeps about 1.5-2.5 hours PER DAY.  Which isn’t very much for an 8 month old.  A few days a month he sleeps longer than that but that’s about it.  Hence his 6:30 [sometimes 6pm] bedtime.  A big reason is that he is still a napping pooper and it wakes him up.

. He is still up once a night.  The “crying it out” will begin soon.

. He’s a mama’s boy.  If I’m around – he always knows where I am and wants me.  But if I’m out of sight he seems to be fine.

. As crazy as he is – he still likes to be held.

. He still only has 2 teeth.

. He really likes being in his stroller as long as we are moving.  He’s a pretty good shopper in the stroller or the cart as long as he’s out of his car seat.

. He loves it when you whisper in his ear.  He will hold his head really still and after a few minutes he will pull it away and then come back for more.

. He responds to music.

. My friend Jamie was holding him at church on Sunday and she swears he reached out his hands for me and said, “mama”.  He does say mama and dada but never in context.  He makes a lot of baby babble.

. He has a great laugh & smile.

. He loves to play. 

. When his big brother is nice to him – he absolutely loves his company.  Luckily, most of the time, Nate adores the little guy and wants him around. 

[this is ryan’s new favorite toy.  of course nate has to join him just about every time].

[ryan loves going down the slide with nate!]

[watching a little mickey mouse together]

I loves this little 8 month old boy of mine.  He makes me smile [and pull my hair out] daily!