I can't believe we're only 2 months away from Ry's 2nd birthday! I've already begun the preparations; figured out the favors, theme, cake and games. I even have the invitations ready to send. Thankfully my friends gently urged me not to send them out until March time frame. ;)
Anyways I digress. Here's a video that I forgot to post last month. Ry riding his elephant 1/1/2013
My little guy was very active this past month. He finished up his Saturday swim lessons at the end of Jan and in the middle of Jan he began tumbling class on Thursdays with Opa and Juju. The tumbling class was at the YMCA and was a parent-tot class for his age. There were only 3 kids total signed up for tumbling so they ended up combining the classes. Unfortunately Ry was the youngest; the other two kids were 2 and 4 so they tailored the class to the older kids. My parents mentioned the class was a bit too much for him but he still had a great time. I went to his last two classes where everyone professed that was the most they'd seen him do! I guess with mommy there he was ready to show off what he had learned. The teacher also taught them how to stick the landing by yelling "Freeze, Ta-da!". For an entire week Ry would jump off something, say "freeze" in a bent position, then stand up straight with his hands in the air "tada!"
Swim class with daddy 1/19/2013
tumbling with mommy
Enjoying tumbling class 2/14/2013
It amazes me every day how much our little guy has grown. Ry is quite the chatter box! He can put together several small sentences, can name the majority of the animals in his books and he's pretty good about repeating 95% of the words you say to him. Ry wants to be like the big boys and will do most things all on his own - like climbing the playscapes by himself, putting on his clothes without assistance and even trying to help mommy cook. He's also very polite and considerate! He does need to work on his 'please' a bit more (we do periodically have to remind him to say please); however, he's great with his thank yous! He'll say thank you after I hand him a book, his juice, or a toy and even when he gets dessert. He's also very good about throwing away his trash and will even throw away other people's trash when asked. When mommy cleans house he gets right in there and tries to vacuum or steal my duster, so helpful! He will also feed the dogs and share his food with you, saying "Mommy/daddy bite" when offering us a taste of his snack. Ry will also help the teachers at daycare keep the other kids in line. The teachers have told us that Ry will go after the kids who have walked out of line and bring them back. Ry can also be very particular! He likes things a certain way, books in specific spots, where he wants you to sit (or where to go), and how his trucks are organized. Apparently at Opa and Juju's house he will take his trucks and line them up just so, and he won't let anyone move them out of place. Ry LOVES trucks and trains, he just can't get enough of them. While in the car he will continuously yell out 'big trucks!' In our neighborhood we have a lot of construction and he will sit there for a good 15-20 mins just watching the diggers and CATs move about. He will spend hours playing with his dump, cement and crane trucks. He enjoys watching Chuck & Friends, Thomas the Train and Chuggington (all truck and train cartoons). Ry's also a huge fan of Family Guy....but let's not discuss that. :Þ
dressing myself 2/10/2013
I can climb all by myself 2/16/2013
Speaking of daycare, at the end of January KRK had a photographer come in and take old style Hollywood pictures! You can imagine my excitement as these are one of the few shots we've never done. I was really hoping they'd turn out horribly so that I wouldn't have to buy them. Yeah right, they were all so freaking adorable! We ended up purchasing the CD so we could make unlimited copies; the package also came with an 8x10 of one of the shots, 2 magnets and 4 wallets! That was a nice unexpected bonus. Below is the collage of all the pictures. My handsome Hollywood producer. :)
Hollywood style photo-shoot from daycare 1/30/2013
Ry is definitely a lover of music and dancing (just like his mommy). Whether riding in the car, relaxing at home or playing with a musical toy, once he hears music he starts to move to the beat, dance and clap. One Friday night we headed to Ramos in Manor for dinner and they just happened to have a live band that night. Ry and Madison (neighbor) were so captivated by this band that they sat down in the middle of the restaurant to watch. Eventually Ry pulled me over and told me to 'sit' with him. :) Then for Valentine's Opa & Juju gave us a singing Cupig. Ry couldn't get enough of that little piggy, he carried it everywhere that day, clapping and dancing to his heart's content. It is a catchy little tune, heck I used to dance to that back in my heyday at the dance hall!
enjoying live music with friends 2/8/2013
Video of the kids enjoying the band 2/8/2013
Video of Ry & Cupig - dancing (OK, maybe more jumping vs dancing) 2/14/2013
It was also a busy month for birthdays! Cousin Margaret's birthday party was at the Austin Children's Museum. Ry absolutely loved all the gadgets and toys, such an amazing experience! He was thrilled with the trucks in the cave room, loved the golf ball exhibit (and gravity), had fun watching the train and pushing all the buttons to hear the different train noises and whistles, and spent some time in the rising star ranch exhibit.
Austin Children's Museum 1/26/2013
Ry LOVES trucks 1/26/2013
Next up was our neighbors son's Thomas the Train b-day party. They rented a kiddie Express Train and the kids had a ball! Ry would not leave that train, he must have ridden it 5 or 6 times. The last couple of rides he stowed away in the 'engine' and rung the bell.
Neighbor b-day party: sissy and bro on the swing 2/2/2013
Ringing the train bell 2/2/2013
Come on ride the train!
And to round it off was Brooke's birthday in early Feb. My friend Jenn put together a wonderful magical party filled with fairies and wizards for her daughter (unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the enchanted decor). She had neat crafts, awesome snacks and a bounce house for the kids. Ry even tried his hand at the piñata.
At the top of the slide, climbed up there all on his own
