Year 2 Day 311: Next Milestone, Please

We took Ryan's '7 month' photos today outside under one of the apple trees. Considering he is actually 7 months, 2 weeks & 5 days, I edited the sign to reflect that he is really 7 1/2 months old.

In fairness, I have been waiting a bit for the weather to cooperate, and we have had lots of rainy and otherwise overcast days lately. Couple that with the fact that I wanted to take his photo in this specific outfit (which never seemed to be in the pile of clean clothes) and mix in the obvious 'lazy Mommy' and 7 1/2 months is what you get.

In other news we're thinking Ryan has said his first word -- or at least his own modified version of it. He gets super excited when our cat, Myst walks by and gets a huge grin across his face. If Myst gets close enough he tries to touch his fur (which is usually his tail) and Myst makes a timely exit from Ryan's reach as soon as the over-stimulated, high-pitched screeches begin.

Well each time we have a Myst-encounter I will say 'cat' as clearly as I can, along with describing his fur as 'soft' and showing Ryan how to stroke him with a 'gentle' touch. All of these are in hopes to help him become familiar with the words and encourage him to try using them. This has been going on ever since Ryan has shown an interest in Myst (at around 2 months old).

Yesterday I noticed Ryan was making a coughing sound although it wasn't a proper cough. It also had a very distinctive short 'a' vowel sound, as in the word 'cat.' I didn't think much of it until I noticed he was doing it again today and only when Myst was in the room where Ryan was clearly looking at him. Later I was talking to Matt and I said to Ryan, "Say CAT" and I pointed to Myst. Ryan immediately started doing his little "CAT cough" and grinned from ear to ear. Then, even when Myst was out of the room, if I would tell him to say it, he kept repeating it.

So, I'm not saying my kid's a genius or anything (which he clearly IS) but it seems we may have at least a close call on a first word to record in the baby book! I'm counting it anyway.

Year 2 Day 310: Tell Me What You REALLY Think

The skies have been overcast all day and just before we even left for our walk, Matt warned it was looking especially likely. We ended up leaving shortly after Matt nipped out to get size 4 nappies for our growing little monkey and managed to return before he was back -- all without so much as a drop upon our brows. In fact, the sun even decided to make a brief cameo as it set in the Western skies.

I almost thought we weren't going to end up with a photo for the day until I saw my opportunity once we returned home. The photo you see (above) is what Ryan thought of the impending rain.

Year 2 Day 309: First Toothbrush

After a nice walk to Toys R Us this afternoon, Ryan walked --er, rolled (via his pushchair) out with his very first toothbrush. He couldn't wait to get home and try it out!

Year 2 Day 308: Can't Pick Just One

Cheese sandwich: CHECK.

Functioning gag reflex: CHECK.

Successfully chew (AND swallow) first grape ever: CHECK.

Display pleasure (so Mommy gives you more): CHECK.

And last but not least...

Survive a night with Daddy & Uncle Daz (so Mommy & Auntie Emma could go see Eclipse at the cinema): CHECK!

Year 2 Day 307: Title Goes Here

Ryan was down for a decent amount of time today during his nap, so I made sure to make good use of the time by getting some laundry finished. When I heard him stirring, I stood at the base of the stairs (as I always do) and listened to make certain he was actually awake and not just making noises in his sleep. I was confused, however, when I could hear proper giggles (as he usually whimpers when he realises he is alone), so I went up to investigate.

I watched for a while from the doorway as he reached up and smacked his Leap Frog caterpillar and then tipped over his pal, Scout before then squeezing his paw and activating the 'Bedtime Music.' As soon as he heard me creeping into the room, he turned around and this is the photo I captured.

We ended up making a trip to the Asda-Walmart Supercentre shortly after Matt returned home from work. Unfortunately they were all out of the bath-seats we were hoping to get, so we just ended up getting some baby necessities and veg. Baby necessities naturally included Rusks, and Ryan had his first taste of one tonight and LOVED it!

We also may have fallen into a 3 for £5 trap on some small, cheapie toys for little man...just a set of nesting/stacking cups, a ring tower, and a little paddling bath frog. He was well-impressed with these and they really caught his interest when we got home! This purchase was totally justified because he rarely gets any new toys.

Year 2 Day 306: Egg-cetera

I decided to give scrambled eggs a try today. There is a lot of debate over whether certain foods should be given before specific ages, however, neither Matt nor myself have any known food allergy history in our families. Plus, in my Baby Led Weaning book it does say that scrambled egg is fine as long as it is well and fully cooked. So we went for it!

Normally, Ryan will squash foods immediately with his iron-fisted Hulk-grasp, but I think he is starting to learn that if a food is softer, he will need a lighter grip. He did so well at gently picking up the food and placing it into his mouth. He REALLY seems to like scrambled egg!

Then, as always, the cue that he is finished with his meal is when he just starts to play with it. But at least he learned that bashing two fistfuls of scrambled egg together doesn't produce any loud sounds.

Year 2 Day 305: Messy Eater

Observe as our young Master Ryan carefully and meticulously inspects this cut of beef from his tea for any imperfections. Ultimately, he is satisfied that once again his wonderful Auntie Emma has provided him with a Sunday dinner fit for a (little) King.

In fact, he's so 'at home' he decides to even put his feet up and relax during his meal.

And "SCORE!" Here comes Mommy with some yummy yoghurt!