Our little monkey!

Ever since Ryan began pulling himself up to the standing position, he has wanted to get even higher. He is our little monkey--always trying to climb up whatever is in his way. While he is holding onto a table or other object he is constantly picking up his little legs to step up onto something else, even if there is nothing there for him to step on. A few weeks ago he wandered into my closet and we caught him kneeling on the top edge of the laundry basket hanging onto my shoe racks above. Pretty soon he learned it was hard to balance on the edge of a laundry basket and he ended up in the dirty clothes. He let us know he was not happy being stuck in there. The pictures show a few times we have been able to catch him climbing. He is always able to get down safely and independently, which makes life easier for me.

While decorating the house for Christmas he climbed up onto the tupperware holding the Christmas dishes to get a closer look at the Advent Wreath.


While visiting Aunt Alissa, he decided to climb into her dishwasher as we were cleaning up from dinner.


Just this morning he wanted to look out the window and climbed onto his tower of puzzles to get a better view.

Santa Claus

We took a trip to see Santa Claus last night. We went to Bass Pro Shop last year and the Santa Claus was very good, the line was super short and we got a free 4x6 picture (which makes Marc very happy...FREE picture)! So we decided to try it again this year. The same Santa was there and again the line was very short even on the busiest shopping day of the year - black Friday. Ryan took one short glance at Santa and screamed louder than we had ever heard. The elves were very friendly and said we could all be in the picture. Marc was a good sport and even sat on Santa's lap, while Ryan and I stood beside him - with Ryan as far away as possible. I had attempted to move Ryan to my right arm so he would be next to Santa and again we heard one of the loudest screams ever. Oh well, he will learn what a great guy Santa is. Anyway, here is the O'Neal family visiting Santa Clause - Christmas 2009...

1st Birthday

I cannot believe that Ryan is 1 year old already. This had to be the fastest year of my life so far. It has been a fantastic year - full of many discoveries and joyous moments. Ryan had a great 1st birthday! Marc took the day off work so we were able to hang out as a family on his actual birthday. His party was Saturday November 14th. We had such a good time! The party was at our house and we had so many friends and family there. We had a balloon artist come to entertain all of the kids. He was great! He could make any animal, character, person, or thing you can imagine. What great memories!

All of the kids and their balloon characters...

The cupcake cake...a car, of course, because the theme was cars & trucks...

Of course, Ryan had his own cake. It took a few minutes for him to figure out he could tear into it but it didn't take long to destroy the cake...

First Airplane Ride!

On the weekend of November 6th to 8th we had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. for a wedding. My "big brother" was getting married and we were able to go. This was Ryan's first airplane ride and our first real vacation with a baby! I booked the plane tickets according to Ryan's nap schedule, thinking he would fall asleep on the plane. Well, I was sorely mistaken - I should have known that our curious little boy would much rather check out the world around him versus sleep (how boring). Even though he missed a couple of naps he was a fabulous traveller. We just needed to introduce a new toy every couple of minutes to keep him occupied on those tiny airplane seats. Once in D.C. Ryan partied like a champ. He went to the rehearsal dinner, the wedding and the reception. He even danced at the reception :) He was exhausted by the time we returned home but we had a blast!

Happy Halloween!

Ryan's first Halloween was a success! He was a perfect lion! He put his costume on around 5:30pm and didn't touch his hood all night! We went trick-or-treating to a few neighbors homes and then to a Halloween party. Costumes were encouraged at the Halloween party so I was able to talk Marc into going as the characters from the "Wizard Of Oz." Here are a few pics of our Halloween...

My First Haircut

Well, this was the weekend. It was time to get Ryan's hair cut. I was waiting as long as possible to cut his hair because I was afraid he would look like a big boy and I was not ready for that. However, I was beginning to think that people were talking about me on the streets - i.e. "That woman really needs to get her son's hair cut!" So, this weekend, October 24th, 2009, we went to Cool Cuts 4 Kids. Here is his pre-haircut picture...
He got to sit in a yellow taxi cab during his haircut. Ryan was a fantastic boy throughout the entire event. He sat quietly watching Finding Nemo, only turning his head to look at what the stylist was doing.


After about 10 minutes, the haircut was complete and Ryan was a handsome guy!

Pumpkin Patch!

Last weekend Aunt Libby, Uncle Art and Joaquin came to our house and we all went to a local pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful day and we all had a good time. Marc and Ryan rode a tractor ride. It was pure chaos to get into a cart but once they were safely buckled in they had a great time.
Our next adventure was the hay barn where all the kids could jump, climb, and slide down bushels of hay.
Ryan also got to sit on a huge John Deere tractor - I'm not sure who was more excited...Marc or Ryan :)
Finally, we picked out our pumpkin. Here is Ryan locating the perfect pumpkin and then the cousins hanging out in the pumpkin hut.

Apple Picking!

We have a great apple orchard right behind our neighborhood. It is within walking distance. They have over 100 varieties of apples that you can pick from the trees. It is so much fun to walk the rows and pick fresh apples. We went apple picking as a family last weekend and then Ryan, his Nana and I were able to go again this past Wednesday. We have had an apple cake and there is hot apple crisp waiting for dessert tonight! YUM! Here are a few pics of our apple picking adventure.

New Skills

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Ryan is constantly amazing us with his new skills. He honestly learns something new each day! He has perfected his "Touchdown Ryan." When we say "touchdown," Ryan throws up the sign. Check out the short video.


He has also started moving around - all the time! He has not quite mastered the art of crawling; however, he has mastered the art of belly scooting. He uses both arms and both big toes to propel himself forward. He has become rather speedy as well. If I would just spray his tummy with a little floor cleaner, he would be a huge help on cleaning day :)


The other, not so enjoyable, skill is learning to pull up to standing. This skill seems to be best performed in his crib. The two major problems with this are...he does not know how to sit back down and he likes to practice during nap time and occasionally in the middle of the night (i.e. 4am)! So, once Ryan has stood himself up, he screams frantically while hanging on for dear life until we go get him. Hopefully soon, he will learn to get back down on his own. This picture is taken during nap time while he should be sleeping and he is a rather sad boy.


We love watching Ryan grow and accomplish each new skill.

Catch with Daddy

Ryan is at a really fun age right now - 10 1/2 months. We have a great time with him each and every day because he brings us so many smiles and so much laughter. Everyday he surprises us with something different - a new skill learned, a new facial expression or a new sound. Recently, he has learned to play catch (or Ryan's own version of catch). Here is a short video of Ryan playing catch with his daddy.

Labor Day Weekend

Over Labor Day weekend, we took a trip to Wisconsin to visit some family friends at Green Lake. They have a beautiful home on the water. We were able to spend 2 full days there, relaxing, boating, and eating! Ryan is a terrific little traveller and we are so thankful for that. Here is the O'Neal family on the boat...


Here is Ryan driving the boat...but as you can see he is not quite sure what to do with the steering wheel-oh well, we have 16 more years to work on that!

Here is Ryan swinging in the fantastic swing Elton hung from the tree for him.

Our New Toy!

I am not one to go shopping at garage sales because I am too impatient. However, this past week, Ryan and I were out on our morning jog around the neighborhood when we passed a garage sale. They were selling a bike trailer and it just so happened that we were interested in buying a bike trailer. Come to find out, a new bike trailer can be pretty pricey so I returned to the garage sale, checked out the trailer (it was in pretty good condition), got a deal and made a purchase. We got it hooked up to my bike and went riding both Saturday and Sunday while Marc ran with us. It was great to be back on the bike with Marc running. This trailer gives us another option for outdoor activities and Ryan told us he had fun riding in his new trailer!

9 Months Old!

I can't believe our baby boy is 9 months old now! We went to our 9 month doctor's appointment this past week. Ryan now weighs 21 pounds 4 ounces and is 28 inches long. He continues to smile and laugh all the time. He is learning to move around - he can scoot backward when laying on his belly, he is getting his knees underneath him at times, he can get into a semi-kneel from the sitting position and he is rolling over better now! I have been wanting him to move around more but he is rolling over at inopportune times...the other morning I went to get him from his crib and normally, he is laying on his back kicking his feet and squealing with delight but this particular morning I saw 2 eyeballs peering at me over the crib rail. He had rolled over and was pushing up onto his arms. Ryan has been sleeping through the night for the past month now and I am afraid he is going to want to practice his newly learned skills at all hours of the night and not sleep as well. I have grown accustomed to my full nights sleep again and I'm not sure I can give it up so soon. I can't believe how fast he is growing up but I am so happy he is a healthy little man!

More Summer Fun!

We have been having a fun summer! I can't believe it is almost over. The pictures here are from a couple of weeks ago. One Sunday afternoon Aunt Libby, Uncle Art and cousin Joaquin came down for the afternoon. We went to the park to play because it was a beautiful day. In the picture above, Ryan and Joaquin were riding in the car but Ryan would not sit down! He has learned to control his muscles and he doesn't like to sit down anymore...I am in trouble :) We also went blueberry picking at a farm near our house. When we got to the farm, we rode a tractor to the blueberry field, where we were dropped off and were able to pick blueberries! We worked for over 1 hour and only got 4 pounds of blueberries! That is not alot of blueberries. At $1.85 per pound we were hoping for more! We had a great time and will go back next year!

Michigan Vacation

We had a good time in Michigan with Marc's family this year. We were able to spend almost 1 week there. The weather was beautiful and having a speed boat was fun! We were able to do some skiing and tubing. Ryan enjoyed the water and spending time with the family. He loved being on the boat. He was mesmerized by the wake the boat put out. He was a wonderful traveller- slept well, took good naps and was happy the whole time. It was great to see everyone!

Summertime!

OK - so I said I would keep up with my blog on a more regular basis. I have tried but the site was not working for me so I could not upload my pictures for the last 5 days! Anyways, we have been enjoying our summer so far. It was really hot last week so we bought a small pool for Ryan in the backyard. We swam everyday last week. He really seems to like the water. A couple of weeks ago we were able to hang our with our friends Kim & Craig and their daughter Lauren. They have beautiful pool in their backyard. Ryan swam for awhile and even went underwater! Next week we will be in Michigan with Marc's family and we will see how Ryan likes swimming in the lake and riding on the boat!

Thankful

Normally, I try to include a picture when I post a blog. This time though I am just going to write my thoughts. In the past recent weeks, I have worked extra days to cover for other therapists who were on vacation. This time at work has made me really appreciate and be thankful that I am able to only work part time and be home with Ryan the rest of the week. I have a really great schedule and I am a lucky girl. So, now that I am back to my normal schedule and in my routine again, I will be more current and up to date with my blog entries. :)

Jumping Bean!

We bought Ryan a 'Jumperoo' last weekend and he has been our little jumping bean ever since. He is having so much fun in it! Our little man has so much energy in his little legs. I am just sure that when he coordinates all of his movements and starts motoring around I will never sit down again. Pretty sure he takes after his dad in terms of energy level :)

Easter 2009

Easter was awhile ago but I still wanted to get some pictures out there of our day. We had a nice day with Libby, Art and Joaquin. It was great to spend time with them. Here is a picture of the cousins in their Easter outfits and a picture of Ryan with his Easter basket. The Easter bunny brought him some exciting loot...spoons, because he started eating cereal, a new twisty bug toy because daddy broke the original one, a box of 'Peeps' he couldn't eat but everyone needs candy in their basket and a couple eggs filled with money. Maybe next year, the Easter bunny will hide some eggs and create a better basket :)

Four Generations!

A few weekends ago we travelled to Kansas to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday! It was a car ride extravaganza as we drove 4 1/2 hours each day on our 4 day weekend - Chicago to St. Louis, St. Louis to Kansas, Kansas to St. Louis and St. Louis to Chicago! We had a great time seeing family and Ryan's great-grandma was really excited to finally meet him. The picture here shows our 4 generations: 0 years old, 30 years old, 60 years old (in August) and 90 years old! Dad, please note that I recognized you will not be 60 until August :)

4 months old!

We have had a busy week. Marc has taken vacation time and we have been hanging out as a family. Ryan had his 4 month doctors appointment this week. We learned that he now weighs 15 pounds 10 ounces and is 25 1/4 inches tall. He is in the 65th percentile for both. The weather has been beautiful so we have been walking to our neighborhood park to play. Ryan absolutely loves the swing. He gets the biggest smile on his face and laughs out loud, which always brings a smile to our faces. We are really enjoying Ryan at this stage. He is very personable-talking, smiling, laughing. He is so much fun to have around and I can't imagine life without him.

Family Time

This past weekend Marc's dad and stepmom came to town. We enjoyed our visit with them. As usual, Ryan was his happy self and enjoyed meeting and playing with more family members.

My New T-Shirt

Ryan wanted to show off his new t-shirt this morning! When he was born, his Aunt Alissa gave him this shirt from her hospital, Cardinal Glennon. He has been waiting patiently to grow into the size 6 month t-shirt and this morning, it fits! As you can see he is very proud to be showing off his new t-shirt from his aunt! Thanks Aunt Alissa!