Snippets.....

Ryan's language (both expressive and receptive) continues to develop at lightning speed, and thus, the words and phrases he says have grown more and more complex and "adult-like." Sometimes he makes me stop in my tracks and laugh or in many cases try hard not to laugh. Other times he makes my heart melt. Thus, there have been many snippets lately that I just don't want to forget, and that will be forever remembered here. Apologies in advance if these little snippets aren't particularly entertaining to the "rest" of you. They are however, treasures for me.

The other day I was putting Ryan into his car seat, and out of the blue he said to me, "I love you, Mama!" (Yup, he used "I" correctly, something he frequently confuses. As in, when he wants me to pick him up he says, "Mama, hold you, pease!" instead of "Mama, hold me, please." These are the things that will make me sad when he does finally say them correctly. But, back to the "I love you" moment.) I responded and said, "I love you too, Buddy!" He paused for a second, and then said, "I love Daddy, too!" He thinks about and asks for his Daddy frequently throughout the day. He loves him to pieces. Of course a text message with the details of this exchange was quickly sent off to Matt. And Matt's heart ached for his little boy even more than normal for the rest of his work day.

Last night I was giving Ryan his bath. He takes great pleasure in blowing bubbles in the tub, and he was vigorously doing so last night. After he finished he said, "Mama, you blow bubbles!?" And I said, "Buddy, I don't think Mama can get her head down there to blow bubbles." (We don't fill the tub with too much water). Ryan looked at me and said, "Mama can try!!!!" And, try, and succeed I did. Sometimes I wonder if there is anything I won't do for that boy.

Ryan is currently having a love affair with Ice Cream, Farms, and Dunkin' Donuts, and he will make his wishes known. (Disclaimer: Yes, we treat Ryan to Ice Cream and a donut on occasion, but he does not have them as often as he would make it seem!) My parents watch Ryan every Friday. On Thursdays I tell him that "You'll get to spend the day with Nee-Nee and Pop Pop tomorrow!" Previously he would respond by saying, "See Nee-nee, Pop Pop todaaaaaay???" And I would say, "No, tomorrow. After you go to sleep tonight." Well, now he responds by developing plans of what he and Nee-Nee and Pop Pop will do. Recently he said, "Get yeh-yeh (yellow) ice ceam with Nee-Nee! Go Faaaaam (yes, sometimes he sounds like he's from Boston) with Pop Pop!" This boy dreams big! Well this past Friday, my parents did take Ryan to the Farm (they did not get ice cream...they had done that the week before). Ryan had a blast. He fed the goats and chickens, he played in the Nursery Rhyme section of the fields, he watched the ponies. When I came home my Mom said, "Tell Mommy what we did today." Ryan said, "We go Dunkin' Donuts!" ...Only in your dreams, Buddy, only in your dreams.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment so I know you're checking out my blog. I am more likely to put more "reader friendly" content and less "all Ryan all the time" if I know I actually have readers :)

Snippets.....

Ryan is at such a fun age right now. He talks up a storm; he is starting to use "pretend play" more and more. He is more and more affectionate. And yet, with all these milestones comes increased frustration (on his part, and consequently on mine) when he doesn't get to do exactly what he wants to do. As a result he has learned what a "Time Out" is and he sits in one about once a day or every other day for minor infractions. But mostly, he is just a blast to be around. There have been so many little snippets of time lately that I have thought to myself "I need to blog about that!" And I have generally been really bad about blogging lately. So, I will try to capture as many of those snippets as I can here in this post. 

About 2 weeks ago Matt and I were in the car with Ryan. Matt was driving. Ryan was keeping busy in the back seat listening to his favorite Barenaked Ladies CD (if you weren't aware that BNL makes kids CDs you should DEFINITELY check them out!). Matt started to change lanes and in my opinion he was very close to the car in front of him. I said, "Matt! Watch out!" to which Matt responded, "It's fine, Kristen! I see the car!" We weren't mad...just stressed :)  Well, then Ryan added his two cents. He said, "Mama! Dada see car! Deesus!" Yes, apparently Matt and I take the Lord's name in vain a little too often and Ryan has picked up on it. OOPS! 

Ryan has always been a lovable kid. Since he was very small he would give hugs spontaneously. And now, he is learning to verbalize his affection. Night time is one of my favorite times with Ryan. We read two books and then we rock in the rocking chair to two songs. During this time Ryan often chatters away about his day. He counts ("1, 2, 7, 8 9, 10, 11!!"), he says his ABCs ("a, beeeeee, ceeee, double, x, y zeeeeee!"), and he shares memories from outings in the weeks past, "Mama! No cows in da big barn!" "That's right, Ryan. When we went to the farm three weeks ago there were no cows in the big barn."). Well, the other night he melted my heart. He had been chattering, and then he quieted down. He nestled his head into my neck and said the three most beautiful words I have ever heard. "Love you, Mama." I love you too buddy. With every ounce of my being. 

This next snippet probably isn't going to be all the funny to anyone except me and my husband. But that's OK. It’s still something I want to remember. From the time Ryan was about 3 months old his favorite book was "Hello, Baby!" by Mem Fox. Anytime Matt would read this book to Ryan he would say it was by "Red Fox." You know, the actor from Sanford and Son? Well, then it became habit, and every book Matt read to Ryan he would say, "by Red Fox." Recently, we were in a bookstore and I wanted to look up the "How Do Dinosaurs...." series but I couldn't remember the author because all I could think of was "Red Fox." So, I convinced Matt to start reading the correct authors. So, now for example, we may read, "Big Dog, Little Dog. by P.D. Eastman." And without fail, after Matt or I say the correct author Ryan chimes in with, "and Wed Fox!" And then he giggles. He has quite the sense of humor that little boy!

I know there are so many more little snippets like this, but alas, I can't think of any right now. I guess that just means I'll have to post again soon. I also need to do a "Photo Montage" of all the fun things we did this summer. It was a great summer, filled with lots of fun outings. But I am very glad Fall seems to have made its entrance. I love autumn and all the fun that goes along with it! I can't wait to take Ryan to the Pumpkin Festival in October! That will indeed be fodder for more snippets!