Stick with Crayons

Ryan has started to take an interest in drawing and coloring over the past week or so. He did really well with crayons yesterday. So much so that I now have my first piece of original artwork at my desk at work. It takes a fairly constant reminder to keep the crayons out of his mouth. When Lisa first tried arts and crafts last week she used markers and colored pencils - as you can see the results were a bit out of hand.

18 Months

Can you believe that Ryan is a year and a half old? We went to a few different playgrounds this weekend and were amazed how he was climbing all over things that only a few months ago were far too big for him.

I took these yesterday on the first of two great weekend days. Happy Half-birthday, little buddy.

While the banks of the Potomac can't compare to Carmel, its still fun to see how "Ryan on the Beach" has changed in the last 16 months...

November 2007...

February 2008 Stay Tuned for more fun from the first warm weekend of the year...

Just because...

It's been difficult to make time for my camera lately. So when Ryan and I got to spend some time just hanging out recently I jumped at the chance to take a few shots....

Ryan and Lisa are taking a music class together on Friday mornings.  He has his ups and downs in a crowd will strangers, but the song where you sing about, and play with balls is a big favorite.  He got to go for a winter swim at the local rec center with his playgroup friends too.  I think we are all looking forward to the predicted warm weather this weekend to try and spend some time outside.

Rewind

Going to someone else's house means play with a whole bunch of new stuff.  Such was the case last weekend when we went to Tom and Nicole's house for dinner.  It's always an adventure to take Ryan to a home that has plenty of items at his level.  Luckily he hasn't broken  anything over there - yet :)

Their dog, Duncan, made a couple appearances on the blog before.  Ryan provides a source of free food and boundless energy to play fetch.

I am amazed that the coasters on this table hadn't been tossed to the ground yet.  It's probably because the trucks are still more interesting to him...

Prepping for his audition for the next season of American Idol...

Finally, tired out, checking for new molars...

The White Stuff

I returned to Virginia tonight from a business trip and as I was checking out all of the blogs i realized that today must be "Post the pictures of your child in the snow" day. Unfortunately for me, i wasn't around to capture those pictures of Ryan. Luckily, though, Lisa did. I can't tell you much about what went on out there but it would appear that it involved eating snow, catching snow on the tongue and running in the snow. It's day like that that make traveling rough - hopefully I'll catch the next storm.

Climbing

Our little sherpa has now decided that everything in the house is a mountain that must be scaled - a couch, bookshelf, beds - you name it, he'll climb it. This sequence below shows him getting from the ground to the first base camp and then getting ready to attack the summit.







There really should have been one more picture in the series. But as he made the move and got a leg up from the chair to the table, my paternal instincts kicked in. I put down the camera and went over to make sure he didn't crash to the floor.

Little Sweeper

There are two great things about this picture:

First, it shows that Ryan is getting a knack for cleaning. Lisa shortened up the handle on the swiffer and he will gladly push it all over the kitchen and on the hard wood.

Second, we painted the living room. When we moved in last year, the whole house was painted with this bland, flat beige. We are finally getting in gear to make things more our own. What you see here is the end result of a productive 3 day weekend.

Near.........Far

When I was little, Grover was my favorite character on Sesame Street.  My top Grover Moment was the near/far sketch.  He would stand right up by the camera and in that fantastic voice say "neeaaaarrr".  Then you'd see him pitter-patter away and from the back of the room he would call out "Faaaarrr".  This would then get repeated a few times over.  Ryan has never seen this, but I am pretty sure that was his goal here....

Playing at Kelly's House

Kelly's parents beat me to the punch with a picture of Ryan and Kelly from playgroup today. It's a rare treat for me to go to a playgroup since they are usually during the week.

Here's my take on Kelly and Ryan sharing the chair - check out Kelly's blog for another look.




He also realized that other kids have pretty cool cars and trucks too...



He also tried to share some hugs and kisses with Davi. I think he caught her a little off guard though... :)




Over all, it was a great way to spend a Saturday morning. It was great to see everyone.

1/7 = 17

I can't believe that we are creeping up on a year and a half.  Ryan is speaking his own language these days.  Lisa and I can make out "truck" and "ball".  And there is another word that can mean "kitty", "teeth", "Iggy" or "feet" depending on the context.  Other than that, we think it is some odd blend of German and French.

In  a rare deviation from his construction equipment, Ryan decided to check out the Poky Little Puppy this afternoon...

Here he's waiting for someone to roll the monster truck back to him - a game that can go back and forth forever...

Another break from the trucks - this time to dance and sing with Ming Ming...for those of you not familiar, Ming Ming is that little duckling wearing the pilot's hat and a cape.  She's a Wonder Pet...

After dinner, Ryan decided that it's about time he join us at the big table...a booster seat may be on the horizon...Please pay no mind to the dog food on the floor in that background.  In Ryan opinion, the dog would rather eat off the floor than from a bowl - he actually makes that decision multiple times a day :)