Two sign combos!!

We took our little munchkin to the zoo yesterday afternoon and got to see a lot of amazingly active animals! We saw tons of lively monkeys which captivated him. We also saw bears and a hippo and a playful otter. We even saw some beautiful snow leopards, giraffes and a baby rhino! Ryan seemed most excited by the snow leopard, rhino, birds and monkeys. Then on the way home Ryan signed that he wanted milk. I told him we had to wait until we got home and he looked at me and signed more and then milk right after! I thought maybe it was a fluke but he did it several more times when I told him we had to wait to get home. So exciting to see his first two word/sign combination! I'm so proud of you Ryan

Swim graduation!

Today Ryan had his swim class. He loved it as usual and has made such gains since starting. One of the managers was there seeing where the kids were at skill wise. Ryan had received his graduation ribbon for splash baby's level one! So now he's in level two which is fun. As always it's such a joy to see how much he loves his activities. When he gets home from swim he is always so chatty and giggles a lot. It's sweet.

Welcome to our house

First pic is a rare moment when I actually capture Ryan being still for a millisecond. Second pic is what life here really looks like. Ryan is into absolutely everything these days. Especially things he cannot have. Keys, hot pans, biting the soles of shoes. Ewww. And the list goes on. But he is also so expressive and fun. He's starting to say mama when he needs something. How appropriate. And is a great little communicator. He uses a lot of sign snd grunts and little vocalisations as well as some babble and word approximations. I just can't get over how smart and funny he is. He's so focused and attentive. He really studies things carefully and when he asks for more of something he really watches the activity he requested. He loved his regional Center visit today. He showed off for her and used lots of signs and demonstrated a lot of skills. He follows commands so well too. Such a wonderful little person!

Science museum

Sunday was a weird sleep day. Ryan was up a few times and took forever going back to sleep in the early hours so slept in super late. Until almost 8! So his naps were all screwy. He is a solid two naps a day man so when he only gets one it's no fun for anyone. But we went to the farmers market for all the samples and snacks. Ryan loves it there and rides in his chariot, lording over his food palace. He gets fruit samples and juiced veggie drink samples which he loves. Such a good eater! I was not nearly as adventurous as he is in terms of food. He also got to sample some organic ice cream. Lucky little boy. His first ever ice cream taste! And naturally he signed for more straight away. The ice cream man kept commenting on his handsome Ryan is and seemed quite taken with him. He also said he looks just like me. Which is always nice to hear :) later we met Andrea and her two cute kiddos at the science museum in balboa park. Ryan loved it there, the kids play area and all the exhibits fascinated him. He enjoys new things so much. And he loved playing with Kai-Lynn (Andrea's daughter).

Zoo baby

Saturday we took Ryan to the zoo. It was a rare beautiful and sunny day out of mostly rainy cloudy dreary days lately. Ryan loved his zoo outing as usual. We saw the gorillas up very close and he was riveted by their faces. He loved the gondola rides of course - they are his absolute favourite. And we saw a lot of beautiful birds with all manner of songs. He loved that too and kept talking to them. He calls to the crows outside our condo here too. And he barks at dogs and yelps at sea lions in pictures. He walked around a lot on his own at the zoo that day and even got to cuddle a wiggly service puppy. After those outings he is always chattier and giggles more and is sillier. It's nice to see him so happy. That night he demanded a bite of my green olive and I was so surprised to see him immediately sign for more and more and more. Go figure! He also adored the sautéed shiitake mushrooms we had with breakfast the next day. Wow

Three musketeers

Well after the crazy weather yesterday (tornado warning in San Diego!! And flash floods) today was beautiful. Still rainy and stormy but lots of rainbows and blue sky in between. Ryan loves to be hung upside down now and signs for more over and over again :) last night was stormy and Ryan struggled with his sleep a lot maybe because of his teeth or because today he woke up taller for sure! He towers over other kids his age and even older ones too! He had such fun today with his Physio session and then at Gymboree. He loves to climb and slide and run and balance. And he loves to study what is going on all around him. During his Physio session he independently started turning in circles (not something we are working on) and when we clapped and said circle he did it again and again. Takes him no time at all to connect words to actions and objects. It blows my mind. I feel so lucky every day to be Ryan's mommy. Also remembered that Ryan's gym teacher told me that she had to choose between a few classes at work and she chose our slot because she loves Ryan so much and thinks he's so sweet and fun and would miss him. I thought that was so incredibly kind and special. We would have been devastated if she'd switched! 

My beautiful boy

Yesterday Ryan went to swimming after a two week break over the holidays. He had a blast as usual and even started blowing bubbles in the water!! So exciting! He is changing daily now...his vocabulary growing exponentially. He's so smart. He now has quite a few signs he uses independently: more, all done, open, on, eat, milk. He has a few of his own too :) he jabbers more every day as well and "sings" to himself in his oh so sweet little voice. A few days ago, while I was changing him after he woke up for the day, he looked up at me as I was singing his good morning song and signed eat! When I asked if he was hungry he grinned and signed eat again. When I come home to nurse him he immediately runs to the stairway gate and signs milk feverishly. It's very cute. He's so tickled that we know what he is saying. He says da for down now too. He can follow two step commands these days (when he wants to) and is just such a delight. How I love being a mommy to such a loving, sweet and smart little boy.