Zoo fun!

Ack! I'm so behind on posting again. So much happens and Ryan learns new things every day! We went to the zoo Sunday the 17th in the late afternoon. It was a particularly fun visit bc so many animals were awake and munching and moving around...dinner time! We saw a new baby rhino eating dinner and baby giraffe too. Ryan loved the rhino so much. He kept chattering to him. Ryan has been learning new things like saying down and up and walking backwards and in circles and starting to run too! He's mr personality these days and into being in control of his own body...which results in power struggles of course.

Gymboree and lunch with auntie Sarah

We have a few makeups to do so we went today and asked auntie Sarah to join us! She'd never been and it was such fun for Ryan to have such a captive audience. He got to play on all the equipment and meet a few new babies. He gravitated towards his favourite things of course - zipping up and down the slides, stomping his feet on the bridges, throwing balls and other objects around, and balancing on the wobbly half ball. He also adores parachute time and bubble time. He watched intently to what other kids and adults were doing. Then we had lunch together at el pollo loco which Ryan loved. He was so good: he absolutely loves to go out to restaurants. Another new experience for him to relish :)

The a-a-achoo game

Ryan is really into new people these days. He waves to everyone he sees on the streets and in shops. It's very cute. He's into everything and wants to figure out how all things work. Yesterday at dinner time Ryan handed me his jacket from the back of his chair and pointed to my head. So I put it on my head. Then he made this funny face and noises and I soon realised he was asking me to do the Achoo game by making the I have to sneeze noises and face! It was sooooo cute. We did it over and over again. Such a charmer. And so communicative.

Chatting with the zoo animals

Ryan had wonky naps again today. Woke late after a somewhat challenging evening. Then took a late and short nap mid morning before his Physio appt. And struggled to sleep for his second nap. So we missed Gymboree :( ended up going for a late last minute zoo visit which was so fun. All the animals are awake and having dindin around 4pm so we got to see the rhino, hogs, antelope, birds, and more munching away. Also the giraffes! There were so many giraffes in there this time. And one was a teeny tiny baby! We saw a cheetah running around which Ryan loved and Then we visited Ryan's favourite - flamingos! He chatted to all of the animals and really loved watching them all eat, especially the rhino. He now calls the moon "muh" and even says mama to me! Except he says mama every time he wants something too so not sure how complimentary that is. Haha. He also signs for milk the moment he sees me and thinks it's super funny. We took a fun bath together this evening and Ryan laughed so hard over and over when I made squishy noises as He put on and took off the turtle toys from the wall. What fun!

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!