Congratulations Brooke Jones!

Congratulations to Brooke Jones who graduated from high school this past Friday!

Ryan is 4 Months Old!!!!

 

MONTH FOUR PICTURE LINKS:

• Month 4 Pictures
• Ryan Visits Brookfield Zoo for the First Time
• Mother's Day 2011

Ryan has done so much growing since last month it is almost unbelievable!  He is currently weighing in at 14 pounds, 13 ounces and is 25.5 inches long.  Given how much he loves his bottles its no wonder that he's growing to be such a big boy!

 

Ryan knows exactly what his bottle is. If mommy or daddy are holding Ryan when we start making his bottle, he watches every move - measuring the water, measuring the scoops, putting the bottle together and shaking it - he is scrutinizing your every move to make sure everything is done properly.  His eyes grow wide and he starts flicking his tongue like a little lizard and he's starting to reach out for it too.  Although he thinks he would like to hold his own bottle, he is still a king and gives up and is just fine with you holding it for him while he enjoys his meal (but he does try to keep at least one of your fingers in a vice-like grip to prevent you from trying to take the bottle away).  The only thing that may mess with his meal is how much he also loves his fingers. He's trying to figure out if there is a way for him to be able to eat his fingers and the bottle at the same time (there is not).  If he's not trying to fit his fingers in there, he is trying to "talk" to you while you are feeding him, or trying to squirm his way out of your arm so he can see what's to the left, right, above and below anything but you.  He's a very curious boy. 

 

He's sleeping pretty well through the night.  He loves to fall asleep with anything soft against his face.  Often times we just let him fall asleep with his favorite white blankie or one of his luvies and he's in heaven.  We just have to be careful to pick it up once he's sound asleep, because he also likes to pull everything over his face. 

 

Before he was four months old on May 11, Ryan had begun reaching for his toys.  Starting with the toys attached to his bouncers.  It has now gotten to the point where he seems to be getting upset that he can't get them in his mouth!  His current favorite is a blue peacock we hang from the rungs on his play gym.  Wanting to get at that little peacock helped him to roll over for the first time about a week before his four month "birthday."  He tends to prefer rolling to the right, but if forced, he'll roll to the left too.  He's experimenting with all this new movement - rolling around in his crib, sticking his arms and legs through the slats and screaming because he's not quite sure how to get them out.  I have a feeling he'll be on the move soon - he lays on his belly and gathers up whatever he's laying using his fingers - with a lot of determination.  I can't imagine where he wants to go!  Ryan seems to be getting tired of laying on his back and prefers to stand.  Every once in awhile, he takes a step (lol...we know this is a reflex).  His new favorite thing is his froggy jumper; his feet aren't quite hitting the "deck" yet, so there's not a whole lot of bouncing going on - but he prefers it to laying down any day! 

 

Best of all Ryan is loving to be talked to and to talk to you.  He does lots of ooooos and ahhhs.  We haven't quite gotten a good giggle yet, but he likes to gasp a lot when he gets excited!  We have some very good conversations - and they're not so one-sided anymore.  We did find one thing that Ryan doesn't like...

 

In the past month, Ryan has taken his first trip into the city, where he met some of Daddy's friends from work at Cook County.  Mommy discovered that he wants nothing to do with Old Navy, but Filene's Basement and Macy's are o.k. (it could be the man outside of Old Navy, who I'm certain has been out there for at least seven years, when I first started working at HRS, cursing people who smoke cigarettes through a Sing-a-lodian machine).  He also met his Aunt Mary, Uncle Bob and cousin Steven for the first time and enjoyed them for a whole afternoon ...and their little dog too!  He had his first trip to the zoo, and saw quite a few animals for such a gray day!  He liked Daddy carrying him around in the Baby Bjorn - but Daddy didn't like all the extra stuff I hung on to the carrier - I'm sorry, but it was cold, and Ryan likes to lick everything, so he may as well lick a burp cloth rather than the carrier).  Ryan also took me out for Mother's Day to Elly's Pancake House and surprised me with a card that he signed himself!  What a big boy, and he used a Sharpie marker no less.  A big thanks to Jonny and Ryan for giving me a much needed day of rest at a spa - massage, facial, hands and feet!  It was fabulous. 

 

 

Ryan's First Easter

Ryan had such a special weekend celebrating his first Easter with his family!

Lake House Easter
Rimkus Easter


The Wojciaczyks and Kot family decided to take Easter two hours west and open up the Lake House for the first time this year.  Saturday morning Jonny and I woke up bright and early to get packed up and ready to go (I distinctly remember being awake at 5:30 a.m., so why we were just getting on the expressway at 9:30 I have no idea).  I was very proud to discover that I could actually pack one bag for just Jon and me, even though it was bulging at the seams (my excitement waned when I realized that we were packed for a less than 24 hour stay - so the "one bag" thing will probably never happen again).  Ryan had his very own 64 gallon Rubbermaid packed to the gills with all his "necessities," and Libby had her own bag too - filled with medicine*.  I stood back and looked at the two bags and Rubbermaid and though, "not bad."  Then we remembered we had to bring the Pack n' Play...and 'nice' clothes for Easter Sunday...and gym shoes for night time...and a light jacket....and Apples to Apples, Disney Edition.  So, by the time we finished collecting all the things we "needed " to have, we had one bag for Jon and me, one bag for Libby, Ryan's 65 gallon Rubbermaid, and 12 other random bags.  Finally it was time for Jon to bring the car around and get it packed up.  It was then we realized it was virtually impossible to effectively pack up all of our crap, a dog, a baby and ourselves into the car.  Flash forward twenty minutes and we're pulling away from the curb with Jonny and Libby sitting in the front and me and Ryan in the back (better me breathing in Ryan's face than Libby).  It was quite the caravan, but it afforded us the opportunity to try out the DVD player in the car for the first time in four years.



Thankfully, we were blessed with a beautiful day at the Lake.  The sun was shining and we took advantage of the weather and did as much out of doors as was possible.  The men split wood, the dogs played ball (even though Libby was tethered to the ground with a 50 foot cord - thankfully she didn't choke herself), and the ladies milled in and out of the house - mostly following whatever Ryan was doing - watching the men and the dogs.  Nana was so happy to hold Ryan for as long as he would let her...which was for as long and as often as she wanted!  What a good boy!  She fed him every meal and he just smiled at her most of the time. 

By the time Ryan went to bed on Saturday night he had spent a wonderful day with his gram and pa, Nana and his aunties and uncles, worn a hat for the first time (still not a fan of the sunglasses), went on a veeerrrryyy slow golf cart ride, colored his first Easter egg and got a visit from the Easter Bunny!  What an exciting day it was for him!

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Jon and I decided to rely on Ryan to be our alarm clock for Easter morning - and he did a fantastic job...of letting us sleep in.  What a good little boy.  When we finally got up and moving, Ryan got dressed in his first little Easter outfit.  I have to wonder why a 3 month old needs a belt, but whatevs.  He was dressed to the nines, and even wore shoes for the special occasion.  We repacked up all of our crap (see above), expect this time, in a much more messy and disorganized way, and headed up to Mokena to celebrate with the Rimkus family.  (Yes, I sat in the back on the way back as well.)

Again, it was a gorgeous sunny day and we arrived just in time for brunch (or brunch waited to be ready "just in time" for us to get there).  Auntie Jess got Ryan on the floor after we ate, and to our surprise, he decided it would be fun to try and roll over.  We must have spent an hour, with bated breath, on pins and needles, etc. watching him make it "almost" over.  We moved his arms in different positions, made funny faces, clapped, and tried to bait him little toys, but he just wouldn't do it for us...and, to date, he still won't.  (And if mommy wasn't so vain, she would post a video of his best try.)

As if he wasn't exhausted enough from his rolling back and forth on the floor, we then decided to see if he would like to "drive" in Jack's bouncy car...so, he borrowed his older cousin's cool sunglasses and took it for a spin.  I think he likes it, but it will take a few more weeks and another inch or so before he LOVES it.  He loved spending Easter with his cousins Annie and Jack (if you'd like to see how much Ryan and Annie love each other click here).  Ryan got another big Easter basket, with some very cool little toys and books and a chocolate bunny (I guess mom or dad will have to eat that...twist my arm).  And congratulations to Jess, for winning the egg cracking contest...again.  I'm totally pulling for you to get a turkey and win again next year. 

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*For those who know Libby and how much she likes to eat anything and everything she finds on the ground - most things I can't even see before they go down her throat - for example some of my recent favorites have been a piece of pizza she found in the yard (brought over by the squirrels from the garbage next door), a chicken bone she found on the stairs, and a button the size of a fingernail I was able to fish out before she swallowed it.  We are unsure of what she got at this time, but last week she was throwing up and experiencing some other intestinal difficulties (is that a nice way of saying diarrhea?).  When it got to the point that she was not eating her food or drinking her water, it was time to take her to the vet.  She had an exam of her bottom and an xray to make sure that nothing was stuck...it would appear nothing is stuck.  Then a full round of antibiotic shots and a prescription for three medications.  Clearly, my vet thinks I have nothing better to do than dispense medicine for, between the three prescriptions, one could not be taken within one hour of another, and the other two hours before or after the other, and the third not within an hour of each of the other or within two hours of eating food...and, by the way, do this twice a day.  And also, the thirty dollar bag of dog food - give four cups over the course of the day - but break that down over 5 feedings (this I refused to do).  Long story short, a week later, she seems to be just fine.