Ryder is 10 months old today!! TEN MONTHS OLD!!!  I have no idea where the time has gone!! Every day, Ryder gets more and more interactive which makes everything so much more fun!  He is very social, squealing with delight everytime he sees other kids, big or small.  Most little girls get this urge to hug him whenever he walks into a room. We were just at a birthday party where the 2 year old sister of the birthday boy walked right up to him and grabbed his cheeks. Last weekend in a play area, a little girl hugged him before trying to feed him a plastic hamburger and Wedensday, at the library another little girl, grabbed Ryder's hand and insisted on "walking" him up and down the isles.  Adorable!!!  

I take Ryder to the public library once a week for a Mother Goose Program. Last week we went for the first time since the Christmas Break. I noticed, seeing, Ryder next to his peers, that he is huge!! He is way bigger than all the other -10 month old babies. His size was more comprable to the 13-15 month olds.  Looks like he is gonna take after his Daddy! Yay!

Ryder is still experimenting with walking, but after a major face plant the first time he started taking steps on his own, he lost some of his confidence.  Just recently, he has started taking risks again and has started taking more independent steps.  He continues to cruise around the house using the bench, the chairs, the rubbermaid tubs and even Scout for support. He has mastered bending down to pick stuff up which always makes me laugh. He concentrates sooo hard and everything about his little determined face makes me grin.  His crawling is getting better, though he still prefers "finger walking" as his way of getting around.  He has figured out how much fun it is to pull tupperware out of the cupboards, all the plastic bags out of the holder, all the pot holders out of the drawers and all of the books off the shelves.  Just the other day, he figured out how to stand in his crib. I thought he was napping until I heard loud clunking noises. I raced upstairs to find him reaching over the crib into the book basket. He was able to pull books out of the basket and obviously thought it was so fun to drop the books onto the floor...I've had to move the basket and the table it was sitting on. Tonight he started trying to climb the stairs, scary and exciting!  Everyday he learns something new and I am sooo glad I've been able to witness every discovery. 

It's been crazy cold here, so the other day, I brought a portable heater upstairs, plugged it in to make the temperature in Ryder's room really warm. I then put on these cute overalls and had a little photo shoot. Marty can't believe his hair is this red. I mean, when you see Ryder in real life, his hair does not look this red. Either the lighting made it this red or maybe my editing..or maybe it is really more red than we think....

PLAY DATE AT THE MALL

Brrr! It is cold outside. Like really, really cold! This is not good. It is especially not good for "stir crazy" mommies, like myself. The thought of having to stay in the house all day, makes me crazy!! I know it's not really fair to take my little baby outside, but it's also not fair to have a crazy mommy is it?? LOL Today, we met a friend who has 2 little ones (talk about stir crazy mom) at the mall. NO, we didn't go shopping, that would NOT be fun with three kids under 3, we went to the play zone.  Okay, I don't actually know what it is officially called, but you know that play area in the middle of the mall? The one with a gate all around it and lots of kids running and playing on large foam play things? Yeah, that. We went there. Luckily, we got a parking spot in the underground parking lot, so we didn't have to go outside or worry about the truck being ice cold when we were done.

I had never been to a mall play zone before, so this was a new experience, but I was desperate to find something else for Ryder and I to do besides eat dog food.  Apparently, you have to put your name on a list and wait your turn to get into the play zone. We were lucky, we got there 5 minutes before the announcement that says, "Play time is now over. Please exit the play zone." Came over the loud speaker. Once the place was cleared out, we parked our strollers and unleased the kids...okay, unleashed is an exaggeration. Neither one of our youngest kids could actually walk without our help, but they took off as fast as their little legs and our fingers would let them go! I was surprised at how many of the things Ryder could do. He crawled (a new skill for him) over things, under bridges and after other kids. He walked holding onto the foam wings of airplanes, doors of police cars and railings of bridges. He laughed, he got excited and he concentrated! So much fun! Who knew??? I used to laugh at people who took their kids to the mall play zone for exercise, but now, after trying it out, I can see how valuable places like these actually are, especially on freezing ass cold days like today!!!

LEFTOVERS

I am now able to clean up the meal messes right after the meal, instead of waiting for nap time, thanks to Scout for teaching Ryder about secret leftovers. As soon as I take Ryder out of his highchair he pretty much "dive bombs" out of my arms. He, I figured out, wants to stand at his chair and search for leftover cheerios, broccoli, pasta, or sweetpotatoes. These are the things, Scout has taught, Ryder, that hide in the folds of the highchair. Seriously, this is how every meal ends and lucky for me this little "treasure hunt" usually lasts long enough for me to get all the dishes washed!! Yay, Scout!

The laundry basket was leftover after folding clothes. Ryder kept pulling it over on top of himself, eventually I just stuck him in it. Too cute!!

NAP TIME

Ryder's nap wasn't over but our walk was. I begged Marty to help me carry the chariot into the house so that Ryder could continue his nap where I could keep an eye on him.  He used to transfer easily from the car seat or stroller into his crib without waking, but I am afraid those days are over.  Today, I just wanted him to sleep, so that I could actually rest too.  

I parked the chariot in the entry way, grabbed my book and settled in for some RARE "me" time, while Scout kept watch over our precious sleeping angel!

FYI, he slept for over an hour right there in his snowsuit, in the chariot! 

Sharing the Ball

Ryder is getting more and more interactive all the time. I love watching him interact with other kids, but so far his opportunities are limited. He spends a lot of time interacting with his very patient, very kind, very fun BFF, Scout!!

Every morning, I bring a smiling, happy Ryder down the stairs straight to the laundry room, where we feed Scout. Her food is kept in a big red pail on the floor. I scoop out two scoops and Ryder giggles and kicks as the kibbles drop into the bowl making loud tinny sounds. Apparently, he has been doing more than giggling while I feed the dog, he has been paying careful attention to the process. He deomonstrated this last week, when he led me (I was finger walking him) to the dog food conainer, let go of my fingers, leaned on the bucket, pulled the lid off all by himself, scooped food out and promptly put it in his mouth! This was funny and kinda cute the first time (who hasn't tried dog food at least once in their childhood?) However, he has become obsessed! Everytime we walk, the laundry room is where he wants to go. The dog food container is what he wants to play with. The dog food is what he wants to keep sucking on. Actually, I am beginning to think it is all animal food. At the farm yesterday, he sat with the pail of horse treats between his legs, pulling them out one by one sure to lick each one. He got close enough to the grain tub at one point and began shoveling oats into his mouth fast as he could. I am beginning to think he needs to spend less time with animals and a little more with 2 legged friends. LOL

Today, we went to the zoo!! The unseasonably warm weather made a trip to the zoo with friends especially fun today! This was Ryder's second trip to the zoo, but it was the first time he stayed awake for almost the whole visit. 

I don't know which animals Ryder loved the most, but my favorite were the hippos.  We were able to get close enough to their pool that we could touch the glass. When they's swim by us, we could see their giant, wiggly lips and thier tiny, stubby tails. We were close enough, had there not been glass, we could have reached out and tickled their toes!!! 

It was a good day!

FIRST STEPS!

Ryder took his first steps tonight!! It was such an exciting moment and Marty, Scout and I were all there to bare witness!! I had been on the phone with Aimee who asked if Ryder was "free standing" yet. I said every now and then he'd let go of whatever he was propping himself up with and just be standing on his own. She bet he'd be walking soon. Max walked within days of starting to free stand. I didn't think Ryder was that close to walking at all. He seems so young. He's still my baby, but tonight just for giggles, I faced him towards me, made sure he was standing good and sturdy on his feet and then carefully let go of him. He stood there smiling at me and took 2 small steps. Just to make sure I did it again and same thing. Before long, Marty and I had him "walking" between us, just one or two steps, but he took them all by himself before launching himself into our ready open arms! Finally we decided to try to snag a video. Our own little record of the memory. I have no idea if he is actually that close to walking all by himself, but he took his first steps and as brand new parents were are sooo proud and excited!!!!