Ryan Update

It's been quite a while since we updated our blog, so much so that I had problems logging on again. Let's start with our birthday boy and hopefully I'll follow up with the girls in a week or so.

Ryan turned one on April 24th - I know there was some confusion that it may be on the 14th but that is my (Michelle's) mom and Uncle Colin's birthday. The picture above was taken just before his birthday dinner where he was kind of thinking something good might be going on.






























He was not quite sure what to do with the cake. He stuck a tentative finger in first and kind of went from there. Obviously, things were a little overwhelming. Just an aside, the introduction to solid food always seems to take so long, especially now when they recommend exclusively breastfeeding until 6 months. I'm always worried that they won't be able to eat their birthday cake. It has never been a problem but I always feel the pressure.

When Ryan wasn't able to manage, blowing out his candle or opening the gift, the girls were certainly willing to help out. It made it rather difficult to get some pictures as Charlotte's head or Claire's whole body were usually blocking Ryan. But then again, getting any pictures can be difficult - we have blurs or in a few cases bare floor as they move too fast.

We bought him a bubble lawn mower for him to play with in the backyard. I was a little concerned as I had read some poor reviews after the purchase, but it seems to be working fine. I had to laugh as his first two bubbles came out after he had wiped out. Here is a picture of him at work. It's funny now because he'll try to run it through everything - gardens , bricks, and other toys and he can have great difficulty getting things out again. And his screams can be quite shrill!!!


A few days after his birthday, John took him to get his first haircut. I thought it looked cute before anyway, but he looked really sweet walking around with his balloon from the stylists. I tried to get a picture there too but it didn't turn out and then the balloon deflated.


So Ryan at one is quite active, likes to walk around and is picking up some speed. He had a blast fetching the dog's kong for his sisters last night. He had eight teeth at a year and now his back molars are in (with some nice changes in disposition). This is when we noticed some biting, something like a teething puppy. Poor Charlotte didn't appreciate this stage. He likes smiling at people (especially ladies) but you should really watch your purse.