12 Months

We've made it to one year and in some ways its gone by too fast and in others, not so much (one year is a long time not to have a good night's sleep)! You would think the second time around would be easier with everything we experienced with Jack at this age, but it's pretty different this time around. The dynamic with two boys in general makes it different, but Ryan is also a lot more stubborn when it comes to sleep and now our latest challenge, weaning him. But we'll manage just fine since in addition to Ryan's strong personality, he's also very sweet. Lately he gives huge, toothless grins all the time and knows how to make us laugh. When they're not fighting over the same toy, he loves playing with his big brother and looks around for both Jack and Lola the minute he gets out of his crib in the morning. He thinks he's pretty cool now that he sits in a car seat facing forward and enjoys going for rides. He's usually in the back seat babbling out the window and just happy to see what's going on. He doesn't say much besides "mom" but has his own language of grunting and clenching his fists to let you know when he wants something. He's getter braver when it comes to standing without holding onto furniture, but he doesn't seem quite ready to start taking steps on his own. That's fine with me for now since he manages to get into all kinds of trouble as is!