20 months!

Yikes!  We are only 4 months away from Ryne's second birthday!  Where does the time go?  Seriously, it feels like he just turned 1 a few months ago!  These past few months have been so exciting that I hate to see them pass so quickly.

Stats:

Height:  He seems to have stopped growing for the moment.  The past few months he was growing like a weed, but that seems to have slowed down for the moment.

Weight:   Ryne's weight has picked up a bit.  I think he's roughly 25 lbs, maybe a little less.  It's getting so hard for me to hold him for an length of time now.  I gained 25 lbs when I was pregnant with Ryne.  It was hard enough carrying the weight around, without it being all in my arms like holding a toddler!

Language Development:  Ryne continues to learn a few new words a day so it's getting harder and harder to keep up with how many words he knows.   It is so exciting to hear him say new words.  They really do soak things up like sponges!

Comprehension:  He really seems to understand just about anything we say to him, which is exciting.  However, it makes his whining and tantrums seem extremely unnecessary, since he knows what we are saying/explaining to him.  Ryne constantly asks what different things are, which I think is wonderful to have such interest in things.

Music:  Ryne LOVES music.  He is likes to sing now to the tune of his favorite songs.  He can also keep time with music by tapping out the beats with his finger.  He will tap out the entire alphabet song while I sing it, even through the "next time won't you sing with me" part!  He dances to music as well, which is so cute to watch!

Pretend play:  Ryne is really getting into pretend play, which I find fantastic because it gives me a bit of a break from my "high needs" cave-tot!  I do play with him, but he also enjoys pretend play some on his own.  I think it gives him a great outlet for to learn and explore more without wanting me right by his side.

Puzzles:  Ryne is taking a great interest in jigsaw puzzles, which is wonderful!  It seems that we might be getting past the puzzle stalemate soon, since he is now willing to tackle the jigsaw puzzles.  Ryne understands the concept of the how the shape of the puzzles pieces work and go together, but he doesn't look at the actual picture. That concept seems to make the jigsaw puzzles for younger kids more complicated for him because all or most of the pieces will technically go together because the shapes are simple and the same.  The peg board puzzles are becoming teaching aids rather than actual puzzles now, but Ryne will still do them from time to time.  He is using the pattern blocks puzzles in a different way - off the grid, I guess.  He knows how to take two right triangles and make a square and two squares to make a rectangle!  Occasionally he will use triangles and squares to make a rectangle!  The level of excitement with the pattern blocks puzzle didn't last long, so we had to think outside the box.

ABCs and 123s:  Ryne is learning more and more, but not in order!  Ha!  At this age, if he enjoys learning them, I don't care what order he learns them in.  Ryne's not one for order anyway, so I wouldn't expect him to learn them in that way!  He's the same way with his numbers.  Eight was the first one he learned and said, and I have no idea why.  Zero or "roro" is another favorite.  He will sometimes say the next number if I say whatever number he's holding (so, if I say four, he will sometimes say five afterwards), but he doesn't even put the puzzle pieces in order.

Hugs and Kisses:  Ryne is starting to give hugs and kisses to people other than close family!  It's really cute!  He gave the little boy across the street a hug the other day.  Last week we told Ryne to give River hugs and kisses when we were leaving Mom's, and he ran right up to River to give him a hug and started smacking his lips to make a kissing sound and gesture.  This weekend at my grandparents' house, he went around the room giving hugs, without being asked!  I think that was one of the sweetest moments for my grandparents, especially since they don't get to see Ryne much!

These are exciting months!  I have really enjoyed Ryne's toddlerhood and know I will continue to enjoy watching him learn, explore and grow!  There is so much more he is accomplishing, but this blog posting would be a mile long, take too much time to write, and I know this stuff is really only appealing to family who read it.  Until next month....