Sitting Pretty

In the last few days, Ryan's mastered his super sitting skills. Don't believe me? See for yourself. (Oh, and turn up the volume to enjoy the full experience.)

Watch out...

...here come the milestones. Sometimes it seems as though Ryan's about to stand up, run out the back door and start swinging on the swings at the school behind our house. Lately, there's something new happening each day as Ryan discovers the world around him.

Just yesterday, Ryan taught himself how to fake cough...I'm not sure if he is doing it for attention, or if he's just excited about a new sound he can make. Today his "aaaaahs" have had consonant sounds attached to them too, as if he's about to start up a real conversation.

In the physical milestone department, Ryan recently discovered his feet, and loves holding them and examining them, although he hasn't figured out how to get them all the way in his mouth just yet. He's also developed an obsession with faces. Whether it's mommy or someone he's just met, he's into grabbing chins, cheeks, noses and mouths these days.

Ryan is now a pro at rolling over. He loves laying on his tummy to look at a book, the TV or his jungle, and has even started pulling his knees up under himself. He's also sitting up...almost. We can scoot away from him when he's sitting and he'll stay upright for a short time before spilling over (and bonking his forehead on the floor).

He's continued sleeping well at night, and his naps during the day are getting better -- so all in all, life with the little guy is pretty darn fun. We're trying our best to enjoy his sweet baby coos and faces now, as we know they'll be gone in the blink of an eye. Enjoy a few photos below.

Holding hands with cousin Autumn at a recent play date:

Playing with feet:

Snow...and another fun "s word"

If you're a regular blog reader, you may have noticed my lack of posting in the past 10 days or so...and there's good reason, I promise. First, we bought a "real" video camera, and while I now have tons of great video, it's all in HD, and our computer is too old to handle the large files, so until we get a new computer, I can't share our new clips. I promise to take video with our ancient point-and-shoot camera to post in the meantime.

Second, I've been avoiding posting for fear of jinxing our new-found skill. Yes, the "s word" is SLEEP! For the past week, Ryan's been sleeping through the night...8 p.m. to 7 a.m. usually - and I've literally been afraid to brag too much because he's been known to tease us with milestones and then revert back to old habits. Now, I feel like I can post b/c Ryan broke the cycle and woke up 3 times last night...so while maybe he won't sleep through every night, he at least can put himself back to sleep when he wakes now.

Stay tuned for more photos and videos soon!

Solution to the bottle saga

If you've chatted with me lately, chances are we've talked about (or rather, I've lamented about) the fact that a few weeks ago, Ryan decided that he didn't like bottles anymore. In fact, he hates them. Shuts-his-lips-tight-gags-and-screams-like-a-banshee hates them.

So, desperate for a solution (and the ability to leave home for more than an hour or two at a time), I've been asking friends and family, scouring the Internet and saying many prayers to find some sort of answer. The answer came from our good friends Jaime and Dan Carmody. They have a daughter, Clara, who is just a few weeks younger than Ryan, and she never really took to a bottle, so their pediatrician suggested trying to get her to drink out of a cup.

***Cue the angelic choir and streams of sunlight beaming down on our family room on Sunday morning***

We're talking about a cup...not a sippy cup with a spout...just a cup. Or, in our case, a very small plastic cup about the size of a shot glass. He loves it. Laps up that milk like a kitten. Lets us pour in tiny bits and he gulps it down. It's amazing...and just in time for Stephen and I to attend a wedding this weekend free of the fear that our child is starving and screaming his head off for grandma and grandpa.

Of course, we're continuing to "practice" this new feeding method often to ensure he doesn't give up the cup, too. I'm also off to the store this week to purchase some different types to try so we can make this a bit easier. So much for the legions of bottles I now have stored away.

Enjoy a few photos of the momentous occasion:

Mmmm...cereal

Well, the big day is finally here. Ryan's been staring us down as we eat for a while now, and since he's 4.5 months old, we thought we'd give the old rice cereal a try. Ryan, however, was not so sure about it. He's recently started refusing a bottle -- so perhaps his reaction was to be expected. Ultimately, he pursed his lips and turned his head away. We'll try again tomorrow...and if that doesn't go well, we'll wait till next weekend. Check out a short clip and some photos below. Enjoy!

Warm weather

We at the Trammell household are so grateful for the recent string of warm days in St. Louis. Because we've had 70+ degree weather, we could air the cold germs out of our house, but most importantly, we've been going on lots of walks and playing with our newest toy, our swing(thanks great grandma Jinnie!) Enjoy a few new pics:

It's bright in that sunshine, so we first wore the only hat we had (thanks, great uncle Rich!) -- it's still a little big, though. :)

Our new favorite toy! (Before we were wise to the hats)

Mommy finally bought me a few new hats - this one fits much better:

Giggles

For those of you anxiously awaiting a video of Ryan giggling, here it is. We shot this last night (again, poor quality - sorry) and we can't wait until we can get him really rolling for the camera.

Disclaimer - in order to get Ryan to laugh, it takes us being quite silly - and making some ridiculous noises, usually ones that startle him - so, enjoy seeing mommy act like a cuckoo too.