Our little linguist

These days, besides running laps around our house (literally), Ryan's picked up a fun new skill -- the beginnings of talking! He's been saying "dada" and "mama" for a while now, but his little brain has been firing fast and furious the past few weeks and he's picked up several new words.

He can now "ruff" when he hears a dog, say "ooooh" when he hears an airplane in the sky, and say classics like "ball," "all done," and his favorite - "uh oh." The last one, as you can imagine, is now expressed over and over as he drops things on purpose just to say it (off his high chair, the changing table, you name it).

We're absolutely loving watching his little mind at work. Our baby has truly transformed into a toddler!

It's official, Ryan's on the move!

Ladies and gentlemen, the big day has arrived. Ryan's confidence has been soaring with his standing (unsupported), and occasionally taking a step or two -- but today he's been cruising everywhere hands free! Crawling is still the faster method, so he's still on the ground quite a bit, but he's walking all over the place, too! Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself below:

Balloon Race

Whew - I know we've been posting quite a bit lately, but we've been doing a lot of fun things! Ryan's at that age where he gets a kick out of exploring new places, and with a much more predictable nap schedule, we've been out and about a lot more than we used to be.

So, to continue with our "firsts" and fun, yesterday we went to the hot air balloon race at Forest Park. Ryan and cousin Autumn loved crawling around the Purina VIP tent at the edge of the balloon field, and especially listening to the roar of the flames that helped inflate the balloons. Just a few of my favorite pics are below:

Here's Ryan with daddy -- looking like his "mini me" again:

Ryan watched the balloons blow up in awe:

Here's Ryan entertaining himself by playing under the table in our tent:

Gazing at the balloon field with daddy under a cloudy sky:

Another fabulous outing. Stay tuned for a trip to the Botanical Gardens this week!

Picnics, Playgrounds and Carousels, Oh My!

Today, we met aunt Karyn and Autumn at Faust Park for a picnic, a carousel ride and some exploration on the awesome playground. The cousins ate under a tree on a blanket (while dodging curious bees, geese and ducks), rode the carousel, swung on swings, slid down the slide and even rode a purple dinosaur together! What a cool park -- it'll definitely be on our short list for outings moving forward. Enjoy a few photos below!

Autumn tried on her mommy's sunglasses -- stylish!

Ryan tried them on, too - pretty sweet:

Autumn loved the carousel - she danced to the music, smiled and "oooohed" the entire time:

Ryan also loved his carousel ride, but was entranced by the lights and movement, and didn't crack a smile. What can I say, he's a serious guy:

Here's Ryan and mommy on the carousel:

The cousins sat together for a photo opp, and Autumn took the chance to kiss Ryan's head...ok, or maybe just to sniff his hair - but it's cute either way:

We capped off the afternoon with some swinging and sliding - wheeee!

Ryan, again, enjoying his swinging with a more "GQ" pose:

Breakfast with Ryan

Here's a taste of this morning's breakfast for you. Lots of talking, not much eating...but boy is it cute. It's funny how much Ryan's babble sounds like a real language -- plenty of inflection, phrasing, etc. Maybe he's speaking Czech for all I know. :) Enjoy a very short clip:

A trip to the fair

This weekend is Manchester Homecoming at the park just down the street. That means music, funnel cakes, rides, a fun house, games -- it is the real deal. We took Ryan, along with aunt Kelly, cousin Haedyn, grandma and papa, and by the end of our two hours there, the kids were exhausted. It was ridiculously fun watching them enjoy themselves, even at their young ages.

Here's Ryan and daddy enjoying a giant bubble maker:

Here's Ryan and mommy in the "dizzy dinosaur" - and yes, I immediately regretted agreeing to ride on this with him once it started moving.
We all rode helicopters, too - Haedyn picked the Marines chopper -- Semper Fi!

Ryan and I picked a "rescue chopper" - and he loved the steering wheel.
Here's a shot of our chopper from the front:
Ryan even had his first pony ride...pretty sweet:
Haedyn rode the pony as well - with only a hand held by mom!
Ryan loved getting his face painted -- we went for a paw print to match his "roar" t-shirt:
Haedyn got her face and her hand painted...so sweet:
Here's the crew, post-face painting:
This is probably my favorite shot -- Haedyn, face painted, prize in hand, carnival and blue sky behind her...adorable!
And, last but not least, here's the ride home - Ryan was asleep in about 3o seconds, while Haedyn enjoyed a paci and some serious A/C

Ryan's new trick

It's been a long time since we've posted any video of Ryan, so here's a short clip of his newest trick. Enjoy!