Family Updates ~ March 2012

Rylan

Our little man is now 2.75 and such a sweet boy. It's hard to believe we will have a 3 year old in just a few short months! The twos can definitely be trying at times, but so much fun also. He is a little person now, who is independent, has his own interests and personality, and can have a full conversation with you. Rylan is always amazing us with how fast he learns new things. He is hilarious, and constantly has us cracking up with his adorable sayings and phrases. When he was a baby, I thought that he was going to be a little shy and timid, but that is definitely not true! He will say hi to anyone and will talk your ear off if you're willing to listen.

Some of Rylan's favorite activities include playing with cars (or lining them up) and trains, playing baseball, doing puzzles, and running. He can be very active at times and will find a way to turn any game into chase. However, he is also perfectly content to sit and play, driving cars in and out of Mack, reading books, playing board games, or watching one of his favorite shows. Rylan is great at playing by himself, but is happiest when you're playing with him. His favorite part of the week is definitely the weekend when Papa is home. Mommy is fun, but Papa is a lot more fun! He idolizes his Papa and will copy anything he does. Rylan is NOT a fan of loud noises (like his sister crying), coloring, or getting messy. I try to give him lots of opportunities for messy play, and he is getting much better (meaning he doesn't totally freak if he gets a little paint on his finger), but still prefers nice clean activities. He does really seem to enjoy our sensory bins and doesn't have a problem touching the beans, rice, etc. anymore.

Rylan is our little perfectionist. He loves lining things up and will notice if something is moved slightly out of place. He does get frustrated easily when he cannot get something exactly right the first time, so we are working on being willing to take risks and keep trying if something isn't perfect right away. Rylan loves learning new things and it's crazy to me how fast he picks up new skills. I have a feeling Rylan is going to really like math, just like his mom, as he already loves doing patterns and counting. He's also starting to show an interest in learning to read, so we may begin some basic reading instruction in the next few months. He is a great "student" for Mommy, but we still spend the majority of our time just playing!

Rylan has an incredibly sweet and fun personality. He is very polite, kind, and loving. He is getting better and better at learning to share, although we still have the challenge of a crawling little sister in the near future! Rylan is very compliant the majority of the time and a pretty easy toddler over all. He is two though, and if I didn't know any better, I would swear that he has multiple personality disorder sometimes! That old nursery rhyme "when she was good she was very, very good, and when she was bad she was horrid" is so true of him. His behavior tends to cycle. He will have a month or so of being a complete angel, often without even so much as a time out. Then will come a couple of weeks of craziness: major tantrums, meltdowns at the smallest things, and a lot of time spent in his room calming down. Oh the joys of toddlerhood! Luckily after a few of these cycles, I now know that with a lot of patience and consistency, my sweet little boy will return some day =). However, I have heard that the threes are worse...?!

Last month we began potty training Rylan. It took a little longer than anticipated (3 weeks vs. 3 days), but I think we can finally say that he is fully potty trained! In October we had made an attempt, but after a few days he did not seem ready, so we put it on hold for a little while. This time around I was determined that we wouldn't give up. He immediately threw us for a loop, by holding his pee and poop for hours and hours (like 24 hours more than once!). He completely understood the process and knew exactly what he was supposed to do, and he wanted to do it, but he just couldn't figure out how to actually relax and go. It was heart breaking to watch him visibly in discomfort and even pain, and not be able to do anything about it. He slowly began feeling more comfortable though, and we eventually realized that he just needed privacy! He is now awesome at recognizing when he needs to go, going into the bathroom on his own, and going. We have not had an accident in a while, and is even nap and nighttime trained. Potty training was definitely a test of my patience, and one of the more difficult things I've done as a mom, but we did survive =). Just one of the many trials of parenthood that are sure to come!

We have been so incredibly blessed with Rylan and thank God every day for bringing him into our lives. Ron and I constantly look at each other and smile because he just makes us so happy =)