Month by Month Ryan: Month 4

March was an exciting month for Ryan and for us as well.  March brought with Ryan's first trip "abroad," and Ryan's first St. Patrick's Day.  Ryan showed lots of head control in March, and tummy time became a lot easier. Ryan's loves in March were his octopus, named "Otto," naps, and his changing table.

When Ryan turned 3 months old, he was rounding out his big growth spurt.  Here's a picture of Ryan sitting up "unassisted," for the first time:

And, he was still a very sweet, cuddly baby, who was famous for his "milk comas" or passing out after a bottle.  Even cuter, he most often slept with one hand on his belly:

A proud day for Daddy, he got to take Ryan to his first Importtrend customer.  And the family sales dynasty continues.

Sadly, Ryan also had his first cold in March:

Ryan also went on his first international trip, when Mommy, Daddy, and Ryan all drove over the French border to visit a grocery store:

March was a great time for tummy time. Little Pea's neck all of a sudden was really strong, and tummy time was no longer a scream-fest, and more a time for Ryan to check out his surroundings from a new perspective.

In a very patriotic moment, Ryan wore his first Osh Kosh overalls on the same day he received his US passport.  He found the whole experience very exciting, and very exhausting!

He was also the man of funny faces in March:

I have to make a brief mention here that Mommy realized in March that Ryan loved the changing table.  Ryan and Mommy would head upstairs all smiles and laughs knowing that it was changing time.  Ryan would happily lay on his changing table forever at the time, he enjoyed all the tickles,singing and kisses.  We would play multiple rounds of "Where's the baby's fingers," and "All around the garden."  It was all so very cute!  He loved his changing table so much that if Little Pea was upset, all I had to do was take him upstairs to his changing table, and he'd calm right down.  Aaahhh, those were blissful days!

There was also the famous "drinking" incident in March.  Uncle Marcel was visiting, and he and Daddy enjoyed some beer.  Ryan decided that he was going to "keep up" with the boys with his milk.  Unfortunately, too much milk always caused Ryan to pass out.  Case in point:

As the weather improved, Ryan also enjoyed some lovely walks and some outside playtime:

At the end of the month, Ryan visited our old apartment.  We lived there up until the week before Ryan was born.  So, the visit to the old apartment was Ryan's outside visit to his first home.  We spent some time in the apartment cleaning and preparing for the new tenant, which meant that it was Ryan's first and last visit to the apartment for some time.  It was also very exciting because although he is asleep in the picture, he also had some playmat time at the apartment.  He turned onto his side for the first time while he was there!

Of course, the apartment was our old life, and although Ryan spent almost all of his "in Mommy's tummy" life there, our house is really Ryan's castle.  On March 28th, we finally receieved the final piece of Ryan's crib, which allowed us to finally put it together.  It seemed like love at first sight!

What really amazed me, looking back, is that by the end of the month four, Ryan looked like Ryan.  He looks more mature now, and he finally has hair again, but the end of month baby face closely resembles my little guy now.  Its amazing that in four short months he went from a squishy, squinty-eyed newborn, to a mini-version of 10 month old Ryan.  It was a wonderful time to share in our Little Pea's life!

Remembering the lasts

There was a blog post circulating around on one of my mom's groups recently.  The post was about how we celebrate our children's milestones, yet we don't often make a big deal when something comes to an end.  The post really made me think.  I mean, one of my biggest lessons in parenting, in my whole 10 months at it, is that nothing ever lasts.  The first time I realized this was with sleep.  When Little Pea was not sleeping through the night at four-and-a-half months, I resigned myself to the fact that Ryan just wasn't going to be a baby who slept through the night.  One night, he did sleep through the night, and everything changed.  We celebrated that first night he slept through the night, but I did not stop to think about the fact that sleeping through the night meant an end to those late night cuddles, no more baby falling asleep on my chest.

Its been like this for the past 10 months.  You celebrate the first, but the last slips through your memory.  Somewhere along the way, you stop and ponder the loss of something, but you can't put your finger on when.  I know that Ryan stopped making his "goat sound," and I know that he stopped holding his hands in those tight little fists, but can't say when.  All I know is after a few weeks, you stop and think to yourself, or say it out loud, "do you remember when he used to do whatever, well, I haven't noticed that in a while."

The first few years are a time of incredible change, and it happens so fast, that you lose the lasts in a blur.  So many have passed me by, and so many are going to pass me by really soon.  The blog post made me realize that I really need to notice the small things right now.  I should stop focusing on the future, and put myself more in the here and now.  These days are so precious, and so fleeting, I'll never have them back.

Keeping this in my mind, I realized today when I opened the freezer to take out Ryan's food that I stopped making baby food two weeks ago.

Of course, I'll continue cooking for Ryan, but those nights of staying up till 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning steaming and pureeing are gone.  Ryan is transitioning over, and my days of my homemade baby food are numbered.  With this transition, comes the end of our lovely times at the high chair with me lovingly singing songs and making crazy faces to get one more bite into Ryan.  Soon, he'll be doing it on his own. It will be one more beginning, and one more end.

I'm hoping to keep that blog post in my mind.  I hope I can slow down, like I did today, and realize that I need to recognize and celebrate each beginning in Ryan's life, but also to honor the phase that comes to an end.

Day 3: Shoes

Cute, that's all.  #photoadayAGL

Day 2: In my cup

Mmmhhh... a little chai with milk while I catch up on everything, and a little face that always makes me smile.  #photoadayAGL

Day 1: Leaves

We took a walk today, and I was reminded of one of the things I really like about living here.  I really like that we live in the country.  Apple orchards make me happy.  #photoadayAGL

Accepting a challenge

I admit, I was a so-so blogger before Ryan was born.  Okay, not even so-so.  But, after he was born, I entered into a the great blogging void.  Its sad really.  I know I enjoy blogging.  And I also know that it will be a wonderful record of our little life one day.  Yet, when Ryan was born, I found a million other things to do besides blog.  You know, cuddling,changing and washing diapers, cuddling, making food, cuddling, getting dressed, cuddling, all came before blogging.
I really want to get back into my blog though.  I'm proud of myself for keeping up with my monthly Ryan reviews for the past three weeks.  Three weeks may seem puny to you, but when I see the gaping holes in this blog, where Ryan jumps from 3 months to 6 months is pretty bad.  I decided to search for ways to get myself back here on a more consistent basis, which is where A Grande Life's blog and her October photo challenge come into the story.

I just started reading A Grande Life yesterday, and really like it.  I've noticed the old blogs that I used to read just aren't cutting it for me anymore.  Although I'm still the same Allison as ever, my interests have evolved.  I like to view myself as the new and improved Allison.  I'm moving a bit away from travel blogs towards more mom and home blogs, which is why this blog appeals to me.

But, I noticed that she issued a photo challenge for the month of October.  A photo challenge would be great for me and my little blogging life. In order to complete the challenge, I will  take one photo a day, and publish it somewhere, like here.

Oh, I'm behind by 2 days since I just found the blog.  But here I go, wish me luck!