Kemah

We went to Kemah for the first time on Saturday. Rob's firm hosted a "family day", so we decided to take Ryan along. Ryan saw the bay and lots of boats for the first time. He also rode a carousal and ate fish for the first time. He seemed to like the fish and he wasn't to impressed with the carousal. I don't think he realized that he was on a ride. We thought about taking him on the ferris wheel, but decided against it as it was pretty hot out that day. Over all it was a lot of fun and we look forward to taking him again when it isn't so hot out. I forgot my camera at home, but Rob snapped this with his blackberry.

Gymboree

Here are some pictures of Ryan during his Gymboree class. Our dear friend Laurie brought her camera, and her super fun sister Lisa joined us. I didn't realize most of these pictures were even being taken. Thank you Laurie and Lisa. Please note the sweet little girl in the 6th picture. Leila is Laurie's daughter. How cute is she????

Climbing like a monkey

The tunnel that he LOVES

Parachute time is Ryan's least

favorite Gymboree event

Hanging on to mom during parachute time.

Being brave and getting in the middle of the parachute.

Fun times

Ryan is walking everywhere now! He will crawl out of his way to a piece of furniture, pull himself up, then walk to where he wants to go. He hasn't mastered standing up on his own, although he has done it a few times. He is still a great eater and a great sleeper. Over all he is a very good and very fun baby.

Here are a few pictures of Ryan playing around. Grant came over to play the other day. We are lending him our stroller for an upcoming trip but needed to try it out first since it doesn't have a 5 point harness. Well Ryan got very excited and decided that he was going to push Grant around the house in the stroller. It was one of the cutest things that I have seen in a long time.

Balancing a Lego on his head.

Playing with his "Ryan" zebra while considering his next move.

Riding in his wagon with Cannon.

11 Months old!

We can't believe that Ryan is almost 1. The past year has flown by! This time last year, we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first child, and now he is walking so much, talking, and into everything. He is such a treat. He is the happiest baby and rarely cries, unless he hurts himself. He makes the funniest expressions and laughs all of the time. He loves to be chased and tickled and likes to chase us too. He looks more and more like Rob everyday (he is a mini daddy with mommy's eyes). We are starting to mix his formula with milk and once the formula runs out, he will strictly be on milk. Since we stopped all baby food already, we will be completely baby food/formula free in a couple of weeks! We are also starting to transition him from the bottle as much as possible. We would like for him to take all of his milk from a sippy cup. So that is our next goal. Water and juice are out of a sippy cup and he does well with that, so we aren't anticipating too much of a problem. Swimming lessons are still going very well. He loves to be in the water. He moved up to the level 3 class in Gymboree, and he really enjoys it. I actually like it better too. I will bring my camera to class one of these days and capture pictures of him playing.

Here are a few pictures of him in his new baseball cap. He usually takes hats off once they are on, but I am trying to get him used to wearing one since I hate putting sunscreen in his hair.

Ryan's first trip

We flew back home to visit Rob's family over Mother's Day weekend. Rob's mom, Grandma Reckers, graduated from college on Saturday. We couldn't miss celebrating the big accomplishment! Ryan was great on the plane, both ways. There wasn't a single problem (aside from our little plane being stuck on the ground in Houston for an extra hour before take off, but Ryan handled it like a champ). We even received some compliments on how well behaved he was during the flight. I took some advice from my friends, Laurie and Jill, and brought all new toys for Ryan to play with on the plane (thanks to Grant and Cannon for letting Ryan borrow some of your fun toys). It definitely worked! Ryan managed to fall asleep both ways for some time too. That really helped. He was great at Grandma and Grandpa's house and slept through the night in a pack and play in a new room. The last night he figured out that Rob and I were in the same room with him though and wanted to be with us, but aside from that, he really handled the change and all of the new people really really well.
Again, Congrats on your graduation Grandma Reckers!! We will see you in a month!

Ryan and Grandma the Graduate!

The whole family. Auntie Ella, Grandma, Grandpa, Rob, Sarah, Ryan, and Uncle Jonathan

4 generations of Reckers men.

Grandma reading to Ryan in her swing.

Ryan practicing his walking skills.

Ryan wanting to go outside to visit Checkers the cat.

Ryan playing with a toy that used to be his daddy's. Thank goodness Grandma washed it before Ryan got a hold of it. Like everything, it went straight into his mouth.

Ryan Walking

Here it is on video!

First Steps!!!!!!

Ryan took his first steps today at 10 1/2 months! Grandma Bobbi happened to be here to see it. He took 2 steps to the ottoman and we were completely shocked. So we tried it over and over and he walked each time! We leave to visit Rob's family tomorrow morning, so we hope that he continues walking for them to see as well. Once I get it on video I will post it. So exciting!!!!

Swim Lessons

We started swim lessons yesterday and Ryan really liked being in the water. He was a little hesitant to float on his back at first, but eased into it by the end of class. He enjoyed floating on his belly though and splashing around. He even went under the water twice! I wouldn't say that it was his favorite part of swim lessons, but he didn't cry, so in my mind it was a success!
Our friend Lauren, has graciously opened up her home and pool for us to use for the lessons. Check out her beautiful backyard and pool! Thanks again Lauren!

Grant was amazing! He floated on his back and belly with ease, and even went under the water several times with out any hesitation. He is the baby role model for the class.

Sophie, Ryan, and Grant floating on their bellies. Mason needed a little nap and Leila is in Paris, so they are missing from this photo.

Ryan is checking out Grant's awesome swimming skills.

Daddy's Hat

After a walk, we were playing around with Rob's hat by putting it on Ryan's head. His reaction was hysterical! He would push it down over his eyes and crawl around completely blinded by the hat. Then he would stop, pull it off, and play peek-a-boo, which is his favorite thing to do.

Swim Time!

Our community pools opened this weekend, but Ryan has been a little snotty (probably a little cold) so we decided to keep him away from all other babies and kids for the weekend. Instead, we pulled out Ryan's baby pool and had a little pool fun in our back yard. He was a little apprehensive at first (I think the water was a little colder than he expected it to be), but after a few minutes he loved it! It was Grandma Bobbi's birthday so we also made delicious BBQ and drank margaritas to celebrate. It was an awesome day! Happy Birthday Mom!!!!