Ilyana - 21 Months

I can't believe my big girl is going to be 2 in just a few short months! I have been loving this age with Ilyana. She is such a delight to be around. She is smart, funny, and so curious. She now says about 20-30 words and sounds and still signs a couple of words too. She's starting to combine words together (ex. "Hi dada") and tries to copy most words that we say. Her favorite activities include talking on the phone, playing with blocks, hide and go seek, taking care of her baby, tag, and hiding in her kitchen cupboard (especially when Ryker plays peekaboo with her). She also loves Bubble Guppies, her Pikachu and Pichu dolls, and anything kitties. Ilyana and Ryker generally get along really well and she is so kind and caring towards him. Ilyana has been really enjoying gymnastics over the past few months. Her favorite parts of class are the balance beam, the trampoline, and singing "Tony Chestnut" at the end of class. Ilyana is generally still a great eater, especially at home (I think she gets distracted when we're out and about). Her favorite foods consist apples, berries, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, crackers with peanut butter, carrots, corn, and peas. Thanks to trick-or-treating she has tried a couple types of candy now. The Kit-Kat seemed to be her favorite. Although her Reese's got stolen by grandma Connie so I can't say that that wouldn't be her favorite ;) Ilyana usually goes to bed around 7 and gets up around 7 in the morning and still takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. A few months ago we transitioned her to a toddler bed and she absolutely loves it! She does great staying in bed until we come and get her. I love my sweet baby girl so much and I am so glad I get to be her mommy!

8 months - Ryker

My little buddy Ryker is 8 months old today! Time is flying with this kid! My big boy is moving everywhere, crawling, standing, climbing, cruising, and walking with a push walker. It's not often that he sits still, but when he does, his new favorite activity is clapping! I tried for weeks to teach him to clap and then big sister stepped in and showed him how it's done and he got it right away. He now loves to clap for himself any time he obeys when we tell him "no". Speaking of "no", he's finally started to understand what it means and he obeys most of the time, although more recently he's started pitching a bit of a fit when he can't have something he wants. I'm happy to say that me and Ryker's nursing journey is still going strong. Lately when he nurses he becomes a bit of a gymnast and likes to stand and roll while still eating. It's interesting to say the least. Verbally, he's started babbling a lot more over the past couple of weeks. He's started babbling "dadada" and "lalala" lately. We're still waiting on any teeth to pop through even though he has seemed to be teething for several weeks now. However lack of teeth hasn't stopped him from eating everything in sight. At this point he mostly just eats whatever we're eating within reason. He's not too picky unless it's medicine. Once he sees the syringe he clamps his jaw shut and spits it out. He's a stubborn one. Ryker is finally starting to sleep better. He's consistently takes 2 naps a day around 9:30 and 1:30 and then goes to bed around 6:30. At night he generally wakes up around 4 and sometimes 5:30 to eat and then wakes up for the day around 8. I love my little bubby and have been enjoying watching him grow!

Ryker likes: blocks, balls, anything he can chew on, bath time, nursing, being on the move.

Ryker dislikes: sitting still, diaper changes, being told "no".