Ryder . 21 Months

21 months; 28 pounds, 6 ounces.

Ryder's teeth count remains steady at 14 (I think it has steadily increased nearly every month since last April - he was finally ready for a break!).

The word count is officially at 1 (finally!) . . . ball . . . it's the only word he consistently says, and in association with the actual object.  He tries really hard with balloon and banana (both come out just as "ba"), but ball is the only full word he is using.

Sorting shapes before work!  Ryder can pick out the circle and the oval himself, with no assistance.  He knows the other shapes, but typically needs a little help getting them to fit properly.

Helping Patrick vacuum the Family Room.

Playing on the top of his playset the first time.

Patrick let him hang out where the "Bird's Nest" is now constructed.

Ryder's not completely sure about sitting on the swing - he prefers to sit on someone's lap.  Since then, we have purchased a plastic seat swing chair.

Climbing the rock wall (his juice was at the top to help provide a little extra motivation!).

Ryder wasn't so sure about coloring with markers - he liked the bright color, but was unsure when it would get on his hands.

He's getting better about letting his face get messy while eating!  I bet you can't guess who encourages him to have a love of chocolate!

Don't try to cut up Ryder's food - he likes to eat everything just like us.

Helping Patrick load rocks (the second round) into the wheelbarrow.

Happy before bedtime.

Learning to eat cold cereal with a spoon is probably the biggest challenge - the milk spills off of the spoon everywhere!

We took the FrontRunner down to the Gateway the first weekend of April.  Ryder enjoyed looking out the window!

Studying his surroundings.

Pointing out things in his view to Patrick.

Further proof he's getting better about having a messy face . . . this time eating pizza!

When we sat down to dye Easter eggs, Ryder was horrified when he put his hand in the yellow dye, and the color stayed on his hands.  After some convincing, he learned that it was actually quite fun, and went to the babysitter's house with blue/green/orange hands the next morning!

"Stirring" the eggs in the dye (notice the green hand!).

Patrick put the finishing touches on the playset, and Ryder walked all around the bottom desk with an allen wrench - putting it in every screw hole to "ensure" they were all tight!

Patrick taught Ryder to eat whipped cream straight from the can!

This is what happens when you ask Ryder to show you his nose!

Ryder has begun to show a greater interest in my stomach over the past week or so - he is constantly walking up to me, and patting it, or trying to hug it when we are sitting together.  We're still not sure that he really understands what is about to happen - but we talk about his brothers with him every day!

And . . . for a twin update . . .
Just when you thought Ryder set a record with his birth weight (11 pounds, 1 ounce!) - we found out on Friday that the twins are weighing in at an average of 8 pounds each (and about 3 weeks "ahead" gestational age, as compared to a "singleton" baby).  8 POUNDS.  Of course, this is still just an estimation, but the size is consistent with all previous measurements.  The Perinatologist says that the boys will likely continue to grow 1/4 - 1/3 pound each week - so, there is a good possibility they will reach nearly 9 pounds if I make it to 38 weeks.  While this is all good news for the boys, it is a bit rough for me to carry them . . . but, it's only a few more weeks!