Ryder . 3 3/4 Years Old

Ryder is just shy of 4 years old!  He weighs in at about 43 pounds, and in size XS Boys.

Ryder has made tremendous progress with his speech.  He is intelligible to most people, without any issue!  He still has some missing sounds (specifically /k/, and often /g/ and /l/), but he is working hard to increase his ability.  I have a separate post to recap our progress in speech - but, Ryder is doing so well!

His favorite color is green (I may have influenced this with "his color", but really, he does love green!). He would eat PB&J every single day of his life, if we let him.  He doesn't love to try new foods, but is a good sport about trying at least a few bites (usually it's 3 - "because I am just 3 years old").  Ryder LOVES to be outside.  And, while the warmer weather has made outside time more accessible, he loved to be out when it was cold too!

Ryder is a great helper to Patrick & me, and to his brothers.  He plays well with Harvick & with Jarrett separately - they play all together occasionally, but are typically split 2 and 1.  He has begun to recognize his brothers' speech deficiencies, and is so precious to watch as he helps his brothers "learn" new words.

Ryder loving the snow!

Ryder totally gets the concept of smiling for a picture...now, if I could just get him to have a natural smile when I request it!
The top left picture was taken first thing in the morning - it was dark, and he couldn't keep his eyes open with the flash!

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Ryder & I headed to the Treehouse Museum - just the 2 of us!  Harvick & Jarrett had been sick with RSV, and my parents watched them while Ryder & I got to spend some time one-on-one on my day off!

Left: Patiently reading a book of Harvick's choice.
Center: Getting a "horsey" ride from Papa.
Right: Getting Patrick to draw a train for him - he watches so carefully!

Playing.  On the right, Ryder requested "a picture of my wu-cy (Lucy)".
Lucy is the neighbor dog.  His owners (our neighbors!) gave Ryder a stuffed version of their dog, Lucy, for Ryder's 1st birthday.  We named it Lucy, of course - Ryder LOVES this dog.

Playing outside.
Check out the height on Ryder's jump!

This box couldn't really fit all 3 boys - it didn't stop them from trying!
(Harvick, Ryder, and Jarrett)

Helping Patrick.

Ryder frequently stomps around the house, with his arm up in the air like this, making trumpeting noises - he is an elephant, of course!  I asked him to "show me" when I had my camera in hand - I think he was skeptical that I might be teasing him about it - I really just wanted to capture what he does!