This angle makes Ryan look like he has huge feet! Actually, he does have long, skinny feet just like Andrea's. 
I was trying to get a side-by-side comparison of the brothers' looks, since everyone tells me they look alike. They look very similar in this picture, but not so much in other pictures I've taken.
Andrea wanted her picture taken with Ryan, too. Putting them side-by-side, I see a lot of similarities between them, too.
I was going to take Ryan for a walk on a crisp morning, so it was a good opportunity for him to try out the sweaters Mary, a secretary at my school, made for him. They fit perfectly, and he looks adorable in them!
Aww, even with his poor little buzzed head, he looks so sweet. What a great smile!Adventures in Food
Ryan is loving trying new flavours, but not new textures. He loves his baby foods, and prefers them over plain cereal, but anything remotely lumpy still makes him gag. Lately, he's been showing an interest in his bowl and utensils. It makes for a big mess, so I've started giving him his own spoon to play with while I feed him.
"Oh, what is this thing?"
"Does it go here?"
"Hahahaha, I am such a comedian!"
One day, I asked Andrea if she wanted to help me feed Ryan his fruits and veggies. I gave her a few pointers, and she took over with ease. Ryan thought it was fantastic because he still thinks Andrea's the best thing ever, and Andrea was happy because she likes making Ryan happy.
Andrea was saying, "Ahhhhhhhh" to get Ryan to open his mouth, and he was laughing at her. However, her strategy worked. It got him to open nice and wide!Ryan and Children First
Ryan seems to be following the developmental path of his brother and sister in terms of muscle tone and motor skills. At eight months, he is barely rolling over. He sits up briefly, but topples over easily. He cannot lift his chest/stomach off the floor when he's on his belly. He just started putting weight on his legs this week. Since he can't lift his upper body, he's not crawling or wriggling yet. It looks like he has the same problem as Kevin: low muscle tone (especially in the core/upper body).
Thanks to the new early assessment pilot program at Children First, for infant siblings of children currently receiving services, Ryan has already been referred and been officially accepted for physiotherapy intervention. He will have the same physiotherapist who is still working with Kevin, which is nice, because she knows our family and history well by now. The PT is coming out tomorrow for her first official home visit with Ryan. We are all hoping to make progress with Ryan before he starts daycare in January. Plus, they'll be able to continue working with him at daycare as soon as he starts there.
I'm glad Ryan has started putting weight on his legs this week. He seems a bit stronger every day, in that respect. However, his upper half is still absolutely floppy. When I hold him up on his legs, he stands on them well, but he leans over and puts all the weight of his upper body on my arms. Also, he can't get into crawling position, and even though he can put weight on his legs when he's upright, he can't pull into upright position by himself. Oh, well. It's not like we haven't been through this with our kids before.
Ryan's Sleep
Ryan is still my baby without a schedule. His naps are irregular, and he's still up one or two times most nights. He usually wakes up in the early morning hours for a bottle, then again a few hours later, just to play. When he wants to play, we put him in the swing and put kids' shows on the TV. He's usually fine with that, and often falls asleep after a while. Still, he's a pretty content baby. I am just looking forward to an uninterrupted night's sleep.
Ryan's Teeth
The official number is six: four on top, and two on the bottom. It's been that way for a few weeks. Now, he is starting to cut at least two more, on the top. They seem to come in bunches!
Kevin
. . . is driving me crazy.
Potty training went well for about a week. Now he is back in diapers, and shows no desire to make progress.
He still screams when he's frustrated, and throws his toys when he's upset, even though his speech has improved greatly.
His latest thing is DADDY. Daddy has to do everything for him. If I try to help him do something, he screams and runs away. I can't hold his hand, change his diaper, bathe him, dress him, get him to eat at the table, put him to bed, etc. Daddy HAS to do it. Well, Daddy is often busy or unavailable, so that makes it tough for Mommy.
Kevin has his funny moments, though. He loves to sing, and is starting to make up his own songs to familiar tunes. This one, completely random (and hilariously inappropriate), appeared a few nights ago, to the tune of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song ("M-I-C-K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E"): "Penis-penis-penis, what-does-that-word-mean?" His songs are usually not so, um, anatomical in nature!
As previously mentioned, Kevin is still receiving services from Children First. We are currently working with physio to continue building his core strength, and we're also working on running (which he does, but awkwardly) and jumping. In occupational therapy, we are working on self-help skills, like dressing and undressing. He is doing well in speech, and is pretty much discharged from that program.
Oh, and some great news for Kevin: he has NO allergies! He was tested last week, for peanuts and some environmental allergies, and his test was completely negative. I'm sorry we had to put him through the poke test, but it's a big relief to know he's allergy-free. He could develop allergies later in life, but for now, things look good.
Andrea
Andrea is doing great in her all-day SK program. She is in a split class with JKs, and according to her teacher, is a great helper. The teacher says she has adjusted fine to SK (not that we had any concerns, but still good to hear).
Andrea has her own little group of friends. Among them is a Chinese girl who speaks very little English. I think the teacher paired them up, recognizing Andrea as outgoing and eager to help. At first, Andrea wasn't too sure how this little girl fit into her circle of friends, but now she names her among her best friends. Andrea is very proud of the new words and small phrases she is teaching her Chinese friend. I like hearing her childish perspective on this experience, especially since I'm taking the ESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) Part I online course right now.
Andrea's main interests right now are Barbies and the Internet game site called "Garden Party." The child is seriously addicted to "Garden Party." The problem is, the game is designed for slightly older kids, so we have to do a lot of reading for her, which means constant interruptions during our day: "Mommy, I need help! Tell me what this says! Do I have enough points to get this? Look what Daisy05 (her character) is doing!" We actually caved and got her a VIP membership so she could have access to all elements of the game. It is a cute game, where she has her own tree house and garden and pets, but she spends WAY too much time on the computer now. It's become an obsession! I hope the excitement will wear off in a month or two, when something new comes along. :)
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