Typical Ryan

With Ryan, like I've said before, small advances are big things to celebrate.  For instance, today I was eating some strawberry banana yogurt, and decided to try and give him some.  It was time for his breakfast, and Daddy mentioned he had accepted a couple bites of yogurt a few days ago.  Admittedly, I made it easy for Ryan: I fed him while he sat on the floor watching one of his favourite TV shows. Still, he ate almost half a cup of yogurt!  I even fed him a few bites with strawberry bits in it.  While he did make faces, he didn't spit it out or fuss, so that's a big accomplishment for him.  Then, at lunch time, I made an oatmeal-banana puree combo he particularly liked, and I believe he asked for more using the word sound "mow" at least twice.  However, that's not typical Ryan. Mealtimes are usually much more stressful. Today was a good day.

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I'd also like to record some information about typical Ryan behaviours/mannerisms (not sure what the proper term is). 

• Like I've said before, he's not comfortable with eye contact. (However, I've noticed he will look in the direction of my camera, but only because he's interested in the camera.) 
• He rarely responds or turns when I call his name.
• When he's tired or upset, or even at random times, he repeatedly shakes his head "no."  I remember he used to roll his head side to side as an infant, when he was trying to fall asleep. Could the two motions be related? 
• When anything excites him, his arms and hands start flapping, and sometimes he kicks his legs up in the air and seems to be balancing on his bum! 
• He's  always picking at/sticking a finger in his ears. (He's been tested for fluid/hearing, but it's all clear.)
• He scratches at his head when tired/upset.
• He grabs/scratches his groin area frequently.
• His two favourite spots are right in front of the TV/entertainment unit, or sitting on the base of our fan. (We think he enjoys the gentle vibrations of the fan.)

Some new and unusual additions include:

• He licks his hands, some toys, and sometimes our couch.
• He hits at his legs (not hard, but a rapid, patting/swatting motion).
• He lifts his leg up and uses his toe to rub the top of his head (seriously, he is flexible!).
• He crawls and drags/rubs his head on the floor for short periods. [Kevin did and still does this.]

I captured a good video tonight of Ryan just doing his thing.  In the video, you see a lot of his typical behaviours.  The video is a bit long (about 8 minutes?), but I took it to keep track of what he's doing, and also to have something to show to our health-care team.