Sweetie in the Sweater

Today was a bit on the chilly side. Most of the 12 month clothes I have unpacked for Ryan are of a lightweight nature. Knowing he'd need something warmer today, I dug in and found this sweater and cords. I couldn't resist trying to pose and photograph him in this outfit.
Ryan wore this hat in his 6 month photo. I'm so sad to say this will be the last time he'll fit in it. I bought the hat long before Ryan was born in the event he'd be a boy. It reminded me of my Grandpa Roy. Seeing Ryan in this hat, sweater, and cords, I KNOW my Grandpa's spirit lives on. I know he'd get such a kick out of Ryan and his tough guy faces or monster voices.

This photo reminds me of the Charles Dickens character, Oliver. It's like Ryan is going to take off the hat and then break into song.

Hmmph, I can alter a picture to make it black and white. I was just playing around and this is what happened.

Ryan Kennedy behind bars. Just kidding, he was standing at the steps and I took this picture between the railing posts.

Walk Like a Man

On Friday (September 25) Ryan took a single step. The next day he took four single steps before falling down. On Sunday he was too tired to do any walking when the video camera was around. But today he was in the mood to walk when Daddy got home from work!

New Trick

If this worked right, you should be able to see what Ryan did for the first time yesterday (9/21)! The camera happened to be in the right place at the right time.

End of Summer

"Don't you be saying that summer is over or I'll pound you!"

Wow what a difference a few months makes. The picture above was taken on 9/15/09, most likely Ryan's last time in his hippo pool. Compare that to the photo below taken 5/20/09, his first time in the hippo pool.

It was so cute, poor guy was so tired for his nap the one day he put his head right down on the pillow in the middle of the family room floor.

Summer may be over, but it's football season now. Go Illini!

Nature and the many faces of Ryan

Oh the faces that Ryan makes. At this age I can finally start to see some humor and personality come out of him. If I ever figure out how to make/post a video, I'll try to capture his scrunched nose/tough guy face. But for now it's limited to a few photos.

He goes from tough guy, to Smilin' Ryan.

And from there, Mr. Sweet and Innocent. Don't let that fool you (See Tough-Guy photos above)

By some miracle of God, Gizmo let me put Ryan this close to her long enough to snap a few pictures. They say the longer you live together, the more you start to look like one another. After only 10.5 months, Ryan and Gizmo share the same expression when I pull out the camera.

This is my new favorite photo (if only Dean were in it too). If I were to make a caption, it'd read "Love at first site."

The other day I was at the kitchen table feeding Ryan lunch and when I looked up, this is what I saw!

I have never seen a grasshopper as big as this one. I tapped on the patio door a little to see if how far he'd jump, but the little bugger wouldn't budge.

My mums are coming up quite nicely. We'll see if they survive through the winter and bloom again next fall.

Happy and safe Labor Day Weekend to all!