It's been a while since we've updated what Riley is up to, other than the obvious fun stuff on the blog. So here we go...
Health / Development
Health wise Riley has been pretty strong. Aside from a bout of conjunctivitis a few weeks back he's been a healthy boy. He was even exposed to Chicken Pox without showing any signs at all. He seems to have a healthy immune system.
He got his last incisor recently, so he has a mouthful of teeth. He allows us to brush them nightly with little or no difficulty.
Riley is a good eater in general, and will eat most things he's given. So far, fortunately, he's not a picky eater. He has meals where he doesn't eat much, but they are usually followed by meals where he eats a lot. It usually averages out. Offhand the only thing I can think of that he won't eat is green beans (he picks them out of his food if you put them in) although other veggies he'll only eat if they are mixed with eggs. He particularly loves milk, bananas and cheese. They are the three foods I can think of that he calls by name.
Riley is also a good sleeper. He is off to bed at about 8 pm each night and is up somewhere between 6:30 and 9 am (most days it's about 7 though.) Napping is hit or miss. (Today was miss, he bounced in his bed for an hour before I brought him down stairs.) Some days he does, others he doesn't. Although he usually gets a good nap every Monday...right after his swim lesson.
Because of the difficulties he had immediately following his birth (if you don't know about that you can start here to find out more) he's been under the watchful eye of the good folks at Children's Hospital every six months or so. They referred his case to Early Intervention who have been checking his development. Back in February Riley started working with one of the Developmental Specialists due to a delay in speech. Riley has always been very good at communicating, but has never used many words to do so. So he has been working with Miss Irma for the last six months. He had his update evaluation a couple of weeks ago. He is at or beyond his age level in all categories except speech. He is at an 18 month level in his ability to speak. So now Riley and Irma will be working together twice a week for the next six months. Here's a picture of them working on speech by playing:
Riley LOVES it when Miss Irma comes
I have to say that we aren't really concerned that Riley won't be able to speak (my brother Tom said very little before starting to speak in full sentences at age three) but we do want to give Riley any advantage we can with learning to speak. It would also ease communication quite a bit since his needs and desires are now becoming more specific and that can make things very challenging with his current level of ability / desire to speak.
Stuff he likes
Riley is a very active boy. But he also is able to sit and play quietly for long periods. So his list of things he likes is varied:
Riley loves to read - Our boy has always loved books. I posted some pictures of him reading on his 20 month update. He continues to love to read anytime, anywhere:
Outdoor activities with Mom & Dad - Bike riding, kayaking, hiking, snowshoeing, the beach, you name it. Riley loves it all. Here he is last week at the beach where he played quietly by himself for hours:
He also loves riding his own bike:
Toys - I've said many times that Riley has never met a toy he didn't like. He does have some current faves though:
1. Cars - He especially likes the cars that wind up when you pull them backwards, which he has just learned to do in the last week or so. He has several that he plays with a lot, but his favorites are the school bus ("Bus!") and the Checker Marathon Taxi.
2. Puzzles - These are things he has always liked. He's also good at them. He does puzzles at a three year old level and does them quickly. Unless he's playing one of his favorite games, which is to intentionally put a piece in the wrong spot and then say, "No!" and take it out to put it in the right spot.
3. The truck Grammy and Poppa got him - This has been the longest lasting favorite of all. Grammy and Poppa had this little truck (which makes all kinds of great noises) waiting for him when he came to visit in Alaska last year. He loved it so much that they spent more than the thing cost shipping it down here to him. Money well spent, as he rides the thing constantly (and pushes the buttons, etc. to make sounds and play music when he's not riding it...)
4. His bike - He's been in love ever since he saw the box...he's definitely Daddy's boy.
5. The front seat - Riley looks at our cars as toys I think. He loves to sit in the front seat and push all the buttons and pull all the levers. Last week when we were in Maine we were walking past a big tour bus and he was pointing and calling out, "Bus!" After a few short words with the driver here's the result:
Riley drives the bus
He pushed buttons on the bus too...and closed the door.
6. Legos - We got these for him quite a while ago, but lately he has taken to sitting and playing with them for extended periods. Quiet play is nice (well, quiet except for when he's dumping them all over himself.)
Playgrounds - Riley has loved the playground ever since he was first able to go on a swing. His favorite parts are the swings, slides and the steering wheels.
Videos - Riley has discovered Pixar. His two favorite movies of late have been Cars and Monsters Inc. Bob and Blue have taken a back seat. He still enjoys the occasional Curious George or Veggie Tales. Yesterday he sat with Mama and watched Gene Kelley dance up a storm in "Singin' In The Rain."
Babies - Riley likes older kids, but he's really enamored with babies (which bodes well for happenings in this family in seven months or so.) In swim class he wants to go to where the smallest kids are. He loves Dominic, the one year old son of the woman who does day care for us (Dominic loves him too. He greets Riley at the door saying his name.) He is surprisingly gentle for a two year old. Tonight he was sitting with Shelby next to friends who have an eight month old and he held out a finger for the baby to grasp. Very sweet. We think he'll make a great big brother.
Swimming / Water - Riley loves the water. We've got enough pictures and video up already that show that. He also loves going to the pool for swim lessons and has been getting better at the "reach and pull" and "kick with the feet" that he's told to do there. He's actually moving up to a more advanced class tomorrow morning. I'm really glad to have a son who is comfortable with the water. Oh, and Daddy loves the swim lessons too.
Going to the office with Daddy - This is one of those treats I get every so often. My business is such that having my two year old boy along works well. The only thing that suffers is my ability to do paperwork. So when we have a day where there is no daycare Riley just comes to work with me. Being the extrovert he is Riley has a ball. He helps me all day too. He turns on the lights for me (although sometimes he turns them off, then on, then off...), helps me adjust patients and he also helps me get the ice packs to them. He's a very helpful boy and we both have fun when he's there. My patients do too. Some of them want me to call them when he's going to be there so they can visit.
Times they are a changin'
There are going to be a number of changes coming up. Riley will be transitioning into a toddler bed in not too long. That ought to be interesting... We'll be working on readying him for the arrival of a sibling soon too. We already told him that, "there's a baby in Mommy's tummy", but it probably doesn't mean that much to him since Shelby doesn't really look that much different than normal yet. Soon enough. It will be a winter full of transition. And not too far down the road there will be potty training. Oh boy. We'll also be looking forward to an increase in Riley's vocabulary. Better communication will be really nice.
And I can't wait to be able to post a list of all the fun things he'll say.
We love our boy!
Jonathan
