About a month before Carter's first birthday I wrote a blog entry titled 12 Random Things. I wrote about how much he loves fruit, about how he will play with anything with wheels (including other people's strollers) and how he will smile for pictures on demand. Now that Ryan is a month out from her first birthday I want to do the same post for her.
1. Ryan prefers to kneel on one leg rather then sit on her bottom. It looks like she should be in the middle of a football huddle.
2. She is the most difficult baby I have EVER tried to diaper. She squirms, turns and twists. Most of the time I'm trying to slap the diaper on while she's crawling away.
3. Ryan loves to play on our king sized bed. If she's gone "missing" in the house she probably crawled into our room and is standing next to the bed simply waiting for someone to lift her up.
4. She loves to eat ice. Watch your glasses folks, she will dive across the table to get it!
5. Her favorite part of the day is when Carter wakes up from his nap and she crawls into his room to greet him.
6. Her favorite toy right now are blocks. She loves to grab them and knock them down.
7. Ryan loves to be startled. I imagine most kids would be frightened or cry if you sneak up behind them and say boo. Ryan jumps and squeals. She loves playing hide a go seek with Mom, Dad and Carter. She loves the anticipations of being found and laughs so hard when you actually find her (usually hiding under a blanket with Mom).
8. Ryan has a "tell" when she's tired. She will always rub her eyes. Unfortunately Ryan inherited her mother's dark circles. Her eyes get very dark when she's tired too.
9. She hates to get her nose wiped. Most of the time you have to hold her down just to get a shot of wiping her nose. Oh, she cries and cries and cries.
10. She hates the child watch at the gym. I think we've tried at least 10 times to take her there. Every time I get about 15-20 minutes into the workout and then either a staff member tracks me down or I'm getting paged over the loud speaker.
11. Ryan is a pretty good eater. She doesn't want to be spoon-fed and hasn't for 4 months now. The only exception to this is applesauce. She loves american cheese slices and cottage cheese. Her favorite "treat" is to lick Carter's popsicle...when he lets her.
12. Ryan is a complete TV junkie. It could be one of Carter's cartoons or Daddy's boring news. She doesn't care what it is. If the TV is on, she will watch it! If her highchair is angled away from the TV somehow she'll figure out a way to turn her head enough to get a glimpse of what is on.
We adore Ryan Michele. Her little smile melts our hearts. It's amazing to think she will be one year old in a couple of weeks. It truly has gone by so fast. We've loved every moment with our baby!
Carter loved opening presents. It's a good thing Ryan preferred watching Carter because he opened all her gifts too!
And even more family to play with too....
The kids (and grownups) practiced their wrestling skills...
Kyle and I loved watching Carter and Ryan throughout the holiday season. Carter learned about the birth of Baby Jesus and who Santa Claus is. Carter seemed to love everything about Christmas. He loved outside Christmas lights and the giant blow up snowmen and Santa Clauses in almost everyone's yards. He loved Christmas music and can now sing Jingle Bells. He loved decorating the tree and would have preferred to keep it up all year. He had so much fun with his friends and family. I can only imagine how excited he will next year when he's 3. Ryan was as sweet as can be and took the holiday in stride. Although she was sick for most of the month of December she had a smile on her face. All Kyle and I wanted to Christmas were two happy little kids and we certainly got them! 
Gaelle, 9 years old, was adopted in November by my sister (Colleen) and brother-in-law (Rick). She was born in Haiti and moved to the United States after the earthquake. Gaelle is a very confident child with a lot of spirit. 
Be sure to get just the right amount of green frosting.
Don't forget the sprinkles!
But the best part of decorating cookies is..... EATING THEM! 
