Rob (who is into Civil War history) got Ryan a Union soldier hat on his recent trip to Gettysburg. Today Ryan decided to wear it backward, and further accessorized with a pacifier.



Now that we're finally having some warm weather, Ryan and I have been walking (or riding, in his case) to the playground most days. When I see him in his stroller, it strikes me how much he's grown in the past 9 months.

Now (April 08):



Then (July 07):



Ryan doesn't like to ride on the swing, so he just sets his basketball on it, gives it a push, and spends the rest of his time marching around in the mulch.







He's also getting to be a real menace around the house, and elsewhere. Today he opened the dishwasher while it was running. Ours has a "lock" button that prevents him from reprogramming the controls, but it doesn't stop him from physically opening the dishwasher with the lever, which he figured out the other day. Fortunately I was only 10 feet away and saw him do it, so I was able to shut the door before the kitchen was flooded. He has also taken to standing up in the cart at the grocery store, which he manages to do even with the belt on. It's anyone's guess what he'll discover next!

Ryan and I spent this past weekend visiting Grandma and Grandpa R. They were very amused by Ryan’s fixation with balls and ball-related games and objects. He's been exposed to some basketball on TV lately, so every time he sees a basketball net (which about 1 in 3 of their neighbors have in their driveways), he says “bah! bah! bah!” even if no one is out playing and there's no ball in sight.

Grandma got Ryan a toddler-size basketball while we were visiting, and he played with it morning, noon and night:















Ryan also loves to follow the ball during basketball games on TV. He points to the screen and mouths or whispers "bah" over and over as if he's having a religious experience. (Then he gets frustrated during breaks in the action when the ball is not in view.)





The highlight of Ryan's weekend (and perhaps of his life so far, judging by the level of excitement he displayed) was attempting a basket himself, with Grandpa’s assistance.









We also visited with friends, and Ryan wasted no time locating the most comfortable seat in the room to watch the hockey game. (He also considers the puck a ball.)



Just hangin' out: