My two AND a half year old!

It's been a while since I have dedicated a post solely to my little guy. So, since on the 2nd of this month, he is officially two and half, I have decided that it would be appropriate to have a post just on him. :) He is definitely my sweet little boy. He gives the best hugs and kisses! If he can tell I am stressed or worried about something, he always pats my back or just gives me a hug...it always makes everything better! It is amazing how much he has grown and matured in the last few months. I don't even know where to start. We are constantly amazed at how much he can say and do now. He is definitely into the "Ry Ry do it" stage. One of the things that he loved to do is play with his trucks, cars, fire trucks and tractors. For a few weeks now, every day he gets out his bin with all of his vehicles in it, pushes them into a line, and then he brings me his mega blocks and says, "tunnel." We then build a tunnel for his vehicles and he pushes them through and I line them up. We do this EVERY day! I have to admit, I am getting a tad tired of it, but it cracks me up on how he can't wait to play with his , "vrooms,' again. I took this picture because this scene is a daily occurrence in the Ekk household.

Ryan has his cars all lined up, the tunnel is built, and Ally is enjoying watching him. :)

Ryan is also super into music...particularly the drums and guitar. The little tin you see is my make-shift drum for Ryan. He will bang his little chopsticks on it all day long! He says, "one two three, go!" and just bangs away. He is also mesmerized by live bands. He LOVES the worship band at church and we go to the concert in the Park in Coronado on Sundays. He cannot wait to watch the music and is usually pretty transfixed on the drums. Every book that we have with either a guitar or drum, he can just study and study. I will be surprised if he doesn't play either the drums or guitar. He already gets guitar lessons from Jason. Here is a pic of him playing for us. :) He loves to be where ever we are and playing his music and also making sure that we clap for him. :)

What has been so fun in the last few weeks is how much his vocabulary has taken off. He took a little longer than some to talk, but he signed quite a bit and I always knew he knew what we were saying. One thing with Ryan, is that it seems he won't do something until he is sure that he will be successful at it. Like climbing stairs, going down a slide, he was super cautious and then one day he knew he could do it, and he just did. :) He has been talking in sentences lately, and is saying new words everyday. He has become my little parrot, and it's so fun to hear him learn how to pronounce words. Some of the cute words I love is when he says Ally its "ale-ya," Layla is "yay ya," cars is "vroom," firetruck is 'fire duck." He also now just comes and says, "hi momma," randomly and loves to deliver messages to Jason. I will tell him to go tell Dadda it's time to eat, and he yells on the top of his lungs, "Dadda eat!!" It's been fun as he is becoming quite the little chatter-box.

We are seeing more and more of my mannerisms come out in Ryan. He is super organized (hence-the line of cars). And if one of those cars fall out of place, he will put it back. He notices if there is a book out of place or a toy in the wrong bin. He also LOVES to clean up! ha! I love that one, and if I try to help him, he says, "no momma, Ry Ry do it." Ok buddy...clean all you want! :) He has to make sure that his toys are put away before nap. Another Alicha-ism that we are seeing is that he has a really hard time if he has a plan of how something should be, and you try to change it. If he's in middle of something, and you try to change the activity, that is not ok! That is so me...once my plan is set...it's really hard for me to accept change. :) He also likes his food organized on his plate. So funny to see these things coming out. He is also pretty sensitive (he gets that from his Dad) and helpful (also from his dad) and caring. :) When Ally is crying, he says, "momma get Ally, Ally needs milk!" 

It has been super fun to see how Ryan has been interacting with Ally. He LOVES to get her toys out, and then put them away later. :) She LOVES to watch him, and he always says, "Ally watch Ry Ry." She laughs at him quite a bit, and he thinks that is pretty cool. He is pretty gentle with her, but there are a few times when I have had to remind him to be more gentle with her. I am pretty amazed at Ally though, she's tough. She's gotten hit a few times, but she hasn't cried. She just looks a bit stunned. Ryan over all is great with her. Especially when I am putting her to sleep. He knows that he needs to be quiet, and will just play quietly in the room or wait just outside the door for me. I am just so proud of him. :) 

I took him today to a little grass area near our house to get some pictures of my little guy in action. It's crazy to me how big he is looking, but I am so in love with our sweet little boy and love who God is creating him to be. Here are his pictures for being a big 2 and a half year old: 

putting his cars in order :) 

this smile melts me! 

hard at work!

this was when he wanted me to stand somewhere else :) 

proud of his work

this one is going in a frame!

oh these eyes...

this one reminds me of his baby pics 

such a boy...loves sticks!

Love my sweet little boy! He has blessed my life in more ways that I could of ever imagined. So thankful for him! I will end with this picture...he is still so snuggly, and I love how snuggled up with his Dadda watching Curious George!