28 months!

Ryder's verbal skills have been increasing at a breakneck speed this month.  At his 2 year check-up I was concerned about the size of his vocabulary (and was told that everything was fine) and now Ryder talks all day long, is learning new words very quickly and has become a first-class mimic.  He is also now learning new phrases and quickly using them in new situations- "Not yet" was a big one this month.

Last month he started using some verbs to create not quite complete sentences, or super short sentences.  This month he is speaking in longer complete sentences.  We have some bunnies in the yard and while watching one of them one evening Ryder observed "Bunny eats grass in the yard."  He is now adding one or two adjectives to things when he describes them.  If we don't repeat or otherwise acknowledge what he has said, he will continue to say it with increasing insistence until we do!

He has also mastered the skill of telling people what to do, or NOT do, as is usually the case.  He loves to tell Vivi what she can and cannot "eat."  Spoiler alert: there is almost nothing she can "eat." Which is true, I suppose.  "Vivi no eat (toy) truck!"  "Vivi no eat book!"  I love it at meals when he describes his meal and hers: "Vivi has mush!"

Ryder is getting/continuing to be very stubborn.  We took him to Cambridge for an event this month and he didn't want to hold my hand in the crowd, so he sat down!  I've had to carry him several times.  He really lets us know what he wants and doesn't want and loudly!

He has a couple of TV specials that he watches on Amazon Prime from time to time and it is adorable to watch him watch them.  There are only a handful in rotation and he knows what is going to happen and some of the dialogue.  The facial expressions and the yelling of the words is so funny.  Once Janda randomly selected another title in the series and poor Ryder was so scared by the events that he turned the TV off to make it go away!

The most notable new skill this month is the mastering of the balance bike.  He can coast halfway down our street on it barely putting a foot down.  He has ridden it all the way to the park and around the point on our short walk route.  He is mostly fearless, barely missing cars and telephone poles!

This picture might look like he is sitting still, but he isn't.  He's bouncing back against the couch!

Saying "Cheese"

I told him I wanted to take some pictures of him standing- so of course he ran back and forth on the couch, that is obviously the same as standing.

Bouncing around

Fearless!