It seems that things have really changed over the last few months. Ryken has developed more in his depth of what he can do than in his breadth, if that makes sense. For a while, it was ‘oh wow, he can bang to blocks together’. Now, he can intentionally place them in a bucket, or stack them high. It sounds a bit trivial I’m sure, but to see the intentionality on his face as he is trying to accomplish things, it really impressive to see his level of focus. Now that he has a good grasp of some basic things, he is also much more inclined to explore. A few months ago, walking on grass was a very awkward thing for him. He wasn’t comfortable enough walking on carpet or cement, so the squish and strange texture were just too much to add to the equation. Now, however, he runs to explore new areas – no matter the surface! I know, I know. Enough with the words!
A few weekends ago, we were able to go down the hill for the weekend. I brought my camera, and got some pictures of Ryken exploring my parents backyard. He seemed to have a lot of fun trying new things…like eating a leaf:
Well, until he realized it tasted like a dirty leaf:
(I love that pouty lip. Makes me laugh every time he does it)
Even though the leaf didn’t taste good, he still had fun experimenting:
I love that he maintains a level of joy amidst the experiences of life that didn’t go exactly as planned. I imagine him saying ‘that leaf tasted horrible, but I will spend my days tasting other leaves to see if one tastes good!’ Another thing he enjoyed exploring was a little statue in the garden:
It was so funny to see him interact with it. Even when he wasn’t studying it, he still liked holding on to it:
After exploring leaves and statues, he decided to try his hand at going up and down from the patio to the grass:
Funny how a step so small is so daunting for a little guy:
Eventually though, he built up the courage to do it himself, and was quite proud:
Once he was down, it was time to go back up! For this, he pulled from his knowledge base of climbing. He enjoys climbing up onto the couch to hunt for remote controls. With that in mind, he approached the step:
Once you’ve established a foot or knee on the object you hope to climb, lift your back leg REALLY high, to make sure it clears the object and lands on top:
Next, watch very closely as you place your foot on top of the object you want to climb:
And finally, relax in a chair after a very active day of eating, meeting new friends, and climbing a step:
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