Always My Baby

So tonight is the big night that we get to go and see our little one still in the belly and we are both very excited! But before I make a big deal about the new baby and my ultrasound, etc, etc. I wanted to make a post all about Rylan. (I actually saw one on my friend Happy's page about her daughter, and thought how cool!) So here we go:
Rylan has always been a very affectionate little boy. Even when he was a baby he would never want us to put him down, ugh...remembering those days. :) Now he is full of hugs and kisses. My favorite is when he will just run up to me or Ben for no reason and yell, "Mommy or Daddy" and throw himself around our legs and give us a big hug. It is the best thing ever! Every night before bed he asks for a group hug and a group kiss. We love it!
Though Rylan is very much close to Ben and I and always wants to stay close, like we hold hands everywhere,(even walking around the house) he is also very outgoing. He says hi to strangers we pass by and loves when new people come over so he can show them all of his toys. He also loves playing with his friends and asks for them. His BF's right now are Mattie Menzie, Lucious Dahle, Sawyer Graves, and Dahlia Graves. Oh and he loves his cousin Hailie! He always asks me if they are going with us to the park or if they can come over. He loves to play games with other kids. And is usually really good at participating in group activities.
Rylan tends to get bullied by the bigger kids and it really breaks my heart. He is such a sweet little boy and loves to watch the big kids play. I have found though that most bigger kids don't like little kids even standing by them. Rylan has been shoved, pushed, hit and here recently had his foot stomped on. It is so hard as a parent to watch your kid getting bullied all the time and I sometimes wish he were the bully instead because of it. I am hoping we will be able to teach him to defend himself better and when to recognize when another child is not friendly, so we are working on that right now. Of course, Daddy would love to just "handle" the bullies himself. LOL
Rylan impresses us everyday with his intelligence but it hasn't been until recently that I have become completely aware of just how smart he is. Really I thought he was normal until other people and parents have been making remarks to me about his language and his intelligence. I truly have NO idea where he gets it from as Ben and I are not accelerated in any area as far as education goes. As a matter of fact I am probably behind. So Rylan can count to 15 and can recognize any number up to 10. He knows his whole alphabet and can recognize every letter except for (W) and (V). He just started showing and interest in spelling out the words in his books and so I have been working on spelling simple 3 letter words with him. Right now he can spell out loud and recognize "CAT" and "DOG" as words. He knows animals that I don't even know what they are and is probably one of his favorite things to read about, talk about, or pretend to be! His favorite color,he says, is pink. LOL His imagination is starting to really take off and it is so much fun to watch him pretend!
Of course Rylan is a thrill seeker like his parents! He is a terrific climber and loves to jump. He likes to ride the skateboard with Daddy and anything that goes fast! We have a feeling broken bones will be in our future, maybe even sooner than we think. But let's hope not!
As far as food goes, he loves pickles, pizza, fresh fruit and water! He loves candy but really he just likes to walk around with it in his hand. I often find it an hour later uneaten just sitting there and I'll ask him if he's done with it and he says yes. It is kind of cute. I try not to buy anything with corn syrup or sugar in it though. He doesn't really eat any vegetables, but french fries, so I still buy him the stage 2 vegetables, like the sweet potatoes and squash stuff. It is the only ones he will eat. Well, he does like my mashed potatoes too.
Well, I think that about sums it up. I am so excited for him to have a little brother or sister. He loves baby's so much! He always wants to kiss every ones baby he sees. I am hoping he will embrace the role he is about to have as a big brother and we are going to try to do everything we can to make it a positive experience for him. We love you Rylan!