Height: 33.25 inches (20.47%)

Weight:  22 pounds (1.13%)

The pediatrician was impressed with Ryland's understanding of letters and sounds, and his demonstration of fine motor control.  In addition to the things the doctor observed, by Ryland's 2nd birthday, he was reading and spelling several words, including his name, some color words and farm animals, and his favorite word being "cake."  He also started "acting two" in the last couple of weeks before his birthday, insisting on doing more on his own (like climbing into and out of his highchair).

In addition to Christmas, December was a fun month.  We took a lot of pictures of Ryland playing with various nativity scenes (at one point, he was walking the wise men toward the manger when he stopped and twisted them around before laying them down...playing "Ring-around-the-rosie").  We enjoyed some outdoor Christmas activities: the MOPS Christmas party (where Ryland rode a tractor-pulled train) and Christmas at the Courthouse (where Ryland met the "Tootsie Roll Lady" and enjoyed all the Christmas lights).  He helped us decorate the Christmas tree, enjoyed making and eating his first gingerbread (graham cracker) house, and learning to do simple chores (sorting the silverware into the drawer when it comes out of the dishwasher).  We also dressed Ryland in a firefighter costume and had a little photo shoot outside with his ride-on firetruck (just for fun).