I find most of Ryan's pictures are slightly blurry as he is always moving and the iPhone camera doesn't seem to capture motion as well as it does the more sedentary subjects. Ryan loves to read. Usually when he reads to himself, he pulls all of the books out of the basket and spreads them around himself. His favorite book is still Goodnight Moon, which has made it's way to his bed. He reads it to himself every night. It's pretty cute to hear him talking to himself while he's flipping the pages of his book.
Ryan has great musical talent. He likes to play the xylophone, the keyboard, and his guitar. He has a mean drumbeat, and his favorite thing to do at Grandma's house is "play" the piano. He is a very sweet little boy. All three of the boys amaze me at their thoughtfulness in regards for each other. If one of them goes to get milk, he'll bring his brothers milk. They share and hug and generally make me proud to be their mother. Of course, there are still lots of quarrels over toys and other things. For the last few days, we have been practicing sleeping together in a tent. We are going to Uncle Zach & Aunt Mandu's for the weekend, and this is the first time we will be traveling since the boys can climb out of their cribs. In order to keep them wrangled, we have purchased a small tent. We figure that since they are used to their crib tents that they would feel comfortable in a tent, and it could protect Zach & Mandy's stuff should anyone get the desire to go exploring in the middle of the night. The first nap time with the tent almost drove me to drink as young Michael is a bit of a bully when left to his own devices. They did much better in the tent at night time. I guess exhaustion is the way to curb the fighting. This morning, only James came down with noticeable bite marks, and hopefully tomorrow it will be even better.
The boys love to drive. They will tackle anything with a wheel attached. Ryan loves Papa Joe's tractor. The other day, he helped me move the car from the driveway to the street (since we park the burb in the garage, any time we want to go somewhere with the kids, we have to shuffle the cars around). He sat on my lap and helped me steer. Let's just say that I don't think he'll be getting his license any time soon and that I've never had that much trouble moving a vehicle 20 feet. Today, Ryan and Michael spent a good ten minutes playing in the Suburban when they followed me to the garage to get a drink. I'm not sure if this is just general boy behavior or if we need to lay off watching the movie Cars.
Ryan might just be a firefighter when he grows up just like Anne. Well, maybe. Ryan does seem to be fearless as of right now. He will climb the outside of the stairs and get himself "stuck" in all kinds of interesting places. Today, I found him in the fertilizer spreader in my parents' backyard. He is brave, but he is also prone to hurting himself. Ryan definitely displays his status as the youngest when it comes to getting hurt. It's always a wee bit dramatic with wails, gnashing of teeth, and rolling about on the floor, but as soon as he gets a hug from Mommy, he's off to his next adventure. I must admit that I find his antics endearing. Of course if he's 13 and still pumping out the drama, I might have to reconsider.
Outside is Ryan's ultimate destination. He will throw a huge fit if someone goes in or out of the backdoor and he's not allowed into the toddler paradise. He has observed how to open the screen door and tries to turn the knob on the lock himself. Thankfully, our door is a little tricky and he hasn't quite mastered the technique or I'm pretty sure we'd never see him indoors again. Last weekend, Bob tested the sprinklers and the only one who loved running through the sprinklers was Ryan. In fact, we were outside when Bob briefly turned on a section of the sprinklers and Ryan was most irritated when they abruptly turned off.
In general, Ryan is very laid back. He rarely starts fights with his brothers, and his patient demeanor won him the coveted middle position in the high chair line up - enabling him to steal from two brothers' trays. When wrestling, he usually ends up on the bottom, but he has quite a jumping belly flop move that can knock the wind out of unsuspecting inhabitants of the floor - human and canine.
Ryan has gained the nickname "Mr. Longfingers" as there is no location which is safe from his wandering hands. He will roll his zebra ride-on toy or train over to the tall part of the bar so that he can reach what he wants with minimal effort. This has made for some interesting items being illicitly obtained. Today, Longfingers was in the kitchen when a glass lid magically fell on the floor and shattered into millions of tiny pieces. 
Here Ryan appears satisfied with his rock band guitar, but don't be fooled, he definitely wants the guitar AND the mic. 
My sweet prince reading himself Goodnight Moon. Ryan is such a smart little guy. He puts things together faster than I could imagine. While Bob was out of town, we did several video chats. Ryan would bring me the computer and say, "Daddy." He likes to stand on top of your feet and check out whatever you are doing. He will point to the cabinet where his colors are and then run to his chair to get settled in for coloring. 
Toothbrushing is a very important skill to have. Ryan is usually the first to spot the toothbrushes and demand an opportunity to practice good oral hygiene.
Writing in your journal is serious business. The boys all love to color and use their pencils. I used to let them choose their own colors, but they start squabbling over the designated colors. When possible, I've always given James red, Michael blue, and Ryan green. Ironically, that's the color they pick first. I guess I predestined them to like those colors. They like other colors as well, but they don't like their brother using their designated color unless it was a gift he chose to bestow upon said brother (for example, James and Ryan like to switch colors because Ryan likes to use lots of different colors and James is a generous soul).
Now that we are getting closer to two, the boys are getting much better with their utensils. Every once in a while, they even eat off of plates on the table rather than on their trays. They love to use their forks, but occasionally, Michael will put the food on his spoon or fork, then pick it off and eat it with his hands. I guess old habits die hard. Ryan is the king of the finish and toss. When the kids (especially Ryan) are finished with a meal, they like to toss the offending items remaining on their trays onto the floor - this problem is especially exacerbated by the dogs. Today, Ryan and Michael were eating pineapple out of the tupperware. They would eat a piece and then "share" one with Duke. Very thoughtful and generous boys, they are.
Ryan does like to give hugs and cuddle. He will stop for love. Here he gets a good cuddle with Grandpa, the originator of second breakfast. The other day, Ryan got mad at Grandpa for finishing his cereal (despite the fact that he gave half of it to Ryan who sat in the chair next to him at the table and demanded alternating bites). What can I say, the boy likes to eat, he definitely comes by that one honestly.
Last weekend, Bob's sister Sue and JP came for Kathy's birthday. Ryan was in fine form showing off all of his mad skills. He does like to perform for his admirers. My favorite are his stellar dance moves. The arm waving and bouncing are exquisite. He loves music of all kinds, and one of his favorite things to do is to hold the iPhone and dance to the music, and if he's feelin' it he'll sing along. He loves to strum Daddy's guitar, too. Maybe he'll be a famous musician. (Or learn enough guitar to impress the ladies and become a world famous rocket scientist). Either way, I'm pretty sure he'll be on the go.
No comments:
Post a Comment