Ryan

Oh, what to say about this boy.  For starters he turns 2-1/2 today.  Half-way to three?!  Where has my baby gone?  He changes daily...I can hardly keep up.  We've definitely been having a little dose of the "terrible two's" around here.  We still think he is the cutest though.  Lucky for him! :)

I wanted to write down some of my favorite things about him right now.  He chatters non-stop and cracks us up with new phrases all of the time.  This is where we have to watch what we say because we hear it right back!  Some of the common things we hear are:

"Mmm....Ummy dat!" (That's yummy!) 
"Dewishes!" (Delicious!)

"Mommy, watch this!" (as he shows me some new trick he's learned)

"Darn it!" (when something doesn't go his way)

"And, and, kick!" (before he kicks a ball...he says it every single time)

"Mommy, jwumpy me?" (Mommy, jumpy me? when he wants to jump on the trampoline.  He says this with the cutest look on his face...it melts my heart every time!  I pretty much always say 'yes.')

He calls Anna "Na-na," Aimee "Mae-mi," Nathan "Dae-din," and himself "Wynin."  His favorite part of the day is when we pick the kids up from school.  As soon as he sees Nathan walking out from class he runs over shouting "Dae-din!" and gives him a big hug.  It's a heart-melter!  He also likes driving carpool with Anna's friends and is finally learning all of the kid's names (as opposed to calling everyone "Weeyah" (Olivia) like he's done for the past several months.  I think he's got a crush... :) 

Ryan runs everywhere he goes.  This boy has so much energy!  He's given up the stroller for the walk to school, and darts down the sidewalk yelling, "Mommy...fast!" as he leaves me in the dust.  It's great for getting to school quickly, but not so great at Target!  I may have to trade in my flip flops for running shoes.

What else...?  He loves to pretend that he is a puppy (I tell the kids they don't need a dog, they have a little brother!), or even better, that one of the kids is a puppy.  He leads them all over the house saying "Come on, puppy!" and giving other commands.  His favorite animal in the whole world is a "hee-hee" (horse.)  He carries around his plastic or stuffed horses everywhere, and make the most hilarious "neigh-ing" sound we've ever heard.  I had to make sure to get it on video so we don't forget it when he figures out how a real horsie sounds.  I'll post it for you grandmas. :)

Ryan loves to get dressed up for church (especially loves his tie and getting his hair nicely combed), and when he is all ready and we've told him how handsome he looks, he goes to the mirror on the closet door to admire himself.  We may be in trouble in a few years!

I don't think I've had a child this busy and in to everything before.  He makes more messes a day than the other three combined and doubled.  But, I guess that's a two-year-old.  He's quite sassy and has a little bit of a temper, and we are hoping it is just a phase.  Luckily he only gets that way when he is tired or has been teased mercilessly by one of the kids...or Scott (sometimes I think I have more than one two-year-old!!!)

That being said, he is a sweet boy most of the time, and will always give me a kiss on the cheek at my request.  We spend our days while the kids are at school building trains, reading stories, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (so I can get some things done), jumping on the trampoline, eating Cheerios, and playing with his Lightning McQueen cars.  He is also my best helper when it comes to the laundry.  :)

What a fun little guy he is.  I'm so grateful that he is a part of our family.  I still can't believe that we are so lucky to have him.  I think of how different our family would be if he hadn't have come along, and I commented to the kids the other day that we sure wouldn't laugh as much without Ryan around.  He's brought us so many smiles over the past two-and-a half years.  We love you, Ry-guy!