August 27th...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY SWEET RY. (Yes, I am posting this 38 days late.)
Ryan, (Ry, Ry-Ry, yI-yI, Ryan J., Ry Joseph, yI-un)...
What a whirlwind 3 years it's been. Wow. As I chased you as a toddler and braced myself for your non-stop chatter from day one, I kept my eye out for that 3rd birthday. Never did I want you to grow to be 3 years old so quickly, but I KNEW that things would be easier for me as you reached that age. It definitely has been, but what I wouldn't trade to be able to go back to your baby days again. :)
You were an easy baby as your older siblings were, but you showed your true personality early on when you would constantly make noise from only a few months old. Whether humming, singing or babbling, you were determined to be heard among those 3 other kids! We were so thrilled to have you talk amazingly early and oh so articulately...and with such an imagination! You loved to tell us about the dreams you had about dinosaurs visiting you in your room at night.
Our talks still bring joy to my heart as you find it so easy to express your true feelings. Just tonight you told me that you were so happy I put our pumpkin decorations out because they looked "so great!" You love to compliment your momma.
When 20 weeks pregnant with you, I was stunned to learn I would be having a third son. Stunned. Your pregnancy was sooo similar to Taylor's. I always pictured myself with lots of little girls, not lots of little boys! LOL
I knew God was giving me not what I wanted but what I needed. He knew how rich my life would be with my one special girl and 3 amazingly kind and sweet young men. I never knew how passionate boys could be. I am amazed at how passionately they LOVE. (Yes, you are all passionate about trucks, bikes, dirt, digging, exploring, building and wrestling, but you LOVE so deeply, as well.)
I am also amazed and grateful for the uniqueness of YOU. Sure, you were the #3 boy...but you are so your own person. You are not afraid to stand up for yourself, that's for sure.
This is a little bit about who you are at 3 years old:
Your likes:
MONSTER TRUCKS. Oh, monster trucks. This infatuation is neverending. Your birthday party HAD to have a monster truck theme! After accumulating your brothers' monster trucks (hot wheels), you are still determined to buy even more. They are so cool! Thanks, Discovery Kids for creating an animated Big Foot series this fall. Woo-hoo!
SUNSETS. What a sweet soul to see the beauty of a sunset. You get so excited when spotting one. However, last week, when telling you how pretty I thought the sunset was, you quickly replied, "No Mom, it's COOL (not pretty)!" Oops.
BIKE RIDES: You love bike-riding. Well, actually you love being pulled by mommy on the tag-along. LOL Although, YOU consider it bike-riding! :)
BUFFALO: You have loved buffalo (used to call them bupp-a-bow) from so early on. Not sure where this all started. It was the highlight of Yellowstone for you to have a buffalo mere feet from our truck.
BABIES: You have recently developed an affection for babies. We don't have anyone near us with babies, but you are drawn to them wherever we go. You are sad that mommy will not have any more babies. :( You want to have two babies: one girl one and one boy one. You are happy to share your bed with them and you will feed them milk. This desire surprises me as I can't imagine you wanting to share me with a newborn! (If you only knew how a newborn would change YOUR life! LOL)
FOOD: I've been blessed with four good eaters. While I can quickly name your siblings' favorite foods, you're a bit tougher. I think it's because you're so complacent about it all. You DO love plain spaghetti noodles w/parmesan cheese, though - oh and cheese quesadillas, too! LOVE. There's not many things you don't like when it comes to food, though. Orange juice is a favorite drink, for sure.
FAMILY HUGS: Daddy and I have always had a tradition of a family hug w/ALL of us hugging. You insist on this frequently. :)
RV: The movie, RV. Ugh. We are all so tired of this movie. I do love to hear you belt out the GTO song from the movie, though!
YOUR BLANKIE: Like all 3 of your siblings, you have a special blankie. What a great day it is when mommy brings it to you fresh from the dryer, all folded nice and neat. :)
SWIMMING: You love the water. The pool is certainly one of your favorite places!
TALKING: You never run out of things to talk about. Some of the things you ask, definitely make me and your dad say "Hmmmmm." Interesting mind in there!
HELPING DADDY: You love to work. You would rather help dig, haul, hammer, pull than play any day. So helpful, you are.
------
DISLIKES:
PUTTING TOYS AWAY: This isn't a huge, everyday problem w/you, but you would be ecstatic if you suddenly never had to help pick up.ever.again.
BEES: You were stung last year (Mommy had to pull the bee out of your finger!), and that memory has stuck with you.
BEING AWAY FROM GRANDMA: You prefer to see Grandma nearly everyday. You will not be happy when she leaves for two weeks to visit family in Iowa soon. On days when you're very sad to come home from Grandma's, you pitifully whimper "But I LOVE her."
YOUR BROTHERS NOT INCLUDING YOU: You don't tolerate that so well, as you shouldn't. You especially don't have much patience with them when you're all 3 attempting to take turns on the computer.
OK, why can't I think of more things you don't like? You are so easy-going these days. No issues with eating, sleeping, getting dressed, going to school. Hmmm...perhaps I only focus on the good, but I believe I should.
You bring so much joy into our lives. People.remember.you. I remember when we were visiting Mommy's good friend in Missouri this past summer. She so bonded with you, as she enjoyed your early morning talks as you sat at the barstool in the kitchen chatting with her as she cooked breakfast. Her 6yo daughter asked Lisa how old you were. When Lisa replied 2.5, her daughter adamantly replied, "He's not supposed to be talking like that at 2!" LOL That's who you've always been. Older than one would think.
I cannot imagine a milli-second without you in it. Thank you for all you've given me, Ryan. I know I am a different mother because of you. I can only look eagerly to your future.
But please, let that future slow down. You are forever MY BABY, even though you've recently decided you don't like that title.
I wouldn't change any of it. Never.
Happy Birthday, my sweet.
Ryan, (Ry, Ry-Ry, yI-yI, Ryan J., Ry Joseph, yI-un)...
What a whirlwind 3 years it's been. Wow. As I chased you as a toddler and braced myself for your non-stop chatter from day one, I kept my eye out for that 3rd birthday. Never did I want you to grow to be 3 years old so quickly, but I KNEW that things would be easier for me as you reached that age. It definitely has been, but what I wouldn't trade to be able to go back to your baby days again. :)
You were an easy baby as your older siblings were, but you showed your true personality early on when you would constantly make noise from only a few months old. Whether humming, singing or babbling, you were determined to be heard among those 3 other kids! We were so thrilled to have you talk amazingly early and oh so articulately...and with such an imagination! You loved to tell us about the dreams you had about dinosaurs visiting you in your room at night.
Our talks still bring joy to my heart as you find it so easy to express your true feelings. Just tonight you told me that you were so happy I put our pumpkin decorations out because they looked "so great!" You love to compliment your momma.
When 20 weeks pregnant with you, I was stunned to learn I would be having a third son. Stunned. Your pregnancy was sooo similar to Taylor's. I always pictured myself with lots of little girls, not lots of little boys! LOL
I knew God was giving me not what I wanted but what I needed. He knew how rich my life would be with my one special girl and 3 amazingly kind and sweet young men. I never knew how passionate boys could be. I am amazed at how passionately they LOVE. (Yes, you are all passionate about trucks, bikes, dirt, digging, exploring, building and wrestling, but you LOVE so deeply, as well.)
I am also amazed and grateful for the uniqueness of YOU. Sure, you were the #3 boy...but you are so your own person. You are not afraid to stand up for yourself, that's for sure.
This is a little bit about who you are at 3 years old:
Your likes:
MONSTER TRUCKS. Oh, monster trucks. This infatuation is neverending. Your birthday party HAD to have a monster truck theme! After accumulating your brothers' monster trucks (hot wheels), you are still determined to buy even more. They are so cool! Thanks, Discovery Kids for creating an animated Big Foot series this fall. Woo-hoo!
SUNSETS. What a sweet soul to see the beauty of a sunset. You get so excited when spotting one. However, last week, when telling you how pretty I thought the sunset was, you quickly replied, "No Mom, it's COOL (not pretty)!" Oops.
BIKE RIDES: You love bike-riding. Well, actually you love being pulled by mommy on the tag-along. LOL Although, YOU consider it bike-riding! :)
BUFFALO: You have loved buffalo (used to call them bupp-a-bow) from so early on. Not sure where this all started. It was the highlight of Yellowstone for you to have a buffalo mere feet from our truck.
BABIES: You have recently developed an affection for babies. We don't have anyone near us with babies, but you are drawn to them wherever we go. You are sad that mommy will not have any more babies. :( You want to have two babies: one girl one and one boy one. You are happy to share your bed with them and you will feed them milk. This desire surprises me as I can't imagine you wanting to share me with a newborn! (If you only knew how a newborn would change YOUR life! LOL)
FOOD: I've been blessed with four good eaters. While I can quickly name your siblings' favorite foods, you're a bit tougher. I think it's because you're so complacent about it all. You DO love plain spaghetti noodles w/parmesan cheese, though - oh and cheese quesadillas, too! LOVE. There's not many things you don't like when it comes to food, though. Orange juice is a favorite drink, for sure.
FAMILY HUGS: Daddy and I have always had a tradition of a family hug w/ALL of us hugging. You insist on this frequently. :)
RV: The movie, RV. Ugh. We are all so tired of this movie. I do love to hear you belt out the GTO song from the movie, though!
YOUR BLANKIE: Like all 3 of your siblings, you have a special blankie. What a great day it is when mommy brings it to you fresh from the dryer, all folded nice and neat. :)
SWIMMING: You love the water. The pool is certainly one of your favorite places!
TALKING: You never run out of things to talk about. Some of the things you ask, definitely make me and your dad say "Hmmmmm." Interesting mind in there!
HELPING DADDY: You love to work. You would rather help dig, haul, hammer, pull than play any day. So helpful, you are.
------
DISLIKES:
PUTTING TOYS AWAY: This isn't a huge, everyday problem w/you, but you would be ecstatic if you suddenly never had to help pick up.ever.again.
BEES: You were stung last year (Mommy had to pull the bee out of your finger!), and that memory has stuck with you.
BEING AWAY FROM GRANDMA: You prefer to see Grandma nearly everyday. You will not be happy when she leaves for two weeks to visit family in Iowa soon. On days when you're very sad to come home from Grandma's, you pitifully whimper "But I LOVE her."
YOUR BROTHERS NOT INCLUDING YOU: You don't tolerate that so well, as you shouldn't. You especially don't have much patience with them when you're all 3 attempting to take turns on the computer.
OK, why can't I think of more things you don't like? You are so easy-going these days. No issues with eating, sleeping, getting dressed, going to school. Hmmm...perhaps I only focus on the good, but I believe I should.
You bring so much joy into our lives. People.remember.you. I remember when we were visiting Mommy's good friend in Missouri this past summer. She so bonded with you, as she enjoyed your early morning talks as you sat at the barstool in the kitchen chatting with her as she cooked breakfast. Her 6yo daughter asked Lisa how old you were. When Lisa replied 2.5, her daughter adamantly replied, "He's not supposed to be talking like that at 2!" LOL That's who you've always been. Older than one would think.
I cannot imagine a milli-second without you in it. Thank you for all you've given me, Ryan. I know I am a different mother because of you. I can only look eagerly to your future.
But please, let that future slow down. You are forever MY BABY, even though you've recently decided you don't like that title.
I wouldn't change any of it. Never.
Happy Birthday, my sweet.