What's new with Ryan?

Ryan is getting very close to being three years old ... what a fun age! We love seeing Ryan's little personality emerge and watching him interact with others, especially with his two brothers.

Ryan is a very thoughtful little boy. He naturally wants to help and is great at anticipating people's needs. If Momma's in the shower, he'll ask if she needs another can of shaving cream (which he can find in the linen closet and bring to her). If he hears Daddy saying that he's leaving for school, Ryan will try to drag Daddy's backpack to where Daddy is. He loves pushing his own (small) cart at the grocery store and helps Momma to choose produce and other items off the shelf. He will help with chores if we ask him to but does prefer to play independently if we give him a choice. (At this age, Ian would always choose to be doing dishes or laundry or whatever projects we were working on instead of playing.)

Ryan is also very resourceful. He will usually try to solve his own problems ("I'll be right back!" he'll say), even if it means getting out a stool so he can reach somewhere high. He will often get his own snack (whether or not it's snack time) and get his own drinks of water or milk from the fridge.

We still call Ryan our "sports announcer." He's super chatty and narrates most of what he is doing. While we can understand a high percentage of his running commentary, it's a little hard for some others to. Ryan can say most letters except the "l" and "r" but has a hard time pronouncing a few others (like "f" and "s") when they're at the beginning of a sentence. So, "fish" is "wish" and "four wheeler" (our personal favorite) is "woah-we-oh." He speaks with enthusiasm and about two octaves lower than his peers.He cracks us up with many of the things he says. One morning, our devotion talked about scrolls. Kim said, "You might not know what a scroll is." "Yes, I do," Ryan said with a drawl. "Sca-ro-uhls live outside and eat acorns." He is a social kid (remembering names of new friends long after Momma has forgotten them) and enjoys dropping Ian off and picking Ian up from school, partially since he loves talking with Ian's teacher and aide.

Another nickname we have for Ryan is "little hoarder." The kid carries TONS of things (often a Halloween bucket filled with vehicles or trains) with him everywhere. It does come in handy if we get stuck somewhere and need something to do, and thankfully he keeps pretty close tabs on them. He likes to sleep with lots of vehicles in his bed as well.

Ryan will take any opportunity to be outside and would probably live out there if we'd let him. He loves dirt, sand, puddles, swings, his Cozy Coupe, and his trike (which he can now pedal). He's a pretty agile and athletic little boy and can easily climb the rock wall on our swingset. Recently, we let him start driving our motorized "pink Mustang." He was sort of a maniac driver at first but has really gotten the hang of steering now and looks so proud whenever he is driving.

Ian is definitely Ryan's best friend. Ryan looks up to Ian and will usually follow Ian's rules, go along with Ian's ideas (good or bad!), and give up the toy he was playing with if Ian wants it. Usually, the boys get along really well and laugh a lot together -- especially if they're talking about bathroom words! Sigh. Ryan does like to tattle on Ian or other friends if they are not following the rules. Ryan does talk about other friends from church or small group, especially Sammy, Ethan, Elise, and Ellie. Ryan loves Nathan, too, and is getting much better at knowing how to be gentle with him (though we're still working on personal space ... ha!) Ryan loves to talk to Nathan, make him laugh, and read him stories.


Ryan is still a pretty patient and easygoing fellow. He's pretty self-aware and will tell us when he's hungry, tired, sad, or mad. Now that he's approaching three we're seeing more temper tantrums, crying, and screaming when he doesn't get his way or something doesn't seem fair to him. His opinions sometimes change very quickly, and he's territorial of his toys. Mainly, though, he is compliant and willing to share and will do almost anything if we can turn it into a race.

Ryan is definitely growing up. He is able to sit still for much longer periods of time and even listen to a whole stack of books in a row. He knows the words to many songs and has known his colors for many months. Ryan loves Sunday school and happily (& mostly accurately :)) answers all of the teacher's questions. He knows almost all of his shapes and is just starting to be interested in his alphabet letters. He can count to 20 most days (probably since that's the number we count to when we play Hide and Seek). He's starting to be able to do some simple 12-piece puzzles. He has been potty trained during the day since shortly after he was two, and recently we've been able to keep him in "big boy underwear" overnight as well. Yay! For a few months, Ryan has been sleeping in his "big boy bed" (the bottom bunk) and actually stays in bed until 6:00 each morning thanks to one of those handy color-changing clocks. He still willingly takes a nap each afternoon and sleeps between 1-1.5 hours.

Ryan still doesn't look forward to going to the church nursery when Kim has Bible study, but he does well there and doesn't even cry. He also dislikes going to bed in the evenings and will do anything to delay bedtime (drinks of water, using the bathroom, wanting to find a certain toy to sleep with, etc.).

Some of Ryan's favorites include stories about Sally-the-bad-listener, anything sweet (especially Caramel Delight cookies, candy, and ice cream), watching videos of his cousin Abby or himself, and watching shows like Caillou, Curious George, Thomas, and Chuggington. He's beginning to like games -- especially Elefun, Hullabaloo, hide-and-seek, and "Are You Sleeping, Mr. Bear?" He eagerly anticipates our family game nights each Sunday. He also loves pretend play games like Pet Store and Monster Hide and dressing up like a ghost by wearing one of Daddy's undershirts. He continues to be obsessed with trains and vehicles. He knows the names of most of the Thomas the Train characters and vehicles that we own.

We think our handsome, long-haired, tender-hearted, fun-loving little boy is amazing. What a gift from God you are, Ryan David!

an "obstacle course" that Ryan and Momma created inside when it was cooler outside in January

an interview with Ryan in January or February

playing on a sidewalk chalk train city

One of Ryan's friends had a real train at his birthday party that gave all of the guests a ride around the neighborhood. How fun! :) I think we rode three of the four rides it gave.