Mr. Personality

I’m always talking about how fast time is flying by and how it makes me so sad that Ryder is getting older so quickly, but I’m finally realizing how much I love this age he is at and even though I miss those baby days, I love watching his little BIG personality develop and shine through.  I thought I should document some things about his personality, because as time continues to fly by, I don’t want to forget anything about this special time.

He has got the best memory, he is always paying attention and will talk about things that happen weeks after they do.  He is still talking about the ride that him, Luke, Owen, and Maddy took in their strollers last weekend.  And he will still ask for “Nick” randomly if he’s upset with me (remember how she rocked him to sleep when she watched him…see you probably forgot…but Ryder didn’t!).  He remembers places too…like when we pull up to therapy he yells “PLAY!” and when we are driving in our neighborhood he knows if we are headed to Poppy’s, Uncle G’s, or Nana’s just by which direction we are headed.  He remembers specific things about people…like he knows that Uncle G always lets him play with his phone, he knows that “Pop-pop” has a golf cart and lets him carry the keys around, he knows that Aunt “Ree-ree” taught him how to swat flys, and of course everything reminds him of his Yaya.  Sometimes I have to call her and say “This is what we’re doing right now, why does this remind him of you?” and she’ll always have a cute story to share. 

My favorite part about his personality is how talkative he is.  He surprises me every day with something that comes out of his mouth.  Like how he does a roll call of every person in Vicki’s family on a daily basis!  He never babbles, everything that he says is a word.  We laugh because he would be telling stories if he could learn to connect his words.  The other day Uncle G came over to visit and as soon as he walked in the door Ryder told him “Vac, broke, Dada!”  And Gregg said “WHAT? Daddy broke your vacuum??” and Ryder got the biggest smile on his face like wow, you understood that?!  It is pretty crazy to go from one-sided conversations with your child to actually getting feedback.  And the funny thing is, he thinks just because he can talk now that he needs to tell me how to do everything.  He literally shouts instructions at me all day, as if I wouldn’t have known when we were at the grocery to give the “money” to the “lady” if he hadn’t told me to!  He’s pretty demanding, and with that he has decided that Daddy answers better to Alan when he needs something from him, so you can hear him walking around the house these days shouting “Alan!” (I plead the 5th!)

Everyone always likes to tell us what an “easy” child he is and I realize how truly blessed we are.  BUT, do not be fooled, this child does have a dark side.  It comes in the form of not wanting to do something unless it is his idea.  Like diaper changes, not his idea, so he thinks he has a right to make them as challenging as possible.  And in therapy, they learned quickly that the best way to work with him is the “hands-off” approach.  Meaning they can not pick him up and set him somewhere and ask him to do something…he will refuse by crawling away, acting completely uninterested, or screaming!  Instead, they have to set up the atmosphere to trick him into doing exactly what they wanted him to do, but making him think it was his idea.  And it works…smart people!  He is very strong-minded and likes to make his own decisions, luckily when he makes the wrong ones and needs to be punished it effects him and he learns lessons pretty quickly. 

And to make up for that little bit of naughty, he is super nice and sweet!  He loves to give kisses, and they are still the big open mouth kind, and they are always accompanied by an “awwww” from himself, letting you know that even he knows how “fweet” he is.  He kisses Bubba and all of his stuffed animals, and hugs them, and pretends to give them sips of his milk.  And the boy loves Jesus!  Every book he has, he kisses Jesus’ face as we read and he even kisses the tattoo of Him on Daddy’s arm as he says “awww Jeee-juuu”.  He has a very tender heart for the people that he is close with…the other day I had to work late so Daddy picked him up and they were playing outside when I pulled into the driveway, when he looked up and realized I was home, he got so excited waiting for me to get out of the car that tears started streaming down his face as he flailed his arms yelling for Mama!  It made me cry too, I love his heart!

But mainly, this personality that he has is just so silly!  He laughs and laughs and laughs, and makes everyone around him laugh by being in his own little world.  Like the other night, it was bed time but he got this idea that he wanted to get his sunglasses out of the drawer and put them on, then run around the house like a crazy person.  So that’s what he did…

 

He’s so much fun, and truly makes this world a happier place.  Gotta love all that personality!