Happy Happy to My Little Bear

Shaun loves to give everyone he meets a nickname.  I don't know if it helps him remember people or if he does it just because he always has.  It's a mystery.  But I giggle when I think of his names for those that he loves the most.  Pookie (that's me), Squinchy (Ty- because when he was potty trained Shaun thought he had a squinchy bum), Fuzzy Bear (Ry- because he is FUZZY.  really really fuzzy- everywhere) and Roonie (the boys used to call Kate "Cake-a-roons" and somehow her dad shortened it to Roonie).  He's not so nice to others... Buzzard, Beavis and Flipper... they leave something to be desired.  I guess I should be happy I'm just Pookie.

Ry can get a little riled when he's called Fuzzy Bear, but he seems alright with just Bear.  So- a lot of the times- Bear it is.  It is pretty tough sounding.

That said... Bear turned 5 in July.  5 people.  I feel so old.  But enough about me.  This post is all about RYAN!

Ryan isn't one for the spotlight- so I thought we would keep things pretty low key for his birthday bash.  We just invited immediate family and he made me promise that we would NOT sing Happy Birthday to him.  I kept to his wishes and instead of a big BBQ- we made homemade pizza and we made homemade ice cream.  I bought any and every topping you could ever think to put on the ice cream and we had a happy birthday bear on our hands.

Ry's favorite topping was the Star Wars candy topping things... I thought they looked pretty gross- but as I pointed out earlier- this was not my day.



And in keeping with Ryan's love of Star Wars... We made Jedi Knight Sugar Cookies.  Do they look fierce?  Don't tell me if they don't.  I don't want to know.


My Bear is such a source of strength in our family.  He has been through so much, in and out of hospitals and drs offices for various reasons...  And through it all- he has the happiest and most simplistic outlook on life.  I could learn a lot from this little guy if I just had the patience.  He is kind of our pokey puppy...  My mom likes to call him methodical... but she's grandma.  I would use the word maddening most of the time.  You CANNOT hurry Ryan- no matter the situation.  It just won't happen.  So don't try.  You'll implode.  But there is also something calming about Ryan- maybe it's because he does refuse to be hurried.  He takes his time and he gets it right the first time.  There are no do-overs when Ryan is working on something.

He is also very much a problem solver.  If there is an issue- he takes his time to think it out and he almost always comes up with a solution on his own.  Sometimes it's an odd solution... but a solution nonetheless.  Take Friday for example- he went to get dressed in the morning and found he was out of underwear.  There was clean underwear upstairs in the laundry room- but I guess he didn't know.  So he just went without.  When I told him he had to wear underwear... he went back downstairs and pulled out a pair of Ty's underwear and wore it instead.  Problem solver.

I took a few minutes on each of the kid's birthdays to ask them a few questions... Here's what I got to learn about Ryan...

His most favorite thing to do is play baseball and he wants to be a professional baseball player when he grows up.

His favorite food is quote "EVERYTHING".  And it's probably true.  He is the easiest to please at mealtimes and is the most adventurous.  He loves watching cooking shows and pointing out new recipes that we NEED to try.

Ryan says that he likes to spend time with mom (woohoo) and he loves to read his "Max" books.

Funny jokes make him laugh, but his favorite time of the day is when he gets to play games with mom.

When I asked him what scares him, he told me about a commercial he saw on TV- it had a scary clown on it.  He shivered as he told me about it.  Ryan is so timid sometimes and it can be the tiniest thing that sets him off.  Good thing he has such a big strong brother...

He told me today that I was his best friend.  Talk about melting my heart!!!

He likes to swim with his family and he loves to learn about Dinosaurs.

Currently he can't wait for our vacation to California and wants to spend his waiting time reading his favorite book, "What if the Shark Wore Tennis Shoes?" by Winnifred Morrison.  Hilarious book.  I suggest you find it at your local library.

I love this little guy and I am so grateful that he is my baby (even though he keeps pointing out to me that he is in fact NOT a baby any more)...  I have wiped more tears and blood off this one than the other two combined- and I think I just love him all the more for it.  Thank- you for helping to teach me patience Ryan... I just hope you have the patience to continue teaching me not to be so crazy all the time.

I love you too much.