A Post About Ryder

I think Ryder deserves his own post today-- there's just so much to tell about him.  Probably because he is CRAZY.  In both the good and the bad way.

So where to begin?

He likes to randomly yell "Boo-ga-waaaaaaay!"  I have no idea what this means.  But he takes great pleasure in shouting it at people and then laughing at his joke.  And sometimes he'll yell "E.T. go!" (which used to be "ready set go" until he decided that E.T. was cooler) and then begin spinning in circles.  'Cuz, you know, why not?

He loves to play Ring-Around-the Roses, which he calls "Ashee ashee" (for the "Ashes, ashes" part, obviously).  When we play it with him, he likes to pick up his feet so we're carrying him.  So now all the kids like to do this, too, which means we always have to do it at least three times so everyone gets a chance to get carried around the circle.  Colton began crying the last time we did this, though, so apparently he is NOT a fan.

Ryder is basically a fruitarian.  His favorite foods are bananas, apple sauce, and cherry tomatoes.  And yogurt (which I realize falls under the "dairy" caategory, but it's still flavored with berries!).  Occasionally I can persuade him to eat crackers or bread.  But not very often.  He mostly just likes fruit.  This always makes me think of this clip from Notting Hill:



His talking is coming along, but of course there are oodles of mistakes and mispronunciations.  My favorite one, though, is that for some reason he can't say the "s" sound if it's at the beginning of words.  So "scaredy cat" becomes "hairdy cat" and socks are "hocks."  This is one of those mistakes that only parents can ever understand, and I sometimes feel bad for the nursery workers who must try to make sense of him.

Recently he's become obsessed with the drainage ditches, which he calls "down-holes."  Every time we go anywhere he has to point them out.  And when you start looking for them, it turns out that there are a LOT of downholes all over the place.  Occasionally he'll ask, "Me go downhole?" and I'll tell him that if he went down one of those holes, Mommy would cry.  This pleases him no end, and he'll repeat the story back to me several times over: "Me go down hole.  Mommy cy."

But the BEST thing he says, is his greeting.  Rather than just saying Hi to people, he shouts, "Hi there!" (except it sounds like "Hi dere," of course).  And he says it so happily, like he's just pleased as punch to have discovered you!  Right there!

Craig says it's the best way to come home from work ever.

A "downhole" he found at the father-son campout

He loves Colton and is always asking to hold him or give him kisses.  But when they had the father-son campout last week and I asked if he would miss the baby, he answered with a dismissive, "No."  I can't say that one surprised me.  (He would miss me, he said, so that was good!)  He also likes to stack toys on Colton while he's napping.  I guess that's a sign of love, right?

Aaaaand he's really good at ignoring everything we say, whether it's begging him to not throw his food on the floor, to leave his shoes on his feet, or to stop throwing toys.  But he does it all so darn cheerfully that it's really hard to ever get mad at him.  And even when we do get mad at him, it doesn't usually seem to leave much of an impression.  Sort of like this guy:

(I realize this places me in the role of some tormenting demon.  That's sort of how being a parent feels like, sometimes...)

But over all, he really is the happiest little guy.  It's impossible not to love my little Ryder-Pieder.