Mom's Helper

Me: Oh Ryan. Mama is SO tired!
I fall down in mock faint on the couch, legs weak and back aching from 35 weeks of pregnancy.
Me: Will you carry baby brother around for me just for a little bit?
Ryan: Sure!
He runs in from the play room a few feet away, clamors up on the couch next to me, and attempts to wrap his arms around my stomach. His little hands barely reach my sides and I feel his grip tugging on my shirt.
Ryan: (audibly straining) So...'evy!

Ryan the Builder

After making some great garage sale finds, we put together a play room for Ryan. One of the coolest things we found was this sturdy kid's height table for $5. His whole train set fits on it with room to spare. With all of this room, we have been building cities with blocks for the trains to circle around.
Ryan built this "house" for the "workers". We think he might just be the Jenga State Champion by the time he is three. He just loves stacking up towers, knocking them down, and building them up again. One day he was asking Grandma to build a tower. She replied "Oh, I don't know. My towers always fall down.You might have to build one for me." Without saying anything, he started stacking blocks in a horizontal row in front of her (think train versus tower). Then, he smushed a "worker" between two of the blocks. Like "See, Grandma? Here's one that won't fall down. Even YOU can build a worker house."
Everything is becoming more of a process. For example, he uses a hammer to build lego towers, gingerly placing one on top of the other, grabbing his hammer and pounding it into place. He will be a solid builder like his dad, for sure.
With the hot weather he has also learned to capitalize on a small hole in the hose. When I first saw it, I thought "Oh man, I'll have to get a new hose." But seriously, this is entertainment central for half an hour at a time outside. I water the garden, he gets soaked. Pure Joy. It's so warm here today that, with his gentle coaxing "Chom ahn" and a tilt of the head, he had mom, dad, AND Grandma taking turns through the makeshift sprinkler. I would post those pictures but I think I might get sued (yes, even though they are family). I also have to mention (for my Seattle-ite friends) two other Ryan-isms. First, when we play play-dough, his favorite items to make are turtles, worms and coffee. Lots of coffee. (Think ball of bright orange play-dough smashed into a plastic cup). And, secondly, Michael, whenever we hear a plane outside he jumps up, runs to the window and yells "pane!" or "hebicopter!" Each time he does this, I am shown again that all of those B-25 discussions when he was so tiny really paid off.