In honor of some of the alphabet books that Ryne has...I have decided to come up with a list of all of the things that either a) describes Ryne or b) Ryne loves. Enjoy!
Aquarium - Ryne absolutely loved all of the brightly colored, constantly moving, and new things that he saw when we took him to the aquarium in Tampa Bay
Aunt Britney - In a couple of years, Ryne probably won't mind that Aunt Britney lives so close to so many cool things: Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studious, the ocean, the Grapefruit League, etc. So visiting on a regular basis doesn't appear as though it will be a problem
Big/bright eyes - The first thing that everyone notices, and everyone is quick to compliment how gorgeous they are
Clapping - He loves it when people clap for him, and he loves to clap with people (this should be a very good skill as a spectator at/of sporting events)
Confidence - From the ultrasound photo where he held up his little index finger showing everyone that he is number one, Ryne seems to be a self-confident little boy. Hopefully, this self-confidence never goes away
Dad's shoulders - One of Ryne's very favorite places to sit
Early mornings - Ryne almost always wakes up between 5 and 6am to spend the early mornings with his Dad
Firetruck - One of the three toys that Ryne has really attached himself to throughout the first eight months of his life. He loves to be pushed around on this little toy
Frog legs - Not so much anymore, but as an infant Ryne would always lay/sit with his little legs tucked up so that his knees were near his chin. Mom and Dad thought that when he did it that he resembled a little frog
Good luck charm to the University of Iowa men's basketball team - The Hawkeyes have not had a good basketball team for several years now, but they are 1-0 (they beat the #5 ranked team in the country!) when Ryne is in the stands! I have had multiple friends offer to buy him a season ticket to continue bringing the Hawks luck
Grandparents - all of them, who love him and spoil him very much!
Herky mobile - Again, not so much anymore, but when he was a little bit younger he would always just sit and stare as the Herkys would move around above him and the Iowa fight song would play. Now, however, he just tries to pull it down
Ice-cream and Popsicles - like his Mom, Ryne loves these cold treats! Although, the look on his face the first couple of times that we let him try Popsicles was priceless
Joy - It is awfully hard to be in a bad mood when Ryne is around. He is just always so happy, innocent, and loving
Kids - Ryne loves being around other kids. He is so interested in them and what they are doing
Low maintenance - Amy and I were blessed with a baby. On top of that, we have been blessed with a baby who is very rarely fussy and extremely easy to take care of/please
Mom's singing and dancing - Mom's number one fan is her son. He loves her singing and her dancing, and she loves to sing to him and dance for him
Naps with Mom - After the early mornings with Dad, or just any time of the day really, Ryne sleeps best when he is napping with his Mom
Oral fixation - Everything goes in his mouth!
Parents' love - Ryne has two parents that love each other, and love their son unconditionally
Phones, computers, iPads, etc. - These are things that Ryne is not supposed to have, but he is always quick to get his hands on them when they are left laying around (or, quick to get them in his mouth)
Q...I am completely stumped!
Rain forest mat - The second of three toys that are on this list that Ryne loves (loved). When he was still small enough for this toy, he would lay and play on it for great amounts of time
Rhyming stories - He doesn't have much of an attention span to listen to stories, yet, but he does like to hear rhyming stories like Chica Chica Boom Boom or most stories written by Dr. Seuss
Sharon, his babysitter - We lucked out when we found Sharon. She immediately took a liking to Ryne (how could she, or anyone, not), and he did the same with her. It was always pleasing when dropping him off on the way to work to see a smile appear on his face upon seeing Sharon
Tolerance of pain - He is a tough little guy. He doesn't cry, much, and when he does it is doesn't last long
Uncle Kyle - Kyle likes for Ryne to be fashionable (as does Ryne's Mom), against Dad's wishes of Ryne dressing in tee-shirts that represent Dad's favorite teams. Ryne likes the bed in Kyle's apartment that always seems to bring out the very best in his playfulness
Very handsome - He has two attractive parents, he was bound to be a handsome boy. But this handsome? I am confident (maybe this is who he gets his confidence from?) that he could easily win cutest baby contests if we would enter him
Watching a ball rotate through the air as Dad plays catch with himself - Ever since Ryne was born, I can lay on the floor and throw one of his balls into the air to myself and Ryne just fixates on the ball. This is one of the few remaining things that he has yet to grow tired of; hopefully he never does
Winnie the Pooh - The third toy on the list. This is probably his current favorite as he is able to pull himself up, stand, and push the buttons and listen to its sounds
X, Y, Zoo - We are taking him to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago this week. HOPEFULLY, he likes the zoo as much as he liked the aquarium
