Shared photo book from Eric

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Summer Vaca

Back in the winter, when we (I) were planning our summer vacation it sounded easy enough. It was my turn to pick our destination and I was deciding to build a summer road trip around visiting a couple of new baseball stadiums. I knew that I needed to pick places that were drivable, I needed to pick places that in between there would be places worth stopping (because I was aware that with Ryne we would not be able to drive straight through), and I needed to pick places that there wouldn't be too much to do because with Ryne we would need to accommodate his nap schedule. So I picked Cleveland and Pittsburgh; I had heard really good things about both teams' baseball stadiums, and I knew there wouldn't be much else to do in either city other than go to a baseball game. Furthermore, we planned to stop in South Bend, Indiana (home of Notre Dame University and the College Football Hall of Fame) on the way out, and Canton, Ohio (home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame) on the way back. While it was still many months away the vacation sounded very doable.

As the vacation got closer, I realized that we may be brave, crazy, stupid, all of the above, or at least a combination of those and some other adjectives. We were about to drive 10+ hours across country with a 8 1/2 month old baby. This was going to be an adventure. Maybe on of the most adventurous things I'd ever done. (Note: I'm not a very adventurous person)

Fast forward to now...

The vacation was wonderful! Everything went better than we could have possibly hoped for! No, we didn't break any world's fastest driving time records going from Bettendorf to South Bend, or South Bend to Cleveland, or Cleveland to Pittsburgh, or Pittsburgh to Canton, or Canton to Bettendorf. But we did make it to each place that we needed to with plenty of time to do what we needed to. In fact, by the end our trip, Ryne was so exhausted (from such a fun trip) that he slept a majority of the way home and allowed us to drive all 10+ hours in one day. Let me emphasize that. We drove 10+ hours in one day with an 8 1/2 month old. We drove from Pittsburgh, PA to Bettendorf, IA with an 8 1/2 month old in one day. It was a long day.

We are so lucky to have such a happy baby, such a go with the flow baby. For those of you who have traveled with me in the past, you probably know that I like to stay busy when I am at a new place. I usually create a pretty detailed itinerary to keep busy with new things for the entire trip. I didn't do that for this trip, nor did I mind. We weren't always as busy as I would prefer, but that was fine. It was really just an unbelievable vacation with my wife and my son. I can not wait for many, many more vacations with them.

(I am not posting photos to go along with this blog, sorry. If you want to view any of the photos from our trip, they are all on Facebook.)

Ryne Bailey Ewald's Alphabet Book

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

Two Lists for Ryne

While I was recently bored at a professional development, I made a couple of lists because I'm lame and I enjoy making lists...

My first list is my "bucket list" of things to do with Ryne (in no particular order) (and yes, a lot of these are things that I enjoyed while growing up):

1. Go to a Chicago Cubs game in Wrigley Field once a year


2. Watch him get autographs at the Chicago Cubs spring training


3. Play hooky from school/work to go to a Major League Baseball game


4. Go to a baseball game at Fenway Park


5. Go to a Chicago Bears game at Soldier Field


6. Watch him get autographs at the Chicago Bears training camp


7. Go to a Chicago Bulls game at the United Center


8. Go to a Chicago Blackhawks game at the United Center


9. Go to an Iowa Hawkeyes football game at Kinnick Stadium


10. Take him golfing


11. Take him deep sea fishing (in the Gulf of Mexico with Captain Jesse as our guide!)


12. Take him to Disneyworld before he gets too old to think that it is lame


13. Coach an athletic team of his (but only if HE asks me to)


14. Begin a "baseball" card collection for him


15. Buy him his first beer as a 21-year old


16. Enjoy a beer with him in the Wrigley Field bleachers - when he is of legal drinking age


17. Enjoy a beer with him while tailgating for an Iowa football game - when he is of legal drinking age


18. Spend an evening with him in the Pedestrian Mall in Iowa City


19. Hug him, and tell him that I love him every day of his life


20. Watch him graduate from a four-year university (Iowa or an Ivy League school...just kidding, he can go wherever he wants as long as it isn't Iowa State...just kidding, no - I am not kidding about that)


21. Be in attendance for the best day of his life - when he gets married


22. Be in attendance for the new best day of his life - when he becomes a parent


23. Play catch with him


24. Teach him how to shoot a basketball


25. Continue to get him his favorite player's/team's jersey as he outgrows them


26. Attend Iowa football's children's day so that he can get autographs (August 13th, 2011! Minus the autographs)


27. Attend Iowa basketball's summer league games so that he can get autographs


28. Take him to an Iowa football bowl game


29. Begin a Father's Day tradition to celebrate with him


30. Run the 50th anniversary Bix race (2025 - I'll be 42, he'll be 15)

My second list is the goals that I have in regards to raising Ryne (again, in no particular order):
- I will pass on my love of sports to him
- I will be comfortable when he moves away knowing that I raised him to be capable of making good decisions
- He will consider himself to be a Christian
- More importantly he will live as a good Christian - open minded and forgiving
- He will always see the glass as being half-full
- He will have a job that he considers a career, he will enjoy going to work, and it will reward him adequately financially
- He will always put forth his best effort, and he will never quit the tasks that he begins
- He will respect all people, regardless of their differences
- He will become a life long learner who reads for pleasure
- He will live a healthy lifestyle

And again, for pictures see Facebook...they take to long to load onto the blog...sorry.

Best Week Ever

Does anyone remember the VH1 tv show, Best Week Ever? It was televised around the time that I was an undergraduate so I had what seemed like an unlimited amount of time to watch such garbage television. Oh...wait...what??? I should have been using that down time to study, really? That would explain why my undergraduate transcripts look the way that they do.

I had a GREAT time while I was an undergrad, but I would not go back to that time in my life. I am lucky. I have enjoyed each stage of my life a great deal, but once each stage has ended I've never wanted to return to any of my previous stages of life. I am lucky. I sometimes wonder why I am so lucky and/or when my luck will run out. Then I remember what Branch Rickey, the man behind bringing Jackie Robinson into Major League Baseball, said about how luck is a byproduct of preparation. I have a great wife, a great son, a great family, a good job (for now), a great boss, good friends, a good education, and a great bill of health. I am lucky.

This brings me back to my first sentence of this blog. I am about to embark on what very well could be my best week ever. Starting on Sunday (the 19th) during a six day span I will enjoy my first ever Father's Day as a Dad and then on Friday I will celebrate my 28th birthday. I have yet to encounter any diminishing returns that age will eventually bring. In fact, my life seems to keep getting better and better the older that I get!

We don't have a ton of things planned for Father's Day this Sunday, but that is fine. We will wake up in Iowa City due to the fact that we have a wedding there on Saturday night. I plan on waking up early and getting some coffee at Starbucks where I am hopeful that I will, again, run into Kirk Ferentz (I have seen him there the past two times that I've been there). Then we are going to have breakfast at the Hamburg Inn with my Dad. After breakfast we will head home to relax until Amy's Dad joins us for dinner at our house.

Now that I am a father, I have realized that Father's Day isn't about the father. It is a chance for the father to be thankful for his children; thankful that his children have allowed him to be a father. More or less, Father's Day is a celebration of the children in a father's life.

I'm not sure what this next year will bring to my life...maybe a new home, maybe a new job (hopefully!), I don't know. What I do know, though, is that as long as Amy and Ryne are around it will be another great year!

Oh The Places You'll Go!

I write this blog for two reasons: 1) graduation season is upon us, and 2) Ryne was just given a pretty cool University of Iowa tee-shirt that portrays my topic.

In the past, when I had a class of students and a little bit of extra time at the end of the school year I would read aloud two stories. One of those stories is one of my all-time favorites. It is written by Theodor Geisel (most likely Ryne’s favorite author), it makes for the perfect graduation gift, and it is an excellent story with many great messages. The story that Geisel (you probably know him Dr. Seuss) wrote is Oh! The Places You’ll Go! I am going to highlight some of my favorite parts, and aim the messages toward Ryne.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose. And you can do anything that you want to do with your life. The excitement of having your whole life in front of you is unmatched. The sky is the limit, Ryne.

With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street. Your Mom and I are raising you in hopes that you will make good decisions…even in difficult situations.

Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest. I know that there are at least two people (your Mom and your Dad) that hold you above all of the rest; remember that, and have confidence in yourself knowing that we believe in you.

Except when you don’t.Because, sometimes, you won’t. I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you. It is true, Ryne. You will not succeed all of the time, and that is okay. Because while your failures may sting when they take place, experiencing those failures make your successes so much more rewarding.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done. When you are in a slump, for whatever reason, you may get depressed and think that things will not ever get any better. However, I promise, that things will get better. Slumps don’t ever last forever. Time heals all wounds so be patient. Over time you will come out of your slump and good things will start happening to you, again.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.Tom Petty once sang, “The waiting is the hardest part,” and he was right, Ryne. Whether you’re waiting for a girl that you like, or an outcome regarding your education, or an employer that you want to work for, or any other important decision that will impact your life; I am sure that you will have to suffer through waiting throughout. Remember, although the waiting is hard, as the cliché says, “good things come to those who wait.” You must learn to be patient, and you must learn to see things/think of things in an optimistic light (it will make the waiting so much easier).

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t. Due to my love of sports, I hope that you will love sports equally. The best part about being involved in sports is the lessons that you learn that you will be able to apply to your life as you grow older. If you decide to participate in sports that will just be icing on the cake. I will not ever pressure you into signing-up for any particular sport. I will only coach you if you want me to; and if you want me to I will be very careful about how I go about doing so. My only request is that if you begin a sport, you stick with it at least until that sport’s season is over and then you can give it up if you’d like. If you decide not to participate in sports all together, and you decide to participate in other things or have other hobbies – I’m sure that I will fall in love with those things whatever they are.

I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.All Alone! Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot. Being comfortable alone is a good thing; it is called being independent and it is a fine quality to possess.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are. Perseverance. Don’t ever give up Ryne; work hard and be determined to finish what you start. There is a short little poem that I like a great deal because of its message says, “If a task is once begun, never leave it till it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.” If you are going to start something, commit yourself to doing it well; and once you start something, don’t give up on whatever it is that you’ve started until it is completed.

You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Don’t ever be afraid to go against the rest of a crowd (probably your peers), if you don’t believe in what they are doing. Being able to go against a crowd of your peers when you know that what they are doing is wrong is so hard to do and requires so much inner strength, but it is the absolute finest way for one to exhibit strength.

Kid, you’ll move mountains!So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places! Your name is Ryne; Ryne Bailey Ewald. You will move mountains, you will do great things, and you will be off to great places!

A Belated 'Happy Mother's Day'

Last weekend was Mother’s Day. It was Amy’s first Mother’s Day. At our house, we kind of decided to turn it into Mother’s Day Weekend. Why shouldn't Mother’s Day get an extension? After all, how great and important are mothers? They carry our children for three-quarters of a year as the child develops inside of her. They then go through, what I have heard, is one of the most painful processes that a human being can go through to allow our children to enter the world. I must admit that I am a little envious of the natural bond that this creates between a mother and her child that a father does not have; however, I am also very thankful for the sacrifices that mothers make during this process.

Think about all of the other sacrifices mothers make. I know that my Mom cooked at least one meal a day, and usually prepared two more for me. My Mom made sure that I had stylish enough clothes that allowed me to fit-in, and then she made sure that they were always clean. My Mom put up with me through my teenage years when I exhibited jerk like symptoms that most people would never forgive (this is probably the number one thing that I hope Ryne does not inherit from his Dad). My Mom would (and will) always listen to me when I need to vent. My Mom sacrificed her evening and weekend time to attend all of my basketball and football games (minus my first game during my freshman year of college, but that was in Wisconsin…); I never made a big deal of that while it was happening, but now that I am older and I’ve coached children whose parents never come to their games – that sacrifice is/was a really big deal – thank you! I could go on and on listing all of the great things that my Mom has ever (original wording here was a typo; it is now fixed) done for me, but I want this blog to be focused around Ryne’s Mom.

I knew that before Ryne ever joined the two of us that Amy would someday make a great mom. Nothing since Ryne’s arrival has happened to make me change my mind of that thought; in fact, my prediction of Amy being a great Mom has been confirmed each and every day of Ryne’s life. He is a very lucky boy. So, we (Ryne and I) wanted to make this a very special first Mother’s Day weekend.

For Mother’s Day weekend, it was my goal to do all things that Amy would enjoy/like. Our weekend started Friday after-work with Ryne, Amy, and I going to watch game three of the Bulls/Hawks series at one of Amy’s co-worker’s house (they have children that go to the same daycare as Ryne). On Saturday, Ryne, Amy, and I went to the “Opening Day” of the Davenport farmer’s market, I watched Ryne and baby-proofed our house while Amy went dress shopping, we had an outside picnic for lunch, Amy was able to take a nice long nap with her son, and then Amy and I went out for dinner, the two of us.

The next day, Mother’s Day, I woke up with Ryne at 5:30 and let Amy sleep. When Ryne became tired as he normally does around 7, I took him in to bed with Mom and the two of them received additional rest. While they slept, I prepared for Amy a Mother’s Day breakfast of bacon, eggs, and mimosas. When the two of them awoke, breakfast was served in bed with the Sunday ads.

After breakfast was finished, Ryne and I gave Mom her present. When I was told that Mom wanted, not a store bought gift, but a homemade craft for Mother’s Day I was less than thrilled. I don’t like crafts, and I don’t think that I’m good at crafts. But I take pride in my gift giving so if a craft is what was wanted, a craft is what was given. Ryne and I made picture frames with his hand print on the frame. Getting the hand print on the frame was an adventure. I got some red paint on a paper plate, and then I got Ryne undressed to minimize whatever mess was about to be made. I tried to dip the palm of his hand in the paint, but he wanted to make a fist. This was a two-handed job. It ended up turning out pretty good, I think, but he did, towards the end, grab the paint filled plate with his free hand (again, remember, I was using both of my hands to control his paint covered hand) and toss it onto the floor. The plate landed face up, but there was red paint in the carpet; fortunately, it cleaned-up with a little bit of scrubbing and cleaner product…I hope/I think that Mom liked the craft.

Next came time for a nice long morning nap, Ryne and his Mom together. Once rested, they went out for a Mother’s Day lunch with Amy’s Mom. The rest of the afternoon was spent resting and, per Amy’s request, a quick trip to the mall. When we returned home, I grilled Amy a nice steak and cooked her some baked beans and a baked potato to go with some red wine for our dinner. The weekend finished just like it began with our family watching the Bulls/Hawks (game four); unfortunately they didn’t win the game Sunday night…

Hopefully this was the best Mother’s Day that Amy has ever had!

I am finishing this entry with a YouTube link to a commercial that really has nothing to do with Mother’s Day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAJjauEtDXE

However, this commercial did air on TNT while Amy and I were watching the Bulls/Hawks game for our Mother’s Day finale. I just like the commercial, and the guys in the commercial kind of remind me of Ryne with his head that is in the 99th percentile for six month olds (although I think that the rest of his body is starting to catch-up with his head; regardless, he is adorable).