Books for Ryne to Read

As an educator, there is nothing more important than teaching a child how to read – how to read for understanding, how to read for practical application, how to read to evaluate critically, and how to read for pleasure. I want Ryne to be able to read for all four of these purposes. I really want Ryne to want to read for pleasure. It is understood that reading correlates positively with intelligence. I recently saw that the Educational Testing Service reports that 90 percent of a school’s proficiency can be explained by five factors; two of which, are number of pages read for homework and quantity and quality of reading material in the home. Therefore, if you want to be smart, read.

Amy and I try to read to Ryne as much as we can (as much as his restlessness will allow). We will continue to read to him, as well as doing other things to make him literate. I want to give Ryne a small reading list of books (for when he is older) that I strongly recommend that he reads. (They are listed, from top to bottom, in the order in which I have enjoyed them – top being the favorite.)

Season of Life: A Football Star, A Boy, a Journey to Manhood
By Jeffrey Marx
Joe Ehrmann was a larger-than-life party guy and star defensive lineman until the death of his younger brother changed his life. This is the story of Ehrmann's inspirational career--and his effect on Marx's life. Most amazing are the stories of the high school team Ehrmann coaches--a football team on which life lessons are more important than tackling fundamentals. A sports story, yes, but much more, too.

Quiet Strength: The Principles, Priorities, and Practices of a Winning Life
By Tony Dungy
How is it possible for a coach—especially a football coach—to win the respect of his players and lead them to the Super Bowl without the screaming histrionics, the profanities, and the demand that the sport come before anything else? How is it possible for anyone to be successful without compromising faith and family? In this inspiring and reflective memoir, Coach Dungy tells the story of a life lived for God and family—and challenges us all to redefine our ideas of what it means to succeed.

It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life
By Lance Armstrong
People around the world have found inspiration in the story of Lance Armstrong--a world-class athlete nearly struck down by cancer, only to recover and win the Tour de France. His actions will melt the most hard-bitten souls: a cancer foundation and benefit bike ride, his astonishing commitment to training that got him past countless hurdles, loyalty to the people and corporations that never gave up on him. It's Not About the Bike is the perfect title for this book about life, death, illness, family, setbacks, and triumphs, but not especially about the bike.

Never Die Easy
By Walter Payton
This isn’t a traditional autobiography at all. It's an oral history disguised as autobiography that reveals Payton, the most exquisite running back in NFL history, as a man of great skill, decency, passion, and charity: a man beloved.

Have a Little Faith: A True Story
By Mitch Albom
This is a remarkable, true story of contrast, of two men of God; one an aging rabbi, and the other, an African American pastor working in a ghetto. In the end, the message is clear: Faith ties us closely together and can give us the chance to accomplish things we never dreamed possible. The book carries an inspirational message for anyone, regardless of religious affiliation, or lack thereof. Albom helps show the true definition of `Church.' It is not the building, it is the people and their faith. We come away with a better understanding of how life can be so meaningful, if we'll only give it a chance.

Bad as I Wanna Be
By Dennis Rodman
The first adult book that I remember reading...probably when I was in middle school, and I loved it (because I was in love with the Chicago Bulls and Dennis Rodman more than any of the other Bulls.
Everything I do is about confidence. After years of struggling with my identity . . . I've become totally confident about being who I am." There is only one basketball player in history who could make that statement--Dennis Rodman. Readers will be surprised to find that Rodman has a fascinating coming-of-age story to tell: the saga of a skinny street kid who grew nine inches in the year after high school, who blossomed as a basketball player because of his willingness to do the game's grunt work, and who reached stardom only to contemplate suicide and, later, vow to face the world and the game strictly on his own terms. We may tire of his repetitious rants, we may reject his wild nonconformity, but finally, only the most inflexible of readers will fail to admire Rodman's unabashed honesty and irrepressible energy.

(The synopsis of these books were taken from Amazon)

Baby Bix Video

Ryne got his first taste of competition last week when Mom and Dad entered him into the Diaper Dash race that was taking place in conjunction with the Junior Bix. Like Dad, Ryne did not win his Bix race, unfortunately. However, he finished (so did Dad)! Ryne started something and even though it became clear once he started that he wasn't going to win, he finished it anyways.


So since none of you were able to see Ryne's race, we filmed it. Enjoy the footage shot by Uncle Kyle (thanks)...

And as us Cubs fans always say, there is always next year!

Shared photo book from Eric

Click here to view this photo book larger

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!