Thoughts of Ryan

I don't know why we compare one child to the other expecting them to be the same, cause it's rare that you find children even in the same house being raised under similar circumstances, to be alike. This is the case with my grandsons. Nathan and Ryan are simply not from the same mold, with a few exceptions. I can remember what an experience it was to toilet train Nathan. I think little Ryan must wonder why he is the only one that doesn't use the bathroom. Didn't know it was on his mind until this week when he was visiting grandma. Ryan doesn't talk very much, but he makes himself understood. I got the message when he carried the three pieces of his portable potty into the bathroom, and was trying to assemble them for use. His parents may find him trained before you know it. Ryan seem to catch on quickly. He makes all the sounds that his big brother makes when operating cars and airplanes. I think he has observed that good behavior gets rewarded at our house. On many occassion, he watched his brother insert a coin or two as a reward into his bank. One evening my husband observed Ryan wiping a coffee table that I had just washed. We were both so surprised that grampy reached into his pocket and, after praising his effort, helped him insert the reward into his blue, crayon bank. It must have pleased Ryan, as last week, after he pickup something off of the floor to "help" grandma, I responded with a thank you. Moments later, he came into the kitchen, holding onto his crayon bank, happily waiting to be compensated. It's still a fact that the second born doesn't have as many pictures, and, mostly and especially to his big brother, he'll always be a tag along. Many of the things that he does, we've seen that done before by Nate. But he sure knows how to be cute, and smart and truely unique. And, on quiet nights, such as this one, you find yourself chuckling at something that he did and you think about how special he is. I find myself saying that grampy and grandma are very lucky indeed to have two wonderful grandsons. Today, Nathan played T-ball with his mommy and daddy watching, along with Ryan. Daddy said he could hear Ryan cheering Nathan on from the carriage. Without a doubt, Ryan will be a ball player. They are both growing up so fast. Nate has lost his first tooth, while Ryan continues to cut-in new ones. This summer will hold many new adventures for both of them, and we'll all be a little richer for it.