Mr Anonymous

I was perusing this blog the other day to get a sense for how the content appeared in aggregate. After skimming through the site, a horrible realization dawned on me. The blurbs that have been presented to date are primarily focused on Karsyn, with little mention of my other child…what’s his name...oh yeah, Ryan. Of the five or six postings I’ve made thus far, there’s only a single piece dedicated to my son.

I always said that I would make absolute sure that I treat my children equally, and that neither would ever feel that my attention favored the other. Well, it’s a good thing the Ryno can’t read yet. He’d probably be crushed if he saw how much real estate his sister takes up on this blog.

It’s not intentional. I was about to type up some lame excuse about how it’s hard to write about a five month old, because kids that age don’t do all that much, but they I thought back to the days when Karsyn was just a blob, and how miraculous every day was with her.

A coo, or a smirk was big news when she was an infant, so why wouldn’t it be with Ryan. The fact that I’ve lived through it already with a first child is a sad excuse. His accomplishments are just as wonderful. I have taken advantage of these events, knowing full well that I’ll look back some day and regret that I didn’t pay more attention.

So with that I’ll pay tribute to some of the things that have transpired in the big guy’s life recently. For those of you have kids and have gone through all of this as well, bare with me.

Today when I got home from work, I had a moment to spend a little time with Ryan, without his sister trying to soak up my attention. Karsyn was invited to a play date, and was having dinner at a friend’s house.

Contrary to what I’ve suggested, there are quite a few things you can do with a five month-old. Getting Ryan to giggle is one of those things that bring me pure unadulterated joy. It’s one of those things that makes you smile and helps you forget about all the pressures of daily life, because it’s a simple emotion that expresses a happiness that is genuine. There are no angles to second-guess. No agendas, just a simple reaction that represents pure happiness.

He came down with a cold for the first time on Monday, so Sonya has had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with a cranky baby for the past few days. I got the best part of the deal, spending ten minutes playing with him after I got home from work, fishing for a chuckle or two. I was rewarded with a few minutes of smiles and a flurry of giggles.

Mr. Anonymous got a little face time with his dad, and I got to see my son as happy as a clam. Simple pleasures can be a great thing.

The little guy is also starting to fill out a bit. Sonya lamented that a stranger asked her if Ryan was, “a year and a half old?” When she responded that he was almost six months old, she said the person couldn’t believe it. Granted he is a big boy, but a year and a half? Come on.

We estimate him to be somewhere between 20 and 25 pounds now. A 13 to 18 pound gain since he was born, or upwards of a 300% increase. The kid has tripled in six months!

So maybe we haven’t been missing out on his infancy….we’ve just been spending most of the time feeding him.