Today my Ryan turns nine years old. It is crazy to think about! I am always amazed at how fast life goes by on my kids’ birthdays, and today it no exception. Ryan was our second biological child (but is now the third oldest) and has been a wonderful kid to be a mom to.

For his ninth birthday, here are nine things about Ryan.

-Ryan is loud and funny and a total ham…he will do anything for a laugh. He starred in the school Christmas play and loved every second of it!

-He is a friend to everyone and hardly ever needs to be told to “be nice”. He is a great brother to all of his siblings and they all love him and enjoy spending time with him.

-He is one of my most sensitive kids, although you wouldn’t think that when you first meet him.

-He is fiercely loyal and always knows what he wants.

-He is very smart…he’s a super reader and awesome student, although sometimes gets himself in trouble at school for talking.

-He enjoys sports and is very athletic, but does not have the endless energy that some of his brothers do.

-He does what he is asked and hardly ever back talks (although he has a very wide stubborn streak!).

-He is a sweetheart and a cuddler.

-He is the one most likely to embarrass me by saying something “Ryan-ish” when we are out in public.

Here are a few fun things that Ryan has said/done…

Ryan is the one that got mad at a substitute teacher who couldn’t “tell” that Des was his sister, even though Ryan is paler than pale with blonde hair and hazel eyes and Des is black. (And this was just a few months after Des joined our family and Ryan’s class).

And when telling his Auntie about our new dog, in typical Ryan enthusiasm he said, “Jazz is the BEST dog ever. Even if we had one of those fancy trained show dogs, she would STILL be the best dog ever.”

One of my favorite things about him is the way he loves his family unconditionally and how loyal he is to everyone.

On the flip side, he is the kid that announced in church that he was proud of himself for not using the “F” word anymore (he had been getting in trouble for saying “fart” a lot) and he is the kid that for years referred to coloring and activities like that as “arts and craps”. :)

We had a breakfast of “Cinnamon Toast Crunch” today (their birthdays are the only time our kids get to pick “box cereal”). He took treats for his class and invitations to his party on Saturday (a sledding party) and he asked his Dad to make chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner (even though he could have picked a fast food place). He picked a German Chocolate cake and will be thrilled to get his Disney Pirates of the Caribbean digital camera and other gifts. Tonight we are all going to go see “Night at the Museum” to celebrate.

Happy Birthday Ry!!!