OUR BEAUTIFUL MIDDLE CHILD
RYANN ESTHER
There's is always such a negative connotation carried with the middle child, but just as with the "terrible" twos we as parents have refused this. With Isaac & Ryann both we did not let the idea of the 2-year-old year intimidate us, we set out to make it as Terrific as possible. Alas, that is a different subject for a different day. I was talking about the middle child "issue" before I rambled. Ryann is the middle child & the first girl. We had always wanted a third, but then the possibility began slipping away until the adoption of sweet Paisley-- which you all know that story by now. Ryann is already forging her own path as the middle child though & its's awesome to watch her go. At their young age she is definitely not the peace maker middle children are supposedly known for, if anything she is the instigator right now. On the other hand, she is often the most loving and kind-hearted of the three. Her strengths and weaknesses are one in the same, it all depends how she uses them. She is like a clone of me. I've learned over the years how to control my anger and use my mouth for good, but I hurt a lot of people in the process and often lashed out with words I instantly regretted. However, I am probably one of the most loyal friends you can have. I will stand by your side and fight for you until the bitter end. I will stand up to anyone for you and many times have no problem telling you how it is. I love my friends and family fiercely and will do anything for them. Ryann is the same way and I look forward to helping her learn to control her emotions and use them as a way to help others. She is already becoming such a strong girl for God, I cannot wait to see the woman she one day becomes.
This past November Ryann celebrated for FOURTH birthday! I can't believe how fast the years have flown by already. She is so beautiful inside & out. She loves horses and playing outside, but at the same time she loves to wear dresses, play dress-up, and really play with anything girly she can get her hands on. Outside of her fiery emotions though she has a complete servant's heart. She loves to help me with Paisley, she does anything Isaac tells her to do and she loves to bring you food, tea, & set the dinner table. Asking her to help is always followed with a smile and no hesitation. Often when you ask a child to do something it comes with a sigh or a "why", but never from Ryann. She absolutely loves to serve.
As you can tell from the pictures she has the greatest smile in the world, but she also loves to strike a pose whenever she gets the chance :) ! Ryann has been such a joy to watch grow. Unlike Isaac she was the sweetest baby. She slept all the time, only cried when she was hungry, and loved to be swaddled and cuddled. The only issue we had with her was acid re-flux For the first 7-8M she vomited on me at least twice a day. I don't mean spit-up, I mean she covered me from head to toe. The washer was pretty much running all the time. You can ask my friends, she did it to quite a few of them too : / . But those days quickly flew by & suddenly she's off to preschool becoming little miss independent.
The whole point of this blog was of course to talk about Ry since I've covered the other two, but also for her birthday. This birthday was the first of what will probably be a few bittersweet ones. This year Daddy was deployed. As shown above with her DaddyDoll though Daddy was never far from our hearts and minds. Ryann had a Cinderella birthday party out at White Sands National Park. It turned out to be colder than expected and my lighter ran out of fluid. Despite the gliches though we had a blast. Daddy sent Ry a special birthday video to our IPad though so she got to hear him sing happy birthday even from the other side of the world. It was a sad moment, but I was so incredibly proud of how every kid handled him being gone. Ryann knew it had to be done & she had no anger problems at all. She missed her Daddy desperately, but loved to tell everyone how much he adored her. My heart is so full of joy knowing that Ryann has a Daddy that constantly tells her how much he adores her just as I did growing up. So very many families are hurting and broken in this world, but I have peace with the knowledge that ours is strong and together. Challenges and heartache will come and go, but we will always have each other in our hearts.
When I first learned I was pregnant with Ryann I was TERRIFIED! I really did not want a girl, I would have been perfectly happy only having boys. But man does God know what we need so much more than we think we do! Ryann completed my world more than I ever thought possible. She melted my heart the moment she entered the world and she will always hold a big piece to it. I never knew my heart could love so many, but each of my children have a special place. I often catch myself just looking over at Ryann either reading a book, playing with her girly toys, coloring, or building legos and just thank God for her. She is absolutely the cutest little girl in the world & I'm so blessed that she is mine. Esther could not have been a more perfect namesake for Ryann's middle name. She was beautiful in the eyes of all that met her, yet she was full of courage and obedience--just as my little Ry is. I am so privileged to be her mother & to watch the amazing woman I know she will become.
