Conversation Starters

I wish that I had done better at recording some of the cute things my boys did before now. One thing I didn't think I would forget is how Ryan would try to get a conversation going, especially with people that he didn't know that well, or maybe wanted to get to know better. Though I remember what he did, I don't remember the exact words. I especially noticed his conversation starters when we visited with my family in California last Christmas. My dad would come into the kitchen while I was getting breakfast ready for the boys. Dad would say "Good morning, Ryan." And Ryan, without first saying hi or anything else would start with, "Helicopters fly in the sky." At least, it was something along those lines. At first I thought it was a random phrase. Then I noticed that he did this same thing multiple times with my dad and with others. From what I can tell he was trying to start up a conversation with the most interesting thing he could think of. I thought it was so cute.

Something happened today that reminded me of this former habit. I brought Ryan with me to the bank this afternoon to set up a savings account for my piano income. Ryan was well-behaved and didn't say much in the beginning. After a few minutes he became more comfortable and showed interest in talking to the banker. He said something like, "Todd has a light thing in his room at night." I couldn't figure out what he was talking about at first - the fiber optic jack-o-lantern we set up this morning?, the stuffed turtle that projects star lights? the night light? Yes! The night light! From what I can tell again, Ryan was trying to start a conversation about something he finds quite interesting: Todd's night light that has a sensor making it light up only when the room is dark. Fascinating, Ryan!