More Like Daddy

I think Ryan has been hearing me talk about the similarities I see between him and dad. Lately, he has been asking me, "Who's more like Daddy? Me or Todd?" I try to give a politically-correct answer: "You're both half Mommy and half Daddy." Or, "You are both like Daddy in different ways." I can tell that it makes Ryan feel good to be like his dad. It is sweet. I really don't want to say something or make comparisons that will hurt Todd. But the truth is, sometimes it amazes me to see the similarities between Ryan and Brett.

Some similarities are physical. Both of the boys have blue eyes like their dad. But Ryan's hands are Brett's--big palms and solid fingers. Todd has longer, thinner fingers--perfect for the piano. Ryan's toes are also just like Brett's. He can spread his toes out like Brett. Ryan is proud of this skill, and thinks it's so funny that I can't control or spread out my toes at all. Poor Todd has untalented toes like Mom. Ryan has pointed out that even his belly button is like Brett's "Grand Canyon" belly button.

More than the eyes, hands, and fingers, I continue to marvel at Ryan's curiosity. He approaches things just like Brett. I have mentioned before how Ryan will quickly lose interest in toys or board games. But he can spend forever looking through a junk drawer, playing with a gadget or some other thingamajig. Before we left on vacation, Oma gave the boys some money to spend. After a trip to Walmart, Ryan spent the next week begging me to take him back so he could buy something he saw there. He was relentless. He was thrilled when we finally went back and he bought his prize--a small LED laser pointer/flashlight combo.

While we were at the rodeo, I thought of something else. Neither of my boys likes to be in front of a crowd. But while Todd is shy and a quiet talker even one-on-one, Ryan has no problem striking up a conversation with a stranger. Brett gets sick at the thought of talking in front of a group, but has no problem one-on-one, even with people he has never met. On the plane ride out here, Ryan is the one who told the missionaries in front of us, "Hi. We're Mormon, too." At the rodeo, Ryan jumped right up by himself to get the autograph. He also made friends with the kids behind us. At the parade this morning, Ryan asked the man next to us to pet his dog. Todd and I are much more likely to sit back and keep our questions to ourselves rather than approach a stranger.

Ryan also has a little of the wild in him. He will try a crazy stunt. Just this week Uncle Mike was telling the boys about how he remembers Brett wanting to try out the bark shock collar they had for their dog. After trying it on the low setting, Brett asked him to turn it up higher. And higher, until it hurt. Would Todd do this? No. Ryan thinks fire, fireworks, and the like are cool and exciting. He would love for me to give him free reign to experiment with these things. (No on your life!) Todd approaches life with more caution (like his Mom).

I find the differences and similarities in people an exciting thing to observe. I hope that as I continue to observe my boys that I will be able to see more ways that Todd takes after Brett and Ryan takes after me. I also hope to see ways in which they are uniquely themselves.