Party Manners

Like any baby, Ryan has good days and bad days. I'll admit that he's a particularly good-natured and easygoing baby, so he has many more good days than bad days, but I'm very glad that he tends to use those good days at times and places where it's most appropriate.

For example, although he often wakes up from a nap with a startled cry, when he falls asleep in church he tends to wake up very gently and quietly. In fact, on Easter Sunday he slept quietly through most of the service and when he woke up, he simply turned his head and silently listened to the choir singing instead of making a loud protest. When we've had company visiting, he's generally in a good mood and happy to play and do his best tricks for them. When Bammy and Pappy, or Grammy, or Aunt Holly and Uncle Jim babysit, he's usually on his best behavior and plays and eats and naps without too much protest.

I'm hoping against hope that this trend continues for our upcoming trip to California. We have so many events to attend and people to visit with that if he's on his best behavior every time, he won't have a free moment for a meltdown! Between the plane trip, his sister's graduation ceremony and graduation party, another friend's graduation ceremony and graduation party, get-togethers with family and friends, and a side trip or two to the park, the zoo, and the aquarium - not to mention dealing with jet lag and unfamiliar surroundings - it'll be a miracle if he is able to be his usual sunny self for the whole week.

But even at his fussiest, his sweet self shines through. He can usually be jollied into grinning through his tears, pausing mid-wail to pat a favorite toy or watch a new friend, or at least falling into an exhausted sleep before giving his mother a nervous breakdown. People naturally gravitate to him no matter what mood he's in, so even when he doesn't have his party manners on, he still draws a crowd. He's just that kind of sweet soul that can't be kept down, no matter what.