The Mayor of Everywhere

Once again, Ryan has proven that he is the unofficial mayor of anywhere he goes. This past weekend we were at my friend Maryellen’s annual party at her beach house, and we got to see a bunch of friends we hadn’t seen in a while. As usual, Ryan was a big hit. He started off by showing off all the new tricks he’s learned since he last saw most of the guests – things like standing up on his own, clapping, high fives, waving, and his favorite skill of all, rock eating. But by the time we were ready to leave (and he was five hours overdue for a nap, but still in a good mood despite the heavy eyes), he had made the rounds of just about every guest. And he was charming and sweet to every single person he met. And, like any good politician, he gave each person individualized attention.

He began his rounds by sharing a cracker with Daddy. Then a quick pause to cleanse his palate with a few rocks.

“Hey Pilote, that cookie looks pretty tasty! I might need some of that coffee to wash it down with, though.”

Then he moved onto Uncle Ed, with Pam looking on.

He was delighted to sit in Janet’s lap for a while.

And then he moved on to Sue.

He hadn’t met Maria before but was still more than happy to visit and show off how well he can stand up.

He saved a smile for Sharyn. Whom he noticed was wearing a watch. And so began his flirtation with anyone with “props”.

Like Alice’s sunglasses.

Or Deedee’s camera.

Or Auntie Dana’s necklace.

By the time he reached Judy, he was running out of steam a bit, as evidenced by the tell-tale fingers in his mouth, but he was still cheerful and friendly and snuggly.

He even saved his biggest and best grin for the hostess, Auntie M’el, who swears that babies always cry as soon as she picks them up. This photo proves that is NOT the case!

My little ray of sunshine came through again, just like he always does. And I have all the photos that I can look back through when he’s a sullen teenager and this weekend is only a distant memory…