Ryle Smile

Around here this guy gets called all kind of things, but most often "smilin' Ryle" and "Ryle smile" (not ever Smiley Ryley though). So far, Ryle Henry is a real happy go lucky kind of guy, adaptable to meal and schedule changes, a good napper, and a good crawler. His siblings adore him, and he receives their rough and tumble love with good natured smiles (most of the time).

However, along with that sunny disposition Ryle definitely has a sneaky streak which my other two never had. At the ripe age of 10 and a half months, he has already become more cunning than kids twice his age. Perhaps he learned it from the older siblings; I'm more inclined to think he's actively adapting to his environment. Sort of a survival of the fittest applied to a third child, if you know what I mean. And I am not just talking about the times I have forgotten to sweep under the high chair and he quietly sneaks around hunting left overs until I catch him. What I am talking about here is how he watches, waits, and acts. 

For example, first he sees that the gate to the stairs has been left open. Does he dash over and climb up first chance he gets? Oh no. He sits from a distance. He picks up a toy. He tosses the toy slightly closer.  He watches. He waits. He smiles at me. He talks to Lily. He even crawls away and plays in the kitchen for a while. Then, he gets his cue: Jonathan declares he needs to go to the bathroom and I go with him to help. And somehow, during that sixty seconds, he crawls with superhuman speed across two large rooms and zips up to the top of the stairs. He sits quietly and waits. Fortunately he does not (usually) attempt a descent. And always, it takes me at least several minutes after handing out the potty treats to realize he is gone. 

But now I know where to look first. I leap up to the landing, and there he is at the top of the next flight, waiting. And he laughs. And I laugh. Because he is just a little baby, and he is so pleased with himself for being so cute and so cunning. And then Lily comes running and puts her little hands on his little cheeks and calls him The Most Wild Thing of All. And we all laugh.