My All-Boy Boy and His Chipped Tooth

From the time Ryan was just a baby, he has been SUCH a boy! He was drawn to any ball, truck, car, tool, or thing that made noise from the time he was tiny. He has also always been very physical, athletic, and competitive. When we made our first trip to the emergency room at about 15 months of age for a gash in the forehead (yes, Melissa, we’ve also done the Harry Potter scars), I had the feeling that was just the beginning of my trips to the emergency room with him. Luckily, we’ve done pretty well so far.

Ryan loves to wrestle with anyone who is willing. No, let me rephrase that…with anyone who will allow it. Most of us aren’t exactly willing. (Although Marc and Ryan have played “Smash the Baby” – their version of steamroller – since Ryan was about 2, and Marc seems to enjoy it as much as Ryan.) Ryan’s latest show of love for me is a new addition to his bedtime routine. After we say his prayers, while I’m still kneeling, he says, “Mom, be strong!” Then he gets a running start, hits me full-on, and tries to knock me over. I’m not kidding. I’ve been going to the gym pretty regularly for quite a while now, so I can usually stay up. Unfortunately, this only encourages him to try another run at it. This fun little activity is then repeated until I finally fall over in agony. This has been going on for about a month now. Don’t ask me why I didn’t stop it the first time. I guess it didn’t occur to me that it would become part of our nightly routine!

So…in P.E. at school, Ryan’s class was playing a team relay game with bowling pins. Again, let me mention how competitive Ryan is. Apparently he was the last person on his team to go through the relay. He ended up winning the game for his team. Several of his friends then dog-piled him in celebration. In all of the celebratory roughhousing, one of his front teeth got chipped. He didn’t notice until later, when the sharp edge gouged his tongue. It’s a good thing our bishop is our dentist! It looks like we'll be making a visit soon.