#ryis fom

𖠰 He really means no harm whenever he accidentally gets too wrapped up in his meticulous planning ahead.

𖠰 It gets to the point where soon-to-be great-uncle Landon has to intervene himself and make Ryis realise he’s not running out of time and has nine whole months to calmly work on stuff.

𖠰 Calm is what Ryis used to be before he found out he had a child on the way.

𖠰 He’s the annoying pregnancy week-by-week guide books nerd that refuses to enable your unhealthy cravings.

𖠰 He knows how much you want it, but he is not letting you near the dangerous chocolate bar that could threaten the health of his beloved spouse and his unborn child… how about you try this nutrient-dense lentil soup that he cooked up instead? Page 142 of “To Grow a Baby” states that a healthy fetus needs both the iron and folate that it provides to regulate blood sugar levels and help deliver oxygen to the blah blah blah…

𖠰 You feel your eye twitch.

𖠰 You swear that if you didn’t love him as much as you did, you’d strangle him with your own bare hands.

𖠰 But it all turns out for the better when he finally holds his child in his arms after the long wait.

𖠰 Despite growing up in a big family, he doesn’t aspire to that.

𖠰 1 or 2 children; he keeps it demure and orderly

𖠰 It’s because he grew up in a big family that he does not want it. He knows far too well how much work only 2 children are.

𖠰 The founder of gentle parenting.

𖠰 His children turn out to be the most polite and well-mannered ever.

𖠰 I swear this man has patience to spare.

𖠰 He does not fold if they throw a tantrum when he says no. He lets them cry it out if they have to, even as they tug at his clothes to try to change his decision as he goes on with his tasks. He converses calmly with them once they cool down to explain his reasoning, and answers all their questions.

𖠰 He always offers them a hug afterwards, and if they embrace him, he kisses their cheek and forehead and reminds them he loves them. If they are still mad at him and prefer to be alone, he will give them the space they wish to have, not forcing anything as he knows they’ll eventually go back to him and will ask for the hug regardless after calming down.

𖠰 Ornithology books. Whether it is colouring books, illustrations of different species or actual scientific texts, they basically grow up with them and it makes up 70% of your household’s library.

𖠰 Which then comes in handy when he formally takes them birdwatching for the first time.

𖠰 He loves to include them in everything he does, and when they keep curiously looking over his workbench or playing with small pieces of wood and acting like they’re building something, he can’t help but start a small project for a birdhouse with them. He lets them participate and make decisions from the blueprint to the painting.

𖠰 His heart squeezes with fatherly pride whenever he sees the finished product despite the wonky painting and the small flaws,

𖠰 It reminds him of the birdhouse you two made right before becoming a couple. It still stands on the Eastern Road, and every time he walks by it to visit his uncle, it reminds him of the day you two became official, a feeling he can’t wait to have as the years go by and his children’s first project will still be in the same place despite them growing up.

Hayden

𖠰 Alright… so contrary to Ryis, he does not limit you, but enables you.

𖠰 walk with me here.

𖠰 You’re craving apple pie during summer? He’s buying overpriced apples from Balor and dusting off his grandmother’s cooking book. You want honey to eat with bread at 11 p.m? A chocolate bar? He’s waking up Nora and Holt with his knocking at the general store as we speak. He apologises profusely, but he really can’t let his spouse grow his child without indulging in their every request.

𖠰 He tries to tone it down after getting medical advice from Valen, but eventually admits to himself that he can’t resist you and goes back to pampering you.

𖠰 He’s a weak man despite his size.

𖠰 Henrietta has to learn to share the favourite child spot once the kid arrives.

𖠰 Y’all know the voicelines where he says that he wants a big family? yeah.

𖠰 3 to 4 children…

𖠰 This man LOVESSS being a dad.

𖠰 It feels wrong not to see him with children.

𖠰 He takes them everywhere he goes.

𖠰 Not even with a stroller, he just rawdogs it and carries them around town.

𖠰 His children grow up to be very lively and independent; they’re not scared to get dirty or play in mud, and they’ve been doing farmwork disguised as fun activities their whole childhood.

𖠰 Though that freedom leads to a lot of close calls: You may or may not be growing white hairs faster than you should from all the times your children have slipped off horses when little and caught at the last second by their father as he makes a playful comment about “daddy having really good reflexes”

𖠰 He’s kind of a permissive parent. He cannot find it in himself to put his children in time-out for too long or not give in to their puppy eyes when they demand ice cream for dinner or doughnuts for breakfast. Yet you have not seen a man switch his resolve as quickly as he does with just a glance from you.

𖠰 Henrietta learns to love them. Despite her air of pride, you can see how she often lingers near them and “tolerates” their pets, making Hayden nearly shine with happiness.

𖠰 He can’t put that damned camera down. Even if you try to tell him that their first time eating apple pie isn’t a huge milestone, nor was the picture of them eating lasagna for the first time yesterday, he is already preparing the shot to add to the individual photo albums he has for each child.

𖠰 A couple of times a year, he takes them to the Deep Woods to visit great-grandmother Greta. He tells them how great a woman she was, and uses those moments to reflect on how he wishes he could be as good as her and give them the childhood he had on the farm.

𖠰 He loves having them in his arms and reading them to sleep. His heart has never felt more full and at peace than when he has his loved ones at arm's reach. I truly don’t believe there will ever be an age when he will stop holding them or picking them up.