Sunday, June 29, 2008

Ava's 5th Birthday


This weekend Riley got to go to a water slide birthday party. Our friend Ava, turns 5 on Tuesday and had her party this weekend. As you can see from the pictures, this was no little slide! I honestly was a little nervous to let Riley do it, but of course she was not scared at all and loved it. The biggest problem for her was getting up the slide. She of course was way to little so had to have help from one of Ava's cousins, Caroline who is 11 to help her get up. She was by far the smallest one there, so there were lots of helpers. You can see in one of the pictures that Riley was holding the line up big time. The older kids really didn't want to wait on her to get to the top, so they just stepped over her.


Friday, June 27, 2008

Cupcake time



Riley and I were hard at work in the kitchen today. We were making cupcakes for church on Sunday. Our morning started off with a trip to the grocery store where she got to pick out the cupcake holders and the sprinkles, which to a 2 year old is big stuff. She is so into wanting to help all the time in the kitchen right now. She was my big helper with getting all of the holders put into the pan and helping me with the mixing. Of course her favorite part is licking the beaters! I LOVE her apron. Her friend Blake got her that for her birthday. Miss Holly has great taste and always gives the perfect gift.

1-2-3 JUMP




We went to the pool tonight and had so much fun! Riley continues to keep getting braver and braver each time we go. Last week she would stand on the edge and hold my hands and kind of jump off the side, but tonight was a whole different story. Over the weekend with the Montanus girls we realized that she does really well with one of those life jackets that have a strap between her legs. She now will go all over the pool by herself without you holding on to her. Tonight the highlight was her jumping off the side by herself. We would count 1-2-3 JUMP and off she would go, completely under the water. She LOVED it! I think that she might be a swimmer.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Learning about Jesus



Today we went to a story time at Riley's school, McMannen United Methodist Church. They have a summer reading program once a month where they read a story, have a craft and snack. The children's director started the prayer time off so neat that I have to write it down so that I won't forget. She asked the kids to reach up to the sky for stars. Once you see one catch it and bring it back down with your hands together in the prayer position. I will for sure use this technique with Riley. They made a cross craft today, where they got to fill it with colored sand. Riley wore hers up to see daddy and got lots of compliments on her necklace. It was fun to get to see lots of her classmates and her teacher, Ms. Georgia. This morning when I told Riley where we were going she started jumping in her bed yelling Ms. Georgia, Ms. Georgia!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Sweet and Sassy!




Sweet and Sassy is a new kids salon that just opened a few weeks ago and I have never seen anything like it. While having the Montanus girls we thought this would be a fun adventure to go on. They were having a grand opening party with free hair up do's and rides in the pink limo. So, Riley at the age of 2 has been on her first limo ride and loved it! This is such a neat place and I can see lots of fun parties taking place there.


It's Movie Time



Today I sat for my friend Anna and watched her little boy Luke. Riley loves playing with him as they are just a few months apart. We went to the movies today, as our local theater is having free movies through the summer for kids. It is a great hot day outing. We went to see Charlotte's Web today and it was a big hit. Riley loved all of the animals in the movie. It was funny at the beginning of the movie when she saw the sheep she started "Baa Baa." At first I thought she was going to be scared of the spider, but she was fine. Our friend, Erin went with us to give me another set of hands to help with the 2 little ones. Between the drinks, huge tub of popcorn and the 2 little ones it was a huge help to have her. Our friend Ann met us too with Emma and Riley. All in all everyone did a great job and I would for sure say that I would try it again. Riley did good for about the first 30 minutes and then she got a little restless. Luke sat almost the entire movie and didn't make a beep.

Riley and Luke had so much fun playing with each other today. The highlight for me was when they both climbed into the dog's bed and were playing together. They really do a great job sharing and we are very lucky to have such great friends.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Weekend with Montanus Girls!



Wow! What a weekend we had. We spent the weekend with the Montanus girls, Abby and Mia. This is a family that I babysit for and they are so much fun. Riley loves playing with the girls and thinks that she is big stuff when she is with them. They are 5 and 4. We played in the back yard and the girls had so much fun finding worms. It is so funny to me how some kids are scared to death of things like that and others are not. Riley is one that is not scared of them at all. Friday the girls had camp and Riley and I met some friends at Hopper's House which is a jumping place for kids. Then we went to dinner with Leon at Southpoint. Saturday we had a big big day. It started off with a trip to the pool and then a trip to Sweet and Sassy. Then on Sunday we went to a park and had a picnic. I don't think that I can count how many times we went out for ice cream! I am sure that their parents are loving me for that. So needless to say it was a pretty weekend with lots of great memories!






Soccer Mom


Well most of you know that I have been wanting to become a "Soccer Mom" for some time now and it came true this week. We finally purchased a van! We have been nursing Leon's car along as long as we could and she bit the dust this week. So needless to say we were finally forced to do something. We love the van and Riley seems to really like it also. We are really looking forward to having more space when we have company out to visit.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Miss Hollywood


Riley is now into sunglasses! We think that she looks pretty cute in them. There is a story behind the sunglasses. Riley has been giving me fits in the car about the sun being in her eyes. She will cry and cry and yells at the sun to go down! It really is too funny. For some reason she thinks that I can control the sun and its position. So we headed to the mall yesterday on a mission to find some sunglasses. I just couldn't resist these when I saw them. Leon just about died when he saw her. It gave him a good laugh. He was surprised that she was leaving them on her face. We both agreed that they make her look like she is 16! I can only begin to imagine what my blogs will be like then.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Rock a Baby

I wanted to take a minute to write this morning before I continue with my day to day life and don't get this documented. I am learning very quick from myself that this is going to be a wonderful way to keep up with the little details that I think I will take time to sit down and do in Riley's baby book but don't. So needless to say I am doing a lot of this for myself and don't want you to get bored with reading our blog. With that said please read what you would like!

Anyways, for the last 2 weeks I would say Riley has been going through this "Rock a Baby" phase. The first night that she said it to me it took me the longest time to figure out what she was saying. Our normal bedtime routine is reading 2 books, saying our bedtime prayer and having a little drink of milk. Well after doing all of that one night she kept say "Rock a Baby" and wanting to crawl up into my lap. So of course as a mother, who does not get much cuddle time anymore took advantage of this special moment knowing that they are few and far in between. So after singing to her a few times and rocking she said time for bed and it just about melted my heart. After putting her down I asked Leon if she had done this to him, trying to figure out where she even learned about "Rock a Baby" Of course, that answered all of my questions. Leon said a few night prior to that he had rocked her and sang to her. It is amazing to me how the catch on to things so fast. So she now things each night that she needs to "Rock a Baby" She woke up Monday morning at like 5 and Leon went in and gave her a drink. After this she said "Rock a Baby" so of course he did, like myself taking advantage of those moments.

I just wanted to take a few minutes to write this down, because I know 1 year down the road I am not going to remember these small special times.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Great Memories


Today we went to the Observation Park at the airport with our church. My friend Ann and I have been planning family activities for our church during the summer months. While it was a small crowd today, we still had a great time. The girls loved the airplanes and watching them take off and land. They were running around acting like they were planes and having us swing them by their arms pretending they were flying. Our little friend, Emma, liked the purple ones which were the Southwest planes. We packed a picnic lunch and our pastor Greg and his wife Molly met us for lunch also. One thing that melts my heart with little ones is watching them pray. Riley Kay, Emma and Riley Rae said their mealtime prayer before their lunch and it was so precious.

After nap time today we went down to our friends Anna and Luke who live right down the road to go swimming. Riley wore her swimsuit that my niece Kelsey got her for her birthday. She still needs to grow into the bottoms as her bottom kept showing. It is amazing to me how brave and fearless Riley is in the water. Her new thing right now is "JUMPING" and she loves to do this on the ground, off a step, on the bed or in the pool. So needless to say just about anywhere. She was jumping in the pool tonight and a couple of time went underwater, but it didn't seem to phase her at all. She also likes jumping off the side of the pool into your arms.


Monday, June 16, 2008

Who wants ice cream?






Happy Father's Day! We celebrated our Father's day weekend with lots of ice cream eating. We have a local farmer down the road from us that has an ice cream stand during the summer months and needless to say it is addicting. Riley so loves ice cream right now, it is such a joy to see the excitement on her face when we mention it. She says that her favorite is chocolate. She yells "Ice Cream" the whole way. Riley and her daddy got to spend some quality time together this weekend. They hung out with each other on Saturday morning and then we went for ice cream that night. Then yesterday we went to church and went out to lunch with our friends the Miller's for a Father's Day lunch. Riley adores her friends Emma and Riley and loves any chance she has to spend time with them. We then had a cookout with some friends and then went for ice cream again. At this rate I am going to have to hit the gym more. I do split a sundae with Riley, and that at least makes me feel better.




Our friends the Hamm's are in the process of moving today, so they spent the night with us last night. Their children, Kensley and Emory are staying with us today and Riley has had a blast today. What a special treat to have 2 friends spend the night at your house and play with you all day.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Fun day in the sun!




We had a great Friday the 13th today! Our morning started off going to the pool with our friends Emma and Riley. We met Emma and Riley through church and they are 2.5 year old twins. You will see from the pictures that we sometimes still have a hard time telling Emma and Riley apart. It has been interesting watching our Riley's understand that they both have the same name. Ann and I thought that if we used middle names that that might help out. Well, to our surprise they are pretty close too. Our Riley is Riley Rae and theirs is Riley Kay. It is funny sometimes when I am saying Riley and I get the other ones attention. The girls had a great time at the pool today and it was pretty relaxing. Their pool has a separate kiddie pool, so we were able to sit on the side for the most part and watch them play together. My favorite part today was the 3 girls playing "ring around the rosie" in the water together. At first, Ann and I had to play with them in the water, but then they were doing it on their own. It was so funny when "we all fall down" came and they would fall into the water. It has been such a gift to met the Miller's through church. We have been so blessed to have meet such a christian family and look forward to having many great memories together.



Tonight we had our friends the Foil's over for dinner. They were our neighbor's in Knightdale and we miss them dearly. They are such wonderful people. They watched Riley for us a few weeks ago so that Leon and I could get away for our anniversary trip. We had them over for dinner tonight as a thank you. During Riley's stay with them she became very close to Mark. Cathy and Brooke both had told us how she wanted Mark to help her do everything. Well, I got to see that first hand tonight. She wanted Mark's help on the swing, she wanted Mark to sit by her at the table and she even wanted Mark to change her dirty diaper. I saved Mark on that one though. She was sad to see them go tonight, but gave them lots of hugs and kisses good bye.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Beach Bunny



Today we went to the beach with our friends Anna and Luke. We had such a great time. Riley has become a true beach bunny. We grabbed some lunch and then were on the beach by 1:30. Anna and I both said we would just go until the kids couldn't go any longer. Well, 3.5 hours later we were trying to get them loaded up. They had the best time ever. Riley's favorite part I think was running in and out of the waves. She would count 1.2.3. - go! And off she was into the ocean. She also really likes just playing in the sand. I can't tell you how many times I buried her hands and feet. Needless to say she was asleep within 5 minutes of being in the car. I thought she might sleep the entire way home which is just a little over 2 hours, but an hour into the ride she was awake along with her friend, Luke. They did great in the car though.








Leon and I talked about how different Riley's childhood is going to be compared to ours. We tell Riley she doesn't realize how great she has it, as we were both in high school before we even saw the ocean. I would say that I wouldn't change my childhood for anything. It does make me a little sad when I think of the things that we both did as kids growing up that Riley will not be able to do or experience. I guess there is always pros and cons to every situation.