Through My Eyes: May 2007

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Memorial Day Weekend - Trip to Lake

It had been raining all weekend, but Sunday afternoon, late, it finally let up and my brother was DETERMINED to go...so we did. We actually did ride the wave runner, but my camera was too busy taking shots of the adorable kids!

Chris taking Riley out on the sand and in the water for first time.

Water was cold, and Riley wasn't quite sure how he felt about walking in the sand.

But he was quite sure he liked playing in it!

Steph, Danny & Xander - what a CUTE family!

Riley said it was 'too bright', so he's wearing his shades, if you can see!

Look at this 'beach bum'! And making faces to boot! Ha ha!

"Oh Mommy, I'm not sure about this contraption on my face."

"Okay, if I smile will you take them off?"

Riley was so cold, so he was cuddling up with 'Aunt Cutie' to get warm!

Jump'n Land

Here are some pictures from our trip to Jump'n Land this morning. It was a BLAST! (and even more so, cuz they let parents go with the kids!!)
*Also, check out my video blog, I posted 2 videos of Riley at Jump'n Land! Too cute!*

As soon as we walked in, Riley DARTED for the TALL slide in back and just started climbing up by himself...before I could even get my shoes off to go with him! He made it without falling...but my heart was racing the entire time!

Up and Up goes my Brave Little Boy!

Whew! He made it!

And down he goes!!! (it was fun...trust me...we went together SEVERAL times!)

Climbing through a 'jungle' themed bounce house

He did everything, just running around and trying it all!

Aaaahhhh, a shorter slide for once!

I'm not sure if he liked climbing or sliding better?!?!

Here is a view of the 'Play Zone' - there were about 5 or 6 different bounce houses.

With our mom's gropu friends, Michelle and Ryan (he didn't stay in this area much really)

Saying 'Cheese' with a BIG smile! (I tried to get him to do it again, without the flash, but alas, he would not stop that long!)

We spent a lot of time jumping around in one of the 'basic' bounce houses...he got the hang of it pretty quickly!

He just really loved it all! And I had a blast watching him, honestly!

He's always gotta go down crazy ways...the 'normal' way just gets boring I guess?!?!

Can't you just SEE how much fun he is having?!?!

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Mother's Day

Well, a happy belated Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!

My wonderful husband and beautiful son gave me a Video iPod this year (SO COOL!). It was so sweet though, I was still in bed and I heard Riley yelling from the living room, "Wake up Mommy, wake up!!!". How could I resist? So he brought me the gift and card, so cute.

We then went to spend the afternoon with my dad's mom and his side of the family, then the evening with my mom's parents. And of course, I was able to spend the whole day with my son, and with my mother, what more could one ask for?!?!

(remember, I had just awoken!)

Friday, May 11, 2007

Random Riley Ravings & Notes

*Riley is singing so much lately...he practically knows all the words to the Lazy Town cd, he sings the WHOLE 'Go Diego Go' theme song, Alphabet song, Twinkle Twinkle...really, he sings just about everything he hears...I was even listening to my iPod the other day in the van and he starts singing "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (Alice Cooper) and "No no no no, no no no no" (Black Horse & A Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall)...I LOVE IT! He also has a Backyardigans Karaoke toy he got for Cmas and he actually sings all the songs into it.

*We've woken up one morning all ready to find Riley bare naked in his crib...stripped of clothes and diaper...now when he wakes up usually the first thing he says is "Riley need diaper change"...which is much better than him trying to take care of it himself. He's getting very consistent with telling us when he has a dirty diaper...or as he says it, "I have stinky diaper Mommy!"...and potty training is still going well.
*He's so concerned when he hears Xander cry...he says, "Baby Xander crying...Baby Xander sad" in this concerned voice that is so cute! (And don't get my started on my adorable nephew! He is growing so fast, and so precious!)

*Riley LOVES candy! Lollipops are probably at the top of his list. I've recently discovered 'Yogos' and Gerber Juice Treats...he thinks they are candy, but at least they have SOME nutritional value! Works like a charm!
*He LOVES tents and forts...I've built him a fort and an igloo recently, and we had a 'movie night' in his tent, complete with flash light and popcorn...he just thought it was the neatest thing ever and can't wait to do it again! (Think it will become a reward for potty training!)

*If I tell Riley 'no' and he doesn't listen, I will repeat myself, but I say, "Riley, I SAID no.", so being the sponge that he is, he now says "I said no"...whether he's remembering to himself a time when he was told no, or he'll say it to Bailey (our dog) when she is bothering him, or if we ask if he wants green beans with his mac & cheese, etc. The way he says it is just too cute though! I can't get over it!
*We were playing with a ball he got for Easter one day and I put it under my shirt when he was looking, to see if he would notice where it was...he did, of course and took it from me and put it under his shirt and said the cutest thing...he says: Got A Baby In There!
*We pulled up to a drive-thru window one night and when I rolled down my window Riley says, "Ummm...chicken nuggets please....noooooo....cheeseburger, fries and juice!" I BURSTED out laughing! It was one of the funniest, and absolute cutest, things I'd heard EVER!!
*Riley has been DYING to see his cousins, B&B, lately...so one day he got a little excited over it and I was trying to explain to him that Riley lives in Texas and B&B live in Utah...so I asked, "Can you say Texas?" and he said, "secsas", so I asked, "Can you say U-tah?" and he said, "Riley-tah" HA HA HA!!! He has been talking about himself in the 3rd person for awhile now, and so he knows 'you' means 'Riley', so therefore, Riley-tah!!! He's recently began using 'me' and 'my' much more often...he'll even correct us if we say, "Riley's bear" or something, he'll say, "No, MY bear". Growing so fast!
*Some other adorable things Riley says:
When he hurts himself or one of us hurts himself, he says in such a concerned, sweet voice, "It'll be okay." Too sweet.
During the day when he misses his Daddy, he reminds himself outloud, "Daddy at work, Daddy make money!" I smile every time.
He now likes to walk up to complete strangers, pat himself on the chest, and proclaim, "My name Riley!!!". A little scary, yes, but adorable at the same time!
*All of the sudden Riley is just 'obsessed' with sharks! I know it comes from Bruce (Finding Nemo), and he just loves them. So when we were at the library this week all he could talk about was wanting a shark book. Luckily we found him 2 at the library, and then I found one that Mel had sent us a few months ago, which is his favorite! He wants to take it everywhere! In the car, to his room, in the living room, it's the first thing he talks about when he wakes up in the morning!

*He's doing so great with his numbers, colors, letters, etc. He can count to 14 flawlessly...and he actually 'counts' things, like toes, pictures, etc. He recognizes the color organge really well, and we're continually working on the others, they are off and on! He also recognizes the letters O, A and E, so 3 down, 23 to go. He also knows so many animals...even the 'weird' ones from Diego like Tapirs! And of course, their sounds. He's doing great with shapes...circle, square, triangle, star, diamond, and even oval! So smart! I'm a proud mother for sure!

*A couple of days ago Riley fell...somehow???...in his crib during nap and got a cut above his right eye or on his eyelid I guess (still haven't figured out how???) Looks like a boxer, honestly, drooping eyebrow, cut that is more from 'force' than a sharp object. It's healing pretty quickly though, thankfully.

*Finally...Riley has a new friend! Another Jake...I posted some videos on my video blog not too long ago...he's my friend Amy's son and he's about 3 months younger, but he's about Riley's size. They are both very energetic and 'crazy' and play so well together! We look forward to getting them together to play often.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Easter 2007

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it's been awhile since Easter, but I've been busy!!

Basically, our Easter festivities included seeing the Easter Bunny at the mall the Tuesday before Easter, then the Friday before we went to a city egg hunt (it was cold and windy and there were NOT enough eggs, but Riley didn't notice so it was all good!), then Sunday we were SUPPOSED to go to my grandparents for dinner and egg hunt with family, but Stephanie went into labor at 2:30. Mom and I went to the hospital and Riley stayed home with Chris. Chris hid some of the eggs we decorated and filled around the house and Riley had his own personal hunt at home. Overall it was a wonderful holiday. Here are some pictures: