Riley Reflections

When we sit down for dinner in the evenings Chris will almost always ask Riley, "So, what did you do today?". Over the past couple of weeks Riley has begun to ask this question of other people. It is SO adorable to hear him say those words.

Riley is definitely NOT shy, no doubt about it! When we are walking through a store...any store...he proceeds to ask almost anyone within earshot: "HI! What's your name?" Most people are considerate enough to answer and ask him the question in return. It's such a window into his personality.

As most of you have heard by now, my family is slightly addicted to Xbox Rock Band. We get together at my mom's house often to play. So much so, that Riley is strolling around the house singing some of the songs now! It's so cute to have him belt out: "I'm a cowboy.... Waaaaaanted...Dead or Alive" or "It's just a SHOT away, it's just a SHOT away"

Riley's favorite games to play these days are Simon Says and Hide and Seek. He hides from everyone who comes to visit...if he stays in the car and someone runs into a store, he'll cover with a blanket and hide until they come back...the examples go on and on, let's just say he hides all the time! So if he's not around, you better go looking! Luckily he's still not very good at it, so if you say, "Riley, where are you?" He'll reply, "I'm here in the closet" or wherever he is. As far as Simon Says goes, I think he loves it so much because he gets to do silly things...like jump, roll around, touch his toes, etc.

He is getting SO independent! And gets frustrated if you attempt to help him when he doesn't feel it is necessary. Examples include using his stool from bathroom to turn on lights, getting on and off our bed (it's really high, but he uses the side rails to climb up and down), even playing play doh by himself (he may need help with ONE part, but we better not do more than that or we hear, "I CAN DO IT BY MYSELF!"). Oh how fast they grow!

I recently got some pictures and videos of Riley playing with some new toys. He received a Spiderman punching thing from Christmas from our Grandma Doris, and Uncle Justin got him the ESPN Better Batter Baseball for his 2nd birthday, but we just put it together on Superbowl Sunday. He will play baseball for HOURS if we let him! He LOVES it! And he gets better every time. We are trying to take him out with every nice day we RANDOMLY get. I hope you enjoy the videos!

I've also included a video of my nephew, Xander, playing 'Boo!' with me! It's so cute that he says it back, I just love it! He is now 10 months old!

And on a sad note...Riley received his first ant bite on Friday, and unfortunately, it ended up being SIX at once! :-( He picked up a rock in our backyard that was apparently swarming with ants. Once he noticed he came over and starting wiping 'dirt' on my coat, then I noticed the 'dirt' was moving. I then realized they were ALL over his hands and his upper body. I immediately dusted his hands off as quickly as possible then stripped him down (he was wearing his one peice Spiderman costume). He received one bit on his neck, 2 on one finger, 1 at the base of his thumb and 1 on each wrist. So sad. He's being a trooper though, doesn't seem to bother him much at all, thank goodness. (you can see the bandaids on his write and neck...to keep him from touching the anti-itch cream after we put it on fresh)