Jason just starting homework
















Jason in the middle of homework
















Jason at the end of homework!!!
(Enjoy this while you can because Jason will probably make me take this off when he sees it!) 

Gift of Gab

Riley is quite a talker! Here are some of the new words and phrases that we get a chuckle out of (and that we can actually understand):

I dit: (I did it!)

Ino, Ino, Ino (Riley uses this phrase when she is upset. Why?
Riley hates diaper changes and cries and has huge
fits. I always console her by saying, "I know, I know,
I know, Riley..." This now has become her favorite
phrase whenever she is frustrated. When I use the
term, you can bet she repeats it after me which is
pretty funny. Reminds me of a thirteen year old
with an attitude.)

Hi, Hi, Hi (Riley LOVES to tell people Hi. Nothing unusual
about this except....She only says "hi" when they
have their backs to her. As soon as they turn
around she gets a case of serious "shyness". So as
we are leaving stores all she is saying is "hi, hi, hi,"
or "bye, bye, bye.")

Baby (We just got Riley her first baby doll, July 23rd,
2006, and she loves this baby doll. If you try to
even touch her baby she says, "Mine, mine, mine!"
We also got her a stroller that she loves pushing
around the house.)

Ba, ba, ba (Ball. She calls everything round "ball."
EVERYTHING!)

Apple (Riley will eat ANYTHING if you tell her it's an
apple!)

Mine (Her favorite word of all time!)

Oh, no!

Pee-boo (Peek-a-boo!)

Bie (Since we started taking Riley for bike rides,
everytime she sees a bike she will point and
say "bike" and become very excited!

Voom (car)

"Pee-pee" or "poo-poo" (Since we bought Riley her potty chair she has
gone "pee-pee" four times in her potty chair,
about six times on the carpet and poo-poo one
time on the porch!)

Vwa (Duh! This means she wants to breastfeed! You
couldn't figure that out?)

Bu (Bird)

Wawa (water)

Shit (This is how she says "shirt." Really! She is not
able to pronounce her "R". )

Fee (Feet)

but (belly button)

Ka (car)

Ki E (kitty)

*Riley repeats EVERYTHING right now. We are really minding our Ps and Qs. It's pretty frightening what little kids will say!*

Our other baby

Before Riley was born I had no idea how Chloe would handle having Riley around. Chloe is a Persian and she has quite a tendency to feel superior and not see a need to put up with anything more than what needs be. She likes things her way and has never been a cat to let anything, anyone, or any other cat (no matter what the size) to get in her way. That said, Chloe has turned out to be the best cat ever. Riley L-O-V-E-S this cat. In the morning Riley looks for Chloe and greets it like she does any person. A very bright and sunny "Hello!" When Chloe is eating, Riley will go up to her and hug her. When Chloe comes in from outside, Riley will bend down and hug her again. Does Chloe like this? NO WAY! I believe she actually hates it. She does, however, tolerate it. No matter how many times Riley has pulled her hair, squished her by laying on her, screamed in Chloe's ears, ate her cat food (yes, she has), woke Chloe up from a dead sleep, Chloe just tolerates it and finds a good hiding spot for a while.
There are times when Chloe is feeling very affectionate and she will actually try to get Riley to pet her. I keep saying to Riley, "Gentle!" I am pretty sure Chloe knows the patience she has been exhibiting is going to pay off as Riley get older and that she will get all the "gentle" petting she wants as long as she waits this out a little. All said, Chloe has been such a patient, sweet kitty!
 

Put your hat on!

I wonder how many times a day I say, "Riley, put your hat back on!"

Caught red-handed!

As many parents, I am sure, we never seem to know what could possibly be going out in the dumpster. Jason and I were working on the computer when it dawned on me that Riley had been making several trips to the garbage in the kitchen. This money is what she was throwing away which she had retrieved from my purse!  

This is Riley enjoying the Zoomazium. She loved this place! Whenever Riley gets excited she does a little tap dance, and as soon as we put her down in this place she did her little tap dance.
This handsome monkey was so fun to watch.

Riley took a little nap at the zoo.  

Yummy Strawberries

Riley loves strawberries, which I found out the hard way. After grocery shopping one day with Riley, I came home, and with a relief, dropped all the grocery bags on the floor in the living room. It's hard unloading the car with Riley as I am having to carry her and about four grocery bags and then making the trip again to get the rest of the groceries. I then ran into the restroom as I had been having to go to the bathroom for a while. When I came out of the restroom Riley had found the strawberries and was eating it like an apple. Strawberry juice was everywhere and it was a huge mess! Riley was even making the "mmmmm" sound that she always makes when she "really" likes a particular food! The extent of her vocabulary is normally just one syllable words, however, she can say "strawberry" very well!  

What a difference a year makes!

I couldn't help today to think about the last time Riley was in this back pack.
 

The Grand Finale

I bought this toilet for Riley because she always shows so much interest in Jason and I going to the bathroom. I won't say anything more on that! Anyway, tonight when we got home from Deception Pass, Riley and I were getting ready to take a bath and I asked her if she had to go potty. As usual, she ran and sat on the toilet. Nothing new. The difference tonight? She actually went to the bathroom!! I was so excited and started yelling, and she was so pleased at my excitement and began getting excited too, although I am not sure if she knew what the big deal was all about!  

Deception Pass

This was such a fun trip. The hiking trails and views are unbelievable, along with the great history to read about along the way. This was the first hiking trip we took with Riley and it was a great first. I don't think Riley quit smiling the whole day (That is until lunch when she turned into a monster in the restaurant!).


 

Good Times

We had such a fun day. Riley loved the back pack ride and kept patting Jason's head in affection! Another part of the trip Riley enjoyed was being on the beach where she was throwing rocks into the water.


 

Hot Summer Days

Riley and mom enjoying a watermelon on a hot summer day (might I mention we have no air conditioning and the temps have been in the 90s!). 

uh-oh!

Riley worked very hard for quite a while trying to get these keys to work to open the door.  

Nightly Rituals

Riley and I end our evenings by gathering several books and laying on the bed reading. It's such a fun way to end the day.  

Our Little Picasso!

This was Riley's first art project she brought home from daycare dated 6/21/06. The bigger fingerprint marks are Ginger's (Riley's daycare provider) helping Riley do her painting.  

My Brother; Riley's Uncle

Yesterday, the 22nd, was Eric's D-day. I wasn't going to put anything on the Blog about this since I am keeping this blog for Riley when she gets older and didn't want to put anything sad on here. However, Eric made all of us so happy when he was here. Riley's uncle Eric was so special and I know if he were here they would have a very special relationship, a lot like him and I did. It's important that Riley has some knowledge of him and that I share some of my special memories with her. I was ten when Eric was born and he was the best "gift" I could have ever received. I couldn't wait to get home from school to see him. I would run as fast as I could across the field to "finally" get to see him. He was so cute and funny - a real rolly-polly in his infant days! He used to love to run through the sprinklers naked in the yard and his favorite song to dance to was Footloose. He would pull himself up on the living room table and bee-bop with a silly grin on his face. He 'hated' feet. Why? I don't know! It was hilarious. You even said the word "feet" and he would cry. His favorite movie, when he was just a toddler, was Spaceballs. We had to tape the edited version of it, especially when he said the words "major ---hole!" (I hope no family members get offended by this, but this is MY story and MY memories!) Not a good word for a little toddler to be saying. He had every word to that movie memorized. Whenever Eric and I would go to a restaurant we would share our meals - we loved to eat together. I loved to cook for him. He loved my french toast and would eat like six pieces. (Mind you, he was only like six years old!) I used to make Reeses cups for us and we would practically eat the whole thing until we were sick! Ohhh, good memories. Eric and I, I guess because I was ten years older, had a different relationship than most brothers and sisters. He would sit in the back of the bus with me and he was quite popular with my friends. He was our comedy act on the way to school! Eric always got along better with older kids versus children his own age. He just had a real hard time fitting in with children his own age. When I started going to college I would drive home for the weekend and he would actually get off the bus and run to hug me when he saw me!! Now, how about that for a young man? Not to care about being embarrased what his friends thought. I loved it. Eric was very talented and would write very 'unique' short stories. He was very routine in his daily activities.
My favorite memories though of Eric is Christmas Eve nights. We would stay awake as late as we could and tell eachother stories. Eric really loved the stories; I just loved the closeness. Eric was very creative, imaginative, quirky, thoughtful and loving. I wish he would have been able to see how wonderful he was and just ride out the difficult times that he was going through. I used to hate the fact that I had red hair in school. When you're young and in school it's hard to believe someday that your differences will make you "unique" as you get older. Eric could only look at his differences as a handicap and that he just couldn't fit into the world. I loved him so much for all his differences. I wish you could have met him, Riley.

Fun in the Sun

Riley enjoyed a dip in the pool! 

Riley had a great time pushing around the stroller.  

Camping Trip

Riley's aunt Sue was my hero on the camping trip. I assured her that, no, Riley won't fall asleep in a stroller. Sue decided to give it a shot anyway since Riley was so exhausted. Sue sang songs to her, such as the ABCs, and brough Riley back to camp passed out! It was wonderful as I had an evening without chasing Riley around and was able to take a break. Oh, it was great! Thanks, Sue.  

Special Cousins

Brayden was such a great helper while we made banana boats. What a great cook he is! However, he was getting a little annoyed that his cousin, the little red head on the other side there, was eating all the marshmellows! He was so funny.





Cheyenne is a bundle of energy and loves the pool! She is usually a blur as she keeps very busy, just don't let ants get too close to her. She "hates" ants. She pointed one out to me and actually trembled - a real tremble. I actually saw goose bumps on her arms. Poor thing!