Enjoying the Break

I have really enjoyed the unexpected two days off of work! I just returned from a beach trip last week and have really been craving some Riley time! The time off could not have come at a better time! I took advantage of every moment and was able to do a couple of fun things with Riley that I have been wanting to do! I was brave enough to try introducing him to finger painting! Of course he stuck his finger in the paint and then it went right into his mouth! I should have known because everything goes in his mouth, but I think I added to the confusion because I had him sit in his high chair. I thought it was the perfect place to contain him and the mess! I did not have a paint free hand to take pictures of this moment, but I have three new master pieces for the fridge as evidence. ;-) He made my day the next day, when he went and got the paint out of the closet and asked for more! He only lasted for one painting the second day. He started rubbing the paint on his body like he does soap. I was so tickled which encouraged him to keep it up so we had to wrap up the art session for the day! ;-)

We walked to the park to feed the ducks and he loved every minute! He really likes to be outside! The first time we took him to feed the ducks, he took the piece of bread we handed him and ate it himself! Good thing it was not too old! On the way back home, we passed Sam and Greg's and it was open! I was so excited that I went in and got us some chocolate gelato even though it was way past time for his nap! I ate most of it because I am a thoughtful mom who did not want the chocolate to disrupt his nap! ;) hahaha

When it was time for dinner, I realized that I had ironically planned for us to eat pork chops. Even though cooked pork is not harmful, we just could not do it! So when Matt got home we decided to go back to Sam and Greg's for dinner! If you have not been there yet, I highly recommend it! It is a quaint little pizza and gelato joint on the square. The pizza was absolutely delicious...It had a real fresh home made taste! We had to order more gelato so Matt could try it! ;) I must confess that I ate most of it again. The best surprise was that while we were waiting, the waiter told us about the FREE air hockey table upstairs! I have not played air hockey since my days at the roller skating rink! It was such a blast from the past and it kept Riley intrigued while we waited!

The boys enjoying the Air Hockey Table! I want one!


Riley eating the bread I brought for the ducks! ;)



Here are a couple more moments from our week! Enjoy!

Bath time Mohawk!


Playing with the remote!


Eating his new favorite treat!


Digging in the dirt!

Shouldn't there be plants in there? I have to admit that I am horrible at keeping plants alive.

Mowing the lawn!


Gina bought Riley this little plastic mower because he loves to push things!
He was moving so fast, I could not get a good picture of him!

So Many Photos, So Much Fun!

Everyday is an adventure with a toddler! We have been taking lots of pictures over the last two weeks, but with all this fun happening I didn't have time to upload until now! ;-) Riley will be a year and a half next week! So hard to believe how fast our little man is growing up. Enjoy!

Riley's friend Sophie turned two and her party was this weekend! It was at The Little Gym and we all had so much fun! I think the adults had as much fun as the kids! Here are a couple of pictures from her party!

Riley and Sophie checking each other out!


Riley P. and Riley H. finally got to meet each other! We always tease that they are going to get married and what do you know....by the end of the party they were playing house!


Riley loved playing at The Little Gym! We have to sign him up for classes!


Here are a couple of pictures we took of things that Riley did to make us smile!

He was trying to share his raisins with his toy frog!


Matt and Riley playing with his new bubble maker!


Riley watching Ellie watch the puppy at Susan and Tommy's! ;-)


Every time he throws a ball, he opens his mouth wide open!


He enjoys helping me make pancakes on the weekends!


He loves pretending to drive the car!


The best surprise of the week was when we went to meet Walker to sign some paperwork, the driver of the fire truck took Riley for a ride back and forth in the driveway of the station! He even turned on the lights and sirens for him! Just one of the perks of having an uncle who is a Fire Fighter!

My Favorite Things About Riley at 17 Months!

As I was putting Riley to sleep tonight, he started to ask for a toy. I told him it was time to go to sleep but that we would see his toys tomorrow. He looked at all the toys wistfully and began to slowly wave bye-bye to them. It was such a sweet moment that I had to share! It made me start thinking about all of my favorite things about Riley at this age so I decided to create a list to help me remember. ;)He is growing up so fast!

These are a few of my favorite things about 17 months....
1. The way he grabs my hand while he leads me where he wants to go!
2. The way he sweetly gives us Eskimo kisses!
3. The way he dances any time he hears music!
4. The way he tries to strum the guitar and sing!
5. The way he tries to communicate with us..his voice is so cute!
6. The way he understands everything we are saying!
7. The way he plops down in our lap to read books!
8. The way he reaches for us when we wakes up and holds on!
9. The way he belly laughs when we are playing with him!
10. The way he points to his crib at night when I am trying to fit in one more cuddle before bedtime, like mommy it is time for me to go to sleep!

Spring Break

Matt and I went to NYC during Spring Break! We went to a Ranger's game, a taping of the Jimmy Fallon Show and the St. Patrick's Day parade. The Fallon show was a highlight for us! Lt. Dan and Flavor Flav were guests! Fred Armisen showed up to do a skit and we got our picture taken with him after the show! He was great On St. Patrick's Day we actually walked from Battery park to our hotel in Times Square...we estimated this distance to be about 90 blocks! You could say we participated in our own little NYC parade! We had a fantastic time, but Murphy's Law occurred and Riley was sick the entire time we were gone. We are so lucky to have such wonderful family members take care of him while we were gone. They kept me calm and reassured while I was gone which is a feat! ;-) My favorite story is the one of my sister and nephews introducing Riley to a frog and the tool belt!


St. Patrick's Day parade in NYC!


The girls and Fred!


Riley meets a frog and the frog survives!


Riley and the tool belt!


Riley and I spent my first day home lounging in our Pj's!


He loved playing with the luggage!


We were playing with the camera.

I have to teach him my favorite way to take pictures. ;)

Snow Day

I was so excited when I woke up and saw the snow outside on Sunday morning! I could not believe it...I had to do a double take. I couldn't wait to wake up the boys to go outside and play! Here are some pictures of our snowy morning! Enjoy!


Matt getting Riley ready to go brave the snow!


Riley was so excited to be outside!


He loved going up and down the snowy stairs!


This is the sad face we got when we brought him inside! ;-(

Of course, we went back outside!

What a Weekend!

Matt and I have been house hunting this weekend and we think we have found the one! We got a storage unit to get our house ready for the market and spent a lot of time going through all the stuff we have collected! While we were cleaning out, Matt found some old hockey sticks! He cut one down to Riley's size and taped it up for him! Matt even put Riley's name on it! I thought that was too cute! Riley loves playing with it, but we realized his favorite thing to do is bang the stick on the floor! So adorable, right? Normally we would not even think twice about it, but since we are getting ready to sell we noticed his banging is leaving dents in the hardwoods! We have got to teach this boy to pass! ;-)

It is just my size and it has my name on it!


I look like a natural!


Daddy even gave me a puck!


Mr. Parker came over to watch Riley while we looked at houses. Riley just thinks the world of him! Mr. Parker makes Riley laugh out loud! Riley put on Mr. Parker's glasses and we thought it was hysterical!



Riley even got in on the house cleaning fun! He loves to play with this mop! A man who loves to clean is a man after my heart! ;-)


He was so tired, I was able to sneak in and take a picture of his sleeping! ADORABLE!!!

Blessings

I finally decided to start trying to loose my last 15 pounds of baby weight about three weeks ago! A team of my close friends at work and I are all trying to loose weight together and it has been great to have their support! I could not have done as well as I have without them! I so happy to say that I have already lost 11 pounds!!! Wonderful news, huh? I was feeling pretty successful in my quest...until Saturday when Matt tells me he thinks our scale is wrong! I asked him to weigh himself at the gym and then at our scale at home and we would figure the difference. He found that our scale is off by not 1, not 2, but 10 pounds! Great! Now I am pretty much back to the weight I started at, but I am choosing to look at it as a blessing because I think God knew I would have been discouraged if I thought I had 20+ to loose in the beginning! ;-) It is time for me to shoot for the last 10 pounds of baby weight....take two!

I also wanted to tell you a couple of Riley stories! He is so much fun these days! Every day he does something I want to blog about, but he is treating me like I am an annoying paparazzi when i try to take a picture to post with the stories! There are no good pics for these events, but you will just have to create a mental picture. ;-)

Anyone who goes shopping anywhere with me knows that I make friends where ever I go! I love to talk to everyone! Well, I think little Riley is following in my footsteps! When I took him to Publix last week, he spent the entire trip waving at every person who went by us in each isle. He was so happy when people waved back and it was absolutely adorable! What was supposed to be a quick grocery trip turned into a 45 minute excursion because everyone was stopping to talk to him! I loved every minute of watching him become a social being!

I also had to joy of taking him to play with his cousins Nate and Tyler last week. We went to their house to visit and usually, I stay around him helping him play with the big boys. This trip was different! He was actually playing without needing my help! It was amazing!!!! I just sat back and observed his little mind at play! I could not have been happier watching him hang with the big boys! These are the days!

I finally uploaded a picture of our shopping excursion. I am not sure if this is a wave to a fellow shopper or if he is putting his hand up so I won't take any more pictures! ;-)