Water Slide!

Okay now that my computer seems to be doing well with uploading videos, I think I might go video crazy! Hee-hee :-)

This past weekend, we went to a birthday party for a little boy named Luke who turned 1. The parents, Heather and HB, had a water slide, small pool and bounce house. Okay so we had a talk with Riley in the car before we got there letting her know that these things would be there and that if she didn't want to do them, she didn't have to. You see, in the past few months we've been to quite a few birthday parties that ALL had either a water slide or bounce house and let me tell you, Riley either starts crying OR has a complete meltdown and says, "I want to go HOME!" So we wanted to prepare her but also not make a huge deal out of it. So we casually brought it up before we got there.

Well when we first got there, she was VERY anxious about all the balloons everywhere. About 2 months ago, we went to a birthday party where there were balloons popping everywhere and she totally lost it. We actually had to leave this other party 2 months ago because she was so upset. So this past weekend at Luke's bday, there were balloons as well and when she saw them, she was not too happy. But rather than dwell on that, we pointed out the small baby pool out back and she was excited to go in that. It's really all about the power of distraction!

So we got her all ready and she went in the little baby pool. And the entire time she was in there, she was watching the kids on the water slide. I honestly didn't think she'd do it but would you believe she actually tried the water slide and LOVED-LOVED-LOVED it? She did it about 5 million times! Her and another little boy went over and over again. Bob got a GREAT workout as well because Riley saw the other dad tossing his little boy up to the top of the slide (to eliminate the ladder) so she wanted that as well. So Bob began tossing her to the top of the slide and he said later that his biceps were killing him!

I was able to get a great video while the path was clear (Jack was sleeping on me so I couldn't move) and of course, Riley decided she wanted to hang out at the top of the slide rather than go down RIGHT when I do the video :-) So you'll hear me saying, "Of course, just when I take a video!" All the other times she slid down fast and laughed and this time, she stayed put so Bob had to help her along and she was none too happy about that. At the end she says something to daddy about helping her. Oh well, at least we got the video! I just couldn't believe she was doing this slide :-) Enjoy!

Jack Laughing

I REALLY hope this goes through. I have quite a few videos of Jack and also Riley and this is absolutely the BEST! Jack has the absolute cutest laugh and oh my goodness, when he giggles, it just makes me belly laugh! Love-love-love this little boy :-)

Riley's Open House at LifeSong!

Well we did it! We went to Riley's Open House, met her teachers and saw the absolutely adorable classroom where she'll go every Tuesday and Thursday. Let me tell you, we could not DRAG her out of there! With so many games, toys and things to do, she was having an absolute blast :-) I will say she was VERY shy around her teachers and did NOT want to look them in the eye OR talk with them but she still had a great time playing :-) She is also going to attend with some of her little friends so I think it will make the transition even better! Here are some pictures of Riley playing and getting acquainted with her new classroom :-)

I asked Riley if she'd take a picture with one of her teachers and she got a bit upset and did NOT want to do it. So here is Bob trying to convince her that it would be a really neat thing! But Riley was not falling for it :-) Notice Jack chillin like a villain :-)

But then she did let me take a picture of her little name tag that her and Bob made together. The teachers had this set up for the kids to do while there. They also had cookies with sprinkles! Riley was thrilled :-)

The room was decorated so cute!

Playing in the kitchen :-)

More playtime!

Here is Riley's name on the board! All the kids had one :-)

Cute!

Learning numbers and possibly dice it looks like :-)

The letters :-)

All the kids in the "Sandollar Room!" All of these kids do not attend the same days though. Some attend Mon/Wed/Fri and some attend Tues/Thurs.

So much fun today and can't WAIT for next Tuesday! I'll be sure to post pics of Riley all decked out on her first day of preschool (sniff-sniff)

Bday Hat :-)

I really can't remember if I posted pictures of Riley's 3rd bday and am sitting here wracking my brain trying to remember if I did. I suppose I could go back through all my posts but really don't want to :-) Anyways, she received this inflatable crown at her Chuck E Cheese party, so the next day, on her actual birthday, we took her to this AWESOME ice cream place in Waterford and she insisted on wearing her birthday crown :-) Ha-ha :-) Everyone we passed or ran into smiled at her and some asked her if it was her birthday. Riley would respond with, "Yes I'm fwee" and hold up 3 fingers. It was really cute.

Here are some pics of going to the ice cream shop with her bday crown :-)

At first, she didn't want to eat with the crown on.

Then I guess she decided that it would be more fun to see things in red :-)

LOVE-LOVE-LOVE this picture :-) Can you see her front chipped tooth from this angle? That was the one I was worried would have to be pulled (since it's partially gray) but the dentist said it wasn't infected so was okay for the time being :-)

Outside, she insists on having sunglasses on. So here she is looking so cute :-) Love my fashion queen lookin like a true queen with that hat on! Ha-ha

Fun at the Beach :-)

My Handsome Bro :-)

This picture was taken somewhere between Kansas and Tennessee a couple of weekends ago. Chris drove 6 hours and his friend (old girlfriend) drove 6 hours and they met somewhere in the middle for a fun weekend! The girl he was hanging out with took this picture and posted it on facebook so I asked her to send it to me. It's such a great picture of Chris and he looks so happy! Love my handsome bro :-)

My Sweet Boy :-)

Hi everyone! I received lots of texts and emails from everyone telling me their guesses as to which baby is which regarding my Tuesday post. Lots of great guesses but so far, none are the right answer! So are you ready for the answer?? Okay here goes! The pictures on my Tuesday post are ALL PICTURES OF RILEY! Hee-hee :-) Can you believe it? At least half look like Jack to me. It's amazing just how much those two look alike as babies. Amazing!

Anyways, here are some recent pictures of Jack just a-smilin away! He is one happy, happy boy :-) Jack will be 15 weeks on Friday! Almost 4 months. Wow!

Pool day and Jack's first time swimming :-)