THREE YEARS OLD!

We weren't lucky enough to have Riley's birthday fall on a "stay home day" but made the most of it.  Having it on a Friday is almost as good, right?  After getting ready for work and school, the boys and I headed downstairs.  Riley was thrilled to see all the birthday goodies waiting for him, many of which had to do with his favorite Buzz Lightyear!  It was almost sensory overload for him to take in everything around him.

 

 

He wasn't quite sure what to make of his new kid-proof MP3 player, until he found out it plays music.  And not just any music.  It seems one of the songs was made especially for him . . . "Marshmallows."

Riley has been using a hand-me-down Spiderman lunchbox (by his choice) but once he saw his new Toy Story lunchbox, we had to swap them out so he could take it to school with him.

 

 

I took some time off work so I could leave early and surprise Riley at school.  They were just finishing up with his birthday treats - ice cream sammies - when I arrived.

 

 

After picking up Riley, we headed out to meet Daddy, Connor, Grandma and Grandpa for his birthday dinner.  The chosen destination - Chili's.  The chosen meal - mac n cheese.  While waiting for our meals, we nibbled on some appetizers.  Daddy and I ordered chips and queso, while Grandma and Grandpa ordered Texas Cheese Fries, which consists of french fries, melted cheese, bacon, and jalapenos.  Riley had been going back and forth between munching on the chips to the french fries, so it didn't occur to me until it was too late that he had picked up a jalapeno and popped it in his mouth.  When I realized what he had done, I stared at him, waiting for the reaction to kick in.  He gave me a look like "what?" right before he turned red and his eyes began to water.  He spit it out and said, "That's yucky."  Poor kid didn't even see it coming.  He drank his milk and ate a few chips to cool down.  After dinner, the Chili's waitstaff made their obligatory appearance at our table with a birthday treat for Riley.  The moment they began singing, Riley turned bashful.  The table next to us consisted of approximately a dozen teenage girls, who were gracious enough to participate in the singing.  As you can tell, Riley hated every bite of his sundae.

Lucky!

When I got home from work this evening, Connor came bounding down the stairs asking for something to eat and/or something to do.  I sent him and Riley outside to try out the bubbles the Easter Bunny brought them yesterday while I got dinner started.  Before long, Connor came inside to announce he was bored of the bubbles, and wanted to get his ball and glove.  Riley was right behind him, and went upstairs to get a bat.  Before long, they gave up on playing ball as well and resorted to wrestling in the grass.  A few minutes later, Connor came rushing into the kitchen, exclaiming "Mom, Dad, I'm the luckiest boy EVER!"  We asked him why, and he proudly held up something in his hand and replied, "Because I found a two leaf clover!"

Spelling Bee

Jeremy and I recently learned the hard way that gone are the days we can spell out a word when speaking in "code" around the boys.  I had spelled out a word for Jeremy, and before he could respond, Connor piped up "candy?"  Connor has been using and improving his newfound spelling skills on a daily basis.

A few days ago, as Connor was finishing up a bowl of ice cream after dinner:
Connor:   "M-O-M, M-O-R-E  P-L-E-A-S-E."
Daddy:    "N-O  W-A-Y!"
Mommy:  "Just E-A-T!  It's almost time for B-E-D."
Riley (not to be left out):  "Q-R-S"

For the most part, Riley knows the alphabet, as long as you say it with him.  He refuses to say it by himself.  Through several recent conversations, it's apparent that those three letters are the ones that stick in his mind the most.

Tonight, as we were driving to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner, Connor said, "I know how to spell 'ing' . . . I-N-G."  Without hesitating, Riley replied, "No Nonnor, Q-R-S spells it."

Easter

We heard through the grapevine that the Easter Bunny was cutting back on candy this year.  Instead of oodles of candy like in years' past, the Easter Bunny decided to bring miscellaneous gifts for the boys this year, mixed with a little candy.  They didn't seem to mind one bit.

 

Connor's basket included a Zhu Zhu Pet
named Stonewall, Cars bubbles, an
Iron Man toothbrush, and
Harry Potter silly bands



Riley's basket included a Zhu Zhu Pet

named Thorn, Buzz bubbles, a
Spongebob toothbrush, and
Cars silly bands







 







 



After breakfast, the boys began decorating their Easter eggs.  They chose a Toy Story theme this year.

 

 

Skate City Part Deux

Connor's best friend, Rita, celebrated her 6th birthday at Skate City.  Lucky for Connor, he had just visited Skate City a few weeks ago with his cousins.  He was ready to rock-n-roll right as soon as his skates touched the ground.  Riley, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with the skates.  Instead, he decided he had to be attached to my side.  Jeremy tried to cheer him up, but that just made him mad.

In honor of tomorrow being Easter, there were some Easter related activities for the kids, including a life size Easter Bunny to do the hokey pokey with the kids.  There was also an Easter egg hunt.  Connor was very excited to find as many eggs as possible.  Riley, again, wanted no part of the hunt.  However, we found something else to entertain Riley while the rest of the kids were hunting for eggs.

Riley would have tried a
slam dunk if we had let him.

I call this Rita's "diva" shot.
She was getting everyone's
attention for the cake.

Connor is very jealous of
Rita since she has already
lost several teeth.

Happy birthday Rita!

 

Birthday Boys

Since the boys' birthdays fall within a month of each other, we get their birthday pictures done at the same time. In the past, after the photographer has done his work and Jeremy and I select the pictures we want, we go next door to get ice cream while the pictures are printing. Keeping this in mind, I set an appointment for last Saturday, mid-morning, so that we would finish just in time for lunch. We got the boys up in enough time for them to watch some cartoons, eat breakfast, bathe, get dressed, and head out the door. Once we arrived, Riley decided he wanted no part in having his picture taken, so we asked the photographer to start with Connor. We hoped as Riley watched Connor have his picture taken, he would warm up and be a bit more accommodating. Oh no. He had a complete and utter meltdown when we tried to get him in front of the camera. We ended up rescheduling for today to give it another shot. I knew we'd be back on the same side of town anyway for Rita's birthday party. We still went for ice cream afterwards, but Riley didn't get any since the ice cream was supposed to be a treat for getting their pictures taken.  We're so mean!  Getting the boys ready this morning didn't go quite as smoothly as last week, but we were still able to make it to our appointment early. Riley had promised all week he would cooperate. Of course, I'm sure a little thing called bribery helped him make that promise. The thought of ice cream was more than he could bear! With that said, when they called us into the studio it was his turn right away since Connor's pictures had already been taken. He was on the brink of another meltdown, so I suggested Jeremy get down on the floor for a few shots with the boys to help Riley get the hang of it. Of course I promised Jeremy nobody would EVER see any of those pictures.

The trick worked.  Riley was ready to go.  The photographer ended up taking a total of 136 pictures.  It was difficult to narrow down our choices.  As usual, some of my favorites are the candid photos where they were not posing.

CONNOR

 

 

RILEY

 

 

 

OUR BOYS

 

 

When we were done getting the boys' pictures taken, Jeremy left with Connor to drop him off around the corner at Skate City for Rita's birthday party.  When he came back, as we promised, we took Riley next door to ColdStone.  Unfortunately, since it was only 10:00, they weren't open yet.  We suggested to Riley that we could come back after Rita's party.  Surprisingly, he was just fine with that.  Every now and then throughout the party, he would turn to me and remind me that we were going to get ice cream after the party.  True to our word, after the party we stopped back by and let each of them pick out their ice cream.  Riley practically licked his cup clean.