Three Special Treats, Two No More, and One Big Truck {Riley’s Birthday}

Since he was sick earlier in the week and thus stayed home from school for two days, I had the pleasure of spending the birthday boy’s entire special day with him. However, being a little under the weather didn’t mean that Kenny and I cancelled our original plans for the morning of Riley’s birthday. Once everyone was up and dressed, we headed out for a special birthday breakfast at Tastee Donuts.

 

On the way there, Riley declared that he wanted a donut with sprinkles, so that’s what he got. Granted, it was a sprinkle donut with pink icing, but he didn’t care. I also relented and got him chocolate milk, which I thought he would love. He took a couple of sips, said it was good, and then never finished it. Typical.

 

He also had tastes of his daddy’s cinnamon donut and my plain glazed one, charmed both the employees and other patrons, and was covered in sugar by the time he was done. And when Kenny went back up to order a dozen to take to the office, the nice lady waiting on him gave him a lagniappe donut hole to take back to the birthday boy.

Birthday breakfast accomplished, Kenny went off to work and the boys and I went back home. Rory napped, and Riley and I watched Mickey. I had offered to take Riley to pick out a special treat to eat after dinner, so once Rory was up and fed, we headed over to Whole Foods. Riley chose sesame kale for lunch and a red cupcake for his dessert. And the girl that checked us out let him pick another treat from the kids’ club box (a fruit strip).

 

He ate a good lunch and napped well. The same cannot be said for Rory, who strayed fairly far from his normal yesterday and messed me up in the process. I couldn’t get everything prepped for the party the way I wanted to, but I did get to hang with my two boys on the couch while we waited for Kenny to get home.

Riley requested cheese pizza for dinner so we ordered in from Reginelli’s, and they even made a little pizza on pita bread just for Riley. Very cute. Wish he had eaten more of it in addition to the toppings from our pizza, but oh well.

 

After pizza it was finally time for the red cupcake. I put three candles in it and presented it to him at the table, with Kenny and I singing “Happy Birthday” to him. His face said it all. He was so excited.

Once he had devoured most of the cupcake and decided he was all done, Kenny stealthily brought out his present and put it on the coffee table. He got down from his chair and ran over to see what it was: an absolutely huge cement mixer.

 

I think it is by far the coolest truck in his collection. I hope he enjoys it. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that he will be adding even more trucks to his hoard after his birthday party today. Heaven help us; I do not know where they will all go.

So, my sweet boy, you are officially no longer two. I am so glad I got to spend your first day as a three-year-old with you, and I can’t wait to see how much you grow and change during this next year. You test me, you challenge me, you amuse me, you astound me.

I love you so much, Riley-bean!

Three Years {Riley}

Three years old. THREE. YEARS. OLD. How did that happen? I could swear this was just taken yesterday:

But it wasn’t. It was taken exactly three years ago, on the day Kenny and I welcomed our firstborn son into our family. And life would never be the same again.

He started out at 8 pounds 9 ounces and 21.25 inches long. Now, at three years old, Riley weighs 34.2 pounds and stands just over 40 inches tall. (I’m taking both boys to see Dr. N in a couple of weeks so I’ll post official stats then.) He wears a 3-4T in shirts, a 2-3T in pants, and a size 9-10 shoe.

I started a new tradition this year: the birthday interview. I of course got the idea from Pinterest, and I think it’s going to be so much fun chatting with Riley about the questions and seeing how much his answers change from year to year.

Here’s what’s been happening with the wonk potatoes in the past few months:

• He is defiant, stubborn, and headstrong, but at his core he is a very sweet boy. And he continues to amaze Kenny and me with how smart and observant he is and how fast he picks up on things.
• He knows Mama’s, Daddy’s, and Grandma’s favorite colors. And he loves anything green.
• He knows what street we live on and that it’s in Louisiana. He also knows what letter lots of words start with: mama, daddy, Nola and Nopsi, Grandma, blue, jewel.
• He has a bit of an obsession with peeling stickers off of things.
• He wipes his mouth/nose on anything and everything (rugs, ground, me) but is getting better about asking for a Kleenex.
• He is very demanding, specifying what he wants you to do or where he wants you to sit or how he wants you to play.
• He makes up words for sounds he hears: ki-neh ki-neh for Nola’s car; ee-ler for oven; cock-a-den for my texts; mocken mocken for his toy fire truck; etc.
• He finally learned how to jump. And he is good at picking things up with his toes.
• He was very attached to me a couple of months after Rory was born. And he has been very whiny lately, which I am having a really hard time with. I can’t. take. the. whining.
• He used to hide when he needed to poop and tell me to go away and not look at him.
• He still has an accident every now and then, and he still wears a diaper overnight, but he is basically potty trained. Hooray!
• He is now using his pronouns correctly.
• He can sing his ABCs.
• He knows his birthdate.
• He tells me almost every morning that he doesn’t want to go to school. And he has cried on the way there a number of days. Hope that gets better soon.
• After less than two weeks at school, he knows the prayer they say before eating lunch (“Bless us, O Lord, for these thy gifts….”). I was so impressed when he busted out with it at the dinner table one night, unprompted.
• He started calling me “Mommy” a few months ago, to which I always respond, “Who’s that?” After a couple of weeks, he provided me with an explanation: “it’s a nickname!”

Three years old.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Riley-bean. Daddy and I love you very much!

Note: The birthday boy is actually a little sick right now (and has been since Wednesday), so he has been hanging at home with Rory and me and isn’t able to have his special birthday celebration at school today. Fingers crossed he is better for his party tomorrow.

Blush. Bridge. Birthday. Boil.

Kenny’s sister and her two boys came into town from California last week for a little vacation before school starts. They arrived early on Tuesday evening and came straight to our house for a short visit and quick dinner. Aunt Debbie just had to meet Rory.

Remember how obsessed Riley was with Nicholas last year? Well, when his oldest cousin first walked in the door, Riley got really shy and turned bright red. He just loves him.

Both Nick and James were so patient and willing with the wonk potatoes, following him around and doing whatever he asked them to do. At one point as they were walking down the hall to our room per Riley’s instructions, Nicholas looked back and said to Kenny, “He’s so cute!” Awww.

 

As they always do when they’re in town, Deb and the boys (and Grandma and Grandpa) headed to the farm for a few days. And they didn’t just lounge around while they were up there. They actually worked on and completed a project: they built a bridge! Very cool.

We all came together again on Saturday in Baton Rouge for Zac’s seventh birthday party. Jaimi went with a “hot dog” theme this year and, as usual, everything was super cute. Even their dog Beau was part of the decorations.

Aunt Debbie got to spend lots of time with the little one, who was in a great mood most of the day. And the big kids got to do a fun craft: they made their own puppy dog out of a plastic cup, foam shapes, and felt scraps. Riley, being Riley, named his “Tree Limb.” (Don’t ask me; I have no idea where he came up with that.)

 

It was a great party. Riley got to play with lots of new toys and hang with his cousins, Kenny and I enjoyed catching up with his fam, and the birthday boy seemed to have a good time. There was even green ice cream for Riley to try!

 

The next day we gathered one last time, at our house for a crab boil. In all the times we’ve boiled since I’ve been around Kenny’s family, it’s always been crawfish.

 

His family were the ones that taught me how to peel and eat crabs, but this was the first time I had seen them being boiled. Not all that much different from crawfish and just as tasty.

 

I still prefer crawfish to crabs (the latter is much more work to eat way less food), but they were really good. And I was glad we got to spend even more time with Deb and the boys on their last day in town. It’s always good to see them; I really wish they lived closer. However, I am already excited about taking a trip out to California to visit them once Riley and Rory are old enough. That will be fun.

It seems like just yesterday that all of the cousins were together at Zac’s fifth birthday party…..

…..only now there’s one more cousin. And the rest of them are bigger.

A lot bigger.

So glad y’all found time to come see us…..come back soon!

Twelve Things

1.QP had her last weekly visit with Riley-bean two Thursdays ago. Sniff, sniff.

But it’s all good because she’s still coming over every week, only now she gets to hang with the little one.

2. Rory all bundled up for a nap with his tiger friend.

3. Rory still hasn’t rolled over yet…..BUT HE’S SO DARN CLOSE!!!

 

4. A little bit of nature for y’all from around here: gorgeous sunset, pretty agapanthus in our front garden, and a really cool bird on our back fence.

5. Speaking of nature, the four of us enjoyed a rare nice afternoon outside last weekend. It was actually pleasant out there. In August. In Louisiana. Who knew?

  

6. Rory helping Daddy work one morning before he left for the office.

7. Last Wednesday when I picked Riley up, Ms. Amanda informed me that he shed some tears when he woke up from his nap because he missed me, which he emphatically confirmed as he was running to the car. Sweet, sweet boy. Amanda helped ease his pain by giving him a special treat, a blue raspberry sucker. It wasn’t long before his entire mouth was blue, inside and out.

 

8. As I mentioned earlier, Riley’s class has been reading The Kissing Hand. He came home on Wednesday with a little red heart drawn on the palm of his hand.

And then, on Thursday, he came home with this:

Love. It is now hanging on the side of our refrigerator and I smile every time I look at it.

Can’t wait to see what he brings home next.

9. Just one of the many ways the wonk potatoes tries to delay eating his breakfast in the morning.

10. Riley’s school rented out Carousel Gardens in City Park last Friday night, and Kenny and I took Riley to play. We left Rory at home with UJ (thanks again for staying with him!) and kept Riley up way past his bedtime.

The park is actually pretty torn up since they’re doing major renovations, and many of the rides Riley usually does were fenced off. But he loved riding the train, the boat, and the trucks.

Kelli and Steve were there with their kids, too. While Julia ran around from ride to ride with her friends (with Kelli and the other moms following behind), the two boys went at a slightly slower pace. They wanted to do the same things most of the night, so Kenny, Steve, and I hung out while Riley and Jack bonded. Two cool cats!

11. When both Daddy and Uncle Jeff were younger, they vividly remember shoving a plastic sword down the backs of their shirts and running around like He-Man. And now they are so proud that Riley-bean is following in their footsteps.

12. The boys’ paintings are finally hung up in their rooms. Love how they both look on the walls.