The Adventures of Riley: 2013

Saturday, April 27, 2013

"My best girl"

Riley informed me recently that he was going to get married one day. He says he's going to marry my best friend Joy's daughter, Aubree. They're going to get married, get their own house, and then buy cats.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Riley's Petshop

Riley is obsessed with animals. Absolutely. Positively. Obsessed. He can tell you animals that I'm pretty sure I had no idea even existed when I was three years old. One of our favorite games to play in the car is the "Animal Riddles" game. Some examples of Riley's riddles:

"I'm thinking of an animal that has a belly pouch and bounces."
"I'm thinking of an animal that has suction cups on his feet to help him climb trees."
"I'm thinking of an animal that eats krill and lives in the ocean"
"I'm thinking of an animal that is pink because it eats pink food".

You get the picture.

Today, he decided that he wanted to build a pet shop in his room. He informed me that he had to have cages, and each animal could only be in cages with animals that were the same species. Check out the picture below (Sorry...crappy phone quality pic).

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Date Night

Excuse the poor quality phone picture.

Me: "Riley, let's go on a date tomorrow night."
Riley: "You mean like a restaurant?"
Me: "Yeah. Daddy's working so it'll just be you and me."
Riley: "Okay! I'll be the prince and you'll be the princess. Let me pick out something handsome to wear and you can dress really pretty and we'll have fun."

So that's what we did. We dressed up (sort of) and went to Ruby Tuesdays. Then we went to my parent's house and went in the hot tub (a.k.a. "The cooking pot). Best. Saturday. Night. Ever.!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Spring Break 2013

Spring break has been just that...a break. We haven't done a whole lot really. Just hanging around the house, visiting grandparents for dinner, and being lazy. It's been kind of nice! I had all of these great intentions to possibly take Riley to the museum or the library, but I think after all of the Disney excitement and birthdays every other weekend since February, he's been happy to hang out at home in his pjs.

The new thing he's been begging me to do is "homework". He found a workbook mixed in with his coloring books that has letters to trace and little activities to do and he begs to work on them. It's actually kind of cute.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Things Riley Says: Volume 1

"Mommy. MOMMY. MOM-MY! Look this new trick. It's actually amazing!"

"Demember <Riley Speak> when you said you were always in my heart? How do you fit in there? You're too big to fit in my belly!"

"I want to grow up and be giant and gianter and gianter. So I can drive. And pick you up and stuff."

(After giving him his favorite Monknunk out of the dryer) "Oh mommy, he spells wonderful! You sure did wash him so good! I'm proud of you!"

Monday, April 1, 2013

My Child and His Vocabulary

Riley: Mommy, what are those Chipmunks doing?
Me: Well, they're getting into trouble. Dave doesn't know they're there yet but they want to eat all of the food.
Riley: That's sneaky.
Me: Yeah, chipmunks are known for being a little mischievous.
Riley: Mischievous. Hmm. Is that the same as devious?
Me:......uh.....they're similar. But devious means they're doing it in a mean way.
Riley: They're not mean. They're having fun.

Sometimes, this kid blows me away with his vocabulary. I don't even know where he has heard that word before...

Sunday, March 31, 2013

First Trip to Disney: Part 1

Riley has been obsesed with Mickey Mouse since he was old enough to notice the TV on in the background. He calls "The Sensational Six" his "friends". As he got older and his interests evolved, he added Jake, Handy Manny, and some of the other "guys" into the mix. His 2nd Birthday was even a "Mickey" party, complete with a Mickey Mouse cake made my his sister and myself.

Not bad for an amateur job!

We decided over a year ago that we wanted to take him to Disney World for his third birthday.It took a year of planning but we made it happen! We were really lucky because my whole extended family was able to join us for the trip: my parents and both of my brothers and their wives and kids. We stayed at the Polynesian Resort, which was absolutely beautiful, and spent 4 days and 5 nights exploring Disney.

We left Wednesday after school and drove 8 1/2 hours straight. When we got there, we checked into a hotel outside of Disney's gates because our reservations for the Polynesian didn't begin until Thursday. We got there after 1:00am and Riley was just a little hyped up from napping in the car and having to sit still for so long.

"Mommy's pillow case makes a great tent for hiding"--Riley

After what didn't feel like enough sleep (lol), we woke up, had breakfast, and headed straight for the Magic Kingdom.

The first reaction is always the truest. I love the expression on his face here.

"Does a real princess live there?"

Cinderella's Castle

Riley's first ride: the spinning tea cups.

Grandma and Riley

Daddy let Riley drive the race car.

Riley and Jack

Kimberly, Kenzie, and Riley rode the Flying Dumbo ride. Riley says he didn't like it though because he's "Scared of high stuff".

Jack hitched a ride in the stroller.

Checking out the Street Party with Uncle Danny. Donald Duck had some sweet moves!

And of course, that old Magic Kingdom staple: "It's a Small World".

"Look at the puppet people! That's amazing!"--Riley

That was about all Riley felt like handling without taking a nap first. He started to get sad and say that he missed Blue and wanted to go home. So we headed back to the Polynesian to check in and take a much-needed nap. After that, we headed out to where "the cousins" were camping to have dinner and check out their campsite.

Uncle Drew grilling up the burgers.

Good times.

Sticks have endless possibilities.

How many people can you cram on a golf cart for a trip to the Ferry?

We took the Ferry over to the Magic Kingdom to check out the Main Street Electrical Parade and the fireworks. Riley was still a little overwhelmed at this point, so he didn't really enjoy it that first night.