THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I WORK FULL TIME!!!!

Boys will be boys.......

First Day of School

On Monday Riley went to school for his first day. He is attending Centennial School Districts Early Childhood Education Program. He went to music class, gym, story time, and art. He had a huge smile on his face the whole time and didn't want to leave. We live across the street from the school so now everyday he says "hi" to school as we drive by. He likes to tell you about his teacher and all the kids. He is really coming along with his language skills and we are so proud of him!
Here he is on his way into school.

MN State Fair

We braved the crowds on opening day of the fair. Let me make a recommendation, don't try to take a 5 month old and a two year old to a crowded fair. Luckily both Matt and I were there so we each could tend to one of the kids. Riley had a blast in the buterfly house, riding the BIG yellow slide, and checking out all the animals. Taylor was frustrated because he kept seeing all this food and would start crying because he couldn't have any:( I reassured Tay that next year he could have whatever he wanted. We spent about 4 hours at the Fair and then Taylor had a melt down so we left. Riley is heading back to the fair with Gaga on Labor Day, and he reminds us about that every night before bed.
Riley in the butterfly house.


Riley and dad flying fown the big yellow slide.

Riley at the Timberwolves shoot out. He thought he would just stay there all day and play ball with all the kids. He loved this building, which had booths with all the MN sports teams.

Shakin it with the Care Bears!

Riley is perfecting his dance moves once again.........

Thomas the Train The Tumbleweed Express

Gaga surprised Riley and bought three tickets to go see Thomas the Train live. The event was held in Lakeville, MN and included a 25 minute train ride on Thomas. Sir Topham Hat was there as well as live music, games and tons of trains to play with. Riley scored a new Thomas the train watch and sweatshirt. He got his first tatoo done in which he picked out. He picked a helicopter out, and can't stop saying, "copter, copter!" Thanks Grammy and Gaga this was a really neat experience for Riley!
Here comes Thomas!


Gaga and Riley taking Thomas for a ride.

Riley enjoying playing with all the different trains and tracks!

Baby Boom!

When I had Riley I was the first of most of my girlfriends to have a child. Times have changed, and in the last year there are six of us with babies. We have all been scattered around the US the past year but we finally had the chance to get together with our babies! My girlfriend Ashley hosted a girls dinner, and all six babies were there. We had a ball, sharing stories, comparing parenting ideas, and watching the babies interact. It was so fun to all be in the same state and see what beautiful children we have made:) Thanks Ash, you were a wonderful host!
Here are the four youngest babies. Taylor (4 months), Ethan (6 weeks), Keeghan (4months) and Beau laying down in the front is 2 months!


Here is Miss thang, Princess Sophia. Sophia just turned one and she is nicknamed "tornado".

And last but not least little, innocent Meadow. She is so calm and sweet. She is 10 months old and almost walking.

We Learned A New Word!!

Riley continues to impress us with his expanding vocabulary. We read books for at least an hour a day, he loves learning! That said, Riley decided to share his new word with everybody in the elevator today. We got on the elevator and there were three other people already in the elevator. So we crunch in and I was holding Riley. I had a v-neck top on and Riley looks down into my top and yells " OH COOL! BOOBS!" So I try to ignore Riley as my face turns bright red. Riley continues as he reaches down into my top, " MAMA BOOBS!" By this time, everyone in the elevator is laughing, and Riley continues to say, "BOOBIES!" until we rush off onto our floor. I guess he was bound to learn the female anatomy at some point!

Our little fisherman

Riley got his first new fishing pole, and so we decided to take the boys fishing. We stopped and picked up some bait and drove to Lake Johanna. Riley is a true fisherman, he caught 7 fish in about 45 minutes. Dad helped him take the fish off the hook, and then Riley would hold the fish for a few seconds and throw them back in the lake. Riley is scared of so many things ( slides, fireworks, rides) but he has no fear when it comes to fishing! He just grabs the live fish, like he is a pro.

Here is the bass he caught, pretty good size for just off the dock!


Here is dad showing Riley how to use his new pole.


Riley grabbing the fish!

This is what we do at 5 AM!!!!!

Taylor has developed a wonderful routine of waking up at 5AM. I roll out of bed and bring him out to our living room so Matt can continue to sleep. Taylor then proceeds to hold an inservice........here is a clip of what he has to say EVERY morning. If you are interested in attending, let me know, they are held daily from 5AM to about 5:30AM. We might just have a public speaker on our hands:)

In other news, we spent the afternoon yesterday at the beach. Riley made friends and found clay under the sand. He was so excited about his find that he decided to rub it in his hair, on his stomach, and all over his clothes. Meanwhile Taylor found Riley's sunglasses (which he refuses to wear) and tried them on. He thought he was pretty much a stud in his new shades. Here are the boys at the beach.

4 MONTHS OLD!!!

Taylor turned 4 months yesterday and has already dived into the rice cereal box. He has been waiting for this day since he was born! He is a very happy baby, now that he can start eating other things! Riley is slowly paying more attention to Tay, and even gave him his nook when he was crying. Riley's vocabulary has doubled in the last few weeks! He is now saying many three word phrases, and can identify most foods by the correct name!! He is constantly asking, "What's that?" or "What you doing?" and we are very proud of him for working so hard at his speech. He also went potty in the potty for the first time last week. He makes us laugh everyday, and it is a joy to see him blossom into a young boy.

Guess who? Here are both boys at 4 months old, can you tell who is who?