"Riley's turning 3, a POLKA DOT party it will be": Part 2

Here are the last pictures from Riley's 3rd birthday party. Thanks to everyone who made it. She got a lot of great gifts, they have been keeping her very busy this past week!

Birthday girl!

Group shot.

Riley and Aunt Jori!

Ri and her polka dot cake!

Attempting to blow out her candles...

...but she needed a little assistance from Momma!

Opening all of her gifts

Riley and her Daddy!

Family picture. Riley was shoving M and M's into her mouth so she couldn't smile very well--and she had chocolate everywhere!

"Riley's turning 3, a POLKA DOT party it will be!"

I'm not a huge fan of character themed parties, so while I can still decide the theme I thought I'd do something different. I was trying to come up with a good theme and since polka dots are back in I decided to go with it (plus, they have the CUTEST Gymboree line that's all about polka dots, so I got to cordinate her outfit with the theme too :)!)

We rented out the clubhouse to host the party:

Homemade polka dot cookies!

Polka dot cake! (top)

Polka dot cupcakes!

Dessert and drink table (empty spot was soon filled).

I absolutely love doing birthday parties for my kids. This year her party was the day after my 26th birthday, so guess what I did ALL day on my birthday? Yup. You guessed it. Frosted a cake, cupcakes, baked and frosted cookies, made tacos and all the fixings and grocery shopped, etc. However, we did order take out so at least I didn't have to cook. Ty also got me a manicure and pedicure as a gift! Can't wait to take a little time for myself.

Riley turns THREE!

Where do I even begin? I can't believe the squinty-eyed newborn baby girl I held in my arms not that long ago, or so it seems, has already turned three. Honestly, where has the time gone? My sweet girl who needed me every second of every day has all of a sudden become a very independent, sassy toddler! Riley has to be one the sweetest, kindest, most gentle little girls around. BUT, don't let that fool you because under all of that sweetness is a whole lot of stubbornness, rambunctiousness, and a whole lot of energy! There isn't a day that goes by that she does come up to me and say "Mommy, you're my best friend", then proceed to give me a kiss on the cheek. It absolutely melts my heart and makes my day better, no matter how difficult it has been.

Riley's BIRTH day!

She has so much love for her Daddy and little brother too! Ri is quite the Daddy's girl and absolutely, without a doubt, knows that he's wrapped around her little finger. She always knows when she wants something to go to Daddy first. The love I see between the two of them is unbreakable. She loves her Daddy and would choose to play with him before anyone else!

She and Lincoln are 19 months apart. Most people said I'd hate having 2 kids so close in age or that it would be so difficult when they were little. Boy were they wrong. I absolutely love having the kids so close in age, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Riley is such a loving big sister and such a helpful first child. Very rarely do the kids fight and if they do it's usually Lincoln instigating it! She's very much a people pleaser and will do almost anything to get her brother to stop crying--even if it means giving up her toy. Riley will read to Lincoln, play with him, hug and kiss him and boss him around like no one's business. Funny story: the other morning I was outside and I heard Lincoln crying so I quickly ran back inside to see what was going on. I asked Riley what happened and she said "I picked Lincoln up because he was not obeying me". haha. I could hardly contain my laughter.

Riley on her 1st birthday!

It may seem like it, but it's definitely not always roses around here. Riley has her days that's for sure. This child of mine has more energy in her little body than 5 or 6 kids combined (no joke). She absolutely never stops. Not for one. single. second. I can put in a video to distract her and she can't even sit there and watch. She has to be jumping up and down, rolling on the floor or doing somersaults, all the while keeping her eyes fixed on the TV screen. I know, one day, that she will use all this energy that she has for good and that one day it will serve a purpose and I am thankful for that!

Riley on her 2nd birthday!

I know every mother thinks their child is a genius, while I certainly don't think Riley's a genius, I do think she's one smart cookie. She knows her colors and shapes, counts to 25, knows her alphabet, recognizes and points out which letter is which, spells her name and so much more. I really agonized on whether to send her to Preschool this year. Technically she was "old enough" to go, but Ty and I decided we will wait at least another year. To be quite honest, as much as I'd LOVE a break in the mornings I'm not ready to send her to school. I only have these few years with my babies before they're off to school all day and I don't get to cuddle and love on them all day. So, instead of sending her to preschool that's just what I'm doing. Cherishing every moment, every kiss, every book I read (even if it has been the 500th time that day) because I know she won't be home for much longer!

While we were driving home from visiting Ty's family one afternoon we got off the highway, stopped at the stoplight and noticed the same homeless man sitting at the intersection that is always there. Ty rolled down his window and offered him a bag of fresh peaches he and the kids had picked earlier that day. The man gladly accepted. The light turned green, and no joke 2 seconds later Riley said to Ty, "Daddy, Jesus would be so proud". It is times like those that make me so proud to be Riley's Mommy!

Riley on her 3rd birthday!

Riley, we pray that you will grow up loving and serving others, but most importantly, loving the Lord! Daddy and I love you more than anything in this world, Riley Belle! Happy 3rd birthday.

Now for a few random tidbits. Ri had her doctor's appt on the 25th and she was 31 lbs (!!!), which is around the 53rd percentile for weight and 38 inches, 75 percentile for height. What a huge jump from a year ago. Talk about a growth spurt. Way to go girly! Veggie Tales is her new love, in fact she doesn't watch anything else. One 45 minutes movie per day is all she gets, but loves it! She loves anything Little People, playing games and reading, reading, reading! She's still taking a good 2 hour nap everyday, but wakes up early (usually by 6:30). She's wearing size 3 or 4T!

Air Zoo for Riley's Birthday!

My sweet little sassy thing turned 3 on Wednesday the 23rd and I just cannot believe it! I'll go on and on and on about her in my next post, but for now here's a post on what we did on her actual birthday. Ty usually takes the day off on the kids' birthdays, but he couldn't get the whole day off this time, instead he worked a half day, came home and we were off to the Air Zoo. It seems like we've been just about everywhere arund here, but this was one thing on my "list" of things to do this summer and we just barely squeeked it in! Riley had such a fun time riding the rides, looking at planes that "Grandpa dirves", as she would say.

Lincoln had fun too, in fact, he was much better at trying new things than Riley was. He rode all the kiddie rides while Riley was looking on in horror. She wanted NOTHING, and I mean nothing, to do with them. Finally towards the end of the afternoon we got her to sit on a couple of them and she loved it! She even went on the big airplane ride with me!

This is Ri's new pose in every picture! :)

Hot air balloon ride. She wouldn't be caught dead in this one.

"Driving" the helicopter!



Lincoln in the Stealth

Sweet Lincoln is fearless!

Our family on Riley's birthday. We don't get a chance for many family pictures anymore. Oh how I love them...

She calls this "sitting like a lady"!

Such a cute little 3 year old!

Prayer Request!

One of my best friends, Jennie, had her quadruplets this morning at 23 weeks! She had an emergency C-section after labor couldn't be stopped. Please keep her, Nich, Hailey (their 3 year old), and all 4 babies in your prayers. I talked to her this afternoon and she said the doctors were very impressed with how well all of the babies are doing. They were each just over a pound when born. I don't know many other details, but I do know that they would appreciate your thoughts and prayers ! She has a blog also, it's on my sidebar under "Nich and Jennie"!

Gull Meadow Farms

Today was the most perfect first day of Fall! Sunny with a high of 79, that's what I'm talking about! We took advantage of this beautiful weather we've been having by taking the kids to Gull Meadow Farms to pick apples, go on a tractor ride, pick out pumpkins and play in "Pumpkin Lane". As I was walking out the door with both kids, Ty was walking in and since I knew it would be easier with one kid, I handed Lincoln off so I could just take Riley (plus it was right in the middle of L's nap time)! Talk about perfect timing!

First we went on a tractor ride to the Apple Orchards and picked bushels of apples which we all split at the end. Justin, our guide then gave the kids a small lesson about the apples and the trees and let them pick out their very own apple to eat on the ride back. We then rode back, ate donuts (they are the BEST! donuts I think I've ever had) and drank fresh apple cider, then the kids played for a long time in "pumpkin lane" where there was a HUGE tunnel slide that ALL the kids loved...except Riley, of course. She was the only one that wouldn't go down...even the babies (18 month olds) went down. She's definitely not the most adventurous of the group. I even tried to push her down (so mean, I know) but she was crying so I decided to just to do something else with her since I didn't want to scar her for life. I can't wait to go back with Ty and Lincoln closer to Halloween and pick out our pumpkins!

Ri found the perfect pumpkin in Pumpkin Lane!

The two of us on the tractor ride.

She had to try to pick the apples that were on the highest branches!

Riley picked the perfect apple!

Mr. Justin teaching the kids about the apples and tress.

The huge tunnel slide!

Hay maze!

Rocking my baby :)!

Riley's Playgroup Birthday Party

One thing I'm so thankful for are the friends that we've made when we moved here a year ago. I just love the moms in our playgroup and Riley and Lincoln love the kids in it. Last week we had a combined birthday party for the fall birthday kids, Riley being one of them. I still cannot believe she's going to be three already (but that's besides the points). We rented a bounce house for the kids, they played on the swing set and ate pizza and cake! They had such a fun time and were exhausted afterwards--just the way I like them before bedtime!

The BIG bounce house!

Lincoln loved the bounce house! Especially when he was one of the only ones in there.

Riley and her friends bouncing!

Riley loved the "playground" as she called it.

Trying to get the candy out of the pinata!

She's going to be a softball player for sure, just like her momma!

Birthday cake!

All the August/September birthday kids--Riley, Ethan, Jack, Nolan and Katheryn

Riley and Kaitlyn eating some cake!

Sleep Deprivation

Two nights ago, I awoke to a crying baby. I looked over at Ty and realized that Riley was laying next to him. The only time she's usually ever in bed with us is in the morning when she wakes us up and wants breakfast, I just figured she had fallen back asleep when she came to get us. I looked over at the clock, but since Ty always covers our alarm clock up when he goes to bed because the light on it is bright, so I couldn't see what time it was. Instead, I went and picked Lincoln up, took him out to the living room, got him a sippy and put him in his booster seat.

I put him in it and he kept crying, I was thinking, "what the heck is his deal...". Thinking he was hungry, I got out the cheerios to hold him over while I made breakfast. But, he still wouldn't stop crying...then it dawned on me to check the clock on the wall (it was still dark so I hadn't done so yet). It was 2:10 AM! No wonder the child was screaming, he was still tried and just wanted to go back to bed while I was trying to shove Cheerios into his mouth :)! What a little bit of sleep deprivation can do to a momma...

Mommy Guilt

Let me start from the beginning. Riley has been potty trained for almost an entire year and in the entire year (from the day we started potty training until last week) she had had a total of maybe two accident, ever. So when last week she started having at least 2 accidents a day I was so confused! I didn't know if she was regressing because she was potty trained so young, or if she was acting out or if something else was going on. I didn't think it was her acting out because she was being very well behaved. I was starting to get irritated with her after about the 3rd day of accidents because we had never had this issue before.

Finally after about 6 days of accidents I decided to get her checked out to see if something was going on or to see if they had any advice on how to get her back on track. I took her to the doc's office and she gave a urine sample. It came back with white blood cells in it, so it was sent to the lab for further testing. I called this morning to see what the labs had concluded. She has a UTI! I was relieved a little bit to know exactly what was going on and to know that she wasn't purposefully having accidents, but man I felt SO bad, so guilty that I was getting irritated about it and that I didn't take her in to the doctor sooner. I felt like the worst mom ever this morning when I heard. She's been on antibiotics for 3 days (they started her right away because they knew it was something since she had white blood cells in her urine) and has been accident free since. Thank goodness. She seems to be feeling better too. Guess next time I'll get her seen quicker!