The Life of Riley

Thoughts on Thursday

I try my best to keep up with this blog, but then life gets busy, and it just gets put on the backburner. Sometimes I am just burned out after working on the computer all day that the last thing I really want to do at night is get on the computer and write a blog post. So, I apologize that I have been pretty boring lately.

There are a couple of noteworthy things going on. One- for all you local people, The Monkey Hut consignment sale is going on now. I am not one to really shop consignments, but this one is different. It is only held twice a year, and a lot of the items are gently used boutique brands for a steal. We all know how much kid's classic and smocked clothing can costs, so this is one sale I will shop. It started Tuesday and goes through Saturday. Friday and Saturday are 50% off days, so most of the items are marked down (it is up to the consigner if they want to discount their items). As a bonus they donate a percentage the proceeds to charity as well. Here are the items I scored:

Everything I bought is name brand and a lot of my favorites (Kelly's Kids, Shrimp and Grits, Le Za Me, Anavini...etc.).

Two- My baby boy is turning 3 on Saturday!! I just really can't believe that he is already 3. I remember like it was yesterday the day that he decided to make his entrance (6 weeks early!). It was certainly not the birthday I had in mind, but it all worked out so perfectly. You can read the birth story here. Almost 3 years ago my life was forever changed. It has been the absolute best 3 years ever. He is the sweetest, most caring, fun little boy. I will do an update on all of his latest and greatest soon.

My tiny, 5.5 lb little boy.

A few days old.

He was such a hairy little baby! We lovingly called him werewolf and Elvis. He had sideburns and hair everywhere! I guess since he was born early all the extra hair babies have on their bodies in the womb had not gone away yet. How has he already grown from that tiny 5.5 lb baby to this BIG 3 year old?!

We are having a birthday party on Saturday which happens to be his actual birthday. I decided not to stress myself out and try to come up with all these cutesy details, because lets be honest, we do that stuff to impress the adults more so than the kids. Brady will be so happy to just see his friends and family and bounce in the bounce house. So, don't expect some crazy Pinterest themed party, because it ain't happening :). But, I will of course post lots of pictures afterwards.

I am not going to lie, I may have teared up a couple of times writing this posts and thinking about how my kids are growing up way too fast. Lord help me when he goes to kindergarden....

Linking up with Natalie and Annie for Thoughts for Thursday.

Weekend Recap

Why do the weekends fly by so quickly? Friday night we went to a party for our friends Stephanie and Adam and my dad kept the kiddos. We are so lame these days. Paul told me he was going to make a cup of coffee and asked if I wanted one. I laughed and thought wow we have gone from having a liquor drink before the party to having a cup of coffee so we can stay awake. The struggle is real. I forgot to take any pictures, but Andrea sent me this one.

Saturday we went on a little walk around the neighborhood and then to the pool. We figured we are running out of pool days, so we wanted to soak it up. It was so hot out and the pool felt great, because it was actually kind of cold. We forgot to bring Katelyn's bathing suit, but she didn't seem to mind :).

Paul was planning to take Brady to his first Carolina football game, but the weather was bad so they kept delaying the game. It was storming on and off, and we just decided it wasn't a good idea to take him. We felt so bad, because he was so looking forward to seeing the Gamecocks! We took them to Baskin Robbins to get ice-cream to make up for it. Then, we headed home to watch the game. Brady and Katelyn were sand-storming with dish towels in the great room. We had a lot of fun, not to mention we WON (against UGA for those not from around here- it was a BIG deal)! It was such an awesome game. I was kind of sad I wasn't at the game in person. I can only imagine how crazy it was at Willy B.

Future Gamecocks

Sunday we went to church and then to lunch at Moe's. Katelyn was going to town on the queso. It was pretty funny. She saw Brady dipping his chips and clearly she needed in on the action. She kept saying, "mmmmm". The rest of the day we just hung out at home. It was a pretty uneventful weekend, but sometimes those are the best.

KVD at 15 1/2 months

Katelyn is quickly turning from a baby to a toddler, and it is time to do an update on all of her latest developments before I forget them.

1. She is finally walking! She still gets down and crawls a lot, but she can stand up by herself and walk if she wants to. She really loves showing off her skills, and she walks a lot more when people come over and cheer her on.

2. She is a momma's girl for sure. She follows me everywhere, and always wants me to pick her up. She even gives Paul the cold shoulder a lot, because she is just so into momma these days. I know the tables will turn on me one day, so I will just enjoy it while it lasts. Paul says that is what I get for being a baby hog :).

3. She is a talker. When we are out and about and someone walks by her she will say, "Hi!" Other things she says include, "all done" (tells us this after every meal), "what's dat?" (She constantly brings things to me and asks me this.), "Thank you.", "Momma", "Dada" (When Paul walks in the room she yells really loudly, DADA!), "cheese" (when I take her picture), "Uh oh" (She says uh-oh to mean either she dropped something, or there is somthing she wants and needs me to get it for her. She will point and say, "uh oh, uh oh, uh oh".) I have concluded that she learns words in two word phrases.

4. She can make some animal noises including a dog and a monkey.

5. She MUST do everything Brady is doing. If I am getting Brady dressed, she will start pulling at her clothes for me to dress her too. If Brady gets a snack, she wants one too. If I give Brady a kiss, she must get a kiss as well.

6. She has never been into Riley as much as Brady was, but lately she thinks he is really funny, and she likes when he licks her.

7. She loves her sleep. She goes to bed between 6:30-7:30pm and wakes up around 7:30am usually. Some mornings she has slept as late as 9am. She is having a hard time adjusting to her new school schedule, because she doesnt get as much sleep as she would at home. The witching hour is rough.

8. She still loves to eat, and is not too picky. Sometimes she will start throwing her food off of her tray if it is not what the princess desired for that night. But, she is pretty good about eating a variety of things. She still loves fruit most of all.

9. She LOVES to dance, and the Curious George theme song is her favorite. She knows when it is about to start and she gets all excited waiting for it to come on. Then she just goes to town bouncing up and down and swaying back and forth.

10. She likes to wear a bow in her hair, and will often times ask me to put her bow in. She tells me, "thank you" after I put it in her hair.

11. She is still obsessed with her bunny lovey and still does her little funny thing with her mouth when she is tired. It is like she is pretending she is nursing. It is so sweet and her tell-tale tired sign. She also now sleeps with a little monkey stuffed animal we gave her.

12. She got her first haircut about a week ago. I know she doesnt havent much hair yet, but the back was starting to look like a rat tail. I just had them even it up in the back so it would grow more evenly. She did great, because Brady got his cut first which means naturally she needed hers cut. Her hair is also coming in blonde which makes me very happy :).

13. Her favorite place to play in the playroom is in her kitchen.

14. She loves to slide at the park.

15. She is not too into baby dolls yet, but she does feed the baby her bottle sometimes which is really sweet.

16. She is sweet, but she has a fiesty side too. When she gets mad she will hit and pinch and bite. She doesn't really know what she is doing, but she is just looking for a reaction. She can also give a mean stank eye.

17. Speaking of her sweet side, she likes to give everyone a kiss before they leave. When I pick her up at school she kisses all of her teachers goodbye. When anyone comes to visit us, she gives them kisses before they leave as well.

18. She definitely still likes being the baby. I tried to give my nephew a bottle at the beach, and Katelyn was having none of that. She was basically trying to crawl up my leg and was screaming crying. I handed him off to Paul, because Katelyn was upsetting him as well and then she was fine. She clearly wants me to herself.

She and Brady are really starting to play together well, and they just love each other so much. I always prayed that they would be this way with each other. It is so sweet to watch. We love you Katey Boo!

Our weekend

I was thankful for a short week last week. We are all still trying to adapt to our new routine. I think both of the kids are happy at school, but of course it came with the inevitable back to school colds. Thankfully we avoided having to go to the doctor, and they are both recovered now. Katelyn has been so cranky in the afternoons, because although she naps at school, it is much shorter than she would at home. She clings to me and fusses from about 5pm- bath time. I forgot how much longer it takes to get out the door when I have to drop two kids off at school. I have got to get better about being more organized the night before so we aren't doing a fire drill in the morning.

Thursday was Paul's birthday. We went to Bonefish with his dad and then had cupcakes at our house. The kids are never disappointed with cupcakes!

Paul finally put together the wagon that Brady got for his first birthday- yes you read that right, Brady's first birthday. We didn't really have room for it at our old house, and it has been sitting in our garage since we moved in. They are both loving it, and it will be great when the weather gets a little cooler. Speaking of the weather- what is going on around here?! We had a relatively mild summer, and then here comes September and I break a sweat just walking out the door.

We (by we I mean Paul) also put together this contraption that Katelyn got for her birthday. It was like Christmas around here! It is so cute, because I think Katelyn really thinks she is steering us. We walked to the park on Saturday morning and let the kids play for a while until it got way too hot.

They had some cousins in town, so we went to dinner at the Pancake House. It turns out that is the place to go on a Saturday night, because there is NO ONE there. It was perfect for our party of 10. Katelyn loves all the attention she gets from her big cousins.

Speaking of this little girl, she is WALKING! She and Brady have been on the exact same time frame in terms of crawling and walking. He also started walking between 15 and 16 months. She is growing up so quickly on me, and I am planning to do an update on all of her most recent tricks soon. I'm so proud of her, and she is certainly very proud of herself as well.

Beach Trip 2014 Part 3

I promise this is the last of our vacation posts, but I just have to have to savor the memories :). The whole week was pretty much the same...either the pool or the beach everyday. Then, throw in some golf cart rides and playing at the house. It was a great week. For those of you who don't know my family dynamics, I have a brother and three step sisters. Sadly, my brother couldn't make it this year, but all 3 of my step sisters were there with their families. We don't all get together that often, so it was really nice to get to spend some time together.

Everytime I got up from my chair, she would steal it!

We attempted to take some family pictures on the beach, but my camera lense kept fogging up. I tried to edit the good ones as best as I could with iPhoto.

One day I just felt like we needed to get out of the house, so I took the kids shopping. I had to make sure they were ready with their Gamecock gear!

My Grandma came to visit since she lives in Charleston, and Brady took her for a golf cart ride :).

Fun at the house with cousin, Scarlett.

On our last day there, we got to spend some time with Paul's brother, his wife, and their kids. Brady and Katelyn LOVE their cousins. We went to the pool and then out to eat afterwards. The kids were so cute playing in the fountain at the pool. They were very anxiously awaiting the water to come out (they just turned it on). Once it turned on they all ran - it was too cute.