Father's Day and more!

I hope Daddy had a great Father's Day!!! I love my Daddy! We didn't do a whole lot of special stuff, but Daddy did get some new BBQ things - like a basket for veggies, and a new fancy spatula. Mommy and I made Daddy French toast for breakfast, cuz that's what he wanted, then we just played bums the rest of the day! It was fun. On Saturday we were really busy. We spent almost the whole day cleaning carpets. We cleaned the carpets and the futon downstairs. Now Mommy has the futon mattress leaning up against the wall (like a tent) so that the doggies won't lay on it and get it all stinky before Gran Wilson comes. I like playing in it!! Saturday night we went to Olive Garden for Dinner. It was Mommy and Daddy's Anniversary. Mommy said they have been married for 9 years. I don't know how long that is, but it must be a very long time, cuz I'm only 3 years, and that seems like forever!
Mommy and Daddy got some good news today! They still have insurance - the same insurance that they had before, and it's even gonna be cheaper than when Daddy did have a job! They said that the government is subsidizing it (whatever that means) so it's really good, because that frees up a lot of money for other stuff!! YAY!! Daddy's still looking for a new job. He's got a possible one in sales, but he won't find out if he gets it until next week at the latest. Mommy's not sure if its a good job or not, there's good things and not so good things (like Daddy will have to buy a new car since he doesn't get a company one to drive) . Oh well, we'll see.
Gran Wilson and Aunt Anna are coming this week!!! I'm so excited!! I can't wait to see them!! We are going to have so much fun together I just know it!! Well, not much else going on right now. Here are some pictures from recently:

Piper Getting brushed: Mommy always says we could make a whole 'nother doggie with all her hair!!

Mommy giving me a haircut (we coulda made a whole 'nother Riley too)

The after shot- nice and short for summer!!!

Have a good week everyone - I'll update you later with all that's going on with Grandma and Aunt Anna

Rain Rain Go Away!

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't kept up, but things have been kinda boring around here! Mommy works all the time, Daddy stays home with me since he lost his job, and the weekends we play lazy family! We've had some really hot days, like in the 90's, and some really cold days, only in the 60's. Last week was really hot, and the mountain snow has been melting really fast. Then this passed weekend it rained a bunch too, so there's lots of flooding going on around here. The Poudre River (that runs through Ft. Collins) is the highest it's been in a long time, and the Reservoir where Mommy works is already FULL!!! It's at Maximum Capacity - which means that they can't let any more water in, and that hasn't happened in 30 years!!! So yesterday we went up to Rocky Mountain National Park to see the Big Thompson River and all the wildlife. It was snowing and The road up to the top was closed, but we still got to see all the waterfalls, and a lot of animals. We saw big horn sheep, lots of elk, a marmot, and lots of chipmunks and ground squirrels. Here's some pictures from our trip:

Me and Mommy at the Alluvial Fan

A Waterfall up by Rainbow Curve

Me at Bear Lake
I've also been able to play in the sprinklers some on the hot days. Greg got me a big beach ball that squirts water - it is so much fun!! I like chasing the doggies with the big ball. We haven't been swimming yet, but it's suppose to be back in the 90's by Wednesday, so maybe Daddy will take me to the lake then and Mommy can come over after work. That would be fun! I think Mommy's going to give me a haircut this weekend. She wants me to be clean cut for when Gran Wilson and Aunt Anna come in a couple of weeks. I'm so excited for that!! Mommy says we've lots of fun stuff planned!! Well, have a good week everyone! See ya all later!

Happy Birthday Riley!

Tomorrow is my Birthday!!! I turn three years old.  But since we had a Race Car Birthday, and the Indy 500 was today, we had my party today during the race!  It was lots of fun!!  The DiBenedetto's came (that's my Friend Jack and his family) and we ate lots of yummy food (like hotdogs and watermelon and corn on the cob!!)  They also sang Happy Birthday to me so I could blow out the candles on my cake.  (as you can tell in the video I was a little impatient though!!)  Jack and Evan -Jack's big brother - and I played Frisbee Golf on Daddy's basket, and raced our race cars that Mommy got.  We had so much fun!!  Then we opened presents!!  Jack got me a BIG toy tractor from Sprig (remember the recycled toys), and I got a Kitchen set from Mommy and Daddy!!  Grandma & Grandpa Louie got me some cookware and food for my Kitchen set - So I can make sandwiches now for everyone!!  And the Sandwiches stick together too - just like real ones!!!  What a great Birthday!!  Mommy says I should say Thank You to Grandma & Grandpa, and to Unkie Rodgie & Auntie Kathie for getting the decorations at last minute and shipping them to us!!  Thank you everyone for making this such a Fun Birthday!!

"Daddy Drives Upsidedown!"

We've been back from our Moab Vacation for a few days now, but we've been having computer issues with trying to get all the pictures and videos uploaded.  So I apologize for the delay, and thought I would let you know how the trip went, and try and get the pictures and videos up later. 

We had an Awesome time!!!  Everyone had a blast!!  Cam got the Jeep all fixed up in time (literally putting in new drive shafts the night before we left!!) and it performed GREAT!!!  (with the exception of one radiator hose that caused us to lose all of our coolant the first day).  Aliy took a TON of pictures and video (her favorite part) and even got over some of her fears of "going down" in the Jeep - some - not all!!!  Riley had fun just playing in the Jeep, and seeing all the other ones!  We got him a little toy Jeep (red like Daddy's) that he played with ALL THE TIME!!!  One of our favorite quotes of his from the trip was one afternoon he fell asleep in the Jeep, and woke up right as we were going down a steep hill.  We were nearly vertical (which happens often in Moab), and he says "Daddy Driving Upsidedown!!"  It was hilarious!!  We laughed the rest of the trip about that one!  I wish we could have gotten it on video! 

We spent Wednesday driving to Moab.  It took us a good 9 1/2 - 10 hours, with all the potty breaks we had to take for toddlers and pregnant Mommies!!  Set up camp late that night and went to sleep!  The next day we met a bunch of the other Jeepers there for the trip and decided to take a family drive on the La Sal Mountain Loop.  The La Sal's are a small Mountain range just east of Moab - and very pretty.  But while on this drive that darn radiator hose decided to blow, and we lost all of the coolant just as Cam stopped to let me take a few pictures.  We were able to let it cool and fill it back up with water from our nalgenes and cooler to make it back to camp.  Got everything fixed up and headed out to finish the other half off the loop! 

Friday was the first "official" day of the trip for everyone, so all the Jeepers got together and did the trail called Hell's Revenge.  We did this trail in 2005 when we went with some friends from Indy, but skipped a lot of the obstacles that time around.  So Cam wanted to do as many as possible, mostly Hell's Gate and Tip Over Challenge, now that the Jeep was "geared up" to handle it - and it did!!!  He discovered an issue with the power steering during Hell's Gate, but that was remedied later that night with all the tools and experienced Jeep mechanics in the campground!!  It was so fabulous to see the Jeep perform so easily over these tougher challenges!!

Saturday was our last day there, and Cam was itching to do the Tri-fecta.  A group of 3 trails that make a long loop and a Full Day of Jeeping!  We started REALLY early with a small group (only 7 instead of the 17 from the previous day), so that we wouldn't be on the trail into the dark.  First is the Poison Spider Trail.  This is just the first section of trails, but houses many obstacles (that aren't always optional) like the Launch Pad, The Waterfalls, and one called Wedgie!  Look for all of these in the pictures when I get them finished!  Next is the Golden Spike trail.  This section of the trail is the hardest with the most concentration of obstacles, like the Golden Crack, Commando Hill, And Double Whammy just to name a few.  The last section of trail is the Gold Bar Rim trail, an easier section with a few obstacles, most of which we skipped.  Cam had quite an experience right before this trail on the Double Whammy, so he took it easy most of the rest of the way!  (thankfully ;)  Then we drove home Sunday, and spent all day Monday catching up on stuff at home (like mowing and laundry) and trying to upload pictures and videos!

Overall it was a great trip!  We made some good friends, and good memories.  And Everyone (including the big red metal monster) survived!!!  We did learn that this may be our last trip to Moab for a while at least.  It was a tight fit for 3 of us with camping gear and tools for wheelin'.  So with the new one on the way our next trip will most likely have to be in two vehicles if Daddy still wants to take the Jeep!!  I'll try to get the pictures and video links up in the next couple of days, so keep checking back in!!  Next up: Riley's Birthday!!!  (And a special THANK YOU to Unkie Rodgie and Auntie Kathie for helping us get the decorations - Heaven forbid Colorado have anything race related in May!!!) 

Howdy All!!! Man Have I got a lot to talk about today!! So I guess you all got to see the video I made for my Grandmas huh!?!?! Isn't it cute! Mommy and Daddy made me do it over and over and over again. Mommy says I should tell you some about the new baby. She says she's about 9 weeks along now, and is due on December 19th. She went to her first Doctor's appointment this week and everything looks good so far. She even got to hear the baby's heart beat for a tiny blip! I don't know what all this hoopla is about, Mommy just seems really sick to me! She sleeps all the time, and has to run to the bathroom a lot!!

Mommy also started working her boat inspector job this week (which may have something to do with why she's so tired!!) She wakes up very early, and even leaves the house before I wake up!! Daddy says when I wake up at 6:30, Mommy's already been at work for a half hour!! That's crazy!! But she picks me up from the babysitters house at my nap time, then we go home and take naps together!! I like that, cuz sometimes Mommy let's me sleep in her bed with her!!

We also went and got our pictures taken by Mommy's friend Cathy (Tanner & Jackson's Mommy). She took really good pictures, but I tricked her!! She kept trying to get me to smile, but I wouldn't!! Hahaha!!! She kept saying how serious I am! hehehe!! You can see the pictures here, just use Mommy's email address (aliylujah@yahoo.com) and the password riley. Mommy ordered some already to send to the family, so let her know if you want any, or any more and she can order them from Cathy.

Well, that's about it for now! We are planning our trip to Moab for next week. We leave on Wednesday and get back on Sunday, so Look for pictures after that!! I bet it's going to be so much fun!!! And then after that is my Birthday!!! (I heard Mommy talking about having a racecar birthday, and watching the Indy 500 at my party - woohoo!!!) Talk to ya later!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Surprise!!!

May already!

Where has this year gone!  I sat down the other day and decided I had better start planning for Riley's Birthday . . . I can't believe he will be three years old in just a few short weeks!  Since his birthday falls on Memorial Day this year, and the child is OBSESSED with racecars (or any kind of cars for that matter!), we are going to hold his party on Race Day (for those of you Non-Hoosiers - that's the Indy 500 Race!!) and make it race car themed.  It should be fun - kids playing with cars in the backyard, adults eating good food and watching the race! 

I also wanted to share some funny sayings of Riley's at this age!  He's finally getting to say entire sentences, like I gotta go potty, instead of just whining "Potty!!!"  Some of the funny words are: cratch=couch, trucker=tiger, and poken= penguin.  Some funny things he's said recently includes "Uh-oh Mommy - Snowmans are coming!" when it started snowing, "oh shup-up" to the dogs when they are barking, and "Mark, Set, Go!!" over and over again until the red light we are sitting at turns green!!  We are working with him on a special Mother's Day Video, so hopefully it will all come together, - check back in on Sunday morning for that video!

In other news, I start my Boat Inspector Job on Friday, which means that Riley also starts at the babysitters again!  I'm kinda bummed to be working Monday-Friday (and terrified to be working a 6 am shift!!), but I guess I'll take it if it means I can get the weekends off.  I'm not sure if many of you understand exactly what I'm doing, or inspecting boats for, so here's a video put out by the Colorado Division of Wildlife that explains what exactly I'm looking for: Zebra Mussels Since all the water in Horsetooth Reservoir is piped in from the western slope (across the continental divide), these little buggers could competely clog our pipes and cut off the water supply to 3 cities and thousands of farmers - so we REALLY need to keep them out! 

We are still trying to get some pictures of Riley taken for his birthday, but the weather out here has been cold and crummy the past couple weeks.  So hopefully we'll get some sent out to everyone around the time of his birthday.  Also, in a couple weeks we will be taking another trip to Moab, UT!!  Cam's been working VERY hard to get the jeep ready for this trip, and it sounds like it's going to be a lot of Fun - with a lot of other Jeepers joining us.  Cam's got a whole list of trails he wants to do, so hopefully we won't break anything along the way and he can do everything he wants too!  I'm just happy that the highs are only supposed to be in the 80's this time of year - not in the triple digits like the first time we went!!  So lot's of pictures to come after that trip!

Well, that's about it for this time!  Hope everyone is enjoying spring time!  And Happy Mother's Day to all the other Mommies out there!!

April 29th = Snow day!

So the other day Mommy finally got some pictures of her pretty tulips!

And then Daddy woke Mommy up this morning and said - Look Outside! It was snowing!!! So this is what Mommy's tulips looked like this morning!!

Poor things - Mommy even covered them up a couple of nights ago because it was going to frost, but I guess no one was expecting snow this morning!!! But the sun is already out so it won't stick around for long.

Rain rain Go Away!!

Hi there people!! How are you all doing? Me I’m Great!! I’ve been so busy the last couple weeks, Mommy says she’s exhausted!! But not Me! Let’s see, where did I leave off last . . .

Oh I got a haircut Finally!!!

Last week on Thursday Mommy had a Girls Night Out. They went to Horsetooth Falls, the same Hike I did too! Only 4 girls went cuz there was another church meeting going on, so Mommy says she’s gonna do it again over the summer. Then on Friday we went to Harrison’s house to play. Harrison’s Daddy got a new job, so they needed a babysitter on Monday afternoons and Fridays, so Mommy said she would help them out until her job starts full time. I had so much fun!! Henri (Harrison’s big brother) was home from school so we all played together a bunch! We went again today and I got to play swords with Harrison!! He has ones that light up!! Mommy took a picture on her phone, so she has to figure out how to get it off before we can show you.

Then on Saturday Mommy went to Denver for a Conference with MOPS. She got to talk to other people in MOPS groups and get ideas for the stuff she’s doing next year. On Monday she went to her first meeting for steering committee for MOPS, and they needed someone to help out with fundraising so now she’s doing crafts AND Fundraising!! But Bonnie’s gonna help her with the fundraising part. She is so excited to help out next year. She’s going on a planning retreat in June, and another convention in Nashville in August.

This week has been raining a LOT!!! But Mommy's tulips are blooming!!! She says she'll get some pictures when it stops raining so she can go outside. Yesterday I went to Open Gym with Greg to "burn off some energy" (at least that's what Mommy said). Open gym is for 2 hours at the Community Rec Center, and it's only $2. (Mommys says we are going to take advantage of that more often!!) They have cars to play in, big foam blocks to play on, a jump castle, and tons of balls/bats/ and even Hockey sticks (all soft kid versions)!!! I didn't want to leave!! Naturally Mommy forgot her camera again, so we don't have any pictures of that either!

Next week is busy too. We have MOPS again on Monday, and Jaime and Trevor (my old babysitter) are coming, and so are Greg and Lacey and Jaxon!! It will be so much fun! Then on Thursday Mommy's Friend Cathy is going to take some pictures for my Birthday coming up. Can you believe I'm gonna be 3 years old!!! I'm such a big boy!!

Well that's about it for us, I'll leave you with a funny picture that Mommy took of me last week. I was being really quiet so she came to check on me and this is what she found. I got daddy's radio and turned it on all by myself, put the ear buds in and listened to the radio while watching TV. Mommy thought it was hilarious!! Silly Mommy!!

Easter and Birthdays

Hey Everyone!! Boy have I got a lot to catch up on this week!! The Easter bunny came to see me!! He left me an Easter Basket with lots of goodies!! I got lots of candy, the chocolate was my favorite! Then when Mommy came home from work we had an Easter Egg Hunt! Mommy said that the Easter Bunny hid all the eggs, but I’m not so sure about that, cuz she knew exactly where they all were! One was even a golden egg:
Then last week we spent a lot of time over at Greg’s house. Greg has a new baby brother named Jaxon, he was born on March 31. I got to play with Greg a lot while Mommy held Jaxon and talked with Lacey about mommy stuff (boring!!) On Friday Greg even came over and ate lunch with us to give his Mommy and Nana a break! We ate Hot dogs and strawberries!! My favorite! Then on Friday night Mommy and Daddy went out on a date to celebrate Mommy’s birthday and I went to the church nursery. They had a “Parents Night Out” babysitting thing, so I got to play with all my friends there! Mommy and Daddy went to Bisetti’s, a really nice Italian restaurant in old town. They said it was a lot of fun, cuz they got all dressed up – Mommy even curled her hair!!

Then yesterday we celebrated Mommy’s birthday again with me too. We gave her presents and Daddy made a cake again!! I gave her a curved shower curtain rod to make the bathtub seem bigger, and Daddy got her an art table for her to do her scrapbooking on. She was so happy – cuz now she doesn’t have to hide in the other room and sit on the floor!! We also got her a gag gift – a pooper scooper to help clean up the doggie run. She didn’t think it was too funny though! I don’t think I like it either – cuz I stepped on it and cut my leg really bad! It hurts a lot but Mommy put the owie medicine on it, and a big sticker that she called a band-aid so it’s getting better. Also yesterday we went and got me a dresser and desk! Since I’m potty trained now I don’t need the changing table from Grandpa Louie, and Mommy said it was time to clean out the closet and get a place to put my clothes. So they bought me a dresser and got a desk that matches it! It’s from a lady who was moving and didn’t want to take them, so Mommy and Daddy got a really good deal!

Today Mommy and I went and got our hair cut! I’m so happy, cuz I can see now without my hair in my eyes!! Mommy’s happy too!! And tomorrow we get to go visit some people that might be my babysitter. Mommy decided that she wouldn’t stay home with me during the week – we could use the extra money too much. But she also got a new job that will make things better!!! Instead of being a Ranger now, she’s an ANS Boat Inspector. That means she has to inspect the boats before they get on Horsetooth Reservoir to make sure they don’t have any Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) like Zebra Mussels on them. The good thing about this job is that she doesn’t have to work weekends anymore, and she gets a $1 raise!! The bad part is that now she’s working Monday – Friday, so I have to go to a babysitter for the whole week. But Mommy says that it’s only for this summer, and then she’ll be done! I hope so! Well that’s about it for all of us! I hope everyone is enjoying springtime – the weather has been very nice here too!

Hike To Horsetooth Falls

Hi Everyone!! Happy April!! The weather this week has been really nice, very spring-like. So yesterday Mommy and I went on a Hike! We went to Horsetooth Falls. It's a short hike, only a little over 2 miles round trip, and Mommy thought I would be able to make it after my snowshoeing advernture!! And I did!!! I hiked the whole thing by myself! Mommy brought the backpack to carry me in just in case, but she didn't need it. It was such a pretty day, even though the wind was a little chilly! I loved hiking and seeing all the rocks and footprints (the trails had been pretty muddy with all the snow, so the dried mud had lots of footprints in them). Mommy's teaching me about boys and girls (I'm a boy, Greg's a boy, Daddy's a boy, but Mommy and Lacey and Piper are girls). So I kept trying to explain to her that the footprints were Girl Footprints, but she wouldn't listen!! She kept saying "how do you know that they aren't boy footprints?" and I would tell her "Cuz they're GIRL FOOTPRINTS!!!" Silly Mommy!! Here's me in front of Horsetooth Falls:

Mommy let me carry my backpack. It has a camelbak in it for water just like Mommy and Daddy's backpacks. I also carried my snack - some cuties and a granola bar. You can see in the picture that there is actually water in the waterfall this time! Mommy says that usually it only has water in late April and May, then it becomes just a trickle for the rest of the summer. But with the heavy wet snows we've had every 2 days lately, there's more water than usual!!!

I also had my first experience with going potty outside. I didn't like it too much. Mommy said that some boys are potty trained by pee-peeing in the grass, but she didn't want me to go there all the time so she didn't do that. I've seen Greg pee-pee in the grass though, so I thought I could do it. But when it came time to go it was just scary (and cold with the wind). So Mommy tried to help hold me up like I was sitting on the potty - but mostly I just peed on my shorts!! So Mommy told Daddy that's his job this weekend, is to help me learn how to pee-pee standing up, and maybe even outside!!

It was such a fun hike with Mommy! She said that we'll have to do a lot more hikes this summer since I can hike by myself now. She already has plans to hike The Wild Loop at Devil's Backbone, The Three Bar Trail at Eagle's Nest, and the Bent Rock Trail at Red Mountain. This is going to be such a fun summer!!!

Mommy also told me about the Easter Bunny coming this weekend!! I don't really know what that means, but it sounds like fun!!! Mommy has to work on Easter, though. She said that it snuck right up on her and she forgot to ask it off. But she doesn't have to work until 9, so maybe we can still go to a Son-rise Service at church. And I heard Daddy talking about doing an egg hunt in the backyard after Mommy gets home (but SHHHHH - I'm not suppose to know about it)!! So look for more pictures to come!! I have a feeling that Mommy's going to be taking a lot this summer!!

What a Week!!!

This week has been really FUN!!! I had a blast!! The weather has been a little crazy, kinda like a roller coaster Mommy said, but that's ok with me!! Let's see . . .

Monday was a Beautiful Day!! It was almost 70 degrees outside, so after MOPS Mommy and I played outside with the Doggies. I had so much fun running around!!! Here's a picture of me on Monday:

And yes, I know how much of a big boy I look in this picture. Mommy tells me all the time that she can't believe it, I don't know why though! I can't stay tiny forever!!!

Any ways, then Tuesday got colder, and even started snowing that night!!! It snowed almost all night and by Wednesday morning we had about 7 inches!!! Here's me playing in the snow Wednesday morning:

We played outside with the Doggies again, and Mommy got some good pictures of Mowgli running in the snow - that dog is so crazy!!! We played some in the morning, and then in the afternoon Greg came over and asked me to come out and play so I got to play some more! He and his Mommy made a snowman, and then we threw snowballs at it! It was fun! I've gotten to play with Greg a lot this week. His Mommy, Lacey is a teacher and it's her Spring Break, so I got to play with him on Monday, on Wednesday, and Today!!! Today we went to this place called Jumpin'. It is just a big room with lots of blow up places to jump on!!! It was so much fun!!! Greg and I ran all over while Mommy and Lacey watched us and talked. (I don't know why they like to do that - it's so boring!!) My Favorite was the giant slide!! I did it over and over and over! Greg liked the jump rooms, and the little fireman playhouse. We also met a boy named Miles and he played with us too. I hope we get to go back there soon!! Then we went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and had Chicken Nuggets and Fries!!! This was the best day ever!!! I was really sad when we got home and I had to take a nap - I didn't want Greg to leave. But Mommy says that he'll get to come over more soon, and maybe even spend the night!! Cuz Lacey is gonna have a baby soon, Greg's little brother, and since he'll be too little to play with Mommy said Greg can come to our house and play with me when ever he wants!!! I hope he comes every day!!!

In other news - Mommy's trying to decide if she's going to go back to work full time this summer. She found out this week that some things have changed with her job, and with budget cuts on top of that it's proving to be hard to find a shift schedule available that will let her spend time with me and Daddy. So she's thinking about quiting altogether so that she can see us both at the same time for more that just a few hours a week. It would mean money will be tight, but Mommy says we can make it, and it's worth it to spend more time together as a family. Mommy really loves her job, but I know that she really loves me and Daddy too, so this is a hard decision for her. She's been praying about it a lot, so I know she'll make the right choice!! (I just hope it's the one that will give her more time with me!!) If she does stay home with us, that means that we can do more family stuff on the weekends, like hiking and camping!! I would love to do that stuff with Mommy and Daddy!!

Well, that's about it for this week. Mommy and Daddy said that since I'm just about potty trained now, and I don't need the changing table anymore, we are going to go shopping for a dresser this weekend. I can't wait!! Talk to ya all later!!!

Club Awesome

Mommy and I have a new Tradition!! On Fridays we dance to Club Awesome!!! Mommy likes to listen to Mornings with Brant on the Christian radio station here. On Fridays around 8:00 they do "Club Awesome", which is like 20 minutes of dance tunes. And I just LOVE dacing to it, and all the other songs they play! We turn it up really loud and just have fun - today we even let the doggies come up and dance! Since Mommy showed you all a video last time, I thought she should take a video of me dancing for you all to see. (I'm beginning to realize that I like getting my picture taken, and videos too - cuz that means I'm the center of attention!!! hehehe) So here's a video of me dancing at Club Awesome this morning!! Although this is towards the end of the 20 minutes, so I'm getting kinda tired and just walking around.

Mommy thought you guys should see this video too. One of my favorite books is called "But Not the Hippopotamus" (Thanks Aunt Janice!!) I love saying the "But not the hippopotamus" part on each page, even though Mommy says it just comes out "No po-mus!" So here's one of me and Mommy reading the book together!! (oh and if you haven't read the book, the end is "But not the Armadillo" so I say No Dillo!!)

Prayers

Recently I've been thinking about those who have left their loved ones to serve our country, either abroad or on a daily basis here at home. These men and women are very brave, and whether they agree with the politics that have sent them to these places to fight or not, they serve with a faithful heart. I would like to ask all of you to remember to pray for these soldiers, as well as their families. My co-worker, and very good friend is leaving for Afganistan in the coming weeks, and his brother is already serving his second tour in Iraq. I can't believe that the struggles in these two places have been going on for so long, yet the need for these brave souls continues, and there seems to be no end in sight.

This video was done by another very good friend of mine, Doug Henderson, who served in Iraq in 2003-2004. He wrote the song, and took the footage both audio and video during his 15 months there. He dedicated it to the two soldiers lost from his platoon as well as others who have lost their lives. I would like to further that to include all of those serving today, as well as those included in the next waves to Afganistan that Obama has promised, including Zach! We are very grateful for the sacrifices you have made to protect our freedoms as well as others. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!!!

WARNING: VIDEO NOT INTENDED FOR YOUNG EYES!!!

Lots to tell!!!

Hey everybody!!! Have I got lots to tell you about!!! We have been having so much fun the last couple weeks . . . Where should I start! Well, let's see, Mommy wrote you about my potty training, so I'll pick up after that. That weekend Mommy only worked on Saturday, cuz we got a big snow storm. So on Sunday she took Daddy and I to one of her Open Spaces - Ramsey Shockey. There was a good 5 inches of snow there already, and it was snowing the whole time we were there. We went snowshoeing, well, Mommy and Daddy did. I don't have any snowshoes yet so Mommy and Daddy got me a new sled and took me in that. But that wasn't very much fun, so I told them I wanted to walk like them. So I walked, and walked, and walked!!! Mommy said I walked for about 2 miles, cuz the trail is a little over 2.5 miles and I hiked almost the whole way before I got tired enough to ride in the sled. It was so much fun!!! It was so pretty up there!


Then the next weekend Mommy took Sunday off again! There was an "Alpaca Extravaganza" at the Boulder County Fairgrounds and she really wanted to go. For some crazy reason Mommy just LOVES Alpacas! She keeps telling Daddy that she wants to get some and start an alpaca farm when we get a house with some land. Daddy and I think she's crazy, so we let her go just to humor her!!! We did learn a lot about taking care of alpacas though, and got to pet some of them. I guess they are kinda cute!!


This week it's been pretty warm out, so Mommy and I have been playing out in the sun! We played in the backyard with the doggies, and took a walk around the block. I guess she'll have to work a full weekend this weekend. I like that Mommy stays home and plays with me a lot more. We have fun watching movies, reading books, and playing games. She likes to tickle me - A LOT!!! But I can tickle her too!!! Here's a funny picture Mommy took of me today (along with the one up top. I like pretending to be a cowboy, and playing with the doggies sunglasses (called Doggles), and today I had both on and Mommy thought it was hillarious!!!

So Mommy thinks I'm potty trained now. I haven't had an accident in about a week. I go pee-pee and poo-poo in the potty now!!! I have even learned to go before naps and when I wake up so that I don't have to wear a diapy at nap time!!! YAY!!! But I still wear them to bed, cuz I still wake up soaked even in a diaper every morning. But Mommy says that's OK cuz I'm still a little boy, and I have to remind her that I'm a BIG BOY now!!!
Daddy is still running a lot so that he can run in a marathon. But he hurt his something last week. I think it's called an achilles?? He thinks it just from over working, since he just about never ran before he started training. So he's going to take it easy for a little bit. I hope he gets better, that would be really cool if my Daddy could run in a marathon!! Well, that's about it for now. I hope everyone has a good weekend. Talk to ya later!!!

Potty training update

Dare I say we are getting close . . .

A couple days ago Cameron was dressing Riley and Riley told him that he wanted to wear undies. Cameron gave him a very BIG lecture about wearing big boy undies and going potty in the potty, not in the undies! Well it must have worked!! He didn't have an accident the rest of that night! The next day he put him back in the undies in the morning, but we had to take a trip to the grocery store. I didn't want to deal with trying to rush around to find a potty (much less a public big toilet not at all as familiar as his little potty chair at home) or an accident, and I couldn't get him to go before we left, so back into a diaper he went. When we got home I tried to get him to put the undies back on and he wanted nothing to do with it. So that was that.

Then today he decided he wanted to wear big boy undies again, after a little persuasion from Mommy!!! It had snowed yesterday and last night so we went out to play in the snow with some friends and I kept asking him, do you need to go potty? Do you need to go potty? He kept saying no, but after coming inside and warming up with some hot chocolate I thought for sure he would have to go! But he just kept on playing with Greg, and even when Greg went potty he still didn't have to go! So I gave up, certain I would be cleaning up an accident at any moment. Around 11:30 he followed me into the basement to get some things, and while I was looking around he says, "Go Potty . . . Be right back." and went upstairs. It took a second for it to click, and I rushed upstairs just in time to see him pouring the tub from his chair into the big potty!!!! YAY!!!! Riley went pee-pee in the potty - and all by himself!!! And that's the way it went the rest of the day (minus nap-time, we stuck with diapers for that).

Then Daddy came home and after dinner Riley made two trips to the potty back to back. About 30 seconds after the second one, he says "go potty" again and goes upstairs. Cameron and I look at each other as if to say "Again!?" and Cam follows him up. Riley is just sitting there, so Cam comes back downstairs, and when Riley calls him to come back up we find that he went poo-poo in the potty all by himself!!!! I am so proud of him!!! And so happy that this has finally happened (not that I want to jinx it)!! So tomorrow I think we are going to take a trip to get more undies!! And I am so happy to do that!!! I think I'll give it a couple weeks of accident free time before we start pushing for pre-naptime potties, and I'm sure much much longer before we can do the nighttime thing, but this is a step in the right direction, and I couldn't be more proud of my little man!!!

:)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone had a Happy and Loving Valentine's Day!!! I did!!! Mommy's boss gave her the day off, since it snowed and was cold he thought it wouldn't be very busy! So YAY, Mommy got to spend the day with me and Daddy!!! It was so great! We even got to go to church as a family, which we haven't done since Christmas!! I got to give my cards to Mommy and Daddy, and Daddy made heart shaped pancakes for breakfast!! Aren't they cute!

It was a good day, just hanging out and enjoying family! Now that we are all better!!! Yep, we had another traveling sickness last week! After the super bowl I got a little bit of runny poo, but nothing too serious. It started getting better, and then Tuesday night it got a lot worse!! Mommy said my diaper looked like a bucket it was so watery!! She even had to get up and change me acouple times during the nights. Wednesday was the worst!!! I puked my breakfast all over Mommy. I felt horrible!! Luckily we had some Sprite left over from the Super bowl party so Mommy let me drink that all day. I couldn't even keep that down though. Every sip I took, within an hour it came right back up! Daddy went and got me some pedialyte (but I don't know why - that stuff is so yucky I never drink it!), more Sprite, and even some bland popsicles (those were my favorite!!). Mommy and Daddy let me sleep in their room the next two nights so they could keep an eye on me, but not in their bed. They made me sleep in the playpen next to Mommy so that I wouldn't puke or poop in their bed. I guess I can't blame them! By Thursday night I was able to keep down a popsicle, and Friday I was eating a few bland foods, applesauce, crackers and even had pizza for dinner (it's what I wanted). Then Daddy got it!! Friday night we were watching the Olympics, and Daddy kept feeling worse and worse. Buy the time he went to bed he was almost green! But he was luckier than me, he only had to visit the bathroom twice that night, and then was feeling better by the next morning. Good thing too - cuz Mommy had to go to work so she couldn't take care of him!! So Daddy and I just sat around and watched Cartoons all day!! It was fun, but not as much fun as if Daddy could have played with me! (After all, I had just spent the last three days watching cartoons and movies with Mommy!) So we are all better now!! At least so far! Mommy hasn't caught it yet, and I hope she doesn't. Who would take care of her??

Anyways, one more story to tell you from this week. Mommy and Daddy got really made at me on Saturday. Mommy keeps all her scrapbooking stuff in the spare bedroom, and since she's only working weekends she has been working on them a lot. I love going it there and playing with all the stickers, and markers and even the scissors!! But if Mommy finds me I get in trouble. So Saturday I snuck in there while Mommy and Daddy were watching the Olympics, and had lots of fun with Mommy's big black marker called a Sharpie!!! I marked on my fingers, my hand, all up my arm, on my leg, and even on my back!! It was so much fun!! I'm glad that that's all I marked on though, cuz when I went down to show Mommy and Daddy they got MAAAAD!!! Mommy freaked out and kept saying the word "Permanent" whatever that means, and then let me take a bath!! Daddy srubbed me down while Mommy searched the room for other marks. They got most of it off, but I can still see where it was! hehehe.

But now I can't get in that room anymore! Mommy went and bought some more of those doorknob things that spin, like the one on the front door. They can get in, but I havn't figured it out yet. Guess I'll have to work on that one! See ya all later!

Sad Day

Well, it's a sad day for Colts fans. And we are mourning here in Colorado as well. They played a good game, not a great game, and the odds were against them (as well as a certain ref making a call regarding a certain onside kick), but they were still in good spirits at the end and congratulated the Saints on a great game! We had a great time watching the game. Some on the guys I work with and a friend from school came over to watch the game with us. It made it that much better!! I made my Superbowl Cake as per tradition from 2007, and we still celebrated the Colts playing in the Superbowl! Here are a few pictures: My boss Steve brought Raven, his black lab to play with Piper and Mowgli. She is like 1/3 of the size of Mowgli, and so it's rather interesting to watch them play!!

I want to wish my Mom Happy Birthday tomorrow, and everyone a Happy Valentine's Day this weekend!

BIG BOY!!!

I am a SUPER BIG BOY this week!! You are not going to believe all the big boy stuff going on right now! On Monday Mommy let me wear big boy undies!!! They had Cars on them, like Race Car (aka Lightning McQueen) and Mater!!! But That didn't last very long - only 2 days - cuz Mommy kept telling me not to get Race Car and Mater wet, but I didn't know how to do that!! They didn't work like diapers, so I got them wet a lot, and the floor too. I did get a few stickers on the potty chart, but not when I got Mater and Race Car wet. I don't know why though - I went potty!! Mommy says we need to take a break from undies (I think cuz she doesn't like cleaning up the floors), so we're back to daipies!! Here's some pictures of my big boy undies:

Mommy said "Let me see Mater!" So I did:

Other Big Boy News: After I went back to daipies, Mommy Changed my bed into a BIG BOY BED!!! No More Crib!! I can get in and out all by myself!!! I love it!! And Mommy's proud of me too, cuz I have been good about not running amuck during naptime and bedtimes. Here's me in my new big boy bed:

Mommy and Daddy were going to get me a bunk bed (and use only the top right now), but they said I'll have to wait a little longer. Maybe for my birthday! That would be really cool!

Here's another picture of me yesterday. Mommy thinks this a funny picture (cuz I have my hands on my hips and a pink daipy on), but this is actually a very serious picture!! It's hard to tell, but Raider is in the laundry basket. He was a bad Kitty (although I don't remember why) and so he was in Time-Out. I kept telling Mommy "Cat in Trouble, Time-out!" But she wouldn't listen!! She just kept on laughing! Oh well.

Guess What!! I got new Colts Shirts from Grandma & Grandpa Louie!! They were so nice to go and find some for me (since they don't have too many Colts ones in Colorado!) They are kinda big, size Small in boys, which Mommy says is a 4-6, but that's ok - cuz that means I can wear them til I am 6 years old (well, maybe!) One is a Peyton Manning shirt (that's my favorite), and the other is a AFC Champs shirt. I can't decide which one I want to wear for the Super Bowl Party this weekend . . . GO COLTS!!!

SO what else is going on . . . Mommy's going on a Girls Night Out tonight. So I get to go to her Friend Heidi's house and play with Olivia, Gracie, and Aubrey until Daddy picks me up. It will be so much fun!! Then the Super Bowl Party is Sunday, I hope lots of people come! And then Next week is Grandma Wilson's Birthday!! Happy Birthday Gran!! Mommy, we better put her present in the mail soon!!! Then after that is Valentine's Day!! We aren't doing anything special this year, cuz Mommy has to work. But that's ok, cuz I know that Mommy and Daddy Love me, and that they love each other, and that I love them!! And Grandma & Grandpa, and Gran Wilson, and Aunt Anna, and Aunt Janice & Uncle Stan, and Caleb, Maddie, and Vanessa, and Uncle Dale, Caitlyn and Aaron, and Aunt Tina & Uncle Dann, and Unkie Rodgie & Auntie Kathie . . . and . . .

GO COLTS!!!

Colts vs. Saints in Super Bowl 44!!!! Here in Colorado we are SUPER excited!!! However, we do need to get Riley a new Colts T-shirt before the big game! We are thinking a 4T size because his previous one is 2T and he screamed bloody murder when we put it on him for the Colts/Broncos game last month. (That kid and his big head!!!) But maybe we can get away with that one for one more game, and then we can buy him a Super Bowl Champs T-shirt!!! Go Colts!!!

Last week was a much more fun week for everyone - no one was sick!! Friday we went over to Lacey and Greg's house to play and have lunch. It was a great time, Mommies got to catch up, and kiddo's played til they were pooped! Here's a great picture of Riley and Greg:

Right after lunch they sat down to watch TV and Greg put his arm around Riley - so adorable! I forget how good of friends they are until we find the time for them to hang out! Greg is getting a new brother in April, and so hopefully we can all hang out more since Lacey will be staying home with the new baby! Yay for good friends!

Saturday night we had a camp out in the living room, like we promised Riley. Naturally, he thought it was the greatest thing in the world!!! We set up the tent and sleeping bags, and then made brownies and watched Cars.

He was a little nervous at bedtime about not sleeping in his crib up in his bedroom, but once I laid down next to him he curled right up. He didn't actually sleep IN the sleeping bag, but then again he refuses to sleep under the covers in his bed usually too! He did very good at staying in the tent and not roaming around. But at around 6 am he had to move in with me in my sleeping bag. It seems that he had a little too much juice before bedtime, ok, a lot too much, and woke up completely soaked from armpits to knees!!! So we changed him, changed pj's and he slept the rest of the morning with Mommy because his sleeping bag needed a good washing too!

Not that Mommy got much sleep after that. It's hard enough to share a queen sized bed with Riley, much less a mummy bag on the living room floor!! We also learned that Mommy and Daddy aren't really cut out for this anymore!! Daddy moved to the couch early in the morning, and I probably would have too, if Riley wasn't so whiny in the morning (from being wet we later learned!) But we still had fun! And hopefully we can do more of it this summer (outside, where the ground is a little softer - yes I said SOFTER! - or at least on a little of a slant!)

Not much coming up for us, except a party of Feb 7th to root on the Colts!!! I have a Girls Night Out on the 4th to see a play in Denver - it should be a lot of fun! And I have decided to join the steering committee for my MOPS group. I will be planning the craft at each meeting for the next two years, starting this fall. It will be a challenge to come up with that many cheap, Mom-type crafts, but I'm really looking forward to the closeknit group of Moms that the steering committee will provide. MOPS has been such a blast for me, and I love it, so this is just the next logical step for me. Have a great week everyone, and GO COLTS!!!