closing a chapter

Today -- Halloween -- was Riley's last day at Diane's Family Day Care. It was a bit emotional for Jonathan and I; we have felt very good about leaving Riley with Diane for the past 14 months. We'll miss seeing the other kids and we know they'll miss Riley too. Diane has taken good care of our boy and we'll miss her a lot.














Since they were also celebrating Halloween, Riley arrived in his Fireman costume and had cupcakes and cookies with the other kids. I'll post a pic of Riley and all the kids in their costumes when I get our copy from Diane.





























Since it was such a beautiful afternoon, we stopped by the park on the way home. Riley was distracted by the seagulls lurking about and tried to get near enough to pet them.




























We didn't actually go trick or treating, but was hoping for a decent turnout of kids at our house. Apparently, our neighborhood isn't the place to be as we only saw about 12 kids the whole night....lame. Next year, I'm not buying the big bag of candy, that's for sure. Riley enjoyed the visitors, nonetheless.

Next week, J starts his new schedule of 1p - 7p and Riley goes to Nicole's house in the afternoons. It's hard leaving my kid with someone new, but we trust that the Lord has guided us in our decision and will watch over our son.

Shelby

fireman riley

In addition to Connor's farm, Riley got to attend his first baby costume party this weekend. Lots of CTK kids were there and amidst the chaos, I was able to snag a few pictures:

Fireman Riley's all dressed up and ready to party!














Jos the Builder in his indestructible Carharts



















Fireman Riley with baby lamb Dexter














Ladybug Cece:














Mummy Kate & Butterfly Hannah (with Princess Frankie)














Fish Corinne was a grand hostess and shared her toys with the rest of the kids:














Elephant Zac (not pictured: Elephant Zippy)














Riley (who was napless all day) was plumb tuckered out from all the fun when we left at 7p. Daddy was also tired, but for entirely different reasons. He finished putting a new floor down in our newly insulated attic so we can use it for storage. I can now get at those boxes that have been sealed up for two years...Yea for daddy!!

Shelby

connors farm

This weekend, Riley and I had the opportunity to try out one of the local farms. We invited one of our Bradley birth classmates, Gina and her daughter Annabelle to join us. We had not seen Gina since our final class in April '07, so it was great to see her again and meet Belle finally.

We wanted to stay close to home so we went to Connors Farm in Danvers. It was a bit lame but the kids didn't know better so we made the most of it. The petting farm consisted of two goats and a llama, which were taken away within 30 min of arrival (grrr). Riley did pet the goat but was much more interested in all the small airplanes flying overhead.









Both kids enjoyed driving the tractor:









Riley got a kick out of the inflatable playground, but wasn't too keen on climbing the hay mountain. He still has issues with some textures:









They had the most fun in the sandbox (the cornbox was empty...grrr):









Riley thought the pumpkin muffin was quite tasty and played nicely with Annabelle.









It was interesting to watch the differences of the sexes with those two. Riley, rough and tumble, had no fear and didn't mind getting dirty. Annabelle, not such a fan of dirt, was more cautious and gentle (and a better linguist!).

So the kids had fun and the moms enjoyed catching up on the last year and a half. Good to see you Gina and Belle, maybe next time we can head north for a Christmas sleigh ride!

Shelby

lavash

I've discovered a new food love... Joseph's Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Flour Lavash Bread. A co-worker told me about this Armenian flatbread that is sold in our local supermarkets. Turns out, Joseph's is located here in Massachusetts, so it's available at all the grocery stores & BJ's. It's low-cal, low-carb (if you care about such things), high in protein and tasty. It's softer than a tortilla and can be substituted for pita, tortilla or bread. The possibilities are endless.

This is Riley's new bread for wrap sandwiches. I spread it with peanut butter, hummus or refried beans, roll it and slice it into little pieces and he has a yummy, protein packed lunch.

Shelby

going overboard

into the basket of folded clothes at the foot of the bed:














That's our little acrobat!

Shelby

fall leaves

Today, Riley and I did the toddler version of the pub crawl -- the playground crawl. We headed to the neighboring town of Melrose for said fun and while we were there, found a great pile of leaves to play in:














This was last years picture... he was just about to turn 6 months:














Here he is pointing at the tree and saying "Tee!"














I love fall...the trail running is superb and of course the colors are amazing here in NE. I like the crisp mornings and warmer days. J, as everyone knows, severely dislikes the winter. I'm hoping that a boy who loves to play outside will show him the fun side of the season.

Meanwhile, Riley's all outfitted for winter with snowsuit, boots and gloves and I'm on the hunt for the perfect toddler sled...suggestions anyone?

Shelby

roscoe

On one of my runs about a week ago, I found a stray dog hanging off one of the park benches and thought Riley might enjoy a playmate. I brought him home, gave him a good washing and named him Roscoe.

Isn't he cute?














Riley loves his new pup:














It's cute how he snuggles with him before bed. At this point, he doesn't seem too attached to him. So I hope we'll avoid the drama if he gets lost or we forget to bring him on a trip!

Shelby

acadia

Hi, this is Riley again. I want to tell you about our trip to Acadia National Park in Maine. I did lots of fun things -- we hiked, biked and kayaked with my cousin Erica and her family. This is my second year to go and I had even more fun than last year!

First, daddy had to load up the car with all the toys that we were going to bring. We had two bikes, my bike trailer and the tandem kayak on top of the car, which daddy said created drag, but I don't know what that means. I had my toys in the back seat so I could play on the 5 hour drive up to Bar Harbor.









I was excited to see my cousin Erica. She's 10 and she played with me and watched cartoons with me when we were in the cabin.









We went hiking up Acadia mountain. Since I'm new to walking, I got to ride in a backpack carrier. Sometimes I rode on Daddy's back and sometimes I rode on Mama's back. It was so much fun that I didn't bother to take a nap -- there were too many interesting things to look at!


















At the top of the mountain, mama and daddy let me get out and walk around. The rocks were pretty easy for me to walk on and I even climbed up a big rock all by myself!




























We ate lunch at the top of the mountain -- I had a peanut butter sandwich...yum!









After we went hiking, we went kayaking on Echo Lake. It was very windy and we got splashed a lot by the waves. Erica rode in our kayak and I sat on mama's lap. We didn't get to do it very long because mama and daddy had to work really hard to paddle the kayaks. I didn't mind -- I enjoy putting my hands in the water and getting wet!









Afterwards, we went to a restaurant and had what the adults called overpriced food. I like the french fries. I put them in my mouth like a cigar and mama and daddy laughed. So I kept doing it because I like it when people think I'm funny.









We ate at Mama's favorite breakfast place, Cafe This Way and I flirted with the girl at the table next to us.









After breakfast, we got to do daddy's favorite sport -- biking! Since I'm not big enough to ride my own bike yet, I got to ride in the Chariot carrier. I had my books, doggy and blanket, but since I had no nap the day before, I slept for about half the ride!









I got to have my first popover at Jordan's Pond House and they were very yummy! We ate them on the lawn by Jordan Pond.









You can see the North and South Bubble mountains from the lawn and I took a walk on the nature trail.









We went kayaking again at Jordan pond and the weather was much better. Daddy took a video so you can see me playing with the water. What you didn't see was splashing myself on my head so my hair was all wet!










Mama took a picture of a bridge while we were kayaking. Isn't it pretty?














The next day we had to leave to go back home to Boston. Since I didn't want to nap, I played with my toys and read my books for most of the trip. Mama took a video of me reading one of my books. When I was done, I just threw it on the floor.

At last, I fell asleep during the last 90 minutes of the trip. Daddy laughed when my eyes opened and I immediately picked out a goldfish to eat since I fell asleep mid-snack!









I had a fun time in Acadia and I can't wait to go back next year!

Love,

Riley