miscellaneous stuff

There's a bunch of stuff that I've been wanting to put down in a blog entry that I just haven't gotten to. So I'm going to make up for some lost time here. A long and kind of all over the place post.

Puzzlemaster

Riley has shown a talent for puzzles. He started with the big peg puzzles and has moved on to 24 piece jigsaws. He's at a 3 and up level now, and it's amazing to watch him figure the things out. Here's a video of one of his most recent conquests:

He's a climber

It happens with boys I guess and Riley is no exception. He's started to climb. On anything and everything. It's terrifying sometimes because he has no concept of the fact that he might fall and that it would hurt...a lot. Here's a picture that showcases two of his favorite things in one, climbing and playing with forbidden technology (the thermostat.)















Halloween

Halloween was kind of low key this year. The day was warm and sunny, so Riley and I spent some time out in the yard playing in the leaves. We also got our annual "Leaf Shot." That night we had a small number of Trick or Treaters come by. Riley greeted them at the door with the pumpkin full of candy. He was dressed as a hiker in case you don't get the costume... I discovered that five Junior Mints are enough sugar to have Riley bouncing off the walls...he doesn't get candy often. Thankfully. Here's a slide show from the day:

Drawing on his blackboard

On the way home from church one day we saw something we've been wanting to get for Riley: A blackboard. It was sitting out on the side of the road with a few other things someone was trying to get rid of. Pottery Barn Kids blackboards are a rare find roadside, so we stopped and threw it in the car. Riley loves it. He and Daddy draw things together like monsters:

Riley 'embellishes' Daddy's drawings















Ugly Monster!















Bye Bye Monster!














Another thing Riley loves to do on the blackboard is letters. Here Mama goes through part of the alphabet with him, which brings us to another topic. Riley knows the alphabet.

The Alphabet

A while back Shelby got Riley a small knob alphabet puzzle and we started going through the letters with him. The puzzle quickly became one of his favorites. After a session with Irma from early intervention where Riley played mostly with two alphabet puzzles I got out the foam alphabet play mats that we had stored a while back because he wasn't playing on them. They quickly became one of his favorite things. Irma told me that Riley would know his alphabet within a month. I was skeptical, although I thought it would probably be within a couple of months. It took him three weeks. On Shelby's last blog entry she told you about Riley spelling his first word. It's amazing how fast this kid learns.

Playground Time

In early November we had a sunny Sunday with temps in the 60's. Shelby had found a great playground in Medford so we stopped by for a while to let Riley have some play time after church. He particularly loved hanging from a bar and then letting go and dropping to the ground. The bare chested picture was while he waited patiently for a shirt change (too warm) and the last shot was right after he told us that he wasn't tired. Right. Here's a slide show:

Riley's Bed

One of the bigger pieces of news lately is that Riley has transitioned to a 'big boy bed.' He was very excited when we got the frame and would walk by it in the hall pointing and saying, "Bed!" Once we got the mattress and box spring and set it up he was beside himself. It's been a mixed bag as to whether he stays in the bed after being put in it to sleep. Sometimes the toys, books and stuff that he can pull off the dresser and throw around are just too much of a temptation for him (even in the dark.) And he has been getting up much earlier now that he can just get out of bed... It's better than having him climbing out of the crib though, which he'll do if we put him in there. Here's a slide show and some video:

No More Rileys Jumping On The Bed!

The Kitchen

Next on the update list is Riley's favorite pastime of late...playing on the kitchen counter. He loves playing with his plates and bowls, the microwave, the coffee maker (cause for discipline...) and anything that Daddy has up there while he's making lunches. We finally got a stool for him to stand on, but he's just as happy dragging a chair over from his table. Here are a couple of videos:

Riley, his chair and the kitchen

The kid has a hundred great toys...

Riley's Truck

One constant over the last year and a half or so has been Riley's truck. Grammy and Poppa bought it for him when we visited Anchorage in July of '08. He LOVED it. They then probably spent more than it cost shipping it out to Boston for him. Well, it was money well spent. He plays with the thing all the time and has gotten quite good at steering it around. He STILL loves it.



Daddy's Office

Last but not least, we have the latest trip to Daddy's office. There was no daycare yesterday, so Riley came in to the office with me. I love these days, it's kind of like having a day off since I only have to do the fun part of my job and then watch after my son the rest of the time. Easy duty since I love spending time with him. My patients love having him around too, and as always he 'helps' me adjust people and get them ice.

The cool thing to me is that he really loves coming to work with me. He has a ball and of course gets a lot of attention. He also LOVES getting adjusted and is always hopping up on the table, getting in position just like he sees everyone else do. It makes for a fun day for both of us and really takes the pressure off of us on days that we don't have day care coverage. So I'll end with a video from yesterday. It was a good end to a short work week.




Jonathan