Dagmar's Baby Shower

My friend Dagmar is one of the first people that I met when I began attending CTK back in January, 2002. In the past six years, we have seen each other through 30-something singleness, marriage and now babies. Dagmar's due to give birth to her first child next month. I had the joy of hosting her baby shower!

We had 13 adults and 5 children in attendance and it took some kitchen & dining room redesign to accommodate the celebrants. Now I know the maximum number that we can host at one time!



















Sebastian was a trooper for being the only male in attendance!









Dagmar had lots of help from the little girls:












She had lots of advice from the moms too...









We had a great time and Dagmar collected some serious baby booty!









Shelby

spinning boy

Here's one for those of you who don't have Facebook profiles. The video speaks for itself I think...


Go Spinning Boy, Go!


Jonathan

the second week of advent (gifts)

In the post about last week post I talked about our giving Riley his Christmas gifts early since we are going to be in Washington on Christmas. Tonight he got to open his next gift, the Busy Ball Popper. He had played with this toy when we visited our friends the Bliss family back on Labor Day weekend and really enjoyed it. It lived up to our expectations... First, some pictures.

Riley still needed some help getting started but was more enthusiastic, especially after seeing the picture of the toy start to appear:















Keeping his eye on the ball:















Daddy loves the Ball Popper too...















The video is a riot. I love the part where he starts swatting at the balls. He's lucky he didn't get a ball in the face at the end:


One video is never enough. He figured out how to get the balls to keep from popping up after a little while:


It's amazing how much fun it is to watch your kid open and play with presents. I can really understand the joy my parents always took in giving us Christmas gifts.

Oh, and I like playing with them too...

We love our Busy Ball Popping boy!


Jonathan

thanksgiving weekend

Thanksgiving always means a long weekend with at least one day spent with family on one side or the other. This year it meant two days at my Mom's house. It was a bittersweet time for me, since it's the first of the 'big' holidays since my Dad's passing.

The visit was a good one though. It was really cool to see that Riley remembers his grandma now. Both Mom and I really enjoyed that. It's cool that he enjoys going to her house as well (there's so much to get into there!) Another way to tell that he feels comfortable there...he sleeps normally! Being away from home generally screws up his sleep schedule, but not so this time around. He actually slept until seven on Friday morning!

We already posted a couple of things from the visit (dancing to the Jonas Bros. and standing raptly before Bob...) Here are a couple more shots:

Riley had fun playing with cousins Britney and Daniella:















Eating the very yummy squash apple bisque for Thanksgiving lunch:















We were back home on Saturday. We spent a large portion of the day getting into the "Christmas Spirit." In the morning we went to Target to get Christmas pictures taken. Riley wasn't as cooperative as usual and the photographer made us all sit on the floor, but we still got a couple of decent pictures. No solo shots for our boy this year though, he just wouldn't have it. At any rate, the Christmas card is in the works.

Later on we went to get our Christmas tree. Riley is very excited about the tree this year. He loves lights of course and ornaments have become a big fave as well. Shelby got some plastic ornaments so we don't have to worry about broken glass. Riley likes to point to them and say "Ball!" Most of them are ball shaped... Balls also happen to be his current favorite thing. Some tree pictures:

Where will I put this?















This'll go here.















The tree




















A picture of Riley in front of the just lit tree:















We'll be heading across the country to Washington for Christmas this year, so we figured we'd do the 'Four Weeks of Christmas' this year with Riley's gifts. So he got to open his first gift last Saturday. It was really funny, we put the gift in front of him (wrapped of course) and he didn't know what to do with it. So I made a little hole in the paper to give him the idea that he needed to tear it open...and he wouldn't (at first.) He seemed to think that he'd be doing something wrong by ripping the wrapping paper. I ripped it a little more then he started to see the toy underneath and that was all it took. He got into the spirit of the moment. Some pictures:

Rip it Riley!















He loves pop-up toys















I think he got the idea because he saw some other, still wrapped gifts and wanted to have at them. We had to tell him to wait...

I think giving gifts to our boy will be a lot more fun from here on out.


Jonathan

18 months old

Yesterday, Riley officially turned a year & a half old. I still find myself amazed that I have not only a loving husband, but an adorable toddler too. How life has changed in five years!

As we've reported previously, Riley is all about the climbing now. He's always looking for new feats to climb and testing objects to see if he can use them as footstools. What a BOY. Not only does he climb, but many times when he gets to the top of whatever he is climbing he feels the need to SHAKE it as well. An example:



His interest in Bob the Builder has turned into an obsession. He wants to watch it when he's in his high chair and asks us repeatedly throughout the day when he notices the computer. Since the family meal doesn't happen except on weekends, we let him watch a few each day. He's just glued to it -- nothing keeps his attention like Bob.














Balls. Our boy is fixated on balls of all kinds. When reading board books, he'll turn fast to the pages that include a ball in them and point to them and say "ball!". He's not as interested in the non-ball pages, so we get through books much faster right now.

I'm starting to see some possible signs that our boy has an organized mind. He's started collecting like items together, such as cars or balls, and pile them on the couch. He's done this entirely on his own. I think it's interesting that he wants to keep his drink off of his tray when not in use. He likes to throw things in the trash for mama too. The other day he walked 20 or so paces from the living room to the dining room to throw something in the garbage for me, at my request. Not sure if his anti-clutter mom has borne a like-minded son, but it gives me reason to hope...

He's taken to dancing when he hears music. He'll rock his head and/or torso from side to side and will do the mini-march. He doesn't just to it with real music, but even that computerized nonsense that spews out of his toys. He loves it all. I caught him dancing to the Jonas Brothers the other day:


He's much better about blowing kisses now -- he smashes his palm against his mouth, holds it there and then thrusts it away.

He seems to be sleeping in a little longer too...gets up anywhere between 6:15 - 7:45 most days, much to J's relief now that he's getting up with him. This has freed me up to resume my morning workouts again, which is my preference since I get the added energy for the whole day rather than just the afternoon.

He's really enjoying his swim lessons. He's had four total and is quite the little fish. Gramma
Betsea took this video last week:



One of the routines that we've been enjoying the past couple of weeks is hanging out on our bed in the afternoons after I pick him up from daycare. We'll just hang out on the bed playing, resting and turning the lights on and off. He loves being able to be high-energy and not get hurt. I enjoy a short time of rest now that we're not off doing power walks before dark.

Lastly, Riley 3rd molar is breaking through so that will be 10 teeth so far. He's beginning to enjoy meats more now that he has more chewing power.

We love our 1 1/2 yr old boy!

Shelby

toy thrower

For quite a while now I've put Riley in his crib with a bunch of toys and books when I've needed to shower or do other things (like ride the bike trainer) that mean I won't be able to keep an eye on him. For most of that time I'd come back and find him sitting in a pile of toys reading a book. Lately things have changed...

The video speaks for itself.



Today I left him in the living room (which doubles as his playroom) with the gate up. He was playing quietly with a minimum of toys on the other side of the gate when I got back...

I love my toy throwing boy!


Jonathan

girl's weekend

As J mentioned in the last blog entry, I was able to get away for a few days and meet up with some old friends (as in 15+ yrs) from Tennessee. I met Kathy, Lisa & Marlynn at church just three weeks after packing up my car and moving from Anchorage to Nashville. We bonded instantly and were nicknamed "The Four" by the larger group of couples and married folk we hung out with, since we were all single for many of those years.

Now that we're married and scattered from Alabama to Indiana to Ohio to Massachusetts, we wanted to enjoy some time together again. We found a state park in PA that had a heated & furnished cabin we could rent for cheap. So, we headed out last Thursday for four days of bonding and laughs.

We had planned to hike the Appalachian Trail that runs through there, but the rain made that idea less appealing. However, the park wasn't far from Gettysburg and so we headed out there instead. Besides touring the battlefields and the new museum, we ate our way across downtown Gettysburg and did a little shopping too.

On the battlefield..Lisa (The Reb), Me (The Russian), Kathy (The Yank) & Marlynn (The Yank):














It was rainy on Friday & Saturday, but we had fun anyway:














Our luxurious accommodations at Pine Grove State Park...fully furnished, HEATED cottage for dirt cheap!














We made dinner for ourselves...here we're cutting up moose meat & veggies for stew:














Upon our departure, we had our own ways of finding our way back home:














It was a fun four days with dear friends and just the right amount of time to be gone as I was missing my boys bad by Sunday morning. It's so nice to have family to come home to now. Riley seemed older and bigger, just in that short time of being away.

It was good to see you again my friends...let's do it again next year ok??

Shelby

boy's weekend

It was actually a girl's weekend. Shelby went to PA to hang out with her closest friends from her Nashville days. So starting Thursday morning it was time for the men to cut loose. Dishes all over, walking around in our underwear, sports on TV...you know, men stuff.

Actually, there was none of that. Thursday and Friday were pretty much business as usual, except that Daddy picked Riley up about two hours later than usual at day care. I understand that my boy does best when he keeps to his regular schedule, so that's what we did.

Saturday was a different ballgame altogether. Riley slept in...really! I heard him once at about 6:30 (a fairly usual wake up time) and rolled over on my back knowing that his talking would soon have me entirely awake. Then next thing I knew it was 8:35 and he was still asleep! I ended up going in and waking him up at 8:40. Nice way to start a weekend. We spent some time hanging out and playing at home. Riley enjoyed watching the Bob the Builder videos I got him on iTunes while he ate breakfast, and then we made the rounds of toys, drawing with the crayons Alecia gave him for his birthday and Riley putting my guitar pick into the soundhole in the guitar (which for some reason always makes me laugh...which is of course why he does it over and over...) Sometimes he actually strums the guitar. Sometimes.

Riley presented me with a couple of surprises this weekend both having to do with his new found love of climbing. First, after looking away from him for about 45 seconds I turned to find him sitting on top of the dining room table with a pear in one hand and his other index finger stuck into it. Why was that something he needed to do? The second lovely surprise was that he could climb into his high chair:

Almost there















I'm up so high!















The king speaks















After lunch I had wanted to go out for a mountain bike ride with him, but the rainy ugly conditions made that a no go. We needed something for an active boy, so we headed to Bonkers. Some pictures and video:

Sitting in what I call the Keebler Tree















Face plant - thankfully it's soft















The climb up to the bigger slide















Bigger slide - face first of course...


Smaller slide - it starts with him pointing to bikes hanging from the ceiling (good boy)

I got a kick out of the place. I can't wait to go back when he's bigger and play on the big stuff.

Sunday we were off to church and then for the final 50th birthday celebration in the group of my friends from Springfield College. Riley took to the Olive Garden well and as is usual ended up being the center of attention, even if it was Mike D's birthday. At least he's on Mike's lap in this picture and no, it wasn't staged:















All in all it was fun male bonding weekend. I love spending time with my son and he seems to enjoy it too. I can say that we both missed Mama though. It's really good to have her back home.

I love my fun boy!

Jonathan

a trip to the lake

One of the things that drew us to Wakefield was Lake Quannapowitt. Quannapowitt is an oddity for the Boston area; it's a good sized lake that is not used for drinking water, is in the middle of residential and commercial property and it is actually open for community use.

When we moved to Reading a couple of years back the lake became a place for walking and running, mostly for Shelby (and later Riley.) After we moved it became a place we would go to as a family since we could walk over from the house (we can actually see the lake in the winter when there aren't any leaves on the trees.) Riley has always enjoyed the playground and Shelby has continued to walk and run there.

Yesterday we put a new twist on things though. Yes, we made a trip over to the playground...but this time via the water!

When we bought our kayak we bought a set of wheels to attach to it to help in getting it from the car to the water. Well, I'm happy to say they make for an easy trip to and from the lake as well! Some pictures and video:

Nice Stroller, huh?















Video:


The king on his palanquin...















Mama and her boy, ready to hit the water

We took a trip around the side of the lake, checked out the yacht club and got a totally different view of Jordan's Furniture. Riley was splashing in the water as always, and I pressed the button on the camera incorrectly or you'd get to see what would have been a great and very animated video...oh well.

Daddy and his kayak boy















We headed to the opposite side of the lake for our trip to the playground. A fun way to make that trip:

The playground approaches















We were met by a family that had a one year old girl who was fascinated by the kayak. Riley, of course, made a bee line for the slides. Our daredevil boy now goes for the steepest, fastest slide available. And of course, he goes head first...

The FAST slide



Next it was off to the swings...















We headed back via the sidewalk from the playground. It's amazing how easy it is to cart this thing around on pavement. Honestly, except for the size it's probably easier than a stroller. I think Riley enjoys it more too...

That may be our last kayaking for the season. We're happy we made the purchase and I think we'll be getting a lot more use out of it in the future. You can't beat being able to walk to the water. It makes living where we do a lot more fun!


Jonathan

random stuff & pics

There's no particular theme to this blog update. Those reading on a full stomach be forewarned -- there are sharp turns in thought and subject matter.

So...Riley has become quite the climbing boy in the past couple of weeks. He's conquered our bed, the toilet seat (to get at his toothbrush on the sink counter), the dining chairs and as of yesterday, the dining room table! He seems to have inherited his parents muscularity as he'll do a chin up with just about anything he can, such as tables, counter tops and shelves.

He's also figured out how to take his shirt off, or in this case, get part of it over his head and look for a laugh from the audience:














He's learning body parts -- he knows feet, hands, belly button, mouth and head. He still gets nose, ears and eyes mixed up sometimes, though. I'm hoping to wow them at his Children's checkup in December since I know his language won't meet their high expectations. :-)

Riley's new favorite book is a Bob the Builder book. He asks to read it morning and night. He'll point and say "Bob!" to the book and when he sees construction equipment outside, he'll say "Bob!" too.














We limit his TV watching to about 30 min of PBS, but seeing us on the computer has him more interested in that now. So, we'll play videos of him and games on the Bob the Builder and Curious George websites, which he really enjoys.














J recently started keeping his guitar downstairs so he'd keep his callouses between the times he's scheduled to lead worship music. When he comes home from work, Riley runs over to the guitar case asking for him to pull it out:














He still loves his books...we keep his favorites on the floor for his perusal. It's good to see that our high energy boy can sit and play quietly, even if its just for 5-10 min. I found a magnetic sketch pad in a box of donated toys that he's been playing with a lot too. Now that he's stopped putting everything in his mouth, it might be time to break out the toddler crayons again.














Riley's first week at Nicole's house went very well. J had no problems leaving him in the afternoon, Riley naps just fine and he's not excited to leave when I come pick him up. Nicole has three cats and he seems to play nicely with them. He also has fun trying to make Nicole's 3 month old son Dominic smile and laugh. J's loving the extra time with his boy (as I do!). Seems to be working out very well for all of us.

Thanks to a generous birthday and Christmas gift from Grammy Betsea, Riley has started taking swimming lessons. While he loves the water, he was quite overwhelmed with everything last week at his first lesson. Before the end of class however, he was "jumping" into the J's arms -- not really, J lifted him up off the platform into the pool. Riley had a ball. Since the classes are on Mondays I hope to take him on some of the Monday holidays next year myself!

Now that the days are shorter and the weather is getting colder, we're beginning to turn our attention back to the house. J finished the attic insulation and flooring so we can begin the big organizing project of the season and get better settled into the house. It'll be nice to know where everything is again after almost two years since leaving Newburyport. I can't wait to put pics on the walls too -- they're pretty bare still.

Not that we won't be playing outside, mind you. Riley is totally ready for the first big snow. He's got the snowsuit, gloves & boots. So, bring it on I say...we're ready for it!

(I just hope that Riley's fun in the snow will show J that he too can enjoy the thing he calls "evil, white stuff"...)

Last random thought... Welcome to the world Abby Polk, we can't wait to see you on your mama's blog!

Later,

Shelby

how many fall jackets does one kid need??

seriously... and I didn't even include his raincoat...











































































Now I will say that only one of the above was purchased from a store...the rest were donated or consignment. But I'll admit that when I have disposable cash and my obsession is left unchecked, coats are the thing I tend to hoard. Guess it's coming out in my kid too!

Shelby

rocking moose

While I was pregnant with Riley, we bought him a rocking moose at IKEA. Jonathan put it together today and Riley had a ball:



We love our rockin' boy!

Shelby

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