Happy Birthday to ME!!

Today I turned 28 years old! Wow, 2 more years closer to 30!! I was woken up by a kiss from Trey who told me "happy birthday" and "your getting old woman!" Then I heard him walking down the hall saying "old, old, old." I guess that's what I get for marrying a younger man. I was just laughing at him. Riley and I chilled out during the day and talked to many of my family members on skype. I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers(I thought at first they were from Trey) from Justin, Sara, Addie, and Bella. It's so funny how flowers always make me giddy, but they brought a huge smile to my face. Thanks again you guys! I love you!

When Trey got home from work he informed me that he had babysitting arrangements already set up with our neighbors so that he and I could go out to dinner. I was in shock because Trey isn't normally a planner! So I get a diaper bag together for Riley and we walk down to Abbie and Darrell's to drop Riley off. Darrell takes Riley from me when we get there and Trey nudges me to walk further into their house. As I walk into the dining room I hear "SURPRISE!!" My wonderful neighbors, with a little help from Trey, threw me a surprise party. I was in shock! I'm pretty sure that was my first surprise party ever. I felt so loved! My neighbor Erika made me a lei out of a really cute pattern of ribbon. We all ate pizza, watermelon, and had a cookies and cream ice cream cake! It was a great way to spend my birthday. Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes!!

Screaming Alarm

For the past few nights Riley has been waking up in the middle of the night screaming bloody murder. It freaked me out at first so I'd bring her into our bed so she'd calm down and go to sleep. Well I'm pretty sure this little stinker likes sleeping in our bed better than hers! So Trey and I just let her scream for the 10 minutes that she's going to scream and let her fall back to sleep in her bed. This morning she screamed at 6am so I grabbed her up and tossed her in our bed because I wasn't ready to get up yet. She passed out and slept for another 45 minutes until Trey got up to get ready for work. Then Riley and I came downstairs and watched her favorite cartoons: Dora, Mickey Mouse Club House, and Little Einsteins. We ate some cereal for breakfast and then played for a bit. Then it was nap time which I joined in for today. I'm hoping that her screaming tantrums in the middle of the night and early morning stop very soon. I've only got a few more months for a peaceful night sleep. And they aren't even that peaceful anymore with the 10 times I have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night!!

Art in the Park

This morning Riley and I joined some of our baby hui friends at Art in the Park. I wasn't really sure how well Riley was going to do because it was scheduled at the same time as her morning nap. However, Riley managed to be a good girl for a couple of hours. Above is a picture of Riley's first experience touching play dough. I don't think she was the fondest at first, but she got used to it pretty quickly! Below you can see Riley picking out what shape she was going to use next on the play dough.
Forget the art, Riley found all sorts of balls. She literally played with the balls for about an hour. I'm thinking we have an athlete on our hands...not so much the artist. Or maybe I just don't do enough art activities with her.

After I got Riley away from playing with all the balls I got her interest in the painting. Perhaps we do have a budding artist! Riley loved standing at the easel and painting with all the different colors. She wouldn't let me put the smock on her. Of course I don't blame her, it was so hot and humid I thought I was going to melt. It was fun to watch Riley paint her first picture. This masterpiece is now hanging on the fridge!

I'm thinking maybe for Christmas we'll get Riley her own easel and paints so she can make everyone pretty pictures and explore her artistic side a little bit more! We had a fun morning and as soon as we got home Riley passed out. She's sleeping as I type. Perhaps I should join her!!

Kiddie Pool

A couple of months ago Riley received a care package from her Nana(Trey's mom). It had a swim suit, swimmies, a swimming vest, and a nice blow up pool. After Trey got home from church he took Riley outside to play. I wasn't feeling the best this Sunday so I was relaxing inside. Once I started feeling better(and after I cleaned all 3 bathrooms) I came outside to find Trey sprawled out in Riley's pool!
Riley was playing in the pool too! As you can see her daddy was definitely in charge of her when the swimming began because Riley wasn't dressed in a bathing suit. Daddy just took her shirt off and let her swim in her shorts. I have to give Trey some props though because he did lather Riley up in sunscreen!! That's a major plus! My neighbor Erika told me her daughter, Elyse who is 4, was looking out the window and watching Trey play with Riley and said, "I wish I was in their family, they look happy and are having fun!" I thought that was the cutest thing! Whether it's Riley in the pool or Trey in the pool, it definitely is put to good use!

Block Party

Saturday was a really fun day for us. We had a cookout with a few of our neighbors. Everyone brought stuff so that there was a nice selection of yummy food to eat!! Trey, Darrell and Scott grilled up some burgers, hot dogs, chicken, and ribs. Like I said, there was a yummy selection of food!! All the kids played in the pool and drove around their power wheels. Meanwhile the ladies just chatted it up under the tent and in the shade! The summer sun was HOT!!

Towards the end of the evening one of our neighbors dogs got out

of it's backyard. The next thing you know Riley is pinned up against a fence while the damn Pomeranian was scratching at her. I heard her scream and ran as fast as I could over to her. I've never wanted to hit a dog, but I wanted to at that very moment. No worries, I didn't! Abbie, my neighbor, went to tell the neighbors that their dog got out and attacked one of the kids. The neighbor came out and I told her that Riley was okay, but she had scratches all over her legs from her dog. The lady kindly informed me that if the dog didn't like her she would have bit Riley and that when the dog is scratching she wants to be picked up! Well thank you, that makes me feel much better! I'm sorry my 15 month old doesn't know to pick up a dog when it's clawing at her! I told her she needs to keep her dog in the yard or on a leash. All in all it was a really fun day spent outside enjoying good food and good company. Can't wait to do it again!

Playground

Riley is a huge fan of being outdoors. I try to take her down to the playground on a daily basis. Having the threat of Hurricane Felicia coming I made sure to get Riley outside today just in case we were trapped inside for the next couple of days. Of course today it was raining off and on, but the rain had stopped so I hurried up and got us down to the playground.
Riley is big enough now that she climbs up the ladder by herself and goes down the slide by herself. It's funny, I still think of her as a little baby, but she's so self sufficient.

I didn't think about the bottom of the slides having a puddle of water from the rain. So Riley got a wonderful surprise when she got to the bottom of the slide...a huge puddle of water. She thought it was the best thing in the world. She splashed around in the water and then tried to climb up the slide and slipped right back down because she was so wet. Laughter was all I heard! She turns into a mess every time she's outside so I wasn't even worried about it. As long as she's having fun!

Just the Two of Us

One of the best perks of us moving into our new home is the fact that we have a few really wonderful neighbors who we are becoming very close with. Abbie and Darrell have 3 kids that Riley just loves to play outside with. Abbie insisted that Trey and I go out alone, on a date, while she and Darrell watched Riley. Trey and I said no problem and happily left Riley with them. Trey and I started our evening out at our favorite place to eat, Kona Brewing Co. We actually both ordered the delicious steak. It was nice to eat a meal and not have to be feeding another mouth at the same time!!

After our marvelous dinner, Trey and I took a little cruise around the island and stopped in the North Shore to take some pictures by the beach. Our goal was to make it in time for the sunset, but I had to make Trey stop once for a potty break. My poor bladder just isn't the same as it once was! Of course there wasn't anybody there to take our picture for us, so Trey took them!

It was a fabulous 4 hours of alone time. We walked to our neighbors once we got home to pick up Riley and she had been bathed and was in pj's. It was great! Of course Riley didn't smell her normal self which was a little strange, but it was nice to be able to end the night by just having to put her to bed. With great neighbors like we have hopefully date nights will happen more frequently!

First Time in Years

Trey and I have become friends with a couple of our new neighbors. They both go to the same Christian church. We always see them every Sunday coming home from church service as we are normally outside playing with Riley. Yes, we are that unholy family that doesn't attend Sunday service. It's not that Trey and I don't believe in God, it's that we aren't motivated to get moving on Sunday mornings to get our butts to church.

Well Trey happened to ask one of our neighbors where they go to church. This in turn got us an invitation to go with them. I almost died when Trey told me we were going to church with the neighbors. I tried to inform Trey that Christian services aren't anywhere close to the Catholic services we are used to. So we put on our Sunday best and off to the service we went, only to find everyone in jeans and shorts and flip flops! It was very different, to say it nicely, than anything I have ever experienced. I'm used to being in a church, but we were in a school auditorium for this service. There was lots of singing and clapping and standing. Trey was definitely out of rhythm with his clapping. His excuse was that he is a "white boy." Most people had their bibles to reference what the pastor was saying. Trey and I don't own a bible. Actually I do have a bible, but I think it's at my moms house.

Needless to say, it was quite an experience. Honestly, I did feel better about myself after the hour and a half service that we attended. I definitely think we need to start going to church every Sunday. But my vote is to go to a Catholic church. I think I need to stick with my religious background that I know.

Just Because

Okay...so I'm a total slacker!! I have totally been neglecting the blog. Probably because the past couple of times we've been to the beach or to Trey's command picnic I've forgotten my camera and didn't have any photos to share with my stories! So this is a blog "just because" I've been absent in updating everyone.

Riley continues to grow like a weed. She loves to dance to any and every song she hears, especially the new Baskin Robbins commercial song of "ice cream and cake." It's absolutely hysterical to watch her. I can't wait to put her in dance class. Riley says a few words such as yes or yeah and done. Whenever the timer goes off on the microwave or stove Riley informs me very loudly, "done!" I have Riley trained to throw away her dirty diapers. I'm hoping that will be helpful when Kennedy arrives. Riley also takes the clothes out of the dryer for me and helps me put the pillows on the bed in the morning.

We are now facing a slight food challenge with Riley. She used to eat anything you were eating, no problem. Now she'll eat something one minute and then for the next bite she spits it out. I'm not quite sure what that's all about. I do know for sure that Riley is a huge fan of spaghetti and pizza. Of course, what kid isn't? Riley also can't get enough of hot dogs and mac and cheese...yes she is my daughter!! Knock on wood, Riley has been sleeping really well, waking up between 7 and 7:30. That extra hour she's been sleeping feels like all the difference in the world. And come November that's going to be taken away from me, so I'm taking advantage! Well, I think that's it for now. I'll be better with my blogging...promise!