Fun times

First bath together!! Conor loves to help Riley take a bath, and it is much drier if she is able to splash in the big tub with him.
He loves to take a bath.

Riley has really been enjoying the exersaucer. She loves to chew on the "bee", maybe she is teething earlier than Conor did?!?

Daddy admiring his sweet little girl and already finding her tickle spots.

Swimming

Some of our dearest friends moved into a new house this summer. And (lucky for us) they have a pool. After clearing all the algae out and getting the chemicals balanced, we were invited over to try it out. It was not one of the very hot days we'd been having but Conor and Riley were each able to hop in with Daddy for a swim. Thanks Paulo and Kristine.

Birthday Party

At the last minute, we decided to have a small group of friends over to celebrate Conor's birthday. He wanted to make red cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Here he is "helping" Mommy bake them.

Proud to be 3!!
Showing off the number "3" cupcakeReady to blow out the candles
Mmmm, this tastes great!
Trying out his new "Toy Story 3" chair!! Pretty comfy. Buzz Lightyear (he actually got 2 of them)

We took pictures of him with every present he opened, but his faces got sillier and sillier, so I will just post these where he's actually smiling.

A few photos

Conor still has a scar on his nose from his faceplant last month, hopefully it will continue to fade
Riley is growing out of her clothes, including the overalls from her Great Aunt Toni!

Big step

A week or two ago, Riley started holding her bottle by herself. She is not perfect yet as her arms get tired or she gets a little lazy, but we are working towards a little more independence!

My how he's grown!

August 12, 2007...when it all began

August 12, 2008...one year old

August 12, 2009...two years old

August 12, 2010...three years old

Speaking of growing, Riley has transitioned into the next size of clothing which is always a bit of an emotional and bittersweet stage for me. She lasted 4 months in 0-3 month clothing compared to Conor's 2 months, however!

Steps in Digestion

At lunch today, Conor was playing with his black olives--which he loves to eat. But he starting getting a little creative and put them on his fingers, telling us they were puppets. So we named them Oliver and Olivia, and then he ate them.
When I asked where Oliver and Olivia went, he said, "I ate them."
So I said, "But where did they go?"
He answered, "In my mouth."
We have been reading a book about the human body, and learning about the esophagus and stomach and so on, so I asked, "Where did they go next?"
Without any hesitation, he said "To the park!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONOR!!!

Conor turned 3 yesterday!!!!! We had been counting down the days for about the last week, so when he woke up while I was in the shower, he came running in and told me, "Mom, it's my birthday. I'm threeeeeee!" Overnight, Daddy had blown up some balloons to decorate the living room to help make his day special.
In the morning, he got to open one small present...a couple packages of Toy Story 3 gummy candy and his own Toy Story 3 popcorn box with a pack of microwave popcorn!Then, while Mommy was at work, Daddy took Conor and Riley to the splash park. When they got home, Conor decided he wanted to "take a rest" on the chair...he made himself nice and cozy, Adam later moved him to the couch where he got a crook in his neck anyway (not sure he would have done any better in this position in the chair).After I got home from work and he woke up from his nap, we went to dinner. Though he had been talking about Applebees for two days as his restaurant of choice, he switched to Red Robin at the last minute. They gave him an ice cream sundae and 3 balloons for turning 3 years old and sang him their Happy Birthday song. We came home to find one more--very large--present in our living room...A pirate ship water table that he was so excited about and couldn't wait to put together.
Then he got to watch "Althin and the Chickmunks" (as he said). He would sit to watch, but stand up and dance around every time they sang a song. It was really cute.

Playing with his new water table today...wanted Daddy to put it together first thing this morning, even before breakfast! Soaked through two pairs of shorts and underwear before finally just pulling his swim trunks out. He is having a blast! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN! We love you and are so glad you are a part of our lives. Daddy said yesterday, "Although 3 years has gone by so fast, it is hard to remember what life was like before him." So true!

Just Chillin'

National Night Out

Last week, we had a community awareness event at our neighborhood park highlighting community safety departments. This is an annual event very close to home we always enjoy attending. We get to see and even get inside police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and this year even a helicopter!! The kids get all kinds of great "junk" like firefighter hats, stickers, pencils, and candy. It was loud and very hot, but fun nonetheless!

Trying to shade Riley from the sun!
Checking out the helicopter
Watching the helicopter take off...it was loudChecking out the fire truck
Modeling the fireman's hat

Random shots

Daddy had to buy Riley a pink White Sox outfit. Don't worry, there will be plenty of Twins ones to come!Can't quite get a good pose of the two of them together yet, but will keep trying...
Naptime when it comes at unexpected times:

Adam wrote...

Conor brought a tear to my eye today... We were talking about my dad, and I said "I wish you could have met Grandpa Mike." He replied, "Maybe we could meet him at Christmas." So young. The fact that it was the day after my dad's birthday didn't help. Conor would have loved Grandpa Mike...

Adventures at our House

Conor riding around on his 4-wheeler outside. Daddy goofing around with the kids. He was complaining how he didn't have many pictures of himself with the two of them together so....
Conor had his first ear of corn that he actually ate off the cob....and he did a great job...pretty much got all the corn on his own!!! I had already cut the corn off another ear and he had eaten his steak and potatoes before he decided he wanted to try eating it off the cob on his own. This kid can eat like a garbage disposal!! A new farmstand opened near our house so we are very excited to have corn on the cob and fresh squash and zucchini more often this summer!!
Conor loves to try to make Riley smile!
And he is usually successful!!