Happy 6th Birthday, Riley!

I can hardly believe our little Riley turned six this week. I have a six-year-old. Wow. It's such a cliche, but she's growing up too fast! We've been so blessed to have her in our lives, and are excited (and kind of nervous) for what the next six years will bring.

We had a dinner with our families to celebrate (spaghetti with sauce straight from the jar- her favorite meal) with cake and ice cream after. As always, she was spoiled by the fam, and got some wonderful presents. The highlight, at least for me, was when she opened one of the gifts from Eric and I, the soundtrack to The Sound of Music, her new favorite movie. It's also one of my favorites, and we've been listening to nothing but, ever since. Eric is really happy about it.





This girl is a blast to have around. She makes us laugh (and sometimes want to cry) each day. She's got a mind of her own, and seemingly boundless energy. She's having a blast in Kindergarten, is reading and writing so well, and has made lots of new friends. She's our little social butterfly, and will talk your ear off if you let her. She and Iris have a typical sibling relationship- besties one minute, bitter enemies the next, and they seem to enjoy both sides.

I asked her some questions on her birthday:

• favorite food: crab, and spaghetti (What six-year-old likes crab?)
• favorite color: purple
• favorite movie: The Sound of Music (yes!)
• what do you want to be when you grow up: a space person
• favorite toy: scooter and doll house
• favorite book: Fancy Nancy, the Bearenstein Bears, and the Magic School Bus
• favorite thing to do: hug my mommy (I love those sappy moods she gets in!)
• favorite song: "Sixteen Going On Seventeen"
• favorite part of school: recess
  
• best friend: my sister, Iris

We love you, Riley!

(Send a prayer my way that I get through the friend party tomorrow!)

Me: "Your daddy is so great. I love him. Do you know that?"
Riley: "Of course I do. I know that everyone loves him. Except Satan, because Daddy is so good. Satan must have a really hard time with Daddy."

I melted.

It's Been A Looong January

Wow, I am so happy that January is over. It seemed to drag on for an extra long time, but we stayed busy and (mostly) productive.

A trip to the Bean Museum with the Bartlett fam

I had part of an ingrown toenail removed-again- and this time had some "residual side effects" to the stuff they numbed me with, which is a nice way of saying that a good portion of my left big toe is now completely numb. Although, how it can be numb and still hurt at the same time is beyond me.

Liz and Lad took us ice fishing a few weeks ago, which was very fun.

In self defense, I want to point out that I'm wearing at least four coats, plus about three shirts, and a scarf. It's bulky.

Riley was a complete champion, and such a trooper. She had a blast and ran around like the cold didn't have any effect. Iris, on the other hand, has no coping skills, and had a rough time.

A very fun time was had by all.

I took the girls to the circus the other day with some friends. It was seriously amazing!

Lastly, we went to a "kidney party" yesterday. One of my cousins is donating a kidney to our aunt, which is so incredible, and the fam put together a party for them. The donor's sister, another cousin, recently started her own cake making business, and she's fantastic! I have no idea how, but she made a kidney cake. And it was delicious.

You can't see all the amazing detail in this picture, but she has more on Facebook. (facebook.com/snowcakes1)

I want to put in a shameless plug for her here, and not just because she's my cousin. I really think her stuff is fabulous. So, for all your dessert needs, call Holly Krukowski, 801-750-7222, or email her at snow.cakes@yahoo.com. At the very least, look at her stuff on Facebook- she's awesome!


Here's to a short February! Hope yours is great!

Our Star

Riley was the "Star of the Week" in her kindergarten class this past week, and of course Eric put together the poster for her, as he is a much better choice for these kind of things than I am. I think it turned out really cute.

Crazy Kiddos

Sometimes I wonder, are all kids this... unusual?

"Why so serious?"

Riley has had a real hard time staying in bed lately, and has become sort of a master at sneaking out without being noticed and put back. The other night, she crept out to the couch, where we found her, hours later, like this. It looks so uncomfortable, but she didn't even flinch when the camera flashed over and over.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas to all, and Happy 2011! Wow, we've had a busy and (mostly) really fun year. These past couple of months have been true to form, with the kids running around and me running around after them. We had an amazing Christmas, and were truly, truly blessed. We have an incredible family that we were fortunate to spend a lot of time with, and also got some uninterrupted "Daddy" time (always a high point) while Eric had his winter break from school and work.

Some fun pictures:

Our annual gingerbread house making afternoon, complete with M&M noses.

Lunch with my favorite cousins- we haven't been together in years, and we had a blast!

Christmas jammies- I made Eric's pants, which is a first.

Patti took the fam to California the day after Christmas for a visit to Grandpa, Disneyland, the beach, fabric shopping, and, of course, the beach. It wouldn't be a trip to CA without it.

Looking at these pictures, it seems like all we did was ride "It's a Small World" all day, but that just isn't so. I guess it was just a nice place for pictures.

(I got this picture from Erika's blog- thanks!)

I hope you all had a great Christmas, and that are on your way to a fantastic 2011.

So You Think You Can Dance

Went to the So You Think You Can Dance tour again this year. It was so much fun! The dances were amazing, as usual, and it was just really great to have a night off with the girls. At one point, while standing up and clapping, I completely lost my head and waved at my favorite dancer. Like I expected him to recognize me as the one who voted for him every week, and come down to say hi. Very embarrassing.



I feel a tradition in the making.