poolside

one of the Tualatin hills parks and recreation centers they have an outdoor wading pool. it's for kids 5 and under and is about 35 feet or so long and 9 inches deep. We have been visiting almost daily. I get to sit on the side with my feet in the water soaking up some vitamin D, while he splashes and plays with kids his size. it's a win win.

I'm still here

It's been awhile since I last posted. It's been a rough few months, SO I will give the short version. This post is kind of a downer, just to forewarn you. But I promise the posts that follow will be much more positive.

So Everything kind of started last September. I Lost a pregnancy, got pregnant again and lost the pregnancy. 2 miscarriages in 3 months was really hard. Then in November I started having horrible daily migraines. After 7 months and lots of doctors, they have discovered that it was being caused by some serious TMJ. in the 7 months that it took for them to figure it out, I have had my primary doctor give up and refuse to see me ( they thought I was looking for pills, which was NOT the case), 2 ENTs , and a few emergency room visits and the removal of all four wisdom teeth. . and a nice cyst that was causing other painful problems. Yes I am a mess. But On the bright side, I am doing better..I am doing physical therapy which has helped a ton. But its been a long road. I have lost some friends, I have been upset and discouraged about wanting to try again for a baby, but knowing I can't until I could find out what was wrong and getting pain free. I haven't been able to exercise other than walking. But slowly I am getting there. SO enough of the bad and a quick update on other things.

Dave is now an intel employee. he is still an electrician, just not for a contractor anymore. SO proud of him. This was a big decision that we talked about for months. He took a pay cut, which means no moving for us for awhile. I am kinda bummed about that, but I am keeping my eye on the big picture. this job move is also opening a lot of doors for us.
Riley decided he wanted to go to school a few months ago and I told him he couldnt go if he didnt go pee in the potty. so That afternoon he put on underwear, and that was that. he was potty trained. for about 2 weeks. then he refused to poop in the toilet. So spring break came and there was no school. So I told him he couldnt go to school because he wasnt pooping in the potty. He hasnt had an accident since. He truly made it so easy for me. Nighttime though, we arent even close. he plays hard and he sleeps hard.
Dave's grandpa passed away about a month ago. he was very sick and we had been going up to washington a lot to spend time with him and help out where we could. He was a wonderful man and not a day goes by that we dont miss him.
We have started getting our garden ready to plant. its been kinda tricky, as we have had some crazy weather here this year. I have lots of pictures to post, but they will have to wait until my next post. I didn't realize the time and I am off to cook dinner :) I will post again soon.

new shoes

Dave and I went to a halloween party on saturday night and I brought out a pair of red heels to wear with my costume. Riley saw them and jumped into them. I haven't been able to get them back to actually put them away. He calls them his new dancing shoes. all day long I hear clickity clack. SO funny.

halloween

this year was the first year Riley actually got to choose his own costume. out of all the hundreds of things he could have chosen...he chose this little number. It was love at first sight. I didn't buy it right away and he did nothing but talk about it and ask for it.


yes a hamburger. that's my goofy kid. it was a hit though and I made his hat. which we didn't even need. it was a beautiful night for trick or treating.

trick or treating this year was soo much fun. we went last year but after about a dozen houses he was done. this year he was soo excited and talked about it for days before. we went to a different neighborhood with our neighbors and their kiddos. it was a blast!

reward chart

so, my sweet used to be 2 year old entered the world of 3 with full force. he is still sweet and funny and a good listener, most of the time, but he has really been testing his limits. So after doing a lot of looking around, I decided to start him a reward chart. I chose to do a tic tac toe grid. the sheet has four rows of four grids. he gets to put a sticker in a box for things like picking up his toys without being asked, using his nice voice and not the screaming one ( please and thank you is great..but not when it's being screamed at you) and just following directions the first time I ask. when he fills a grid he gets to pick a treat. anything from a cookie or fruit snack to a sticker and extra time at the park. when he fills up two rows, then he gets to either get extra tv time or a trip to target to pick out a new hot wheel. and then for filling the entire page he gets to pick a fun trip like pump it up, the zoo or a lunch date to where ever he chooses. within reason of course. it seems to be working. it's nice to see him so excited about his accomplishments. So i was wondering if any of my other mommy friends out there have had to start similar charts or what do you guys do for rewarding good behavior?
Since I haven't blogged in awhile, Some other things going on with us...we had some family photos taken last month, we were without a computer for a week or so, Riley is doing great with potty training..if only I could get him to poop on the potty. he stays dry...any helpful hints would be greatly appreciated. I know once he does it he will be good to go.. I have been searching for a preschool for him for a few months now, I am having a hard time finding one with an extended birthday date. The only one I found we are on a waiting list for because the class is only 8 kids and it's full. and he needs to be fully potty trained to go. almost there, except for the poop.I am off to sew a fleece hat to go with riley's Halloween costume. he has been telling me all week that he really wants to go trick or treating and driving me crazy! is this what my parents felt like during holidays? and this morning he told us that he really needed a cookie, really pathetic and weak like. ( it didn't work). until next time!

party!

We had decided to do a small party at the house for Riley for his birthday. We took him to the beach on his actual birthday. I was thinking like 10 people...but it ended up being more like 46! Most of them being kids. I was looking around during the party and was overwhelmed a little by all the people that love and care about my son. He is one lucky kid. We had a great time. I made cupcakes instead of a getting a cake. and because Of the number I needed to make I had to get creative and make my own cupcake stand. I was rather pleased with the way it tuned out. Instead of games, because I am not big on party games, I created a craft table with glue sticks, color pages, construction paper, foam stickers and crayons and markers and stickers. it was a hit. even the adults could be found coloring at the table :0) outside I had some lightning mcqueen beach balls I scored at the dollar tree and some bubbles with large wands, sidewalk chalk. I found some trophy's for free at a garage sale a few weeks ago and snatched them up. When I pulled them out for the party Riley got all excited..My piston cup! I used them for candy bowls. I found some free clip art and made my own labels using address labels and just stuck them around the chocolate pieces. they were a big hit. I also took the same idea for gift bags and just stuck them onto paper bags. The party was a big success.
The next day we got up early and headed to the beach for the day. It was beautiful day! Riley was so excited to go. we went to the aquarium, outlet malls, and of course the beach. that was his favorite. all the way there he was telling us that he was going to swim in the ocean. Umm, yeah. then we hit our favorite candy store on the way out and got some taffy and homemade Carmel. what a great way to spend a birthday! happy big 3 little man!

11 more days

and I will have a 3 year old in my house! (and the new found "attitude" to prove it!) I am amazed that we are about to celebrate Riley's 3rd birthday. time has flown, and I couldn't be prouder of the little boy he has become. He is very polite, independant, funny and a great problem solver. The conversations that take place these days are so fun. I love how simple things seem to him. things just are the way they are. everything has to be done "by myself". and he has all of sudden about 2 weeks ago decided that he wanted to use the potty. he stays dry as long as I remind him to go. but I noticed today that he was been starting to figure out going unprompted by himself. Now of I could just get him to poo in the potty :0) He is still my little guy..barely 3 feet tall and 30 pounds. only in a size 6.5 shoe, and still crazy about his friends from radiator springs. He amazes me everyday, and I can't wait to see what the coming year brings!