Everyone could use an update!

Hi Family and Friends...

So our family has a bit to report on. I feel like even though it has not been too long since my last blog update there has been a lot going on over here in the Richardson household.

We are now completely settled into our new home, which we are renting. The kids are still getting use to living in a new house and sometimes cant help but want to visit the old house, which is just right across the street. We have already had our first accident in the house with Caleb. Poor kid was jumping down the stairs (Yes, even after we told him so many times not to jump). He suffered from a bad concussion and had a terrible abrasion on the back of his leg as well. Yes, this accident required a trip to the ER. Thankfully, after about two weeks he was back to himself. He was such a good boy at school during those two weeks. Especially since he had to miss recess, stretch time for lunch, and PE. Caleb is doing pretty good in school. We have already had our first Parent Teacher Conference. They said he has shown significant improvement and that everything he has learned to date he is retaining. This pleases us cause we now know all our hard work to keep him focused to do well is paying off. He responds well to positive reinforcement and is certainly a little perfectionists.

Thomas... well he is still missing his brother throughout the day and tries to find ways to entertain himself. He really doesn't find playing with Riley very interesting. On the other hand she thinks it is a thrill to play with her big brother. Unfortunately we are still working on potty training. For a while he was very interested but lately its the attitude of "I love my diapers mom." I have been researching some tips online and asking friends for advice and support. I would like to try and get him trained before the end of the year. Please cross your fingers for us! We also celebrated Thomas's 3rd bday. Like last year we did a Mickey Mouse theme and he loved it!

Riley... is still walking speedily along furniture. She has taken a few steps on her own but nothing too serious. I know she will walk any day now and surprise us all. I am surprised at how early she is reaching all these milestones then I realized she does have two older brothers to keep up with and she really just wants to be one of the big kids!

Ryan... He has been very busy with work and we love him for his dedication to work hard and support our family. He also has been busy with school. He has about a year left. He cant wait to be done. I told him the last year will go super fast and the last month will go super slow. But nonetheless the day he turns in his last assignment will be so fulfilling. I just cant wait for the day he turns to me and says "I sort of miss school." Cause I had a moment or two like that after I finished. We look forward to watching him graduate!

Me... Well I havent been up to much. Just keeping the house in order and taking care of the kiddos. I started working on more crafts and pinning ideas on Pinterest for Christmas gifts. I want to try and make majority of the gifts this year but we will see how well that works out.

Here are just a few of the crafts I have been working on: 

Infinity scarfs I made. 

A snowman table runner that I have been meaning to make 

since last year. 

In other news!!! We are pleased to announce that we are NO LONGER HOMEOWNERS! I know... how could we be so excited about this news. Well for those who know, our house situation has had its fair share of ups and downs. We are just so happy that we could short sale our home and also make someone else's dream come true by being a first time home owner. Though I am a little sad and still coping with the idea of letting our very first home go, I know that it is now a chapter in our life that we can close and move forward. Besides, we have already begun to write the next chapter. I don't know when we will buy again. I do know that with new programs in place we can buy in as little as a year from now. But we both agree that we will tackle that when the time comes.

In other news again!!! We are also excited to announce... (Well the picture says it all):

And one last picture just cause I love how much my boys love each other!

We will write more when we have more updates! 

Kindergarten

Well now is as good as anytime to write about Kindergarten. We just finished the second week of school and I cannot tell you how relieved I feel that today is Friday! I am so exhausted at the end of each day that the sound of Friday is just so exciting. Caleb so far is loving Kindergarten and has had a good two weeks of school that I know of. His teachers have not said much so that must be a good thing. We are so proud of him and how even on the toughest mornings he still likes to go to school. He has made some new friends. He talks about several of his classmates. One particular classmate he talks about is a little girl named Kayla. He said he loves her and that they are best friends (Oh young innocent love). The other day as the bell rang to go line up to go to class Kayla and him were holding hands walking back to class to line up (Such a cute moment). Kayla's mom laughs just as much as I do as we watch our kids play. 

In other news... Caleb has received a "good job" stamp for two weeks in a row. So we are pleased to hear he is doing good in class. We also did our first packet of homework this week. The experience of sitting down with him and getting homework done was interesting. For about the first five minutes he was fully engaged and willing. Then he sort of got "bored" with the assignments. I had to figure out ways to make it fun. Nonetheless, we were successful! He turned in his homework this morning. We sure hope that we get good news back on his first packet of homework. 

We also placed our first Scholastic book order to help support his classroom. We didnt buy a ton of books as we already have lots of books but we just plan to order each month if we can even if its just one book. Anything we can do to help his classroom. We also bought two PE shirts to help support the PE department. Its not much but every little effort counts. 

Now an update on how the other two are coping with their older brother gone during the day. Thomas for the first week had no idea what to do with himself. He missed Caleb so much and did not understand why his older brother AKA "best friend" had to be gone so long at school. He also didnt understand why Riley was not up to playing at the same speed as his older brother does. Its funny how kids somewhat cant figure out how to function without their siblings. This second week went a little better. He still misses his brother a ton throughout the day but is slowly warming up to playing with Riley. He finds her as someone who loves to impose more than anything but I think eventually he will understand that she will not necessarily understand that she is doing something wrong. But today the funniest thing happen. Thomas was building a bridge with his wooden blocks and Riley crawled over and knocked it all down and looked at him with the biggest smile and loudest squeal. She thought it was so fun to destroy what he was building. Thomas on the other hand was not too happy. After the destruction of the bridge Thomas decided to play hide and seek with Riley. Of course she wouldnt understand the concept of playing that game. But I helped Riley hide. Fortunately for Thomas she is easy to find cause she is babbling all the time and he can find her by listening for her.

Well here are some photos for you all to enjoy! 

This photo was taken by one of Caleb's teachers at Kinder Orientation. 

I saved this picture from the classrooms blog online, which for 

those concerned, is a password protected site. 

Took this picture at Caleb's Kinder Orientation. He found his 

desk and started coloring the activity they had sitting out for the

kids. 

Of course, we must get a first day of Kindergarten picture! 

This was him about an hour after he got home from his first

day of school. I expected him to do just this after a 

long day at school. 

This was taken at Caleb's Kindergarten Open house. The picture 

of him is one they had displayed in the classroom that they took 

during Kinder Orientation. We had such a fun time at his open house doing a

scavenger hunt that his teachers prepared for us. 

And what would the first day of school be without a 

picture with your siblings! 

AND that is all FOLKS! 

Making a new house our "New Home"

To our family and friends:

For those of you who may not know, we have finally moved. We are renting the house across the street from our home. Many said this move with be easy as we would just be walking stuff over. But I have to say any move is hard but we got it done. We are thankful for all the "muscle" that came to help with the heavy stuff. We are thankful for all the "muscle" that came to help with even the minor stuff. We appreciate it so much! Moving with kids is not an easy task, but somehow we made it work. 

For now, our house is being sold. We have an offer and are hoping to hear back within the next week what the status is on the approval. If all goes right we should have the house sold. So while we sit and wait to hear back from the banks, we spend most of our time making the new place our "new home."

After living in our home for 8 years, you can imagine how many sentimental moments I was holding onto with the home. But what has really helped me in particular to move forward is the fact that I had to position myself to make business decisions and not emotional decisions. Therefore, business wise, I think that moving forward and selling our home was the best we could do for our family. Financially and emotionally we are better off. And for that I am thankful. I believe I owe the good man up there a thank you for giving me the strength to maintain my faith in my life decisions. 

For Ryan, I think he is relieved to just be moving forward. He was really never the emotional type in this situation. He completely had framed a business like mind when it came down to make the final decisions for our home and our well being as a family. 

So as I continue to settle into our new place, I think about all the work I have put into the new place just to make it our own. Even if we dont own this home, the landlord was so wonderful to tell me "She wants me to love the home." She allowed us to paint whatever we wanted. All that she asked was that we use "tasteful colors." Which if anyone knows me really well, I have a talent for picking colors out and matching my decor I already have! And I like to think I choose tasteful colors. 

So to tell you our moving story... it may take forever. But in a nutshell. We had to do some work in the house before moving in to get it ready for our little family. We painted the dinning room (using as an office) , kitchen, family room (using as a play area), and all three bathrooms. We had the carpets cleaned and the previous tenant our friend had the house professionally cleaned. We are in the process of re-caulking the bathrooms and kitchen area. So far its coming a long well. We brought the sprinkler system up to code. The dead grass is now growing back nicely in the front and back yard. We also had the yard professionally serviced prior to us moving in. 

We moved things slowly in shortly after we painted but made our final move on July 4th weekend. Unfortunately because of the holiday it was just Ryan and I moving the smaller stuff. My sister Kiani did come to help that weekend. We were both so thankful for her help with the kids and moving the minor stuff. 

We have all our paintings and pictures hung. We have the kids bedrooms organized as well as our own. My sewing/craft/guest room is coming along. I have to say when I walked into our new home for the first time with all our furniture in place it actually felt like a home, our home for that matter. It is amazing how putting your own personal things in a house can almost immediately make it feel like home. As for the kids they are adjusting well. They love that the new house is two-story. The boys have already experimented with sliding sleep bags down the stairs as well as pushing each other down in a box. Yes it is a scary site, but I am there monitoring them. Our pets are adjusting well too. We are still getting use to the idea that downstairs will always be that much cooler than the upstairs during these triple digit temps. You dont really think about heat rising until you live in a two-story home. We fortunately have fans in each room that are on during the day to keep the upstairs cool. So far its working wonderfully! 

If you want our new address, please reply via e-mail or if you are not on our blog mailing list, please private message me on facebook or e-mail me. 

Here are a few pics of the kids and Daddy in the new place: 

 Riley is getting bigger! She turned 7 month's on the 26th! 

 Sleeping with his minion toy! 

 Sleeping with his minion toy! 

 Thomas loves to sit in the pack n' play with his sister Riley! 

Notice the little pinch in the arm she is giving him, yup! Thats 

cause she wants him to know its her territory... And I think

she wants the iPad! 

 Caleb has a habit of sitting in Riley's rocker. Good thing it holds his weight! 

 Unfortunately, this was time-out. Except I dont even remember why I put them on time-out! 

The kids love and miss their Daddy! This is them on the weekends! 

Road Trip Adventures!

The last time I posted, I talked about some of the fun activities we were able to do as a family before we hit the terrible triple digits in Las Vegas. Since then we have done a lot as a family as well as started a new adventure, which I will blog about in a separate post after this one.

In mid May Ryan and I took the three munchkins on a road trip to visit some family. We drove very long hours to reach Ryan's home town of Wright, WY. The drive up was terrible and good at the same time. We hit really hard rain and surprisingly some fog. We decided that not even half way there we would stop because it was already 10 pm and the rain had not subsided, plus at that point Caleb had a few accidents because he likes to wait until the very last minute to go potty. Plus we were probably really tired but didnt want to admit being exhausted. We had intentions of at least making it to Little America in WY but decided that stopping somewhere in Utah was better because of the rain and the potty accidents. We had the hardest time finding a hotel because our network on our phones were not working good and some of the hotel apps we had were working slow as well. We ended up stopping in Provo, UT for a bite to eat and next to the place we stopped had three hotels. We checked all three hotels and all were booked. I suppose there was some kind of convention going on. Probably something associated with the BYU campus. The reps at the hotels also told us we wouldn't be able to find a room for at least another hour of driving. Well they were wrong. We actually drove about 35 miles down the road to Heber City, UT. We were fortunate enough to find a hotel there that had plenty of rooms. By the time we got settled in, it was a little after midnight. The kids had been bathed and fed. Ryan and I stayed up for a bit just to make sure we had our plans in order for the  next day. We woke up fairly early to get the kids ready and going. We had the free breakfast at the hotel, which wasn't the greatest but it saved us money on buying breakfast that morning. We headed out around 8 am to finish the rest of our road trip. The rest of the way up there was rain, strong winds, and sunshine. The kids did very well on the trip surprisingly. It was our first time traveling for a long period with Riley, so we were not sure how well she would do. She actually was well behaved. And for that we were thankful!

We had intentions of driving up to Jamestown, ND to see the rest of Ryan's family but with the weather not being the best and had already traveled so far with the kids we ended up not heading that way. We really wanted too though! Fortunately, Ryan's Grandma Bieri, Sister Katie, and our nephew Christian drove down when the weather was better and spent a few days with us. During our time in Wright, WY we had a chance to visit the Trails Museum located in Casper, WY, which is about an hour drive from where we were staying. I am not sure how much the boys enjoyed this museum but I know they particularly liked the cart ride and sitting in the Wells Fargo Cart on display. They also loved the big train coming out of the wall, and the iron wire horse. Regardless, it was a nice museum to visit. We particularly enjoyed reading more about the Mormon Trail and Martins Cove. Here are a few pictures we took at the museum:

Additionally, while we were out there, we drove out to Rapid City, SD and visited the Dinosaur Park and the Reptile Gardens. On the way back, we stopped at Meghan's (Ryan's sister) College, Black Hills State University, which is located in Spearfish, SD.

The boys in particular really enjoyed the Dinosaur Park and Reptile Gardens. They thought it was fun. Despite the cold weather and the rain, that did not stop the kids from climbing the gazillion steps at the dinosaur park or running around the reptile garden to see all types of reptile creatures! Here are a few pictures we took at both places:

DINOSAUR PARK

REPTILE GARDENS

On the way home, we made a special stop at Independence Rock. The boys loved it! Who would have known that a giant rock in the middle of nowhere would interest them, but it did! It was a nice 30 minute break for us. Riley was able to have a bottle, and we were all able to stretch our legs! Here are a few pics we took:

Well that about sums up our trip! I probably left some details out but not on purpose... It was just a few months ago and my mind has been preoccupied with other things, such as a move, which I plan to update in another blog post... So please be on the look out for it! :-) Love to all our family and friends that follow. 

Family Fun Before Triple Digits

I realize that I have not blogged in a few months and my last blog post was not really much of an update on our family activities or an update on us in general. We have not been up to too much lately. But we have managed to squeeze in a few family outings before we reach the dreadful triple digit weather.

In early April, we had a wonderful visit with Ryan's mom Julie. She stayed for about a week. The boys were so thrilled to have her come visit. Riley was thrilled too. She is smiling more and cooing up a storm. During Julie's visit we did a lot of miscellaneous shopping, ate out a few times, spent some time indoors, and  went to see Thomas the Train. As you know Caleb is a die hard Thomas the Train fan. Thomas on the other hand is slowly getting into the whole idea that a train has the same name as him. He really is more a Mickey Mouse and Wonder Pets kind of kid. 

The day out with Thomas was such a fun festival for families to attend. The train ride was a bit shorter than I remember it being, but nonetheless the boys had a once in a lifetime opportunity to ride Thomas the Train. They even got to meet Sir Topham Hatt, which was so hilarious because Caleb loved it and Thomas was terrified. At this festival they also had a Mega Block tent to build trains or play with trains. They had an activity center for face painting, coloring, painting, and stick on tattoos. There was also a tent set up for movie viewing and story time. Unfortunately, we did not make the story time. And as always these events have some sort of souvenir set up. An entire tent was set up with tons of Thomas the Train toys, accessories, and other novelties. Lucky for the boys, Grandma Julie was so nice to buy them each a train. They picked out Dash and Bash.

Here are some photos of our Thomas the Train festivities...

Also, in early April we took the kids to a Dinosaur expo with our good friends The Siverts (Minus Bob, he was working). Caleb and Thomas love their buddy Jed and what better thing to do than bring three boys to an expo that focuses on just dinosaurs. We had a lot of fun despite the mass amount of people who attended the expo and the long lines just to get on the inflatable jumpers.

Here are some photos of our Dinosaur Expo festivities... (Note: I know the pictures are positioned weird but its the best I could do to fit all the pictures I wanted into one collage). Sorry!

That is about all we did for the month of April. We just finished the month of May and to be honest we were a bit busy!!! I will update more our May festivities in another blog post. :-) For now, enjoy this short and sweet update! 

A Non-Traditional Post

My good friend Nicole Horlacher tagged me in a post and challenged me to post on my blog a few things about myself and answer a few questions. I don't know how this activity usually works but it seems like a lot of fun! 

So here we go:

1. Each person must write 11 things about themselves that readers may not know.

2.Answer the 11 questions the tagger asked, and then ask the people YOU nominate and tag to answer 11 questions.

3. Choose 11 other blogs and link them in this post.

4. Go to their page and tell them.

5. No tag backs!

Let's begin with the 11 things readers may not know about me. 

1. I grew up on the island of Guam but relocated to the mainland in 2002. 

2. I am very, very , very afraid of spiders and snakes. 

3. My birthday is on Halloween. 

4. I don't like the smell of Maple Syrup. 

5. When I first started college I wanted to pursue my education in the path of becoming a lawyer.

6. I love the color purple, polka dots, stripes, and anything damask print.

7. Very rarely are my toes not painted and decorated. And I am often embarrassed when my friends look down at feet and discover I have been slacking. I am mostly embarrassed when my husband tells me that I need to do my toes. Because after all my feet was one of the reasons he married me. Oh wait, he says "that's the only reason he married me."

8. I was having trouble coming up with more things to say about myself... so my husband decided to help. Here's his input: I am OCD about things around the house (For instance, the house must be clean and organized. I am anal about having things in order and complete. Like the kids toys, everything must be complete and in its spot.) He often jokes that I am so anal about things being in order that if I had a jar of 16,000 beads and I discovered I only had 15, 999 beads I would go crazy looking for the 1 missing bead. I must confess he is probably right. Sigh!

9. I am allergic to Celery. I know right, who is allergic to that stuff when its practically water... but I am. Don't worry I only react when its not fully cooked. When I have it in soups or dishes that have cooked for a long time I am usually okay.

10. I have really small hands. Not joking...

11. I love Bacon. Don't judge!

Next, I must answer Nicole Horlacher's questions, here they are:

1. What time do you go to bed usually?

 I usually go to bed when the kids are settled. I am showered and in bed by 11 pm but have trouble falling asleep. Not to mention I can be a light sleeper so I wake up multiple times throughout the night. 

2. Did you love or hate school? Why?

I have a love hate relationship with school. Part of me loves school because its always a good thing to keep on learning and I find that rewarding. I hate school because it cost so much money and sometimes can be very time consuming. 

3. What is a hidden talent that you'd like to develop?

Since I already love to paint, sing, and sew... I have the desire to learn how to drive a race car. I have added to my bucket list to one day drive a fancy fast car just for fun.  

4. What would be the ideal place for you to live?

Anywhere that my family would like to settle. I don't want to live anywhere without them. So my ideal place would be anywhere as long as family is with me. 

5. What do you want to do when you retire?

Buy an Audi, a classic fixer upper (preferably a Camaro or a Corvette), and purchase a big enough home to accommodate all our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren when they come to visit. Ohya, and Ryan and I want to serve an older couple mission. 

6. Ever built a snowman? Sandcastle? Which is better?

Attempted to build a snowman once when I saw snow for the first time. It was an epic fail. I could barely roll a ball of snow. I have built many sandcastles... I find that much more fun as you can use all sorts of fun tools likes buckets and shovels. Okay, I may be a little bias because I grew up near the ocean and the beach was a weekly activity. 

7. What's your favorite game to play with friends?

I like to play all sorts of games on my phone. Currently its Whats The Phrase with Friends. Next week it may be something else. 

8. Are you a good driver?

Yes, I like to think I am a good driver. Especially since I became a mother of three. I have probably toned down quite a bit when it comes to all the awful drivers on the road out here in Las Vegas. 

9. What do you hope to accomplish in the next year?

Lose more weight. Become a more spiritual person than I am already. Have more faith in people. Do more service. Pay off bills. 

10. What is your favorite quote and why?

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow.” 

-Mary Ann Radmacher

This is my favorite quote because lets face it... being a mother of three is a very hard yet rewarding job. So even if I don't accomplish all I want to in a day, or I have a bad day for other reasons... I know that its not the end of the world. This quote reminds me to be strong and never give up trying. Therefore, I am not a quitter. I don't give up. I just keep trying. 

11. What is the thing that brings you to your happy place? (chocolate, baths, books, etc.?) 

Chocolates always bring me to my happy place, but honestly... A clean house makes me happy. Ohya, brownies and cheesecake. Bad TV shows, good TV shows, and my Nook e-Reader. Although, I wish I knew what it felt like to take a bath, read a book, and eat my favorite sweets all at the same time. 

Lastly, I need to tag 11 people and provide 11 questions for them to answer. 

Here are the 11 people: (Okay, I am short 1 person-Sorry). I don't know that many people with blogs. 

Shelli Sivert-We Happy Siverts

Kristen Miller- Home of the Millers

Jessie Allen- Team Allen

Wendy Cushing- Wendys Hat

Megan Warren- The Warren Clan

Jan Nielsen- Old People Down Unda'

Sierra Pahnke- Dazzlephotozz

Shelby Brown- Devin and Shelby

Calina Garcia- Baubles, Bubbles, and Beauty

Christie Jones- Raindrops on Roses

Here are your 11 questions:

1. What do you remember most as a child?

2. Where do you want to be in ten years?

3. Do you have a bucket list? If so, care to share what you have listed?

4. How can you best describe yourself?

5. Do you think first impressions are important?

6. Whats your favorite summer activity?

7. Whats your favorite winter activity?

8. Do you have a favorite holiday? If so, why is it your favorite?

9. Have you ever traveled outside the United States? If you have, share something special about your trip. If you have not, where do you want to travel that is outside the United States. 

10. Whats your favorite food?

11. Do you like to try new things? For instance, food, or scary amusement park rides? (Elaborate). 

Cant wait to read everyone's answers :-)

Thanks for participating! 

Mother of Three! And an Update!

My life has significantly changed since I became a mother of three. After almost two months after having Riley I am still trying to find my rhythm in handling two very active boys and a new born baby. Well I guess shes not so new at almost two months old. My daily routines consist of getting the boys quickly ready for the day. Which is often a struggle because its such a dramatic thing to pick out clothes when you have two picky boys who complain about what clothes they want to wear. Then there is brushing of the teeth. I often fight just to have them open their mouths. I did try the method of using one of Google's images of rotten teeth. I showed the boys the picture and asked if they would like their teeth to look like the picture. They both replied "no" of course... that maybe worked twice. I pat myself on the back for that innovative idea of using a rotten teeth image.

Usually after I get the boys ready and settled with breakfast Riley is up for her second morning feeding. I spend about 30-45 minutes feeding and burping her. After that I usually get her dressed for the day. I try to have myself ready in the morning before tackling the kids but that is not always the case. Therefore I am either the very first to be ready for the day or the very last. I use to spend at least 15 minutes on myself now that has dropped to about 5-10 minutes. I wish I had more time.

Tuesday and Thursdays are our very busy days. We head out for the day to drop Caleb to preschool. That takes up most of the day and we arrive home in the late afternoon with just enough time to get dinner ready. However, sometimes I like to cheat and eat out. I know I am guilty of it. But I am honestly always so tired that the idea of cooking doesn't always sit well with me. I try to give myself at least two breaks a week from cooking. And that is usually on Tuesday and Thursday. I would have Ryan cook but his idea of cooking is opening up a can good and heating it up. Dont get me wrong there is nothing wrong with can goods but I dont like the idea of eating can goods every day!

A few updates:

Ryan-He is still working for Safety-Kleen and loves his job. He earned his associates degree this past December right before we welcomed Riley. He is now working on his BA in Accounting. He likes to do school work at the last minute, which drives me nuts but he always gets it done. Kudos to him! He recently went out of town to Phoenix for some work trip.

Deanna-Well I pretty much gave you my update above. I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight and I can button my pre-pregnancy jeans however they dont fit as comfortably as they use too. I suppose that is the fact of having three kids and your body changes. I am just not that fortunate like other mothers who shrink down and look like they dont have kids. I still have more work to do and I work at it every day! I am nursing Riley and have started taking some natural remedies to help promote health lactation. I am drinking mothers milk tea and taking Fenugreek capsules. I also was informed that an essential oil called Fennel helps as well. I plan to head down to whole foods and see if I can get Fennel in a capsule. The tea and Fenugreek is working but I thought I would try something else to add to my remedies.

Caleb- He will be turning 5 in August, which means we are ready to enroll him in Kindergarten. Enrollment starts March 1st. Ryan and I both cannot believe that Caleb is ready for school. We will attend an enrollment meeting at the school we plan to enroll him in on February 28th. They will talk to us about the half day and full day programs they offer. We are highly thinking that half day is the best option for Caleb considering he will be going every day of the week. Plus the school charges a somewhat expensive monthly rate for full day Kindergarten. He enjoys preschool and looks forward to his Tuesday and Thursday sessions. He gets to do show and tell every Thursday and every third week of the month they have a bounce house for exercise. They also have holiday parties, and had one for Valentines Day. Caleb gave out Spider-man Valentine goodies.

Thomas- He is very active and has selective hearing. I feel like I am always repeating myself with him. I guess repetition is necessary with toddlers. He is interested in learning to use the potty, which is nice because he is wanting to learn way earlier than Caleb ever did. I suppose that is because he observes his bigger brother going to the potty. I also think he is tired of diapers. We will more than likely attempt potty training within the next few weeks. We are just waiting for a weekend that we can effectively concentrate on the training. He loves to sing his ABC's and 123's. He also enjoys tugging his Mickey and Minnie mouse stuff animals that he begged us to buy for him around the house. He is also very smart with many of his education shows he watches on the TV or iPad. He is always answering the questions out loud that the show will ask. We plan to hopefully enroll him into preschool this upcoming fall. We would like to enroll him in the same one that Caleb is attending now. If we get him potty trained in time he will meet the deadline of Sept 30. He has to turn 3 by that date.

Riley- She is almost two months old and is certainly getting bigger by the day! She is more filled out now with baby fat. She is wearing 3 month clothing and we are finding that some of her 3 month clothing is already too small on her. She is very long so I have a feeling she will take after her brothers in height. I guess that means I may just be the shortest in the family! We have an upcoming appt for her two months check up this coming week. We will find out the numbers on how much she has grown. I do know that she has to be at least over 10 lbs now. The last couple of nights she has been good and sleeping through the night. She may get up around 5:30 a.m. for a feeding but I say that is pretty good considering she was getting up every two hours or hour and half to eat.

Our Pets-We recently put down one of our dogs Brandie on January 9th. We learned shortly after having Riley that Brandie had developed cancer throughout her lungs. The cancer spread to her lungs from three tumors that developed in her throat. Coming to this decision was very difficult for me. I didnt want to put our first child down, but after several days of much thought I came to the conclusion that I must end her suffering. Also, when we do sign up for having a pet we must remember that putting them down or losing them to natural death is bound to happen. I suppose the hardest part is just coming to terms with it. I am comfortable with my decision and I am at peace knowing she is not suffering anymore. I am just happy that Ryan and I were able to give her a quality life filled with love and joy. We know deep down she truly felt like one of our kids and a part of our growing family. We still have our dog Buddha (Brandie's son) he is still taking her "disappearance" hard. But we make sure he feels loved and still apart of the family. He is often chasing our cat Cocoa. I think those two are getting a long just fine in Buddha's thoughts... Cocoa probably just tolerates him.

Ryan and I are planning a few weekend trips to get out of Las Vegas. I told him we really need to focus on doing more family things together. Even if it means we take a short trip out of town to a place that is 4 or 5 hours away. I am looking forward to these short weekend trips. I think its refreshing for all of us considering we do spend most of our time indoors at home while Ryan is at work. I am still trying to overcome the anxiety of going to a store or any place with three kids. Loading and unloading them is a job in itself.

Here are some other photos to enjoy!!!

That is about it for our updates... Will write more later! Thanks for reading!