We call him the Riley-coaster and with good reason. He is a roller-coaster of energy, emotions, communication, appetite, attention-span, ... I understand that being a second child, especially to Annie, can make it hard to get a word in and necessitates certain outbursts. But this kid defies all reasonable expectations and some days you just have to strap in, hang on for dear life and ride the roller-coaster to the abrupt lurch at the end. Breathless, dizzy, arms limp at your sides, knees like jello.
But here comes the part you're waiting for [cue the music] ... It is SO worth it! When he grabs my hand and says "Just come, momma. Come see!" and takes me over to where he has built a "fire" with all sorts of toys and papers in the middle of the living room, and then stand back in pride and says "You call me grandpa!". Or when he pats Annie on the back after she's gotten hurt and says "It be ok, girl." Or when he snuggles down with Benjy and his blanket and says "We watching BASEBALL!" except that it's actually football, or golf, or the weather report. And especially when he wraps his arms around my neck and says "I hold you, momma."
So this is Riley at age 3:
Always the goofball! I am preparing myself right now for future parent-teacher conferences. If he gets any kind of a laugh from people, he just goes beserk!
Still sucks those middle fingers on his left hand. It's terrible trying to sleep in the same room with him - sounds like you're in a room full of crickets! But it sure does comfort him and he LOVES his sleep. He snuggles in with his blanket and his doggie and will often take a 3-hour nap. However, he seems to love napping more than sleeping at night. I'm still awakened at least once a night to the sound of pounding little feet as he comes running into our room hoping it's morning so he can drink chocolate milk and watch George.
He was my garden helper this year - always ready to grap a tub and go help pick. And always willing to eat what came out of the garden! Except for peppers. Those he always had to spit back out, no matter how good they looked. He would totally be a vegetarian if left to himself - fruit and vegetables are always the first things to disappear off his plate.
His social skills are improving bit by bit. He now gets to go to Children's Church and Bible Class instead of nursery, and is just exhausted by the end of it all. He's getting better at playing with Annie and the cousins. Well, sort of. On the way up to the cabin, Ally and Annie were pretending to be mermaids and Riley kept trying to butt in with "and pretend that I am a pirate and I poke you!" or "and pretend that I am a shark and I eat you!" It's an attempt, anyway.
He loves to go to the cabin and make pizza with Grandma Cook and work out in the garage with Grandpa Cook and some man tools. If I ask him what he wants to do today, his list will usually include a trip up to the cabin to cut down timbers. The cabin just has it all for Riley!
For his birthday he got all sorts of fascinating boy stuff that he's been working with ever since - trucks, tools, a golf club, tumbling mats, and a CHAINSAW! It was a dream come true.
Indestructible? We shall see. |
Real man tools! Including a hammer. Like I said, we will be prepared for a trip to the ER |
Ready to cut down some timbers! |
So Happy Birthday little Riley-coaster! Let's see if we can ride out another year!