Our semi-abandoned garden...

When squatting to take this shot Riley got excited as usual and toppled me to the ground....

My poor garden. I was so determined at the beginning of spring that somewhere, somehow I would have a full fledged garden. Well this is as far as we got. When Kris mows the lawn he goes around it. Weeds have blanketed the pots. The cool weather, party cleaning and planning kept us in doors. The sand box, bubbles, trike and car have given us other things to do...Today though, we gave our plants a little tlc. Watered and rearranged. Abandoned the pots that were too parched and then too soaked that never got to experience life in our yard.. *sniff sniff so sad* Here's the cleaned up version of our garden. I should plant in the ground soon huh?

I was taking a picture of these beauties that survived the lawn mowing. I zoomed in to take a shot of one and Riley decided that was the one she wanted to pick. How perfect for me! It also reminded me that Cailen loved the dandelions that were springing up all over the yard. When Kris mows she gives him her most accusing voice and scrunched face and lays on the guilt "Daddy you broke my flowers down!! " Ahhh, so funny. :)

More summer fun.

Bubble blowing! Oh my dear Riley thinks she can blow bubbles. She really does try, facial expression, sound effects and all...but mostly she eats the wand and dumps the soap! It' s pretty hard to get good shots of blowing bubbles when you are the photographer, the watchful keeper of the giant soap jug and the best bubble blower in town. Oh well, this is what we got. ;)


The girls playing in the sand box. Cailen wearing a hat to sheild her eyes from the sun....It USED to fit properly.



Don't all road trips start like this...
and then you get stuck in traffic...and then the occasional fender bender. As Keila pointed out, Cailen drives like my neighbors, if not into the fence, into her own house!

I absolutely love the chipmunky grin on Riley's face as Cailen is informing her that she is about to impound the car as this is her second warning...apparently Riley was not driving fast enough, or recklessly enough for Cailen's likes.

This whole adventure in trying, learning and sharing such great toys has been challenging and occasionally (if I'm being honest: ALWAYS) ends in tears. Once Cailen gets down the fair slope of the driveway she thinks she cannot get back up it. She doesn't even try. We have to rescue her. We can't just enjoy our swing in the backyard. She gets fairly frustrated with steering...but overall she loves the new driving toys. I just wish they came with a bottle of spray on "Patience for kids and parents" the new perfume found in your local Macy's cosmetic's counter (or so I wish!) Ah well, it's all part of growing up. But it is really fun too.

Riley has been able to say "Choo Choo" for some time now. Every time she hears the train, her face lights up. She cranes her head upward as if to try to see out the back window and repeats "choo choo" until I lift her up to see it. The other day, she heard the train but I did not bring her to the window, she just stood in the living room door way saying "choo choo." Waiting for it to pass. Honoring the fact that she knew it was coming by. It was cute. Here she is outside watching it go by, staring very intently. Lately, she has also been waving to the train.

Cailen's "birthday" Present

My parents bought Cailen a tricycle and Riley a Little Tikes car (for Riley's birthday). In the bath this evening Cailen said she got "two presents." (Which she did: a tricycle and a Horton the Elephant stuffed animal.) I asked her what her presents were and she told me they were a "bike" and a "car." We'll have to work on the proper license and registration of those items! :)

Riley has not gotten to play outside in the car yet, but as you see Cailen took her "bike" for a spin...Of course the natural response is to push both pedals forward at once...I am trying to get her to think of a jingle to the words "top foot forward... top foot forward..." It seems as if I push her around a bit, her feet might learn the rhythm too. It's all exciting but one more thing to show me how very fast my babies are growing up!

Since I did not write on her cake...

and that made me feel sad after the fact...Here's a different kind of birthday wish :)

Happy Birthday Riley

My baby is ONE Year old!!! Take a second and compare this picture with the one of me holding her on the left as a newborn. My how she's grown!! And when I brought her home from the hospital I swore she'd never seem small to me in that picture. :(

I can't believe it's here already, but to sweeten the sadness of my baby being a whoppin' 1 year old we HAD to have a great party! I put my energy into the theme, using my own existing artwork and I made a fondant cake to go along with it. I can't take credit for the oreo sunflower cupcakes with red m&m blady bugs...That idea came from Julie McOrmond's Upper Crust Bakery. http://www.uppercrustcakes.com It was a great day for me, less stressful than I anticipated. People who have been coming to Cailen's parties are now becoming "party acquaintances" so socially it seemed to flow very nicely this time around. I always spend my mental time worrying about the guests that don't know anyone but I'm usually too overwhelmed to do anything constructive about it. I really had a very happy day celebrating my little Chumby. My theme was "A Ladybug's Picnic." I found wings at the dollar store and Melody helped me make the antennas. Melody also helped watch Cailen while Riley slept so I could make that cake by the light of day instead of at 3am. Thanks Melody!!!

I always know when I've done something good when people like Keila walk into the party and say kind words like "I officially hate you." :D Hahaha...sigh...It seems as though you say that at every party Keila...I love you too! :P

I also managed to do favors/an art project. Cailen was so proud of hers she took it to the fridge and hung it up by herself. I thought that was cute. I loved the fact that most of the kids were willing to dress up :) It was also very cool because people bought great gifts that went with the theme of the party. We are all enjoying the new toys, books/puzzles and clothes. Everything was awesome. Including my friends and family. :) My mom bought Riley a little tykes car and Cailen a tricycle! Yeeha! Thanks Mom. :) I think Cailen felt like it was her party too, even though she is well aware of what is Riley's. Cailen had a blast and for me, that was very rewarding. Someday, Riley will know too how cool my parties are ;)


Random side note: I thought this was a great idea as I'm always chucking broken crayons. :) Check out the rest of this blog she's got great ideas :)

http://zakkalife.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-recycle-old-crayons-into-new.html