Christmas Greetings from Riser

A little reluctant, but none the less, Merry Christmas!!

He cracks me up...

A few Riserisms to lighten your day... well, at least they crack me up...

The otehr day while playing in the tub with some glow bracelets left over from Halloween, he asked me to put them on him... I put some around his neck, his wrists and on his ears. I told him that he looked great. Then He called to Karl to come and look at him. Karl came in and said "Wow... Who are you supposed to be?" Riser Thought a minute smiled and said "Barack Obama!!!" Hmmmm not quite sure what he meant there....

As we were getting in the car the other night He looked at Karl and said "Dad, lift me into the moon!"

We called my mom the other day and He excitedly took the phone and said "Hello Grandma Marlene!! Are you at your house? Are you playing with Thomas the Tank Engine and Henry?" ...Really, who wouldn't want to play with Thomas and Henry all day?

At family dinner a few weeks ago, Riser was having such a great time dancing with his cousin Kennedy (who he loves). His cousin Matthew thought it looked like a lot of fun too, and tried to join in... Riser didn't like that and had a complete melt down. Karl took him in another room to calm him down and talk to him. Karl: "You really like dancing with Kennedy huh?"
Riser "Uh huh"
Karl "But You need to let Matthew play too."
Riser"NO!!"
Karl "Riser, Matthew likes to dance too."
Riser "Daddy, you dance with Matthew and I will dance with Kennedy"

Anyway, funny boy... hope we made you smile!

making his list and checking it twice...

So the other day I put Kayson on a blanket to play while I folded laundry or took care of some other equally fascinating task. Riser was in the other room perusing some toy catalogues (a new favorite past time) that had come in the mail. After a few minutes he came in and sat down next to Kayson and continued his work. Soon I realized he was telling Kayson all about the toys he wanted... "Kayson, this is my favorite rocket ship... Kayson, I want this favorite rocket ship... Kayson, this is Handy Manny... I want this Handy Manny Kayson..." As you can see, Kayson was completely in to it.

just some stuff....

Here's a few things that I have been meaning to post... just haven't had time...

He Rolls... and giggles!!


Kayson started rolling over a few weeks ago... he has been going from tummy to back for quite a while, but he finally figured out back to tummy. it's so fun to watch them learn new things and watch them be so proud of themselves... so far I haven't been able to catch it on camera... he always a bit to interested in the camera to reall perform for me... you'll have to settle for just a cute picture... awe, sweet man. Also, he giggles way more these days... There isn't a sweeter sound! also a skill that he doesn't really like to show off... (he doesn't like to brag about how cool he is, so I'll do it for him.

A great Babysitter...

My neighbors have been building a garage... it's been a really good babysitter... that's all...

Snow Day!!
This was my kind of snow... It was there for a few days, we had a good time then it melted and was warm again... I have put in my order for more of that for Christmas...
Riser and I built a snowman... I was really impressed with my skills till it's head started falling off a few hours later.

just so you know, this happened after he told me he was ready to go in... I'm really not forcing him to perform for me with the threat of going back in if he doesn't... I was just cold and he had said he was too... too much explanation... just enjoy and laugh along with us...

Halloween Festivities

We carved a few pumpkins in the days before... Riser had an enjoyable time... making a mess, and then watching them light up, and most of all staying up a little later than usual.
Here they are glowing... so that you can see the carving a little better.

We went to Gardner Village. I think it's obligatory if you live in the valley to go. It's really cute. We had lots of fun. How could you not with a crew like this?
Riser and the witch.
Ethan's Girlfriend. :) I love the hand on the leg and the head resting on the big chest... priceless.
3 Crazy boys!
What a fabulous hat!


Riding the ponies. They all thought this was fanastic.

I had my 1st "Lost Child" moment at the village. It was just for a moment, but sheesh, that is scary. The good news is there are always TONS of "grandma" types there, so 2 very sweet ladies found him and stood with him until I was able to locate him. Once I found him, and gave him a hug, he looked at me and said while fighting back some tears "What was that all about?" Good question Rise, what was that all about? Stay by me!!!
My mom hosted a Halloween party for everyone the night before Halloween. She had a fabulous dinner, some fun games (that Riser was way too excited to really play right) and dancing. After, she let them come trick or treat at her door. They had so much fun.

My cute thing 1 and 2

The Dancing!
Thing 1 and 2 getting ready to go out Trick or Treating. I thought that some of the houses might be a bit too much for them, but Riser kept telling Karl, "dad! Let's go to that spooky house!" hmmmmm, but the singing fish at the cabin scares him to death... not really sure what's going on there...
Karl got to dress up for work this year... He started a new job a few days before Halloween... you better believe he earned a few people saying "so, have you met the creepy new guy yet?"

I thought
Riser would be totally freaked out by Karl's mask, but I guess he's a boy after his dad's heart. He thought it was fantastic... funny boy.

What a fun week! Now we are just left trying to convince Riser that we don't get to go Trick or Treating again till next year!

A Logan Weekend!

Saturday we headed up to Logan. When we got there, we met up with my friend Heather and her cute family and went to the pumpkin walk. They do this every year (although, this was my 1st visit)... They choose a theme (this year, heroes) and different groups throughout Logan create little scenes using pumpkins... very cute here are a few favorites...
Noah's Ark... Riser loved all the animals... So clever...
Soccer... Riser is impressed with sports of any kind, and kids, so naturally, this one was a hit.
Batman!! Very exciting... In case your wondering, I couldn't get him to look at me and smile because the sun was in his eyes, so he would look away and say cheese and smile... oh well, I don't like the sun in my eyes either!
This on is more for Karl than Riser... Riser's never even seen the nightmare before Christmas, but it's one of Karl's favorites.
This one's for my mom... Mom someone's hero was Andy Griffith!

They also had some fabulous little scenes the kids could be "in" Once Riser figured them out (at 1st he kept trying to put his whole head through) he loved them. He would stick his head through and then run back to see his picture.
Max and the wild thing
Yoda
Clifford with Heather's boys and my boys... Heather this is why we come to you for family pictures... I can't even be trusted to take decent snap shots.... Sorry for cutting your head and nose off Clifford! (In the yellow, Kole, way on the bottom, Jaxon, the lovely little girl is Kayson... what a sport! and last but not least, Riser sitting on the front paw!)
Mickey!
They also had a witch... Riser couldn't have cared less about her, and Kayson was completely freaked out that I handed him off to a stranger, but I got the picture anyway!!!

After the Pumpkin Walk, we changed clothes and Heather took some Family Pictures for us. They turned out so cute! Thanks for always being so willing to take on us and our crazy kids! You are so talented!

That night we stayed at a hotel and Riser got to sleep in a couch bed! He thought it was the coolest thing ever, and even better, he got to go to sleep watching TV! He kept telling us, Mom! Dad! I'm watching TV in my bed! Sadly for him, he was so wiped out, that he was out cold within 5 minutes.

The next morning, we got up, and had a little breakfast at the hotel, where Riser wowed everyone around us with his Political knowledge... "Mom!" (said as loud as he possibly can) "That's Barack Obama!!" As the TV goes to the anchorwoman... "That is NOT Barack Obama!" as it flips again... "That's John McCain Mom! I saw Barack Obama and John McCain!!!" I got some interesting looks...

After that, we headed out to church with my friend Aubrey and her family. It was so good to see them! But, I believe my boys had a little chat ahead of time to keep me on my toes. Within 10 minutes of church starting, Kayson had a blow out like nothing I've ever seen. It was seriously up and over his shoulder. Nice. We did have a bag full of clothes in the car, so I pretty well gave him a bath in the mother's lounge and then headed back in with a freshly changed baby.
A few minutes into Sunday School, The good ladies in the Nursery headed my way with Riser where he promptly announced that he needed his diaper changed. We changed him, and esnt him back... he returned with the same announcement 2 more times. Fabulous. When I returned him the 3rd time, The ladies politely asked that I stay there with him in case it happened again. Of course, once I was there, it didn't happen again... Still not quite sure what was going on there.

Anyway, after church we went over to Aub's houe and had a delicious lunch with her family (she has 2 little boys as well! a 3 year old and a 10 month old... Yay for friends that have kids for your kids to play with!) and had a chance to catch up for a while before we had to head home. What a fun weekend! Thanks for hanging out with us Heather's family and Aub's family! We had a blast!

Trick or Treat at Grandpa Wayne's

It's that time of year again! We loaded up the munchkins and headed off for Trick or Treating at Grandpa Wayne's last Friday. Riser was a lot more into it this year... He was totally excited to look at the other kids' costumes and to say Trick or Treat as we visited each apartment. Here are some highlights
Awe, my cute little thing 1 and thing 2.
Kayson and Grandpa Wayne Trying to decide what they think of each other.
Kayson and his Grandpas
All the cousins. Cinderella (Kennedy) Thing 2, Thing 1, and the Hobo (Matthew)



Riser and Kennedy dancing... Notice that Kennedy has watched enough Princess movies to know that you always hold on to your dress... no matter how crazy your dance partner may be!

My Candidate of Choice!

After much frustration, I think I've figured out my vote! My Mommy... She's never steered me wrong in the past... I'm writing her in... Special thanks to Karl, her campaign manager.

the band...

last friday, we had dinner with our friends jen and seti and their boys.... which was absolutely delicious by the way. Anyway, while we were there, Riser found and fell in love with one of their boy's guitar. by the end of the evening he had them convinced that he loved it enough to take it home with him. it hasn't left his hands since. even with the blister it has created on his fingers... that's dedication for you! Anyway, here's his new band. enjoy!!!


Thanks jen and seti and boys. when he's rich and famous, we'll owe you big time for his 1st guitar.

A Random Sampling of What We've Been Up To...

So, I'll start with the oldest and work my way up to now....

He Smiles!!!

Kayson started smiling a few weeks ago.  Hurray!!!  I also love it when you get to start seeing a little more of their personality, and what a sweet happy little guy we have.  He grins and coos all the time now.  We are loving it. He even grins in the middle of the night when he gets up to eat... well, after he eats.  I indulge him for a few minutes, 'cause I have to admit, I really love having a little time when it's just the 2 of us uninterrupted. Anyway, what a fun little man with about the cutest smile I've ever seen.

Riser Turns 2!! 

What a fun day.  He was so excited for his birthday... O.K., I was really excited, so I got him really excited with promises of cake and ice cream, presents, cousins, and playing at the park. The sad news is, I forgot my camera... nice...  I took a bunch with my parents, but they are off to Disney World.  I will have to post some pictures once they are back.  Anyway, we went to the park and had a little family party with our parents, siblings, and their kids (the cousins).  Riser had a blast.  He got some fabulous gifts.  A batman computer so that he can check his email (a favorite past time of his... "mommy, want to check email?  Go to email dot com.") A cop car and a garbage truck that come with a little garbage can to pick up and dump out (this is another favorite past time.  Every Tuesday we have to camp out in the front room and wait for the garbage truck to come so that we can go out and watch it "dump the papers out!").  Karl and I got him a paint set, some blocks, and a little set of drums.  This was BIG time excitement for Riser.  The boy is obsessed with drumming.  He found some plastic drink stirrers that we got for our wedding in a drawer in the kitchen, and thought they looked a lot like drum sticks.  Since then EVERYTHING in my house has been a drum.  The table, pots, pans, tupperware, laundry baskets, Mya, Kayson... anything he can get his hands on.  Let me tell you, he was one excited boy to have a "real" (not really, they're plastic...) set of drums.  He was so excited that he had to drum through the singing of Happy Birthday, and he really couldn't be bothered to eat some of his cake and ice cream. You know it's a great toy when Riser can't be bothered with dessert.

Anyway, after the party we came home to take a nap.  Riser had other ideas... How could we ask him to take a nap with all those fabulous new toys just itching for someone to play with them.  We finally gave in and just indulged him. He played for hours, just rotating from one toy to the next.  We finally lured him away by telling him that it was time to go eat in the jungle, and we headed to the Mayan.  While we waited for our table, Riser climbed all over the big snakes, and watched the water fountain (I watched 3 teenagers pull money out of the fountain and tried to decide if they were homeless or just obnoxious).  Once our name was called, we were lead through the jungle rain storm to the best seats in the house... front and center, 1st row, right in front of the water fall Right as the divers started jumping. What luck!!  Riser was amazed.  He had the biggest smile and the biggest eyes I've ever seen.  He just kept saying  "Whoa!!! Wow!!!"  When the server came, Riser just kept trying to get us to stop talking to her and watch the show with us... right up in our faces "Mom! Dad!  Look! Look at the divers!!!"  It was so much fun... and as an added bonus, they have improved the food, so it was horrible.  Not the best I've ever had, but edible... quite edible.

Anyway, 2 years old... How can it be?  He's growing up so fast.  I have no complaints, because he just gets to be more and more fun the older he gets, but it does make me aware of how short a time he'll be my "little boy"...  I guess all I'm saying is, I am grateful to be the mom of such an amazing little guy.  I've loved the past 2 years more than I can say, and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for him.  I feel pretty blessed to have my Riser.

LOTS of Babies

As many of you know, I am really close to my cousins on my mom's side.  We have Sunday dinner together every other week, and are pretty much more like brothers and sisters than cousins... Anyway, this year we have had 4 new babies join the crew, with one more due any day now.  A couple weeks ago, we got them all together and took pictures... Here's the crew.

The babies are:  Avery, born August 13th to my cousin Brett and his wife Becca. Kayson, born July 16th he's ours of course! Bradon born June 18th to my sis and her husband Brian, and Boston born June 8th to my cousin Greg and his wife Cheryl.  We can't wait to meet the next one!  My brother Jeff and his wife Rachel are expecting any day!

Well Child Check Ups... 

Karl and I make BIG kids.  I took my boys to their well child check ups last week and had this confirmed to me once again. Take a look at these growth charts...  Those are some big boys.  

 

Riser had a fabulous time at his checkup.  He was thrilled to find that his doctor wanted to watch him jump, walk on his toes, show her where his eyes, noes, mouth, knee, etc. was... Showing off... that's his kind of doctor's appointment.  Little did he know that a shot was just around the corner.  Even more fabulous, he's old enough now to know that I'm there to hold him down... not just to comfort him.  He looked at me like I was the biggest traitor he'd ever met.  He wasn't much happier about Kayson's shots.  Immunizations, gotta love 'em.

What Happens When You Are In the 99%...

You're body just has a hard time keeping itself coordinated. Especially down stairs.  (I should also add that having me as a mom really can't help the situation... grace really hasn't ever been a strength for me)  But I must say, these are some pretty impressive war wounds!

Now, everything that was red in this picture is scabby... poor kid...

Just Some Darn Cute Pictures...

Look how he's growing up!  Crazy!  He's getting so much personality!

Riser playing "Kayson" One of his favorite games...

Awe, my sleepy boy...

Best Buddies... Let's hope it stays that way...

Kayson and Grandpa and Grandma Great...  He thought they were so great and was just grinning and grinning... until I took out the camera...

Anyway, there a brief update... Hope you feel all caught up!  I'll try to be a better blogger!

If toddlers decided the election... and other reasons I think my TV is on a little too much.

So, as anyone who has had a newborn knows, you spend a lot of time just sitting.  These little people eat ALL DAY LONG... and most of the night too... Anyway, with all this time spent sitting, I think my television has been on a little too much lately.  I think this, because my almost 2 year old has been saying a lot of strange things...

exhibit #1:  He knows the name of WAY too many PBS kids shows, and can sing a few of the theme songs. Hey, at least they're educational right?... I know, I don't feel any better about it myself.

Exhibit #2: The other day, while I was sitting, and yes, feeding the baby, a commercial for eye glasses came on... now Riser LOVES glasses, so he immediately stopped what he was playing with and came to watch.  Following the commercial, he came to me with a very concerned look on his face and said to me "Mama, why pay more?" Good question Riser... I'll look into America's Best the next time I need to update my prescription.

Exhibit #3:  A few weeks back, I noticed that Riser had found a couple of words that he really liked the sound of.  "Barack Obama" He would walk around the house and practice saying it... "Barack Obama... Barack Obama... Barack Obama..."   he loved the way it sounded.  Yesterday, as I was in another room with Kayson, Riser found a TV that I had left on after my last feeding session.  All of the sudden, I hear a REALLY excited Riser yell from the other room "MAMA!!!  Barack Obama on TV!! Barack Obama on TV!"  Finally a face to go with that oh-so-fun-to-say name!  I guess we know who Riser would vote for in November... Obama... on name alone.

What do you think?  Is it time to unplug the TV for a while?  I think so...

Some Shameless Mommy Bragging

Some pictures... just because I think my boys are the cutest boys EVER.... Thanks for indulging me!
The other day I got out some of Riser's old toys (You know, the ones that he hasn't looked at in like a year?) so that Kayson could start using them. Riser thought they were the most amazing thing he had ever seen (Do you think it was because Kayson was using them? hmmmmm) especially the one pictured.

He was also really impressed that his foot was so much bigger than Kayson's. I have to admit, I was too. How do they grow THAT much in just 2 years? Crazy...
Kayson passed out in his swing. He started out wrapped up. It must have been a rough sleep.

He is starting to make lots of cute sounds, and has become so much more animated these days. He is so close to smiling. I can't wait!
Riser's passion... the drums. Everything and anything is the drums. His favorite drum is that cookie dough container. I guess it makes an especially pleasing sound.
My 2 buddies. Riser is so cute with Kayson... he alway wants to be right next to him (sometimes a little scary) I love the way he talks to him... he gets this ridiculous voice (I think he is copying me.. scary if that's what I sound like)and says "Kaaaaaysoooon"... so funny.
Me and my buddy. What a good man.

Me and my boys... I look a little scary, but I love the way boys look. 2 cute boys, what a lucky mom I am.

Jumping and sliding

My sister won a really fun party at backyard adventures a few months ago. She used it to throw a birthday party for Ethan while Anna was in town. I almost started to complain to you that I never win anything, but if you know Cynthia, you know that she enters every contest EVER created, and so I probably win about as many times as she does... she just works harder at winning than I do! Anyway, that's neither here nor there... The real story is that it was SO much fun. Even the "Grown Ups" got to play!

Here are some highlights



Riser thought that bouncing in the bounce house was so much fun. Look at that grin. I don't think it left his face the whole time we were there.


Bouncing with cousin Anna. What fun!!

Falling over with Dad. What nutts!

It's amazing what your grandkids can get you to do!!!
Once again, Grandkids can get Grandma to do just about anything!! Grandpa was in on the action too, but I never had my camera with me when I saw him :(
The birthday boy himself!

Riser getting read to go down the slide, look at that face, pure joy!What a big boy. I was so proud of how brave he was. He went tried and LOVED everything.
Cousin Tanner with His Uncle Matt (I think... I am always confusing him and Sam... but I think this is Matt)

One worn out Dad. Maybe this was after I totally beat him on the obstacle course... :)

Thanks Ethen for having a birthday, and thanks Cynth for being such a dedicated contest enterer!