Rilian's 3rd Birthday

Every year on Rilian's Birthday, it's a holiday! Not everyone is lucky enough to have their birthday as a holiday. February 2nd is Rilian's birthday. It is also Groundhog's Day. So, my little groundhog came out of his hole to see if he was able to see his shadow. He did see his shadow and he was not happy about it. Rilian didn't want six more weeks of winter...

We had his party the following Saturday...it took a few days to get over the disappointment of seeing his shadow. Every time we asked Rilian what kind of birthday cake he wanted, he never gave us a definite answer. All of our other kids have been easy, but this was not his year. Maybe if he hadn't have seen his shadow, he would have been able to decide on his cake a little more easily. We finally decided on star cookies and chocolate cupcakes. Jeremy decided to give the stars faces. He used candy eyes for their eyes. Rilian was holding one of the candy eyes up to his eye as Jeremy decorated the star cookies.

Finn looked HILARIOUS when he held the candy eyes up to his eyes!

Jeremy not only gave the stars smiles, but he also gave them other expressions. What's funny about this, is that after he had the stars set up on the cupcakes, the frowny face fell and hit the squiggly face right before it hit the table. You can see a little bit of the squiggly face's red icing on the yellow frowny face's icing. Then you see their expressions and it is perfect!

There was also a yellow star with its mouth open. And a red star with its tongue hanging out.

Once we got the stars situated again, it was time to set the candle on top and sing to the birthday boy!

Rilian picked the star with the sad face to eat.

He ate the icing off his cupcake and the eyes off his star first...

Time for presents!

And playing with the presents...

Nanny and Papa Bud got Rilian a puppy coloring book and some crayons.

Granny and Dadabe got Rilian an alphabet puzzle that says the letters when you put the right piece in. It also says something that starts with that letter. 

And there were MORE presents outside!

The sandbox has been without sand for quite some time. Since Rilian loves to dig so much, I thought sand was an excellent idea for a present.


Sand is so much more fun when you have sand toys. After Rilian unwrapped the shovels, rake, and strainer, he had to carefully place them in the sand.

He tested out the digger tractor before opening the last present.

Say "cheese!" That truck was what the other present was.

My baby boy is now three years old! Stay tuned to see if he sees his shadow next February 2nd!

Playing in the Tires

It was time to get the oil changed in our vehicle. I had a little shopping to do while I waited for them to change the oil. When I was done shopping, they weren't quite done changing the oil. Well, Rilian was with me, and he found something to keep himself entertained while we waited...

There were lots of tires by the register. Rilian decided he wanted to play in them and also wanted me to take his picture while he picked tires to pose in.

There was just one laying there...

Then he found a small stack of two tires and climbed in...

Rilian decided to drape himself across the stack of two tires. 

He didn't want the one lonely tire to feel left out, so he went and did the same thing with it. 

He found a really tall stack of tires and wanted to climb in them, but I wouldn't let him. I was afraid he would knock them over...so he wanted me to take his picture showing how tall the stack was.

Then he decided to stand beside them and have me take his picture.

What would we have done before our phones had cameras on them?

Book Review: How We Love Our Kids

How We Love Our Kids: The 5 Love Styles of Parenting, by Milan and Kay Yerkovich is a book about why we parent the way we do. Everything that happened or didn't happen to us while we were younger affects the way we parent our own children. Milan and Kay have given names to describe the 5 different kinds of parenting styles. They are The Avoider Parent, The Pleaser Parent, The Vacillator Parent, The Controller Parent, and The Victim Parent. 

Milan and Kay write in detail about what each of the 5 different parenting styles looks like. They also list ways that you can change your parenting style, if you are one "type" of parent or another. 

To me, the best part of the book was towards the end when Milan and Kay give helpful advice about how to talk to your child, how to let your child know that you want them to talk to you, and how to make it easier for your child to talk to you. 

 I had a hard time wanting to pick up the book to read the first part because it wasn't all that relevant to me and frankly, kinda boring. It almost seemed as if they were saying that every person comes from some sort of dysfunctional family. I agree that alot of families have dysfunction in them, but not all families.

I would still recommend this book to parents, or people who plan to become parents. I feel there is quite a bit of good advice included in the book. Just not all of it may be relevant to everyone. I'll let you pick and choose what you feel is relevant to you and your family.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah to review. I was not required to give any positive feedback. All the opinions expressed are my own. 

Bedtime Surprises

Every night before Jeremy and I go to bed, we always check on our four sleeping angels. Sometimes it is funny, or rather interesting, the things you find when you go into their rooms. Take Rilian for example...

Rilian LOVES his stuffed animals and any other stuffed animal that he decides to adopt from his siblings. One night, this is what we found, upon checking on Rilian...

He had stacked all "his" stuffed animals on top of each other. The next morning, he told me he wanted them all to be on his pillow with him.

Have you watched the movie Dolphin Tale? If you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend watching it. The night we watched Dolphin Tale, this is how we found Rilian...I guess he liked the movie!

My kids often do things that really makes me wonder, "What were you thinking?" This was one of those nights... 

I still had Rilian's changing pad in his room, even though I hadn't used it in at least six months. Had I taken it out, what would he have done that night?


What funny things have you found after your kids were asleep?

My Boy Scout

Finn joined Boy Scouts not too long ago. He was SO proud to wear his uniform shirt for the very first time. He was exited to pose for a picture before the meeting.

 Finn is a Tiger Scout. He is in Cub Scouts right now. He is so excited and eager to work on learning everything he can in his book.

Rilian saw Finn posing, and of course, he wanted to pose for a picture, too! 

Enjoying a Warm Winter Day in Texas

If you live in Texas, you know that there are not four distinct seasons. In the winter, you can have both cold weather and warm weather in the same month, same week, and even the same day. This is sometimes a good thing. We were having a warmer day this winter and decided to take advantage of it and go to the zoo. 

Seven and Rilian decided they wanted me to take their picture in the tree.

Seven's face was hidden in the first one, so I had to take another one.

This caterpillar statue is by the lions. EVERY TIME we get to it Seven insists on sitting on it and getting his picture taken.

I tried a couple of times, hoping all three boys would look at the camera at the same time. No luck...

Piper wanted to have her picture taken on the caterpillar all by herself.

In our family, it is "monkey see, monkey do". Of course, Rilian had to have his picture taken by himself, too.

And Finn...he takes such good pictures!

Then Seven...I'm not sure what it is about this caterpillar that he decides he ALWAYS wants his picture taken on it. It is probably that he has a memory of an elephant and NEVER forgets anything. Probably one time, that I have forgotten about, I told him to sit on it so I could take his picture. He hasn't forgotten and now has to do it every time! LOVE that kid!

My kids have become more interested in me taking their picture. Isn't that every parents dream? I know it probably won't last forever, so I indulge when I can. We came upon this rock and Piper wanted her picture taken on it. Finn and Rilian joined her.

Coloring the Details

Rilian really likes to color! I don't know that any of my other four kids liked to color as much as Rilian does at age 2. I find it very interesting how Rilian colors. Take a look for yourself...

He colors the little details of the picture and not the whole picture. Here he colored the bow and the dots on the present.

The moon and stars. The ball on the tip of the hat. It looks like he started to color parts of the globe, too.
                                                   
Little balls on a bell...

The tip of Frosty's hat and his carrot nose...

The stars and moon...I think most kids his age would start with the main thing in the picture, the tree.

The Gingerbread Man's pieces...

The star on top of the Christmas tree and the ornaments. He also traced his hand onto the paper...

The ball at the tip of Frosty's hat and his eyes...

Another Gingerbread Man's pieces...

He started to color the stripes on the present...

Rilian colored the trees and mushrooms on this page...

How did your kids color when they were two years old?