Happy Birthday Riley

In two hours, my baby boy will be two years old. It doesn't feel like that much time has passed at all. For all I know, I was just wheeled out of the hospital, 8 lb baby in my arms.

These days our little boy is:
-talking more! Some of his favorite words are "help", "bye-bye", "thank you", "juice", "no", "mine", "ruff-ruff", "cheese", "pees" (please), "cookie" and "cupcake"
-even when he doesn't use many words, he communicates whatever he wants really well using body language and pointing and signing.
-he knows the signs for "apple", "banana", "book", "more", "all done", "drink", "bubbles"
-loves dancing and music--he's always been a mover and shaker! He's even started singing, too.
-he can jump up and down
-whenever he gets in trouble and can tell I'm upset, he'll walk over and stick his bottom lip out (his kissy face) and give me a hug and kiss. If he's feeling mischievous and I'm fussing at him to stop doing something, he waves at me and says "bye bye!", like that means he can get away with it!
-we've had some serious temper tantrums start up
-he looooves animals and is so sweet and gentle with them. While James used to pull the dogs ears and tail (still does) and played too rough, Riley will say sweetly, "ruff-ruff!" and pet the dog really gently.
-he's a great eater most of the time, but gets distracted easily. He's grown out of the high chair at home, so he and James eat at their little pooh bear table for mealtimes and he's always getting up and running around.
-his favorite foods
-he and James have their own time-out corners on either side of the entertainment center. It's the only place that doesn't have a window or right next to a room of toys/distractions. Sometimes when I fuss at him, he'll run over and put himself in the corner, and bury his little face in his hands and cry. Then a minute later he'll take himself out of it and run over to give me a big hug. He's the most affectionate little boy.
-he's used the potty only a handful of times. I'm not really focusing much attention on potty training for a few months at least. I'd like to work on weaning him off of the pacifier, but I think nosy people have more of a problem with it than we do.
-he and James have been the best of friends from the beginning. It was hard transitioning to James being gone to preschool at first--Riley felt left out and missed his playmate. While he enjoys having all the attention to himself, when I'm trying to get things done around the house and there's no one to play with him, hello meltdowns.
-they are all boy. They constantly rough-house and wrestle. Someone's always getting hurt. Hence the separate corners.
-he's been hitting growth spurt after growth spurt and he's soooo long! Long and lean. I'm not sure how much he weighs, but we'll find out at his doctor appointment in a week. I'm pretty sure he's gained a few pounds at least, but he's still a skinny little thing with a belly.
-he loooves shoes!! He's a size 6, but moving up. Whenever he wants to go somewhere, he brings me a pair of his shoes and says, "socks! shoes!" demanding that I put them on him.
-knows body parts: teeth, belly button, ears, eyes, nose, feet, hands
-recognizes the letters "O", "S", and "E"
-makes funny faces all the time, from a cheesy grin to scowling and looking up through his eyelashes (it usually ends in us both cracking up). He's such a character!
-he's a people person. When we're out together, just us two, he says "HI!" to everyone who passes us by. He's so friendly.
-he's forever my mama's boy.

Happy birthday, Riley Jude! You are the sweetest, happiest little boy. I'm in awe of your fearlessness. You let nothing stand in your way. You're loving, affectionate, and fun. You've been such a joy to have in our life. I'm the luckiest mama in the world :)