Marvelous Moon Dance

" I like to think the moon is there even if I am not looking at it." Albert Einstein

So this morning when we woke up, the moon was still in view over the mountains. We have had the most gorgeous moon-lit nights where you really could dance in your moon shadow. I have never seen the moon so full in the day, so I captured it and wanted to share it with all of you. It might not be a bear, but it is beautiful! This weekend we are hoping to go to the mountains to take in some fall color- so be watching for more landscape shots!

It is so unusual- but I swear this photo was not altered in any way. Isn't it one of the most unusual moon shots you've ever seen? The pictures hardly do the actual sight justice...

Say "cheese!"

So for those of you who don't know- Eric's mom loves her grandchildren. The only thing she loves more than her grandchildren are pictures of said grandchildren. So to make her day a little brigher we took the kids to the portrait studio.Uh yeah, mom like that's a good idea... (said valley girl style...)

I so hate getting my picture taken- do I have to?!!?

If you don't frequent my blog you don't know that this is one of my favorite things- NOT! It is something I do to meet the minimal mommy criteria. This weekend was especially trying as you can see from the bloopers and out-takes of the portrait session!

Grayce, the world's smallest thief...
That's it, I'm out of here... (run quick mom, I mean it... I am OUT OF THIS CHAIR! NOW!)

Short and sweet

Bye Bye Grayce!

So our visitors left today.... Not before Aunt Melissa showed Rebecca a new trick with a new food. Yes, call child protective services. Until today my child had never tasted an Oreo. Last year Aunt Melissa introduced her to Cheetos, this year Oreos. In all my imagination, I cannot imagine what next year will hold... Maybe a pixie stick taller than she is or a 6 lb bag of gummy worms... Wait a minute, those have already been done... I'll just have to leave it up to her!

Notice how baby Grayce just tunes it all out. If Patrick were involved, the milk and Oreos would be within his long-reaching grasp... There is a reason Rebecca calls him the chunky monkey.

Speaking of the little buddy... He got a new hat today. This would ordinarily not be big news, but he thought he was pretty neat stuff. Turns out, mommy agrees. You should see it, when he sees the hat he just starts grinning and giggling and ducking his head like "Put it on already slow-poke!" Rebecca got some new shoes too. They are so great- she can do some new tricks in them. Check it out!

As promised...

So, here are some more of the kids today... Our day was filled with...

Very good big sisters who understand babies don't always get it...

Laughs and giggles...

And that's the tails end!

Baby, you've arrived

So we are lucky again to have visitors at the Casa de Riley. Melissa (Eric's sister), Wyatt, Grayce (7 months), and Momo (Eric's grandmother) are here! The kids are enjoying playing together while the grown-ups visit and I am sure that it will be over far too soon!

A day in the life of a princess...

Life is tough when you are a princess...

First you have to spy to be sure your admirers are watching... And it would help if the binoculars are facing the right way...

Then you have to get all dressed up- sometimes adding unexpected accessories to keep them on their toes...

And while they take your picture you must be sure your dress is fluffed just so. It's important you know!

Yes. you can see her lashes peeking out from under the cowgirl hat. Princesses have to have disgustingly beautiful features.

Finally, there is should always be a wardrobe change... A princess must wear several outifts a day to show off the fantastic selection in her armoire...

It also helps to spin and strut a little to show your grace and poise.

And at the end of the day, you put your little tootsies to bed hoping for more magical moments manana.

All the World's a Stage

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." William Shakespeare

Please observe our kids on the stage...

Baa baa black sheep (note the artistic license of "Have you any more..." Kids today obviously don't know about wool. Lead, yes. Wool, no.)

And here's a segment from stupid baby tricks...

In case you couldn't process that, here's the up close "peek-a-boo" game...

And finally, a little segment pandering to the primary audience of this blog...

So remember, although we may not have a shirtless Obama, Hillary's cleavage or the Brittany girl, we are way cooler than U Tube!!!

Pimp my ride the infant/toddler edition

So Patrick has been growing... and growing... and growing... At his latest pediatrician appointment, he was 18lb 16 oz (why don't they call this 19 lb?) and 27 and 3/4 inches long. That's average height and 75 percentile weight. Yup, he's rounder than he is long... Must be all those donuts! :)

Anyway, his infant carseat tops out at 20 lb and 26 inches. Yup, I'm a super mom. Not to mention a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician. Who was letting her kid ride around in a carseat that was too small. Feel free to use this ammo the next time I act like I know it all...

So Patrick contacted Xzibit from MTV, explained he was cruising in a too small, used ride. Granny and Grandpa anted up some Christmas money and Patrick got a new pimped out ride!

Merry Christmas in September little buddy...

His new whacked ride includes feature such as a full infant body pillow, EPS (that's helmet quality) lining throughout. And a versatether that insures rock solid installation. Also hydrolics and neon track lights. It's cost might make you choke but is worth every penny for this precious cargo.

Lest we forget the princess..

She wants you to know that girls can roll too and in fact she and little P are in the same seat just different models. These seats go up to 65 lb so she will outgrow it sometime in college!

So little man says we're out until next time...

A popularity contest

So, because the quotes have been such a popular item on my blog and because it is truely a pain in the rear to keep finding them relative to my topic, I am now hosting a "quote of the day" as you have already seen. So expand your mind, be unlimited by topic and enjoy! :)

Hanging out all Alone

“'Tis the last rose of summer Left blooming alone; All her lovely companions Are faded and gone” Thomas More

So today we took a sojourn to the park... Just Rebecca, Patrick, Polly the doll and mom. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is back to school. All of Rebecca's summertime playmates are in preschool now, and everyone is back to work. But that didn't stop the fun!

Where did everyone go mom?





So we're just hanging out today! Enjoying the last few 90 degree plus days of summer. Hope the weather's sunny where ever you are!

A very posh room

"Posh" is a fancy word for fancy... from Fancy Nancy....

So we've been meaning to finish the kids rooms for some time. We have all of these great treasures that just sit in the basement and we've decided it's high time they see the light of day.

Today Rebecca 's room got a Fancy Nancy redo. Who is fancy Nancy? Only Rebecca's favorite book series of all time. She loves all things fancy Nancy. Nancy is a posh princess who finds herself in a very plain family. She teaches her family the joys of fuschia and parfaits and gives lessons for free on how to be fancy. Rebecca is pretty fancy... So she gets a posh room. She is in love with the mirror especially although she spend all day trying on dress-ups and glamming in front of the mirror. Patrick of course had to get in on the action.

Bon nuit... Did I mention all things French are by their very nature fancy???

Tres chic...

PS- For your information, Patrick is not a steady sitter... but watch what happens when his sister tries to push her way into his mirror space... Is he a pretty boy in the making???

You be the judge...

There's no place like home

(For those of you who live on another planet, the title is the quote per Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz.)

So Rebecca had a great idea. I'm sure it was planted in her fertile mind from one of two quality sources- tv or daycare. She thought that we should camp in the backyard. Here everyone camps on Labor Day, so her dad and I thought "why not."

We shopped the summer clearance sales and obtained the pre-requisite fire pit and tiki torches. Dug out the camping stuff meticulously put away five (YES FIVE) years ago. Astonished at the fact that we used to be organized and neat people and pitched the tent. The tent bought for my 24th birthday by my parents. The tent that sleeps 6 comfortably. We bought hot dogs, marshmellows, chocolate and graham crackers- things that never see the bottom of a grocery cart in this family. We lit the fire and tiki torches and had one of the nicest camp-outs ever.

We cannot claim to be the first to camp in our yard. Granny and Grandpa used to camp in their Casita in the backyard pre- our fabulous guest suite. But the accomodations can't be beat. So check it out and see what you think....

The First Six Months

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for" Anonymous

Happy Six Month Birthday little Patrick!!!

Hard to believe that he has been with us for six months. So here is his on-line profile from his dating service- see if you are a match....

LIKES: Cuddles, toys, being an attack baby, my sister

DISLIKES: being left by myself, watching other people eat

FAVORITE FOOD: never met a food I didn't like- anything Colorado grown and organic

FUTRE ASPIRATIONS: being able to get my paws on everything in this big world

Come and knock on our door

Come and knock on our door,

(Come and knock on our door)

We've been waiting for you.

(We've been waiting for you)

Where the kisses are hers and hers and his

Three's company too.

(Translation of video -Rebecca speak- I...ummm...have people over right now and can't talk to you...)

So we got a new dishawasher!!! Eric installed it last night and it runs like a dream... I have already run it three times today. Okay, so I admit!! I didn't do any dishes the entire week that it was out! I did rinse and prepare them for the inauguration of my new dishwasher. I just wanted to be sure that there was enough to fill it for the virgin load. Uh-hunh.

But the best part of the new dishwasher was it came with a box. A glorious, potential to explore box. Rebecca immediately declared it her fort- kids only! Later she and Eric cut a door out and well, you see the rest. Patrick on the other hand has continued on his sleeping strike which leaves him a tad crabby as you see from Rebecca's trying to share the love!

So stay tuned for more adventures!!