Chores

Riley has done chores for as long as I can remember. When he was old enough to take his toys out of the bin, we also figured he was old enough to put them back in the bin, and we'd make him do that before he could move on to the next activity. As he got older and became more responsible, Casey started teaching him how to help feed the dogs. This is his most important chore and lately he has been giving us some attitude about it -- "but I want to watch baseball and not feed the dogs..." (imagine this in the most whiny voice ever at 7:00 in the morning). Casey has been consistent and has not given in to his pleas, and I witnessed the most amazing thing this morning. Riley woke up, went to the bathroom, went immediately downstairs and fed the dogs without being asked or even prompted. I was in the next room folding laundry and from the mud room I could hear Riley's sweetest voice saying, "Come on, Winnie. Come inside. I've already got your food in there." Winston apparently was not budging, so he persisted. "Come on, sweet boy, come eat your breakfast." God I love that kid.

Mother's Day

Perhaps the greatest Mother's Day gift of all was that both boys slept in two days in a row, Chase sleeping today until we woke him up at 9:00 because we wanted to get the day started, which was especially welcome because he hasn't slept past 6:00 for weeks (I blame teething and the fact that he's learned how to stand up in his crib and wants to do it all day and all night long to practice). It was wonderful to enjoy a cup of coffee while it was still hot!!! The day only got better from there. Casey made me french toast for breakfast. Riley, Chase and the dogs suprised me with two new rose bushes -- Riley telling me that he had a secret, taking me by hand and walking me to the garage where the secret was hiding. He could barely contain his excitement and it made me feel so good and so proud to know that he delights in seeing other people happy.

After breakfast, the six of us took a nice long walk to the playground and hung out there for awhile -- Riley and Casey swinging and playing on the slides, Chase practicing standing up and the dogs doing what they do best -- Wrigley chasing a ball and Winston laying at my feet in the most inconvenient spot for me trying to prevent Chase from falling. After the walk, it was already time for lunch. Casey made the most delightful crab cakes I have ever tasted (even he agreed they were good). After that, nap time for the boys. Casey planted my new rose bushes and did other yard work while I pulled some ivy from a spot that has been driving me crazy for months. This may not seem like a leisurely Mother's Day activity, but I was so excited to spend some peaceful time outside in the fresh air with Winston, ever the loyal companion, at my side the entire time. After about an hour, we got the boys up and headed to... you guessed it... a baseball game! Such a perfect day for a game, and the Deacons actually won. Riley and Casey spent most of the game playing catch, and an enthusiastic dad behind us raved about Riley's excellent throwing form (he had less to say about his catching technique which still leaves a lot to be desired). Chase and I hung out in the stands and had a lot of fun banging on the metal seats. Every time the Deacons made a good play, I'd throw him up in the air and he'd just giggle with delight. This is a particularly heavenly sound because for the first 9 months of his life, I never, not once, heard Chase giggle. He'd smile and squeal and do sort of fake-laugh noises, but he wouldn't giggle. I was beginning to think maybe he wasn't happy. Not so, it just took him awhile to find his giggle, and it also took me awhile to figure out that he has sort of an odd sense of humor (the funniest thing in the world to him being me making sniffling sounds and telling him how much he stinks).

After the baseball game, we came home and all 6 of us hung out outside in the afternoon sun for a few hours playing baseball, crawling around, playing in the sandbox and just enjoying a leisurely Mother's Day. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

The Kids Next Door

The three boys who live next door have been peering down at Casey and Riley playing baseball from the top of their fort for months. Right around St. Patrick's Day, they started talking to us. Since then, they talk to each other a little more every time they see each other. And just recently, Riley will go talk to them all by himself. Those conversations must be hilarious -- who knows what they talk about -- but it is fun to watch. Casey made the comment the other day, "Sometimes I look at him and can't believe he's my son." He was referring to the fact that he's growing up so fast and it's amazing to watch him develop friends, and just develop in general, in front of our eyes. I imagine it is even more apparent to us right now because his growing independence is in such stark contrast to Chase's constant dependence. I take comfort in knowing that Riley's a sweet, fun little boy and will probably attract quality friends in the years to come. But that doesn't mean we want to let go to let him make them on his own.

Hair Twirling

It is amazing that some things seem to be completely hereditary. I have never seen Casey twirl his hair in the entire 13 years we've been together. Not once. But I know from stories I've heard that when he was younger, Casey used to twirl his hair when he was tired. It just cracks me up to watch Riley sitting in his chair watching baseball at the end of a long day twirling his hair. It's even funnier when he stops twirling his hair and a big clump of hair stands up straight afterwards. My favorite thing is to think of a young Casey looking exactly the same way many years ago...

Early Wake-Up Call

I rarely (ok, almost never) go out with friends on a weeknight (or ever, really) and last night was one of the rare occasions that I did. I was out "late" (which translates to 10:30 p.m.). Of course this was the morning that Riley woke up early because he had a bad dream. Wanting to still get a bit more sleep, and knowing he likely would not go back to bed if I sent him back to his room on his own, I volunteered to go lay with him in his bed. This kid is rarely still, so getting to snuggle up next to him for a little while was a real treat. He pretended to be trying to fall back to sleep for awhile, but gave up and started banging on the bed (he called it "playing the drums"). Then he started giggling. Then, you guessed it, he started talking non-stop about last night's Red Sox game ("Monny, they were AWFUL!") and how he wanted to call David Ross on the phone (where does he come up with this stuff???). At this point, I gave up all hope of falling back to sleep or even just resting. So he decided he wanted to play "haircut" which is something we used to do when he was younger. For the next 20 minutes (at least) we took turns getting our hair washed, cut, combed and blown dry, with each of us getting a lollipop at the end of each haircut (thank you Mt. Tabor Barber Shop for making him believe it is every person's right to get a lollipop after a haircut).

Not quite the quiet start to my day that I'd been hoping for, but an even better one than I'd anticipated.

Hygiene

Most three-year-olds that I know love to take baths, but are luke warm (at best) about showers. Riley, on the other hand, LOVES showers, which is ironic (yes, Casey, I'm sure I'm using that word wrong) considering the fact that he HATED showers for the first few years of his existence. We used to make him shower after a day at the pool and you would've thought we were torturing him. Lots of squirming and screaming and tears. And then a cold, rainy day of "surfing" in Maine happened.

As previously mentioned, Riley, Chase, the dogs and I spent a week alone in Maine this past summer. Riley had recently turned three and Chase was about 6 weeks old. To say that being a single mom for that week was a bit exhausting is an understatement, but being in Maine is absolutely amazing and Casey and I wanted that experience for the boys. Besides, the theory was that I could take Riley, Chase and the dogs to the beach all day and it really wouldn't be that hard -- Riley and the dogs could run free while I supervised them and hung out with Chase. Great theory... until the torrential downpour and chilly temperatures hit one morning. Unwilling to stay inside (and possibly lose my sanity), I put Riley in his wetsuit, Chase in about one hundred layers and bundled myself up in a bright (and I do mean bright) yellow rain slicker that I found in the closet. Turned out to be one of the most memorable days of our trip. The dogs couldn't care less if it's raining -- Wrigley still chased the ball for ours and Winston still sprawled on the ground at my feet. Chase and I (and Winston) sat in the garage snapping a million pictures (my form of sanity). Riley, in his wetsuit, "surfed" for HOURS in the driveway -- on a skim board, a foam board, a stack of boogie boards, whatever he could find. And he had a BALL!!! I have so many fantastic pictures of him from that day that it will forever be etched in my memory.

When he eventually tired of surfing, the five of us went down to the beach -- the dogs off leash, Riley running way ahead, and Chase strapped to my chest in the Baby Bjorn (underneath the bright yellow rain slicker -- he was dry as could be). The dogs swam in the angry surf, Riley and I jumped waves, and Chase (still strapped to my chest warm and dry underneath the rain slicker) slept contentedly. It was awesomely fun. And did I mention COLD???

Which is how we get back to the topic of showers. After a full day in the cold, wet elements, Riley asked if he could take a bath (who could blame him). By this point, I needed to start making dinner, so an immediate bath was out of the question. I suggested a shower instead. He gave me a very skeptical look, but agreed. I put him in the downstairs shower which is immediately adjacent to the kitchen and started boiling the water for dinner. 10 minutes later, the water was boiling but Riley was not ready to get out of the shower (in his defense, this shower, although completely the opposite of fancy, has got to be the most amazing shower in the world -- not sure if it's the water pressure or the hot water compared to the somewhat chilly temperatures outside (the cottage in Maine is not really heated) or a combination of the two or something else entirely). So I put the pasta in the water. 10 minutes later the pasta was ready, but Riley still was not ready to get out of the shower. I swear he was in that shower for what felt like 45 minutes. Who knows, but this is when his love affair with long, hot showers began.

I was reminded of that this morning. For whatever reason, he decided that he wanted to take a shower before school. He won't allow me to stay in the same room as him while he showers anymore -- "I want some privacy" (yes, he really says that) -- so our compromise for safety's sake is that he has to talk to me the entire time. So I spent my morning getting ready for work while Riley narrated the ENTIRE Red Sox game from the previous night by memory. I perhaps know more about David Ross and Will Middlebrooks and Shane Victorino than the average person, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Ideas

I may have mentioned a time or two that Riley REALLY likes to talk. This is especially true when we are eating dinner and he doesn't feel like eating what we've prepared or when he is stalling at bedtime. All of a sudden, in the middle of a completely normal conversation, he will blurt out, "I got a idea!" which is always accompanied by an enormous smile and mischievous look. What follows next varies from day to day, but there is a common theme: his fantastic idea always involves something that he wants or that will benefit him.

Examples from the past few days:

"I got a idea! We could share some of the sweet tarts I got at school for taking a nap." (As an aside, perhaps it's the sweet tarts that typically prevent the nap???)

"I got a idea! We could play baseball on the side porch while we watch the Red Sox on the iPad."

"I got a idea! We could watch baseball on the TV." (Note: he wanted to watch on the TV instead of on the iPad on the side porch because he was banned from using the iPad.)

"I got a idea! We could go the the golf club for dinner and eat mac and cheese and strawberries."

"I got a idea! We could hancel (read: cancel) the rain so that it's sunny outside."