Well, Tanner's room is just about done. We have one more coat of white paint to put up. I was going to wait until we were completely finished to do a posting, but I just can't wait that long?!?! :) We first got the idea from our cousins Robyn and Peter. Then our friends John and Val did something similar in their dining room. We loved it in both houses and wanted it in ours as well. I'll post a picture when it's all done, but this will have to do for now.
Our next door neighbor told us about this fun family activity center in Missouri called Paradise Park. We went today and it was a blast. It is about 30-minutes from our house, so we won't be going every day...darn it...but once in a while would be alright. Riley and Tanner absolutely loved it!!! There was so much to do. On top of that, it was really well kept. Places like this are hard to come by.
The ball pit was a HUGE hit with both of the boys. Riley had so much fun flinging himself in every-which-way direction, and Tans loved raking in all the balls. 
They had a water play area here full of boats, rubber duckies, all manner of sea creatures, cups, funnels, etc...Riley of course loved playing with the boat, "Bullstrode" (A Thomas and Friends Character).
I wasn't sure Riley would do the face painting, but after seeing a little girl paint her entire face and neck green, he decided to give it a go. He was hysterical to watch. He was making faces at himself in the mirror and laughing up a storm. You could tell that he was pretty darn pleased with himself and his handsome face! :)
They had a whole section geared towards make believe. It was like this little city. There was a bank, a pizza shop, a grocery store, a house, phones in each station that called the other stations, community costumes (firefighter, cop, mailman, etc...) It was really fun.
We kept our promise to Riley and went to Splash Cove last night. Riley was a little tentative at first, but quickly got into the swing of things.
Riley LOVED the red slide. We couldn't get him to go on any of the other slides, but he sure loved this one.
Splash Cove in all its glory. This is actually just one of the 3 or 4 pools they have. They are all aimed at pleasing the little ones. None of them got deeper than 4-feet. It was really nice.
We loved the wave pool!! The wave pool never got above 3-feet deep. Perfect for little ones to ride the waves!
Riley loved splashing through the fountains that dotted the pools all around Splash Cove.
Riley the Brave!!!
Tanner is absolutely cracking Todd and me up! He LOVES to stand up to things and grab whatever he can. Among his favorite, of course, is the train table. We call him Tanzilla because he stands up and rakes his arms across all the tracks, de-railing all the trains. When you try to sit Tanner down, he just gets all frantic and starts grabbing the table for dear life. It's really funny. Are those just the cutest legs or what!! What cute boys.
So, yesterday was a busy day. We took the boys yard-selling early in the morning; we cleaned the house; we started construction on Tanner's room. As you can see, not a lot of "kid stuff" going on. We felt a little bad. So, we went to Costco for some delicious pizza and ice cream, then we headed over to this amazing public pool for some fun. Now, don't let the term public pool throw you off. This place is amazing!!! You have to be a resident to go to Splash Cove, which we are not. However, we are members of the children's museum that shares a parking lot with the water park, and hence are allowed to enter...at an exorbitant fee that is. So, we get to the water park in time to hear an announcement over the loud speaker, "We have received a news warning that a big thunderstorm is coming our way". We went up to the gate to ask the workers if they do rainchecks if it started to rain...nope. So, we had to make a decision...pay $20 and only be able to swim for a limited amount of time (the sky looked very threatening and it was sprinkling at the time), or save the money and come back another time when we can enjoy the pool for a long time. Obviously we made the decision to leave. Well, we felt terrible brining Riley up to the gate where he could see everything only to drag him away while telling him, "we'll come back on Tuesday", like that means anything to him. It was sad. We ended up taking him to the merry-go-round at the mall. A poor substitute, but Riley sure does love the spinning tea cups on that thing...Todd on the other hand, well, that's a different story.
Riley, Tanner, and I went to the park this morning before it got too hot. When we got back, I started doing laundry with Tanner and Riley started playing in his room. After a bit I realized that I hadn't heard Riley in a while...never a good sign. So, I went to his room--no Riley. I started walking around and saw him on the laying on the living room couch with blankets over his head. For those of you who have seen the pictures on the blog of Riley sleeping, you will notice that he always has blankets on his head. So, I didn't think much of it. It looked like he was worn out and taking a rest. Well, about 10-minutes later, he comes into my room with a mouthfull of GUM!!! Riley loves gum and knows that he never gets more than 1/2 a stick a day. The little stinker got a hold of my brand new packet of gum and ate the WHOLE thing while under his blankets. (That's 18-pieces of gum for those of you who are counting.) Despite his trickery, I had to laugh. :)
Well, I have branched out and started a new food blog. I have put a few recipes on this blog, but I know that many of you just aren't interested in food. (something I just can't relate with). So, check it out if you want to see some yummy recipes and if you want to partake of my charming wit...ha, ha, ha-that was a joke. (cue the crickets chirping) I will post the link to the food blog over on the right hand side of this blog for those of you are interested.
http://whatsfordinner-sara.blogspot.com/
The Before Shot...Pretty scary...unless you like purple, and then, well, what can I say.
The Making Of Shot...still pretty scary...unless you like the basic primed wall color, and then, well, what can I say.
The nearly finished product. Grandma, thank you so much for the picture of the lady with the feather. I have fond memories of staring at her for what seemed like hours each time we visited your house, although I'm sure it was more like seconds. I don't know what my fascination was with that picture, but I'm here to tell you that it is still there. I love that picture.
We finally hung up our ancient Rome drawings that we got in Italy. They go great in our room. They are hung right over our great yard sale find...a wingback chair. :)
Of course it was a train to the face...that was a no-brainer right!! :) Todd was changing Riley's diaper, and Riley was mad about it. So, Riley threw his train. He didn't throw it AT Todd, he just threw it and Todd just happened to be in the way. Ouch!!! So, for all you out there reading this, word to the wise...a wooden train thrown point blank at your face hurts...a lot! :)
In episode III of Riley's Sleeping Adventure, we will attempt to find out exactly how comfortable a train table can be and how conducive it is for sleeping.
Well, day two of "single momhood" is officially over...almost anyway. The boys are both in bed, but only Tans is asleep so far. Hopefully Riley will soon follow, emphasis on the SOON. Todd is in Utah for the Outdoor Recreation Show, along with several other of his colleagues from Garmin. (lucky) Things are going pretty good so far. Two days down, two more to go (I'm trying to adopt the whole glass half full thing). It of course would help if I had friends or family around...such is life?!?! (There's the glass half empty thing). Actually, my visiting teaching companion had a free moment and came over to see how I was doing and provide some much needed adult conversation. (One can only take so much "Thomas talk"). Tomorrow we are having girls night. We are going to go see a movie and then go out to eat after. Matt Damon here I come!!! :) He's a poor substitute, but I take what I can get. :)
We went to the doctor today, so I thought I would fill you in on the much anticipated "stats" that mothers look forward to so much.
Riley:
39 1/2-inches (75%)
35-lbs (90%)
The doctor was impressed that Riley knew his numbers and letters. Riley also was able to draw a pretty good circle. Who knew? His fine motor skills are also great. Then the doctor started to show him pictures of a child riding a bike, and a dad mowing the lawn and asked Riley what they were doing. Well, Riley said, "bicycle", and "lawn mower" but didn't know riding and mowing. As a mother you desperately try to give your child the answers to the "tough" questions by osmosis or through mind reading. You just really want your child to be smarter than all the other kids...which of course Riley is!! :)
Tanner:
28-inches (50%)
19-lbs, 13-oz (90%)
The doctor couldn't believe how well Tanner was sitting up. He tried to push Tans over to each side and Tanner always caught himself. The doctor kept saying how advanced Tanner is for his age...I just kept thinking, "Advanced? I think it is more like survival skills of being a younger brother!!" Tanner also was above average when standing and grasping objects. It also didn't hurt when the doctor gave Tanner a block and Tanner said thank you....:) (Boy do I have smart kiddos!!)
Todd and I have come to the realization that, try as we might, Tanner is just not as well documented as Riley. Even here on the blog Tanner often gets the shaft. Well, the boys are sleeping, so it's time for a little Tanner time. Tans is INCREDIBLY active! He can't pull himself up alone yet, but he loves to stand up and grab for things. He is still a little wobbly, but for a 6-month old he does pretty well. 
Join us for another episode of Riley's Sleeping Adventure. Where will he fall asleep this time? 
Just an FYI for those of you who knew that I auditioned for the Kansas City Symphony Chorus...I made it! I thought for sure that I would get a "thanks for coming, try again next year", but I was mistaken. I am so excited to be singing in a choir again that I can hardly contain myself. And this choir seems all professional and stuff. (I think that's the technical term for it?!?!) I still can't believe it since they wanted me to bring a resume and my audition was less than perfect. Anyway, I never feel like my life is quite whole until I am singing, so yea!!!
This past week, Riley has taken to falling asleep in his little rocker with his feet propped up on his train table, as opposed to his comfortable big boy bed. He takes along all the necessities, like his Thomas pillow and his green blanket that he loves so much. He's done this twice, and it was just too good a photo opp to pass up. Luckily this kid can sleep through anything, so transferring him to his bed is not even an issue...he doesn't even stir.
Hallmark cards owns a huge chunk of downtown kansas city complete with shopping centers, water fountains, theaters, etc. We started out at Union Station, KC's old train depot. This place was almost as cool as Grand Central Station. There's actually more history in this area than we were expecting. The highlight of the trip though was a tossup between Fritz's Railroad Cafe and the Water Show on the plaza. At Fritz's your food is actually delivered by train. They have all this crazy track system overhead that little trains drop bins of food down to your table. The water show was also really cool. We did see one other white child in the fountain but we were definitely the minority. Big change from PA. It's a fun place for the kiddies.
Union Station
Riley showing his hops
Running around during the water show
Donning his engineer's hat at Fritz's
