Riley singing to clumsy

A few more little things.....

About Riley! I said last post that she is growing up so much I cant stand it and that is sooo unbelievably true........ However it is a blast and when I head off to cosmetology school next month I am gonna be missing a lot of it and thought of it is almost too much to bear! But she has done some really funny things this morning I thought I would share! I am sitting at the computer waiting for her to wake up and I finally start to hear her make some noise but I wait until she is all the way awake or I will have a very unhappy child the rest of the day. All the sudden I hear her scream "Momma Weeeeyyaaa awe you?????" translation for those of you who do not speak Riley.... "Where are you?" She yelled this twice and I thought it was the funniest thing ever! then I was getting her a bowl of cereal for breakfast and my phone rings. I have the song "Clumsy" that is on my playlist as my ringtone. I guess she has heard it enough that she knows the word! She sat there and sang along to it until I answered it! She definately keeps me entertained! And her new thing.... once I have her all dressed and have her hair done and we are ready to go she looks at herself in the mirror and says "Boo-e-foo" (translation- Beautiful) She is my little diva!! 

My Baby is sooo big!!!!!

So I decided a while ago that I would use my blog for little updates as well as big ones and to report the little things that Riley does so I can remember them. I haven't been doing this but somethings have happened the past few days that just boggle my mind!!! First.... a couple days ago I get Riley ready to leave the house so we can go run some errands. I have her all dressed and she starts talking to me...

Riley- "Mommy dwesh dwesh" 

Me-" Ya I got you dressed huh? Were gonna go bye bye."

Riley- "Bye bye? Shuuuuut shuuut" 

Me- "Ya you have a shirt on huh? Its very pretty"

Riley- (in a very frustrated voice and face) "Come oooooon Mommy"

Me -"Ok where are we going?" (I follow totally confused) She takes me into her bedroom and to her closet. She points to her dress rack in her closet and says.....

Riley- "Dwesh Mommy"  So I pull a dress down for her and she says no till I pull down the right one and says

Riley- "Weeeeeyaaaaa" ( wear in a New yorkers accent) 

Me-" You wanna wear this?"

Riley - "Weeyaa" (she doesnt say yes to anything but if she wants what you say to her she will repeat it... if not she screams)

Me- (Totally in shock!!!!!!!!!) " You are 2 and YOU ARE ALREADY PICKING OUT YOUR OWN CLOTHES!!!!!!"       NO NO NO..... SERIOUSLY , YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING?? I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!!!  Why do they have to grow up soooo fast!! I cant stand it!

Second thing that happened.... We were just sitting on the couch and I am watching the olympics totally distracted by the synchronized swimmers....(ya I know) And she says something I didnt really comprehend than I guess she got frustrated of me not listening to her she started singing.... It took me a second to figure out she was singing "Eentsy Weentsy Spider" She did not miss one word! Ya they were a little weird sounding because of the accent that she has but it was Eentsy Weentsy Spider none the less.... every word and every action all by herself. SERIOUSLY????? I am having a blast watching her grow up I love every little step along the way but do they have to come so DANG FAST!!!!! My baby is almost not a baby anymore :(

On a sad note.....

I know that this normally isnt the thing you put on blogs and i hate to ruin the happy aura of the blogging world but i have some very sad news! I received a call at 9:30 tonight telling me that one of my closest friends Ashley Mortensen was hit by a car and was in very bad shape. 2 minutes later I called the person that told me back to find out what I could do and where I needed to go to be with the family. I was informed at that moment that she had not made it. They did everything they could and she just didnt pull through. She was an unbelievably happy girl! She went through life facing her family adversities with a smile on her face! She never let anything get her down! She was going to be married to the man of her dreams on September 25th and she was the happiest I had ever seen her in the many years I have known her! She was at the peak of her life! It was her time! I have never gone through something like this so  this has been hard on me but I will pull through with her soldier of a spirit on my side! She was a great friend! She was always there when I needed her no questions asked and I know that will continue! I know she is more happy now than she has been and that she is where she needs to be! I will miss her sooooooo much! I love you Ash!!!!!

FAMILY PICTURES........ FINALLY!!!!!!!

Well we FINALLY got family pictures taken! The last time we had family pictures done was when Riley was 9 Months!! ya I know..... WAAAAAAY too long ago!!!! This is actually our second attempt at pictues! The first attempt was a nightmare!! We thought we could do them outside but it was way too hot and Riley was not cooperating ONE BIT!! The pictures in the header of the blog are really the only 2 that turned out that had Riley smiling or the right lighting and so on.... The second attempt was a HUGE success. Here are some of the best ones but there are tons of other fun ones and we are actually playing around with the color with some of them so they are not all in color. But here they are . Thanks to my bro. Randy and his friend tracy for coming over and setting up the studio and taking these wonderful pictures!!! I love them!!!!
Riley would not put that stinkin' Flower down for almost the whole time! But if it got her smiling in a picture we were okay with it!!!

I think this is the only real picture Dale and I have of the two of us since our last family pictures! Most of the pictures taken are of Riley!

She just loves her daddy! Isnt that picture just too cute?!?
She wouldn't kiss me so I had to kiss her!  I wonder who her favorite is??? Hmmmmm.........
AAAAAAHHHHHH She is just too cute!! I can't handle it!

We started singing "Slippery Fish" to her to get her to smile at the very end. She was getting tired of picture time!
She didn't want to give piggy or the flower up!  

And now you all know how nasty our feet are!! ( Dales and Mine I mean)

Well I fixed everything!!!

I fixed everything and got the thing that I wanted done!! The thing is I have NO IDEA  how!! haha!! but I dont care! its done and i am happy!

Computers hate me! and for good reason!

K i am TOTALLY computer challenged and as you can tell my blog looks nothing like it used to! Well this is because I am brain dead! I erased everything off my blog thinking that I was fixing something I didnt like about my blog!!! So the blog friends list is GONE!! I am not sure what this means! I am not sure that I have to get re-invited to the people whos  blogs are private... I think thats stored somewhere that I cant really get to..... although if it is there to be ruined i can probably figure out a way to make myself more angry! I might have the back round looking good soon but as far as the list goes if any of you want to be put back on my friends list( if its not already there by the time you read this) I have forgotten exactly what the address is so if you would like to could you re-give me your blog addresses so I have an easy link to them! Thanks!!! And of course Laugh if you must at my expense!I am trying to get to that point myself!

Soooooo I need some advise....

So as you have read from my last post I have started TRYING to potty train Riley! It started off GrEaT!!! She was excited every time I asked her if she wanted to use her potty. Well........ now its a different story! Now EVERY TIME I ask her if she wants to use her potty she screams and throws the biggest fits!!! WHAT DO I DO?!?!?! I don't want the potty to be something she hates and I definitely don't want to feel like its a punishment or she will never want to and it will be an even tougher process. But if I wait till she is ready and excited to try again  WhO KnOwS when that will be, and i will never have a potty trained child!!! Ugh Please if  AnY oNe has any advise PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!

We have started potty training!

I don't know if this is something I should be blogging about but I am a little excited and a little scared and this is a big milestone in a babies and mommies life so here it goes! Yes I finally decided that I needed to face my fears ... and if Riley was ready than I had no choice! I was so scared of potty training! It was just not something I wanted to face! I have heard story after story and all of them scared me! Don't get me wrong..... I would LOVE to not have to change diapers but the process was just too intimidating for me to face! Well.... we went last night to the store and bought her a potty!  She was soooo excited to sit on it! This made me feel a little better... a little hopeful.... Our plan once we got it home was to just let her sit on it for a few days or however long it took for her to get a little more comfortable with it and start taking her diaper off when she asked! Well when we got home we put her on it and she didn't want to sit on it..... with her clothes on!!!!!! We had to take ALL of her clothes off before she would sit on it! She wouldn't have just the diaper off that wasn't allowed! But she thought it was the coolest thing to sit on the potty like Mommy! Once we had her on it she didn't want to get off! We were there for about 5 minutes when she went pee! She was sitting on the potty!!!!!! We could not believe it! So of course we had to make a big deal out of it so she knew it was a good thing to go on the potty! We knew though that it was just a coincidence but it still gave me hope! And of course its just the beginning of the process but today she went 2 times on the potty! I haven't got the timing just right but I am working on it! And now she knows that going on the potty is a good thing! I am still a little freaked out.... but I am a mommy and I am gonna have to get through this eventually! ha ha 

Happy Anniversary!!! ( 4 days ago )

Dale and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary on wednesday! Because He had to work that day we decided to celebrate on saturday! He did have to work saturday as well but only a half day so we had plenty of time to have fun! Dales parents were gracious enough to watch Riley for that day and keep her overnight! We decided to keep the celebrations low key this year and just have some fun alone time! First we went to the movies ( which doesn't happen very often) and saw Hancock! We loved it! Then we went home and cleaned up the house a little bit and I sent him away while I made dinner and got the table set up! We had a delicious stake dinner (if i do say so myself) with Dales favorite things in the world, rice and beans. And after dinner we decided to go ice skating! I learned there that Dale is a lot more graceful than I give him credit for! ha ha! He did not fall once! I, on the other hand, fell twice!! The first time wasn't so bad. The second time however...... was the end of the night! I fell right on my knee and couldn't get up for a bit! I thought I had done some pretty bad damage but I soon made it off the ice and after walking for a bit it felt better! I got some ice burns on my arm, two bruised hips a sore knee and ankle but after it all is said...... and sore,  we had a blast! It has been a GREAT three years And I cant wait to see where our lives lead us in the future! I love Dale and Riley with all my heart and I wouldn't trade this life for anything! Love you Dale! 

The 4th!!

We had a great 4th of July!  The first part of the day Riley and I met up with My sister in law Ashley to go to the Tempe Splash Pad! We drove around for a while because all the roads were closed and then when we finally found a place to park and walked a little ways we found put it was closed! Riley kept saying " Finning, Finning" (swimming) and we just weren't getting there!  So we decided to go the slash pad at Tempe Marketplace! All the kids had a blast! It took a bit for Riley to run through the water but once she did she had a blast! Here She is still Timid!
Brady looks like he is having a blast here! ( Ash you can steal these if you want!)
Kodi seemed unsure at first! But look at her stinkin cute self! 
Here they all are! This is the best i could get of a group picture! I wasn't gonna even try to get all those little ones to stand still for any amount of time!  Ha ha 

I love this shot! she is just too cute

After this Riley and  I met up with Dale at his grandparents house to swim with his side of the family! We were there a very long time and had a lot of fun! We just had time to go home and take a little nap before we all got ready to go and see he fireworks with My parents and My brother Nelsons family! The kids again had a blast together!
This is the best picture I got of all three! Of course I don't know how to aim a camera when I am trying to make 3 kids look at me and smile! ha ha
This was our first time as a family going to see fireworks! They were pretty lame but all the kids had a great time! Riley was completely  Entertained! She  loved it!

Tagged! ( a while ago)

Thanks Lisa!!!! She tagged me probably a month ago and I had so much more to post that I didn't really want to do it just then but now that i haven't changed my blog in a while I decided to just do it!!! So here it is...........

3 Goals

1.) I will finish school one day! In what?.... I have no idea! But I will get a degree in something! 

2.) I will one day learn how to handle money better!!! To figure out how to budget better and save better and really stick to it!!! (anyone want to try to teach me?!)

3.) To have our kids when we are older be able to say to me that they might not have liked all (or any) the things that I chose to do concerning them but be able to say that I was a good mother and that they know that I love them! ( this entails all future kids... I am not making any announcements!)

3 Current obsessions/ collections

1.) I love the Twilight books! I really need another book to keep my mind off them. I am clearly over obsessed and  I cant help but read the first three books over and over again!!! I need help!

2.) I am currently obsessed with trying to get my house to look like some one lives in it and not just squatters! I just had help from My sis-in-law Ashley come over and help me decorate because I am sooooo decorationally challenged! Thank you Ash!!!

3.) I think its obvious that I am also obsessed with blogging!  

3 Joys

1.) I love running around the house with Riley and hearing her crazy laugh! It makes me crazy happy! 

2.) I love to simply hold hands with Dale! Just the simplicity of that certain display of affection drives me crazy!

3.) I love to sing! Most of those who know me pretty well know thats its kind of hard to get me to shut up if there is music on. (and even if there is not!!) Its so relaxing to release all my emotions through song!! 

3 Fears

1.) I am soooooo afraid of the dark! I cant believe that i am releasing this to the public.. and I know I sound like I am 5 but i am terrified if the lights go out and I still have to walk to my bed or to the bathroom at night!  I hate not knowing whats in front of me!

2.) I am always afraid that I am going to do something horribly wrong as a mommy and scar Riley for life! 

3.) I really am afraid of lots of things unfortunately! I am terribly jumpy and scared easily! I owe this to my 5 wonderful older brothers!!!

3 Random Surprising Facts(even though I think the rest of this has covered this subject its part of the deal I guess!)

1.) I HATE LAUNDRY!!!!! This is pretty universal but the hate goes much deeper for me! I would rather deep clean my house (bathroom and all) 3 times over than do a days worth of laundry!!! Anyone wanna do my laundry for me!?

2.) I cannot call people and ask them for favors!!! Even Family or really close friends! Like calling people for baby sitters is a killer!! I have serious issues! I am even considering not going to school this next semester because I DO NOT  want to have to ask anyone to babysit Riley! It really could fit under the fears category because it really is my biggest fear! In the worst case i have had I was hyper-ventalating ( how do you spell it?)  and crying it was all I could do not to throw up!! Pretty bad!

3.) I am pretty O.C.D when it comes to hanging things up in my closet! I have gotten better but I used to have all my shirts hanging in the same direction (pretty normal so far) on the same color hangers,  separated by sleeve length, and then by color! Ya I know! Dale has done a decent job at breaking some of those habits! (although he is pretty bad himself)

So after all this is said and done if any of you would rather not talk to me or see me again I completely understand! Now i am supposed to tag 5 people but i think I will choose just three!! Brittany, Ashley Dent and Ashley Mortensen! have fun!

Happy belated fathers day!

I missed fathers day in the blogging world cuz' we were in utah and its pretty late but I just wanted to let everyone know how much i love this man! He is the best Daddy ever! Riley could not love him more or be more attached to him! He is soo patient! He is so even tempered... he is everything i could have asked for in a husband and father! Riley and I just cant get enough of him! Love you Dale

Cousins and birthday fun!

This has been an eventful weekend! We decided at the last minute to have a birthday party for Riley before we left for Utah! Its a little over a week still until her birthday but we will be out of town on her actual birthday so we did it anyway! Also we were able to watch Rileys Cousin thats just a few months younger than her! Cute little Baby H! 
Riley and her Grandma Whipple After we sang happy birthday to her
One of Rileys famous looks! She is getting better at these as time goes on! This is one of the more mild looks! 
Her Cousins Cailin and Cayden loved helping her open (and sometimes just doing it for her ha ha) Her gifts! They seemed to be more excited than she was for presents!
Heres her daddy helping her get one all to herself! Cousins were close by though! 

They all loved this huge coloring book! Especially Riley! Thanks Britt!

She loves the cards that sing to her Its so funny to watch her open the card and dance everytime!

Riley and Baby H Having fun in the "back yard" of our apartments! It was a lot of work trying to get then both inside and out of the heat! They just wanted to play out there all the time! 

Here the are having fun at the park! Riley loved having baby H to play with! They had soo much fun together! Baby H you are welcome to come over anytime!  Jamie doesnt this look like a little model picture, with her hair blowing in her face and her beautiful brown eyes! She is just too cute to handle! 

SAN DIEGO!!!!!!! * warning* PICTURE OVERLOAD!

Woo hoo! we had our first official family vacation this past weekend! We decided to go to California and relax and soak up the sun! We played on the beach and spent a day at the San Diego Zoo! All the animals were so awake and play full it was the perfect day to go!

Riley kept calling at the flamingos "birdy birdy birdy"
Riley loves "Gatatos" (alligators) She brought them up all the time after that even after we had seen a bunch of cool animals after!
The Gorillas were undoubtedly our families favorite part! we did not want to stop watching!
A family picture on a Gorilla statue
"Where is the baby gorilla Riley?"....."There it is!!!!!

This is the cute caricature we had done of Riley at the zoo! Of Course we had her drawn with a Gorilla! And of course the man Drew the gorilla as King Kong! SOOOOO perfect! Riley's First time at the beach!

Riley is naturally a very clean girl! She doesn't like it when her hands get dirty so when the sand stuck to every part of her body she freaked out! It was quite hilarious! She got used to it after a bit though and eventually loved it!!
We were a little worried about the water and her! She was a little daredevil though and once she got in she literally didn't want to get out! She loved playing in the waves with her daddy!
She loved to splash in the waves when they were done almost knocking her over!
Perfect ending to a perfect vacation!