Riley's Birthday Party

We decided to have a swimming party for Riley. We had it at the Best Western Plus Ramkota. They have a very cute little kid swimming pool with a couple of water slides. The downside is they only give you a certain number of bands and they won't let you purchase more. We could only invite a small number so it ended up being our kids plus their cousins. Sorry if we didn't invite you! We wanted everyone to come!

The party started out really well. The kids had a blast splashing and jumping in the pool. We brought life jackets for our three kids so we felt like we were being safe. Riley took her life jacket off and disappeared. She wasn't gone for very long before I noticed she wasn't with us.

My dad took off to look for her and found her being held by a mom whose child was also having a birthday party. She had pulled Riley out of the water. We think she got stuck below a rope that was supposed to section off the water slide.

She was still conscious when they pulled her from the water but just barely so. My dad said she was gasping for air. She had absolutely no color to her and her lips were blue. She held her hands out to me and almost instantly fell into a deep deep sleep. I could do nothing to wake her. I don't think I've ever been so scared.

An EMT that was attending a party came over to check on her. He said that they pulled her out in the knick of time--a second later and she would have been unconscious. He said if he came across this while in the field, he'd have insisted the child go to the ER. I wanted to leave right then and there to take her in. Mike and my dad calmed me down and suggested we wait a little to see how she did.

This all happened within the first 30 minutes of being there. I spent the rest of the party crying. I'm sure everyone thought I was mental.

She slept for 45 minutes and then Mike got her to wake up. She was kind of out of it but was at least smiling a little bit.

The pool was only 3 feet deep. It goes to show you that you can never be too careful with kids around water. It still makes me cry to think that we could have lost her that day. I don't think I'll ever do a swimming pool party again. And they are taking swimming lessons this summer.

Riley's birthday cake. She was so excited for it. She slept for over half of her party so we let everyone have a cupcake while she was asleep. We saved her a couple and put candles on it so she could blow them out.


Here I am sitting with Riley just bawling. My dad was trying to make me feel better but I just felt awful.





Here she is after she woke up. I felt better seeing her smile. She ate two cupcakes in a matter of minutes.

She finally was able to open up her presents. She perked up while doing this. She got a lot of cute gifts.




Mark, Tom, and Andrea bought her some princess dress-up clothes with shoes. All of the girls stripped down and had to try the dresses on.
I turned around to see Mia completely naked with a little skirt on. Her butt was showing. She could have cared less.

Happy Birthday, Bucky!

Happy Birthday to my St. Patty's Day girl! It's amazing to me that she's all ready 3. It seems impossible that she's all ready in the "tiresome three's." It's going to be a long year. :) Ethan and Mia are finally acting like normal little people and now I have another three year old. Oh well.

Anyhow, aren't I supposed to be telling you how sweet Riley is? Yes, she's a very sweet little kid. Her attitude is coming out more and more, but she is a sweetie. She's my little helper. She wants to assist me with everything. She likes to help load and unload the dishwasher, cook meals, clean, feed the pets etc. She always says yes if I ask her to get something for me.

Riley loves to do art projects. Painting tops her list of favorites. When I'm feeling brave, I get out their easel and aprons and let them go to town. She also likes to play with play doh and loves to color.

She asks me every day if she can go to preschool with Ethan and Mia. She usually cries when I tell her she can't. I'm going to get her in a preschool program in September. I know she'll love it.

She's very outgoing and friendly. Riley makes little friends wherever we go. She's quick to smile and laugh and likes to please people. She likes to be involved with everything and will get her feelings hurt if she's not included.

Riley loves getting her hair done. She usually asks for it to be in a braid. She absolutely HATES having her hair brushed. It's always a battle getting it done. Some days, I want to shave her hair off. I bet, some days, she would like that too.

Her speech has improved so much. I was worried that she would need speech therapy at the beginning of the year. She is doing so much better. She is talking a lot more and is easier to understand.

She no longer takes naps for me. She still has to go for "quiet time" in her room. (Though, it's not really quiet because they come out a gazillion times to see what I'm doing.) Riley is usually ready for bed between 8-9pm. She likes to read a few books and always tries to get me to lay down with her until she falls asleep. She loves sleeping in the same room as the twins.

Riley loves having her tummy and armpits rubbed and is still very cuddly. Most days, you'll find her sitting on my lap. She has been such a great addition to our family! We love her very much!

We started Riley's birthday at IHOP, which is her favorite restaurant. She wanted the usual, make-a-face pancakes.

After we ate, we went with Mark to the St. Patty's Day parade. My sister and her family, along with my dad and brother, were there. It was a lot of fun. I couldn't believe how many people were there. There were hundreds of people for blocks and blocks. I loved seeing all the green.

The kids loved the parade, especially the candy. They each had a little stash when the parade was over. Their favorites were the leprechauns and the horses.

After the parade, we went to Sarah's house for a grill-out. The kids had fun playing with their cousins and they even went on a bike ride with Grandpa.

The Birthday Girl on the way home. She was so tuckered out!

We Did Some Re-arranging

We decided to set up the twins' bunk beds a couple months ago. Riley had been sleeping on the bottom of Ethan's bed for the past couple months before that. (I guess she didn't like being alone in her room.)

Ethan and Mia love their bunk beds. Ethan absolutely loves being on the top bunk. He used to give me a hard time about going to bed. Now, he hops right up there. No complaints from him! Both of the girls like the new arrangement as well. Riley still complains a little about going to bed but she is now sleeping through the night (and has been since she started sleeping with Ethan.) I am such a better parent when I get sleep. It is working well for us all!

It is kind of crowded in there but perfect for three little kids! We turned Riley's room into the toy room. It was so nice to get the toys out of the living room. We still have two chests in the living room but they now shut and I can hide the toys.
The only drawback to them all sharing a room is that once one kid is up in the morning, the other two are up. Ethan usually wakes up first and purposely wakes the girls up. Urgh! Oh well. I stopped sleeping in about 4 1/2 years ago. That is the life once you have kids!