Riker's 2nd Birthday

I can hardly believe that our little baby Riker is really no longer a baby. He's a full blown toddler 2 year old. It's amazing how fast the past two years have flown by, and this little boy has brought our lives so, so much joy, love and laughter. I am grateful every day for the gift of being his mom - yes, even on the crazy days. ;)

Riker was so excited for his birthday and it made throwing his party this past weekend that much more fun. Putting him to bed Friday night was even easier than usual since he knew that when he woke up, it would be "party day" and he would get "cake" and "presents!" and everyone would sing "happy birthday Riker." He recited all of those words over and over with the glee of a, well a 2-year old. He also made us sing happy birthday probably 15 times, grinning from ear to ear and blowing out my Yankee candle on the kitchen table. That kid looooves his birthday.

We had planned a little pool party for Riker at a local gym, with just family, close friends and other kids that Riker plays with. After not being in a pool for a few months, all the kids seemed thrilled to go swimming for an hour.

The dads all went in with the kids while us moms snapped pics and chatted from the sidelines. I'm not really feelin' a bathing suit in December (Christmas cookies, I'm looking at you).

After pool time we had snacks, pizza and ice cream cake back in the party room, followed by some parachute fun in one of the studios.

It's safe to say Riker enjoyed every second of his party and being the center of attention. After the party our family came back to the house to watch Riker open his presents, which was a whole event in and of itself. It took about two hours since he wanted to stop and play with everything he opened. Can't blame the kid, he got a lot of great stuff from our amazing friends and family!

Something tells me he might be a carpenter when he grows up. ;) Happy birthday, Riker, we love you to pieces!

***

Matt and I stayed up later than usual Saturday night watching a movie (from start to finish, crazy!), so I was a little zapped on Sunday morning. We lazed around for a while eating a leisurely breakfast and sipping on coffee while Riker played with his new toys before getting a move on the day.

While grocery shopping on Saturday morning I spotted a new breakfast cereal - quinoa flakes - and was intrigued. They have a consistency similar to Cream of Wheat (though not as creamy) but have a ton more protein and nutrients. I cooked them up with some banana, walnuts and coconut palm sugar, and ate it with a clementine on the side.

The rest of the day included finishing up my Christmas shopping, baking about 6 batches of Christmas cookies, writing out Christmas cards (are you spotting a theme here?) and eventually eating shell-less fish tacos for dinner while catching up on Top Chef.

Not a bad little Sunday, that's for sure.

I'm on the bus headed home and my hotspot's about to die, so it's time to sign off and indulge in some Kindle reading for the rest of the ride. Have a great night!