All About Riley

Riley is our 4 1/2 - year old daughter. She amazes us everyday with the things she says and does. Here are a few snippets into her life:

*She is constantly reading books! Riley learned to read in March of last year...and basically, hasn't stopped. Last summer she read 213 books for the library's summer reading program (her goal was 100). Her goal this summer is 150 books (right now she is at 115), so we will see what happens. We go to the library once a week. When she is five, she can get her own library card and check out her own books.

*She loves gymnastics! Riley started taking gymnastics in the fall of 2004, and has been taking off and on since then. The kids got a trampoline from Santa, and she loves to practice jumps on it. In the fall, she will move up to Level 1...she will be in the big gym with all the big girls. The highlight of her summer will probably be her gymnastics birthday party, later on in July.

*She enjoys every aspect of art! She is constantly drawing, making cards for friends, wanting to paint, etc., etc. Just today, she showed me a picture she had been working on (the one pictured). She said, "Mommy, I think you need to take a picture of this and put it on your blog." So, here you go. She explained to me that the building on the far left is Daddy's office; the one in the middle is the hotel we stayed in when we were Georgia (a couple of weeks ago); the one on the far right is the hotel that we stayed in when were in North Carolina; The house at the top is our house.

*She loves her little brother Walker. They are so sweet together...most of the time. They play pretty well together and sometimes he will even let her read to him.

*Not too long ago, I asked Riley what she wanted to be when she grew up and this was her reply: "I want to be a veterinarian, a dictionary writer, a teacher, and a mommy. But, I will not work on Sundays or Wednesday nights, because those are church days!" I said, "Well, how many children are you going to have? It sounds like you are going to be very busy." She said "I will have 4 girls, and I will live in Georgia, so that I can visit you and Daddy every day." Oh, to have the mind of a child.

*She "loves music and loves to dance"! It is hilarious to see her "get down" to the music! Tim likes to download songs that we don't already have on cd, plays them for her, and then they dance together. Some of her favorites right now are: The Cha-Cha Slide (Mr. C), Mama Mia (ABBA), Dancing Queen (ABBA), and Days of Elijah (she likes to sing this one, too).


*She has experienced a few "firsts", recently: 1. Just the other day, she got her fingernails painted for the first time. She has never asked about it before, so I haven't pushed it. I was taking advantage of her staying a little girl, as long as possible. She has already asked today, if I will paint her toenails. 2. She is taking ballet for the first time, and loves it. She takes at the local community college. They have a no observation policy, so the parents can't watch. But, they will have a "visiting day", where we can all take our cameras and camcorders. I will definitely be posting pictures of that when the time comes. 3. She played t-ball for the first time this past spring. She absolutely loved it and wants to play softball in a couple of years.

*She will start Kindergarten at Taylorville Primary School on August 10th. (Boo-hoo) I can't believe my baby girl will go to big school and be in Kindergarten. She is so excited and so ready, though. I guess because she is excited, I am excited for her. I definitely have mixed emotions about it. The good thing is that her school is a primary school, so it is only K-2. It will be an adventure....