Riley--my Sunshine

Riley is my sunshine. He is my cuddle bug and my little man. God knew exactly what I needed when he gave me Riley. Wednesday night Riley slept with me since Mike was in Covington to deer hunt. He got his favorite frog pillow, a stuffed animal and some books. I tucked him in and he settled right down to look at his books before he drifted off. When I went to bed, he was smack in the middle and I didn't want to disturb him so I just squished under the covers next to him and cuddled with him to warm up. What could be better than that? This morning I was able to sleep in since the boys don't go to school on Halloween. He was the first of them to roll out of bed and he came right in to cuddle before he started his busy morning. All the boys were behaving really well this morning. (note the past tense-WERE) The few times there was a squabble I was able to help them resolve it. Riley started to get pretty bent out of shape over the Legos. He sat out for awhile and when he would have thrown a tantrum, I just reminded him that "crabby boys" have to take naps after lunch. That did the trick and he was ready to go back to sharing. Why did it take 4 boys to finally learn how to handle them? I know, they are all different. But I've changed the way I deal with them since Mikey was born almost 12 years ago. In the past, I tended to take their behaviors personally. Now it's easier to step back and look at it objectively and come up with solutions that actually work. =)
Anyway....lately Riley has really been into dressing up and pretending. He is quite adorable. Some days its a fire man-jacket, hat, boots and a back pack that looks like a fire truck! This picture is his cowboy get-up. He has green, rubber, frog boots that work for any outfit but this day were his cowboy boots. He now has a chef hat and apron and will go to the fridge to get me a drink when he plays "cooker". I love it! I think he pretends he's a dog the most though. He pants, licks, barks and runs circles around the living room.
Right now he's outside enjoying one of the last beautiful days of fall before snow flies and that's what I want to do, too. So, au revoir!