Sweet times with Riley Q. Bear

Sloane gets a lot of real estate on this blog, but Riley Q. Bear (as Andy calls him) still has our hearts.

We've all enjoyed so deeply watching him develop a love for baseball. We nurtured it through the winter with baseball cards and a promise of the 2015 season. But it was playing t-ball that sealed the deal. He says, "Now I'm a REAL baseball player!"























It feels like a rare treat when I get to spend one-on-one time with him, like I did on President's Day. We had the most awesome "Mommy and Riley Day," as he called it, including indulging in his first ice cream sundae.

For reasons still unclear (although likely attributable to Cousin Rene), Rilz developed an affection for "Sparkle Kitty." When Sloane got one, Riley begged for his own. Later, Aunt Caroline sent two more kitties so now we have a litter (and the kids love it!).

Once again for Valentine's Day, Riley spent weeks hand-crafting sweet notes to all of his classmates and teachers. The personalized messages ranged from heartfelt to kid-like to bizarre (i.e. "I like your whole family. Can we have a playdate?," "You are the shortest teacher at my school," and "Let's cut eachother in half!"). Despite some oddities, most were incredibly sweet and chockful of compliments and virtual hugs, kisses and high fives. He couldn't wait to deliver his love notes so he could "Fill everyone's buckets" (based on a book they read at school promoting kind actions to make others happy).

The biggest soft spot in Riley's heart seems to be reserved for Sloane. She can dump his toys, forcefully pull him off mommy's lap and scream until he shares his food, and it doesn't seem to matter one lick. This boy will do anything to make her happy -- even share the honey from his jasmine flowers. 

He is sweet on Sloane. And I am sweet on him.