Race For Riley and the Sandbox

This year we all took place in the 8th Annual Race For Riley, a race benefiting The Joseph Sams School.  It was a beautiful Saturday morning at beautiful Serenbe, and we had a great time.  Davey had an awesome personal time of 26:38!!! I'm so proud of him. 

Lailey meeting Riley

Lailey, upon finishing the race, only wanted to open her water bottle

Yay!

Grandpa Jim with Maddox

26:38 Go Davey!

Later that evening...
We passed the "eternal yard sale" (these folks have had the same stuff out, weekend after weekend, for about 2 years), and noticed their turtle sand box. Perhaps it was a new thing, or we just noticed this time. Either way, Davey and I quickly agreed, for $5 it would have a new home. Lailey was delighted.

Ah, but you see, there are so many things to learn about life. And Lailey learned one this evening. She was playing, having fun, dumping and pouring sand, and then a thought occurred in her intelligent-yet-still-3-year-old brain, "I should eat this stuff!" Following that impulse, she shoved a handful of sand in her mouth. If she's going to do something, she tends to do it full force, and this was no exception. While she was coughing, sputtering, and choking (not life-threateningly, don't worry), Davey had the foresight to lift her out just in time for her to throw up in the grass. Sandbox saved! That, my dear, is what you call natural consequences. After making sure that she was okay, I asked my child, who was still grinding sand audibly between her teeth, "Lailey, are you going to eat sand again?" To which she adamantly said, "NO mommy!"

Lailey's 3rd Birthday Interview

What is a birthday interview? Well, it's a bunch of questions you ask your child, and the idea is to do it on her birthday (or in our case, a few weeks afterward) each year. It's a fun way to see how much your child changes and grows. We did a simplified one on Lailey's 2nd birthday but it's on our other video camera that I don't believe I can convert for the blog. I finally got a chance to "interview" Lailey last night, and it was fun! It definitely captures her at 3 years old - wiggly, fun-loving, busy, and did I mention wiggly? I edited it slightly for time's sake but the answers are hers. Enjoy! (If you make it through the whole thing.)

Birthday Interview Questions:

What is your name?

How old are you?

What did you most like about being (previous age)?

What do you think you can do at (new age) that you couldn’t do when you were (previous age)?

Who do you love?

Tell me about our family.

What is your favorite thing that we did last year?
Who are your best friends?

What is your favorite food?

What is your favorite drink?

What is your favorite song?

What is your favorite animal?

What is your favorite snack?

What is your favorite book?

What is your favorite outfit?

What is your favorite toy?

What is your favorite place to go?

What is your favorite movie?

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? With Daddy?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

 When kids are a little older:

What is your best birthday memory?

What do you like to do when you’re not in school?

Who is your favorite teacher and subject?

What is your favorite game?

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter! (a little late, but we can celebrate all year round)

I kiss you

I eat you!!!

LOVE

The egg hunting begins

Smooshy kiss!

Birthday Cinnamon Rolls, Boat Trip, and Lailey's First Fish

Each April we get to travel to Lake Sinclair (near Lakeside Baptist Church where the guys play) and stay at the lake house of some dear family friends.  Lailey has gone each year since she was just a couple weeks old.  After her birthday party on Friday we cleaned up and packed up and drove an hour and a half after the kids' naps. That was quite a day.  I felt like I didn't stop moving all day! Probably because I didn't.

Saturday was Lailey's actual birthday. To start the morning, she had a birthday cinnamon roll for breakfast, which she would much prefer over cake. She was so excited because it wasn't even Christmas but she got a cinnamon roll. (She associates them with Christmas morning breakfast.) She got to open more presents, which included a sprinkler, the book "Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy" (which is her new favorite), a Ladybug Girl doll, a light-up Disney Princess fishing pole, and a super soft bathrobe, to name a few. She was thrilled. 

In Akin family tradition, we go out on the pontoon boat every year. Now we have 3 little kids in life jackets. Lailey didn't mind hers, Addy was okay with it, and Maddox, well, he tolerated it but wasn't thrilled. Rite of passage I suppose.

On our boat ride, we went by the Bailey's lake house and they all were outside enjoying the lovely spring weather. What was intended to be a quick visit turned into quite an adventure! I couldn't resist allowing Lailey in the water with her clothes on. She later informed me this was her "favorite part of the day." Plus it made for some fun pictures. Fortunately, I got a picture of all the kids before they got wet. I love the picture of Addy's legs! It makes me laugh.

Wet...

Wetter...

All the way in!

Later that evening it was time to go fishing for the first time.  Call it beginner's luck, but Lailey caught almost a dozen fish! Every time Granddaddy would grab it, she would insist he throw it back.

Lailey's 1st fish on her 3rd birthday

What a fun and busy 3rd birthday!