Balloon!

Although I don't have any pictures for this post (thank goodness!), it's a funny story I have to share. Cody took Riley to Chik-Fil-A to play in the playground last week while I was out of town traveling for work...they got a helium filled balloon while they were there because Riley is a huge fan of balloons. When they got home, Riley accidently let go of the balloon in our great room which has vaulted ceilings. It didn't make it all the way to the top, it was kind of stuck on the lower part of the ceiling. Cody thought it would be a fabulous idea to put me on his shoulders to try and reach it...I wasn't so keen on the idea, especially when I said I probably wouldn't be able to reach it on his shoulders and his reply was, "I'll jump..." Ummmm, I don't think so -- we're not in Cirque Du Soleil here! So reluctantly I hopped on Cody's shoulders and was a little ummmm, anxious. I was grabbing onto Cody's head and felt like I was going to fall! He kept telling me to straighten up so I could reach the balloon but I knew I was too short and it was a lost cause. We probably looked like a couple of clowns and Riley was just standing there with a horrified look on his face. He definitely didn't like to see Mommy so anxious and eventually he broke out into tears and kept saying, "Down, down!" He wanted Cody to put me back safely on the ground! What a good little guy trying to protect his Mommy! Eventually Cody put me down although it wasn't the most graceful landing in the world. I picked Riley up and he was very thankful I was safe and sound! I chuckle every time I think about how crazy it must have looked to Riley to see Mommy up on Daddy's shoulders and his reaction to my anxious antics! That night the balloon slowly fell from the ceiling as Riley was sleeping and I got rid of it. However, little Riley didn't forget...in the morning before we left for daycare, he kept pointing to the ceiling where the balloon was and said, "Balloon, balloon!" That's one thing about Riley, he's persistent and doesn't forget. The daycare workers have commented on that trait quite a few times over the past couple of years because they have a hard time distracting or redirecting him, especially lately. I'm sure that trait will come in handy in the future but for now, that makes him quite the little stinker!