Life of Riley

Time for some new pics...

2009-05-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

Since I've been remiss in updating my blog, I thought I'd better get on it. We've had some great times. We had a great Easter, although you'll note in the pics that Riley had a wardrobe change that day. The first dress (blue) was her original dress. I waited until just before we were leaving for church to put it on her, but don't you know in the two minutes between getting the dress on her and walking out the front door, she somehow found my foundation and got it all over the dress!! While I was taking the pic of her and Ty, that's when he looked down and said,"what's all over her?" I really freaked out at this point because not only is this her Easter dress, but it's also her flower girl dress for my sister-in-law's wedding in a couple of months. AHHH!!! Fortunately, we were able to get it out, but we had to hand wash the dress and it was too wet to wear, so I had to improvise on an Easter dress. (Thank goodness my daughter has never been short of clothing!)
Riley with her Easter goodies from the Bunny himself.

The infamous blue dress...

Easter egg hunt at Grandma and Papa's

Finally, we ended the day with a very tire bunny...

Next up was a trip to OK to see my friend Amy, her son JT and her beautiful new girl, Isabell. We had a great time! JT and Riley had a good time together, as did Amy and I. Love you Ames!
Already great friends...

At the aquarium

At the children's museum

Baby Isabell- who Riley loved!! (And so do I)

My best friend and I

I have tons more pictures I could add, but this is already turning out to be the world's longest blog!

Big girl bed!

2009-03-09T19:32:00.001-07:00

I know, I know. It's been way too long since I've posted anything. I'm sorry! However, we had a big event today, so I thought I better post some pics. Riley moved into her big girl bed tonight. She's so excited. She's actually been in there for about 45 minutes now and it's not even bed time. She's just playing on her bed. At some point I'm going to have to peel her away for a bath!
She's such a talker these days and she lets us know what's on her mind. She loves to sing, count and dance- usually all at once! We just finished another session of gymnastics and of course, she was fabulous. Her favorite songs are her ABC's, Jesus loves me, and Take me out to the ballgame.
Next week we start potty training...oh joy!

Finally...

2008-12-26T08:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so long, but here are some updates! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Making Christmas cookies...

Birthday dinner...

Birthday party...

And finally, Christmas!

Halloween

2008-11-02T09:11:00.001-08:00

Miss Riley was a very adorable bumblebee for Halloween. She played her part up well, buzzing around while trick or treating. We had a very fun night! My grandparents are in town, so they got to see her all dressed up. Also, my cousin's kiddos were over. They were teletubbies. Pretty cute...

Oh Riley...

2008-10-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

My girl is starting to get some sass to her. Well, she's always had the sass, but now she has the vocabulary to back it up. She was jumping on the couch the other day and I told her that she needed to stop. After another warning, I was ready to send her to her corner (oh yes, it is definitely a designated, well used corner) when she got down on her knees. I thought the issue had passed when she began bouncing up and down on her knees. I said to her, "Riley, I told you no jumping on the couch." She calmly pointed out to me, "Mommy, I'm not jumping, I'm bouncing!" What could I say to that?
She did so great at her gym class this morning. I love to watch what a good time she has in there. She's so confident and totally fearless. She loves to do flips over the bars- she's always the first one in line. I'm such a proud mama.
My grandparents should be out here some time this week, so we are very excited about their visit.
Enjoy the pics!
Grandma and Riley at the pumpkin patch

Playing around:

Aunt Beth and her friend Andy

Sitting on a pumpkin

Her nose is so ready because it was a little chilly that day and she was suffering from a minor cold

ugh...

2008-10-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

Riley decided 5 am on this fine Saturday morning was a great time to get up. Oh joy. Anyway, I'm much too tired to type too much, but I thought I'd at least post some pics. We had Ty's birthday last week, so that's what some of the pics are. I don't know what other ones I have loaded- probably just Riley being Riley. By the way, those are just stick on tatoos that Riley and I have. :)

Vegas, Baby!

2008-09-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! We recently went to Las Vegas on a little family trip. We stayed with
my aunt and uncle, who finally got to meet the famous Riley! We had such an awesome time. It was nice to get away for awhile. We also saw my cousins, Trina and Christina who I hadn't seen in a long time.
Ty and I got to go to a Cirque de Soleil show. It was amazing and makes me want to see all of them. (This was a present to ourselves for our four year anniversary.)
Riley is talking so much and was just a chatterbox on the entire trip. She often spits out a full sentence now and shocks everyone. It's so funny and impressive.
After a few days in Vegas, we hit the Grand Canyon. That was so beautiful, and it was here that we learned what a great hiker Riley is. She really moves it. Our hotel was on the rim, so keeping her away from the looming edge made me a little nervous, but she did fine.
Enjoy the pics!

Her famous "Say Cheese" face!

Ty and Riley at the G.C. Why doesn't he smile?

Riley at lunch one day.

My aunt and uncle with Riley.

Ty and I before our big night and the show.

Riley with her shopping basket and picnic basket.(Just two of the many toys she got from her great aunt and great uncle)

Riley, my cousin Trina, me and my cousin Christina. (pardon what a mess Riley and are, but we had spent the entire day traveling!)

Riley and my Aunt Tammy. They loved each other! Tammy spoiled Riley and bought her toys every day and rocked her to sleep every night.

The three of us at my aunt and uncle's house.

busy, busy

2008-08-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was very busy. We started off Saturday morning with Riley's "graduation" from her gymnastics class, Movers and Shakers. It was really fun and they gave each of the kids a certificate. Riley was crying because as they were giving out certificates they were also giving each of the kids a stamp on their hands and she really wanted they stamp and was not happy about having to wait her turn!
But eventually her turn came and here she is so happy with her certificate (and stamp!)

Here are some more pics of that day at class.

After class we headed to Phoenix to welcome home Riley's new cousin, Sarah, from China. That was so a lot of fun, and she's such a sweet girl!

Saturday....

2008-07-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

Hello, people...

I can almost do the splits...

Chillin' in my new pool- fancy!

On the parachute at gym class- I love it!

Going through the obstacle course

Mommy helping me across the big balance beam

Climbing on the low balance beam by myself

Daddy and I at breakfast

Drinking my cereal milk

I love Saturdays- no work and time with my girl. Today we went out to breakfast, then we went to her gym class and finally, Daddy went and bought her a little pool for our backyard. I don't know why we haven't done this before- probably because we know so many generous people who let us use their real pools, but Riley really seemed to enjoy her time today.
Take note of a few different pics here:
Drinking the milk from her cereal bowl- she usually does this even before her cereal is gone.
Walking across the balance beam- she has amazing balance!
"Smiling" for the camera. She makes a really funny face whenever we ask her to smile. It reminds me a Chandler from Friends the time he and Monica went to get their engagement photos done.
Her and Daddy at breakfast this morning. They're so cute!

A wonderful week!

2008-07-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! Riley's great-grandparents, on my side, came to see us this week. We had such an awesome time with them! We hung out at my aunt's house every night swimming, eating, visiting, eating...did I mention my aunt is an amazing cook? We also took my grandpa to the circus with us, which was so incredibly fun and special. I know Riley will never remember it, but I will ALWAYS remember it. He had such a good time, and Riley put on quite the little how herself! She laughed and clapped and played right along almost the whole time. However, since the circus didn't even start until 7:30 (her bedtime) we did lose her to her sweet dreams about 45 minutes before the show was over. But, it was still so fun to see her clap and dance and sing along with everything. She pointed out things that she liked and was generally impressed overall.
On the fourth of July, we went to the mountain with her Grandma and Papa to see the little parade up there. First of all, it was great simply because it was about 30 degrees cooler up there than it is down here- so nice! Second, it was good to hang out with Ty's parents for awhile and give her some time with them. We had fun and she really enjoyed throwing rocks into the pond. That afternoon, we went back to my aunt's house for more swimming and had a bbq there. We saw some fireworks last night, but the big show we were supposed to see was delayed for nearly an hour and it just got too late (and hot) to be waiting, so we all headed home. On the way back to our house, they finally started and Ty and I pulled off to the side of the road and watched them. Not great seats, but not terrible. There was a lot of cloud coverage anyway that made it slightly difficult. (Riley missed the fireworks completely- this is one worn out little girl!)
Today, my grandparents left to go home and I declared Ty, Roz and Riley day, since I felt we hadn't seen much of each other, just the three of us, lately. We went to the Children's Museum this morning. I think Riley enjoyed it. It was okay, but I'm looking for a bigger and better one to go to. Then we went and grabbed some lunch. Of course, she was OUT by the time we got home and nearly 3 hours later, she still is. I can't blame her though, I just woke up from a pretty decent 2 hour nap myself, and Ty's still sleeping. I guess we are all really worn out.
So you can imaging, that I have tons of pics coming. I still haven't figured out how to get my text in between pics. Janae- I know you told me but I think I need written instructions, so if you get a chance...
Thanks everyone and I hope you're all having a fabulous weekend!

Good times...

2008-06-18T18:47:00.000-07:00

Hello! Well, we've already had a very busy summer, with more to come. Riley has started attending a gym class called, "Movers and Shakers." It's so cute! She has a really great time and if I may brag (and really, it's my blog so I can if I want) she's super talented! She is completely fearless and never cries over anything. Last week she walked across all the different levels of the balance beams, did flips over a bar and climbed across the parallel bars. Was she receiving some assistance? Of course, but some kids wouldn't even try it. The instructor she has all the traits of a great gymnast! Okay- bragging somewhat finished. Oh wait- she's also counting to three now. It's too cute.
I'm attaching pictures of gym class (I took lots of video and very few photos), playing with her cousin, and swimming at great-aunt Janet's house on Father's Day. I think Ty did have a nice Father's Day. Riley and I got up early and made him breakfast. Then he went back to bed for awhile before we joined his parents for church. After that, we went back to their house for lunch and then swimming. We also went and visited Riley's great-grandparents, so that we could give Great-Grandpa Roy a card and a hug. Unfortunately, Riley slept through all of that. She was pretty worn out after all the other activities of the day.
Let's see...other updates:
She counts to three
Her favorite phrase is "What's this?"
2nd favorite: "MINE!"
Brushes her teeth like a pro
Can do a forward roll
Jumps
Marches
Brightens my world every day!!

Summer fun...

2008-06-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

And so, here we are at the beginning of summer. So many things to do, to see and to try. Riley has started a class called Movers and Shakers. It's a tumble class for toddlers. I couldn't go to her first class (I had volunteered to do something else before I knew the start date of her class) and Ty only took video, so I will get pics of her at class next week. For now, enjoy the photos of her trying out her first s'more, her first time standing in the corner (so sad!) and playing with her cousin in the jumping castle.

What a week!

2008-05-24T07:32:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a week at our house. Last Saturday night Riley started getting a fever and it just got worse. It didn't help matters that she refused to drink anything. By Sunday morning, we were off to the pediatric ER where we were told she just had a virus and to wait it out. My poor girl just laid in my arms all die and moaned. She sounded so horrible- totally congested. On Monday, we visited her pediatrician, where again we were told it was just a virus. (I also had my wisdom teeth removed on Monday. Oh joy.) By Thursday, she still had a fever, sounded horrible and was now constantly throwing up. So, off to the ER again. This time they actually listened to my poor baby and her poor parents and decided to do chest x-rays. Turns out, she has pneumonia! Fortunately, it isn't too bad of a case. They gave her something to stop the vomiting, got her rehydrated and gave us some antibiotics and sent us on our way. She's doing much better today- practically back to her old rambunctious self! I am so happy to see her doing well again. It's miserable when your baby is sick. They can't tell you where they hurt and you can't explain why the doctors are doing all these tests and trying to stick you with an IV.
Anyway, we are all doing great now and looking forward to the Memorial Day weekend.
Riley is talking up a storm now. Her favorite phrase is, "What's that?" She's a wiz at flash cards. We line up three at a time and I ask her to point to one of them. For instance, "Where's the turtle?" And she does it! She's just so darn smart! She cleans up after herself and likes to sing the "Clean up! Clean up! Everybody clean up!" while she does it. I love it!
Anyway, the pictures are some of her at church, some of her hanging out at the house in her Baxter (the mascot for the AZ Diamond backs) t-shirt and some of her driving her daddy's mutt.

Nightly ritual

2008-04-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

We've started a new nightly ritual. Before Riley goes to bed, she tucks in her baby doll. She's a pretty good little mommy. Incidentally, the cradle that she's putting her baby in (and deciding to crawl in herself) is one that my grandpa made for me when I was little. Too cool.

Oh Riley!

2008-04-26T14:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm a terrible blogger, but I'm sure you all already figured that one out. However, this time I have an excuse for at least the last couple of weeks - computer issues.
Riley gets more incredible every day. She's talking up a storm, sometimes we completely understand her and other times we're completely lost. But, as long as she knows what she's talking about, I guess that's what matters! She's so smart- she does really well with flash cards and her books. She can jump and she loves the water. I think she might end up being a swimmer. I'm always impressed with how much she understands when we ask her to do something. It makes me wonder if other times she's just pretending NOT to understand. Hmmmm....
Well, I've got so many pictures to post and I'm not sure what they're all from, but I'm definitely going to put some on there from the Phoenix Zoo. We went up there with my cousin Andy, his wife Krysta and their two kids, Ethan and baby Kaelyn. My Aunt Judy and Uncle Terry also joined us. It was a great day! Riley really loved the animals, even though a sheep knocked her down at the petting zoo. She didn't know what to think of that one. She also tried her hardest to pet the stingrays, but her little arms just weren't long enough.

I forgot

2008-02-21T16:44:00.001-08:00

She can also tell you what the dog, cat, chicken and monkey all say. She's brilliant! I wish I knew how to add a sound file!

Monthly update

2008-02-21T16:22:00.000-08:00

So, if I can get to this blog once a month, is that good enough? I sure hope so, because that's about my track record so far! Riley is so great. She keeps us so busy. Let's do a run down:

8 teeth

Can tell/show you how old she is (1!!)

Is doing some baby sign language ("more" "eat" "please" "milk" and my personal favorite "monkey" Don't ask me why we taught her that one, it's just cute.)

She is building quite a vocabulary and whether or not she says "real" words or not, is talking all the time.

Loves to go to the park, but will not let us help her on any of the playground equipment, resulting in a scratched nose and busted lip. Oh joy. Adverterous like her daddy!

Loves books! Bookworm like her mommy!

Got a teddy bear from a boy at school for Valentine's Day.

Has uncontrollably curly hair.

Gets more BEAUTIFUL every single day!

Worst Blogger EVER!

2008-01-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

Wow, I'm really bad at this blog thing. Riley just keeps me so busy that I have a hard time finding time to keep up. But, I have a few moments now. We had a great holiday season. Christmas morning, my side of the family came over to open presents and have a big breakfast. Then, we spent the rest of the day at Ty's family's house. It was such a great day and being able to share it with our whole family was fantastic! Riley really got the hang of opening presents. She made out like a little bandit! She had a great time playing with her cousins and grandparents and great-grandparents the whole day.
After the new year came Riley's first ear infection. She was trooper though and was pretty much over it in no time. She's back up and running in full force. She's learning some baby sign language, which is cool. She's still talking, too. In fact one of her favorite new games is to throw something down on the floor from her high chair and look at me and say, "Up, Mama, up." Okay, so she's a little demanding too. We're all learning our boundaries and what battles to fight and which ones to just let go. But, it's tough. I had no idea she'd be such a little diva so early! Fortunately, she's also such a sweetheart and for a one year-old she actually minds fairly well. (For me anyway- she's totally got her daddy wrapped around her little finger!)
Alright, well I'm going to add some pictures and call it done for awhile. I'll try to be a better blogger!

Birthday Girl!

2007-12-19T20:19:00.000-08:00

I can't believe our baby girl is already 1! Where has this year gone? It simply befuddles me. I pray every day that she will know God, follow His ways and that He will bless and protect her always. It has been a truly amazing year and she does something new and joyous everyday! I am so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing little family. We were just meant to be together and I am so thankful. Enjoy the birthday photos and say a birthday prayer for our girl!

still more pics...

2007-11-26T19:07:00.000-08:00

more pics...

2007-11-26T19:05:00.001-08:00

1st Thanksgiving!

2007-11-26T18:52:00.000-08:00

This year for Riley's first Thanksgiving, we went to see her great-grandparents in Oklahoma. What a trip! We even drove! (OG came too! She was good company for Riley in the back seat.) She was an incredibly good baby, but what else would you expect? The weather was COLD, but we survived. (Despite the fact that we showed up in flip flops and T-shirts.) Fortunately, I had packed warm weather gear.
Riley enjoyed her first turkey dinner. She especially liked the stuffing and the green bean casserole (one of her mommy's favorites, too.) She had a particularly funny way of eating it though; she would suck all the stuff off the green bean, spit it out and then suck the bean back in. It was hysterical. I'm not sure why she did it that way. Her great-aunt Leslie and 2nd cousin Michael made the trip as well. Her aunt went a little crazy buying her fun jeans and stuff, so Riley left OK dressed better than when she arrived.
After dinner on Thursday, we took Riley to the city park to see all the Christmas lights. I think she really liked it. She also got to meet Santa for the first time. She was okay with him until I tried to put her on his lap. She wasn't having anything to do with that! Unfortunately, the batteries in my camera picked a most unfortunate evening to give out. Aunt Leslie got some pics of the ordeal though, so once she sends them to me, I'll post them. They're too cute!
On Friday, Amy, Jimmy and JT came in to see us. JT is such a cute, happy baby! He's gotten big and he's crawling all over the place. He and Riley had fun together.
On Saturday, Ty and I headed to Norman for the OU/osu football game. BOOMER SOONER! With a score of 49-17, the Sooners ran away with the win. It was a great game and Ty finally got to see a "real" football game. Thanks to my fabulous friends Becky and Jake (and their parents) for the tickets. Unfortunately, Jake was sick, so it was just Becky, Ty and I for the game, but it was fun. I ran into some friends from college that I haven't seen since I graduated.
All too quickly, Sunday rolled around and we had to say a tearful good-bye to everyone. But, shortly they'll all be out here for Riley's Birthday Bonanza Blowout!

Our little kiss....

2007-11-02T21:02:00.001-07:00

Riley was the sweetest little kiss for Halloween! She went trick-or-treating like a pro and was walking all over the place. She totally amazes me.

The first picture is of her and her OG, who was dressed as a hippie for the day. The second on is of her and her cousin Ethan, or Dr. Q. T. Patootie.

Pumpkin Carving

2007-10-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to Grandma and Papa's house to carve our pumpkin. Ty did a really great job on ours! Riley looked so cute in this little outfit and she even wore the little scarf on her head, so there's hope that she'll wear the most important part of her halloween costume this week. (I'm not revealing what it is just yet.) She's walking all over the place now. She's even trying to run some. She's so cute- she loves it when I chase her. She's also playing peek-a-boo tons. Anything she can get her hands on, she hides behind and we play. She's been very good about brushing her teeth and she has the best toothy grin! Miss Riley just amazes me every day. She's really smart and just such a doll! We couldn't be more blessed!

Apple Annie's

2007-10-14T07:06:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we went with Grandma, Papa and Aunt Beth to Apple Annie's Orchard. We had a great time!Riley was so cute in the pumpkin patch. The weather was perfect and the ice cream and pie was great!
Riley's really getting the hang of walking now and she's very proud of herself. We're pretty proud of her, too.

More pics

2007-10-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

FIRST STEPS!!

2007-10-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

It's official- Riley's walking! Okay, so not far distances or anything, but she did take her first steps today and we've been practicing. Did I have the video camera or the camera? No, I'm not that organized of a mom, but I'll get some pics of it. She's tired now and a little fussy, so I don't want to push her. Maybe tomorrow I'll get some pictures of her.
In the meantime, OG, Riley and I went to the zoo today. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. We even fed the giraffes! Riley really liked them, the lion (she even said "Cat!" when she saw it) and the parrots.
Ty's birthday was last week, so there are some pics of his party here, too. The birthday cake I made for him melted a little bit and looks rather pathetic, but it was made with love.
On Ty's birthday we went to a U of A football game, so I got a picture of Riley in her cheerleader outfit with Wilma. We tried for one with Wilbur, but she screamed when he held her and I felt like the worst mom in the world, so I had to quickly rush in and save her!
One more thing- OU beat tEXas. Boomer Sooner, Baby!

Riley and JT in the park

2007-09-12T19:57:00.000-07:00

As I'm still catching up on posting pictures (and laundry and house cleaning and work...that's all besides the point) here are some pictures of Riley and JT in the park. She was SUPER tired and I think it shows in her eyes, but she's still beautiful!

Baptism

2007-09-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

Slowly, but surely, I'm catching up. So, here are the pics from when Riley was baptized a few weeks ago. Enjoy!

More pics from Amy's trip

2007-09-10T06:09:00.000-07:00

Aunt Amy, JT and Gramma Margie

2007-08-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

We recently had a visit from my very best friend, Amy, along with her 4 month old son, JT and Amy's mom, Margie. What a great blessing it was to have them here! Riley and JT got along great. She tried to use him as a standing post and he didn't care for it to much, but really, other than that, they had fun.
I suppose mostly Amy and I had fun. We went to Simply Dinners the first day she was here to make all our dinners for the week. We went to Gadabout one day and got spectacular massages. We spent a day in Bisbee. And we shopped for Riley's baptism dress. Most of all, we just hung out and had a FABULOUS time! I miss that girl so much and now I've totally fallen for her little boy. He's a doll! We had his and Riley's pictures made together too, but we're still waiting on the CD of those from the photographer. (I'll post those as soon as I get them.)
The pictures I'm posting now are from Amy. Ty took our camera to work and has been forgetting to bring it home so that I can pull the pics off it. He assures me it's not lost. (Cross your fingers!) So, as soon as I get that, I'll add the pictures I took while they were here (including the ones of Amy and I in the mine, next to the cave miners toilet...) and pictures from Riley's baptism.

Big words

2007-08-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in posting, but we've been kind of busy around here lately. OG moved out, Amy, Margie and JT came to visit and our air conditioner, as of yesterday, is not working. On an up note, OG bought us a new computer. I haven't figured all the bells and whistles out quite yet, so I don't have any recent pics loaded on it. Plus, I'm fairly certain my brain is a puddle of goo due to the extreme heat in our house. Which leads me to my next random thought... I am quite certain it must be the heat, because I consider myself relatively intelligent. I have a college degree, I hold down a job where I train others, I'm taking new classes. So, why is it that when I looked on an old friend's blog, I needed a dictionary for practically every other word? Is he really that verbose? Or, am I just that hot and tired? (Please note the use of the word "verbose" as it makes me feel better to use such a fancy word in light of my current situation of feeling rather stupid.) This friend and I knew each other throughout jr high, high school and college and I don't remember having that much trouble understanding him. Maybe it's due to his most recent reading of Tolstoy and my most reading of Sheep in a Jeep. Anyway, I'll write more when I have pics of Amy and JT's visit and when it's cool in here again.

Big Girl!

2007-08-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

Riley has been very busy lately crawling around and pulling her self up on anything and everything she can use! She's a little wobbly, but she's "cruising" furniture too. It's crazy how fast she's growing. She's also whispering a lot. I'm not sure what she's saying, but it's like she's practicing talking. It's very cute.
I bought a fence type thing today for our living room so that I can keep her in one space. It's like "baby jail." She's wasn't very impressed with it at first, but then OG and I got in with her and she started to think maybe it was okay. Then OG and I stayed in, and put Riley outside of the fence and she thought that was very funny.
Enjoy the pics!

Super Mom

2007-07-28T21:41:00.001-07:00

I have a friend from high school whose blog I recently ran across. She is a stay at home mom with 3 kids ages four and under, and baby #4 is on the way. She has a thriving garden that she actually uses the food from. (it's not just flowers to look pretty, although she has one of those, too) She's recently gotten into canning. She even canned her own salsa not long ago, rather than freezing it. I thought canning was something people did in factories or before tupperware. She's also an avid scrapbooker and baker. I just read on her blog that she's gotten into making her own cleaning products. She also makes her own body washes. Did I mention she finds time to workout? And she's positively positive. She writes the most lovely blogs full of fun stories about her children (and some that scare me- babies can take off their diapers and spread poop everywhere? when does this start happening? I need to invent something to prevent that and I think I still have time) She manages to find the bright side of everything even though I can't imagine she sleeps much.
My child is just fortunate that Costco makes industrial tubs of laundry detergent, that Gerber has come out with packaged food all the way from birth through toddler and that I take her picture, even if they don't get put in a scrapbook.
Yes, my friend is amazing. She's like supermom- on prozac- at disneyland- with her best friend Martha Stewart. But, I'm happy just being me, crawling on the floor with Riley hoping that what she just put in her mouth was a Cheerio.

teeth

2007-07-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

I don't have any pictures of Riley's adorable little teeth because she sticks her tongue out and it's hard to capture a glimpse of them, but they're there. Two little teeth on the bottom. And- they're sharp!
She's also crawling up on all fours now. Before, she kinda looked like a soldier trudging through the mud on her belly, using her elbows to pull her along. But now, she's figured out she's much fast up on her hands and knees.
She's also trying to pull herself up on everything she can find. And I swear yesterday she waved "bye-bye." This is a fun age!

Trip to Minnesota

2007-07-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

Last week we made a trip to Minnesota to see Riley's great Aunt Leslie. Great Grandpa and Great Grandma also made the trip. We were there for the Fourth of July. We saw a parade and a big fireworks show. We went to the Mall of America, Minnehaha Falls, Centinniel Lakes and a little town on the St. Croix River. It was a very fun, busy trip and we can't wait to go back!
While we were there, Riley started crawling and cut her first tooth! She had a very productive week. Plus, everywhere we went people oohed and awed over her. She literally held up the security line at the airport because people in line were all turned around looking at her and talking to her. Riley, of course, was eating it up and putting on quite the show talking and laughing with them. What a doll!
Thanks so much to Aunt Leslie for having us. Again, we can't wait to come back!

Father's Day

2007-06-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

Ty's first Father's Day was great. We hung out with the clan up at his parents' house. Ty and Riley even found time to take a dip in the pool. Ty got a Wii for Father's Day, but Riley was actually too excited to wait for Father's Day to give it to him, so he's had it since April. So, for he day she got him a hat and t-shirt that say "Rookie Dad." For a rookie, though, he's an awesome dad!

Mt.Lemmon Picnic

2007-06-10T17:14:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we went up to Mt. Lemmon to have a family picnic. It was an absolutely gorgeous day to go up there. Riley was so facinated by everything around! She liked the squirrels and trees and creeks...maybe we're going to have an outdoorsy baby. Her daddy will be pleased. Enjoy the photos!

Andy's Birthday dinner

2007-06-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day Weekend

2007-05-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend. Ty and I got to go out on a date night on Friday night. Riley stayed with my friend Alix's daughter. It was her first baby-sitting gig, and I'm pretty sure Riley gave her a run for her money. But, when I asked her what I owed her, she told me nothing. She said she should pay me for letting her baby-sit! I, of course, did not take her up on this offer, but it just goes to show how great my kid is. :) Saturday we moved Mom out of the apartment and then I had a little get together. Sunday was fairly lazy. Today, we took Riley swimming for the first time. She loved it! Plus, she looked great. (As always!) We went up to the parents' house for a bbq, and she got to swim some more there.

Ty's fixed the camera!

2007-05-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

Isn't my husband wonderful? He figured out how to fix the camera! Now, I can still take pics and add them to the site and we don't have to spend $$$ on a new camera. Gotta love him! I have no idea how these pics will show up- let's just say "in no particular order..." There's a couple where Miss Riley totally conked out on my lap at dinner time. Then there's just some shots of her gorgeous face. Aren't her eyes fabulous? Then there are some where she's playing on her new activity center. She really seems to like it. She especially likes the duck on the boat. She likes it so much, she's trying to figure out how to eat him! She also banged around on the little keyboard that's on the table. I think I have a musical prodigy on my hands! I hope everyone is doing great. (By the way, her feet don't touch the ground yet from this little seat.They just dangle there!)

Mother's Day

2007-05-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

First, let me say that sadly, our camera is not working quite right. The focus appears to be broken and every time we turn the camera on it makes this horrible ticking noise. I have to wonder if this is because someone left it on the stove while the oven was turned on and we melted something important. So, there are no pictures from Mother's Day weekend.
Despite a picture less weekend, we did have a great weekend. On Saturday, Riley and I went and surprised OG by making her breakfast. Saturday afternoon, Ty, Riley and I attended my cousin Krysta's graduation from nursing school. It was at a very large church, where apparently, you can't light real candles because during the candle lighting ceremony, they all had battery operated candles. Krysta was relieved though because she had quite a bit of hairspray in her hair and had been fearful of going up in flames should they have use real candles. Then, on Saturday night, OG and I went to a Rebecca St. James concert. It was a lot of fun. Vickie Beachem (sp?) also made an appearance and she was not only a very talented musician, but quite the comedian.
Sunday morning was wonderful. I broke all the rules and grabbed Riley out of bed early and put her in bed with us. She's so snuggly. She just slept on my chest for hours. It was heaven. Then we went to church and up to the family's place for Mother's Day lunch. Good food, good conversation and good times. AND- no nap for Riley. When she started getting grumpy we headed home. Our last outing of the day was over to Steffens for more food and fun. We didn't last too long there though because we were all pooped by then.
So, overall, a most excellent Mother's Day weekend. I thought about last year when we revealed to our Mom's that Baby J was on the way. I was so excited, but nothing compares to this Mother's Day and actually having her here. She's so precious. God is GOOD!!!

ugh

2007-05-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

I've got to learn how to get pictures on here in order...anyone?

Fair, Food and Fun!

2007-05-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here's Riley and Brandon at the county fair. She was so thrilled to be there!
Today I got her a new chair called a "bumbo" She likes to sit up and this little chair helps her do that. She seemed to really like it!
Our next big event of the day (after the chair) was eating cereal! Yeah! I have before, during and after pictures here. She seemed to really like it. And, after a meal like that, you've got to get a bath, so here she is with a very little baby mohawk!

Good times...

2007-04-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

Much has been going on in the Life of Riley lately. Her grandma and papa came over to dinner on Tuesday night and we had a great time! On Friday she was having some tummy issues, so we took her to see Dr. Curtiss. He said it was nothing a little prune juice couldn't solve, and that as long as we were there, she might as well go ahead and get her next set of shots. She didn't like that too much! But, it was for her own good. She's weighing in at 14.1 lbs (although after that prune juice, it might have knocked her back down to 13.1lbs!) which is in the 50% range. Dr. Curtiss said she's average, but we all know she's much better than average! She's in the 70% for her height. That doesn't surprise me; she has pretty tall parents. And, finally, he said we definitely got the right baby from the hospital because she looks just like her mommy. That made me happy! (Although, there's no denying that she has her daddy's blue eyes!) Friday night, Riley stayed with her O.G. (other grandma) so that mommy and daddy could take a night and go out. We went to a concert featuring Andrew Carlson and the group, The Afters. It was so much fun! I don't think Ty initially thought he'd enjoy himself, but he really liked both artists. A bunch of kids from the youth group were there, so that was nice. We haven't seen them in awhile because we've been going to Pantano Christian instead of St. Andrews. It was really great to see my girls! And, I won tickets to a Rebecca St. James event! That happens in May. I am really excited about that. Ty's jealous that he can't go, but it's a girls' only event. He threatened to put on a dress and wig and join me. I'll definitely post pictures of that if he does! Enjoy the pictures!

Picture overload

2007-04-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally got some more pics downloaded, so here they are, in no particular order.
Riley found her daddy's nose and she didn't want to let go. She's going to be a thumb sucker too, apparently. (I'm okay with that as long as she quits picking her daddy's nose!)

We had some friends over for a game night on Friday, and one couple brought their one year old son. It was very eye opening! I found out all sorts of stuff that we're going to have to baby proof. If I had been thinking, I would have taken pictures that night; I've got to get better at that sort of thing. I'll keep trying!

Short hair...

2007-04-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

Our dining room set arrived the other day and it's beautiful! I wanted to add a picture of it, but I'm having some issues getting it to download. I'll just wait until the ottoman arrives and the whole place is put together and then I'll add pics of all of it. Meanwhile, please enjoy the picture of Riley- that's what you're really here for anyway, I'm sure. She's much prettier than the new couch! We decided to put her in her high chair for the first time since we've been eating at our new table. We've got a great high chair that reclines for her and it's cushy and nice. I think she likes it okay.
I got my hair cut yesterday. It's really short and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Everyone complemented me on it and seemed to really like it, but I'm still not sold on it. Once I get brave, I'll post a picture of me up here and let you all be the judge. There's not much I can do about it now, I guess. It's not like she can glue some back on.
Ty lost his cell phone by the way, so if any of you see a black razor phone around, let us know. Thanks!

New Furniture

2007-04-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

Riley's gone to bed, so I've got some time to write. We're having new furniture delivered tomorrow- a couch, new dining room set and a leather ottoman. I'm pretty excited about it all. However, Tim the cat is not. You see, he's the reason we need a new couch in the first place. He destroyed the old one with his claws. We don't want to have him declawed so I bought "claw covers." I thought these would be easy to put on- how wrong I was. The first step is to trim is nails. It's been nearly an hour and we have one paw done. Then we have to basically super glue these covers over his nails. Then, we have to watch him for an hour to make sure he doesn't chew them off. (Did I mention the directions to this stuff say "Keep away from pets"? What's that about?) Ty is taking this pretty hard. I think he's concerned that we're demasculizing (is that a word? Spell check doesn't think so, but I'm leaving it.) his cat in some way. I think the Humane Society actually took care of that years ago, though. Right now, Ty's trying to figure out how we can just keep Tim locked up all the time. Oh boy.

First post...

2007-04-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

So, now that's I've seen my friend Amy's blog- I decided to steal the idea. Test...test...