Memorial Day Weekend

We had a Memorial Day Weekend filled with family, illness, home improvements, and relaxation! It was so nice to have a three day weekend and to spend extra time with Riley. This was really my first "vacation" since my maternity leave. I'm counting down the days until July 1st when I'll have vacation days again.

Brett took last Thursday and Friday off to do some things around the house. Our downstairs bathroom is finally completely finished. Brett put in the trim and quarter round and it really looks nice. He also put the quarter round down in the two bathrooms upstairs. It was the final touches since we laid the new flooring upstairs. Brett also did some yard work which I'm sure our neighbors were very happy to see. We finally bought a weed eater! I was starting to get embarrassed at all of the grass that was growing up around our trees and walkways! Brett took up the miniature spiral trees (name??) that were out front and planted them around our deck in the back. They really look nice back there. He then planted some Day Lillies and Bee Balm (??). We've never heard of the Bee Balm, but they looked nice so we thought we'd try them out. Hopefully they fill out nicely. Next, we have to pull out the stumps from the bushes that we cut down last fall, plant new bushes, and move the rock.

On Friday we went to dinner for our friend Ali Coppola's birthday. Her husband surprised (kind of) her with a night out and dinner with friends. It was really a lot of fun. After dinner we met up with Libby, David, Grandpa Denny, Grandma Kathy, and the Neumann's for a drink downtown. When we went to pickup Riley from Grandma and Grandpa Burch's she had started sounding pretty congested.

Saturday, Brett enjoyed a round of golf (his first in a very long time) while I stayed home with Riley. By Saturday morning she was really feeling miserable! No smiles, not eating, not playing. We called Dr. Fred and he suggested to keep offering her other things to drink, like Pedialite. Grandma Burch came over for a while and brought Riley some pedialite and cute dresses. Saturday night was Uncle John's graduation from Roosevelt. We tried to make it, but Riley just wasn't feeling up to it. :(

Sunday was a day of relaxation. Riley was feeling a bit better, but Brett was beginning to feel sick. We took a trip to Costco. Did you know that you can get the biggest cup of frozen yogurt for only a $1.35 at Costco? Yep, only $1.35 for 16 oz of frozen yogurt. It was delicious. Sunday night Riley experienced her second dinner at Ohana's and truly enjoyed it. She loved eating the zucchini, rice, and chicken. We said Good-Bye to Libby and David after dinner and were lounging around the house by 9pm.

Monday was another day of relaxation. Brett wasn't feeling well and Riley had a horrible cough. I was a bit bummed that we weren't able to enjoy the weekend outside, but it was nice to just be home with the family!

Here is something new that Riley began doing over the weekend:

Hey, whatcha doin Mom??Lastly, here's my little lady. She's always sitting like this so I had to take a picture!

Food Snob

I've been slacking on the blog this week. Usually I'm inspired to write something based off of the pictures that I take throughout the week. Well, our memory stick for the camera is completely full! I've hated not having a camera because Riley is now pulling herself up and crawling directly to anything with buttons, fur, or electricity! Agenda for this weekend includes putting the videos and pictures on a CD so that I can delete them from the memory stick. So here is a story without pictures:

As you all know, Brett and I make all of Riley's food. Early on we tried giving her jarred meats to make sure that she wasn't allergic. We thought that would be better then cooking a whole piece of meat and pureeing it only to find out if she might not be able to eat it. Well, Wednesday we forgot to send lunch for Riley (I know, we're great parents) and Hedy had to give her some of the jarred food that she had on hand. Turns out Riley tried Green Beans with Rice and proceeded to spit it out and gag (like really gag) over every spoonful. I laughed when hearing this and thought "maybe it's the green beans" because Riley really doesn't care for them when we give them to her at home. That day she ended up with 1/2 banana for lunch. So that night I decided to try some of the Stage 3 "dinners" that Gerber makes thinking it would be easy to have some on hand when we didn't have something made. Little stinker wouldn't eat the Chicken and Noodles either! She did the same thing: gag, "how could you do this to me, Mom" look, and pushing it out. She also added in the "no, no" head shake with a sourpuss face. Ladies and Gentleman, we have created our very own FOOD SNOB! So last night, we mixed together sweet potato, squash, pork, spinach, pasta and something else...she ate it like a champ. Seriously, who really likes that over chicken and noodles?? Oh well, looks like we will continue to make Riley's food.

She has started trying more table foods. Things she likes: string cheese, bite sized pieces of chicken (grilled please...snob), Mexican rice, deli meat, bread, pasta. Things she doesn't like: green beans, plain yogurt, Mommy not sharing.

We are looking forward to the weekend. Brett's sister (Libby) and her fiancee (David) are coming to stay with us. Plus, we have John's (Brett's brother) graduation on Sunday. Hopefully I'll have some pictures of the weekend.

9 Month Pictures

Riley Nicole At 9 Months Old

Today Riley is 9 months old. She seems to be growing so fast and learning new things faster than I can write down! She is so much fun and life wouldn't be the same without her sweet giggle. Here's a glimpse into what she's doing and some of her favorite things:

• Crawling, crawling, crawling. I love to watch her little diaper butt crawl away and and then sit and turn around to smile at me.
• Fishy Kisses. Every hour I can count on hearing the little popping noise of her fishy kisses. I'm not sure where she picked this up, but it is so cute...for now.
• The Mirror. Riley loves looking at herself in the mirror. She could be throwing a fit and stop and smile at just the sight of herself in a mirror.
• Mickey Mouse. Last night we tried seeing what she would do when Mickey Mouse came on. She stopped crawling, sat down, and turned to look at the TV. She then turned around and intently watched Mickey Mouse. She loves it and knows it by sound. When we get to Hedy's in the morning the first thing she looks for is Mickey on TV.
• Hot Dog Dance. She loves to do the hot dog dance at the end of every Mickey Mouse show. Hopefully she has more rhythm than her mommy and daddy.
• Fingers. Riley constantly has her fingers in her mouth.
• Puffs! She loves em all.
• She is now sleeping on her side most of the nights. Brett and I are still the worry parents and if she rolls on to her tummy we roll her back. So far she deals with it.
• Sippy. Riley loves to drink her juice and water from her sippy. She loves to spit out the juice or water and smile at Mommy and Daddy.
• Riley has learned the sign for "milk." She has yet used it to ask for her bottle, but she is able to sign milk when she sees a bottle or hears the word bottle.
• She is soooo strong. Try keeping her from rolling away during a diaper change....nearly impossible! We call her bam-bam because she is always holding her big heavy toys above her head.
• Riley loves to walk...with help obviously. We're working on not walking like we're on a balance beam. So far she thinks walking means putting one foot directly in front of the other.
• Upside down. She loves to hang upside down. Do it once and plan to spend the next 5 minutes turning her little body upside down!
• Cats, dogs, any animal. Riley loves Sam. She still loves to pet Sam every morning and night. We are working on petting "softly" and not grabbing his soft fur and pulling.
• If you're older than 1 Riley wants to know what you are doing. She loves kids and loves to see what they are all doing.
• "wheels on the bus" Riley loves this song. If she is upset or squirming during a diaper change this song will usually calm her down and bring a smile to her face. Riley first learned this song at Waterbabies class and LOVES it!
• Teeth. She's obsessed with everybody's teeth. She doesn't care if it's not her mouth she's sticking her fingers in your mouth to check out your pearly whites. Someday, Riley, you will have your very own set!

Stay tuned for 9 month pictures!

Fishy Kisses

Riley's newest thing...Fishy Kisses... (check out Brett's pride and joy in the background...our garden)

We had to take the bathroom mirror down to texture and paint some spots. Riley was so excited and LOVED being able to get right up to the mirror for some face time. Here are some more Fishy Kisses from Riley Nicole!

Crawl Baby, Crawl!

We officially have a crawling baby. Here is our little bugger in action:

Update on Dr. Appt:

I took Riley in to see Dr Fred on Monday because I didn't think that she was over her ear infections. Turns out she has fluid behind the ear drum. She is on a new antibiotic to treat it. She is sleeping much better, but has a new problem: diarrhea! :( She has blown out three diapers in the last two days (all of which have been at the sitter's house), pooped out of two outfits, and squirted in the tub once (Daddy was the lucky one to clean that up). She is supposed to take the medication for 14 days and we are only on day 2...I hope it doesn't last!

Updates: Teeth, Crawling, and Attitude

Last week I was so excited to post the video of Riley dancing that I completely forgot to write that she has two teeth! First came the bottom right front (doesn't sound right??) and then next came the bottom left front tooth. Also with the teeth came an ear infection. I "found" the first tooth as we were sitting in the doctor's office. Both teeth are about halfway through the gums and visibly crooked! Now, the little bugger is working on more teeth! I am taking her back to the doctor this afternoon because she is still pulling at both ears. Poor baby.


We now have an army crawler. For the last couple weeks Riley would push up on to her hands and tippy toes. She just couldn't figure out how to get her legs to crawl. This Saturday she started pushing up on her tippy toes and then putting one leg forward and falling forward. Sunday and today she actually crawled about two steps in a row. I'm sure that we'll be putting up some baby gates by the end of the week! She's been rolling everywhere for quite some time now, but at least we could catch her then. We have also been practicing walking. She likes to hold on to my hands and walk around everywhere. She always has the biggest smile when she's walking! She's just now getting the idea of walking, but is no where close to balancing on her two (tiny!) feet. Up until this week she was walking like she was on the balance beam...one foot directly in front of the next!



So on my first Mother's Day I couldn't help but think to myself how Riley has grown and how I have no idea how to handle a toddler. Now, I know she's not a toddler yet and she's still my baby girl, but I know it's not far off. She has so much attitude at not even 9 months. Just this past week she has started throwing fits (with tears) when she doesn't get what she wants. Never before has she done this! For the past 8 months I've been thinking that we were so lucky to have such a mild mannered child. Well, I think the little beast has unleashed! I'm sure my mom is thinking this is payback from all the trouble I caused as a toddler, but at 8 months already?? She cries when she doesn't get more puffs, when she hears the word bottle/bot/bah, when she doesn't get her bottle right this second, when we take away her sippy because she sucks the water out and then spits it all down her chin and smiles, or when I say "no, no" or "Riley, no" because she is rolling around the living room as I try to change her poopy butt! Seriously, could the terrible twos be starting at 8 months?


Our little drama queen in action:

Getting Ready With Daddy

Every morning before work Brett gets Riley up, dressed, fed, and ready to head out the door. This is a huge help to me since we have to leave the house by 7:15-7:20 am every morning. Brett looks forward to the time that he gets to spend with his little girl each morning. Now, there are some days that I walk out of the house wondering how I'm going to explain a certain outfit to Hedy when we arrive. Lately it has been "She's dressed in all white...we have an extra outfit packed" or "She's in shorts today...there are pants in her bag." Here are some pictures of Daddy putting the finishing touches on Riley's outfit this morning. (We changed the shoes before leaving the house :))

The Circus

We took Riley to the circus on Sunday. We met Grandma and Grandpa Burch, cousins Kennedy and Addy, Aunt Casey, Aunt Casey's friends Dusty and Hayden, and Riley's second and third cousins Sarah and Austin. She did really well and sat through most of the program. It was very long (almost 3 hours!) so by the end she was ready to get the heck out of there. She watched the tigers, acrobats, and glowing swords. She could have cared less about the clowns, elephants, and Lady who practically wears nothing and makes dobermans jump through rings of fire! This was the Shriner's Circus so it was small scale, but for a good cause. Hopefully we'll be able to take her to Barnum and Bailey or Ringling Brothers some day. Although, we did see Cannon Lady shoot out of a cannon and do some flips. She is one of two Cannon Ladies in the whole world. Here are some pics from the night.

"Hot Diggity Dog!"

Oh Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, where have you been hiding these last 8 months?? Friday I went to pick up Riley and Hedy told me that she did the "hot dog dance" off of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cartoon. This was a bit hard to believe so Brett and I set out to find the truth in it all. Sure enough, Saturday morning we watched Riley do the "hot dog dance." We taped it last night so you all could enjoy it!

Rain, Rain Go Away

Riley is ready for some sun!!! Check out her new sun hat. We found one with velcro...as you can see she tries to pull it off immediately!