Riley Goes to Lake Okoboji

The Murphy's were finally able to enjoy a weekend away for some much needed relaxation. We headed up to Spirit Lake for Labor Day weekend. Brett's aunt and uncle rent a lake house, The House That Jack Built, for a couple months each summer and we gladly took the opportunity to get out of town for a few days. We were joined by Brett's aunt, Marilyn, Grandma Murphy, and Uncle John. Friday night we enjoyed the place to ourselves. We checked out the beach, ate lasagna, and I beat Brett at a LONG game of rummy. We staked out a good place, Tweeters, to watch the Iowa Game on Saturday. There were plenty of Iowa fans to help us cheer them on. We left before all hell broke loose and Iowa had to block two field goals. Riley loved playing in the sand and floating in the water. The water was pretty choppy (and freezing) so we made her wear her life jacket. Sunday night was the most eventful night of the weekend. We put Riley to sleep and then enjoyed a little bonfire on the beach. Around 1:30am Riley was stirring and obviously a uncomfortable. Brett was holding her trying to get her to calm down and the chunks came flying. For those of you who know Brett he was mortified! Brett and Riley showered as I did a load of laundry. Needless to say, we were ready to get home when we woke up on Monday morning. overall, it was a great trip. Here are some pictures and a video to enjoy!

Home Improvements

I've been meaning to write something about all of the home improvements that we've taken on over the summer. I know, not Riley related, but I'll have a post on her coming soon. It will be a long one to include her very first parade, new shoes, and Lake Okoboji!. By the way, she is practically running, turning in circles everywhere, "talking" on the phone, chasing boys at daycare, and the list goes on.

Anyway, our list of home improvements is quite long and we are very impressed with our skillz. I really felt inspired to write this blog after last nights episode of Renovation Realities. I like to call it Renovation Real-idiots because the people they find for this show are so stupid that Brett and I laugh through the entire half hour show. It airs on DIY network and I have no idea at what time because we always seem to watch it at different times. So last night we watched as two middle-aged women tried to renovate a room into an Art Gallery, all the while wearing bike helmets as hard harts. Really? Really. Seriously...funniest thing ever. Then to top of their ridiculousness, they couldn't even cut a piece of wood. We watched as they attempted to cut a two by four 72 in. in length. It was in inch short the first time. They went back to cut it again and came back with a board that was 12 inches too short! If these women could complete their renovation, we look like master builders. Here's a list (and a few pictures) of our home improvements.

1. Finally got rid of all the dead branches that we cut from the trees last year. put down grass seed to re-grow all of the grass that we killed from being procrastinators.
2. Replaced all of our outdoor lighting with brand spankin' new fixtures. Looks quite nice. Although, Brett bought the brightest lights for our motion lights on the garage so now we light the entire street. I'm sure our neighbors love us for that one.
3. Painted our door black and hung new door knocker. We are no longer the Lindamin's who live in a house with a PURPLE door!
4. Landscaped our entire front and back yard. This was our HUGE project and Brett hopes he never has to pull a stump ever again. This was hard work. First we transplanted our spiral mini trees (real name??) and put them around our deck in back. Then we planted all new lillies bee balms leading up to the house, and put down new mulch. Then, we planted spireas in the back with the spiral trees. Then we removed umpteen hundred pounds of rock from in front of the house. Removed 4 dead stumps. Planted 14 new plants. Put down all new mulch.
5. Hung a mirror in the dining room.
6. Hung a spread of pictures in the front room.
7. Painted all of our woodwork in the master bathroom white. It is so refreshing and feels good to get some of the last filth from the previous owners taken care of!

*******Pictures to be posted later******

It's Raining, It's Pouring..

...The Murphy's Are Playing! Want to know what the Murphy household does on a rainy evening??

That's right, folks, we stuff our little girl's shirt with a ball and watch her run around. She thought it was the greatest thing and kept smiling and holding it like she was pregnant. We laughed and laughed as we watched her run around, fall down, and try to figure out how to stand up again. Who ever said kids aren't entertaining? We had so much fun!

Lastly, take a look at Riley's first skinned knee. She fell at daycare and didn't even cry! What a big girl!

Riley's One Year Stats

We took Riley to the doctor on Friday for her one year well baby check-up. She really did great for all of the pricking that took place. She weighed 19 lbs 10 oz and measured 29 1/2 inches. I think the length is a bit generous, but she is now in the 50th percentile for both. She is growing so fast. We battled a low grade fever and fussiness all weekend from the shots. Now we're dealing with a rash that she's developed from the chicken pox vaccine. She passed the anemia and TB tests. I had no idea that they tested 1 year olds for TB. But it's good to know that she doesn't have it!

No other new exciting news in the Murphy Household. We've just been trying to relax and catch our breath from the busy August we've had!

Riley Does The Iowa State Fair

As if we didn't have enough excitement last weekend we decided that we would also take Riley to the Iowa State Fair with some friends on Sunday. We made it out there around 9:15 to meet the Coppola's and August's. We had fun going through the barns, Varied Industries Building, Birthing Barn, and eating lots of food. Riley fell asleep around 12 and the Coppola's and August's all left around 12:30. Brett and I decided that we would meet up with my parents, Brother and his family, and my uncle John and cousin Janie. We stayed until we were all exhausted and left around 4:45. It was a good day at the Fair and Riley loved all of the excitement. We tried two new (to us) fair foods this year: Fried Veggies and Frozen S'Mores. We also had to have a corn dog. Hopefully next year we'll make it to the Fair more than one day!

Riley at One Year Old

I thought that I would devote one more post to Riley's new status: Being a one year old. For some reason she doesn't feel like my little baby anymore. Brett and I were just saying last night that she is turning into a toddler and looking less and less like a baby now. I think it's a true sign that she's growing up when most of the shirts I find for her now AREN'T onsies! Here are a few things about Riley now that she is one:

• She gives open mouthed kisses when you ask for one.
• She unknowingly says "shit" repeatedly throughout the day. It sounds more like "shi" and it's just one of her babbles. It's so funny!
• She is nearly running! And, she refuses to stay in one room longer than 25 seconds.
• She loves "boos" or balloons. She could play with them for hours.
• She is the most animated child I know. She truly has 30 different faces she uses on a daily basis.
• She demands attention, and people love to give it to her.
• She cried when I left for work today for the first time ever. She is a true "mama's girl."
• She points at everything over and over and over.
• She loves trees. She especially loves eating leaves when Mom and Dad aren't looking.
• She ate dirt for the very first time last night. Apparently helping mom pick weeds wasn't a good idea!
• She puts food on a fork/spoon with her hands and then will eat it off the fork/spoon.
• She uses her right hand to do most things.
• She cries when it's time to leave daycare.
• She's a horrible passenger in the car. She throws everything and then screams for most of the ride! She better get used to it because we have decided to try to keep her rear facing until she is 2.
• She gets frustrated very easily and is very impatient.
• She LOVES books.
• She doesn't have a favorite blanket or stuffed animal, but does sleep with a small duck at night.

I'll leave it at that. The list could go on and on, but then I would just sound like a bragging parent!

A look back on August 15th, 2008

It's hard to believe that a year has passed by and Riley is now a one year old. I still remember feeling huge, swollen, sore, and exhausted! I remember watching Shawn Johnson win her gold medal the night before. I stayed up late and knew that I would be sorry for it in the morning when I had to get up. Little did I know that I would wake up at 2am to my water breaking. Good thing for adrenaline because I wouldn't have made it through the delivery any other way. I was exhausted, but super excited to finally meet Riley! Here are some pictures of our little girl one year ago!