Decisions, Decisions

I've been looking everywhere to find the perfect hat for Riley this winter.  Her hat from last year is a bit small and doesn't match either of her coats.  I really would like to find one that will velcro under her chin because, like any other toddler, she likes to pull hats off.  So after looking at Target, K Mart, Children's Place, Burlington Coat Factory, Younkers, and Old Navy I stopped in at Walmart.  I found one that will work until I can find one with velcro.  Which one would you have chosen???...

#1

#2

#3

I had to nix #1 to save my child's self confidence and Brett had to put his foot down with #2.  So, I guess that means that she is now sporting this lovely $2 stocking cap!  She looks so excited to be playing dress-up, doesn't she??

Riley At 15 Months

Here's a look at Riley at 15 months old.  Let me just begin by saying she is something else!  In the last couple weeks she has really decided to show her ornery side.  I'm beginning to prep myself for an interesting 2010.  I need a couple months to get ready for it.  I think Miss Ri is going to take her mommy and daddy for a wild ride. Here is a glimpse into her personality at 15 months old:

• She loves to stand on top of anything...boxes, Wii Fit, fire place, Mommy, Daddy...
• She makes a pouty face and cries 6 seconds after she is told "no, no." It is always delayed.  She likes to hug after she's told "no." Some sort or reconciliation?  No, she's smiling and back at what she's not supposed to be doing 5 seconds later.  She's not a very good listener.
• She'll steal any paci in sight and give you the "Ha! finder's Keepers" look as she puts it in her mouth.  She also will give it back to you if you ask her for it.  We try to only let her have it for sleeping and car rides.
• She knows where her eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, teeth, hair, head, ears, tummy, belly button, arm, elbow, leg, knee, toes, and feet are.  She will point to them if you ask and she feels like it.  Almost always, playing this game will calm her down and make her smile and giggle when in the car.
• She likes to look at you with her head pointed toward the ground and her eyes looking up.  It has been reported that she has rolled her eyes at daycare - but it was cute. 
• She is wearing size 4 shoes.  She fits into size 12-18 month shirts.  Most of her 18 month shirts are a bit big.  She still fits into her 12 month jeans, though they are almost too short.  She is finally growing!
• She has 12 teeth.  3 of which just came through in the last week.  We just found two upper molars yesterday.  Don't know how we missed those coming in!
• She loves to play with shoes.
• She thinks she can walk up the stairs (on two feet only) by herself. She can't really, but we help her and she thinks it's the greatest thing ever.
• She still loves bath time and becomes a wet noodle as soon as it is time to get out.  Doesn't matter that the water has been drained for several minutes.
• She cries "mama" anytime she doesn't get what she wants or gets hurt.
• She is extremely impatient and wants everything right now!
• She loves throwing anything and can actually throw really hard.
• She will, once in awhile, hit if she doesn't like something you're making her do - like put on her pjs, change her diaper, make her sit still, or not let her eat her lotion.
• She loves to help with laundry.  She will throw the clothes in the washer and dryer and watch the water fill the washer.
• She likes to say "uh-oh" and "ooooohh" all the time.
• She loves The Backyardigans.  She runs anytime she hears the opening theme song, smiles, and yells "oooooohhh."  She loves to dance to their music.  I hate to admit this, but I find myself singing the songs to Riley because I really want hear them myself. They really are pretty catchy.  I've even picked up a few dance moves from watching the show.   
• She likes to carry a purse around.  She used to try to lug my purse around but was always frustrated because she couldn't lift it.  She now has her own (one that I dug out of my basement).

Indoor Soccer

I had my first indoor soccer game of the season last night.  I was a bit nervous walking into it since I haven't played since 2007!  I didn't know if I'd even be able to kick a ball while running, let alone run for more than 30 seconds.  I have to say I surprised myself last night.  I played decently and even scored a goal!  It was nice to see all of the ladies my teammates again (am I officially old once I start calling my teammates "ladies"?).  Here are some things I need to improve on:

• Be able to stay on the field longer than 2-3 minutes.
• Gain some lung capacity.  I think it's a bad sign when I'm still coughing from lack of oxygen the following day!
• Not kick the ball into someone's head two times in one minute.  Yes, I really did that last night.  Really felt bad about it too. So, I need to regain some ball control!
• Must remember to bring water next week.
• Quit using the excuse that I have a kid now.  Half the women on my team have kids!

Hopefully next Monday will be a bit better.  Riley wasn't able to come last night since we didn't play until 9.  But, we have a 7 pm game coming up in the next few weeks that we plan to take her to.  I'm excited to see her there and see her reaction to all of the action!

Smiles!

Saturday and Sunday were beautiful fall days in Iowa!  It's hard to believe that we actually had 70 degree weather here in November.  We took full advantage and played outside with Riley.  She spent most of her time running after dogs, touching the rocks in the neighbors' yard, and playing with her popper toy.  Here she is in action:

Here are a few of Riley smiling.  She's just really learned what "smiling" is.  She used to make a scary face every time I asked her to smile.  Here are a few that we got yesterday:

As you can see, we still get the scary smile once in awhile!!

Meet Bunny

Riley has a new best friend, Bunny. I know, not a very creative name, but Riley doesn't care if Bunny has a name or not. Bunny has been chewed on, thrown up on (and washed, of course), stepped on, slept on, you name it Bunny's been through it. When Riley was younger I always thought it was weird that she didn't have a favorite blanket or animal. She must be normal, because just in the last few months Riley has decided that she LOVES Bunny. Here are a few more pictures:

Home Improvement Pictures

So, here they are.  I finally remembered to take pictures of all of the improvements we've done since summer.  I wrote this post on Home Improvements back in September. Now in November, here are the pictures to prove it!

First, the outside.
We moved these spiral trees from the front of the house to the back around our deck.  We also moved all of the 5 tons of rock from the front yard to the back!  We planted some spireas, but as you can see they aren't growing.  Hopefully next year they will be full and beautiful!

Then, we planted in front of the house.  These plants are in fall mode.  Hopefully they survive the winter and this spring they will be full of color again!

We finally removed the pea pod from the front of our yard.  When we moved in this area was a "planter" full of weeds!  Now we have beautiful green grass and a clear view of the house.  Now all we need to do is make the rest of the yard match!

Then we planted aournd our dying tree.

We replaced all of our lights.  The old ones were rusted shut so we went without house lights for a year.

Now inside.  Here is our freshly painted black door with a new knocker.  This door used to be purple! 

We hung these pictures in the front room:

And hung this mirror in the dining room:

We finally (just yesterday) replaced our sprayer at the sink.  Our last one leaked and we weren't able to use it.  I didn't know how much I missed it until we had a working one!

And lastly, we replaced the flooring in our bathrooms and painted our shelving unit in the master.  Yes, I know.  I need to put pircures in those frames!!

So, there you have it.  We've been busy at the Murphy house.  Next on the list:  finishing the basement, new windows, and new siding!  Sounds like a lot of work.

Happy Halloween

Friday night was Begger's Night and we had planned to take Riley to the neighbors' and then come home and hand out candy.  I even went to Target and bought the cutest black pea coat to match her black kitty costume.  Because it was raining, freezing, and huge wind gusts we decided to just stay home and hand out candy.  Riley was not feeling her costume.  She wouldn't let me draw her whiskers or nose.  I was a bit bummed, but we still managed to get a couple cute pictures of her next to the pumpkins. 

Riley loved watching all of the kids come up to the house in their costumes.  After a while she began whining to go outside.  So, we bundled her up and let her walk around the driveway.  After a couple minutes and a few trick-or-treaters we headed back inside with a bawling baby.  Riley wasn't too fond of the monsters and all of the scary masks.

After handing out candy we headed to Great Grandpa Melvin and Lois' house.  Riley was their only trick-or-treater.  We then headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Burch's house to show off our little kitty.  Riley loved carrying her pumpkin bucket and throwing candy into it!  We missed Grandma and Grandpa Murphy's because Grandma Kathy had a class until 10! :(

Here's our kitty in action:

Riley sitting with her pumkins.  Ready to GO!!

Watching for the Trick-Or-Treaters.

This is what happens when Mommy and Daddy don't have any extra clothes that fit me in my bag! 

Yes, unfortunately Ri's diaper leaked and we had to change her out of her clothes as soon as we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house and this is all we had with us!  After a bath and some quick laundry she was back in black in no time!