The Skaggs Family

Changes

2010-09-24T22:17:00.017-05:00

Lately, life has been crazy, hectic, a relentless whirlwind.

In other words, BUSY. And not much downtime for blogging :(

Going here, going there, packing and unpacking, cleaning as much as possible (but never catching up), cooking meals, and paying bills. Sleeping has been an afterthought, and work, though exciting and interesting, has been a source of mental drainage as well.

We are smack dab in the middle of starting a new life for our little fam… Yes, we are moving to the country. With the wheat fields and moo cows...

Do I hear "Green Acres" playing in the background? Hmm... yep.

A small town life, and definitely outside “a stone’s throw” distance from a Wal-Mart.
I honestly don't know how I’m going to manage this… I am already having nightmares. And not that I like Wal-Mart, because I DON’T. I can’t stand the place. But it was there, not if, but WHEN, I need it. Because I am ALWAYS forgetting or running out of SOMETHING. Like it or not, it has been my safety-net. Now it will be 20 minutes away.

God Help Me!

I will have to adapt to stocking up on the essentials and a few other key items to get by from now on. Or we'll have to resolve to eating "whatever's in the pantry" which means tortilla chips and canned peaches for dinner (as Riley says, "Mmm!")

But, this is Ryan's dream. His happy place. Country living and farming. I am happy where he's happy. As long as I am not required to have a perfectly stocked pantry, clean house, and can start making large orders from Soap.com... which is amazing, in case you didn't know.

The "new" farm house (and by new- I mean, "new to us") needs a little bit of updating. It's a 1960's home, and though in very good condition, has been updated very little over the years. Since the bank account is going to be redicuously small until we win the lottery (I wish!) we will only be able to redo maybe the floors (I don't think I'll miss the rust-colored shag carpet!) and painting the walls. Thank goodness the ceiling isn't popcorn textured. And only one wall of wood paneling. Thank goodness. I think I can ignore the rest.

We have been trying to sell our current house (that is, if I could keep it clean for more than 5 minutes, and if Ryan could work in mowing the yard every other week). I honestly cannot remember the last time I vacuumed, there is 3" of dust on the countertops, and the grass outside is taller than Riley. Buy Me, Buy Me!

This has been my weak point. Trying to keep up with Riley and work and my own sanity (especially after going through the whole e. coli ordeal with Riley and no daycare for a month) has been challenging to say the least. Ryan is stretched pretty thin at this point also. Work, farming, raising cattle, and being a husband/dad is a overflowing plate too.

This is where I will say thank you (again and again and again) to all of my family and friends who were there for us when we needed you. I truly felt lucky and so thankful for all who went out of their way to help. I was honestly to a point where I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the week… something’s gotta give, right? And you all were the answer. So thank you!

Riley has been a joy, but is always going through something new. Once the e.coli was out of her system, and we breathed a huge sigh of relief, then immediately began a new bedtime routine. No more rocking to sleep, it was time Riley learned how to fall asleep on her own. Once that was mastered after a few nights, then it was time to say “bye-bye” to the bottle and standardize the sippy cups in the cabinets. So far, so good! I have yet to overcome the paci. I think I'm going to wait at least until 18 months before I get brave enough to take it away!

She is getting so big (I can't believe she's 15 Months already!), and so smart!

Riley "spinning" - She puts her arm out and turns in a circle! So cute!

She knows her body parts- nose, bellybutton, feet!

Even ones she can't see- ears, eyes, head, teeth, tongue! She proficiently says (and waves) "bye- bye," and I can make out "Uh Oh," "Hi," and of course, "Mama" and "Dada." The rest is jabber, jabber, jabber... or rolling her tongue in crazy combinations!

She regularly points at things she wants, and is running... EVERYWHERE! This little girl has scraped up knees (I've recently bought $20 of neosporin, just so I had one of the "Neo to Go" in every possible place I could think of)

She is extremely determined, is climbing on EVERYTHING. I swear, I turn away for .0285 seconds and she's on top of the kitchen table. All of the chairs are pushed in, and I never heard a thing. How? Maybe she had Scotty beam her up, I still don't know! Sure scares me to death though!

She loves to feed herself...

And no longer makes the colossal mess that she used to... and in turn, I am finally able to sleep at night... and not have to worry that a giant avacado was going to explode in my house.

She loves the lake, loves being outside, and being independent, a good mix of her daddy and me in her!

At this point, I think that if we can get through this, and I mean fixing up the house at the farm, sell our house, and move; I'll bet our little family can handle just about anything.

So bring it on! We're ready for a challenge!

Well... ready or not, we're in for another crazy, hectic, relentless whirlwhind of a year!

Lake Rats

2010-09-02T04:19:00.003-05:00

Grammie & Pop are lake rats.

Aunt Nini and Mommy are lake rats too.

We were raised that way!

And so is this little one!

Hangin' with Pop

Floating with Mommy

Eating graham crackers!

Dancing to Zack Brown Band!

Playing with Grammie!

Swimming!

Good Riddance

2010-09-02T03:08:00.016-05:00

A lot has been going on in our lives lately. I think more than usual anyway.

Of course, Riley had come home from the hospital and was battling e. coli which required collecting test samples 3-4 times/week, scheduling babysitters for Riley, waiting anxiously for test results; I have been leading several huge projects at work, and cleaning our house and having open houses since we are trying to sell it and move to the country.

Ryan has been also working overtime as well to ensure that everything behind the scenes get taken care of. And the cows. And his job. Oh yeah, and us, his family.

And honestly, except the e. coli, these are all good things.

I like having projects at work. We want to move to the country. We were so lucky to have family to watch Riley for us, and for them to get to spend extra time with her. If I can say one thing, I'll say we haven't been bored lately. But I am so happy to see August finally end.

And, by the way, as of August 26th, RILEY IS FINALLY E. COLI NEGATIVE!!

As in the last post, here are the Facebook updates...

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Aug. 18th at 12:15 PM
Riley's test came back a *weak* positive... the Dr. thinks that we are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel... I HOPE SO!!

August 24 at 6:09pm
NEGATIVE!!!!! :)

August 24 at 7:22pm
Finally... things can get back to normal! Yay!

August 25 at 6:37pm
GREAT NEWS... I just found out they ran the WRONG test on Riley's sample... so no wonder it was negative. And no word yet on Riley's other samples from Mon. & Tues. So, we're back to square one. Ughh!! Just hoping that Mon. & Tues. are negatives!!!

August 26 at 4:32pm
Well..... Mon. and Tues. are NEGATIVES!! (we made sure the test was for e. coli this time) Think I'm going to do a cartwheel! OK, maybe not, that might be dangerous... but I'm so glad we're finally done!! :)

August 27 at 11:33am
Riley's at Tammy's. It felt sooo good to be back on our old schedule! Thanks so much Maxie and everyone else who helped me get through it all. I honestly couldn't have done it without you! And I definitely think my patience "meter" has expanded in the last 6 weeks... guess that's what happens when you become a parent!

August 27 at 12:06pm
Riley was so excited to go back to Tammy's this morning. As soon as I got her out of her carseat, she pointed to Tammy's house and smiled! :)

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And just like that, Riley's battle with e.coli was over.

It was a seemingly forever-long battle. From the onset of symptoms on July 15th to the final test confirmation on Aug 26th. Exactly 6 weeks. 4 days in the hospital. Numerous blood tests and doctor visits. Massive amounts of worrying. Finally over!

Though we are still being pulled in what seems like a 1000 directions, we are slowly but surely crossing them off the list now. I know it will be worth it all in the end, and it will make us stronger as individuals and as a family.

I will say I never want to go through something like that again, and I hope none of you ever have to.

With that being said, Goodbye August, and Goodbye E. Coli.

GOOD RIDDANCE!

Please Don't Take My Sunshine Away

2010-08-12T18:33:00.053-05:00

You are my sunshine.
My only sunshine.
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You'll never know, dear
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away.

A tear rolls down my face and hits the hospital bed where my baby girl is sleeping. I can hardly face the situation in front of me.

As I so vividly remember it, we'd been in the hospital for a day and a half, and as I sing my baby to sleep, I can't help but break down and cry a little. She has E. coli 0157:H7. And is showing symtoms for a particularly dangerous complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome or HUS.

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It has been quite a battle. Though I know the very worst is over, and I finally have time to share the story, it still gives me chills to think how fast it all happened, and how close we were to losing her.

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Below are comments as well as the Facebook messages I used to keep family and friends updated on Riley's condition:

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Tammy, Riley's babysitter was going to be out Wed-Fri for vacation. After a backup babysitter fell through, I finally was able to get her into a church-based daycare called Christ Lutheran Children's Daycare Center in the town I work in.

I went by to fill out her info. and check it out. It seemed fine, people seemed caring. The kids seemed happy. Looked good to me.

So I took her there Wednesday morning. I checked on her at lunch, she was napping. I thought everything seemed just fine.

As I picked Riley up, one of the ladies told me that Riley had a great time, ate hotdogs for lunch, and had a good hour and a half nap. Oh, and that diarrhea had been going around their daycare, and to be aware of it. OK?

The next day, Riley stays with her cousin's at Aunt Amber's house. She has so many dirty diapers, that by lunch time, her bottom is completely broken out and burned from stomach acids. I called the nurse's line to ask for some sulfadiazine (burn) cream. It helps some, but she has probably 10 dirty diapers that day, WAY above normal.

At this point, I'm thinking GREAT, she has the bug going around. No big deal though, right? Just a couple of sick days, and she'll be done.

But instead, of tapering off after a day, it got worse. Much worse.

She went back to the Christ Lutheran daycare on Friday. I gave them instructions to use the burn cream, and that she probably had the bug. They didn't seem to flinch at all, nor did they alert me of any concerns when I picked her up at the end of the day. But that evening was strange. She was fussy and had several dirty diapers. I decided to take her to the walk-in clinic the next morning.

The next day, Saturday, while Daddy was gone to look at some farm equipment, Riley had dirty diapers nearly every hour. They were so painful for her. She would be playing, walking around, and just being herself, when all of a sudden, she would just stop, dead in her tracks, clench up, and bend her knees and fall over to the ground, screaming and writhing in pain. The awful stomach cramps would last a couple of minutes.

This was the case all day long. I took her in to the dr. that morning to make sure everything was okay. The dr. was concerned that she had 10+ diapers/day and had a red throat, thinking she may have a bacterial infection such as E. coli or salmonella, etc. She wanted me to send in a sample for testing, but gave Riley a Rx of antacid to help with the stomach cramps.

Riley made it the rest of the day, but Sunday again got worse. Now she was having dirty diapers nearly every 15-30 minutes! It was a struggle to decide whether or not to take her to the ER, because I'll be the first to admit, sometimes I'm overprotective (well, all the time), but just as I made up my mind that I was FOR SURE going, we got a call from Dr. Webb (Riley's Dr.) with some scary news.

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July 19 3:23 PM

We took her to the ER yesterday and found out she had a toxin in her system linked to E. coli. All of her bloodwork... which getting it was just awful... but her electrolytes, iron, white blood cell count, hemoglobin, etc. all came back normal! So, we got to go back home instead of to Tulsa or OKC!

Riley's doing better... for now. She has been having nasty stomach cramps and dirty diapers every 15-30 minutes since Saturday.

She ended up sleeping all night thank goodness, and has been doing much, much better today. We got a prescription for an antacid that still allows her body to flush out the toxin, but along with gas drops, make the stomach cramps less painful. Thanks so much for everyone's prayers. We still have to watch her carefully this week.

There is still a chance that she will have to go to the hospital. But so far, so good! Hope it stays this way!! :)

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Unfortunately, we weren't so lucky. Riley kept up her progress until Tuesday, when she woke up and absolutely refused to eat or drink. I didn't know this, however, and since she had done so well on Monday with me, I had gone to work and Great-Grandma Janet stayed home with her. That evening, I tried to get her to eat/drink as much as possible, but I practically had to force it down. I knew we had a follow-up appt. the next day, so I rescheduled her afternoon appt. for the morning and took her in. Dr. Webb was concerned with Riley not eating/drinking, so she did a blood test. Riley was pretty dehydrated, had low electrolytes, and was anemic. Which are the first signs of HUS. Thanks to Dr. Webb's quick response, we caught it before it was too late.

That evening, July 21, we were sent to the ER at OU Children's hospital in OKC. After two blood tests, 2 IV ports, several blood pressure and temperature checks, IV fluids, and roughly 4 hours, we were told we were staying at least for the night and were admitted to room 812 about midnight.

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July 22 at 10:52AM

Praying...

July 22 at 7:38PM

She is finally sleeping. We've given her Tylenol to help her relax. All the blood tests are so awful... I can hardly imagine the fear and pain that she is going through right now. She gets so worked up and then wears herself out until she just konks out. Such a rough week. No more blood tests until the morning. I pray for a good night and good test results! Please let her get better!

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I felt so helpless at this point. My little girl, who only a week ago was perfectly healthy and full of life, is now suffering from pains only she and God know. I can do nothing to help her. I didn't leave her side all day long. I don't think I could have if I tried. I was so sad. I tried to sing to her most as much as possible. She just didn't feel good and was understandably fussy all day...

Not to mention not having the use of one arm and one leg, which were rendered useless by splints covering up her IV's.

And blood pressure and temperature checks every two hours.

AND being woken up from a nap when it took 4 hours to finally fall asleep.

I swear I could've beaten the you-know-what out of one of those nurses...

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July 23 at 4:47AM

She has E. coli and the risk of developing HUS which attacks her red blood cells and platlets and as a result... her kidneys.

July 23 at 4:53AM

We think it came from the new church-based daycare she attended two days last week. they tolf me diarrhea was going around. A kid came in the same day we got sent to OK with it also. I just hope there aren't any more. The health dept. is doing an investigation. Hopefully they can nail down the source.

July 23 at 5:40AM

Thank you so much to everyone. It really makes us feel like we aren't going through this alone. We're all so lucky to have all the support and love from you all.

July 23 at 8:46PM

Her results today were somewhat better. Hemoglobin/red blood cells were higher but platlets were lower. Her kidneys tested normal... so overall... pretty good :) She was puffed up like a balloon from all of IV fluids so they turned that off to alievate the swelling and see if she would drink some on her own.

She ended up having a really good day. Angela and Caylee visited us and brought a fun wooden fishing game and balloons. Also played with Grammie & Pop. She'll have another blood test first thing tomorrow. Praying that everything is good!!!!!

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She had a better day today... finally! Though her platelets were lower, her red blood cells came up, which were getting dangerously low, and would've required blood transfusions.

Some company to give her entertainment as well as Mommy and Daddy a break was just what we all needed. This was the tipping point of our week. Things just seemed to be so much better, her mood was better, she started eating/drinking better.

The only thing was, I started to feel a little sick... and had awful stomach cramps. I honestly thought it was just nerves, however, it wasn't too coincidental since Riley had E. coli. So, I went to Presbyterian hospital, which is connected to OU Children's. I checked into the ER, got some IV fluids to rehydrate, some morphine for the pain, and submitted a sample to test for E. coli.

The sample came back positive. The good news is that I was able to be treated with antibiotics. 1 week of treatment was all I had to put up with. It really wasn't any big deal for me, thank goodness.

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July 24 at 6:14AM

Just sent off more bloodwork. She had such a good day yesterday and drank and ate so well :) She even had 12 oz. of milk just before bedtime... which is a lot for Riley even when she is feeling well! She had more milk after her blood was drawn but is now sleeping. I'm praying this test turns out good!

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That night I had slept so hard, after 2 days of virtually little to no sleep. I woke up of course when the nurses came in to draw blood, but I almost instantly fell asleep again afterwards.

Apparently I slept straight through the doctor coming in to tell us the results of Riley's blood test.

I finally woke when Ryan nudged me saying, Krissy, guess what?!

WE GET TO GO HOME TODAY!

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July 24 at 8:38AM

Her bloodwork was good!! Everything was going back to normal!! We are going home today!!!!! Thanks everyone for your prayers!

July 24 at 3:57PM

Heading home!! =)

July 24 at 9:03pm

She's doing just great. Glad to be able to run and play again! Ate and drank good this evening... and acted like her old self :) Sleeping now. Hope she has a good night!

July 25 at 9:28PM

I am so thankful for great friends & family. For Riley's health. For a freshly sanitized house thanks to Mom & Dad & Grandma Janet. For a wonderful supper thanks to a great friend Linda. And for all of the prayers, texts messages, and gifts that carried us through this long tough week!
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Since I got infected also, I stayed home with Riley the next week.

My gosh, she was sooo happy. It was like she missed being able to play so much she would never take it for granted again. We took wagon rides every morning.

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July 31 at 11:37PM

It has been one week since Riley was discharged from the hospital... so hard to believe... and so glad she's going to be ok! Sad to miss all of our family & friends tonight at the wedding. We just weren't sure if she was still contagious and didn't want any other babies getting sick! Congrats to Sara & Brandon!

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I was able to go back to work the next week. Great Grandma stayed home with Riley for us. Then began the LONG process of flushing the bacteria and toxins out of her system. I started submitting stool samples to the health department.

Bad Idea.

Unless you don't have a job and are able to watch your kids at home. And don't care about going out in public. Or seeing family and friends. You know, have a life?

It was 8 days before I got the results on her stool sample. 8 days.

August 4 at 11:14PM

Found out today the sample of Riley's I sent in last Tues tested positive again for e. coli. She's not in danger but her system is still trying to fight it off completely. So we're starting over and taking more samples in for testing... have to have 2 negatives before she goes back to daycare...

This time, I talked to Riley's pediatrician and sent the next sample to the Warren clinic's lab.

THE. NEXT. DAY. I learned the results. 1 point for timeliness, 1 deduction for end result. The test was still positive. Oh well, it's not their fault, and Riley still feels well!

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August 6 at 10:15PM

Still testing positive for e. coli. She is still doing really good and acts happy like her old self :) But we'll have to keep testing until we get a couple negatives... hope to get them soon!

August 6 at 10:18PM

Thanks everyone for your prayers!

She's doing well. Really, you couldn't tell that there was anything wrong with her at all... she's eating and drinking well again and is happy as can be... but until she gets it all out of her system, she has to stay home :( And thank goodness, I sure don't want anyone to go through what we did in the hospital.

August 8 at 9:39PM

Riley's red blood cells and platlets are back to normal levels! She is still a little anemic, but it's not at a dangerous level. But, Riley's two tests from last Fri & Sat came back positive for e. coli. My Grandma has been staying with her at everyday. Thank goodness for family and friends... but I am so ready for things to be back to normal again!!

August 12 at 6:50PM

It has been 3 weeks since coming home from OU Children's and Riley STILL has e. coli. We are testing her immunoglobulin levels today to see if she has an immune system deficiency. If so, a series of gamma globulin shots should take care of the problem! I hope so!!!

August 13 at 10:15AM

Riley's immunoglobulin levels tested normal... so we're just going to keep sending in samples and hope they test negative soon!

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So, things could be worse, and we are so thankful that her immune system is healthy. (I knew nursing for 10 months would be worthwhile!) I am just bumfuzzled as to why it is still in her system, and am scared of the damage it may be doing. I just pray it will all be over soon. Till then, we'll keep testing...

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Riley's Wrap-Up at 1 Year!

2010-07-10T05:52:00.016-05:00

I realize Riley turns 13 months tomorrow, and I am just now finishing her 12 month posts! But there was so much going on at work, home, and with Riley. Sometime I might get caught up with all that has transpired. But for now, here is the last of Riley's 12 Month updates!

Riley measured in at 20 lbs, 7 oz and was 28.75 in long! Both measurements ranked in the 50th percentile, so it looks like she's right on track! On a less happier note, the vaccination shots and tests they run at 12 month check up are nothing short of horrid. 5 shots and a blood test. I won't go into details on how they get the sample... I'll just say this: It's awful! Just thinking about it gives me the Eeeby- Jeebies.

*Shudder*

OK... Back to Riley's Wrap-Up!

What Riley is doing at 1 Year Old:

No longer walking, but running everywhere. Mommy and Daddy are always saying “Slow Down!” and "Be Careful!

Is also a little clumsier. Because of how fast you go! So, we also *lovingly* call you “Weeble Wobbles!”

Has 4 teeth, and 2 more on top coming through!

Loves rolling her tongue- when she's happy, but mostly when she's mad too! It is by far the funniest and most unique thing she does.

Definitely has her momma’s appetite…and is a bottomless pit!

Recently, you've tried and loved canteloupe, strawberries, kiwi, tomatoes, and peaches! You definitely love your fruit!!!

Drinks whole milk *YAY!* No more buying formula!!!

Sometimes tries to tickle Mommy or Daddy

Sometimes waves hi and bye-bye

Sometimes points to what she wants

Is really close to her *true* first words... You can tell she's thinking really hard about, but just can't quite spit it out yet! Mommy's always telling you to "Say this" or "Say that".

Loves to play patty cake

Is a dare devil.... the faster we go down the driveway in the wagon, the higher we push the swing.... the better! Riley loves a thrill, and so do Mommy and Daddy!

Loves to "Dance Riley, Dance!" She will bend her knees and dance to the songs Daddy sings her!!

Is still a Momma's girl. Though you are Tammy's girl too. And sometimes you aren't sure who is really #1. The days when Tammy is #1 and Mommy has to pry you from Tammy aren't much fun. Though the days when Mommy leaves you at Tammy's crying aren't great either. Thankfully there really aren't too many of either of these!!

Still wears 12-18 month clothes, though I've kind of gone back to size 3 diapers. They are cheaper per diaper and we haven't had a problem with leaks. :) The last time, we'd just ran out of size 3 and size 4 is what I had in the closet, so that is what we used, but until we run into problems with leaks, I'm sticking with the size 3!

Sometimes gives Mommy or Daddy kisses! Daddy especially loves this :)

Sometimes shakes her head "Yes!" or "No!" She is usually just imitating Mommy or Daddy though!

Likes to take Mommy or Daddy's (or sometimes both!) finger and lead (or yank!) us around! Then when she's taken us to the kitchen, to a toy she wants, or some other random place, she pulls us down to sit with her or pick her up! It is hilarious!

Is climbing on everything!

LOVES to make a mess!

Riley also had her first surgery the week after her birthday. She had tubes put in to help drain the fluid in her ears and hopefully prevent additional ear infections. The surgery went well, and we just had her checkup this week, and everything looked great!

Before

Right After Sugery

Later that Day

Thankfully, she acted as if though she was having a normal day. We hope we don't have any more doctor visits for colds & ear infections this year! So far, so good!

This will be my last post for Riley's 1st Year. I wanted so badly to have a keepsake of all these wonderful memories. And I think I have found one at Feed Fabrik! I am so excited to have a book of Riley's first year. I hope Riley will appreciate it as she grows up, and can look back on all of the good times! I will let you all know how it turned out and will write a review!

Riley's 1st Birthday Party!

2010-06-22T20:26:00.037-05:00

What a week we had!

Planning, cleaning, shopping, cleaning, plans changing, more planning, cleaning, scrambling, shopping, cleaning.

Did I mention cleaning? And plans changing?

We got so much rain the first part of June = the water level of the lake rose too high for the flood gates to keep up = no swim beach = move the party to our house = lots and lots of cleaning.

I can still feel the terrifying shake I had when I first realized that was my best alternative. We could have it out at my parent's shed, but we'd only have campers with air conditioning, and with 95+ degree weather you need either air conditioning or a large nearby water source to cool off in.
And not that my house is a pig sty, but I guess I am just one of those crazy people who has to have a neat, organized, clean house (dusted, vacuumed, floors mopped, windows cleaned, flowers planted) when 5+ people come over. Obviously, since I had a baby and don't have time to clean like that, we just haven't had company in over a year.

Anyway... after changing plans and cleaning non stop for 3 days, we ended up having a wonderful birthday celebration week.

We kicked off her birthday festivities on Thursday, when Riley came to work with me for breakfast bagels and doughnuts!

My coworker and friend, Mike (or we call him Gabby), brought the Panera Bread bagels and Daylight doughnuts. YUM!

He is going to be an excellent Pa-Pa someday and will spoil his little grandbabies rotten!

I *carefully* selected a French Toast bagel that was sugary and cinnamony and just yummy delicious and split it with her.

She LOVED it!

Then on Friday, Grammie came to help me finish cleaning and set up for the party!

I *tried* not to go overboard... it is just her first birthday, and I know she won't remember it. I wanted to do something special for her though. Have family and friends over, etc....

What surprised me, and especially since I didn't notice until after I was all done, was that I had single-handedly selected decorations for a 1st birthday party that I had swore I never would.

It was PINK.

ALL PINK.

Somebody crashed a PINK truck at our house.

And then threw up some more PINK.

But I loved it.

It was exactly what I wanted. Simple. Girly. Riley.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.

It’s confirmation that motherhood really does turn us into a person that we might have mocked before we had kids of our own.

Saturday morning, we woke up to a very happy girl! ...and a clean house :)

We ate hamburgers & hotdogs, sang Happy Birthday to lil' miss, ate cupcakes and homemade strawberry icecream. There were a few awkward moments trying to open presents... which, to me anyway, were just hilarious.

Riley needed some help, so Kendyl (Chris & Candace's daughter) was opening presents for her. All of a sudden, Riley didn't want any more help, and let us all know just how she felt with a blood curdling, window breaking, nails-on-the-chalkboard scream. The scream itself was not funny at all. It was her personality that was funny. And it was because I hadn't seen this side of it before.

She is revealing more and more of herself every day. Her quirks and such. She's had a few tantrums so far, and I'm doing my best to teach her how to act and control her emotions...praising the good, scolding her on the bad, getting her to tell/show me what she wants before she has a meltdown.

No, she isn't having a so-called "episode" in this pic, it is merely an accident that as she was moving my camera (on auto) happened to get her in focus while the background was blurred.

Anyway, I guess here's another opportunity to teach lil miss, because she needs to learn the concept of sharing.

We've got a loooong road ahead of us, I can already tell.

Riley got some pretty cool gifts.

Clothes, a RILEY bracelet, RILEY wall letters, a tea set, a hot pink bean bag, buckets & shovels, books & toys, a baby doll stroller, Little Tikes shopping cart, Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, and a Radio Flyer wagon.

All in all, I'd say she did pretty darn good for turning 1. :)

She LOVES her new toys. Especially the wagon and cozy coupe.

This last one is my new favorite pic of her. Just love this face!!!!!

The rest of the day, we swam in the kiddie pools with cousins, Kelton, Liberty, & Kinsey.

It was fun.

But HOT.

Thankfully, it was cool in the shade under our tree, the kids joined us and gave Riley a little swing-time...

For Father's Day, Riley gave Daddy a personalized picture frame that says "My Daddy" and some ways to describe him: teaser, hug-giver, teacher, hero, and at the bottom, it says "Love Riley Kate".

I had this picture in it,

But Ryan wanted this one (I didn't know it was his favorie)... so we made a little change.

I'm just glad he has a picture of her for his desk at work :)

A picture of her can make any sour day turn sweet in an instant.

Since it was Father's Day, Ryan left to go farm, and since Aunt Shawnda and cousin Liberty were in town, and also because Grandma Maxie was cooking dinner *YUM!*, we also went to Lamont.

After eating, playing, taking a long nap, and playing some more, we headed back home to get ready for the next week.

But not after playing some more!

Remember that I said she is always revealing more and more of her quirky personality?

Well, for some reason, she really wanted to sit in her bumbo that evening... which is odd, because she would hardly sit in it for more than 10 sec at any given time before. And certainly never showed any interest in it...

But this time, she walked over to it, and was trying to pick it up, so I got it and put it in the middle of the room, put pillows all around, and grabbed her a basket of toys to pull through.

She played there for an hour.

AN HOUR.

I couldn't believe it!!

I still can't!

But it's true!

It's like she was thanking me for understanding her and doing exactly what she wanted.

Which doesn't happen very often either.

She also had fun eating some cottage cheese and practicing with a spoon and bowl.

See? I'm getting better at serving her non-staining foods :)

Of course, she still managed to make a mess.

But had fun doing it.

Happy 1st Birthday Riley-bug.

This was one of my most fun days with you yet. I look forward to next year and all the years to come.

I love you sweet pea.

Happy Birthday to You....Again!

2010-06-21T04:51:00.005-05:00

We sang Happy FIRST! Birthday to Riley one more time... at Tammy's, of course!

We had just the right number of cupcakes left over (thanks Auntie Kelsey!)

So I came over during my lunch break, picked up Kelton, Kinsey, and Miss Liberty (they have a high school girl baby sit them during the summer) and we let them tear into the strawberry cupcakes again!

Happy Birthday Riley!

Happy First Birthday Riley!

2010-06-20T07:24:00.003-05:00

1...

2010-06-18T23:00:00.001-05:00

1 is for Your First Year!

Your First Day with Us

Your First Day Home
2 Days Old

1 Week Old

Your First Holiday - 4th of July!
2 Weeks Old

Your First Bath in your Tub!
3 Weeks Old

1 Month Old

Your First Photoshoot!
7 Weeks Old

2 Months Old

Your First Perry Parade!
3 Months Old

Your First Halloween!
4 Months Old

Your First Thanksgiving!
5 Months Old

Your First Christmas!
6 Months Old

7 Months Old

Your First Valentine's Day!
8 Months Old

Your First Dallas Trip!
9 Months Old

Your First Time Swinging!
10 Months Old

11 Months Old

First Picture with 4 Generations!

First Time Swimming!

First Time Playing in the "Pillow Pit!"

12 Months Old... and silly as can be!

1 is for the number of seconds it took for me to fall completely in love with you!

2...

2010-06-18T22:34:00.002-05:00

2 is for the very first dress you wore when you were 2 days old!

Your First Birthday Dress

2010-06-17T04:24:00.004-05:00

I am in love...

with this adorable pillowcase dress!

...and the best part is, its homemade, which means I didn't pay $30+ to buy it from a boutique!

Made with love by Great-Granna

We sure owe her a big hug and kiss for making this special dress for your special day!!

Want to know the total investment in this memorable outfit?

Ready?

$10.

Yep, $10.

Granted, it includes a terrorizing trip to Hobby Lobby, and by terrorizing, I mean that it was beyond difficult for me to make up my mind on fabrics. And to now purchase everything I walked past.

But I made it.

And look what the outcome was.

It's perfect.

Thank you so much Granna!!

Holy Guacamole!

2010-06-17T04:12:00.003-05:00

It's another BIG MESS!

Someone please knock me in the head and get me to stop feeding her smushy, spready, sticky, and stainy food!

Look, she's mocking me...

"I'm going to make the BIGGEST, NASTIEST mess of avacados.... EVER!"

On second thought - maybe I am ok - she sure is having fun!

Nope... I'm still hyperventilating.

Someone call 911... now.

I mean it!

Thunk.

(that's me hitting the floor)

3...

2010-06-16T22:37:00.001-05:00

3 is for how often you woke up to eat in the middle of the night!

Mommy hardly got any sleep at first!

*YAWN!*

First schedule:

Eats every 2 hours during the day,

& every 3 hours at night.

Birthday Week

2010-06-16T04:56:00.002-05:00

It has been a somewhat rough week so far for us.

Riley started have congestion around last Friday, and it only seemed to get worse as the weekend went on.

She was downright UPSET on Sunday... even a bath wouldn't put her in a happy mood.

Poor thing. :-(

So on Monday morning, I scheduled her an appt. with the pediatrician.

Yep, her right ear again.

A shot of rochephin, and back to the sitters we go.

Aunt Amber picked her up from Tammy's after work for us so she could play with her cousins that evening. We came to pick her up that evening around 8 or so.... and was a changed baby! Apparently she had so much fun, she hardly ate all evening! This has *never* happened with us before... we are NOT that fun of parents! LOL

She slept GREAT that night. Her prescription of Robitussin didn't hurt matters, of course.

Then last night (on Tuesday), I took her back for a follow up on her ear infection. It looked better, but she still go one more shot of rocephin due to her history of trouble with the darned things. And especially since her birthday is on Saturday, and God help me, if I can prevent an episode of "It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to," then by golly, I willl!

She also got her 12 month checkup done. Iron and hemoglobin levels were great. Getting blood for those tests, not so great.

The nurse had to hold out her arm, prick her finger, and SQUEEZE drops out of her.... all while she is, of course, SCREAMING.

The shots don't bug me.

That bugged me.

I don't ever want to do it again.

Glad it's over with!

(and please don't tell me they check this every time from now on!)

We got home, ate supper, & played with a happy girl!

Daddy & I watched our two new reality tv shows favs....

The Last American Cowboy and Top Shot

We are HOOKED!

I reaaaaallllly hope we have a better weekend than we first started out with. The weather forecast is definitely sunny, so maybe it will all turn out!!

I can't wait!

4...

2010-06-15T04:01:00.003-05:00

4 is for the number of people in the delivery room with me when you were born!

The Doctor & Nurse

Daddy

& Grammie

5...

2010-06-15T03:55:00.003-05:00

5 is for the evening hour when I first went into labor!

Water broke at 5:15 PM on 06/19/2009

6....

2010-06-15T03:45:00.002-05:00

6 is for the month of the year you were born and the number of pounds you weighed!

Born on 06/20/2009

Weight: 6 lbs, 12.5 ounces

7...

2010-06-15T03:41:00.002-05:00

I know I am late at posting this, but...

7 is for the hour of the morning you were born!

7:24 AM

The Countdown Begins!

2010-06-13T15:53:00.013-05:00

I can't believe it!!!

Only 1 WEEK till your first birthday!

There are so many new, exciting things for 1 year olds like:

- Drinking whole milk

(well, we already started you on it after Memorial Day...)

- Sitting forward facing

(And, since I have a convertible car seat for you, you're stuck rear facing for a while longer...)

but...

- You can definitely tell cousin Kinsey that you are 1!

(She always asks if Riley is 1, or 2, and I tell her that she is "X" months old...)

Mommy and Daddy love you so much, you goofy little girl!

A Big Mess!

2010-06-12T03:39:00.004-05:00

So on Wednesday this week, for some strange reason (not sure why yet!), I had the urge to let Riley take a stab at feeding herself... with silverware.

Oh, and RASPBERRY yogurt.

Don't ask why.

Of all things, I gave her RASPBERRY yogurt.

I'm going to assume it was the first container of food that caught my eye... because when "little miss" is hungry... unless I already have it planned out in advance, there just isn't time to consider these kind of details... She wants to eat NOW!

I'll write this one down in my "DON'T EVER TRY THIS AGAIN" book.

I'm still recovering from the horrific scene that was left over.

It was EVERYWHERE!

Just starting out... still more in the bowl than on you... we're doing good!

Whoops!!!

Oh gosh... your face, tummy and tray are now ALL COVERED... in RASPBERRY YOGURT!

Still working to get that yogurt to your mouth with the spoon though!

YUM!

All done! Just squeezin' yogurt through your fists... LOL!

If you'd ask her though, I bet she'd say, "I wanna do it again!" or, "No, I do it!"

(If she could talk, of course!)

Here's the video I took!

All in all, she did GREAT handling the spoon and bowl and persisting till the she had emptied the bowl (onto her face, stomach, and tray!)

Needless to say, I took her STRAIGHT TO THE TUB after she was done!

And I haven't given her a spoon since...

Especially with RASPBERRY yogurt.

I need recovery time between things like this.

There will be more practicing though in the future.

God, help me!

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

2010-06-07T04:20:00.011-05:00

June is here!

Every weekend is filled with activities... and summer has *officially* begun!

To kick it all off we had a long weekend at the lake on Memorial Day Weekend!

This year was especially special... lol... for us as it was Riley's first time on the water! And I soooo wanted her to have fun out there as I planned to spend lots and lots of time at the lake as I did when I was young.

We went out on the water on Saturday and Sunday.

The weather was perfect, the water was warm (for Memorial Day anyway!), and we had lots of fun! I know Riley didn't care too much for her life jacket, but she had to wear it, cause that's the way things go little one! You sure looked cute though!

Riley's first time in the water!

You (Riley) must've thought the water was a little chilly.

Were you expecting it to be as warm as bath water?

That or you still don't like your life jacket. Sorry, Mommy thought it was cute...

It's okay... we're back on the boat again!

Let's try it again...

Yep, I could get used to this!

Splashing the water!

Splashing Mommy!

You won't even let Mommy wear sunglasses!

I love this face... it looks like you're saying "...and I HAVE to put up with these people!"

Being a lake bum sure tires out a little girl! I know I spent lots and lots of time in this spot when I was little! BTW- the towels are wet and are keeping her cool!

We have so much fun at the lake.... holiday weekends are even better though, since lots of family comes out and joins us in the fun!

We have big dinners, and oh my, the food is SO good, especially after a long day on the water!

There was so much for Riley to explore at the shed... she must've walked MILES around the lot.

For some reason... you HAD to carry the remote the ENTIRE time!

Goofy Girl!

I got tired just watching...

Hey, want a remote?

Meet.... Super Grammie!

She has awesome powers to keep up with a 11 month old all day long!

Riley finally wore out and rested on Daddy's lap for a bit...

But not for long!

More exploring the next day...

With a walking stick! :)

We also went to the other shed that Grammie & Pop are building in Kaw City to check on the construction progress. They are very close to finishing it all up and it looks so good!

Front Porch

Front Porch Views

Front Porch Windows/Loft

Kitchen

Island

Living Area Fireplace

Master Bedroom

Downstairs Bathroom

Overhead Doors/Shop

Back of Fireplace

8 Camper Hookups!

Drive

It is going to be so nice! I can't wait until it's finished and to spend more time out there with Riley-bug and my family!

Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day!

Sweet Summertime!

2010-05-27T04:34:00.002-05:00

Earlier this week, as I was driving home from work, I passed a house that had their blow-up swimming pools and lots of little kids running back and forth from the sprinkler to the pools... while mom sits in her lawn chair and sun bathes....

Aww... sweet summertime!

And I COULDN'T WAIT to get out the $5 walmart special blow-up pool that I had gotten for Miss Riley.

I even used Ryan's air compressor and aired it up all by myself :-)

While it was filling up with water, Riley and I got changed into our suits.

I'll admit though, putting water into it for the first time was a little chilly!

Riley was a trooper and didn't care...

But she didn't want to sit down. So instead we splashed around with our feet and walked in circles around the perimeter of the pool!

All in all, we only played in the water maybe 20 minutes... but oh well. We had lots of fun! (I didn't get any pics of her in the pool since I wanted to be sure to be able to catch her in case she slipped!)

Later that night, I had taken all the pillows in the house and piled them in the middle of the living room floor. Riley LOVED this!

She just wallered in them for over an hour! It was so much fun to watch her play!

This was probably one of the most fun days we've had together!

Riley Kate is 11 Months Old!

2010-05-22T11:17:00.005-05:00

To my sweet baby girl,

You are now 11 months old. 11!

Just one more month and you'll be turning 1! Oh My Goodness!

I remember when you were 11 weeks old.

11 days old.... How different you looked then!

11 minutes old.

And here I am a year ago with you all safe and sound in my tummy.

I cannot believe we have come so far in what seems such a short amount of time!

Though it has been a rough, hard week battling ear infections, teething, and fever, it finally seems like the end is in sight and good times ahead! :-)

What you are doing at 11 months old:
* Wearing size 4 diapers and 12-18 months size clothes
* Drinking formula, eating less pureed solids and more finger foods.
* Walking EVERYWHERE all by yourself!
* Can give Mommy and Daddy fives
* Sometimes waves hi or bye-bye
* Loves to play patty-cake! You always get a big smile when you clap your hands!
* Now has 3 teeth!
* Loves going out to run with Mommy
* Sleeping all night long now! Yay!
* Loves to get into things - You now reach into mommy's purse and your diaper bag. You get a kick out of pulling EVERY SINGLE ITEM out, one by one, and empty the entire contents of the bag. That is, until you find Mommy's phone. At which point, you hurry and run off and hide it as soon as possible. :-) Stinker!!!

We are so excited to see you in the morning, you are just so happy and ready to start the day! But I'll admit, I'm also glad when it's time to put you to sleep! You are very good at wearing mommy and daddy out! *But, that's your job, isn't it?* :-)

You are by far the best thing to ever happen to me and your daddy.

We love you so much!

Under the Weather

2010-05-21T09:49:00.019-05:00

Note: This is an EXTREMELY long post! I completely understand if you want to just browse through the few pics and call it good.

DAY 1: Wednesday

Riley woke up and was feeling warm Wednesday morning. So I gave her some Tylenol, put her in bed with her daddy, and finished getting ready for work.

Typically if Riley does have a fever, it's a low grade one. She's had several like this. And one dose of Tylenol and a good nap usually does the trick.

Not this time. Oooooh no.

I got a call from Tammy about 3:30 that afternoon. She's got another fever of 100.8. Tammy gave her more Tylenol. I scheduled an appt. with her pediatrician and picked her up about 4 PM.

Oh, and by the way, we're in a tornado watch.

Which is wonderful, I love severe weather!

Not!

We arrive at the doctor's office. She weighs 19 lbs 12 oz. Fever is gone. Right ear is infected, left ear has fluid. Chest and throat are clear. The nurse gives Riley shot of Rocephin and we're on our way home. Whew. Glad that's taken care of.

Oh yeah.... remember that tornado watch?

Well, it turned into a tornado warning.

And then a tornado... this one here was just east of Stillwater, at the intersection of I-35 and Hwy 51:

http://mikescantlinwx.blogspot.com/2009/02/may-24th-tornadoes-nc-ok.html

As soon as the Mike Morgan said, storm capable of producing a tornado heading due east toward Stillwater, I went into Mommy-mode... made 3 bottles of formula, packed food and water, diapers and wipes, blankie and toys, and extra clothes for Riley.

Ryan decides we need to load up and head south a little to Perkins and just wait it out. We stop at a gas station with a large parking lot just off of the highway.

You wouldn't believe how many cars are here, doing the same thing. I bet there were over 100. Just parked, listening to the radio, and watching the storm.

Very Oklahoma. Very.

This proves to be a good plan, except while we're down there, another tornado pops up in Carney, south of there. And Guthrie, just east of there.

Just Great.

So, now our game plan is to wait just long enough for the tornado to pass through Stillwater, then head back north so that the Guthrie tornado doesn't catch us here in Perkins.

We drive through town when we get back to Stillwater. The damage isn't overly significant- mostly trees chewed up and spit back out, but it doesn't appear to be too much residential damage - no houses leveled, thank goodness. Just a lot of cleanup. It could have been much, much worse.

When we get home, Riley is fussy and acts tired so we put her down for a quick nap, she's had a rough day anyway. When she wakes up, though, she feels like she's on fire. We take her temp. and its over 102. I call my mom to see if that's cause for alarm. But she assures me that I don't need to worry until it gets over 103.

30 minutes later her temp is 103. So I tell my husband that I don't care if they just give her more medicine and send her home, I'm taking her to the ER. (It's 9 PM now)

We only live a stone's throw away from the hospital. It's honestly less than a minute away. Which is so, so convenient when you have a baby. In fact, I personally drove myself to the hospital when my water broke. Riley's pediatrician, the drug stores... all in the same area.

Anyway, we get there, check in, and wait. Wait. WAIT.

An hour later, we get in, answer some questions, then are led to a room. To wait some more, of course.

30 minutes later, they give her some Motrin, recheck everything that the pediatrician checked earlier that day, and send us home about 10:30 PM. Said the antibiotics haven't kicked in yet.

It was quite humorous to us when the nurse asked if we'd like to WAIT to have a receipt printed out for us.... ha, it still cracks me up! Efficiency is not on their to-do list, I guess. At least not in the ER. That is very comforting....

So I wasted an hour and a half and $25, but I was able to sleep that night.

Kind of.

DAY 2: Thursday

Riley woke up at 3 and was burning up again. More Tylenol. Ryan and I decide that I better stay home with her and give her the love and care that only mommy's can provide. Plus, I was exhausted and Riley and I slept till 7 AM. Thank goodness.

But when she woke up the second time that morning, she was still burning. Motrin this time.

One thing I did learn from her ER visit is that you can alternate Motrin and Tylenol for babies- one filters through the kidneys and the other through the liver- so as long as you wait long enough between doses of the same medicine, it is okay, and you don't have to worry about giving your baby too much.

The rest of the day pretty much played out the same. She just didn't feel well and it was so hard to watch. She hardly ever sits still and is squirmy all of the time, but all she wanted to do was have me hold her and lay on my chest. I felt so bad for her.

I talked with Ryan the night before about Riley getting tubes in her ears. We both agreed that it would definitely be a good option for Riley and would hopefully take care of the ear infections. So, I called the office and scheduled an appt for a consult.

Another thing was, I have been hearing her make this weird sound the last two days. I attributed this *sound* to her having an overly stuffed nose and congested chest. It was like a scratching noise... But anyway, I thought to myself, "I wonder if she has a tooth?" Sure enough, there is one just poking through, on the top, one of her front teeth! We're up to 3 now! :-) The noise was her scraping her bottom teeth with her top one!

So I immediately went get her a cold teether out of the freezer, and man, did that ever make her happy! Finally, a happy girl!

Ryan made it home from work, we grilled some porkchops for supper, and then went to check on the cows.

We had such a good time outside (it was a gorgeous evening!) and the cows all looked good... Riley was feeling much better... a happy ending for the day!

Riley was scared of the cows at first!

Drivin' around the pasture with Daddy

Moo!

Beautiful sky!

I still can't believe my cell phone took that good of pictures. I forgot my camera but had my phone on me of course!

We got back home later on, gave Riley a bath and was getting her ready for bed, when we realized she was warm again and had another low-grade fever. Gave her Tylenol and a bottle and put her to sleep.

DAY 3: Friday

She slept till 3 AM and woke with another fever. Basically another repeat of the day before. Mommy stayed home again. A inactive, sad baby, who wants nothing but to be held and comforted. More medicine and a few hours of relief and happiness. Then more fever.

Riley getting some much needed rest

As the instructions from the ER were to wait 48 hours from the initial dose of antibiotics, and if the fever persists, to call the doctor's office again . Well, I'd say it's being persistent alright.

They have me bring Riley back in for another checkup. Her ear shows no improvement. So the doctor recommends getting two more shots, one today, and one tomorrow. Yuck! However, this should kick the livin' snot out of the infection (literally!), so we'll try it! Beats having an ear infection and constant fever!

The rest of the evening was pretty good for Riley. She had another 101 temp. around 5PM, but with some Motrin, seemed to have a pretty good evening nonetheless. She crashed just after8 PM... such a tired girl!

We're off to the doctor's again tomorrow morning for the last shot. Not sure what this weekend has in store for us. We already missed one wedding today, and I have a wedding shower tomorrow for my cousin Sara, and a graduation reception for my cousin Taylor on Sunday. I hope my little girl gets to feeling better! And that next week is better...

Wordless Wednesday - Eating Out of a Bowl for the First Time!

2010-05-19T04:49:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday - Stinker Stealing my Remote!

2010-05-19T04:13:00.002-05:00

A Productive Weekend

2010-05-18T04:35:00.007-05:00

It seems like I've been on a sleeping kick lately. But how do sleeping and productivity go together?

Since I've weaned Riley, I've been able to have more freedoms such as more sleep, allergy meds, beer, and caffeine. And so far I'm up to two coffee mugs per day of my wonderful Dunkin Donuts Hazelnut flavor wonderful coffee. Have I mentioned that its wonderful?

I think I'm at point where enough caffeine = more productive, but also = harder to fall asleep at night = more sleep is needed the next morning.

4 AM just hasn't been very do-able the last couple of days. (At what point does 4 AM just come natural?)

Anyway, Friday I took off work and stayed home with Riley-bug. She had a really good day, and played by herself alot more than usual. I don't mean that I shut her in a room or anything. But she would choose to play by herself and didn't need me to entertain her. I like to see her get more and more independent. Less dependence on me and more time I can spend cleaning, cooking, etc.

Well, Friday I finally... FINALLY... got the garage cleaned out during her 2 hour nap. I told you... eventually... I just HAVE to organize!!

Put storage bins and old toys in the attic

Made a clothing donation to good will

Organized our "outdoor pantry" of Sam's Club groceries (NOTE: there is no pantry, just items on the floor!)

And ta-da! I can FINALLY fit the yukon back in the garage!

YAY!

I also went grocery shopping that day, went to the bakery and picked up some garlic bread for supper, bought vacuum bags at the Sears appliance store, made supper, and took Riley-bug for a walk. I know I played quite a bit with Riley too... somewhere in there.

Hmm.... I honestly cannot remember what I did on Saturday. No idea whatsoever. I know I did something productive though. Hmm.

Sunday I slept in till 7 AM. Although after drinking my two cups of coffee, Riley and I headed out for a nice run. It was wonderful. It had rained that morning and the smell of rain was so sweet. It was a little cooler that morning (65 degrees) and absolutely no wind. I was able to stride out and felt so comfortable. I loved it!

After that Riley and I got ready and went down to my cousin Brian's Graduation party.

I didn't get my camera out until the last minute. I know there were lots of pictures of babies.... but I don't have them on my camera! (Please send me a copy of one if you have it!)

It is so neat how many little babies are in my family right now. Our little Kilian baby-boom.

Here's pics from the party of us playing outside with Riley:

It was such a beautiful day outside. When Riley and I got home that night, we went back out for another walk. It was just too nice out to pass up!

And of course, it was still difficult to fall asleep that night. I rocked Riley to sleep for 45 min, and fell asleep myself. She's just too comfy holding her in my lap! When Ryan got back home that night from work (he was on-call), he woke me up so we could go to bed. And it was MIDNIGHT before I got back to sleep. No way in hell am I waking up at 4. HA!

Long story short, we had a great weekend, I am addicted to DD coffee, and I guess if I am MIA for a few days, you now know why!

Random Thoughts Thursday - Loves and Hates

2010-05-13T04:25:00.002-05:00

1. I LOVE how Riley is sleeping through the night!

She will go to bed 8:30PM - 9PM(ish) and sleep till 5:30AM - 6AM(ish). It is so nice and much needed for her, ma-ma, and da-da! No more cranksters in the morning... well, except for Ma-ma. I'm REALLY not a morning person. At least not until I've had my coffee.

2. Speaking of coffee, has anyone else fallen in LOVE with Dunkin Doughnuts?

They have French Vanilla and Hazelnut flavors- which don't necessarily taste different, but the smell is just amazing! Perfect for those of us cranksters in the morning!

3. I HATE tornado season.

I am a scaredy-cat when it comes to tornados. I need someone who's calm and can tell for sure when "you ought to start worrying," because I just stress out the entire time. I bet now that it's worse too, since I have Riley to protect! It's not like the newscasters help at all- Have you watched David Payne lately? He's crazy! My sister-in-law calls the station "Panic 4" for "Newschannel 4 with David Payne" and I must say it's very fitting! David can get my chest beating and blood flowing with fear in 60 seconds. I'm just SO glad that Ryan is home every night now and at least he'll be here to keep my sanity in check during severe weather!

4. I HATE allergy season

Riley and I are currently battling allergy symtoms - runny nose, watery eyes, congestion. Ughh! I am just so thankful that now I can have antihistamines, decongestants, and pain relievers without having to worry what is and isn't safe to take and whether or not my milk supply will decrease. In other words, I don't have to be miserable until my allergies/cold passes!

Still it was worth it so that Riley could get my antibodies in my milk. She is currently on antibiotics for the eye/ear infection she had last week. A few weeks ago I tried giving her on a very small amount of Triaminic nighttime to help her with her congestion, but I'm waiting till she's done with the amoxicillin before I give her any more. (The pharmacist assured me that there was NOTHING in the Triaminic that could harm her and what dosage I should use - of which I only gave her half of!) I really don't like giving her too much meds. She's so tiny and I like the minimum disruption to her system. Plus it makes her system stronger that way. I just hate to watch her fight it.

Well, I guess you have my LOVES and HATES for the day!

Hope you all have a Wonderful Thursday!

Krissy

Mother's Day Gift - Photo of Riley (Edited)

2010-05-12T04:57:00.002-05:00

I got this printed (5x7) and framed for Riley's Grandmas and Great-Grandmas for Mother's Day.

They had cute bronzed iron frames at Walmart for just $10 (the link is to the ones at Target) - Although they only had two on the shelf :-( I guess everyone else thought they were cute also! So, I had to get the standard black frame with white matte for the rest. Still, I just LOVE how it all turned out!

Wordless Wednesday - Riley's Spring Pics May 4th (Unedited)

2010-05-12T04:26:00.002-05:00

My Fav!

And one more... just for fun!

Wordless Wednesday - Riley's Spring Pics May 3 (Unedited)

2010-05-12T04:09:00.003-05:00

I like this one because if you look closely, she is playing with the grass with her fingers and *extra long* finger-toes... how funny!

This is also "Classic Riley" - So determined to get something she sees!

She's making me SO NERVOUS - look where her feet are on this step!

Chasing the ducky

Holdin onto her "Ma-ma"

Multi-tasking

2010-05-11T04:54:00.004-05:00

I usually give Riley a bottle when I get home so I can fix myself some dinner... I lay her down in the living room on her boppy pillow, give her a bottle and turn on the T.V. (not sure why, she NEVER watches it... but at least it's there?)

Anyway, she usually makes it halfway through the bottle and then abandons it when she gets up and starts walking around to see what I'm doing.

Well, yesterday I found her walking... and drinking... and...

Whoops... plop down!

These ABSOLUTELY crack me up!

(did your daddy teach you this?)

"Yep... this step is just the right height for maximum drinkage."

"Mom, leave me alone"

"Just kidding!"

All I can say is... what a character... And that I dread your teenage years! Lol!

"Excuse me, did you need something?"

"Be right back...is that my bunny?"

"Would you put the dang camera down?"

"Hmm... that was a tricky step..."

4 Generations

2010-05-11T04:45:00.002-05:00

All Girls...

Mom, Me, Grandma Janet, and Riley Kate

Mother's Day 2010

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-07T23:32:00.003-05:00

I love my Mom so much! My mom always bent over backwards for me and my sisters. She put forth the extra effort to make us great meals, always give us attention, and help when we needed it.

I hope Riley can say the same things about me some day.

A year ago, I remember getting a card wishing me a Happy Mother-to-be's Day and wondering what kind of Mom I would be. I knew I'd try my absolute hardest. There would be nothing that was not worth the effort when it came to her.

And because I work full-time, I don't always get to cook or clean as much as I'd like, and have lots of other faults as a Mom, yet I know Riley is happy and healthy. That's what matters most.

It will be my first Mother's Day on Sunday. It is so weird to think back a year ago, with Riley in my belly and only hopes and dreams (and worries!) of parenthood. It has been a tremendous but amazing year.

Before I go, I wanted to share a poem I received in an email from a friend at work...

God could not be every place
With loving hands to help erase
The teardrops from each baby’s face,
And so he thought of mother.

He could not send us here alone
And leave us to a fate unknown;
Without providing for His own,
The outstretched arms of mother.

God could not watch us night and day
And kneel beside our crib to pray,
Or kiss our little aches away;
And so He sent us mother.

And when our childhood days began,
He simply could not take command.
That’s why He placed our tiny hand
Securely into mother’s.

The days of youth slipped quickly by,
Life’s sun rose higher in the sky,
Full grown were we, yet ever nigh
To love us still, was mother.

And when life’s span of years shall end,
I know that God will gladly send,
To welcome home her child again,
That ever-faithful mother.

- George W. Wiseman

*** Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Moms out there! ***

By the way- My darling husband Ryan did get me a PINK iPOD Nano, complete with a sport band for jogging and a $50 iTunes gift card for Mother's Day! :) Woo Hoo! Can't wait to go jogging and use it!

And So the Fun Begins...

2010-05-07T22:48:00.006-05:00

After taking her first steps at 9 months old, she learned how to push herself up to a standing position last Saturday and just took off walking really good last Monday.

And so the fun begins...

You know what "fun" I mean. She is mobile. 100% mobile. This means she goes where she wants. The "fun" part is now I get to chase her down. And I do mean CHASE. The little stinker is FAST.

I have been getting several requests to capture some video of Riley walking. And I guess I just have been too busy chasing her down and making sure she doesn't suddenly fall and hit something (which hasn't happened yet, thank goodness!)

She is particularly "iffy" at the step in our sunken living room. It gets her EVERY TIME. I hope I hope she figures it out sooner rather than later... and definitely not the hard way... although that seems to be her method so far!

Anyhoo, I finally remembered tonight to get out my camera! She was so excited, in a way that can only be lovingly described as *full of piss and vinegar* Just plain crazy.

So, here you go!

See if you can keep up with her! I know the camera lady had trouble! (He He)

Another Sneak Peek!

2010-05-07T04:58:00.000-05:00

Motherhood

2010-05-07T04:33:00.002-05:00

I wanted to share something with you that I read yesterday from Big Mama's blog:

It’s confirmation that motherhood really does turn us into a person that we might have mocked before we had kids of our own.

SO true.

I was that person.

My jaw would drop at the money people would spend at Gymboree. Honestly, Walmart is just as good and sometimes more than half the price. They're just going to throw up and grow out of it in 3 months anyway. I could have cared less that your kid rolled over. I'm not a baby/kid hater by any means, I just had other things going on that seemed to be more important or pressing to me at the time. And I didn't like pink. Can you imagine that?

Well, not anymore! I love shopping for Riley's clothes. At Gymboree. Children's Place. Carters. Baby Gap. A little too much perhaps. And I love her in pink. Absolutely love. It makes me smile. :-)

And I am reminded of Riley's first time rolling over when I hear of someone else's little one's big accomplishment! Her first smile, first laugh, and her first tooth will remain forever engraved in my heart and mind.

It is crazy, the way having kids changes you!

It is BY FAR the BEST thing ever!

Random Thoughts Thursday

2010-05-06T04:20:00.006-05:00

1. I NEED an ipod.

I swear, Ryan and I are two of the only people left (in our generation) who are still holding out, in complete denial I might add, that this device is essential to everyday life. Did you know these came out in 2001??? I am finally giving in though. I want.... oh, come on.... I NEED something to listen to while running with my sweet baby girl in the jogging stroller.

I NEED to have Garth and Bush and Nirvana close by me... to keep me going...

Yes, I know I'm stuck in the 90's.

Still, I NEED to fit in with the rest of my generation. And Mother's Day is coming up this weekend... how convenient! Just watch.... once I get one, within a month we'll be getting Ryan's... just watch!

2. I'm so white. Pasty white. Ungoddess-like. (ha!) Un-Venetian beauty-like (ha ha!)

It is already May. Memorial day weekend is upon us. For me, that means swimsuit season. Maybe this will be the year I invest in self tanner. I have always been leery of that stuff. I guess it would be better for you than tanning beds or the good, ol' fashioned, baking sun. I just don't want to go spend money to make myself look orange. Maybe it would be better if I could sample something first. Because I don't have the time to go fake-bake. You see my dilemma. Whiteness. Ick!

Or... maybe having an ipod will get me running more, which will get me a tan! With sports bra and sock lines I might add! Sexy!

3. I love summer. Swimsuits. The lake. Beer. and little babies in little swimsuits with little lifejackets. And much, much less beer. With lots and lots of sunscreen. I can't wait! :-)

4. I didn't complete my To-Do list from last week. Oh well. It figures.

5. Holy Crap! Did you know this was my 101st post?? And Riley isn't even a year old yet! Ha! I would have never though I'd enjoy this blog as much as I do! Thanks for reading!

6. Our garage needs cleaned out. Or just organized, I guess.

Ever since we started The Neverending Project, I have been parking out in the driveway. Which isn't too bad, trust me. But the pile of Sam's groceries and the stacks of tubs for attic storage aren't putting themselves away, that's for sure. Please don't think I'm husband-bashing here, this is just on me. Everytime I walk by, I just get the urge to drop everything and organize. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to organize. I'm just weird like that I guess. Very weird.

But I fight the urge. Everyday. I'm sure one day I'll just pop.... and start cleaning. Or organizing.

Until then,

Love Krissy

Our "Big Girl"

2010-05-05T04:31:00.002-05:00

It seems in like the last month, or even last few weeks, Riley's growth and development have been in overdrive! There are so many things to indicate this too, like:

Her birthday is exactly 45 days away!

This has really been bugging me. There are so many choices for a theme and activity. And I am completely aware that no matter what, she isn't going to remember any of it. But her baby book will, and this blog will, and besides it's good practice for the next birthdays!

I think I have FINALLY decided on a theme - at least for now until I change my mind again - and it is Beach Party! We will have it at Grammie & Pop's lake place and will have a cookout, play at the sand beach with beach balls and sand bucket & shovels, and of course swim in the water! Then we will head back inside for cake & ice cream and presents!

She weighs over 19 lbs. and wears size 4 diapers!

What a toad! (I say that will all the love in the world too!) I took her to the Doc's yesterday (she currently has an eye infection) :*-( And she has gained over 2 lbs since her 9 month checkup! And it shows (maybe its just that YOU can tell when you hold her!) Ha!

We also switched her over to size 4 diapers.... all I can say is... Much Better!

She has TEETH! (not just a tooth!)

On Monday, we noticed there are two, the other is on the bottom, in the middle, right next to the first one. Yay for teeth!

She walks EVERYWHERE! We are officially DONE with crawling!

As you will be able to tell in a few days, she wouldn't hardly sit for any pictures... as soon as we'd sit her down, she would be pushing back up to standing position! Last Friday, she figured out how to push herself up from a sitting position to a standing... all by herself! And it was all downhill from there... Yes, she is still somewhat wobbly, but everytime she *plops* down, she springs right back up! And really, I haven't seen her crawl anywhere in two days!

I love you so so so much, but slow down little girl! Mommy isn't ready for all of this!

Wordless Wednesday - Sneak Peek of Riley's Spring Pics

2010-05-05T04:26:00.003-05:00

This is just a sneak peek... There will be more coming!

Averie Jo

2010-05-02T05:47:00.006-05:00

My cousin Katie is one of my closest cousins... both of our families are big lake bums in the summertime!

Katie Jo, Our friend Jenni, and Me

She also threw me my bachelorette party and was a bridesmaid in my wedding.

Me & My Bridesmaids - Katie is in the back, second from the left

Well, now we have more in common! We both have little girls!

Averie Jo arrived on April 26, 2010. She weighed 6 lbs, 8 oz and was 18 in long.

AND SHE IS SO DARN PRETTY!

So, I have recently been diagnosed with "teeny tiny little baby syndrome" since Riley thinks she needs to walk, talk, and pretty much do anything and everything there is...

Well, maybe I am exaggerating, but still, it doesn't seem possible that Riley was EVER THAT SMALL!

Anyway, I needed a teeny tiny little baby fix, so we went to go visit them and meet Averie for the first time!

After 20-30 minutes of getting lost in the country, I finally made it! (LOL....
I haven't been there in a few years... and for some reason, the way I THOUGHT I remembered was MUCH different than the ACTUAL way!)

She was a very good baby, sleeping most of the time, but I did get a peek or two at her little blue eyes!

Me, Averie Jo, and Riley Kate

We also got to play outside a little with the "doggie." (BTW- It's 6 AM, And I have NO IDEA what the dog's name was!)

Riley and Averie's Uncle Brian

Riley and Brian giving tummy rubs!

Here are a few more pics of this little cutie!

The Two Cousins!

Congrats to Katie!

You are going to be such a great Mommy!

I love ya girl!

Wordless Wednesday - Swinging with Daddy

2010-04-28T04:23:00.003-05:00

Riley's First Party

2010-04-27T05:00:00.003-05:00

Ryan's highschool buddy, Chris, has a daughter, Kendyl, that turned 2 last weekend. And they invited Riley and us to her birthday party!

Ryan & Riley, Chris & Kendyl

It was at Meadowlake Park in Enid, somewhere I haven't been to in a LONG time! It definitely brought back some memories of my childhood! It's a neat place. It has putt-putt golf, a train ride!, a beautiful lake where you can fish and feed the ducks, lots of playground equipment, and pavillions where you can gather!

Well the train didn't seem to be available this weekend, but there was plenty to do otherwise! They had two clowns there, lots of other little kids to play with, and a big jungle gym next to the pavillion! We also fed the ducks. Or tried to feed the ducks... guess they weren't too hungry!

Unfortunately I didn't get a whole lot of pics taken. It was SO windy, and it seemed like I was busy most of the time trying to move my hair out of my face so I could merely see where I was going! I have a couple more pics to share though:

Riley eating the bread we wanted to feed to the ducks...

We all had a great time! Happy 2nd Birthday Kendyl!

I'm Giving Up

2010-04-26T11:23:00.003-05:00

It's only 10:45 AM, and I'm giving up on the day.

I'm done. Finished. Good bye. Adios Amigos.

Why? I just went to a meeting (that I scheduled) a day early.

I sat in the meeting room by myself, and wondered... where is everyone?

Finally, a coworker I called and invited at the last minute showed up.

Great! I'm not alone anymore at least.

So we sat another 5 minutes. Alone. Shooting the breeze about our breezy weekends. (No seriously, it was really windy last weekend!)

Finally, I ask, "Are we in the wrong room?"

He isn't sure either, so I get on the computer and check my calendar.

"Oh Crap," I said.

"The meeting's tomorrow. I am SO sorry!"

And I begin apologizing profusely, making excuses, and feeling utterly embarrassed. And all of this is in front of a man who probably already thinks I'm a complete idiot. And now I’ve just confirmed that.

Welcome to Monday. It has been one heck of a day so far.

I had a slow leak in one of my tires on my Yukon, so I called the tire repair place here in town to see if they had time this morning to fix it. Because I was instructed this morning to do so. Yes Sir.

They had time to do it right now. So I glanced at my calendar. OK, no meetings till 10:30 AM, and it’s currently 9:40 AM. Better go NOW.

I find a seat next to a woman who feels the need to DUMP. Dump all of her problems, that is. On me, the seemingly perfect stranger, ready and willing to listen. No wonder the seat was open.

After what seemed like an eternity of nodding, assuring her that everything would be okay, my tire is repaired, and I rush back to the office. It’s 10:20AM. Great, I’m not late!

And you know how the story ends… Embarrassment. Shame.

I guess I should allow myself a few blonde moments. I’m female, have blonde hair (or blonde-brown), and am a working mom/engineer. The odds are against me, I should expect these kind of things.

And therefore, reside to the fact that I’m a complete idiot.

Seriously, I know I was bad before I had a baby, but now I feel like I’m running around like a chicken with their head cut off sometimes.

Please forgive me. Please don’t think I’m a complete dingbat.

And if you do, then I apologize in advance for the next goofy thing I do.

Because it will only be 10 minutes before it happens again. I assure you it will. It’s been scientifically proven. And being the engineer, I have the data to support it. (It’s in Excel.)

Anyway, hope everyone else had a better morning!

And by the way, Welcome Baby Averie! Born 4/26/10 @ 7:14 AM, 6 lbs, 8oz, and 18 in long! Can’t wait to meet you sweetie! Congrats Katie! You're officially a Mommy!! :-) (And welcome to the Dingbat Club, we meet every Monday... I mean Tuesday)

My Review of Signo G2 Convertible Car Seat - Raspberry

2010-04-21T08:36:00.001-05:00

Originally submitted at Diapers.com

Signo G2 Convertible Car Seat - Raspberry

The RECARO Signo G2 Convertible car seat offers a premium in convertible seating. Beyond the Orignial RECARO side impact protection, this seat also features an innovative PRU "memory" foam built into the moveable he...

Recaro Signo G2

By Riley'sMom from Stillwater, OK on 4/21/2010

Pros: Comfortable, Safe, Stylish, Sturdy, Easy to Adjust

Cons: Pricey

Best Uses: Infants, Toddlers

Describe Yourself: First Time Parent

I drive a GMC Yukon SUV, and have the carseat in the middle, rear facing. And the carseat doesn't obstruct my view in the rear view mirror at all. I'm 5'7" and can strap in my 10 mo. old DD without having to crawl in.

She admittedly had some issues at first with getting in the seat first thing in the mornings on the way to daycare, as she's used to getting strapped in her infant carrier inside the house, then carried out to the car and set into the base. But, as long as I show her the car seat first, she knows where I'm getting ready to put her, and has no problems sinking into the plushness of this awesome seat! No cries, and actually for once, no squirming!

I installed it myself, and it doesn't move around at all- very, very sturdy! The latch belts that come with the seat are great! They are like not the hooks that came with my Graco infant carrier/seat that are so hard to take off. Instead, they have a button like a seat belt that releases the latch hook.

It has knobs you can turn to find the proper strap height for my DD's shoulders (no rethreading!), and a much easier way to tighten and loosen the straps. Just pull the strap tightener to tighten, and push the release to loosen.

I looked around for 3 months before making my purchase. It is on the upper end with respect to cost compared to other convertible car seats, however, I feel that the features, convenience, construction, safety, and life of the seat will make up for the additional $100 bucks I spent compared to maybe a Cosco seat. And I am definitely glad I didn't spend extra money to get a Britax.

Diapers.com had the best price on this out of Target and Amazon. And the fastest shipping (2 days - which was free!).

Overall, this seat is great! I love the pink too... my DD looks so cute in it!

(legalese)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-21T04:45:00.003-05:00

Daddy's Girl

2010-04-21T04:14:00.007-05:00

So... Sometimes Riley's daddy says silly things like,

"We're not sure if I'm really the daddy yet..."

OR

"I'm only the weekend Daddy, the weekday daddy will be here on Monday..."

OR

"She's her mother's daughter..."

Hmm... well honey, while the last statement IS true, I'm sorry to break it to you...

But she IS a Daddy's girl (and of course, you're THE Daddy!)

And here's why:

YOUR little girl loves...

Eating Steak 'n Taters

Playing with an Atlas (Or any paper she can get her hands on)

and the #1 Reason she's your daughter-

Here she is TORMENTING me! LOL!

Note: you can see her little toother on the bottom middle! :-) I only wish it was in focus!

So, there you have it.

Irrefutable evidence.

Glad we got that cleared up! ;-)

Riley Kate is 10 Months Old!

2010-04-20T04:33:00.003-05:00

Here we are again... Another month has gone by!

I am running out of baby bump pictures, but here is another one of me at the first of May!

Riley's 10-Month Wrap Up!

*Waves hi and bye-bye

*Is walking better and better every day- will let go and take steps on her own!

*Completely on formula now- and it shows- much cheekier now and *noticeably* heavier

*Eats finger foods but still has pureed food also- her new favorites are the little star-puff cereal bites, pizza crust, pasta, and green beans!

*Has stayed 1 night away from Mommy and Daddy- last Saturday with Grammie & Pop

*Wearing 12 months clothes

*Loves squeaky shoes

*Loves squirming when you change her diaper... it's next to impossible now!

*Wears size 3 diapers

*Will give you a high-five

*Still has the longest eyelashes I’ve ever seen

*Still has baby blue eyes

*Has one tooth and loves to chew/pull on things with it

*Loves her new Recaro Signo G2 convertible carseat, (and so does Mommy)

*Loves going out with Mommy in her jogging stroller

*Loves pulling at clothes while Mommy shops

*Still wakes up in the middle of the night about 75% of the time- usually only once/night and usually to eat or get her pacifier, although she did sleep ALL night last night :-)

She is getting more and more active and more and more fun by the minute! We love every second! Can't wait for more good times this summer!

A Newfound Freedom

2010-04-19T04:21:00.005-05:00

The last few weeks, I've discovered a newfound freedom in my life.

For the last 9 months, two weeks, and 12.21557 hours (ha!), I was the sole source of nourishment for my baby. (Except for solids, of course)

And it has been a TOUGH 9 months and two weeks. (and 12.21557 hours...)

Through colds and late nights and long days with my breastpump..... SO much time was spent with my breastpump!

Dressing Rooms...

Even Black Friday Shopping....

No more!

I feel liberated already.

I did it because I had a daily quota that HAD TO BE MET. (Riley stays at the babysitter's while I'm at work.)

I would wake up early and stay up late- only to get a few extra ounces for my little bundle of joy.

I'll admit that I had the best resources available - everything Medela and the flexibility at work to go and pump 3 times a day. I know not everyone has a flexible schedule and for that, I am thankful!

It definitely could have been worse! Dear God!

And I'd do it all over again.

For her, I would!

But now, I am slowly weaning her, cutting out one feeding each week, and I'm down to one feeding per day now. She's taking to formula very well.

I will miss the closeness with her.

So much.

And I will miss my boobs.

SOOOOO much!

PW (the Pioneer Woman) described her experience with breastfeeding so well here:

"It’s just that the emotions of breastfeeding run so, so deep. It can be simultaneously wonderful and suffocating. Beautiful and challenging. Miraculous and stifling.
You never, ever forget."

So true.

Riley's First....

2010-04-16T06:12:00.003-05:00

You will need to watch the video to see what her "First" is....

I am SO excited to post this! Trust me, you will NOT be disappointed!

So... check it out!!!

Note: the video is dated 4/15/10, however her "First" was dated 4/4/10 (Easter Sunday).

Riley's First Easter

2010-04-15T04:30:00.009-05:00

As a little girl, I can remember waking up early Easter Sunday, putting on a handmade, intricately detailed little dress (courtesy of my Grandma Janet), having my hair curled...

Note that I had a bowl cut as a young girl and this included the foot tall bangs and a bottle of hairspray. Oh, the 80's...

I wish I had a picture to share of this. Maybe I can convince my darling mother to scan one and send it to me.... hint hint!

The point is, Mom would get my two sisters and I all get dressed up and along with my Dad, head off to church- wind, rain, or shine.

EVERY. SINGLE. Sunday.

Yep, you guessed it... we're Catholics.

At the time, if you'd asked me of my thoughts regarding this routine, I probably wouldn't have the most postive remarks about it, but I imagine most little girls have seemingly WAY better things on their minds... like books to read, people to play with, and jumping on trampolines...

I'm getting way off topic, aren't I? Easter.... Easter...

I do have a point.

I promise!!!

What I do like about that old routine is this: I got to do it a few weeks ago with my little girl.

We woke up at what seemed like the crack of dawn, for a Sunday anyway, put one her store bought, BUT painstakingly selected... lol! Easter dress, complete with a flower bow and headband, and headed to Easter Sunday mass in my hometown.

My Two Sweethearts

After mass is another wonderful tradition... the Easter Egg Hunt! This was Riley's first, and she loved it!

Grandma and her found lots of little eggs!

And of course, Riley thought they were GREAT to chew on!
(Or try to chew on!)

And check this out - The next generation of Easter Sunday cuties...

My cousin Amanda and her son Jake, Riley and I, and my cousin Angela and her daughter Caylee

After the hunt, we all went to the Church Hall and had the Kilian Family Feast...

Aunt NiNi and Riley!

The Three of Us- Krissy, Riley, and Ryan

My Sister's Family: Annie, Jake, Jonathan, and Jacob

I guess what I'm trying to say is... Thank you.

Thank you Mom and Dad for dragging us to church every Sunday, and especially on Easter Sunday.

You have raised all of us to be good Christians and to love Jesus.

And we all looked darling in our Easter dresses. Well, to that I thank Grandma Janet- I cannot wait until Riley is big enough to begin wearing some of the dresses I used to wear!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Pretty Blue Eyes

2010-03-28T19:08:00.004-05:00

This post is nearly wordless...

I wanted to share this picture of Riley I took today, her eyes just stand out so much!

Check it out...

And in case you wondered, that is a combination of drool and spilled water down the front of her shirt!! :-)

Going to the “Big D”

2010-03-27T10:25:00.014-05:00

Riley and I spent last Thursday thru Sunday down in “the big D” while Riley’s cousins were out of school for Spring Break!

Here’s a day-by-day summary and fun quotes from our road trip!

GOING TO DALLAS & THE FIRST NIGHT

"Are we there yet?" – Kinsey

"Is it bad? I want to see… Oh yeah! It’s BAAADDD! No more cherry pie for Riley!" – Kelton

Kinsey dropped her ring in the spaghetti… and her boyfriend, Mr. Gecko proposed to her! - Kinsey doesn't think it's very funny!

Riley LOVES Liberty… but cries when Grandma Maxie tries to hold her! L

DAY 1

Pictures 1^st thing in the morning. It's all about the planning. Must have food in the tummy and plenty of sleep to smile pretty! Otherwise, loud screaming and intense crying occur. But our group did GREAT… no, they did AWESOME!!

OSU Group Shot- What cute bows... I wonder who made them?! =)

Dressed Up Group Shot- Yes... We made Kelton wear Pink!

Riley

Kelton & Kinsey

Liberty

*Feet!*

Riley LOVES going fast in the stroller when Kelton, Liberty, or Kinsey push!

DAY 2

Spent the day at the outlet mall… it was a little windy today, but beautiful outside!

Riley wasn’t feeling too hot this time. Lack of Mommy-time and a good nap are to blame. However, Mommy got some REALLY GOOD BUYS for Miss Riley's summer wardrobe!

We also spent the day with Uncle Todd and Corina…

Riley & Uncle Todd - Riley eating pizza crust!

Riley REALLY likes Corina, and Mommy can finally run to her room and organize a few things… it looks like a bomb went off up there! Grandpa Lyndal came this evening too. Riley is really tickled by him! (Sorry Grandma...)

Heard a disturbing report… don’t think it’s entirely true and is probably only happened once so either way it’s not that big of a deal…

We were in Target, talking about how good Kinsey is to Riley at Tammy’s.
And Kinsey said, "Yeah sometimes Riley sticks her hand in poop!"
"O.M.G.!" I shuddered… “GROSS!”

I know there’s nothing I can do about it, but JUST PLEASE let Tammy wash Riley’s hand(s) good afterwards!!! *Shivers*

DAY 3

Spent the day at the mall since it was cold/rainy!

Found a new purpose for dressing rooms…. Feeding Riley!

Riley *FINALLY* likes Grandma!! ... especially when she feeds her Strawberry Smoothie!

Just a note: I craved strawberries when I was pregnant… maybe this will be one of Riley’s favs?

DAY 4

Headed back home… or tried to I should say…we left in the snow and slush, stopping in Sherman to eat lunch at Chili's.

Then it was work zone after work zone. Stop and go traffic. YUCK!

Riley and Kelton slept as much as possible...

At least we didn’t have to stop so I could feed Riley, since we were in a work zone every time she got hungry to I was able to feed her while Amber drove!

We finally got home nearly 6 hours after we left. Riley was SO EXCITED to see her Da-da! It had been 4 LONG DAYS! She smiled so big and gave him a big hug!!

It was a WONDERFUL trip, and I have the best in-laws ever! I really do love you all very much, and you all are SO GOOD to Riley and me!

RILEY KATE IS 9 MONTHS OLD!

2010-03-27T07:57:00.003-05:00

I am truly amazed... at how fast time flies!

Here I am a year ago... with a baby bump!

It actually does seem like it was forever ago that I was preggers! And Riley was in my tummy, kicking my ribs, and making have to use the restroom ever 30 minutes! LOL!

And now...

Here is our precious Riley-bug!

Riley's Stats:

She weighs 17 lbs, 1 oz, and is 26.75 in long! She is in the 25% now for her height and weight - which concerned me at first, but the pediatrician said that it's probably because most 90% of babies are now on formula and are overfed... she controls what she gets on breastmilk, so she may have a later growth spurt. Guess we'll see! She wears mostly 9 months old clothes, though a few 6 months old outfit still fit great, and a few 12 months outfits fit as well!

Riley's 9-Month Wrap Up!

* Can smack her lips

* Loves her squeaky shoes!

* Eats yogurt, cottage cheese, apple sauce, chicken & noodles, peaches, bread, and nearly anything Mommy will feed her off her plate too!

* Eats 2 meals of breastmilk in the morning, has solids for lunch, then 2 meals of breastmilk in the afternoon, followed by 2 meals of solids, and some breastmilk to help her fall asleep and top off her tank for the night!

* Can walk up steps, with assistance, of course! But she knows to "lift her legs up and PUSH!" LOL!

* Loves playing peek-a-boo!

* Will give you a "five!"

* Sometimes waves hi and goodbye!

* Says "Ma-ma-ma" and "Da-da-da"

* Is now a "speed-crawler" and is gone in the blink of an eye.

* Loves dancing with Daddy! She will *dip* (bends her knees) when Daddy sings to her!

* IS A BIG MOMMA'S GIRL!

Yes, the *separation anxiety phase* is in full swing... unfortunately. Though I *LOVE!* the attention from her, sometime it is nice (and necessary) to let someone else enjoy her, and let me tend to other things... laundry, dishes, pumping, a nice hot shower...

Needless to say, my productivity around the house and on the blog, have gone down significantly. Hopefully this *phase* won't last too long. :-)

On to other news...

I went to pick Riley up from Tammy's on Monday to take her to her checkup, and Tammy asked me, "Did you know she had a tooth?"

"No!! Where??"

And sure enough, on the bottom in the front, you could rub your finger back-and-forth and feel the little toother!!

We had just gotten back from spending the weekend in Dallas, and though she was a little fussy on Sunday, she didn't have a fever, and I mostly attributed her fussiness to spending 5+ hours in a carseat!

She is REALLY chewing on everything now... more than before. Before she would just put stuff in her mouth to feel it out... taste it... but now it's all about the *chomp* chomp * chomp!*

Hopefully I can get a big smile from her and catch this little toother! Check back soon!

WHEEEEEEEEE!!!!

2010-03-07T19:59:00.006-06:00

Whee: \'hwē, wē\ Interjection. Used to express delight or exuberance.

Need I say more?!

Thank you so much Justin, Holly, Cade, & Carly for getting Riley this tree swing!

SHE ABSOLUTELY LOVES IT!

Good Mornin' Sunshine!

2010-03-07T08:57:00.002-06:00

The weather was absolutely beautiful this week as we FINALLY made it into the 50's and 60's!

To celebrate this lovely weather, Riley wore her new flowers t-shirt outfit to Tammy's one morning...

Here she is, at 6 AM, all strapped in her carseat, and happy as can be!

I really hope the sun is here to stay!!!

One Fancy Dress

2010-03-06T22:31:00.003-06:00

Note: This is a draft from February that I've been meaning to post.

After a long weekend at Pop & Grammie's, Sunday had finally snuck up on us, and it was time to go to church, eat, then go home back to Oklahoma.

So... it's time to dress up in your Sunday's best!

Jeepers Squeakers!

2010-03-06T22:11:00.003-06:00

Squeak, Squeak-Squeak, Squeak!!

Miss Riley has some new kicks, and they *SQUEAK* when she walks!

They are called MooShu Trainers. And you can find them at baby boutiques or fine footware boutiques.

OH. MY. GOSH. I LOOOOOOVE THEM!

And so does Riley! You can tell that she loves to "toot her own horn!" Watch as she lifts her leg high and ensures she gets a good stomp!

More Bathroom Pics

2010-03-06T22:10:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to share the remaining pics of the last remodeling project...

The Shower Fixtures

The New Carpet

I am so happy with how everything turned out. What a difference!!

On the other hand, thank goodness that is over... I am anxiously awaiting to move back into my room, and hopefully get the rest of my house somewhat organized! But until the tile people clean my mattress which they COMPLETELY COVERED in dust, Ryan and I will continue occupying the guest room. And everything from our room will remain scattered across the house... If only the process of remodeling could be as fun as the end result!

Goodbye Living Room!

2010-03-06T21:59:00.001-06:00

Our living room is no more... it has evolved into a TOY room.

With toys from Grammie and Pop, and other wonderful toys from Aunts Shawnda and Amber, Riley is sure to never run out of things to play with!! However, the space in the living room... oh, sorry... I mean TOY ROOM, is limited!

I went online and found a nice toy box I liked. So Pop, Grammie, and I ordered it last fall. :-( It has been on backorder since October! But last month, it finally came! And it was well worth the wait! We are keeping it in the toy room, at least until we can move out Riley's changing table in her room. But, it matches Riley's furniture perfectly! And it did NOT break the bank either!

It also has all the safety features. A tensioned lid, so that it won't slam down on any little fingers, and a tapered front, so that you can grip the front on the toy box, and bring the lid down all the way, and not squish any little fingers.

BTW- it is from JC Penny. The Hartford Collection by Rockland.

And the best part is, she likes it too! What a fun thing to drum on!

Stuck on Magnets!

2010-03-06T21:26:00.003-06:00

Note: This is an draft from January that I have been meaning to post. Riley still LOVES to play with the magnets on the fridge, but doesn't use the bumbo seat anymore...

Recently, Riley has taken in interest in grabbing, pulling, and basically getting into anything and everything she possibly can. So, I thought that the animal magnets that Aunt Amber got her for Christmas would be fun for her! And I was right! :-)

I can set her in her bumbo seat and cook a whole meal, interrupted only to re-stick the magnets up on the fridge. (The game is for Riley to "slide" the magnets down, off of the fridge, one by one, until they're all gone, then holler for me to put them back on!)

And though she's crawling now, this is still a pretty good distraction on her way through the kitchen! She loves to grab them, inspect them by turning them over and over, then chew on them a little bit, drop it on the floor, then start all over again with the next victim!

Riley's in a Contest!

2010-02-24T21:48:00.009-06:00

OK... I'll admit, I ripped this idea off of my cousin's blog site... *Sorry!*

I figure what the heck, I'll give her a little competition! J/K! ;-)

I really bet they're going to call a tie on this one! Check out Hadlea's entry here... AND vote for her too!!

Vote for Me!

The Never-ending Project

2010-02-20T19:50:00.008-06:00

My hubby, Ryan, always does his best to keeps things in order around the house, especially when it comes to honey do's. (Although sometimes tending to the moo-cows takes precendence, but then again, I don't want any of the calves dropping dead either!)

The first task was to repair our leaky roof. He checked that item off the list last summer. Next was to repair the water spots on the interior of our house. He finally carved a week out of his schedule, bought the necessary supplies, and after watching a few DIY videos on Youtube, was ready to hit the ground running!

The only thing was, I HAD. NO. IDEA. he was going to start. And so, one day, out of the blue, this is what I came home to...

And inside...

My first reaction upon opening the garage door was "Riley, your father's lost his mind..." Since I had no idea why all of my furniture was now moved to the garage. Is he MOVING me out? What the ******?

To my surprise... and relief... I entered my house and found my darling husband sweeping the floor with the shopvac, and singing along to the radio that was playing something rock 'n roll. Whew! Good one honey...

He had been scraping off all of the "popcorn" (or cottage cheese as I call it) texture off of the ceiling. After a couple of day and several hundred dollars later, I had a nice non-cottage cheese textured ceiling which I LOVE!

So, when it was all done, and we were talking about moving back in... Ryan asks, "So, while everything is moved out, why don't we just go ahead and do the bathroom and carpet in her. I never realized it, but it sure looks bad."

And the skys parted and angels were singing....

Um, let me think here for a second, I get to go and pick out tile AND carpet? Yes, DING DING DING I think we have a winner...So I said "YES!"

And then comes the fun part. After about a week or so I had made up my mind. What do you think?

And the NEXT project began...

The DEMO!

Getting some tile up now...

...AND OUR NEW BATHROOM!

I just LOVE it! SOOOO Much better than the boring, ugly, hard to clean WHITE 4" tiles that used to be there. I honestly can't wait to use it! It is complete except for the new shower head fixture we picked out, which Ryan will install for me when he gets home. And the carpet guys are going to install the new carpet the first of next week. And THEN this project can be officially marked off of the list.

Except one thing...

"What about carpet in the rest of the house?"

Riley Kate is 8 Months Old!

2010-02-20T17:45:00.016-06:00

This last month has FLOWN by, and though the blog hasn't kept you informed very well, (sorry!) she really has changed and grown so much!

Her hair is coming in more now, and stands straight up in the back, where the hairs are just a little shorter than the ones in the front. Mommy puts cute little bows in her hair nearly every day.

She has had lots of bumps and bruises on her forehead, but is FINALLY (and I mean that finally my heart doesn't skip a beat every time she thinks about letting go) learning how to get down when she has pulled herself up. While the bumps and bruises are far away from her heart, it still hurts mommy's heart to watch her fall! But, she has learned how to prevent the falls now! :-)

Speaking of falls... and this is something I really do not want to disclose, but I will...

Riley woke up early this morning, as usual, and since this is the weekend, Mommy wasn't ready to get up for the day, so I took Riley to lay down in our bed.... a common occurance early in the morning. I woke up.... frantically... to a thud and a loud cry.
Yes... she had been lying down on my tummy, we'd both fallen asleep, and she must've lifted up to change positions and leaned a bit to far.... I picked her up, she cried for about a minute.
At this point I'm thinking... did she break a bone, did this shake up her head too much? Logically, I know babies are very pliable creatures, and they have extra fluid in their brain to prevent damange from sudden jerks. Not that this makes it okay though... She quits crying... I'm still holding her like if I loosen my hold I might drop her again...
I take her into the living room and the first thing she sees is this activity table that Aunt Amber gave us a few weeks ago. Upon seeing it, she immediately pushes away from me to the floor so she can crawl over to the table. She pulls herself up, and starts playing...
I'm in shock. How could she already be playing after such a long fall for such a little body? She was fine the rest of the day... thank God!
Anyway, this is just to share in case this happens to anyone else. Don't feel bad... just learn (LIKE I DID!) and either put pillows up so she can't roll off or don't bring her to bed with you at all.
Ahhh... glad that's over with. I'm trying to not let it get to me... but it's hard not to.

On a more positive note, watch this next video to see Riley's new milestone achievement!!!

Riley loves for you to hold her hands and let her walk... "like a big girl!" So, I got the idea today to let her try to pull up on the little walker and see how'd she do. I didn't think she'd take off quite like she did though! She just started cruising... I did the whole "OMG Ryan, LOOK-- She's WALKING!!!" mom-scream! lol!

It was pretty neat though!

Riley and I have been taking trips to Kansas every other week when Daddy is at work. We get to visit Grammie and Pop that way too! And while playing in the hotel is fun for Riley, (Mommy and Daddy NEVER leave the room!) it is not exactly baby proof and definitely not clean enough, so Riley spends lots of time on the bed... and when I just can't watch her... such as when I have to go to the bathroom... she's in here:

Thank God for Pack 'n Plays!

While Riley and I are away from home, and when Ryan is at work during the day, what do we do? Hmmm.... let's see, I think we'll go SHOPPING!

Here's some of Riley's new summer apparel! I am so ready for warm weather and for Riley's new outfits!

And the CUTEST sandals.... EVER. They are called MooShoo Trainers. And they squeak when she walks.

O.M.G. I Love Them! :-)

Riley has definitely been a blessing in our lives. Sometimes she can drive Ryan and I crazy, but I just remind myself that this is the fun part and to not take her for granted. And it is fun... sooo much fun!

Love you all,

Krissy

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T20:26:00.004-06:00

Just wanted to share a quick pic of my two valentines...

I love you two so very much!

Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day!

Riley is 7 Months Old!

2010-01-21T16:39:00.006-06:00

This was a draft I had written one day at work but never got it posted since I was unable to load the pictures! I believe the date was 1/21/10... just after she turned 7 months on the 20th. So... nearly a month later... here it is! Better late than never... Right???

Riley turned 7 months old on Wednesday!

Twice I was told, "...before you know it, she'll be having a birthday!" And both times, I absolutely gasp. How can my little baby already be this old?! This is overused I'm sure but, it REALLY does seem like I just brought her home from the hospital!

I guess I've been so caught up in being a Mom (well, trying!) and managing (well, trying!!) the rest of my life that time has slipped by! And why does her turning 7 months bother me, but when she turned 6 months I was fine? I must've just been having another Krissy moment....

I guess it's the fact that she's more than halfway to her first birthday now.

Anyway, I'll (try to!) exercise a little self control now and stop obsessing over how old she is. Nothing I can do about it anyway! I love every second of every minute of every hour of every day with her!

She has become quite proficient in army crawling. Power cords, decorations, steps, and anything else she wants to grab or get past is no match to her! She is a determined little girl! And fearless too!

The following is a bit more from today...

Riley's Wrap Up:

I took her to the doctor's since she was sick about a week ago. She had two ear infections and weighed 16 lbs 10 oz. This is our second battle with ear infections. Thank goodness a shot of antibiotics kicked it in the butt the next day!
She is wearing size 3 diapers now, and on average, has two 1-2 hour long naps and one short catnap ever day.
She still has about 3 oz breastmilk plus 2 "cubes" of homemade baby food every 3-4 hours, but now also eats small bite-size finger foods. They look like the little cereal puffs and cheetos!
She has also recently learned how to pull herself up from lying down to sitting up to standing!
She loves for you to hold her hands and walk with her. The Robeez shoes that Grandma Maxie bought her are perfect for her! They give her just the right amount of stiffness/stability... it helps since shoes don't slip as easily as socks do.
Her favorite toys are magnets, blocks, anything slippery/soft/cold on her gums, and of course, cell phones and T.V. remotes.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-08T14:57:00.002-06:00

I don't ever recall being so excited for a new year...

But this one holds so much potential for love, fun, and growing together as a family.

Who could ask for more?

For those who don't think a child can impact your life so profoundly, you hardly realize the things once important to you just don't seem to matter as much anymore.

I know I didn't have a clue the whole time I was pregnant with Riley.

And now it just all seems natural. Like she's been with me all along.

I don't know how I ever made it without her. And I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost her.

So here's to 2010, a new year of fun with Riley. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Christmas at Pa & Grammie's House!

2010-01-08T13:19:00.008-06:00

Riley also had a very Merry Christmas at Pa & Grammie's house in Kansas!

Bye Aunt Lanie!

2010-01-08T13:19:00.007-06:00

Mommy's sister, Lanie, who lives in North Carolina near Fort Bragg, has been visiting for the last two months while her husband, Alex is deployed in Afghanistan. She left on New Year's Eve to head back East, just as she heard that Alex is coming back home due to a back injury! And his plane just landed last night! :-)

We love you and miss you! Give Alex a hug for us!

Now It's Time to Play!

2010-01-08T13:17:00.010-06:00

After a long hard morning of opening presents, it was finally time to PLAY!

Playing with some tissue paper

Another ride on Daddy's shoulders

Playing with her new alphabet blocks!

R-I-L-E-Y!

Opening Presents

2010-01-08T13:17:00.009-06:00

After convincing Riley the objective was to tear the paper and see what was inside the box, we finally got some presents opened...

Opening Presents with Daddy

2010-01-08T13:17:00.006-06:00

Riley also got a little help with the presents from Daddy.

Obviously he thought each bow had to be put on her head -

Christmas Morning

2010-01-08T13:13:00.004-06:00

It's Christmas morning and we've given Riley her first present.

It was so fun to watch.

I really don't think she cared what was underneath the wrapping paper and ribbon. The wrapping paper felt so slick on her hands and mouth, and the ribbon tickes her skin and is fun to pull.

Yep. She could care less. Just give her the box with a ribbon on top.

Christmas Eve at Grandma Billie's

2010-01-08T13:11:00.004-06:00

Ryan, Riley, and I spent Christmas Eve at Great Grandma Billie's house. She lives out in the country, maybe 10 miles (?) from Ryan's parent's house where we were staying, so that's good that it wasn't too far. The snow was REALLY coming down when we headed back home, and we could hardly see in front of us. Apparently the roads had such bad snow drifts the next day, they were impassable.

We had a really good time. There were finger foods and brisket to eat. And every year we play board games and Dirty Santa.

Riley and Daddy

Riley and Mommy opening a present for Riley from Aunt Sherri

Riley wanting to get Mommy's camera

All I can say is you better OPEN WIDE!

The Kilian Christmas

2010-01-08T13:10:00.002-06:00

Every year, on the Sunday before Christmas, we all meet in Medford for the Kilian Christmas. We eat obscene amounts of food, fight for who's first in line, and have one of the largest family gift exchanges in the state of Oklahoma. Even Santa stops by for a visit.

Pa, Grammie, Aunt Lanie, Me, Riley & Ryan

Family Picture w/ Grandma & Grandpa Kilian

All Great Grandkids!!

Us, Riley, and Santa!

A Very Messy Eater

2010-01-08T13:08:00.002-06:00

It's Riley's first time to eat zucchini:

We always start out with a buzzing noise- bzzzzz bzzzz, and we move the spoon in a circle:

Then, as the spoon nears her now wide open mouth, she takes a BIG bite!

And almost every time, we need to scrape off the excess that didn't quite make it.

Hey Mikey- I think she likes it!

Visiting Great Grandma Billie

2010-01-08T13:07:00.002-06:00

We were headed to Enid for New Year's Eve, so while we were there, we stopped by and visited Riley's Great Grandma Billie in the hospital.

She was SO happy to see us, but especially happy to see Riley!

Winter Sunset

2010-01-08T13:06:00.005-06:00

I LOVE sunsets.

This was a beautiful sunset that Riley and I watched one day on the way home from work. I couldn't wait to get my camera and take a picture of it!

God is an amazing artist!!

Snug as a Bug

2010-01-08T13:06:00.004-06:00

I took this picture one morning when the temperatures had dropped below freezing... I had just woke Riley up and got her all dressed and ready to go to Perry. I guess she was so happy this morning from a good night's sleep. Anyway, I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Alternative Modes of Transportation

2010-01-08T13:05:00.003-06:00

Riley's trying out all different types of transporation right now.

Scooting, shuffling, rolling, and of course, riding!

On Daddy's shoulders that is!

Too bad Daddy doesn't understand that you need his hair for something to balance yourself with and hold on! :-)

On All Fours

2010-01-08T13:04:00.005-06:00

Though it is late, I'm proud of myself to get these posted now, since when I wrote that I'd get these up soon, I secretly told myself, "Yeah right, maybe after she's walking." Ha!

So there!

These pics are also pre-Christmas.

And she's not quite crawling either. As you can see, she can hold the crawling position, but when she finally decides she wants to move forward, she still falls to her tummy and "army-crawls" her way there!

Just a Sittin' Duck

2010-01-08T12:51:00.002-06:00

Right before Christmas, Riley learned how to sit up on her own!

Here's some pics of her "helping" me put away clean laundry-

Christmas 2009!

2010-01-08T11:05:00.003-06:00

Of course, with Riley with us this year, I definitely wanted family photos.

The questions then were who, where, and when. I had narrowed down the "who", but the "where" and "when" were issues.

Who: Misty Lingnau, Ryan grew up with her in Lamont, and she takes AWESOME pics!

Where: She had a photo shoot in Ponca City, but Ryan was in Montana that week... but, she does have a studio in Bartlesville, about 1.5-2 hours away...

When: We need them taken when Ryan is in town, the second week of December, but we need the pics back right away for our card!

So, that is what we had to do! We drove to Bartlesville, had our photo shoot, ate lunch, and drove back home! And I'd do it again in a heartbeat... I loved how the pics turned out!

BTW - Misty's site is http://www.mistysmemories.photoreflect.com/

Be sure to check it out!!

Riley's 1st Christmas!

2010-01-03T16:42:00.011-06:00

It has been a very exciting, on-the-go past couple of weeks for us!

Daddy has been home since the third week of December, but we've hardly spent a quarter of that time here at home! We've been to Medford, Lamont, Derby, Enid, and Morrison!

And thank goodness Daddy has been home!

I cannot begin to express how nice it has been to have Ryan home! I finally feel like I might be *about* to catch up on things! He's made dinners, done dishes, watched Riley, and basically done most anything I've asked of him! O.M.G. I have a great husband! :-) Thank you!! I will SO miss you next week!!

Riley has really began to bond with Ryan. Before, when he was on the 8-on, 6-off schedule, she would get used to him for the 6 days he was home, but it was hard for her the 8 days he was gone. She still favors her Momma (going through the *Mommy's girl* phase right now) but she was really gotten used to Ryan's face and voice. And I think this time, it may be enough to hold her over the 4 days he'll be gone now :-)

Riley has changed so much lately.

She had her 6 month checkup on December 21st, and was in the 50th percentile for all her measurements: 25.75 in tall and weighed 16.04 lbs.

Her favorite things right now are TV remotes and cell phones. She goes absolutely N.U.T.S. over them! But it is great motivation for her to fine-tune her scooting, which will soon be crawling! She is SO CLOSE!

She loves eating her big girl food! Butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, zucchini, avacados, bananas, and blueberries have been added to her daily diet.

She also has discovered the limits of her vocal chords... and I'd have to say its sometimes more than I can take. You know, that high-pitched, blood curtling, glass breaking scream. So watch out if she gets fussy, and be sure to have your ear plugs handy!!

On a more positive note, :-) she is quite the sitting duck now, which came in handy for opening Christmas presents!

It was so fun to watch her open her first Christmas presents! She sure had a bunch of them! Of course, she had 3 Christmases- the Kilian Family Christmas, Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa Skaggs, and Christmas at Pop & Grammie Kilian's.

We drove to Enid and spent New Year's Eve at Ryan's friend Chris' house. Chris and his wife, Candance had a fish fry, as well as fried squash and fried mushrooms. It was SOOO good! We had a lot of fun, though we still didn't stay up till midnight... Happy 2010 though!

Yesterday was a hard day. It was the anniversary of my Grandpa's passing. I wish he could've been here with Riley. I would've loved to see the two of them play together. I love and miss you so much Grandpa.

Well, it's back to work tomorrow. Ughh! I guess I should be thankful I didn't have to work this past week. But, Christmas break is over, and it's back to the real world now.

I'm still holding out on the pictures... I hope to get them all up this week!

Hope everyone had fun and safe holidays!

Making Your Own Baby Food?

2009-12-17T22:38:00.007-06:00

So... it sounds like a big hassel.
Like, you must be crazy to the store and not just buy the jars of baby food?
You must have WAY to much time on your hands to be able to make your baby's food.

Wrong!

I'm not a big *organic food* health nut or anything, I promise!

But, seriously, this is SO much better for your baby, SO much cheaper, and SO EASY!

The reason it's better is because you know the state the food was in before you process it, you know what was added to the mixture, and you know how it was handled thereafter. Read the labels, many have additional preservatives, etc. in addition to the main ingredient and water.

For obvious reasons, its cheaper. Just to give you an idea- I bought a single butternut squash, the most expensive food I've bought at $1/lb. I chopped it, boiled it in water, pureed it in a blender, and froze single servings in ice cube trays. I had so many single servings cubes that it filled an entire gallon freezer bag full, and this alone would feed her for an entire month if not longer. One pkg. of baby food is approx. $1.50 for 2.5 oz. = about 2 feedings. The cost/feeding is $0.75. Now, my butternut squash was $3.57. And did I mention it filled a whole gallon bag full of single-serving cubes... 56 cubes to be exact. So, the cost/feeding is $0.06! That's a savings of 92%!

There is no magic to this.

You can use your leftovers after dinner... potatoes, green beans, corn, fruits, meats, etc.

Babies also love bananas and avacados, which don't require any cooking! Just pop them in the blender with some water and freeze!

So far I've made zucchini, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Months of food for only $6.16!

If you are someone who likes a "guide", then I would recommend buying "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. There are gently used copies for sale on Amazon.com for under $10. She is somewhat of an organic health nut, but what I was most interested in was her recommendations on when to start certain foods and her recipes. She also has other tips on frugal living with infants, etc.

So there you have it! Hope this helps someone out!

More Firsts!

2009-12-17T22:04:00.007-06:00

This month is full of firsts...

First Cold/Ear Infection

Riley has had congestion lately... no big deal really, but to remedy that without being able to give her any meds, she sleeps upright in her baby swing, with the vaporizer going and vick's on her chest... and of course, routine use of the nasal aspirator... yuck! (Riley HATES!)

She was diagnosed with her first ear infection this Monday. Twice on Sunday she had a fever, first of 99.4 and the second time of 100.2. Tylenol took care of the fever both times, but I was curious as to why the fever came back, so I scheduled an appt the next day.

Apparently, she is teething, and during the night her gums are swelling, causing her body to secrete fluids. With the congestion she already has and the additional secretions from the swelling, some fluid wasn't able to drain out of her ear drum and got infected... :-( She was prescribed some amoxicillin, it is a yummy bubble gum flavor and she has NO idea she is getting medicine!

First Time Eating Veggies

Last month, Riley started eating rice and oatmeal cereal. Once those were pretty well mastered, Mommy decided it was time for more exciting cuisine. So far, she's had butternut squash and sweet potatoes, both of which she L.O.V.E.S.!

First Time Sitting in the High Chair

We tried the bumbo seat, and that worked for umm, maybe 5 minutes. She wanted too badly to lean over the side or reach for the spoon, and half the time she wedged herself in there kind of sideways...

Then we tried just sitting her on our lap to feed her. This worked better, you could control her position more, BUT... if she lunged forward suddenly and Mommy accidentally missed her mouth or if she decides to snack on your wrist inbetween bites of food, then you might as well take the bath with her afterwards, because that stuff is sooo sticky and icky...

Finally, we decided she was a Big Girl and could sit in the high chair! All it took was a simple phone book to give her a boost, and wa-la! Much better, she doesn't lean out the sides, no slipping down, and if she wants to knaw on the tray, then go right ahead! It wipes right off! :-)

First Time Sitting Up All on her Own

Last weekend, we noticed that she was showing signs of balancing herself while sitting up. She'd kind of sit in my or Ryan's lap, and would lean forward, then pull herself back and rest against us again.

So, while Ryan was gone last week, I practiced with her, and by Wednesday (I think...) she had it down! Well, for up to 45 sec - 1 min at least! Perfect, just in time to sit and open Christmas presents!

Sorry I don't have them up yet.... but be sure to check back for pics!

Having a Krissy Moment...

2009-12-04T19:27:00.006-06:00

I know we've all had one from time to time. Blonde moments, brain farts, whatever you want to call them.

I thought this would be a good addition to the blog, especially with all the new parenting scenarios I could share!

I also will try to include tips/tricks I've learned... so maybe you won't make the same mistake I did! :-)

Anway...

So, right about the time I started back to work after maternity leave, Riley started sleeping through the night, 5-7 hours at a time. Which was WONDERFUL. Until... (please excuse my French!) damn Daylight Savings Time! I have tried everything to get her to sleep until 4 AM, but her little internal clock is set at 3 AM! Staying up late, eating more before bed, soothing baths, putting her in the swing at night.... nope, 3 AM.

So, after fighting this issue, oversleeping and walking into work late many, many times, I finally had my "Krissy moment."

Hmmm...Why don't I just go to bed an hour earlier and wake up with her?
Now, this means I put her to bed an hour early and risk her waking up early as well. But if I'm right, then I get 6 hours of sleep.

I wish I would've tried this a month ago.

She woke up at 3 AM sharp.

So there you go. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Move Out of the Way... It's BLACK FRIDAY!

2009-12-03T21:01:00.011-06:00

Such is the atmosphere at 3 am on Black Friday.

It's everyone for themself. And don't expect them to give you the right-of-way when you're headed for the checkout.

Every year, my Mother-in-law and two Sisters-in-law wake up at the butt-crack of dawn, and head to Enid to shop till they drop. I've joined in on the festivities the last three years. I'm just glad this year I'm not pregnant.

So here's how our day went.

Alarm is set for 1:20 AM, just in case I want to snooze for 10 min. But no more than that, our shopping trip is in MY hands (as Shawnda tells me) since I am the one who set their alarm. Well, who needs alarms? I have a 5 month old. Riley woke up at exactly 1:18 AM, just enough time for her to have a quick midnight snack....

Afterwards, I woke everyone up, we get dressed and head out around 2 AM. ETA to Old Navy is 45 minutes. Too bad, we didn't get in line fast enough and they only had 25 #'s to hand out for the Wii game. Strike 1.

The next stop was JC Penny. Nothing big. Got our snow globes :-)

From there we went to Walmart. Now, they did things WAY different this time. Apparently you could get there as early as you wanted, put items in your cart, and check out as soon as it was 5 AM. A bunch of crap if you ask me. So, when we got there (At 4:55 AM!), most of the really good deals were gone. Probably for the best. I spent WAY too much money there anyway!

Now, if any Walmart employees, engineers, or execs ever read this, I'm telling you now, you NEED to have a better to coordinate the checking out process. The current method simply does not work. There are entrances on either end of the store. The line for the checkout on the end (right next to the entrance) ran lenghtwise, instead of straight back, blocking the entrance, and prohibiting any movement for those wishing to complete their shopping elsewhere, etc. Unfortunately, my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law were trapped in this scenario. For like 2 hours. It was a mess!

From there, went to Lowe's and KMart. And then, we had a BIG PROBLEM.

I wish I would've brought my camera.

You truly can't appreciate Black Friday until witness a group of girls with an SUV that is SO full, you have to pile stuff on someone just to get the door shut. Toys coming into the front seat, you have to hold onto them so that they don't fly and hit the windshield... and don't even think about trying to open the back door.... unless you have a death wish!

Well, we had 'er full by 7:30 AM.

No Kidding.

So Grandpa Lyndal drove up in Shawnda's Avalanche and swapped us vehicles.

And on we go!

Walgreens, Atwoods, and to the mall- Bath & Body Works, Sears, Famous Footwear, The Buckle, Butterbean, Dillard's, Claire's, and last, but not least, one of my favorites, Hobby Lobby.

We made it through the rest of the day without any major hiccups... well, except for one little thing. Turns out there is a spending limit set on my bank card. Didn't know since I've never exceeded it!

Well, I guess our mortgage hit our account on Black Friday as well. So, after that and my relatively large purchases at Walmart and Old Navy around 10:30 AM, I had to call and talk to the bank PRESIDENT to get a spending increase, because the day just wasn't about to end for me! We were just getting started!

I'd also like to add that this whole time, I was pumping and storing breastmilk. Yes, every 3 hours, I broke out the breastpump and cooler, listening to the sound that I am likely to never forget for as long as I live. Around 10 minutes later, I was done and good to go.

So last year I was somewhat nauseas and pregnant, and this year I was a traveling milk cow. Great. I can only imagine how next year is going to be!

Anyway, I hope everyone had a happy and *safe* Black Friday! I will be there again next year for sure!! As my sister-in-law Shawnda says, "Screw the turkey, let's shop for two days straight!!"

Riley Kate is 5 Months Old!

2009-12-03T20:42:00.005-06:00

Riley Kate turned 5 Months old on November 20th, just before Thanksgiving!

Her favorite new toys is her left foot. It now comes up and goes in her mouth. Just PERFECT for holding, sucking, and drooling all over. So darn cute though :-)

She's doing SO well in holding her head up now. She can get on her tummy and stretch her arms out all the way, and hold her head up as high as she can go. Also rolling over CONSTANTLY! The days of laying her down and expecting her to be in the same spot I left her are OVER! Always squirming, rolling, and scooting... will be crawling in no time for sure!

She wasn't scheduled for a wellness check, so I wasn't able to record her length and weight. These metrics are becoming more and more evident every day. Every time I *HEAVE* the carseat into the Yukon. Seriously, I count to three, swing the carrier back a little to get a little momentum, and almost but not quite fling the seat and latch it into the base, all while letting out a loud "UGGGGHH!" There's also the fact that after 5 minutes of holding her, my arm is asleep. She is now wearing 6 month old clothes, and filling them out quite well. So, I wasn't so eager to have her weighed and measured. I'll tell you right now, she's big and weighs a lot. Good enough for me. LOL

Still has the cutest darn smile I ever saw. Melts me every time. Those cheeks are just amazing. Makes me want to lean over and give her kisses.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-12-03T20:39:00.009-06:00

This Thanksgiving was a little extra special, of course!

I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful baby, family, and life.

We are so very blessed.

We spent Thanksgiving this year three times! Great-Grandma Billie Lou's and Grandma & Grandpa Kilian's were on Thursday, and Great-Granna's was on Saturday. Of course, Friday was set aside for *SHOPPING!*

It was really good to get to see all of our families. Really good.

Here's some pics:

Big Girl Food

2009-12-03T20:24:00.012-06:00

Riley's recently started eating "Big Girl Food!"

Thank goodness! Mommy FINALLY has a break on trying to keep her milk supply up with Riley's growing demand... This is a perfect solution. It only requires mixing a little milk in it, and it keeps her full for a LLLOOONNNGGG time!

Sounds easy, right?

HA.

HA. HA.

I have half a mind to call Mike Rowe in for his next episode of "Dirty Jobs." Mommy is always missing Riley's mouth, and when I do make it in her mouth, as soon as the spoon is out, the hand is in! Ha! So, ALL the food that just went in is now on her hand, and from her hand to the shirt, to the bumbo seat, to my hand again with the spoon..... And if the hand for some reason isn't immediately in her mouth, she'll grab the bib around her neck (which is supposed to be keeping her all nice and clean) and shove it in also!

Seriously, does anyone have Mike's #? :-)

I do love how it fills up her tum-tum... mmm mmm mmm!!

And BTW- as soon as I know the in's and out's, I am going to post "How to make your own baby food." A friend of mine supposedly has it mastered, from meats, to fruits and veggies. Saved 100's of dollars... I'm all for it. Anyway, I'll share that ASAP!

Working Girls

2009-11-11T19:37:00.013-06:00

Riley, Ryan and I all spent last weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Skaggs' house in Lamont. It was especially good to visit since my brother-in-law, Todd and his girlfriend, Corina, came up from Texas. We hadn't seen Todd since he came to see Riley when she was born, so it was really good to get to see him!

Of course, it wasn't all play for everyone, and there was work still to be done. So, we all came out to help.... except I forgot my work clothes and cowgirl boots.

Darn it.

Besides, someone had to supervise... :-)

Riley & I, Kelton, Corina & Kinsey, Grandma Maxie

Riley Kate

Riley & I, Corina, Kinsey sitting on Daddy' farm truck

Uncle Todd

Miss Kinsey Kay Proctor

Miss Carly Light

Carly, Riley, and I

My hubby, Ryan

Ryan's ummm.... Pliers

Kinsey's Cowgirl Boots

Cowboy Kelton

Movin' cattle

Catching the cow in the chute

Moo!

Ear-tagging

Worm Medicine

Branding

And... Let's just say the Bulls don't particulary like this gadget

You can imagine why...

And with that being said, I'll leave it up to your imagination... kind of makes me feel bad for the bulls, but that's life!

Kinda hungry for a hamburger right now... ha!

BOO!

2009-11-11T19:21:00.003-06:00

I know Halloween was like 2 weeks ago... but

Riley and I wanted to show everyone what we practiced on Halloween!

"BOO!"

(AAAH! That's Scary!)

(Evil Laugh- Hahahaha!)

Our Anniversary

2009-10-31T12:39:00.003-05:00

Ryan and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary last Tuesday the 27th. He took me out to the Rancher's Club steakhouse and then to the movies to see "Law Abiding Citizen." (which btw was a really good movie)

Just wanted to say I still think I am the luckiest girl in the world.

I love you!!

Plbbbbblllbbbbb!!!

2009-10-31T12:32:00.003-05:00

Plbbbbblllbbbbb!!! Plbbbbblllbbbbb!!! Plbbbbblllbbbbb!!!

No, these are not typos.

This is the wonderful gibberish I get to listen to every day now. Riley has discovered how to blow bubbles and roll her lips. I had to share since, as with all the new things she learns from day to day, she REALLY gets a kick out of it!

There are no words...

2009-10-31T12:26:00.002-05:00

There are no words to describe this next video.

A sound of delight that is so.... so... just HAPPY.

I love this video. It just cracks me up!

Enjoy!!

Riley Kate is 4 Months Old!

2009-10-23T19:35:00.017-05:00

Riley Kate turned 4 months old on the 20th, and her health and weight check was today. She is now in the 75th percentile on all of her measurements! She is tipping the scales at 14 lbs, 2 oz and was 24.75 in long! Our little girl is sure getting big!!

She is beginning to get really playful and is sooo much fun! Our living room is full of pillows, blankets to play on, her play gym, jumperoo, bumbo seat... plenty of good stuff for Daddy to trip over!!! :-)

I have some cool videos of her to share. I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again, she is one active chica! I think just watching this video again made me tired! It's so funny though! She just loves her play gym!

She has discovered standing, and LOVES to flex her leg muscles. Mommy put together the Jumperoo that Aunt Shawnda let us borrow... Riley gets a kick out of it!

Some other good news... Riley has been discharged from PT this month! Mommy and Daddy are sooo glad to not have to worry about that anymore. No surgery, no collar, no more stretches, no more PT visits! It is so nice that Great Granna still comes to watch Riley once a week. Riley has so much fun with her, and by the end of the day, completely wears Great Granna out!

Still chewing and sucking on her fingers.... A LOT! I am willing to bet that 90% of the day the fist is in her mouth. And if she doesn't have her fingers in her mouth, the next best thing is whatever's closest- my hand, wrist, shoulder...

Her favorite spot in the house is definitely the changing table. I don't know why. Maybe its the nakedness, the fact that soon she'll have dry, clean britches. Who knows. But every single time I lay her down there, we have the best conversations, the most fun playing, and she is always, always kicking!

Mommy and Riley have spent the last few weekends in Wichita with Pa and Grammie since Daddy was away. The first weekend in October we went to Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard, KS.

It was so cool. Located right in the middle of a housing edition, this property of 20 - 30 exhibits, had beautiful waterfall displays and included exotic as well as petting zoo type animals. Some of the exotic animals included lemurs, monkeys, giraffe, leopards, birds, camels, zebra, penguins, kangaroo, and one BIG rhino!

What was especially neat about this place was the contact you got to have. We didn't take advantage of this much since Riley was with us, but you had the opportunity to actually walk among most of the animals.

Of course, you couldn't enter the rhino's den. But the lemurs, camels, birds, were definitely friendly enough to have visitors around them!

The animal's caretakers would tell you fun facts and a little bit about the animals and what they like and don't like. Also, at the front entrance was a nursery with windows overlooking cages of all the baby animals! So cute! I wish I had pictures of them to post!

Here's some other fun pics from this last month.

Playing with Grammie

Sleeping in Mommy's old chilly basement bedroom from highschool

Going out to eat with Pa and Grammie

I'm still trying my hardest and doing my best to capture the moments. She's growing up and changing so fast. I told Ryan the other day, "At the rate she's going and judging by how much she likes standing, I bet she doesn't crawl long, she'll be walking REAL SOON." So there I have my guess in writing. I may be wrong, but I may be right though! We'll have to see!!!

And The Little One Said, "Roll Over!"

2009-10-10T20:23:00.003-05:00

"...there were ten in the bed and the little one said, 'Roll Over!' So, they all rolled over and one fell off, there were nine in the bed and the little one said, 'Roll Over!'"

This was a song that we sang in music class when I was in grade school. I had one of the best music teachers growing up. She was so much fun. Her name was Ms. Payne. While singing this song, we'd all actually lay down on the floor next to eachother and roll while singing. Imagine almost 2 dozen little kids rolling around on the floor in unison... we just loved it!

Anyway, today I was reminded of this song when Riley rolled over for the first time! :-) She was been twisting and turning a lot more now, but hasn't been able to complete the turn until now!

I was watching TV and happened to lay her in her boppy pillow for a minute. I looked at her and thought, "Now I had better move the coffee table over a little bit, just in case she rolls off of that..." Thank goodness I did! I turned back and was watching my show and out of the corner of my eye, she tumbles off the pillow, lands on her tummy, and begins to do a push up! It didn't even phase her!

Granted, she had a little help from being on her boppy pillow that has a slight slope. But, it still counts as her first trip up and over on her own!

Jackpot!

2009-10-06T19:14:00.004-05:00

We've hit the entertainment jackpot for 3 month olds... Riley LOVES her new Baby Einstein play gym! She just kicks, coos, and practically screams with delight! You'll see what I mean in this video! She loves reaching for the hanging toys and the music that plays. We can leave her playing with this for 30 minutes straight! It is awesome! What a great way to help her develop hand-eye coordination, motor skills, and have fun!

Riley's 1st Professional Photoshoot!

2009-10-02T18:28:00.003-05:00

I took Riley to the city today to have her 3 month pictures taken. She wasn't exactly thrilled about it, and it took 3 different tries to get enough shots/poses to make it worth the trip, but we finally made it! First she got hungry, then she needed a break since she was fussy, and we finally called it quits when shen started looking drowsy. She was asleep in my arms while I choose her shots! Still, they really turned out pretty good! I'm just glad they weren't completely booked this morning! Here's the ones we got: