Riley is 7 Months Old!

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!

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!

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

Bye Aunt Lanie!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!