Pretty Blue Eyes

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”

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!

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!!!!

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!

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

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!

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

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!

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!

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!