Keeping busy!

Finally able to blog - at last! Hopefully it will continue. We have been so busy with Christmas shopping, Jason's night school and me trying to get my appeals done. It's hard to do with Riley here. Naps just aren't long enough! I wish we had family closer to watch her sometimes - I am sure they would enjoy it too! Things will be so much easier when I get caught up on my work.
Riley is doing great and getting so big. She started crawling up on me today and just took her hand off me and stood up on her own. I was shocked. It only lasted for three second, but that seemed like a long time! She waves goodbye now and "loves" Baby Einstein videos. She is also able to throw quite a tantrum now. Sometimes I can't believe how those fits can come out of her. For instance, I put her down at 7:00 for bed and she is in her crib screaming like you wouldn't believe. It's 7:42 right now. She will probably keep going until 8:00, but the good news is is she will sleep all night in her crib until about 7:00. Since we were out shopping today she is overtired and very miserable. We have a doctor's appointment for Riley tomorrow where she will be weighed and given her second flu shot.
Talk to you all later.

Building some snowmen!

 

Riley and Scout

 

More Thanksgiving pics - with a view!

 

Computer Trouble!

First of all, I want to say Happy 75th Birthday to my Grandma Marchant. There was a big surprise party for her. My grandma had no idea there would be a surprise party, so it was quite a success. All of her children were there and friends she hadn't seen in years. It sounded like quite a turnout! Wish our family could have been there also. Hopefully we will be able to make the trip for the family reunion in July...or is it June?

I am not able to post pics due to the fact that we are having a lot of computer problems right now. Jason hooked up wireless Internet, and while it's a very neat concept, it's driving me crazy because it's messing up a lot of things. I am getting a lot of my e-mails back and it's usually a few days after I write the letter. So sorry that I am not able to keep in touch better with you all.

Riley is doing great. We have been working on sleeping with her. It is going great. As a matter of fact, she is asleep right now! She now puts herself to sleep in her crib for her naptimes. December 3rd she slept in her crib overnight. That's right - she had been sleeping with us up to this point! Isn't that terrible? I started this terrible sleeping arrangement when I was working but wanted to keep breastfeeding her and didn't want to get up at all hours of the night. Having Riley sleep with us was very enjoyable for Jason and I , but the time had come (like three months ago actually) for Riley to be in her own bed. She slept great in her crib last night and all is going well. Riley made a new friend, Lauren, which is Jason's cousin's baby. Lauren's age is a year and-a-half, and she is quite a cutie. We had a very nice dinner with their family and Riley loved their little girl. Lauren's mother, Danielle, was holding Riley when Riley decided that she "needed" to give Lauren a kiss. She grabbed Lauren's shirt and just kept pulling Lauren closer to her. Riley was very focused on this kiss and wouldn't give up. Poor Lauren wasn't too sure what to think about Riley. Finally, Riley succeeded and planted a big sloppy open-mouth kiss right on Lauren's cheek. When Riley sees something she likes, usually her stuffed toys, she wants to kiss them.

Brayden's (Riley's cousin) eye procedure went well, although was very scary and uncomfortable for him for a while. Unfortunately, I can't write Sue to find out how he is doing, but hopefully he got through this weekend and all is well. The doctor said everything went great and as it should. We wish him all the best.

New Friends - Riley and Scout

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

My mom put together a beautiful dinner for us. Thank you for the good food and company! Unfortunately, Dad was sick, but felt better by the end of our visit.

Thanksgiving Dinner

 

Riley's First Thanksgiving Dinner

 

Riley loved her Thanksgiving Day dinner. Her favorite part.....Pumpkin Pie!

Conquering the Bird!

 

A Mover and a Shaker!

Riley loves to climb on anything in sight. She especially loves it when mom and dad get on the floor so she can climb on them!

Climbing Mt. Everest!

 

Hi Everyone!

 

Riley Loves Bears!

In the hopes of getting Riley to like her bedroom, before and after a nap I will have her greet her bears in her room with a kiss and a hug. Yesterday when we were sitting in the living room I handed her her Teddybear and said, "Give him a kiss, Riley." She opened up wide and shoved the Teddybear in her mouth. Thinking this was just another "I must put everyting in my mouth" moment, I said it again. Sure enough, she opened up wide with a big smile and did it again. Now I just need her to give us a kiss and hug!

Riley's First Kiss

 

Coming Home for Christmas!

We just received news that my Uncle Clayton from New Orleans will be going to my Grandma Joyce's for Christmas. We are so excited. That just makes the holidays so much fun. My grandma is going to have a full house this Christmas. Here are a couple pics of my Uncle's last visit with us. After the devestation in New Orleans he took a trip on his motorcycle and visited family. Riley just loves her Great Uncle, and I must say I do too and am glad that he will be with his family over the holidays. We will take good care of him!!!

Biker Babe!

 

Riley with her "Great Uncle"

 

Thoughts and Prayers for Brayden

Jason's mom just e-mailed us and told us Brayden will have to have surgery on December 1st to repair an eye problem. He is the sweetest little boy you could ever know. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. I am sure he will be up and at them though in no time. That's just the kind of boy he is!

Cousin Brayden

 

What a sweetie!

 

Nothin like a good read!

 

Seahawk's Victory!

Riley helped her Dad and Grandpa root on the Seahawks this past weekend. They ended up winning 33 to 19. Jason is sure it is due to the pink Seahawk's hat and she will be wearing it for every Seahawk's game. Never mind the pink couch. We are getting our couch cover dry cleaned!

Pink Seahawks Hat

 

Cheering on the Home Team

 

Some Pics of Riley under the weather

Riley was feeling pretty miserable in these pics. She had her first cold during our move. A lot of fun it was for her - and Jason and I.

 

Enjoying a soak in the hot tub

Riley loves the water - and her Daddy.

What a pair of crack-ups!

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Riley enjoying a fruit roll-up. 

Hear Riley Roar!

What a great first Halloween! We ended up going to a party that was held at our grocery store. Jason had school that evening but decided to be a little late to spend time with Riley. She got great treats and tried a fruit roll-up for the first time and loved it.

Riley's first Halloween dressed up as a lion. 

RILEY'S PROFILE FOR OCTOBER 2005

Favorite Color: Pink

Favorite Food: Sweet Potatoes and Peas

Favorite Drink: Breastmilk

Favorite Dessert: Applesause

Favorite CD: Martina McBride and Keith Urban

Favorite Read: 'Happy Baby Words' by Roger Priddy. I enjoy this book because I "love" looking at other kids and watching them play and this book has plenty of that going on. It also has a picture of a cat that I love.

Hobbies: Playing Patty Cake, Peek-a-Boo and searching the floor for exciting new items. This is especially fun when Mom hasn't vaccumed yet.

Pet Peeves: When Mom vaccums. I also hate nap times. I do everything I can to stay awake. I find that shaking my head back and forth a lot works very effectively. If all else fails, just scream until Mom and Dad give in. I have a lot more endurance than they do so this is good too.

New accomplishments: This month I have learned a lot. I am scooting. Okay - so it's not crawling, but it gets me to where I need to get. Mom and Dad are trying to teach me to crawl, but I am really enjoying the scooting method and think that it works just fine. Sometimes I like to get Mom and Dad excited by getting on all fours and move my back legs as if I am crawling, but then I just crawl in place. It's funny to see them scramble around for all the cameras in the place. I am able to get from a sitting position to the crawling position. I can pick up any item, regardless of how small it is. I like to taste EVERYTHING. I have amazing vocal chords and have started to find my range this month (very loud).

Finally up and running!

Dear Family and Friends,
This is our first blog and we are so excited to be able to keep family members updated with pics and stories of Riley and other family happenings. Hopefully this will be a fun and enjoyable tool to keep family members up to date. Please check in periodically as I plan to update several times a week and please feel free to post your comments.