So we officially have a sick baby. She's been congested and stuffy before (allergies, we think), and over the past week and a half had developed a stuffy nose again. After a few days it appeared to be getting better, but evidently it didn't. The verdict today: Ear infection in both ears (to quote her pediatrician, "Her ears are a mess"), and an upper respiratory infection to go along with that. Not fun. That certainly explains the sudden restless sleeping at night and bouts of crying at random intervals throughout (of course the diaper rash was not a big help either). But at least now we have the antibiotics going, so she should be back to her old self in no time.
Somehow though, she still finds plenty to laugh and talk about, so that's a good thing at least.
A few other random thoughts...after 10 months she will finally wear shoes. We had tried to put shoes on her several times before, but she just would not have any part of that whatsoever. The new ones are a bit softer, so we think that has made the difference. The bottom line though is that she doesn't mind them, so now we can stop being those parents who never have shoes on their baby in public. ;)
And for record, finally, after almost two years...we have hummingbirds consistently. Of course just in time for migration.
Whatever we were talking about was very important...
We made our annual Labor Day trip to Nana and Granddaddy's for the Doss Fish Fry, a fund raiser event for their local volunteer fire department. It is held literally in the middle of nowhere, and is attended by at least a few thousand people who gather for good times, good food (fried catfish) and interesting music (an old couple singing, one playing the drum and guitar...at the same time, and one playing an accordion). Riley was not very pleased with the event initially due to the number of strange people around...not that the people were literally strange (ok, maybe a few were)...but they were strange to her. So she wanted no part of anyone other than mommy or daddy...and mostly mommy. However, as the evening progressed, so did her mood. Eventually she perked up and was clapping and dancing (bobbing her head) to the music, and looking around and talking to everyone. Of course by this time it was time to head back to Nana and Granddaddy's house for her bedtime, but before we left she did get her first taste of the single greatest creation on earth: Chocolate. And she loved it. Next year should be even more fun, at which time she will be almost two.
She has not typically been a good traveler, and feels obligated to let us hear about it for the entire 300+ mile journey. And while this trip was not without its moments on the road, it was a definite improvement over the past few we've made. So hopefully this is a sign of good things ahead. While we were there, she discovered the stairs. And once she discovered them and realized she could climb them, that's all she wanted to do. After the first time, she had it down to a science (if stair climbing can be considered a science), and was up both sets of stairs faster than Oklahoma's football season ended on Saturday (Sorry, Sooner fans). It was a lot of fun watching her go up...and even better when she thought she could turn around and come back down face first. We'll work on coming down them at Thanksgiving. All in all, it was a very good trip, and in spite of her being stuffy (again) while we were there, a good time was had by all.
(She also saw her first deer on this trip)
(Forgive the dirty door. It's called two dogs and a 9 month old)
(First taste of daddy's...via Papa's recipe...lasagna).
Today we decided to take her for her first haircut. She did not need much cut other than her bangs, which have been hanging down in her eyes now for longer than they probably should have been. Neither of us were quite sure how this one would go, since her reaction to and mood around strangers can be hard to predict. But we were prepared for the worst going in. To our surprise, it went very well, and although she seemed a little scared or unsure about the whole thing, she handled it nicely, up until the very end. She had a snazzy little yellow taxi cab in which to sit, and the lady cutting her hair was very friendly. However when the hair dryer made a brief appearance, the water works started, but they ended quickly.
After the haircut we stopped off at Target for a little "Boudreaux's Butt-Paste" (has there ever been a better named product than this one? I think not.) for her diaper rash, and a new toy. While standing in the toy aisle, the water works started up again. Except this time it was Mommy. "Her hair is totally blonde now!", or something to that effect, was mentioned, and the tears were flowing, accompanied with laughter as well. Wait...what? :) I was not sure how to handle this one, so I did what every caring husband would do and told her "You're a wreck." In the end it had hit her that the hair she was born with had just been cut (although the back and sides were not touched, so we still have the original and authentic Riley hair in place there), and gone are the natural brown tips that everyone oohed and ahhed over, so afterwards the emotions made more sense. All in all it was a fun trip.
Backing up a bit, earlier this past week she had what must have been the absolute best sweet potatoes EVER. If you don't believe it, judge for yourself from the pictures. Sweet potatoes and also blueberry pancakes are undoubtedly her favorite food at the moment. Someday I hope to find a food I enjoy this much. Until then, I suppose we will live vicariously through her on this one. 
(Don't worry, she didn't make it)
First the good stuff. We had the 9 month wellness check-up on Friday, and everything is right on track. 29 1/4 inches long (95th percentile) and 19.6 lbs (60th percentile). No shots this time, so that was a good thing, but unfortunately they had to jab the big toe to get blood for an iron-level test. That wasn't fun, but the crying died down quickly, as opposed to when the shots are in play. Still no signs of teeth yet, but we're assuming they'll be here soon. If not, do they make baby dentures?
Later on Friday, we had a visit from Barrett, her friend from down the street. As you can see, they enjoyed hanging out. Barrett tried to take her juice cup, but in his defense...it did look pretty tasty. :) They had a nice chit-chat about who knows what...the weather (too hot) and naps (too short) perhaps.
Today we made a trip to see two of her future friends, Eva and Jacob Steiner, the twins of Rebecca and Terry who came into the world late yesterday, and for the record all are doing well, including the new dad from the looks of it. It started off as a nice trip, as most trips usually do. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case for long. On the way there we had planned to stop off at Medical City to pick up a new box of "Simply Thick", the thickener we have to mix in with her formula and juice due to her aspirating (hopefully coming to an end soon). It can be tough to locate, and the prices can vary wildly if you do find it. We go through about one box each month at $50 a pop, so looking forward to those days coming to an end whenever.
Now, one would think that the pharmacy/drug-store of a hospital would have Saturday hours. Not the case. So now it's 4:00 and we haven't even made it to see the twins yet. We panic, because we absolutely must have this stuff. Call #1 to Granddaddy and Nana to go online and look up locations for us which sell it. No answer. Call #2 to Papa and Nana for the same thing. They are in the car, nowhere near a computer. Finally Uncle Greg saved the day and found a couple of locations, one of which, as luck would have it, is located at the very hospital we're heading to for the visit with the twins. As we round the corner...lights off. Seriously? Two hospital pharmacies, two closed. Brilliant.
So we go up to visit for a bit with the plan of heading to the other location Uncle Greg gave us afterward. During the visit, Rebecca mentioned that their (hers and mommy's) work has some Simply Thick for the babies they see who may need it. Excellent. So now we can just stop by there on the way home and borrow a few packs until Monday, at which point we re-stock them. This location is about 10-15 minutes north of the second pharmacy we had learned of which sells it. See where this is going? We get there...and there is no "Simply Thick" to be found. Turns out they had run out a short while ago and have not re-ordered. So, after all is said and done we go almost the whole way back from which we had just come, and finally arrived at the location which does sell it (and was actually open). Naturally, their price was nearly double what we usually pay, but luckily they had a smaller box, so we took that until we can buy from our usual place on Monday. Good...grief. All did end well, however, and she was in quite a good mood when we got home, and enjoyed her evening dinner of sweet potatos and bananas. Finally, we were introduced to a new face today. Her "grumpy old man" look, as mommy calls it. 
(Somehow, she has seen 80's punk rocker Billy Idol I think)
Today we went over to the Owens Big Orange Pumpkin Farm (http://www.bobevans.com/ourfarms/springcreekfarm/pumpkin.aspx). A little chilly out, but we had a good time. Riley was far more interested in the other people (and babies) than she was the pumpkins. And I'm pretty sure she was just as annoyed with this one particular lady taking pictures as I was. :)
Also recently, just in time for Halloween, we adopted a black cat named Patton. Technically Patty since she's a female, but Patton sounds so much better, and like the General, she is quite the mischievous character. 
(One of her her favorite activities: pulling books off the shelf)
