A little behind on the update, but two weeks vacation can be rough! My Christmas started a little early due to an unexpected (and very last minute) trip to South Carolina for a few days. In the end all ended up being well but I believe it was a blessing in disguise as I was on the verge of not seeing my parents for either holiday for the first time ever. Instead I ended up spending a few days with them the weekend before Christmas and in the process also got to see most of my closest aunts, uncles, and cousins whom I had not seen since 2006 or longer. So that was fantastic.
Back home in Texas, we were not expecting a white Christmas, but we got one anyway.
Santa was very good to everyone this year. Riley got tons of new toys, Mommy got a netbook she had been wanting, and I got a new camera.
This Christmas had a lot of twists and turns in the planning. Originally Nana and Papa were coming out, but due to Papa's on-going treatment, that was not possible and due to Riley's well documented travel attitude, we could not make the drive there this year. So the plan changed to Lubbock, TX to spend Christmas with Melissa's grandmother and the gang. However two things prevented that from happening as well: 1. Riley was sick with, among other things, an ear infection, cold, and just a hint of tonsilitis for over two weeks and 2. That unexpected white Christmas thing prohibited any journeys to west Texas. So in the end Nana and Granddaddy ended up joining us at our place for Christmas.
Christmas morning was a lot of fun watching Riley scope out all of the unexpected new arrivals under the tree. It did not take her long to figure out most of them were for her. Among her favorite items were a toy vacuum (same color as mommy's), a stroller for her baby dolls, her very own chair, and Scout (stuffed animal who talks). A last minute Christmas lunch was thrown together very nicely with me and Granddaddy frying the turkey...after a few technical glitches with the fryer...and Melissa and Nana taking care of the baking and other various items. Everyone had a great time, especially Riley, who loved all of her gifts...and loved even more all the boxes and paper in which they came.
For New Year's Eve we decided to venture out to eat dinner for the first time in a while. We settled on one of our favorite places, Nate's (http://www.natesseafood.com). We had to arrive a little early for dinner since Riley has an early bed time, but it was a good time...even though we did practically inhale our red fish in record timing since she had been quite fussy and we were not entirely sure how long her good mood in the restaurant may last. Luckily it did last long enough and while there she more or less said or screamed "Heeeey!" to any and everyone who walked by our table. In the end we made it home right on time for her bath and bedtime. Then Melissa and I rang in 2010 in style...both sound asleep by 10:30pm! :)So now we venture into a new year full of many surprises and new journeys. If it is anything like 2009, we will have no shortage of unexpected, entertaining, and fun-filled moments.
What a difference between Thanksgiving 2008...
and Thanksgiving 2009.
We spent a few days with Nana and Granddaddy this year, along with Uncle Greg and Aunt Jenny (and Jenny's dad, Doug). The trip down was a slight improvement over recent trips in the car, however the trip back home more than made up for it. Yo Gabba Gabba ( http://www.yogabbagabba.com) is a very good attention holder for a while, but DJ Lance and the gang can only do so much. And prayers for sanity and strength for the duration of the trip are in abundance, and also unanswered. :) As a side note, 1-35 North has seen the last of us. Worst stretch of highway I have personally ever traveled, and that includes many trips through Atlanta and DC, plus daily commutes in Dallas.
She had a very good first Thanksgiving dinner, eating a bit of green bean casserole and macaroni, but she mostly wanted the turkey (fried of course), and was not a big fan of dressing (yet).
While there we took a trip over to see Billy and Sandra's alpacas, and Riley was quite intrigued. To her they were probably big dogs. :) I wanted to bring one back but mommy usually doesn't approve of my endless list of wanted animals (tiger, cheetah cub, cow, goat, alpaca, monkey...this could take a while so let's leave it there for now.)
This has been a good few weeks for her as far as cake goes. She was able to enjoy a bit of mine and Uncle Greg's birthday cake. One thing is certain: When it comes to cake, she does not disappoint as far as the much anticipated mess everyone hopes for.
Finally, she resumed one of favorite activities: climbing the stairs.
Eventually we ended up moving Raider's carrier to block the steps. If not, the better part of our days would have been spent following her up the stairs, then carrying her back down so that she could go back up. Rinse. And repeat!
It is hard to even imagine all the changes we will see this time next year. But with another Thanksgiving behind us and another year headed toward the finish line, we are very thankful and blessed for having Riley in our lives. We are thankful for all of our family in TX and SC...and the other states too!...but we can't name them all. :) Thankful for two loving sets of grandparents and a loving Aunt and Uncle. Last but not least, very much thankful for Papa's health and recent positive prognosis as his treatments start tomorrow...oddly enough on my birthday...and will end on New Year's Eve just in time to ring in a healthy 2010.
Today we went in for the 12 month wellness checkup...a few weeks late. And it was almost a few more weeks late. After getting caught in traffic, we were behind for our appointment. Our doctor gives a 10 minute window, and after that you must reschedule. Melissa dropped us off at the door and we hurried up to the 3rd floor and checked in with two minutes to spare.Riley weighed in at 22 lbs 10 oz (75% Percentile), which as you can see she was not very happy about (girls!), and she measured 31 inches long (95% percentile...or "top of the charts" according to Dr. Kaplan). Her exam went very well, and the doctor said her development is at a 15 month level...not too shabby!
The down side, of course, were the shots. Chicken Pox, Measles, and prevnar. Needless to say the reaction to those was not a good one. Although shortly after she did have her first sucker, a bubble gum flavored one, so that helped a little at least.She seems to take a step or two more every day. So far (we think) the furthest she has gone, unassisted and without anything to grab on to, is around 10-12 feet. And even more remarkably, this week she actually ventured out on to the lawn. :) Ok, probably not that big of a deal but up until now the most she has done is stay on the sidewalk and touch the grass, never actually going on to it. 
Among her longest journeys thus far...Next up: Thanksgiving!
On Saturday we formally celebrated her first birthday with family and friends. Thanks to everyone...Nana and Granddaddy (thanks to Granddaddy for the delicious brisket later that evening), Uncle Greg and Aunt Jenny (whose dog, Raider, she was most fascinated with...at least until he wanted to lick her face), the Browns, the Barners & Barrett, the Steiners & the twins Jacob and Eva, Tonise & Olivia (especially her best pal Olivia!), and Ralph, for all coming out to make it a great time for all, most importantly of course for the birthday girl. Due to circumstances beyond their control Nana and Papa were unable to make it, but they did get to enjoy some webcam time earlier in the day.
Thus far Riley has not been a big fan of big crowds in any setting, so we were not quite sure how she would handle 20 or so people in our house. At first things were a little uncertain, and she more or less kept her distance and hung out with one of her play-sets.
But once Olivia arrived all was well. The two of them ran (or crawled) around together and, as you can see, had quite a time together.
After some food...
...
and mingling time it was time to get down to business...presents! At first she was mostly interested in the wrapping paper, so Mommy and I ended up doing all of the unwrapping. Then her attention shifted to one of the picture books we gave her, and that was pretty much the only thing that held her attention until we opened the Little Miss Sunshine doll. The next morning though she realized she had quite a few new attention holders and she really enjoyed her Laugh & Learn Learning Home, as well as her Discovery Playhouse, Busy Gears, cookie jar, and her new "purse"...complete with money, lipstick, and bracelet of course. In addition to those fun things she also got some more much needed items...more clothes!
Earlier in the week (on her actual birthday) Mommy and I took her to Stride Rite for her first pair of "real" shoes. She wasn't all too interested in the sales guy, but she was more than interested in seeing the rest of the store on her own. As for the shoes, we, and she, liked them a lot. But seriously...how do baby sneakers cost as much as my own?
Finally it was on to more important business...cake! This cake deserves a little background though. Uncle Greg and I went to pick up the cake, a two tiered one with an owl on the front, earlier that morning. While we were very happy with the outcome, the ride home entailed Greg sweating it out while balancing the cake on his lap and us both praying none of the idiot Dallas drivers pulled out in front of us or stopped suddenly. Just in case disaster awaited us, I took a picture with the cell phone to prove that at least for a while we did have a very cool cake. Fortunately after a stop off to pick up a few more items for the party, we returned safely, and Uncle Greg spent the next hour in a dark room decompressing after that stressful ride. Ok, not really...but I am positive he felt like it. ;)
So back to the cake...we had given her a practice cupcake earlier in the week to see how she would handle it, and she handled that very well. In fact she was covered almost from head to toe in chocolate.
So we were pretty confident her cake would be a hit. Though it was a different color from the cupcake...pink instead of dark brown...it did not take her long to realize that it tasted just as good, and she dug right into the icing. She never really made it to the cake, but who cares...the icing is the best part anyway. For the record, I would like to officially recognize Mommy for 1. Delivering such a fantastic daughter. 2. Making all of the party decorations seen in the pictures. and 3. Everything else!
A little behind on the update, but two weeks vacation can be rough! My Christmas started a little early due to an unexpected (and very last minute) trip to South Carolina for a few days. In the end all ended up being well but I believe it was a blessing in disguise as I was on the verge of not seeing my parents for either holiday for the first time ever. Instead I ended up spending a few days with them the weekend before Christmas and in the process also got to see most of my closest aunts, uncles, and cousins whom I had not seen since 2006 or longer. So that was fantastic.
Back home in Texas, we were not expecting a white Christmas, but we got one anyway.
Santa was very good to everyone this year. Riley got tons of new toys, Mommy got a netbook she had been wanting, and I got a new camera.
This Christmas had a lot of twists and turns in the planning. Originally Nana and Papa were coming out, but due to Papa's on-going treatment, that was not possible and due to Riley's well documented travel attitude, we could not make the drive there this year. So the plan changed to Lubbock, TX to spend Christmas with Melissa's grandmother and the gang. However two things prevented that from happening as well: 1. Riley was sick with, among other things, an ear infection, cold, and just a hint of tonsilitis for over two weeks and 2. That unexpected white Christmas thing prohibited any journeys to west Texas. So in the end Nana and Granddaddy ended up joining us at our place for Christmas.
Christmas morning was a lot of fun watching Riley scope out all of the unexpected new arrivals under the tree. It did not take her long to figure out most of them were for her. Among her favorite items were a toy vacuum (same color as mommy's), a stroller for her baby dolls, her very own chair, and Scout (stuffed animal who talks). A last minute Christmas lunch was thrown together very nicely with me and Granddaddy frying the turkey...after a few technical glitches with the fryer...and Melissa and Nana taking care of the baking and other various items. Everyone had a great time, especially Riley, who loved all of her gifts...and loved even more all the boxes and paper in which they came.
For New Year's Eve we decided to venture out to eat dinner for the first time in a while. We settled on one of our favorite places, Nate's (http://www.natesseafood.com). We had to arrive a little early for dinner since Riley has an early bed time, but it was a good time...even though we did practically inhale our red fish in record timing since she had been quite fussy and we were not entirely sure how long her good mood in the restaurant may last. Luckily it did last long enough and while there she more or less said or screamed "Heeeey!" to any and everyone who walked by our table. In the end we made it home right on time for her bath and bedtime. Then Melissa and I rang in 2010 in style...both sound asleep by 10:30pm! :)
