Daddy love 09/09/2010
This morning, Riley took a 3 hour nap. That would have been wonderful, except we had planned a day of shopping with her, and she slept WAY longer than we thought so our plan kind of got ruined. But at about the 2.5 hour mark of her nap, I handed her to Mark in hopes that she would wake up, and I ran to get a snack from the kitchen. When I came back, this is what I saw...  It was honestly too precious for words. But of course she finally woke up. Hellllllloooo baby blues.  She is getting so much more fun every single day. She smiles so much more now, and she is so alert and interested in the things around her. She has also started to really show me that she knows I'm her momma. I mean, I know she could always tell me apart from other people, but she's just recently started to stop crying when she is in my arms (as opposed to a stranger's). Not all the time of course, but it's clear that she's comforted by ME in particular, which makes me feel like I'm doing something right! In other news, Riley sucked her thumb for the first time today. Twice. Not for very long, as she's still not totally coordinated with her hands, but it definitely happened. She's been totally into sucking her hands/fingers for about a week now, but just can't quite get her thumb in there. But today she managed to do it. And to be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about it. On one hand I was so excited. (1) Because it's so darn cute and (2) because then she can self-soothe and I don't have to keep stuffing that damn paci back in her mouth when she spits it out. BUT. Thumb sucking is a hard habit to break down the road. I can take away a pacifier. I can't take away a thumb. So we'll see. I'm not going to keep her from sucking her thumb right now, but I'm just not sure if I'm excited about her learning how to do it. I tried to get a picture of it, but of course she stopped right when the camera came out. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. For now, we sleep... (I don't dare snap a photo of her actually sleeping and risk waking her up. No no no)  The bouncer 09/08/2010
Mark is just dying for little Riley to be big enough to use a bouncer. She kicks her legs constantly, and she loves to stand up when we're holding her, so her legs are already pretty strong. But her neck is clearly not strong enough yet (not to mention the fact that her little legs don't even reach the floor), so she's just going to have to wait until she's a bit older and bigger. But that didn't stop Mark from letting her test it out...  Not so sure about this new toy...  The little leggies just don't quite reach.  Oh this little one is going to love love love this bouncer when she gets older. I can tell. But for now? We get our entertainment by playing Wii fit. HA. She was fascinated by the soccer heading game. And I was horrible at it. The game called me "unbalanced." Eh.  We have had such a busy weekend (and beginning of the week), but tomorrow we have absolutely NO plans! Maybe we can even have a picnic in the park! I am loving this California vacation! Saying farewell to friends 09/07/2010
Today, April and Foxy went their separate ways, and we were once again left with a quiet house. It makes me a little sad to know that the next time April (potentially) sees Riley she will be 6 months old, and the next time Foxy sees her she will be a year old!! I so wish they could watch her grow up with me, but I guess this blog will have to suffice. It's just not the same in New Zealand without them! A few farewell photos... Getting mad...  Madder...  And now we're all so sad...  But after a few snuggles with mommy, she calmed down enough to take a few cute ones. Is it just me, or is she all of a sudden looking so much bigger??   We are definitely going to be missing Apey and Foxy. :( Aunt Jennie 09/06/2010
Riley got to meet her Aunt Jennie for the first time this weekend. Aunt Jennie is studying to be a smarty pants doctor, so sadly she could only stay for about 36 hours, but Riley seemed to know just how special her Aunt Jennie was right away. Wine in one hand, sleeping baby in the other, what more could you ask for??     She's going to miss her Aunt Jennie. But at least she still has Grandma to read her stories.   And this little one loooooves story time. And she's just starting to really like looking at the pictures on the pages, and it is so very cute. She is so very lucky to have such a great family that loves her so much. September 5 09/05/2010
In one of the blogs that I often read, I was touched by something she wrote. She said, "If your first name is common and your last name defines you, then what lies in the middle is the mystery of who you are, the secret of what lies within." And it sort of stopped me in my tracks, and I read it over a few times, and couldn't help but smile, and pat myself on the back for choosing "Katherine" as Riley's middle name. A beautiful name, a name with meaning. A name that belonged to someone amazing. Today would have been Katherine's 21st birthday. A day she was SO looking forward to. Today, she would have gotten to meet her little baby niece. There are a lot of "would haves" that I could list. But those "would haves" didn't get to be. And we've spent our time being sad, and asking why, and then being mad. And some days, I still feel like that. But today, on Katherine's birthday, we baptized our baby girl, and it was a happy, happy day. We chose a middle name for her that is so very special, and we baptized her on a day that is so very special. And it was perfect. And you know what? Today I couldn't help but think about our little baby girl, and her middle name, and how I can already see some little bits of my sister in her. And how I can't wait to tell her all about her Aunt Katherine, her namesake. Oh what a day it was.     And Baby Bug's amazing godparents, Jennie and Philip (the Duffys... hehe.)  And maybe the best part of the day... YUM!  And somehow, we didn't manage to get a single picture of her in her baptism gown. So we're going to have to put her back in it just for the sake of taking pictures. We'll save that for another post. And she got to meet all her relatives (some of my cousins). Riley is camera shy, apparently.  Meet the baby!! 09/04/2010
Oh what a day. Riley was bombarded with visitors, and I think she just loved all the attention. I mean, who wouldn't love people telling you how gorgeous and precious you are all day long??  She met some of my friends from high school, and some friends from college. She wore her little party dress and was passed around from person to person. And I must say, I do love watching other people love and adore my baby. It makes me so very happy. And proud. And Riley Bug loves to make funny new faces for the camera.  And she is getting so very strong.   And does this picture not make her look like she's like 20 pounds??? Mwah!  And we have yet another big day tomorrow, it's Riley's baptism!! Stay tuned for TONS of pictures! Riley Bug is loved 09/03/2010
Everybody loves a baby. But especially THIS baby.  Over the past 2 days, Riley has met all kinds of new people. Yesterday, she met the Montulli family. The loud, loud Montulli family. While she maybe did not take the best naps while we were there (or any naps...), she was still fairly content, and quite intrigued by the little 8 and 4 year old kids who were constantly in her face, talking to her (or "him" as she was often referred to, we were having some trouble with pronouns). Jamie and Jillian were loving having a baby around, and just could not get enough of her!  And then today, Riley got to meet my two best friends in the entire world. And they love love love her.   And tomorrow my sister gets here, and we're also having a "meet the baby" party so Riley is going to be getting all kinds of love and attention! What a lucky little girl. :) Baby push-ups 09/02/2010
I don't know why, but Mark has discovered a way to make Riley stop crying that works every single time. She could be hungry, she could be tired, she could have gas, it doesn't matter, when he does this, she is silent...  Now, "what is that?", you might be asking yourself. Basically he walks around a lifts her up and down, up and down. We call it the baby push-up. It's magical. No really, it is. I don't know if it's the motion, or the view of the ceiling, or the combination of the two, but she loves it! California girl 09/02/2010
My little California girl loves the warm weather. Puts her right to sleep. :)  She is also loving her new car seat toy. She just stares and stares and stares.   Notice how she's chillin' in her car seat/stroller INSIDE the house? Well, Mark and I went out on a date last night, (we saw Inception... woah) and when we came home, my mom was strolling around the house with baby in the car seat, happy as could be. She loves being in motion, so as long as my mom was movin', the baby was happy. And it was SO nice to get out without the baby, but I must admit, by the end of the date, I was definitely missing my baby. And she missed us sooo much, that she decided to SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT last night (11:30pm to 6am). Atta girl!! This is what she looked like in the morning...  Aaaaah. I love them. :) Riley meets (some of) the fam... 08/31/2010
Four generations right here...  Riley has been spending LOTS of time with her grandma, and got to meet her great grandma for the very first time!   And so far (fingers crossed), she has been sleeping like an angel!!  The weather here has been wonderful so far, and we're loving it! Shorts and t-shirts every day, and it's meant to get even warmer. And I may or may not have bought Riley some ridiculously cute clothes and shoes today. And swimsuits. And a hat. And maybe some leggings. So so so cute. She is going to be one stylish little bubba! |  Author(s)Mimi (and Mark) ArchivesSeptember 2010 CategoriesAll |
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