Some of Riley's Favorite Things

Riley is growing up so fast! Every day we are in awe of him as we watch him learn something new! Here are several pictures of him playing with some of his favorite things! ;-)

He loves to drum...



Play Guitar...


Listen to the alphabet song...


Bath time with his duckies...


Ride on his Police Cruiser


and win mommy and daddy over with his SMILE!

Halloween 2008

Riley was a monkey for Halloween this year! He was absolutely adorable! We went to Aunt Candace's house to go on a trick or treating hayride in her neighborhood! Riley did not mind his costume at all and he had so much fun playing with all the kids!

Riley in his Monkey Suit!


I had to include the shot from the back so you could see the banana!


The Boys!


Mommy and the Monkey!


Daddy and the Monkey!


The Hayride!


I am much happier riding in the car pulling the hayride!


As I was looking for pictures to add for Halloween this year, I happened upon pictures from last year! The difference is amazing!

What a difference a year makes!

We had our one year check-up last week and here are Riley's stats!
He weighed 27 1/2 lbs and was 31 1/2 inches long! He had 5 shots and was such a trooper! We are so lucky to have such a happy and healthy boy!

My friend, Nancy asked me to post Riley's stats for the year! ;-)
Birth: 10lbs. 3oz. and was 23 1/2 inches
3 months: 16lbs 11oz and 26in inches
6 months: 20lbs and 28 inches
9 months: 24lbs and 30 3/4 inches
12 months: 27 1/2 lbs and 31 1/2 inches
WHAT a difference a year makes!

FALL FUN!

Sunday was the Sanderson crew's annual pumpkin carving party! I look so forward to this event every year! The Sanderson's provide the coolest pumpkin carving templates and tools as well as great food! All we have to bring is our pumpkins. Before this party two years ago, I only carved pumpkins with a face. Now, I like to carve masterpieces! ;-) The Sanderson family is rich in tradition and they sure know how to create wonderful memories! I am so glad that they always include us!

Here is a picture of Riley posing with our pumpkin! It is a witch face!


He could not resist getting his hands on it!


Here is the group picture! I think the spider is the best!


Riley and Matt had fun playing at the park with Nate and Olivia!


I had to include a picture of the pumpkin from last year. We had to miss the party because we had just got home from the hospital with Riley. Candace and Cate made us this pumpkin dressed as a baby and carved with Riley's initials!

RILEY IS ONE!!!!!

As hard as it is for us to believe, Riley is officially ONE today! Time sure does fly when you are having fun! ;-) We celebrated with our families tonight and it was a great time! Here are some pictures of our celebration!


I LOVE the Happy Birthday Song! I think? Yeah...I do!


Riley's Little Cake...it was Chocolate...Matt's Favorite!


My first bite!


YUMMY!


Now this is the life!


Riley's Big Cake...it was Chocolate Chip...My Favorite!


Opening presents with my cousins Tyler and Abbie!

5th Annual Liz Hurley Fun Run

Let me start by saying I love this race! I love it because I love the downtown route, the weather is perfect and it is for a great cause. The Liz Hurley was the first race I ever participated in a couple of years ago and ever since then I have been hooked. I trained for the first race and invited four of my friends to run with me. They joined me and they all beat my time! Who knew it was such a competition? I missed it last year because Riley was on his way, but I was back this year and many more of my friends ran too! They pretty much all beat me again, but as you can see in the title, I like to call it a fun run...not a race! It is all about the participating, right? That is what I will keep telling myself! ;-) Matt still thinks it is a race. I was just so excited that he ran it too! He finished with a time of 28:55 and I finished with a time of 30:08! My nephew Nate participated too! I mention this because he finished in 33:something and he told me he walked in the beginning. Even he would have beat me if he ran the whole time! ;-) At the race, we found out that it is now the biggest race in not only Huntsville, but I think All of North Alabama! I am already looking forward to next year's run! We took a group picture that I will add soon!


The 2008 Racing Crew


Our Family Photo Opp


The Prize...Riley's Smile

Happy Birthday Tyler!

My sweet nephew Tyler turned 4 last Thursday on October 16th! We had so much fun at his party! So much fun I forgot to take pictures! ;-) We got him a batman costume because he loves to play dress up! I can't wait until the next time we get to play with him!

Fabulous Fall Break

Okay...one of the best perks about being a school teacher is the vacation time off! This Fall Break was the best because I was able to stay home and play with Riley all day every day! We had so much fun!!! Here is our week in pictures!

Playing with dad on the slide...


Moving furniture for mom...


Learning how to open my own snacks...


Playing Football so I can keep up with my cousins....Who is Number 1?


Taking a rest break...


Reading my favorite book...


Hanging with my cousin Nate...he spent the night with me!


Playing with my first balloon...who doesn't take a balloon to the bath tub?


I LOVE FALL BREAK!

I believe....

I bought Riley a shirt that had the prompt I believe... on it! I thought it was a cute onesie meaning I believe in Santa! When I took it home, Matt did not agree because it was short sleeves. We began to have fun asking people what they thought it meant and got a lot of interesting answers. My favorite response was from Connors who thought it meant I believe in Alabama football! ;-) Who knew this onesie would be such a conversation starter?



This is also a picture of Riley wearing his first pair of shoes that actually fit him! It has been quite a quest to find shoes that fit and we are so excited! He looks so proud!

MURPHY WAS HERE!

Okay so my relaxing day of staying home did not go as planned! Riley and I enjoyed our morning playing and eating breakfast and then it was time for his morning nap. I went to turn on my computer and it was completely frozen. I could not open one program and it would not even shut down. I tried to run the anti virus and it would not even think about running. As I was trying to get the computer to work, my cell phone rang and it was the school number! I thought one of my friends at work missed me and wanted to call me and check on Riley! Much to my surprise, it was my principal! She asked me what I was doing and I nonchalantly told her I was hanging out at home with Riley and working on the computer. She then proceeded to tell me that my class was waiting for me outside my classroom and they had no idea why I was not there. I was confused because being the responsible, overachieving girl I am, I had covered all my bases and e-mailed everyone who needed to know I was not going to be at work the night before. The it hit me....my computer was not working so the e-mail's must not have gotten through! I panicked and started rambling on about how Riley was sick and how I had no way to get to work because I lost my keys. Luckily, she started laughing and told me that she knew it was not like me so she just wanted to call and check! Whew...I was relieved, but for some reason I still felt guilty for inconveniencing my coworkers! I decided to stop working on the computer and look for my missing keys! I turned the house upside down, moved furniture, looked in pockets, and basically cleaned more than I have in a while. NO KEYS! I thought I would just call the Jeep Dealership and see what I would need to do to get an extra key made and I was flabbergasted! They told me I would have to get my car towed to the dealership and then pay $200.00 for a replacement key!!!! Who knew? I was not really worried because I had a locksmith coming to unlock my car because I was sure the spare was locked in there, right? Wrong! I called Matt and told him the news and luckily he put things into perspective for me! He said that in 12 years I have never lost my keys and if I did it while I was taking care of our sick son it was okay! WOW! I was so relieved! He was so right....the most important thing was taking care of Riley and enjoying our our day together. ;-) Murphy can't get us down!

Seriously...

Okay....we have had quite the interesting couple of days this week! First on Monday, October 22nd our sweet baby boy turned 11 months old! There are only four weeks until he is ONE!!!! Where does the time go? Of course, I have already started planning his party...the invites, the cake....it is so much for for my OCD personality! Then on Tuesday when Riley was picked up from daycare, he had a fever of 102.6! He was so pitiful! My wonderful sister took care of him until I got home. Matt and I immediately took him to the doctor without an appointment and luckily our doctor was able to see us! (before the Millers, who actually had an appointment BTW ;-) The Dr. told us that Riley still has an ear infection that the previous 10 days of antibiotics did not touch. ;-( He gave Riley a shot and more antibiotics! He did not like the shot at all, but we loved comforting him! He was so lethargic that he just let us cuddle and hold him! I hate to admit it, but that part was great! There is nothing cozier than a sleeping baby on your chest! I took the opportunity to sign up for the flu mist while we were there! Anyone who knows me knows how I like to multi-task so I was excited! That is until I started feeling like I had the flu! Finally Wednesday came along and as I get ready to walk out the door to go to work and I can't find my keys. Apparently in the rush of getting Riley to the doctor, I lost my keys. We have turned the house upside down and they are no where to be found. Guess where the spare key is....in my car! Luckily, my sister in law was here watching Riley and let me take her car to work. When I got home from work today, Riley was covered in a rash! Seriously??? I called the helpful advice nurse who is probably so sick of hearing from me by now and she advised us to give Riley some Benadryl to see if it is an allergic reaction and call back in the morning. All of these things added up for a new mom = heavily relying on my faith!!! ;-) I think God is trying to tell me to stay home, so I am taking the day off tomorrow to spend all day with our little man! I can't wait!

PROUD AUNT

Today I had the opportunity to run in the Autumn Chase with my nephew Nate! It was so much fun! This was my first time to go with him and I had no idea what I was about to experience. As we drove to the race, he told me that he wanted to run fast enough to win a trophy. He told me that only the top 3 runners get a trophy and he has placed in the top 4 every year since Kindergarten. No pressure, huh? We registered once we got there and then watched some of the other races. When it was his turn to race, we stepped up to the line and waited for the word go! Once it was time to run, he was gone! I could not see him until he was rounding the first corner and he was already in first place! Turn after turn, I could see him effortlessly running along with a race volunteer! I knew first place was his! Nate ran a 6 minute 49 second mile and won the race! Words can't express how proud I am of him! ;-)



PS. Yes, I did cross the finish line...it was just 3 minutes later than Nate! ;-) It is the fastest mile I have ever run! I must have been the adrenaline of trying to keep up with Nate! I should have him run every race with me!

First Steps

I am so excited that I have finally started this blog! It is so easy and I think it will be a great way to capture memories of this special time in our life! Riley is growing so fast and he does something new and adorable every day! I want this blog to be a way for us to keep our friends and family updated! I really need it to serve as my memory too! ;-) Riley is 10 and a half months old already and time has sure flown! Right now he loves to pull up and try to walk behind his bike! We love watching him raise up on his tip toes and balance before he takes a step. He is so much fun!



Please forgive my cheesy mommy voice as I comment on his every move. My friend Brandy and I talked about how the pitch of your voice changes when you are taking to your baby! You don't notice it at all when you are in the moment..it just seems so weird when hear it on video! Hope it is universal and everyone can relate.

Blog Worthy

Okay...I did not think I had anything blog worthy to write about until last week. I went to my grandmother's to pick up Riley and I noticed his diaper looked really full. I went to pick him up and all I could hear was a crinkling noise and he was so bulky. My mom started laughing and told me that they did not have a diaper for him so they put Riley in an adult depends! I laughed hysterically and knew that I had to get pictures of this moment! The depends came up to his shoulder blades! When I went to put him in the car, I had to extend the seat belt in his car seat in order to make room for the diaper! Now this is a moment I want to remember. ;-)


This view shows the bulk!


This view shows how it goes up to his shoulder blades!


This view allows you to see that it was triple his size!