12 months

Well, it's official. Little Miss Riley Kate turned one last Friday. We celebrated with a sweet little cookies and milk party with a few family and friends - the details of which will soon be shared in full.

I am amazed at this little one. The ways she has grown and changed and blossomed these past twelve months leaves me breathless. It's incredible how one short year ago she came into this world a tiny, helpless, beautiful baby and to look at how much she's grown, how much she's learned and how beautiful she still is; life is such a miracle.

These days, Riley is as busy as ever. She keeps her momma and daddy on our toes making sure doors are closed, dangers out of her path and any owies kissed and made better. It seems our little girlie always has a bruise somewhere. Riley's a speed crawler and is really getting the swing of cruising, but I still thinking taking our first steps is at least a few weeks (or more) away. We'll see though, she may surprise me.

Riley's little personality is becoming more animated and exciting. Although, she still clings to mommy in a crowd and seems content to just watch and take things in, she is having more silly and goofy moments with the family. Her laughs and giggles melt my heart.

 

Isn't it so fun to watch a baby learn!? One thing that Riley learned recently is about her hair. She loves taking combs and brushes and doing her hair or mommy's hair. She also will pick up any phone she can get her hands on, hold it up to her ear and jabber away. So cute! One of her new favorite play time activities is sitting in the red and yellow little tikes car. She loves to climb in and out, open and shut the door, and "beep-beep" the horn. If big sis will take her for a spin around the room...well it doesn't get much better than that!

Eating habits. Riley loves to eat. She didn't add much to her diet this month, but we did start her in on whole milk. About a week before her birthday we started giving her a small amount of whole milk to help her ease into the transition from breastmilk to cow's milk. She loves her sippy cups of milk during the day and takes one bottle of whole milk at bedtime. I nursed Riley for the last time as I put her to bed on her first birthday. I'm grateful for the many, precious hours spent feeding and snuggling with my baby this past year. Sweet memories. 

The Monday after Riley's birthday, we had her 12 month check-up at the doctor's office. Little Miss is weighing in at 19 lbs 6oz (22nd percentile) and is 29.75 inches tall (70th percentile). We did find out that Riley is a bit anemic - meaning her iron count in her blood is a little low, so we're starting an iron supplement and will check back in about a month to see how her numbers are looking. Otherwise, she is perfectly healthy and I'm so proud that she made it through her first year without any major illness! (Well, there was that 12 hours of puking on Christmas day, but other that that...we did pretty good!) Way to go, Riley Kate!

Riley has one more new tooth this month bringing her total to 5. I can see at least 2 more about to break through on top. She's usually a little bit fussy and gets a pretty runny nose when teething, but for the most part is such a trooper.

Doesn't she look so grown up in this picture!? And so much like her daddy!

 Riley's sleeping patterns haven't changed much lately. She still takes a morning nap around 10:30 and an afternoon nap around 3:00. Bedtime is around 8:30 and on a good night, she'll sleep soundly til 6:30 or 7:00 although, she's still not the most consistent sleeper and will sometimes wake up and need a little back rub or snuggle in the rocking chair for a few minutes before going back to sleep. I kind of wish Riley had a blankie or paci or lovie to help soothe her back to sleep instead of mom or dad, but it's not something she has any interest in and I'm not sure we can force it. Maybe someday we'll be grateful that we don't have to break her of any of those habits. (Although, I'm pretty sure having momma come snuggle her at 4 am is a habit, but oh well!)

 

There's that tongue again! Silly girl!

I am just amazed that a year has gone by since we welcomed this precious little one into our lives. It's been a beautiful year that was difficult and challenging at so many times, but also delightful and wonderful. I remember on my big girl's first birthday, almost three years ago now, how sad I felt and how much I kept thinking about the day she was born and all those sweet baby moments that were now over. On Riley's first birthday, I definitely reflected back on the day she was born and had twinges of sadness thinking about this "baby phase" being officially over, but more so, I kept thinking about all the exciting adventures this next year holds. It's thrilling for me to think about all that Riley will learn to say and do and understand in the coming year. I know for sure that Riley's little life will continue to be one of the greatest blessings in my life.

11 months

And just like that...we have an 11 month old! Wow!

The theme for Riley this month would be busy. This girl is all over the place. Just in the past couple of weeks, she's really mastered getting her little self from one place to the next. 

Mostly, she'll just army crawl, but sometimes she gets up on her knees and does it the "right" way. But if she's in a hurry - usually to get to something naughty before mama catches her - she crawls on her belly. And that girl can move!

Much to my disappointment, she hates hair bows. I won't give up, though. 

Speaking of hair, I think it's about time for our first trip to the hair salon! :) The other day, Riley was tugging at her ears and I said to Braxton, "I wonder if she has an ear infection?!" He kinda looked at me sideways and said, "I think her hair is too long." Ok. Fine. Time for a trim...

Riley's little personality has continued to blossom and develop this past month. She's so delightful.  She laughs and giggles at us and no one can get her to chuckle quite like big sister...a relationship I am LOVING watching develop. In fact, these two got in their first sister spat this month. Riley was playing with sometime one morning - when Avery took it away from her, Riley let out a screech like I'd never heard. Apparently it got Avery's attention, because she gave the toy right back and quickly moved on.

Riley is pulling herself up to stand and cruising around a little bit more. I have to confess she may have fallen out of her crib this past month. Something I feel horrible about. We found her standing in her crib one morning and I thought, "I'd better get her mattress lowered soon..." Well my idea of soon wasn't soon enough, because that same day during her morning nap she fell out. I heard and thud from the next room and knew exactly what had happened. It was an awful feeling, but she seems to be no worse for the wear. And we got her mattress moved down asap!

Riley is eating and sleeping so much better. She still nurses about 4 times a day. Loves her table food.   Her new favorite is french toast - sans the syrup. This girl loves breakfast! She'll sometimes spend an hour at the table in the morning eating pretty much everything I put on her plate. She's taking two decent naps a day and sleeps around 11 hours at night - usually only waking once around 5:30 - then back down until 7:30. What a good girl!

Riley is a little love bug. She gives the best hugs. Totally melts my heart when she leans her little body into mine, burys her head in my neck and lets out a content little "sigh." What a lover. What a blessing.

10 months

I'm a bit late in writing Riley's 10 month update. Oh well. I forgive myself. I threw in the towel on winning mother of the year awhile ago.

Nevertheless, Miss Riley is now 10 months (and one week) old. Double digits. Riley has grown and changed so much in the past month.  We went back to the doctor last Friday to double check her weight. Um yeah. She gained 2 pounds in a month! What can I say, the girl is loving eating table food. Apparently, she wasn't a fan of baby food. This kiddo can eat. Sometimes she out eats Avery. It's really impressive. She eats pretty much anything and everything. Except avocados. Not a fan. But she loves green beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, all fruits, chicken, pork, beef, beans, noodles, crackers..I mean she is loving eating. I feel awful...like I was starving my poor baby by not feeding her sooner, but in all honesty, it didn't really occur to me that she was ready for table food. I think the second time around I'm just not paying as close of attention to the details...it's a pathetic excuse, but it is what it is...oh well...I'm letting it go and moving on...

 Riley also has two new teeth. Both her top teeth have poked through this month. We had a couple of rough days and nights (I can't say I blame her) but we survived and now she has quite the adorable toothy grin!

 I gotta say, Riley has been so much happier the last month or so. Obviously, eating more solids and sleeping better are good things that are helping that. Riley is finally on a good, consistent schedule every day. She gets up around 7:30 and eats breakfast. Morning naptime is around 10:30 until noon then lunch and playtime until her afternoon nap around 3:30. She's usually up by 5 and evenings are busy with dinner, playing and bath time before bed around 8:30. She usually sleeps soundly until around 4am has a quick nursing then back to bed until morning. HUGE progress. Thank you, Jesus!

 Riley is much happier playing independently these days. She loves looking at books and jumping in her exersaucer or jump-up. She did pull herself up to stand this past month, but got pretty nervous and hasn't tried that skill again. My cautious girl...

Riley is so delightful. First birthday party planning is in full swing. Can't believe it. This year is going so fast.

Christmas 2011

Our Christmas weekend was filled with excitement, good times with family, delicious food, fun gifts and unfortunately one sick little baby girl...but I'll get to that later.

We kicked off our Christmas weekend by spending Christmas Eve with the Cornelius side of our family. We had a fun day of being together and the girls loved opening presents. Mostly, Riley loved playing with the wrapping paper, but she still had lots of fun.

Christmas Eve night we enjoyed a wonderful carols and candlelight service at church. I always love seeing the glow on the kids faces as we celebrate Christ's birth together. Following the service, we went to our friends' home for a "Happy Birthday, baby Jesus" party. Here Avery and cousin Hadley listen closely as Ms. Debbie reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas.

(Sadly, the early, early hours of Christmas morning were filled with bedding and pajama changes when sweet Riley Kate woke up throwing up. Our house got hit with a flu bug - luckily Avery and Braxton were both better by the weekend and I've been lucky enough to avoid it all together. I was really sad that baby Riley's first Christmas wasn't picture perfect, but we survived and she was much better by the next morning.)

After opening gifts as a family of four, Avery and I headed to church for Christmas service. I was so sad that Riley wasn't feeling good, but I have to be honest and admit that part of my disappointment came from not being able to take the girls to church in their adorable outfits that I had planned. So...Tuesday morning, we got all dressed up and I took the girls to the church to snap some pics. Pathetic, I know.

 One of the many new lessons I've learned as a mom of two is how nearly impossible it is to get a picture of both your children looking happy and at the camera. But we tried. If you ask me, they're still adorable.

 Our "normal" tradition on Christmas morning is to have brunch then open gifts with the Rowell side of our family, but with Christmas being on a Sunday this year, our routine looked a little different since we went to church Christmas morning. It actually ended up working out the best since Riley, Papa and Uncle Stuart were all sick on Christmas.

But when we gathered on the morning of the 26th, everyone was feeling better for the most part and we were able to enjoy breakfast and open gifts together. It was extra special to have my Grandma here from Oregon to celebrate with us. Everyone loves Grandma June, especially her 3 great granddaughters!

 We had a wonderful Christmas and we're looking forward to a happy and (hopefully) healthy New Year!

9 months.

9 months. Already. It's hard to believe it, but this little lady is growing up. This month brought some new milestones and achievements, but also some challenges. I gotta say, though, I love having a baby in the house at Christmas time. Watching her take in the sights of the season is delightful. Even though she doesn't understand what we're doing and what we're celebrating, there is joy and excitement oozing out of this one and her big sister. What a blessing.

 I wrote with our 8 month update that my goal while having daddy home for an extended period was to work on Miss Riley's sleeping pattern. I'm very pleased to say we are no longer sleeping in mommy and daddy's bed for the majority of the night. In fact, Riley had her longest stretch of sleep about a week ago when she slept from 8:00-11:00 woke to eat and then slept until 5:30, ate again and went back to her bed until 8:00! I know to those of you with good sleepers this doesn't sound like much, but let me tell you this was a huge achievement! I'd been struggling with how to go about working on Riley's sleeping issues. I didn't feel good about using a "cry-it-out" method and the few times we attempted this it only led to hours of screaming, a very sad baby and a heart broken, frustrated mommy. Not for me. So...late one night I was on the internet and came across a book called "The No Cry Sleep Solution." A few clicks of the mouse and a few days later it arrived. I won't take the time now to go into the details about it, but I am feeling much better about Riley's sleeping patterns these days. The biggest thing I got from the book was a good reminder that not all babies sleep "all night" and that's ok. I was spoiled with a good sleeper in my first baby. I've realized that Riley is just different in this way - not because of anything I've done right or wrong - simply because she's a different baby with different needs and a different personality and that's ok. 

I would still use the word serious to describe my little peanut. She tends to be content to watch the activity of the house (preferably while in mom's arms) and just take it all in. She's not "on the go" yet and I'm totally ok with that. This being my second time around as a mom, I'm fully aware of the fact that being mobile - while cute and exciting - brings lots of new challenges and dangers. She'll do it eventually. I'm in no rush. Riley is babbling more and has started clapping whenever we cheer for her. What a cutie pie!

  
 Riley visited the doctor last week for her nine month check up. We were happy to not need any shots, but did have a little concern following her visit. Riley hasn't had very significant weight gain since her 6 month check up. She weighs 15lbs 13oz which puts her in the 6th percentile (down from the 26th percentile at 6 months). We're not sure what to attribute this change to. Riley is still nursing 6-7 days during the day/night and I haven't noticed any drop in milk supply. However, she has not been a big fan of solids and I haven't really pushed it. I figured she do it when she was ready. But to have a change in her weight gain pattern is a little concerning to me. So...our goals for the next few weeks are to work on increasing mom's milk supply and try to get RK to eat more solids. Just in the past few days, her appetite has improved with some new foods we've tried. She really likes eating table food and not baby food - so we can now add yogurt, beans, cheese, eggs, pancakes, turkey meat, peaches, mandarin oranges and avocado to the list of food she likes. Hopefully when we go back to the doctor in a month for a weight check we'll see a nice big gain!

Wow. Nine months. I'm starting to think about that first birthday party...it will be here before we know it!

8 months...and October...

I'm a bit late on Riley's 8th month update, but better late than never, right!? It's been a crazy month once again. Braxton was gone for 3 weeks which definitely makes life a little extra crazy. So glad to have him home now. Looking back at the pictures I took this month, I'm embarrassed to admit there aren't many to choose from. A dead camera battery is partly to blame...but I really don't have a very good excuse. It is what it is...

 Riley Kate. I just can't get over how big she's getting. Suddenly, she seems so big to me and it's awful and wonderful all at the same time.

This month, Riley's second tooth broke through - about two weeks after the first. She tolerated it pretty well. A little extra fussy perhaps, a little more clingy, a runny nose and constant drool but other than that, she did great. She's finally starting to like some of her "solids." Loves squash and peaches. And that girl would probably eat an entire container of Gerber puffs if I'd let her. She's also starting to get the hang of drinking from her cup. See what I mean!? So big!!

Just this past week she's started standing at her music table. Mom still needs to be close by, but she's doing really well. Now that dad's home for a while (whoot, whoot!!), our next goal is to work on night time sleep and nap time. I'm ok with taking baby steps, but I'm determined to get this kiddo in a better pattern/routine. Riley's is babbling and talking so much recently. She says da-da all day long. Her little voice is just the sweetest thing. Sometimes she'll be playing on the floor with her toys and totally crack herself up. It's too funny.

Since I failed so miserably at documenting the past month, I figured I'd throw in a few pictures I did manage to snap. We really had lots of fun last month celebrating fall with some of the usual activities. Avery, especially, loved visiting the pumpkin patch, pumpkin painting, and, of course, trick-or-treating.

Well, hopefully November will be a little less crazy for this busy momma and maybe I'll manage to get more accomplished. I've got so much on my "wish-list" of projects and activities to do...but I also want to protect my time and our days together as a family. It's definitely a balancing act. I'm working on it...