Playdate and exploration at Judith's

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in so long! I'm going to back-date these next few blogs, just for diary sake.



Judith hosted a playdate at her house in Cole Valley. It was so nice, and Riley taught herself something new. Blew my mind, too... Check this out. This was the second time she did it. And she continued for about an hour. Tired me out, for sure, chasing her around!



Unbelievable. She was chasing Lola around, because she loves animals. Lola didn't want to have anything to do with Riley, so she provided a wonderful challenge. Here's Lola:



Lola ran up the stairs, and Riley decided she had to follow her, no matter what the cost. And she figured it out, while I sat nearby watching in astonishment. Then she proceeded to back herself down a few of the stairs.





Here are some shots from the rest of the playdate:

Randi and Jasper:


Siobahn and Rohan:


Then mom came to town! We had a wonderful (but not long enough) visit. More about that on the next blog.

Happy Memorial Day!

I love four-day weekends. It's great to spend so much time as a family. This weekend, though, the weather was really yucky... cold and overcast, so we didn't do much. Did a lot of mall-walking and playing in the living room. But today was beautiful! Still a chill in the air, but very sunny. We went for a big walk around Lake Merced.



Then we came home to hang out in the yard. Russell did some grilling, and we played in the grass.






Russell tried to hide from us:



Even Mr. B had a nice afternoon:



WHAT'S NEW:
It seems as though she's starting to put consonants together. It actually sounds like she's putting sentences together!

She has started coming to me when I say "come here".

When we watch Baby Einstein and I explain what we're looking at, she looks at me like 'it all makes sense now' and looks back at the TV.

We have been learning to diaper her while she stands. She absolutely will not lay on the changing table anymore. Done. This is impossible when there's a poo.... any ideas?

Riley loves tofu. Gave it to her a couple of days ago, and she can't get enough of it! She doesn't love it as much as mozzarella, though... if she sees cheese, she won't eat anything else! Definitely my daughter. And she's been eating the beef stew and turkey stew I made her. And liking it.

Russell has to go back to work tomorrow. Boo-hoo! But... my mom comes on Wednesday. Yay!!

sleepy-peepy

It seems like all she did today was sleep! A good nap in the morning, and another folded-in-half start to it.



Then daddy came home from crappy Vegas and they played really hard out in the yard. So hard, that she fell asleep while she was eating.




She woke up about an hour later because she was starving. I hope she's full enough to sleep through the night! Probably not... at least now I have Russell home to take over the morning shift. Whew!

Russell has the day off tomorrow. And Monday... what a great 4-day weekend we'll have. Maybe he'll come swimming with us tomorrow and take some photos!

It was a hot one!

Riley has learned "high five!" And she loves it. Does it all the time, and laughs hysterically when I hit her hand and yell "high five!"




I'd say it went up to about 80˚ today. Maybe even warmer... It was so beautiful. After the chiropractor (I love Barbara!), we went to one of my favorite lunch spots, Arlequin, in Hayes Valley. They have a garden in the back, so Riley and I ate out there. She was super-comfy in her bare feet!



We came home and spent some time in the back yard. Zoe and B came with us, too.





She's been eating everything in sight! Lunch was fava beans and pears, little sweet potato chunks, and vanilla yogurt. Dinner was beef stew with acorn squash, barley cereal, and avocado. So far, we haven't found anything she doesn't like! Hope she continues like that...

Daddy comes home tomorrow! Yay... Riley's been shouting "da-da-da-da" nonstop since he's been gone! Feels like he's been gone for a really long time.

PS - Here is a video of the yard adventures that I finally edited seven months after the fact! Enjoy...

Back on schedule

Today was a good day for Riley's schedules. She was in bed a little late (8:45), but that's OK. She just wasn't tired! Here was the start of her morning nap. Played-out again:



We went for a huge walk by the beach this afternoon, which is where her afternoon nap happened. She really likes to sleep outside. Guess we'll be having lots of sleep-outs in the yard when she gets older! I LOVE sleep-outs. My dad and I used to do that each year on the night before trout season started, if it was warm enough. We would let the hose run overnight in the yard so all the worms floated to the top, and then we would collect them for bait. One year, we forgot to get up, and the yard ended up having about 6" of water in it! Oops! Today, Riley wore her favorite sweatshirt today:



Here are a couple of the sites along our walk:




Poor Russell is so miserable in Vegas. It's super-hot, there's no fridge in his room, no coffee maker, no internet connection, and he's attending boring technology keynote speeches and client dinners. Guess he'll be glad to get home!! We'll surely be glad to have him back...

And that is all! I'm going to bed now. Yay!

Tons of babies!

Wow, what a playdate! We'll get to that in a minute, but first, daddy is in Vegas! We dropped him off at the airport this morning, and now he's there for 4 days. I talked to him a little while ago, and he said that town is just gross. I can imagine... glad I'm not there! Especially after what we got to do today.

I'd say about 10 babies and their moms gathered at Pam's house for a playdate (thanks Pam, for a wonderful time, and an amazing spread!!). There was waxing. What a great way to kill two birds with one stone... have the wax lady come to you! There was cooking. Jen was a personal chef prior to having Coral, and decided to share some of her secrets for making baby food. And there were babies! Loads of them. Here is proof:



And here are some photos of the day. Right... none of Riley. Obviously I was more excited about making the video!

Finn, Rohan, Jasper:


Judith (youdeet) and Ramona:


Coral:


Finn:


Meredith:


Jasper:


Riley was a real trooper today. She had a 10 minute nap on the way home from the airport at 11am, and then not another one until we got home at 5:30pm. She got a little rambunctious, but remained in a good mood. Now she's sleeping like a little princess. Hopefully I will too, right about now.

Fun in the sun

Today was gorgeous! We stayed home all day (except for when I ventured out to brave the crowds of Bay to Breakers to go to the veggie store). The roses are all coming out in the yard. Russell's so sweet, he always cuts some and puts them on the kitchen table for me.



Here are some of the piles of dirt from our gophers. Right... the exterminator came today and started 'treatment' on the gophers. We won't go into details about that, but they should be gone in a few weeks. Apparently, they've been eating the roots of the roses. Not good!



We hung out in the yard, and Russell cooked some pork chops for me, so I'll have them this week while he's in Vegas. Oh yeah, he has to go there for 4 days for work. It'll be an exhausting, lonely week for Riley and me. Then next week, my mom will be here. Yay! Too bad the timing didn't work out so she was here this week while we're alone!



In the yard, I played with Riley until she got sleepy. She still loves her swing.



Russell got to start his new book and spend some quality time with Zoe. She's rather neglected, now that Riley is here, and loved the daddy-time.




WHAT'S NEW
Riley has a funny new habit. We take a bath together most evenings. It's easier to clean her that way, plus it's fun to play together. Well, recently, she discovered that it's possible for her to drink some milk while we're in the tub. So now, every time we get in, we shampoo, then play a little, then she turns around for a big gulp. It makes me laugh every time she does it.

She loves strawberries. And eating with her hands. She's getting really good at it... she can pick up tiny little pieces of egg yolk and get them into her mouth with no problem. I love it!

Tomorrow afternoon is going to be a great play-date. Waxing and cooking. More on that later...

A day downtown

After breakfast today, Russell took Riley and me to the Yerba Buena to see the R. Crumb show. If you're in San Francisco, I highly recommend checking it out. It's a great collective of his work. Unfortunately, the gardens were closed for a special event, but it was pretty windy anyhow.

I took a really nice photo of Riley and Russell on his camera. But he's being a stinker and won't give it to me, so you'll have to see it on his blog one of these days, when he decides to update it. Sorry! Here's an older photo, instead.



In the meantime, here's a little video for you to enjoy! She's really getting around these days... I think she's gonna walk any second now!



Tomorrow morning, we have an exterminator coming to check out our ground mole/gopher problem. We have tons of dirt mounds in our backyard, and a few visible holes. Hope we can get rid of these silly rodents! We'll let ya know what happens...

Geez, it's been a quiet week...

Well, I'm sorry I haven't blogged in so many days! Not too much new stuff has been happening. But, here's the big update.

This afternoon, Riley and I went to Fisherman's Wharf. I can't believe how much she loved it! Wow, she was just taking it all in, laughing, screaming and kicking... I'm so happy I took her there! Check out this little bit of footage, when we saw a horse (oh yeah, my hard drive finally arrived, so expect video!). Nothing fancy, just her first time seeing an animal that big...



And there were so many sea lions (I think I saw ears... that's what distinguishes them from seals) parked on the docks! Apparently they're always there. I've never seen so many. She went bonkers again, but it's too hard to hold her and tape it all at the same time. I'll have to hire a photographer next time! Or, make dad skip out from work... Here are the sea lions, though.



We had an awesome playdate yesterday at the De Young Museum. I love our new friends. Believe it or not, I forgot my camera! But Jen was a life-saver, after I used force on her to get out her camera and then send the photos to me. I knew all of my friends and family would have me skinned if I blogged without photos of that day. I've already been bad enough with blogging this week.... so, here they are. Thanks, Jen! The hat looks great!!

Me and Riles:


Herding cats:




Robin and Ramona (that's the face of a baby experiencing her first Cheerio!):


Coral and Riley (they're about two weeks apart):


Riley post-crawl in the tower, checking out the view:


Dirty knees on those Baby Legs!


Stud-man Jasper (the only boy!) and Ramona:


The gang (minus Jen, who took the photo, thanks again, Jen!):


Meredith, the baby of the group (3 months):


Coral and Sophie:


Coral already knows more than the president, Jasper has style, and Ramona has Baby Legs, too!


Here's before the playdate, just hangin' around the house. She loves to check it all out. Not a waking moment without some sort of movement!





Watching Baby Einsten:


And here are some updates from Toronto... we finally received some photos this week. Yay!
Here are Charlie and Quinn:



Quinn:


Riley and Quinn during Passover:


Riley with Duke:


Riley with Uncle Ralph, a welcome surprise!


OK, I think that's enough for today. I'll make a real effort to get some more video edited for tomorrow! Thank goodness, it's the weekend, and time to spend the days with dad! We miss him so much during the week.