It's that time of year....

Christmas in Derry... nothing could be better! Well, maybe it would have been a little better if there was snow... but it was about 65˚. Yuck! Too warm for Pennsylvania this time of year. I felt like we were home in San Francisco. Well, it's been quite an eventful week so far. Now that I have this new blog figured out, I guess I'll just share some photos. I'll try to keep my jibberish to a minimum for now....

Above, is Riley wearing one of the outfits I made for her. She's our winter solstice princess.

Here she is with her first Christmas present EVER. She wasn't quite sure what to do with it....



Then, she decided she should eat it.



After we helped her to open it, she decided she really liked it. She loves books, and she got a lot of them this year!




Max thinks he got a Christmas present:



And Russell didn't like my dad's brain-teaser present (nobody did, really... we had to read the cheat sheet, and STILL couldn't figure it out):



We went to Mountain View Inn to visit our family friends Vance and Vicki, and Riley decided to take a nap on grammy. She likes to do that.



We went to visit the Crispins, and as always, lots of playing took place! I took lots of video, so hopefully soon I'll learn how to edit and post that. But for now:







I'm tired, and Russell has plans for an early day tomorrow. More then!

A day for family and friends

Riley slept like a charm last nite. Went to bed at 8pm, up at 4 to eat, up at 8 to eat, and then up at 10 for the day. Wow! After we all got up, we went to the Bashful Bull for breakfast. Yum! Riley is starting to get very vocal in restaurants. We love it, because it’s a happy vocal. I’m not so sure the other customers like it... we try to amuse her as much as we can. Look at the pose of this little ballerina. Or figure skater. Every time she goes into the air, she arches her back, and crosses her feet. Perfect form.





And she amuses us in the process. At home, Russell and Riley had playtime while I cleaned up a little. Riley was being a spy.



Then she had a 2 hour nap. What a sleeper! That’s what keeps her happy, and us sane in the evening. Then on our way to Brian and Sandy’s Hanukkah dinner, we stopped by Kezar to say hi to Joanna. It’s such a great holiday atmosphere in there. Here is Riley with Joanna.



She and daddy had some hug time at Kezar.





Brian and Sandy’s dinner was nice, as usual. There’s always a new group of interesting people to chat with. Here we are with Sandy and Brian:





And here we are playing around!









We have so much fun with Riley. I can’t believe I’m actually her mommy! I’m so lucky.

Take that!

Riley loves to stick her tongue out. You’d think Grammy Richardson lived close by to teach her. That’s the kind of thing Grammy likes to teach babies. Good fun. But nope, she actually learned it on her own! Honest!

Here she is with Grammy:



And, she does this really funny sucking thing... like she just had a yummy popsicle. It’s so loud, you can actually hear her from the other room. I’ll try to record (or video tape!!) it soon.

Before I start into our day, I do have to mention: Riley did get a Hanukkah gift from Toronto... some awesome books from Auntie Lindsay, Uncle Dave, and cousins Charlie and Quinn in Toronto. One was a book Russell grew up with, The Giving Tree, which I don’t recognize. Maybe it’s not popular in the states? Or, maybe I just don’t remember it. Another is Chanukah Lights Everywhere (which is good for me, too), and my favorite is the First Book of Sushi!

Here they are in Toronto in October, with Grandma Bongard. Quinn on left, Riley on right, Charlie beside Grandma:



This is Riley and Quinn. Riley is only two weeks older than Quinn. Don’t they look like first cousins??



Today we went back to our usual Saturday spot, Tennesse’s, for breakfast. It was yummy, but I still think we prefer the Bashful Bull. But we had a package to pick up at the post office, and Tennessee’s was closer.

Russell was almost in so much trouble, because he always shops for himself this time of year, and the package contained a print by the same artist (Jeff Soto) as I bought him for Christmas. It was so possible that he had ordered the same print I did. But he didn’t. He’s so lucky. This is the print he bought:



This is the one I bought him:



They’ll both look great in our collection.

I had a couple of errands to run today, so Riley got to spend some quality time with dad. They had gangster hour, and listened to Snoop Dogg. Fortunately she can’t understand the words yet. Here they are, being all gangster:




Dad had her hanging out on the bed, like she likes to do with me, and she got all giddy.



And then, a little pouty. Check out those kissable lips!!



That was just before I got the meltdown phone call: “How far away are you, and how fast can you get here? She’s eating my face!” Well, I hadn’t expected to run errands today, so I hadn’t pumped any milk. But Russell is the best “cooler” ever, and by the time I got home, she was all happy-go-lucky again.

I’m about to go and play with my new camera. Still haven’t had a chance to do that! Maybe tomorrow I’ll take some video of Riley. We have a Hanukkah dinner at Brian and Sandy’s house. They’re cousins on Russell’s side of the family. Always nice to see them.

Happy Hanukkah!

Today is the first day of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. Riley and I stayed home today and played, while we waited for a plumber to come over to unclog our kitchen sink. Here she is playing. She loves the toys on her exer-saucer, and has figured how to hold them in her mouth:





The plumber finally came 5 hours later than he said he would. After he finished, I ran around everywhere like a crazy lady, looking for Menorah candles. I finally found them, I’m sure only because I received a return phone call from my friend Joanna. She obviously passed along some good Jewish luck.

Check out these gums! Now, that’s a big smile.



Russell came home early to beat sundown (that’s when you have to light the Menorah). We lit it and said the accompanying prayer. Riley sat with us and gazed at the flames. Then she got to open her presents. Well, play with them. Well, look at them. Daddy got her a new gay porcupine (to match her gay worm). Oh, and there’s our Menorah in the background. Beside Santa, the Nutcracker, and the snowman.


She also got an interactive toy that plays music and attaches to her crib. It has a mirror, and she lays on her belly and laughs at it. And, she got a toy that suctions to her high chair. We’ll try that one out tomorrow.

I think I was the luckiest one in our house, in regards to gifts. Let’s start with Russell, though... I got him a surf weekend in Santa Cruz. Surf lessons at a great surf camp, and a stay at a sweet B&B. The B&B allows dogs and has a crib for Riley. And an outdoor jacuzzi. We’ll probably go sometime in January. I also got him a great piece of art that he’s wanted for a while.

Now, on to me. Well. Russell has been working on this one for a while. And he’s really outdone himself. He gave me a beautiful Sony Handheld mini DV camcorder, with all the fixins. It’s so tiny, it fits in the palm of my hand. He said that it’s because he’s so proud of this blog and my interest in taking so many photos of Riley. I can’t wait to figure it out... be prepared to start seeing videos of our darling girl!! Yay!!

We were supposed to go to JaySteph’s tomorrow for a Hanukkah dinner, but they’re both sick. We’ll pass on that one! Hope you guys are feeling better soon!

I know this isn’t Riley-related, but, I bought some peeps today. Not quite sure how I feel about these....



Those are not really peeps now, are they? I grew up with peeps, and these are the only ones I remember seeing:



But, what I do find interesting is the Official Marshmallow Peeps Fan Club!! Wow, who woulda thunk it?? I just might have to join. Wonder if they give you free peeps?

Here’s a funny picture I’d like to end with. TOO cute!

One funny thing to say today

I put Riley to bed last night at 10pm with her head at the left end of her crib. Swaddled tightly. I checked on her at 3am, and all was fine. When she woke up at 8am, her head was at the right end of her crib. Still swaddled. Tightly. What gives? We have the amazing flying baby. Or something.

Oh, and when I went to bed last nite, here is how I found my husband and my cat.



Mr. B likes anything that has to do with feet. Especially socks. Tonite, I was doing laundry and he actually dug through my clean laundry basket and found a sock, pulled it out, carried it into the living room, and began nesting on it. He’s a strange dude.

That’s about it. We’re just about done making our plans for Christmas in Pennsylvania. Flights are booked, and now we’re looking for someone to baby-sit our pets for a week, at our house. Pretty sweet... a vacation at our comfy pad by the beach, with fireplace and use of our car. Any takers?

Getting in the holiday spirit!

Riley’s loving Christmas so far. She stares and laughs at the tree and the mantle. And she looks great in daddy’s Santa hat. Wait till she sees the glow of the Menorah... she’ll be sure to love that, too!

Good news... she finally fits into one of the outfits I made for her! I’m so excited. The only problem is that she can’t wear it because she sweats her bum-bum off. She’s such a hot baby, and this outfit is fleece. After a 10-minute photo shoot, she was soaking wet. Poor thing!




I couldn’t help but show you all the photos... her expressions are amazing.



We went to the post office today. We had to mail out a few early holiday gifts from Riley. She wouldn’t let me wait until the holidays are here. That’s all I have to say about that, besides: grandmas, watch the mail!

So, we tried to put her to bed without the swaddle. Last nite, I removed the swaddle at midnight, and she survived for about 5 hours, which was great! Tonite, she only slept for one hour and then woke up crying. I guess she’s not quite ready for that. It’s OK. I don’t want her to grow up too fast!