Some fruits of Christmas

We took a bunch of video of Riley opening her gifts. This footage is the funniest, though. I think we've discovered what her favorite gift from Santa was!





Grandma and Duke sent Riley money, so that we could choose something that she really needs. And with all these new toys, she needed a toybox! We went to Toys R Us yesterday and daddy picked out this whopper of a toybox. I think Riley likes the box better than the stuff inside... she just sits and pats the train, and yells 'choo-choo!'



So I took her old toybox into her bedroom and put all her stuffed animals in it. She loved that, too.

She's been a total doll lately. She's been wearing herself out with all her energy, because she's been sleeping through the night for over a month. 10 hours a pop! She also has two 1-1/2 hour naps each day (usually). During this last month, she hasn't nursed before bed at all. The pediatrician said that nursing her before bed or during the night can give her tooth decay. So we stopped right away after her 15-month appointment!

A wonderful Christmas at home

We had a really nice time on Christmas, aside from the fact that my parents were missing. It's not the same without the complete family being together. But we sure did our best, and it was a beautiful day.

Let's talk about Christmas Eve first. Before Riley went to bed, we let her open the gifts from grammy and grandpa. She was quite overwhelmed at all the unwrapping and hubbub. She got some really cute clothes and toys, but she really loved the soft ballerina bear backpack and the pink princess cell phone with a sparkly case.



After she was in bed, Russell and I opened our gifts. I got some warm, comfy clothing from my mom and dad, and Russell got a load of books. And a beautiful tie! He got me some really fun stuff... he was super-thoughtful this year. gifts included gift certificates for Vans, Victoria's Secret, and Quizno's (my favorite fast food... their bread is amazing!!). He also got me a few books about being a mommy that I wanted, some new slippers, and wine glasses and serving utensils.

So, Christmas morning started with Riley waking us at about 7:30. She knew Santa had been here. She ran out into the living room, right over to her pile of gifts, and started playing with her Fisher-Price Little Superstar Sing-Along Stage. It was sitting out, because there was some assembly required, that Santa did while he was here. Then she noticed all the other presents that were wrapped. She was again a tad overwhelmed... didn't have a huge smile on her face, and didn't show much excitement, until everything was unwrapped and she started to play. Then she got really excited.




Here is a little video, after the fact, of that excitement.

Daddy relaxed on the couch with his new books and the stockings while Riley spent some quality time reading her new books, and I put the turkey in the oven.







Our guests arrived about 4:30, and we had a nice cocktail hour before dinner. Randi, Tony and Jasper (who's first birthday was Christmas day!) joined us for cocktails, and Craig, Rebecca, Jason and Stephanie stayed for dinner. Everything was yummy, and I didn't even forget the bread in the oven!






Riley totally got into dinner. Literally....






Today, I was all ready to take Riley swimming for the first time in a couple of months, and called, and got the answering machine. Guess they close over the holidays. Huge bummer. So, we went to the mall. It was pretty packed, but Riley had fun running around wearing her new harness! I always said I'd never be a mom who puts a harness on my baby, but with the way she runs away, I can't even tell you what a God-send that thing is. And she doesn't mind it... she actually really likes wearing the doggy on her back.

Thanks again to everyone for the wonderful Christmas gifts and cards. We love you all and hope to see you really soon.

Almost time for Santa!

We've had a great month so far, between Hanukkah and Christmas. And tonite, it's so foggy, it looks like a huge snowstorm! I love it... at night in bed, I can hear all the fog horns blowing. And this time of year, it almost sounds like their own version of Carol of the Bells. Not to worry about the fog, though, it's still about 55˚. I don't miss the cold weather, but sure am missing my mommy and daddy! Christmas won't be the same without them. Next year, for sure, we'll all be together. Somewhere. Somehow.




Russell and Riley have been opening presents all week, but I've been good. I haven't opened anything yet! My dad will be proud of me. Mom has always wanted us to open a gift every nite until Christmas, and dad has always gotten so mad about it. He's a strictly Christmas morning kind of guy. My mom could have been Jewish... she sure would appreciate celebrating 8 days of Hanukkah! One of the packages for Russell was this collection of old cameras that belonged to my grandma. He loves them, and already put them on display in our kitchen. The old packaging design on some of the film and batteries is so beautiful.



Auntie Marci came over today for a nice holiday visit. We broke out the eggnog, and she shared gifts she brought. Riley scored an awesome pair of Chuck Taylors, that she appears to love! Thanks Auntie Marci! Was nice to catch up... she mentioned starting an all-ladies' pool team. I did that in NY, and it is a lot of fun... very intimidating for some of the all-male teams out there. I may just be up for that in the new year.

After Marci left, I started my prep for Christmas dinner, by making my great grandmother's German noodles. Yum! Can't wait... However, my father would not be proud of this one. It wouldn't suffice him to say "Is that all you made?" this year... I only made a single recipe! He would probably turn around and run out of the house if he saw that's "all I made". Already, even Riley eats them by the handful...



And, I've made a few pretty little green centerpieces.



And, I can't wait to see our friends, Craig and Beck and Jason and Steph. It's been so long since we've seen those guys! And when I heard Craig was coming, I took my turkey back and got a bigger one. And, I'm considering making two pumpkin pies. I have some fresh pumpkin that I've cooked and pureéd, that I'll be using. mmmmm.....

Yesterday we took a nice walk in the park to feed the ducks. Riley loves that walk... it was brisk and fresh. I love those afternoons with my family. Daddy put a flower and a leaf in my hair, and so I became an Indian. Riley loved the high pitched woo-woo sound I made with my hand to my mouth, and she's been doing it since! Too cute.





The other day, I put Riley down for a nap. I checked on her and she was lying on her back reading a book. A few minutes later, this is how I found her. I did NOT alter this photo. Boy, is she her daddy's daughter!! He falls asleep like this all the time.



And here she is, during and after her bath last nite.

A day of total terror (but still a yummy lunch with good company)

Man. I need a break after today! Rough morning, Riley being very whiny and needy until she had some breakfast and a nap immediately after. Good, long nap, then out for lunch with a high school friend I haven't seen in nearly 20 years. We were cheerleaders together, and spent a load of sleep-overs and other miscellaneous parties together. And I love her, still, after all these years! Here is Kim Konecny, with Riley:




As gorgeous, sweet, and funny as she'd ever been... what a doll.

Now, Riley, on the other hand... can't even talk about her. All I can say is, I've officially decided as of 2pm today that Riley will no longer frequent restaurants, unless they're of the Chuck E. Cheese variety. No joke, she was completely irrational today, and wasn't having any of it, including the food (which was very good, by the way).

After running up and down the block several times to expend some energy, I tried to finally put her in the car to go home, and got nothing in return but a really hard head-butt to the cheek in the middle of a stiff-bodied tantrum. And I'm still recovering from the one she did a few days ago to my chin. Done with this!!! What to do? Suggestions?? Please???

Going back in time...

Riley and I went to the zoo today. It was chilly and had been raining in the morning, so there were hardly any people there. Good thing, because that allowed me to let Riley run around on her own. She had so much fun and wore herself out so hard, that she had a 2 hour nap before dinner!

Not too much else going on this week, so it's a great time for some more edits of older video! Let's start off with Riley in Derry with my parents at the tree lighting ceremony in November. We had such a nice time.



This footage was shot by my dad in early August 2007, when my parents were visiting for Riley's first birthday:



Now, compare that with our last documentation of her swimming... she was about 7 months old!

Here she is, at almost 9 months old. Some funny sounds sure do come out of that girl:

Fun and productive...

Russell spent so many hours with Riley this weekend, I feel like I didn't get to see her! It was great though... he needed it, and I got a ton of stuff done, like grocery shopping, cleaning, you get the picture. But tonite, I decided to edit some OLD video. I have so much video that I've never even watched, and it's high time I do so. There's some great stuff in my huge collection. And I can't tell you how much fun I had tonite reminiscing... I can't believe how she's changed in such a short time!! For instance, this footage from May 28, 2007, when she was nearly 10 months old:



And this footage of Riley receiving her first birthday gift (August 6, 2007) from daddy and me:



Enjoy!

Video fun

Riley's getting pretty balzy on her horse.




She and dad had a a ton of fun today! They hung out at the duck pond and fed them bread while I did some grocery shopping, then they had some gangster hour at home while I went to the post office... now I'm officially DONE shopping, AND shipping!! Wish I didn't have to do the shipping part, since that would mean the family would be here for the holidays, but... we're not so lucky this year. Next year, for sure.

A rather large Christmas present came in the mail for Riley. Russell built her a boat out of the box. And we all decorated it. Sarah helped with the decorations while mom and dad went for dinner at the Beach Chalet. My photos didn't turn out, but I think Russell took some. Check his blog (hint, hint, daddy!!).

She also loves the fire... couldn't get close enough!





Here are a couple of videos from Halloween to make up for my lack of words. Hope you enjoy them.

This one is the funniest bath I've seen Riley have yet... with grammy!!



And this is the pre-trick-or-treating bash at Judith's house. A great time was had by all.



Oh, and I forgot to mention my non-mommy activity for the month. Tuesday night was ladies' night out for me and some old friends. We went to a comedy club in Mill Valley, and we kinda lucked out... For a $20 cover charge, we were surprised by hour-long performances by Dana Carvey and Robin Williams, separately. Can you believe it? This place was about the size of my living room, and they were both super funny. Apparently, they were both trying out some new material. No photos allowed, but I sneaked a bad one of Robin:

Zoo fun and a baby birthday

This weekend was a lot of fun. Saturday, I decided to get up with Riley (she's been waking up at 7 these days... no more luck of her sleeping till 9!), so daddy could sleep in. He's been working himself to death the last few weeks. So, we had a little breakfast, and then we went to the zoo. They had members' morning with Santa and his reindeer from 9-12, and ice skating!! Yes, they built an ice skating rink in the zoo. I couldn't wait to see what it looked like, and how they did it. Amazing, it looked like a real ice rink!




Then, after Riley's afternoon nap, we went for sushi. A big night for sushi too, because it was the first time we didn't take food for her, and ordered her dinner off the menu! She loved it... she had fried tofu, spinach salad, unagi, and edamame. What a girl!!



Sunday, Riley and I went to the first birthday party for our new sweet little friend, Abby. Katie (Abby's mom) is a real doll, and the babies had a lot of fun.

I borrowed these first two photos from Abby's blog:







Riley was captivated by yet another ride-on toy.



And they had pizza from Pizza Orgasmica, so nothing could have gone wrong! Riley made a new best friend. Sirayah reciprocated the feelings....




Aside from that, I've been working very hard on catching up on my blog. I've posted some back-dated blogs, so be sure to have a look at them! In chronological order, from most recent to oldest:
Eggnog playdate
Getting ready for Santa!
Halloween adventures, part 2