"Saturday is Groundhog Day,"

I said. "Are we supposed to dress up?" was his response. I laughed out loud for about 5 minutes. "You've been so crazy about holidays since we've had Riley, I don't know!" was his defense. I love it. I love my husband.

Except when he chooses to watch retarded movies. Like Fast Food Nation. He put that on last nite, and I'd say it's one of the dumbest movies I've ever seen. Not sure if it's the actors, the director, or just the storyline in general, but I tuned out after about 20 minutes. Don't try it.

I don't have any new photos today, so here's one that's sure to make you smile. She was ONE DAY OLD here!



Today was fun. The weather was chilly but sunny and beautiful (first in a while!), so Riley and I took her bike to the playground. She was running around all morning yelling 'wing! wing!' which means 'swing'. I tried to put her in the swing a few times, and she wasn't having it. She just wanted to run around the playground like a crazy woman and go up the stairs and down the slides... Another mom and I decided that when Riley says 'wing', it means playground, since that word's too hard to say.

Then this afternoon we went to Haight St. to return a little outfit she got. Well, I received it as a shower gift and missed the size timeline on it. So we got her some darling rain boots. The red ones with the ladybugs on them. She picked them out of a few options. I can get a raincoat to match. But you know what, now that I look at that website, I might have to trade them in for the more girlie ones, with a raincoat to match. What's your opinion? Riley IS a "girly-girl", after all...

She enjoyed running around on Haight St. The guys in FTC gave her a free Girl sticker. I'm sure that will end up on her suitcase, along with her Vans sticker.

Here's another fun photo of her. My all-time fave, I think.



And tonite, daddy came home early to do baby duty, while I went to Jenny Craig. Yes, I'm committing to this thing. Starting tomorrow. I expect to be hungry and cranky, but they promise that will not happen. We'll see. I have a freezer full of little (tiny, actually) boxes of food, and a bag full of snack bars on my counter. It had better damn-well work. I have a pre-Riley wardrobe I'd like to get back into.... Don't you agree? See how I look right now?



Just kidding. Riley was in there. Of this portion, Jenny would not approve (but I would....):



Please view the previous post for better, current information about the Belle. xo

just a few new things

Riley has been going through a serious "mommy" stage right now. She always hugs and kisses me, and snuggles like it's nobody's business. I love it, and want it to last forever. Apparently, Anthony's doing the same thing. Kathy and I are sucking it up. Riley and I babysat Anthony yesterday while his mommy has a doctor appointment. I took a few photos of the two playing:




I think Riley really loves Anthony.





And some video. I had a hard time editing this video cause it was so cute... so it's kinda long. But worth it, I think! Check out the fight for the loudest 'dada'! And, Anthony clearly didn't like the pig nose. I tried to make it funny for him, like it is for Riley, but he was not having it.



They swam together on Thursday... it was fun. Riley was even more of a daredevil than last time. She swallows more water in the pool than she does at home. Keeps me on my toes, for sure.

Other happenin's:
Thursday:
Riley put her shoe on today. The whole way, the right way. I tried to help her in the middle of it, and she pushed me away, yelling "NO!!" She knew it was her day to do it. She was SO excited, and so was I, I can't even tell you. She stomped around the house laughing and waving her arms. It happened to be her sparkly hot pink shoe. It was the best. Wish I had video taped it!

About talking:
She now repeats EVERYTHING we say. even if it doesn't come out right the first time, she repeats it over and over again until it sounds good to her. Let's watch our language, everyone!! "Cake" was a new one from today, at Anthony's birthday party. Talking about the party, my GAWD, that Kathy can cook! Not only is she considered to be "Hot Kathy" by our mom's group, but man, she packs a punch in the kitchen. And I found out today that she was actually accepted into the Culinary Institute, but ended up not going that route because of the crazy hours she'd have to keep. She became a math teacher instead. Kathy rules. xoxo : )

Maybe Kathy will email me some of the photos from the party for my blog, since I forgot my camera... What was I thinking?!

One crazy night!

Man, we had a big day. Riley didn't nap. Up at 6 for some milk, then up at 8 for the day. Wouldn't sleep during either of her 'naps', and down for bed at 8:30. And tonite, she gave us all the extra energy she had left. Check it out.



Onto some good news... Riley was selected for a callback to a possible modeling job. It would not be for $$, but for a gift certificate to the clothing line. And, it would be a great start of a portfolio (aka: college fund), if she decided she likes modeling. I can't wait... I'm sure she'll love it, and they'll love her. We go on Wednesday, so I'll be sure to give you an update!!

Max comes tomorrow to set up the TV system and get some sushi with me and Riley for lunch. Yum. And that is all.

Playing with the new TV...

...or not! Riley can't reach the buttons on our new TV! Yay! And, the components are behind glass, so she hasn't figured out yet how to get to them. We're sure she'll figure that out by 10am tomorrow. The new TV is great, but we haven't had any luck in calibrating the color, and setting up the cable properly, so it looks like crap. My friend Max, a Genius from the Apple Store, is coming by on Tuesday to set it up for us. Yippeee! And then we will have sushi. And then I will move all of our art around on the walls.



Russell had toe surgery again today. He has this recurring ingrown toenail problem, and today he went to have it taken care of, again. He saved it. The toenail. Gross. But the point is, he's home, elevated, soaking, not allowed to walk on it. No fun for a mom caring for a crazy toddler... now I am the mom of two people. Both of whom I love to take care of. Just not all at once!



Here he is, feeling better:

More new stuff!

Today, we had a hysterical (in all definitions of the word) situation. Here it is: I had a doctor's appointment, and my friend Kathy babysat Riley (thanks, Kathy!!). I took Riley in the house and sat her down, and she ran over to the toys and couldn't care less whether I was there or not. I left, and about 1/2 hour later, Kathy called. "Don't freak out, but....." OK. Knowing Riley, I started to freak out. This could be anything. Turns out, Riley got to meet 5 nice firemen. In Kathy's apartment.

Turns out, Kathy turned around to get the babies some raisins, and Riley took off into the bedroom and slammed the door (one of her favorite pastimes). And, there was one of those button locks on the doorknob. Good thing Grammy spent some time teaching Riley to push buttons... so she pushed it (thanks, Grammy). There she was, locked in the bedroom. Kathy's explanation continued... "Riley locked herself in the bedroom and won't come out. But don't worry, the fire department is on it's way."

OK. Thank God my appointment is over by now, and I head over there. Kathy calls while I'm on my way, and says, "Five (very handsome) firemen came in with hatchets to break down the door!!" I was like, whoa.... And she continued, "... and all they needed to use was a paper clip." ..... "They opened the door, and there stood Riley, smiling, waving, and yelling, "HI! HI! HI! HI! HI!" Apparently, the firemen loved her. And were fully aware that Kathy was just trying to get a break by putting her in there.... hehehehehe!!!!!

That's our girl! M'gawd.... what's next? This is the first amount of trouble, and I'm not looking forward to more. She's not even a year and a half yet! C'mon, Riley.....



Here are some other funny things she's been saying/doing:

• saying "cheese" (her favorite food, and she usually asks for it while pointing at the refrigerator)
• doing "more" in sign language (love those photos....). Now, she runs around the house saying "more" cheese! (TOO funny)
• saying "cueco" = Diego
• making the sound of an elephant (complete with the trunk going up into the air)
• screwing lids onto water bottles
• climbing up onto the kitchen chairs, then onto the table, and off the other side. And, onto everything else. Great.
• turning the TV on and off whenever she wants. Guess she doesn't really like Mickey Mouse, either!! Yay, Riley!!
• running her horses and trains up and down everybody's legs (and every surface in the house) and making the corresponding noises (neeeigh, or choo-choo)

OK, that's enough to report for today. Let's move onto some less stressful, fun activity from this week. Enjoy!!

This is the footage of her wearing her new favorite booster chair all over the house:



And here she is, in a great punch-out with Spongebob, and then having her first dessert ever, chocolate pudding with fresh strawberries (mmmmm!):



And that, my friends, is WAY enough for today.

A cute surprise today

Our sushi chefs have been on vacation, and therefore closed, for two weeks. They opened back up today, so of course, we were THERE!! And Riley surprised us... one of her favorite foods is edamame, and I serve it to her a lot at home. I've been teaching her how to squeeze the beans out of the pods, and tonite at the restaurant, she picked one up, and did it! All on her own. That was very exciting. Then she had a big bowl of rice and unagi. What a gal!

Here she is, being goofy. She was watching her favorite show, Yo Gabba Gabba! on Noggin. Daddy and I actually love it too... it's very 'now'. Upbeat music, smart messages, cute characters, just an all-around great show.



Oh, and I keep forgetting to post these great photos of Riley's cousins in Toronto. Charlie is the older little lady, and Quinn is the younger. What sweeties!! Thanks for the photos, Auntie Lindsay!

Figuring stuff out

I'll start with a slightly old bit of video, for your viewing pleasure. This is from Christmas morning, and I finally had a chance to edit it! Here's more from that day.



OK, here are some new things that have been happening. Riley just figured out yesterday how to buckle those backpack clips. All on her own. Now she does it over and over again. She's been working on it for about 3 days, and today she nailed it. And, of course, she clipped a little piece of skin in it. I think that happens to me every time I clip one. But she practices every time she sees one of those things. Fortunately, I don't think she can unbuckle them yet.

When we're out and she sees a stroller, she yells and points, "baby!". If she gets to visit a baby up close, she always give a hug and a kiss.

When she bites me, I always react "Ow! That's not nice, and it hurts mommy!". She immediately gives me a hug and a kiss on the lips. She's been doing this a lot lately, like she's playing mommy, and trying to help me to feel better. Now, she frequently points to different parts of her body and says "ow!". It seems she likes it when I kiss her to make her feel better if she gets hurt or falls or something (even if she's faking, just to get a hug and kiss).

Now, it seems I don't have to put her in her high chair anymore. I turned around from making her oatmeal the other day, and there she was... up in the high chair, turning around to sit down. Scary... this photo shows her just after her accomplishment, but doesn't really do the climb justice. Guess I need to set up a Riley cam to catch these things on video!



Yesterday, we went to the mall. We used our gift certificates that daddy gave us for Christmas to get new Vans. And, of course, we had to stop by the Disney store. With all the stuff in that store, all she wanted to do was tug this little Tinkerbell suitcase around. I've been wanting to get her her own little suitcase for a while, so I thought this was a good time. And, it matches her favorite sparkly disco shoes. Here she is, wearing her new Vans, hugging her new suitcase:



And here are my shoes. They're the featured shoe on Vans girls website, which sucks, cause now everyone will have them. But Russell was impressed that I chose such a cool shoe (I've been quite a bit out of the fashion sense since I got pregnant):



Today, we went swimming for the first time in like, probably 3 months. I told Russell, I think someone has been kidnapping Riley and taking her swimming all along... she was more of a fish than ever. And more fearless than ever... I always stand her up on the edge of the pool, and she steps off into my arms. Sometimes i put her under, and she loves it. Today, I put her on the edge, and she ran about 5 feet down the pool and ran right off the edge into the water. Rubbed her ankle on the edge a little and went about a foot under, but came up laughing her head off. She's so freakin' independent, now I'm really scared! Nobody was there to take photos today, so here's an old swimming photo:



She always likes to play with pots and utensils while I'm cooking in the kitchen (another instance where she tries to be like mommy). Tonite, I gave her my strainer, and here's what she did with it.



And how about this?! The latest from Hello Kitty. Or, in this case, "Good-bye Kitty". What's next?

Some new hap'nins

Well, I have a few things to report.



First of all, I took Zoe to the vet today, because yesterday and today, she wouldn't put weight on her right leg. They did an x-ray, and it showed "severe bone degeneration due to her arthritis". One little piece of bone has appeared to chip off (maybe from a slip on the stairs). They upped her pain medicine, and said that she's not a candidate for surgery due to her health and age. So similar to my grandma. Zoe's gonna be getting loads of hugs and yummy food over the next month or two...

Onto a more cheerful note... Riley! She's been really awesome, and starting to display some true 'big girl' behavior. For instance, she's been repeating every word we focus on with her. Her pronunciation is usually way off, but you can tell she's trying to get the words. I hope to get a video together soon showing that language. Her latest accomplishment is 'apple'.

She has this new habit of crawling up onto a kitchen chair and reading her magazines. Seriously, she does this all on her own.... I only provide the water.



We've also been coloring together. She's getting really good at it... she first scribbled when my mom was visiting over Halloween, and now she's getting more confident in making darker marks on the paper. Or the walls, which she's discovered make a great canvas. Hmmm, how to stop that one! Any suggestions?



We are traveling to Florida to visit our families on vacation in February (super convenient that everyone will be there at the same time, only about an hour away from each other!). So we bought her a travel booster chair. We've been using it so she can get used to it, and she LOVES it. So much, that she makes me strap her into it while she walks (and crawls) around the house.




But she also eats in it:




I can't believe what a polite eater she is, albeit messy... my Aunt Ruthie commented months ago, how Riley chews with her mouth closed and doesn't talk until she's done chewing. Trust me, that's not something you can teach a one-year-old.



And of course, after dinner she needs a BIG bath with dad, and the usual dad shenanigans:



She's so amazing! Except for sleep (and when it comes time to get into the car seat... look out!!!). She's been really cranky when we put her in her crib. After about a half hour of screaming and making her face really wet with tears and snot, I go in and she falls asleep on me in the rocking chair. Guess that's the trick, for now. She's getting some HUGE teeth in the back, so I'm sure that's the culprit. Love that girl... hope the teeth all come in at the same time then stop. No more!!

New Years excitement

This past weekend had some lovely weather, so we went to the Park Chalet for a happy hour. Riley came along, and posed for the camera. They had a live band outside, and she was dancing her little heart out and charming all the other patrons.





Last nite, she stayed up until 9:00 to watch the NYC ball drop! She loved all the pretty lights and excitement on TV. Then she zonked out. Daddy and I played Scrabble and drank wine and ate cheese and crackers. That's a great way to spend New Year's Eve. We don't like going out... it's amateur night. And today, while Riley napped, we took down the Christmas decorations. I always find it a little sad to do that, but next year will be even better! I ordered a bunch of kid-style decorations for Riley to put on the tree next year. I can't wait.

Jen and Coral just returned from Christmas in Colorado. I loved these photos, so I stole them from Jen's site...