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!!