Wow! It's been a while!

Wow! I knew it had been a while, but I didn't realize it had been so long since I had last posted! My excuse for November is that I didn't have my home pc going for a while because I got a new one (Thanks Rusty!)! Then work has been so crazy lately! I had to cancel at least 4 scheduled vacation days early in December due to issues at work, which meant I REALLY didn't have any extra time to post. Then when I finally got to start my vacation on Dec 14th, I had to play holiday catch up! I joked to Kelly that I needed to go back to work so I could get some rest! Seriously, the 1st day I got to relax was yesterday (the day after Christmas). Leading up to that was all nighters to get Christmas cards done and out, gifts wrapped, photobooks made, etc! Which is ironic b/c I so want Riley to know the reason for the season and not get caught up in all the mass marketing hoopla of it being all about him and what presents he gets! However, Mom is going to have to practice what she preaches and lead by example there! There's always next year!

One tradition we decided to start this year was Riley choosing which toys he wants to donate the day after Thanksgiving. Obviously, Riley can't choose yet, so I started that process this year by gathering up at least the toys he never plays with. I am sad to report they are still stacked in a box in my room. My intention is to get them donated so less fortunate people will have them to choose from for Christmas presents! I did however offer to our housekeeper to take whatever she wanted out of the box to her daughter and nieces. Which she did, so it wasn't a complete lost cause! I also had lofty goals of filtering through Riley's toys before Santa came, but my to do list was too long and that one wasn't on the critical path so it didn't get done!

Okay...enough of my rambling on and on with my lack of blogging excuses! Let's play some catch up!!

Riley continued to add to his dancing repertoire through all of November and December. He actually started to put some of his arm and leg moves together, then he added a shoulder swivel, then all of the sudden his main move became pivoting on one foot in a circle as if he were dancing around something. He's still the same way - he can be doing anything - and if Kelly turns it to the "dance music" Riley comes running to the front of the tv and starts working his moves. He even shows a preference for certain beats, etc. He doesn't like them all.

Here are a couple of the "greatest" hits videos that I've captured over the last couple of months.


Here is his greatest hits (from a month ago). GiGi, my sister Amy and her new baby Jayden came to visit for Kelly's birthday (Nov 20th) bearing an ice cream birthday cake! Yum! My mom grabbed my point and shoot camera and captured Riley working the dance floor which is why it's a little dark. As you can hear in the background - the 4 of us are literally crying we are laughing so hard! This went on for a WHILE! This is just the 1st video captured of his best moves before he started to get tired!


This is another video of Riley dancing with all his cousin's at my cousin Brandi's Christmas celebration for my Mom's side of the family on Dec 20th! As you'll see, he's stopped doing some of his moves and traded them for this new shoulder twist thing! Here since there was a larger crowd than normal, he was giving other people their props by clapping for them too. When he would do one of his funny moves and people would cheer. He would stop dancing and clap with everyone else. It was so funny! My Mom was much better at holding the camera steady than I was though! So prepare yourself! This is still so funny! I can only imagine all the fun these kids will have playing together as they all grow up. Lessa in the pink pants is 6 months older than Riley, so it's interesting to see all the things he'll be able to do in 6 months that he can't do now.

Riley had a really good Thanksgiving too. Unfortunately, I don't have any pics. Kelly and I BOTH dropped my new Nikon camera on Halloween so it's been out of commission! And you can't get pictures of Riley with the little point and shoot one anymore - they are all blurry because he's constantly on the move. We got a new lens for it just before Christmas, so we at least have some Christmas pictures! For Thanksgiving, we went to my PawPaw's house. He was the center of attention and worked the room! He also LOVED all the Thanksgiving food! This was his 1st time to eat the same meal that we did. From the way he ate it, I'd say he agrees with Mom & Dad that MemMaw's Dressing recipe that Aunt Char continues the tradition of is the BEST of all time!! :) Afterwards we stopped by to see GiGi at work, and he worked the room there too. All the elderly people LOVE him! And he loved all the wide open spaces to run up and down the halls!

He's signing a lot more now. And also adding many more one worders to his vocabulary. It consists of Mamma, Dadady, ball, baaaaallllll, BALL, curtain (go figure! I have no idea except that he's always pointing to his curtains so we say it A LOT!), GiGi, he signs and says 'all done', dog, downshairs (downstairs) as you walk down the stairs, and he'll just randomly repeat words you say throughout the day like cheese at his snacktime, etc.

BUT the BEST and WORST one of all is SHT! SHT! SHT! This one actually deserves a post all on its own but I'm playing catch up! Literally, I don't think he means "sh*t" when he says it obviously...I'm thinking it's code for something obvious, but he says it at the most appropriate and inappropriate times! You'll open his door in the am, and he'll greet you good morning by saying it. Then one day he was literally squatting down doing his business, and he started saying it! I was like WHAT?!? Then Kelly went into our powder bathroom one day and he said it! Then he dropped a toy and said it! The best was probably when Kelly brought him down on Christmas morning, and it was the VERY 1st word he said when he put him down and he saw all his toys! I think I have that video to upload here. Kelly and I of course have done the worst thing you can do! We can't help but crack up when he says it! OMG! It's so cute! GiGi and Granny did the same thing when they were here for Christmas, so it may take us a while to undue the damage we've done this past week! I forgot about taking him to Walmart and him literally saying it non-stop as I walked up and down the aisles! Some people would do a double take, other's didn't even notice. I just kept walking as if that wasn't what he was actually saying! What can you do?! I'm hoping we move on to the "next" word sooner rather than later! But I think this SHT has gotten him so much attention and laughs from me, Kelly, GiGi and Granny that he may keep using it for a long while! Kelly and I joke that Emily (Riley's Nanny) is the enforcer b/c she's so much more about discipline than us that she'll break him from saying it after the 1st week in January! We can only wish!! Ha!

He's also become a Stage 25 Clinger and total Mamma's boy in the last month! Seriously, I dream of the day when I'll be able to go to the restroom in peace again! I walk 4 steps away from him, and he comes running and screaming and grabs my legs as tight as he can. I'm washing dishes - he's standing between me and the sink looking up at me. It's so sweet on one hand, but a little scary on other! If I go upstairs, he'll cry at the bottom of the stairs until I come all the way back down - standing at the top and talking to him just won't do it! So much so, that he's also become my little helper with laundry. Since that's usually the reason I go upstairs. It's so cute! Of course, dirty clothes get put in the dryer, and clean clothes back in the washer, and I've found socks in the trash can in the laundry room and his clothes in the sorter in our closet! But I'll take whatever help I can get with the laundry! :)

One day I couldn't find his shoes that I had set out in our room! I mean I looked ALL OVER for them! I finally declare myself insane and gave up only to find them perfectly lined up with my shoes in my closet. It was so cute to see his little shoes lined up neatly and perfectly right by my big shoes. He's totally figuring out "which one of these things does NOT belong". And where things go. He does the same thing in his bath each night. We have 2 purple bottles, so I will put them in separate corners, but by the end of his bath they always end up in the SAME corner together. Like he's organizing it! I love it! :) Now if I can only channel that skill to putting his toys away! He also would remove the same types of ornaments from the tree, he'll carry 2 sippy cups out of his drawer around, or two of the same types of blocks or puzzle pieces. Everything is about similar pairs of things right now.

Toddler Tantrums have officially begun!!! He's started the back arching, screaming, protesting, tossing toys, throwing food on the ground out of his high chair. His biggest tantrum tactic is lying down on the ground, then S-L-O-W-L-Y lowering his head onto the ground (because we have hardwood floors) and giving you a fake cry! Please pray for Mom & Dad! I've read about people putting their kids in timeout already, but I can't even imagine trying to pull that off with him. And I just don't think he'll get it. At this point, I'm just trying to squat down to his level and tell him in a calm voice that we don't do that, etc.