I think I posted last week how Riley wants us to raise his basketball goal so it's harder, and that he's started being more creative with his dunks.
Kelly captured one on video - a 2 ball dunk - well sort of! But we'll count it!! Listen to how he "groans" after he makes it just like Kelly does! Cracks me UP!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
I'm a blues man!
Riley's Kindermusik instrument for this session is a harmonica. At first, he'd bring it to me to play, but when I would play it his lips would start quivering and he'd start to cry. So I'd stop and he'd try to put it right back in my mouth! It was sad and funny at the same time! Maybe that's why the harmonica is for the blues....b/c it makes babies cry! LOL!
He's since conquered that fear, so now he's trying to play it himself. This is a video Kelly took of him trying to teach him how to play it. If you listen at the end, you'll also hear him say "Did it!"
He's since conquered that fear, so now he's trying to play it himself. This is a video Kelly took of him trying to teach him how to play it. If you listen at the end, you'll also hear him say "Did it!"
Riley's Moves!
OMG! We have so many videos of this! But I'm sorry pictures and my lame attempt to describe Riley's dance moves just don't do them justice! You have to see for yourself!!
Riley REALLY getting down! This is one of his newer moves - the run/punch move! I'm so scared he's going to knock someone out at Kindermusik with this one!
Here's a continuation of the above showing a little of his side to side sway move for when he needs to slow things down a bit!
See...words and pictures just wouldn't do all that action justice!
Riley REALLY getting down! This is one of his newer moves - the run/punch move! I'm so scared he's going to knock someone out at Kindermusik with this one!
Here's a continuation of the above showing a little of his side to side sway move for when he needs to slow things down a bit!
See...words and pictures just wouldn't do all that action justice!
I think I can fly!
Seriously, I know I always say "and it was the cutest thing", but they ARE!! Every last one of them!!
Riley did another one of his "cutest things" yesterday! It was a BEAUTIFUL day outside, so we went to the playground by our house. For whatever reason, I decided we'd take his big ball to play with, so we could chase it around the playground. When we got there a Dad and his 2 kids were shooting baskets, so it became a full time job trying to keep Riley from joining them! You know he's ALL about basketball these days with his favorite pastime of dunking!! So he'd keep running toward them saying "ball", and I'd keep catching him and trying to distract him with his own ball!
When they left, I just let Riley go onto the basketball court to see what he'd do! I almost FELL over laughing when I saw this next scene play out before my eyes. Riley took off running toward the basketball court with his big ball, and I swear to God - he ran all the way to the farthest basketball goal and threw his ball up like he was shooting a layup!! OMG! I had NO idea he'd have no concept of "height", so he literally "shot baskets" for another HOUR straight! And he was showing no signs of stopping anytime soon! In fact, before long every person at the playground was cheering him on and totally getting a chuckle out of watching him run and shoot at the basket over and over again! It never got old! Sometimes he would stand right under the basket and hold his head back and look straight through the basket and then grunt as he threw the ball up! I held him up a couple of times so he'd be closer and he let out the biggest squeals of delight! I think he could have done it ALL NIGHT!!! Finally I had to bring him home (kicking and screaming of course) for dinner!
Kelly and I took him back for some more action today. Plus, I think Kelly doubted me, so he had to see it for himself! It wasn't as nice out today, so you'll see his rosy red cheeks!! But that didn't deter him at all!
This 1st video is what Riley did right as we put him down. I wanted to capture that he's a man on a mission when there is a basketball goal around! I love the fact that he does his "victory dance" whether he makes it or not too! When Kelly picks him up so he can be higher - listen closely - and you'll hear him say "dunk".
This is Riley taking it COAST to COAST baby and shooting a layup! ;) This court is at an elementary school, so it's small and has 4 goals. You can tell
Riley taking a ride on Dad's Basketball Ride - when the video first starts - you can hear one of Riley's infamous "Daddy's" with total excitement! He may be a Mamma's boy, but he LOVES his Daddy!
Riley did another one of his "cutest things" yesterday! It was a BEAUTIFUL day outside, so we went to the playground by our house. For whatever reason, I decided we'd take his big ball to play with, so we could chase it around the playground. When we got there a Dad and his 2 kids were shooting baskets, so it became a full time job trying to keep Riley from joining them! You know he's ALL about basketball these days with his favorite pastime of dunking!! So he'd keep running toward them saying "ball", and I'd keep catching him and trying to distract him with his own ball!
When they left, I just let Riley go onto the basketball court to see what he'd do! I almost FELL over laughing when I saw this next scene play out before my eyes. Riley took off running toward the basketball court with his big ball, and I swear to God - he ran all the way to the farthest basketball goal and threw his ball up like he was shooting a layup!! OMG! I had NO idea he'd have no concept of "height", so he literally "shot baskets" for another HOUR straight! And he was showing no signs of stopping anytime soon! In fact, before long every person at the playground was cheering him on and totally getting a chuckle out of watching him run and shoot at the basket over and over again! It never got old! Sometimes he would stand right under the basket and hold his head back and look straight through the basket and then grunt as he threw the ball up! I held him up a couple of times so he'd be closer and he let out the biggest squeals of delight! I think he could have done it ALL NIGHT!!! Finally I had to bring him home (kicking and screaming of course) for dinner!
Kelly and I took him back for some more action today. Plus, I think Kelly doubted me, so he had to see it for himself! It wasn't as nice out today, so you'll see his rosy red cheeks!! But that didn't deter him at all!
This 1st video is what Riley did right as we put him down. I wanted to capture that he's a man on a mission when there is a basketball goal around! I love the fact that he does his "victory dance" whether he makes it or not too! When Kelly picks him up so he can be higher - listen closely - and you'll hear him say "dunk".
This is Riley taking it COAST to COAST baby and shooting a layup! ;) This court is at an elementary school, so it's small and has 4 goals. You can tell
Riley taking a ride on Dad's Basketball Ride - when the video first starts - you can hear one of Riley's infamous "Daddy's" with total excitement! He may be a Mamma's boy, but he LOVES his Daddy!
Toes & Teeezzzz
So Riley is definitely on a roll with words these days! I read somewhere a long time ago that starting around right now until 3 or 4 children learn on average a new word every 3 hours!! How amazing is that?!
Riley's not to that velocity yet, but he probably does say a new word on average every day. Although, that doesn't necessarily mean he'll say that word again the next day. Sometimes it's just a "repeater" word. He'll hear you say it, then he'll repeat it but not necessarily say it on his own.
One of those this week was Minka (Emily's cat's name). She was calling her, so Riley helped her call him. He's ALWAYS saying 'Carrrah' as in car, but with a REALLY thick Boston accent! We were driving yesterday, and he was like 'carrah', 'carrrah' at everyone we passed!
He's also got most of his body parts down - you can say where is your nose? And he'll point to his nose, then touch my nose, then have to touch Kelly's nose - we can't do just one! All body parts come in 3's now! Then he'll do ears, belly button, mouth, eyes.
So this week we added toezzzz to the mix too! So when we say where are your toes? And he'll pat them and say toezzzz. So after we had mastered toezzz, we started saying where are your knees? At first, he would just pat his knees. Then yesterday, he started saying teeezzzzz! OMG! Once again it was the cutest thing!!! Kelly and I laughed so hard, that Riley would just laugh too and repeat it over and over again! He's totally in that phase where he gets when he's making you laugh or whatever, so he'll keep doing whatever he's doing until you are about to pee your pants!!
So teezzz is definitely this week's greatest hit!!!
Riley's not to that velocity yet, but he probably does say a new word on average every day. Although, that doesn't necessarily mean he'll say that word again the next day. Sometimes it's just a "repeater" word. He'll hear you say it, then he'll repeat it but not necessarily say it on his own.
One of those this week was Minka (Emily's cat's name). She was calling her, so Riley helped her call him. He's ALWAYS saying 'Carrrah' as in car, but with a REALLY thick Boston accent! We were driving yesterday, and he was like 'carrah', 'carrrah' at everyone we passed!
He's also got most of his body parts down - you can say where is your nose? And he'll point to his nose, then touch my nose, then have to touch Kelly's nose - we can't do just one! All body parts come in 3's now! Then he'll do ears, belly button, mouth, eyes.
So this week we added toezzzz to the mix too! So when we say where are your toes? And he'll pat them and say toezzzz. So after we had mastered toezzz, we started saying where are your knees? At first, he would just pat his knees. Then yesterday, he started saying teeezzzzz! OMG! Once again it was the cutest thing!!! Kelly and I laughed so hard, that Riley would just laugh too and repeat it over and over again! He's totally in that phase where he gets when he's making you laugh or whatever, so he'll keep doing whatever he's doing until you are about to pee your pants!!
So teezzz is definitely this week's greatest hit!!!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Psycho Breastfeeding First Time Mom Returns
So a friend of mine at work recently had a new baby, and it was funny because I work with the husband!! But I guess in passing (I'm sure he really wanted to hear about it), I told him I was a Psycho Breastfeeding First Time Mom. Well I didn't even remember telling him my stories - I credit my "Mommy Brain" with that new skill!
But this week when he came back to work, he told me that he told his wife to call me because she was getting overwhelmed and frustrated that every person she talked to told her - oh I just gave up. Don't kill yourself trying. It's so much harder than anyone ever tells you. Blah-Blah, so her being 2 weeks postpartum - she was getting a little overwhelmed and frustrated. She didn't take him up on calling me - after all she's only met me once, but I wore that I was even thought of in a moment like that as a badge of honor! God knows I paid my dues with the breastfeeding Gods!! LOL!
So I'm going to write her a note of encouragement anyway...not being pushy or anything, but just sending her positive thoughts in a pretty overwhelming time! It's hard for me to even remember those days!! But I do remember that overwhelming feeling of worrying that your baby is getting enough milk, etc. Throw in some hormones...and that can quickly spiral out of control!!
But this week when he came back to work, he told me that he told his wife to call me because she was getting overwhelmed and frustrated that every person she talked to told her - oh I just gave up. Don't kill yourself trying. It's so much harder than anyone ever tells you. Blah-Blah, so her being 2 weeks postpartum - she was getting a little overwhelmed and frustrated. She didn't take him up on calling me - after all she's only met me once, but I wore that I was even thought of in a moment like that as a badge of honor! God knows I paid my dues with the breastfeeding Gods!! LOL!
So I'm going to write her a note of encouragement anyway...not being pushy or anything, but just sending her positive thoughts in a pretty overwhelming time! It's hard for me to even remember those days!! But I do remember that overwhelming feeling of worrying that your baby is getting enough milk, etc. Throw in some hormones...and that can quickly spiral out of control!!
Mommy's Little Man & Protector
Well...maybe not protector, but he's surely concerned with my well being! A few weeks ago, we had 2 incidents where Riley thought Kelly was hurting me, and he got totally freaked out and started crying and running to me! They were totally innocent things, and it was so sweet and cute and sad all at the same time! The 1st one was that I had worn tall boots to work, so I was sitting in the floor and asked Kelly to pull them off. When he did, I let out an "Awe...." sound in relief to have those things off my feet! And I think Riley must have thought he was pulling my feet off or something b/c he totally flipped out!!
A couple of days later, I told Kelly my shoulder was sore so he rub it sort of hard and I was like "Owww", and again Riley totally freaked out!
Now the we are aware of it....I try not to freak him out, but you can tell he's totally tuned into what's going on even when you think he's not paying any attention.
Speaking of "Owww" - that's another word Riley has been saying this week..he just walks around saying "Oww"...I sort of wonder if he's trying to say "Wow" because I say wow a lot to all his AWESOME dunks! :)
And speaking of him being my little man - I always say to him "You're Mommy's Little Man", and I was so excited recently to find a shirt that says exactly that!! I love it! He is my little man!!
A couple of days later, I told Kelly my shoulder was sore so he rub it sort of hard and I was like "Owww", and again Riley totally freaked out!
Now the we are aware of it....I try not to freak him out, but you can tell he's totally tuned into what's going on even when you think he's not paying any attention.
Speaking of "Owww" - that's another word Riley has been saying this week..he just walks around saying "Oww"...I sort of wonder if he's trying to say "Wow" because I say wow a lot to all his AWESOME dunks! :)
And speaking of him being my little man - I always say to him "You're Mommy's Little Man", and I was so excited recently to find a shirt that says exactly that!! I love it! He is my little man!!
Sweet Kisses!!!
OMG!! FINALLY! I got my 1st kiss yesterday!! I think I blogged about how every day when I come home I squat down and say give me a hug and a kiss. And Riley will walk over to me and back his booty into my chest and let me hug and kiss him! Yesterday to my surprise he turned around and planted a BIG, SLOPPY WET, WIDE OPENED MOUTH kiss right on my lips!! OMG! It was the SWEETEST thing!!! I was like OMG! Kelly he just gave me a kiss! Then he leaned right back in and gave me a closed mouth kiss with the "muah" sound too! So I figured it might be a fluke, but I got one tonight when I got home too! Not RIGHT when I walked in the door, but a few minutes later when I was down on the floor with him! Then he gave Kelly one as we were getting him ready for bed tonight!
This has to be one of the top parental nirvana states! I'm getting kisses!! And he's not talking back yet!! I gotta soak this up while I can!!!
And I SWEAR he's saying a new word almost every day! Today Emily said he said "Camden" when her son Camden walked by while Riley was having his snack! And I'm not lying...I SWEAR he said "washing machine" this past weekend! He helps me do laundry every weekend, and I said let's go open the washing machine, and he repeated washing machine open. Like he was processing what I said in reverse order in his brain. That was just a "repeater" though - Camden was a whole new word!
This has to be one of the top parental nirvana states! I'm getting kisses!! And he's not talking back yet!! I gotta soak this up while I can!!!
And I SWEAR he's saying a new word almost every day! Today Emily said he said "Camden" when her son Camden walked by while Riley was having his snack! And I'm not lying...I SWEAR he said "washing machine" this past weekend! He helps me do laundry every weekend, and I said let's go open the washing machine, and he repeated washing machine open. Like he was processing what I said in reverse order in his brain. That was just a "repeater" though - Camden was a whole new word!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Playing Catch Up Once Again!
So playing catch up is becoming a more regular post than I ever intended! The main reason I haven't been blogging as much lately is that my normal "blog" time has now become my workout time. Kelly and I started a new 60 day workout program on Dec 14th, it's called Insanity! And it IS!! It's definitely the hardest dvd workout I've ever done! Which makes me VERY happy b/c since I've trained for sports, with a body builder and some really good personal trainers - it's REALLY hard for me to find a dvd workout that makes me feel like I'm actually working out! To be honest, when Kelly and I first watched it before we did it - I psyched myself out thinking I wasn't going to be able to do it b/c I had all the "baby weight" to lose, but I surprised even myself! I'm happy to report I've lost 16lbs since November, so I am officially lower than my pre-baby weight. Now I just have to get to my "pre car accident" weight! We actually only have 2 more days of Insanity left, so I'm starting to stress a little about losing my momentum and focus! We're going to do a week of recovery workouts, then we have a trip to Maryland so we're going to start our own rendition of P90X when we get back from there.
Anyway, now that we've committed to working out 1 hour 6 days a week, my normal blog time on the weekends during Riley's nap has become our workout time on Saturday, and then I spend Sunday doing laundry and getting ready for the next week - so that leaves no free time for blogging!! And the week days are even more difficult! As it is Kelly and I don't get to bed until midnight or later, so there's not a lot of free time to squeeze blogging in there either! Sorry! Of course, lately I've been falling asleep on the sofa around 10:30 on the weekends which is earlier than I get to bed during the week! It's definitely difficult to "do it all". I find myself thinking back to that Enjoli commercial from the 70's when I was growing up with the lady saying I can bring home the bacon. Fry it up in a pan. (Click on Enjoli Commercial to see it.) Okay...tangent here - you have to love the age we live in - it totally perpetuates instant gratification! At first, I was thinking this was a Calgon commercial - it took 1 Google search to figure out it was Enjoli and to actually SEE the commercial I was thinking of on YouTube!! Crazy and amazing times we live in!!
Okay - I'm back from my tangent! Anyway! It is very difficult to keep it all going! Kelly and I were talking about how we could try to get to bed earlier during the week, and he was like if we go to bed any earlier all we'll do is eat, get Riley ready for bed and put down, workout and sleep! I was like I know!! I guess that's what normal people do! Except a lot of people I know don't do the workout part! And I can see why! We had to finally make a decision and commitment to put working out at the top of our list after our jobs and being Mom & Dad. And it takes that commitment and consistency! That's the only way I was finally able to see results! And I mean every bite of food I eat has been weighed on a scale and cooked a certain way! Thank GOD for Kelly! I'd never be able to do this with the intensity I've been able to so far without him and his support. I joked the other day that I'm like Oprah - I have personal chef that prepares all my meals and a trainer that works out with me and I still have good days and bad days!! It's hard to never go to lunch with friends or other social functions b/c you are committed to a program! But I've found that's what it takes! Hopefully once I get back down to my normal weight, we can relax things a little to maintain. But right now, I'm focused and committed to my end goal!! Seriously though, I can't give Kelly enough credit! He really does carry a lot of the weight during the week. He feeds Riley breakfast and gets him off in the morning, then he's usually home before me and gets dinner going. During the week, our share of the work may be closer to 60 Kelly, 40 me, but when you factor in how many hours I have to be in the office for face to face time, meetings, etc it probably ends up 50/5o. Sometimes I worry about Kelly feeling like he's carrying all the load at home though, but he's so laid back! If I say anything, he's like I don't think that at all. I can't say this enough! He may not be perfect, but he's perfect for me! Sometimes I actually get a little freaked out that maybe our relationship is too easy....like there might be something wrong because it just works so effortlessly! I know...I need help! It hasn't always been like this though - we had to work on things to get it to the point where it is now! However, things with our lives after Riley just sort of naturally fell into place without us even having to discuss it very much!
Anyway! Enough with my no time no blogging excuses! I'll try to be better! Just have to find a time to fit it into an already jam packed schedule!! Now let's play some catch up on what's going on with Riley since this is his show!!
- Just in the last couple of days he's started to shake his head 'Yes' - very slowly and he has to concentrate! It's so cute!! And now he'll say it to - "Cheeeessssssssss" as he's doing it.
- He's been shaking his head No for a while, and he knows he means No when he does it! I always ask the question twice just to make sure b/c sometimes he'll just shake his head no for the heck of it.
- He also mastered the art of the High Five! And we have NO idea how!! But thank GOD b/c every stranger tries to get him to do that! And Kelly and I would have to say - he doesn't know how to high five! So now he does!
- He'll point to our noses, mouth, ears...but not his own! And if he touches my nose, he has to touch Kelly's too!
- He'll point to his own bellybutton and raise his shirt up to show it to you.
- As far as words go - he's still got the old faithfuls of sht, ball, kitty kitty, mama, dada, dadadada and mamamama (when he's excited) and gitcha gitcha. Now he's added - cheese, all done, bye-bye (he'll wave bye too), shoes, a mixture of meow and ow, dunk and ish (as in gold fish - one of his FAVORITE snacks). I'm sure there's a few more that are escaping me now. More and more, you'll say something to him and he's a little repeater and just repeats it back. I SWEAR he said "washing machine" today! And open and close! Emily said she swears he said "magician" the other day too! Kelly and I REALLY better start watching our potty mouth slip ups now!!
- Speaking of dunk - he's a dunking MACHINE!! He's even starting to get creative and do different and more challenging dunks. He'll stand behind the goal to dunk or back into it like he's doing a reverse dunk, etc. I tried to get some pictures tonight, and we take videos too so I'll have to get some of those uploaded. Kelly described it perfectly the other day - we came home from somewhere and Riley immediately ran to get his basketball and dunk, so Kelly said - it's like Christmas every day with that basketball goal and dunking.
- He also understands so much more than he can speak. I guess narrating what you do does pay off. Yesterday, I said take the paci out of your mouth so I can give you a drink, and he did it! I was like WHAT?!? If we say, where's the basketball - he always goes to look for it in 1 place first - under the coffee table. Then he'll go dunk it with AUTHORITY! I can say let's go to Mommy's room or your room, and he'll take off running to the room I said. I said do you want to slide tonight, and he ran and put both hands on his slide. And that's not something we say every day or anything.
- It's so cute every day when I come home from work, he hears the garage so he greets me at the gate with jibberish - then he runs to find his basketball and dunks it for me as if to show off! Like one of my friend's at work said - he's like a little puppy showing off! Then I'll squat down and say come give me a hug, and he'll run over to me - then turn his back to me and back into my chest like he's letting me give him a hug!! OMG! It makes my heart pitter patter just to type about it! He's so SWEET!!!
- He's still all about his baby signs too. Man have those ever saved many a tantrums!! And if you don't "listen" the 1st time he tells/signs that he's all done eating - he'll start frantically signing it! I think I said to him once. I don't know you're all done unless you do it with both hands, so I'll keep feeding him if he only "says" it with one hand. He usually eats about 2 more bites, then he's REALLY all done! He can be playing or whatever, then he'll just come up to you and sign for milk or eat if he's hungry. We should probably do more signs with him, but it's like he's starting to talk now so I'm not sure it'd be worth it.
- Kelly has this whole repertoire he goes through with him - I'm going to try to video it one day, but every time the video camera beeps - Riley gets distracted and it messes up whatever you were trying to capture! Here's the breakdown of their routine:
- Clap (very enthusiastic clapping)
- Say Yes - head nod
- Show me your belly button
- Dance
- High Five
- Where's my nose?
- Wave
So they just cycle right through them on demand! It's so cute and funny! Sometimes he'll even clap after he does one of the other things - like I know I did it!
- That's another thing - he's such a little cheerleader! It's like that "Go Hank" commercial from a few years ago every day at our house! I put dirty clothes in the hamper and he claps and smiles! He puts a puzzle piece in his puzzle and he claps and smiles! He dunks and he claps or does a little victory dance! If he gets something out, and you ask him to put it back - he puts it back, then claps and smiles!
- Dancing! OMG! How could I forget that?!??! He's a dancing MACHINE too! We finally started back to Kindermusik last week, and he danced his socks off in that class! He was running circles around all those kids! You could tell the other parents were like - why isn't my kid doing that?! And the teacher was loving it b/c all the new or visiting parents had twinkles in their eyes thinking their kids would be that excited one day too! We still have at least 1 dance song a day at home. Either real dance music on a Sirius channel on tv, or one of the dancing songs from his previous Kindermusik cds.
- I have to admit that I was concerned he might be a little anti-social since he stays with Emily and isn't in a group setting, but groups don't intimidate him at all! It's like he feeds off the attention! I was thinking he might not be as into Kindermusik, but he picked right up where he left off, but with his new and improved dance moves now. The last time we went to Kindermusik he wasn't even walking, so the teacher was totally loving all his dance moves! And we went to my cousin Cassie's baby shower yesterday, and he was working the room dancing and running around! I guess it drives home that nature versus nurture point - he was definitely born with his somewhat outgoing personality because one could argue we have not done much at all outside of Kindermusik to nurture that side of him.
- One of his favorite things is to just run around outside...omg! I think I have the cutest video that captures that - he literally runs and jibber jabbers non-stop! He LOVES it! Emily even took him to Grapevine Mills mall last week when the weather was bad and he walked and ran around the entire 1 mile loop! I'm ready for the weather to be nicer so we can go outside more!
- He has become a little more picky in the food department, but not too bad still.
- And the tantrums come and go. They can come on quickly, but the good news is they also leave very quickly.
- He definitely gets more "emotional" when I get home. I read in this weekly newsletter I get from BabyCenter last week that they do that when they feel safe to show all their emotions (good or bad) with you. It's like if your child is fine at daycare, then has a meltdown when you get there to pick them up. Sort of like we as adults do, we have to be on for work all day, so if we aren't careful our loved ones at home get the sloppy, short fused leftovers! I definitely try to be cognizant of that! I focus on being present in the moment with Riley and Kelly once I get home. I try not to check my phone, not to be thinking about all the things I need to get done either at work or home and just enjoy the few moments I get to spend with them. Especially Riley! :( Same thing on the weekends!
- I can see where people lose themselves once they have kids. I don't do as many happy hours, girls' dinners, etc as I used to b/c I feel like I should be home with Riley when I'm not at work. I'll try to squeeze some things in during his naps on the weekends if I can, but we've been working out during that time so I've been doing even less. It's definitely a balancing act all the time. I know he can't be my entire life, but when he's this small - sacrificing some of the things I used to do is a small price to pay! I know he'll grow up all too fast and not have enough time for me all too soon!
- We're definitely trying to keep dinner as the sacred "family time". Where we are all 3 at the table, no answering phones, watching tv, etc. I figure if we make that our routine and tradition now, it'll be easier to maintain later!
Wow! I think that's the highlights for now! Not to make excuses already, but it'll probably be a few weeks before I blog again. We're going to Maryland to visit Kelly's family on the 23rd, and I have two MAJOR presentations due before I leave so NO free time for me! Plus, preparing to travel with an 18 month old is already a HUGE feat in and of itself! You feel like you have to take half the house! He's not old enough to sleep on a pallet, so pak n play. Car seat for the rental car and plane ride. Stroller for the airport! And we haven't even touched on how on earth I'm goign to pack for all of us for FREEZING temperatures!! I'm praying for the travel God's to be looking down upon us for this trip! I figure it can only go 1 of 2 ways! Really good or really bad!! To be honest, I don't know if I'm more worried about Riley or Kelly! ha! I'm sure that will definitely earn a post all its own once we have survived it!
Anyway, now that we've committed to working out 1 hour 6 days a week, my normal blog time on the weekends during Riley's nap has become our workout time on Saturday, and then I spend Sunday doing laundry and getting ready for the next week - so that leaves no free time for blogging!! And the week days are even more difficult! As it is Kelly and I don't get to bed until midnight or later, so there's not a lot of free time to squeeze blogging in there either! Sorry! Of course, lately I've been falling asleep on the sofa around 10:30 on the weekends which is earlier than I get to bed during the week! It's definitely difficult to "do it all". I find myself thinking back to that Enjoli commercial from the 70's when I was growing up with the lady saying I can bring home the bacon. Fry it up in a pan. (Click on Enjoli Commercial to see it.) Okay...tangent here - you have to love the age we live in - it totally perpetuates instant gratification! At first, I was thinking this was a Calgon commercial - it took 1 Google search to figure out it was Enjoli and to actually SEE the commercial I was thinking of on YouTube!! Crazy and amazing times we live in!!
Okay - I'm back from my tangent! Anyway! It is very difficult to keep it all going! Kelly and I were talking about how we could try to get to bed earlier during the week, and he was like if we go to bed any earlier all we'll do is eat, get Riley ready for bed and put down, workout and sleep! I was like I know!! I guess that's what normal people do! Except a lot of people I know don't do the workout part! And I can see why! We had to finally make a decision and commitment to put working out at the top of our list after our jobs and being Mom & Dad. And it takes that commitment and consistency! That's the only way I was finally able to see results! And I mean every bite of food I eat has been weighed on a scale and cooked a certain way! Thank GOD for Kelly! I'd never be able to do this with the intensity I've been able to so far without him and his support. I joked the other day that I'm like Oprah - I have personal chef that prepares all my meals and a trainer that works out with me and I still have good days and bad days!! It's hard to never go to lunch with friends or other social functions b/c you are committed to a program! But I've found that's what it takes! Hopefully once I get back down to my normal weight, we can relax things a little to maintain. But right now, I'm focused and committed to my end goal!! Seriously though, I can't give Kelly enough credit! He really does carry a lot of the weight during the week. He feeds Riley breakfast and gets him off in the morning, then he's usually home before me and gets dinner going. During the week, our share of the work may be closer to 60 Kelly, 40 me, but when you factor in how many hours I have to be in the office for face to face time, meetings, etc it probably ends up 50/5o. Sometimes I worry about Kelly feeling like he's carrying all the load at home though, but he's so laid back! If I say anything, he's like I don't think that at all. I can't say this enough! He may not be perfect, but he's perfect for me! Sometimes I actually get a little freaked out that maybe our relationship is too easy....like there might be something wrong because it just works so effortlessly! I know...I need help! It hasn't always been like this though - we had to work on things to get it to the point where it is now! However, things with our lives after Riley just sort of naturally fell into place without us even having to discuss it very much!
Anyway! Enough with my no time no blogging excuses! I'll try to be better! Just have to find a time to fit it into an already jam packed schedule!! Now let's play some catch up on what's going on with Riley since this is his show!!
- Just in the last couple of days he's started to shake his head 'Yes' - very slowly and he has to concentrate! It's so cute!! And now he'll say it to - "Cheeeessssssssss" as he's doing it.
- He's been shaking his head No for a while, and he knows he means No when he does it! I always ask the question twice just to make sure b/c sometimes he'll just shake his head no for the heck of it.
- He also mastered the art of the High Five! And we have NO idea how!! But thank GOD b/c every stranger tries to get him to do that! And Kelly and I would have to say - he doesn't know how to high five! So now he does!
- He'll point to our noses, mouth, ears...but not his own! And if he touches my nose, he has to touch Kelly's too!
- He'll point to his own bellybutton and raise his shirt up to show it to you.
- As far as words go - he's still got the old faithfuls of sht, ball, kitty kitty, mama, dada, dadadada and mamamama (when he's excited) and gitcha gitcha. Now he's added - cheese, all done, bye-bye (he'll wave bye too), shoes, a mixture of meow and ow, dunk and ish (as in gold fish - one of his FAVORITE snacks). I'm sure there's a few more that are escaping me now. More and more, you'll say something to him and he's a little repeater and just repeats it back. I SWEAR he said "washing machine" today! And open and close! Emily said she swears he said "magician" the other day too! Kelly and I REALLY better start watching our potty mouth slip ups now!!
- Speaking of dunk - he's a dunking MACHINE!! He's even starting to get creative and do different and more challenging dunks. He'll stand behind the goal to dunk or back into it like he's doing a reverse dunk, etc. I tried to get some pictures tonight, and we take videos too so I'll have to get some of those uploaded. Kelly described it perfectly the other day - we came home from somewhere and Riley immediately ran to get his basketball and dunk, so Kelly said - it's like Christmas every day with that basketball goal and dunking.
- He also understands so much more than he can speak. I guess narrating what you do does pay off. Yesterday, I said take the paci out of your mouth so I can give you a drink, and he did it! I was like WHAT?!? If we say, where's the basketball - he always goes to look for it in 1 place first - under the coffee table. Then he'll go dunk it with AUTHORITY! I can say let's go to Mommy's room or your room, and he'll take off running to the room I said. I said do you want to slide tonight, and he ran and put both hands on his slide. And that's not something we say every day or anything.
- It's so cute every day when I come home from work, he hears the garage so he greets me at the gate with jibberish - then he runs to find his basketball and dunks it for me as if to show off! Like one of my friend's at work said - he's like a little puppy showing off! Then I'll squat down and say come give me a hug, and he'll run over to me - then turn his back to me and back into my chest like he's letting me give him a hug!! OMG! It makes my heart pitter patter just to type about it! He's so SWEET!!!
- He's still all about his baby signs too. Man have those ever saved many a tantrums!! And if you don't "listen" the 1st time he tells/signs that he's all done eating - he'll start frantically signing it! I think I said to him once. I don't know you're all done unless you do it with both hands, so I'll keep feeding him if he only "says" it with one hand. He usually eats about 2 more bites, then he's REALLY all done! He can be playing or whatever, then he'll just come up to you and sign for milk or eat if he's hungry. We should probably do more signs with him, but it's like he's starting to talk now so I'm not sure it'd be worth it.
- Kelly has this whole repertoire he goes through with him - I'm going to try to video it one day, but every time the video camera beeps - Riley gets distracted and it messes up whatever you were trying to capture! Here's the breakdown of their routine:
- Clap (very enthusiastic clapping)
- Say Yes - head nod
- Show me your belly button
- Dance
- High Five
- Where's my nose?
- Wave
So they just cycle right through them on demand! It's so cute and funny! Sometimes he'll even clap after he does one of the other things - like I know I did it!
- That's another thing - he's such a little cheerleader! It's like that "Go Hank" commercial from a few years ago every day at our house! I put dirty clothes in the hamper and he claps and smiles! He puts a puzzle piece in his puzzle and he claps and smiles! He dunks and he claps or does a little victory dance! If he gets something out, and you ask him to put it back - he puts it back, then claps and smiles!
- Dancing! OMG! How could I forget that?!??! He's a dancing MACHINE too! We finally started back to Kindermusik last week, and he danced his socks off in that class! He was running circles around all those kids! You could tell the other parents were like - why isn't my kid doing that?! And the teacher was loving it b/c all the new or visiting parents had twinkles in their eyes thinking their kids would be that excited one day too! We still have at least 1 dance song a day at home. Either real dance music on a Sirius channel on tv, or one of the dancing songs from his previous Kindermusik cds.
- I have to admit that I was concerned he might be a little anti-social since he stays with Emily and isn't in a group setting, but groups don't intimidate him at all! It's like he feeds off the attention! I was thinking he might not be as into Kindermusik, but he picked right up where he left off, but with his new and improved dance moves now. The last time we went to Kindermusik he wasn't even walking, so the teacher was totally loving all his dance moves! And we went to my cousin Cassie's baby shower yesterday, and he was working the room dancing and running around! I guess it drives home that nature versus nurture point - he was definitely born with his somewhat outgoing personality because one could argue we have not done much at all outside of Kindermusik to nurture that side of him.
- One of his favorite things is to just run around outside...omg! I think I have the cutest video that captures that - he literally runs and jibber jabbers non-stop! He LOVES it! Emily even took him to Grapevine Mills mall last week when the weather was bad and he walked and ran around the entire 1 mile loop! I'm ready for the weather to be nicer so we can go outside more!
- He has become a little more picky in the food department, but not too bad still.
- And the tantrums come and go. They can come on quickly, but the good news is they also leave very quickly.
- He definitely gets more "emotional" when I get home. I read in this weekly newsletter I get from BabyCenter last week that they do that when they feel safe to show all their emotions (good or bad) with you. It's like if your child is fine at daycare, then has a meltdown when you get there to pick them up. Sort of like we as adults do, we have to be on for work all day, so if we aren't careful our loved ones at home get the sloppy, short fused leftovers! I definitely try to be cognizant of that! I focus on being present in the moment with Riley and Kelly once I get home. I try not to check my phone, not to be thinking about all the things I need to get done either at work or home and just enjoy the few moments I get to spend with them. Especially Riley! :( Same thing on the weekends!
- I can see where people lose themselves once they have kids. I don't do as many happy hours, girls' dinners, etc as I used to b/c I feel like I should be home with Riley when I'm not at work. I'll try to squeeze some things in during his naps on the weekends if I can, but we've been working out during that time so I've been doing even less. It's definitely a balancing act all the time. I know he can't be my entire life, but when he's this small - sacrificing some of the things I used to do is a small price to pay! I know he'll grow up all too fast and not have enough time for me all too soon!
- We're definitely trying to keep dinner as the sacred "family time". Where we are all 3 at the table, no answering phones, watching tv, etc. I figure if we make that our routine and tradition now, it'll be easier to maintain later!
Wow! I think that's the highlights for now! Not to make excuses already, but it'll probably be a few weeks before I blog again. We're going to Maryland to visit Kelly's family on the 23rd, and I have two MAJOR presentations due before I leave so NO free time for me! Plus, preparing to travel with an 18 month old is already a HUGE feat in and of itself! You feel like you have to take half the house! He's not old enough to sleep on a pallet, so pak n play. Car seat for the rental car and plane ride. Stroller for the airport! And we haven't even touched on how on earth I'm goign to pack for all of us for FREEZING temperatures!! I'm praying for the travel God's to be looking down upon us for this trip! I figure it can only go 1 of 2 ways! Really good or really bad!! To be honest, I don't know if I'm more worried about Riley or Kelly! ha! I'm sure that will definitely earn a post all its own once we have survived it!
The Meaning of Sht!!
So.....I think I've posted about Riley saying Sht! Well I think we've finally figured out the meaning of Sht!
It basically means:
Shoes
Shake
Socks
Shirt
Pretty much any S word! Ht must just be his "filler" for whatever comes after the S that I don't know! lol!
Of course, us knowing the meaning doesn't necessarily help when he uses those words in public! :)
It basically means:
Shoes
Shake
Socks
Shirt
Pretty much any S word! Ht must just be his "filler" for whatever comes after the S that I don't know! lol!
Of course, us knowing the meaning doesn't necessarily help when he uses those words in public! :)
18 Month Stats
So Riley finally had his 18 month well visit, it only took 3 tries! 1st I had to reschedule it due to a fire drill at work - that basically means I'm sequestered in a room with other people until we "solve the latest issue de jour". Nothing quite like that positive work environment to foster creative thinking for difficult problems! Then we went to his next well appointment, but changed it to an ill visit. We finally made it the 3rd try 2 weeks after the 1st attempt! This was probably the most ill Riley has been! He hardly ate for 3 days straight, and he didn't even want to play. He would just curl up in my lap and look up at me with his sweet puppy dog eyes! I don't like to see my little man sick, but it was so sweet to have him cuddle with me like when he was little!!
Speaking of little...this appointment once again confirmed my little man is anything but little!
Length: 34.5" 95-97th % (Dr said he's 97th)
Weight: 30lbs 11.5oz 90-95th % (Again Dr said 95th)
Head Size: 19.75" 95th % - hey! We're down from 110%! So it's a little easier to get shirts over his head!
Right now he's the height of an avg 26 month old and weight of an avg 30 month old. Dr. Jim said he'll probably track in the 90th plus % until puberty. Right now he's on track to be 6'4", but based on my and Kelly's height he shouldn't be taller than 6'2". Only time will tell I guess!
Speaking of little...this appointment once again confirmed my little man is anything but little!
Length: 34.5" 95-97th % (Dr said he's 97th)
Weight: 30lbs 11.5oz 90-95th % (Again Dr said 95th)
Head Size: 19.75" 95th % - hey! We're down from 110%! So it's a little easier to get shirts over his head!
Right now he's the height of an avg 26 month old and weight of an avg 30 month old. Dr. Jim said he'll probably track in the 90th plus % until puberty. Right now he's on track to be 6'4", but based on my and Kelly's height he shouldn't be taller than 6'2". Only time will tell I guess!
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