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!"
Showing posts with label KinderMusik. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KinderMusik. Show all posts
Sunday, February 28, 2010
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!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
KinderMusik
How we all sit in a circle at KinderMusik.
Dancing with Daddy - can you tell he LOVES it?!
Playing with toys during "quiet time" aka Riley's screaming & banging time!
That's Jorge on the left! And see how Riley's arm is blurry? That's because he's banging with ALL his might channeling his inner Bamm-Bamm!
First Blood!
So Riley finally broke the seal! I swear since he backwards crawled off the bed at Easter, he's been on a roll! Literally! He rolled off the area where we change him downstairs with Kelly earlier this week and bumped his noggin. Then last night he lunged mouth first into one of his favorite toys and made his lip bleed! I'm telling you...he's already all rough and tumble testosterone filled boy!
It reminds me of the Flintstones - now I understand where the concept of Bamm-Bamm came from! That's how Riley explores his world - bamm-bamming everything in site! Speaking of cartoons - Kelly and I always laugh about how the baby in the Simpson's that sucks the paci looks EXACTLY like a kid sucking a paci! Someone that has a kid definitely does that character!
So only the top part of his tooth is still peaking out...we're patiently waiting for it to break all the way through!
Kelly went to Kindermusik with us this morning, so he got to see how vocal Riley has become there. He LOVES it! It cracks me up though because every time it's "quiet" time where the parents step back and let the kids interact - that's when Riley starts screaming his head off! Today it was so sweet - a little girl Monica - brought Riley a toy to play with during that time! And he loved it! He was flipping it and banging it all around and screaming his head off! Kelly and I were cracking up! But he definitely doesn't know how to share yet! Jorge came over (I told Kelly to be on guard for the hair pulling manuver!), and I swear Riley grabbed the toy and pulled it closer so he didn't have to share. It is cool to sit back and watch them all interact when the parents step back.
We may switch to Water Babies instead of Kindermusik this summer then back again in the fall. I'm trying to make a conscious effort not to "over schedule" Riley with too many activities already! There's plenty of time for that when he's 5! ha! Seriously, I can't believe how much kids have going on these days! It wasn't like that when we were growing up! I got summers off excluding a couple of summer leagues, but we still had at least 6 weeks off from sports and activities in the summer! Not now! These kids go all summer and all Christmas break for Select sports! And my friends with older kids tell me that there's no way to make a high school team if you don't play select. There's no concept of the "off season" anymore. I don't know about that! That's why so many kids have overuse injuries these days and for what? When most of them will only play sports for fun post high school. That's going to be hard to swallow for me...of course, that's assuming Riley is into sports like Kelly and I were/are!
Grandma & Grandpa Sterne are coming to town this Wednesday-Tuesday. They haven't seen Riley since he was 6 weeks old - right after he got out of the hospital. Boy oh Boy are they in for a surprise! He's not a little baby anymore! It's amazing to watch how much he grows and changes everyday, I can't imagine how different he'll be to them in that amount of time! It'll be interesting to see how he interacts with them and how it evolves over the span of the week - this will be the longest he's around someone on a daily basis excluding the usual suspects of me, Kel, Emily & GiGi.
OMG! This is totally off topic, but something that made me sit back and think this week. We had a townhall meeting on Thursday - think corporate pep rally - with our CIO, and the message there was the reflect on how far we've come as an Information Technology organization and how we have "better problems" now than we did 10 years ago, etc. Well part of that presentation was taking a look at technology and how it's evolved since the 1960s. Then Friday I went to the Credit Union to open Riley his 1st savings account. Grandma & Grandpa Sterne sent him a piggy bank back in the fall, so we've be steadily filling it up. But we figured we should put it in a savings account since compound interest is our friend! :) Anyway, I also wanted to move some of our $ from our Bank of America savings to the credit union so we'd get a higher interest rate on it and dividends - anyway, I forgot to make the transfer from my BofA savings acct to my checking acct - so what did I do? I wrote the check for the amount, then got right on my phone logged into my BofA accounts and transferred the money from my savings to checking! I'm sorry! That's CrAzY, right?! Imagine how difficult a task that would have been 20 years ago! It would have required me driving to BofA to do the transfer, then driving to the Credit Union, etc, etc! I LOVE technology!! I'm all about it! That's how I pay Emily every Friday too! A transfer from my bank account to hers FROM MY PHONE! Like poor man's direct deposit! I'd love to be able to schedule it automatically, but they won't let you do that to another person's account yet!
Seriously though, sometimes we need to take a minute to reflect on how far we've REALLY come! Another amazing factoid they brought up at our Town Hall was the fact that PDAs are 40,000 times more powerful than the original mainframe computers! Isn't it amazing to think about having ALL that power in the palm of your hand - literally!!
Okay, I'm showing my geeky side here! Now you know why I do what I do and I love it! I love change! And that's one thing that is guaranteed in my line of work! Constant change and evolution! I can only imagine what life is going to be like for Riley!! And I can't wait to see it through his eyes as he experiences it first hand!
It reminds me of the Flintstones - now I understand where the concept of Bamm-Bamm came from! That's how Riley explores his world - bamm-bamming everything in site! Speaking of cartoons - Kelly and I always laugh about how the baby in the Simpson's that sucks the paci looks EXACTLY like a kid sucking a paci! Someone that has a kid definitely does that character!
So only the top part of his tooth is still peaking out...we're patiently waiting for it to break all the way through!
Kelly went to Kindermusik with us this morning, so he got to see how vocal Riley has become there. He LOVES it! It cracks me up though because every time it's "quiet" time where the parents step back and let the kids interact - that's when Riley starts screaming his head off! Today it was so sweet - a little girl Monica - brought Riley a toy to play with during that time! And he loved it! He was flipping it and banging it all around and screaming his head off! Kelly and I were cracking up! But he definitely doesn't know how to share yet! Jorge came over (I told Kelly to be on guard for the hair pulling manuver!), and I swear Riley grabbed the toy and pulled it closer so he didn't have to share. It is cool to sit back and watch them all interact when the parents step back.
We may switch to Water Babies instead of Kindermusik this summer then back again in the fall. I'm trying to make a conscious effort not to "over schedule" Riley with too many activities already! There's plenty of time for that when he's 5! ha! Seriously, I can't believe how much kids have going on these days! It wasn't like that when we were growing up! I got summers off excluding a couple of summer leagues, but we still had at least 6 weeks off from sports and activities in the summer! Not now! These kids go all summer and all Christmas break for Select sports! And my friends with older kids tell me that there's no way to make a high school team if you don't play select. There's no concept of the "off season" anymore. I don't know about that! That's why so many kids have overuse injuries these days and for what? When most of them will only play sports for fun post high school. That's going to be hard to swallow for me...of course, that's assuming Riley is into sports like Kelly and I were/are!
Grandma & Grandpa Sterne are coming to town this Wednesday-Tuesday. They haven't seen Riley since he was 6 weeks old - right after he got out of the hospital. Boy oh Boy are they in for a surprise! He's not a little baby anymore! It's amazing to watch how much he grows and changes everyday, I can't imagine how different he'll be to them in that amount of time! It'll be interesting to see how he interacts with them and how it evolves over the span of the week - this will be the longest he's around someone on a daily basis excluding the usual suspects of me, Kel, Emily & GiGi.
OMG! This is totally off topic, but something that made me sit back and think this week. We had a townhall meeting on Thursday - think corporate pep rally - with our CIO, and the message there was the reflect on how far we've come as an Information Technology organization and how we have "better problems" now than we did 10 years ago, etc. Well part of that presentation was taking a look at technology and how it's evolved since the 1960s. Then Friday I went to the Credit Union to open Riley his 1st savings account. Grandma & Grandpa Sterne sent him a piggy bank back in the fall, so we've be steadily filling it up. But we figured we should put it in a savings account since compound interest is our friend! :) Anyway, I also wanted to move some of our $ from our Bank of America savings to the credit union so we'd get a higher interest rate on it and dividends - anyway, I forgot to make the transfer from my BofA savings acct to my checking acct - so what did I do? I wrote the check for the amount, then got right on my phone logged into my BofA accounts and transferred the money from my savings to checking! I'm sorry! That's CrAzY, right?! Imagine how difficult a task that would have been 20 years ago! It would have required me driving to BofA to do the transfer, then driving to the Credit Union, etc, etc! I LOVE technology!! I'm all about it! That's how I pay Emily every Friday too! A transfer from my bank account to hers FROM MY PHONE! Like poor man's direct deposit! I'd love to be able to schedule it automatically, but they won't let you do that to another person's account yet!
Seriously though, sometimes we need to take a minute to reflect on how far we've REALLY come! Another amazing factoid they brought up at our Town Hall was the fact that PDAs are 40,000 times more powerful than the original mainframe computers! Isn't it amazing to think about having ALL that power in the palm of your hand - literally!!
Okay, I'm showing my geeky side here! Now you know why I do what I do and I love it! I love change! And that's one thing that is guaranteed in my line of work! Constant change and evolution! I can only imagine what life is going to be like for Riley!! And I can't wait to see it through his eyes as he experiences it first hand!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Still Growing Like A Weed!!
Let me see....what all has Riley been up to the last week or so! Growing for SURE! We woke up one day and he had all of the sudden outgrown EVERYTHING in his closet! So Mommy had to go on a couple of shopping sprees for him! ;) But I think I'm going to exchange half of it for the NEXT size up! He's already in 12-18 months! All the 9-12/6-12 month stuff is already at the size where he'll wear it once and it'll be too small! I've quickly learned that at least for Riley when the size is 6-12 months, that means it is a 6 month size for him - not 12!
This week was spring break for school kids, so Ms. Emily kept Riley at her house this week! OMG! Did we ever realize how spoiled we are!! GiGi was here on Sunday and Monday so Emily had that day off with her boys. Then we planned on me meeting her half way between our houses to do the Riley exchange on my way to work! We ended up only being able to do that 1 day! I literally had 9am meetings EVERY day this week! And if you know me at all...9am was difficult for me BEFORE Riley! Add trying to nurse him, feed him his solid food, get him dressed and out the door to that equation and it's darn near impossible! We have settled into a pretty good morning routine, but Riley will sleep REALLY late if you let him! He slept til 10am last Sunday!! Yes! You read that correctly! My 7 month old slept until 10am! I know! I'm lucky! But during the week, I have to wake him up to nurse him so I won't be super late to work! BUT that had more to do with the time change and us visiting my friend Ellen (who was in from Boston) late last Saturday night. OMG! Speaking of nursing him in the am! His new thing is that while he's nursing, he puts his thumb in my mouth! So as to say, keep this warm for me Mommy! It is the funniest thing! He'll even do it at night when I'm singing Twinkle Twinkle to him, and he thinks it's so funny!
Anyway...we've settled into a morning routine of me bringing him to our bed to nurse while Kelly gets ready, then we he's done nursing Kelly takes him downstairs for his oatmeal & bananas, then he watches his Your Baby Can Read dvd, then he's pretty much ready for his am nap. So I'm able to get to work at a decent time with that routine, but this week it was a different story! It definitely drove home to us how lucky we are to have Ms. Emily!! She just magically shows up at our house right when Kelly needs to leave for work, then when we get home we magically have less dirty dishes and clothes! It's AWESOME! And have I mentioned - Riley LOVES her too!
So I think I talked about KinderMusik last week and how we are doing that so Riley has some social interaction with other people/kids. There is the CUTEST little girl in his KinderMusik class! Her name is Calista, and she's 5 months older than Riley. BUT it looks like Riley could eat her in ONE bite! She's in the lowest 10% of weight, and Riley's in the highest 90% of height! It is so funny to see them side by side! She has these 2 little bottom teeth and she just smiles at you! Then there's Jorge! I hope I never become friends with Jorge's Mom and she reads this one day!! But the very 1st session, we got teamed with Jorge for one of the songs...and when he turned around he had a huge stream of green snot running down his face! You know me! I was mortified! Then the 1st thing he did was take his hand out of his mouth and touch Riley in the face! Hello! I'm not used to this! He's not in day care!! I held my composure though! Then last week - out of NO WHERE! Jorge comes crawling over to Riley - I mean he crawled ACROSS THE ROOM directly up to Riley - and grabs his hair and yanks! My Mom instinct kicked in before I 'thought' and I spatted his hand! Then I quickly looked up thinking Jorge's Mom was going to be coming after me, but she didn't see! What the H*##?! Riley does still have his faux hawk, but it doesn't scream PULL ME! I couldn't believe it! Once again - it made me so thankful for Ms. Emily!! Other than that, Riley LOVES KinderMusik! He gets excited and starts screaming and banging his hands on the floor and playing their little baby instruments! He's the youngest one in the class - besides he and Calista most of them are close to 20 months old so they are all mobile and crawling and walking up to him.
Speaking of being mobile, you can tell Riley's starting to get frustrated that he's not mobile. His favorite toys/jumper/etc don't entertain him nearly as long as they used to! He still doesn't do a whole lot in terms of 'pre-crawling' actions, but 2 weeks is a lifetime at his age so we'll have to wait and see!
A new thing he just started a couple of days ago is clapping with his feet. He LOVES grabbing, sucking, yanking on his feet! They are like built in toys! At first I thought the clapping was just 'yanking', but Kelly and I both realized he's consistently clapping them last night.
He also has nightly Cirque Du Soleil events in his crib! We go in there and he's turned from his back to stomach and done a full 180 with his feet facing the opposite direction. I'd love to spy on him and see what he's doing, but Mommy's gotta sleep! Kelly and I have to go in each night and look at him before we go to bed! STILL! I think we always will....we call it 'checking on him', but it's just our way of getting one MORE glance at our little Smoochie! Sometimes we just look at each other and go OMG! We love him so MUCH!
OMG! This is one new 'event' (he's probably going to hate me later in life for sharing this one!), but I can't help it! If anyone has any tips, I'll surely take them! He has this new thing...it's so gross..so prepare yourself! He keeps pooping in the bathtub!! OMG! &*#$#(! At first I thought it was because I was letting him lie in there and play too long, but the other night he did it before I even got the soap out to wash him! Ugh! It doesn't happen every night! Thank God! Because it basically results in 2 baths! One of my friends at work has a 3 yr old and twins, and he said that only happened to him ONCE! How lucky am I?! I hope this passes (no pun intended) soon! I have to admit the 1st time he was farting and I thought it was funny, I made a joke about him making his own bubble bath (Chris Rock stand up reference), then all of the sudden the joke was on me!
Speaking a bad manly habits (of course he only poops in the tub b/c he's a guy!), he's totally obsessed with the remote! He'll sit on the sofa by Kelly and play with it and study it for a REALLY long time! As long as Kelly will let him! It's funny! It's like he's his Dad in training! Gotta get a pic of that!
Oh yeah, I found some new baby food I'm going to try. I've been doing Gerber & Earth's Best Organics, but I found Sprout Organic baby food. It was co-founded by Executive Chef Tyler Florence. He roasts bananas and potatoes, etc to try to bring out the natural flavor of things without additives. It comes in eco friendly packaging too. I'm trying to finish up the Gerber & Earth's Best we have now, but we'll be trying this in the next few weeks so I'll let you know how Riley likes it. I'm just trying to stick with organic as much as I can. Kelly and I eat mostly organic fruit & veggies too, but it's even more important with baby food because it's concentrated, so the pesticides and stuff are concentrated too! Eww! You can check it out Sprout Baby Food.
Okay! It's taken me part of 2 naps to get this done, so I'm calling it a post so I can actually get some stuff done around my house today!!
This week was spring break for school kids, so Ms. Emily kept Riley at her house this week! OMG! Did we ever realize how spoiled we are!! GiGi was here on Sunday and Monday so Emily had that day off with her boys. Then we planned on me meeting her half way between our houses to do the Riley exchange on my way to work! We ended up only being able to do that 1 day! I literally had 9am meetings EVERY day this week! And if you know me at all...9am was difficult for me BEFORE Riley! Add trying to nurse him, feed him his solid food, get him dressed and out the door to that equation and it's darn near impossible! We have settled into a pretty good morning routine, but Riley will sleep REALLY late if you let him! He slept til 10am last Sunday!! Yes! You read that correctly! My 7 month old slept until 10am! I know! I'm lucky! But during the week, I have to wake him up to nurse him so I won't be super late to work! BUT that had more to do with the time change and us visiting my friend Ellen (who was in from Boston) late last Saturday night. OMG! Speaking of nursing him in the am! His new thing is that while he's nursing, he puts his thumb in my mouth! So as to say, keep this warm for me Mommy! It is the funniest thing! He'll even do it at night when I'm singing Twinkle Twinkle to him, and he thinks it's so funny!
Anyway...we've settled into a morning routine of me bringing him to our bed to nurse while Kelly gets ready, then we he's done nursing Kelly takes him downstairs for his oatmeal & bananas, then he watches his Your Baby Can Read dvd, then he's pretty much ready for his am nap. So I'm able to get to work at a decent time with that routine, but this week it was a different story! It definitely drove home to us how lucky we are to have Ms. Emily!! She just magically shows up at our house right when Kelly needs to leave for work, then when we get home we magically have less dirty dishes and clothes! It's AWESOME! And have I mentioned - Riley LOVES her too!
So I think I talked about KinderMusik last week and how we are doing that so Riley has some social interaction with other people/kids. There is the CUTEST little girl in his KinderMusik class! Her name is Calista, and she's 5 months older than Riley. BUT it looks like Riley could eat her in ONE bite! She's in the lowest 10% of weight, and Riley's in the highest 90% of height! It is so funny to see them side by side! She has these 2 little bottom teeth and she just smiles at you! Then there's Jorge! I hope I never become friends with Jorge's Mom and she reads this one day!! But the very 1st session, we got teamed with Jorge for one of the songs...and when he turned around he had a huge stream of green snot running down his face! You know me! I was mortified! Then the 1st thing he did was take his hand out of his mouth and touch Riley in the face! Hello! I'm not used to this! He's not in day care!! I held my composure though! Then last week - out of NO WHERE! Jorge comes crawling over to Riley - I mean he crawled ACROSS THE ROOM directly up to Riley - and grabs his hair and yanks! My Mom instinct kicked in before I 'thought' and I spatted his hand! Then I quickly looked up thinking Jorge's Mom was going to be coming after me, but she didn't see! What the H*##?! Riley does still have his faux hawk, but it doesn't scream PULL ME! I couldn't believe it! Once again - it made me so thankful for Ms. Emily!! Other than that, Riley LOVES KinderMusik! He gets excited and starts screaming and banging his hands on the floor and playing their little baby instruments! He's the youngest one in the class - besides he and Calista most of them are close to 20 months old so they are all mobile and crawling and walking up to him.
Speaking of being mobile, you can tell Riley's starting to get frustrated that he's not mobile. His favorite toys/jumper/etc don't entertain him nearly as long as they used to! He still doesn't do a whole lot in terms of 'pre-crawling' actions, but 2 weeks is a lifetime at his age so we'll have to wait and see!
A new thing he just started a couple of days ago is clapping with his feet. He LOVES grabbing, sucking, yanking on his feet! They are like built in toys! At first I thought the clapping was just 'yanking', but Kelly and I both realized he's consistently clapping them last night.
He also has nightly Cirque Du Soleil events in his crib! We go in there and he's turned from his back to stomach and done a full 180 with his feet facing the opposite direction. I'd love to spy on him and see what he's doing, but Mommy's gotta sleep! Kelly and I have to go in each night and look at him before we go to bed! STILL! I think we always will....we call it 'checking on him', but it's just our way of getting one MORE glance at our little Smoochie! Sometimes we just look at each other and go OMG! We love him so MUCH!
OMG! This is one new 'event' (he's probably going to hate me later in life for sharing this one!), but I can't help it! If anyone has any tips, I'll surely take them! He has this new thing...it's so gross..so prepare yourself! He keeps pooping in the bathtub!! OMG! &*#$#(! At first I thought it was because I was letting him lie in there and play too long, but the other night he did it before I even got the soap out to wash him! Ugh! It doesn't happen every night! Thank God! Because it basically results in 2 baths! One of my friends at work has a 3 yr old and twins, and he said that only happened to him ONCE! How lucky am I?! I hope this passes (no pun intended) soon! I have to admit the 1st time he was farting and I thought it was funny, I made a joke about him making his own bubble bath (Chris Rock stand up reference), then all of the sudden the joke was on me!
Speaking a bad manly habits (of course he only poops in the tub b/c he's a guy!), he's totally obsessed with the remote! He'll sit on the sofa by Kelly and play with it and study it for a REALLY long time! As long as Kelly will let him! It's funny! It's like he's his Dad in training! Gotta get a pic of that!
Oh yeah, I found some new baby food I'm going to try. I've been doing Gerber & Earth's Best Organics, but I found Sprout Organic baby food. It was co-founded by Executive Chef Tyler Florence. He roasts bananas and potatoes, etc to try to bring out the natural flavor of things without additives. It comes in eco friendly packaging too. I'm trying to finish up the Gerber & Earth's Best we have now, but we'll be trying this in the next few weeks so I'll let you know how Riley likes it. I'm just trying to stick with organic as much as I can. Kelly and I eat mostly organic fruit & veggies too, but it's even more important with baby food because it's concentrated, so the pesticides and stuff are concentrated too! Eww! You can check it out Sprout Baby Food.
Okay! It's taken me part of 2 naps to get this done, so I'm calling it a post so I can actually get some stuff done around my house today!!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Playing Catch Up!
Yes! I'm playing catch up on blogging again! Sorry! I still haven't found a routine time to schedule this in!
I'm trying to think of all the things to catch everyone up on! Riley's 7 months old now! I can't believe it! It seriously just seems like yesterday that Kelly and I were bringing the new little man home with us! He grows and changes EVERY single day! It's so amazing to experience and witness it! He will literally try something for the 1st time one day and master it 3-4 days later! Now if we adults still got that kind of ROI, we'd be a lot more productive too! I know I would!
He's sitting up all by himself these days. Sometimes he'll 'accidentally' get up on all fours in the crawling position, but then he freaks out and drops back down to his tummy! I'm starting to feel a little like he may skip crawling and go straight to walking, but I know it's still early so we'll have to wait and see. He's just much more comfortable standing. He still doesn't really like 'tummy time' all that much.
Random shot of him playing in his activity center.
He's eating like a champ! There's not much he doesn't like anymore. I threw in the towel on making my own baby food before I even started! Let's face it! I'm struggling to get things done as it is! Why make it harder on myself?! Plus, now they have all organic baby food so we just get that. Between Kelly and I, we've tasted them all and they are actually good!
Riley also started drinking from a cup. I'm totally finding myself taking it back old school on things for him lately! I bought him a retro jack in the box a couple of weeks ago. He loves it! He's already trying to turn the handle. I also got him the old school activity center that goes in his crib (pictured below). He'll wake up and play with it in the mornings before we go in to get him. And just yesterday I ordered the old school tupperware cups that I grew up on. Sippy cups these days are crazy! They put these valves in them to keep them from spilling, but it makes it difficult for a beginner to figure out. I've been taking the valves out, but I thought what the heck! I'm going to get the little cups I learned to drink out of! It worked for me! And it doesn't have BPA in it either!
His old school activity center - no batteries required! All manual fun!
I signed Riley up for KinderMusik (Thanks for the suggestion Susan Smith!). It's basically a class for 6-20 month olds, and we sing and dance and play little baby instruments. It sounds corny because it sort of is, but Riley is getting into it more and more. Kelly even went with us this past Saturday. I did it mainly for the socialization aspect. I do worry that since he's home with Emily all day, he may become a little recluse. The 1st class he was a little overwhelmed in the beginning because we walked in a couple of minutes late and everyone was already singing, then as soon as the teacher said we were going to have a couple of minutes of quiet time - Riley let it all hang out! He was just getting his vocals warmed up! He gets his arms and legs going when everyone is singing, and he even notices all the other little kids in there. He's the youngest one, so they all walk and crawl up to him. There's a little girl Calista in his class. She's 5 months older than Riley, and I swear it looks like he could EAT her in ONE bite! It is so funny! She is so adorable with her 2 little bottom teeth smile!
Speaking of, still no teeth! He seems to have adjusted to the discomfort though because it doesn't seem to bother him anymore. BUT he is CONSTANTLY "chewing" on his thumb(s). YES! That is my way of rationalizeding it! I SWEAR he's still "chewing" not 'sucking' - at least not yet! I think he knows it's going to be the death of me if he sucks his thumb, so he will literally put BOTH thumbs in his mouth at the same time! So as to say 'Nah-nah!'!
It's hard to tell, but he's "double thumbing" it! Ugh!
OMG! How could I forget this part?! My house is now ScreamFest 2009! OMG! Seriously! Riley has definitely 'found his voice', but he's only found it on LOUD volume! Now he and Kelly have scream-offs on the sofa! I know as soon as I walk in the door whether he's awake or not these days! It is HILARIOUS! And for some reason, his most talkative time is when you're trying to feed him! Then he just wants to tell you ALL about his day!!
He and Ms. Emily are still getting along like champs! Emily is such a blessing to our ENTIRE family! Seriously! She does stuff for ALL of us every day! And she's so good with Riley! It's so nice to have someone you trust staying with your child every day! It makes my work day that much easier!
We still read 2 stories every night before he goes to bed, then sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star & say a prayer. My Aunt & Grandpa got him a little stuff animal that says a prayer, so that's how we say his prayer every night It's so cute! We read Sweet Dreams (a little 3 page soft book) and we alternate between Good Night Moon & It's Pajama Time! And I mean we read them EVERY night! If he's tired and falls asleep during his last bottle and you try to put him right to bed, he will let you know that you are trying to circumvent the routine! And on the other hand, if he's still crazy wide awake - once we start reading he starts to calm down and get ready for bed.
Reading his bedtime stories.
His hair still sticks STRAIGHT up! As you can tell in the pictures! There's NO way around it! We just have to go with it! Mine was just like that, but I was a girl! At least he can sport a faux hawk and it's cool!
Oh yeah, and his eyes have started changing colors a little bit. They are getting yellow right around the pupils like Kelly's. I have green hazel and Kelly has blue hazel, so it's looking like they may be like Kelly's. Stay tuned and we shall see!
I'm trying to think of all the things to catch everyone up on! Riley's 7 months old now! I can't believe it! It seriously just seems like yesterday that Kelly and I were bringing the new little man home with us! He grows and changes EVERY single day! It's so amazing to experience and witness it! He will literally try something for the 1st time one day and master it 3-4 days later! Now if we adults still got that kind of ROI, we'd be a lot more productive too! I know I would!
He's sitting up all by himself these days. Sometimes he'll 'accidentally' get up on all fours in the crawling position, but then he freaks out and drops back down to his tummy! I'm starting to feel a little like he may skip crawling and go straight to walking, but I know it's still early so we'll have to wait and see. He's just much more comfortable standing. He still doesn't really like 'tummy time' all that much.
Random shot of him playing in his activity center.
He's eating like a champ! There's not much he doesn't like anymore. I threw in the towel on making my own baby food before I even started! Let's face it! I'm struggling to get things done as it is! Why make it harder on myself?! Plus, now they have all organic baby food so we just get that. Between Kelly and I, we've tasted them all and they are actually good!
Riley also started drinking from a cup. I'm totally finding myself taking it back old school on things for him lately! I bought him a retro jack in the box a couple of weeks ago. He loves it! He's already trying to turn the handle. I also got him the old school activity center that goes in his crib (pictured below). He'll wake up and play with it in the mornings before we go in to get him. And just yesterday I ordered the old school tupperware cups that I grew up on. Sippy cups these days are crazy! They put these valves in them to keep them from spilling, but it makes it difficult for a beginner to figure out. I've been taking the valves out, but I thought what the heck! I'm going to get the little cups I learned to drink out of! It worked for me! And it doesn't have BPA in it either!
His old school activity center - no batteries required! All manual fun!
I signed Riley up for KinderMusik (Thanks for the suggestion Susan Smith!). It's basically a class for 6-20 month olds, and we sing and dance and play little baby instruments. It sounds corny because it sort of is, but Riley is getting into it more and more. Kelly even went with us this past Saturday. I did it mainly for the socialization aspect. I do worry that since he's home with Emily all day, he may become a little recluse. The 1st class he was a little overwhelmed in the beginning because we walked in a couple of minutes late and everyone was already singing, then as soon as the teacher said we were going to have a couple of minutes of quiet time - Riley let it all hang out! He was just getting his vocals warmed up! He gets his arms and legs going when everyone is singing, and he even notices all the other little kids in there. He's the youngest one, so they all walk and crawl up to him. There's a little girl Calista in his class. She's 5 months older than Riley, and I swear it looks like he could EAT her in ONE bite! It is so funny! She is so adorable with her 2 little bottom teeth smile!
Speaking of, still no teeth! He seems to have adjusted to the discomfort though because it doesn't seem to bother him anymore. BUT he is CONSTANTLY "chewing" on his thumb(s). YES! That is my way of rationalizeding it! I SWEAR he's still "chewing" not 'sucking' - at least not yet! I think he knows it's going to be the death of me if he sucks his thumb, so he will literally put BOTH thumbs in his mouth at the same time! So as to say 'Nah-nah!'!
It's hard to tell, but he's "double thumbing" it! Ugh!
OMG! How could I forget this part?! My house is now ScreamFest 2009! OMG! Seriously! Riley has definitely 'found his voice', but he's only found it on LOUD volume! Now he and Kelly have scream-offs on the sofa! I know as soon as I walk in the door whether he's awake or not these days! It is HILARIOUS! And for some reason, his most talkative time is when you're trying to feed him! Then he just wants to tell you ALL about his day!!
He and Ms. Emily are still getting along like champs! Emily is such a blessing to our ENTIRE family! Seriously! She does stuff for ALL of us every day! And she's so good with Riley! It's so nice to have someone you trust staying with your child every day! It makes my work day that much easier!
We still read 2 stories every night before he goes to bed, then sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star & say a prayer. My Aunt & Grandpa got him a little stuff animal that says a prayer, so that's how we say his prayer every night It's so cute! We read Sweet Dreams (a little 3 page soft book) and we alternate between Good Night Moon & It's Pajama Time! And I mean we read them EVERY night! If he's tired and falls asleep during his last bottle and you try to put him right to bed, he will let you know that you are trying to circumvent the routine! And on the other hand, if he's still crazy wide awake - once we start reading he starts to calm down and get ready for bed.
Reading his bedtime stories.
His hair still sticks STRAIGHT up! As you can tell in the pictures! There's NO way around it! We just have to go with it! Mine was just like that, but I was a girl! At least he can sport a faux hawk and it's cool!
Oh yeah, and his eyes have started changing colors a little bit. They are getting yellow right around the pupils like Kelly's. I have green hazel and Kelly has blue hazel, so it's looking like they may be like Kelly's. Stay tuned and we shall see!
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