Fifteen Months

Riley is 15 months old today! It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating his first birthday, yet here he is, one fourth of the way closer to two. Wow.

He does go back to see Dr. N soon, but his appointment isn’t until Monday, so I will have his stats next week. In the meantime, here’s what I want to remember about this past month:

• Thankfully, we still have had no issues with him eating or drinking. There are some days when he doesn’t seem to want as much as usual, but most of the time he is a P-I-G hog.
• He tried a few new foods this month, including roasted brussel sprouts, oranges, turkey, cranberries, stuffing, and whipped cream. And we are now giving him a mixture of apple juice and water instead of just water, which he loves.
• He is definitely testing his limits with us, and he knows EXACTLY what he’s doing!
• He had 5 teeth at the very beginning of this month, but by the end there were 7 of the suckers poking through his gums.
• He started saying lots of new words (wall, grass, ball, light, bus, juice, grape, mess, hat, door, milk, puffs, stinky, hot, outside, moon, open, crab), as well as a few phrases (thank you, all done/gone, Aunt E, gobble-gobble for turkey, hoo-hoo for owl, eeeee for mouse, ho-ho-ho for Santa). He also knows what “knock-knock” means, and he rubs his hand over his chest/belly when we ask if something is “yummy in his tummy.”
• He is SO smart, picking up on things so quick and understanding lots of simple commands.
• He loves to wipe his hands on the sides of his highchair seat, which is extra fun for me. He still hates getting his face cleaned (but still loves baths). He also still eats with his feet crossed most of the time.
• Forget walking, he is now running. He can move pretty darn fast on those little legs of his.
• He started headbutting anything and everything this month, which made life interesting for Jem, as well as Kenny and I when we put him to bed at night. We had to constantly be prepared for him to come at us and move out of the way if he did!
• He loves music and will dance anytime he hears something with even a semblance of a beat.
• He still loves being outside and exploring nature, collecting leaves, pine needles, pinecones, acorns, twigs, etc. We moved his slide to the side yard at the end of this month.
• He is fascinated and mesmerized by all of the Christmas lights and other decorations that have gone up in Nola and Nopsi’s neighborhood just after Thanksgiving.
• He is stubborn like his mama, and he gets a little whiny (“eh, eh, eh, eh”) when he wants something, but for the most part he is a happy and smiley little boy.

Fifteen months old! (And apparently in need of another haircut. Great.)

Thanksgiving Week

Last week was certainly a busy one for us. Family and friends travelled into town, Riley got a belated birthday present, Thanksgiving came and went, and the Tigers beat the Razorbacks to remain on top. Oh, and we ate. We ate a LOT.

Nola’s sister Dawn arrived on Monday, and she and Grams came by the house on Tuesday to see Riley-bean. Aunt Dawn also brought Riley’s birthday presents with her, and he had so much fun discovering his two new toys. Thanks, AD#1!

 

 

Cousin Uncle Brian and Cousin Aunt Rachel arrived on Wednesday evening. A progressive dinner has become a tradition when they’re in town, and Kenny and I were lucky enough to be invited this year (and to have a babysitter for Riley-bean….thanks, Nola and Nopsi!).

We joined Jeff, Erin, Brian, Rachel, and Keegan for appetizers at Drago’s, dinner at Theo’s, and dessert at Sucre. It was a fun and delicious evening out on the town, and it was great to spend time with everyone.

After passing out on Wednesday night (look where his right foot is!) and then going for a morning Turkey Day walk with his mama, Riley had no idea how busy the rest of his day would be.

Starting around 12:30 that afternoon, eleven other people descended on the house to celebrate Thanksgiving. Nola and Nopsi worked so hard to create a festive atmosphere, setting a beautiful table and putting together enough delectable dishes to feed an army of people. Everything was wonderful, you two!

Riley did really well throughout the day, charming everyone before dinner, eating his third meal of the day with all of us when we sat down for the main Thanksgiving meal, and then finally crashing for a late afternoon nap. And he looked so cute in his plaid shirt and gray corduroy pants. (Thanks, Kel-Kel and Skeets!)

We were up late on Thursday night (playing Apples to Apples, of course…..”Don’t forget your green cards!”), and then Kenny and I took Riley across the lake on Friday for a belated Thanksgiving celebration with his family. Steve, Jaimi, and Zac drove over from Baton Rouge to join us, and Grandma and Grandpa of course rounded out the gathering. However, the main event of the day was that little football game between LSU and Arkansas, so our attention was focused on the television for the better part of the afternoon. The game would also be why I didn’t take a single picture on Friday. I had to steal these from Jaimi….thanks, Jaim!

Kenny and I decided the three of us would spend the night in Mandeville on account of a potential trip to the farm the next day, but sadly, the weather prevented us from introducing Riley to his cow, Magic. We had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa despite that snag in our plans, though, going on a couple of outings to the neighborhood park and playing outside a lot in general. Riley had so much fun, in fact, that he fell asleep in the car on the way home for the first time in a long time.

Thanks must go to both sets of grandparents for hosting two stellar dinners and for gathering us all together during this special time of year. We hope everyone had as fulfilling and fun a Thanksgiving as we did!

Video Monday: Sippy Silliness

Check out Riley’s latest trick at mealtimes…..such a silly boy.

Happy Monday!

Giving Thanks

I am thankful for my crazy extended family and my wonderful friends. Without any of them I would be lost. And, life just wouldn’t be as much fun.

I am thankful for my general health and well-being. Some people aren’t so lucky, and this time of year is when we should remember that. I am also thankful that Kenny has a good job. Some are not so lucky with that right now, either.

And, last but certainly not least, I am thankful for my two boys. Without the two of them, I simply wouldn’t be me.

 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope you all have a beautiful and memorable holiday weekend.

Random Riley Roundup

1. I picked up a new bowl for Riley from BB&B a few weeks ago, and it is so cool. It’s a gyro bowl, so supposedly it retains whatever is in it no matter which way Riley holds it. We’ve only used it once so far, but it works pretty well, plus it entertains him while he’s eating.

 

2. Riley assumes a squatting position a lot these days, especially when we’re outside, because it allows him to further scrutinize whatever he’s got in his hands. I think he looks so cute when he “sits” like this!

3. Although the weather down here hasn’t been what one would call consistent, we still try to get out for wagon rides as much as we can. One (warm) day it was leaves that occupied the boy’s attention, and the next (cold) day it was a butterfly. And his wagon is never without a plethora of acorns hanging out in the cup holders. Riley definitely loves discovering all that nature has to offer!

 

4. I just love my little preppy boy. Thanks for the really cute sweater, Aunt E. :)

   

 

5. Riley and Jem are still BFF’s, only the boy is now insisting on grabbing handfuls of fur and skin and tackling the feline to the ground to give him “hugs.” Poor Jem.

 

Then again, this is the same cat that recently tipped over the wastebasket in my room and proceeded to lay down inside of it, so I don’t feel too bad for him. He can take care of himself, in his own weird ways.

6. I recently ordered a few things for Riley from Old Navy, and I couldn’t resist adding this owl hat to my order. How cute is it???

Uncle Jeff liked it, too, but I told him he had to get his own. This one is Riley’s.

7. For some reason or another, I pulled out a plastic sword that was part of a Halloween costume a number of years ago, and Riley has claimed it as his own. After all, it goes perfectly with his plastic snake. (Although to be honest, I would have given him just about anything he wanted on this particular day since he woke up with a runny nose. He’s a trooper though, and he was actually in a fairly good mood most of the day considering!)

Don’t you just love his new “angry” looks? (He should have practiced them more before Halloween….they would have been the perfect addition to his costume!) He cracks me up when he looks at me like that, but of course I tend to prefer him smiley instead.

8. Wonk potatoes is especially wonky when he sleeps at night.

No, I did not place the blanket over his face; I found him like that when I went in to check on him before going to bed myself. But yes, I did uncover him before I left the room. I admit I was a little afraid he couldn’t breathe well enough, especially since he’s been sick.

9. Empty diaper boxes are excellent places to play.

Especially if you bring your new sword in there with you.

10. This has been a pretty busy month for us, but we have managed to steal some family time here and there, around our travels and the LSU football schedule, of course. We’ve practically lived in purple and gold lately!

11. Nola and Nopsi are back in town for the holidays (six whole weeks!), and one of the first things they did was clean out their closet here so they would have enough room for all of their clothes. Riley might have inherited a pair of Nola’s old (pink) socks, as well as a random hairbrush. Lovely.

  

12. Nola tried out a new popcorn popper the other day for lunch, and Riley got a kick out of watching it work its magic.