New Orleans Weekend

Kenny, Riley, and I are hanging at home this weekend, but we spent last weekend in New Orleans. As always, we did so many things and had way too much fun. On Saturday we went uptown to the annual Irish Channel Parade, Riley’s first parade experience. Lots of our guy friends either ride on a float or march with a group so this parade is always a good time. Riley did great at his first parade, taking in all of the sights and sounds with huge blue eyes and then falling asleep on Nola halfway through. And the weather could not have been more beautiful!

    

The next day Nola, Riley, and I went to meet Bridget and Brian’s new baby boy, Hayden. Oh my gosh, he is so cute and tiny. Riley was NEVER that small!

When we got back to the house, Kenny’s parents had arrived for lunch. We spent all afternoon with them (and Uncle Jeff and Aunt Erin), eating and chatting and playing. Another great day!

Last but not least, Sunday night was the rescheduled Rascal Flatts concert. I’ll tell you about that tomorrow!

All Fours

Riley has figured out that he can push himself up onto his hands and knees. He does this more and more with each passing day, and he’s started staying in that position for longer periods of time, even rocking back and forth a bit, too.

This just proves my point that he’s going to be crawling before we know it.

We should probably think about baby-proofing the house somewhat. Soon.

 

Saturday Visitors

For two weekends in a row, we had visitors on Saturday. First, Nola and QP drove over because they just had to see Riley-bean. It apparently had been WAY too long (less than two weeks).

The next weekend, QP came back, this time with UJ, Jenn, and Margaret. The weather was too windy and rainy for them to head out to the Endymion parade so they came here instead!

Thanks for coming to see us, y’all'; we love having visitors!

Four New Things

I had originally planned to break these four things up into four separate posts, but at the rate I’m taking pictures, I simply cannot afford to do that. Riley would be a year old and I’d still be blogging about what he was doing back in his tenth month!

So combine I shall.

1. At Riley’s six month appointment with Dr. B we were told to introduce a sippy cup into the mix. The first couple of tries weren’t all that successful (note his very damp shirt in the right picture below), and I have to admit that I haven’t stuck with it. You’d think that I’d be itching to get rid of those darn bottles, but it’s become so much a part of my routine that I really don’t mind.

I know, I know; I need to stick with trying out the sippy more so Riley can get used to it. And I will.

Eventually.

2. Riley is really close to outgrowing his little plastic bathtub (Remember when he was this little? Be still my heart.), so I knew it was time to look for something else to use during bath time. I saw a cool bath ring on another blog I read, so I decided we would give it a try.

I’m really hoping it works better when he’s older and can sit up really well by himself. It failed miserably the first time, and, like the sippy cup, we haven't gone back to it.

It could, of course, have been operator error. I think we actually filled the tub up way too much, which we will most definitely correct next time.

At least he looked cute standing up in the tub with the ring around his little waist.

3. Since Riley is officially sitting up, I figured it was time to try out the shopping cart liner I got as a shower present. I unpacked it last week and off we went to Rouses to grocery shop. I think he needs a bit more control before the liner really works the way it’s supposed to (I packed bags of apples, mangoes, and potatoes on either side of him to keep him more upright), but I think it’s a great invention!

I apparently also need to learn how to use it correctly: I had it inside out the whole time. Oh, well.

(Note Riley’s very tired eyes in the picture on the right; he was WAY ready for a nap.)

 

4. On account of Riley inching and rolling and scooting so much these days, I have sacrificed my living room’s style in favor of giving him more space.

Sigh.

I especially love the coffee table’s new location. Don’t you?

5. So I know there’s not supposed to be a number five, but I just had to post this picture:

If you can ignore the sheen of drool all over his chin and the clear shot straight up his nostrils, how gorgeous are this child’s eyelashes???

Diaper Only, Please

After Riley has his breakfast of rice cereal and fruit, I’ve taken to playing with him in his room for a little while before he finishes his bottle. I take his pj’s off and let him roll around on the floor in his diaper for a little while before I get him dressed.

I do believe he enjoys this quality time with his mom.

Of course it may just be that he likes not being at all restricted by clothing, but I choose to overlook that.

Video Monday: Sitting

It’s official: Riley is sitting up all by himself.

He’s a little wobbly in this video (taken last Wednesday), but he’s already gotten much better. When he falls onto his tummy now, it’s mostly because he chose to change position, not because he lost his balance.

Kenny and I are so proud, and it’s so fun to see a different perspective of him! Oh, and when I first showed Kenny this video, he asked if I was speeding up the playback on purpose.

Nope! That’s just your son, dear, being wonky.

And obsessed with putting everything into his mouth.

And cute.

Very cute.

Happy Monday!

Thanks to Grandma for the blinking rattle toy; as you can clearly see, he LOVES it!

Video Sunday: More Feet

What did he spy towards the end, you ask?

What else? The remote control, of course.

This concludes “Video Week,” although there will be another video posted tomorrow for our normal “Video Monday.” I hope you’ve enjoyed these special seven days of Riley in action!

Video Saturday: Movin’ and Droolin’ (Part Two)

Warning: these are both pretty darn cute. You can see a clear line of drool in each (causing the carpet in his bedroom to get pretty soaked every day), and he’s getting really good at that inching thing.

And he apparently really, really wanted to read the Hollywood issue of Vanity Fair.

Happy Saturday!

Video Friday: Talking

I simply could not pick my favorite, so y’all are in luck: THREE videos for your viewing pleasure.

Happy Friday!

Video Thursday: Movin’ and Droolin’ (Part One)

As I mentioned in the six month post, Riley most certainly does not stay in one place for very long anymore. A lot of times he rolls to move around, but he’s getting better at inching himself to different spots, too!

Happy Thursday!