8 Months Old Today (well, really, on the 19th) **UPDATED

Let's catch up. Yes, it's been awhile. My apologies. But, it has been crazy. Things might be settling down. Here's a recap of the past month. I'm keeping it short and sweet so as not to bore you. But I PROMISE more details and updates on a regular basis.

• Riley turned 8 months old on January 19th!
• My best friend since the 6th grade announced that she's PREGGERS!!!! Yeah T&A!!! I'm so excited for you! I can't wait for our kids to grow up together.
• Miss Riley got her first tooth!
• We MOVED!!! (the day after Christmas I MUST add.)
• We celebrated Riley's first Christmas and spend lots of time with family and friends.
• My Mom is cancer free after chemo!!! But now she starts radiation.
• We started finishing the basement of our new house.
• Our old car, which we keep just so we have a second car in emergencies, broke down not once, not twice, not three times, but FOUR TIMES!!!
• My good friend Shelly welcomed her new little boy Sawyer on January 17th. He is such a blessing. Shelly suffered many miscarriages prior to this so now, she's got her precious little baby.
• I spent five wonderfully sunny days in Palm Springs, CA with the girls doing "crafty" things, taking great classes, and just relaxing.
• We've spent money like crazy on the new house, and now are feeling a little drained. New fence, cha-ching, new fridge, cha-ching, basement framed and sheet rocked, cha-ching, water softener, cha-ching, and now just a cha as there is no ching left in our wallet.
• Riley is mobile in her own special way. She's not crawling forward but is pushing herself backwards and in circles. But mostly she rolls, and rolls, and rolls, EVERYWHERE!
• Riley has found her voice. And it's not a quite, indoor voice. It's a loud, let's make sure everyone knows I'm here, voice. She's even scared her boyfriend Kole to tears with her talking (more like yelling).
• Riley had her appointment to check for the bladder reflux. Good news is her bladder and kidneys are normal! No problems there. The UTI was an isolated incident.
• We've met with Riley's plastic surgeon and are making plans to have her final surgery before she turns one. We're scared to death but know it has to be done. **UPDATED: Riley's surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, February 6th. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.**
• We found out yesterday our not even three year old Boxer has a condition of the spine called Spondylosis. It's the same thing we lost our last dog, Ti-Amo, to. It's not good. Especially since she's so young. We're going to consult with a surgeon just in case there is anything he can do but most likely we'll manage with pain medication and steroids as long as her quality of life is good. Right now she's still part puppy. Even though she's in pain she's still trying to run and jump and fetch toys.

That's most of what's been going on. We love our new house! And love our baby girl more every day. We're making plans now to welcome Holly to Utah in February! Can't wait!

On the Move

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Below are the pictures we took for our Holiday cards this year. I think they turned out pretty dang cute! I LOVE this little girl!

It's been a month, yes a month, since my last post. I've got to get a new routine down making time to post and comment. I do find minutes here and there to browse blogs and keep up with everyone. I've said it before, and I'm going to say it again, I'll be better after the first of the year.

Here's what's going on with us (the condensed version).

Riley's 7 months old! Wow! She's so much fun but is also very strong willed and stubborn. She wants what she wants when she wants it. I think we have our work cut out for us. And I love every minute of it.

At her 6 1/2 month check-up she weighed in at 15 lbs 10 oz and 26 inches long. She's still on the small side. I laugh because she so has my body. Longer torso and short legs. She wears 9 month tops and 6 month pants.

Miss Riley got sick at Thanksgiving and was running high fevers off and on. She's okay now but there were a couple of rough weeks. It ended up she had a Urinary Tract Infection. They suspect the cause is something known as reflux (her bladder not completely emptying itself). In most cases I guess they grow out of it. She has some follow-up tests scheduled in January.

And last but not least. We sold our house!!! We move into the new house THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. From the date we accepted the offer to move date we had 3 weeks. It's been CRAZY!!! Trying to pack up a house and take care of a seven month old is intense! Thank goodness she's not mobile yet. Close but she's saving it for the new house. Anyway, we're packing like crazy and trying to still celebrate Christmas. I've become very dependent on a nice glass of wine in the evenings. Below is a picture of our new house. The picture is a little deceiving because it's big, it's a rambler (no more stairs), with an unfinished basement that we've already starting arranging to finish. I can't wait!!!

So after the first of the year and after the move I'm going to become a better blogger. I miss just brain dumping sometimes. Oh, and I go to Palm Springs (without wife and baby) the second week of January. Lots of fun in the sun with by best Stamping friends!

Again, Happy Holidays to all!

Time Flies - 6 Months Already!

Happy 1/2 Birthday to you.

Happy 1/2 Birthday to you.

Happy 1/2 Birthday dear Riley.

Happy 1/2 Birthday to you!

Riley is 6, yes 6, months old today!

Happy 1/2 Birthday Baby Girl!

Where has the time gone? She's growing so fast. Every day she is more and more beautiful. I know everyone says this but I can't imagine our life without her. She completes our wonderful family and I love our family, and her, more every day.

Today we took A LOT of pictures of Riley in celebration of her 1/2 birthday. Enjoy!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Bunnies First Halloween

Wow! I can't believe it's been that long since I posted. I do solemly swear I WILL be a more consistent blogger from this point forward. And to all my blog friends, I may not be commenting, but I'm tracking you all daily!

Riley had a fantastic first Halloween. She spent the afternoon with Mommy Shelly at a work meeting. Here she is in her daytime Halloween outfit complete with a Faux Hawk. We joked that she was dressed as a Little Boy. :)

Next came trick-or-treating at Grandma Shanni's work.

Riley got a little hot in her costumer so she decided to hang out naked on Grandma's desk.

Next it was home for dinner. All good bunnies LOVE carrots!




Next it was back in the bunny suit to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters.




Miss Riley even got to try her first piece of Halloween candy. But only for a minute.



At at the end of the night the bunny turned into a pumpkin, well, really, the pumpkin jammies Uncle Steve bought her.





And to Riley's other Grammies and Grandpa's WE MISSED YOU!!! We hope that we get to see you all on Halloween next year!

Hope everyone had a WONDERFUL Halloween.

Vegas Vacation and Other Fun Stuff

***Update with Pictures***

Yes it's been awhile. So much going on. Here's a quick recap and a few pics.

Our Vegas Vacation was WONDERFUL! It was great to spend time with the family! I so wish we could see each other more often. My niece Jenna has gotten so big and is ADORABLE! Last year at this time she was Riley's age. She's grown so much. It's fun to think next year when we get together Riley will be running around like Jenna did all weekend. And even better, Jenna will have a baby brother or sister that will be the age Riley is now! Yeah!!! I've posted lots of pics below.

Riley did awesome on the drive. She pretty much slept the entire time, both ways.

Since we've been back we've been contemplating selling our house and buying a new home that has just been built. We keep going to look at the new house and wonder if it's worth it after all of the work we've put into our current house. Hell, they just finished the stucco work yesterday! But, we've decided to do it!!! We're putting our house on the market and hoping to sell before the end of the year to get into the new house. Yeah!!! Anyone want to buy a beautiful, like new home in Sandy, Utah? Please!!!

The new house is gorgeous, and big! And around the corner from Grandma Shanni!! Plus there's a swimming pool in the neighborhood. And better yet. It's a rambler. It's hard carrying a growing baby up and down stairs when you're old. As soon as I have pictures of the new house I'll post.

Oh, and I got sick AGAIN! But, I think it's allergies. I'm on allergy meds now and feel a ton better.

Well, I keep trying to upload pictures but keep getting an error. I'll try again later. I promise I'll get some out there today!

"Yeah, I'm in my first Vegas Casino!"

Riley and Jenna getting acquainted for the first time.

"Why is this little baby pulling my hair? I don't think I want to play with her anymore."

"Jenna, PUHLEEZE play with me some more. I promise not to pull your hair."

The girls playing beauty shop.

Jenna practicing her teeth brushing abilities. Yes, her Mom is a proud dentist.

"Gosh I'm getting good at this tooth brushing thing."

She is soooo cute!

Riley and Aunt Jennifer

What's up Mom? I'm playing with my new friend.

Riley loves her bouncer!

Dressed pretty for the family reunion.

"Mom, I'm not so sure about the prunes. Are you sure the doctor said to start me with these? I think applesauce sounds MUCH better."

4 Month Check-up

Yesterday was Riley's 4 month check-up. She weighed in at 13 lbs 8 oz (34th percentile) was 24.5 inches long (50th percentile) and head circumference was 42.3 cm (75th percentile). She's doubled her birth weight (minus the Hygroma) which is where she should be at this point. The Doctor was impressed with how strong she is and how well she's done with her Physical Therapy.


I thought it would be interesting to see what Riley's half siblings stats were at their 4 month check-up. (Hope you guys don't mind!) Length they're all about the same but what a difference in weight. Both Andrew and Riley Elizabeth weighed just over 2 lbs more than Riley. Somehow we've ended up with a petite child. We always joke that she's the only petite thing in the house. I was small as a baby, 5 lbs 6 oz when I was born. I stayed small until I hit puberty and then watch out. I filled out fast and have been that way ever since. It was also fun to look at her half siblings 4 month pictures versus Riley now. You can absolutely see the similarities in the three kids.


Of course she got her shots yesterday. Needless to say it was a rough night and it's been a rough day. She's never screamed as hard as she did when they poked those huge needles in her leg. I'm not afraid of needles but my hell, against her tiny little legs, those needles were huge! She screamed for about a minute before we were able to calm her down. Once we got her home we got our happy baby back for a little while before bed. Bed is another story. She didn't cry much but she tossed and turned and whimpered all night. Poor thing. I hope she sleeps it off tonight. She needs her rest because she's got her big Vegas Vacation coming up on Friday!!!


Speaking of Vegas Vacation. She's already got all of her clothes packed she's so excited! She couldn't decide what to pack for five days so being the girl that she is, she way over packed! But every girl needs a casual and dressy outfit per day of vacation, right?

I'll post a couple pictures tomorrow before we head out on our big Vegas Vacation.

We've Gone Pink!

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month we've gone pink. In the past October has always come and gone just like any other October. This year is different. This year Breast Cancer hit home. My Mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer right before Riley was born.

My Mom is doing well. They caught it early, Stage 1. The reason they caught it early is because my Mom is FAITHFUL about her annual Mammogram. They removed the lump and some lymph nodes. Luckily the cancer had not spread to her lymph nodes. She's currently doing Chemo Therapy and will start Radiation shortly. She also suffers from Fibromyalgia so between the chemo and the fibro she gets really worn out. But she's a trooper and just keeps plugging along.

AND, after many years of smoking my Mom has QUIT!!! It's been a month today! Way to go Mom! I'm so proud of you!!! I love you Mom!

I encourage everyone to get checked this month! Or at least make an appointment to get checked! If it weren't for my Mom and her diligence on being tested annually we might not have a happy ending. I finally broke down and got my first Mammy after my Mom's diagnosis. Luckily all was well. It wasn't a pleasant experience but worth the peace of mind.

Here's some pics of Grandma Connie (my Mom) with Riley.