Start of the Season

On Saturday, we took Riley to the Ops Group kids' Christmas party on base. It was a pancake breakfast with crafts, games, and of course, Santa. Last year, we didn't take Riley to see Santa, but this year, we thought it would at least be entertaining. Considering that she's usually pretty fearless, we figured she might be just fine with him. Anyhow, long story short, she ended up literally running right into him. She was racing back and forth through the halls when he came around a corner to make his entrance. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked up with very wide eyes. She looked more baffled than anything else. We followed Santa into the party where he knelt down to meet her face to face. He said hello and she just stood right there, kind of mesmerized, then she took off to running again.


I also need to include in this post some more evidence that proves Bauer is the greatest dog in the world. Yup, we've entered that stage.

Busy Bee

It's been a hectic few weeks since Halloween. Riley was pretty sick last week with a double ear infection, strep throat and high fever. On top of that, she sprouted three new teeth. Glad to report that she's feeling much better and is more spectacular than ever. Her vocabulary continues to grow at an astounding rate. On a daily basis now, we hear, please, thank you, car, more, nose, ear, and others I'm sure I'm forgetting. Today was a big milestone, our first haircut. It was in all actuality a pinch of hair by the time it was done, but at least now it's not in her eyes quite so much. The second picture is from this morning, Riley playing with her buddy Bryce.

Giraffe's Tricks and Treats

Trick or treating part two was a great success. Riley's friend Kerington came over dressed as a bunny and we took off around the neighborhood. The girls were surprisingly independent, toddling their way down the street. After a few houses, Riley had the hang of it and started holding out her little treat bag. We were pretty surprised how many people there were in the neighborhood, may of whom had been bussed in, I'm sure. We had help handing out the candy at our house while we were making the rounds and they logged 300 kids. We started with a ton of candy and were completely out by 7:30.

Heading down the road...



Riley and Kerington, who is a little angry at the moment...


Sweet Giraffe...
Got to check the loot...another Almond Joy...dang it!!





Just a Mom and her Giraffe...

Happy Halloween

Friday afternoon the downtown businesses had trick or treating in front of their stores. I think the whole city showed up, which was a lot of fun because we got to see tons of kids in great costumes. It was good practice for tomorrow night. Got our pumpkins carved tonight too. We always have so much fun creating our masterpieces.

Born to Dance

Fall Fun

We took Riley to the pumpkin patch last weekend. It was an action packed day...petting zoo, hay ride, train ride, and some dancing. Yes, lately, her days are not complete without dancing. At the pumpkin patch, there was a stage with loud music blasting for all the pumpkin-goers to enjoy. There was a group of older kids on stage dancing and Riley demanded to be part of the action. She stole the show. The entire crowd was mesmerized. She would've stayed up there all day. She even had groupies. One little boy came over and gave her a giant hug. On a daily basis, she runs over to the ipod speaker and points and yells until you start to play a song. It's so adorable. I'll have to post video because I can't do it justice trying to describe it. Today, we cleaned the house and set out Halloween decorations. While we were outside, Riley discovered the fun of crunching piles of dried leaves beneath her feet. She thought it was hilarious and would've kept at it all afternoon.

An apple a day

We visited a local orchard yesterday to let Riley pick some apples. She enjoyed dragging the basket of apples and visiting with the owners' dog most of all. Today, we are watching a friend's 18 month old, and both of them are napping at the moment. Ahhhhhh. I really don't know how parents of twins do it. At least they both played so hard that they'll probably sleep for a while, then we'll meet some other friends at the park. At many times throughout the morning, Riley and Bryce were both simultaneously giving love and nice pets to Bauer. I can't believe he stayed still and let the onslaught happen. There are multiple milk bones in his near future.

Doggy Dive, Crakkas, and Halloween

It's been a while since I've had time to do any posting, so here are some highlights of the last few weeks. After Labor Day, the community pool hosts a Doggy Dive the night before they drain the pool, so we took Bauer to join the fun. He wasn't too keen on jumping off the side of the pool, so we had to give him a little push....again...and again. But once he was in, he would fetch his tennis ball and proudly swim back to us to get hoisted out of the water. There were dogs of all shapes and sizes getting soaked and it was a lot of fun. Bauer even won a prize, a lifelike plastic turkey leg, for being such a good swimmer.Meanwhile, in Riley's world, she is as amazing as ever. She's added a few new words to her vocabulary: Crakka (cracker, or anything in the pantry) and Bubbles. And also, uh oh...which she repeats nonstop. Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh. She's giving kisses, and I don't even have the words to describe that pure joy and sweetness, and she's starting to blow kisses, although sometimes she puts her hand on your mouth to retrieve the kiss before sending it off in the wind. When you tell her it's time to take Bauer for a walk, so goes and gets his leash off the hook and tries to put it on him. And when you tell her it's time for a bath, she goes charging into the bathroom.
Recently, she had her first incident report at daycare. Apparently, she didn't like what was being served for lunch...beanie weanies and mandarin oranges, so she decided to feed her mandarin oranges to another kid. Other kid promptly bit down on her finger right where the nail meets the cuticle, leaving a bright red mark. The report stated that TLC was administered and Riley was told not to feed the other children at the zoo.
I managed to capture the 10 second interval where she allowed me to put a bow in her hair. She's munching on the Fig Newton I gave her as a distraction, but the essence of the bow is still captured.
I've also included a Halloween sneak peek.. When I brought home her giraffe costume and tried it on her, she began parading around the house, just so proud of herself. All I can tell you about the level of cuteness is that it's just not fair to all the other kids in the world. But you can see for yourselves.

What Riley's up to...

This is one busy, busy girl. She hits the ground running in the morning, (and I do mean literally, she is sprinting down the hall these days), and she doesn't stop until bedtime. Her two naps are pretty much down to one because there's just too much going on in the world that she needs to be a part of. In fact, this weekend, she didn't nap at all either day. We are learning how to climb and will practice on just about anything, including poor Bauer. We love to entertain the adoring public when out and about running errands. Grocery shopping in Walmart has gone from a dreaded activity to one of my favorites. She's a virtual extension of the official Walmart greeter, as everyone who walks by gets a "hiyee" and a wave. It stops people in their tracks, and they all come over to visit and smile and tell her how adorable she is. And we're not just talking old ladies here, I mean everyone...teenagers, the burly men who work in the meat department, college boys who work stocking shelves (and come on now, that is a demographic unlikely to be interested in babies). It just doesn't matter, she charms them all with ease. Her vocabulary hasn't changed much lately, but she understand words and can point out different things when you ask her "Where's the giraffe, or where's the duck?" She's very good at sharing, and will bring you any number of household items she thinks you might like. Stacking and smashing objects is still a constant source of amusement. You can tell just looking at her that she's taking in the world around her and the wheels are constantly turning. Below are some pictures from Paradise Park, a kids entertainment center, where we celebrated my friend Lori's last day of summer (her daughter Kerington--in one of the photos--is Riley's age) before her teaching job began.

Walking machine

Riley is perfecting her walking skills. She can make it across an entire room and hallway now in one swoop. In this video, she hears the water running and knows it's bath time, so she's truckin'

Look out world, we've gone mobile

First Birthday Party

Here are some pictures from the actual party. It was a great afternoon. The weather was hot, but not unbearable, the cake was delicious ,and there were lots of fun presents to unwrap. Most importantly, Riley was surrounded by friends and family who love her.

Riley's First Birthday

I read somewhere about a family tradition where the parents take a picture of the kids first thing in the morning each year on their birthdays. What a cool gift to have for your kids when they get ready to leave for college. So, I copied their great idea...adorable early morning mugshot below.TJ and I both stayed home to hang out with the kangaroo for her actual birthday. We went to Powell Gardens, a botanical garden that featuring a "Big Bugs" display where the artist built giant bug sculptures into the plant life. It rained on us and cut our trip short, but we still had a nice time and Riley got to see some geese.
After dinner, we gave her the first of her birthday cakes, and yes, the event was as spectacular as I'd imagined. Once she got her hands in it, and a few bites into her mouth, the rest of it didn't stand a chance. Next stop, the bathtub.