Last Part of September & All of October in a Nutshell

Now, back to catching up...on September 24th Riley visited more family. My parents & I went to see Jamie at Martin. While we were there we met my aunt, uncle & one of my cousins at my grandparents' house. My parents along with my aunt & uncle have been fixing up the house recently to put it on the market after my grandparents passed away in 2005. Unfortunately, TAG had to work so he couldn't come. Below is a couple pictures of that day.

A few days later Aunt Jamie changed her 1st diaper! When we are together I give her all of the practice she can get! :) She is a wonderful aunt, too. She can always make Riley giggle out loud. If you know my sister, you know that she knows how to make you laugh any time of the day. Riley loves to listen to her sing whether she is being silly or serious.

October 7th is mine & TAG's anniversary, but since it was a weekday we waited until that weekend to celebrate. We didn't do much. Just went to eat & that's all. We were going to watch a movie but nothing was playing at the time we were there. This was the longest I had ever been away from Riley at that point in time so I was actually ready to go home to see him. Sad, I know...borderline pathetic but it was really hard for me to be away from him for a long time.

This is just a picture of the only time I have ever seen him suck his thumb. I couldn't resist...I thought it was sweet.

Riley had his first play date with Lucy Lakey on October 11. They were so cute & had so much fun kicking & playing on the floor. They had another play date on January 22 of this year. Look how much they both have changed!

The night before he turned 2 months old (October 12th), he slept through the night. We were such proud parents! He slept from 10:30 to 5. The next night from 11 to 5:30. He pretty much stayed in this routine--eventually sleeping until about 7 or 8 and going to bed a little earlier. I had no complaints when it came to sleeping. Notice I said HAD...we'll get to his recent sleeping habits later.

Riley's 1st shots were on October 15th. He weighed 12 lbs, 4 oz & was 24 1/2 in long. I didn't know exactly what to expect from the shots or how he would do. I made Brooke come along with me since TAG couldn't get off of work. He ended up doing fine. Cried for a minute, but that was it. Such a brave little thing! At the doctor right before the big, bad shots.

He didn't feel too great the next day. He slept a lot & didn't feel like playing at all. I kept him outside as much as possible because he loves being outdoors. I figured it would help him feel a little better. He cracked a smile a few times when I put my sunglasses on him.

My house is definitely a "house divided" when it comes to college sports. I have always been a Tennessee fan & TAG is a huge Mississippi State fan. Both of his parents went to school there & his dad actually played football there. I will cheer for State unless they are playing Tennessee. Then my orange roots start shining through. On October 18th UT & MSU played each other. My parents came down to watch the game & cook out. Riley, being stuck in the middle of this, was forced to wear both orange & maroon! Hey, it's only fair!

Now, some pictures just because I love them...

Yes, that's a roll of toilet paper he's sitting on!

I wanted to get some good Fall pictures of Riley to use for a Christmas card. Below were some that we took. I did use a couple of them (the ones in the cotton field).

One of Riley's favorite toys is his jungle. I had to include a picture of him playing in it. :)


I went to the Carrie Underwood concert with 2 of my best friends on October 25th. We all met at our house & left from there since it was in Southaven at the DeSoto Civic Center. Riley loves his Aunt Kel & Aunt Britt!

Riley was a pumpkin for his 1st Halloween. He wasn't too excited about it, but I did manage to catch a smerk with my camera! The outfit he is wearing was actually mine for my 1st Halloween.

STINKY, STINKY, STINKY!

Skip a few months up to the present because I want to share a couple things that Riley is doing these days. His little personality is really starting to shine through. He is such a mess! First of all, that Glad trash bag commercial that says "STINKY, STINKY, STINKY...HEFTY, HEFTY, HEFTY" is his favorite thing in the world to hear right now. Whenever it comes on, he stops whatever he is doing, turns to the TV & laughs. He loves those voices! Now if he is crying I just say"STINKY, STINKY, STINKY...HEFTY, HEFTY, HEFTY" & he immediately starts laughing. It is so funny!

He has also found a love for yogurt & their empty containers. Any time I try to eat yogurt he automatically thinks it's for him. I guess it's the consistency that makes him assume this. He makes his way over to me & pulls up on my lap & looks at me with his mouth wide open like a baby bird waiting to be fed. I have started giving him a few bites of it & he loves it. When it's gone he loves to play with the container. He bangs it on the floor & then will just hold it & look at the writing on it. Who needs toys when you've got yogurt cups?

Lately he has figured out which "cry" gets him extra attention...as if he needs any extra! Since he has started pulling up on everything the last couple of weeks we have obviously had some falls. Nothing too bad--I think it just scares him more than anything. Anyways, there has been a few times when he has face-planted the rug. He will let out a scream that I'm sure the neighbors can hear. We will we pick him up, hug him extra tight & tell him that he's ok & he gets silent almost instantly. Weeelllll....he has figured out that this shrill, pitiful sounding cry will get him an over abundance of TLC so now anytime he just wants to be picked up, he will try (emphasis on try) & imitate that cry. I can't help but laugh because I know there is nothing wrong. He's not even crying when he does it. Just being bad! Yesterday when we were getting ready for church he started it up. And he really tried to lay on the act this time! I set him in his Pack & Play in my room while we were getting ready. He sat there & played for a few minutes but then he got tired of being in there so he pulled up on the side & let out a few fake, mind you, "Whaaa's" to get my attention. After he realized I wasn't going to get him out at that very moment, he started in with that shrill scream. I looked over at him & he paused for a second. As soon as I went back to getting ready he did it again. Another short, shrill scream. After playing this game for a few minutes I went over to him & he instantly started giggling & reaching for me to get him. Sneaky little thing! And smart I must say!

Riley stayed the night away from me for the first time a few weeks ago--March 3rd to be exact. He visited his grandparents for the night so TAG & I could get some rest. He did much better than me, I do believe. I got a little upset, but it was only for a short time right before I went to bed & TAG made me feel much better when he reminded me that it was only 1 night. My parents have 2 Boston Terriers that Riley loves to pet. He obviously hung out with the dogs a lot while he was there because the next day when I went to pick him up he was making "barking" noises. At least that's what we'll call it anyway. :) It actually sounds more like a gorilla. He will look at you and say "Ooh, ooh, ooh." I really do believe that he is trying to "bark" though because that trip to Oakland was the beginning of this sound. Below is a picture of him"barking" on St. Patrick's Day. We also call it his "O" face!

He is starting to get into things left & right already...not a good sign for when he starts walking! One of his favorite things to do is pull a new diaper out of the basket I keep them in, open it up, throw it on the floor, then do the same thing over & over until all of the diapers are spread across the floor. He also loves tearing up paper. He will tear pages out of magazines, wave them in the air, & then throw them as hard as he can. Here he is destroying my most recent Pottery Barn catalog that I didn't have a chance to look at!


Ever since he got his 1st two teeth back at Christmas we have been brushing them to get him in a good habit. Also because he became very interested in watching us brush our teeth. So I figured why not. My mom got him some training toothpaste & he loves to brush his teeth. He just recently started holding the toothbrush. Before he would just open his mouth & let us do it for him. P.S. He's got 5 teeth coming in at once right now! Wow! That's a whole different post though.

Lastly, I just wanted to share a few pictures of some of what went on last week. Before I do, I would like to ask you to say a prayer for the Beaver family. They just had a loss in the family. Even though it was pretty expected & Granny is in a much better place with no more pain, it is always hard to lose a loved one. Thank you.

Riley with Hartley Davis. He was trying to sit in her lap. Silly boy! I love the look she is giving him here! Hartley is one of those babies I mentioned in my 1st post that also has a birthday on the 13th. She was born on November 13th.

About to go on a walk with Mom & Dad.

Just playing in his room & looking at Zeke (our dog) out the window.

Have a great week!