1 Year Pictures

Riley's 1 year pictures are finally up online if you want to take a peek! I think this link should work, but let me know if you have trouble. If you look close you'll notice he is holding rocks & sticks in almost all of the pictures. He is all boy!

Oh & I promise I ironed his outfit before we left. You would never know by seeing these pictures though!

Fall

Today is a perfect Fall day here in the south! This 1st little video sums up EXACTLY how I see Fall. I love everything about it! The colors, the smells...it makes me feel so cozy! I just want to curl up outside in the swing wearing a light sweater, drinking a big mug of hot apple cider with pumpkins & mums all around me watching the beautifully colored leaves fall to the ground. Ahhh, I wish every day could be like this!

I Finally Did One

Lea Liz left me a blog award the other day! I am usually really bad about putting these up on my blog but I actually got to it this time! You can check out Lea Liz's sweet baby boy HERE. Also, go vote for him at the Gap casting call HERE.

So here are the rules:

1-Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2-Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3-Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4-Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.

5-Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

6-Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7-Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they've been nominated.

7 thing's about my that you may not know... and you may know because I don't hide much!

1. I am 5'11".

2. The hardest thing I have ever had to do was say goodbye to 2 of the people I love the most at the same time. My dad's parents passed away within 24 hours of each other in 2005. The double funeral was very bittersweet. So sad, but so nice to think that they didn't have to live without each other after so long.

3. My 3 year anniversary is October 7!

4. My favorite food is chicken. Any kind of chicken.

5. Fall is my favorite season!

6. I went to college for Interior Design, but haven't ever actually worked with/for a firm. I took a computer techy job straight out of college & just haven't pursued my passion yet.

7. My favorite color is brown...but I promise I'm not boring. :0)

The 7 people I nominate are:

Monica at http://thebenicas.blogspot.com/

Courtney at http://theburtonfamily13.blogspot.com/

Renee at http://reneecox.blogspot.com/

Lyryn at http://lyrynyacoe.blogspot.com/

Kristin at http://ckbrewcrew.blogspot.com/

Jessica at http://babyshaffer2010.blogspot.com/

Tiffany at http://tiffanyhargett.blogspot.com/ Bl

Riley-isms

I haven't posted anything in a while about what Riley is doing & saying these days & I figured it was long overdue. I know everyone believes they have the smartest kid on the planet, so I'll go right along with everyone else & say that I do. ;0) It seriously amazes me some of the things Riley is doing/saying now. It may be 100% normal for a kid his age to be doing some of this, but just let me have my glory moment for my little one. So here is some "Riley-isms" for your enjoyment (or maybe just for me to look back on later :0)).

He knows several animal sounds & will make them when we ask him "what does a ________ say?" & also if he sees them. Some of his favorites are:

Dog, cat, sheep, monkey, lion, bird, horse, cow, bird.

Also knows what a train, clock, & truck "say"--(choochoo, tick tock & vvvvvm).

Asks for "nanas" when he wants a banana & if he sees a picture of one in a book.

Points up at the sky & says "mooooo" looking for the moon.

When an airplane flies over he points & says "pa".

Loves brushing his teeth & points at his toothbrush saying "too too too" until I brush them. Sometimes we brush them 4 times a day! Ha!

If you ask him how old he is, he will hold up 1 finger & then clap! People get the biggest kick out of him doing this. But he has gotten a little lazy lately & just holds his whole hand up & then claps so we've got to keep working on this one!

Asks for juice & says it so clearly. I love hearing him say juice.

Plays peek-a-boo by hiding his face, but instead of saying "peek-a-boo" when he uncovers it he says "dea e eees!", which translates to "there he is!" TAG always plays peek-a-boo with his & says that & Riley has picked it up very quickly.

Calls my dad "Bubba" so I guess that is going to be his name. We are still not sure what my mom is going to be called. He also says my sisters name, Jamie, but he says "Maaaaaamie". Precious. TAG's sister is still trying to get him to say Brooke but he just won't do it for some reason!

Gets our phones, holds them up to his hear & says "yea...yea....hey...yea" as if he is actually talking to someone. However, if there actually is someone on the line he won't talk, but just smiles & listens.

Tries to sing. I swear this kid may be a singer someday. He especially loves to sing with my mom. He bobs his little head back & forth & dances while he is "singing".

Knows where his hands, feet, & nose are. We are currently working on ears. Also if I ask him where Mama's nose is, he'll point to mine.

Blows kisses any time you say I love you.

These are just some of the more recent things he has started doing. He amazes us every day even if it's nothing actually amazing about what he is doing. Just the mere thought of him being my son is amazing enough for me.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I have my next doctors appointment Wednesday. Nothing big to happen at this one, but we do find out if we are having a boy or a girl in about 2 weeks!

Stuffy nose=no more paci

The past week or so Riley & I have both had stuffy noses. Nothing too major, just sinuses I think. Anyway, I believe this little cold has broke Riley from his paci. When he first started acting sick, I gave it to him thinking he would want it, but he would just turn his head, take it out & throw it. I tried several more times before I realized, "He can't breathe through his nose. Why would he want something stuck in his mouth, the only way he can breathe?" Duh. So I quit offering it & he hasn't seemed to care the least little bit that he doesn't have it. We are going on 1.5 weeks now with no paci! At all! I am so excited because I was really nervous about trying to wean him off of that thing. He loved it. But now I don't have to worry about it because he has weaned himself! Woo hoo!

Also, he seems to be sleeping a little better overall now that 3 of those 4 teeth have cut through the gums. There is still one more about to come through & I think maybe even another one is getting ready also. His gums are swollen around it. I know that has to hurt. So bad that he doesn't want to chew any food. I'm just worried that he isn't getting enough to eat. He simply refuses to eat anything except grapes & fig newtons. I did buy him some jars of baby food so that he can get some veggies though. That & V8 Fruit Fusion (mixed with water) has been our best friend. At least when I give him the V8 juice I feel like he's getting a little nutrition. I sure will be glad when these big boy teeth get in so he will go back to eating well again.

I’ll take you for a ride on my big green tractor

12 Weeks

As of Monday I am now 12 weeks! I can't believe I am almost through the 1st trimester already. Yay! I am still extremely tired but not nearly as nauseous as I was. I really need to get on the ball with things for this pregnancy. Last time I was writing in my pregnancy journal almost every day. I don't even have one yet this go round. Isn't that horrible? I do plan on getting one tomorrow though & getting caught up.

We get to find out what it is in about a month. I am so excited!

So here's my 12 week picture. The one on the left is from my 1st pregnancy. The one on the right was taken on Monday. I feel like I'm twice as big this time. You could even still see a little bit of my abs the first time. This time, I only wish.

We have been throwing around some names, but can't really seem to agree on many. AT ALL. Riley was easy because I always said my first born (boy or girl) would be named Riley because it is my maiden name. So we combined it with TAG's real name, Thomas, & we were done. (In case you're wondering...my husband goes by TAG because he is named after is dad, also Thomas, & there is several other Thomas' in his family. So when he was a baby, his grandma called him by his initials (TAG) & it stuck. I only know 1 person that actually calls him Thomas & that was his college basketball coach. I even said my wedding vows to 'TAG' instead of 'Thomas' because it just wouldn't have felt like I was marrying the right man if not! So there you go. Little side note.) Anyway, this baby naming process hasn't been anywhere near that easy. Here is a few that we semi-agree on. Let me know what you think.

Boy: Gage, Jensen, Trenton, Brennon

Girl: Kemper Brooke (1st & middle--my favorite but TAG's not sure about Kemper), Emerson-possibly call her Emmy, Lyla, Laynee, Peyton

We also have several more written down, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. Pregnancy brain at its best.

Weekends

We've had a busy last couple of weeks around here. Weddings, haircuts, 1 year pictures, a fish fry & more. Let me start by saying I was (and still am) a little worried about how Riley's 1 year pictures are going to turn out. The poor boy had bumps & bruises & scratches all over him. A couple days beforehand we were visiting my parents. Their dog, a small but wild one, tackled Riley while he was playing. This left a big scratch on his neck. Thursday afternoon (the day before his pictures) he was playing in the driveway with our neighbors chasing after a ball. I'm sure y'all know exactly where this is going. Sure enough he tripped & hit his sweet little head on the driveway & skinned his knee & elbow all up. I rushed him in to put some ice on his head because a big goose egg was already popping up. We doctored his head the rest of the evening & luckily it didn't look too bad the next morning when he woke up. Thank you, Lord! After his haircut Friday we went home & he took a great nap before his pictures at 4. A 2 hour & 45 minute nap to be exact. I was so excited because I figured he would undoubtedly be in a great mood. Wrong. Riley has 3, possibly 4 teeth coming in now towards the back of his mouth. So he hasn't been in the greatest of moods lately. Not too bad though, just whiney. And not eating or sleeping well at night. But bad mood or not, it was time to leave. We loaded up & headed to Memorial Park to meet the photographer. If you have never been to the Grotto at Memorial Park in Memphis it is absolutely beautiful but there is a big fountain there that apparently attracts swarms of mosquitoes. Especially in August. I had no idea or I would've brought some SSS Bug Repellent. We did notice them, but didn't think we were getting bit too badly. Wrong again. We went about taking the pictures for a little over an hour & then went to eat at my favorite restaurant, J. Alexander's. It wasn't until we were loading up to go home that the bites started showing up all over Riley's arms & legs. I felt so bad for him & that I didn't know he was being eaten alive. My poor baby.

The next day we had a wedding to go to. We also had one last weekend. TAG had to work both times so he didn't make it to either. But Riley loves seeing all the people so I brought him along with me to both. He is very social!

Hannah & Andrew's beautiful wedding reception with some of my sorority sisters.

Riley loves his Megan! Seriously. He reaches for her every time he sees her.

The Jessica's/pregos. :0) She is having a little boy! I can't wait to see that precious baby.

I didn't get any pictures with the gorgeous bride, but I did snap one of her tossing the bouquet.

Me, Riley, Brittany, & Lucy at Julie & David's beautiful wedding.

The kids wanted in the water so badly.

Playing with bubbles on the dance floor.

I just realized I didn't get any pictures of Julie, but she looked so pretty on her big day. Everything was perfect, including the fabulous weather for their outdoor wedding.

Sunday evening we visited some friends & had a fish fry. It was so good to get together again. We used to cookout almost every weekend, but have gotten out of the habit lately, so it was great to get back in the swing of things. We are set to eat BBQ & watch the 1st SEC football game on Thursday. I can't wait! Football season is my favorite!

Sweet Hartley & Riley riding in the wagon.

Some of the boys hanging out & arguing over who has the best team this year. None of them can agree. We had a Mississippi State fan, Arkansas fan, Ole Miss fan & South Carolina fan. What a combo. (If you live in the south, you know this is a big deal.)

The girls & the kids.

Riley & Rowdy (the dog) are now BFFs. They played the whole time & Riley even shared his food with him. ;0)

My little boy looks so big here.

Here's to fall, football & awesome weather. The most wonderful time of the year!