Days of December

December brought on lots of new things & more "firsts" for my little man. At the beginning of the month, Riley started making squeaking & squealing noises. Once he discovered how to do this he never stopped! It is a very high pitch squeal that almost sounds like he is crying. TAG says it sounds like a pterodactyl. That's actually a very good description of this racket! I remember being out shopping and having several people ask me if he was ok when they heard him making this noise! It's definitely a happy sound, though. About a week later, he had his first laugh. I was making faces & being silly & he laughed out loud. I LOVE hearing him laugh. That is the sweetest sound to a mother's ears. Absolutely precious.

Christmas is without a doubt my most favorite time of the year. I usually put up my tree a couple days before Thanksgiving & would leave it up all year if I could! I bought Riley so many Christmas outfits. I'll admit I went a little overboard. I couldn't help myself. Below is a few of my favorite outfits.

December 5th was Riley's 1st time to try any vegetables. He ate a little bit of carrots mixed in with his Rice Cereal. He loved it! Actually, I don't think we have found any food that he doesn't like! But his favorite is sweet potatoes by far! He also started pushing all the way up while on his belly this same day. Before he would just prop himself up with his elbows under him.

December 7th was a big day for Riley. We had his Baby Baptism at our church that morning. Our families came to be with him on that special day. It meant so much to be surrounded by the people we love the most. We are members at Hernando Presbyterian Church in Hernando, MS. It is very small but we love it. Riley was actually sprinkled with water from the Jordan River!! A lady from our church visited it a while ago & brought back some water for Baptisms at the church. I thought it was so neat! Riley did really well considering how cold the water was! If you notice, he wore the same outfit that we brought him home from the hospital in. It is a handmade Christening gown that a family friend made for us. She made it a little big & I was glad so that he could wear it again on this special occasion.

After church & lunch we went to see Santa! Riley didn't really know what was going on so he wasn't too afraid of him. He acted great. Next year may be a different story!

Hanging out with Aunt Brooke & watching something on TV after the eventful day.

TAG's work Christmas party was the 2nd week of December. We had a very nice dinner at Texas de Brazil. It was great!

Apparently this is what Riley did while we were gone...

Looks like he found one that he wanted!

Thanks Bradley for the mini dumbbell! TAG loves it! So does Riley. He's been working out. ;)

Riley had his 4 month pictures with Jody Herndon on the 11th. Instead of doing the traditional 3, 6, 9, & 12 month pictures, we did newborn, 4, 8, & 12 months. We actually have the 8 month session coming up soon & I am so excited to do some fun Spring pictures!

Along with his 4 month pictures, Riley had his 4 months check-up. He weighed 15 lbs & was 26 inches long.

Well, he started teething around the middle of the month. He was trying to put everything in his mouth & was drooling puddles. I knew the teeth were coming but looking back, I had no idea they would come in so fast! His 1st tooth broke through on December 19th. Less than a week later on Christmas Eve he got his 2nd tooth! You can't see them that well in the picture, but they are there! Riley got his 2 front teeth for Christmas!!

Thanksgiving in St. Louis

The day before Thanksgiving we made the trip up to St. Louis to visit some family for the holidays. We loaded up my parents & my sister along with TAG, Riley & myself in our Tahoe. Between all of the people & the luggage we looked like the Griswold's in Christmas Vacation. All we needed was a huge Christmas tree tied to the top of the car. I was a little worried about how Riley would do riding for that long. It's a little over 4 hours from our house to where we were going. He actually did really well the whole way. We stopped in Sikeston, MO which is about 1/2 way to eat supper at Lambert's where they throw the rolls. I had Riley sitting in my lap to give him a break from being in his car seat carrier while we ate. About midway through the meal, my dad raised his hand for the waiter to throw him a roll. Apparently this guy did not have good aim. Before my dad could get any words out of his mouth, a huge buttered roll landed right on the top of Riley's head. And this was no small roll, by the way! I guess it didn't hurt though because he just looked around a little stunned. Poor baby! We couldn't help but laugh!

We finally made it to my cousin's house & before we started cooking for Thanksgiving lunch, we sat around visiting everyone. We don't get to see this side of the family very often & it is always so nice when we do.

Riley got to meet his 3rd cousin for the first time who is about 3 weeks older than him. They had so much fun with each other.

My sister Jamie with Riley.

My dad seemed to attract all of the kids that day!

Katie, my cousin was holding Riley while we were sitting around talking. She turned to me & said "Did you put lotion or something in his hair? It's so silky!" (Remember that buttered roll?)

The next day we went to see Hartley & Addison. Riley was a little tired this day from all of his Thanksgiving traveling.


Back home for bath time after visiting.


Just a few pictures from the last days of November.

No More Maternity Leave

Backtrack to November--hopefully I'm not confusing everyone with all this jumping around I'm doing. On November 4th Riley tried some Rice Cereal for the first time. Surprisingly, he loved it! I really didn't think he would & I can't say that I could blame him if he didn't. This stuff does not look too appetizing to me. TAG calls it his mush...yuck. Anyways, the child loved it & could hardly wait for me to get more on the spoon for the next bite. I thought I had a picture of the first time he tried it, but I can't find it...below are a few from a couple weeks later. They'll have to do. :)

By the end of this particular week he was wanting to stand all the time, which meant that we would have to hold him up...almost 24/7. He was also holding his head up so well by this time. What a strong boy! November 10th was my first day back to work. My mom came to my house & kept him so it wasn't too terribly bad. I held it together & didn't even shed a tear. Haha! I was proud of myself. I think I called & checked in every 2 or 3 hours though! Of course the day lasted forever, too. I was missing him so bad. I remember updating my Facebook status to say something about how much I was missing him & Renee, a fellow blogger & friend of mine, wrote on my wall saying that she was the same way her first day back at work but now she actually looks forward to dropping her son off at daycare some days! Looking back, I find so much truth in that statement! Thanks Renee!!

Three days later when Riley turned 3 months old, Hartley Christian was born. Two weeks later Addison Grace was born (on Thanksgiving Day!) These are two of Riley's best friends! He loves the ladies already!

Sweet girls...

A couple of days after Hartley was born, Brooke (TAG's sister) & Josh had their wedding reception in Iuka. They had gotten married the week before in the Dominican Republic. Their wedding was beautiful on the beach! Riley was so excited to see his Aunt & Uncle.

Around this time Riley became very interested in looking at pictures. Pictures of himself & of mommy & daddy are his favorite. It's almost like he is studying them. He will look at one picture over & over. I just wonder what's going through his little mind! He loves to look at the photos on the refrigerator so we move his high chair smack dab in the middle of the floor facing it. That way he can look at them for as long as his little heart desires! He becomes heavy very quickly while standing there holding him & letting him examine the pictures.

Just because I love the look on TAG's face as the drool is about to hit him!

Lately...

zdgsty hgg ./hh c That was Riley saying hello. I was going to continue catching up, but he has done so much the last few days that I want to skip ahead again & write about it. First off, I have the sweetest baby boy ever. Yes, I really do. :) Riley has learned how to give kisses & he loves giving them out. He will just open his mouth & put his face to your cheek. It is so funny. He 1st started doing it when we would kiss him, but now he is starting to lean in to "kiss" if you tell him to "give me sugar" & turn your cheek to him. Somehow I seem to fall more & more in love with him everyday!

The last week or so he has gotten into this phase where he wants his mommy all of the time. And I mean really wants his mommy. I work part time, so I am only away from him 2 or 3 days a week. He has always been pretty attached to me, but here lately he has been acting very needy. If I walk through the room he is in & don't stop to talk to him he gets upset. TAG tries to console him, but apparently it just isn't good enough. Only mommy will do right now. The other day I was folding some clothes when he started getting upset & wanting me. TAG brought him in the laundry room so he could see that I hadn't left him. He immediately calmed down when he saw me but started right back up when they turned around. Can you say Mama's Boy?! Hopefully this is just a phase...

Riley has accomplished a lot these last few days. A little over a week ago he started turning the pages in the books when we read. He seems so excited to see what is on the next page! He has also started walking with his push walker. Hasn't gotten too far yet--just a couple of steps here & there. We laugh so hard when he pushes it because he looks like a little man mowing his yard with this thing! It is hilarious! I moved the coffee table out of the living room up to the game room since it has sharp corners & he is starting to become mobile. He loves having the whole living room floor to roll around & play...and scatter his toys all over the place.

The little stinker got into his Easter basket the other day...

I love this picture!

Starting April 1st, he has started eating some table foods. In the last few days he has tried baked turkey, biscuits & crackers (which he held & fed himself, might I add). He also fed himself a couple Cheerios. We have been working with these for a while now, but he has had a hard time getting them in his mouth because they are so small. We're getting better though. ;)

As I mentioned before, Riley is getting 5 teeth in at once! All four front top & one on the bottom by his other two. It has been kinda rough. He hasn't slept as well as he usually does but I think we are on the upswing of that since they have broken through the gums. I was finally able to get a picture of his pearly whites--or what is in of them at least. Please excuse the cracker in the mouth. :) This was also his first time to eat a cracker while holding it.

Have a good week!