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Stories
March 5, 2010
Riley is now signing mother, tree, more, please, all done, love, daddy, lotion, video (her favorite!), and milk. She is picking up all kinds of new signs from her sign language video and sometimes I'm not sure what sign she's doing because she adds her own little "twist" to it. She also sticks her tongue out when she wants her passy and hands out hugs and kisses left and right. She is really good at blowing kisses and plays peek-a-boo with strangers at the store. She also likes to say "hi" to passerbys and waves to anyone who will pay attention to her. She smiles on command and has also started a big toothy cheese when you get the camera out. Where did she get all of this "ham" from?!?!?
I'm happy to announce that she has enough hair for pigtails (oh my!) and looks cute enough to eat when I fix her hair like that. Riley likes to sleep in until 7:30 (although through the week I have to wake her) and goes to bed by 8 every night. She just started wanting to be laid down in her crib without a story or being rocked (wah for mommy). Some nights she'll let me cuddle her but she's definitely getting a mind of her own. As I'm typing this she just walked into the living room with her laundry bag (it's mesh) over her head and just stood there until I looked at her. She just laughed when I asked her what she was doing. Gosh, she's so stinking cute!
Riley is also dancing occassionally, however looks like she's doing squats instead of dancing.
February 15, 2010
Again, it's been too long since I wrote. This past 2 months have been crazy! You would think that with all the snow days I've had the past month & a half that I would have more time to write. Not so. Plus everytime I get on the computer Riley comes over and reaches up to peck a few words herself.
Well, Riley is still doing great and growing and changing everyday. She started walking on December 29th but didn't get a real good grip of it until a month later (14 months old.) Now she walks/toddles everywhere. She loves it! We just went to the mall yesterday and she was able to walk away from us anytime she wanted. Oh, she loved that! She also rode the carosel and LOVED the horsies!
Riley isn't talking much yet, other than "mama", "dada", and "hi." She waves to everyone and can follow instructions pretty easily. Her favorite thing is screaming at the top of her lungs. Is cheering in her future? One thing is for sure---she's a girlie girl. Riley's favorite thing right now is necklaces. She piles them on and walks around for hours with them on. She also has decorated Frank a few times as well.
Riley has also started coloring and putting stickers on paper. She hasn't got the concept of gluing things down because as soon as she puts the item down to be glued she rips it back up. We're working on that. She also has enough hair for small ponytails. I'm LOVING that, as you will tell by the pictures.
Riley has gotten sick a few times in the past few months. We thought she had bronchialitis (sp?) but we think it was RSV instead. She also had a double ear infection at the same time. She was SICK SICK! She felt worse with this illness than she did with her 103.8 fever sickness at her birthday. I had to take 2 days off for this sickness, but she's much better now.
She's eating like a horse! She will pretty much eat everything we're eating and often eats whatever we were planning on using as leftovers. (There goes Tim's lunches.) She loves new foods and gobbles up bananas, cheerios, cheese, bagels, pasta, smoothies, meat, and has eaten a few soft tacos too. What won't she eat?!?!
Riley's current loves (other than the previous mentioned items)--doing laundry, playing with containers (lid on, lid off), carrying around purses, getting into the pots and pans, sneaking into Kim & Spencer's room, jumping in her crib, bouncing on our bed, reading books, watching her movies (Baby Einstein), and going bye bye and outside.
Also, right now we are waiting on Logan to join our family. (Tommy & Faith's baby) Riley will be a big cousin soon!
Hopefully I'll post more pictures and stories soon. Love you all!
December 22, 2009- It's been far too long since I last posted any new information on here. Riley turned 1 year old on Nov. 28th. I wish I could say it was a joyous event but it was a disaster! Riley was VERY sick with a double ear infection (which we found out later to be a viral infection), 103.8 fever, and was just not feeling good. She didn't get into her presents very much and wouldn't go to anyone other than me. She ended up vomitting during her party (she did NOT want to take any medicine!) and then fell asleep and slept through the rest of it. Needless to say we didn't get to the cake until much later into the night (after most of her guests had left.) When we did get the cake out she didn't eat hardly any of it but just stuck her hands in it a little bit. Riley was sick with her viral infection for 6 days! It ended up being Roseola that caused the high fever and ear infections. Ugh! That was an exhausting 6 days.
I am happy to report that she is healthy right now, however. She now has 10 count 'em 10 teeth! She is now biting when angry, oh fun, and hitting too. Ri should be a very fun 2 year old. ;-)
At her 12 month check-up she came up in her weight, from the 50th percentile, to the 75th percentile and is still holding at the 90th percentile for her height. She's eating just about anything now but loves pasta, cheese, blueberries, grapes, peanut butter, bananas, yogurt, and whatever else mommy is eating at the time.
I'm also happy to report that she finally has enough hair for me to put some in small barrettes. Yea! Her hair color is still a reddish brown and looks as though it's going to stay straight like her daddy's. Riley isn't walking yet but she stands all the time and is pulling her self up with ease. It shouldn't be long.
I'm sure there's more to tell about our little girl but that's all I can think of now. Plus she's climbing up my leg whining to be picked up. Time to go!
Love to all.
October 31st, 2009- Oh our little Ri Ri is a busy gal. She's all over the place and doesn't stop. She's finding all sorts of stuff on the floor (I must vacuum more often!) and is trying to communicate via "eh, eh, eh." She's been sick for the past month 1/2 with 2 viral infections and has had a cold for the past week 1/2 too. She can't breathe very well and some nasty stuff has been coming out of her nose. Eww! Hopefully we'll get her well soon.
Yesterday she dressed up as a pig for Halloween. I swear she was the cutest pig ever! Riley and I are heading to Miami on Thursday to see my best friend, Joellen. Should be an interesting plane trip all by myself. Eeks!
October 18, 2009- Riley is now throwing tantrums when we say "no", take her out of the tub, or try to change her diaper. She's eating all sorts of people food like pasta, potatoes, and anything else we will let her try. She's signing "more" when she wants more food, but won't do it all the time. She's crawling EVERYWHERE and starting to eat things she finds on the floor-yea fun.
Riley is so much fun and I just can't imagine life without her. She fills my day with love and happiness, every day. I'm so blessed!
September 30, 2009- Riley is now 10 months old and really changing. She's finally crawling (well her invented way of crawling) and getting around well. She has 5 teeth (2 on bottom, 3 on top) and is biting EVERYTHING! She's saying "mom, mom, mom" and "dadadada" now. She also knows the meaning of "NO" but doesn't like it too much.
Right now she has a viral infection and has been running fevers the past day of 101.6. Hopefully that will run it's course quickly.
Riri is eating all sorts of big people food-green beans, sliced carrots, bread, potatoes, scrambled eggs, and will try anything I give her. She has tried, and loved, french fries, sweet potatoes, a small nibble of doritoes (just like her mama), mac-n-cheese, and noodles. But, she doesn't get any of those things on a regular basis.
She saw the doctor last week for a lump under her left nipple. Turns out it's a breast bud (yes she might have bigger boobs than me by 11 months) and if it doesn't go away we might have to do hormone testing. Eeeks. Let's hope it goes away.
Tomorrow Tim, Riri, and I are heading to Gatlinburg, TN for a much needed vacation. It will be our first family vacation (non bell casting related.) Yea!
I hope to post pictures soon. I have DSL now so that should make things a lot easier.
Hope all is well with everyone.
Love, Tim, Miss, & Riley Annabelle
September 7, 2009- I know it has been FOREVER since I posted anything. I thought I would be able to do a better job over the summer but obviously that wasn't the case. So, Riley is now 9 months old and is so much fun! She's still not crawling or walking but she loves to stand. I think she may skip the crawling stage because she HATES being on her belly. She manages to get around despite the non-crawling by scooting on her butt and getting on her right knee, propping her left leg out straight and reaching as far as she can. Baby proofing the cabinets is our next step. I just lowered her crib to the lowest position, which was sad.
Riley LOVES big people food and has tried bread, french fries (I know, I know, but she didn't have many), mashed potatoes, carrots, and green beans. She ate it all up! She *hates* stage 3 food and typically gags each time she eats it. Riley prefers baby food or big people food. The slimy chunks that stage 3 has to offer is not acceptable to her.
Ri Ri is saying "da-da" and a lot of other sounds but isn't calling anything by name yet, that we can understand. She is around 21 pounds and is still really tall. At the last appointment (7 mths) she was still in the 90% for height and 25% for weight. Tall and skinny like her daddy.
That's about all on the Riley front. We look forward to her 1st birthday. She is going to chow down on some cake, for sure!
April 30th- Welcome Miss Arabella Eileen Smythe-Leistico! (My cousin, Erin's baby!) Riley will now have a girl playmate on the Shirley side. Yea!
May 7th, 2009- Oh my how our little one is changing. Riley is 5 months and a week old and is so playful now. Her favoriting this to do is chew on things and watch Frank run around the house. She also loves bouncing in her jumperoo and playing on her activity mat. Riley is very talkative now and screeches quite often. She's sleeping through the night and is now eating cereal twice a day. She LOVES her cereal! I'm still nursing and that's still going great. We'll see how things go when she gets teeth. She's in 6 month clothes now, which is fun because I have a TON of oh-so cute outfits. My Mom and Dad call her my real-live babydoll because I dress her up all the time.
In 2 weeks we are heading to Vegas for a bell casting. President Obama will be ringing the bell, which will be neat. It will be Riley's first time on a plane. I'm sure this experience will be nice and challenging for me since Tim will be flying out earlier. Oh boy! I hate the whole experience of flying--the security, the waiting, the sitting, etc...Yuck! At least I get to go though. I have to take 2 days off of work without pay since my bed rest and maternity leave sucked up all of my days. Oh well, it will be a once in a lifetime experience.
April 4, 2009- Riley went for her 4 month checkup yesterday. She's growing like a beautiful weed. At her 2 month check up she was in the 50th percentile for weight and 75th for height. Well, yesterday she measured in at 25 1/2 inches and 13 lbs 12 ounces. That put her at 50th percentile again for weight but 90th percentile for height! She's really tall and skinny! Riley wasn't a big fan of the shots, she screamed louder than I've EVER heard.
She's giggling a bunch now and is really interacting with people a lot more too. It's amazing to see her change from day to day. What she can't do one day the next day she's mastered. It's unreal!
Riley tried rice cereal for the first time last night. She didn't eat much but seemed to like it. It may have helped her sleep b/c she didn't get up until 4:45. Yea! Tonight will be her first night in her crib. I think that will be harder on me than her. My widdle girl is growing up!
She's had another bout with a cold and an ear infection recently. Hopefully we aren't tube bound.
I only have 38 days left of school (no, I'm not counting) so I'm looking forward to hanging out with her as much as possible. She loves swimming so I'm sure I'll be over at Nonna and Poppaw's house a bunch.
March 18th- Riley's 3 1/2 months and growing and teething like crazy. She's wearing 3-6 months clothes already because her arms are too long for everything else. Her belly is pretty big too. ;-) Riley has a new cousin- Caleb Logan Kreiling. She met him last night and is SOOO much bigger than him. It's amazing (and sad for Mommy) to see. We are enjoying our time in Findlay for the week visiting Nana, Poppi, Cuz Caleb, Cuz Bubba, Aunt Elaine, and Uncle Butt (I mean Heath.) Fun times! We go back to the doctor in a few weeks for her 4 month check up. The professional pics on this website were taken at Portrait Innovations on Sat. March 14th. They are great, aren't they?
March 8th- Riley has started reaching for things now! Yesterday she started watching her hands reach for an object and then she would seperate her fingers and grasp whatever she was reaching for! Yea! Today she saw her hand for the first time, or at least realized that it was hers. She just looked at it and watched it move. She's growing up so much!
March 7th- I know it has been forever since I updated this site. I have tried but have had technical difficulties EVERYTIME! Anyway, Riley is over 3 months now and is around 11 lbs 11 ozs. Her and I just got back from Louisville, KY where I had a 2 day conference for school. My mom and dad came down to babysit so I could attend and not spend all of my time pumping. I am so lucky to have such supportive parents. Obviously, I'm still nursing and its going great.
<br> Riley is talking so much more now and is holding her head up really well. She's started sleeping a lot longer through the night and wakes almost every night around 3:30 (she starts to fall asleep around 8). She's grasping rattles, hair, necklaces, and earrings now. She's had a few sicknesses-double ear infection and a cold. She's been on antibiotics twice (poor thing), but they have all been pretty minor. I'm just hoping to get out of RSV season without RSV. Riley is now wearing 3 month clothes but is about to grow out of them. She really needs 3-6 month for her extremely long arms but the rest of 3-6 month clothes swallows her skinny body. All of her 3 month sleeves are like 3/4 length sleeves. She's going to have issues with that for the rest of her life--just like Daddy.
<br> On another note-Tim and Tommy have started working side jobs cutting down trees. They've had one job so far and are putting out fliers today. Verdin has cut everyones hours so times are tight. We'll make it through. Tim did just get back from Puerto Rico where he was doing some work for Verdin for a week. He said it is just gorgeous there.
<br> Heath and Elaine are expecting Logan Bryce this coming Tuesday the 10th. I'm heading up to Findlay on the 17th to meet the little guy. John Scott, Tim's best friend from childhood, is expecting twins-1 boy, 1 girl, in July. We are thrilled for them!
<br>Well enough from me--again, sorry it has taken so long to update pictures. Hopefully I can just use my home computer for now on to download the pics. Keep checking back. Love you all!
January 31, 2009- Riley had her two month checkup yesterday along with 3 shots. Boo! She didn't cry with the first shot but wailed with the next two. She is now 10 lbs 9 ozs (up a pound from 3 weeks ago) and is 23 inches long. Dr says she is in the 50th percentile for weight and 75th for height. So, she's tall and skinny. He said that she's at the bottom range of the normal curve but growing appropriately. This past week she's had her first cold and is still trying to get over that. Thankfully I've been home the ENTIRE week for snow so I've been able to take care of her.
Riley has been talking SO much recently. Her "ah-goos" are adorable! She's really paying attention to her surroundings now too. She loves watching the creatures above her swing. She smiles a ton and just makes your heart melt when she does. It's amazing how much she's changing everyday. Her hair is looking more and more red as the days go by. Who knows what color hair she will actually have. Red would be unusual...
We are, once again, homeless! Due to this nasty storm we got the past week (snow, ice, snow, ice) our electric went out on Wednesday and is still not back on. So, we've been staying at our home away from home--Kim & Cary's house. Thank God for them! Tim has been battling with the house trying to keep the pipes warm and the freezer stuff cold. We are supposed to head up to PA today but I'm not sure if he'll be able to join me or not.
Well I have a snotty little one on my chest who's not all that happy right now. Time to go and use the nose sucker on her...I love doing that! It's like going fishing. If only she thought the same thing. Love you all!
January 16th- It has been FAR TOO LONG since I last updated all of you on our little Riley Annabelle. She's doing great! She is on an eating schedule, every 3 hours, and is very pleasant. We found out that she may be lactose intolerant so she's strictly on Mommy's milk until either we feel like trying formula again or I quit breastfeeding. Riley also has a minor case of eczema on her face. Hopefully that will go away with time and TLC. Other than that she's doing great. She rarely crys, believe it or not. When she's hungry she just grunts and makes noises to let you know. She just started responding to us the past week with smiles. I picked her up from the sitter's yesterday and she smiled at me! It was the best feeling! I knew that she wasn't gassy, dreaming, or thinking she was going to be getting fed...she was just happy to see me I guess. Or, she was thinking "my mom is such a dork" which won't be the last time she thinks that.
<br>I started back to work on the 5th. That Monday was NOT easy! Thankfully my first week back I was fortunate enough to have my in-laws watch Riley everyday but one day, and that day was cancelled due to snow. It's so nice to run home to see Riley now. She has filled my heart with so much love it's unbelievable. You should see Tim! He's very smitten with her as well. I always knew he would be wrapped around his little girls' finger but I never knew how cute he would be with her!
<br>Riley loves her baths, patty-cake, and eating. At her last doctor's appointment she was 9 lbs. 10 ozs (at 5 weeks!) Her hair is still a little red but her eyebrows are blonde. Who knows what color hair she will have.
Dec. 24th- Merry Christmas! I know it's been a while since I updated this site. I finally got my computer back from school so it's easier for me to update this. Riley is still doing great! She went to the doctor a week and a half ago and she was 8 lbs 2 ozs. The doctor was thrilled with how much she has gained already. I must have some power juice. ;-) She still sleeps really well and eats all the time! She hardly ever cries which is great and I guess abnormal for a Verdin. ;-) Joellen and Becca just visited with us which was awesome.
We are back in our house in large thanks to American Family (our insurance company.) They had a cleaning company clean our house from top to bottom including our carpets and couches. They also had a dry cleaner pick up all of our clothing, pillows, bed linens, towels, sheets, shoes, belts, etc... They cleaned and pressed all of our clothes and returned them to us. That was a small nightmare putting everything back away again but oh well. We got our furnace replaced (for a small fortune) and everything is somewhat back in order, however when the cleaners were in our house they found a leak in our basement. Evidently we have a crack in our foundation which is leaking a lot of water onto the floor. Yea! This house is like the money pit. Tim is getting one of his friends, who is a brick layer, to come and help him fix the cracks. We will see and will keep our fingers crossed.
This Christmas will be unlike any Christmas we have ever had. We have a little blessing that we didn't expect to have so soon. Riley is just amazing and is growing so much everyday. She will be one month old this Friday! Eeks!!!! I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it. I've thrown the saying "I can't wait" to the wind because I don't want to wish away her life. I'll keep her like this for as long as I can!
We hope everyone has a blessed Christmas!
December 7, 2008- My due date was yesterday. I'm so glad she came before that day! We are temporarily homeless right now. Yesterday we smelled a strong odor in our house and it turns out it's our fuel oil. We are currently staying with Tim's sister, Kim, and her family until we can figure out what's going on with our house. Thankfully we have family close but it's still a pain to be away from our home.
<br> Riley's first doctor's appointment was on Friday and she has gained all but an ounce of her birthweight back. She's 7lbs 9ozs now. The doctor said that it was unbelievable that she had gained that much in just a week. Yea! I must have some power milk in me. ;-) She's still nursing great and sleeping a lot. She's such a good baby! She rarely cries, even through baths, diaper changes, and nose suctions. She doesn't even cry when she's hungry! She just wimpers a little but will cry if we take too long. She does like to pee and/or poop when I'm changing her diaper. She has peed on SEVERAL onesies and outfits! She also loves pooping immediately after I've changed her. A few times I've barely gotten her diaper on before she lets it loose. She's so funny!
<br> Riley smiles a lot when she's dreaming. It's so cute! She's just absolutely precious. Obviously, we are a little in love with our little gal. Tim is very taken with her as well.
I can not believe how useful this website has been! It is absolutely WONDERFUL to see how many people are getting to share in our joy. Thank you for signing our guestbook. All the work that goes into this site is worth it to know who is enjoying it. I'll keep posting pics as often as I take them so check back often. Riley is very photogenic (sp?)!
December 2nd- Riley spent around a hour and half awake this morning. We talked, cuddled, played, rocked, and read a book together. She is so amazing! I can't wait for everyone to meet her.
Dec. 1st- Riley had her first night of good sleep last night. I guess I could say that about Tim, my Mom & Dad, and myself too. We kept her up for a while last night so she would sleep through the night and it worked! She woke up every 2 hours to eat, I would put her down and an hour later she would wake up for her passy. I would give her that and she would sleep for another hour until her next feeding. She's eating great and we are both starting to get a hang of it. She's still sleeping (it's Noon now) and I finally made myself get up at 10. What a far cry from the past two nights. Hopefully this continues...
Tim went back to work today. I'm glad he went back and I didn't have to. I don't think I could tear myself away from her. She's so cuddly and cute and kissable! I'm totally smitten with her.
Frank is doing well with her. If he's not in the room with her when she cries he goes running to her to see what is wrong. He loves trying to sneak in some licks here and there, otherwise he's doing great with her. He's very interested in what she's doing and just a tad bit jealous I think.
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