Ski ski, my BFF

Since London, we've been settling back into a normal routine. Riles has been especially happy to be back around her Ski Ski! Those two love being around each other. Riles of course is always trying to grab Ski's ears or eyes or tail, but in return she gets plenty of licks in the face. Riles will typically let out a big squeal whenever Ski is around. At night or naptime, Ski is always there in the nursery helping us put Riley to sleep. This past week, Riles had her 9 month doctor's appointment which went great as usual, and Dr. Fred said how impressed he was with what she already knows how to do.

Riley got to spend a couple hours with her good friends Leah and Joey while Mom and Dad went to an open house. She had a great time over there, getting all messy during dinner and getting a little freaked out by their very hyper dog Clipper. :-) When all was said and done, they both said they can't wait to have her over again sometime. The next weekend, Riles stayed home with a babysitter all day while Mom and Dad joined the Kletz's, Hobbs, Davy, Michelle, Leah & Joey for Wine Fest. She and Ski got to take a walk to the park, and Riles went on the swings. We think she didn't even know we were gone! Finally, on Sunday she had Nene, Papa, Josh, Michelle, Gigi, Colton and Levi over to watch the Steelers victory over the Ravens. She had quite a few laughs chasing her crazy cousins all around the house.

 

9 Months Old

At 9 months old, Miss Riley weighs in at 16 lbs 10 oz and is 27 inches tall, in approximately the 25th percentile for both weight and height. More importantly, she is quite the little mover! Once she learned to pull up on things she immediately graduated to cruising all over the house, using whatever she can get her hands on to help her along - furniture, toys, Ski ski, Mom or Dad's hands, or Mom's hair. She has a toy walker, and learned very quickly how to use it to get from place to place as well - and is so darn proud of herself when she does! Oh...and now that she can actually get around, she has a lot of fun chasing Colton and Levi around! She is a happy girl, always smiling and ready to get into mischief. She absolutely LOVES watching Molly, and she adopts this high, squeaky little voice whenever we mention Ski's name. She is perfecting her bye-bye wave, actually moving her hand up and down instead of just putting it out in front of her like she was doing before. Another favorite of hers is giving kisses, which she loves to do with her mouth wide open...yum! She is still shy around strangers, but eventually she will sometimes warm up to them and give her shy little smile. Riles is also quite the talker (which her Nene says she got from her, definitely not from her Mom or Dad!), always filling us in on her thoughts in her sweet little voice.

We wish we could report that Riles is finally sleeping through the night...but she is not. We figure at this point it's become a habit that we are going to have to break, slowly but surely. But no matter how bad her night was, it's hard not to smile the next morning when we walk in to get her and she's standing up in her crib, grinning from ear to ear and babbling to herself. Some of her favorite hobbies are: playing in Ski's water bowl, trying to eat her dog food, pulling clothes out of a laundry basket one by one, "helping" us unload the dishwasher, making loud noises with whatever she can find around the house...oh, and eating! Even though she only has 2 teeth, she finds a way to devour whatever we give her.

Riles in the UK

Finally, our London trip had arrived, and it was off to the UK to celebrate Joe & Helen's wedding! Our little world traveler did very well on the red eye flight, sleeping most of the way and waking up a couple times to eat. After hopping on a train and then into a cab, she arrived at the hotel at last. She enjoyed a quick lunch with Mom and Dad, and then it was time for a nap. Later on, she met up with Helen, Joe, Leighton and Angharad for a yummy dinner. The next day, Mom, Dad and Riles got a late start as they were exhausted from the trip and slept much later than usual. They made up for lost time, though, jumping on a tour bus and riding around the city. They stopped for lunch in a café where she stuffed herself with some very yummy spaghetti bolognese. She saw most of the sites from a distance, but hopped off to take a closer look at the Kensington and Buckingham palaces. She went to Harrods, an enormous department store with more departments than you could ever think of - a pet boutique, childrens boutique, pastry/cupcake shop, fine watches, wine tasting, and on and on. She saw Big Ben and the Tower of London, and then took a ride up in the London Eye - she could see all of London from up there! After a nap, she went for a walk with Mom and Dad and wound up having dinner outside at the original Hard Rock Café!

The next day, Joe met them out for brunch at Duck & Waffle, a really cool restaurant on the 40th floor of a high rise that overlooked all of London. After that, they took off for some more sightseeing on foot, with Joe as their tour guide. They went inside the Tower of London and got to tour the entire castle, and even see the crown jewels worn by the various royalty over the years. Next they walked across the Tower Bridge, which also had great views of the city, and even got to see the bridge lifted so that a boat could go by. Finally, they headed to Joe's house to stay the night, where his mom watched Riles so Mom & Dad could check out the "pub" where Joe used to work.

On Thursday, it was time to take the train to Leeds to begin the wedding festivities. Mom, Dad, and Riles joined a bunch of the bride and groom's close friends and family for dinner at a nice Italian place. Afterwards, Riles stayed in the room with a sitter while Mom & Dad went up to the hotel's sky lounge for some drinks. On Friday, the trio took a nice walk around Leeds, bumping into and having lunch with Leighton and Angharad, and then touring the indoor/outdoor mall as well as the market. Finally, Saturday was the big day. At 11:30, they rode the coach over to the church to watch the ceremony. Next, they got back on the coach where the groomsmen were serving champagne, singing along with the radio, and giving the driver a hard time - cheering when he went through a yellow light and booing when he stopped at one, for example. :-) Their next stop was the reception which was held at a place called The Mansion. While Mom & Dad had some cocktails, Riles played around on the floor, making friends with all the wedding guests. The reception continued with a nice sit-down dinner and plenty of drinks and dancing. Riley had a lot of fun with Angharad and Bubu, who both made sure she was well taken care of the whole time. She stayed for some of the festivities, until Mom rode back with her to the hotel to drop her off with the sitter. Sadly, they had to leave the next morning, and the trip back (~23 hours door to door) felt a whole lot longer than the way there. But they had an amazing time and can't wait to make a return trip in the future!

After she returned from her big trip, Riles went to the doctor again to confirm that her ear infection hadn't fully cleared up. She got another round of antibiotics, so let's hope they take care of it once and for all so our little girl can be pain-free. For the most part, it hasn't seemed to slow her down though. She has enjoyed being back at daycare where she can show off her pulling up skills. She has started to "cruise" around the furniture as well, so it's only a matter of time before those first official steps! Her babbling is also starting to take the form of words, her favorite right now being "bababababa".