11 Months Old

Riley turned 11 months old today, and it's hard to believe how close we are to her 1st birthday! She weighs approximately 18 lbs 5 oz. This month she took her first steps!! A couple weeks ago, she started taking a step or two here and there, and over the next week and a half she became even more brave. Once she stood up and got her balance she would actually let go of our hands or the furniture, and just start walking. She got up to about 12-13 steps in a row. Won't be long before we have a full-blown walker on our hands! About the same time, she also showed us that she knows how to get down the stairs, rather than just up them. She still loves to eat, but has become much more selective with what she eats. She is not afraid to let us know if she doesn't want something we give her - and typically she just tosses it down to Ski Ski anyway. As far as personality goes, she is quite the firecracker (in a good way of course!). She is a very smiley, funny, and happy girl, and she will also let you know when she is not pleased with something. She can quickly become very fussy if something doesn't go her way, and often will arch her back and throw her head back to demonstrate her frustration. She loves to wave, clap, point, give open-mouthed kisses, blow kisses, high five, and has even gotten the hang of the fist bump. She also tries hard to communicate with us, through pointing towards what she wants, motioning when she wants to be picked up, and even trying to say certain words - "da" for dog, in particular, although her dad doesn't agree that she knows what she's saying. :-) When playing by herself, she will usually look around for Mom and Dad to make sure we are watching, and then flash us a huge smile. She really loves to play with (and pick on) Ski, trying to pull her ears, pat her on the head, take her toys, or even lean forward with her mouth open to get some free kisses. Her 3rd tooth came in this month, so she now has 2 on bottom and 1 on top, with another one that will likely break through on the top in the next couple weeks. In the sleep department, she still naps well (sometimes 1 nap, sometimes 2) but does not sleep through the night. The last couple of weeks have been rough while she's been sick, but typically she's waking up about 2 times per night, only to eat and go right back to sleep.

Our little toddler

Phew...Riles has had a few very busy weeks! On Black Friday, she and Mom met Dad at No Frill for lunch after he was done with work, and then Riles headed home with Dad to play while Mom got a little shopping done. She had been practicing standing by herself a lot more, and Dad said she even took a step or two by herself!! Later they joined the Hobbs', Kletzs, Heckels, and Uncle Gregg over at Nene and Papa's for a little Hanukkah celebration. Riley ate some yummy dinner, then had so much fun opening gifts and playing with Colton, Levi, and their cousin Rhett too! On Sunday, Riles and Ski went to see Gigi's new(ish) place. She loved climbing up all the stairs, and even taught herself to climb down a few stairs too. She also had a ball showing off her *almost* walking skills, taking a step or two and then lunging forward into someone's arms. She finished off the last few nights of Hanukkah, lighting the menorah each night and opening gifts from Nene and from Mom and Dad. All in all, she ended up getting: a new dress, push/ride-on car, xylophone, activity cube, corn popper, little people SUV, fridge magnets, stackable bowls, her own car keys, a flashlight, and so much more. She's already been so spoiled, it's hard to believe we still have Christmas and her birthday coming up!

Later that week, Nana arrived for another visit! On Friday, it was gorgeous out. Mom stayed home from work and Riles, Mom and Nana walked to the train station and then took the train to the mall to see Santa! She was not fond of Santa at all, but we managed to get a good picture when Mom got up there with her. After that, the three girls had some lunch and then headed back home for the afternoon. At home, Riles practiced walking between Mom and Nana, and got up to 12-13 steps in a row! I think we can officially say we have a toddler now! That night, she showed off her walking to Dad, and then the four of them went out for some dinner. Saturday was Dad's company holiday party, so Riles got to spend the whole afternoon and night with Nana. From what we hear, she had a blast (and this time, there are pictures to prove it!). That night was a little rough because Nana thought Riles wasn't feeling very good - and boy, was she right! On Sunday, Riles was showing signs of a cold - fever and stuffy nose - so for the most part they didn't do very much. They did meet the Kletzs and Hobbs to watch the Steelers game, but Riles wasn't quite herself so they left early so she could get some rest. That night, she had to say goodbye to Nana again, but with the hope to see her in NY in January. Riles got a few early Xmas gifts while Nana was here too - she loves shaking her new tambourine, and feels so important now that she has her own phone and laptop!

 

 

 

On Monday, Mom got a call from daycare saying Riles was running a fever and would have to go home. She continued to have a fever throughout the day and not much of an appetite, but when they went to the doc he confirmed it was just a cold. That night was very rough - for 3 hours Riles tried to sleep but her cough kept waking her up. She finally was able to get a few hours rest though, and when she woke up we saw a 3rd tooth had popped through, on the top this time. Tuesday, the sick girl stayed home with Dad half of the day and with Mom the rest, trying to get rid of her bug. By Wednesday it seemed she was getting worse, not better, so Mom took her back to the doctor. He confirmed that her cold had turned into an upper respiratory infection called bronchiolitis. Unfortunately there was no medicine that would help, so he just gave us some tips on how to keep her as comfortable as possible. Riles went straight home and napped, and after she woke up she had a very high fever and was not acting like herself. It seemed like her breathing rate had increased too, so just to be safe Mom called the doc and they suggested we take her to the ER. After a few tests and a chest x-ray, they confirmed the bronchiolitis and gave us an inhaler that would help with her breathing. They also found she had developed an ear infection, so we got the antibiotic for that as well. Today she again split time with Mom and Dad so they could each work for a bit, and throughout the afternoon it seemed like maybe she was getting slightly better (fingers crossed!).