More sleepless nights

Well, it turned out those few nights of great sleep were short-lived because sleep has been rough pretty much ever since. Riles has a few back teeth trying to come through, so we can only assume that is the culprit. She has not been napping as long as she usually does, and is much crankier during the day. Here's hoping our poor girl feels better soon! She has also had an ear infection this month, and we got referred to a specialist who ultimately said she is a candidate for tubes if we choose to try it, but there is no urgent need for them at the moment.

Despite her sleep difficulties, she continues to stay active. Earlier in the month she "ran" the Leprechaun Dash on the boardwalk, and even got a t-shirt and medal out of the deal! Last week she started swim lessons where she had a great time singing songs while splashing in the water. She even went underwater with Mom and loved it! It's safe to say this girl is going to thoroughly enjoy her summer at the beach and pool. This month she also celebrated some birthdays - Aunt Michelle's and her friend Ellie's 1st birthday. She is currently learning how to sign "help" and "again", and she has started trying to say certain words like "up" and "more". When you start singing one of her favorite songs, she gets a big grin on her face and starts doing the hand motions that go with the song (one favorite is Itsy Bitsy Spider).

Despite the horrible winter we've had, we managed to find a few nice days to go to the park. Riles always has a ball, especially now that she can move fast and climb all around. Indoors, she LOVES to play with our phones, especially the baby TV app that has a bunch of sing-along videos. She also loves trying to drink out of a cup or water bottle by herself. Here are some pics to show what she's been up to this month:

What's Riles been up to these days??

So...it's been awhile, and our little toddler has been living it up! She is so full of life and loves to entertain, always flashing that infectious smile of hers. Her walk has turned into a run (or at least a very, very fast walk!), and she is happy to be the center of attention. She is doing very well in her new classroom at school, where she attends with 6 of her friends from the "baby room". Quite the social girl, she has also started attending weekly Gymboree classes where she thoroughly enjoys the songs, climbing all around, and playing with bubbles. The library is also a weekly destination, where she picks out new books and joins some other babies for songs and playtime. After just a few weeks of attending these classes, she has started to join right in doing the hand motions and dancing. And speaking of hand motions, she continues to love learning sign language. She has mastered "milk", "more", "food/eat", and "all done", and is working on "dog", "daddy", and "drink". She can also point to her nose and show her belly!

Although this winter has been pretty dreadful, we did manage to have a few nice days where we could explore the parks. One day Riles met up with cousins Levi & Colton at Mt. Trashmore and had a great time climbing around and going down the slide, then even walking to the top of the hill. At home she loves playing with her new playhouse that Nene and Papa got her. On the not-so-nice days she enjoys the YMCA indoor pool, or does some fun indoor crafts or activities. One of her favorite indoor activities is her dance parties with Aunt Lizard. She loves to hold Liz's phone while the music plays and wave her hands in the air. Sometimes Ski even joins in the dance parties which always cracks Riles up. When it comes to knowing what she wants, Riley is not afraid to show it by throwing a tantrum when it doesn't go her way. She has also adopted a fake cry which she pairs with a squinty face in order to attempt to get what she wants (usually it just makes us laugh though). And on the sleep front, things have been a little rough as Riles has had a cold for almost 3 weeks now. BUT...as of the last few nights we think she is finally starting to figure out this whole sleeping through the night thing...fingers crossed that the next few nights prove us right! :-)