NY trip + lots of snow in VA!

The week of January 20th, Dad had some business in Warrenton, VA, so Mom and Riles made the 3 hour drive up there to spend a couple days with him. It snowed quite a bit while they were there, so they didn't get out to do much besides lunch and a little shopping. But Riles LOVED the hotel! In our room, she loved standing in front of the A/C unit and letting the air blow through her hair. She played games with the mirror, cracking up as she gave her reflection some kisses. When Mom took a shower, Riles was very upset about being left alone and demanded that she join her! Finally, the breakfast buffet was a huge hit - she tried a little bit of everything! After a couple days, they headed back and found it had snowed just as much at home - about 10 inches. Her school was closed the rest of the week, and Mom's work was closed for a couple of the days, so they made the most of being snowed in. The second day, Riles ventured out with Mom and Liz to the mall playground, where she thoroughly enjoyed all the climbing and sliding and watching the other kids. On Friday, she stayed home in the morning with Liz and later went with Mom and Dad to her one year doctor's appointment.

 

 

That Saturday, Riles was super excited to finally be leaving for her trip to NY! After a quick nap and some goodbyes to Dad, Liz and Ski, she and Mom headed to the airport. Right away they found out they had been delayed and would have to be booked on a different flight, getting into Rochester at 8pm instead of 5pm (bummer!). They successfully made it to DC, and Riles killed some time walking all around and checking out the airport. After grabbing a bite to eat, they headed to their gate, only to find their flight had been delayed. Riles made a new friend (a 17-month old boy) and had a great time giving kisses, following him around, and just watching him. After lots more delays, they finally made it to Nana's house at 12:45am.

The next day was filled with friends and family! In the morning she bonded with Nana and Richard as they made breakfast, and then later she had lots of fun playing with GUB (Great Uncle Bruce), Kristie, Emily, Erika, and Cathy. After her nap she headed over to her grandpa's house where she bonded with most of the McKay side of the family. She loved Grandpa's hamburger soup, and showed off her walking skills to everybody. V even taught her the sign for "more", so she could let us know when she needed another sip of water. She especially loved getting to try out all the musical instruments - the egg shaker, keyboard and drums just to name a few! The next day was Monday, and Riles had a lunch date with Mom and Nana. After her nap, she headed over to her Great Grandma's to visit with her, V and Grandpa for a bit. She had her own special chair to sit in, and indulged in some apple pie and homemade pickles (yes, a very random/yucky combination!). The following day they made their exit, stopping at Nana's work to say goodbye and then heading back to VA. Luckily the trip home proved to be much more uneventful, and they made it back quickly and easily.

"Velcro baby"

When they returned, they used the rest of the week to play in the snow, and to prepare for Riley's big 1st birthday party! Lots of friends and family came out to celebrate with her, and the party was a huge success. At first she wasn't sure what to do with all the people at her house, but she was soon hamming it up for everyone. She got a tiny cake all to herself, and though she didn't really "smash" it all that much, she thoroughly enjoyed licking the icing off her fingers. The next day was the Superbowl, and Riles had a pizza party at her house with Joey and Leah. This weekend, she went to an ODU basketball game, and had a great time playing with everyone, and taking in all the sights and sounds. She has been walking EVERYWHERE lately, and her walk seems to have just about turned into a run. She has also been working on some more signs, and she is so proud of herself when she uses them: "more", "all done", "milk", and "dog" are the ones she has mastered so far.

 

 

12 Months Old aka 1 Year!

Our little girl is ONE!! We have so enjoyed our first year with this sweet, cuddly, silly, smart and adorable little girl, and look forward to what the next year brings. She has developed quite the personality, and always knows how to make us laugh. Below are some highlights about the birthday girl and her talents:

• weighs approx. 18 lbs, 7 oz
• now has 4 teeth
• loves her push toy and ride-on toys
• pretends to go night night
• puts the phone to her ear and says "hello"
• gives "big hugs" and kisses, blows kisses
• loves Ski kisses (leans in for them)
• loves to imitate sounds and gestures
• loves to eat, especially grapes and black beans
• is learning to put herself to sleep and stay asleep longer at night
• loves to walk from place to place
• absolutely loves the water/bath
• dances/bounces to music
• raids the kitchen drawers and cabinets and likes to pull everything out of them
• climbs up and down the stairs
• loves to sit on the stair landing and throw her toys down the stairs
• is constantly babbling and can say a few words - Mama, Dada, Dog, Hello

And just for fun, since we did the first 6 months on her 6 month birthday, here is a month-by-month guide to how much she has changed in the last half of a year:

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

12 Months!!

Riley's Birthday! / Aunt Lizard comes to town

Riley's new year started off with a "messy" party for cousin Levi's second birthday! Although she wasn't quite into the messy activities, she did enjoy hanging with a bunch of her favorites, and chowing down on the Sloppy Joe sliders, pb&j pizza, and other party food. The following week she went with Mom and Dad to the car show in Virginia Beach, and while there met up with Nene and Papa and had dinner with them afterwards too! To Dad's disgust, she enthusiastically chowed down on a pickle Nene had given her. :) She has also been practicing her walking, and all of a sudden started wanting to do it all the time!

These couple weeks have led up to a huge event: Aunt Lizard moving to town to live with Riles for a while! The day before Riley's birthday she arrived, and Riles was very happy to be reunited with her awesome aunt. The next day was Riley's big day as she turned one whole year old! After spending the morning with her friends at daycare, she came home for a nap. Later on, the fun began as she met Dad at the YMCA pool for some swimming and splashing time. Afterwards, Aunt Gigi came over to give Riley her birthday gift, and they all had some yummy Chipotle for dinner (Riley's favorite - she eats the whole kids meal consisting of a quesadilla, beans and rice!). She LOVED her new chair from Gigi, and kept climbing up onto it and then back down. Then she got a special surprise when she got to Skype with her Nana in NY. Nana watched as Riles (sitting in her new chair of course!) opened Nana's gifts and played with all the paper. She also impressed with some of her dancing skills.

 

 

 

Unfortunately for Riley (and her parents!), it became apparent on the night of her birthday that she wasn't feeling too well. She had a pretty high fever and a really rough night of sleep, waking often and crying a lot as she couldn't seem to get comfortable. The next day Mom stayed home from work to take care of her, and they tried to wait it out to see if the fever would go away. But Riles seemed to be getting worse, and didn't want to eat or drink much, so the day after that they headed to the doctor. She was diagnosed with Hand Foot & Mouth disease, a (contagious) virus that causes fever, loss of appetite and a rash breaking out all over the body. It also causes sores in the mouth which contributed to her wanting to eat but not being able to because it hurt so much. Mom & Dad made a last minute decision to postpone her birthday party that was scheduled for that Saturday. We hope that in 2 weeks she'll actually be able to enjoy her birthday party much more than she would have this week!

That Saturday she had actually improved quite a bit and with a dose of Motrin for the pain was able to eat normally again, and take some good naps. After she went to bed, Mom & Dad decided to sneak out for a date night, and Liz stayed home and took care of the sick girl when she woke up a couple times needing some comfort. Today she has been doing very well again, so we think she's on the mend. Aunt Michelle stopped by with her birthday gift and once again she thoroughly enjoyed pulling apart the tissue paper to see what was inside. She also gave Michelle some snuggles while she was here! She then joined Mom, Dad, Joey & Leah for some brunch before returning home for a much needed nap.