Auntie Christine and Grandma visit!

We just enjoyed a visit from Matt's sister and mom. Riley loved spending time with them. We went to Lido Key and walked around St. Armands Circle, where Matt was very into trying on dresses. We spent time at the beach cafe and grandma took Riley on a shopping spree for new fall clothes. Grandma and Christine found a sandbar with a huge amount of whole sand dollars. We all collected a bunch of really pretty shells and sand dollars. We also enjoyed a beautiful dinner at the Sandbar restaurant overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. One morning we took Riley minature golfing for the first time. He got his own ball, but wasn't to interested in the club. Riley got the hang of the game really quickly, he ran each ball right up to the hole and drop it in! He was looking at us all funny, wondering why we were trying to use clubs! Thanks so much for coming to visit Auntie Christine and Grandma we already miss you two!

Riley the Builder

Grandma Albertson sent a package to Riley yesterday that had an adorable tool set in it. Riley loves his new Bob the Builder tool belt. He walks around and pretends to help dad fix everything. He gets out his screwdriver and wears his hardhat-it is precious:) Grandma also sent him a really cool Thomas the Train backpack. Riley looks like a little first grader with it on! Thank you Grandma and we will see you soon!

I'm going to be a big brother!

"I am pretty excited because I am going to be a big brother. My mommy is 15 weeks along, which means I get to meet my new sibling in 25 weeks! Mom says that my sibling will be here around March 8th! I also just got done spending a ton of time with my granny bird and Gaga. We went to Chucky Cheese and the Beachhouse so I could get my favorite Calamari! I have had a great week. It was daddy's birthday so we went to Olive Garden and got a huge cake. I kinda thought I was going to get some presents, but then mom reminded me that it was DADDY'S birthday. We are getting ready for another hurricane. Mom and I just got back from a walk and the winds are picking up. The waves are huge, it should be scary! I have my flashlight all ready."

Florida fun!

Here are some pics. from this last week in Florida. Riley is almost 15 months and full of energy! His most recent accomplishment was mastering going up the stairs all by himself. He talks himself through every step, and at the top he claps for himself!

Rain Rain Go Away!

We are now in Florida and it has been thunderstorming since our arrival last week. Today I ran out of indoor activities and let Riley explore puddles and rain! He hasn't had much experience in the rain, in L.A. rain is hard to come by! I started the morning by trying to promote "independent play". Riley was in his new, very own bedroom, playing with all of his long lost Florida toys. I peeked in on him, and found him laying underneath all of his books. He had managed to pull all his books out of his shelf and was trying to read multiple books at once. We then ventured outside and Riley had a ball running in the puddles. It took him about 20 seconds before he was rolling in them. He came in for supper drenched with a big grin!

Hmmmmm.........

This morning I woke up and immediately started wondering why I couldn't hear a one-year old bouncing in his crib. I looked at the clock and it was 6 AM. Usually Riley is up and in the middle of Barney by this time. I started wandering our huge California mansion ( okay not exactly) and decided to make the boys some strawberry pancakes. I cut up fresh strawberries and get the homemade batter (maybe it was bisquick) ready. I make two huge plates of fresh pancakes and still no sound from Riley's crib. I found myself checking on him constantly, until he finally woke at 8:30AM! I served him his strawberry pancakes and after every bite his little eyes would light up and he would say, "hmmmmmmmm". I couldn't figure out if he was shocked that I had cooked or the fact that I was so eager to serve him. I find myself always thinking about how I could be getting so much more done, if Riley would sleep in. The thing is, I spent all that time wanting him to be awake because I missed him!

Fun in the Sun!

It has been really hot here so we have spent a lot of time in the pool, trying to stay cool. Riley decided last week that he could jump into the pool like all the big kids. At this point we had not got him a lifejacket, because he was still using his baby rafts. Well, he showed us by jumping into the deep end without any lifejacket. He was unphased by his rescue and continued to attempt more jumps. Needless to say, I rushed to Target and got him a life jacket. He didn't like it at first, but now he is jumping with all the big boys and loving it! He is also making good progress on his swimming. He now can use his arms very well, but struggles to kick and use his arms at the same time. We are so proud of him for being so brave and going full force into the water!

RILEY'S DEBUT AT DODGERS STADIUM!

We went to the L.A. Dodgers game last night at Dodgers Stadium. Riley seemed to really enjoy his first baseball game. He couldn't get over the crowd and how everybody clapped at the same time! We did lots of clapping and running around! Riley also enjoyed his first "Dodger dog", stadium nachos, and of course chocolate malt. We made it to the 7th inning stretch and then we headed home! It was really fun to see a new stadium and the Dodgers won:)

PHOTO SHOOT

One of our neighbors is a professional photographer and volunteered to take a view pictures of Riley and Matt. They were on a walk in his wagon and Ken did a good job capturing the moment! Thanks Ken! Riley is really into feeling the grass and exploring different textures.

Headstands Galore!

"Hi guys! I thought I would let everyone know that my granny bird taught me how to crawl. So during my crawling routine, I have worked really hard at adding some headstands! Just let me know, and I will show you how I do it!"