My 2 guys...

Daddy & Riley love just chillin' together. Riley is a snuggle bug who loves to be held. Sometimes this makes it difficult for me but he's learning that he can't always be held. Daddy sure loves his snuggle time with both kids though...but then, what's not to love?

Our Thanksgiving Trip

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year at my parents' house. The weather was great and so was the company. This is my parents' house perched up on the top of the hill. We had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. Mt. Shasta was beautiful. It was great to take a hike and see a view like this. Dylan took this picture on one of his explorations.
Lily enjoyed some quality time with daddy. Don't they look cute?And then there was the Thanksgiving meal. Everything turned out great. Riley, of course, decided that he wanted to eat at the same time...so I got to eat towards the end of the meal=)
The men had to recover after dinner...and watch a little football.

And then all the kids had their slumber party on the living room floor. What fun! Movies and popcorn, how I miss the simple things sometimes...only because I rarely make time for them. Grandpa sure wasn't missing out on one of life simple pleasures though. Grandkids!

So, overall a wonderful trip. The kids were battling colds which kept life interesting. They did great on the car ride...5+ hours is not a piece of cake for a 3 month old and 4 yr. old. It was awesome to be able to spend time with my family, and see all my nieces and nephews, from my side, together. I was very happy to get home though. Riley was too...he got so excited when I took him into his room this afternoon. It was very cute. The cats were happy to see us as well. And Lily couldn't wait to jump into bed tonight. I guess there's nothing like coming home...

To Our Friends & Family

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YUMMMMY!!!

I did it! Me, who generally screws something up while cooking a new recipe, managed to make a broccoli cheddar soup-FROM SCRATCH! This picture does not do it justice. I have to say thanks to our friend Katie who gave me the recipe...it is soooo good. Thanks for giving me something to brag about =)

Let the silliness ensue...

So what we have here is our very own Lily snowman. At least that was what she was attempting to be. She was stomping around and roaring as well. Her "scarf" was actually a belt from one of my robes but she thought it would be perfect to complete her look :) Too much fun.

And then, she had to make funny faces with Riley. He got a kick out of that. What a pair... Can you believe how big he's getting? What a chunky monkey!





All this silliness wore Daddy out...it's his first day of vacation though so I guess he should get a chance to relax. I'm sure he probably won't appreciate me posting this picture, but oh well =)

Lala's haircut...

Even though she looks kinda sad in this picture, she really is excited about her new haircut. It is a pretty drastic change, considering how long it was before, but I think it's cute. She did great at the salon. There was a moment when she thought I had walked away when she got a little uptight but otherwise she was wonderful. She can't wait to show it off to everyone. Now Mommy has to remember what she used to do with short hair.

Fun, Fun, Fun

Lily has a cold. I know, no big deal. She hardly ever gets sick though, so when she does get something, I always feel so bad. Hopefully this passes quickly and we'll all be healthy for Thanksgiving. She was just rather pitiful today. I was able to get her to take some Benedryl without a fight (yeah me) and tonight introduced her to the wonders of Mentholatum under her nose =) Sleep might be an elusive creature for me tonight...we shall see.

Good News...

Mr. Monkey Doodle got a new position at work. He will be the new vacation relief driver. Basically this means he will be a floater who takes care of other routes while the regular guys are on vacation, or sick or whatever. It comes with a pay raise, which is great. What a wonderful blessing for us. I am so lucky to be married to a man that takes such great care of us.

My pictures...

Lately I have been feeling the urge to be creative. Taking pictures is helping me vent that urge. I took this picture this morning in our back yard. I guess maybe I picked up a little of my dad's photography skills. At least I thought it was pretty cool. Gotta love autumn. Here are a couple others that I took...

The 13 day "dry" spell...

Okay people, just a warning, this is a dirty diaper story. I'm not going to be graphic, but I'm just letting you know. So anyhow...
I truly, truly never thought I would ever be excited to change a dirty diaper. Guess it goes to show you how motherhood can change a person. This story starts 13 days ago when Riley had his last dirty diaper. He went from going pretty much around the clock when he was first born to every day to every few days...you get the picture. Then, it was once a week, and I thought, cool! How great is that, not having to mess with the dirty diaper, tons of wipes etc. Then, he was due... it's been 7 days, I'm ready. Nope. Okay, now what? I know he's growing so I'm not worried and he's eating enough because he's satisfied. Got it, talk to the doctor when you see her for his check up. Now I know it is not uncommon for solely nursed babies to go a week because there aren't any fillers to get rid of, but when I mention it's been 9 days since he went, the doctor kinda freaked. "You need to go home and give him a glycerin suppository" was the first thing out of her mouth! I couldn't believe it and I think it showed on my face because then she backed off a little and gave me a few other suggestions...none of which I was all that excited about doing. I thought, he'll go soon and he's not in distress so I'm not messing with him. Then we hit 11 days out and I started to stress. Called my mom and sister to ask their opinion. Riley was starting to act uncomfortable. I got him to take some water from the bottle...which he then spit up all over me when he burped. He did not like the water on the way back up! Today was day 13 and I was pretty uptight wondering what should be my next step. He wanted to eat every 2 hours today (hmmm, he must be growing) and then it happened. He cleared himself out and I was ecstatic. Really I was! To the point that I cleaned him up, put him to bed and picked up the phone immediately because I had to share with someone. I even did a little happy dance while I was changing him. Like I said, motherhood does funny things to you. If it's not one thing, its another and you definitely have to roll with it.

The newest happenings...

This is Lily's new toy... a jump rope. She has been asking for one for a while so Dylan got one for her on their little excursion the other day. She was sooo excited to run around town with Daddy, and then to get a jump rope, that topped it off. Of course she doesn't have the coordination yet to do it, but we're getting there. She has been practicing. Hopefully it won't take her too long to get the hang of it.
Other news today, Mr. Pickles had his 2 month check up. He now weighs 12lbs 4oz and is 22" long. He was 8lbs 13oz and 19.5" long when he was born so he has grown considerably. His head also grew from 13.5" circumference to 15.75". We did opt to get 2 immunizations for him- hepatitis and polio- so he was very grumpy this evening. Hopefully by tomorrow he will be better.

Pants? Who needs those?

So today when I went in to get Riley up from his nap, imagine my surprise when I walk in to a baby wearing no pants! I clearly remembered putting him down fully clothed (it is November not July) but he had managed to scoot his way right out of his pants. It gave me a good chuckle which I thought everyone else could share with me.








Now here he is fully dressed after eating and being changed-quite happy. He just looked so darn cute I had to snap another picture. We have a doctor's appt. on Friday and I can't wait to find out how big he is. I just switched him into 3-6 month clothes (at 10 weeks).

Hello friend...

So Riley finally noticed the toys on his bouncy seat last night. It was so cute. He was talking to mister giraffe and having a great time. He was so excited. He was kicking and going to town cooing at it. This picture doesn't even do it justice. Every few days I had been putting the toys on but since they weren't doing anything for him, I was just leaving them off. Now I guess the toys are a must. I can't wait till he discovers his hands, that is always funny. Should be any day now.

Fingers and Toes

Just look at their fingers
Look at their toes.
As I stare at my children
I wonder where the time goes.

They're growing so quickly
These children of mine
And I realize how precious
Is every minute of time.

What a blessing to me
These two children are
And I have to give thanks
Because they are mine.

Just look at their fingers
Look at their toes.
May I never forget
How fast the time goes.

-For my children,
Love Mommy

I was feeling a bit sentimental this evening as I fed Riley and after I put the kids to bed ended up writing this poem. I don't think I've written poetry since high school but somehow it just felt right. It's amazing to me how much love one heart can hold. I don't think you can truly understand until you have kids. My monkeys won't understand this for a long time but I can only hope that one day they will experience this feeling for themselves.
Thank you Mom and Dad for helping me become the woman I am today. (See, I told you I was feeling sentimental)

Oh what a day...

Yesterday was just one of those nice days. You know the ones where things are flowing smoothly? Lily was being good, and so was Riley. Here's my monkey practicing her reading- thank you Aunt Melissa for the books! Monkey #2 went 4 hours between feedings and 8 hours at night. How great is that?
Then, I managed to make an awesome stew for dinner. This is the first time I have attempted it and it turned out great. Side note- only 1 of the new dishes I have tried lately has been very good...and I've been trying alot of new recipes. Poor Dylan!



And then, what better way to cap off the day than building a fort? All in all, a good day. What more can you ask for?

The Fairy and the Tigger...

Lily decided to be a "butterfly fairy" as she put it, this year. This is her and her cousin Grace the ladybug at their dance class. It was very cute to see them dancing in their costumes. Lily is doing really well learning the steps.


And as you can see, my little Tigger slept while the fairy and the ladybug trick or treated a few nights later.