One Year Photos

To mark Riley's first birthday, I had our amazingly talented friend, Carrie, take some pictures of Riley and of the two of us together.  She did SUCH a great job...Riley loved her, the shots were unique and fun, and she really worked to make sure the personalities came through in the photos.  

Here are a few of my favorites:

Check out carries photoblog here 

to see some of the collages she put together for us.  

Also, I'll post some of my favorites of Riley and I together on my blog here so check that one out, too. 

Thanks Carrie!! You did an amazing job!  

...And she won't shut up...

Anyone who knows me knows that I can talk.  A lot.  Ok, more than a lot.  

It looks like Miss Ya-ya has inherited this tendency. 

Besides the constant babble and baby talk, she currently is using 4 words in perfect context:  "Hi", "Mama", "Buh-bye" and "Ouch!".  

Today when i went in to pick her up from her daycare, she looked up at me, smiled, and said "Hi, Mama!"  

It was one of those moments that melts my heart....

11 Months Old!

Riley is 11 months old today, and I am blown away by how fast the time has gone by.  It's amazing to me how much she grows each day and how much she has learned in such a short amount of time.  

At 11 months, Riley: 

• Weighs 26 pounds and is XX inches long (will fill in tomorrow, when I wrestle her down to measure her).
• Has a TON of reddish blond hair - I swear it thickens each and every night.
• Crawls everywhere - nothing gets in her way...she goes over, under or around all the obstacles. 
• Can stand alone for short periods of time and has taken 2 steps by herself. 
• Pulls herself up to everything. 
• Still loves to play in water - baths, swimming pools, the ocean...you name it..is it's H20, she's good to go! 
• Loves music and will "sing" along whenever she hears it - especially in church, to the amusement of everyone who sits near us!
• Is OBSESSED with the electrical outlets - she figured out how to remove the normal covers and how to work the twisting ones, but I stumped her with lamb and elephant shaped covers.  She can't figure out how to get her chubby little fingers into the grooves to pull them off (ha ha - score one for mama!)
• Loves to read books - her favorites right now are "Tails" and "Fuzzy, Fuzzy, Fuzzy".  We read these at least 3 times a day. 
• Likes to watch TV first thing in the morning, especially "bunnytown". 
• Shakes her finger and gives little "lectures" if she isn't happy with something.
• Oreo cookies are her favorite special treat (note the above pictures). 

Riley is truly the brightest, best thing in my life and I get very emotional when i think how much love and joy she has brought to my life and the lives of our friends and family in the past 11 months.  I love her so much!  She is such an awesome kid and I am so lucky to be her mama.