I never want to forget...

I never want to forget...

How her weight shifts, becomes denser somehow, as she slides into sleep in my arms.

The way she shakes her head back and forth when she is beginning to wake up, as if she can delay the entry back into reality by throwing this stubborn, grumpy gesture at it.

The way she curls into me when I am holding her; cuddling down into my shoulder and exhaling, her body relaxed, her expression one of pure trust, of utter contentment.

The way the top of her head smells like lavender and baby girl, a perfect bouquet.

How she rubs her hand on my back when I am holding her, as if she is the one providing me with comfort and love. She can't know, of course, that she absolutely is.

The way she has started to blow raspberries on my arm... a mimic of a game we play when I try to make her laugh.

Hearing her laugh out loud in her sleep. Loud, silly, belly laughs. Precious giggles. I know her dreams are sweet if they provide this kind of amusement. Each time I hear her, I say a little prayer that her dreams will always be this sweet.

How she interrupts her morning diatribe with a big grin when I walk in to get her up, her eyes lighting up, her hands waving madly to signal that she is ready to start the day.

How she talks out loud when she is playing by herself. Her speech has a specific rhythm and cadence. I have no doubt she knows what she is saying, even though no one else understands her.

How she sits on my lap calmly when I am working on the computer, watching me type, her little fingers moving in an imitation of my hands.

How I usually find her blankets up over her head when I check on her before I go to bed. I pull them down and tuck them around her, but they are covering her head when I peek in again.

How she rubs her eyes and blinks in quick succession when she is tired.

How she must have her binky in order to sleep, however, it has to be in her hand, not her mouth.

How she sucks her thumb, but moves it to the side to smile or talk.

I never want to forget...

How it feels to love a child this much.

The wonder that consumes me when I recognize the series of miracles that brought her to me.

How full she makes my life.

How bright she makes my world.

How rich she makes my existence.

I never want to forget how it feels to be her mother.

Love you, Bug.

Stubborn Girl

Riley has decided that she needs to feed herself. Alone. With no help from me. The problem that we kept running into is that she hasn't quite figured out which end of the bottle will work the right way. Take a look.

What a Goofball!

Happy Birthday Uncle Keith!

Dear Uncle Keith:

Happy Birthday! You are one of my favorite people! Thank you for being such a good uncle and a good role model for me. Thank you for taking good care of me and my mom when I was so little, and for checking in on us every few days even now that we are doing okay on our own. Thanks for letting me stay at your house and play with your girls. Thanks for giving me my name and blessing. That really meant a lot to my mom and to me. Thanks for making me smile and laugh for the first times ever. You are pretty silly when you are with me, but I love it. Thanks for being there for my mom and me. We both love you and I am so glad you are my uncle. I know Mom is glad you are her brother. We both hope you have a good birthday!

Love,
Riley-bug

Cute little Riley video and bath pics!

Riley and I were just playing around today and I had a chance to get some of her silly little laugh on camera.





I mentioned before that Riley LOVES the water. I caught a few cute shots of her in the tub last night. What a little doll!

Water Baby!

Riley is a complete and total water baby. She loves it, isn't afraid of it, can play for hours in it. If there is water around, she wants to be in it. Maybe this is a sign I should move near an ocean. Hmmm.....

On Friday night, my brother Keith, my sister in law Jamie, and their two kiddos, Hallee and Lexi came down and stayed in a hotel with a pool. Riley and I met them and went swimming with them. She had a ball playing with her cousins and uncle and aunt, but she especially loved playing in the water. Hallee was a little skittish in the water, but Lexi...that girl has no fear whatsoever! She jumped right in and if Keith or Jamie didn't have a good hold on her, she was off on her own. It was so much fun, and I am going to start taking Riley to family swim time at our local community center.

New Riley Videos

Riley has been so much fun lately, and she is growing so fast. I barely have time to keep up with her, hence the absence from the blog. I had a few new videos, though, so I thought I'd share them with my blog readers.

First, Riley snores when she is in a very deep sleep. The video shows a really delicate snore, but she can get loud! Guess she takes after Papa Tony.



Cute, huh?

Second, Riley has been laughing for a while now, and I keep trying to get the really loud, belly laughs on camera. It's hard, though, since it's usually just she and I and running for the flip makes her forget what she is laughing about. Here is a small taste of her laughter. I sound really stupid in it, but then, I usually do when I'm getting her to giggle.



And finally, Riley started sitting up on her own last weekend (with a lot of help from her uncle Joey). It's pretty cute to watch...she still seems so little for this.



She's so much fun! She seems to grow up more every day. I will try to update this more often so those of you who love her can see her on a more regular basis.