The terrible horrible no good...yet awesome day!

Thursday, October 21...I went to drop Riley off for school and Jason met me up there as he often does but this time he said we needed to talk...he was being asked to deploy again...and soon. He took Riley to school and then he and I went to grab some coffee afterwards and talk about what was going on. It's a crappy situation all the way around but he felt that he needed to go as he was being asked. It's a shorter deployment than normal...around 60 days...but just the worst timing of the year as he will miss all the holidays and Riley's birthday...he hasn't been home for one of her birthdays yet. By early afternoon it was a for sure deal and we were just trying to make the best of the situation.

I knew what might pick us up so Riley and I ran by CVS to pick up some early pregnancy tests...lo and behold that thing turned up positive!!! Riley had watched me take the test and by the time I checked the results I knew Jason would be home soon so I was trying to hide it, keep it together, and come up with something creative all at the same time. I knew I had to tell him right then...what a turn around to a crappy day! So I hid the test in our bathroom and of course that's immediately where he came when he got home and we were just talking and I was hoping he would leave the bathroom...eventually he did. As soon as he was gone I gave Riley the test and told her to go tell Daddy she had a present for him...she ran down the hallway saying "Daddy...I have a present for you". When he asked her what it was she said it was a "pee"...so funny! He had no clue what she was talking about but when he saw what she had in her hand he questioned where she got it from...thinking it was perhaps an old test or something. It didn't take him too long to figure out what was going on and we are all so excited! I am still pretty early on in the pregnancy but we are praying for a safe and healthy arrival of Baby #2 in July 2011!

We have tried to explain to Riley that she's going to be a big sister...she likes the idea but when we told her I had a baby in my belly she said she didn't see it! She has however been very vocal about what she thinks the baby's name is...according to Riley the baby's name is Cactus! I don't know where this kid comes up with stuff but you better believe that our nickname for this baby is going to be Cactus!

So this day started off pretty lame and we are still not looking forward to Jason leaving in a week or so but that's our life and we'll take the good with the bad. We ended the day with a tremendous blessing and that's what matters most!

Tinkerbell in the house...

I am not a huge Halloween fan but boy am I a pumpkin fan! I love Riley and the excitement of her costume I'm just not into decorating my house for Halloween...I tend to go with a fall theme!

However, we had to do something to celebrate so what better to do than make pumpkin cookies?

I found these awesome icing markers and Riley had a blast decorating them!

Jason helped too...he even decorated his own cookie too!
When we asked Riley what she wanted to be this year for Halloween she kept saying she wanted to be a scary monster...well we kept bringing other ideas into her head like Fiona or Tinkerbell. So my mom and I took her to the Disney store when they were in town and this little girl was in heaven...and my wallet was in pain...but our little Tinkerbell was so cute and she LOVES to play in her costume all the time!

We went to Jason's squadron to trick or treat and she had a blast!

She and Braden had fun going in and out of the offices looking for lots of candy!

She always knows how to work a crowd!

Family pic!

Love this pic of Jason and his little Tinkerbell!

Riley and her buddy Braden!

After all the haunted offices and trick or treating it was time to chow down on a hot dog and some cheetos!

After all the fun she wanted to play "a little bit" in her Daddy's office...drawing is her favorite thing to do!

Love those cheeks!

Happy Halloween!

Big girl bed...

Well Sunday, October 3rd we took the plunge and took the rails off of Riley's bed pretty much cold turkey...and it all went well!

She watched Jason take everything off and was SOOOOO excited about her big girl bed...it was as if we had bought her a whole new bedroom of furniture...glad it's the simple things that make her so happy!

We first put her in their for her naptime and it seemed too easy...she went right down, slept 3 hours, and was happy as a clam!

Bedtime that night was a little more difficult but still went really well...she had to make a run to the bathroom and then her friend Braden stopped by after she was in bed and she heard him so she had to show him her big girl bed...it was just too exciting, but eventually she went to bed and slept great!

A few nights in she fell out of the bed but that's the only time it happened!

I went into this transition thinking that we would require her to ask permission before getting out of bed...she still just cries for me if she wakes up in the middle of the night rather than getting out of bed but in the morning she is letting herself out of her room and greeting me with "Goooood morning mommy..it's not darken anymore"...sometimes it's an appropriate time of morning and sometimes it 's not!

I have to say that she has not been sleeping as well in general since we made the transition but I'm hoping this middle of the night crying early morning rising kiddo will soon adjust and go back to sleeping until 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning...pretty please?

I finally finished the quilt that goes with her bedding and she loves her "new blanket"

She's just growing up too fast!

DiDi's Visit...

We loved having DiDi visit...the only thing that could have been better would have been if she had packed Doc, Bubba, and Gaby in her suitcase with her!

Riley and DiDi did LOTS of playing...

in the sandbox!

The also had fun with the play dough outside on Saturday morning after we had a yummy breakfast of pumpking waffles!

After Riley's nap we headed to Dixon to Impossible Acres pumpkin patch...we went here last year and Riley loved the petting zoo so we came back to see all the animals!

She was screaming at the top of her lungs when we pulled in the parking lot...

Checking out the goats...

Holding the bunnies!

She had seen a picture of Gaby holding her class bunny named Oreo a few weeks earlier so she was so excited to see "Oreo" which was her name for all of the bunies!

She loves her Daddy!

She was talking so sweetly to this little piggie that didn't want to wake up!

And of course she had to brush the pony!

We had to make one more round to see the bunnies again!

Our best attempt at a family pic...she will smile great for the camera but she has a hard time looking at the camera...it's a give and take thing!

With her parents behind the camera and some bribery for a piece of gum she did great taking a pic with DiDi!

We ended our time at the pumpkin patch with a good 'ol fashioned tractor ride!

After the pumpkin patch we headed into downtown Davis and ate at my favorite Thai restaurant...it was such a fun day!

Sunday was one of our first muggy, overcast, rainy days and we woke up so excited about it...it's amazing after so many days of sunshine how you actually welcome the clouds!

DiDi offered to babysit for us and we headed to Napa to meet Chris and Christina for lunch and a quick wine tasting!

We had a yummy lunch and headed to Mondavi for some wine...we managed to claim this great spot in the tasting room in some comfy chairs and couches right by a nice warm fire...it was hard to get up and leave!

The boys...and the girls!

After we got home we decided that it would be a perfect day for Jason's famous minestrone soup and it truly hit the spot!

We had a fun evening at home eating soup!

It is now officially the rainy season and this little girl had been begging for an umbrella!

We found this Hello Kitty one and in her world it has been raining since the moment we purchased it...she wants to take it everywhere!

I love this pic of her and her Daddy!

Thanks DiDi for coming to visit!

Catchin Up...

Well we had some fun things planned for this past Sunday after we dropped Grammie and JoePa off at the airport...we were going to take the jogging stroller and go running along the Embarcadero in San Francisco and then grab some food and then we were going to meet up with some friends to watch the Blue Angels perform at an air show by the Golden Gate Bridge...sounds like a fun day, right?

Well unfortunately none of that happened because on Saturday while my Dad was playing fetch with Hank he started limping and not bearing weight on one of his legs. He's tough and completely obsessed so even in this state he wanted to keep playing. We moved his leg all around trying to figure out what was bothering him and he wasn't flinching at anything. We figured he hit it and he would be fine in no time. Well Saturday night I heard him outside moaning and we knew something was up.

So me and Riles took Grammie and JoePa to the airport and Jason took Hank to the emergency vet. Turns out they think he tore a ligament in his knee...they put him on some pain pills and sedatives and we're going to see if he can heal on his own. Praise the Lord for sedatives...he's such a calm and sweet dog on those pills...can we give him one every day? When Riley and I got home from the airport he was just laying inside and he would nuzzle in my lap and pass out...sweet boy!

We have been keeping him inside and off his leg as much as possible and he's just now starting to put some weight on it which makes it even more important that we keep him off of it...hopefully he's on his way to recovery.

He is a good dog and lives to play fetch...even the emergency vet clinic wrote "Hank is a character" on his paperwork and none of them could believe he was 7...we have been waiting for years for him to calm down but so far only the sedatives produce that result!

Poor guy...we sure hope you feel better soon so you can run around with Riley in the backyard!

We were bummed that our plans got messed up but we were glad we got Hank some relief and we were exhausted after being up with him during the middle of the night so we took it easy, watched a movie while Riley was napping, and then we headed to the golf course with Jason for his first nine holes!

Jason has been playing more golf lately, especially since he got a new set of clubs!

I have never been out on this course even though it serves as our backyard so it was fun to see it...it's such a beautiful course!

Riley and I were in charge of the cart and boy was that fun!

Riley also had another very important job...holding the flag for Daddy while he putted...she took it very seriously!

Proud Daddy who loved having his girls out golfing with him!

We saw the turkeys...these guys live on the course and usually meander past our house in the mornings and evenings and Riley loves to see them...guess where we're getting our turkey for Thanksgiving...just kidding!

More pretty pics of the golf course!

The cart girls...need a ride?

What a fun Sunday...a change of plans..but still a great day as a family!

This week we had our first parent/teacher conference at Riley's school...I realize she's only two but once a year they just want to meet with the parents and discuss their development and share their observations. This was our first one and it was fun! We went during Riley's nap time and she was all snuggled up and her hands were folded like she was praying..so sweet!

They have this one part of their file that they call observations and it's little stories of things they do or say that the teachers feel are noteworthy so they write them down and file them away...we loved reading them and mostly cracked up at them. Things like "Riley was in the dramatic play area with an apron and a fireman hat on and she said 'I am making butter'" or "One of Riley's friends told Miss April 'No' and Riley said 'You need to obey the teachers. You don't say no to the teachers. You hear me?'" Gosh how we love this girl!

And today DiDi arrived...everyone has been in need of a Riley fix in our family and she is loving all of the attention!!! We picked DiDi up and then met up with Jason for dinner...she was kissing, hugging, and being her fun self all evening.

When we got home DiDi had some surprises for Riley...I believe we have officially entered the dress up stage and I have to admit I'm pretty excited about it!

Meet Princess Riley!

Riley and her DiDi

We are looking forward to a weekend of fun...hope you all are too!

Grammie and JoePa Come to Town!

Last weekend Grammie and JoePa came in for a visit and we had so much fun with them!!!

Riley and I went to pick them up Thursday afternoon and we came back to the house where Riley had fun showing them her new toy!!!

The Welch family was so kind to let Riley have this toy that Ellie and Easton used to play with...she is in love...thanks guys!!

She calls it her climber and she loves to play in it!

She had to get Grammie inside with her so they could cook enchiladas!

She also likes to go inside to escape the dogs and their craziness!
Sliding...woohoo!
Hank and Kadie made some good attempts to get inside with Riley...it made her crack up and yell at them all at the same time!

Grammie is sooooo funny!

Great pic!

We went and had dinner at BJ's afterwards and called it a night!

On Friday Grammie and JoePa took Riley to the Jelly Belly factory and they all had a blast...and many jelly beans were eaten by all over the entire weekend!

After all the fun Riley wanted to pretend she was napping on the couch with Grammie!

Friday afternoon the guys headed to the golf course and us girls headed to Larry's Produce to get some food!

They had all their pumpkins out and there were so man different kinds!

Riley and Grammie!

Me and my girl!

We got some great pumpkins and Riley played on the hay bales for a while too!

After Larry's we headed to the Disney store to do some halloween costume shopping...I was a total sucker!!! Riley was in princess heaven and she was in love with the Tinkerbell costume so we had to get the whole costume with all of the accessories...she's the cutest Tinkerbell!!!

As soon as we got home she wanted to wear her costume and poor girl thought she could fly...she went over to JoePa and sadly stated "I can't fly JoePa"

We fixed a fabulous dinner that may or may not have included some Pioneer Woman recipes with loads of cream and butter!!!

Jason put a fire in our fire pit and we ate outside..it was great!

My mom and dad

Me and Jason

After dinner Jason turned on the Aggie Band and we started teaching Riley how to sing to the Aggie War Hymn!

She loved every bit of it!

We were getting her ready for the Arkansas game and for our trip in a few weeks to Aggieland...she's got some great skills and is well on her way to being an Aggie!

Saturday we headed back to BJ's to watch the A&M vs Arkansas game...due to regional programming the game wasn't showing for us on tv...boo!

We had a good time despite the loss!

And this little girl was so cute it helped take the sting off the loss!

Gig 'Em Aggies!

We had a pretty low key evening and grabbed some dinner at a local italian restaurant...the next morning Grammie and JoePa were on their way back home...a short but sweet visit!

We can't wait to see them in a few weeks in Aggieland!