18 Months Old...

Well Riley has turned 18 months old and that's a big deal to me...in my head that's where she crosses from baby to toddler...not sure why that's the magic number for me but it is and it makes me sad!

We are having so much fun with her and are in awe of how much she absorbs and learns every day...she's a little person with her own likes and dislikes and she can show love to others and that's just awesome! Instead of pictures I uploaded a few videos that we have taken over the last few days...I had in envisioned recording this video to show all the things Riley does and knows...well she had a different idea! Every time I went to shoot the video she was so enamored with the camera and wanted to come sit in my lap and watch herself on previously recorded videos...we did get some cute stuff in spite of the challenges we faced!

Here's what Riley is up to at 18 Months:

• Sleeping - Well Riley took some time to adjust with the move and all but she eventually did. She is back to her normal 7p to 7a and a 3 hour nap most of the time...she did have two off nights this past week that threw us for a loop. She woke up during the night several times and was up ready to go at 5 am...ouch! When you are used to a solid sleeper a couple of "off" nights messes you up! We are not sure if some teething issues are going on or what but I am happy to report that she slept her normal schedule last night with zero interruptions and is over 2 hours into her nap as I type...woohoo!
• Eating - She's eating great...playing with her food more than she ever has and one night threw her entire plate on the floor...that didn't work out well for her! She is toning back her eating over the past week so I think the growth spurt has subsided for now...I can't notice it too much in her clothes but I can in her shoes...time for new shoes...yeah!
• Talking, singing, and dancing - This girl loves them all and she is always wooing people with her talents...not sure where she got all of these from but she loves them and we love watching her...she really has good rhythm for a kiddo her age!

• Discipline - I have to say she has spent very few moments in the corner in the last month...perhaps since our house is all put together there are less things to get into or maybe she's learned a thing or two from the corner...who knows! She definitely responds better to her Daddy than me...he can scold her and she's bawling whereas if I scold her she smiles and laughs at me...nice!
• Crafting - I'm getting more adventurous with doing crafts with Riley...I am not fond of a mess so sometimes it's hard for me but thanks to Crayola's fabulous products we are doing pretty well. Riley has markers, crayons, colored pencils, and now paints...she just did her first painting that we are giving to Jason for Father's Day...lots of fun! She does a craft each time she goes to school too and we are starting to get piles of Riley's work...how to decide what to keep and what not to keep!
• Independence - Riley is much more trustworthy on her own...still only a few seconds with her out of my sight are allowed but that's a big difference to having to keep her contained with baby gear or furniture in order to get anything done! She is getting used to our house and hasn't gotten into too much trouble! She was "helping" me get the clean laundry out of the dryer yesterday and I saw her grab a couple of clothing items but I thought she just threw them on the floor...no, no, no...she took a pair of Jason's gym shorts and put them in the toilet...what a helper she is!
• Reading - She's still loving reading books...I have to admit it's hard for me sometimes to read with her because of my Type A need to fully read each page before turning it...she wants to be in control of turning the pages but she always turns them before I'm done reading...how silly is it that I have to literally talk myself through just reading as much as I can before she turns the page...geez! She just got a new book from France from our neighbor who took a trip there and brought it back for Riley...it's got all kinds of great paintings and stories to describe them...she is enjoying it so far!
• Swimming - We have made many trips to the pool so far and Riley is loving it...she can walk around in the baby pool pretty well...we still are right there because every now and then she will stumble and take a dip! She likes being in the big pool as well and climbing up and down the steps to get in the pool...she tries to escape our arms though but obviously she can't do that since she can't swim. She starts swim lessons in a few weeks so hopefully we'll have some things to work on with her at the pool! Two days ago we were there with some friends and I along with the other mom were within inches of Riley but she decided she wanted to leave the baby pool and head to the big pool and stumbled and fell so quick that neither of us could even respond quick enough to prevent it...she took the brunt of the fall with her hands but smacked her forehead pretty hard...it was awful! I felt so bad...it really could have been way worse so I'm thankful we didn't have any blood! I grabbed her up so quick and wanted to see just how bad it was so I coaxed her with goldfish and she immediately stopped crying and wanted the goldfish...that's my way of gauging whether a trip to the ER is necessary or not...if food does not fix the problem we are off to the ER! She has an almost perfect circle bruise in the middle of her forehead...I have to admit I thought it was going to look MUCH worse than it does...poor thing!

That's the scoop on Riley for this month...who knows what she will be doing in just a few short weeks...they just grow up way too fast!

Summer Fun

This post is for you mom...chock full of pics! I was putting this together and didn't realize just how much we had done this past week...it's been fun! Riley is getting more fun with each day...speaking full sentences although we can't tell what she's saying, laughing like crazy, dancing to any kind of music, and loving on her parents. As she learns more and more new words there is nothing that beats your own little one saying "i uv you" back to you...it just doesn't get any better than that! One of her new favorites is when she says with all kinds of passion "aaaammmmen" after her nighttime prayers!

Here's what we were up to this past week!

We had dinner with some new friends from Jason's squadron...they have 3 kiddos and they are so cute, sweet, and know how to have fun! Their 2 and 4 year old girls LOVE Riley as they think she's a real life baby doll for them to play with...here's Ashley feeding Riley ice cream! Riley reciprocates this love because they feed her ice cream...that's pretty much enough to become Riley's BFF at this point!

Here's Riley being fed ice cream with one spoon while she herself loads up another spoonful of ice cream...little did she know that mom and dad ate most of her ice cream before she could devour it so she was just playing with the spoon and bowl...we knew Ashley would give her plenty!

Riley loves to play with my hair brushes...she will brush my hair and her own...she still, however, likes to swing her head back and forth at very high speeds when I try to do her hair...sometimes I don't fight it, but sometimes I'm just itching to put pig tails in and I win!

Speaking of Riley's hair...I managed to get her first single ponytail in this past week...it's super tiny but so cute! It didn't last long as we went to play outside and the wind blew it all crazy!

We took Riley's plasma car out and rode down the driveways on our street...it was so fun...for her and for me!

She loves running up and down the driveways because they an have an incline to them...she does really well but I about have a heart attack every time she comes running down...her excitement though is enough to keep me going!

At one point she actually tried to slide down our neighbor's driveway...insightful but could possibly have ripped her clothes to shreds so she had to resort down to running down instead!

We also got out the bubbles this past week...I bought this cool wand that makes TONS of bubbles and it was so cool! The bubbles didn't start off to well as a big bubble popped right in Riley's eye...don't worry Doc we flushed it out with water right away...but she was a little leery of them after that! It didn't take too long before she was thrilled with them and had no memory of bubbles in her eyes!

We tried out a new park that had some really fun tunnels...a little hard for mom to fit through...but fun nonetheless! After our park trip we went and had some gelato...Riley was like a little bird waiting for me to stick a spoonful of gelato in her mouth!

We spent some time just playing in the backyard with the doggies...she just loves playing with them along with yelling at them "no" and "hush"...her opportunity for a power trip! It reminds me so much of when Gabbi was around two years old and she would scream at the top of her lungs for Hank to "drop" the ball and "sit"...too funny!
Riley had two great days of pre-school and was totally worn out both times...she can't even make it through the ride home! I took this picture before we left for pre-school the first day...do you think we have a diva on our hands?Riley and I tried out a new fun place called Jungle Tots this past week and it was great! It's basically an indoor kids's playplace where they have classes and such but you can also just go and play for as long as you want...the floors are padded...the walls are padded...it's perfect for toddling kiddos because they can just run free and not get into trouble! They have slides, toys, tunnels, trampolines, and much much more! Riley met lots of friends and even had a favorite friend that she continued to hug and follow around...it happened to be a little boy! She can be such a flirt! It was really sweet, though, because he was a little apprehensive and shy when he came in and she immediately went up and waved, said hello, and gave him a hug!

We made a trip to visit Daddy at work after we had gone to the duck pond on base and fed the ducks! Let me tell you...this pond has some very large well fed ducks that will walk right up to you! It freaked Riley out a bit...she was running down the pathway away from the ducks and would stop every now and then, turn around, and point her finger at them while yelling "no no no"!

Jason put Riley to work answering phones and he even made her a line badge! She had lots of fun and I know Jason enjoyed us stopping by!

We are looking into getting bikes for Jason and I and a way to transport Riley so Jason rented a mountain bike from outdoor rec this weekend to try it out! He took an hour bike ride over some of the hills by our house to a nearby park and loved it! While he was out bike riding Riley and I met up with Jen and Cooper for a hike...kind of! We have this great park just a few miles from our house that has tons of hiking/biking trails, a dog park, and a nice lake! We had the kiddos in strollers so we had to stay on the paved trails but we had a few hills that made us burn a little! The kids loved it and we kept feeding them snacks the whole way!

Here's Jen and Cooper...or "poopoo" as Riley calls him!

Here's Riley and I...Riley was all geared up in her Bass Pro Shops hat!

Here we are in front of Lagoon Valley Lake

Coops and Riley always wanted to be side by side and by the end of our hike they were trying to hold hands...on their own!

Best Buds...look how happy these two are!

We also made a few trips to the pool this past weekend...the water has warmed up a bit! The weather is great here, but it has actually been a little cooler than expected. The past week the high has been in the 70's which is great but almost not quite warm enough for longs days at the pool! The wind is always whipping so you actually end up being warmer by staying in the water! We can't complain AT ALL, but we're hoping for slightly warmer temps to come so we can get back to spending the evenings on our patio!

"Mom...I am done with the pictures...can't a girl get a break?"

Whenever I think of growing up and spending summers at the pool I always think of goldfish because that was what we ALWAYS had at the pool! I make sure to always bring some for Riley and she loves them!

Oh my goodness...check out this bathing beauty! She wanted to lay out like her mama!

Well that's a wrap...onto another week of finding fun things to do!

First Day of Pre-School

With pigtails in, new tennies, and her Dora backpack full of all her "stuff", Riley made her way to her first day of pre-school in Cali!!!

Being that she attended daycare full time back in Arkansas I was not too worried about how she would do...in fact I was so happy for her! Riley LOVES being around other kids and I really feal like she needs that interaction and stimulation so after almost two months of hangin' with mom it was time to for her to be back in the social scene!


This pre-school is 2 1/2 hours twice a week...it gives me some time to accomplish some things sans the kiddo and gives her time to learn and play with others!

She was excited about wearing her backpack as we all know this girl loves to have a bag in hand...she had on her second pair of Nike's in her lifetime...the last pair, from the Yaz fam, were a tad smaller...

Her new pair are actually hand me downs from a family friend and I almost forgot about them...glad I didn't because they fit great and her old tennies were leaving red spots on her heels...a true sign it's time for new shoes!

She had a great first day...a few tears when I left but toys quickly distracted her! Her teachers said she did great and she even did some art work! She was pretty tuckered out because she didn't last two minutes on the car ride home!

San Francisco...here we come!

In an effort to continue celebrating my birthday Jason wanted to take me to San Francisco for a night, and since we have great friends who offered to watch Riley, we were off to San Francisco last night and we had a blast!

We stayed at The Marine Memorial Club which is a hotel that offers room to active duty military for a non-crazy amount...it was a nice hotel and we were right near Union Square so we were able to walk around and do lots of sightseeing.

We drove to dinner last night and it was more like a roller coaster ride than a ride in the car! The city is SO hilly and there were several intersections we encountered where you really couldn't see a thing until the car finally leveled off...don't worry we managed to not run over any pedestrians and we considered that a success! Here's an example of just one of the hills we climbed!We did manage to get some great pics on the way to the restaurant...this is a view of the Bay Bridge.
We ate at a FANTASTIC seafood restaurant in Fisherman's Wharf that had been recommended to use by several people...it was called Scoma's!
We feasted on all kinds of FRESH seafood and it was all delicious! The highlight of the meal was a smoked salmon appetizer we had...words just can't do it justice! Of course we had coffee and dessert too and were in so much pain from how much food we ate...why do we always do that?

We could have used the 1.8 mile walk back to the hotel but instead we braved the roads again and once again made it back without injuring ourselves or anyone else!
We enjoyed sleeping in this morning and had a quick breakfast at the hotel and then we set foot to check out this city! We started out in Union Square where there are lots of restaurants and shopping!
Our next adventure was China Town...those of you that know Jason well know his amazing love for Chinese/Japanese food so I took my China man and we made our way through the streets of China Town!
There were all kinds of shops and restaurants but Jason wanted to eat something as authentic as possible so we did what we know best and asked one of the shop owners where we should eat. She recommended a place several blocks down but that's where we headed. We quickly found out that there was the "tourist" China Town and the "local" China Town!

When we discovered the "local" China Town" we came across all kinds of markets with fresh food and fish...
and windows and windows of fully cooked chicken, duck, and goose hanging up! Yum!


Unfortunately Jason had a slight confrontation with this statue...he claims he didn't like the way this dude was staring at him!

We made our way to Gold Mountain and it was packed with locals so we knew we were in the right spot. It was a true dining experience where you are seated family style with people you don't know and carts are wheeled around with all kinds of dim sum dishes and you just pick what you want and eat away...my favorite was the BBQ pork dim sum! Hot tea was our only beverage option and chopsticks were our only utensil...it was the real deal! We had so much fun!

We walked back to the car and headed back home, but first we took a drive down Lombard Street...the "crookedest street in the world" with 8 switchbacks within one block...there are houses on each side of the street and beautiful hydrangeas planted all along the street! It was pretty cool! This was the view before we took the steep drive down...

and this is the view looking back after we drove down...

We were blessed with great weather...sun without a cloud in the sky...and that is not normal for San Francisco. We went home over the Golden Gate Bridge since Jason had never been over it and I was able to get a picture of the bridge without the tops being covered by clouds!

We had a great time being tourists but were anxious to get home to Riley! She had a slumber party with Jen and Cooper...painting, dancing, and cinnamon rolls...what more could a girl want? Thanks Jen for watching Riley so we could have a night on the town!

San Francisco Zoo

Riley would like to report that Cali life is suiting her very well...we have taken many trips to the pool and to the park lately and we have to drag her out of both places kicking and screaming!

This past Sunday we took a family outing to a park just down the street and Riley had so much fun! She did a little swinging...and as you can see she didn't have any fun!We also brought her plasma car out, but she wasn't that interested in it...her Daddy was way more interested! I think she had too many options and knew it would go home with her and the playground wouldn't!She made a friend in the sand pit and played with her for awhile...it's so fun to watch her interact with kids she doesn't even know...she really has a sweet and friendly spirit!

She also learned to climb real well...

Today Riley and I went with some friends to the San Francisco Zoo and it was the best zoo by far that I have ever been too! We could have spent several more hours seeing more animals but with two sleepy girls and some chilly weather we decided we'll just have to make more trips! We started with some lunch and a view of the flamingos...Riley wasn't quite sure what to think yet and was ready to hit the ground running...literally!

As soon as I put her down and set her free she became our tour guide...however there were at least 2 instances where she decided it would be fun to run the opposite direction of where we were going...I had to run after her and then she played chase with me. I always think the kids on a leash are pitiful but I had a few moments where I just might have leashed this little girl up had I had my hands on one!

There was an entire Children's Zoo inside the zoo with exhibits that were at Riley's eye level and a complete petting zoo with goats and sheep running loose! Riley didn't want anything to do with these free roaming animals and held onto me for dear life the entire time! There was also this crazy dude with the best hair ever...I just kept cracking up!

Riley laughed over and over at this little prairie dog that just kept staring back at her!

She loved the ducks and the birds and would try and chase them around the zoo, but if a bird walked after her she would scream and start crying!

Guess what we found?
A carousel with a bunny to ride on...Riley's favorite!

And last but not least my favorite...the giraffes! The zoo sits right on the ocean and just past these trees the waves were crashing up on the beach...it was so cool!
After our trip to the zoo my friend Amanda decided to give me the scenic drive home complete with a tour of downtown including the financial district and Lombard street and then we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge...I felt like a typical tourist except that "home" for now is only an hour from here!

As we approach downtown San Francisco...I love me a big city!

The city court house complete with real gold ornamentation...

My first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge...
Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge...I was like a little kid!

After we crossed over we stopped so I could get some pics...the view was fabulous! The weather in San Francisco is pretty chilly...it's hard to grasp considering how close we are but how drastically the temp drops! We had to dress warm today because it didn't even hit 60 and we barely saw the sun because the clouds were hanging so low which is pretty typical for the city. By the time we got home it was 85 and completely sunny...crazy! I had a great chance to take pictures, however, because the sun was shining directly on downtown.

The infamous Alcatraz!

We had a great day and can't wait to explore this city more and more over the next couple of years!