Turkey and Haircuts...

I got to have Thanksgiving lunch with Riley and her friends and it was so fun!

She was slightly excited that I got to come eat with her!

We had all the traditional Thanksgiving food and I got to witness her eating an entire meal complete with veggies...that doesn't happen too often at home!

After we all ate Miss April took some bread outside to feed the birdies and the kiddos loved looking out the window and watching the birds eat!

I just love this little girl!

After school that same day Riley was in for a special treat...her first hair cut!

I personally had cut one strand of hair that was getting rather long but other than that this girl had not had a haircut at all! I had gotten my hair done a few weeks prior and talked to Christie and she suggested a good trim to get the curls to lay better and help Riley's hair to not be so crazy!

So she started with a wash like a big girl and she wasn't quite sure what to think!

Then it was time to cut and she told Christie to "be gentle" and "to be careful"...gotta love it! She liked looking at herself in the mirror and had a semi-difficult time keeping her head straight but she did great!

Christie asked if I wanted her to blow dry it and since we had never done that before I was anxious to see what her hair would look like!

Well I think she looked completely different with her new do but I loved it and she did too!

She kept saying "I just need to look in the mirror oooonnnnneeee more time"...so funny!

We went and ate at Inn-N-Out afterwards and she just loved showing off her new do!

Unfortunately, as I know all too well, this hair will be a lot of work to keep up with! The cut works great for her curls and they do lay so much better and even curl up better but now I know I have the option to blow dry it too! The next morning her hair was back to complete curls and when she saw herself she said "Oh no! My hair is gone!"

D-Day

The week before a deployment usually involves lots of packing and a house in disarray, but it also means lots of family time. We spent the week before Jason left going to movies, eating out, and trying to have as much fun as we could.

There's nothing fun about seeing deployment gear all over your house and knowing that it is looming but having this cutie to cheer us up and try and make a toy out of Jason's bag made for lots of smiles! I can't even imagine how much Jason wishes he could pack her in his bag.

We got up early Saturday morning to go with Jason to leave for his deployment. We were all stronger this time knowing that it would be much shorter than what we are used to. I also told him that there could be no tears for the sake of Riley...just can't do that to this cute little girl!

When I had first told her a few weeks prior that Daddy was "going on an airplane" again she threw a fit and said "Nooooo..he's just going to work"...it's amazing what her little mind can grasp but she knew what I meant and she didn't like it. I dropped the conversation so she didn't get upset and told Jason he needed to talk to her about it. He spent a lot of time with her the few days before he left and they had talked about it quite a bit.

She spent the few hours in the passenger terminal playing and watching cartoons on her iPod. When it was time to say goodbye we all held it together and I scooped her out of there before she had time to really figure out what was going on. Here's a great shot of this Daddy's girl and her Daddy before we had to say goodbye...

We headed home and she played while I completely cleaned the house..which is my coping mechanism. After her nap she asked where her Daddy was and when I told her she said "he's stiiillllllll on the airplane?"

It's just me and my girl for a few months...we will hold down the fort but miss Jason so much.

A day in Bolinas...

The Saturday before Jason left we were going to go to our favorite breakfast place not far from our house but Jason had an itch to go a little further and make a day trip out of it. He yelped some restaurants and told me and Riley to get ready...it was a surprise for us!

Riley said "Ok Daddy...I have my scarf and my shades...I'm ready to hit the road"

I knew we were driving toward the coast but didn't know exactly where we were going. When we came across this farm that had this barn with a huge peace sign I looked at Jason and said "where are you taking us?" and he said "I have no idea!"

Our final destination was this restaurant in the hippy town of Bolinas. He had yelped this restaurant but really had no idea what kind of town Bolinas was. We went on in and had brunch and the food was fabulous!

While we were eating we had heard this guy talking about Robert Earl Keen which caught our attention because Bolinas was the last place we thought we'd find someone that knew something about Texas country music. We finished up our food and went to leave when we met the man who had been talking about Robert Earl Keen...meet Texas Tad.

He had been sitting across the street playing his guitar and he yelled to us saying that Jason was his homeboy because he had lived in Texas too. You see we had taken Bubba Buford (Jason's truck) and it had our A&M stickers on it. So he started talking with us and he made the comment "yeah they really like my singing down there." We assumed he meant in Texas and he said "oh no...at San Quentin...I served three times there." That pretty much caught us off guard but we kept talking to him. Riley was playing in the bed of Jason's truck and he started singing for her...she even requested Robert Earl Keen and he did his best to sing one of his songs. As he's singing this older hippy man, Larry the hippie, walks up and just starts standing by the truck "jamming" with Texas Tad....he was quite a site and Riley even clued in to that. We were just looking at each other and thinking "we're not in the South anymore" but we were very amused. The two of them talked, explained that they were not homeless but that they were camping, and they even showed us their medicinal marijuana cards...and even encouraged us to get some of our own. We'll get right on that Texas Tad and Larry the hippie! Larry told us how he ended up in Bolinas because they "live like kings" and "that's where all the hippies go to die." We bought Texas Tad some lunch and decided to go on our way...that was an experience we will never forget.

After our short visit to Bolinas we decided to stop at Stinson Beach and play for a bit!

Riley had a blast playing in the sand and running around...it was quite chilly so we didn't let her get her feet wet this time!

Family pic..love Riley's scrunched up face!

Feet in the sand!

What a fun and memorable day...here's a video recap of the day...the footage of Larry the hippie and Texas Tad is priceless...enjoy!

Aggieland Adventures

Well I seem to be in an on again off again relationship with blogging...not sure what the deal is but I'm back to trying to catch up again!

Several weeks ago we took a trip to Aggieland and it was quite a bit of traveling for a weekend trip but it was so worth it and we had an absolute blast!

To share our love for Aggieland with Riley and have her take to it was awesome...I can officially say the brainwashing is in full effect and we wouldn't have it any other way!

We spent a lot of Friday traveling but made it into College Station around 8:30 that night. We stayed at a family friend, Larry's, beautiful home with my parents. As soon as we arrived we had Riley tell Grammie and JoePa that she was going to be a big sister! My mom screamed and it took a few minutes for my dad to catch on but we all celebrated! Larry had made dinner for all of us and we sat down to a great meal and relaxed a bit before we headed to Midnight Yell!

Riley was a trooper and due to the time change Midnight Yell was only 10:00 on her time so it wasn't quite so bad!

Here's all of us on our way to yell!

We watched the band march in and they were all dressed in costumes for Halloween so that was pretty funny to watch!

We found our spot on the 22nd yard line for Gator 2 and started to explain all things Aggie to Riley!

We met the Walkers at Yell and had so much fun seeing them!

Riley started to get tired during Yell but once it was over and we were down on the field she got her 4th or 5th wind and decided to run like crazy all over the field with Grammie!

We called it a night and all headed back to get some sleep. Riley didn't sleep too well and Jason ended up in her room in bed with her for several hours...that was after I nudged him and said "it's your turn" since she had woken up several times before. He ate up the snuggle time with her!

Saturday morning we got ready for the big game vs. Texas Tech and Riley played in the bar area. We couldn't get her out of here and she roped every single person in the house into coming in and playing with her...the ice machine was her fav!

Me and Jason before the game!

Our Aggie girl...stylin' and ready to go!

We headed to the Quad which brought back so many memories...remembering Jason getting yelled at all the time his freshman year to him wearing his Senior boots and yelling at all the freshman!

We met up with the Walkers and the Camerons before the march in!

The girls!

The guys!

On our way to the stadium Riley got her face painted...so cute!

She also got to play on some awesome bounce houses and had a blast!

We watched the Aggie Band march in and then headed to the Gator 2 BBQ...Riley and I snuck across the street to see the Hanlons....here's me and Whitney!

Aunt Whitney filled Riley's belly with all kinds of treats...I was honestly concerned she might get sick from all the sugar but she survived!

Here she is with a container of Candy Corn and a huge cupcake...which one to eat first?

After all that fun we headed into the stadium for the game and boy was it a great game! There is not much better than beating the hell outta Texas Tech!

Riley had fun watching in the binoculars with JoePa...I can't wait until she's a little older and JoePa can tell her all about the days when he played football at A&M!

Riley caught on to all the yells and she learned how to "hump it"...for all of you who aren't Aggies you just won't understand!

During the first half Riley needed to use the potty and while she was on the potty she completely passed out laying on my shoulder...it was the funniest thing! I promptly cleaned her up as she cried "I don't want to get off the potty...I just want to nap". Once I picked her up and laid her head on my shoulder she was out...imagine how I looked walking out of the bathroom stall with my kid completely passed out. We had a tired girl on our hands. I took her into the Zone Club and let her sleep for a bit but she woke up when the Aggie Band came out for halftime so we went to watch them!

After watching the band we headed to the other side of the stadium to hang out in the box of some of my parent's friends! Riley got to watch the game with John Byron and they were a hoot! He was enamored with her!

We watched the rest of the game in the box and left with a victory..whoop!

After the game we spent quite some time with Paul and Jenn trying to get to our car that was parked off campus...the traffic was CRAZY! Eventually we made it and then we headed to the Gator 2 50th reunion!

There were quite a few people but not as many from Jason's class that we would have like to have seen...it's so hard when they are scattered all over the world and lots of them deployed!

We did get to see Scott and Laurie and that was such a treat!

Riley loved having Scott chase her all over the place!

We got to meet sweet baby Logan...such a miracle!

Me and Laurie!

After the reunion we headed to a Halloween party my parents friends were having and when we walked in I got the biggest surprise. My sweet friend Kaycee, whom I met freshman year at Fish Camp and who was in our wedding, was at the party and I had no idea. She just walked up to me and I screamed and gave her a huge hug...fun times!

This Halloween party is the real deal and while we had planned on coming in costumes our day was just too full to make that happen. It was already late when we got there but we had to say hi to everyone and I knew Riley would love seeing Finooga ("Fiona") and Shrek! Phoebe was a great Fiona!

My parents dressed as a Budweiser and the Budweiser dog...what a great idea!

Riley had to show Fiona that Shrek was at the party too...she was so cute because she really thought Dale and Phoebe were Shrek and Fiona!

We headed back to Larry's after the Halloween party and the Walkers met us over there to hang out...we finally had a minute to just chill and catch up with them.

Sunday we slept in as long as Riley let us and Larry had fixed a great breakfast for us. Once we ate and packed everything up we hit our favorite stores to shop for some Aggie gear!

Here's Riley riding Bevo!

After shopping we headed to La Bodega for lunch and then headed back to Houston for our flight home. A whirlwind trip to say the least but it was so much fun!

Here's some video of our Aggieland adventure as well!

Our Aggies have been making us proud this year and we can't wait to go back!

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!