Riley's First Birthday!

I'm ONE!! I had a great birthday party yesterday and thank you to everyone who came. I am continuing to enjoy playing with all the toys that I got (right down to the mini flyswatter)and had so much fun smashing and eating the cake! Thanks!!

Happy Halloween!

I had a great first Halloween! I sported a custom t-shirt made by ThreeCsCustomDesigns (http://threecscustomdesigns.etsy.com) during the day and then switched of to a "spooky cat" costume for my Halloween party at school. I had a great time! Mommy even got a picture of my with my teachers at daycare! I made mommy some "treats" at daycare too.

11 Months!

In less than one month I will be a year old!! The past few weeks have brought increased independence and some new "words". My first word was dog, although when you hear me say it, it sounds more like a very forced "dah". My next one was mimicing mommy says "uhoh". I can't say it at the appropriate time, but I love repeating mommy when she says it! My top two teeth popped through at 10.5 months, so mommy is curious whether I will get a more in a couple weeks.

At daycare I am known as the child with the biggest and best appetite. I LOVE food and eat lots of it! My favorites are spaghetti, ravioli, macaroni and cheese, diced carrots, and hot dogs. My teachers can't believe how much I can eat! I also started drinking some whole milk two weeks ago. I love the taste of it and sometimes prefer it to formula. I only have a couple more weeks of formula left and then I will move to whole milk full time. I will be moving up to the next room at daycare in a little over a month and will be with the "big kids" (1-2 year olds).

The biggest excitement happened last night-I took my first steps!!! Mommy was very disappointed because she was in class so didn't get to see them, but I walked four steps all by myself to daddy. Mommy is hoping for a repeat appearance very soon!

I once again celebrated my monthly "birthday" sick. This time a single ear infection in my left ear. The infection also spread to my eye and it was very swollen as well. Mommy said I looked like an ogre-in a loving way of course : )

Mommy's been pretty good about posting pictures lately, but here are a couple more to enjoy of me cuddling and kissing "Little Woo", sleeping in my high chair, and riding my bike:

Spaghetti Fun!

Fun in the Park!

I went to the park for the first time today. I enjoyed swinging, going down the slide, and walking around with mommy and daddy. Here's some "proof" of my adventures:

10 (and a half) Months!

Mommy's a little behind on updating the blog. It's been a very busy and exciting past couple of weeks. Right around my 10 month "birthday" I again came down with some horrible disease. This time it was a nasty stomach virus! I couldn't eat anything with nutrition for four days and it took me several more days to work back up to normal eating patterns. Mommy was just glad that it all started on a Friday so I only missed three days of daycare, instead of five. Almost all of the other kids in my class got sick as well and one of them ended up in the hospital for a day because he got so dehydrate. Mommy and I are so glad that it's all over!!!

I'm still doing a lot of the same, but adding some additional things to my list of skills. I am LOVING my push walker and am experimenting with using only one hand to walk with it. I'm also starting to let go occaionally and try standing not holding onto anything. The past week has been HUGE for "new things". My two top teeth broke through, I learned to wave, I said my first word: DOG (sounds more like a very foced "dah"), and I'm very close to clapping. I am also eating almost everything that mommy and daddy eat, or some other sort of table food of my own. I started eating the daycare lunch last week and mommy has also cut my afternoon sippy in half and added in a solid snack. Mommy says I'm going to start the transition to whole milk in less than two weeks, around my 11 month "birthday".

Here are some pictures to enjoy. Some are a month old, but they are in order from oldest to newest.

Pigtails, Teeth, and Ear Infections, Oh My!

The title says it all!! This past weekend my first two teeth broke through! They are the two middle teeth on the bottom. It will still be a little while before they are out enough to be caught on camera, though. After a night of screaming and no sleep (for me or mommy) on Sunday, I spent the morning of Labor Day in Urgent Care at the local Children's Hospital. Sure enough, I had double ear infections. The teeth combined with the ear infections sure made for a crabby baby (according to mommy)! Mommy also experience with my hair by putting it in pigtails. I didn't mind it too much, but it wasn't a ton of fun sitting still while she did it. I also got a new toy from Grandma and Grandpa O'Neill that I can sit in front of and play with, or walk behind. I'm getting so big!