She's got wheels

Recently we decided to get Riley a more traditional bike. (That in and of itself is a long story.) What we got her was a princess bike, complete with a bell, basket, streamers, and a seat for her "babies" to ride with her. She is enthralled with the bike. Every day we get home the first thing Riley asks about is riding her bike. Although that really means all of us have to ride our bikes. (Our bikes are new too.)

Here are some videos taken outside the house. We have found it much easier to just ride around and around our cul-de-sac then try to go anywhere. The one video I (obviously) took when I was riding my bike. (That was a challenge!) In that video you'll hear Riley tell her baby, Bailey, that they have come get me. The way she interacts with her babies is so cute... she's always stopping to make sure they are okay and that they know she's just up front riding and not to worry.

The other you'll see Riley keep telling me to start riding after her. That's her favorite game to play... come get me! :)

Graduation slideshow!

Finally... here are some photos taken at my graduation. Too bad my brother and his family couldn't make it out, as well as Cam's family, but it was nice that my parents, grandfather, and Cam and Riley could be there. Man, it sure is nice to be done!!!

Thanksgiving 09

This Thanksgiving we went up to Cam's parents house, where there were lots and lots of family visiting. Cam's cousins from Canada and England, along with his brother, sister, niece, and nephew joined us as his folks so graciously hosted us all. It was wonderful to sit and visit with everyone. Riley in particular had a great time. She loved running around with her cousins Kate and Aiden, who were so incredibly sweet and good with her.

Here's a slideshow of the visit, set to some music:

Discovery Village

So apparently there is an awesome hands-on discovery village for children and adults of all ages only a 5 minute drive from our house. So yesterday we decided to take Riley there. They have a room that teaches about the digestive system, one about counting, one about the rain forest, one about magnets, and so many other themes. And the great thing is that everything is hands-on! Better yet is that outside there is a huge playground that has musical instruments, a human-sized chessboard, and much, much more.

Here's Riley in the bubble room trying to figure out how to make bubbles.


Riley watching and trying to catch bubbles.


Here's an awesome video of Cam reading Riley a story in the room specifically designed for children under 2. This room was amazing! While Riley loved all the other rooms, there were a lot of older children running around which sometimes overwhelmed her. In this room, Riley was right at home and knew exactly what to do with all of the toys and books.



Finally, here's a slideshow of the day. You'll see Riley trying on some outfits in the rainforest room (this room was set up as a stage, so kids could put on costumes of their favorite animals or plants and put on a show). You'll also see Riley in the outside area, in the marine life room, in a "space shuttle," and in the counting room, where she is putting chocolate chips into a big cookie. On one of the last photos you can get a sense of how tired she was. Definitely a sign that it was time to go home!

This day was a blast. We are definitely going to visit again before we leave for Michigan.

First Day!

OMG! Cam and I are sitting here freaking out! You see... today is Riley's first day of daycare. Yep, that's right. We are sitting here at home, while our daughter is somewhere else. Without us. Probably having a blast. Can't say the same for us. It's like we've lost one of our appendages. We may take in a movie today. I'm not sure we can tear ourselves away from our phone vigilance long enough, but we'll think about it. Wait! We can leave our phones on vibrate during the movies!

Here are some pics from this morning's activities. First there is Riley looking all grown up, and ready to head out the door with her lunch. Then there are some pics of Riley at the center, playing on an indoor jungle gym type thing and playing with some "moon-sand." Fun stuff!

Canadian Beach Vacation - Part 2

Here are some my favorites from the vacation...

Canadian Beach Vacation - Part 1

We took a trip up to the Canadian coast (Powell River, BC) with Cam's family and friends. This is an annual trip, and we were very excited to bring Riley along as she represented the first of the 3rd generation. She had a blast! She loved the sand and surf. She picked blackberries, went on beach walks with Gran, and played ball with every ball she could find (which meant in many cases, stealing some from other folks). It was super hot the first couple of days (to everyone's dismay) but Riley took it all in stride. Everyone there kept remarking on how wonderful Riley was, and exclaiming how she is the perfect baby. We couldn't agree more!

Soooo... we lost our video camera on our vacation on literally the first day we were there. Yeah, that totally sucked. Therefore, we tried to make up for it by taking a TON of pictures. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this very, very, very long slide show. And remember, this is just from our first week!

May & June Pics

Here are some photos from the last month and a half... we have some pics from Riley's trip to AZ, plus some pictures from her first picnic at Silver Falls State Park here in OR. Also, check out how long her hair is getting!

A day at the park

Just thought you'd be interested to see how much fun Riley had the park the other day. We have got to find one this big and with this much stuff closer to our house (this one was up in Vancouver, WA... Cam took Riley up there for the day so I could get work done... was a great husband, huh? :-) )

I can't get over how much traction Riley's shoes have!


I saw one of these swings for sale at Target... man I think Riley would love to have one!


Apparently the kid at the end of the video was following Riley around all day... I don't blame him. Riley looks like a lot of fun to hang out with!

Arizona travels

We recently took a trip to visit my family in Arizona. Riley was quiet on the plane ride out, although she didn't stop moving once. We didn't buy her a ticket, which meant we had to hold her in our lap if all the seats were taken (which they were on the ride from Vegas to Tucson). We found that when we were able to buckle Riley in her own seat, she was much, much calmer. We were wondering if it reminded her of being in her car seat.

At least PDX had a kid friendly area that Riley could play around it before boarding the plane. She didn't get to spend too much time there, but she definitely enjoyed having stuff that she could play with, especially in such a crowded area such as an airport. I think all airports should put something like this in. Such a great idea!




Once in Arizona and after a horrific night of sleeping, Riley had a great time playing Grandpa, Babcia, and Milo. We were a little worried about Milo, since in general Chihuahuas are not kid-friendly dogs. But Milo did fabulously with Riley. And Riley loved Milo. Every time she would see him, she would get a HUGE smile on her face. My mom even swears that she heard Riley say the word 'doggie,' although we never could get her to do it again!



Riley also LOVED being in the pool. Once she figured out what it was, she would grab whoever's hand was nearest (usually mine or Cam's) and walk us over to the pool so she could go in. Luckily my mom had bought Riley the cutest little swimming suit and diapers made just to go in the pool. After a trip to Target to buy her a floating "star," we were all set for pool adventures!





My mom and dad were kind enough to watch Riley for the day so Cam and I could go up to Tucson to visit some friends and so I could meet with my dissertation advisor. Actually I think they were relieved to get us out of the house so they could feed her new and exciting foods such as Chef Boyardee! As evidenced by the video, apparently she loved it. :)



All in all it was a really fun trip!

Shoes, shoes, shoes!

Riley now walks more than she crawls. Even when she does crawl, it's just to get to something to help her stand up so she can start walking again. The weather is also beginning to be really nice on a consistent basis, so we are letting Riley play in the backyard a lot. All of this is leading up to the fact that we bought Riley her first pair of real shoes.



Riley in action!



Just some really nice pictures of Riley and the three of us.

Outdoor fun

Recently the weather has been quite cold, and with the entire family feeling "under the weather," we haven't been having that much fun. That's why it was a nice surprise when yesterday turned out to be such a beautiful, sunny, spring-like day. Wanting to take advantage of it, we decided to let Riley crawl around. She always loves to go outside and look at the trees, so we thought she would be thrilled to explore on her own. She didn't disappoint ... as if she ever could.

This first video is absolutely precious, although I wish the sound were a bit better. The best part is that each time, right before Riley turns the page, Cam asks, "Can you turn the page?" And, as you see, each time she obliges.



This second video just cracks me up. Once Riley got the feel of the grass underneath her, there was no stopping her. She wanted to go everywhere! And look at those socks! I think at one point I remarked to Cam, "Thankfully I use bleach" or something like that.

Hangin' ten

As my parents and grandfather were in town visiting, we thought it'd be fun to take Riley out to the coast. This was her first time going to the beach and seeing the ocean, well seeing any type of body of water actually. As it is winter, it was a bit cold, so we all had to bundle up. Riley seemed to enjoy the trip, although I'm not sure she knew what to make of all the waves/sand.











Here's Grandpa K. taking Riley out to see the waves. Doesn't she look a bit shell-shocked? :-) Oh, sorry about the abrupt ending. The water came up fast, so I had to ski-daddle. Too bad Grandpa K. couldn't move faster (something about having a baby in his arms). His feet/socks got soaked - all the way up to his ankles!

Guess who's coming to dinner?

Riley, of course! Last night was the first time in which all three of us sat down together at a meal, and more than that, ate pretty much all the same food! Cam and I had breaded chicken strips with gravy, steamed broccoli, and rice-a-roni, while Riley had plain (boiled) chicken and steamed broccoli.



Instead of mushing all of Riley's food together and feeding it to her as I usually do, we gave her little bite size pieces that she fed herself. Now while she liked and ate both the broccoli and chicken, she most definitely went for the broccoli first every time.





To top off her meal, Riley drank some water, which she loves. Now, she's not too handy with the sippy cups, so we are just teaching her how to drink from a cup. She's doing pretty well with it, and knows what she's supposed to do.



A little later in the evening, while Riley had her final bottle of the day, I needed to clean up after our meal (which fascinated Riley). There were little bits of chicken and broccoli all over the floor! Oh, well. It was totally worth it. :-)

Winter Wonderland

Our first snow has fallen! So, what to do? As I've been living in Tucson for the past 6+ years, I've forgotten what to do in these type of situations. Luckily, after Googling around, I found a handy-dandy checklist of required actions that must take place.

Step 1: Grill steaks with no jacket on while huge snowflakes fall from the sky.





Check.

Step 2: Bundle Riley up the next day to let her play in it, and more importantly, pose for pictures.











Check.

Okay... the first two items on the checklist have been accomplished. Good stuff.

Family Time

We have had some requests for photos that include all members of the family. Ask and ye shall be heard. Following are some (staged) family moments. All are taken in our backyard.








Enjoying the leaves. Riley really is quite enthralled with trees in general.

Riley's Growth

As an update, we plotted Riley's weight growth ... specifically days old versus total weight. Notice the nice "linear" growth. Riley sure is the daughter of two mathematicians to have growth like this!

Also because we are getting close to moving and thus packing up everything we own, we thought we'd post a bunch of cute pictures just in case we can't post for a little while.

Graduation

As alluded to in the previous post, Cam graduated with his PhD yesterday! Woopig!

Here are a couple of pictures with Cam in his cap and gown.