Afternoon at the museum

Today was cold, rainy and gross, so we picked an inside activity and headed to the museum.  Riley had been to the History Museum with BiBi and Zee, but we hadn't gone with him yet.  We walked through the front doors and we were off on a tour of Riley's favorite rooms.

We started out in the gem exhibit.  There were brightly colored rocks, buttons to push and walls of gems to run up to.  Riley picked out his favorites and asked if we could take some of them home.  Luckily, he got distracted by the next exhibit and forgot about his pending personal rock collection.

Next up were the dinosaurs.  There were big ones and little ones, bones you could touch, models up the the ceiling and so many animals to say hi to.  Riley kept looking up at the dinosaur displays and saying "ooooohh" - so much so that people were waiting for his reaction because its just so cute!

There is an area where you can play with toy dinosaurs and Riley and Chris had a great time at that station.  By the end, there was a trail of dinosaurs on the ground and Riley was ready to make his way to the next room.

The museum is very kid friendly and has a whole section set up where you can dig for fossils and play with bones.  Their only rule is that you have to wear safety goggles at all times to protect you from flying dust.  Riley really wanted to dig and play but had no interest in wearing his goggles.  We tried to explain that if he wanted to play, he had to wear the glasses, but he didn't quite get the correlation.  Needless to say, that was the exhibit that we had to carry him out of, crying and making a scene.

But all was forgiven when we went to the Hall of Animals.  We saw lions and tigers and bears, oh my!  Riley would go up to the windows and say hi, then move to the next window and point out the animals he knows.  Lots of the animals were either kitties or horses (because those are the animals that he knows best) but he had a great time looking around.

We only spent about an hour and a half at the museum but because of our new gift membership, we don't feel bad about missing some of the exhibits.  It just gives us something to look forward to on our next visit!

X-ray vision

This morning, Riley had an appointment with the ENT to check in and see how things are going.  Since he has been a little under the weather, it was good to go in and take a look under the hood.  Our thought was that Riley's adenoids were enlarged and that is what causes him to have a runny nose and sound like baby Darth Vader all the time.  

In order to see what was really happening, Riley had to have an x-ray taken.  He was really interested in the machines and wanted to touch all the buttons.  In order to keep the radiation to a minimum, I made him keep his hands to himself, as much as he protested.  Riley had to lay down and I had to hold him down for 2 quick pictures.  He didn't love the process but in the end, we got what we needed.

When the doctor took a look at the results, he said in 2 seconds "Well, this is a text book case of a little guy who needs an adenoidectomy".  He said that the airways from his nose were completely blocked by the huge adenoid and that the procedure should help.  

Riley was very good at the doctor (even though the picture tells another story) and all the nurses had a fun time coming in to say hi and see what a cute little guy came to visit.  We are hoping for an easy month with as little illnesses as possible before the procedure, which should hopefully set us on a clear, and silent sleeping, course!

On stage

Yesterday, the JCC had a concert of Sheldon Lowe, a Jewish kids singer.  There was a room full of kids and parents and there was a very relaxed and kid-friendly atmosphere.  Kids were dancing and singing and they were invited on-stage to be part of the performance.  Riley took the opportunity to show off his moves and once he got on-stage, he didn't want to leave.

I think we may have created a limelight monster!

Who wants to go for a ride?

This evening when I went to pick Riley up from school, the teachers told me that he had a good day, but didn't want to take a nap.  They tried to let him sleep in the morning, they tried again in the afternoon, but he just didn't want to miss any of the action.

He was super happy when I took him outside and wanted to play on the playground before we went to the car.  There are plenty of toys outside to choose from and since it was in the 50's, we took a few minutes to play.  Riley went straight for the little red car.  He pulled himself in and took it for a test drive. 

Although most of the driving was in reverse, he seems to still have had a good time.  He told me afterwards that he learned the lesson from his Grandy to drive the car backwards so that he could save on gas mileage.

All that driving was exhausting, though, and he finally took his nap in the car on the way home!

Mondo is back!

Who remembers Mondo?  He was one of Riley's monkey friends - a favorite Hanukkah gift from Aunt Patricia and Uncle James last year - who sang so much that he ran out of batteries.  Sadly, he had a very particular shelf-life because there was no compartment where you could change out his battery.  So there he hung, silent but still smiling.

Enter Zee... with a degree in grandparenting and pediatrics, he put Mondo on the operating table to see what could be done.

At first, it wasn't pretty, and we didn't know how Mondo would take such a challenging procedure, but Dr. Zee worked with a skilled hand and a parent's love and Mondo came out singing and smiling!

I would call this a success all around!  Thanks Dr. Zee!

Choo choo

Over the weekend, we spent an hour killing time at the mall.  When it's cold and snowing outside, you have to find ways to be creative inside!

As we were walking around, Riley spotted the train and asked politely if he could take a ride.  He made his plea and after telling us that he would sit still and get strapped in, we obliged and purchased one round-trip ticket for the train.

He picked a seat, held on tight and took a ride around, and around, and around!  

He was a great passenger and loved each lap more than the next.  Unfortunately, he loved the train so much that he wanted to ride it again.  The only way to convince him that it was time to move on was to leave the train side of the mall.  So we headed down the hallway, with Riley making friends and showing his belly button to everyone that smiled at him. 

And then he saw it... the escalator!  Riley has been on escalators before, but never when he actually rode it himself.  So this was to be celebrated!

This activity could have gone on for 25 minutes if we let him, but after 5 rounds, we decided to move on.  Had we known what was going to happen next, we probably would have stayed on the escalator ride.  

The Apple store has these pretty glittering lights in the window that Riley stopped and stared at from the outside.  He was mesmerized by them and all the employees were commenting on how cute he was.  Then he came inside and in 2 quick motions, he lunged for the lights and took a quick tug - and the display came apart.  The strand of lights came down, the hanging part fell and part of the display was on the ground.  Lucky for us, it wasn't the kind of display that could really break, but while we were in the store, it was temporarily out for service.  After some profuse apologies and offers to help, we moved along to the Build-A-Bear store, where the displays were much more durable and child-friendly.

This weekend, we are planning to go to one of the museums and explore more winter weather activities!

Riley's 1st Haircut

Chris has been waiting for this day for a while and I held out as long as I could, but Riley was called a girl one too many times, and we knew it was time. With BiBi and Zee along for the adventure, the film crew took over Little Snips as Riley came in for his very first haircut! 

Riley got to sit in a little police car and we all surrounded him with cameras and toys on hand, ready to help out and make the haircut as easy as possible.  Unlike most other kids who scream and cry and squirm, (as I've been told I did...), Riley was a champ and did a great job!  

Of course, there were a few tears here and there, but overall, Riley did wonderfully!  He now looks so mature and still incredible handsome!

BEFORE & AFTER

Now what is it exactly, that I am supposed do to with this:

Until next year

Tonight marks the last night of Hanukkah.  It has been a great family filled with family, wonderful gifts and delicious food.  I think Riley is now going to expect to pick out candles and open presents every night.

The JCC celebrated Hanukkah today with a performance that Chris, BiBi and I all went to see.  Each of the classes had a performance and the infants were starting out the show with a Parade of Hanukkah Symbols.  What does this really mean?  It means that they put all the babies who are awake in a stroller and push them across the stage.

Riley was put in charge of showing off the hanukkiah and took his job very seriously - until he saw us in the audience.  Then, he decided to throw it on the ground and show off with his famous "uh-oh", which got a group laugh!  The other performances were very cute and Riley got to stay with us to watch the older kids sing.

Tonight, we went to a family Hanukkah celebration that included story time, drummers, singers, latkes, pizza and Riley's very first marshmallow.  He was walking around making all kinds of friends and making sure not to miss a thing.  I think his favorite part was the drum circle because he was standing there, bouncing along and trying to play how own drum.  We will see if that turns into his instrument of choice in the future.

Riley opened his last gift tonight - a set of trucks!  He has learned over the past week how to open gifts and I don't think anything wrapped will ever be safe again!

Little monkey Riley

This month, Riley's favorite food is bananas - which is funny cause that is where we started on this whole food merry-go-round to begin with. Every time he sees a banana, he wants to grab it.  He loves to eat them but also loves to play with it.  He doesn't quite get that there is a peel and certain pieces that you eat, but I'm certain that he will get better at the whole process over time.  For now, it's pretty funny to watch!

We have been having a great Hanukkah and it was so wonderful to be able to spend time with both sides of the family.  We loved having everyone here and loved the company.  Riley is having so much fun with all of his new gifts and we are going to have to figure out a rotation process because there just isn't enough room to keep everything out - you all spoil him so much!

Riley is taking his role of candle selector very seriously.  Each night for Hanukkah, he shows BiBi which candles are to go in the hanukkiah and loves pulling the candles out of the box.  He did the same for us tonight and I think he made a beautiful selection!

So much to say!

Every day, Riley shares more and more "words" and is building up his vocabulary so that one day soon, I am sure he will just start talking in full sentences.  He seems to be understanding a lot of what we say and is pretty quick to mimic us and try to say what we are saying.

Riley was looking out the window this morning and had a lot to say to tell me what he saw.  He likes to climb up on a little chair and look out to see the weather, the neighbors and passing cars.  

This afternoon, we went to run some errands and between pushing the cart through the aisles and adding new toys to his wish list, Riley found a new pet that he was begging to bring home.  Needless to say, if he can't fit in the cart, there's no way we are taking him home!

We are so excited for everyone to come in town for Thanksgiving and Hanukkah so let the countdown begin!

Where's Hanukkah Harry?

This afternoon, Riley and I took a tour of the holiday decorations (at the hardware store)!  They had little toy trains and miniature cityscapes to watch, sparkling trees to stroll through and a special Santa set-up to say hi.  Riley took his time meandering through the aisles and when he came upon Santa, he was really excited - cause Santa has a puppy!

Riley tried to pet the toy puppy and even went as far as barking to him to get him to say hi back.  It was just a little out of his reach so when I lifted him up to say hi, Riley was happy and ready to move on in search of more fake animals to pet and the Jewish decoration section.  We are still looking out for Hanukkah Harry!

Countdown to Hanukkah

Yesterday, the JCC and Federation hosted a play group where we read Hanukkah stories, played with instruments and made an arts and crafts project.  Riley had a great time listening to the story, running around showing everyone his belly button and eating his snacks.  

There was a really cute project to make a handprint menorah but Riley wasn't so sure about it.  We got his hands in the paint but then he hated it.  Good thing there were baby wipes at the ready - otherwise it would have been a disaster.

The final project wasn't exactly what it was supposed to be, but it was creative and beautiful anyways.  This is Riley's first Hanukkah decoration and it will be displayed proudly in our house.

And this is how happy the boys were once we were cleaned up and ready to go home.

Sprung from school

Riley hasn't been feeling 100% again - his fever is back and he still has a runny nose - so we sprung him from school this afternoon and brought him to the doctors office to see what was going on.

The fire station is just across the street from the pediatrician so we have started to make a habit of showing up a little early and making a detour to check out the trucks.  I figure we might as well make him really happy before we piss him off.  Today, they let us go up in the truck and Riley had a great time practicing his steering skills!

Then it was off to the doctors appointment.  The good news is that they didn't see anything that was wrong.  His ears look good, his lungs sound great and he was in a pretty good mood.  The bad news is that we still don't know why he keeps getting sick.  So for now, we will just keep a close eye on him, hope for the best and pray that he gets over all of this quickly.

Yabba Dabba Doo!

Happy Halloween!  We have been looking forward to celebrating for weeks and the day has finally arrived!  Our costumes were ready, the candy was at the door and... it was raining.

We made the best of the situation though.  Riley and I went to about 5 houses to trick-or-treat but it was a challenge holding him, the umbrella and the candy bag so we gave up quickly and decided to just watch the parade of costumes that came to our door.

Riley took his role very seriously and whenever someone came to the door, he came to check out their costume and then helped us keep track of the candy as we went through the night.  He even tried a Kit Kat and of course, he loved it!

Our costumes were well received and everyone knew that we were the Rubbles!  I have been trying to teach Riley how to say "bam bam" but everything still comes out either "daddy" or "uh oh".  Maybe we can start working on the phrase for next year's costume, whatever that may be.

Hope everyone enjoys their candy!

Furry friends

This afternoon, the South Hills JCC had a Family Open House that Riley and I decided to check out.  They had a balloon artist, an obstacle course, toys and best of all - a petting zoo!  Riley was quick to make friends with all of the animals and was soon lunging for the llama, laughing at the goats and clucking with the chick.  He was having such a great time and it was even more fun for us to watch him making new friends!

Weekend warriors

Yesterday, Riley and I spent the afternoon with BiBi and Zee.  We loaded up the car and headed over to the nearest state park for a fall hike.  The leaves were beautiful, the weather was perfect, and even though we never found the actual trail, we had a great time strolling through the park.  

Along the way, we stopped to play on the playground, take some pictures and roll in the leaves.  Riley was walking all around the playground and kept trying to climb up the slides - a new favorite activity.  Here is one of the leaves pictures that Zee took:

After the park, we headed over to Costco to pick up a few things.  The trip took a little longer than normal but that's because Riley wanted to do a lot of the walking on his own.  He is getting so good at standing up on his own and taking very deliberate, albeit wobbly steps.  I know we will be running through the aisles before we know it.

Useful utensils

This evening at dinner, Riley had a fight with the lasagna.  It was cut up in little pieces and ready to be picked up and enjoyed, but Riley decided to swipe his hand back and forth across the highchair, sending noodles and sauce flying just about everywhere.  Luckily, Addison was on clean up patrol so the floor was lasagna-free in no time.  At the end of the ordeal, Riley looked like an Indian with war paint all over his face.

Using utensils would make the process much easier, more efficient and and a hell of a lot cleaner, but I think we still need some time to practice:

He said "Mommy"!

This week, while Chris is out of town, we have been taking every opportunity we have to say "Mommy".  Granted, I will answer to just about anything at this point including Daddy, Big Bob, Hey You and Eahhhh, but there is some satisfaction in actually hearing Mommy.

I think it is still going to take some work, and will definitely take some time to perfect greeting me appropriately when I walk in the room, but for now, I'll take what I can get.

So take a look, listen closely and let me know if you hear "Mommy", along with a lot of other interesting words and noises!

Quack quack quack

This morning, Riley and I had an adventure waiting for us!  The Federation had an event for new families in Pittsburgh and we were to meet in Station Square for brunch and a ducky tour.

We made our way to the meeting spot and were greeted by lots of other families who were joining in on the festivities.  We had bagels and muffins and met a few people and then it was time for our tour.

What is a ducky tour, you may ask?  Well, its a cool boat/bus that can go both on land and in water.  You take a tour around the downtown area and then literally drive down a ramp into the water and see the city from the river.  It was pretty cool and Riley and I had a great time.

It was a little warm and close to nap time but Riley enjoyed looking out the window, making friends along the way and even taking his turn to drive!

All we have to say now is Quack Quack Quack!

Excited for Ear Tubes

Today hopefully marks the end of the Era of the Ear Infection.  It has been over 6 weeks of ear pain, fevers, runny noses and doctor's visits and now, we are wishful that we are in the clear moving forward.

We had a practice run on Monday but the surgery center that we went to didn't feel comfortable doing the procedure with Riley's heart murmur so this morning, we arrived at the hospital at 6am and were ready to get the ear tube procedure over with.

The whole process wasn't terrible, but asking a 1-year-old to lay still while you take vitals and wait around just isn't realistic.  After we checked in, put Riley in his gown and met with a few nurses, we were able to move to the playroom and wait our turn.  Because we were at Children's Hospital, there were plenty of fun toys to keep us entertained and we took turns pulling Riley down the hall in a wagon that he loved.  The toys were great but it was quite a challenge for Riley to crawl around in his hospital gown!

When they called our name, it was time to meet with the anesthesiologist and head down the hall towards the operating room.  I covered up and was able not only to bring Riley into the operating room but was there when they got him ready and put him to sleep for the surgery.  Again, he wasn't the happiest camper but who can blame him for being scared?

Chris and I then waited together in the family room and in no time at all, the ENT was headed towards us with the news that Riley did a great job and was headed to Recovery.  Less than 10 minutes later, we were brought to Riley who was waking up and was ready for some familiar faces.  He was pretty unhappy at first but everything was very normal as far as waking up from anesthesia goes.

Less than 30 minutes later, we had packed up, received our instructions and were in the car back home.  We are so glad to have this procedure in the past and are keeping our fingers crossed that Riley starts to feel better quickly and this will all just be a memory very soon.

Fall Farm Festival

This weekend, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed to the farm!  It's so nice to be able to take advantage of so many of these awesome activities that are so close to home.  So we loaded up the car, headed out of the suburbs and immersed ourself in farm country for the afternoon.

Our first activity was a tractor ride!  We hopped on the hay bales and toured the farm while being pulled along by a big tractor.  Riley got the front seat and loved every minute of watching the tractor roll along.

Next up was the activity center - we played in trucks, scooted down slides, bounced on tires and got lost in a corn maze.  BiBi and Zee were corn maze experts and found their way out without cheating like we did.

After all the activities, we headed to the fields to pick our own Indian corn and pumpkins.  We climbed through the corn stalks to find the best colored corn and then meandered through the pumpkin patch to make our selections.  Riley picked out a baby pumpkin that he wanted to bring home and then enjoyed crawling in the dirt to help us find a few more pumpkins to bring back. 

The last part of the afternoon was heading over to the apple orchard to meet Stacey and Brad.  They were picking apples for an apple pie that they would make later (which was delicious) so we bought a bag and filled it up for home.  There were different kinds of apples to choose from so we walked down the lanes tasting each of them and then filled up the bag as much as possible.

The evening continued with pizza, snacks and football and everyone had a great time!

Say what?

Riley has a lot to say these days!  He talks when he wakes up, he talks throughout the day, he talks in the tub - he just wants to get it all out!  The only problem?  We only understand a fraction of what he says... for now.

So far, here are the words that he can say:  daddy, whats that, kitty, doggy, truck and hi.  We are still (desperately) working on 'mama' but it still sounds like 'Big Bob' - not my nickname of choice! 

I swear, the other day he was speaking Farsi.  It was very deliberate words that he was saying but they just didn't mean anything to me.  They tell us that he has a lot to say at school too and he just likes talking to his friends and teachers.  

So careful what you say around this kid cause he will learn it quick and say whatever you say!

First steps!

This weekend marks a new phase in babyhood - the walking phase!  It started with balancing, then a step in the right direction with calculated falling and now full-blown walking!

Click here to watch the video
Pretty impressive, huh?

We were told that it would come out of nowhere and here it is!  So let's have drinks to celebrate!

Too much of a good thing?

My, oh my - do baby things accumulate!  They have a way of taking over your house!  First it starts with the furniture, the carseat, the stroller.  Then comes the clothes, diapers and accessories.  Finally, you add toys, stuffed animals and pacifiers and before you know it, you have a one-year old who seemingly has everything ever offered for babies in the history of the world.

I know that we don't actually have everything and we have been pretty selective in the things we buy but have been lucky to have such an involved family who wants to provide everything for the new toy of the family.

Our garage now looks like the stroller isle of Babies'R'Us that first overwhelmed up with possibilities.  I don't know where bikes, wagons and more strollers will fit when we add to the family.

Even the bathtub is filling up - not just with water - but with toys!  We have tried to keep all of Riley's "stuff" either in his room or in its designated space and have done a pretty good job so far.  I just know that as soon as he can carry things and walk, the whole house is sure to turn into his play area.  

Next thing to add to the wish list?  A playroom!  Here's hoping!

Happy birthday to us!

Yesterday and today, Riley and I got to celebrate our double birthday!  Riley's party was at the park on Sunday and we had a party with Mommy, Daddy, Bibi, Zee, GeeGee, Aunt Stacey, Uncle Brad and Uncle Gabe.  With pizza, presents, swings and cake, we had everything you could ask for in a birthday party.

We had a "smash cake" for Riley and I thought for sure this kid would go head first into it and know exactly what to do.  I think he was more interested in trying to pick off the sprinkles than trying to eat the cake.  Maybe that's cause he's been eating cake and sweets since he was 4 months old.  Here is the video of cake time.

Today, we celebrated my birthday at the Cheesecake Factory with everyone and had such a great celebration.  The best part was that we all got to celebrate together!  Riley gave this cake a squeeze and now thinks that every cake is to play in.  Hopefully he'll grow out of that habit before high school.

I've put together a slideshow that I hoped to share at our party but since we didn't have the chance, I'd like to share it here.  My how Riley has grown in a year!  Happy birthday slideshow

Bye bye Sheffield

Sadly, we lost Sheffield yesterday.  He passed away quickly and suddenly and the house just doesn't feel the same without his funny face or his unconditional love.

We had so many wonderful memories with him but one of the things that makes this even more difficult is the fact that Riley isn't old enough to even remember Sheffield.  In lieu of Riley's memories, I'd like to take the opportunity to share some of the Sheffield/Riley interactions that left an impression.

Even before he was born, Sheffield was a fan of Riley.  He would check out my belly and let Riley know that he already had a brother waiting to meet him.  On Riley's first day home, we were afraid that the dogs would think he was a chew toy but they both came over, sniffed him to say hi but then were just so excited to see Chris that they didn't even realize that we had a new family member.

It wasn't until a few days later that Sheffield really understood what was happening.  I remember him looking at Riley and I saw him think "wait a minute, what's he still doing here?"  You could tell it was all starting to come together for him that this kid wasn't just a visitor.

But after a while, Sheffield learned how to share his Daddy time with Riley and they got along well.  Sheffield loved meal time because he would sit right in the 'drop zone' and help clean up.  Riley even made a game out of sharing his food.

Recently, Sheffield made it a habit of visiting during bath time.  Riley would hold up a cup and spill water.  Sheffield would try to catch the water in mid air and Riley would giggle and squeal, having so much fun watching Sheff!  I thought I would have the chance to get a video of this but I guess I'll just have to remember it.

Sheffield was such a good dog.  He was goofy and crazy and a handful, but he was sweet and funny and loving.  He will truly be missed but we know that he is in doggie heaven having a blast with all his new friends.