Dancing baby

Riley's new trick?  Standing!  If we stand him up, he can now hold on and stay up for minutes at a time!  We had a great time practicing in his crib this afternoon, which also happens to be a great place to learn how to fall gracefully.

And with this new trick, he can now dance much better too!  Check out Riley's new dance moves!  My favorite part is his tiny, but oh so wiggly, baby butt! 

Patricia & James' wedding weekend

This weekend, we celebrated Patricia and James' wedding!  Cousins flocked in town and we enjoyed family time at a Friday night dinner, a rehearsal dinner on Saturday, the wedding on Sunday and a brunch on Monday morning.  And believe it or not, this was Riley's 3rd wedding!

Riley did really well meeting a bunch of new people and stayed happy for the most part.  We have been planning his outfits for months and he was very obliging in letting us play dress-up with him.  And let me just say, the outfits were appreciated by the guests and he got a lot of compliments on his ensemble!

The wedding itself was beautiful and the couple not only looked stunning but also very happy together!  Patricia did a fabulous job at planning the event and it seemed like her storybook wedding came to life and had a very happy ending.

Summer siesta

What's better than taking a pants-free nap on a warm afternoon?  Riley had a lovely 2 hour nap yesterday enjoying the breeze on his baby butt and languishing in the fact that he had nothing better to do than sleep.

And then it was time to figure out the next activity!

Family bike ride

We've had such beautiful weather this week, so we decided to take advantage of it and take a family bike ride!  We filled the tires, fitted our helmets, strapped in and... went around the block.

Riley certainly looked the part, but did not like his helmet!  We gave him a pacifier - we plied him with puffs - we sang all kinds of songs - but nothing made him like that helmet.

Besides hating the helmet, I think he's still a little too small for the buggy.  He kept slipping and ended up just laying down in the seat.  We'll try again in a few weeks and even if he doesn't like it then, at least we know that he can grow into it and get used to it.

You know who does like the bike buggy?  Addison!  So at least we know that someone will get use out of it!

First real Mother's Day

Last year, I celebrated Mother's Day as a pre-mom but this year was my first real Mother's Day!  We started out by having brunch at the house with the whole Herman clan and Chris was running the kitchen with an iron spatula.  He whipped up eggs, waffles and hash browns - then add fruit and mimosas and you've got yourself a gourmet brunch!

Riley was super creative (with Chris' help of course) and made me the most amazing, and delicious, Mother's Day card.  The message was sweet and so is the candy!

Since Riley was born, I've realized that being a mother is all-encompasing, but I love every day of it and can't imagine my life any other way now that I have this little man to love!

Bonding in Birmingham

This weekend, Riley flapped his wings and headed down South for the first time!  We were all looking forward to some family time and Riley was really excited to meet Grandy for the first time.

The weather wasn't the greatest but thats ok because we really went just to visit and spend time with everyone, no matter if it was inside or out.  Riley was handed back and forth between everyone and he was really great with all the new and returning faces.  We also got to spend time with new doggie faces and Riley had so much fun playing with Murphy and Ella.

Grammy and Grandy showed Riley off to everyone and we think the whole city knows who he is and has seen his picture already. Grammy even came over to babysit so Chris and I could go out to dinner with Eric and Natalie!  She said that she watched the video monitor the whole time and that it was a better show than anything that was on tv.

Amy and Evan were in town and so were Jeff and Arlene and we got to meet Lauren for the first time.  Riley was really pumped to say hello and kept trying to reach out and give her a hug.  Lauren wasn't really having it but she was really sweet and I'm sure she and Riley will play better when they are both a little bit older.

When the weather was nice, we spent time outside and when it wasn't so great, we found things to do inside.  Chris even taught Riley how to play the only song he knows on the piano!  It's going to take a little work but its a good thing we are starting early.  Now he can practice the piano and the new harmonica that Natalie and Eric got him.

The flights went well and on the way home, the flight attendant asked if this was Riley's first flight.  We told her that it was his already his 8th plane ride (woah!) but she still asked if he wanted to visit the cockpit.  He loved all the buttons and lights and if we would have let him, I'm pretty sure he would have pushed or eaten them all!  Let's add pilot to the list of potential careers.

We are already looking forward to the next family visit!

Cold at the Cubs game

Today, we took Riley to his very first Cubs game!  A bunch of friends were going as a group and invited us to go.  The weather has been beautiful all week but unfortunately, it cooled off a lot and we were freezing at the game. 

We brought a ton of layers but we were sitting up high where it was windy and shady.  Riley was a little unhappy to be in the cold so the best thing to do was bundle him up and take laps on the concourse level where it wasn't quite as windy.  Riley and I had a great time people watching!  Overall, we had a fun time and are looking forward to future games, hopefully when its a little warmer.

Riley's future room

We are super excited to move to Pittsburgh for so many reasons - we will be close to family, we get to start new jobs, we are going to have our own house!  And in that house, we get to start with a blank decorating slate.  We are getting ideas for the living room, where we will start fresh, and are starting to think about what Riley's new room should look like.

Right now, his room is rocking a jungle theme - but what should be next?  Here are just a few things we have been brainstorming:

• Nautical
• Sports
• Jungle
• Planes, Trains & Automobiles
• Under the Sea
• Zoo
• Outer space
• Robots

Its pretty easy to go in any direction with white furniture and a bucket of paint.  Let us know what you think and feel free to add your suggestions to the list!