Adventures in Babysitting

Riley had her first babysitting adventure! No one has ever "babysat" her except for our parents (I don't really count that) and they live in Florida so it has only been a few times. We had been talking about going out without her for awhile but we just haven't had the opportunity and it is hard to plan ahead most weekends to make sure someone is available. We had planned on Paige (my cousin) to be the first to babysit her, to keep it in the family! She was available this Sunday so we decided to go see a movie and drop Riley at her apartment since she lived near the theater. I was pretty confident that Riley would do just fine with her but Thomas was the nervous one. We dropped her off and she didn't even care when we left. I sat through the whole movie without sending a text to make sure she was okay. I did check my phone a couple times to make sure Paige didn't text me which she didn't. When we went to pick her up she was eating so she just smiled at us and kept eating. It was no big deal to her that we were gone. Paige & Neesha (Paige's roommate who helped out) had a great time with her and said we could bring her by any time because she is so much fun! It is nice to know we can leave her somewhere now and she will be fine without us. I think Ryan (Thomas' brother) was jealous that Paige got to babysit, so he is next!

Two Little Pigtails

Riley has really light hair and for awhile barely had any of it. A lot of people ask where she gets her blonde hair from, mine was light when I was little and Thomas had light blonde hair until her got older. In just the last two months her hair as grown a lot. I had been wanting to see if her hair was long enough to go into pigtails. I tried tonight and her hair was long enough. I think she looks so cute and so grown-up! This is such an exciting moment for a mommy with a girl.

*SIDE NOTE: Sorry for the bad quality of photos but it has been nearly impossible to get her to sit still for me to take her picture!

ELEVEN MONTHS OLD

I can't believe the time has come already but Riley is walking! She still crawls but always starts out walking somewhere first & if she falls she either crawls or gets back up and walks. She is getting faster and can turn corners. It won't be long before she is running! She now has 7 teeth and had a real rough time with the one that just came in but was better the next day. She can understand little commands like "Bring me your baby doll" or "Where is your paci?" She also is able to communicate to us what she wants by pointing at an object. This has made things much easier. Riley is so much fun to play with now. I can roll a ball to her & she will roll it back, she loves baby dolls (and even tried to pick up a little girl the other day that I think she thought was a doll) and gives them hugs & kisses and likes to bring me books to read to her. She is such a silly girl and can always make us laugh! 

Crafternoon & Clues

I have always had a desire to be a little like Martha Stewart, to make food from scratch, sew pillows & curtains for my living room, have everything organized and in a spot and throw perfect house parties. Time, skill, and money have kept me from achieving this goal thus far but today I just got one step closer! I learned to knit! Christin, who attends our church, is a very skilled knitter & crocheter (is that a word?)- you should see the things she makes, very impressive! She decided to host Crafternoons at her house once a month so that she can teach anybody who is interested to knit or crochet. Once we all know what we are doing we plan to make hats to donate to a charity for foster children.

Thomas was able to keep Riley for me, thankfully, or I wouldn't of learned anything. I decided to learn how to knit, it seemed easier and once you get started you can do it without looking. It took a few rows for me to get the hang out it, the basics are not that hard. I still have to learn the technique, i.e.: spacing, patterns and the language used. I hope I will be able to make a hat or leg warmers for Riley someday.

This is Emma, our new pastor's daughter & Riley's new buddy!

Christin hosted us on her birthday so we had cake & snacks afterwards

After the Crafternoon Riley had a 1st birthday party to attend. It was for Tristan, a little boy in our cul-da-sac, and the theme was Blue's Clues. It was a fun little party and we got to catch up with some of our neighbors. 

The birthday boy did not like it when we all sang "Happy Birthday!"

A Walk in the Park

It had been awhile since we had a Friday night at home with no plans. During tax season I worked almost every Friday night but now that the season is over I am home again! Since the weather has been so great we decided to take Riley on a wagon ride to one of the playgrounds in our neighborhood. 

We put on her baseball cap & got her strapped in

Then we started to walk

And Riley rode

And we walked some more

When we got to the playground she started to climb

Then she rested

She made it to the top!!

She watched the bigger kids play

And hung out with her mommy

What a great way to spend the evening!

This Little Piggy...

Just take a glimpse at how Riley eats. She grabs the biggest handful of food she can get and shoves it in her mouth. I don't know how she doesn't choke! And then she laughs at herself because she thinks she is funny:)

1st Easter

This was Riley's first Easter and the last of her "first" for major holidays, except for her BIRTHDAY! Easter is always a unusual holiday to celebrate when you are far away from family. Since we have lived in NC we have always gone out to eat at a nice restaurant after church on Easter Sunday, which I always love to do, but growing up we always had a big family dinner at home with extended family, a large Easter hunt with all the kids, and Easter baskets filled with candy! I miss doing that, so this year we decided to have Easter at home and invite people who don't have family nearby either. The egg hunt & baskets with candy will have to wait till next when Riley is bigger! As usual, we woke up early to get to church and help set-up. Thomas has been the interim pastor at our church while we found a new pastor to replace our brother-in-law who left in January, so he spoke at our service on "Why Jesus Died" and did an awesome job! (or so I hear, I was with the little kids)

Some of the wacky kids from MoTown (kids church)

Riley matching Auntie Paige

We planned on doing a brunch at our house after church with Thomas' brother Ryan and a friend or two.  The number grew a little at the last minute, as is sometimes custom in our life, but the more the merrier! We had a great meal (some of the best mashed potatoes ever...thanks Cali!) and a great time!

I made up a small Easter basket for Riley this year with a few Gerber snacks, Baby Einstein animal cards, and a few things from the $ spot at Target. She enjoyed taking the things out of the basket and making a mess.

After everyone left we made something called Resurrection Rolls. I have made these for the last few years on Easter and think they are a great activity to do with your children to teach them about Jesus' resurrection! And the rolls are really yummy!

If you are interested in making them, they are real easy:

You need crescent rolls (we just used biscuits because I forgot to buy the crescents), melted butter, cinnamon/sugar mixture, & large marshmallows (I tried the strawberry ones this year).

Preheat oven according to dinner rolls packaging. Take individual dinner rolls (Jesus' tomb) and spread melted butter (anointing oil) on rolls. Next place marshmallow (Jesus) in the roll. Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture (anointing spices). Wrap marshmallow tightly in the roll- leave no cracks. You can also sprinkle more cinnamon/sugar on top if you'd like. The tomb will open & be empty when done cooking!

This is how they look when they are finished.

We had a wonderful Easter and maybe we started a new tradition...Easter at our house, again next year! And we will have an Easter egg hunt!