Happy Birthday Chris!

Even Riley seemed to get that this was a special day for her dad. She was been so cute and active that morning, paying special attention to Chris by determinedly focusing on him, as if trying to communicate through her gaze how much she loved him.

We went to Kneaders for their bottomless French toast-so rich and sugary! What a perfect way to commemorate a quarter of a century of life! But really, who needs an excuse to eat such a breakfast?

But wait-the day then got 10x better when we went home and took a NAP! Truly a blessed birthday gift-how many parents of an infant actually get naps these days?! After presents and Chris showing me Fantasia for the first time, he showed off Riley to his friends in the lab before succumbing to the long put-off work.

In the meantime, I grabbed a cookies and cream cake from Coldstone, and my friend Shell graciously bought us dinner that night (Brick Oven!) so when he returned we were able to eat like kings as we watched Big Hero Six. Such a good day!

I love birthdays and having the entire day to think about my Sweetheart.

The First Month: Week 3

We felt particularly spoiled this week, because Mimi got off work and came out from California to help us out. We truly have the best Moms!!! They were lifesavers! Plus, it is just fun to see grandbabies with their grandparents-definitely a special loving bond there.

We had Riley's 2 week appointment. We were particularly interested in her weight, since at the lactation consultant's she had been borderline when she wasn't getting enough to eat. Thankfully, Riley was back at her birth weight. In fact, we caught the first glimpse of her being an overachiever-she even exceeded her birth weight at 8lbs 10oz! (her birth weight was 8lbs 4oz) 93rd percentile in height, 60th percentile in weight and 33rd percentile in head size. The worst part of the visit was they had to do yet another PKU. I was determined to handle this test better than the last one-which I did! (not a hard goal to beat) This time I stayed in the room...and cried pitifully while my mother-in-law held me. So...that is progress, right?! Haha, I know, so pathetic! I am usually a pretty logical person, who can logic my way out of emotional situations so I don't get too teary. But I think logic has taken a vacation, or needs to hit the gym (so weak!). Hopefully one of these days I will get my emotions back in check. Until then, I am indebted to loving and non-judgmental mother-in-laws.

She was intrigued by Chris' ukulele playing-she kept looking at Chris and the ukulele in wonder

Another reason I am indebted to mother-in-laws: pedicures. Mimi treated me to a pedicure while she was here. I can't remember the last time I got a pedicure. It felt wonderful, and I was amazed at how getting my toenails done made me feel like a new person-I suddenly felt like dressing up in something other than PJs and maybe taking a shower or two. Now that is magical. It was great having the whole week to be with Mimi. I am sure Riley would agree :)

Loaf Baby

Mimi clipping her 'clawlike daggers' aka her fingernails

When Mimi first arrived-they instantly bonded :)

My cousin got married this weekend. While Mimi watched Riley Friday night, we went to the reception. We weren't gone super long. In fact, the entire time I was thinking of getting back and relieving Mimi (although I am not sure why. Mimi is extremely capable as a babysitter). I was amazed at how refreshing it felt to be with just Chris again. We hadn't been alone since Riley was born, and it felt good even to simply talk with Chris about something other than baby stuff. By the end of the night I was sold on making date night a priority in our marriage! It made all the difference, and when we got back home, we were all charged and refreshed for the parenting scene again.

The First Month: Week 2

This week Momma M. stayed with us to help with Riley. We were so grateful for the help! And it was fun to see my mom with her grand baby. Mom has always been cute with babies, and it was fun to see her with my baby now :)

Who knew a such little person could require such endurance?! I would get up with her in the night, feed her, and pass her off to my mom to get her back down while I pumped. We had the system down pat! We would have had a difficult time surviving without her.

On Tuesday of this week, I was up feeding Riley at 4am, and when I stood up there was an enormous gush of blood! I laid down and the bleeding didn't continue to be so excessive, but I called my doctor the next morning just in case. He had me come in, and he verified that everything seemed alright, but if it happened again to go to the ER. It ended up being a good thing we went to the doctor that day though, because he was able to clip Riley's tongue-tie while we were there. It was awful having to hold her and restrain her as the doctor went at her with scissors. Remember how I was an emotional mess? Yeah, I barely held it together.

Then we went to the hospital to get her PKU test redone (the one where they lance the baby's heel and have them bleed onto a paper). The first one that had been done wasn't usable because she had 'bled too much.' Bled too much?! Seriously?! Why are they telling an over emotional mamma this sort of thing?! I couldn't even stay in the room when they did it-thankfully my mom took my place to be with Riley. I felt like an awful mom, abandoning my child to go through a traumatic experience alone without me by her side. But I really was a hot mess, and not much help to anyone at the moment. Plus, I think the experience was harder for me to go through than for her!

She slept through all two hours of church!!

First Bath at Home

I promise there were good things that happened this week as well :) We went to Great Grandma N. for 5 generation pictures. It is so neat that she is still here! I love her spit-fire personality and her zest for family history. Plus, it was another opportunity for cousin pictures.

Five Generation Picture-starring Riley's Great-Great Grandma Nelson

Funny story for the week-Usually Mom or Chris feed Riley with a bottle, but one afternoon I found myself alone and she needed some more milk. I made up the bottle and went to feed it to her. Once the nipple hit her lips, she looked up at me with a very confused face as she gnawed slowly on the plastic nipple. After a few seconds she stopped to just look at me contemplatively. I could almost see her little brain working on overdrive, trying to figure something out. Then she quickly made up her mind-she turned her head and tried to eat how she is supposed to eat with her mom. Apparently in her mind, mom feeding her with a bottle just wasn't right. This girl is too intelligent for her own good!

She has NEVER liked sitting back, from Day 1

Really good at doing things one handed :)

She may have to get used to Uke music...

This onesie is from Aunt Kare

We went to get professional pictures of the cousins