Nine Months

Riley loves walking with her motorcycle

Bubbles are an all-time favorite. If she is sad, this is a fail-safe way to distract her ;)

She has always loved pictures, but I find it funny the pictures that she picks as favorites. This picture of Allie when she was a little girl is well-loved, as well as a picture by Mimi and Papa's room of the young twins.

There are very few days that go by that we do not go to a park. She loves being outside, moving and around other people.

Pretty proud of herself :)

Doesn't every mom have a right to have at least one of these videos?

She just started wearing shirts-not onesies! Such a grown-up girl!

Mimi got Riley a toothbrush. It vibrates, so she is more technologically advanced than Chris and I at the moment. We are still sporting the manual version :) She loves our routine of brushing teeth before bed. ...and any other time she spots it :)

I found her in a corner one day looking over her photo book.

Having fun pulling up against the stroller.

Of course all the knobs have to be sampled

Grass Crash Action Shot

Still doesn't like the stroller for very long. I have found if I can walk right next to the bushes, she stays entertained for longer as she lets her hand play with the bushes. Plus it is fun to see her hand sticking out.

Playing out on the deck

This pinwheel has been an awesome toy! ...and is completely demolished as a result

Climbs over rather than around. Especially over me. Sometimes I feel more like a jungle gym than a human mother ;)

She is pretty proud of herself and her accomplishments! She loves everyone to notice and give her attention, even if she pretends to be bashful in the process.

Oh, and she has the patience of a thimble. She is usually still for the first 3 seconds of a diaper change (about the time it takes to get the diaper off) then she is GONE! Although I must say, I've gotten fairly proficient at getting the diaper on whether she is on all fours or standing (not to brag or nuthin')

Run

Triumph!

I have not gone running in over a year.
Running while pregnant just was not a fun experience for me
...then I felt too worn out when Riley was really little.
...and then I wasn't sure how to go on a run with her (no running stroller)
....or how do you go without her?
so with all these very validated and somewhat justified excuses, I was just fine with walks everyday.

But I have been noticing my sedentary lifestyle has an effect on what I eat and how much I eat. With staying home for much of the day and having easily accessible food is una (mucho!) problema for me.  So I have been dancing around the idea of running again for some time, just lacking the drive to actually make it happen.

I am very lucky to have the resources at hand to help all this happen. I just put Riley down for a nap, ask Papa or Ben to listen for her, and take a short run. Voila! Was that so hard, Kimber?!
Why yes. Yes it was.

I went on my very first run today. The first few minutes, and my body was loving it-it felt awesome to be running again! I decided to run to a nearby park, thinking it would be about 30 minutes, so I would get a good run and Riley would most likely still be asleep. Toward the end I tried to pick up speed because I didn't want to run over the 30 minutes I promised Papa the run would take. I got back to the house, stretched, and looked at the clock.

Ten minutes.
Ten measly minutes?!

I'm still pretty sure the clock was wrong, because there is NO WAY you could convince me it was only 10 minutes based on how my body felt!

Notwithstanding, I can hitherto check off today as productive! I'm pretty happy about this, and I hope I can stick it out to make it a habit!
Now if I could only be more consistent about showers...

Revert

Riley stole a pacifier from a unassuming baby in the mothers room on Sunday. She has never been a pacifier kind of kid, but now that she is seeing them again, it almost seems like she thinks it is funny.

She keeps carrying it around in her mouth, then ripping it out for dramatic effect.

Beach Bum

I have long heard the legends of how amazing Memorial Day breakfast is for the Petaluma 1st ward. Even when Chris and I had first started dating, he relayed stories of friendly associates and mountains of delicious food. Probably the most anticipated ward activity of the year.

I have been looking forward to this breakfast for two years now. And now I finally was able to participate in the long awaited breakfast myself.

It was pretty awesome. Great food. The company was even better. The best part was the weather-so perfect! There were games of frisbee, a lightsaber fight, and the kids were able to play at the local park. It was a wonderful time.






We left only when Riley decided enough was enough and that she wanted a nap (just kidding-she never decides that. We decided that) we headed home. When she woke up, Mimi, Chris and I stopped the yard work we were doing to go to the beach.



Awesome idea!















Everyone had the same idea as us, and I don't blame them. Such a perfect beach day! We came at the perfect time-literally, the people ahead of us were turned away because the parking lot was full. Then a few people left just as we were coming so there were spots open! Score!










The sun was out, but there was a constant cool breeze that prevented oven-like feelings of burnage. We all loved it, but I think Riley was in baby heaven. She crawled all over the super soft sand, she enjoyed sticking her feet and hands in the extremely cold water and when we finally left, she was one sad little munchkin.


California might be a great place for this girl to grow up :)

Moral Support

This girl likes to be involved as much as possible in helping people out.

Offering moral support as Ben plays video games

Really good at using the remote

As soon as Papa starts washing dishes, this girl is there!

God's Creations Scavenger Hunt

An easy Activity days for the last week of school: God's Creation Scavenger Hunt. The girls rocked it!

Riley was my Scavenger Hunt Helper

Tuesday Walks