Slacker

I am really slacking on this blog - this isn't what I had hoped for! While it isn't much, I at least wanted to get on here and write just a few updates to what is going on in the world of Riley.

She is growing like crazy. We're officially out of 3-month clothes and into 6-months ... except for pants, in which she can still wear 0-3 months. They're high waters on her, but her waist (or lack of) is too small for 6-month pants.

She has a lot to say. She gets up in the mornings and just has so much to tell us. It's adorable. If I were able to translate those adorable babbles into the English language, I'd love to hear what she is telling me.

She loves to be on the move. This is the case regardless of whether she is lying on the floor (and constantly turning over, then turning her body 360 degrees in a circle) or on your hip. Sitting is not an option when she is being held - she wants you up and moving. It must be her attempt to help me shed a few more pounds.

She's amazingly adorable and addictive. 'Nuff said.

She loves sweet potatoes. Even more than bananas, which knocked my socks off. She even has a sweet potato song that Kevin and I sing as she eats. Do not request a private performance of the song - we won't grant it to you.

She's going to be blonde. I really can't say this with 100% certainty, but you may get me to say it with 99%. New hair is coming in and it is light, light, light.

Homemade Baby Food

I have made the personal decision to make my own baby food for Riley now that she has begun eating vegetables. So far I've only made carrots and sweet potatoes, but I'll be doing a batch of green beans and peas tonight (I am sure Riley would be thrilled to know that). It is really so simple to do and takes about an hour or less from start to finish, and a lot of that time is just waiting for the veggies to boil, which takes no effort on my part. I have nothing against store-bought baby food, I just thought this would be something fun to do and would actually end up being more economical, which it has already proven to do so:

1. I bought 2-pounds of fresh carrots for $1.89 which allowed me to make 35-ounces worth of baby food. I could have bought two 2.5 ounce packages of Gerber's carrots for this exact same price.
2. Once your baby begins to eat the food and saliva mixes with it, you can't save the leftover food - it must be pitched. When you make your own, you can freeze it in ice cube trays and each cube is right around 1 ounce of food. Less waste this way! Riley only eats about 2 ounces at a time right now - if I were going with the pre-made Gerber food, I'd be wasting half of an ounce each time!

If you're interested in more information, check out this site ... and thanks to my friend Meagen who passed the idea and ths site along to me!

Technology is awesome. I am now all set up to be able to update my Blog via text message, so now I have no excuse not to send quick updates!

Roly Poly Riley

... and by this title, I am not implying that Riley is a chubbers. I am stating that she is rolling like crazy now!! She rolled from back to tummy for the first time this weekend, on April 19th. It still amazes me that it is something she had spent several days working on, but once she did it, she was able to do it over and over without fail. She looks so proud, too. Of course, this has invoked some tears from me because it makes me realize how quickly she is growing up! I have video of one of her first rolls that I want to add on here ... hopefully I can get to that tonight.

4-Month Well Check!

Wow - what a busy weekend! Riley had her 4-month well check on Thursday (details of which I will get to in a moment), but since then we've been on the go, making a trip to Marietta for Easter weekend. I've meant to do a much better job of blogging, but apparently I haven't made much progress yet!

Riley's 4-month well check went very well! She weighed in at 13lb 9oz, which put her in the 46th percentile ... and was 24 1/2 inches long, which put her in the 56th percentile. Her head is growing, too! She is now up to the 35th percentile for head circumference. All good news! Dr. K was very impressed with her progress and the milestones that she has hit. He even gave us the green light on starting rice cereal! He told us to go ahead and give her cereal two times a day for 3-4 days and then start on some yellow/orange vegetables! We'll be starting carrots sometime early this week! I am going to try making homemade baby food - not because I think there is something wrong with store-bought (because I don't), but because I think making it would be fun and maybe even more economical. The appointment ended with shots. Riley and I both cried as a result, but we were both over it quickly and shopping for a "what a good girl" treat at Babies R Us on the way home!

On Thursday night she blew my mind by sleeping 9 straight hours. Not getting too excited about it, I assumed it was due to the shots she had received. However on Friday night she slept 8 straight hours. I was even more encouraged by this because it was at Mom and Dad's - in a strange room and bed, as she slept in the pack and play next to Kevin and I. Last night she had an 8 hour repeat performance, so I am excited to see what tonight brings. As always, she was sound asleep by 7:45 tonight, not making a single peep after I laid her in her crib awake. She is such a good girl.

I have to work 4 days this week. Boo hoo, right? I know I need to remember that 4 is STILL better than 5, but I am still dreading it. Last week I only worked 2 days to make up for the longer week coming up (I am in ITIL training), but I hate thinking I'll be away from Riley an additional day. That means I have to make tomorrow with her REALLY count!

I've attached a few (amazing) pictures from the weekend - these all happened to be taken this morning, Easter morning. What a day - the day on which we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead; I am so, so blessed.