Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. It was definitely busier than ever with Riley but we all received many nice things and were able to spend time with family and friends. I'm a little behind getting things up because I've been sick. I don't recommend a bacterial infection for the holidays but it has put me on my way to my New Year's resolution to loose some pounds. I got sick at my folks and they took good care of me. And of course they hated having to take care of Riley the whole time.

Randomness

I've collected these pictures this week while I've been off from work for the holiday. Notice that when Riley rides on Tim's shoulders she likes to use his ears as a place to hold on. Anyone who has seen Riley's hair knows how wild it is. She has at least two swirls in the back that pretty much do what they want. During her last bath it got really wild with some help from a towel.

Check-up/Needline

I took Riley this morning for her 9 month check-up. She was 27 1/4 inches long and 16 lbs 12 oz. That makes her 50% in height and 15% in weight. Everything else checked out ok. We went tonight to Needline to help pack the Christmas food baskets. We had 23 from our church there and it went really fast. I think they said we did about 600 boxes and it only took a little over an hour to do them. Glynis put Riley in one of the boxes and she was quite content to watch all the commotion around her. She was helping with the cranberry sauce I think. They will hand out the boxes tomorrow. The estimate they will give out 100 boxes per hour. The needs in the community have really gone up this year. We are very thankful for the blessings we have received this Christmas.

Visiting Santa

Riley had her first visit to see Santa this past Saturday night. Steve and Debbie Grogan have Santa visit at their house each year and invite their friends and neighbors to come and see him. Riley had just woke up from a nap and wasn't quite ready to visit with Santa just yet. She didn't mind having a group picture as long as mommy was holding her.

Teething Biscuits are Messy!

Now that Riley is cutting her first tooth we thought we might try some teething biscuits. I never knew anything could be so sticky and messy. I gave one to Riley at the farm this evening for her to chew on while I worked on some projects. I had to give her bath just to get all the sticky mush off.

Riley had also learn some new skills this week. She started pulling up to standing earlier this week. She loves to pull up at the dryer. I think her voice echoes inside and she likes that too. She even tries to climb in. We're going to have to stay on our toes. Ms. Cindy at daycare today said she looked up and Riley was standing without holding on to anything. She thought she might fall but she didn't. I'm afraid she will be walking before we are ready.

Live Nativity

I'm blogging tonight from the MSU library. We've implemented a new system and are providing after hours support for those who might be needing help using it. So far no one has stopped by for help. It is going to be a long night. The library is full though. Students are studying for their finals and the coffee from the coffee shop smells great.

Here are some pictures from the Live Nativity we participated in last weekend. The first picture is of our scene where the wisemen come to visit King Herod. I put in a couple of other pictures too.

Thanksgiving

Sorry it has been so long since we've made a post. We've had a fair amount of craziness. We survived the holiday last week and I've included some pictures. Riley with Uncle Jess (my brother), my sister-in-law Ashley with Grandma Storey and Riley with Granpa-Great. They were both sporting their Osh-Kosh overalls. Riley's were a gift from Gran-Danny Cunningham. We had two good holiday meals on Thanksgiving but are quickly discovering that making two holiday meals in two different states in one day is not that easy. I think Tim and I were almost too tired to eat by the time we made the rounds but we managed as the scales are reminding me.

This week has been a blur. We've had play practice, music practice and unfortunately a funeral as Ms. May Ruth Sheridan from our church passed away. She was a wonderful lady and loved our family very much. We appreciated her years of service to the church. We've also been getting ready for the Live Nativity that starts tonight. Tim is chairman of the cluster of churches that puts this on and I'm in charge of our churches' scene so we've both been working on this. Riley has had a fever for a couple of days but we think we've decided she is teething. She has a faint outline of a tooth that is trying to poke through. I stayed home with her yesterday but she has been fever free so she is back at daycare today. Mom and Dad are coming in this afternoon to stay with her tonight and in the morning while we have our float in the parade (another activity this week) and then Tim's parents are keeping her on Saturday while we do a wedding and the second night of the Nativity. If you don't have plans you should make your way to the Expo Center in Murray tonight or tomorrow night between 6-9PM. We even have live camels. And I'll give you a hint, if you come about 8:15 or 8:30 there is usually almost no line waiting!

Maybe I'll have some pictures to post of that event next week.

Float Building

Riley got to ride the donkey during our float building work day at the shop on Saturday. We had a good group of workers and think our float looks pretty good this year. It will be in the Christmas parade here in Murray the first weekend of December.

Hunter or UT Fan?

Daddy says this is his little hunting buddy but others would argue that the orange hat only needs a white "T" to make her a Vols fan. Tim says no way, that she will be a UK fan. Anyway, this is what happens when Dad is getting Riley ready to go and he can't find her little strawberry sock hat. Uncle Johnny would be proud. The other day she went out in a Ford sock hat.

Riley's Dedication

We had Riley's dedication on Tuesday night at Kirksey UM. Bro. Kendrick Lewis did the service. He did a wonderful job and our friend Glynis sang a song during the service. We had a lot of friends and family there to support us and Riley was on her best behavior all night. In fact, she even hugged brother Lewis when he held her at the end of the service.

Riley & Grandpa Wilson

Tim snapped this picture while I was gone last week when my folks came to help with Riley. She was sitting with Grandpa Wilson watching Hee Haw (her favorite).

Another Sunday Morning

I try to get pictures of Riley on Sunday mornings because that is usually when we pay more attention to hair and shoes etc. I am currently in Somerset, KY at a conference so this is Tim's first solo run with Riley for a couple of days. I might be worried except I know Tim has had great help while I've been away. Donna has done double duty this week keep Riley and getting her ready for bed on Wednesday. Then my folks came down last night to stay and keep Riley today. I'm sure she is being spoiled rotten but that is ok. I miss her but in my first test I haven't cried hysterically or felt homesick. I'll be glad to settle in tonight back home with her and Tim and watch the Cats in their season opener!

First Sink Bath

Riley is quickly outgrowing her baby tub but she isn't quite ready for the big bath tub yet. Here are some pictures of her in the sink for a bath. She is playing with her rubber ducky. She doesn't seem to mind bathtime too much.

Election Day

I had Tuesday off from work for election day so Riley and I enjoyed the beautiful weather. I took some pictures of her in front of the house in her John Deere stuff. She mainly wanted to eat leaves and other items she could find in the yard. We took her with us when we went to vote and everybody kept saying what a sweet little boy she was. I had taken the bow out before we went. Big mistake. I wish I had gotten a picture of Riley at the polling place. I figure she will read about this year's election in her school text books in 10 years.

Riley Crawling

Riley has started crawling...well it is more of a scoot/slide/drag motion but she is managing to move towards things she wants more. In this video she is wearing a t-shirt from the Farm Machinery Show that dad bought for her before she was born.

Oh the Horror!

So this weekend was filled full of all kinds of terrible things. First...trick or treating! Someone gave us a costume so we thought we might run her around to some folks from church and to Gran's since it was his birthday. A couple of people we wanted to visit live in Murray so we thought we would start there. Big mistake! After the first two stops we shortened our list in a big way. There were kids everywhere! And not just little ones. High school kids were trick-or-treating and you couldn't even drive down some of the streets there were so many cars blocking the way while the little ones darted in and out of the bushes and across the streets. I just knew Tim's patience with these cars stopped in the middle of the road was going to wear out and he was going to plow someone out of the way. We couldn't even get down one street there were so many cars backed up. I bet in these subdivisions they have to take out a loan just to buy enough candy.

I guess growing up in the country we just didn't do halloween this way. I can remember it usually being late when we finally got in from the field and dressed to go out. By that time of night the only safe places to go were to family so we usually hit Grandma and Grandpa's and sometimes Aunt Jancie's. I think they knew we weren't going many places because they always gave us tons of candy - and not the little bars either...the full size ones! I just hope Riley is content with visiting family and friends because I don't think either of us will go for the door-to-door madness we saw Friday night.

My other frights came on Saturday and Sunday. Because Riley is starting to crawl we put on the door locks for the cabinets. Now everytime I grab a cabinet door I'm met with resistance and that is maddening when I'm in a hurry. And it terrifies me that Riley loves Hee Haw. She will sit and watch it with Tim and never take her eyes off it. She especially likes Grandpa Jones playing the banjo. She was crying Sunday night and Tim turned him on. She stopped crying and set glued to the sights and sounds. I fear they will gang up on me in the future and force me to watch these types of shows that they think are so funny but aren't!