Hi again!
I'm back! I had started the blog when we were living in North Carolina, away from all our friends and family. It was a great way to keep everyone updated. Once we moved back to Illinois, I pretty much stopped. Partially because we were back near a lot of friends and family so it felt less important to update everyone. And partially, because Riley was 6 months old when we moved and started crawling at 6 months and I pretty much haven't sat down since. :o)
But, we are still far away from Kirk's family and my Minnesota family so I've realized that I should probably keep the updates coming.
So start checking this again...
More to come...
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
We're back!!!
Oh wow. It's been almost 5 months since I've updated this blog. Yikes. Since August 23 (my last post) SO much has happened.
1) We took a vacation to Hilton Head with Kirk's parents. Riley hated the ocean but loved the pool.
2) Kirk accepted the job as the Senior High Youth Director at Glen Ellyn Bible Church, so we packed up moved from North Carolina back to Chicagoland.
3) We moved into a townhouse in Wheaton (about 4 blocks away from my grandma!) and are still getting settled.
4) Riley started crawling at about 6 months old. She quickly became a speed demon! She was fast!
5) About 2 weeks after she started crawling, she pulled herself up to standing. That same week, she got her two bottom teeth.
6) Kirk's parents came to visit for Thanksgiving. Riley got spoiled - big time.
7) At 9 1/2 months old, Riley took her first steps. Within a few days, she was walking everywhere!
8) We celebrated Christmas with my family. Riley got spoiled - big time.
We are still working on getting settled in our new place, but are so thankful to be back in Chicago. It's so nice being near family and friends. Kirk loves his job at GEBC and has been really busy there. He has his winter retreat with the youth this upcoming weekend.
Riley and I are trying to keep busy and avoid the cabin fever that can set in during winter. Riley loves to sing, dance, blow kisses and pull all of our books and DVDs off the shelves. She is still working on eating solid foods...she gets about 10% of what we give her in her mouth, the rest is on the floor. She recently learned to blow kisses and gets on kicks where she'll go for several minutes doing nothing but blowing kisses. She also loves to sing. If you say "Riley. Sing!" she will (loudly) sing the one note she can hit. She also can't stop herself from dancing whenever she hears music. After just a few notes, she starts to shake her little butt. My favorite is when she'll do it while she's in my lap nursing!
I have been enjoying being near my good friends again (and closer to Minneapolis!) and am thankful to have my family near by. It's also so great to be back at GEBC (the church I grew up in) although it feels very "full circle" to be back there!
I'm getting back into a good routine so hopefully that will make me be better at updating this blog. And I'll start writing about things other than Riley...maybe. :o)
1) We took a vacation to Hilton Head with Kirk's parents. Riley hated the ocean but loved the pool.
2) Kirk accepted the job as the Senior High Youth Director at Glen Ellyn Bible Church, so we packed up moved from North Carolina back to Chicagoland.
3) We moved into a townhouse in Wheaton (about 4 blocks away from my grandma!) and are still getting settled.
4) Riley started crawling at about 6 months old. She quickly became a speed demon! She was fast!
5) About 2 weeks after she started crawling, she pulled herself up to standing. That same week, she got her two bottom teeth.
6) Kirk's parents came to visit for Thanksgiving. Riley got spoiled - big time.
7) At 9 1/2 months old, Riley took her first steps. Within a few days, she was walking everywhere!
8) We celebrated Christmas with my family. Riley got spoiled - big time.
We are still working on getting settled in our new place, but are so thankful to be back in Chicago. It's so nice being near family and friends. Kirk loves his job at GEBC and has been really busy there. He has his winter retreat with the youth this upcoming weekend.
Riley and I are trying to keep busy and avoid the cabin fever that can set in during winter. Riley loves to sing, dance, blow kisses and pull all of our books and DVDs off the shelves. She is still working on eating solid foods...she gets about 10% of what we give her in her mouth, the rest is on the floor. She recently learned to blow kisses and gets on kicks where she'll go for several minutes doing nothing but blowing kisses. She also loves to sing. If you say "Riley. Sing!" she will (loudly) sing the one note she can hit. She also can't stop herself from dancing whenever she hears music. After just a few notes, she starts to shake her little butt. My favorite is when she'll do it while she's in my lap nursing!
I have been enjoying being near my good friends again (and closer to Minneapolis!) and am thankful to have my family near by. It's also so great to be back at GEBC (the church I grew up in) although it feels very "full circle" to be back there!
I'm getting back into a good routine so hopefully that will make me be better at updating this blog. And I'll start writing about things other than Riley...maybe. :o)
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
5 Months!
Riley is now 5 months old! It's crazy how big she is getting and how quickly she is changing! She can now roll over back to front and front to back. She is SO close to crawling! She can rotate around in a circle when she's on her belly and then rolls to get to where she wants to go. We can't leave her alone for a second! She knows how to use her arms to crawl and what to do with her legs - she just can't seem to coordinate them at the same time. I am totally fine with that! Crawling is great and all - but once she can do that, I think my job becomes harder! :o)
Riley is such a wonderful and happy baby! She STILL hasn't taken a bottle and still is waking up about 3 times a night. Other than those two things - she is such an easy baby! I'm excited to be able to start her on solids next month!
I took Riley swimming for the first time and she LOVED it! She was so cute in her little swim suit and loved splashing in the water. She's ready for her trip to the beach at the end of August! She also still loves listening to her daddy play guitar. She loves her bouncing activity center. Her feet now reach the ground so she can bounce away on her own. She lasts for about a half hour in it until she wears herself out from bouncing so much! She also is very into watching our food. Anytime she can see what we are eating she is reaching for it and trying to get her hands on it. She especially wants to drink out of our cups. When we let her try it - she loves it but gets water everywhere!
We just got back from a long trip to Chicago. I'll post about that and put up some new pictures soon!
As a side note - I'm going to be an Aunt again! Rachael and Barry are expecting their third at the end of March. I'm SO excited for them! Congrats!
Riley is such a wonderful and happy baby! She STILL hasn't taken a bottle and still is waking up about 3 times a night. Other than those two things - she is such an easy baby! I'm excited to be able to start her on solids next month!
I took Riley swimming for the first time and she LOVED it! She was so cute in her little swim suit and loved splashing in the water. She's ready for her trip to the beach at the end of August! She also still loves listening to her daddy play guitar. She loves her bouncing activity center. Her feet now reach the ground so she can bounce away on her own. She lasts for about a half hour in it until she wears herself out from bouncing so much! She also is very into watching our food. Anytime she can see what we are eating she is reaching for it and trying to get her hands on it. She especially wants to drink out of our cups. When we let her try it - she loves it but gets water everywhere!
We just got back from a long trip to Chicago. I'll post about that and put up some new pictures soon!
As a side note - I'm going to be an Aunt again! Rachael and Barry are expecting their third at the end of March. I'm SO excited for them! Congrats!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
4 Month Update
We went for Riley's 4 month doctors appointment yesterday. She is 4 months 9 days old, 15 pounds 2 ounces and 26 inches long. The doctor said she looks great! Riley now rolls over, grabs onto toys, can sorta laugh (still sounds kinda like a little grunt), squeals and yells, and is teething like crazy! She had discovered her toes and wants nothing more than to get them into her mouth! She also loves listening to her daddy play guitar.
We got the go-ahead to start her on rice cereal. She didn't really know what to think of it, but got quite a bit down! She was a MESS! She also gets to start having a little bit of water in a sippy cup. I'm hoping that she can figure out how to use a sippy cup since she still hasn't used a bottle! She was sleeping 6-8 hours a night, but for some reason has gone back to waking up about 2 times a night. We are trying to figure out how to get her back to that 6-8 hour a night because I am exhausted by the 2 night time feedings!
In 2 weeks, we head up to Chicago. Kirk's coming for just a few days and then coming back to take the junior highers on their mission trip to Chattanooga. I'll stay up in Chicago the week he is gone. We're excited to see friends and family and I'm thrilled not to have to be home alone with Riley for the week he's gone.
Here are a couple pictures from Riley's first rice cereal experience!
We got the go-ahead to start her on rice cereal. She didn't really know what to think of it, but got quite a bit down! She was a MESS! She also gets to start having a little bit of water in a sippy cup. I'm hoping that she can figure out how to use a sippy cup since she still hasn't used a bottle! She was sleeping 6-8 hours a night, but for some reason has gone back to waking up about 2 times a night. We are trying to figure out how to get her back to that 6-8 hour a night because I am exhausted by the 2 night time feedings!
In 2 weeks, we head up to Chicago. Kirk's coming for just a few days and then coming back to take the junior highers on their mission trip to Chattanooga. I'll stay up in Chicago the week he is gone. We're excited to see friends and family and I'm thrilled not to have to be home alone with Riley for the week he's gone.
Here are a couple pictures from Riley's first rice cereal experience!
Pictures
Our friend Lisa Potter took some adorable pictures of Riley this past weekend. There are so many cute pictures! Here are some of our favorites!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Twin Cities, Teething and Turning Over
The past few weeks have been busy for all 3 of us!
Kirk - Kirk took the senior highers on a mission trip to Logan, WV. They had a great week! I was so jealous that they were there, because Logan is one of my favorite places ever! Kirk got to meet most of my friends there and became known as "Mr. Jess." He got to visit our friends in Delbarton as well. I think the students had a great week. He is now getting ready for a week of VBS, a weekend trip with senior high and college students, a quick trip to Chicago and the Jr. High mission trip to Chattanooga, TN.
Jess - Because Kirk is a great husband, he didn't want me and Riley to be home alone the week he was gone in West Virginia so he surprised me with a trip to Minneapolis! For those of you who don't know, I lived there for 3 1/2 years while I worked for YouthWorks. It was AWESOME to see friends. We got to see almost everyone I wanted to see and Riley was a trooper! I had forgotten how much I loved the cities.
Riley - Riley has been a busy girl the past few weeks. She has started teething. She chews on everything and drools all over. She isn't really fussy from it yet, which is nice. She also learned how to roll over! She is so proud of herself when she does it, but quickly realizes she doesn't like to be on her stomach so she starts to cry until we flip her back over. She is officially out of her bassinet and sleeping in her crib. We go to the doctor next Tuesday for her 4 month appointment and I think we'll get the go ahead to start her on rice cereal! She still hasn't taken a bottle, so me and her haven't been apart for more than 3 hours (ugh). She is doing better sleeping and will usually have 2 good nights and then a bad one. She loves her new activity center (she stands in it and once she grows another inch, her feet will reach the ground and she can start bouncing!). She also likes her Bumpo chair and when she sits in it, she tries SO hard to get her feet in her mouth! She has also learned how to grab and hold onto things so now I need to be better of keeping things out of her reach!
July will be a busy month for Kirk and all 3 of us will be headed back to Chicago to visit. Kirk is going to fly up with me and Riley for a few days and then fly home to take the Jr. Highers on their mission trip. Riley and I will stay for the week so we don't have to be home by ourselves when he is gone and so Riley can be spoiled by grandparents, aunts and uncles, and my friends.
Kirk - Kirk took the senior highers on a mission trip to Logan, WV. They had a great week! I was so jealous that they were there, because Logan is one of my favorite places ever! Kirk got to meet most of my friends there and became known as "Mr. Jess." He got to visit our friends in Delbarton as well. I think the students had a great week. He is now getting ready for a week of VBS, a weekend trip with senior high and college students, a quick trip to Chicago and the Jr. High mission trip to Chattanooga, TN.
Jess - Because Kirk is a great husband, he didn't want me and Riley to be home alone the week he was gone in West Virginia so he surprised me with a trip to Minneapolis! For those of you who don't know, I lived there for 3 1/2 years while I worked for YouthWorks. It was AWESOME to see friends. We got to see almost everyone I wanted to see and Riley was a trooper! I had forgotten how much I loved the cities.
Riley - Riley has been a busy girl the past few weeks. She has started teething. She chews on everything and drools all over. She isn't really fussy from it yet, which is nice. She also learned how to roll over! She is so proud of herself when she does it, but quickly realizes she doesn't like to be on her stomach so she starts to cry until we flip her back over. She is officially out of her bassinet and sleeping in her crib. We go to the doctor next Tuesday for her 4 month appointment and I think we'll get the go ahead to start her on rice cereal! She still hasn't taken a bottle, so me and her haven't been apart for more than 3 hours (ugh). She is doing better sleeping and will usually have 2 good nights and then a bad one. She loves her new activity center (she stands in it and once she grows another inch, her feet will reach the ground and she can start bouncing!). She also likes her Bumpo chair and when she sits in it, she tries SO hard to get her feet in her mouth! She has also learned how to grab and hold onto things so now I need to be better of keeping things out of her reach!
July will be a busy month for Kirk and all 3 of us will be headed back to Chicago to visit. Kirk is going to fly up with me and Riley for a few days and then fly home to take the Jr. Highers on their mission trip. Riley and I will stay for the week so we don't have to be home by ourselves when he is gone and so Riley can be spoiled by grandparents, aunts and uncles, and my friends.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)