Preview

Friday night Riley's school had a Harvest Festival, aka Halloween party. My mom's flight got in about 20 minutes early so we were able to make the party, which meant a test run for Riley's Halloween costume. I'm glad we did it because not only did she look stinkin' adorable but we learned the shoes that we planned on having her wear are WAY too big (now, they are a size 4 mind you, which generally is not even a walker size, so you can see why outfitting her feet is challenging) so we will be sporting sneakers for trick or treating tonight. Her costume won't quite have the same adorable factor but if anybody can pull it off, it's Riley!

A few of Riley's friends from her class were there too, here's Riley and Danielle playing in the 2s class, they were both pretty excited to be able to go into the 2s class and test out all of the new toys they will soon get to play with!

Riley's friend James was also there, here's Riley dancing in her classroom. James is dressed as the doggy. (Unfortunately no Nate!)

And Riley had fun helping her teacher from her infant class, Miss Karen, clean up!





We're heading over to our neighbors soon to celebrate and then go Trick or Treating, Riley's been practicing saying "Trick or Treat," so more pictures to come!

Jack-o-Laterns!

Today was my flex day off so I kept Riley home and we had some fall fun. I started out the day with attempt number 2 at Challah, using Crista's recipe. It was another epic failure. I even waited the entire 2 1/2 hours to let it rise, I'm thinking I'm not putting it in a moist enough spot to let it rise. Again, the flavor was tasty but it was super dense again. I was pretty proud of myself for letting it sit for an entire hour and a half without peeking. While the bread was supposed to be rising, Riley and I carved our pumpkins!

Here's Riley picking out her template!

Helping to carve (she wasn't a fan of the mess)...

Proud of our handy work...

With both of our pumpkins...

That's it for me!

Challah

There's something about rainy weather that makes me want to bake the day away! The last two weekends have been pretty crummy so Sunday when we got home from the peninsula I decided to give my first homemade bread a try. I love a good chewy, moist piece of Challah so I made my first attempt at it. I had visions of yummy grilled cheese and french toast. I've never worked with yeast before so I was a little nervous. So that leads me to the fact that I think my first attempt at making bread was a failure, not to mention the fact that when I was putting the jar of yeast away, that I dropped it and it shattered everywhere so I spent 1/2 hour cleaning up itty bits of glass and yeast. It was doomed! The bread itself has good flavor but it very dense, I'm not sure if that's because I over mixed it or if I didn't let it rise enough. And quite honestly I don't think I am patient enough to let the dough proof enough. But I will be trying to make it again from scratch! And it is slightly edibile, we tried to have grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner last night with it and Riley at the cheese off of the bread, and well I have to admit, it was a bit dry and dense!



Oh and as it turns out, I don't know how to braid very well either! Better work on that before Riley want's her hair in braids!

Diamond Sisters

Yesterday we drove down to San Jose to see my first daughter, ok really my Diamond Sister, she's my daughter from my sorority! Jen was in town with her husband from Boston so we met up with them and some friends for brunch. It was great to catch up with Jen and meet her friend Hillary who just moved to the area, we're Facebook friends so it was nice to finally meet her! Riley is getting SO much better at meals at restaurants, although when she decides that she is done with her meal, the adults pretty much have to be done too. But all in all she did great and she took to Jen and Hillary's husbands pretty well. She gave everyone multiple kisses when we left but both of the husbands got a few extras! That girl is going to be trouble!!!

Me and my girls!

Since we were on the peninsula we decided to hit up the Stanford Mall but the weather was pretty yucky so we just headed home.

If...

If there are any questions as to whether Marc is really Riley's dad, this should pretty much cover it! (He used to think it was funny to ask for a paternity test, I think this is better than any blood test could ever be!)

Riley is so her daddy's daughter!!!

Photo courtesy of Ralsto, thanks for the laugh Red Dawg!

Sisters and Their Girls

I think I may not have mentioned that Ralsto and I are sorority sisters, we were in the same pledge class in ADPi at IU, so it was awesome spending time with her again and it's so fun that we both have girls! I miss my college girls a ton and loved the girl time with Ralsto, especially the wine and the Glee marathon once the girls were asleep. But Friday came it was time to go, I was so sad to say goodbye to such an awesome friend and her sweet little girl (and Daisy too because Daisy and I became great friends!)

A couple of more photo ops with the girls before heading to the airport (with a stop at DD for some coffee of course!).

(I'm also loving how I look holding two girls! Hopefully one day Riley will have a little sister!) Then it was off to the airport, the guy at the airport was SO nice. He got me aisle seats, didn't charge me to check my bag and gave me Priority Access so I that I could board right after First Class. Riley was great on the flight from Buffalo to Chicago, she even fell asleep. I let her walk off the plane and since we were in the last row we were the last ones off. The pilot saw her and asked me if I wanted to take her picture in the cockpit. How cool is that!?! I really didn't think they did that anymore with all of the security but he let me put her up there so she wouldn't get scared and she sat up there with the co-pilot and the pilot put his headset on her. Seriously cool! It was a little American Eagle jet so everything was a bit more accessible but still so nice of him!

And it went downhill from here! Riley was SO tired, she threw many temper tantrums in the terminal at O'Hare, and when I counted to three before putting her into time out (yes, airports can have time out too!) she looked up at me and counted right back at me, proud of her for counting and it was seriously cute but do I not have any authority!?! Then she got upset when we left the stroller to put under the plane, even though she had no interest in sitting in it but it was "mine," (seriously hate the mine phase) then she wouldn't let me sit in the seat. I flew with her as a lap child and that is the LAST time I will do that. She said "no touch," "mine," "no sit, my chair" as everyone boarded. When I had to sit down so that we could take off she threw a massive fit, screaming bloody murder for over an hour before a flight attendant came and took her from me after asking if I was flying alone. She took her to the back and showed her all of the gadgets (we were in the second to last row) to give me a break from her difficultness, everyone was for the most part really nice about it but I broke down bawling because I was that mother who could not control their toddler on an airplane for 4 hours. I was so upset and she was so rotten on the flight that they brought be a complimentary bottle of wine! It was that bad. She stayed with Bonnie, the flight attendant, for about 45 minutes, Bonnie even brought her to first class and got her a cookie and some milk. Which made Riley feel really cool! When Riley was finally wanting me back she was good for an hour or so and then she started her screaming again, because I had to sit down and not let her sit in the seat by herself. Bonnie took her back and had her help her collect the trash so Riley walked up and down the aisles with her feeling like hot stuff. Thank goodness we landed early! I love you tailwinds! It was seriously awful! I left the plane with a killer migraine.

Despite our flight back it was an awesome trip! I'm so glad I got to spend a few days with an awesome friend. Many of our friends were extremely supportive during Riley's clubfoot treatment and our pregnancy scare but Ralsto was probably one of the most supportive and I am so glad I got to spend a few days with such a special friend and her beautiful daughter! Ralsto is a natural mommy and a wonderful friend! Audrey and I are both two lucky gals! Thanks for a great trip Ralsto!

When In Buffalo, Have Wings!

Well Riley really was not feeling well! Wednesday night she slept over 15 hours (how's that for brace wear!), woke up, drank a big cup of milk and then went back to bed for another 2 hours. It happened to be cold and rainy so Ralsto and I scrapped our plans to go wine tasting (boo! but I guess that's what motherhood is about) and opted to stay in instead. She was kind enough to run out and get us DD Coffee (did I mention how much she rocks!) and then she went out to get me some Buffalo Wings while I babysat two sleeping babies, not a bad gig! I guess the famous place, Anchor Bar is under new ownership/management and is not as good as it used to be, so the locals are split on two places, Elmos and another place that I can't remember the name of. Adam (her husband) likes Elmos better and well we're obsessed with Elmo around here so we went with them. They were delish!!! I got the Honey Mustard flavor because that's Adam's favorite and I knew I wouldn't eat them all so I wanted to get something he would polish off.

Riley woke up feeling much better and wanting to hold Audrey. She seriously loved holding Audrey. She was so adorable with her, when Audrey was in her swing she took a blanket and covered her and in the car she held her hand and touched her arm while we drove. She even turned on Audrey's mobile (they have the same one) for her. It was really sweet! I can't wait to see her as a big sister someday!

Oh and Audrey sits really well in the Bumbo, I had Sesame Street on in the background for Riley and I was blocking her view. Silly me for blocking Sesame Street!

Yes, they have matching outfits, Ralsto and I are fully aware that they will hate us for this one day but we didn't care because they were stinkin' adorable!

I guess I forgot to mention that Ralsto's husband is an offensive line coach (I think I got his position right, if not, let me know Red Dawg) for the University of Buffalo so he's knee deep in football season and didn't get home until super late on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday Ralsto and I waited up for him but Wednesday after two bottles of wine we both passed out before he got home but Thursday he was able to get home earlier so Riley met him Thursday, he's a pretty tall guy, so Riley was like "whoa!" when she saw him for the first time but she took to him right away! We recruited Adam to take a picture of Ralsto and I with our girls.

Silly Auntie Ralsto!

Water, Ey!

Thursday Ralsto took us to Niagara Falls, I knew it would be a hit since Riley just loves water and of course flowing water, so seriously Niagara Falls would be awesome. It was a perfect fall day, by east coast standards, not one of our crazy triple digit California fall days. We of course made a stop at Dunkin Donuts for some coffee because Ralsto pretty much rocks and knows how much I love DD coffee! (Seriously, we need one in CA!). She lives like maybe 20 minutes away from Niagara Falls, seriously so cool, we parked on the NY side and got the girls in their strollers. It was so gorgeous!

Our first view of the falls!

 

We walked a little farther into the park to get a better view. I am always in love with the beautiful fall days, it totally reminded me of my time at IU when the leaves used to change. I just love Midwest/East Coast fall days!

 

Enjoying the falls (even sweet Audrey enjoyed them despite being a Niagara Falls pro)!

After enjoying the falls on the US side we headed over the Canada. I was super excited because I had never been to Canada. We walked across the border, interestingly enough I had to have Marc write a letter saying it was ok for me to bring Riley across the border without him. Another fun fact, we had to pay $0.50 each (babies included) to come back across the border and back into the United States!

Welcome to Canada!

The Falls from Canada!

Enjoying a late lunch and the music at the Hard Rock Cafe! Riley was dancing and rocking out to the 80s music. And it appears that Riley might be right handed even though Marc and I are both left handed. Interesting! :)

Loving the view! (And refusing to nap, it was too exciting!!!)

Riley's souvenir, Monty, because nothing says Canada like a moose, ey!

We didn't do the Maid of the Mist because the girls are too young and we would have had to sit inside, so maybe next trip, but all in all we just loved the trip to Niagara Falls! Thanks Ralsto for being a great tour guide! When we got home, Riley felt really hot so we fed her some dinner, gave her some Motrin and put her to bed, then we got Audrey fed and ready for bed and then Ralsto and I opened a bottle of wine, then another, and watched a bunch of episodes of Glee. (Can we say Red Dawg!?!) Cheese and crackers and wine for dinner and an awesome friend to share girl time with after a fun day at Niagara Falls, doesn't get better than that!!!

Buffalo Bound

Tuesday Riley and I took off for Buffalo to visit my friend Ralsto and her new beautiful baby girl, Audrey. The trip out was fairly smooth, I was very worried about flying with Riley alone now that we've hit the terrible twos but we had a window seat and she slept for about an hour or so and then we managed to pass the time. We also got lucky and there was a 5 1/2 year old little boy sitting next to us so Riley was fascinated by him and his Narnia movie. We landed in Chicago and had an hour layover and then got on an American Eagle flight to Buffalo where Ralsto and Audrey were awaiting our arrival. Riley took right to baby Audrey, she loved looking at her and being near her. She did pretty well when I held her too, she got a little jealous but as long as I kept her involved. Audrey also has a "dogdog" named Daisy that Riley ended up having a love hate relationship with. Daisy is a GREAT dog but she gets excited and I think that intimidated Riley. Ralsto was great with Riley, putting her on her lap and letting her pet Daisy from behind. Unfortunately Daisy ended up spending most of the week in the bedroom behind a gate. Poor Daisy! Riley LOVED giving her treats though so Daisy got fattened up quite nicely while we were there. I will say I will miss playing tug of war with Daisy now that we are home!

Of course the first night there Riley just HAD to hold the baby, I think she actually held Audrey before I got to hold Audrey.

21 Months

I can't believe yet another month is behind us. Her 21 month picture was taken a day early because we are on our way to New York to visit my friend Michelle (also known as Ralsto and Red Dawg) and her new baby girl, Audrey.

Riley just seems so much older each and every day. She now says "water" instead of "wawa" and says "bless you" after anyone sneezes, including herself. Both her pediatrician and her teachers keep telling us how clearly she speaks and we've noticed that it's easier and easier to understand her and that more and more words are coming out (the latest is tooshie). The temper tantrums seem to have subsided a bit, though we still have them every so often and Riley is much better about holding our hands while we walk if we are in public. Instead of throwing a fit because she wants to walk, she now says "walk" and lets us put her down and then holds our hand while she walks, a huge improvement over the tantrums we used to have when she wanted to walk but couldn't tell us that or when we would take her out of her stroller and she would take off running and not hold our hand.

Let's see, Riley is now up to 10 teeth, including 4 molars (those were not fun!). She's started to sing her ABCs, though it's more of "ACDB,FHG..." and she can now count to 3! She's getting quite good at her colors, her favorite seems to be yellow right now. She's quite the funny girl, if you ask her what a dog says she says "moo" but then if you ask her what they really say, she says "woof," she likes to be tricky so I am sure there is more she knows, she's just tricking us. And she's all about gymnastics now!

Here's her growth trend, she was actually quite good this month, she likes to say "cheese" when she gets her picture taken.

The official 21 month photo:

She did decide to practice a somersault while I was trying to take pictures:

Decorating

Since we got our pumpkins I decided it was time to decorate for Halloween, Riley really liked the new ceramic witch my mom sent us this year!

Pumpkin Patch!

This morning we took Riley to the pumpkin patch for our annual visit. We went to the same place that we went to last year, Joan's Pumpkin Farm in Livermore. They have tons of pumpkins along with a corn maze, hay ride, pony rides, and lots of other activities. It was pretty crowded and pretty hot (which just seems wrong to me even though I grew up in San Diego, I just think fall weather is more appropriate for pumpkin picking that 85 degree weather!). Riley wasn't quite sure what to make of everything, she was obviously too young to remember going there last year and I think all of the people threw her off. Plus I think she wasn't quite feeling herself. I'm on vacation this week so if we have time tomorrow, I might take her back so that she can check out the corn maze and hay ride when it's maybe a little less crowded. Of course she was so overstimulated that we had a hard time getting pictures of her but we were able to get a few (ok, I took over 100 but not all of them are all that great!).

This year Riley could stand here by herself (she's a little over 2 1/2 feet!)!

Some comparisons to last year (Marc's wearing his Giants' Orange, go Giants!):

Getting a little help from Dadda with the wagon!

Riley wanted the biggest pumpkin that she could find:

We finally found a "Riley-Sized" pumpkin that she liked:

Rollin' with her pumpkins:

Heading to the car!