Email from Elizabeth

Below is an email Elizabeth just sent me. The email has nothing to do with the blog or Riley or really much of anything...but I was laughing as I read it. It is so very Elizabeth. Those of you who know Elizabeth will think this is funny, those of you who don't will just think this is a random weird post...and it is. And don't worry I am going to call her and check on her right now.

From: Irvin, Elizabeth
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 1:07 PM
To: Allison Godwin
Subject:

Hi, are you busy? I feel like poo. Just wanted to share – my snot is pea green… if blair was here he would be singing “she’s a lady, whoa whoa whoa” by tom jones right now.

Anyway, just wanted to chat while I sit at my desk and watch senate. Blah. My head may explode soon because of the pressure, so if I were you I would call me before that happens. If so my office will look like the green ghost from ghostbusters was in here – you know which one I am talking about – the one they made the hi-c box drink after. Well, you may not remember that because mother would not let us have them because sugar was in the top three ingredients.

OK, that was fun. I miss my nephew and obviously, he misses me. Oh and I miss you. Call me: 850-xxx-xxxx

Elizabeth Irvin
Deputy Legislative Affairs Director

Still sleepy

Riley only woke up once in the middle of the night. But I am still tired. :(

Daddy's Day Off

Michael had the day off from work, and after much debate he decided to keep Riley home from daycare. He was glad he did, because he would have never heard the end of it from me, and I was glad he did not only because I did not have to nag him for abandoning his child to daycare, but also because he came away with a new appreciation of what it takes to care for Riley all day. When I left they were snoozing away in our bed. At 10 am when I called to check on them, Michael said, "I haven't even had a chance to make my coffee yet." Then when I came home for lunch he fessed up, that while I was on maternity leave he had not understood why dishes that were in the sink when he went to work were still in the sink when he got home. He said now he got it. But I think they had a good day.

Riley practiced holding his bottle himself.

And he gained an interest in his toy dog. Good times for everyone.

So sleepy...

Riley was such a good sleeper for the first 3.5 months of his life. But now he is up and fussy atleast once a night if not more. And I am tired! Michael used to say he was tired when Riley was first born and I used to correct him and Riley started sleeping 6 hour stretches at a week old...we were not tired then. But now I am giving him the go ahead to say we are TIRED! Last night after we had been asleep for about an hour he got fussy, and then he really woke up at 3:20 am and then even though I got him back to sleep I couldn't go back to sleep...I want a nap.

Family Friendly Weekend (long but lots of pics)

For those of you who check Holland's blog, you know I stole her post title...but we are refering to the same weekend! And that is what the boys started refering to this weekend in their emails last week. It is really funny to be at this point in life where you are planing around where you can go with a stroller and bed time! We had thoughts early on about going out to dinner, but since Riley is in bed at 7:30 and Chappell and Charlie are in bed at 8:30... we cooked. We also spent a lot of time talking about schedules, bottles, formula, pumping, and pooping...but just so you won't think we are too lame we were drinking beer while having these conversations...and at one point we even entertained the idea of beer pong. Friday night after we got all the babies to bed we had a low country boil that Reed cooked for everyone and then we just visited until about 1 am, which may seem early to some but that equates to a college all nighter at this point in our lives...Riley let me get a full 2 hours of sleep before he woke up and then Saturday we were up as always at 10 till 6. Meanwhile, Chappell, being a show off, slept until 8:15. By the time Reed came downstairs to feed Chappell, the Godwin and the Hill families had been up visiting (with a large pot of coffee) for an hour or more. Anyone without kids, enjoy sleeping in while you can. Sunday, Jamie and I both followed Holland's lead and after the babies got up we sent them out with their Dad's while we slept.

Below is a picture of Jamie and Trey Hill from dinner Friday night. This is when the beer drinking and baby talking got started, then Anna Belle and Stewart stopped by and while the boys played pool (Stewart and Michael now think they could be pool sharks), Jamie, Holland and I probably frightened Anna Belle out of ever having children...she heard all of the ins and outs of pregnancy from three different points of view.


Saturday after I got Riley down for his first morning nap, I made a fabulous baked french toast recipe, while Trey braved fishing with Michael and Reed fed Chappell. I recommend the casserole, unless of course you care about your health! It is by Paula Deen and full of butter and cream and really yummy! After that I am not sure how I managed to move but I got it together and Riley and I went to San Destin for a brief visit with Gie Gie and Aunt Izzy and Daddy and Blair. They were staying on the boat so Riley sported his new sun hat and sunglasses. After our quick visit to the boat we got back to the house to find that all the babies were awake and happy at the same time. Michael is the one who realized this and insisted on pictures, Jamie, Holland and I were all pleased he did. Here are pictures from our baby photo shoot below:

I think here they are just intrigued to see another baby, but it did not take long for Charlie and Riley to worm up to each other....

Perhaps they will go to Camp Alpine together someday, that is where there fathers met.

Riley is smiling happy to have made a new friend. Hopefully, Riley will learn how to say his name without using a English accent, which I am not sure his father and I can do after seeing this You Tube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM

Below you will see we added Chappell into the mix and this when Riley got jealous, because Charlie (say it with an accent) was hogging Chappell. Below you will see that I think I really caught a moment between the two of them!

Above Riley is trying to get in on the action...and leaning forward as he did almost led to him tumbbling off. Charlie is the only one who can actually sit up on his own. Maybe that is why Chappell was so interested in him.

After the photo shoot and another change of clothes (Riley is a spitting up machine) we headed to the Red Bar.

We did a little baby parade through the bar only to realize they were not serving anything but bar food, so the baby parade continued out the door and up the street to Hurricane Oyster Bar.

At Hurricane Oyster Bar, Anna Belle and Stuart again met up with us and again managed to allude my camera. But I did snap a picture of Holland with her pearl. She went in for a raw oyster and discovered a pearl...how often does that happen? After our oyster adventure the boys decided to go fishing so Riley and I headed to the beach with them, while the "big kids", Charlie and Chappell, had there first foods (rice cereal and peas). They are both more advanced than RIley, who I cannot seem to interest in anything that comes from a spoon. Below you can see the picture I took of the boys fishing. If you look closely you can see them in there. While they fished Riley and I sat on a towel on the beach, he was fine until the wind picked up and then he lost his mind! Thankfully Reed left his shirt behind and I was able to semi swaddle Riley up and he fell fast asleep...when he woke up he was in a much better humor as you can see in the pictures below that we took after the others joined us to see the sunset.

Jake and Riley get to meet...

Well atleast they were in the same room on the same sofa. Riley was not so interested in Jake because Jake was asleep and so Riley was more interested in the adults in the room. And Jake he was only interested in sleeping. And when Carolyn saw RIley she said,"Shouldn't he be walking and talking by now, he is so big." And though Riley is in the 15th percentile for weight he is over doable little Jakes size and therefore looks like he could eat him!

Brooke & Phelps sitting in a tree...

The pictures below are from Mommy and Daddy's night out. Aunt Mary was super sweet to keep Riley Saturday night while Michael and I headed to Union Springs for Brooke and Phelps wedding. It was such a fantastic wedding and we got to see som many good friends that we had not seen in a while. And I drank bourbon which I had also not seen in awhile. Brooke looked gorgeous in her Grandmother's gown, redone and I think the cows that were watching the festivities would agree. There was a gospel choir singing, "This Little Light of Mine" and "Jesus Loves Me", and the bride walked down the aisle to "Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this Place". It was a perfect evening and Michael and I were thrilled to be a part of the celebration.

Here I am in all my postpartum beauty with skinny little Lindsay, who really looks beautiful and her son is a month younger than mine. Aren't those types of stripes suppossed to make you looki skinnier?

Here is Michael with Thomas, Reed, and Wheeler.

This blur above is Reed strutting his stuff on the dance floor, He was just movin way to fast!

**Note: Please know that whenever I post pictures on the blog I am doing it because it is my way of scrapbooking...I am under NO delusion that I look cute in the pictures I post. But someday the postpartum body will go away and I will look back and think...did I ever really look like that?

Riley & Chappell sitting in a tree...

Well, although Riley and Chappell have not actually met yet, Holland and I feel they are certain to adore each other and if they are not in love by age two they are certain to be life long friends. Anyway, Michael and I think Riley might be in love. See our evidence below.

I know these aren't the best pictures, but trust me, Riley was drooling all over the Boppy he was propped up on. And he sat their and studied her face for quite sometime. Anyway, they will be meeting this weekend, so we will see if they are as smitten as we think they will be!

On another note...I swear my son has a fine wardrobe and he does wear clothes!

Excersaucer

m So according to the directions for the Excersaucer, your child should be able to sit up on their own...but we just couldn't wait! Gie Gie, knowing how much Riley loves to stand thought Riley had to have an Excersaucer...and she was right. It is so much fun to watch him interact with it. For those of you who do not have new babies this video may not seem so exciting...but it is just so much fun to watch them become more and more interactive every single day! This video shows how much he loves the Excersaucer, even if we have to prop him up with one of the pillows from our sofa (they are all covered in spit up anyway, might as well).

I am so sorry it is on it's side again. It is the right way in Picasa and after I have waited 45 minutes for it to upload I can't bear to try again! I will get it eventually.

Got the photographer lined up just need Riley to pop the question...

Cook's Images did another fabulous job on Chappell's baby potraits. Below is the link to their blog and her pictures. And below that is what they wrote about her photos and her future with Riley!

Baby Portraits @ Cook Images Loft :) Chappell Williams

"How cute! or How Cute??? you may ask….well 2 cute :) Holland brought her in this past week… Two years since we shot Holland & Reed’s wedding, and now they’re full time makin’ babies, well, not really, but Chappell is super sweet!! BTW .. Chappelle & Riley (down a few post’s, the cute guy with the flirty stance ) are planned to be wed in 20 years & have already booked us to shoot the wedding."

4 Month Doctor's Appointment

So I realize that I never posted about Riley's 4 month appointment, so here we go. He had his shots: HIB/Hepatitis B, DTaP, & Polio along with Rota virus which he swallowed. He got upset right when they gave him the shots, but he calmed down as soon as they were over. He was so good. I think the shots are more painful to me then they are to him. Have I mentioned lately how much I love him? Anyway, more on his appointment...he weighed 13 lbs. and was 25 1/4 inch long. These numbers put him in the 65th percentile for height, but the 15th percentile for weight.

Riley's 1st Easter

Here Riley and I are checking out his Easter Basket. I know he looks a bit confused, I think he is trying to figure out how the Easter Bunny broke into our house and put his basket in his crib. After he got past his confusion he went through it all. He remembered the basket that Mrs. Switzer had generously brought him to his Gie Gie's "Sip & See", but he was overwhelmed by all of the goodies he got. Below you can see him in a little sun hat with a sailboat on one side, and a monogram of his name on the other...a monogram that looks an awful lot like something his Gie Gie would do, but he just figures that the Easter Bunny has the same sewing machine. He also was quite please with one of the onsies that was monogrammed with a "o1" and said "Mini Athletic Department"...what a clever little bunny! Aside from the sun hat he also got some blue sunglasses and sunscreen just in time for our upcoming beach trips.

He is ready for the sun!

The picture above and the one below are both of Riley modeling his Easter outfit before we headed to church...and yes that is his Momma in the background in black...on Easter Sunday...can you believe the even let me in the church door in that? The post partum body wears what in can and in my defense it is linen!

And here we have Riley with his Grandfather Irvin, who also showered Riley with a swing...we discovered Riley loves to swing!

And here is one more picture of Riley in his bunny ears with his Easter basket.

Good Friday

Last Friday, Good Friday, ECDC was closed for the holiday. Well, I work for a hotel...we are open 24/7 and though the coutny courts have a lot of holidays, Good Friday is not one of them. Lucky for Michael and I, Aunt Kim, was availible and happy to keep Riley while we worked. Here they are below.

Kim is married to Thomas who seems to allude the camera most of the time. Thomas is Riley's godfather, and Michael's best friend since birth. Thomas was so sweet to drive down to Montgomery the day Riley was born and come to the hospital to meet him, and Aunt Kim has been dying to get her hands on him for a while. Below you can see Thomas with his nephews, John and George, last Friday.
Riley also got to meet John and George and their brother William and their mother Mary. Here are the pictures from their introduction.

Michael and his sisters grew up with all the Gross children, and I am sure Riley and Mary's boys will all be good friends too. We had a wonderful time getting a visit in.

Video

Sorry the video below is on it's side and it is probably not very interesting to all three of you who check this blog, but since Riley's grandmother's are in France this week I thought I would post a video for them. His Grandfather Godwin also happens to be in France but he does not use computers, and his Aunt Liz and Uncle John are there as well, but they are not going through Riley withdrawals...so this is for Etta and Gie Gie, who may not even have time to check it, but just in case. And Gie Gie and Etta I hope you know Riley is going through grandmother withdrawal too.

We took this video on Sunday afternoon after Riley had spit up for the 100th time that weekend (all over his precious Easter outfit). Michael thought I was trying to take a still shot so he kept pausing, but Riley loves the mirror. The book I read says it will be a few more months before Riley knows that he is seeing himself in the mirror, but he enjoys looking at this baby nonetheless. He also loves the swinging motion, so that is what Michael is doing with him. And lucky little Riley was given a swing by his Grandfather Irvin this weekend, so he is one happy little man.

And one more piece of good news, I put Riley down last night at 7:15 and he did not get up until 7:00 am this morning!! Yea! Michael said he got a bit fussy at 2:10 am and that he had to put his paci in his mouth a couple of time, but he went back to sleep by 10 till 3 and best of all I slept through it all! Thanks Michael!

Feet

So this week Riley has started to play with his feet. He is quite intrigued by them and seems to realize that they belong to him. He is a big fan of the game where his Mommy and Daddy try to eat his feet, but now he can grab them himself and he spends alot of time everyday doing so. I have no doubt that he will get his feet in his mouth very soon, as that is where everything he can get his hands on goes eventually!