Riley- 7 months old

Riley is 7 months old today. He is eating baby food like a pro and he officially has 3 teeth with a 4th on it's way. He has made many discoveries including his fingers, his toes and his tongue. His new milestone is that he can pass an object from one hand to another. He also tries to grab onto the spoon when I'm feeding him so I think it's time to introduce finger food. He is so much fun and I'm so blessed that I've been able to stay home with him.

My First Mother's Day

It was so nice to be home for Mother's Day. My uncle Ron flew up from LA and we had the whole family together. My Dad and Nate were in charge of dinner and we all enjoyed an overdue family evening together.

Becoming a mother has been the most amazing experience and I credit my calmness and confidence in being a mother to my mom and grandmother. They are amazing examples of how to be a great mom. My brother Brian and my mom playing with Riley

Keri and Chris are Hitched

This past weekend we flew to Reno for Keri and Chris's wedding. It was not a full flight so Nate and I were able to spread out and use the entire row. Riley did great on the flight. He was awake the entire flight but decided to fall asleep on our descent and landing into Reno. On Friday afternoon we drove up to Squaw Valley for Keri and Chris's wedding. They got married at the PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn. It was the last weekend that Squaw Valley Ski Resort was open and it was a little strange to see people heading up the Cable Car to the top of the mountain in May to ski. The weather was absolutely beautiful. The rehearsal was out by the pool where the ceremony would be held and the rehearsal dinner was held steps away in the Village at Mamasake where we were treated to a wonderful sushi dinner. Nate and I were in heaven and completely stuffed by the end of the night.
On Saturday, since the wedding wasn't until 4:30, I got up and had breakfast with the girls (Keri, Jen and Kelley) and then we went to Starbucks (which I desperately needed because Riley had woken up every hour and a half the night before). Since it was such a beautiful day, we took a walk across the valley, along the golf course before we needed to be back to get ready for the wedding.
The wedding was beautiful. The wedding colors were green, black and white and the dining room was simple and elegant. We had such a great time and it was especially nice to hang out with my girls Keri and Jen who I don't get to see as often as I'd like. Thanks Keri and Chris for hosting a great wedding. See all the pictures here.

Adventures in Sweet Potatoes

Riley is starting to get the hang of eating. He opens his mouth and gets food all of his face like a pro. He loves to try and grab the spoon and his best trick is wiping his messy face all over his sleeve. Today we managed to get winter squash all over his eye brow and in his eye lashes. Thanks to Uncle Brian, he's styling in this fire engine bib. Just don't tell dad that he was eating off the pink spoon.

Smile !!

There is a photographer in our neighborhood who has her studio in the basement. See was offering special photo sessions for Vista Ridge residents so we decided to take advantage of it. We had a 15 minute photo session and got surprisingly a lot of great shots. It was a lot of fun.
Thanks Kerry. Kara Photography

Happy Birthday Nate

So we've gotten a little behind on our blogging so I need to catch us up. Nate turned 31 on April 27th. We decided to have a small group of friends over for a last minute BBQ. It was pretty low key. Jumin brought over the Wii game Guitar Hero which was, of course, a big hit with Nate.

Riley is 6 months old

Wow, 6 months. How our lives have changed... Riley is almost 18 pounds and 26 inches. He has reached some big milestones in the past couple days. On Saturday he rolled over from his belly to his back and he is also sitting up unassisted (for the most part). He has been eating baby cereal and oatmeal for about 2 weeks now but tonight he had his first taste of baby sweet potatoes. He loves watching the dogs and he gets very excited when one of them comes over to check him out. Bella is also more interested in Riley now that he is starting to eat "real" food. He will be her best friend as soon as he starts throwing Cheerios on the floor.

Nate and Leanne as babies

We had our mom's pull together our baby pictures to compare to Riley's. It was pretty fun looking through all the old photos. Riley is a pretty good combo baby. Who do you think he looks like? Compare for yourself...

Nate at 4 mos

Nate at 8 months

Leanne at 5 months

Leanne at 7 months

1st Annual Bagna Dinner

Nate and the Garlic

We have been talking about making Bagna Calda, Bagna for short (pronounced Bon-ya) for years. It means "Hot Bath" in Italian and it is a garlic, butter, tomato and anchovie fondue that my family has every Christmas Eve. Since my mom was coming into town, we thought it would be the perfect time to try making it ourselves since she would be here to help ensure that it was done right. We decided to start small with our more "food adventurous" friends and to minimize that amount of shucking of garlic and chopping of veggies for the first attempt. It was a big hit and a lot of fun. We plan on making it an annual thing and inviting more people.

Farwell to Friends

We had to say goodbye to a couple good friends this weekend. Simone and Troy are moving to Brussels for Troy's work and Betsy and Jason are moving to San Antonio, TX for Jason's work. Our going away get together was at Betsy and Lee's house and it was a great time. Thanks to Betsy, Ari and Sarah for all their coordination. In a few months we'll have to say good-bye to Sarah and Matt too...

Bath Time

Riley hasn't been a big bath fan, so we tried a new approach last weekend. In stead of just filling up his little baby bathtub, Nate filled our large bathtub with water and Nate got in the water too. At first Riley was still a little unsure but having Dad there holding him helped and pretty soon he was smiling and enjoying the water.

5 months old

I can't believe that Riley is already 5 months old. His second bottom front tooth has come in and he is squirming all over the place. I'm sure he'll be rolling over and sitting up on his own before we know it.

Land Cruiser Surgery

A couple weeks ago I bought the lovely red Land Cruiser that you see above from a guy in Laramie, WY. It had been rolled so the guy cut the top off with the intention of putting a roll cage on it, but he ran out of time and money. It had the suspension kit (shocks and leaf springs) that I wanted for my Land Cruiser to give it about a 3" lift, as well as several other parts that I wanted/needed. I got a really good deal for all the parts I was getting. Anyway Kirk and Lee came over last Saturday and Sunday to help me take them apart and swap out the suspension.

It took us about 15 hours total to completely take the suspension of both trucks swap them and put it back together, it was a lot of work, but worth it in the end. My springs were so flat that I probably got a 4-5" lift in the rear and about a 3" lift in the front. Now I just need to get 33" tires (which will raise the truck another 2") and I will be all set for camping, hunting, fishing and off-roading. Of course there is a long list of other things I want to do to my truck, but after the tires the major functional things will be done.


Thanks Kirk and Lee for your help.

Spitting

Riley is always learning something new and this time he has discovered his tongue and how to make spitting noises. Check out the video.

First Saturday Brunch Bunch (FSBB)

This past Saturday was the first get together of our newly formed First Saturday Brunch Bunch or FSBB. It is an excuse for us to get together and have a "play date". This was also the first opportunity most of us had to meet Rachel, one of the newest additions to the Sigma Pi family. It seems that we always get a photo of the moms and the babies so this time it was the dad's turn.

Riley has a tooth

We discovered last night while Riley was sucking on my hand that he has a tooth. His bottom front left tooth has broken though to reveal it's self. This was an unexpected find since baby's don't typically start getting teeth for several more months.

Riley turns 4 months old

I guess it's fitting that Riley turns 4 months old on the "Day of Love". We think Riley is over 17 pounds now which means that when he is in his car seat, I'm carrying around 28 plus pounds. No wonder my arm gets tired so fast. We will have his next wellness visit to the doctor on Monday for an official weigh in and length measurement.
He is at such a fun age right now. He is really beginning to discover the world. He's more aware of the different noises that he hears and he is so interested in everything. He has learned that he can reach and touch different toys thanks to his play mat and activity center. But the funniest thing that he has discovered is his voice and that he can be loud. He has learned to grunt, squeal, scream and screech. Check out this video to hear him screaming in his crib.

Riley's New Toy

Our neighbor has an activity center that bounces and Riley loved it, so we decided that we needed it too. In addition to all the moving parts, it plays music and has lights too. (Check out the video in the "Riley Videos" link on the left) He loves being in it and has spent up to an hour bouncing around and squealing while Nate and I have been in the kitchen cooking or doing dishes. He has started to reach for the different elements and he likes to hold on to the rainbow. He can't quite reach the ground so we have a pillow under him so he can use his legs to bounce.
Saturday morning, Riley was bouncing around and making all sorts of noises while I was in the kitchen doing dishes. He was talking up a storm and then I realized that he had been quiet for a couple minutes. I looked over and found him sound asleep. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. Gunner even came over and stuck his noise in Riley's face and he didn't wake up.

Visit to Great Grandma and Grandpa's

This weekend we made a visit to the Bustamante's, Riley's great grandparents. We were joined by Pauline and Dave and enjoyed a nice lunch and some good Riley time. Nate was too the rescue for his Grandpa's computer and had a great time visiting. See all the photos and videos here.

Koben's 1st Birthday

This weekend was Koben's 1st Birthday. Lots of friends and family help celebrate this special day. Koben got his first taste of sugar and everyone had a great time. See more pictures here.