Riley's 1st Birthday

Riley had his first birthday!!  I can't believe he's already 1.  It doesn't feel like he should be "that old".  Maybe because he still feels like a baby and he is still mostly bald, but he doesn't feel old enough to already be a "toddler".

We had a little party for him and it started off with his first cupcake.  He has never been one to actually put food in his own mouth.  In fact, he doesn't really put anything in his own mouth, which I guess is a blessing because I haven't been worried about him choking on anything.  Anyway, he started off slow and Bryan had to put a piece of the cake in his mouth and then...

Then it was time to open presents.  Bryan and I both thought that he wouldn't understand any of what was happening, but he seemed to know everything was about him!  He even got really into the presents he got.  He tore off the paper and was more interested in the toy than the paper which surprised us!  He did however get frustrated when we took a new toy away to open another one.

 We missed a few of the gifts because we didn't grab the camera in time.  Grandma and Grandpa McKinnon got him a wagon!  He LOVES it!  He was in it before it had the wheels on.

 Bryan and I got him a little activity table. He played with one at a neighbors and didn't want us to take him away from it so we figured it was a tried and tested toy!  He loves it as well and it's good because he loves to stand!

 We got it assembled and then he and Charlotte (my old roommate, Lindsey's daughter.  They are only 19 days apart in age) took a spin.  The wagon is cool because it has little seat belts!

 They also made sure they had other toys with them in the wagon.  The little red car is from Grandma and Grandpa Sellers.  He had it with him a lot that day.  Charlotte is playing with puzzle pieces from a gift from Aunt Amy.

Bryan drove them around and around the living room for quite some time and the kids loved it!

 So we decided to take it out for a real test run!  We took Riley around the block in it.  He LOVED the ride and it was a beautiful day!  He talked and laughed and held on and played with the little red car too.

Had some more play time as the day settled.  It's so fun to have some new toys around!  It felt like gifts for me too since I'm playing with them during the day as well.  

It was a great day to celebrate the birth of this sweet boy.  There have been ups and downs, but it's been the greatest year ever.  We love him so much!

Some of the things he can do:

• Took his first steps on Sept 27th!  He's still shaky, but he's getting it. He'll be up and running any day now!
• says "mama" and "dada" but not sure if they are actually directed at us.
• loves the bottom stair.  Takes his toys to it and will play with them there.
• Is becoming quite the daddy's boy!
• Likes to share his binkie.  He'll stick it in our mouths even if we're not provoking him
• Getting a little better at sleeping through the night, but not there yet.
• Finally is taking a bottle again.  That helps while he's being weaned from breast feeding.
• Hyperventilates with excitement when someone comes in the door or are coming from somewhere that he can hear.  He'll run to someone with a huge smile on his face.
• Likes to be chased.
• can blow kisses
• Is still very snuggly
• Has only gained 3 lbs. in 6 months!  He's 23 lbs and is almost average now as opposed to his heavy beginning!
• Loves reading books.  He'll grab one and bring it to us to read.
• Favorite toys: plastic hammer and princess wand! :)
• Likes to throw balls
• Is very good at kicking a ball! 

July and August Update

July started out with a bang.  I absolutely LOVE the 4th of July parade in Provo.  Other than the year Nathan and Suzie were in Samoa (which I was actually with them during) I've always been to the parade with them!

Riley's first 4th of July parade with Suzie and Sydney!

 We also enjoyed a quick weekend trip to Moab.  It was surprisingly pleasant outside.  We didn't have to sit in front of the AC.  I've told Bryan that he has to give me tours of Moab whenever we're there since he grew up in such an amazing place.  This time we went up Right Fork.  It was awesome.  We hiked up the river (and saw huge bull-frog tadpoles) and then got up to a little waterfall that you could jump off of into a small pool.  It was a blast.  Give me water and I'll be happy.

Bryan's dad LOVES birds.  He has tons of chickens (and getting more it seems like every day) and pigeons, doves, and guineas (I might be missing some).  He used to have turkeys.  I miss them.  Riley loves them

Riley trying to touch all the chickens.

Grandma and Grandpa M got a toy airplane.  It's like a teeter totter.  It's very cool.  You gotta zoom in to see Riley's cute expression.

 10 month pictures.  He was in such a cute mood for these!

LOVE this.  His eyebrows are so expressive...just like his daddy.

First experience in the rain.  Priceless.

Working on daddy's computer!

Daddy and buddy in Sunday School (hehe).

Riley's getting more and more interested in what we eat.  He'll pretty much eat everything we put in his mouth except peas and those little infant puffs (go figure).

I WANT THE PIZZA!!

Wading in the water with Grandma

 In August I got to fly home again to see a show that I've been dying to see (Peter and the Starcatcher.  I highly recommend the book and the show was fabulous).  So we got to fly again and he was once again perfect.  I brought food and toys in an attempt to keep him occupied, but he was most entertained by the in-flight magazine, safety card and barf bag.  Cool.

 Dave's family was there visiting and so Riley got to spend some time with his cousins and Dave and Sarah and he LOVED it.  He's been pretty skiddish with other people and pretty much only wanting mommy.  This was a break-though.  Samantha (below) was so good with him and totally made him laugh!  He loved playing with them and would let anyone hold him.  It was a great break for me.  Since then he's been good with other people again.  It makes it easy to get a baby sitter again!

 My mom came out for Education Week with her dear friend, Peggy and stayed with us.  It was so much fun having them.  Shadow LOVED it too.  She slept on/with them every night. She cried the entire night after they left.  Awesome.  But when I was there in June I brought back all my show t-shirts from the shows I directed at Springville and she made them in to a quilt!  I love it.  She spent so much time on it.  It was a total labor of love!

Riley's definitely getting in to more stuff.  Good and bad.  He can sense when I open the dishwasher.  I can't do dishes when he's not being occupied or asleep.  We have to hide the toilet paper too.

Kobe playing with Riley.  It's so fun watching these cute kids play with my kid.

My sleeping babies.  Shadow gets jealous if Riley's on me and she's not.  So often I have both of them on me.  I love it.  Shadow's exactly the kind of cat I've always wanted (well, I'd like it if she didn't talk as much).

Playing with cousin Callen!

Riley sitting on Peggy's suitcase.  He didn't want them to leave either!

September to come soon!

Updates-- May and June

I know I've been absent in my updates.  So, here's my attempt to catch up!  Watch for the next couple days as I catch ya'll up!

Hitchin' a ride with Daddy!

At the end of May we got to celebrate with Dave and Sarah the blessing of new little Scarlett!  It's always fun having events like this because we all get together!

The Sellers crew (minus Brian and Nicole).

There are 3 babies on the Sellers side!  It'll be fun watching these three grow up together.
Callen (12 mo), Riley (8 mo), Scarlett (2 mo)
Check out how long Scarlett is!

 June!!

It was suck a fun month!  It was fun having a baby in the summer.  He had a lot of fun!

Swimming with the mama!

Riley got to go on his first plane ride!  I was so nervous to take him even though it's only an hour flight to Denver.  Well, he did awesome!  We had such a great time with my parents!  We played in the garden and with friends and just had a blast.  It was nice for me to have someone take care of me too! No cooking and more people to help hold Riley!

Enjoying a ride through the Denver Botanic Gardens

With Grandma and Grandpa at the Gardens

Watering plants with Granda

Enjoying a bath in the sink

We would FaceTime with Bryan every night.  It was always fun watching Riley react to seeing Bryan.  Zoom in to see his face.

At work with Grandma at the dentist while mom gets her teeth cleaned!

Riley's growing so much.  He's got the standing in the crib down!

Snuggles on daddy's birthday!