The stats are in...
Height: 31-3/4" (52nd percentile)
Weight: 23 pounds, 15 ounces(37th percentile)
Sleeping Patterns: She only takes 1 nap per day now, and it usually happens mid-day, somewhere right after lunch. It usually lasts about 2-2.5 hours. Her nightly sleeping habits are superb and she never makes a peep.
Accomplishments:
Riley has all of her teeth with the exception of the upper and lower second molars and permanent molars. All in all, she did really well with teething. I thought the first couple were tough, but the rest seemed to creep in without making any noise!
Riley's vocabulary is phenomenal. She says things that blow my mind and is already speaking in sentences. She'll say things like "no Mommy, that's mine" or "Where'd Daddy go?". I can tell you right now, this one is going to get into continuous trouble for talking in school. She even has conversations with herself at night, prior to going to sleep. She's one gabby lady!
She walks, runs and climbs on everything. She's not quite as relentless as her cousin Raegan, but she is quite fearless and gives me frequent heart palpitations.
She has mastered most cups and can even drink out of my cup with no problems. The only issue is that she doesn't quite understand that she cannot bend over with a regular cup, or all of the contents end up on the floor.
Her hair is longer and seemingly lighter by the day. We've been in the sun a lot recently, so she's becoming quite the little "toe head". Seeing how Mommy loves the beach, I think it's safe to assume that she'll soon be a bronze little queen bee sporting her little blonde ponytail and shades.
Since my last post (which seems like it was a light-year ago) we celebrated quite a few holidays. The most fun and Mommy's favorite holiday, Christmas. As you can imagine, with a family the size of a small army, we received SO MUCH and as usual, were exhausted by the end of the day. This year was a lot of fun, since both kids could really get into opening gifts. Riley didn't really understand the Santa Clause concept, but she certainly LOVED what he dropped off for her. She received a mountain climber from Santa and practically uses it everyday, even to this day. She loves that she can climb up the ladder and slide down the slide over and over and over. There were so many other thoughtful and appreciated gifts, but I must apologize for not being able to remember and mention all of them. (I can hardly remember yesterday).
We also celebrated New Years, which as we do annually, we spent that time up at our home in Lake Wales. Lake Wales is proving to be more and more desirable for Riley as she grows. She has always enjoyed our time there, as she loves to be outside, but nowadays, she can roam, ride on the golf cart or her Big Brother's three-wheeler, collect pine cones and all sorts of fun stuff. She is hands down, an outdoors girl, so we really enjoy seeing the kids enjoy themselves in Lake Wales. Not to mention that Riley is not the least bit frightened by any bugs, so she loves catching and releasing the critters.
We spent Valentine's Day here at home since it fell on a weekday this year. It seems that all of what I call the "Hallmark Holidays" are becoming more of a celebration of the Hunter Kids in our household. Any reason to decorate or buy the kids gifts seems to be in the cards for the holidays that used to only be celebrated between David and I. Did I mention there are only 259 days until Christmas?!?! =)
St. Patty's Day was a TON of fun this year. Aside from me supplying the babysitter with goodies so that the kids could have a "green" party at her house, we attended the St. Patty's Day Festival in Downtown Fort Lauderdale and watched the parade. We spent the day of St. Patty's Day on Hollywood Beach where our cousin got married. We hired a friend's daughter to come and stay with us at the hotel so that Daddy and I could enjoy ourselves after the wedding. We awoke early and took the kids out to the beach and had breakfast in the sand. It really was so nice!
Finally, we arrive at Easter and what a memorable one it was. As I previously mentioned, these holidays are turning into mini-Christmas' in this household, but who can complain about having so much family and love and being able to give in the way that we do? We had such a nice day starting with Brunch at Mimi & Pop-pop's house, followed by naps and then early Dinner at Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa's house. The Egg Hunts were endless and watching the kids hunt them was priceless. In total, I believe I witnessed over 400 eggs be hidden and not 1 was left behind. Not all were found by my kids, thank goodness, but if there were more, I'm sure they would have hunted them all day long.
Last, but certainly not least, we enrolled the kids in daycare and their first day was today. UGH! By far, the HARDEST day of my life as a Mother yet. Their first day at the babysitter was tough, but they didn't scream. Riley was hysterical and I felt SO helpless walking out of her classroom door. Did I mention, UGH! And, to make matters worse, it made Tyler upset to see his sissy so upset. How in the heck did I keep my composure??? Fast forward to mid-day (I'm not even sure how I walked out of the school)....the Director called me with my mid-day update and MUCH, MUCH, MUCH to my surprise Riley had settled in quite nicely. She was playing, laughing and participating with her classmates. She had eaten her lunch and willingly laid down and fell asleep for nap time. 5,000lbs of weight was lifted off my chest after that call. I was reassured that she was just fine and not to worry. I think that's why I was able to finally concentrate at work for the last 2 hours (before I, of course, left early to go and rescue them!) Ha! But, the reality of the situation is that it was time to get them into school. We really love our old sitter and she has been a MAJOR part of their lives to this point and we cannot begin to thank her for her services. At the same time, there comes a time in each person's life, when it's time to take the next step and we had gotten to that landing, we just had to make the step up. Our next major change will be when we move in the next month or so. New school, new house, let's just do it all at once! UGH!!!!!!!!!!! =) One good thing, their school is only 5 mins away from the house, so it will be such a relief for me.
Foods: She still eats everything in sight. I still resort back to my old saying that she eats more than I do[most of the time]. She has slowed down a bit here and there, but I can ABSOLUTELY tell when she is experiencing a growth spurt.
Apparel: 18 Month clothing and Size 4 shoes.
So, there you have it. A brief update of our life over the last 3 months. If it were this simple, let's face it, this post would have been completed as we conquered each milestone. But, that's just not the reality of this crazy busy life we lead. The way I look at it, we don't give ourselves time to grow old. We enjoy every moment we can, and try to limit the stress along the way. One day at a time...and even then, they all seem to blend together. That's what makes this ride down the road of life so enjoyable. Never a dull or perfect moment!
Happy, Healthy and Growing WAY TOO FAST! And so it goes...
