Even-ing the score

Ah - last night was a good night. My baby slept from 9 pm - 5 am. Yeah, Tate! Or should I say, yeah, mommy since the score is now:

Tate - 1 point
Mommy - 1 point

The Sleep Battle has begun

Thanks to the book, 'BabyWise', Mommy had me sleeping through the night at 10 weeks. So, obviously she thought it would be as easy for Tate. Boy, was she wrong. Tate likes to wake up every 2 - 3 hours each night and I think mommy has finally had enough. Last night she declared a 'sleep war' and the battle has officially begun. It wasn't a very good night for mommy or Tate because Tate likes to sleep with mommy and not in her own bed. She was up again all night - but this time, every 1 to 1 1/2. Yikes! Mommy sure is grumpy.


Scoreboard:
Tate - 1 point
Mommy - 0 points

Tripp-ism

Mommy singing to Tripp:

Good morning to you. Good morning to you. You look like a monkey and you smell like one too.

Immediately afterwards, Tripp singing to Mommy:

Good morning to you. Good morning to you. You look like an elephant and you smell like one too.
Mommy is having flashbacks. Click here.

Bob (Tripp) the Builder

My Aunt Bunny and Uncle Trevor came to visit us and brought me the coolest gift ever! Now I'm ready to help daddy out on all our house projects! Thanks for my cool Bob the Builder gear.

Beautiful bows for a beautiful girl

Do you like my new bow? I look I look like a 'Sweatin' to the Oldies' participant but she keeps making me wear the bows. And.....this is one of the small ones! Silly, mommy.

Merry Christmas!

For the first time, we actually stayed home this Christmas. We usually travel to see family, whether living in Texas or Georgia, and now that I'm getting bigger, mommy and daddy decided to start our own traditions at our own home. It was so much fun! I woke up early and ran to see if Santa came. Running into mommy and daddy's room, I told them (in a very excited and long run on sentence): 'Santa came and he ate his cookies and drank his milk and Rudolph ate his carrots and Santa brought my baby a toy but he didn't bring me anything'.

What?

So, we all head to the living room to see if Santa forgot to leave me something. I asked Santa for 'bob builders and trucks and cranes and helicopters and tractors and jets'. On the fireplace, there was a new, BIG Tonka truck crane from Santa. It looks similiar to the Tonka truck I have already and I guess I thought it was my toy sitting there instead. I'm so silly sometimes. After I realized it was a new crane, I was so excited and also loved finding fun surprises in my stocking. My baby got a toy that goes on her carseat and we're all hoping that will keep her a little quieter when she's in the car. Here's hoping!

Mama, Mimi B, Grandpa Smokey and Uncle Stan all came to our new house for Christmas dinner. Daddy grilled a turkey and mommy made all of the sides - including homemade stuffing. Yum! We had our dinner and then I opened the rest of my presents. I got a lot of great presents and also a new wagon! Thank you everyone for all of our awesome gifts!! Later in the afternoon, Aunt Brenda, Uncle Shelly, Victoria, Aunt Cindy and Uncle Chris came by to visit us. I showed Victoria my new wagon and we had lots of fun riding in it together in the backyard.

Merry Christmas to all! Love, The Rileys
Riding with Victoria Mama and my baby

Christmas Photos

Christmas 2008 - MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Christmas 2007 - Not too sure of Santa

Christmas - 2007 (Sorry, can't turn the photo for some reason)

First Christmas - 2006

12 weeks

My precious Tate -

Wow! It's hard to believe you're already 12 weeks old. Time has flown by and it's amazing to watch you grow and change each day. Hearing the words 'it's a girl' scared me to death and I wasn't sure if I would be able to embrace a little girl. I'm so glad God is in control and gave you to me because you are so incredible and I couldn't imagine life without you in it.

You've recently started smiling and 'talking' which just melts my heart. The other day you even giggled! We're still working on the sleeping schedule, but I know that will come in time. Your big brother adores you - sometimes a little too much - but you're handling it like a champ and even starting to tolerate him a bit more. How could you not when he says things like 'Tatie - I love you so much. You're my best friend!' It's amazing how you look just like your brother but the 2 of you couldn't be more different. I hope one day you'll truly understand how much your mommy, daddy and big brother love you. Thank you for bringing such joy to us!

I adore you and look forward to watching you grow even more in the coming months.
I love you, my precious baby girl.

Love,

Mommy

Christmas Eve

I'm so excited that tonight Santa is coming to see me! We went to Christmas Eve service and then to have dinner at Aunt Cindy and Uncle Chris' house. After dinner, we had to head back home to get ready for Santa. We put out cookies and milk for Santa and also left some carrots for Rudolph. We even put out reindeer food in the front lawn to help the reindeers 'smell' their way to my house! I said good bye to Frostin because he would be going home with Santa, and I climbed into bed and went straight to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a big day and I can't wait!

Good-bye, Frostin. We'll see you next year!

Our special cookie plate for SantaDo you think this is enough for Santa and Rudolph?
Magic Reindeer FoodSprinkling magic food for Santa's reindeers

Tripp's First Ornament Party

I had a few of my school friends over tonight for my first hosted ornament party. We played with my toys, ate lots of goodies and then it was time for the ornament swapping to start. Mommy thought it might be fun to conduct the swap 'White Elephant' style but after thinking it through, she reconsidered. After all, we're learning about sharing and that might not be a good thing to start. Instead, we exchanged ornaments 'Hot Potato' style and when the music stopped, we got to keep the ornament we had in our hot little hands. What fun!

The newest addition to our tree

New ornaments for all!

Tripp is 34 months old

Little guy - You wear me out. BUT I wouldn't have it any other way!

I'm so behind in all of your letters and I do apologize and hope one day you'll understand just how crazy the past few months have been. You've been handling things like a champ and have changed so much in such a short time. Your vocabulary is amazing and you are constantly impressing me with your knowledge of things I wouldn't think an almost 3 year old would know. The other day you were explaining to me about shadows. Anytime I ask you how you know something, you tell me it's because you're smart. I may be biased but yes, I believe you're smart...if not brilliant. You are such a sweet, sweet boy and are so kind and gentle in many ways. You adore your sister and are constantly petting her, kissing her, talking to her or singing to her. When she chews on her hands you tell her 'there's nothing in those fingers, Tatie' or sometimes you'll ask her 'do you love me, Tatie?'. The one thing you always say to her is 'I love you, Tatie Tate. You're my best friend' and it just melts me. I hope you and your sister will have a close relationship and always be best friends.

You've done very well with your manners and always say 'May I' when asking for something. You're doing great with please, thank you as well as yes m'am and no m'am. You like to push boundaries and I'm not sure if it's because you want additional attention or if you just want to see how far you can go but you're getting to know the time out chair really well lately. But, you always say 'sorry mom' and give me big hugs and kisses when 'released' from time out. Others often comment how well behaved you are and little guy, I have to tell you, your daddy and I are so incredibly proud of you.

As far as vocabulary changes, this makes me sad. You still always talk about your friends but now you pronounce their names the way they're supposed to be pronounced. You could never say 'Sofia' and always called her 'Feva'. The other day, you corrected me when I said 'Feva' and told me that her name was 'Sofia'. Clear as day. Since then, you won't say 'Feva' anymore. Same goes with 'Bob Bidder'. It's now 'Bob the Builder' and you're quick to correct us if we say 'Bob Bidder'. You're growing up and you're not my little baby anymore. It makes me sad but at the same time, I'm having so much fun with you while you grow and mature. You LOVE to sing and dance and master the songs to words pretty well. This month you've been hooked on singing 'Rudolph', 'Frosty the Snowman' and the Texas Aggie war hymn and spirit song. You actually have the words down and I finally got it on video. You have the sweetest little voice. Of course, you still throw in 'The Pirates who don't do anything' song from time to time.

When we moved, the tv was broken and we haven't yet replaced it. This took some time for you to get used to because you love Elmo, Backyardigans and Sesame Street, to name a few. However, it's been a blessing in disguise and we all play outdoors more, read more, play games and do more activities as a family. Mommy and daddy LOVE spending time with you! One of your favorite games is charades lately and I have to credit you 'Just Imagine' classes for your imagination. You're now really into trucks, helicopters and jets and love crashing into things with the tonka trucks. You love being outside and love helping daddy with outside chores such as bringing in firewood and cleaning the truck. You're also still as social as always and will stand on the front lawn waving to every walker, car, bike or animal that goes by and yelling 'hi'. We like to call you the mayor.

The time seems to be going by so quickly and I'm trying to embrace each moment before it slips away. You are our precious angel and we are so incredibly blessed to have you. I can't believe that in less than 2 months you'll be 3 years old. No matter how old you are, you'll always be my baby.

I love you so incredibly much!
Mommy

Tate's First Laugh

Tate started laughing today and it is the sweetest sound ever! She is 11 weeks old.

A fun visit from Miss Liz

Miss Liz came over today and brought her puppy, Chloe. I sure love Chloe and I love to carry her around like a ragdoll. Miss Liz also brought my baby a Santa Clause dress and a very fitting shirt for me. Thank you Miss Liz!

In Chloe's cage. Hmmm.....I need to be careful because this might give my mommy an idea.

In case you can't read the fine print above. Thank you Miss Liz

Jammies Day!

Miss Patti and Miss Mary Lee thought it would be fun to have a pajama party at school today! The weather was cold and rainy outside but we were warm and toast inside with hot chocolate and fresh baked cookies. We also had our Christmas Chapel today for our mommies and daddies. My class dressed as the little lambs! Mommy was so proud of me. When we got home, mommy told me to tell daddy what we were in the Christmas Chapel. My response? "A princess in a baseball cap". I'm sure daddy was proud too. :)

Old McDonald had a giraffe

Mommy and Tripp's Sing Along.....

Mommy: Old McDonald had a farm. EIEIO. And on that farm he had a....


Tripp: giraffe!


Mommy: EIEO. With a.....? Tripp - what does a giraffe say?


Tripp: He says 'give me some food!

...and there you have it, folks.

Double Trouble

I went Christmas shopping with mommy, Miss Amy, Reagan and Laurel. Reagan and Laurel are identical twins and share the same birthday with me, although they're a year older. We had a great time together although mommy and Miss Amy didn't think it was so much fun shopping with the 4 of us. I even tried to give mommy some clues as to what I'd like for Christmas (um...that would be anything I saw) and you'll get a good idea from the picture below.

Baby doll, Tate

Yesterday mommy had some meetings and so Aunt Brenda and Miss Connie watched my baby while I was in school. Victoria had so much fun pushing 'baby doll Tate' around in her doll stroller and being 'mommy'. She took such good care of my baby while mommy and I were away. Thank you, Victoria!

My baby in Victoria's doll stroller.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my daddy's birthday! Mommy and I made daddy a cake from scratch and it turned out so yummy. Happy birthday, daddy! I sure love you.

Making sure it tastes just right.

Tree Decorating

We put up our tree tonight and I helped decorate it! I think I was driving my mommy nutty because I kept picking the ornaments mommy claimed were 'ugly' and putting them on her nice, organized tree. Silly mommy! I'll just keep rearranging the ornaments to my liking anyway. Mommy also bought my baby and me matching jammies to wear and after our tree was finished, daddy and I roasted mini marshmallows over the fire. Yum!

My jammies say 'Santa's Coolest Gift' and my baby's jammies say 'Santa's Best Gift'. Maybe my baby's jammies should say 'Santa's Loudest Gift' instead.

Merry Christmas!

Roasting marshmallows over an open fire.

Rock Climbing Adventures

Zachary had his 5th birthday party at the Austin Rock Climbing center and invited me along. I had never rock climbed and wasn't too sure about it initially, but when I saw how much fun all of the bigger kids were having, I decided to try it for myself. It was a lot of fun and considering I was the youngest one there, I think I held my own pretty well. Happy Birthday, Zachary!

Getting harnessed up
What a stud!

My first climb

Check out that form!

Christmas-time is yummy-time

My school had a gingerbread house making party and it was too much fun! We each got a gingerbread house (pre-assembled since last year all of the mommies and daddies were lame during construction time and the houses fell apart before getting them to the car), icing and 4 trips through the candy line. Good thing mommy made me eat a big lunch beforehand. I think she learned from last year's sugar high.

Christmas hugs from Sofia.

Frostin, the elf on the shelf

We have a new friend at our house. His name is Frostin and he's our elf on the shelf. He's Santa's special helper and he watches over me to make sure I'm being good. Each night, he flies to the North Pole and reports to Santa and each morning when I wake, I have to find him in new hiding spot. Brilliant!

A VERY special delivery

I received a very special delivery in the mail today from my GiGi and Papa. It's my very own flight jacket.....but the special part is that Papa and GiGi added my Papa's ORIGINAL NAVY WINGS on the jacket. How cool is that? Thank you so much for the VERY special gift. I love you both very much.

A visit from Eden

Eden, Miss Tristan and Gram (aka Miss Peggy aka Tristan's mommy) came over and had dinner with us tonight. Gram is so much fun and always goes exploring with me when I see her. She used to be a biology teacher and I think she likes bugs as much as I do! In fact, she's been waiting a long time to show me something really cool. She found a cecopia moth and brought it over to the house to show me. It looked like a butterfly to me but she explained that it's different but I don't remember why. Sorry, teacher Gram!

My baby wasn't in the mood for a photo session.

Tate is 2 months old!

My baby is 2 months old and had her doctor appt today. Mommy said she had to have 6 shots today in order for her to stay healthy. My poor baby! I wish I could have been there to hold her hand and give her kisses. On a more positive note, the doctor said she's getting big and strong, like me. She is very smiley and has started 'talking' to us, which makes the sleepless nights not seem so bad for mommy. She still doesn't like it when I get in her face or wake her when she's sleeping, but I'm sure she'll get used to it over time.

Here are her latest stats:

11 lb 8 oz (50th percentile)

22 inches (50th percentile)

Head is 39 inches (75th percentile - she must be very smart!)