The Stairs

As most parents can attest, guarding your babies and toddlers from the stairs in your house is pretty darn important. But I have to admit, I was bummed when the time came to purchase gates to block our 2 staircases....call me vain, but they are ugly and don't match the decor in my home! But they are safe and thus necessary....

Reilly mastered crawling up the stairs several months ago. It made life a lot easier by not having to carry him all the time. But going down the stairs was another story entirely. I was the apprehensive mommy, not willing to take the risk. After a few small, minor tumbles, I was not interested in letting Reilly assert any sort of independence in this area.

But, just last week, our big boy mastered the art of going down the stairs! Shawn and I haven't stopped laughing since.... about 5ft before the staircase even begins, Reilly lays down on his tummy and slithers back like a snake across the ground until he reaches the top step. With intention, he then slides down like it's a slide at the park, picking up speed as he goes! The best part is the hysterical laughter all the way down.... endless entertainment for all of us.

First Haircut

It's been pretty fun looking forward to all the "first" experiences with Reilly. I actually thought the first haircut was a few months out, but the back of his hair was resembling a mullet and Shawn kept asking me to make an appt for Reilly - I think he secretly wanted his son to look clean cut!


In the week leading up to his haircut, I thought it was going to be easy and fun. After all, Reilly would get to sit in a fire engine truck seat, hold a balloon and look in the mirror.... My optimism was promptly halted about two minutes after he got in the chair.


This photo really does speak 1000 words!

My poor little boy hated every second of his haircut - man, that was a hard one for us!

Here are some before and after shots to commemorate the the day.

Although he doesn't look all that happy, he was thrilled to be free from the scissors! We hope the second hair cut goes better than the first!

New Years in a storm!

We spent the long new years weekend up at our friends' cabin on Whidbey Island. We had a great time eating, drinking, eating more, reading & playing games - but spent the first two days inside, while we watched a massive storm swirl by around us outside. There were more than a few times that I thought the windows were going to break or the house tumble right into the water....but lucky for us, all was fine.

Finally it was time to hit the beach and park! Oh, and the mommies got to escape for massages at the Spa - our favorite part!

Happy new year!!! 2010 is going to be a great one!

Must stop digging, I hear a plane in the sky...gotta check it out!

Our first trip to the Park as a walker

Since the weather has been so cold and rainy lately, we haven't had a chance to play at the park in a long time. In fact, the last time we were at the park, Reilly wasn't fully walking on his own yet. But just last week, we finally got some sun and dry days! Off to the park we go....


Such a great (and freeing) feeling when your little one walks on their own next to you!

Reilly had a blast at the park, exploring things like never before. We can't wait for Spring to arrive!

Christmas Fun

I can't tell you how much fun Christmas was for us this year! Although Reilly was still somewhat confused by all the lights, tree, ornaments and decorations, he sure was into the presents! I'm pretty sure he liked the boxes and wrapping paper more than the actual gifts, but nonetheless, they were a hit!

Reilly was such a good sport over the craziness of the holidays and didn't complain at all being dragged around to all the family festivities in his party clothes. He was Mr. Personality everywhere we went. Our energizer bunny never stopped...he just kept going, and going, and going....

6:30am Christmas morning....




I love my new tent! Come and get me mommy....






Helping Grandpa read one of Reilly's new books!




Our little basketball star!




Reilly loves to read!



Christmas evening before Santa arrived to give all of the cousin's another gift!

When Santa arrived, everything changed....poor guy, maybe next year!

Why buy toys?

Ever since our recent shopping trip to Target in search of christmas wrapping paper and ribbon, Reilly has completely ignored his toys! Why do parents spend so much money on toys anyway? All kids really want to play with are tupperware, spatulas, boxes and wrapping paper!!

Scary Santa!

Days leading up to our big visit with Santa this year, we looked at pictures from last year, talked about Santa and really tried to pump up Reilly for his picture! But deep down, Shawn and I both knew that it was not going to be a happy day. Like most kids his age, Reilly is experiencing separation anxiety! Couple that with a strange looking man, mama too far away and this is what you get....

It was actually quite funny! What a difference a year makes!! We can't wait to see the professional photos and compare it with our sweet sleeping 7 week old newborn last year.

We went with all of Reilly's cousins to visit Santa, and after the torture of the individual picture, we thought the group shot might be easier on our little guy. Ya right, what were we thinking? I'd show you the photo, but my husband needs picture taking lessons....they are all out of focus! Maybe our trip to visit Santa in 2010 will be better - ho, ho, ho!!!

Dinner Time...

I've been neglectful of our blog for a while now as I have been suffering from my 5th sinus infection in 4 months, not fun! Finally I have some answers and relief, so I'm back on it.

As we continue to introduce new foods to Reilly and wean him off baby food, meal time has become an interesting adventure in our house. Using the spoon by himself is Reilly's latest desire. Check him out....need I say more?!

Although Reilly's vocabulary is still a bit limited, he certainly has no problem communicating his wants, likes and displeasures during dinner! At the top of the list are bananas - our little boy could eat bananas all day. He's like a vacuum - I put pieces on his tray and they are gone the second I look away. Down at the bottom of the list are good proteins like meat, chicken & turkey. I'm fearful we have a vegetarian on our hands! Any ideas to increase his diet variety? I'm all ears!!

"That...."

Language is an interesting thing. I didn't realize the words I use had such a profound effect on Reilly's new and growing vocabulary. I had read somewhere that parents should narrate their activities and daily life with their baby - telling them what they see and what they are doing throughout the day.... So when I started doing this with Reilly, I would say things like....
"that is an airplane in sky."
"that is a tree."
"that is mommy's nose."
"that is mommy's phone...not a toy for Reilly."

Aside from mama and dadda, I always thought Reilly's first word would be plane or ball or something along those lines.... Oh no, of course not. Reilly's first and favorite word is "THAT". Opps, I didn't realize I always started my narrative dialogue with "that"! It's pretty darn funny around our house these days.

More Birthday Photos

My cousins are so into the cake - hopefully I will be too next year....


But I do love opening my presents! I'm the new Sheriff in town.



Step off my guitar - this is the coolest thing I've ever seen!

But here is my favorite present - Thomas is my best friend!

Peep, peep.....chuga, chuga, chew, chew!

Currently, one my favorite past-times....oh, what's in this drawer?

Reading with Grandma before the party started. I think he insisted she read the Fire Engine book 4 times in a row....well, when you have a favorite, that's what you do, right?!

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you....

I think the anticipation of Reilly's first birthday was probably more exciting than the actual day! I'm sure some of you new parents can relate - as you get close to the milestone, the excitement is overwhelming! On one hand, you think back to all the long and sometimes challenging days, wondering if this day would ever come, while on the other hand, you can't believe your baby is already one years old! Love the saying, "the days are long, the years are short."

I think I had this wierd idea that after Reilly turned 1, parenting would be a piece of "cake"....hmmm, I don't think so. First of all, he wouldn't even eat his cake at the party! I had done my homework and finally found the perfect football shaped cake for his football themed birthday party. I was thrilled. But when the #1 candle was put in the cake, the cameras were out, the video camera turned on and family singing "happy birthday"...Reilly did not perform! Instead, my little man cried his eyes out and wouldn't even take a lick of the frosting. Poof...my kodak moment had come and gone.

Luckily the present opening was a big success! We couldn't get the toys out of those impossible boxes and twisty ties fast enough. He loved everything! OK, we are back on track for a successful first birthday party.

7:30pm rolls around and my birthday boy turns into a pumpkin....must go to bed....now...before any of the guests have left! Happy Birthday Reilly! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you.

And so it begins....

In recognition of Reilly's first birthday, November 7, 2009, I wanted to do something special..... Reilly doesn't really need new toys, clothes or stuff. So I started to think, what can I give our son to commemorate this milestone - a blog seemed to be the right thing! We can keep it forever and look back with some good laughs, as our buddle of joy grows up.



I may be a bit verbose during this blog, but writing helps me to get perspective, take a step back and laugh on this wild ride called parenthood!

First and foremost, to Shawn....can you believe we made it through the first year?! Some days I wasn't so sure. Thank you for being the most helpful, hands on and dedicated daddy! Reilly is the luckiest boy in the world! Now let's open a very nice bottle of wine and celebrate November 7th, 2009!