Seriously....when did this girl get to be a year and a half old???
Riley, my love....Where do I even begin with you??? You are seriously one of the goofiest kids I know. Between putting food in your mouth and letting it hang out (like veggie straws pretending you're a walrus!) to putting pretzels on your fingers like they're rings, to walking around with belts draped around your neck like they're the prettiest scarves in the world, Daddy and I love your silly personality that shows more and more every day. You love to put Gavin's clothes on, put on layers of your own clothes, 'wear' mommy's bras, and walk around in other people's shoes. Everything also becomes a purse and you really enjoy wearing Brother's backpack. You're quite the fashionista!
The blankie obsession has progressed. It no longer stays in the crib....it has to come out with her every morning and she spends much of the day with it wrapped around her or dragging it behind her. We've also added more to the mix. Elmo and Ernie dolls are now required to be in her bed with her, one under each arm, to sleep, and they come out of the bed in the morning, along with her blankie. Gavin was never so attached to anything.
To go along with that photo, I have to mention her OBSESSION with Elmo these days. It was not long ago that I told Jarrod that she wasn't into Sesame Street like Gavin used to be. I jinxed it. Now, we hear 'Elmo. Elmo. Elmo. Elmo.' 5000 times a day. She brings us the remote and throws tantrums if we tell her Elmo is sleeping. Oh, the tantrums. That's another thing she's good at...really good at! Riley is full of drama! Everything causes meltdowns. She can't watch Elmo. She can't have the phone. She can't play on the computer. It's not time for a bath. She can't have more to eat... It's never ending!
Riley loves to dance. We watch Ellen together and she goes crazy for the music. When we come in from the garage, she closes the door and says 'bye!' to the van. She has many words (or something for a specific word). She says mama, daddy, Elmo, cup, bye, Mimi, Sh for Shirley, pants when she sees a dog, moo, signs more and all done, ba for water bottle, wawa for water, nee for banana, does Ernie's laugh for Ernie, cookie, nose, no, eye... I'm sure there's more but I can't think of any right now.
Some of her favorite foods right now are bananas, dried fruit, sandwiches (without the crust now!), and cereal bars. Riley's sleeping from about 7:30pm until anywhere between 6 and 7am. Naps are for about 90 minutes in the afternoon. She's wearing 18-24 month clothes and size 4 diapers. I weighed her in our bathroom recently and she was about 23lbs; we'll get an exact number from the doctor later this week at her next check-up.
Mommy and Daddy love you, little girl. So does your big brother! You complete this family like we never thought possible. So glad you're ours.
Happy half birthday!
