It's NOING

The snow is mocking us this year. Literally laughing in our faces. We've had four good snows since December and all of them have fallen on either a weekend or an already planned school vacation. Dry as a bone during the week, covered in snow and ice on the weekends. My hopes of TG being home for a snow day are dwindling. Lucky for us, Riley doesn't know or care about the difference and we are entertained (weekend though it may be) to hear her shout "It's NOING!"

We weren't here for the blizzard of '09 because we were sailing in the blue waters of the Caribbean so we got her all bundled up and let her out in the snow today. And by we I mean I bundled her up and had the hot cocoa waiting while TG braved the cold for 30 minutes to play with her.

Riley sledding 2010 from Lindsay Vinson on Vimeo.

If we...

Lived in Kansas, you might see more of this.


Me walking with Riley in the Riverfront park.


Riley running on the rock map of Kansas.


Riley hanging out in camo tents at Cabelas.


Me and my seester at Chiefs games.

Seen

The aftermath of Riley's bath time.

Pass and Fail

This week Riley and I both had a doctor's visit. Mine was in the morning and hers was in the afternoon. It made for a busy day, but I've discovered that I much prefer getting all things doctor related done in one day if I can.



Riley passed her 2 year check up with flying colors. Per the doctor she has now graduated to the "big girl ranks" and only needs to come in for a routine visit once a year. It's surreal for me to think that she's at the one visit a year point because I can remember like it was yesterday reading the check up chart in What to Expect and marveling at how many times we'd have to go in the first 2 years of her life.

Anyhow, she's in the big girl ranks in more areas than one. At 2 years old and 2 days Riley's stats are. (Seriously, drumroll here...)

Height: 38.5 inches
Weight: 34 lbs. 10 oz.

If you aren't familiar with the child growth chart the answer is YES, she's big. And if you haven't been following my blog the other answer is yes she's been big from the start. She's above 100% for both measurements and technically is the size of an average 3 year old. What can I say, hubs and I like to grow them big and strong.

Other than some tears over her two flu shots, Riley did great for the doctor and enjoyed laughing, chatting with him and showing off all her skills. The doctor said, "You can't get healthier than this so whatever you're doing keep on doing it." RESOUNDING PASS.

As for me, well I had my 26 week check up and glucose tolerance test. After experiencing a horrible case of gestational diabetes while pregnant with Riley, I was very proactive in trying to do what I could to avoid it this time around. With no such luck. I found out today that I FAILED the test and now have to begin the GD process again. I'd explain more, but at this point I'm not really in an emotional state where I'm capable of talking about it.

Let's just say that I am a succeed kind of girl and I take this failure business personally. Very personally.

2 Birthdays in 1

This weekend we celebrated Riley's second birthday by having a joint party with her bestie Z. She's only 6 hours older than he is. We went to a local kid's gym and let them run around and eat cake for 2 hours. The party was awesome, all the kids had a great time, and best of all we didn't have to clean up ANYTHING afterward! Here's some photos that my bff photographer took of our day.

Welcome to Her Dollhouse

Choosing presents for Riley was tough this year. She has a lot of toys and honestly she'd pick playing outside over toys anyday. I had been thinking about a dollhouse for her and was trying to decide if she was old enough to play with it. Turns out she was. She's never even seen a dollhouse before, but as soon as her Daddy had that thing set up for her she went to work. She squatted down right in front of it and immediately put the Mommy in bed, the baby in the highchair and the Daddy in the shower. Truth be told that's pretty similar to how her everyday life is. She's always hungry, Mommy's always tired and Daddy's pretty often in the shower when she goes looking for him.

Thanks Gigi and Papa! She loves her dollhouse as much as we enjoy watching her play with it.

Puzzled

Riley got a giant puzzle for her birthday from her friends Isabella and Brady. She is very into princesses right now so she just loves it. With a little help from me we put it together this morning.

Won't Let You Rain On My Parade

Riley loves commenting on the weather and she is always so funny when a raindrop plinks on her head. Personally I think she's slightly worried the rain is going to ruin her hairdo.

Luckily she won't have to worry about rain hair anymore though because she got her very own Dora "brella" from her Aunt Lo Lo. It rained on her 2nd birthday, but she couldn't have been happier to have the chance to use her umbrella while she cruised the outlets.

Pretty, pretty

No better reason to twirl than a brand new Dora flamenco dress for your birthday. She immediately shed her clothes in favor of it, but opted to keep on her boots. Pretty practical outfit if you ask me. Party on top, business on her feet. Thanks Aunt Ta Ta, she just loves it.

Happy Birthday Dear Riley

Dear Riley,

Today you are 2 and I can hardly believe it. It feels like just yesterday that we were in the hospital anxiously awaiting your arrival. Then finally at 8:20 pm on January 24th, after two long days of labor, the Doctor finally held you up and said, "It's a girl!". It was a hard 48 hours, but you are so worth it.

There are no words for me to tell you just how much you are loved. Because sweet baby you are SO loved. Not just by me and your Daddy, but by your entire family of grandmas and grandpas and aunts. And of course I'm biased, but I always think that there's no way anyone could help but love you.

Riley, you are so full of life even at the age of 2. Your laughter, smiles, giggles and jokes light our lives. When you were very little your Daddy and I used to sit and wonder about what your little voice would sound like. Now, your sweet sing-song voice fills our days with your thoughts, songs and questions. Two years ago we were so anxious to see you walk and play. Now, we laugh with you as you run, jump and dance. You are independent, so daring, slightly stubborn, wonderfully smart and full of love.

Oh precious Riley, I did not spend my entire life wishing to be a mother. Truthfully, the entire nine months I was pregnant with you I was so anxious about it. Not about you, but about me and the very important job that was before me. I spent a few sleepless nights before your arrival in tears worrying about all the things I didn't know how to do. And believe me, I've made a few mistakes along the way these past two years.

But, here's the most important thing for you to know. I love you like no one else alive sweet girl. You are the best thing that ever happened to your Daddy and I. Our lives have changed so much for the better since that night two years ago and now I can't begin to imagine being anything other than your Mama.

Happy Birthday Riley! To us you are perfect and we can't wait to spend the rest of our lives being with you.

It's a Boy

You probably already knew that. It's just that now I have proof to share with you. Please forgive the quality as it's a photo of a photo, but I proudly present our BOY.



For those ultrasound newbies basically it's like our son is sitting on top of the copier with his legs spread. And that little part between his legs with the arrow pointing straight at it? That's the proof that he is in fact, well a he.



Annnnd, the belly has finally popped. I have such a long torso that for most of the pregnancy I just look chubbier than usual. I have decided with baby boy that I just don't care if it's not that attractive and from here on out I might actually photographically document my belly. I wholeheartedly refused with Riley which upset my mother to no end and honestly I'm a little sad I don't have more belly shots of her. But if you tell my mother I said that I'll deny it.



Right now, baby boy is about the size of an eggplant. He's on the higher end size wise which I know because I get monthly ultrasounds during this pregnancy. We found out at the 20 week visit that I have what is referred to as a 2 cord vessel (umbilical cord). Typically, you are supposed to have 3. I get to go once a month and see him on the screen to make sure he's growing alright. So far, so good and just like his big sister he is measuring in the 95th percentile already!

At 6 months I'm feeling pretty good. The intense nausea wore off around 13 weeks and my energy came back shortly after that. I have had some issues with dizziness and blood pressure lately so I'm being monitored for that, but nothing to worry about yet.

I go for my next check up soon and they'll be testing me for gestational diabetes. I had a HORRIBLE case of it with Riley and I'm hopeful that I won't have it this time around. If you're thinking of me say a prayer that I'll get to skip all the finger pricking and self shot giving this time around.

P.S. No name yet so for now it's just baby boy. :)

I'm a Big Kid Now

Family Night

Ugh, I haven't blogged in forever and the sad thing is it's not for lack of topics. I just haven't felt like it. To top it off I haven't had the energy to think of anything witty or entertaining to say. Thank God I don't have a big blog following and I know you all won't mind if I just ramble on.

A few weeks ago we went out for a family dinner. While it is difficult to eat out with just Riley, it's not impossible and we are trying to enjoy as much time with our first born before the new baby comes. So, we picked a dreary night, got all dressed up and went to one of our favorite restaurants.



Eat your heart out Suri and Shiloh. My baby cleans up pretty well and I thought she just couldn't be cuter in her sweater cardigan, knit cap and boots. There might not have been any paparazzi around to photograph it, but Mamarazzo was on duty.



Dinner was delightful and clearly Riley enjoyed her meal. Actually, she surprised us by wolfing down about 5 pieces of bang bang shrimp. If you're not familiar with it, bang bang shrimp is delicious, but a bit spicy. I had to cut her off at five (because spicy diapers are not our friend) and she wasn't too happy about it.



The hardest part about eating out with Riley is that she gets bored after she finishes eating. This wouldn't be a problem, but it seems that restaurants always make an effort to rush out Riley's food while taking their sweet time with our order. Usually, by the time our plates land on the table she is done and ready to go and Matt and I end up wolfing down our food as quickly as we can. Luckily tonight the sweet waiter saved us by delivering our food and a glo stick for Riley. It did just the trick.



Just so you can tell that besides my sweet baby, I did actually have a hot date that night.