Homecoming!!!

Jimmy came home from his deployment on Wednesday, and Dennis and I took the day off to drive to North Carolina to welcome him home and see the reunion with Shannan and the first meeting with his son Jax. It was a LONG day of travel (4 hours each way) but it was completely worth it to see Jimmy and get to give him a hug and see him with Jax! Here are a few pictures of the reunion!

Happy Halloween!!

Well Riley was a lion for halloween, and he didn't love the mane or the fact that it was 70 degrees and he was wearing a fur costume! But he was a good sport and was very well behaved as we drove him around Richmond to visit family and friends. Attached are a few pictures of the day.

What a difference a week makes!

WOW! Last time we posted, Riley could move forward haltingly, for a short distance. Now he's on the move!! He can crawl all over the place, including through rooms to get to what he wants. The next hurdle is being able to sit up and play with the toy when he finally gets to his destination!!

We had a JMU reunion day today and had a great time visiting with friends. Riley and his friend Avery had a good time playing, and Riley was very jealous of Avery's ability to walk. I'm sure that will be soon in coming...help me!

Movement!

Riley finally got some forward momentum going yesterday...and (no surprise) food was the big motivator. I'm sure in the coming days he'll become a crawling champion.

Happy birthday part 2

Birthday wishes from Riley! That's more like it!!

Happy birthday Jimmy!!

Tomorrow is nikkis brothers birthday and he is deployed, so were using
our blog to send him birthday wishes!! Here is our family wishing
Jimmy a happy birthday!

last group

more pictures

pictures

update

Wow...it's been a month since we posted last! Well we have a few updates and there will be several posts worth of pictures, as Jimmy is back on the ship and this is the best way to share pictures of the family with him. Riley had a few flare ups of his skin condition (eczema) but it's under control (at least for now). He gets 1-2 baths per day, lots of greasy lotion, and "wet pajamas". The pediatrician told us to put riley in a pair of damp (warm) pajamas, then put another pair on top so he doesn't get cold. This has made the biggest change we think. He's also turned 6 months old! That means FOOD. Alright, I'll admit that we didn't last until 6 months like I swore we would...we caved about a week early. Riley likes food OK but looks at us like "this crap isn't what I see you eating!". He hates rice cereal but is doing OK with the veggies so far. This weekend we went to visit Nikki's parents, her grandparents had come down from Ohio to meet Jax and so we went for a visit. Dennis and Nikki left Riley with the family and went to celebrate our friend Kendra and Rob's wedding. It was a great time and everyone enjoyed getting to bond with Riley. So we'll start the pictures now... Tomorrow is Riley's 6 month well baby visit so we'll update again after that with his stats!

Jax Welcome Party! More pictures! Last Group!

Jax Welcome Party! More pictures!

Jax Welcome Party!

We traveled to Yorktown for a party to welcome little Jax to the family! It was great to have the family together, and Riley got to meet his new cousin!! Here are some pictures from the day!!

Saturday at home, part 2

After our trip to Bass Pro Shop, and a nap, we went to Deep Run Park. We took a walk on the trails until Riley woke up and then played on the swings and playground. Riley loved the bucket swing, and played on the big kid swings, tire swing, and little bouncy alligator thing. It was a fun family outing!!