Downward Dog

No, Riley isn't examining the floor.

No, we didn't send her to a Summer Camp: Yoga for Babies.

What she is actually doing is throwing a tantrum. You will see some kids lay on the floor, kicking and screaming when they don't get their way - Riley becomes oddly zen-like and goes for a yoga pose. Don't get me wrong - she whines and cries when she is down there doing her thing, but once she realizes that we aren't paying attention, she moves on fairly quickly. Who knows what's next - the Flowering Lotus?

Our Little Weed

I don't know where that saying comes from, "Growing like a weed," I don't know why it can't be a prettier flower, but in any case, the analogy works for the time being - it's late on Sunday night and that brownie is calling my name so I will write a quick update from Riley's 15 month appointment. This wasn't a true 15 month appointment because I kept rescheduling the visits due to Riley's crazy patterns of sickness. She still saw him with a runny nose and cough but no fever, so we were given the all clear for the immunizations.
Luckily, Dan was able to attend the appointment because made one fr early in the morning. The lovely nurses, all used to seeing us weekly by now were saying, "Hi Riley!" Even when our lovely Doc walked into the room, Riley who is usually shy with strangers, exclaimed, "HI!" brightly as he walked in. Did I mention that I love our pediatrician?
Anyhow, Riley is progressing well. She grew 2 and three-quarters since our last visit three months ago and now is 32 and 3/4 inches. She also gained two pounds weighing in at 23 pounds, putting her in the 98th percentile for height and 50th for weight. "Long and lean," Doc said. He had circumference looks good too.
Big on my list to talk to the good doc about was Riley's aversion to veggies and anything that appears on her plate that seems different. He says it normal and to keep exposing her to different foods and packing the meals she does eat with good fats and proteins. He said that at this age, toddler only have one minute of attention span per year so she shouldn't be expected to sit and eat like a big girl just yet. He was clear that I shouldn't chase her around the house with food nor should I allow her to eat while roaming - only in her chair --- oops.
The other big item on our list was Riley's new acrobatic maneuvers - namely the "leg up trying to escape out of the crib" kind. He said we can do the bed canopy/tent or transfer her to a toddler bed. He said we should clear her room out of anything she can climb on or hurt herself on, put the bed in there and treat the entire room as if it is her bed. Sometimes she'll sleep on the floor - sometimes the bed. Um, no thanks, I told him. I cannot imagine putting my crazy, energetic 16 month old in a toddler bed.
In other news, we ran errands on Saturday and were in the car for a while and decided to not take the Paci as a way to start weaning Riley off it in the car. All was good on the way there - she was happy, rested, and fed. The way home was another story. No lie, she screamed for forty minutes on the way home. It was the screaming to the point of gagging, kind of screaming. I contemplated sticking my finger in her mouth like you can do with a newborn to pacify her - but with her big chompers and my germy hands, I decided against it.
Good times.

Veggies

There aren't many moms out there who get really excited about serving veggies to their kids. Dinner time has sort of turned into torture time for me. Riley really refuses to eat any vegetables. Not just green, but all colors turn her off. While she does eat a lot of fruit, meat, and grains, I find myself obsessing (what else is new) about her daily intake.



At a point of desperation, I picked up Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious book. In it, there are tips and recipes for hiding the "good stuff" in with the regular meal. While I can't say that every meal has been successful, (Brownies with carrots and spinach were pretty bad. Comments I received were - Are these flour less? Is this Play Doh? What IS THIS?) some have worked out very well.



The Italian Meatloaf with a 1/2 cup of pureed carrots was the best meatloaf I have ever made. It was moist, flavorful, and Riley couldn't get enough.
http://www.oprah.com/recipe/food/recipesmeat/pkgjessicaseinfeldsdeceptivelydelicious/food_20070918_loaf

Dan was skeptical at first with all of my new creations. Even when I don't hide anything in it, he still asks, "So what did you put into it this time?"

For the Love of the Paci

It has been over a month and Riley's little body is still fighting these "bugs." Viruses, strep, bacteria, whatever you want to call it - she's tired. It's a good day when she is her normal, happy, and bossy self instead of the girl who is feverish, flushed, and hacking like an 85 year-old chain-smoker.

It gets me frustrated that there is nothing I can do for her when she is feeling bad. The one thing that does seem to "pacify" her is her beloved paci. Now, I normally don't allow her to have the paci during the day or during meal times, but what was usually only a night-night accessory has been making appearances throughout the day when Riley is sick. However, the more Riley has her Paci, the more attached she is to it. When she is done with he latest bout of sickness, we are going to have to bid farewell to the Paci. Wish us luck...

Dan "Supervising" Riley

Now to be fair, I do daydream about sleeping on the playroom floor while Riley is playing...I don't actually do it.

Play Doh

A while ago, I wrote about Riley's first art project. I have since decided to introduce her to the world of Play Doh.



Boy, does she love her some Play Doh.



Not so much the building, sculpting, and manipulating as much as the collecting, gathering, and storing.



I don't know if it's because I think I have some OCD tendencies, but I have noticed that Riley really seems to enjoy the following:



1. Taking the Play Doh out of the container.

2. Me - rolling it into little balls (or sometimes, she rolls it out into a long snake-like form, all the while saying, "Roll.")

3. Putting all of the balls into the container

4. Closing the container and then

5. Starting all over again.



Sometimes we get a little wild and crazy and she sneaks in a taste. The container says, "Fun to play with, not to eat," so that worries me bit. I remind her that if she is hungry that I'll go get her a banana. To which she laughs at me probably thinking, "You Crazy Momma."



I captured a little snippet of the Play Doh Adventures on camera. Dan was playing with Riley and she proceeded to shake the play doh container and lose her marbles...

Strep Free

Riley has tested negative for strep. This means that the antibiotics have worked and she is not a carrier! I am allowing her out of the bubble...for now.

My Girl

About a month ago, Dan and I stayed up late to watch the Temptations movie. It was way past our bedtime but the roller coaster ride that is the Temptations had us glued to the TV. We have basic cable, what can I say.

While watching the movie, we learned many fun facts about the famous group along with being serenaded to their big hits throughout the show. When we heard, My Girl, I turned to to say to Dan, "We should sing that one to Riley."

You see, after the lights are turned out, the shades drawn and Little Miss Riley has her paci and blankies, she lays her head down on my shoulder as Daddy and I sing some tunes. We had been singing, You are My Sunshine, Itsy Bitsy, Skinna ma rinky-dink, skinna ma rinky-do (You know the usual...) but Riley was growing tired of the old routine.

Side Note: Dan and I only know the first portion of the song. My Mom gave us the Greatest Hits of the Temptations CD while Riley and I were visiting Texas so Dan and I could learn the words. It also doesn't help that the Drama teacher in me comes out during our performance times and I attempt to turn the sweet good night into a small show. Picture this: Dan - you say the first "my girl" then I go...then you go... You get the idea.

But I digress.

This evening, Dan decides to bust out the CD during bedtime tonight. All three of us are dancing and snapping our fingers in her room to My Girl. Standing on her tippy-toes, Riley even joins in with a few snap-attempts of her own.

It was a good dress rehearsal of our little show. We still have some more studying to do because we are still not sure what comes after the first chorus.

No!

Riley has been using the word, "NO," for a while now, but is really pushing it into full force recently.
She tells her babies "NO," and also tells them, "Night, Night." Sometimes it may appear to her that they may be waking up from their slumber and tells them, "No!"
Of course, she loves telling me, Murphy, and Daddy, "no," but what she really enjoys is telling her food off. She will look at a piece of chicken or a spinach nugget, wag her little finger and declare defiantly, "NO." This morning I was changing her sheets on her crib and frantically, she was pushing the mattress down , banging on the slats of the crib crying desperately...NOOOO. Maybe she thought I was going to make her sleep without a mattress?
I really try no to laugh...but sometimes it is so hard.
When Riley was too tiny to talk, I would have these dreams of her being that sweet little child that never told her Momma - NO!
Ha! Fat chance.

Sanitizing

In an effort to combat and eradicate the strep monster from our home, I am sanitizing
everything in sight. This is the first load of many.

The Lone Star, Exhausted, and Strep

Our trip to Texas started off great. Riley behaved so well on the airplane, beyond my expectations. Mimi and Papa excitedly waited for their little one at the airport. She was indeed the "lone star" at the house. Riley was doted on and her every need was cared to by her grandparents.

Days were filled with lots of laughter, food, and fun. Some highlights of the trip included going up and down, up and down, and up and down the stairs, swimming with floaties like a big girl, going to the Houston Children's Museum, playing pool, and hanging with Uncle Kyle. Riley also rode on a carousel for the first time and took great pleasure in harrasing Mimi and Papa's dog, Lola, sleeping in her bed, forcliking in the grass and riding on the gate. I even got to enjoy a few outings while Riley napped. Kyle took me to a street lined with antique stores and thrift shops, hot but really fun.

The last couple days of our trip were rough. Riley refused to eat anything besides yogurt. I knew something was up for sure. Our plane ride home was unbearable to say the least, I'll leave it at that and quote what one of the flight attendants remarked over the loudspeaker, "It is now safe to us all electronic devices....including your noise reduction earphones."

We returned home and Daddy sure missed us. He got both of his girls flowers and the house was clean and laundry completed. Riley was so excited to see him and even more excited to see Murphy. She ran around the house with him and kept squealing in delight as she loved on him.

This morning, I took Riley in to our favorite doctor to have her rechecked. It seems that Ms. R. has strep...again. He thinks it could be one of three things:

1. Riley was re-infected somehow.

2. Riley is a strep carrier. One the last day of her new and extremely potent and expensive antibiotic, she must go back to the DR to get swabbed again. If she is positive, then he thinks she may be a Strep Carrier. This would lead to a referral to a ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist) and a possible Tonsillectomy.

3. Dan or I could be the carrier. If one or two proves unfounded, then we need to get tested and see a specialist.

I feel so bad for our little angel. She must be so hungry but refuses to eat anything but yogurt smoothies. I feel bad that she has to keep taking all of this medication. I will feel even worse if option 2 is the route we must take. I would rather have ten tonsillectomies to spare her just one. Even then, who is to say that she will be cured of the strep? Her first bout was when she was 6 months old, she has to be tired of this nastiness because I know I sure am.