Riley's 1st Birthday- the fun stuff

My hopes were high for Riley's Birthday. I was going to make a fancy cake and have friends over and Riley was going to have a ball....well the week of he got sick. I thought it was just a cold and then two days before his birthday found out the kid he was playing with (who had a cold) actually had RSV so we figured so did Riley. He's definitely not himself, but doesn't seem to have more than cold symptoms and I've just waited for his regularly scheduled Dr. appointment this week. Anyways, we didn't want to infect the cousins so we kept his birthday low-key with just the 3 of us. You can see his glossy eyes and runny nose in the pics....poor guy! He was a good sport and fortunately he hasn't lost his appettite.

Riley has always been the smiliest baby, but the past few weeks he has learned lots of expressions and I find myself getting looks like this quite often. What happened to my happy baby?!

Give me the cake!

Previously...

Crazy faces.

Ramblings of Ingratitude

Craig and I booked a cruise a while back with some great friends. It leaves at the end of February. Craig's family is sweet enough to keep Riley for the WEEK. I'm ungrateful for this time to spend with my husband and a chance to be selfish. I'm ungrateful that George and Laura will keep him for a week. I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE MY LITTLE BOY! Craig has threatened to cancel the cruise...lol. Not that you can do that, you can not show up at this point and lose your money. I've offered that he can just remove half my heart and maybe I won't care. It's a very difficult thing for me. As he's walking around my chair jabbering right now I think I can't possibly leave him.
I've talked to A LOT of people about it at this point. Some who have done it and don't think it's a big deal at all and others who would never. I think I'm a "would never" kind of person and Craig is a it's a "no big deal" kind of person. I'm not sure either is right or wrong, but perhaps a blend of personality and what's typical in your families.
I'm not a super emotional person, but I want to cry whenever I think about it. I WANT to want to go. I hope George and Laura are prepared for helping Craig drag me away kicking and screaming (probably literally!)
I've also heard too many stories of people who have left their little ones and got snubbed upon returning. If Riley is not excited to see me when I get back there will be more tears.
I think having moved to a new place soon after Riley has made me extra attached. We don't do things without each other
I know some people would give anything to have a week away! Why is this so hard for me? I don't think Mom's are bad moms that leave their kids, but I feel like a bad Mom. Sorry for the ramblings...

This is what my life feels like lately...

I'm exhausted.

Snow!

There's just something magical about snow- especially when you don't see it often!

Christmas

I've been dreading this blog. We went to La for Christmas and I forgot my camera. My child's first Christmas and I forgot my camera. We snapped a couple with my brothers but I don't have them yet. And we caught a little bit on video, but I haven't made the effort to learn how to take a clip from the video and post it. Seriously, I'm so mad about this.
But on a happier note, Riley LOVED Christmas. The unwrapping was a little confusing, but the toys were very exciting! Being 11 months on his first Christmas, it was already a fun one. His eyes lit up when Craig brought him in with toys everywhere! I may have overdone it a little, but the kid seriously had NO toys before Christmas. I think it was slowing his development- he seems smarter now :).
However, when we arrived back to Texas New Year's Eve we had a Christmas package waiting from Grandma Laura and Grandpa George and I took pictures!! So since they didn't get to be there in person, at least they get a picture!This was way past bedtime after a very long day so he's not exactly "cleanest" or "best-dressed" here.Riley with Uncle Trevor. I believe there's some family resemblance...

I wonder what I said that my parents both had the exact same reaction towards me?
Needless to say when got back home, Riley was a mess. He wanted the constant attention he'd had at my parents. He think that he is really funny and that you should always be laughing at him and gets very offended if you aren't.

And New Year's?? First year as parents! We went to bed at 10:30.