Riley and Keeley Round-Up

Big Sister Riley...Little Sister Keeley

2010-01-24T09:02:00.010-07:00

Keeley Grace Rounds was born on January 11, 2010 at 12:27 pm...she weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. My contractions started at 1:30 am...we headed to the hospital around 7:00 am and Keeley made her quick arrival within five hours after our arrival! This labor was SOOO much easier than Riley...thank goodness!

Riley absolutely loves being a big sister...she wants to hold, hug, kiss and talk to Keeley all day and night. When Keeley starts to cry, Riley tells her that it is okay because her big sister is there to help. Riley sings "happy birthday" to her just about every day, loves to give her binkies (even though Keeley doesn't really like them), reads all her books to Keeley and enjoys swinging her in the swing. We couldn't ask for better behavior from Riley...she has been so great (so far!).

Here are pictures from the hospital and our first week at home...enjoy!

A New Nanny!!

2009-12-11T14:08:00.006-07:00

Starting at the beginning of November, Cody and I pulled Riley out of the childcare that she was attending and started taking her to “Miss. Amy’s” House. Amy is a wife of an old co-worker and has previously been a nanny and pre-school teacher. Amy has two kids of her own…Anna age 4 and Jude age 9 months. Both of her kids are super cute and very well behaved, something that was very important to us as Riley enters her two’s and is highly influenced by her surroundings.

While we loved the childcare Riley was previously at, with the upcoming flu season and arrival of a new baby, we decided that we didn’t want to deal with the illnesses that would come from keeping her and the new baby at Lincoln Learning Center. In addition, Riley was reaching an age where the adult to child ratio was climbing and climbing…if you know Riley, you know that she is such a busy body needing the stimulation and challenge that comes with one on one attention, which she wasn’t receiving at Lincoln Learning Center. It was a tough choice but we haven’t looked back since!

Riley immediately took to Amy’s family and has thoroughly enjoyed everyday that she has been there. Riley gets so excited to go to Miss. Amy’s in the morning and never wants to leave when I pick her up...I think this is a good sign as Riley would dread going to “school” before. Amy is simply amazing with her…they do tons of fun/educational/seasonal activities, have great meals and even take field trips! Some of the activities that she has enjoyed over the last two months include: field trips to the zoo, picnics at the park, field trips to the railroad park, playing princess dress-up with Anna, baking holiday snacks, arts and crafts of every sort, playing in Amy’s wonderful play room (which has tons of imagination and make-believe toys), jumping on Amy’s outdoor trampoline, taking walks in the neighborhood with the wagon, reading new books that she doesn’t have at home….and much, much more!

Here are some pictures that Amy sends me every week…I just love receiving them while I am at work, they always put a smile on my face! We hope this arrangement with Miss Amy never ends!

Flagstaff Trip With Gracie!

2009-11-01T10:57:00.005-07:00

A few weekends ago we drove up to Flagstaff to enjoy the changing leaves and cooler weather...it ended up raining the entire time except for the 10 minutes we were able to capture these pictures. Riley and Gracie enjoyed hanging out with each other! Because of the weather, we spent most of the time in the car, which wasn't enjoyable for anyone...next time we will check the weather before heading north!

A "Lady Bug With Wings"

2009-11-01T10:18:00.007-07:00

For Halloween, Riley was a ladybug (she says a "ladybug with wings"). Riley loved to twirl in her big tutu and wear her head piece.

We had been practicing how to trick-or-treat and Riley did great when the night arrived! We went trick-or-treating with Cousin Siena and Arianna (grandparents, aunts and uncles included). Siena was a princess and Ari was Alice from Alice in Wonderland...all were adorable! We started the night out on foot but quickly ended up in the red wagon; Riley's red sparkly shoes were hurting her feet but too cute to take off :). Riley only ate one piece of candy the entire night...a blue sucker (all other candy was donated to the kids trick-or-treating at our door).

Unfortunately, Riley has been under the weather (croup cough since Thursday)...she was a trooper through the night but after bath time all she wanted to do was go to sleep...no book, no milk, no rocking....straight to sleep.

Here are some picture of our little ladybug...

Smiley Riley

2009-10-05T16:46:00.002-07:00

As you can tell, Riley is way too used to me taking pictures. In our most recent photo shoot, Riley had to wear her new pink bathing suit...it took quite a compromise to remove the bright yellow Crocks and black tutu to get these pictures.

Besides the yellow Crocks, the most current obsession is having a "pony"...that is a pony tail. While there isn't much hair to pull up, we are finding a way. As expected, Riley always has to choose the color of the pony tail holder along with every other article of clothing. We are quite noticeable when we appear in public, bright yellow shoes, blue socks, purple shorts, green shirt and a red pony...

2009-08-26T20:35:00.009-07:00

Last weekend, we drove up to Big Lake (just outside of Greer in the White Mountains) and spent two nights (well, technically one) camping. Riley was amazing during the 5 hour car drive...Uncle Pat sitting next to her probably helped! We arrived late in the evening to find Charles, Amy and Siena already set-up and sitting down for a hot dog dinner. Riley and Siena ran around in the dark for hours before they went to sleep. Riley slept in a little bed next to our air mattress inside a tent. She sleep the entire night and woke up in such a great mood...she loved being outside. On Saturday, we made breakfast burritos, took a few walks and said bye to dad as he ventured off on his day long bike ride up and down the Sunrise ski mountain. While he was biking, we drove to a creek, took a nap and walked down to the lake. It was raining off and on all day but on our way back from the lake, it started pouring rain...we got soaked! It rained the rest of the day and so we hung out inside the tent and the car...by the time the guys got back from biking, we were so wet, cold and tired (with no dry clothes and leaking tents), we decided to abandon the campsite and find a hotel for the night. As Charles' said, "We started our first family camping trip with 4 tents and ended with 3 hotel rooms". We returned to the campsite on Sunday to collect our gear, played for a while and then drove back home.

Here are some pictures from Riley's first camping trip...

Phoenix Children's Art Museum

2009-08-17T10:02:00.002-07:00

Last weekend (like most weekends), Riley spent time at the Phoenix Children's Art Museum with her cousin Siena.

Here are some pictures from the race car room, the noodle forest, the book corner, the flower garden and the infant room (there are many more rooms including an arts and crafts room, a grocery store room, a ball room, a kitchen room and much, much more!). Riley and Siena could spend hours at this place...it is wonderful!

Pool Fun!

2009-08-17T09:34:00.007-07:00

Riley got to hang out with Harper Scott, Cody Tieman and Trevor Tieman (and LeAnne and Lindsey) last weekend at Grandma's Pool...we had a great time (minus the bee sting- sorry Cody!)

Riley has become such a strong swimmer and LOVES the water...she knows how to blow bubbles, kick her feet (fast and slow as she would love to show you) and also knows how to do "monkey arms" across half of the pool (scaling the pool walls with her arms until she reaches the steps)...she also enjoys making monkey noises as she does it.

Riley knows that she has to wear her hat whenever the sun is out and to walk "slooooowwwww" (as she says it) when the ground it wet and slippery.

Cape Cod June Vacation! 19 months old...

2009-07-02T14:07:00.010-07:00

We spent the week of June 22nd in Cape Cod, MA and Newport, RI with a bunch of the extended Riley family for my cousin's wedding (Patrick Riley). We stayed in a beautiful home on John's Pond in Mashpee most of the trip a few doors down from my Uncle Pat;s house, traveling to Barnstable to visit my Uncle Bill's family and to Newport to attend the wedding. Riley had such a fun time and was entertained from dawn until dusk with various cousins, aunts and uncles...they were great babysitters!! Riley got to visit her first aquarium, touch her first starfish, lobster (alive!) and clams...she thought it was pretty cool. She screamed (with pure excitement) the entire time we were in the aquarium.

During our trip, Riley was such a trooper...only getting one "scheduled" nap the entire time...all other naps were in the car, airplane, back of a bike or in the stroller. One afternoon we decided to join my Uncle Mike for what was supposed to be a 4 mile bikeride down the coast....Cody pulled Riley in the bike trailer and it was the most beautiful bike ride I have ever been on...onle problem was it really ended up being 22 miles...we were exhausted at the end but it was worth every mile.

On June 26th we traveled up to Newport Rhode Island for the wedding...this was no normal wedding...it was held in a Newport Mansion that was breathtaking...views of the ocean, lush green gardens and an amazing manor home! Every wedding should be in a Newport mansion! Newport is know for it's amazing mansions, shopping and beaches...this is a vacation spot we will return to again!

I think we have officially decided that Riley is no longer our baby...she really is a toddler...growing up so quickly! She knows EVERYTHING that we tell her...she can communicated back well enough that we know almost everything that she wants...she knows the power of "no" and how to use it (she probably said this word more than any other word on our trip...annoying but amazing that she knows exactly what she wants and has no hesitation about it).

Here are some pictures of Riley from our trip...enjoy!

After our long bike ride,we ended up at Woods Hole (where the aquarium is)...

After a long car ride...gotta love the long eyelashes for these pictures!

John's Pond...right in front of our rental...

Riley searching for rocks to throw in the water...

Evening view from our porch...took this picture with a long shutter speed to catch the light from the distant lighthouse...turned out cool!

New York strawberries....she couldn't get enough! This is the reaction I get when I ask her to make a "silly" face for the camera...

On our last day, we went to visit Great Grandma Riley...here are some pictures from the Barnstable house...

The Locust house where Cousin Jess lives...Riley loved playing in the fields and picking flowers. This property is pretty much amazing!

1 1/2 Years Old!

2009-05-26T12:48:00.008-07:00

It is amazing that Riley is already 18 months...my how time flies! Riley is like this amazing human sponge…she observes, absorbs and then copies everything that we do. Even when you don’t think she is watching or listening…she is! Riley still enjoys going through all of my make-up, dress-up shoes and jewelry while I get ready in the morning. She knows exactly where the blush is applied, how to use an eyelash curler and how to put the foundation on the sponge and apply to your nose.

Riley is a very strong willed child and stubborn as all heck! Last weekend it was nap time and Riley decided that she wasn’t ready…after reading several books to try and calm down her crazy energy, we put her in her crib to fall asleep. She wanted nothing to do with it! After 10 minutes of crying, sleepiness came over her body and she laid her head down on the railing of her crib (remaining standing…she wasn’t ready to surrender 100% yet). Cody and I watched her from the baby monitor in our room for about 20 more minutes…she would start to fall asleep, her legs would buckle, she would catch herself from falling and then she would resume the standing/sleeping position on the crib railing. This seriously happened for 20 minutes until we gave in and decided that standing/sleeping wasn’t going to suffice for the 2 hour nap we needed her to take. So Riley won, we went and rescued her…however, 20 minutes later she was sound asleep (laying down) in her crib and didn’t wake-up for another two hours…so I guess we won too!

Some of Riley’s favorites this month include:
· Feeding the dogs…once piece of food at a time (its torture!)
· Stuffing her face so full of food she can’t’ chew…proceeding to spit it all out and feed it to the dogs.
· Throwing rocks and crackers into the canal…crackers for the ducks (well…half the time, the other half end up in her belly)
· Dancing to music in the living room and then asking for “more” when she doesn’t like the song
· Signing “Old McDonald”, “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes” and “London Bridges” while driving in the car (facing forward now!)
· Sitting on her new potty…not to go to the bathroom but to watch her Elmo potty movie
· Jumping on the bed

Riley loves her Uncle Charley and Uncle Patrick...so much so we think she has a crush on both of them...when she first sees them she gets so shy...as you can see below, she warms up quickly...

Besides her grandparents, Riley has two favorite people right now…Arianna Colosimo and Siena Rounds. Just the mention of their names and she starts dancing, screaming and smiling! Below are come pictures of Riley eating a Popsicle and waiting for cousin Siena (“See-See” is what Riley calls her) to come and play with her…

This is her screaming "See-See!"

Riley's first Popsicle...I think it was a hit!

Riley will be a great big sister :)

Pool fun at Grandma Sue and Grandpa Gary's...

Pucker up Siena...I have lots of germs to share!

Riley LOVES her grandma Sue...

Eating crackers...kinda a big deal in Riley World right now....

Riley LOVES rocks...

Riley and Siena

We bought Riley a really fun toy for the backyard...she loves to play on it!

Climbing down the steps...
Siena Swinging...

Siena Looking Outside...

Here is Riley in her "big-girl" car seat facing forward...we just flipped her around (she's tired after a long day at the Children's Art Museum with Dad!

Animal Noises and School Pictures

2009-05-04T13:16:00.007-07:00

As many of you know (and have heard on multiple occasions), Riley has a wide collection of animal noises that she likes to make. Not only is Riley responding to the question, “What noise does a ______ make?” but she is recognizing animal drawings (abstract and cartoon) and photographs and connecting the noise to the object as well. The learning curve that Riley is facing at this age seems so steep that I guess Cody and I don’t expect such quick progression…we are literally impressed EVERY day with the connections and knowledge she is not only learning but retaining as well.

Last weekend there were multiple instances in which we were totally blown away…. Cody had some animal planet show playing in the background as Riley sat down for lunch last Saturday…I wasn’t paying attention to it and I assumed that she wasn’t either…how quickly I forget that Riley hears and absorbs everything around her! There was a small domestic looking monkey on the show that was stuck on a telephone pole…Riley instantly started making her monkey noise and scratching her armpits. Later that afternoon, she was looking at a book and it had a close-up picture of a gorilla (very different looking than a small monkey) and again, she started to make the monkey noise. I guess we didn’t realize that she recognized “monkeys” with such different looks!

Later that night I took Riley to Trader Joes to complete some weekly shopping. Riley was in a very talkative mood…she said “hi” to everyone who passed by, was using quite a bit of sign language and words to ask for different foods (I always have to give her the food item and she puts it in the cart…when we get to the fruit bars, she always asks for more because she loves them!). While we were getting some milk, she started to make her horse animal noise (which is the best of her animal noises because it is sooo funny). I was looking around for a horse but didn’t see anything…giving Riley less credit than she deserves, I just assumed she was being silly and making the noise for fun. Before we left, I realized that I forgot something in the same aisle as the milk, when we went back, Riley started making the horse noise again. I knew she had to be recognizing something so I looked harder and realized there was a very abstract looking horse piñata hanging from the ceiling…I couldn’t believe that she knew the bright pink and yellow piñata was a horse (it was a very abstract representation of a horse).

Riley’s current repertoire of animal noises include: dog, cat, horse, cow, pig, sheep, fish, rabbit, duck, bird, bee and bear (I am sure I am missing some too).

Below are some pictures of Riley at school over the last few months…Cody and I love this school…they offer very stimulating activities throughout the day, which are not only fun for Riley but very educational as well.

Easter Fun!

2009-04-14T11:09:00.014-07:00

Cody was working on Easter, so Riley and I spent the day with my mom. We spent the morning at Butler Park playing on the swings and slides. While Riley loves to play, she also enjoys watching other kids play. There was a group of elementary aged kids pretending to be dogs...Riley thought it was interesting enough that she stood there for 10 minutes watching them! Riley is also very particular about being clean (not sure where she gets its from :)) but when she gets sand in her shoes, she has to clean it out before continuing with her play; if she gets sand or dirt on her hands, she points out that it was an "uh-oh" and then wipes her hands together until it is all gone.

When we got back to my mom's house, one of Patrick's friends was sleeping in the extra bedroom (aka Riley's Room) so I decided to see if Riley would take a nap in between my mom and I....bad idea! It was actually quite funny, we would lay there pretending to be asleep (to encourage Riley) but Riley thought it would be much more fun to jump up and down on the bed, talk really load and climb all over us. After a few minutes of play, I firmly told Riley that it was time to go to sleep. So she would lay her head on the bed (I would see her eyes rolling back in her head- she really was tired)...I would think that maybe she was listening...and then she would jump up 10 seconds later laughing and talking. This repeated several more times until I told her that daddy was going to be mad if she didn't go to sleep...she looked at me very intense trying to understand the consequences if she didn't listen, again she would lay her head down for a few seconds only to pop-up again and start the game all over again. She was making funny faces, playing peek-a boo and making me laugh (although I was trying not to let it show- I pretended to ignore her the entire time hoping that my lack of reaction would encourage her to stop and go to sleep). After 30 minutes of games, I had to take her out of the room and put her to sleep in my arms with a bottle (so 2008!). The nap only lasted for about 50 minutes...so she was pretty ornery the rest of the day.

We went to Great Grandma Riley's house for Easter dinner. Great Grandma and Aunt Barbara made po' boy sandwiches and we hung out in the courtyard area while Riley and Nicholas played.

We took a couple family pictures (minus Cody):

Here are the pictures from the park:

At Great Grandma and Aunt Barbara's House...Sean, Darcey and Nicholas

We asked Riley where her teeth were to trick her into smiling for the camera...she went for the belly button instead :)

Fashion Diva!

2009-03-23T21:23:00.003-07:00

I think we have a girly girl on our hands. Riley is extremely fascinated by all of my high heals, bangle bracelets, sunglasses, purses and even my bras...she tries to put them on every morning and night when I am dressing. Riley will come into my closet with her little leather peri ped mary janes, locate my patent leather high heals, rip off her shoes, set my heals up perfect on the tile, step into them and stroll around the house. When she was dressed up below, I asked her to shake her booty and SHE DID! It was so funny...she now knows where her "booty" is and how you shake it to the music.

Also, whenever we get into the car, she has to have her pink sparkly shades on...she keeps them on the entire time we are in the car. As much as Cody likes to teach her farting noises, how to throw balls and pick her nose (yes, she know what and where her buggers are), she still likes to be a girly girl!

Quick funny story- Riley has been eating like a horse the last few days (she must be going through a growing spurt), so her belly was HUGE tonight when I gave her a bath. I always asked her where all her body parts are when we are in the bath and tonight when I asked her where her belly button was so she looked down at her belly and starting feeling around her belly to find it but couldn't because her belly was soooo big, she tried several times and then after no success, looked up at me and said "uh oh". It was pretty funny. I love how she is understanding so much now.

Riley's First Haircut- By Mom

2009-03-23T21:02:00.004-07:00

On Riley's 16 month birthday, she got her first haircut...courtesy of mom. I decided that the tub would be the best place to try and cut her hair (this hair cut really only consisted of a few hairs but it wasn't easy!). Since Riley says "hi" and "bye" to everything right now, I told her to say "bye, bye hair" and she did. Here she is waving goodbye to her hair.

Riley was starting to grow a mullet...I just wanted it to grow long enough to put it in a pony but decided that the current hair growth pattern wasn't going to accomplish that goal quite yet...so we cut the mullet hairs off. Maybe it will grow faster now?

I had to get some snap shots of Riley before the mullet hair disappeared...she loves to show her teeth so her she is showcasing her talent (it actually makes for a cute picture)...

And then there were her crazy bangs...they were cute when pulled back in a clip but since we can never keep that in her hair...her bangs kind of looked like a Mohawk...so a mullet and Mohawk had to go.

After unsuccesfully attempting to cut her wet hair with the kitchen scissors in the bath tub (she thought it was pretty awful; not sure why but she hated me trying to cut her hair), I tried to towel dry her hair and cut it that way. Once Riley decides that she doesn't like something, she let's you know it. So half way through cutting the mullet, we had to get out of the tub. THe next ten minutes consisted of me chasing a naked baby around the house with scissors. As a result, the hair cut didn't turn out perfect...the bangs got a bit short. I guess it would be worse...

We have heard that rubbing tomato sauce in her hair may stimulate the roots and shaving her head will make it grow in thicker (although Ashley, our local expert hair friend, has rejected these myths). We haven't decided to resort to the shaving of the head (yet) but are starting to consider the tomato sauce. Grow hair...grow! My new goal- a pony tail by her second birthday...that should be achievable, right?!?!

Beware..Naked Baby Ahead!

2009-02-26T20:50:00.004-07:00

Yes...this is Riley, every night before bed. I was serious when I said she must have a secret stash of redbull that she drinks...

Here she is running from me, she doesn't want to put on her lotion or diaper...

The other night she found a Trader Joes paperbag and put it on her head; she walked around the house cracking up becasue she couldn't see anything and kept running into stuff. Ever since that night, everything that she can balance goes on her head, the vegetable strainer is no exception...

Her belly is soooo big, Cody and I were dying laughing when we noticed how big it was, it looks like a tumor. Cody asked if we should get her checked out :) The angle of this picture doesn't give her belly much justice but cute none the less...

Backyard Fun!!

2009-02-22T12:39:00.004-07:00

Riley LOVES to play outside! While we acknowledge that every 15 month old has quite a bit of energy (at least more than their parents)...we truly think that Riley has ten times more energy than any child we have met. It is a constant go, go, go! People who don't see her often ask if she is always on the move, the answer is Yes! Riley is either full of energy or sleeping, there is no in between. Literally before she goes to bed she is running around like she just drank a Red Bull. (see the next blog- Naked Riley)..we have to convince her that it is time to go to sleep. Once we convince her of such, we take her in her room, give her a bottle and read her a bead time book (One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss...her fav this month), before the book is over, she pushes away the bottle and the book, reaches out to give us a kiss and then waves us goodbye...within seconds she is sleeping :)

On this adventure in the Rounds' backyard, Riley discovered the hose and as she does with everything, she put it in her mouth and started walking around.

One of her favorite things to play in (well, for about 15 seconds and then boredom sets in and she wants to explore something else)...the backyard swing!

Do you think she has an attitude?

And then there is the hammock...while Riley is very busy, she is also very caring and thoughtful...here she is taking a break with her baby doll Sophie. She loves to giver her dolls hugs and kisses! Notice her arm around the doll :)

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-22T12:28:00.004-07:00

Riley got all dressed up for Valentine's Day...we went shopping at Nordstrom's for new mattresses and then had lunch at the Vig with Grandma and Uncle Pat (dad was working)...Valentine's day is also Uncle Pat's B-day. By the end of the day, Riley had so many holes in her stockings, we had to throw them away and the hair bows...somewhere on the floor of Scottsdale Fashion Square!

Christmas Eve Pictures

2009-01-19T12:15:00.003-07:00

Riley's Second Christmas

2008-12-27T15:47:00.010-07:00

We spent Christmas Eve and Grannie Annie's house as usual. The entire family came over and we had a great time. We had ham/roast/pork and many sides for dinner, hot apple cidar and a wine punch to drink and homemade toffee, peanut butter brownies, lemon pie and coffee for dessert. After dinner we played the gift exchange game...Cody ended up with a zip-lock bag sealer (to prevent freezer burn, I guess?) and I ended up with a scarf, mittens and Dunkin Donuts gift certificate. Riley of course received tons of gifts....a poodle purse from her Cousin Grace, an adorable shirt that says "Smiley Riley", gold slippers and a hair bow from Arianna Colosimo and plenty, plenty more! Riley had so much fun (full of energy as usual) and crashed by 8:00pm...she was so tired she ended up staying the night at Grannie Annie's house.

The next morning (Christmas morning) we woke up early, went on a walk to see the sheep and horses down the street then we went to Grandma Sue and Grandpa Gary's house for breakfast...we had pancakes with blueberries and hot syrup...Riley opened even more gifts and enjoyed spending some time with Uncle Charlie, Aunt Amy and Cousin Siena.

Here are some of our pictures of Riley's second Christmas...

Riley's Christmas Attire...sparkley tutu, vest and shoes...

Dad with Riley and Siena Bug (Riley 13 months, Siena 7 months)

Riley with her cousin Grace and Madison Riley (Riley loves these girls so much!)
Siena and her Aunt Gina (Amy's sister)

Riley giving Cousin Siena kisses on Christmas morning...

The "mini" Christmas tree at Granny Annie's house...

Riley knows what she wants and when she can't do it herself (i.e. opening the door below) she gets a bit frustrated...

Christmas Bells...Riley loved to shake them and hear the noise that they made...

Riley in her swing and ringing bells with Uncle Patrick Christmas day...it was very cold out but Riley really wanted to play in the swing (she sings "help" and that is how we know what she wants)

Riley and her family...

Some random snapshots of Riley...

Siena Marie Rounds...

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

2008-12-20T13:36:00.005-07:00

Last night Riley met Santa for the first time and was like most kids...a bit scared. We went to a Christmas Party at Paula's house (co-worker who lives down the street)...Riley had a great time, minus the 10 seconds that she was in Santa's arms (she was signing "help" the entire time...it was sad but cute!).

Zoo Lights

2008-12-20T13:02:00.008-07:00

For my birthday on Sunday night, we went to dinner at Houston's (yes, we all got hot fudge sundaes!)...after dinner, we went to Zoo Lights at the Phoenix Zoo. We got to the zoo around 7pm and Riley was already tired at that point...but she was so mesmerized by the lights, music and people that she stayed awake the entire time we were there.
Riley and Arianna shared the red wagon and Amy snuggled Siena in her wrap. Here are some pictures from our fun night...

December 14, 2008...Phoenix Zoo

THE KIDS: Riley, Arianna, Siena

Riley keep hanging over the side of the stroller and not moving...she was seriously sitting like this totally frozen for minutes

Riley enjoying the lights with her head resting on the stroller...

Riley loved the stroller and being all bundled up in her Juicy jumpsuit (thank Stephanie!) and hat/mittens (thanks Grannie Annie!)

Amy and Siena Bug

Mom and Dad

Grandma & Grandpa Rounds

Prince, Stephanie and Arianna

Riley's Palace

2008-12-20T09:40:00.006-07:00

Riley plays hard and sleeps hard...take a peak in the room that she does both! Since we weren't in our house before Riley was born, we didn't complete this room until she was about six months old. It all worked out perfectly, becasue she didn't really need her own room until she was sleeping her in crib, which started at about six months.

Cody installed all of the paneling and baseboard, we had a company come in and design a closet that would grow with her...everything is adjustable, I painted the room in a dull rose pink and chocolate brown. Riley also has her own tree with birds, and branches as well.

Every night we rock Riley to sleep on the wicker rocker with a blanket and bottle...once we put her into her crib, she tucks her legs under her, sticks her butt in the air and snuggles with her bunnie and falls alseep without a peep (well, most of the time).

We have a light with a timer that turns on every morning at 7:oo am...Riley is learning that we will not get her out of her bed until that light turns on. This also works great on the weekends when we want to sleep in some...we just set the timer to a later time (shhh...don't tell Riley!).

Welcome to Riley's Room..."Poop Happens" quite a bit in this room so beware!

(PS I totally stole this idea from Jen...the photographer that took Riley's 6 mo pics :))

Riley's teak chair with homemade pillow (thanks Granny Annie!)

A cross that we picked up while I was 4 months pregnant after leaving Grandpa Riley's funeral in upstate New York...

Riley's favorite bunny to sleep with laying on the bedding that became the template for her room design...

Riley's both announcement framed in her closet...

We have called Riley "monkey" ever since she was in my belly...this hangs above her door...

Flowers hanging above Riley's crib...

Riley's rocking chair...

The birds hanging above her play area...we say hi to these birds evey morning and Riley loves it...she gets so excited to say hi to them and wave her hands. Now when we ask her where the birdies are, she always look up in the sky pointing for them.

Riley's closet...

Party Like a Rockstar

2008-11-25T22:22:00.011-07:00

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Riley, Happy Birthday to you! Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated with us, we really appreciate you taking time out of your busy weekend to celebrate with Riley. She had such a blast...walking up and down the kitchen pumping her arms (aka her happy dance).

Some of Riley's friends: Casey, Arianna, Siena

Present Time! The Cardinal's cheerleader costume was her second dress change for the party...Nate Opel got it for her (too cute and she loved wearing it!).

Cupcake Time! (Riley didn't like it...she threw it to the dogs!)
Cupcakes from the Wicked Bakery on Cave Creek...strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, lemon berry, carrot cake and red velvet. Riley got to try a strawberry one.

Play Time!

Riley 's 12 Month Pictures

2008-11-25T21:27:00.006-07:00

Riley has had an amazing first year...she has grown into this little person and it is amazing to look back and see how quickly it all happened.

One year ago today, we were waking at odd hours of the night, trying to keep the dogs from eating the oh so precious green "binkies" from the hospital, eating only "white/brown" foods to prevent crying episodes from gas, boiling bottles to keep them "sanitized" and reading every book known to man about how to raise a baby. Today we are finally sleeping through the night (still waking quite early- 6am), tying to keep the dogs from sticking their tounge in Riley's mouth, learning how different foods change the texture, color and stank of human poop (its so gross!), using the 10 second rule for anything that hits the ground to avoid cleaning, cleaning and re-cleaning baby items that are ending up in hands that have been touching the ground all day long and using sign language as our secondary language so Riley can start telling us what she wants and needs.

Riley is such a beautiful child and we are very blessed to have her as ours...she is pretty stinkin amazing!

Here we go...standing, walking, stumbling, crying...it is quite a learning process. Each and every day she gets better and better!

Halloween

2008-11-10T11:26:00.003-07:00

Riley was...of course...a monkey for Halloween! We got this great costume at Old Navy...it was already 50% off two weeks before Halloween...mom can never pass up a great bargain! Cody was working so Riley and I joined Prince, Stephanie and Arianna (aka Fancy Nancy for the night) and walked the neighborhood. It was a beautiful night...a bit warm...there were TONS of kids out. Riley fell asleep within 10 minutes of the walk :)

The first time we put Riley in the monkey costume she was cracking up...she loved it...especially the banana in her pocket!

Pool Day at the Biltmore

2008-10-27T16:35:00.003-07:00

Riley and Siena spent the afternoon with their Dads at the Biltmore last week. Cody loves to give Riley mohawks when her hair is wet...as you will see, her hair lends well to this hairstyle at the moment. Riley also took a long nap on Cody...made for great pictures! Siena is as cute as a button...don't you just want to squeeze those cheeks!

Newport Beach Vacation

2008-10-07T20:24:00.007-07:00

We spent last week at Newport Beach...wonderful vacation! This was Riley's first time on a plane...she was great on both flights. During the first flight she was really sqwirmy and loved to pull the man's hair in front of us (he didn't like it so much). On the way home Riley was much more content sitting in out lap, playing with toys and looking out the window.

Riley loved the ocean and sand...she wasn't sure about the texture of the sand at first but by the end of the trip she was eating it. While the water was cold enough for surfers to wear wetsuits, Riley didn't mind getting soaked. She crawled all around and had a blast.

We felt like Riley learned so many new things on this trip. While she had been starting some of these things before, they were perfected during this vacation. Saying "ball" when she sees a ball, saying "What's that?" when she points at something, waving and saying "bye" when someone leave, making crazy noises with her mouth and copying everything that we do. She knows what she wants and gets very mad when she can't have it...we are trying to teach her patience and discipline but it will still be a while until she understands what we are trying to teach her. She was so much fun on this vacation!

Newport Beach Vacation

2008-10-07T20:23:00.000-07:00

10 Month Photos

2008-09-21T20:41:00.005-07:00

Riley has started copying everything that we do, she claps, waves goodbye, plays peek-a-boo, understands what "no" means...it goes on and on. Everytime she sees an electrical outlet, she says "ah, ah, ahh" because that was how I enforced "no" everytime she tried to play with one. Riley is also VERY talkative...she babbles ALL day long; it is so stinkin cute!

Belated 9 Month Photo

2008-09-21T20:12:00.004-07:00

Riley loves bath time...she can get some serious splashes going! She yells and throws her hands up and down...I have to dry the camera several times during this bath :)

Riley's Dedication 8-17-08

2008-08-24T18:17:00.007-07:00

On August 17th, we had Riley dedicated as a child of God and made a promise as a family to raise her with a faith, love and hope. We were blessed to have tons of our family and friends in attendance. Here are some pictures from Living Streams Church and the brunch at my parent's house after.

8 Month Pictures...Belated posting

2008-08-13T12:50:00.002-07:00

Riley is so amazing at this age! She is totally crawling and is no getting on her feat and bear crawling (no knees)...almost ready to walk, I'd give her four more weeks and we may be seeing a first step. Riley has also started eating finger foods on her own and loves the independence of feeding herself...carrots, green beans, bananas, strawberries, peaches, cheerios (her fav at the moment). She is also starting to sign to us, her first sign was "milk", pretty amazing that she can tell us what she wants at this young of an age. She is also babbling mama and dada...we think she has started to make the connection because mama is spoken when she is tired, hungry and needy and dada is spoken when she is playing and happy (apparently the way she recognizes our roles as parents right now).

First Tooth!!

2008-08-01T15:22:00.002-07:00

It finally broke through about one week ago! I'd take a picture but she barely let's me get my finger in her mouth much less a camera :) We are now exploring new food options with her...pureed everything!

Riley is also sleeping through the night EVERY night...going down around 7:30am and waking at 5:30am (while I wish she'd sleep until 7:00am...it's way better than 2:00am)!

Riley is also getting very daring and trying to stand on her own (without support). She LOVES to stand up at every opportunity...we think she is going to be an early walker.

While we haven't had her sign (sign language) back to us quite yet, she is definitely recognizing and paying close attention when we sign. She is copying other actions so she should be signing back soon!

Riley's Tutu Picture

2008-08-01T15:14:00.005-07:00

L-O-V-E her new tutu...and "R" hair clip. Babies are so pure and honest...this picture really captures that for me :)

Photo by Jen Garbett (Photojenic Photography)

Crazy 8 Month Old Baby!

2008-07-21T17:19:00.003-07:00

Riley turned eight months old today and is loving every minute of the movement that 8 months has brought her...she crawling on hands and knees (and getting quite quick at it!), standing at any opportunity where support within her reach, babbling and babbaling at everything she finds interesting (just about everything), she is figuring out how to clap (which was quite funny to watch her learn...her hands hit her face, her stomach...only about 50% of the time do her hands actually hit each other). She even started sleeping in her crib in her room...mom and dad love that as we can actually go to bed without tip toeing around the room!

She started her new childcare today at the Lincoln Learning Center...we already love it! They even provide formula and pureed fruits/veggies...so wonderful! The room is so bright with tons of natural light and even has an "infant" playground with little toys and a padded ground. I think we have finally found the right school for Riley!

Riley also started childcare at church...on the first day every teacher in the room was in love with her! Strangers are always mesmerized by her bright blue eyes...hopefully we won't say the same about boys when she gets older :)

Mt. Humphrey's Hike (Flagstaff)

2008-07-13T17:30:00.006-07:00

On July 12th, we joined a group of Evergreener's and hiked the tallest Mountain in Arizona...Mt. Humphrey's Peak (part of the San Francisco Peaks) in Flagstaff. Cody and I are not "avid" hikers but fairly active and thought this would be only slightly challenging...we thought wrong! We carried Riley in a Kelty-Kids backpack (30+ pounds- Cody carried her 80% of the time) and made it all the way to the top after a difficult 4.5 miles up the winding trail. At the top, we were delighted by the amazing views....however, the weather on the peak is very unpredictable. Within five minutes of our hike down, it started hailing and then raining! Poor Riley was shivering...I ended up taking off my socks to cover her legs, my sweater to wrap around her body and Cody RAN 4.5 miles down the mountain (with a sinus infection and twisted ankle) until he reached the lodge at the bottom. With no socks, I got blisters and had to stop running...meeting Cody and Riley 15 minutes later at the bottom. Cody says he isn't soar today but I think he lies...I can barely move and I didn't carry Riley for more than 20 minutes of our 5 hour hike!

Riley was such a great baby on our Flagstaff trip...she had to deal with a 5 hour car ride to Flagstaff because of an overturned tractor trailer and a 5 hour hike confined to a backpack.

My favorite picture at the moment...

2008-07-02T11:04:00.004-07:00

Just because I LOVE this picture...I thought I would share it!

Full of giggles!

2008-07-02T10:31:00.004-07:00

Riley laughs at any sort of peek-a-boo game...especially if dad is involved!

Bear Crawling!

2008-07-02T10:19:00.003-07:00

We have reached a fun milestone with Riley...movement! She can't sit still anymore...and each day her skills improve more and more, which means she is getting into more and more. Yesterday I found that she had pulled herself up (standing) against a bookshelf in her room (not anchored to a wall!) and that she had gotten into a wicker basket and was in the process of pulling slivers of wood from the woven branches. I think I need to hire a company to come and baby proof the house.

Seven Months Old Today!

2008-06-21T15:41:00.010-07:00

Riley turns seven months today...its amazing how quick these seven months have gone! Rye is SO close to crawling...scooting and pulling her way to toys but stills needs to learn how to coordinate the movement of her arms and legs together.

Father's Day and Cousin Siena

2008-06-16T20:51:00.006-07:00

Cousin Siena Marie Rounds was born on June 6-8-08 and weighted 8 pounds 12 ounces...Father's Day was the first day Riley got to meet her!

Sitting, Standing, Playing...growing up!

2008-06-16T20:33:00.015-07:00

Riley is growing everytime I blink...she is now standing on her own (with support), rolling all over the place, interacting with toys, recognizing the faces of her family and if just full of personality!

6 Months Old!

2008-06-02T10:46:00.008-07:00

Riley is 6 months old! She is moving all over the place now...rolling from front to back and back to front; sitting up on her own and is even starting to figure out how to pull herself up to a seated position! It is amazing to watch how quickly she learns new skills...each day is something new! We got professional 6 month pictures taken but they are not in yet...here are some shots that I took of her last week! Enjoy!

TWO MONTHS OLD!!!

2008-02-15T08:17:00.003-07:00

Pretty in pink!

Riley loves to have her diaper changed....she can be crying one minute and the second you put her on her changing table she is as happy as can be! Riley grew so much these first two months. At her 8 week doctors appointment, we learned that she weighed 12.7 (75th percentile)....she is already fitting into 6 month clothes!!

2008-02-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

The funny faces that I make! Even the sad ones make mom and dad laugh...they are too cute! Riley still loves to stick out her tongue...

Riley and her family

2008-01-24T18:31:00.001-07:00

PICTURES OF RILEY AND FAMILY...First few days after she war born.

Our Favorite Outfits....

2008-01-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

Three of our favorite outfits...we took her home from the hospital in the four leaf clovers; the monkey suit is daddy's favorite (he always called her monkey before she was born; the tie-dye hippie set was a gift passed down from a cousin :)

2008-01-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

Riley Addison Rounds

Born: November 21, 2007
Due Date: Novemmber 19, 2007
Weight: 7 pounds, 7 ounces
Length: 19 inches
Banner Good Samaritan Hospital

Riley made her grand entrance into this world with a great tounge fascination...she wouldn't keep it in her mouth!

Birth Story: Before leaving for work on the 20th I had this need to bring my hospital bag and the car seat with me...it was just a felling I had! My contractions started around noon that day while having lunch at work (membranes were stripped earlier that morning)...around 3pm I decided to call it a day and went home. I went on a long walk around the neighborhood with Cody and Pat...they were working on the house that day. We went and had dinner at my parents house and I still wasn't convinced that I was in labor...I didn't want to be that girl that goes to the hospital and gets sent home. So my mom and I went on several more walks. During our final walk, when I had to stop talking during my contractions, I was convinced that this was the night. At 9pm we decided to head to the hospital...just in time for valet to be closed. So we parked far away and made the long walk to the maternity ward. Once admitted into triage, I was evaluated and the nurse said I need to walk for another hour before I was admittable (I was only three centimeters and needed to be four). This was the longest hour of my life...Cody and I walked up and down the halls of the Children's Hospital for 45 minutes...I couldn't stand another 15. I couldn't talk, move or do ANYTHING while my contractions were active. I told the nurse that she had to admit me...I would have to be dragged from the hospital bed if they wanted me to go home. Lucky for me, it was a slow night and they admitted me at 3 1/2 centimeters. Next came the epidural...this was a piece of cake after having those contractions (and I am deathly afraid of needles). Not so lucky for me, the epidural only worked on half of my body! I kept topping my drip off...over and over again...until eventually I couldn't feel anything. When it came time to push, I didn't know where I was pushing, the nurse said I was pushing all the pressure in my head and wasn't doing a good job. They decided to take the epidural dripper away from me....boo! After they broke my water, I quickly increased to 10 centimeters and started pushing again...this time Riley's heartrate started dropping from 130 to 60...within seconds every nurse and doc were in my room. The decision was made to use forcepts (scary, right?) to deliver the baby as the cord may be wrapped around her neck and she needed to come out as quick as possible. And how quickly she came...two pushes later and there she was, a healthy baby girl! She was so alert after being born...she stayed awake for about 4 hours!