it's been one crazy week...

For starters, I took my first trip away from my boys in order to attend a cash management seminar in NYC. Those last three letters will tell anyone that knows me fairly well that I was ambivalent about the trip. I love New York -- love, Love LOVE going there. This time, my excitement was tempered at times with missing J & Riley. I realized my first night there that it's not as fun when the ones you love dearest aren't with you. I enjoyed myself in spite of missing my boys but hoping the next time they will be with me.

J sent me these pictures on Sunday night showing me how Riley spent some of the afternoon:

Riley is getting better at sitting up on his own:









He does lean a bit at times...









And sometimes goes down altogether...









I did manage to see my friend Abbie, who was due to deliver
her firstborn son last Tuesday. She remains a lady-in-waiting
to date. Here's the beautiful mom and dad (Brian) about to
have their lives change forever:










I always think food when I'm in NYC...I got to eat a lot of sushi and visit my favorite place for afternoon tea -- Alice's Tea Cup. Oh yeah, and I learned about treasury stuff, which is helping me as I prepare to take a professional exam in January.

So J played single dad for a few days. The second night, Riley woke up several times with what J thinks was gas. So neither of them slept well that night. Thankfully, he was good for our friend Alecia, who watched him in the late afternoon /early evening until J got home.

I got home late Tuesday night and had to take Riley to Children's for a checkup on Wed morning. They do this every six months to monitor his progress. Riley didn't take his usual morning nap so he was tired and not "performing" for them, which gave me the urge to explain everything away to them so the doc wouldn't think that he was slow or something. He wasn't his usual active self and showed little interest in playing their "games", so I wasn't totally surprised when they recommended that I meet with Early Intervention...again. They were concerned about his lack of torso strength and his preference of using his right hand that they saw. I'm not sure it's really that big of a deal -- I mean he's only 6 months -- but since they won't see him again until next summer, they may want to have it checked out, just in case.

All I know is that I felt defensive when they suggested that he was delayed in these areas. I know that moms can relate when I say that it felt like a verdict on my parenting. Why do I take the blame for these things?? I came home feeling like I had failed him because I have to work outside the home and leave him with someone else who can't focus these things like I would if I had more time. So all this stuff is connected to my working outside of my home when I'd rather be my boy's full-time caretaker. Later on, when he's probably doing all the things that boys his age are doing, I'll realize how silly I was for making such a big deal about it in my mind.

Anyway, we finished with the neurologist and she told me they needed one more blood test, so I had to subject my tired child to the needle. The first time, they poked around and never did hit the vein so he was miserable and I wasn't much better. I prayed that God would help them to find the vein on the other arm and thankfully they did. I hate seeing my boy in pain -- even for less than a minute.

By the time we got home, it was too late to go in to work, but I had to stop by there to grab a few things to bring home. So Riley-boy got some good lovin' from our front desk receptionist Deborah and reportedly charmed the ladies of the office who came by. Being tired, my snuggle-boy was even more snuggly which makes him even more adorable. Here's a shot of Deborah and Riley enjoying the Christmas tree:










Thursday, a snowstorm blew in so we came home in the early afternoon. We got to enjoy a rare afternoon together as a family which was great after being away earlier this week. We noted how often Riley does use his left hand (a lot) which adds to our suspicion that what the doc saw was not normal for our boy. He's also doing well at standing -- maybe even better than sitting. Here's some shots we took:




























It's good to be home, back in my own bed, being with my family....

Shelby