hat happy

Actually...he's not crazy about hats; he pulled it off shortly afterwards, but I wanted to savor a picture in which he looks Like A Boy. So many people in the store ask me if he's a boy that this seems to be the only way they'll be sure.

Anyway, no time to do a real blog -- we're getting ready for our first visitors since moving to Wakefield. My brother and nephew are arriving tomorrow morning from the west coast. We're getting the piles of crap out of the common areas and cleaning (for the first time!). With J being gone at a seminar for most of the weekend, we're doing the speed clean.

So I guess I'd better get to it,

Shelby

a day of firsts

Today...a relatively warm 55 degree day, Riley and/or I experienced a few firsts:

1) I enjoyed my first tank and shorts run of the season. The trails are dry and with clear skies and birds singing, I can actually believe that summer will come back to Boston.

2) Riley got his inaugural ride in the Chariot Stroller - a combo jogging and biking stroller that we bought before he was born. It was the most expensive item that we purchased for our boy -- even half off through Ebay. After taking it around the lake today, I have to say it will get a lot of use. It handled the "off-road" sections well and is capable to being adapted to wind & rain with various flaps that can be used.


















3) Lastly, today we saw the evidence of tooth#2 making its appearance:


















Riley's be a little off the past couple of weeks since his first tooth erupted, his nose started running and he began battling a very bad case of diaper rash. This second little fella isn't helping things. The worst part is the rash...the doc put him on an anti-fungal medicine that we hope will clear it up within a few days.

Ending on a brighter note, Riley has begun waving bye-bye. He only does it with his right hand and turns it towards himself, but he does it in response to hearing the words. I caught a short-video of him that showcases his latest skill:



We love our boy!

Shelby

10 months old!

The kid's hit double digits... and the countdown to May 23rd is on! Here's a short run-down of what Riley's been up to the past month:

He's officially a crawler now... I can no longer leave him in the living room and find him in relatively the same place anymore. If I step out to the kitchen, I'm likely to see this about 30 sec later:














I captured this video of him crawling and using his next stage sippy cup (no handles):



He still gravitates towards ducky (he has 5 total now) and enjoys chewing the tail now that he's teething:















He's just starting to cruise tho' he's not very coordinated yet and prefers to stretch to whatever he's after rather than side-stepping towards it. This invariably leads to falling over. It has been opinioned that his crawling stage may not last very long.

Generally, he goes to bed between 7:30 - 8p and wakes up sometime between 5:30 - 6:30a, depending on how much daytime sleep he's had.

He still has three 6-8oz bottles of formula -- two in the day and one before bed. Still keeping solids pretty simple -- cereal, fruit, veggies, cheese and yogurt and he's enjoyed some of our lentil soup. I hope to introduce him to more when we finally get finished unpacking and getting the house somewhat ready for our first visitors next month.

He's learning to wave bye bye -- he waves to himself. It's very cute.

Even with his teething and near constant runny nose, he continues to be a delight and a very contented baby. We are really enjoying this stage where he's interacting more and more with us. We thank God for our healthy and happy son!

Shelby

swinging...take 2

Riley got out for his second trip to the park when we had some warmer weather...he sure loves the swing. He also enjoys watching the other kids play. He squawks and squeals with delight:



I love how picturesque this playground is...you see the lake in the background and the equipment Riley will no doubt be climbing on in a matter of months:






























Our happy boy:
















Shelby

nose ring

...of the cheerio sort. You can guess the adhesive:





























He's enjoying his solids...he gets cereal with fruit, veggies, cheese, avocado and yogurt on a daily basis and we're experimenting with some meats like canned tuna, chicken and salmon mixed with greek yogurt. He seems to like it for the most part.

I caught him looking pensive (that is, tired) the other day and had to get a shot before he started smiling for the camera:





























We love our good-eatin' boy!

Shelby

our irish prince

We had to put his up just because he's so cute! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We love our Irish Prince!


Jonathan

the crawler

Riley's starting to take multiple steps forward now that he's building his crawling confidence. He's particularly interested in shutting doors and opening drawers, so it's time to start childproofing the house. Caught a short video of him chasing after one of his favorite toys:



We love our crawling boy!

Shelby

slithering under the loveseat

In reference to my March 5th blog about Riley scooting himself under the loveseat and unable to get himself out of his little pickle, I present the video showing how he does this little maneuver...



Love my mobile boy!

Shelby

mealtime

As planned, I've been expanding Riley's culinary choices and he's practicing self-feeding. He gets cheese, cheerios and rice biscuits each day and is doing well with each. He still misses getting the little pieces into his mouth, but gets it in at least half the time.

J took a little video of our sweet, little self-feeder:



On the topic of food, we're starting early indoctrinating our son on the wonders of sushi. I was watching a PBS show on it and you can see Riley watching in the foreground:











Lastly, here's the first picture of the famous tooth rearing it's lovely head on the bottom:
















Shelby

swinging boy

Last week, when the weather was "warm" enough, I put Riley in his stroller and headed to the lake where there's a playground. He took his second ride on the swing. He wasn't too sure about it at first, but after a few minutes, he was having a good time.

Here's the evolution of his fun in the swing:



















































It's nice to have longer days now and weather that's warm enough for a stroll by the lake. Today, we strolled downtown to the library where Riley had fun with the toys they had in the kids area:











Have I mentioned how much I like living in Wakefield? It was my hope to have a home near the lake and downtown where I could put Riley in the stroller and get out for some fresh air and exercise. The library is one of the bonuses of our location. I think we'll be spending a lot of time there in the coming years if today is any indication.

Stay tuned for more pics and video of Riley crawling and maybe that new tooth!

Shelby

first tooth!

Yep, it's finally here... I noticed Riley was "chewing" after I left him in the living room for a couple of minutes. Worried that he found something on the floor to put in his mouth, I checked and found nothing but a speck of white on his lower gums. Feeling it confirmed that it's the top of his first tooth.

He hasn't been drooling or cranky so I was a bit surprised to find the tooth. I don't dare dream that they'll all come in this easy. He seems to have fun rubbing his tongue over it. Sweet boy.

We'll try and get a picture this weekend...just thought I'd share the big news!

Shelby

settling in

Well the Berg family survived the big move. Now we're starting to settle in to the new place a bit. Riley is enjoying the new digs.

For the first few days Grammy was visiting from the winter home in Phoenix. She was a HUGE help in getting the place set up, especially in the kitchen. She put her exceptional organizational skills to use there and even made a list on a Word doc telling us where everything is. Organization of this type absolutely amazes me, and having the kitchen done is sweet.

Grammy also got to spend some quality time with Riley. Here she is reading him a book:










One afternoon Momma and Grammy put Riley on the floor in the living room to play while they walked into the kitchen (the next room) for a minute. When they came back in he was nowhere to be seen. Since he's not crawling or walking yet it was odd. After a short look around our intrepid explorer was found:










He was trapped under the love seat, but as soon as he was freed he went right back, scooting around like an old pro:










Riley's been working on his standing. He tries to pull himself up on anything that's available. Here's a shot of him holding on to one of the living room ottomans (with Grammy's support because they're light and they move...)










Here's a little video of the Standing Boy in action:



Lastly, I was ironing in the guest room on Monday and had Riley on the futon. I had found out the day before that because the back of the futon slants back Riley can stand without holding on to anything when he's facing out. It makes for a wonderful shot of our Standing Boy:










I never expected that watching my kid learn to do normal, everyday things like standing up would be so much fun. It's unbelievable how much joy it brings me.

We love our Standing Boy and our new home!

Jonathan