12 months & 8 days

It's been awhile since I've updated everyone on Riley's development, especially in light of his first birthday last week. Sorry for the delay...

STATS:
I took him to the doc earlier this week and he weighed in at 22 lbs which surprised us both. I was certain he was at least 25 lbs. I can't remember his height, but he's between the 40-50th percentile in both height and weight. Three months ago he was in the 25th, so I'm happy with the gain.

EATS:
Now that he's a year old, he can pretty much eat anything but nuts. No allergies so far, but I'm not taking any chances with the all-powerful peanut until he's older. To boost his immunity, we give him yogurt and a teaspoon of flaxseed meal in his cereal each day. This was today's breakfast of scrambled eggs-n-cheese, veggies, cheerios & fruit:









He prefers to feed himself, so the eggs ended up on the tray:









He eats pretty much anything I offer him...for now. Its the quantities that I'm never sure of as they vary from day to day. Today he wanted to share about half of his eggs with mama...yum.

I've got him down to two bottles a day -- one at lunch and one at bed. I hope to have him off bottles entirely within the next couple of months. He still spits up once every few days so we're still waiting for the end of that.

SLEEPS:
He down to one daytime nap as two naps were causing him not to nap with the rest of the daycare kids. He still sleeps well -- from 8p to 6a on average, give or take 30 min. Since I get up at 6am anyway, it works well for our schedule.

HEALTH:
We seem to have made it through the first winter at daycare better than I feared. I only had to take a few days off, due to Riley being too sick to go in. He did have a string of colds and possibly the flu once, but for the past 6-8 wks he's been well. J checked his ears back in March when Riley started pulling on one of them. They were red, so Dr. Dad started giving him daily adjustments. Within a week the ear looked good again. We sure are glad to have a chiro in the house. I expect next winter to be better now that Riley-boy's got a stronger body.

Tooth #5 is starting to poke through...the canine on the upper left.

TALKS:
Officially his first word is "uh-oh". He started imitating me about a week ago and now he says it when he drops something (as I often do.) I got a short video of him doing it this morning:



He jabbers all the time and seems to associate "da-da" with Jonathan. But I also think that it's his all-purpose word as he says it all day long. He's also started saying "ya-ya-ya...." and exaggerates the stretching out of his jaw to expose his lower teeth. Very cute.

ACTIVITIES:
He is still the king of destruction... we can't build anything or even put it "back together" without Riley knocking it down, throwing the pieces around etc. I sure hope the folks at Children's aren't looking for stacking skills at his June appointment, or else they are sure to order another evaluation by Early Intervention.

Ducky has been forsaken for the love of balloons and balls. He was afraid of balloons until we went to Trader Joe's a few weeks ago and he wanted one of their free ones at the register. He got days of enjoyment out of it. He's still playing with the six left over from his birthday party.

The other thing he loves is getting into cabinets. Not necessarily to pull things out, but enjoys the opening of the doors and drawers. This is the trouble he gets himself into in the church nursery, in addition to stealing the toys that other kids are playing with.

Our boy is finally enjoying his books. First he has to pull them down from the shelf, then he sits among them and "reads" them. I'll be in getting ready and realize that I haven't heard boo from him for several minutes, and find him engrossed in Goodnight Moon. Makes his mama proud.









And boy, does he love to swing and slide -- he just squeals with delight and does not seem to tire of it.

He's getting more confident on his feet, but not ready to take any steps without at least one hand being held. It won't be long though...

I know every parent says this, but this year has gone by so quickly. Thankfully, we really enjoy the "now" with our boy and aren't always looking to the next stage. It's exciting to see our son grow and become the boy he was meant to be.

I leave you with my current favorite picture of my sweet boy:









We love our Riley!

Shelby

birthday...chapter 3

Chapter three is a bit more low key than the others. On Sunday after church we headed down to CT to spend some time with my Mom. When we arrived my brother Bruce was there with my niece Britney. We had our third celebration with another cake and a present from Bruce and his family (nesting /stacking blocks...Riley and I played with them the rest of the weekend...) Something I've noticed is that Riley is OK with the 'birthday song', but he LOVES it when everyone claps at the end and they're all looking at him. Makes me wonder if he's got a future as a performer of some sort. We're kind of hoping for a drummer...

Monday morning we went with Mom shopping for more birthday presents, this time some badly needed clothing. We got some really cute outfits (thanks Mom!) Our boy will be stylin'. Some of my favorite shots from Mom's:

Riley Loves Grandma!















Hangin' with Grandma on the swing



















Swinging with Grandma can make a boy sleepy














Finally it was time to head back home and the three day birthday extravaganza was over. I have to say that as much as I enjoy my birthday, Riley's is much more fun. I hope it's always that way.

We love our one year old boy!


Jonathan

birthday...chapter 2

Today was a day I've looked forward to for a long time. We got to sing happy birthday to Riley and watch him mash birthday cake into his mouth. There is something about the joyful abandon of a one year old eating birthday cake that I have always loved. It's not just about tasting some sweet stuff. No, the birthday cake is truly experienced in every way possible. A feast for the senses. Taste, smell (especially when he jams it up his nose), the sight of the cake in front of him for the first time and of course the wonderful feeling of frosting between the fingers. First, some pictures of how things looked before the party, then some pictures of the carnage:

A festive table













Ducky on the cake

















A nice big piece of cake













Fascinated by the balloons














After cake there were presents. Here's Riley enjoying a new toy plane (thanks Jon & Oil) in the way only a one year old can:




















After waiting so many years to be a daddy, I love the day to day stuff, but these highlights are that much more joyful.

Speaking of joyful, considering where we were and what we were doing one year ago today I couldn't possibly be more pleased. Even with a boy who has woken up crying twice since I started writing this (I think he's teething again.) This is much better than Children's Hospital... It highlights how blessed we have been.

Thank You Lord for our wonderful Riley-boy! We love him!


Jonathan

birthday...chapter 1

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY-BOY!

It's hard to collect my thoughts as I reflect on the significance of this special day. Was it really 365 days ago that I was given this wonderful boy to hold for the first time? Could I have imagined how amazing it would be to have the privilege of being his mom? It's true -- the time really does fly and they grow so fast. We feel very blessed and lucky to have such a sweet boy to love and take care of.

Since today was a work day for both of us (I was at a Treasury conference in Boston until noon), we're celebrating Riley's first birthday over a three-day period. In the morning rush to get ready, we managed to get a picture with his newest stuffed animal, Clifford.














Clifford was an early present from late Grandpa Berg, who knew how to pick out the perfect presents for his grandkids.

This afternoon, we celebrated with his first birthday muffin from a local bakery which specializes in gourmet muffins. Riley had the Boston Creme...

First I put it on a special plate I made for him...:














...and lit a candle, but Riley wasn't feeling very patient:














So I sang Happy Birthday, made a wish, blew out his candle and let him get to work. He started with the icing (yum!):














Then, discovered the creme (yum-yum!)














In the end, he was pretty much wearing it, but I didn't care. It was fun to celebrate this milestone even if it necessitates a bath afterwards:














When Jonathan came home, we opened all but one of his presents. He received two books -- 10 Rubber Duckies and My First Sushi (yes, it's a board book!) -- a Zutano outfit he'll wear tomorrow, and a gift card to toys-r-us from Suzie.

He enjoyed the cards and ribbon the most:




























He did settle down long enough to read his books with Daddy:














Tomorrow, we have his party and Sunday we'll be celebrating at Grandma Berg's, so you'll see chapters 2 & 3 then.

We love our birthday boy!

Shelby

the fourth three months

The past three months have been a time when we realized that we have an active boy. Especially since he started crawling, Riley is mostly on the move. That works well for Daddy since he's an active type who loves to play. There is little I enjoy as much as playing with Riley.



I love my big boy!


Jonathan

the third three months

These were the months that I really came to know just how much fun my boy could be. Joyful times!



I love my Riley!


Jonathan

the second three months

Riley became a lot more interactive during the second three months. So many great shots, but my fave is the one in the leaves.



Can this kid strike a pose, or what?


Jonathan

the first three months

With Riley's birthday coming tomorrow, I wanted to put up a retrospective of Daddy's favorite pictures from the last year. Forget it, there were just too many favorites! So what I'm going to do is put up four slideshows that are broken into three month periods. Here's the first, Riley's first three months:



I love my boy!


Jonathan

gated community

Having a now very mobile boy, our house has become what I refer to as a 'gated community. ' We finally had to get gates up to keep our active and extremely curious boy from doing himself in. Riley has responded pretty much as you would expect...he stands at the gates shaking them and yelling "Aaaaaahhhhh!" Our sense of safety and security is his sense of being caged.... It does mean that we don't have to put him in the Pack 'N Play when we want him to be safe any more. Now he can go into the living room and have full access to all of his toys. Some pictures and video, and you may notice a theme here...

Bottom of the stairs









Living Room / Playroom









Top of Stairs









I love how you can actually see the arm motion in the first picture... And now the video:



We love our safe and caged in boy!


Jonathan

dad

Dad's Cross

Last Tuesday my world changed forever. My father passed on that afternoon. There's absolutely no way that I can explain the depth of emotion that I am feeling right now. I feel like an emotional pinball, bouncing from depression to what feels like anxiety to agonizing pain with occasional short periods of relief and "normallness". Sometimes I feel all of these things at once, along with an intense love that I have for my wife and son. Even for an emotional guy like me that's a lot. Dad was one of the rocks of my life, someone who was always there and stable. He was always able to give good advice and was constantly ready to lend a hand with anything I needed. But most of all, Dad was a brother in faith and a friend.

Losing Dad brings up so many different things for me. First of all, there is just the pain of loss. I feel like someone has reached into my chest and pulled out my heart, only to leave it hanging there in agony. Knowing that Dad has "Passed to Glory" is a comfort, but it does little to damp down the pain of missing him now. I guess time helps with that.

Secondly, I'm confronted with a feeling of loss for Riley's sake. My Dad was the best Grandpa in the history of the universe. It pains me to think that my son will have no memory of this man whose passing has sent his other grandchildren into despondency. Riley won't get to ride on the Grandpamobile, have Dad push him on the Big Swing, or sing "Jesus Loves Me" with Dad as they head off to someplace fun in Grandpa's car. The ache that I feel over this relationship that won't ever be is enormous.

The third thing that comes up for me is something of a 'potential loss'. I am confronted with the fact that Riley may not even get as many years with me as I got with my father, and that with what seems to me to be a short life (Dad was 72.) For Riley to get 49 years with me I'll have to live to 97. I do hope to live that long, but who knows? My Dad was in good health and then suddenly just fell over and was gone.

So I struggle with all of these things. The one thing that I have not had a struggle with is anger. I had a patient ask me about that the other day. I realized that I don't have anger over Dad's passing. I'm confused by it, as with so much of God's plan. Dad was such a useful person, constantly about the Lord's work. But how can I be angry when I know that my Dad is spending all of his time from this point forward feeling no pain, knowing no suffering? All he feels is the joy of being with the God we both love so dearly. I cannot begrudge him that, nor can I be angry with my God who has seen fit to call my Dad to Glory.

So in the midst of all the agony I come to thankfulness. Tears of pain come to my eyes, but there is joy as well. Here are a few things I'm thankful for:

- That I had a Dad who was involved in my life.
- My love of the outdoors and more specifically mountain biking had it's root in "walks in the woods" that I took with my Dad as a kid.
- My Dad showed me that being married is a matter of hard work and being committed to the relationship. The 50+ years he spent with my Mom shows that he took it seriously.
- Dad lived a full life, jamming as much into it with as much "gusto" as was possible. Again, good example.
- My Dad spent many years praying for me prior to my coming to faith. Prayers answered, Praise God!
- Dad was on his knees next to me as I accepted Christ in Washington DC during the Promise Keepers "Stand in the Gap" rally on October 4, 1997.
- Dad modeled what it was to be a Christian man, always striving to be more like Jesus and to live by the Word.
- The times we spent together at Congress, a large Christian convention that was held each year in Boston. These were a treasure for me, as it was during these events that our relationship grew strongest.
- I have no regrets. Dad and I were very close and were up to date. And we always told each other "I love you." That's priceless to me now.
- I had a Dad that meant so much to me that I feel this devastated now. I loved my Dad!

So I thank my God for this great man. He will be missed and thought of nearly constantly. But the ache is tempered by joy. And I look forward to seeing him again. Next time we won't ever be separated again! Praise God! See you in Heaven Dad!

first official haircut

I say "official" because I've been whacking at my boy's hair since he was 4 months old. He's got a mop of hair that grows like a weed and I've done my best. Since he's a mere 18 days from his 1st birthday and he's going to see G'ma and G'pa Berg this weekend, I decided to splurge on a professional cut.

We headed out to Snip-Its after work and the lovely lady gave my my boy a cut that makes him look like a man. He sat still for the first few minutes, then I distracted him with bubbles (which he lunged for, not a good idea) and finally was bribed with animal crackers. He got a special certificate for his first cut and daddy got that lock of hair that I forgot to save previously:













I forgot to pick up the camera but they took a Polaroid while Riley was enjoying the last of his cracker:



















The before and after shots; wild and happy to short and mellow?




























Mama's little man:














I love my handsome boy!

Shelby

a visit from uncle brian

My brother Brian came out from Auckland, New Zealand and spent a couple of days with us before heading to New York for a conference. This has been a good year for Browning family visits...my mom in Feb, Dave and nephew Daron in April and Brian in May.

Riley made sure that he showed Brian how close he is to walking on his own:









They also played many rounds of peekaboo:









We only had one day to sightsee so we did the Gardner and MFA. For the most part, Riley was agreeable to seeing gobs of art and provided us with his rather loud critiques.












While it was much too short, we're glad Brian stopped by for his brief visit. We hope it won't be years before we see him again.

Shelby

bathtime

I realized after I was cleaning up the spaghetti mess from a couple of days ago that I haven't taken any bath pictures since Riley had his first bath at home. He tolerated his bath for the first 9 months and when I finally bought him his first bath toys, he began to see it as an extension of playtime. We have baseball duckie and some assorted sea animals that also make great teething toys.

You can see all three of his teeth in this shot:









He's particularly fond of the stingray (notice the spaghetti sauce stain on his eyebrow!):









Uncle Brian is here from New Zealand for a two day visit. Riley is enjoying the additional audience member. I'll post those pics later this weekend.

Riley's other upper tooth looks like it's about to push through any day...









Lastly, it appears that we'll have to transition Riley to one nap as his morning nap is interfering with his ability to nap in the afternoon with the other daycare kids. Since he seems to do fine as long as he has has toys to play with, it may not be an issue. He is however napping this morning before our big day in Boston with Brian.

More later...

Shelby