Riley's First Christmas

Christmas came early for the Simmons this year. We decided to do our Christmas last night since we'll be out of town. Riley was so cute opening her presents. She thought the Christmas bows were especially delicious. We ordered a pizza for our Christmas feast and spent the evening opening presents and watching holiday movies. After Riley went to bed Tyler and I logged some time saving the world from zombies (Santa brought him Left4Dead). It was pretty awesome. We can't wait to see everyone in just a few days!

Riley went to see Santa today. When we got to the mall Santa was taking a nap. His note said he'd be back in a half hour, but he was a little late. By the time we got up to see him Riley was soooo tired herself that she could only manage a little smile. But it was very fun. We also went to Toys R us and got Riley her very own stocking. Can't wait for Christmas!

Meow!

Riley is teething already! She's been running a slight temperature so the doctor had us come in today just to check her out. Of course with the doctor she was all smiles and dimples. At home my almost never cries, sleeps through the night, angel has turned into a grumpy drool machine who won't sleep for more than a few hours at a time. She chews on EVERYTHING. She even tried to eat the toung depressor when Dr. Schaffer was looking down her throat. We go through a lot of bibs and clothes these days, but she's going to look so cute when she's crawling around with one little tooth! 

This is Riley on Halloween. 

It's hard to see the tail, but it MADE the costume!

Riley's Wish List

I have been asked for a Christmas List. Riley likes music and toys and books and clothes (please no smaller than 6-9 months). Here is a little excerpt from our wish list for ideas, but feel free to shop on your own as well!

Gogo Kidz Travelmate

Bathtime kneeler

Rocking horse or Bounce and Spin Zebra

Gate for the top of the stairs (preferably one on a hinge)

Toy Box

Flash cards with colors, shapes, and animals. These looked pretty cool.

Baby Einstein Take Along Caterpillar

A small Radio Flyer wagon (doesn't have to be in the shape of a car)

An umbrella stroller like this Mia Moda Facile Umbrella Stroller in Carbon

Some Avent trainer cups (they're compatible with our bottles)

The Summer Infant 3 Stage Super Seat

(She loves to sit up!)

A Stage 1 mealtime set

Baby's First Blocks

A humidifier

Tyler and I will be getting Riley a stationary entertainer (shhh don't tell) and maybe a convertible car seat. She may wait until after Christmas for that one. Since I'm feeling better Riley and I are off to the zoo today! I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to a brand new week!

Grandparents Visit

Tyler's parents came for a visit this Sunday. Riley had so much fun! By the end of the day she was worn out. She slept great last night! :) Next weekend she and I are going to fly to Omaha to see Gram and Gramp Hasty and Aunt Tawnya. It is sure to be an adventure. We can't wait!

Riley pictures

Riley started sleeping through the night! She's so good to her mama! It seemed like it just came out of the blue. Of course the first night she slept all night was the night I decided to stop getting up and checking on her every two hours. I guess it's a little easier to sleep when there's not someone poking at you all hours of the night. :)

Riley's 2 months old!

Today Riley and I went to the doctor for her 2 month well baby appointment. She had to get five shots and and oral vaccine. She did so good! She only cried a little. After the super cool Tweety Bird band-aids were on her little thighs she forgot all about the shots. Our growing girl is a healthy 10lb 12oz and 22 1/4in long. What a difference a few months can make!

Zoo day!

Riley got to take her first trip to the zoo last weekend. We had a blast!

Hot Hot Hot

Our air conditioner went out (again) Saturday night. What a piece of junk! That's the third time since we turned it on this spring. I stayed either downstairs or out of the house all together because it was just unbearable to be upstairs. Saturday night wasn't too bad. We were able to move all the fans into the bedroom and open up the sliding door. We went to the office on Sunday to talk to the apartment people as soon as it opened. We chose to go in person so they could see my big pregnant belly and feel sorry for me. Tyler took me out for the day so we could spend the hottest part in air conditioning. I don't think I've ever watched an ENTIRE baseball game at buffalo wild wings, but we did that day. After a movie and some Walmart shopping we came home. The maintenance guy came by and said it wasn't something they were equipped to handle so we'd have to wait till Monday for the pros to come out. We popped the air mattress up downstairs. The apartment stays at least 5 degrees cooler down there for some reason. I ended up sleeping on the couch because it was too hot to be sandwiched between Tyler and the dog. Monday I went to work with Tyler. I sat in his office most of the afternoon reading my book and called the apartment complex every few hours to see what the news was on the air people. They were supposed to be out before 5. When I got home at 4 no one had been there yet. I waited anxiously, but no one came. Tuesday I went back into the apartment office first thing in the morning. Again she called the repair people and again they'd be out that day before 5pm. I took myself out for some shopping and lunch and a bit more shopping. Not having air can be expensive :). When I got home no one had been there. 5 came and went and I gave up once again on having air. Finally at 7:30 there was a knock on the door and I was saved! Except not really. The guy went out and messed around with the air unit made all sorts of noise and about 30 min later came in and said it was working. I felt the air coming out of the vents and told him it didn't feel any different to me and it wasn't cold. He assured me that it would just take a little while and I'd start to notice a difference. So out of desperation I let that thing run for TWO HOURS straight. It didn't get better. As a matter of fact the apartment got hotter because I had closed the windows to let the air run. We were officially up to 85. Obviously I turned the air back off and re-opened the windows. Tyler was pretty mad when he got home because he knew I was miserable. Wednesday he went into work late so he could have a talking to with the apartment people. I stayed home all day so I could be there when the repair men came (which they didn't do until 5:30pm). They put in a whole new unit. Once it was up and running I felt a difference right away. It took it HOURS to cool the place down, but the humidity went down almost instantly and that made a world of difference. We were able to sleep upstairs in our own bed! I forgot how comfortable that thing was.

Riley __________ Simmons

Hello everyone! This is Riley. She's already 3.5lbs! She was a bit "camera" shy today, but you can make out a nose and eye behind that little fooot.

Garden Project

I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted a special place outside so I started a "garden". Since we are in a townhouse everything is in containers, but I think it turned out pretty nice. Now when I sit out back the whole yard smells like flowers. I still have one more to put out front, but my back needed a few days to recover!