Here we go!

Riley took a step with no hands! So far she can only do one step before she has to either grab on to something or sit down for fear of falling, but she's gonna get up the courage any day now. I can feel it! Tyler even re-arranged the furniture in the living room so she'd have more space to move once she gets going. What a dad.

Riley's Day

I only left the room for a moment. She was gated in and when I left the wipes were sitting on her dresser. When I came back they were on the floor... all around her. She was having so much fun taking them out of the container I decided to take time for a picture before I took them away. Guess she's getting taller than I thought!

On The Road...

... to recovery that is! It is 8:30pm and I am taking my first pain pill of the day! What a long way from where I was just a few days ago. One week and one day ago was the big day. I am minus one gall bladder. The surgery went well. Took less than 30 minutes. I have three small incisions in my stomach. Sure doesn't look like much. After getting home I slept for about a day. Then I was just miserable. I hate the way I feel after taking the percocet. I was dizzy and nauseous and felt like my head was swimming. After a few days the nausea turned into vomiting (extra painful when you have holes in your stomach) and the doc called me in some pills to settle my stomach. They worked great! The day after I got them I felt like a different person. Still sore but so much better. The only down fall to those is they make me tired but offset that because having my stomach settled meant I could eat. And eating means energy for recovery (and cookies)! I was able to start taking my pain pill only at night which means I need less of the nausea meds.

Today I didn't even need tylenol. I was able to keep up with Riley all day! Of course I still have some help. Gram Miller has been a God send. She stayed with Riley the day of my surgery so Tyler could be there with me and she's stayed after to take care of Riley so I could focus on getting better. I couldn't have done it without her. We are so thankful! Riley has enjoyed really getting to know her Great-Grandma Miller and I have enjoyed having her around. She does such a great job keeping up with the very mobile Riley. That gym membership is sure paying off.

Riley is so close to walking. It's a scary thing to let her try on her own, but we have to do it. She walks around effortlessly while holding on to something, but she's just not quite confident enough to let go. When she is she's got a great pair of shoes waiting for her. They squeak when she steps down! Too cute. I don't know where her Grandma Hasty finds these things. We can't wait for Memorial day weekend. It's always nice to have Dad off work for a long weekend. Maybe I'll be up to going to the zoo (probably not but one can hope). After that it's Tyler's birthday weekend (and Aunt Barbs.. and Jeremys). Then we get into the wedding countdown! June 27th will be here before we know it!

Over the river and the mountains...

Riley and Mommy at the Ouray Hot Springs with the Rockies in the background

My little swimmer

Riley's first time on the swings!

Riley building with Uncle Jeremey

The shirt says it all.

Riley and I just got home from visiting Aunt Tawnya and Uncle Jeremey in Ouray, CO. Even though I managed to get ahold of some milk (and subsequently Tawnya had to spend her weekend and Monday taking care of Riley for me) we had a great time! My little traveler did wonderful in the air. I was a little nervous during the beginning of our first flight. She was all over the place (which is hard in the tiny seats of an airplane)! We managed to sit next to very nice travelers on every flight. Tawnya and Jeremey met us in Montrose when we arrived. We took a quick trip into Wal-mart for supplies and the headed to their house. I'm very glad that they have a mostly straight highway through the mountains instead of those hair pin turns I remember from our road trips. On the way we got to see elk, giant (and mangy) deer, and long haired cows. I'm talking hair down to the ground cows. Weird. During the week Riley and I did a little exploring in Ouray. Tawnya took us to the hot springs where Riley got to do her first swimming and take her first ride on the swings! She looked so cute in her swim suit. We did some wedding planning and flower shopping, Tawnya and Jeremey made us some great meals, and Riley and I even got to see the Black Canyon from the air on our way out. What a beautiful area! My little milk problem didn't get serious enough to send me to the hospital (I was keeping soup down less than 24 hours after) but it did keep us in the house. I guess we'll just have to go
back again to see Telluride. Darn... ; )