Sumo Snowsuit

It was such a pretty snow this weekend. We had a lot of fun taking Riley out for a walk in the perfect falling flakes and snowball-ready softness. He tolerated it for the most part.

We thought he looked a bit like a sumo wrestler sitting in the snow in his big warm snowsuit.

Photo Shoot

Liz took some great photos of Sir Rileypants - we wanted to get a photo for Daga for part of her Xmas gift. She said the below gave her goosebumps - I agree, it's pretty good! (I do wish we had some clothed).

Bathtime

I am going to take out these photos on Riley's first date and embarrass him.

Smoker's Cough

Riley loves to 'fake cough.' Sometimes it turns into a laugh, other times he just acts as if he's finished two packs of cigarettes.

Red Sweater

I get photos just about every day via text from nanny Daga. It is the highlight of my day - hearing my phone bing with a new photo is the best! Here is today's photo.

Tushy Shots are So Cute

Army crawling/Scooching/Rolling

For quite some time now--about a month--Riley has been executing a combination of army crawling/scooching/rolling. Lately he has been getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth, so it's likely crawling is around the corner.

But for the moment, this combo is working for him. And bottom line: he can get to where he needs to go.

And of course Andy is ensuring his son is working on his skills -- crawling is a key first step to playing hockey.

Video taken 11.15.09.

Giggling

Apparently the cats are the funniest things in the world. I never saw them that way, but according to Riley, seeing them is like seeing a performance of Comic Relief.

This video doesn't involve the cats, but it involves laughing. Taken 12.15.09 when we were lucky enough to come home from work early to be able to put Rileypants to bed. But we first had to take a play break in our sleep sack (and bib).

Eating

Our little man seems to have turned a corner with eating ... he's actually been chowing down with gusto! This is a marked change. Parenting lesson #45: Be patient, the kid will get there in his own time.

Hannukah gift!

Riley loves his new drum!

chimney sweep

Plane Ride

Riley and I had a great time at home in Silver Spring this weekend. He has seemed to turn a corner with eating - he actually opened his mouth! V. exciting. The highlight of my weekend was my plane ride back to Chicago with Mr. Rileypants. He was fascinated with the passenger sitting behind us - he kept on peering through the seats, anxious to get a glance of the nice man. Once he made eye contact, he grinned so wide. It was beyond cute. And then he ate my nose repeatedly.

Always prepared

Riley brought along his own brush for Thanksgiving at his aunt's house.

Still trying solid food

Riley DOES NOT LIKE AVOCADOS, fyi. Nov. 14 we tried it and he threw up. We'll keep trying some other stuff ...

Bananas!

Riley at Music Class

Video courtesy of Daga!

Exhausted after swim class and a birthday party ...

... but I still need to hold on to my shoelaces.

Swim Class!

Riley is the youngest in his swim class, which we started today. He liked it, but got tired towards the end. He conked out in his car seat immediately after.

Riley was a monkey for Halloween.

bathtime

This is a great video of Rileypants in the bathtub. I remember the first time we gave him a bath, he hated it. And it definitely took both parents to bathe him - one to hold him, the other to cluck nervously. Now we're so laid back, we can let him hang out on his little sling while we record him. Video taken Oct. 23, 2009.

Sitting in the little chair

You can tell when Andy gets Riley dressed -- trademark short sleeves over long sleeves.

Lizard

Riley now likes to stick his tongue out.

Pumpkin Patch♠

We had to get the requisite photos of baby and pumpkin. We probably could have gone to Dominicks and used their pile of pumpkins instead of hauling it to a farm complete with a petting zoo, but we had fun and I got to eat corn on a stick. Riley chewed on the button of his new coat the entire time.

Boy, Ball and Bad Outfit

This is the first blog post by Riley's father, uh, hello. This is a great video that demonstrates how I've applied my years of teasing cats to now raising Riley. I love the video but I warn you Riley's outfit is scary...I think this same outfit was popular with Jewish north shore mothers in the late 80s.

Dressed Like Daddy

Drooling

Lots of drooling here at the Hamiltons--but Andy and I are not the culprits. Perhaps it's a sign of teething, but the Rilester doesn't seem to be too uncomfortable. If anything, he's just more snotty these days--we've been using his aspirator quite a bit (Attention Gramps: It's very similiar to airing out one's nose.)

Look closely and you can see the drool dripping off the right cheek. Still a cute pic though -- we snapped this while playing peek-a-boo.

Dueling Grandmas

bathtime.

Is it Tushy or Tooshie?

Rice Cereal Redux

Attention Gramps: We again tried rice cereal today. This time it actually made it into the Rilester's mouth--we saw him experimentally chew and everything.

I think it's safe to say, at the moment, rice cereal is not among the kid's favorites. But we're proud of him for trying it.


And clearly the trauma was not long-term.

Mirrors

Riley experienced his first Rosh Hashana this weekend. The best part about it was the big mirror at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Nanny/Photographer

One of the reasons I love my nanny is because she takes pix of Riley on her cell phone and then texts the image to me. It's the highlight of my day. And she's managed to get a smile on camera, pretty impressive.

Smiley

Rice Cereal

Yesterday we tried rice cereal for the first time. I don't know if "tried" is really accurate as I'm not sure any of the cereal made it to Riley's mouth. I made it really liquidy per the doctor's instructions (he said to make it gruel-like ala"Oliver") and consquently I think it was more formula than cereal.


We also thought it would be fun to have Riley wear one of his sunhats during the experience.

Rolling Over

Sometimes the best part about watching one of the 8,000 daily videos we take of Riley is hearing the voice-over from Andy or I. It's like baby talk crossed with play-by-play, with a little bit of National Geographic special thrown in.

Andy probably doesn't realize it but he always does this exuberant thing where he holds his breath. I just tend to talk 8 octaves higher.

Our New Favorite Picture

Lots to Say Now That I'm Four Months Old

Part of an ongoing series, "Conversations on a Changing Pad."

Blogging

Because I am an obssessed new mother, I'm allowed to create a blog dedicated to my fourth-month-old. In fact, I think it's required.