Baby 2009

We have a video of our last scan. Which confirms that we are NOT having twins. This scan shows that there is now most certainly only ONE baby.

In thsi viseo you can see the heart beating. Dr Hartmann also measures the size (3.8mm) and then shows what the size would be is the initial due date (20 July 2009) was correct. This has now been revised to 30 July 2009.

He also said that everything looks just fine, even thought the size is still small, witht eh heart beat etc he is not concerned at all. This is due solely to an incorrect initial estimated due date.

The next scan will be in 6 week, so the week on 12 January 2009.

See you all soon...

Cute with a hat.

This eveing Riley was in high spirits even thiugh she has not slept all day.

Yesterday Mom (Grannie) bought her a cute hat that she loves, so she was running around wearing it and smiling all the time.

I think these pics show how cute she is!

Still a book worm.

Our young lady still enjoys books - though sometime they seem to be a bit beyond her!

The other moring she was lying in the lounge after waking very early. I walked in to find her looking at one of Claudia's books, being held the right way up. She later snuggled down with it as you can see.

We are Pregnant...

As you probably know by now, we are pregnant again.

According to the scan which was done on Friday there is a chance that there are twins! This is by all accounts not that uncommon and there si a chance that the second "egg" may dissapear and be re-absorbed by the body. The two red circle above high;ight the two "eggs".

We are going for another scan in two weeks when there will be heart activity to see how many herats there are.

We are currently only at five weeks and five days, so early days yet, and too early for heart activity.

Watching TV

Riley is a very affectionate child. She really loves to cuddle and give hugs and kisses.

This is an example of what she is like. She decided she wanted to lie and watch TV with me. She hauls either Claudia or me out of bed and wants to watch Barney - much to our dismay. We tried to keep the purple dino away as long as we could... but seem to have failed.

She also loves Noddy and Come Outside (she always talks about Pipin).

Sun Worship...

Riley has always loved being outside in the Sun. She has a distinct farmers atn from getting sun on her arms etc.

It has started to warm up and we get the odd day without rain, so Riley gets to swim in per little pool.

We try to be safe and hence baught her a pair of sun glasses, which she doesn't wear for long, but we try....

Check out the pose though. Looks like she is really worshipping the sun!

Riley Relaxing

Riley shares some traits with me... One of which is that she loves to have her back tickled. So much so that she will come to you and lift her shirt so that you can oblige.

This eveing when I got home from work we were watching TV, with me sitting on her new bean bag and she decided to lie on my lap for a tickle.

Sheer bliss.

Watch out Stacie...

I spent some time with Mom this afternoon trying to get a photo of RIley for Michael. Riley decided to play with the extra camera, and this is one fo the pictures we took.

She looks very comfortable with a camera in her hand. Note the camera is also the correct way round, even if it is way too big for her to hold.

Maybe she will follow in her godmothers footsteps?

Picture says it All

I think this picture says it all... We got Riley the "red devil" horns at the Madam Zingara circus we went to.

Our little Acrobat

Riley has become quite the acrobat since she started "Clamber Club" a few weeks ago. She likes to balance and jump around etc.

As you can see from the picture, she will balance on one leg on my hand. She has even taken to pushing my "safety" hand away so that she si actually only standing on one leg on my hand.

It can take some juggling to get her to stay up their, but it is fun anyway - she just gets a bit heavy after a while.

Clamber Club is going well. Claudi and I alternate sessions, and Riley seems to be interacting more and more, which is what we really wanted.

Helper

Riley loves to help around the house.

I was cutting down some dead leaves etc the other day. Riley followed me around and collected them, making herself a nice little nest.

She was not too happy when I wanted to bag them to throw them away.

We have also been doing some work in the lounge. She likes to pass tools and generally "help".

Learning Early

A few days ago Riley discovered my wallet. As you can see she seems to know exactly what to do with it.

We have now given her one of her own with some fake credit cards and "junk" coins.

She seems to love playing with it.

Riley starts school (playgroup)

Last Monday, Riley had her first day at play group. She started off fine. But she really did not enjoy the idea after we left. She was supposed to go three mornings a week.

Due to her unhappiness we have now changed this to every day for about an hour.

She has finally started to settle in and will actually play with the other kids. Her teacher (Carmen) sent us the pictures below, which show her with some of the other kids - and she seems perfectly happy.

We are hoping to extend the time again and then go back to the three days a week.

She still does not like being left, so cries when Claudia drops her off in the morning, but by the time Mom and Domenica fetch her she is fine.

Today is her 18 month birthday - amazing how time flies. She also learned to say "naughty" today, which is quite cute.

Riley Outside

Riley has taken to Jungle Gym activities quite well. The other day we were in Exclusive Books. They had a frame with books on it, and a bar over the top.

Riley decided to hang from it and try do somersaults.

When we got home I set up a make-shift hanging bar with two chairs and a broom stick. She loved it...

Riley and Roses

The Hendersons in Ladysmith have a Rose farm. You may recall that they supplied the roses for our wedding.

While we were there a few weeks ago we took a tour around the green houses. Riley loved all the roses. She had so many that she could not carry them all.

Riley and Flash - the Cat

Riley has always been fascinated by animals, cats, dogs, you name it. Her first word was after all DOG.

A few weeks ago we went tothe Hendersons in ladysmith for the week-end which was really great.

They have these two very friendly and patient cats, which Riley really liked.

This is a video of Riley and Flash. As you can see she really wanted to play...

Looking Grown Up

Riley can really look quite grown up at times. This is a shot we took the other day that I thought was a good example. She likes her cereal (at times), loves reading and smiles most of the time.

Routine Routine Routine

We have always kept Riley to a pretty strict routine, especially around bed times etc. This seems to be paying dividends now. She is just over 15 months old, and knows what is expected of her at bed time. This makes our lives so much easier.

Her routine was always:
Bath
Bottle
Sleeping Bag
Bed

We recently changed this, not without some backlash, to:
Bath
Sleeping Bag
Bottle
Bed

During the time Riley took to get used to this she was not happy, but now is quite happy. She now even knows when she is ready for bed. She sits up and asks for her "dummy" and then goes off to finish her bottle in the cot.

Jungle Slide

These videos speak for themselves... We took Riley down to the park on Sunday to let Riley play on the jungle gym etc.

She seems to have to fear though. I think this may be a problem when she goes to "play school" though:-)

The swimmer

Riley has always really enjoyed swimming and being in the water. We have had her in the pool a good few times and last week-end we managed to get our hands on a Polly Otter - which is a swimming aid for young children. The idea is that there are a few floats which are removed as the child gets a better handle on floating and kicking etc. They also say that it tales a while to get balanced etc.

The first video clip is of Riley just after we put her in the Polly Otter. You can see that she was trying to balance but had a good idea about kicking etc.



Then we get to the next day. The confidence is up and she can move around and comes when you call. She was also trying to get her ball etc.



The only trouble is trying to get her out the pool. Little blue lips etc. do not seem to phase her. The kicking also tires her out as well.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (or Not).

Since Brett has finally posted some more to the blog :-) I decided to follow suite, so here are some pictures of Riley. They are just some snaps taken over the last few weeks, from waking up with a bad hair day, to the sunnies Claudia brought her from London, to some fun in the bath.

Riley the Pot Head

We went off to the nursery today to get some plants... Long overdue.

When we got home and had done some gardening and planted the new ferns, I turned around to find that Riley had moved from helping to garden, to wearing the old flower pot on her head.

Sunnies

Claudia just got back from London. We are all jealous that she got to spend some time with Brett, Lara, Emma and Leo (who we all miss greatly).

She brought back a pair of Kids sunnies for Riley, who will wear them for short periods if she is distracted, otherwise they make nice toys.

Nona !!!!

As you know Riley gets looked after by Claudia's Mom during the day etc.

Riley knows where she lives and will go looking for her, so we keep the back gate closed when we are home so that she does not try the stairs on her own, which she has been known to do.

She now stands at the gate and calls while trying to "escape". You can see that she is peering up to try and get a glimpse of Nona.

Self Sufficient ???

I have been told that we have not posted anything for ages... So here is a quick catch up. Riley is having her nap and I have just gotten back from work, so have some time.

Riley has always preferred to feed herself. The results vary, but this picture is evidence of what can happen if she is left to her own devices.


She is still not the worlds best eater, but can do well when she feels like it. She LOVES peas, and also enjoys anything off someones else's plate.