Past Few Months..........

I am finally getting around to posting the Easter pictures of Riley. She had a blast this year. She is becoming a pro at egg hunting. She was so excited to wake up and see what the Easter Bunny brought her. She got a new Minnie Mouse doll, she takes it everywhere, some candy and some new books. She loved it! Later that day we got together with the family and had an Easter egg hunt. She could spot them like no other! It was a little cold but she didn't care she just wanted to run around.


Paul started his summer classes at Weber State and is looking forward to only taking one class at a time during the summer :) He is enjoying school as much as he can. Riley is talking more and more everyday and now can have a conversation with you. She is a talker and a joker. She always has some cute poses or comes out of her room with a new outfit on!

Yesterday we took her to Thanksgiving Point to go to the petting zoo. She LOVES animals! Especially horses, even though when we have taken her before she would never do the pony rides. This time she kept asking and asking and finally I asked her do you want to ride and she yelled YEAH!!! So she went right in and got on a horse and rode like a pro. She held on tight and did it all by herself. I couldn't believe it. I am so glad though cause she loves horses so much. She had a blast! They had a few places that you could go in and one was a jailhouse. She was cracking me up with her faces she was making when she was in the jail cell. She has such a big personality! She is a bit of a Diva if you can't tell by this picture..... She usually has to have some sort of bling in her outfit, if not on her clothes then its in the accessories, she is a Texan!!!

With the weather warming up here, in the 60's and 70's thank goodness, we are looking forward to our trips to the canyon and more outdoor activities. Can't wait to post pics of her running in the canyon! She is keeping us on our toes :)

Deet's (A.K.A. Riley's) New Grill!

RILEY MORNING OF SURGERY!!!

Wow, the last week has been insane! Riley went to the dentist and we found out that she needed some work done on her teeth. Her front 4 teeth were not going to grow much more than they had so we had to put caps on her front 4 teeth so that her teeth would be spaced correctly and for her permanent teeth to have room. Because she didn't have full sized teeth they were more prone to cavities so she had a few cavities on those front teeth also. I have to admit that I was so nervous because she had to go under general anesthesia for the procedure and for the past week was driving myself crazy with worry. I sometimes feel like in her 2 years she has been through so much with her epilepsy and having to have tests and medications that when she has anything else done it makes me worry like crazy. But after this morning I was reminded just what a strong little girl she is. She was a trooper and went in at 6am to the surgery center and even though she did not want to get out of bed. Once we were there they took us back into pre-op and the Dr.'s came and introduced themselves to her. Once it was time for her to go back to the operating room they asked her if she would like to ride in their wagon. She jumped right in and they took her back. She didn't cry one bit and enjoyed the ride! I had prepared myself for a screaming fit, but she was such a brave little girl and just gave us kisses and off she went. The nurse came out once she was under the anesthesia and said she did awesome. She didn't cry one bit and is a great patient. I will admit that made it easier on mom and dad that she was not scared. The procedure took about 45 mins. and then they brought us back to recovery where she was not a happy girl at first. After turning on her favorite tv show, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse she perked right up and started laughing and eating and drinking. She did amazing! I am so proud of how brave she was. The Dr. said that for the rest of the day she should be pretty groggy and sleepy. Not our Riley....she came home and ran around and played with princess and laughed like nothing had happened. She amazes me everyday with her strength!

Paul and I are working hard to decide about his next move with school. This next semester will be the last before we start applying for Nursing Programs. I will say that if I have to read one more schools nursing program info I will scream. I feel like choosing the program is more stressful than him being in school! I just keep telling myself once we decide it will be done! He is on his spring break this week and has been meeting with schools the past few days to talk to counselors and get a plan ready. I am so proud of him. He has been working so hard at school and has been doing an amazing job.

Riley's new pass time has been dress up..... Here is a picture of her and the new outfit her Aunt Haley got her for her birthday!

Next Monday Riley and I are leaving to go to Texas for 2 and half weeks. Honestly it will be nice to be in warm weather again. I feel like I haven't been warm in months!!!!!! I know that Riley is excited to see all her cousins and aunts and memaw and paw paw! Her cousins are planning what to do with her everyday and can't wait for us to get there. It will be nice to have a little break from the past month!

Riley is 2!!!!!

Riley turned two a week ago and we had her party today. She has been really into Tinkerbell so we had a Tinkerbell themed pizza party. She had a great time playing with her cousins and showing them her dance moves. She was so busy playing she almost didn't want to stop to blow out her candles but finally gave in! Since she is not a big cake eater I made her favorite, a huge Sugar Cookie! She has been practicing blowing out the candles for a few months and is pretty good at it. Her Aunt Briana and Uncle Todd gave her a baby doll that can take a bath with her and she did not let go of it from the time we opened the box until she basically passed out from exhaustion for her nap! But when she woke up it was right back to the baby. We got her a little cradle for her baby and all night she has been rocking and singing to it and kissing it night night! She is too cute and growing way too fast.

Paul is in his second semester at Utah State and is enjoying being in school but I don't think that he is enjoying the homework! We are so proud of him. He is working so hard. Riley and I are working on her talking. She learns new words everyday and sometimes surprises me how much she picks up. Her new favorite movie is Toy Story so she is saying Buzz and Woody and other little cute things from the movie. She is doing well with learning her animal sounds and is quite the little singer. I hear her so many times in her room singing little songs to herself and her baby dolls. She definitely keeps me on my toes and keeps me laughing!

March Madness!

Wow, it is March already. I feel like we just celebrated the New Year! Paul and I have been keeping busy as usual. I have started to make a lot of cookies to start practicing for the spring festivals and farmers markets. Here is some I made for St. Patty's Day. The box is a packaging idea I have for the farmers market and festivals. Emily took them to work today to test them on her co-workers. I think they were good because the extra I had here at the house were gone by the end of the night! :)

Paul is going to finish up the interview and orientation I guess you could call it for a new job. It is with Whipple Services in Orem. He is really excited to work there and we are praying that all works out. I think that not working has made him a little stir crazy. Riley has loved having him home all the time because Daddy spoils her! I know she won't be happy to see him go back to work :( She is growing like a weed. She is saying a few words now. When she is eating and one of the dogs comes over to her she puts her hand out and says "NO NO". She is pretty protective of her food. She loves when it time to say prayer. She folds her arms and bows her head and when we are done says "AMEN" really loud! She loves to bring us things. At least once a day she will bring me every shoe from the closet and then take them back. Her favorite show is now Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She loves the music and dances up a storm every time it comes on. She loves to read books and will bring you one and say "More". She is too cute! I am excited for Spring to get here. It will be nice do more things outdoors. Riley loves it outside and I can tell she gets cabin fever after a full day inside the house!

We took her to the park the other day and I realized just how big she is getting. She was running around everywhere and loved the swings. She loves to go down the slide and crawl through the tunnels. I will keep posting as much as I can and I hope everyone is doing well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big News! Riley is Walking!!!

I know it has been a long time since we have posted and a lot has happened. Let me start with Christmas. Riley's first Christmas was awesome. She was so excited to visit Mi Mi and Grandpa in Utah. She got to meet all her uncles and aunts and visit all her cousins. She even loved the cold weather! She made out like a bandit this Christmas. She got books and toys and clothes. The essentials! Mi Mi got her a kiss the cook apron so she can help mommy in the kitchen! It was too cute.

While we were in Utah we went to Temple Square with the family to look at the lights and it was freezing. Paul and I found her a snow suit that was too cute to pass up. We call it her marshmallow suit.

So as December ended and January started Paul and I made a huge decision. We were going to move to Utah. So after many many nights of prayer and fasting and pondering Paul turned in his notice and we made plans to head to Utah. Even though it was going to be a huge adjustment for me being away from my family I was ready and willing if it was what we were supposed to do. But before we left Texas there was one place we both knew we had to take Riley, The Bluebell Creameries. She loved it even more than her Daddy did! We had a blast and she sampled so many flavors and loved all of them.

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We both got the answer of Yes and we are now living in Utah. We got here almost 2 weeks ago and so far things are going very well. A few days after we got here Riley decided that she needed to be a big girl and start walking. Paul and I were sitting in the living room and Paul says hey look at your daughter and she was just cruising across the room. She has been running ever since.

Sorry the quality is kind of dark. I haven't unpacked out video camera cord for the computer. So I had to use our digital camera. I hope you can see it.

So that is all that is going on with us so far!!!! It is a lot and we are adjusting but things are going well so far. Riley is keeping me busy and I think with Paul being home he is itching to get a job soon. He says Riley wears him out more than a job does. We will keep everyone updated on how things are going. Here are some random cute pics of Riley doing some funny stuff. She is always doing things that crack us up!

Here is Riley chilling with Daddy watching TV.

Riley loves her toy chest. I call it her rummage sale, she will sit for 45 minutes and rummage through it and empty it and then put everything back in! I walked in the living room the other day to find this. I guess it's just easier to get inside it! :)

Riley at dinner tonight learned that if she opens her mouth really wide she can fit more food in. Now when we say open wide, she sure does!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

WOW, I am sitting here looking out the window at about half an inch of snow on the ground and white flurries falling from the sky! IT'S SNOWING, IN HOUSTON!!!! It has been snowing all day. Paul and I thought that Riley wouldn't get to play in the snow till we came to Utah but she loves it! I bundled her up and took her out and she loved crawling around in the crunchy snow.

She looked so cute in her winter clothes. This is making me even more excited for Christmas and being in Utah. We are counting the days till we leave, and it is coming up on us fast.

Riley is now pulling herself up and walking along EVERYTHING!!! She grows too fast. She has two more teeth. She now has two bottom teeth and two top teeth. She is getting over a sinus infection so I am glad she is feeling better. Between teething and the sinus infection I feel like she has been sick for a month! She is getting so tall and is into everything. She is so curious, and we have discovered that she loves music. She has her own dance style she loves to show off and anytime she hears music she crawls over so fast to dance. It's too cute.

Paul and I are doing well. Paul is working hard, he has been working on a big job at work for A&M University so he is gone a lot. But it is coming to an end so it will be nice to go back to normal for everyone. I am just getting all of us ready for the Holiday's and for the traveling. We can't wait to see the whole family and have a great and fun holiday season!!!!!

Halloween

Halloween was great! We had a big party for our Ward and Friends. Everyone had a great time dressing up and eating a ton of junk! There were a ton of kids, we had popcorn machines, pumpkin painting, costume parades and tons of food and music and dancing. Everyone had a blast. Riley stayed up the whole time charming everyone in her pirate costume. Now that Halloween is over the holidays will be here in no time. We are excited to have our first holiday season with Riley. She is getting so big and is becoming more independent it seems everyday. Here are some pictures from our Halloween Bash!!!!

Here are some pictures that my niece Lauren took of Riley while we were putting up all our Halloween decorations yesterday.