50 weeks

I'm 50 weeks old!

You have no idea how hard it is to get the bear picture these days...I end up with shots like this a LOT

Hmm, what have we here?

Its a chair just my size! Thanks for the early b-day present Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Leon!

Ok, I need some help with the dismount

I like to help Mommy cook. You wanted these green beans scattered all over the floor, right?

When Daddy gets home from work its playtime!

The boys put together Riley's new toybox

Going somewhere fast

Her obsession with playing under the coffeetable persists

Parchment paper is so fun! (notice Seamus in the background...he knows about when Chad is coming home and sits and stares at the door like that every night, waiting)

We need to move things up another level to get them out of Riley's reach

I feel like Riley has changed so much over the last few weeks. Her mobility is amazing, I just can't believe how fast she can crawl. She is constantly looking for trouble and usually finds it. Things we thought were well-hidden suddenly reappear (she found the fireplace poker the other day, oops!) Things that used to be out of reach are just the next challenge; she loves finding ways to maneuver around to reach a tricky destination.

She's also saying a few more words. "Mama" and "Dada" are her favorites of course. She's also working on "bye bye." Riley loves people and is always making eye contact and drawing people over to her. They usually talk to her for a few minutes then wave and say bye-bye as they walk away, so I think that's how she learned this word so quickly. Its adorable when she waves back and says bye-bye, but unfortunately she hasn't quite figured out the timing; its usually about 2 minutes after the person has disappeared from sight.

I'm also very impressed at how she can mimic animal sounds. One of her favorite books makes different animal sounds and tonight she pushed the kitten button then parroted back a perfect "meow, meow." Very cool!