52 weeks

I'm 52 weeks old!

One of her birthday presents from Mommy and Daddy was a new toybox. We gave it to her early because, honestly, it was for us as much as her.

Her new trick is to rip off her bib and throw it on the floor. The velcro bibs aren't working very well for us these days.

I love reading my birthday cards!

She is always climbing into Seamus's crate. One day I'll be tempted to close it...

When I'm cooking dinner, this is often what I see when I look down.

Riley walking with the help of her rolling push toy

The look on her face is all trouble. She can crawl up the stairs but can't get back down.

We hung party decorations from the ceiling and she LOVES them

Rocking my 11 month old to sleep...in just a few hours she'll be 1!

I cannot believe Riley turns 1 tomorrow (Friday, so probably today when most of you read this). The last year has been truly amazing, beyond anything I can describe. Its crazy that 1 year ago tonight Chad and I were in the delivery room, not even knowing if we would have a boy or girl. And now we have this wonderful little daughter who has developed and changed before our eyes. She went from a tiny infant (6 lb 14 oz, 20 in) who couldn't even hold up her head to a mobile baby (20 lbs+, we haven't weighed her in a while) who knows exactly what she wants. Riley can crawl so fast (she was chasing Seamus around the table tonight, hilarious!), can stand unassisted for a few seconds and can walk either holding our hands or with a push toy. She communicates through gestures, waves, points at things, imitates a few animal sounds and has 4 words (Mama, Dada, Hi and Bye bye). She loves to read books and will pick them up on her own, turning them page by page. I think I hugged and kissed her 500 times today, each time saying, "Don't grow up so fast!"

We've been blessed with a happy baby who loves to laugh. Wherever she goes she smiles and enjoys herself. People are always drawn to her. When we were in Yosemite a man came over to us and talked to her for a few minutes and as he left he said, "She's so cute I can't stand it!" That pretty well sums up our Riley Anne.

Thanks to all of you who have spent time with us in the last year, either in person or on the blog. Even though we are so far away, it feels like we've shared Riley growth and milestones with so many of our family and friends. Its been great to have your support. I'll keep posting, I'm sure the next year will bring more wonderful changes!