Seven Months!
This is going to be a very picture-heavy post. Too much has happened, and I have difficulty excluding pictures of Riley's funny facial expressions. She is such an expressive kid, and never fails to provide entertainment.
And those blue eyes... I could stare at those forever.
When Riley finally gets ahold of something she wants, she analyzes it to the fullest extent. After touching all parts of an object with her fingers, it goes in the mouth, and then she flips it around so she can see every last angle of it. It never fails to amaze me how hyper-focused she becomes on the most mundane things. And her determination is inspiring - she will try as hard as she possibly can to get something, and won't give up until it disappears (those TV remotes and iPhones seem to disappear in pockets fairly quickly) or she gets it.
This past month can be defined by travels and firsts. Let's see... she flew with us to Philly for a wedding, where we got to introduce her to some of our dearest friends. Patty came with us to babysit while we let loose a little! Then she travelled to Connecticut for the annual "Poole Weekend" (the entire Poole clan gets together at his Aunt and Uncle's house for a weekend filled with good food, wine and catching up - Charley 2 calls it a Poole Party) where she met her Great Grandma and Grandpa Poole for the first time. Over that weekend she put on her first bathing suit, went in her first swimming pool, and helped celebrate Charley's first Father's Day.
The day after returning from CT, Riley and I flew to Seattle together... without Charley. This was tough, especially for Charley. It was tough to leave Charley behind - she changes so much so quickly these days, and neither of us wanted him to miss anything. I also thought it would be really difficult to travel on my own, but Riley did surprisingly well! She's hard to entertain, but all in all the flights to and from Seattle went well.
Charley and I discovered that Riley loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse... but only the intro song! She grins from ear to ear until the song stops and the episode begins. During the car ride to CT, and the flight to Seattle, we just played the intro song (which last one minute and 38 seconds to be exact) on the iPad over and over...
Unfortunately this trip back home did not go as planned. The day after we arrived Riley got a fever that spiked to 103 degrees, and the next day she was diagnosed with an ear infection. I'd heard this is such a common thing so I figured it would be no big deal, but I had no idea how much pain ear infections cause. Riley was inconsolable for a while - she couldn't sleep or eat, and it got so scary that my mom and I actually drove her to the hospital in the middle of the night.
She was fine... I just know now how much of an impact they have on Riley.
That weekend we travelled to Canada (Riley's first trip to a new country!) where I met up with a lovely group of friends to celebrate Sarah's bachelorette weekend. My parents babysat the baby in the same hotel as the girls, so I was able to be with her half the time and my friends half the time. It worked out perfectly, and it was so wonderful to spoil Sarah.
During that trip she also got to meet her Great Grandpa Fay and Great Grandma Linda for the first time. It made me realize how lucky Riley is to have so many grandparents and great grandparents who love her to pieces.
Riley also has her two bottom teeth now, which are just adorable.
I truly cannot believe that we have a seven month old baby (I know, I say that every month!). I miss the moments and phases that are behind us, but am so looking forward to all of the fun, changes and joy that awaits us.