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Another fabulous Memorial Day weekend passed us by. We spent it drinking and being merry with the family. We got smart this year and invited everyone over to our house to cut down on the double-dinner problem we have with every holiday. The weather held out and Riles enjoyed being the center of attention.

Sunday we spent the morning watching Courtney at a horse show. It was Riley’s first horse show and he seemed to love it. He’s a big fan of animals and loved to meet Calvin. Courtney rode beautifully even if Calvin was running a bit hot at the beginning.

This weekend Riles really took to mobility. He seemed to have figured out how to quickly get from point A to point B by rolling side to side. Its fun to watch him want something, ponder how to get there, then attempt to get there, adjust plans, and finally figure out a way to move. He’s never been one for laying down so the sooner he gets mobile the happier he is. He’s also become quite the sitter too. We can finally sit him down on the ground and he won’t immediately fall over. He’s learned the hard way about falling over. We’ve had our fair share of head bangs. But it appears that after all the bumps and bruises he’s finally get it down.

Coincidently we just picked up the same camera as Jamie. I was quite amused to discover the movie time lapse feature he demoed. I had to try it out myself.

So, here’s Riley and me playing. All 46 seconds of it:

Our Riley media setup is slowly being rebuilt. Courtney’s old Canon SD400 mysteriously stopped working after a long night out on St. Patrick’s Day. I’m still trying to remember if I dropped it or not. Lets just say that I *may* have. I’m not going to admit fault though. Shortly after that I lost yet-another-hard drive in my main computer, costing us the ability to archive our photos. After filling up the SLR we finally bit the bullet and replaced her camera. I also have a new hard drive on the way which should get us back up and running.

Update: My dad cued me in to the fact it might be hard to figure out why Riles is moving in double-time. The video is a timespan of about 40-60 minutes compressed into 46 seconds.

Riley has been sick for the last 4 weeks. Court decided last week that enough was enough and hauled him into the doctor’s. He’s been in to see the doc 4 times in the last week alone. Good news is, he’s finally on the road to recovery.I believe his sickness was holding him back from progressing. For awhile Riles planed out on new features. Usually he was doing a new thing weekly. But while sick, he just sort of maintained. This week though we got more than we bargained for.

Let me run down the new features (They’re biggies too):

1. He started holding his own bottle. I didn’t know kids actually did this. It’s sort of odd though because the bottle is so disproportionate to him. I liken it to me drinking a 64oz beer. It just doesn’t look right.

2. He started falling asleep in our arms. He’s been a bear to deal with, quite high maintenance when it comes to sleep. But this week he started settling in when you hold him. He’ll actually check out if comfy enough. Makes our life much easier.

3. He started rolling over! I have been waiting for this one for a long time. I’m very excited about him moving around.

Here’s Riles immediately after the “big move”:

Followed quickly by frustration of actually being on his stomach:

So, I’m a very proud dad this week. It’s amazing to watch this child grow up.

A few days after Riley was born the doctor confirmed that Riley was tongue-tied. I always thought being “tongue-tied” was a figure of speech, but I discovered it’s an actual affliction. It means that the little “thing” that connects Riley’s tongue to his bottom jaw is too close to the end of his tongue. He isn’t able to stick his tongue out of his mouth. The doctor assured us that he would be fine, as long as being tongue-tied didn’t affect his eating or speech later in life.

So, with every check up we’ve had the first thing I bring up is Rile’s tongue. It freaks me out to know already that he might have problems when he grows up. Riley was 5 days old when they first told us, It was like finding a dent in your new car. For the last 4 months he’s tried so hard to stick his tongue out. I was finally accepting the fact that I couldn’t do anything about it right now and it was best not to worry about it.

Then on Tuesday his tongue came flying out of his mouth without warning. I was stunned. We were laughing and playing like we usually do (He likes it when I say “Hello” and “LOL” to him) when his little tongue jetted just a bit out of his mouth. It’s no Gene Simmons, but it’s a step in a new direction for Riles. He had a look on his face of pride that I’d never seen before. I’ve never been so happy about something so little in my life. All week we’ve laughed and played, sticking our tongues out at each other.

After a week from hell, Riles is on the upswing. By Friday his condition had worsened to the point that the doctor put him on a nebulizer. I didn’t realize it at that time, but kids that go on nebulizers typically have asthma, something struggled with for a good portion of my childhood. At least I know what to expect if he does end up having it.

To add to the hectic home situation, I was working 14 hour days through the entire week and weekend. By all graces Courtney should have shot me. I was little to no help on the home front. But by Friday I had had enough of work and just had to tell them to cool out while I tended to the Commander.

He’s back at it today, now spending his 3rd full day back a daycare. We’re hoping it will help with his sleeping patterns. Right now he’s getting up twice a night, once at 12:30am and again at 4:30am. The 4:30am is just a killer. By the time he’s fed and put back to sleep it’s time for me to get up and get ready for work. So in essence I’m now getting up at 4:30am to go to work.

Chad and Tina joined us for a little impromptu Superbowl party Sunday night. On a whim we invited them over so we didn’t have to watch the game by ourselves. I made the world’s worst Pigs in a Blanket. I wasn’t careful enough with the biscuits. Before I knew it, the pigs were blowing out the blankets and escaping out the end.

Life has been pretty low key lately. We’ve managed to keep all the dogs warm despite the cold weather. Riles is doing well. Court and I are just getting into the swing of being parents. Weird.

Regarded as one of the better stinkface makers, Riles gives a commanding performance

Christmas was a whirlwind around our house. Even though I had a full week off to enjoy being with the family the days passed quickly. We spent our time going between houses, showing of Riley, and generally having a good time.

For Christmas Riley started smiling. It might seem like a simple thing but babies aren’t born with a smile on their face. For the first 6 weeks he would accidentally smile. You could tell it wasn’t real because he couldn’t repeat it. A few days before Christmas we got Riles up in the morning and to our surprised he gave us this big smile after he recognized us. It was odd because he doesn’t usually acknowledge us much except that we picked him up and he would stop crying. For the first time our kid was excited to see us! He continued to smile at us for a good half hour every time his eyes focused on us.

Ever since then he smiles when we get him up in the morning….Oh, yeah, and right after he drops a load in his diaper too.

For Christmas my parents were kind enough to get both me and Drew video cameras. In between the time of one-upping each other in Wii bowling you’ll probably see a few videos come across our sites. Drew has already started a library of Avery videos.

This is Riley’s web video debut: Riley Rolls Over. While technically he rolls and technically it’s “over”, you’ll notice his style is more of a screaming kick than a planned execution.

I’ll be honest, I gained a few pounds during Court’s pregnancy. I’d like to think it was a little sympathy weight. I mean, it’s hard to control yourself when your wife is craving chocolate. But, to be honest, I think she might have gained a little sympathy weight from me.

At one point in the summer, for about a week, Cold Stone was a staple of our evening dining. The corner gas station even implemented a $4-minimum to use a credit card because we’d go in there for snacks regularly. All the while I used the excuse, “Well, it’s because Courtney’s pregnant.”

The truth? Well, I sort of used her whole comfort food situation to get what I wanted. Yeah, I’m a chocoholic. When I get around chocolate I have to eat it until it’s gone. I would say to Courtney “Hey, I’m going to the store. Do you need anything?” I knew full well that she agree with me that chocolate was a necessity.

So I’m a few pounds heavier than I’d like to be. I still hit the gym regularly so if I can keep the food in check the pounds should come off easy.