Well here we are and it's May already! These pictures are from April, so they aren't too out of date! We don't have a lot of her right now because some pictures (ahem) got deleted on the camera before we could download them. So sad! Reiley is 16 months now & running around and jabbering! She is such a joy! We are just loving all the new words she is saying & helping her discover new things. She absolutely loves being outside, so this summer we will be doing a lot of running to the park, etc.
Her dr. continues to be amazed at how well she has done. He also continues to remind us how fortunate we are because he sees a lot of babies her age that aren't doing as well. I tell him that we know! It's because of all the prayers, praise God! She is going in next week again. He is monitoring her head size to make sure it's not growing too fast. It has something to do with the small brain bleed she had as an infant.
We are all facing a new schedule as a family right now. Reiley definitely feels it too! Loren has started school at the Aviation Institute of Mechanics. It is an 18 month program and he is going Monday through Thursday evenings from 5 - 11:30. He is keeping his job at Choice Books while he goes through school, so this means early mornings on the road servicing! He usually comes home around 2, then does a few things, tries to take a nap & do homework, & then he's off again soon after 4:30. It gets long & lonely for me, but I'm so happy to support him in this! We feel this is what God wants us to do, and it feels so good to be in His will. We also feel a lot of support from our friends & family. Reiley definitely misses her daddy during the week, and that makes it hard! Please pray for us as a family!

1st Birthday Party!

Reiley is officially 1! I can't believe it! The last few weeks have been full of memories for us as will the coming weeks. God has answered all those prayers prayed for me & that sweet little 2 - 1/2 lb. baby that came into the world Jan. 12, '09. She truly is a miracle. Her pediatrician continues to remind us how fortunate we are that she is doing so well. He said he sees a lot of 29 weekers and she is just excelling. Praise God! She is a speedy crawler now & has 2 teeth that came at the same time & she's working on some more. She loves to pull herself up to furniture & move along it. Sadly she has a lot of bumps & marks on her head because of that!
We had a fun party for her the other night & she got a lot of wonderful presents! Thanks so much to everyone who gave! It may as well have been my own birthday the way I got excited over her presents. :) She can now add chocolate cake to her long list of favorite foods. :) She sure enjoyed her birthday treats!
To add to the birthday fun, we received a call from my sister in Oregon saying Reiley has a new cousin & born on her birthday at that! A girl!!! I know we live on opposite coasts, but I was so excited that Reiley has a girl cousin so close to her age!

I pray this next year is just as special to us as this past year was!

All Is Well

Gracious where has time gone! I knew we were being lazy in posting, but it's hard to believe it's been almost 3 months! Reiley is 10 months old today! #1 is coming too fast! It'll be the Holidays & then her birthday. Life is good. We are enjoying every day watching our baby grow. She says Dada & Mama now & rolls everywhere! She is being very, very slow on teething. Poor thing has been working on her first tooth for quite a while now it seems. We had her to an eye Dr. since the last time we posted. Things seem to look good, but he wanted us to go to one other Dr. that is more of a specialist in about 5 months. Hopefully that will be the last time! We don't want to poof at Dr.'s suggestions at this point, because she is still at risk for things because of the start she had.
I will try to post pictures soon!

7 months!

We took Reiley to her 6 month (7 mo. really) NICU follow-up appointment the beginning of last week. She was evaluated by 2 doctors & a physical therapist. She was also supposed to have another eye checkup, but that got rescheduled for a later date. They were all so impressed with her! Her motor skills are definitely improving & she's basically caught up to age with them. The PT said most of them are in the 6-7 month ability. They told her she was just showing off! :) We left there feeling so relieved and thankful for our little superstar! We were pretty sure of where she was at, but it still feels good to get that confirmation from a specialist!

Pictures from Florida

Me & my 2nd Cousin Keira Ryleigh



My Buddy Wanda

Aunt Gina likes to give me a bath

Me in mommy's dress from when she was 6 months old!

Grandma & Me

Fun in the pool

Grandpa's Birthday Party

Grandpa's surprise 60th birthday party!



We made him a plate of foods he does NOT like.

Umm...are we related? :)

Me with Great-Grandma Anna

6 months old!

I can't believe half a year is past already! My baby is getting so big! Last night I got out some of her 'bigger' outfits that I thought would take forever for her to grow into...and they fit! We started her on a little bit of rice cereal this past week. She was not a fan at first, but now is chomping it down. We are definitely enjoying our summer with her! She loves being outside & going for rides in her stroller.

Just a quick update...
We're all doing well! We've been around this month! Had a long trip up to Northern IN & Michigan for a reunion & then to Southern IN where I was born. Also had Choice Books Annual Conference this month & then after that we went to Tilghman Island with my parents, Gina, & Steve, Delilah & Bryson. Gina stayed an extra week with us. It was so wonderful to have her here! Reiley is really filling out & catching up to 'normal' size. She's getting very strong & holds her head well. Before Gina left, we went to a local Lavendar Farm to take some pictures. That was a lot of fun. Reiley was such a sport!

Gettn' Bigger!

Reiley will be 5 months old this next week already! I just took her to her pediatrician a couple days ago. She is 11 lb. 4 oz. & 23 in. now! At every visit her development is catching up to her age. This next week she will be evaluated by an early development expert. Her doctor isn't very concerned that there is any problem, he just wants someone else to take a look at her.

I just finished doing an album of her hospital stay this past week. It really brought a lot of memories back to see some of those first pictures! She has definitely blossomed since then!

Ahhh...Sleep!

Yea! Reiley is finally sleeping through the night! I almost forgot what it's like to sleep longer than 3 or 4 hours at a time. She is so sweet in the mornings. She wakes up talking to herself, & is so happy to see us. She is definitely going through a growth-spurt right now. She eats a lot & is sleeping around the clock.

Friends

We are so sad that our friends Earl & Danielle are moving...and taking their beautiful little girl, Evey, with them! Earls used to be our neighbors at our old house & we had dinner together once every week. We would each make something & share a combined dinner, usually outside. We made good memories & had great times that we will always treasure!
We had one last dinner with them the other night, before they move out west. Thanks for your friendship! We are gonna miss you a lot!

Busy May

I guess it's been a while since we've updated. So far our month has been really busy. Reiley is 4 months old now! She is such a sweet baby, & smiles & coo's a lot.

Reiley loves to snooze on daddy's pillow after he leaves for work. She still sleeps most of the day. By evening she is usually awake for a decent amount of time. She hasn't slept all through the night yet, but she's getting close! We are very excited about that!

Warmer Weather

It seems like spring just didn't want to come this year. Last summer & fall seem like a lifetime ago. It was chilly & rainy & blah for so many weeks. Every day I would wish for warmer weather. It finally arrived last week, & we had gorgeous days that hit the upper 80's & 90's! The first day we had windows open & were enjoying the sunshine & warmth, but by afternoon our house was heating up quick! I decided to turn the AC on, only to find out it just blew basically hot air. My wish came true a little too much! Reiley & I just lazed around trying to stay cool. She didn't mind it too much. She liked kicking around in bare feet. I have to say, even though the heat became very uncomfortable & overpowering, I would choose that way above being too cold! This winter, while I was still in Charlottesville, our heater gave out for Loren. It was an icebox in our house. I think our heating & cooling system is trying to tell us it's old & needs to be replaced!







Yesterday Bryson stayed with us for a good chunk of the day. It was so fun having him here. He is basically a year older than Reiley. His age group is so fun! I am enjoying Reiley in the stage she's in now, but I know I'm going to have even more fun with her when she gets to be a toddler. Bryson didn't want to have anything to do with Reiley when we first brought her home from the hospital, but now he's definitely warming up to her. He is very sweet & gentle with her.




Eating yummy strawberries & blackberries that later will make Aunt Ruthie clean something unpleasant. I know I'm wearing a pink flowery bib, but mom forgot to pack mine. It's cute though, right?

Picnic With The Youth

Sunday afternoon we took the youth into D.C. for a picnic along the Potomac. It was a gorgeous day. We all enjoyed it so much. This was our first real youth activity since Reiley was born. Loren & I really missed hanging out with everyone for all those months I was in Charlottesville. Reiley is a fun addition! I have all the baby-holders I want when we're all together! She did so well yesterday being lazy in the shade! The guys played corn-hole & we wanted to also play badminton, but the net turned into a high-jump (for some people) instead!

Reiley went to the dr. again on Friday. Everything is good! She will have to stay on her special formula for a long time yet though. She weighed in at 9 lb. 1 oz.!