Memorial Day Excitement

For Ryleigh's first Memorial Day we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than to take her to the pool for the first time.  She had experienced the pool from the entrance steps in California, but the water was way too cold to actually go in it, but lucky for us, North Carolina delivered the heat this weekend!  We were able to spend the day with friends at their apartment complex pool, that way we didn't have to deal with the crazy crowds at the local community pools.  Also, we didn't have to worry about ill-behaving children splashing unnecessarily around my child therefore ruining her first pool experience causing pool trauma for the rest of her life.  A little too dramatic?  OK, fine.  Regardless, it was nice to not have to worry about crazy amounts of people.

Ryleigh really seemed to enjoy the water, which isn't shocking since she will sit in her bath for about an hour just splashing around.  We bought her a little floaty that she could sit in and she really seemed to like just floating around watching everyone else play.  All she needed to complete her pool day was her bottle with a little umbrella in it : )

Thanks to Bruce and Steph for allowing us to come use their pool and for keeping Ryleigh company.  And thank you random lady at the pool for taking it upon yourself to be Ryleigh's "little voice" and tell my husband "you need to get your baby out of the sun, she is going to burn out there!" and then proceed to glare at us from behind cars in the parking lot for 15 minutes because we didn't heed your advice.

Now enjoy some pictures and videos of Ryleigh enjoying her time in the smoldering sun (gasp!).

Daddy is so excited to teach me all about swimming!

 

Daddy giving Ryleigh her first "dunk"

Ryleigh liked being on her tummy in the water

Taking a break

Mommy spinning Ryleigh around in her new floaty

playing with Mr. Bruce

Daddy pushing Ryleigh around

All done playing

pooped

Gammy Visits

The past week we have had a visitor at Casa Richardson....Gammy came to visit us!  And by "us", I clearly mean Ryleigh.  She hasn't seen our little girl since February, so a lot has changed since then.  She spent a lot of time getting in her cuddles, which isn't very often now since Ryleigh is on the move, but she was able to sneak some in.  She also got to experience the new joys of feeding and bathing Ryleigh now that she is enjoying those times a lot more.

While Gammy was here, we took Ryleigh to the park where she swung on the swings for the first time.  She really seemed to enjoy it : )  She wasn't really big enough to play on anything else, but we helped her slide down the slide a couple times.  Her poor little thighs got stuck to the plastic though :/

on the big swings with Gammy

"OK Mommy, enough!"

playing in the tubes

attempting to slide (don't worry, we held her as she went down) 

While she was here, Gammy wanted to take Ryleigh to the Zoo.  So off we went to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, NC.  Ryleigh didn't really care too much about the animals, but she did enjoy watching all the people pass by her stroller.  Her own little zoo experience you could say : )  She behaved amazingly (of course) despite the 90 degree weather and she really enjoyed walking under the water misters.

waiting patiently in line for tickets

sitting on the monkey

Daddy wanted one too

Ryleigh the ostrich egg

inside the bee hive

trying to eat Mommy's chips...too bad they are already in her mouth

checking out the bears

watching the geyser erupt (she really enjoyed this)

hanging out naked while waiting for Daddy to get the car

The other days Gammy was here we just hung out around the house.  One night Mommy and Daddy went out to dinner while Gammy watched Ryleigh and Lucy.  It was nice to get out and have a date night : )  We also went shopping one day and Gammy bought Ryleigh lots of new outfits, plus a new bath toy.  We really enjoyed having her here and I know Ryleigh enjoyed the extra attention.  Lucy too. 

Weigh In Wednesday

My weight watchers online tracker totally yelled at me this week.  But it's OK, it felt really good because I lost....

5 pounds!

I know you're not supposed to lose weight that fast, but I think it was the change and motivation that I needed to see to keep me going.  Last week I was really down about continuing with my weight loss, but now that I see I'm only 3 pounds away from my normal weight, I'm feeling a lot more motivated to keep going.  I would love to see that number on the scale again...and I might even continue and try to see a number a little less than what I used to consider "normal". 

I really focused on my meals this week, not allowing myself to snack on bad things.  Although my husband did bring me back some delicious chocolates from his trip to Sweden, I've been trying to monitor my intake of them.  I haven't jumped back into exercising yet, it's just so daunting to even think about it.  But hopefully I can get motivated to start that up again soon.  But for right now, I'm enjoying the fact that I'm still losing weight (which means I'm doing something right) and I'm spending lots of time with my daughter now that she has entered into and new and amazing stage of development : ) 

Here's hoping for another great week!!

Some recipes from this past week:

Eggplant Parmigiana
makes 4 servings

1/3 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 medium eggplant
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic powder in a medium-size bowl; set aside.  Remove skin from eggplant and trim off ends; slice eggplant into 1/2" thick slices.
Dip eggplant first into egg whites and then into bread crumbs.  Bake eggplant on nonstick cookie sheet until lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes, flipping once.
Place a layer of eggplant on bottom of prepared baking dish, then add 1/3 of tomato sauce and 1/3 of mozzarella cheese.  Repeat with 2 more layers in same order.  Bake until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, about 10 more minutes.
Slice into 4 pieces and serve.

Banana and Nutella Grilled Sandwich
I made this delicious breakfast sandwich one day just because I was really in the mood for some nutella!  I used 2 sliced of Sara Lee 45 Calorie Whole Wheat bread, sliced up half of a banana (and just ate the other half, because I mean, who only eats half of a banana?), then spread 1/2 Tbsp. of nutella on each slice of bread.  After putting the bread slices together to make a sandwich, I sprayed each outside bread surface with cooking spray and grilled it in a hot pan on the stove.  The nutella melted wonderfully and the bread got nice and crispy.  And it's only 7 points!  If you want to, you can also dip the sandwiches in an egg mixture, then grill them in a pan creating more of a "french toast" effect.



Lucy's Good News

As most of you know, back in January we too Lucy to the doggie ER and she was diagnosed with a torn ACL in her left leg.  We have been putting off surgery because she has been acting normal for the most part.  She has had a few times where she has favored her left leg and limped around for a day, but that's been it.  Well, yesterday and today she has been miserable, not even putting her leg down to get around.  We've been carrying her up and down the stairs and she's been spending her time laying on the couch. : (  Poor Goosey.

So we made the decision that it was time.  We took her to a highly recommended Orthopedic Surgeon (yes, they have them for dogs)  and of course, as soon as we got there, Lucy was walking around just fine.  Little faker.  But he still checked her out and did more extensive X-Rays since she hasn't had any since January.  What he came back with, I wasn't expecting....

Lucy doesn't have a torn ACL...her legs just aren't made right. Haha.  I know it doesn't seem like better news, but it really is.  The doctor says that just like humans can be bow-legged or pigeon-toed, Lucy is what he called "pig-legged".  Her legs are just a little straighter than they are meant to be causing there to be a larger gap in her kneecap (which apparently can appear like a torn ACL on an X-Ray).  He gave me some other medical stuff that went way over my head, but basically, she is fine.  He says that just like a human can become sore from doing something to strenuously, that is what Lucy has done when she begins favoring her left leg.  She has done something to cause it to become inflammed and all she needs to do is rest and take an anti-inflammatory.  So Yaaaaaaay!!

Thank you everyone who has kept Lucy in your prayers and for everyone who has offered advice and helped with her situation.  We feel very comfortable with the doctors diagnosis and we look forward to many more years of running, jumping and playing : )

Ryleigh is Seven Months!!!!!!!

Ryleigh at 7 months (May 15, 2011)

First of all,  I feel like I just wrote Ryleigh's six month blog!  This month has gone by so fast and has been full of lots of firsts for our little girl.  We started out the month with a visit to the Doctor where we learned Ryleigh is in the 90th percentile for weight and the 97th percentile for height.  So needless to say, we have been blessed with a healthy baby : )

Ryleigh then took her first airplane ride when we spent 10 days in California.  She was such a great little traveler and all the flight attendants and surrounding passengers just loved her smile and happy noises!  We were very excited to get to California so we could spend time with Yaya and Poppi and meet Uncle Jason and Aunt Bekah for the first time.  GGma and GGpa were also there, so we got to spend some time with them too!  We had lots of fun going to the beach, playing in the sand, getting a visit from the Easter Bunny and most importantly, learning how to sit on our own!  I can go on and on about the things we did, but it would take forever, so if you're interested you can check out pictures from our trip and hear about it here.

It took us a little while to get back into our routine once we got back to North Carolina, but Ryleigh was anxious to figure out what other new things she could do now that she can sit on her own.  It wasn't long after we returned that she discovered she could get places if she just wiggled around a little while on her tummy.  She also discovered that if she wanted to get a toy that was further away, she could topple over from her sitting position and make her way to it!  She isn't doing a "real" crawl, just an "army" crawl right now, but regardless, it gets her around, so we are officially mobile in the Richardson household!  Maybe this will help with Mommy's weight loss ; )

We also celebrated Mothers Day this month, which was exciting.  Mommy was pregnant last year for Mothers Day so this year it feels a little different.  Daddy and Ryleigh took Mommy to lunch at one of her favorite places here in Greensboro.  Ryleigh and Lucy got Mommy and kindle and Daddy got her some roses and lilies : )

Sadly, Daddy was in Sweden for a week this month, so Mommy and Ryleigh got to spend a lot of time together.  During this week Ryleigh also had her last physical therapy appointment with Miss Flavia.  She was so proud of all the new things Ryleigh learned how to do since the last time she saw her.  Since her torticollis is resolved and she is right on track with her motor skills, Miss Flavia decided we didn't need to see her anymore.  We were excited, but also sad.  We will miss Miss Flavia : (

I can't believe how much Ryleigh has changed in this past month.  She started off as a baby and now she's like a little person.  She is so full of personality and she is so cheerful!  She will play games with you, like peek-a-boo, she will try to stick her binkie in your mouth, she watches cartoons and actually laughs at what is going on on the screen, she has started using a sippy cup (just barely, but she'll get there).  She is also starting to test the limits.  She likes to play with the curtains and blinds, and Mommy has said "No" a billion times!!  I think she is starting to grasp what the word "no" means, but she is working hard at keeping Mommy consistent.  And now that she is mobile, Lucy's toys are much more interesting and so is Lucy for that matter.  She is spending a lot more time up on the furniture.

We are so excited for this next stage but I know it's going to be exhausting and trying.  We're up for the challenge though.  Wish us luck! 

I know I should take the bumper out now, but she just has so much fun rolling around in it!

Ryleigh discovers her brute strength

Feeding Ryleigh the Daddy way...he likes to pretend he's a "Catch Can Man"

Our first picture sitting up on our own!

one of Ryleighs first attempts at getting herself around

First time using a sippy cup...or at least attempting to

more wiggling...getting the hang of it, I'd say

Mommy tried to get a picture with her babies on Mothers Day...we never got one with everyone looking.

holding her bottle on her own

Ryleigh has finally found another song to like other than Jesus Loves Me!

Mommy tried to give Ryleigh pigtails...she's clearly not ready for them yet.

eating whole apple slices for the first time

playing with Lucy...not sure Ryleigh is ready to share though

way too excited for food

bath time fun

time to get up Mommy!!

Ryleigh discovered the door stop makes funny sounds...Lucy is jealous and wants to play with it too

Weigh In Wednesday

I know I promised a much more impressive week this week, but I'll be honest, it's not going to happen.  I'll cut right to this chase.  I gained 2 pounds this week...but I was prepared for that.

I was so sure that I'd be able to hop right back on the healthy train once I got back into my routine, but I wasn't prepared for this little lull I'm feeling.  It's like the first months of my weight loss I had my California trip to look forward to.  I actually had a goal and a deadline.  Now I don't have anything so it's like, what's the point?  I know I felt good about myself while I was working out and dieting, but after being on vacation and giving into my urges this past week, it also feels sooooooooo good to sit on the sofa, eat chips and cookies and watch seasons of True Blood.

I said I was going to start exercising again this week and I thought it would be easy since I'm not having to worry about working this week, but I have yet to turn on my ExerciseTV.  All of my hatred for exercising has resurfaced and I'm just not motivated to get active.  I have been planning my dinners like I used to, but I'm still finding myself skipping meals and then snacking on chips because I have the points to use from missing the meal.  I'm pretty sure that not how Weight Watchers is supposed to work. 

I guess technically I haven't really reached my "goal" weight.  I'm still 8 pounds away from that.  And I do have a wedding to go to in September, so I could use that as motivation.  Lately I just find myself longing to be pregnant again so I can stuff my face and be fat again :/  So hopefully this next week I can get my lazy butt off the sofa and do something that doesn't include shoveling food into my mouth.  If anyone has any ideas to get me back into the spirit, let me know!  I'm all ears....and buns and thighs if I'm not careful!!

I don't have many pictures of my pregnant belly head one, but I found this one amongst my Mom's pictures from my brothers wedding weekend in Buffalo.  This picture was taken exactly 13 days before Ryleigh made her appearance.  It's hard to believe that the human body can stretch to that size!!  I miss it : (

Weigh In Wednesday

So I didn't have a weigh in last week because we were on vacation...so it's been 2 weeks since I last weighed myself.  I had all sorts of good intentions for keeping somewhat on a diet and exercising while I was in California.  Yeah.  That didn't happen.  So let me start this weigh in by giving everyone a little idea of what I was dealing with on vacation.....

Round Table Pizza
Buttermilk Cinnamon Pound Cake
On The Border Happy Hour, complete with nachos, taquitos, chips and salsa, guacamole, and chicken wings
Don Elliott Margaritas...daily
Ribs
Cinnamon Rolls
Tri Tip Steak
Cole Slaw
BJs Restaurant Flat bread pizza, mac 'n cheese and bruschetta
Dairy Queen Blizzards
Easter candy
Denny's Breakfast
Carls Jr.
Bratwursts
did I mention margaritas?

And this doesn't even include our little get-away to Vegas where I indulged in THE best crab cake eggs Benedict, so much sushi that I probably ate the equivalent of an entire Tuna, scallops that I'm sure were soaked in butter and delicious, over-indulgent adult beverages!

So needless to say, working out really wouldn't have even put a dent in the amount of calories I was consuming everyday.  Plus, after eating all that food, I could barely walk up the stairs let alone do sit ups of any kind!

I really didn't want to get on the scale until my weigh in.  No need in freaking myself out, right?  We've been home for 4 days now and it's been crazy getting ourselves and Ryleigh back onto Eastern time, plus going back to work, getting the house situated again and just getting back into our everyday routine.  So I haven't really been eating like I should, I've skipped breakfast a couple times and yesterday I didn't even eat anything until about 7:30pm.  The sad thing is, I wasn't even hungry.  I have so much food build up from vacation, I'm not even hungry 4 days later, haha!  I also haven't worked out at all since I've been back.  But I plan to get back into the swing of things here shortly and hopefully have an impressive week next week : )

So what's the damage?  I stepped on my scale this morning, completely naked because lets face it, I didn't want to add ANY extra unnecessary ounces and to my surprise I lost....

.4 pounds

Can you believe that?!  I don't know if in a couple weeks it will all catch up with me, but I'm hoping not.  Maybe this is God's way of rewarding me for a job well done these past few months of dieting and exercising.  He let me indulge, then not have to worry about losing it all.  That sure would be nice of him : )

Ryleigh heads to the West Coast

As everyone knows, we spent the last 10 days in California, and I have been trying to figure out how best to blog about our time there.  When I added up the number of photos taken between Yaya and I, I decided it would best to do it with a photo timeline.  Here goes....

DAY ONE
Mommy, Daddy and Ryleigh get up SUPER early (4:00 am) to head to the airport.  Even though she was still sleepy, Ryleigh stayed awake with excitement as she made her first trip through airport security.

Until finally, she made it on her very first airplane!  Ryleigh was such a good little traveler.  She stayed happy pretty much the whole time, other than the few minutes before each of her little cat-naps.  Mommy and Daddy had to force her to sleep a little bit, she just wanted to stay awake and watch everything!  She made many new friends on each of her flights. 

When we finally arrived in L.A., Poppi was there to pick us up.  We made the drive down to Orange County where Yaya, GGma and GGpa were waiting for us.  We spent the rest of the day lounging around and catching up on some much needed sleep.  Ryleigh adjusted great to the time change and was in bed her first night by 8:00pm California time...but not before Yaya snuck in some playtime with her.

DAY TWO

Ryleigh was a good little sleeper and slept until 6:30am California time.  Of course, Yaya and Poppi were up and ready to play as soon as Ryleigh was, but Daddy was able to sneak in some time with his baby too.  They had fun playing in the fuzzy blankets.

Finally, around noon, Yaya, Mommy and Ryleigh headed back up to L.A. to pick up Uncle Jason and Aunt Bekah.  Ryleigh was very excited since this was her first time meeting her Aunt and Uncle. 

 It took her a few minutes, but she quickly caught on to Uncle Jason's charm and they became fast buddies. 

Ryleigh spent the rest of the day playing with and getting to know her Aunt and Uncle.

DAY THREE

Now that Uncle Jason and Aunt Bekah are married and Ryleigh is no longer in-utero, Yaya wanted to take family pictures on the beach while we were all in California.  So we dressed up in our pink and blue polos and spent a good portion of our afternoon at the beach playing in the sand, touching our toes in the ocean and snapping pictures.

Ryleigh's first touch of sand



I think she likes it!

Four Generations

trying to eat the sand

the ocean was a little cold for her

 

liking the grass much better

beach time is exhausting!

After beach time and nap time, we were ready for playtime and ribs!  Poppi and Daddy had a "Rib Cook-off" and spent a lot of time caring for their rib racks.  While they did that, Ryleigh spent lots of time with Aunt Bekah and Uncle Jason.

Nothing caps off the night like Sing-A-Ma-Jigs with Poppi and a bedtime story from Yaya!





DAY FOUR

Easter!!  When we woke up the Easter Bunny had found us all the way in California!  He left a basket for Mommy and Daddy, Ryleigh and Uncle Jason and Aunt Bekah.  Ryleigh wasn't quite sure what the big deal was, but Mommy and Daddy were excited to see all her chocolates!

After seeing what the Easter Bunny brought, we all got ready and headed to church where Ryleigh met LOTS of new people.  She also thoroughly enjoyed the sermon because I have never seen her pay so much attention in church before!  Easter Sunday was also the first time that Ryleigh has ever worn real shoes.  Hooray for such a milestone!

We spent the rest of Sunday lounging around and spending lots of time with Uncle Jason and Aunt Bekah on their last day in California.

 

Poppi snuck in some Ryleigh time too!

DAY FIVE

This was a big day for Mommy, Daddy and Ryleigh.  We first spent the morning with Aunt Bekah and Uncle Jason before they left to go back home to Buffalo.  But not only were they leaving, so were Mommy and Daddy!  For the next 3 days, Mommy and Daddy went to Las Vegas and Ryleigh stayed with Yaya and Poppi.  This was the first time the 3 of us have ever spent the night apart!  So the next couple days of pictures will be filled with pictures of Ryleigh spending time in California and then some pictures of Mommy and Daddy spending time in Las Vegas.  Yaya did such a great job of sending us pictures while we were gone! 

Morning cartoons!

While Mommy and Daddy drove to Las Vegas, Ryleigh took a much needed nap...in the garage.  She became quite fond of her garage naps.  In fact, it's where she slept the best.  And the good thing about California is if you don't keep your car in your garage, it pretty much acts as another room.  Almost like a basement!  It stays a perfect temperature and it's completely dark!  Ryleigh loved sleeping out there on GGma and GGpa's mattress.  After her nap, she spent lots of time with Yaya, Poppi, GGma and GGpa.

It took Mommy and Daddy about 4 1/2 hours to get to Vegas.  We stopped at the Mad Greek Cafe on the way and had the best gyros and baklava ever!  We stayed at the Paris Hotel and spent the first evening wondering around the strip after eating yummy sushi and Koi.

DAY SIX

Ryleigh spent her first whole day without Mommy and Daddy keeping busy.  Yaya happily paraded her all over town by taking her to breakfast at the IHOP, then grocery shopping, taking her into work to meet everyone, then walking around the Irvine Spectrum where she got to watch puppies play!

no pancakes for me...just toys!

Mommy and Daddy spent their day away from Ryleigh walking around Las Vegas.  We started out with a yummy breakfast at the Mon Ami Gabi restaurant.  Of course, Mommy had eggs Benedict : )  We then pretty much made our way into every casino and hotel.  We gambled a little bit playing the Wheel of Fortune slot machines, but didn't win any money...didn't lose any either though!  We watched the lions play at the MGM and walked through the shark reef at the Mandalay Bay and finished our evening out with a delicious dinner at Jean Georges Steakhouse in the City Center.  A perfect little get-away.

in front of all the champagne

My eggs Benedict

Daddy's blueberry french toast

the designer in my loved this restaurant in the Aria

the designer in me also loved how the architecture of the building cast shadows on this awesome waterfall wall

Did you know that the MGM has 37 lions on hand and they all live on a farm about 12 miles away from the hotel.  They switch out the lions every 6 hours.  Isn't that crazy?  

DAY SEVEN

Mommy and Daddy left Vegas in the morning, excited to get back to our little munchkin!  She spent her day waiting anxiously for our return, obviously!  She spent a little bit of time at work with Yaya, but for the most part she just hung out at Yaya and Poppi's house.  Yaya is convinced she is on the verge of teaching Ryleigh how to stick her tongue out.  Good thing we didn't leave them alone much longer!  It had been a long day for everyone, so we just ate leftovers and Mommy and Daddy played with Ryleigh after being apart from her for so long.  Daddy wanted to take her swimming so bad, but the pool wasn't heated.  He settled for dipping her toes in for a little while.  We think she'll enjoy swimming when the time comes : )

DAY EIGHT

GGma and GGpa left and started toward Michigan this morning.  Ryleigh enjoyed her time with them and so did Mommy and Daddy.  Later in the day, Mommy's friend, Alex came to visit.  We spent the afternoon with her catching up and playing, but unfortunately, it was a pretty fussy day for Ryleigh.  We just hung around the house  practicing sitting on our own and then promptly went to bed as soon as possible! 

DAY NINE

For our last full day in California, we decided to spend time enjoying the outside and the beach as long as possible.  We took a leisurely stroll in Laguna Beach playing in the sand, water and on the rocks.

After a fun-filled day at the beach, we headed back to Yaya and Poppi's so Yaya could get in as much cuddle time as possible before we left for home the next day.

DAY TEN

After 10 days in California, it was time to head home.  We had so much fun exposing Ryleigh to all sorts of new things...the ocean, sand, sunshine without humidity, limes, lemons, splashing in the tub, tea (on her binkie thanks to Uncle Jason), puffs!  She also left California having learned how to sit on her own!  She was again, a wonderful little traveler and I know she was very excited to get home to her Lucy dog!

Speaking of Lucy...she had fun on "vacation" too.  We would have loved to bring her, but we just couldn't find a way to get her there.  But she stayed with two wonderful families that made sure she was loved and taken care of.  She made new doggie friends as well as human friends.  She got to learn what life will be like when Ryleigh gets older...walking to the bus stop, going for visits to school.  Needless to say, we know she had fun because she has been sleeping ever since we got home!!  She is one pooped bully!

sleep at last!