My Riley.

My baby is getting so big! His personality emerges more and more every day and he is quite a character! Here is a quick glimpse of Riley...

* He isn't a big talker yet, but he has said his first official word! It was 'up', which I'm trying to get him to say when he wants picked up instead of standing at my feet grunting at me. He also says this and that (sounds like dis and dat) as he points to things he wants.

* He can't stand to be in his high chair if Tyler is not at the kitchen table. Almost every morning he eats his breakfast 'on the go'. He takes a bite then plays with Tyler until he remembers he's still hungry and comes back in the kitchen for his next bite.

* He loves to unload the dishwasher, whether the dishes are clean or not! If I'm ever missing any utensils I can usually find them in the living room.

* He has 2 obsessions: 1. Tags. If a stuffed animal has a tag he will only hold it by the tag. People think he's attached to his blanket, but the truth is he's attached to the tag and puts up with the blanket! When he picks up his blanket he will turn it and turn it until he finds the tag. Once he finds it he does this excited little laugh, it's the cutest thing! 2. Closing doors. No door in our house is allowed to be open, ever. He does get mad though when he closes the pantry door and then can't get back in!

* He is a super happy baby, but don't be fooled this kid has a temper! If Tyler takes something away from him, Riley lets him hear it.

* He loves to watch Tyler and wants to do everything he does. He has learned a lot from his big brother, sometimes much to my dismay! For example, he didn't know the kitchen cabinets opened until he saw Tyler open one. He also didn't know how to get past the baby gate until he watched Tyler move it. Most of the time though it's really cute to watch him mimic Tyler. Like the other day when we were playing baseball. Tyler was batting and after watching for a few minutes Riley picked up a piece of PVC pipe and was holding it like a bat!

* I think his favorite person is still Tyler, and I'm a close second! They play really well together. One of their favorite games is chase, they both love to be chased!

* While Tyler completely skipped the stranger anxiety phase, Riley certainly has not. He takes a few minutes to warm up to new faces. If he just met you don't even think about holding him, he will flat out refuse and cling to Matt or I with a death grip! He'll go to people once he's gotten use to them though. He has a much more cautious personality than Tyler did at this age.

One night while I was making dinner Riley was hanging out in his high chair munching on Cheerios. As soon as my hands were dirty he ran out and wanted more so I asked Tyler to give him some. I think Tyler gave him half the box!

He always wakes up from his naps happy, so I thought something was wrong one afternoon when I suddenly heard him screaming. I rushed into his room and found him like this! He must have tried taking his shirt off and he got stuck. I couldn't help laughing and ran to get the camera before I rescued him!

Riley is ALWAYS putting his hands over his ears like this and I have no idea why. Sometimes he just walks around like this.

This boy LOVES to be outside! Thank goodness the weather has started to cool off! Before it did he had fun playing in the rain.

He is such a happy boy!

He growls at everything, and this is his growl face!