This Day in History

It was 10 years ago today that Matt and I met.

We met at his grandma's house. I was meeting up with his sister there for our New Year's Eve festivities. Matt was too enthralled with First Kid (yes, the lame Sinbad movie) on Nickelodeon to give me the time of day. But we did make eye contact at some point that evening, and that's probably where it all began...

Catch Up

Where we've been: Salt Lake City

Why we were there: to celebrate Christmas!

Who we were with: the Richards clan—including Riley's five Richards cousins

What we did: rode the Polar Express, went sledding (in the backyard!) opened presents, played Wii, chased around cousins, discovered crayons, visited the SLC children's museum, wreaked havok on grandma's clean house, ate candy...and cleaned up toddler throw up—five days straight!

How we felt: happy! (minus the sick/puke part)

p.s. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

A merry white Christmas, at that!

Addendum

One more thing Riley doesn't understand or obey (at least not at 4:00 this morning): Go back to bed! Please!

Hmm, now let's discuss how tired I am tonight...

Watch What You Say...

Riley's had this comprehension explosion, where she suddenly understands nearly everything—not just the basics like "no" and "come here."

Here are a few of the surprising/amusing things she understands (and actually obeys!):

• Get me a diaper, please


• Spit out your pacifier


• Please throw that away


• Shimmy those shoulders


• Where's the remote?


• We're taking the elevator, not the stairs

...I wanted to post a photo of her shimmying her shoulders, but I haven't had my camera handy. Instead, here's another one of her after ransacking the Christmas tree. She still doesn't obey: "Quit eating all the cookies off the tree."

Kathryn the Scrooge

Because I'm so miserly.
I took Riley to the mall to see Santa, but I just couldn't pony up $9.95 for a legitimate photo.
So this iPhone version my brother Geoff (sneakily) snapped will have to suffice.
Bah Humbug! Er, Merry Christmas!

A Confession

When I was pregnant, I sort of hoped for a boy, only because I'm not so good at girly stuff like braiding hair. I mean, I didn't want to cheat a daughter out of a lifetime of french braids!

So of course, my girly girl was born with tons of hair. I still haven't tried anything fancy with it—I'm just happy if it's free of cottage cheese and apple butter.

But lucky for me and Riley, the daycare girl at my gym loves doing hair! (And she's good at working through apple butter snarls!)

Just don't ask me how she got Riley to sit still that long...

Some Things Never Change...

1980:

2007:

Why 30 is better than 20

• I have a nice husband
• I have a cute bundle of joy
• I don't have homework or tests
• I share the bathroom with two roommates instead of five
• I have fewer zits
• I can read for fun, not for school
• I'm no longer addicted to free cell
• I've saved more money than barely enough to cover next semester's tuition
• I don't have to bum a ride to the grocery store
• I can afford to eat more than toast and Pasta Roni
• I have the skill to cook more than toast and Pasta Roni
• I've seen more of the world than just the western United States
• I can run longer than 15 minutes without getting winded
• My current job (mommy/mobile slave) beats that telemarketing job
• I don't care what (most) people think
• I'm strong enough to survive a marathon, 180-mile bike ride, childbirth...and a hospitalized husband

Am I forgetting anything? (Yes, I'm looking for validation that getting older is great!)

Reminder to Riley: Santa is Watching

We got our Christmas tree! It's three feet tall, perfect for out tiny living room. And last night, Sheri, Matt, and I decorated it with our favorite trimmings—lights, candy canes, and homemade gingerbread cookies.

When Riley woke up this morning, she was thrilled to see it. And within 15 minutes, she ate three cookies, ripped apart three others, snapped two candy canes in half, and knocked over the entire tree.

Um, Riley? That's not really nice-list behavior.

Our Favorite Newlyweds

Our friends Charlton and Kimber visited from Phoenix this weekend. Since they've only been married a few weeks, we resisted the urge to tease them about having kids.

That is until Charlton:

• Claimed dibs as Riley's godfather


• Asked—at 9 p.m.—if we could wake her for playtime


• Referred to her as our "bundle of joy."

Hmmm, aren't those classic signs of baby hunger?

Obsession of the Day

Clementines.

Riley ate SEVEN today. (And she actually wanted more...)

The upside:

• It's not candy/twinkies/french fries
• She can peel them herself
• ...and throw away the peels herself! Another great (albeit random) milestone!

The downside:

• Can you OD on Vitamin C?
• Sticky furniture
• Tomorrow's diaper