Riley's definition of heaven: Space. Lots of it.

Another highlight of our trip, for Riley at least, was all the room to roam at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Her favorite activity was disappearing quietly into random rooms and giggling hysterically once we (finally) found her.

I guess that's called hide and seek.

The runner-up activity, pictured below, was exploring in the backyard, especially around the stream.

Least favorite activity? Hanging out on the patio in the hot summer sun. ("Ot! Ot!") In one short year, our little Texan has lost her tolerance for heat. (But so have we. It's nice to be home!)

Friends, Friends, and More Friends

During our trip, Riley met a new set of friends just about every day. And she loved every minute of it.

Here, we visited my long-time friend, Katie, and her daughter, Lucy. Riley and Lucy got along well because they have the same taste in books and hairdos.

This day, we went to the park with our friends Charlton and Kimber and their nephews, Mitchell and Curtis. Mitchell pulled the wagon to the park while Riley laughed at Curtis and picked her nose. Good times.

A few days later, Riley spent the entire day with her (?) second* cousins, Hannah and Ainsley. I don't have photos, but I do know they had tons o' fun, because Riley fell asleep on the 10-minute drive back to Grandma and Grandpa's.

So...who would've thought an inherently anti-social couple like Matt and me could produce such a little social butterfly? Must be a recessive trait!

*Matt's cousin's daughters. Does that make them second cousins?

Fast Friends

We flew to Utah earlier this week to visit Grandma & Grandpa R, run a race (stay tuned for details) and attend a wedding.

Traveling with a toddler isn't a cakewalk...unless the toddler makes a new friend en route.

Riley and her new friend Slater shared seats, snacks, and toys from Portland to Salt Lake City, making it our most pleasant flight in 23 months!

Understatements Ahead: Apprehensive & Smitten

For a guy who was apprehensive about having children, Matt's turned out to be a pretty fantastic daddy. One that's 100-percent smitten with his little dude.

I'm not surprised.

Just surprised it happened this quickly:

Defiance? Independence? Or Fashion Sense?

Every evening, I grab two sets of pajamas for Riley to choose from. And every evening, without fail, she demands different jammies altogether.

...or, in last night's case, a creative combo of three different jammies (complete with a marker-stained cardigan that's meant for a three month old).

Lookin' good, kid. Now it's time for some beauty sleep.

Parades are Fun!

(Despite the ultra-bored moment captured here, we did actually have a pleasant time today at Portland's Grand Floral Parade.)

Yes, No, Maybe So...

Riley's favorite words right now are "no!" and "yeah" accompanied by a vigorous head nod. I prefer the latter.

Riley has "no!" totally mastered, but she's still nailing down the proper usage for "yeah."

For example:

Me: Good morning! Did you sleep well?

Riley: Yeah.

Me: Are you hungry?

Riley: Yeah.

Me: What would you like for breakfast?

Riley: Yeah.

***

Me: We had a fun day, didn't we?

Riley: Yeah.

Me: Are you tired?

Riley: Yeah.

Me: Are you ready for bed?

Riley: Yeah. No. Noooo!

***

Me: Daddy got a hair cut! Do you like it Riley?

Riley: Yeah.

Matt: Does daddy look goofy?

Riley: Yeah.