Mr. Talker Man!

Time is flying by! I can't believe Riley is almost 19 months old. He is really working hard on forming words. Here are some of the words he can say:

wa-wa (water)
door
flag
Teeve (Steve the cat)
Ju (juice)
dada
daddy
mama
mommy
dog
moon

I felt so bad for him one day when he pinched his thumb in our closet door. (Note that he loves the word door, so he has to play with any door he can) Anyways, after he pinched it he immediately started crying and repeatedly saying "door, door, door door" It was like he knew the door had done something to him but he just didn't know the words to tell me what happened.

He also has an unknown word. "ba-bwee". We aren't quite sure what he is trying to say with that one. Hopefully we will find out. I've noticed this week that he "talks" to anyone non-stop in his own little gibberish language. It's positively adorable. He has also found out how fun it is to roll cars on the floor, play with stuffed animals and throw toys!

My picky eater has disappeared too. He eats everything! Especially chicken nuggets and fruit. (Blueberries, dried cherries, mandarin oranges, apples and grapes are the fave) There are times when he has eaten dinner and we will come home only for him to go straight to the refrigerator and pulls out a yogurt cup. He still enjoys raisins and pancakes. I think he is going to end up like me and just eat and eat and burn off the calories quickly. As of now he is in the 50th percentile for weight and 98th for height. My baby is getting so big!

School's in...and other stuff

RCS kids went back to school a few weeks ago meaning I am back to work and no longer a stay at home mom. I am so excited to be teaching again at one of the best kept secrets in Rockingham County.

 Here are a few pics of my room:

Under no circumstances do I post pictures of my students on Facebook or on my blog, so you won't find anything like that here. :)


So what else?? Riley is busy playing at Nana's house (Josh's mom) or Grandma's house (my mom) getting into everything and having a blast I'm sure. He probably doesn't even think about me, but I think about him and wonder what he is up to when I'm at work.


Riley was baptised at my parent's church on August 13th. Here is a pic of him in his cute little outfit I ordered online and prayed hard that it would fit him. (It did) He did very well through the baptism and let the minister carry him around the church for everyone to see him.

Grandpa has been coming over in the evenings again to hang out with Riley so I can get some work done. Here they are playing with Riley's zoom racer!

Hurricane Irene came and went, with some humidity to spare for a warm afternoon at the pool. I wasn't really in the mood for a swim, but Josh and Riley had a blast in the pool at our exclusive Cates family hurricane party!

Something else new we tried - Sunday Evening in the Park! The music was great and Riley had a blast running around everywhere. We finally managed to get him to sit down for about 5 seconds before he was off again. Josh, myself and Josh's mom took turns running after him for the other hour and a half that we were there!

Here is a picture of Riley at our neighbor's birthday party at The Little Gym. He's already a pro at walking across the balance beam thanks to his nana and Miss Carolyn at Tumblebees this summer! Being a Tumblebees girl myself, it was neat to see another gym. I even snuck in a cartwheel, handstand and a backhandspring.  We are so thankful that Greyson and his mommy invited us to his party.

Fall is upon us so we will see what new adventures we will get into.

Love,

Sarah, Josh and Riley

Our summer stuff :)

Before school got out my mom told me that I was going to have a great time this summer with Riley. He's at a great age to do all kinds of things...not exactly her words, but I knew what she meant. So far this summer Riley and I have managed to walk most mornings at the Bog Garden. Just me and my baby...who isn't really a baby anymore...sometimes Andrea or my dad comes with us.

When it's too hot to play outside, we play inside, eat and take naps. Sometimes I can sneak in a nap too! Here are some of the sleep positions you may find in our house:
                                    
                                           The classic "tuck arms in" sleep position:

                                       

                                        Or the "curl up in a ball" cat sleep position:

Riley loves to play with his beach ball and will hand me the ball so I can throw it across the room, only for him to run and get it and hand it back to me. All the while giggling and shooting me his lady-killer smile! He is also a bookworm. He loves to sit quietly and flip through his books. His favorite is one that I bought him at our book fair at work for his first birthday.

One evening Riley was being very silly playing with Steve the cat. He was "talking" to him and trying to pick him up!


                                  


                                                            Funny boy!

                                                         



                                                            Probably reading...

Looking outside is another one of Riley's favorite things to do. I was showing Riley this yellow bird that has been coming around our feeder recently. He banged on the window and it flew away but at least I got a good picture of it!

Here is Riley at his Nana and Papa's house playing in his pool. It looks like Nana's car was about to hit him! I promise it wasn't :)

 He really wasn't too sure about the pool but definitely took some time to swing in his swing with Papa.

I love these summer days with my little guy. He never ceases to amaze me. He's getting into everything. Any drawers, cabinets and doors are fair game. He's on the move all the time and loves to be outside. I've been working with him on staying on the sidewalk instead of trying to run into the road. He has been learning how to jump on the trampoline at Tumblebees and can hold onto the preschool bar and jump at the same time. He likes to walk across the balance beams and loves to climb anything I'll let him!

He is teething again which has made him a little cranky and bedtime has become interesting...speaking of bedtime, we FINALLY have him on a good bedtime routine. (Thanks to my friends for helping me). depending on his nap and if he's teething, we try and get Riley to bed around 8:30 starting with a bath, then a bottle, read a few books, turn on his CD player and put him in his crib. The first night he cried for 2 minutes and then went to sleep. Every night since then, he has barely cried at all and puts himself to sleep. It has been awesome!

Well, that's pretty much what has been going on here, more to come later :)

Early Summer

Right now Riley is 14 months old. He is super-duper active and loves to be outside. We have been able to go to the Bog Garden several times and search for ducks! Today we saw a bunch of Mallard ducks and their babies, not to mention the geese and the Blue Heron (which I finally got on camera!). We also saw a mystery bird. I'll have to post the picture on facebook and see if anyone knows what kind of bird it is.
Here is a picture of Riley at the Bog Garden on June 22nd.

Riley is working on trying to "talk" to us. He has several different tones when he talks. Sometimes he has very high-pitched squeals and other times he has a low voice. His favorite thing to say is "oooh a dood". Not really sure what that means but he says it when he sees different animals; ducks, cats, dogs. He also says "ti ti ti ti" when he looks at a ceiling fan. He also uses that when he is excited about something.

We think he may be trying to say bird because he says "bu-d" sometimes. He also says dadadadada and mamamamama, of course :)

Even though he isn't using real words, he understands what we are asking or telling him. He knows bottle, cat, dog, bird, clock, fan, chicken and come on.

Riley still loves to open and close doors, cabinets and closets. He can play independently for a while which is really nice when I just need a minute or two to myself. He'll play with his blocks or push his lion toy around. He is such a sweet and well-behaved little boy with a smiley face and a cute laugh :)

Cascade Park with friends

This morning Riley and I got to meet up with our friends from Tumblebees! I was so excited because it was the first time I would meet mister Jeffrey!

                                             Aftynne and Mackenzy -- Denise and Jeffrey



We had a great time! Before Denise, her mom and Jeffrey got there, Riley and Mackenzy checked out the swings. Riley is still not very sure about swings but at least he didn't cry this time.

What could be more fun than chasing your friend around the park?

I am so glad we got the opportunity to meet and play at the park. I wish Denise lived closer so we could see each other more often, but Aftynne and Mackenzy live close so I know this summer we will see each other a lot. It's cool seeing us all grown up with kids of our own. Our Tumblebees days are over, but our friendship still goes on :) The weather turned out great and all three kids seemed happy to see each other and play, even though Jeffrey can't get down and run yet I think he had a great time. He even caught a nap on his grandma.

                      Here we have ms. playful, mr. grumpy, and mr. happy after a fun day of playing!

13 months old!

Hey there "little little"!

Here we are at 13 months!

Riley has become a much better eater now that he can feed himself. He likes to eat mandarin oranges, cheese, apple pieces, pears, peaches and blueberries.

He loves chicken, pancakes, dried cherries, Gerber cereal bars, Gerber cheese puffs and their apple puffs. He likes pasta, green beans, potatoes (sometimes), sweet potato fries, hash browns, and chicken nuggets.

He has tried eggs, steak, garbanzo beans and avocado! Apple juice and milk are his drinks of choice.

Riley loves to play. He loves to open and close doors. When he went to the Natural Science Center with my parents, they said he was acting a little worried because there was a doorway and no door! He also loves to push toys and chairs around, as well as pushing buttons and listening to music. Chasing friends, mommy, daddy, cats and dogs is also a favorite pasttime. His favorite toys include his beloved stuffed animals; a llama, a chick, 3 beanie baby cats, a German Shepherd, a horse and his green Scout doggie that helps him go to sleep sometimes.

He takes a bath each night and goes to bed most nights around 9. I'd love to try to get that to around 8:30, but we'll see. I'm still rocking him to sleep most of the time, which I do love, but I wish I could just put him in his crib and walk out of the room.

Summer is coming up and I'll be at home with him each day. I can't wait to see what kind of mess we will get in :)

We are one!

Yay! We made it to one! April 14th at 10:02 a.m., Riley was officially a one year old!! I am so happy to have this little guy in my life and I know Josh is too. Not to mention all of our family and friends who have helped us and love Riley so much!

This time last year I was a scared new mom with no sleep and just a little bit of experience with newborns. I still have a lot to learn, but I feel so much more confident in my parenting abilities now. I also wish that there was a way that I could reach out to other people who have had trouble conceiving and give them hope. I want to hug them and tell them that no matter what, just keep trying until you have a baby in your arms, either biologically or through adoption.

**Riley, momma loves you so much, little boy. I love watching you learn and grow. I can't wait until you can talk (although, I still will want some quiet moments), I can't wait to teach you how to ride a bike and pump your legs to swing. I can't wait to take you fishing at the beach and rock climbing at daddy's work. You're my everything, little railroad :)

I've always wondered...

A couple of times when I've looked at Riley's first ultrasound picture - his 7 week and 3 day picture -  before we even knew that Riley was Riley, I've seen a little something and I'm wondering if you'll see it too. Look to the right of where Riley is and you'll see a little curve that looks like a smaller version of the little sac where he is nestled inside of me.

Is that/was that a place where another little baby was? Riley's twin??! Was I supposed to have twins? Did one just not have what it took to form into a baby? I had 4 well-developed egg follicles the last time the doctor did an ultrasound before the IUI. Would that explain the bleeding I had a few days before I found out I was pregnant? Maybe it was God's way of showing me that my tiny frame couldn't have supported twins. It's probably nothing, just a fluke on the ultrasound screen, just a little extra fluid or something...

But what if it wasn't?

Hooray for Grandparents!

We are so thankful that we live within a few minutes of each of our parents. That means Riley gets to see his grandma, grandpa, nana and papa a lot! Not only does Riley get to stay with my mom or Josh's mom while we are at work, but on Wednesdays my dad comes over for some extra special Riley and grandpa time! This means a lot to me because Riley absolutely loves my dad. You see, from about the age of eleven to around sixteen, my dad and I butted heads often (we are both stubborn and like to have things OUR way) so having Riley go totally goofy around my dad makes me happy.

Grandpa and Riley in April :)



Grandpa and Riley in February :)

My mom is special because she came over the first night Riley was home from the hospital and stayed with us through the night. We weren't able to get him to sleep at all so she held him while we slept. My mom also sang "I've been workin' on the railroad" to Riley when he was a newborn and now it is his favorite song! Riley loves to give his grandma big hugs, too.  Before Riley was even born she came over and helped me clean when I had morning sickness and didn't feel like moving and when I was super-big preggo and couldn't move like I could when I wasn't pregnant.

Grandma and Riley after his first bath!



Josh's mom means a lot to us too. We have awesome conversations all the time and she is always giving me useful advice on babies. She rubbed my back  when I was having back labor and held my hands when I got the epidural. She watched Riley come into this world and I wouldn't have had it any other way. She always brings a smile to Riley's face when she talks to him. She taught him the words light, fan, clock and doggie. He can point to those things most times if you ask him. We can count on her to get all of the different holiday bibs for Riley, too! One night near Christmas I sent her a text that said, "Riley misses you". Not even 30 minutes later there was a knock on the door. When I opened the door she said, "You don't have to tell me twice!". Riley and I were so excited that she came over to play!

Riley and his nana :)

Riley's papa works out of town a lot but comes home most weekends that he can. When he does come home, he doesn't put him down. When Josh and I come over, his dad is waiting by the door. He always comes outside and takes Riley from us. Riley and his papa play together and he even helps feed him. His papa "flies" him around the house too.  We love it when we can go out to eat on Saturday nights when papa is home so he can get more of a chance to see him.

Riley and his papa!

10 months

Well, we've reached the double digits in months. So what's going on with us?

- Riley has about 3 teeth coming in that we can partially see. Poor little guy. He's been waking up at night so I think that his teeth are bothering him.

- He is obsessed with trying to get under the kitchen table and the computer. We have had to block off a few areas because we don't want him pulling the keyboard and mouse down. He has also discovered that he can climb through the cat post!

- He still likes musical toys but isn't really into his other toys right now. He likes to go into his bathroom in his bedroom and bang on the toilet lid. He also pulls on his Carolina Panther trash can to see what's in it. He wants the remote controls and this past Saturday pulled a cup of water off of an end table all over himself. There is no rest in the Cates' household right now.

- He loves the cats and crawls after them making cute little noises and smiling. They run away from his as fast as they can because he pulls their fur. I wish they'd stop and let him play with them!

- He is able to push his dinosaur on the carpeted floors in our house. I was not aware that he could do it by himself so that was definitely a surprise! He looks so proud of himself.

I am in the process of putting together stuff for his 1st birthday party! I am making the invitations myself because I haven't been happy with any of the dinosaur ones I've found in stores and online. I found cute dinosaur stickers at Michael's and some yellow cardstock and envelopes. I've made one sample invitation just to see how it would turn out. it needs a little something else, so that's what I'm working on when he naps on Saturdays.

So that's what's going on with us! I hope everyone had a great Valentines Day today.

Riley's 9 month check up

Yay! no shots!

Riley is 21 lbs. and 12 oz. He is now 29 inches tall. He has 2 teeth and is working on some more.
He is allowed to try ice cream now, but no strawberries, orange juice, eggs or cow's milk.

I'm very proud of our little guy. He can crawl, pull up and he "talks" a lot. He can play by himself for a litle bit which allows me to get some things done. He loves any kind of musical toy (his keyboard especially) as well as his walker, bubbles, and links!  He is eating mandarin oranges, green beans, Cheerios, yogurt, Gerber Puffs, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas and carrots. He doesn't like baby food at all.

We've discovered Riley is afraid of people wearing hats but as soon as the person takes off the hat, he is fine. Riley loves to play with his family when they watch him while we are at work. Like I said, I'm very proud of him and I love watching him grow.

A little about the past...

Have you ever seen someone and been so mad because they have something that you want? Probably when you were five years old and someone has the toy that you want, but they won't let you play with it. Try being grown up and married and seeing all of your friends with their adorable-beyond-belief children. Or walk through Target and want to go down the baby aisles, but know that there's really no point because who would you be shopping for? That would be me. I can tell you that the only person that this did not apply to was my best friend. It was weird because I watched her belly grow and know that she was going to be a mom, went to the hospital and sat with her when she was in labor and held her newborn daughter later that day. Never really felt that twitch in my stomach the way I did seeing other women who were pregnant or holding cute little babies. If you've been through something like this, you know what I am talking about. If you haven't, I urge you to read on. Know that someone in this situation needs someone to listen to them and not to say, "Oh that's okay, you get the best part, to be able to hold a baby and give it back to the mommy when he starts crying." Yeah....that's not a good idea. (It happened to me)

What's going on with me? Pretty much I'm too stinkin' skinny for my body to work properly. Some people say, EAT! and I do eat. I love food, but there must have been some times where I didn't eat properly. That and training 20 hours a week (gymnastics). I still have trouble eating, but I'm not anorexic or anything like that. I think I just ignore the fact that I'm hungry and just keep doing whatever it is that I'm doing. 

I have an amazing fertility specialist. You'll have to contact me privately to tell you who he is. He never gave up. He wasn't mean or anything like that when I would go and talk to him. He tried everything that was in his power ( and that Josh and I could afford) to help us conceive a healthy child. After all the testing, including an MRI of my pituitary gland...woo hoo...we were given the go ahead to try. We tried Clomid first with no success. My doctor told me he wasn't sure if that would work, but wanted to try it anyway. Next stop, injectables. Wanna know what's fun about those? Not only do you give yourself a shot, then you get to go to the doctor for blood work almost every other day to see if everything is going the way it should.

Started that on Halloween, 2007. I did 50 units of Follistim for 3 days and then 75 units of Follistim for 2 days.  The shots aren't that bad. It's a tiny needle that's about an inch long. Barely even hurt. So that was our first try...didn't work because I didn't ovulate. I don't ovulate...that's the whole problem, but we were eager to try again.

January 2008 injectables were tried again. This time I did 33.3 units of Follistim for 4 days and 50 units of Follistim for 5 days.  Yet again, no ovulation... so nothing happened.

March 2008...the third go-round...50 units of Follistim for 3 days, 100 units for 2 days and 125 units of Follistim for 4 days. I was actually thinking it was going to work because the blood work showed that my levels were good and an ultrasound showed a few egg follicles. But...no ovulation, so nothing came out of that. Fertility stuff really takes a toll on your body emotionally. I don't see how people can do this every month or whatever for years and have no success. I stopped caring about what happened and didn't feel like going through any more shots or blood work for a while.

June 2009 after a lot of reading online I decided to ask my doctor about trying an IUI. This was after I had already started contacting places about foster care and adoption. I had pretty much given up. This was the last straw...it was this or nothing because IVF was OUT of the question. Too risky and expensive. Normally, the nurse told me at my doctor's office, they only do IUIs when the male has a fertility problem and not the female. I told her I wanted to try anyway. She said about 20% of their patients had a successful IUI that resulted in a baby. Follistim was started again. 75 units for 3 days, followed by 100 units for 5 days. Blood work, ultrasounds were done and everything looked good. July 24th, the procedure was done. I gave myself a shot to make myself ovulate the next day ( I think, I can't remember!) The doctor said I could take a pregnancy test on Thursday August 6th, but a few days before, I already knew something was different. That Wednesday I took one and BOOM! 2 big fat pink lines showed me that I was, in fact, pregnant.

You know what's funny? I can remember the shirt I was wearing that day, my gray Roxy shirt from South Beach. I remember the drive home with my Wal-Mart brand pregnancy tests - there were 3 in the box - I remember the CD I was listening to and how I was soooo nervous to take that test. Take it, wait, pink lines, run upstairs to tell Josh, call my mom, text my best friend. Ha! Good times  :) So that's the past and this is now - our life with our new little boy.  Riley Thompson Cates, born April 14, 2010. 10:02 a.m. 7 lbs, 12 oz, 21 inches long, absolutely perfect.

Hey Everyone!

So I am very new at this, but I wanted to try it out and see what all this blogging business is all about. :)