Mamaw Harris Visits

Mamaw Harris came for a visit. I think she wore Riley out!!!

"These shoes are made for squeakin'..."

You can see what Riley LOVES to do these days:

Visit to Kingsport

Riley had lots of fun in Kingsport while we were in NYC. The first pict is of my Aunt Helen and Riley at Eastman Cabins. Of course, Riley LOVES to swing!

Uncle Chad loves hanging out with Riley:

Riley loves to be read to by his papaw:

Andy, Riley and Grandma Sproles:

The Sproles' Guys:

What is Brad doing to our poor little Riley???

Playhouse Fun

Riley is having fun in his new playhouse. At first, he didn't realize that once you go into the playhouse THROUGH the door that you come out of the playhouse THROUGH the door. Instead, Riley came head first out the window!!! All is well...I caught him before he pounded his head on the deck.

New York City Trip

Andy and I had a wonderful time in NYC. ORNL sent him to a design conference which he seemed to enjoy. I took Riley to Kingsport a few days before we flew out from Knoxville for our trip. It was really hard leaving Riley since I had never left him that long, but I knew he was in good hands.

Sunday Sept 23

Andy and I left for NYC on a 6:50 am flight...boy, was that early!!! It seemed like in no time we were landing at Laguardia. We caught a cab and headed to our hotel in Times Square. We dropped off our luggage and headed for Norma's, where we had a wonderful breakfast. We waited an hour and a half to get in...that's when I learned to call and make reservations. After stuffing ourselves silly, we decided to get some exercise by walking up to Central Park. I think everyone in NYC was in Central Park. It was such a beautiful day. Once we tired ourselves out from all the walking, we just plopped down on a huge rock and watched the people go by.

After Central Park, we walked down 5th ave. It was interesting seeing all of the architecture in the city. Then we headed back to the hotel. Andy had to get ready for an awards' banquet that evening. While he attended that, I went to some shops around Times Square and grabbed me a bite to eat.

Monday Sept 24

Andy headed off to his design classes bright and early while I decided to go to Macy's. I think there are eleven floors to Macy's!!! I can't believe I spent almost four hours in there!!! I was so tired but I managed to stop at a few more stores before heading back to the hotel. Once at the hotel, I took a wonderful nap. I think I had forgotten how nice it is to take a nap. That evening, Andy and I went to eat at a place called Becco on Restaurant Row. That was the best Italian meal that I have ever had...delicious. After that wonderful meal, we walked to the Empire State Building and spent some time on the observation deck. What a beautiful view of the city!

Tuesday Sept 25

Once again, Andy was off to his conference while I headed back out to explore. I visited FAO Swartz, which is a fun toy store. I spent way too much time in here. I stopped at several more stores before I decided to go back to the hotel and take it easy. While I wanted to do tons of things in NYC, I also wanted to take it easy. That evening, we met up with Matt & Megan Jaskoski, who live in the East Village.






They took us on our first subway ride. We headed down to Little Italy where we came upon Lombardi's...the best pizza place ever. They use a coal oven to make their pizzas and they also declare themselves the oldest pizza place. Next we headed to the Brooklyn Bridge. How breath taking!





We also saw ground zero. This site gave me such an empty feeling. I can't imagine being in NYC when this happened. What a tragedy.

Wednesday Sept 26

Andy's conference ended around lunchtime, so we headed to Stage Deli. Yummy! We had wonderful sandwiches and delicious cheesecake. Next we went to pick up tickets for the Late Show with David Letterman! Two weeks before the trip, I signed up online to try for tickets to the show. I received a call two days before we headed up to NYC. I had to answer a trivia question in order to win the tickets. The question was: "Alan Kalter, who is the announcer of the show, what color is his hair?" What an easy question!!! Of course it is red.

Once we picked up our tickets, we were told to be back at the Ed Sullivan Theater by 3:15. Once we got inside, we were told that we would be in the very front of the theater!!! Andy and I were on the front row. I will post a video clip that shows us on the show once I get a chance.

It was very exciting. Dave is so hilarious. Jennifer Garner was the main guest. It's definitely an experience I won't forget!

That evening, we just walked around the city and ended up eating at Frankie & Johnny's Steak House. Once again, excellent food.



Thursday Sept 27

This was our last day in NYC. We started the day by heading over to Rockefeller Center. We stood outside of the Today Show where we saw Meredith, Matt, Al, and Ann. Andy and I were once again on tv, so I will post the clip when I can.

We got some coffee at Dean & DeLuca's...wonderful!

We spent some time at Grand Central Station before heading up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We were totally exhausted by the end of the day!!! What a fun trip we had!

The best part of it all was seeing Riley...we sure did miss him!

Time to Travel

Riley and I are off to Kingsport for the rest of the week. Then, Andy and I are heading to NYC for five days. Andy is going to a design conference and of course I am going for the shopping and sightseeing. So, I will post when we return. I will leave you with these pictures:

If At First You Don't Succeed...

Learning to walk is such a difficult task to accomplish. Andy had a little fun with some video software...he linked together footage of Riley attempting to walk. As you can see, persistence is the key to success!!!

Family Picts

Thought I would upload a couple of family picts that were taken right before heading off to Riley's 15 month appointment. His check-up went well. He weighs 24 lbs 6 oz and is 32 in long. He only received one shot today, the TDaP. He was supposed to receive the MMR and Varivax shot but Andy and I have made an informed decision to put off these vaccinations for a year or so. With so much controversy over whether or not there is a link between MMR injections and autism, we figure better safe than sorry. Besides, children receive so many vaccinations before they are even two!!!

Playtime

Riley still likes to play with the fish bowl from time to time...

But, the most fun is had with the Big Spiderman ball!

Giddy Up Cow

A friend of Riley's mamaw Harris gave him this cool rocking cow. He hasn't really figured out how to get on it by himself, but he'll stay on it for a little while if you put him on it. What makes him laugh is when I rock the cow back and forth while singing, "Giddy Up, Giddy Up, Giddy Up Up Up...".

Flashback...the first month of life

I can't believe how much Riley has grown...just thought it would be fun to show a few pictures of Riley's first month of life.

Riley walks!!!

We FINALLY have a walker!!! I thought this day would never come!!! But anyone who knows Riley knows that he takes his sweet time.

UT Attire

We tried to get pumped up for Sat night's game by dressing in our UT gear. Unfortunately, UT lost. We still have high hopes for them though. Also, we wanted to put up a pict of mamaw Harris. She was great with Riley while he was sick last week. He is fine and dandy now!!!

This was filmed in July in Kingsport. He was in a very hysterical mood.

Brushing Teeth

Riley likes to "brush" his own teeth. Then, just like everything else, he launches the toothbrush across the room.

Chillin' on the Couch

Riley and I like to hang out on the couch. Actually, he likes to get up on the couch and launch something behind it. He is DEFINITELY in the "throwing everything" stage!

Riley & the Cowbug

This is a video from when Riley was around 12 months old. Double click on the video to view it. Enjoy!

Weekend Visitors

Riley is feeling a little better today. He still has a little fever and is cranky, but I do see improvement. He slept some last night. My mom was here to pamper him...that's her specialty. As for this past weekend, John, Sarah, and Andrew Dillard stopped by for a visit. It was fun to watch Andrew and Riley interact. Unforunately, I didn't get that many pictures.

Doctor's Visit

Andy and I took Riley to visit his pediatrician this morning since his temperature spiked at 103.8 F last night. He didn't sleep much for the second night in a row, which in turn means we didn't sleep much as well. What the doctor found was that Riley has a blister on one of his tonsils. After a strep test and blood test, he said this was a viral infection. So, hopefully with some ibuprofen and TLC, Riley is on the mend. We are very fortunate because this is the first time that Riley has really been sick (besides the reflux issues, of course). As you can tell from this picture, Riley's cheeks turn red when he runs a fever.