Pumpkins!

Sunday we drove up to Youngsville (north east side of Raleigh) and spend the afternoon at Hillridge Farms. We had such a blast! There were goats, ducks, geese, swans, pony rides, giant slides, a train, hayrides and, best of all, pumpkins. Riley picked out her first pumpkin all by herself. The sun was out and the temperature was beautiful. We couldn't have asked for a prettier day!

Visit at Grandma Cotton's

We spent almost a week at Grandma Cotton's. We were there Thursday through Tuesday week before last. It was so great seeing everyone. As you can see from the pictures below, our little peanut had quite the time!

Grandma's tub was a little too big for bathing a peanut, so we resorted to taking baths in the kitchen sink. It was the perfect size!

Grandma introduced Riley to her first bite of apple. She really liked sucking on it and even managed to get off a bite or two.

Lexi and Sonny "read" the Itsy Bitsy Spider to Riley with a little help from Aunt Ashley!

Here, Sonny and Lexi are digging a hole in which to bury their peach pits and grow a giant peach tree.

Only, no one told them they would find a few friends along the way! Of course, Lexi was the brave one to pick up all the worms to show us!!

Sonny was her best pal. We walked to the bus stop in the morning and again in the afternoon for the school bus. He would give her a hug and a kiss right away as soon as he saw her. They spent hours blowing raspberries at each other and he loves to make her squeal. Here they are during a heated squealing match at dinner time!

Family Time

Whew it has been a crazy week! We've had a lot of family visiting this past week and little peanut is completely worn out. However, it has been wonderful seeing everyone.

Last weekend Grandma Cotton and Aunt Lisa stayed with us. It was fabulous! We walked around the farmer's market on Saturday. Had a big family dinner cookout including Aunt Carly, Uncle Kevin and Makayla. There were tons of kisses and hugs shared with Riley. It was sad to see everyone leave on Sunday.

Then, on Tuesday, Mamie and Papa showed up! It had been a long time since they had seen the peanut. She's changed so much! Again, it was wonderful to have family around. It was like having an extra set of hands and eyes to keep watch over the baby. I didn't know what to do with myself with all that free time! We even got to go out for a baby-free dinner.

There was so much excitement the past few days that we are all completely worn out. This weekend will be one for resting up and snuggling inside a warm house!

We did it!

Peanut rolled over from her back to her tummy this morning. She's been practicing for the past 3 weeks or so by rolling onto her side. Well, I put her down this morning on her activity mat and went into the kitchen to help get Ian off to work. A few minutes later, Ian went in to check on her and called back to me, "Are we doing tummy time this morning?"

"Huh? No..."

Sure enough, she'd flipped herself onto her tummy and was struggling a little to get one arm out from under her. Ian put her on her back again while I went to get his bagel out of the toaster. Don't you know it, she rolled over again while I was in the kitchen!

She's done it since then for me, but Ian got to witness it first. I'm so glad he went into work a little late this morning!

I promised pictures!

Off to the city!

I've been a little remiss about posting updates these past two weeks. That's because we travelled over Labor Day weekend (Pictures are coming, I promise.) and are just now getting back to our normal rhythm. Just in time to head out again this weekend. (sigh!)

Riley will finally get to meet her cousin Sasha. We'll be heading up to DC this weekend to visit with Uncle Terry and his family. We are very excited to meet Sasha, but make no promises on our sleep schedule as it has been erratic all week. It can make for some long days, but smiles and laughter are what keep us going.

More to come soon!

Bass Lake Park

We enjoyed an afternoon at Bass Lake Park this weekend and took some really good pictures! We had planned to sit out on a blanket and feed the geese, but it was still a little too warm. So, instead, we hung out on the clubhouse porch overlooking the lake. Riley was so good! She watched the light reflecting off the water and enjoyed the cuddling with Dad. It was a super awesome day.

We also managed to get some shots of Riley enjoying a taste of bananas!