4 months!

Riley turned 4 months old yesterday! Happy 4 months baby girl:) Slow the growing down please!

Of course Riley has changed a lot since she turned 3 months old. She's been a lot more vocal which is fun. She has a lot to say:) And has been more than happy to share. She's also learned how to scream and squeal. The first time I heard Riley scream I panicked and thought something happened but no, she was just laying in her swing smiling and screaming. Anytime she gets excited, which is often, she'll express it with a scream or squeal. Very high ones at that. But I love it, because they're always accompanied by the biggest smiles. Every month Riley's personality becomes more evident. I think every month I realize "she's definitely my daughter ". Our personalities are SO similar. While she's a happy calm baby, she always is a demanding one who can get frustrated easily. Food must be given on command and if it isn't she won't let you hear the end of it. As soon as she eats she is her pleasant self again. She hates that she can't walk or crawl. It causes so much frustration to her, so tummytime has to be done in intervals or else she'll end up pissed off because she's not moving forward.

We've also learned that Riley likes attention and likes to feel included when there are many people around. No longer can she sit in her bouncer content while mommy and daddy converse with others, no, she must be playing with us or talking to us and with us. She loves people and loves to smile at them. If you'll talk to her, she has a smile for you. Even strangers. We've also started Riley on solids. We started her a week early because she blows through formula and never seems to be full. She is loving the food, especially the sweet potatoes. I'm not sure how she feels about the peas. I'm not sure how I feel about them! They smell awful. I love the solid food. Feeding times are faster this way, and its a lot more fun for me to feed her while she's sitting up. We can talk that way:) I also like the fact that she is holding her own bottle. Free hands for mommy!

Riley is fitting into some of her 9 month clothing. Not a big shock. She grows like a weed. And eats like a little piggy. Thankfully her growing is even. She has her rolls in the right places but isn't a super fat baby. I mean, I can still hold her, so...She's the right height for her weight. We're guessing she's weighing in at about 17 pounds now. We'll find out next Friday when Riley goes in for her next round of shots. Pray that goes well, as well as the last ones! Riley has two teeth on her bottom gums that you can feel and see, thankfully, thankfully she hasn't been cranky or fussy because of this. I'm hoping it stays that way! Nap times are being fought but bedtimes are going well. Riley can go down awake and fall asleep on her own. That's a big accomplishment for Leif and I, at least we think so. Riley made it pretty easy though, not having to be rocked to sleep. For awhile she was sleeping through the night but being sick threw that off. We're slowly getting back to the 6am breakfast/wake up time. For now we're at 4/5am feedings. As long as I get a solid 4 hours I'm good to go.

I'm amazed at just how much Riley has changed and continues to change. I'm also amazed at how my love grows for her. Even when she's being a fussypants about her food, I find myself loving her more and more. She is such a blessing and blesses us everyday. We're very thankful to God!

*Wow, that was a long update. I guess a lot has changed since the last Riley update. Sweet. :) Hope you're all well and good! And I promise the next one won't be soooooo long.