Becoming Analise

Riley Grace is now 19 months and 1 day! I cannot believe she has gotten so big. It seems as though she changes exponentially every day. Yesterday, my mom posted a picture of Riley Grace from her six-month photo shoot last March. Oh my goodness! It made me cry like a little baby. She was so tiny and chunky and cute. Now, she’s my big girl who’s walking (well, running) and talking and learning so much! Her favorite words are dog, door (which she says “do”), dada, and thank you (which sounds like she’s saying the letter “Q”  –  so cute!). Time flies so quickly. Slow down!!! When Riley Grace was attempting to wean from the bottle and begin eating table food, I was very nervous. I had (have) a really big fear of her choking and me not being able to help her. Because of this fear, I was really hesitant to keep trying table food. She did not have a big choking disaster, but I was still afraid of the possibility. When she had just turned one, I (finally) bought ...

  This is the face of someone who woke up from the best nap ever! When your hair does this during naptime, you know it was a good nap! When was the last time you slept this good? I’m an 8-10 hour-a-night kinda girl when it comes to sleep. I’ve never been able to live on a few hours here and there. When I found out I was pregnant, my mom told me she was worried about how I’d adjust to a life of minimal sleep because she knew I cherished my 10 hours! Thankfully for us, Riley Grace adjusted to sleeping through the night at a relatively early age. J I’ve been talking with some friends a lot about sleeping. Strange topic, but a few of my friends at work are struggling with being able to sleep during the night. One friend was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea, and her sleep test results came back showing that she stops breathing 80 times per hour! Dangerous stuff! Another friend has had some anxiety issues due to a specific event from the past and has trouble falling as...

Spring is here … as evidenced by my swollen eyes and nose and foggy head … here comes the annual, unwelcome sinus infection / allergy attack …   Have you caught the bug to begin your spring-cleaning? Based on the state of things in your home, do you need to catch the bug?? Do you wish that you could find a little assistance as you embark upon the daunting task of cleaning your entire house from top to bottom? Well, look no further because I have found the perfect helper for you. Let me list her many endearing qualities … Her name is Riley Grace. She’s 21 lbs. and 4 oz. of pure and unrestrained energy. She is an 18-month old Energizer Bunny. Seriously. Her favorite place to begin is the kitchen. She absolutely loves Tupperware, although she gets a little angry if she can’t make the lids fit. She finds innovative ways to get the job done. (Yes, she is standing inside the pots in order to reach the Tupperware. She’s also very creative in the fact that she...