Picture with Santa

Last Friday I took Rilynn to the St. Louis Galleria to have her picture taken with Santa. After walking around the mall for 2 hours waiting for her to wake up, I fed and changed her to get ready for the picture. However, Rilynn had other plans for Santa. I found a wonderful (some would call it explosive) surprise when I finally got in line for Santa and picked her up out of her stroller. Needless to say, we didn't get our picture taken with Santa that day.


Instead, Matt and I went back to the St. Louis Galleria on Saturday to have Rilynn's picture taken with Santa. Here she is at 12 weeks and 1 day old.

So strong!

Here is a quick video of Rilynn during her tummy time. She is really starting to lift her head and look around.



She is also rolling over onto her side. Now if she could just figure out how to move her arm so she could get all the way over!

A new bath tub

Matt and I decided that it was time to move Rilynn off of the sponge and into a bath tub. Here is a picture of Rilynn in her tub (thanks Uncle Jeff!).

More shots :(

I took Rilynn back to the doctor on Wednesday, December 3rd for more of her immunizations. While there, we found out that she weighs 12 lbs 15 oz and is 23 1/2 inches long. She is growing like crazy! Here is a picture of Rilynn after her shots with her doll. As you can see, the shots did not bother her too much, but she did need a little comforting :)

Thanksgiving week...

Rilynn had quite a first Thanksgiving. In fact, she had quite a first Thanksgiving week. Gammy, Papa, Aunt K, Uncle Lem, and cousins Gabbie & Coen all drove up from Atlanta for the week.

On Tuesday, we had a busy day exploring St. Louis. We first went down to the Arch, where Papa, Aunt K, Uncle Lem, Gabbie, Coen, and mommy went to the top while Rilynn stayed at the base with Gammy and daddy. Afterwards, Gammy, Papa, Aunt K, Uncle Lem, Gabbie & Coen went on the Budweiser tour while mommy, daddy, and Rilynn ran a few errands.

On Wednesday, we had family portraits taken. Here are a few pictures from the many taken of the family.

We also had some Christmas photos taken of Rilynn, Gabbie, & Coen.

I love this smile!!!

And here is our family Christmas photo that will be sent out as Christmas cards.

And of course Thursday was Thanksgiving day. The men stayed outside most of the day smoking one turkey and deep-frying another one, while the women stayed inside cooking the side dishes. We had quite a feast! Here is a picture of Rilynn on her first Thanksgiving.

And with cousin Gabbie...

Here is a quick look at what daddy's Thanksgiving was like...

On Friday, mommy, Aunt K, and Gammy went shopping while Rilynn, Gabbie, & Coen stayed with daddy, Uncle Lem, and Papa. And on Saturday we all cheered on the Jackets (except Uncle Lem) as they defeated the Bulldogs 45-42! Unfortunately after the big win, everyone headed back to Atlanta. We will miss them a lot but look forward to seeing them in just over 3 weeks when we drive back to Atlanta for Christmas!

2 months today!

I can't believe it, Rilynn is already 2 months old. Her buddy Ivan came over today to celebrate her 2 month birthday and his 8 week birthday. Unfortunately I was unable to get a picture of the 2 of them together, but here is a picture of Rilynn in her swing.



She is getting so big!

Trying to get into a routine...

Matt and I decided that it was time to get Rilynn into a routine so on Sunday we studied the book "The Baby Whisperer Solves all Your Problems." It basically teaches you what signs to look for to know when your baby is hungry, sleepy, bored, etc. and tells you that all babies need some type of routine. What it recommends is E.A.S.Y. - Eat, Activity, Sleep, Your time. Unfortunately, E.A.S.Y. is not all that easy!

Rilynn did sleep in her crib for the first time Sunday night - from 9pm to 4am at least, but of course not all the way through. I was up at 12:30am and then again from 2am until 4am. But the past 2 nights have gotten progressively better. Last night she stayed in her crib from 9pm until 7am this morning, but woke to feed at 11:30pm, 2am, and 4:45am. Our problem lies with the sleep part since Rilynn is still wanting to feed every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. We think that has to do with her reflux; she can't possibly eat enough to hold her over 4 and 5 hours because she spits up a good portion of what she eats. Although it has been tough on me, we are going to keep trying. It has already gotten easier to put her down for naps and she is sleeping longer on her own, which I see as a big plus! I will keep you all posted on how/if this routine works out!

Here is a video of Rilynn on her play mat during activity time...

Another (future) Purina employee...

At 7 weeks mommy and Rilynn went back down to Purina for lunch with daddy. I guess she wasn't too impressed with daddy's office...

Thanks Aunt Kristen!

Here is a picture of Rilynn in her Nike outfit that Aunt Kristen gave her. You can tell from her smile that she likes her athletic garb!

More pictures from our Atlanta trip.

Here is Rilynn with her Great Grandma Mary...

...and with GG and Aunt Kristen...

... and Yvette. Brooke worked with Yvette at Newell Rubbermaid and in 2007 Yvette told Brooke that she had a reoccurring dream that Brooke was pregnant. She kept telling Brooke that she would have a baby in 2008, little did she know her premonition would come true.

Here is Rilynn with her mommy, her cousin Tracy, and her new cousin Jake. Jake was born just one month and one day after Rilynn.

Rilynn helped mommy and daddy give out candy while cousins Gabbie and Coen went trick-or-treating with Aunt K, Uncle Lem, Gammy and Papa on Halloween.

And here is Rilynn with Pappy and GG at her 2nd Georgia Tech tailgate.

Once we returned to St. Louis Rilynn got to participate in her first election by waiting in line with mommy and daddy for two hours.

What a beautiful smile!

Rilynn's First Trip to Atlanta

This week we took Rilynn to Atlanta. We drove from St. Louis to Tupelo, MS on Thursday night, which is about a 5 hour trip. Rilynn slept all the way to Memphis, which was great for us. Looks like Rilynn is going to be a good traveler. We stayed at Mamaw and Papaw's house that night and then drove into Atlanta on Friday morning. That night we went out to dinner with Gammy, Papa, Uncle Lem, Cousin Gabbie, Cousin Coen, and Aunt Kristen. This was the first time that the cousins and Aunt Kristen and Uncle Lem had met Rilynn.

Here are some pictures from their first meeting...

Here is Rilynn with her cousin Gabbie...

...And here is Rilynn with her Aunt Kristen (after Aunt Kristen's Soccer game).

On Saturday Rilynn went to her first Georgia Tech Homecoming Game. We took Rilynn down to the Georgia Tech campus for the traditional tail gate party. She was able to meet a bunch of new friends and help cheer on the Jackets. This will be the first of many Homecomings for Rilynn as we begin a new generation of Tech fans.







Unfortunately, the Jackets lost to UVA 24-17.

On Sunday Brooke's college friends threw her a "Sip and Show" baby shower. Rilynn was passed around and got to meet all of mommy's college friends.

A ZTA legacy...

Brooke's mom, sister, and our niece Gabbie were also at the shower. Gabbie just can't get enough of her little cousin Rilynn...

Rilynn's big adventures...

Last Wednesday Rilynn had her first play date. I took Rilynn over to one of my co-worker's houses to meet her new buddy, Ivan. Ivan was born just 5 days after Rilynn, although he was 3 weeks premature. Rilynn has not grown that much, she just looks that much bigger because Ivan is so small...

Here are a couple of pictures of Rilynn at bathtime. This was on her 4 week birthday...

Rilynn is finally getting used to her swing. She is very alert and is interested in the bear that hangs above her. Also, if you listen closely, you can hear her hiccups, something she had a lot in utero and still has a lot now!


And today mommy and Rilynn went to Purina to visit daddy. Here is a picture of Rilynn in her car seat when we were on our way...

We leave for Mississippi and Atlanta this Thursday for a long 11 day visit! We have plenty of fun outings planned and will be sure to take and post plenty of pictures!

For GG...

Here's a breif clip of Rilynn, the little wiggle worm.



Good thing we bought a oversized chair....we're teaching Laiden that Rilynn's head isn't a pillow.




Rilynn went for a walk with Mommy at Forest Park...

Such the model...

Yesterday we took Rilynn to have her pictures taken for her birth announcement. The studio did a great job capturing a wide array of images. Below is a narrowed down grouping of the over 100 pictures that were taken of Rilynn. We hope you enjoy looking through them as much as we have!



Rilynn & Daddy



Rilynn & Mommy



























You can also look on the hospitals web site at a picture taken when Rilynn was just a day old. Look at how much she changed in just 10 short days! Rilynn at Missouri Baptist