5 months!

Here is a picture of Rilynn's 5 month birthday, 2/19/09.

She is such a pleasant baby! At 5 months & 4 days, she cut her first tooth. I will try my best to get a picture of her tooth once it comes in more!

More cereal

Here are a couple of pictures and a video of Rilynn eating her cereal. She loves it!

Listen closely and you can hear Aunt Kris giving the play by play!

Our trip to New Jersey

On February 12th, we left for New Jersey to visit the McKillop family. That Thursday morning, Rilynn took her first flight from St Louis to Philadelphia. Rilynn did very well on the plane. She played and slept most of the time on the way to Philly and cried for about 5 minutes on the plane ride back (she was a hungry girl and we couldn't make the bottle fast enough!). All in all, her first flights went surprisingly well. Here is a picture of Rilynn and Mommy on the plane to Philly.

Once we arrived in Egg Harbor Township, NJ, Rilynn got to meet her Mommom and Poppop. Here are a couple of pictures of Rilynn with her great-grandparents.

Later that night, she also got to meet her Aunt Betty and cousin Ryan who flew into town from Tampa, FL.

On Friday, Uncle Jeff flew in from Tampa and Aunt Kris flew in from Atlanta. With the entire McKillop family there, the party could finally begin. We had a great time playing cards, talking, watching Rilynn play, and just being together.

At 1pm on Saturday, Valentine's Day, a photographer came to the house to take family portraits. Here are just a few of the pictures taken that day.

the entire family

4 generations of McKillops - Poppop (Jack), Pappy (John), Daddy (Matt), & Rilynn

The McKillops

the McKillop women - Mommy, GG, Rilynn, & Aunt Kris

Poppop talking to his precious great-granddaughter

Saturday night the house turned into a party zone as Mommom threw Poppop an 80th birthday party. She had it catered and invited some of Poppop's nieces & nephews over for the celebration. Here are a few pictures of the party.

snuggled up to Aunt Betty

telling Poppop Happy Birthday!

hanging out with Uncle Jeff before bedtime

On Sunday, Poppop's actual birthday, we went to breakfast at the Shore Diner and then headed over to Atlantic City for a little gambling & shopping and a walk along the boardwalk. Here are a few pictures from AC.

Getting ready to head off to AC

Rilynn enjoyed her stroll along the boardwalk - she slept the entire 2 hours!

riding in my Bjorn with daddy!


On Monday we headed back to Philly to catch our flight to St Louis. All in all, Rilynn enjoyed her trip to New Jersey and loved meeting her Poppop, Mommom, Aunt Betty, and cousin Ryan. Here are some more pictures of the trip.

in my seat, bundled & ready for an adventure

cuddled with Elly after waking up from a nap

having fun at the diner

hanging out with the family at Poppop's bar!

playing with my monkey with Poppop & Pappy

sitting in my bouncy waiting to see what we do next!

playing cards with Pappy

playing airplane with Uncle Jeff

getting ready for bedtime with Mommy & Daddy

fast asleep in Mommom's arms

back in my Bjorn with daddy - gotta love my crazy hat!

checking out the fish in Poppop's lake with Daddy

walking back to the house - it was too cold outside!

getting in one last nap before heading to the airport

I love to giggle!

Below is a video of Rilynn knocking down blocks. You can tell by her giggle that she thinks it is the funniest thing! Thank you Ed and Rachel for the blocks, Rilynn loves to sit in her Bumbo and play with them!

So many new things...

February brought an entire new world for Rilynn. From jumpers to unswaddling and cereal to high chairs, everything is changing for her and for mommy and daddy!

Since Rilynn was enjoying her exersaucer so much, on February 2nd, we decided to put Rilynn in her jumper for the first time. At first she wasn't exactly sure what it was or what she should do, but she finally got the hang of it after a while. Here is a picture of Rilynn in her jumper.

We are also trying to stop swaddling Rilynn. She isn't quite sure what to do with her arms so we gave her Elly to hold. Elly is the stuffed elephant that Gabbie sent with Kelly to St Louis when Rilynn was born. Although we haven't completely broken Rilynn of the nighttime swaddle, Elly keeps her arms occupied while she is not swaddled during naptime. Here is a picture of Rilynn cuddled up with Elly.

On February 6th, at 4 1/2 months, we fed Rilynn rice cereal for the first time. We started off with it very soupy, but have gradually made it thicker and thicker. She has really gotten the hang of it and loves eating her cereal now. She even grabs the spoon and tries to feed herself. Here are a couple of pictures and a video of Rilynn's first time eating cereal.

A few nights later we put Rilynn into her high chair for the first time. She is still a little small for it, but she doesn't seem to mind. Thank you Mark and Sam for the high chair! Rilynn really likes to sit in it and play with toys while mommy and daddy eat dinner. Here is a picture of Rilynn's first time in her high chair.

We know that this is just the beginning of firsts for our little girl. Rilynn continues to be a pleasant baby, taking each change as it comes. Mommy and daddy look forward to our next steps and what each new day will bring.

More portraits

Back in December 2008, Our 365, a company that specializes in newborn and infant portraits, came to our house to take more pictures of Rilynn. The sales rep told me that this sitting was part of the package that I purchased back in the hospital when Rilynn had her first pictures taken. However, my mom, sister, mother-in-law, nor I (all of whom were there at the time) remember this as being part of the deal, but of course I didn't mind having more pictures taken of my precious little girl! Below are just a few poses taken when Rilynn was just under 3 months old (it has taken me this long to post because it took that long for them to come in!).

4 months

Rilynn turned 4 months on January 19th. She is so alert and is really starting to take everything in. She is reaching out for things, especially Laidan's ears! Laidan licks her hands, but is still unsure of Rilynn. On her 4 month birthday, I left for my first business trip to San Diego. It was VERY hard to leave her, but GG flew up to St Louis to help daddy take care of her. I knew she was in good hands and would be well taken care of; however, it didn't make it any easier for me to leave. Here is a picture of Rilynn in her exersaucer on her 4 month birthday.

On January 31st we took Rilynn for her 4 month immunizations. We found out that we have a big girl. At 4 months and 12 days, Rilynn weighed 16 lbs 1 oz and was 25.5 inches long! She is in the 95th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for length. Although looking at her you would not think that she weighs that much, she is just long (but does have some chubby thighs!). Her pediatrician says that she is very well proportioned and with how active she is, will slim up significantly once she starts crawling and walking. To me she is just absolutely adorable, chubby thighs and all!

Rolling over

Rilynn rolled over for the first time on January 16th, just before her 4 month birthday. I am not sure that she knew what she was doing, but she rolled over none the less (from her back to her tummy). Below is a picture of when she rolled over on to her stomach. As you can see, she hasn't quite figured out how to move her arm from under her belly. She rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time on January 24th.