Jan
12
Posted under
Riley by coryelvidge
Our little guy is not so little anymore. 
In July he will be 10 years old! TEN YEARS! Jared and I always have an easy marker to know how long we have been together because Riley was 1 year old when we started dating. It makes life a little simpler when you have a child to measure your anniversary by. Wow has time flown. His 4th grade school pictures sent me tumbling down memory lane as I remembered the first time I met our little Riley. He was sitting on the grass outside of Macaroni Grill with his daddy. I didn’t know either of them. We were being set up on a blind date (courtesy of Courtney). Jared had told her that it was his weekend to have his little boy and she told him that it would be totally ok to bring him and that I wouldn’t mind at all! Only… she forgot to tell me. lol So my first date with Jared was also my first surprise date with Riley. 
Those of you close by will remember Riley’s famous crab scoot: a bizarre method of transportation that he opted for over crawling. lol When he was first learning to talk, he loved the word “light.” Only he would always get so excited when he said it and it would sound more like an out-of-breath… “LIE!…. LIE!….. LIE!” When our little guy would find a long stray hair on the carpet he would pick it up between his chubby little fingers and say, “Tory hair”. Very matter-of-fact like but always looking for positive confirmation. He never ceased to impress us. When he was about 3 years old, we were driving in the car and Riley hadn’t said a word the whole time. Then a fed Ex truck passed us and out of the blue, Riley’s little 3 year old hand shot up out of his car seat and he said “Fed Ex!” lol Jared and I burst out laughing. He could shoot a basketball (and make it!) before he could walk. He either didn’t like, or couldn’t chew, meat… so he would just store it in his cheeks until we noticed it (sometimes hours later lol). Eventually we caught on and stopped giving it to him. He loved seeing horses, jumping on the bed, wrestling with dad, trying to chew on ice (to imitate me), and pointing out trucks.
When I am telling someone a story that I was startled in… I have always relayed it like so: “That scared the crap out of me!!” Like most sayings, they are just passed along and adopted as a way to express a thought, feeling, or occurance. I had never ever paused, even for a moment, to think about and understand the literal translation of this saying. That is, until our 4 year old brought it to our attention after shouting, “That scared my crap out!” lol. I have never laughed so hard. Jared’s steady glare at me only spurred it on. I laughed so hard, I cried. There were tears. Lots of tears.
Riley is such a wonderful boy. We love him so much. He doesn’t have a mean or dishonest bone in his body. He tries to always do what is right and has such a good head on his shoulders. He has always had a strong natural talent for sports. It is amazing! ANY kind of sport. Going to his coach pitch games a couple years ago was the start of the official team sports. And last year he was finally old enough for Little League! Jared and I got to go to his games as cheerleaders, and his other dad was the coach. He got the best of both worlds! We love supporting him in anything that he loves to do. Dad and Riley get in LOTS of practice in the backyard during the summers and they are VERY patient with mom as they try to teach me how to throw a football, how to throw a baseball, how to kick a soccer ball, and how to bat lol. I have to say proudly that I have finally learned how to throw a football and kick a soccer ball, but for some unknown reason, throwing a baseball in a straight line is physically impossible for me to do lol.
Riley loves hanging out with friends but it has always warmed our hearts that more than anything he loves it when we do things together as a family. No matter what he is doing, he would always rather do it with Jared or I. We are so proud of him. He absolutely adores his new little brother and sets the perfect example. Our family just wouldn’t be the same without him. xo
Jan
10
Posted under
Sammy by coryelvidge
Wow does time fly by fast once you have kids! I have been absolutely amazed at how fast they change. Sammy looks different to me every day. When Sammy was born I was so utterly exhausted everyday that I knew I would forget all the little things that made my heart smile. So whenever he did something that just made me fall in love, I would quick type it into my phone so I wouldn’t forget. To mark his 4month mark, (he’ll be 16 weeks old on the 16th of January) thought I’d share a few of them with you. Maybe some of you mom’s out there remember the same adorable things from your own little ones. If you have other fond memories, share! Now these are in chronological order (first ones are closer to right after he was born) So here goes:
1- he makes a cat hiss sound after yawning 
2- his tiny little lion cub cry
3- his adorable kissy face that he does, sticking his lips out
4- every single smile, no matter how faint
5- straight peg legs when changing his diaper
6- reverse ice cream lick when he’s hungry (sticks his tongue out and licks from top to bottom)
7- when he sucks without opening his mouth
8- when he hysterically latches on to eat and then instantly rolls his eyes back in his head and snuggles in, happy as a clam 
9- when his little chin quivers ever so slightly when nursing
10- he sleeps with his mouth wide open lol
11- when I kiss his face he tries to quickly suck on my lips
12- sucks on his fists
13- his adorable little legs frantically kick back and forth in a squatted position when he is upset (like a marionette)
14- when he raises one eyebrow at me
15- he wiggles his head back and forth while stretching it closer and closer towards the sky 
16- frantically moving his head side to side when trying to eat
17- wrapping his leg around my arm that rests on his tummy when nursing
18- when he sticks out his tiny little bum, arches his back, and stretches with all his might, sticking his arms straight above his head
19- when he digs his heels into the ground and lifts his bum up and down when I am trying to change him
20- when his big blue eyes try to follow us 
21- he whimpers like a puppy when I am trying to rock him to sleep
22- his adorable half-sneezes
23- his sweet tiny tummy
24- his tight fists that he won’t unclench
25- constant tooting…. I don’t know how long this will remain on the “adorable” list lol
26- when I am laying with him and he falls asleep so I try to slowly move away but every inch that I move, he nuzzles closer lol 
27- when his tiny lips purse shut and won’t let you put anything in his mouth
28- those big open-mouthed grins
29- shoulder shrug-off when he doesn’t want me to touch him while he nurses
30- when NOT nursing, he will lay dazed contently while I gently stroke his face
31- his head is so bloody soft!
32- his face when we took him on his first car ride 
33- his face when we took him on his first stroller ride
34- his face when something startles him
35- when he started really looking at us… not past us
36- when he first recognized us and beamed
37- every morning when I go into his nursery and he has a huge grin on his face
38- when I am holding him upright and he suddenly latches onto my neck and starts sucking lol
39- when he falls asleep in my arms
40- he loves to sleep with a blanket over his face lol it scares me to death 
41- the first time he laughed on purpose
42- when he laughs, grins, or frowns in his sleep
43- he love love loves to be naked lol he grins ear to ear every time I take off his pants to change his diaper
44- when I sing softly to him and he calms down and just snuggles into me
45- when he holds me with his tiny little hands like he’s trying to drink from a two-liter when nursing lol
46- he LOVES his daddy… he grins and giggles everytime Jared talks to him
47- if Jared leaves the room, Sammy will break his neck trying to follow him 
48- when he grins and tries to talk gibberish with the smiling octopus that hangs down from his activity mat overhang
49- when he raises his eyebrows, his bald head wrinkles
50- he stares at his fists for hours lol
51- his stinkin cute double chin
52- he sticks both his fists out straight in front of him like he is riding a motorcycle
53- when it is the middle of the night and the whole house is quiet and his beautiful little body is curled up in my arms while he nurses
54- when his eyes smile at me
55- when I am holding him and talking to someone and then I look down and realize that his big blue eyes are just watching my every expression… then when he sees me look at him, his face lights up and he grins from ear to ear… I just can’t describe this feeling. My eyes water every time. It’s love. Pure, selfless love.
