The Life of Riley

Elijah Thomas Riley was born July 24, 2012 at 6:14 pm.  He weighed 8 lbs even, 20.5 inches and came out perfectly healthy with a thick head of black hair! We fell in love with him instantly!  He has been such a wonderful addition to our family.  All our worries were out the door the moment we held him in our arms.  I wasn't sure how I would ever be able to love another child because my heart was so full of love for Malakai but God uses children to teach us lessons about how to love.  And boy do we love Elijah! He is a perfect angel.  Kai loves being a brother and thinks Elijah is the coolest thing ever! He loves cuddling with him in the mornings and sitting with him while he plays or watches TV.  He doesn't understand why they can't be together 24 hours a day, it's precious to watch him assume the role of the "Big Bro" when he is still so little and still my baby.  I love my family so much and am enjoying every moment we spend together....

First I really want to start out by sharing that Chad and I celebrated our third Wedding Anniversary this week.  We had a wonderful day and loved reminiscing on all that we've accomplished together in the few years we have been a married couple.  It still takes my breath away when I think back to the day I met Chad when I was just a baby (14 years old).  God is so good to have brought us to the place we are now! One of my favorite pictures ever! Love that my man cried like a baby as I walked down the aisle on that beautiful July day at the Ritz overlooking the ocean... so perfect! Enough of that sentiment. Chad, Kai and I are going to be welcoming our Angel on July 24.  That's in just two days!  Woo hoo! We are getting so anxious to meet our little guy.  Things are all set up for him, we just need him in our arms and we are good to go!  A few things that our on our hearts that we would really appreciate prayer for:   *The surgery its...

I can't even believe how fast this pregnancy has gone for us!  I am blown away by the fact that this little guy will be here in a month or less!  I haven't scheduled my C-section yet (hoping to do so this Monday when I see my Doc) but he has already said I won't be going past 39 weeks which is in one month from today! So crazy, it hit me when I woke up this morning.  I am really hoping that this guy stays in till mid-July because I am not quite ready.  Spending all this time at home with Kai the last few months has been such a blessing, my love for him has continued to grow and blossom so much, even more then I thought it ever could.  He is my little buddy these days and I love every moment I spend with him, even the ones that are a little more trying.  To think about another baby coming into our life and in a lot of ways interrupting our daily routine is bittersweet.  I know we will adjust and everything will be great, but I can't help and wish f...

Time for a little update on what's up in The Riley home... Malakai is a year and a half! He is growing and developing so fast... I am blown away by how fast time is flying.  He is the absolute most loving child I have ever been around.  He loves being home with Mama and Dada.  Bringing me to the next update, I am officially on medical disability, as of 23 weeks.  I was having a lot of contractions, cramping, problems with my SI joint and sciatic pain and both of my doctors told me it was time to give it up and let my body rest.  I miss working, keeping my mind sharp and being around all my lovely coworkers, but this is what's best for me and the baby at this point so there's really no arguing that.  Malakai is in his glory! He hasn't had his Mama home with him full time since he was 4 months old!  He is loving our routine and I'm afraid to say has grown super attached to Mama.  Not the best timing for him to be my little shadow but I can't say I...

2 babies. Under 2. What was I thinking?! OK, not really. But kind of! As I near the end of my second trimester, I'm becoming a little overwhelmed thinking about what's to come very soon. Second time around for me has been much different from my first. For starters, I have a baby that needs me all day every day, so I'm constantly moving and being needed, rather then sitting and daydreaming about my little monkey in my belly. It's also different in that I know what's coming. For me, this is worse. I think about the C-section all the time and I know how much pain and discomfort I'm going to be in for the first few weeks post-partum. I also worry about not being able to drive for the first couple weeks and especially about having an incision on my abdomen. Did I mention Kai loves to climb all over mommy? Ya, that freaks me out with a fresh cut on my tummy. I won't be able to lift him for several weeks. It's going to be a challenge that I'm just not loo...

Once again we heard the ultrasound technician say, "It's a boy!" We were so excited when we were heard those three words! Of course we said things like, "Oh, it doesn't matter, we just want a healthy baby" and "We don't care what the sex is, either way we are happy" which are somewhat true.  However, to say that we were secretly wishing it were a little boy is an understatement! How exciting is it going to be to see Kai grow up with a little brother only 20 months apart.  They'll be the best of friends and the biggest enemies at times.  But the fact that our children are going to have a playmate for life is so exciting!  We were also hoping to be able to use all of our boy stuff again.  We received so many boy clothes weather it be through hand me downs, gifts, or (let's face it) my obsession with shopping for Kai!  I just could not imagine never getting to reuse those things.  Especially because most of the the clothes Malakai has grow...