The Franklin Family Christmas

Riley quickly catches on to the idea of opening gifts at Christmas. She eagerly awaited each gift as they came her way!

Riley pushes Conley in the doll stroller. Conley fits in the stroller because she got the teenie tiny tushy from the Korean side....where as Riley got the ghetto-booty from her mommy and daddy! Sorry pumpkin!

Little Elf

We attempted to visit Santa today, however, he wasn't going to arrive until 4pm and it was only 2pm! Riley would not have lasted until 4, so we called it a day and took her picture as an elf! This elf needs a tan!

Ms. Independent wants to do it all by herself!

Riley's new thing...."no no no no". She even says it to herself when she is getting ready to do something she shouldn't be doing (like playing in the dog water).

Just want to incl. Psalm 15. I am going to try and memorize it and strive to live by it.

"He whose walk is blamless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken."

Denim Day

Sweet, Sassy, and Sad!
This is what I saw all day today! Riley has her 2nd UTI. She was so fussy, and rightfully so!
Just an update...Riley is improving daily with her walking. She can walk clear across the house, but still struggles a little with her balance. She is starting to walk with things. like a toy or sippy cup, in one hand, so it is getting better. She is still working on standing without pulling up. She needs to strengthen her quads, so we will be doing some exercises with that.
Riley is at such a fun age. She is like a little sponge. She is starting to really grasp things and she truly studies things....I love watching her learn and grow. It is so rewarding as a parent (even though I can not attribute it to me!).
She loves to look at pictures....esp. of Daddy. She looks at pictures of cousin Emory with the most inquisitive look....like she just can't place where she knows her from...but that she knows her!
Anything that looks like a dog....is a dog. Cows say moooo, but called a dog. Same with cats, etc.

Donnie and I went to a wedding last night. We haven't been out in a while, so we kind of considered it a date. It was so nice to have adult conversation. There was a little boy about 3 sitting next to us at the table and I kept thinking I needed to tend to him (since that's what I do ALL DAY LONG), but I was FREE....and boy did it feel good. No juice, goldfish, diaper bag, toys, no wolfing dinner down in 2 minutes flat, etc. Just Donnie and I, enjoying our surroundings and eating our dinner SLOWLY! HOWEVER.....we couldn't stop talking about Riley with one another, and we missed her terribly. That was only a few hours....what am I going to do while I am in NY next week? Three days away from Riley. I am so nervous. I am going to miss my little pistol like crazy!