These are a few weeks old! Mom came in town for a visit 2 weeks ago. Riley had a blast with her....Riley talked up a storm (not quite sure what she said...but she was laughing at herself a lot!). She still babbles a lot, but throws in "real" words here and there. She even started singing along to songs a little (she only says the words she knows!). This past week she was moved up a class at her mother's day out program. She is on the younger side of the age group instead of the oldest in her class. She loved it! Maybe this fall I will consider 2 days a week instead of 1.

The other pics are from Valentine's. We went to a sushi place in Dallas and then met up with our friend's Chris and Carrie afterwards. We had a really nice time.

I will post current pics soon.

70 degrees!

Although Riley and I have a bad cold, we managed to spend some time outside during this beautiful day.

So, the info. I was going to give you all is that we are going to Houston to meet with a pedi. neurologist who specializes in myelomeningocele (what Riley was born with). He is going to do a test that will let us know if I have an auto-antibody to folate. If I have it, then that means my body doesn't absorb folic acid correctly and I will have to make sure I take 5x the recommended dosage of folic acid (which I already am at the current time) before I get pregnant. Basically, the test will tell us why Riley was born with SB (that is if I do have the auto antibody, if not, then we may never know). Anyway's, the dr. who researched this in NY was telling me that all women planning a pregnancy should have this test, as well as take 5x the recommended dosage of folic acid before they become pregnant. I remember asking my old o.b. shortly after I had Riley why they don't tell all women PLANNING a pregnancy to take 4-5x the rec. dosage of folic acid...his reply was that 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned (he didn't answer the question!). OB's & women take that chance, assuming a healthy pregnancy, neural-tube defects only occur 1 in 1,000. My advice to all of my friend's and family....please take the extra folic acid or have the serum test done BEFORE you get pregnant, (it's hard to find someone who will do the test, maybe I can help you). Remember, a neural-tube defect happens in the first 4 weeks of pregnancy...before you even know you are pregnant!

Conley and Riley

Riley had a fun day with Conley today. They composed some music together on the piano...Conley was very intense and serious about it, so cute! Some pics. are from Saturday and Sunday, last weekend. (Doesn't Riley look cute for church?).
I have an update on our research regarding possible "baby #2", however, I am very tired and will post it tomorrow. Please remember to check the blog again because I have some very insightful information that all child-bearing age females should know about. Until next time...

Back In Business!

I can not believe how computer inept Donnie and I are! I have been unable to get into my blog for quite a while, and in fact set another one up in the meantime...but never posted anything on it. I guess I will use it to post my lastest projects, so check it every once in a while, www.stompinaroundcowtown.blogspot.com. I wish one of us was a little more savy with electronics...drives me nuts!
Anywho...here are some pics. of random events from the past month. Riley is getting around very well now. She stands up on her own now without pulling up on something. She also said her first two words together, "bye bye Chae-chae" (her Aunt Chata), and "hi so-o-fee" (Sophie, our super-pup). She is understanding and saying so much....it is so cool!!!
Clockwise from top to bottom: (1, 2) Cousin Conley witnesses Riley's 1st haircut (it doesn't look that different, just trimmed and cut a good portion of her Donald Trump piece), (3) Cousin Conley (I kept her for the day on Saturday while Donnie, Travis, and Chata worked at Travis' grand opening for his new shop Gearheads, the girls did great, even napped at the same time...I think maybe I could handle 2 children, but not yet!), (4) neighbor, Chandler and Riley after a group bath with Cole...after all, Riley is Korean, and don't Koreans bathe together?, (5) Riley playing in her crib, (6) Riley and Cole before bathtime, (7) Riley, Cole and Chandler the day it snowed here in Tx. (this happens about once a year here, it's been a cold January), (8) the true definition of "fruit of the loom", Riley's play-fruit velcroed to her bottom!
Enjoy!

I love going through old pics. This is Riley, November '05.



So...this is pretty funny! Donnie and I went to see a movie tonight, The Pursuit of Happiness (GREAT movie by the way!), and you know what....the last movie we saw together was The Wedding Crashers (Summer '05)....and we had Riley in the theater with us then! Is that pathetic, or what??? Maybe one of the grandparents should move to Dallas so we can get out more (but not just for that reason alone)! Just think about the size of house you would have here! Yea, the Rockies are not out our front door, or the Puget Sound out our back door, but we have....we have....ummmmmmmmm, well, beautiful tornado swept prairies (just kidding, it's not that bad!).

Playing at the park in Seven Lakes!

Here I am....playing at the park with my cousins, Miles and Emory. Hey, can you see the resemblance?....at all? ....what-so-ever? I promise...we are related! -Riley 

Mitchell Family Christmas 2006 West End, North Carolina

What a wonderful time we all had visiting with our aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, parents, brothers, sisters, neices and nephew in North Carolina! What an absolutley amazing family my grandparents, Nanny and Poppop, have created! We love you! 

Cousins

 

Waking up is hard to do!

Today I found Riley sleeping with a blanket over her face! It scared me at first, but she's old enough to pull it off if she doesn' t like it! I had to wake her to take her to her 18 month well check. These are the series of pics. I took! She reminds me so much of Donnie....the Franklin frown rears it's...head (it's not ugly....but it's not a smile either!). I better get use to the frown, she's on her way to turning 2, (although I hear 3 is harder). Her check-up went very well, the dr. is more than pleased with her walking, etc.

Oh, don't you just love those deep belly laughs from a baby??? Riley was just cracking up this evening. And you know what she was doing....throwing pieces of her dinner on Sophie's head, which lead to Sophie trying to get the food as fast as she could. Whatever makes her laugh! I just love listening to it! (discipline to follow next time!)

I will post Christmas, New Year's, and my NY trip pics. soon. Meanwhile, here is a post to hold you over!

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!

Grilled Elmo Anyone?

Okay, let's see if I can describe these pictures in order, I'm not sure if it will upload in the same order. 1) Riley grilling Elmo (or as she says, Memo), 2) Riley in the kitchen, 3) on a horse, 4) Uncle Donnie and cousin Corbin on turkey day, 5) Miss cousin Conley struttin' her stuff on turkey day, 6), 7), and 8) at the park on turkey day.

Sorry it's been so long since I have posted anything. Here are some updated pics of Miss Riley. She is walking pretty well now. She walks a lot, but not consistantly. She will walk clear across the room, lose her balance and fall, and then just crawl. She doesn't know how to get from the floor to a standing position without pulling up on something....but as Angie heard on the phone tonight....she is trying.
Riley finally started saying "HI" (of course not near the phone when someone is on it, but always when no one is on it!), but it sounds more like "Ieee". She also says ou, ou every time she falls. She will be an attention grabber for sure. Her ringlets already reel people in, and she doesn't mind it a bit.

We met with a genetics doctor yesterday to get some more information on our chances of having another baby with SB. Her opinion is that Riley's birth defect was completely unrelated to mine. She really feels that I do not have any syndrome of any kind and that Riley's SB just happened. Any mom has a 3-5% chance of having a baby w/ any birth defect, we have an increased risk of having another baby with SB by 2-3%, and if I take 4x the recommended dosage of folic acid, it reduces it to 1% chance. (note: taking the recommended dosage of folic acid, that is what is already in prenatal pills, reduces the risk of having a baby with SB by 70%....which I did for 10 months before I even got pregnant....I guess we were in that other 30%, or it had nothing to do with a folic acid deficiancy). Anyways, I will always search to find a reason why this happened to Riley.
So.....we still are not decided either way, but my heart is more at ease at possibly having another child of our own one day. Like I said before, we are in no rush. We still feel like we have more research to do as well.

We are so excited...tomorrow will be one of those days when you have no reason to be out on the roads. We are housebound because of the "Winter Freeze", good excuse to just veg. out.

Ducks and Yoga!

Here is Riley with Pappa ET/Grandad at the marina. They had lots of fun feeding the over-fed ducks and the very big, always hungry carp. Riley just soaked it all in. She loves saying and signing duck and also says kakak (Quack, quack).
ET and Riley also had time for some yoga with JoJo's Circus. They learned the downward facing dog.
Riley had a blast showing off to ET and Sandy. She walked for them and chatted a lot about her toys. Her favorite word right now is "yeah"....we will have to work on her manners (although she does sign please and thank you)!

Donnie comes home from Vegas tomorrow.....YEA! He is at the Ocularist/Ophthamology Convention. Mommy is ready for a break!
He went to see the Blue Man Group last night and loved it. Can't wait to hear about the rest of his trip...ocularist stuff! (I have to admit, I miss that stuff....maybe in the future I can finish what I barely started).