Rieger Reflections

Change Your Bookmarks, Blog Friends!

2011-07-08T15:02:00.000-05:00

I've gone back and forth about this for awhile, and after weeks of indecisiveness {very characteristic of me}, I've decided to condense my blogs into one single blog over at Freckled Pink.

I've fallen in love with blogging all over again these past few weeks, and can't wait to be able to share about every aspect of my life in one spot. Previously, I'd been writing about new Freckled Pink designs on my business blog, and my home and family here. It just got to be a bit too much to keep up with for this busy mama! I wasn't posting nearly as often as I'd have liked to on my business blog, because of my preoccupation with this one. Needless to say, combining them will solve all this.

All that to say... Change your bookmarks, and follow me over at my Freckled Pink blog if you like. Thanks!

New England Vacation, Part 1

2011-07-05T14:17:00.000-05:00

I always thought the definition of a vacation was something like "rest, relaxation, no responsibilities, and sleeping in as late as you want". This is actually the definition of vacation *before* you have children. Vacationing with a toddler is, as one of my friends put it, like traveling to Europe even if you're just going down the street, because of all of the baby stuff you have to tow with you!

When we arrived at the airport to leave on our New England adventure {adventure = going to see Adam's cousin get married}, we had with us:

Giant Suitcase containing all 3 of our clothes
Rolling, carry-on suitcase {because I am paranoid about checked bags getting lost}
Backpack containing the computer and a half million baby toys and snacks
Purse containing the other half million baby toys and snacks
Allie's stroller
Allie's car seat and car seat dock
Allie

Keep in mind, there were only 2 of us, and 4 hands to carry all of this onto the shuttles to and from the airport - all while attempting to keep Allie quiet, happy, and safe. SO. MUCH. WORK!

After we were able to check the car seat, car seat dock, and giant suitcase, the "vacation" became much more enjoyable.

Allie was a rock star on the flight to Boston. She played with her new toys, ate breakfast, and even fell asleep while watching her fave - Imagination Movers - on my iPhone. {Thank you, God, for headphones and iPhones!}

We arrived in Boston, fought with the GPS for awhile, and finally made it to New Hampshire, where we would spend the first 2 nights of our trip. {Wedding was in NH, the rest of our trip would be spent outside of Boston in MA.}

Alliebean - brushing her hair, watching some 'Enchanted', using
her awesome panda headphones.

My little family after the beautiful wedding in the NH countryside.

The wedding was beautiful, and the scenery was amazing! To our surprise, it was in the 60's and rainy the first two days of our trip. I even had to make a Target run to get some dress pants for the occasion, because I am far too cold-natured to have spent the day of the wedding freezing my legs off in the "little black dress" I'd planned to wear.

Allie and her Grandpa Chuck at the wedding reception.

Allie and her handsome daddy.

I bought new shoes and a cute new dress for this sweet girl, but I had to
change up her outfit because it was so cold! Instead of cute new sandals, she
sported her warmer Keds and leggings.

It was so fun to get to spend some extended time with Adam's side of the family. I love to see them loving on little Allie and enjoying her as much as we do! Part 2 of our vacation coming soon...

Saturday Snapshot

2011-07-02T14:37:00.000-05:00

I decided to take part, for the first time, in this lovely little weekly tradition over at Yellow Songbird's blog. The "Saturday Snapshot". This week's theme: around the house.

This is what, or more appropriately who, makes me smile around the house. We were on vacation this past week, and my little Allie was so glad to be home. The morning after we returned, I found her in a quiet, secluded little spot behind the curtains, watching the birds outside. (With her beloved blankie in-tow, of course.) Love this kid.

18 Months

2011-06-30T18:57:00.000-05:00

Baby girl,...ahem...toddler, you are 18 months old today! I can't believe you're so big!

Over the past month, and especially the past couple of weeks, you have started trying to mimic more word sounds. One of your most often used words is "bubbles", which you use to refer to just about anything with circles on it. You is a great little retriever, and love to go get things for me and Adam. Another new word you love to say all the time is "whoa" or "wow". You always say these with great enthusiasm, and it's just stinking adorable.

Current Favorites:
- Headphones. We bought you some headphones to use on the plane for our recent trip to Boston, MA. You love headphones! You will sit for 30-40 minutes watching a movie when you have your headphones on! Amazing!
- Imagination Movers. Allie, you love all music, and tv sing-alongs, but especially the Imagination Movers these days. We wouldn't have lasted on our 4-hour plane rides to and from Boston without these guys.
- Strawberries. You love them as much as I do!
- Blanket. Nothing new here.
- Pony Tails. If I ask if you want a pony-tail, you usually gasp in excitement and show me the back of your head.
- Daddy. You can't get enough of your sweet daddy. (Not that I blame you.) On our trip, since daddy was always with us, you chose him to hold you about 99.9% of the time. You wanted him to put you to bed, to play with you, to feed you, you name it. It breaks this mama's heart a little, but I love seeing the way you reach for him and love him with all of your little heart. He is your ultimate favorite thing as an 18-month-old.

People continue to tell us that you are one of the most expressive babies they've ever seen. You have such a variety of adorable facial expressions, and don't hesitate to use them. You are mastering

I love watching you grow. You are strong, observant, loving, and you are learning so many new things every day! God has great plans for your future, and your daddy and I are so excited to see them unfold.

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-15T22:22:00.000-05:00

Adam doesn't get many days off of work, so when he does, we think it's a pretty big deal. We celebrated the holiday weekend (which I realize, was 3 weeks ago now) with food and friends...and fire, actually, but that story is for another day.

Sunday afternoon, we met a big group of friends for dinner at Joe T. Garcia's - our favorite spot. I'm pretty sure it's "our" favorite spot, at least. It has been my favorite for as long as I can remember, and I hope that after being with me for 7 years, Adam has adopted it as his as well. There were 3 little toddling girls at dinner. One fell asleep in her high chair, one wanted to walk around throughout the meal, and our little Allie did a good job of sitting in her high-chair and eating her tasty (and oh-so-healthy) cheese nacho. I was only able to get a couple of good shots of Eisley and Allie after dinner. Lily was a little more interested in roaming.

Monday morning, Allie and I went to the grocery store to pick up some things for dinner at the McCarthy's. I do what I can to keep her entertained in the shopping cart...

After a restful day at home, we got ready for our mini pool party. (Adam picked up a little plastic pool for the girls to play in at Wally World, and they LOVED it!) I was *finally* able to pull Allie Joy's hair into a tiny little pony-tail, and she thought it was pretty funny. Love this shot of her little pony-tail and her sweet smile in the mirror.

Allie and Eisley had fun splashing around in the little pool, and even splashed some water on one another.

17 Months

2011-05-29T16:19:00.000-05:00

Seriously? 17 Months?! That seems impossible. I am l.o.v.i.n.g. this age, Allie Joy. You are busy, boisterous, dramatic, and did I mention busy? You never, never stop moving! From the moment you wake up, until we rock you to sleep, you are in constant motion.

An average day in your almost 17-month-old life looks something like this...

You are sleeping in!!! Your Daddy and I have waited many months for this. Last weekend, for the first time, all 3 of the Riegers slept in past 8:30 on Saturday AND Sunday! It was awesome!

Generally, you wake up around 8:15 or 8:30 these days. You don't cry, you just stir around in your crib, play with your blankie, and wait for me to come get you. When I come in, I turn off your big box fan, and your eyes immediately go to the door - looking for the dogs. Scout and Jack almost always join me in greeting you in the mornings. Jack loves to stick his wet nose through the slats of your crib to greet you, which you think is particularly funny. Some days, you wave to them and say, "Hi J..."! You've got the first sound of "Jack" down, but haven't really mastered the rest of the word, haha. It's adorable.

You love to play in your crib!

You are generally good about putting your blankie back into the crib before we head to the kitchen for breakfast, but some days, you cry a little when you leave it behind. It melts this mama's heart that you love that blanket so much. I worked a long time picking out those fabrics and even longer choosing the *perfect* lettering with which to monogram your first baby blanket. I'm so glad you love it. (So much that I've already had to make two "little blankie" imitations, and a second full-sized blankie.)

For breakfast, nearly every day, you have a waffle. ("Wah-foo", as you refer to it.) You love to put the frozen waffles into the toaster and wait for them to "pop"! After the waffle, you and Mama have a "Green Drink" smoothie to start our days now. It's so good, and you wait anxiously for it each morning. You drink almost as much of it as I do! You've learned, through loving these smoothies, to drink through a straw, which you think is a pretty cool trick.

Bubble Beard! :)

After breakfast, we head back to your room to get dressed. Some days it takes me forever to pick out your clothes - I love it! Dressing you up is one of my favorite things about having a little girl. You are even quick to let me know if I've forgotten your hair bow these days!

Once you're dressed for the day, you usually follow me down the hall to my work room, where we listen to music or watch a movie while I stitch out a few monograms. You also love to make the work room as messy as possible on a daily basis...pulling out all of my fabrics, showing them to me one at a time, and emptying as many spools of thread as possible. Just recently, you love to sit in my lap and watch the sewing machine work. Sometimes, you prop your tiny feet up on the sewing desk like you've had a long and taxing day. Melt my heart, little one - I love it.

Sweet Grins

After getting some work done, you often "help" with a few household chores. Your favorite is sweeping. I don't know how this is possible, since just about anything having to do with cleaning the floor is my least favorite chore. Hate sweeping, Hate Swiffering. Hate mopping. But you...you love it. We have a small, half-sized broom that we use for sweeping up the dust piles into the dust pan. It has become 'Allie's broom'. You carry it all over the house, chase the dogs with it, and think you are big stuff.

You *love* your baby dolls more than any other toys. They go
everywhere with us!

Lunch is usually around 11 or 11:30. Your favorite lunch time foods right now include hot dogs (the healthiest we can find, I promise), Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets, sliced deli turkey, macaroni and cheese, ground taco meat. strawberries, peaches, pickles, tortillas, rice, and "veggie sticks". You eat like a horse, and we have absolutely no explanation as to why you are still such a tiny girl!

After lunch, we usually spend some time sitting on the couch together and playing or reading. You can almost climb up onto the couch by your self, but not quite. Much of our couch time is spent practicing this skill lately. Looks like you are going to be an adventurous climber! I better brace myself if that's the case.

Your nap time is around 2:00, and you sleep 1-2 hours. Truth be told, most days, when you wake up, I go in and snuggle you in the rocking chair for an extra half hour or so. I love this time with you, and know I'll never regret it. I can't get enough Allie snuggles!

After nap time, you have a little snack, and wait anxiously for "Da-tee" to get home. You get SO excited when you hear the garage door - the tell-tale sign that he has arrived. Sometimes you gasp, other times you just run and point toward the garage door. It's so sweet, Allie. You have really become Daddy's girl more and more over the past few weeks. When Daddy is here, you don't usually want a lot to do with mama. It blesses my heart so much to see the special relationship the two of you are already building!

After Daddy gets home, we eat dinner together, spend time watching TV and playing together, give you a bath in your little inflatable tub, and tuck you in for the night. You love bath time. You love to splash, play with your little rubber duckie, and you often protest getting out of the tub. The most adorable thing - you love to pull your little hooded towel down over your face to play "peek-a-boo" after your bath. So cute!

I love my days with you, precious girl. I know that as we add to our family, I will always look back on these days with just the two of us with sweet memories and fondness. Your are my best little buddy, and I am so grateful to God to get to be with you all day, every day. I am living out the dream God placed in my heart as a little girl - to be a mommy. I love you, my precious girl!!!

Silly Willy Girl

2011-05-17T16:48:00.000-05:00

Allie is just that: a silly willy girl. She has been so entertaining lately with all of her little 16-month-old antics!

Allie, all of a sudden, LOVES to play in her crib. Sometimes she even
cries when I get her out in the mornings!

(I really believe it's because I rarely let
the beloved "blankie" out of the crib, and she gets
to snuggle it just a bit longer if she stays in.)

Add caption

She wanted just a few more minutes *after* she
got dressed on this particular morning...

Allie Joy L-O-V-E-S to slide. This is a serious work-out for mommy
and daddy, since she's not quite big enough to walk up all of the
steps to get back up to the top.

...on the slide...

Happy Girl!

I love these grins! I also love that I can see her little tiny feet through her
clear jelly sandals. :)

Her not-so-little personality is showing up a little more every day. It has become very clear that she isn't going to be a passive wallflower! She makes her opinions, wants, likes, and dislikes very clear to us these days. It is not out of the ordinary for her to ask for something, hear a "no", and throw herself onto the floor in a fit of what we affectionately call "squawks". She doesn't like for other kids to invade her space, and tends to "squawk" if they enter her bubble. It is not a cute sound, but we're working on it.

This parenting/guiding/directing/shaping business is more challenging than we thought! And I'm sure it will only become more so...but I consider every challenge a privilege!

Mother's Day Lunch

2011-05-14T15:40:00.000-05:00

Adam and I are blessed in that both of our moms aren't sticklers for celebrating Mother's Day on the day of the event. They want me to be able to enjoy Mother's Day with my sweet little Allie, and I appreciate that more than they know.

Last Saturday, (Mother's Day eve, if you will), was cray-zee around the Rieger house. Adam had made plans to get an upgraded air conditioner installed in the house. The installation guy was supposed to be here between 8-9, and didn't show up until around noon. So. Frustrating. Because of that, Adam wasn't able to go to lunch with us.

My mom, Memaw, Aunt Carolyn, Blake, and I all met at at Joe T.'s to celebrate all of the moms. It was such a gorgeous day! We were able to beat the crowds, get a table outside, and my mom even fed Allie so that I could enjoy my lunch! (Who am I kidding, she loved feeding her.) It was such a sweet time. A couple of weekends ago, my mom stayed with Allie Joy so that Adam and I could spend an evening away for the first time since before Allie was born. While we were gone, she and Allie did a special project for me for mother's day. They made me a beautiful stepping-stone with Allie's little footprint in it! So cute! I love it! I haven't snapped a picture of it yet, but it's outside near the front porch, and it brings a smile to my face every time I see it.

Mom, Allie, and Me after Mother's Day lunch

One of my favorite new pictures! Love my family!

Allie, Blake, and Me

Standing between two of my favorite ladies!

Sitting on Grammie's lap for lunch.

Alliebean and Uncle Blake!

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T22:23:00.000-05:00

Since I was old enough to say "baby", I couldn't wait to have my own. Motherhood is something that has made me - continually - feel so blessed and humbled by the good, gracious God I serve. I still cannot believe that God saw fit to give me the ultimate dreams and desires HE placed in my heart from such a young age. The fact that I get to be a stay-at-home-mama to my precious Allie, to care for my husband and my home day in and day out, is quite literally a dream come true for me. I am blessed beyond words.

16 Months Old

2011-04-29T22:56:00.000-05:00

Allie,

You turn 16-months-old tomorrow, April 30th. I keep expecting time to slow down, but it's just speeding up!

You are so very active these days; a full-fledged toddler, no doubt. You rarely ever walk anywhere anymore, you just run. Your little feet make the cutest pitter-patter on our wood floors! You are learning more every day!

You L-O-V-E your baby dolls. Melts my heart!

Activities you enjoy:

You love practicing letter sounds with mama. Several times a day, we go over what each letter is, along with the sounds they make. By the second or third time, you'd already mastered the "H" sound! I think it's because you think the "huh-huh-huh" noise is funny. :)

You are beginning to enjoy coloring. I give you a few crayons and some paper on your high-chair tray, and you do everything from eating them to picking at them with your finger nails, and occasionally, scribbling a little something on the blank paper.

Hiding behind the couch (or shower curtain, or kitchen chair, or around the corner), peeking out, and saying, "Boo!" is probably your favorite game right now. You just barely open your little mouth to say it, and it almost sounds like "bzz" instead of "boo", but it's adorable.

All of these faces happened within about 90 seconds of one another. Drama!

Favorite foods:

Strawberries. You LOVE strawberries. In fact, today, you ate so many that I had to cut you off. When I did so, you threw a big fit in the living room floor - tears and all - because you wanted more "berries".

Peaches. These have been your fave for months now, and you still rarely turn them down.

Flat-bread Pizza. I make one of these for my lunch. Now, I make one for my lunch, and one for yours. You can eat this stuff like a horse! You love the cheese, the sauce, and especially the pepperoni. (Pepperoni, by the way, is one of the words you try to repeat every time you hear it. SO stinkin' cute!) It's one of your messiest meals, but definitely a favorite.

Smoothies. About a month ago, I started making "Green Drink", a morning smoothie, every morning. It has frozen banana, sometimes raspberries or strawberries, orange juice, cranberry juice, flax seed, and lots of fresh spinach! You asked me for a taste of mine, and just kept wanting more, so we got you some special sippy cups with straws, so that you can have your own cup of green drink!

Waffles. "Wah-foo", as you call them.

Cheese. At the grocery store last week, when we approached the dairy section, you said, "Hi cheese!" and waved to all of the cheese. I think you're a fan of the stuff.

Such a beautiful girl!

New words you're saying:

Boo Boo

Da-tee (Daddy)

Car

"BC's" (ABC's)

...and others I know I can't think of right now, because it's nearly 11:00, and I'm exhausted.

I love you more every single day!

Busy April

2011-04-17T22:14:00.000-05:00

This month is f.l.y.i.n.g. by so fast! I can't believe in another two weeks it will be May. Seriously. Ok, I'm sorry. Sometimes I think I start every blog post by discussing how fast time is flying. I'm just consistently surprised when I sit down and reflect! Our time on earth is truly a breath.

We're having such a busy Spring around here! Adam has run in 2 races in the past few weeks, & Allie and I are enjoying days at the zoo with friends in the beautiful spring weather. I had a big sale at Freckled Pink to help my brother raise money for a mission trip, & I've been working daily on filling orders placed during the sale. So busy - but all fun things!

One of the most fun events lately was Allie's first Easter Egg Hunt. We were invited to our sweet friends', the Carey's, for an egg hunt and a visit with the Easter Bunny himself. It's so fun to watch Allie in these new situations. To see how she interacts with other kids, and to see how she's learning to follow our instructions for simple little things like picking up Easter eggs and putting them into her little white basket. My Memaw hid Easter eggs for me and my brother until we were well into our 20's. (By then, they were always "money eggs", which were awesome!) I can't wait for Allie to get to have her first Easter egg hunt at Memaw's next weekend on Easter Sunday. It means so much to see her enjoying so many things I got to do as a child. It melts my heart, and makes me so thankful for the very few things in my life that have remained the same all these years.

She wasn't a big fan of the Easter Bunny.

My little pink bunny!

Her ADORABLE ruffled bloomers. These were a baby shower gift, and I
was so excited to finally get to use them after waiting so long!

Picking up eggs like a pro!

Adam, being such a sweet daddy to hold Allie's
little white basket and pink eggs. Love it.

Happy family after the egg hunt!

A Day in the Life, Vol. 2

2011-04-01T15:32:00.000-05:00

Ever just have 'one of those days'? Well, today (Tuesday, I started this draft before bed) was one for me. Fewf! It's 10:57, and I can't even believe I'm awake to type this (except that I had a monstrous glass of tea at dinner, so I'll probably be awake much longer than I'd like to).

Today is Adam's birthday. I'm big on birthdays. I love to do fun things to make them extra special. I celebrate the birthday, the birthday week, and yes, the birthday month. It was my goal today to make the day as fun and care-free for Adam as possible, even though he'd spend most of it at work. (I'll wait to post this until tomorrow, because I just posted my heartfelt birthday note to Adam, and wouldn't want to taint that with the "realities" of my day.)

Not to brag (ok, to brag a little), but I've been working very hard on being disciplined and working out every weekday morning for the month of March. After being at a baby shower until late last night, I decided that this week, I was going back to 3 mornings a week. So, today would be my first day to "sleep in" (until around 6:45) on a weekday in almost a month. Here's how my day began...

Alarm goes off. I knew Adam and I had set our alarms for the same time, but I didn't hear his. I figured he'd changed it - wanted to sleep in a little on his birthday - so I didn't wake him. I got up, went to the closet, and started picking out clothes for the day. After looking around a few minutes, I glanced up at Adam's bedside clock: 6:25 a.m.. My first thought was, "Nooooooo! My alarm was supposed to be for 7:00!!!" I'd set a later alarm, but neglected to turn off my earlier alarm. Ugh, how frustrating. I climbed back into bed - just because I could - and tried to go back to sleep for the next half hour without any success. Then, I had to kick it into birthday gear.

Though Allie didn't wake up in time to wish Daddy a happy birthday before he got out the door, I had fun giving Adam his birthday gifts. He saved his card from Allie to open that afternoon.

Allie was in a fair mood in the morning, but hasn't been eating well at all, and got crankier (and I'm sure hungrier) as the day went on, and her hunger strike continued. I could tell she was very tired, so I put her down for her nap at 1:30 instead of 2:00. Sure she'd sleep awhile, I settled in to watch some Netflix and catch up on monogram designs. 30 short minutes later, she was up. Knowing she was still tired, I went in to rock her for awhile and see if she'd sleep a little longer. After another half hour or so, one of our dogs came to Allie's closed bedroom door and began scratching and clawing as if there was a dangerous intruder in the house. Scared me to death, and woke Allie up crying in fear. Thanks, dogs.

Upon exiting Allie's room, I was punched in the gut by the smell of dog poo. Awesome. Maybe someone should teach my dogs to scratch on the door *before* they poop on the floor.

After cleaning up that mess, I decided to give Allie her evening bath early, so we could enjoy Daddy's birthday time when he got home. After I got her in the tub, I guess all of the running water got to me, and I was dying to go to the bathroom. No big deal, we're in the bathroom, right? Yes, my friends, but without toilet paper. Ahhh!

When Allie was cleaned up, (and I'd retrieved a roll of t.p., praise the Lord), I dried her off, lotioned her up, and reached for a diaper. NO DIAPERS! After a momentary freak-out, I remembered there was a new box of diapers in her closet. I placed my naked baby on her bedroom floor while I dove for the diapers in the closet, had to get scissors to open the box, all the while repeating, "Please don't pee, please don't pee!"

After the bath time fail, I decided to make brownies (to cover the poo smell, of course). I managed to spill some brownie mix, but hey, what are dogs for if not cleaning up my spills?

Brownies were finished just in time for Adam's arrival, the house smelled great, and Daddy's girls were ready to spend the evening celebrating his birthday. Fewf!

Happy 28, Adam!

2011-03-29T22:54:00.000-05:00

Today is my amazing husband's 28th birthday. Our 7th birthday to have celebrated together. I never thought I'd say, "We met when we were both 20," and feel like that was such a long time ago.

I'm so very thankful that Adam is the complete opposite of most every boy I ever dated before we met. He's completely dependable, punctual, steady, predictable, and any other word that could be synonymous with 'security' for his wife. I didn't always have that. Security. Predictability. Dependability. Someone who was on my side no matter what. Adam is all of those things.

I so enjoyed our laid back celebration of him today. Gifts before he left this morning, 'Happy Birthday' texts throughout the day, and a relaxing dinner out for our family of 3 tonight. Predictable. Dependable. Secure.

Happy Birthday, love of my life.I pray God gives us many, many, many more birthdays to celebrate with one another...even if the thought of me turning 28 later this year gives me the heebie jeebies! :)

Love One Another

2011-03-24T22:46:00.000-05:00

Over the past few weeks, we have been reading Tom Holladay's Relationship Principles of Jesus as a church. I have learned and relearned some amazing and applicable truths about how important relationships are to Jesus. By far, the most life-changing truth I learned, and really began to understand, was the simple commandment Jesus gives: "Love one another."

Love one another. I've heard these words probably since before I could understand them. They've been taught by Sunday School teachers, preached from the pulpit, and read over and over in a thousand devotional books. It was always easy for me to think I knew - and lived - what those words meant. I mean, loving others is easy, right? You don't go out of your way to be mean, don't talk about friends behind their backs, etc. I think my definition of loving others was more like a "what not to do" list.

Through reading this book, I began to really see and understand what it means to love others. To act in love. To be loving. To really, sincerely, genuinely apply the Golden Rule. To actually "do to others what you'd want them to do to you". To think of others before I think of myself, and to do so with a genuine love for them, and concern for their well-being, and their walk with God.

I have been deeply encouraged as I've walked through this learning process over the past few weeks. I've seen so much undeniable evidence that it truly is God's kindness (and His lovingness) that brings people to repentance. Why have I not been quicker to show such love and kindness to those around me?! I'm saddened to think of all of the opportunities that I've missed, but SO excited to move forward, walking in this new Jesus-empowered-love toward those He places around me!

15 Months

2011-03-17T21:21:00.107-05:00

I ask this every month (really, every day), but seriously, "How did we get here?!" How am I already the mommy to a 15-month-old?! Allie has changed in SO many ways over the past month. We have really watched her turn from a baby into an active, busy, inquisitive, opinionated toddler. Here are just a few of the things she's doing these days.

Going outside. Allie stinkin' LOVES being outside. This doesn't bode well for her mama, who is a tried and true "inside girl". It is really nice to be able to take her out in the afternoons, though, and let her roam the yard for awhile.

Carefully walking in and out of the back sliding door. She's just mastered climbing over the raised door frame, and loves to do it over and over again.

Baby Einstein DVD's. She is specifically mesmerized by "Baby McDonald", the animal video, and "Baby DaVinci", which is all about facial features and body parts. She loves the part when they sing, "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes", and loves to point to her shoulders and toes. I love to hear her sweet, high-pitched voice say, "shuh-durs?"
She now knows where eyes, ears, nose, teeth, hands, and feet are.
She gets super pumped when we sing "Happy and You Know It", and especially loves to "stomp her feet".
Her favorite gadget is still the remote control. I keep finding things on the DVR that she's recorded...
Our technologically savvy girl has already figured out how to unlock our iPhones. She can also double-click them to make them play music quicker than I can. What in the world, I feel old.
Instead of the "little blankie", she now sleeps with her full-sized blankie. I will be making a replacement blankie soon, so that we are never without it! (And, so that we can wash the current blankie without the little drama queen throwing a tantrum.)
Words She's Saying:

"Wah-foo" - waffle
"Eye-sis" - Eisley's (One of your sweet little friends left her hair bow here the other day, and Allie would walk by and point to it, saying "Eye-sis bow" a zillion times a day.
"No"
"Ah-sis" - What's this?
Animal Sounds - "Ba-ba" - sheep; "Wooh-wooh" - dog; A very short "moo" - cow; "chi-chi" - bird; an occasional "doodle-doo" - rooster
"Bye-Bye" (always accompanied by a wave)
"Ah-Cheer" - high chair

"I don't know!"

Things she can identify/point to:

Eyes
Nose
Mouth
Teeth
Ears
Hair
Toes
Feet
Tummy
Belly Button (sometimes)
Shoulders (thanks to 'Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes')
Hands
Dogs
Birds
Airplanes
The moon
Various specific toys (her baby, baby stroller, blocks, piano, ball, books, etc.)

Signs/Cute Ways She Communicates:

Holding her hands up to her face, shrugging her shoulders means "I don't know" or "where did it go"?
Clapping her hands means "I want that" or "More, please"
She loves to blow kisses. Big, open-mouthed, open-handed kisses.
One of my faves: she waves to the dogs about a thousand times a day.
If Adam or I are laying on the couch, and she spots bare feet on the sofa, she grabs the bare feet, smells them, and makes a squished up face, showing how stinky the feet are. Too funny!

I was so excited, a few weeks ago, that Allie finally made the connection that her Uncle Blake was singing on stage during Sunday morning worship. She kept pointing to the screens when he would come on. Now, she always looks for him, which I love. :)
Whenever she falls, bumps her head, or hurts herself, she takes Adam and I to the scene of the crime, and points to whatever it was that hurt her. I'm loving that she's able to communicate these things now!
If she even hears the word flower, she immediately wrinkles up her cute little nose, and begins to sniff. She loves to smell the flowers. :)
Our smart girl helps mommy by putting everyone's socks away on laundry day. I open the drawers, l put all of the socks in a pile next to the drawer, and she puts all of the socks away!
Allie waves all the time. Everywhere we are, at anyone and everyone we see. If she leaves the room and walks back in, she waves at me. Too stinkin' adorable.

Allie Joy is our little "observer". Any time she finds herself in a new or different situation, she takes a good while to warm up, taking everything in, and sizing everyone up. I love this about her. It makes her sound cautious, but unfortunately for this mama, I don't think she's going to take after me in the caution department. At 15 months old, she's already had her first trip to the E.R. after diving off of the kitchen counter (where she was firmly planted in her Bumbo chair at 9 months old) on to the hard tile, head first. (Read more about Allie's First Emergency.) Just a few weeks ago, she took another dive. This time, she fearlessly leaned over the edge of her changing table, face first, and was planted on the floor before I could catch her. She's a quick one! A "first bloody nose" later, she was just fine, and wanted to go play outside and blow bubbles.

Daddy & Allie - Can you tell it's early in the morning by their
cute, sleepy eyes?

One of my favorite things about this little toddling girl is how much she's fallen in love with her daddy. Can I blame her? She, somehow, knows when 4:45 rolls around, and it's time for Dada to be home. Sometimes, we wait on the front porch to see his truck drive up. As soon as she sees it coming down the street, she points, puts on her biggest grin, and says, "Dada!" She then waves, waves, and waves, until he makes it up the driveway and into the garage. Occasionally, he stops in the driveway, puts her in his lap, and lets her help him "drive" into the garage the last few feet. Honestly, I don't think she'd care what they were doing at that moment, because she's just so excited to have Daddy home. I love watching their relationship grow and change. Her Daddy loves her more than she knows, and is so ready to show her off whenever the opportunity arises. He's so obviously proud of her, and I know she knows that.

Mommy & Alliebean

I love my girl so much, and I can't believe how fast she's growing! This is such a fun season, and I have never, ever felt so blessed. (Aaaaand, I apologize for the extreme wordiness of this post!)

The Great Outdoors

2011-03-12T15:43:00.000-06:00

So, Spring is here!!!

Allie has decided that she *loves* being outside. Front yard, back yard, morning, afternoon, evening, it matters not. She just wants to go outside all the time! It's been nice enough this week that I've been able to leave the back door open and let her wander in and out while I work in the kitchen or at the table. She has enjoyed this so much - and so have I! (Being a self-proclaimed "inside girl", this came as a surprise to me.)

Allie Joy loving her back yard freedom.

(Sorry this one is out of place, but she SO enjoyed spending the afternoon
outside with some friends a few Sundays ago...& of course, her uncle B.)

Beautiful girl playing on the porch.

My little observer. She loves finding little twigs, sticks, and rocks in the yard.

My view, sitting outside with Allie to watch Dada mow the lawn.

I love this. I am so glad I finally caught it on camera. She stands like this, in
this adorable "girlish" pose, all the time! No idea where she picked it up,
but I think it's stinkin' adorable.

Waving to Dada as he mowed the lawn. She was stoked to be outside watching!

Dada & Allie waving to one another from across the yard. I love how much
they love each other.

A Grown-Up Dining Set

2011-03-10T20:34:00.000-06:00

Our AMAZING new dining set! :) :) :)

Two weeks ago, I feel like I became a "real grown-up". Adam and I bought a brand new dining set!

In 2006, when we were engaged, we went to Ikea and bought a dining set. I remember being so excited about it. It was a table and 4 matching chairs, purchased for $100. Seriously. We have used that poor table and chairs absolutely to death. Our dogs chewed the top of one of the chairs, the $6.00 cushions were stained and cushion-less, and our family of 3 could barely fit our dinner on the table without it spilling over. It was a good little table, but it was time to *upgrade*! I've been dying to do this forever, so I was unbelievably (maybe abnormally?) excited when Adam gave me the go-ahead to start looking for a new dining set.

It was such a sweet God-thing the way it worked out. I had looked on Ashley Furniture's website, and just fallen in love with one particular set. It was just the color scheme I wanted, and just the right size. Unfortunately, Ashley's doesn't publicize their prices on their website. (Dumb.)

When we went to Ashley's to look around, the set I'd seen online was the very first one we came to. It was so pretty! Not only that, but it was within our price range! We were able to get the table (and extension leaf) and a set of 6 chairs! To go from the world's tiniest table to a table that fills our dining room has been so exciting! It has also made it much more apparent that we are outgrowing our current home...but that's an entirely different jumbled bunch of thoughts for another entry.

The good ole' Ikea dining set. It looks SO tiny now!

Allie's last snack time at the old table :)

NEW TABLE & BEAUTIFUL CHAIRS! (This is without the leaf. With the leaf,
it will seat 8 with room to spare.)

Allie enjoying the view from waaaaay down at her end of the table.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-09T14:48:00.002-06:00

10 Years Later

2011-02-26T14:28:00.000-06:00

Today, we went up to Western Hills' Tower Field and watched Adam play in the Alumni Baseball Game. It's always a little weird to revisit the place you spent 4 years in high school! I couldn't believe it earlier this week when Adam told me they were being recognized for the 10th anniversary of the state championship. (Honestly, it took me a few minutes to realize he was talking about HIS state championship! I couldn't believe it was 10 years ago!)

As it does every year, a cold breeze showed up just in time for the game, so that everyone had to bundle up just a little to watch. There was a great turn-out this year, and lots of players with young babies, which made it more fun for us spectators.

Allie's latest obesession: steps. Up, down, up, down...

Cutie-patootie in all of her ruffles!

Allie & her sweet friend Lily!

Adam & his best friend Jordan with their beautiful baby girls. So fun!
Also, Jordan wouldn't look at the camera. I have like 3 versions of this shot.

The 2001 Alumni who attended this year's game...and some cute babies.

The alumni team played hard, and beat the current varsity team 7-6. (Can I also just take a moment to state how child-like and little the current varsity team looked?! They were children, for goodness sake. I don't feel old often, but I did that day.)

Wordless Wednesday (after a very wordy Wednesday post)

2011-02-23T16:48:00.000-06:00

Ah-Sis?

2011-02-23T16:42:00.001-06:00

At church, we've been going through a book together. (The Relationship Principles of Jesus, by Tom Holladay) Everyone is reading the daily devotionals, and learning, together, about Jesus's interaction with others, and how He did relationships while He was here on earth. (By "everyone", I mean "everyone but me is staying on track with this". I've been sick, Allie has been sick, and I am currently feeling caught-up on my readings, because I'm *only* 3 days behind. Sigh.)

Last week, one day's focus was on prayer. Now, I've been a believer for 20+ years, so I've heard/read a lot about prayer in that time. Increasing the time I spend in prayer, especially for my family, is one of my goals for 2011. (Ok, I said it out loud now, so I've created some accountability, right?)

A few things I read, last week, on prayer:

Jesus taught that our job is to pray with confidence.
God is answering many of your prayers in ways you can't yet see --in ways you may not see until you get to Heaven. To acknowledge this doesn't provide an excuse; it recognizes our limitations and expresses confidence in God's perfect plan and power.
Pray until one of two things happens: God changes the situation, or God changes you.
Your persistence is instead an indicator of your desire and your dependence on God. Unless you truly depend on God, you will not persist in the conversation.

That last one has to be my very favorite. As the mommy of *gulp* a toddler, I am learning that repetition is the name of the game. If Allie loves to do something once, she loves to do it over and over and over again. She loves the same Baby Einstein video over and over, the same one baby doll to play with, the same 'hang me upside down and tickle me' game over and over, and thanks to her picky mama, the same foods all the time. Sometimes, let's be honest, it's just annoying. I don't want to see the episode of Special Agent Oso I've already seen 50 bazillion times before today, but she is just as excited about it now as the first time she saw it. The most annoying thing would have to be "ah-sis" (what's this). At only 13.5 months old, Allie already points at seemingly everything in her little world and asks, with an adorably inquisitive look on her face, "ah-sis?" The thing about it is, she will point to the same object 10, 20, 50 times in a row, and ask "ah-sis" over and over and over. My logical brain says that she's trying to learn the words, and learn how I'm saying them by listening to them repetitiously. My emotional self wants to just say, "I said it's this!!!"

So back to the quote, "Your persistence is instead an indicator of your desire and your dependence on God. Unless you truly depend on God, you will not persist in the conversation." Sometimes I feel like I've said the same prayers a million times. Like I've asked God for the same protection, provision, healing, and grace as many times as Allie has asked me "ah-sis". At times, I start to pray something, and stop myself, because I think, "That's the same thing I asked for yesterday, and the day before that, and the month before that..." I love that I'm finally learning that this asking over and over is not an annoyance to my generous God. Instead, it is a sign that I'm depending solely on Him to provide what I'm asking for.

Valentine's Day 2011

2011-02-19T22:41:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day, this year, turned out to be pretty crummy for this mama. Allie generously shared the stomach bug she had all week last week with me, and I came down with it in full force on the 14th! No fun! I was bummed to be sick, and unable to do lots of the fun activities I'd had in mind for Allie that day. Thankfully, Adam and I had already had our Valentine's night out the previous night. We got to eat at yummy Saltgrass, and even got dessert at Sweet Sammie's!

(Quick note: Sweet Sammie's is one of our very favorite new places in the area. It's one of those "simple, but genius" ideas that has really taken off. They bake fresh cookies, then make you a custom ice cream sandwich using two warm cookies and your choice of ice cream! They're huge, delicious, and extremely high in calories, I'm sure!)

Adam came home Sunday afternoon with FOUR, yes four, bouquets of flowers for Allie and me! He also got us each a sweet card, which I always love. It was so thoughtful of him to get a cute little card for Allie Joy, too. Allie and I have been enjoying a house full of flowers all week long, and they appear to still be going strong. I love flowers in the house! So fun and beautiful!

This is the "skill" Allie learned on Valentine's Day. She
thinks it's pretty funny, as you can see. Blech.

Even though I felt icky, we managed to get outside for
a few minutes to blow some bubbles, which Allie LOVED.

Stickers are one of Allie's faves right now, so I had to get her some cute
little hearts for V-Day! She's had fun "wearing" them on her hands
all week long.

Allie Joy's V-Day stash from Mama & Dada: Pink Ranger's onesies, a zillion
heart stickers, and a fun new bath toy.

Oh! Adam also completely detailed my car for Valentine's Day. It needed to be done so very badly, and I am still enjoying a very clean ride! My hubby knows me well!

Allie Update

2011-02-14T09:50:00.000-06:00

So, I recently realized I've been doing a pretty terrible job of doing the monthly updates on Allie's skills and things that I intended to do. I did them for awhile, then sporadically, and lately, not at all. I want to be able to have all these little details to refer back to with our future kiddos, so here's an update for our 13.5 month-old!

Allie "yodels" ALL the time. "Lo-del-lo-del-looo-deeel-lo-del-looo." I have no idea what she may be attempting to say, but it's adorable, whatever it is.
She is walking all the time, everywhere by now, and starting to attempt running a little bit.
She had her first "real" sickness last week, when she got a tummy bug, ran fever, and slept on mama's lap for almost 4 hours in the middle of the day. It was so sad! I'm so glad she's finally back to her energetic self!
She thinks it's pretty funny to crawl from time to time - probably because of the reaction Adam and I give her.
She loves blueberry yogurt, which only started about 2 weeks ago. She never would eat it for me, but then Adam tried, and she ate an entire container!
Special Agent Oso is her favorite cartoon on TV. She also really enjoys Baby Einstein DVD's - especially Baby McDonald (all about farm animals).
We spent some time in the last few days learning about stepping up and down on our front porch. She loves practicing that!
Her tiny feet are still only a size 2. She's been in the same size since she was about 8 months old! That's almost 6 months of size 2's!
Most of her clothes now are size 9 months or 6-12 months. She still has several things (especially bloomers) that are 0-3 months that still fit fine.
She claps her hands together to "ask" for things. (The sign is actually for "more, please".) She asks for EVERYTHING using this sign now.
At her 1-year check-up, she weighed 16 pounds, 12 ounces. The Dr. said, "She almost made it on to the chart." Such a tiny girl!
We went to the Museum of Science & History last week for the first time. She loved pushing buttons and making lots of bubbles appear in the Children's Museum.
Her "little blankie" is easily her prized possession, and she can't sleep without it.
Naps are still unpredictable, but have gotten better since we put up a black-out curtain in Allie's window. She takes a nap at 9:30 a.m. for 20 minutes to an hour, and another nap at 1:30 or 2 for about an hour.
She loves to walk up behind Scout (our cocker spaniel) and scare him. Jack, our terrier, is another story. She walks right up to him, opens her mouth, and waits for kisses. (Yuck!)
"Nose Kisses" are some of her favorite things right now.
Allie loves to play with stickers. She sticks them all over her hands, but thinks it's funniest when I put them on my face.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-09T14:06:00.001-06:00

Snow Week

2011-02-05T13:13:00.000-06:00

So forget snow days, we are wrapping up a 'Snow Week'! Oh my goodness, it has been the craziest weather ever!

Last Monday, Allie and I spent the day with Memaw eating out at Joe T.'s and playing at Memaw's house. It was so nice, especially after Memaw had an E.R. scare last weekend.

Memaw and Allie

Memaw & Allie playing Patty Cake

We measured Allie Joy in the door frame where Memaw measures all of her
kids and grandkids. Such a special memory! I love it!

Tuesday morning, we woke up to temperatures well below freezing, and a blanket of white sleet and ice. No snow to be found, but lots and lots of ice. The noisy sleet even woke us up around 2 a.m. when it first started. It was so heavy and loud! Now, usually, when we see snow or ice, it is gone within 24 hours or less. The difference this week was that the temperatures weren't supposed to get back above freezing for FIVE days! Tuesday, we were awakened by a power outage. When the wind chill is around 10 degrees, this is not good. We did some quick research and discovered that the electric company had been forced to implement rolling blackouts. They were turning off the electricity for different areas all over the metroplex to "ration" the power. Crazy!

Allie Joy (and her adorable mittens) in the snow and ice.

Mama & Alliebean freezing our noses and toses off!

Daddy & Allie

Allie and I spent the whole rest of the week indoors. I came down with an upper respiratory infection starting Wednesday, and declared it "chicken soup, ice cream, and cartoon week" for the remainder of our snow days. Friday morning, after days on end of watching cars slide around on icy roads on the news, it finally snowed. Five inches! At least by then, if it was going to be brutally cold, it was pretty to look at.

Now, I can't wait to get well, so I can get out of this house!

Schedule-Obsessed

2011-02-02T14:59:00.002-06:00

...that's me. I'm schedule-obsessed. I love a good schedule. And by "good", I mean "a manageable, realistic schedule I can actually stick to". Currently, on my fridge, I have 3 weeks of planned meals printed nicely (in pretty fonts, too), and a brand new cleaning calendar. In my work-in-progress Home Management Notebook, I have schedules for Allie's day, my day, our week, my Freckled Pink work, and more. Eventually, I'll hopefully have everything down to such a great rhythm, I won't have to be working on updating these schedules so often.

When Allie was born, I knew I had to get her on a good schedule and routine to help her sleep patterns, eating habits, and waking patterns. As you may have seen in my 'Naptime: My Nemesis' post, I became a little too obsessed with these routines, and was getting extremely discouraged when my poor baby wasn't following the schedule in place. God has taught me, though I've pushed back every step of the way, that I am not in control. Making a schedule, setting a routine - these things do not define the events that will actually take place in my days. That's up to God.

Anyway, I've asked for help from Facebook friends lately in making a new cleaning schedule. They sent lots of good advice, and I've taken it all into account in making my own, new schedule. (You can click the image to see a larger version.)

This is what I came up with. It is color-coded to tell me, each day, what tasks I need to do. These tasks are divided into 4 categories: Weekly Cleaning, Bi-Weekly Cleaning, Monthly Cleaning, and Quarterly Cleaning.

Using iCal, I was able to create a weekly cleaning list that will recur weekly, a bi-weekly list of tasks that will automatically recur every other week, and so on. I'm so excited about it! There are a few things that didn't make the list (like daily tasks of dishes, straightening Allie's toys, making beds, cleaning the kitchen table, etc.). I didn't include those, because to me, they are implied. I love having just 2-3 things on my list for each day, so that I can spend time playing with Allie Joy and working on Freckled Pink orders and designs! This list lets me know that everything has been/will be done within a manageable time frame, so that there's (hopefully) never a time when I look up at the bathroom mirror and think, "When was the last time I cleaned all of these toothpaste splatters off this window? Looks like it's been months."

I have only been using this system for about a week. Truth be told, this week is pretty crazy since we are having a deep freeze in DFW, and we are stuck home. You'd think that would make it easier to stay on top of this, but with Adam here, the last thing I want to do is check things off of my list! Hopefully I can catch up once I'm feeling a little better, and these rolling blackouts are over.

Links I found helpful in creating a schedule that works for me:

Allie's First Birthday Party

2011-01-30T15:59:00.001-06:00

A month late, yes, but I'm finally posting about Allie Joy's first birthday party. Looking back, I feel like I should say that Adam and I 'survived' throwing our very first birthday party for Allie. What a whirlwind!

Since Allie's birthday is just 5 short days after Christmas, it is very important to us to make sure Christmas and birthday are two very separate and special events. For the first time, this year, we decided to adopt the tradition of taking down all of our Christmas decorations as soon as possible after Christmas. By the evening of the 26th, the Christmas season had ended in the Rieger household, and it was Birthday Central!

My mom was such an awesome help in putting together the vision I had for my baby girl's first birthday party. I'm not really into characters or themes, so we just put together some simple decorations while the house underwent a MASSIVE, wonderful, deep cleaning. It was hard to decide whether to host the party at our small house, or elsewhere. We opted to have it here at home, and squeeze as many friends and family in as we could. It was tight, but we made it work! Since her birthday is the 30th, we couldn't plan the party for the weekend before, because it was Christmas. It couldn't be held the weekend after, because it was New Year's. That made it pretty tough! The best option seemed to be having her party on her actual birthday, Thursday the 30th, from 5-7. All of these details are really just for this mama to come back and read someday. Here's the part most everyone is interested in: the pictures.

Some of the beautiful tissue-paper flowers my mom made!

Ballons = Party!

Super fun banner that I embroidered for the party :)

Smash cake, Cupcake Cake, and Cake Pops. Do you think this girl had enough cake?!

Cake Pops. Sheesh. They were a fun idea, but a lot of work! I secretly can't wait for an excuse to make some more and get more practice! :)

Allie's 'almost full' First Year picture frame...*tear*...

Allie Joy enjoying all of her birthday attention.

Not sure what to think about the fire on top of her smash cake, haha.

Ohhh, yeeeahhh!

Memaw & Allie. This makes my heart smile.

I think she likes it!

The Birthday Princess

Happy Birthday, baby girl!

All in all, it was a great first birthday for Allie Joy. She got so many wonderful, fun things! We still have many toys still in boxes, so that we can get them out over the next year, and she'll always have something new! (This is also a big treat for mama and daddy, as these fancy new toys keep miss Allie occupied and entertained!) So thankful our baby girl is so very loved!

What's on my DVR?

2011-01-30T15:10:00.001-06:00

A friend of mine recently did a post about what you could find on her DVR. I think it's a fun little idea, so here goes...

We watch a lot of TV. I know, it's probably more than we should. It's something we really enjoy, that's relaxing for Adam and I. We love picking out TV series' on Netflix to watch together, too. It isn't often (anymore) that we get a night out at the movies, so sometimes we lay in bed and eat popcorn (and M&M's, if it's up to me) and watch our favorite shows together. Date night at home :). Lest you assume otherwise, most of these are MY picks, not Adam's. He watches crazy boy things like UFC fights, and action/adventure shows. Me? Not so much.

Ok, so this is a bit of a cheat. I'm watching Felicity on DVD, but it's definitely what fills my TV screen a lot of the time. I love to have it on while I'm working on monograms or designs.

We (yes, we both watch this one) started watching this show last fall via Netflix, and are now finishing up the final season as it airs on DirecTV. LOVE this show. I love that it's about a real, Texas family who is loyal, honorable, and respected in their community. Sounds cheesy, but it's awesome. All this from a girl who really isn't even into football. Blasphemy in Texas, where we are hosting the Super Bowl a week from now, I know.

Grey's Anatomy. I've watched it from episode 1, so I can't stop now. It's really funny, actually, because I can't stand to watch bloody, shooter movies that Adam picks out, but somehow I can make it through an hour-long medical drama each week.

The Good Wife. LOVE this show. It hasn't received much attention, but it's really good. It's a legal drama about a woman whose political husband was unfaithful to her. It goes through the ups and downs of the choices she has made to stay by his side and keep their family intact, and also follows her cases as a Chicago lawyer. It's a very clever show, and I am almost always surprised by a great twist at the end of each episode.

Brothers & Sisters. Wow - I didn't realize how many dramas I watch! I love this one - especially the matriarchal figure played by Sally Field. She's amazing in this role as Nora Walker, watching over the lives of her 5 grown children and their families.

Modern Family!! We LOVE this show. It is SO stinking hilarious! I don't even think I can single out a favorite character. They are all so funny and quirky! Phil is probably my favorite, because he's a very typical "thinks-he's-super-cool" dad. It's basically awesome.

We love The Office, Parks & Rec., making fun of The Bachelor from time to time, and I'm also a huge sucker for red carpet specials before award shows. Love those! So, these are just a few things you'll find us watching from week to week - along, of course, with 'Special Agent Oso', 'Jungle Junction', 'Miss Patty Cake', and lots of 'Baby Einstein' DVD's!

What's on your DVR?

Nap Time: My Nemesis

2011-01-20T21:01:00.001-06:00

Since Allie was tiny, she has struggled with taking consistent, good naps. By "good", I mean "an hour or more". Being a 'Baby Wise' mom, and someone who thrives on predictability, routine, and schedules, this has been a real challenge for me!

I have so many friends with babies around Allie's age who tell me, "Oh, my child takes two two-hour naps every day, I can hardly wake them," or at the least, "Just drop the morning nap, and she'll sleep for hours in the afternoon. Mine does!"I have read books, sought advice, rocked her, read to her, let her cry it out, let her sleep in my chest in the rocker, and she still just sticks to her own personal nap schedule. She prefers about 20-30 minutes in the morning, and, if I'm lucky, 45 minutes or MAYBE an hour in the afternoon.

As a stay-at-home-mom/work-at-home-mom, this makes it very challenging for me to accomplish the things I need to during the day. Not to mention the fact that it is exhausting!

I regret saying that I have only recently started praying through this frustration I have with Allie's nap schedule, or lack thereof. I want to learn whatever it is God is trying to teach me through this, and I don't think I've caught a glimpse of the lesson yet. I crave just a few minutes of solitude and rest during my days that are otherwise spent cleaning up sticky fruit juice off of the high-chair (and floor), trying to design monograms while Allie pushes the computer buttons to "help" me, rotating loads of laundry, printing shipping labels, packaging monograms, reading '1, 2, 3, Count With Me' a dozen times in a row, snuggling Allie Joy, cutting up every meal into tiny, 1-year-old bites, giving Allie a bath because she rubbed chicken and fruit in her hair - again, and picking up leaky sippy cups from every room in the house. Please don't misunderstand me. I am unbelievably, amazingly blessed to get to spend my days in my home with Allie. It truly is living out a dream I've had since I was a little girl. I love every little snuggle, watching cartoons with her, teaching her to blow kisses, answering every little "what's that" she asks, and getting to be the one to comfort her whenever she's upset. I do not take it for granted, I am grateful every day to have the title of 'Mom', and pray I will always be able to be home with whatever children God entrusts to us. That said, 'living the dream' of being at home, is not an easy job. It is full to overflowing with responsibilities.

These aren't responsibilities I take lightly, either. I want to be "that mom". The one who really does have it all together. Dishes done. Laundry put away. Prayers said for each family member, and time spent in the Word. Floors swept (and steam-mopped). A child who naps. I know this woman doesn't really exist, but she does in my dreams and aspirations! :) I am learning, daily, that I have to constantly surrender my 'post' to God. I want to stand strong in the post He has placed me in, and thrive in it. And it looks like I'm going to have to do that while learning how to manage my time and energy with a child who is awake for most of the day at only a year old. That is the task before me, and I want to grow, learn, and draw closer to God through it. Ultimately, if that's the greatest struggle in my everyday walk as a mama, I'm a blessed girl!

So, here's to a new season - not just standing strong in my post, but embracing this season of my life that I know I'll, one day, long to have back.

A Crazy Start

2011-01-08T16:08:00.000-06:00

Well, 2011 is off to a crazy start! When this week, and this year, began, I had great expectations for a week of rest. Sitting around in my pajamas, watching Allie play in her footie sleepers, watching the recorded Christmas movies I'd yet to catch up on, and working on my taxes from time to time. It did not turn out that way.

The craziness ensued when my mom had eye surgery. Poor thing, she had all these awful, painful complications with it. She's spent her week going back and forth to doctors offices, putting eye drops in, etc. I have spent my week praying for, encouraging, and helping her in any way I could, though I feel like I didn't do much. Tuesday, I went to pick up my sweet Memaw for a lunch date with some precious friends of ours, and she was too sick to come. After getting Allie up, dressed, skipping her morning nap, giving mom a ride home from work, and going to pick Memaw up, we rescheduled for the following day. Fewf! It was Tuesday around noon, and I was already exhausted!

Wednesday, we tried again, and succeeded. We enjoyed a sweet time of fellowship and fun with the Critz/Boswell crew, and brought Memaw home in time for her afternoon classes. Allie and I were both pretty tired from our day-o-fun, so we rested that afternoon. Wednesday night, I went out to dinner with my sweet friend Tori! We went to Joe T.'s (after poor Tori finally figured out where it was - it's a tough place to find)! Being directionally challenged myself, I understood her dilemma completely. I ate an embarrassingly large number of chips, we stuffed ourselves full of fajitas, and had a blast. We also saw a crazy lady celebrating her son's birthday. She had bobby-pinned a single piece of pink curling ribbon in her hair as a fun birthday accessory. Weird, much? I had so much fun, but didn't make it home until close to 11:00! For this girl, who is usually tucked in no later than 10, and asleep no later than 10:30, this was a late night.

Thursday was a whole new brand of "crazy". My mom had an emergency with her eye, and had to be rushed back to the doctor's office to make sure everything was ok. (It was, thank goodness.) Allie woke up around 7 a.m. that day. She usually sleeps until at least 7:30. She started crying, whining, and was just generally upset from 7 until her nap time around 9:30, when she slept for a whopping 15 minutes. Then, the crying continued until noon, when I finally remembered we had teething biscuits. Praise the Lord for teething biscuits!!! I'm not exactly sure what was happening, but she finally calmed down, ate some lunch, and went down for her afternoon nap. I was so bleary-eyed and tired from the cry-fest, I was ready for a nap, too! Oh, wait...she woke up less than 30 minutes later! What a day! Poor baby, something was just off. She wasn't feeling well, obviously. My girl is a happy one on most days! To top it off, I knew I wouldn't be relieved any time soon. Adam had plans to help my brother move all of my dad's stuff into a storage facility that night. That's another story in itself.

Friday, thankfully, was a little less crazy. I was exhausted from the rest of the week, but I'd almost made it to the weekend, PTL! I made plans to go visit my dad Friday night in Grapevine where he is in treatment. I was far too tired for that 45-minute drive, and the emotional meeting I knew would take place when I got there, but I made it through. At least Friday I made it home by 10:00 instead of 11!

Today, I'm so thankful for a good night's sleep, and a day to spend with my husband and daughter! Allie even slept until 7:45, so I got to sleep in a little! So hopefully, that's the grand finale of my super-extremely-crazy week. I'm looking very forward to the next few days, as we're kicking off the New Year with our church, and doing 3 evenings of awesome services/worship and prayer. I can't wait!

"Goodness Gracious"

2011-01-04T08:20:00.000-06:00

I was given a devotional book for Christmas this year. It's not your run-of-the-mill devotional, either. It's HILARIOUS. It keeps my attention whether I'm reading at 5:50 a.m. before I go to the gym, or at 10:45 p.m. before I go to bed. I love it, and I love the amazing little truths it's reinforcing in my life as a wife, mom, and a child of God. It's called "Out of the Spin Cycle", and it's by Jen Hatmaker. I'm only on the 7th or 8th little 2-page devotional, but I am already ready to go to LifeWay and buy every book this girl has ever written. Love it!

I have been meditating on one entry that I started reading about 3 days ago. I haven't been able to move on to what's next, because this one hit me in a new and fresh way (PTL). I just keep going back each day and re-reading it, and I will continue to, because it's a truth that's important for every day of my life. I wanted to share it, especially with my young mommy friends, because it has encouraged me so deeply, and given me a new desire to spend time with the God who loves me so much. It will seem a little long typed out, but it's only 2 pages in the book, so please take the time to read and be encouraged! :)

"Scanning my bookshelves, I see about a billion books on parenting. I read eight books on babies before I ever gave birth to one. I've taken Lamaze classes, Baby Wise classes (don't start), and parenting classes. I've joined discussion groups on raising tweens and facilitated book studies on balanced motherhood. I've downloaded helpful sermons and read countless websites. I've made lists and plans on how to manage summer/chores/homework/discipline/sleepovers/house rules.
   And then there is real motherhood, which knocks out half of this stuff.
   Because sometimes, despite your careful strategizing and planning and reading and organizing, your two-year-old takes his diaper off in the middle of Target and runs up the cereal aisle while you scream at him like a mental patient. And sometimes, after you've planned the perfect playdate, your daughter bites your new friend's baby and flushes her phone down the toilet.
   And sometimes, when your precious firstborn son - the one you read all the baby books for and raised lovingly for ten years - opens a fresh, sassy mouth to you when you are already idling high, you accidentally tell him to get a shovel, go in the backyard, and dig his own grave. This, I don't have to tell you, is behavior Ted Tripp would frown upon in Shepherding a Child's Heart.
   Not surprisingly, when I made that shockingly horrible statement to my son, I was exhausted, stretched thin, out of the Word, and in a prayer slump. I was running on spiritual fumes. My only intake was whiny children, mountains of laundry, a Suite Life of Zack and Cody marathon, and four hundred thousand pieces of correspondence from Elm Grove Elementary to attend to.
   There is a simple explanation according to Jesus:

For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good man brings good

things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of

the evil stored up in him. Matthew 12:34-35

Motherhood is like a pitcher with a hole in the bottom: a constant drain on our energy, patience, and tolerance. Every mother who is telling the truth would attest to that. Add something like a child with autism, single motherhood, a financial crisis, or a crumbling marriage, and it's a wonder we have anything left to give.

Our only hope to speak with kindness, to lead with patience, and not to threaten our children with homicide is to ensure our spiritual reserves are not bone dry.. Moms are the middle of the flow chart; the arrows of exertion flow constantly out from us, but when no arrows of strength, grace, and peace are flowing in, the whole mechanism is in danger.

Goodness in equals goodness out.

No goodness in equals no goodness out.

This is a simple truth recognized by Jesus and every other parenting expert, but one most moms fail to take seriously. We're too busy for the Word. We're too tired to pray. We have too much going on to join a small group. Under the banner of selflessness, we neglect our own spiritual health and sabotage the very service we want to render.

When God's word is flowing through my life, my baby can spill his fourth drink of the day, and I can say, "It's just a drink." When I'm spiritually dry, I could literally lie on the soggy floor and bawl over it. When Jesus has spoken peace into my life, I'm able to discipline consistently when my toddler pitches her third tantrum of the morning. If my pitcher is empty, I might lock myself in the bathroom and scream at the top of my lungs.

Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

If nothing good is stored up, where are we possibly going to draw patience? Grace? Longsuffering? Young motherhood is too demanding to attempt without a deep connection to Christ. I literally don't know how women do it without Him.

No, you don't have to spend an hour a day in the Word.

No, it's not necessary to look up Greek definitions and create outlines.

No, you don't need to build a prayer shrine with candles and worship music.

But a simple space at the beginning of your day before anyone needs to be attended to in any way, a moment just for you and God and His beautiful Word - this is essential. This is where goodness is stored up for the day, and you'll need it; it's perishable. This is when Jesus reminds you, "You can do this. I'm right here." It's how you become centered and remember that spilled drinks and tantrums are a blip on the timeline of your life. It's when God can whisper, "I have all you need."

Goodness in, goodness out.

Take care of the first, and the second is covered.

Happy 2011!

2011-01-01T00:30:00.000-06:00

2010 was one busy, crazy year for the Rieger family! Our God has been so faithful through every bit of it, and I am so thankful He is always constant!

The new year is always a time of reflection for me. I tend to need to reflect on the past year before I'm able to really look ahead to the new one. I love to see all that's taken place, all that's been accomplished, all that's been gained and lost in the past, and see God's hand in all of it. This is really all just for me - processing, thinking aloud, and taking a look back at the year, so that I can wake tomorrow ready to move ahead into ALL that God has laid out for me in 2011!

2010...
*I've never been more proud of myself than I am for nursing Allie for the first year of her life. This was one of the most challenging things I've ever done, and I am thankful to God for placing encouraging mommy friends around me to tell me it would get better - and it did! So thankful I was able to give her this gift.
*I rang in 2010 by bringing Allie home from the hospital.
*We went on our first ever family vacation to see my one and only cousin get married on the beach in Florida. It was so fun and memorable, and we're so blessed to have Mary as a part of our family now!
*Adam and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary and 6th year together - Praise God!
*The iPhone 4 came out (I know this seems lame, but it's allowed us to document SO much of little Allie's life - such a fun blessing!)
*I've watched my dad go through lots of struggles this year, and learned a lot about trusting God through this process. We are continuing to pray for complete healing in his life, and that God will have victory over Dad's addiction.
*This year, I enjoyed shopping for my daughter much more than for myself.
*We had so much fun watching the Texas Rangers play in the World Series!
*We experienced our first (and hopefully last) trip to the E.R. with Allie, when she fell off of the kitchen counter-top out of her bumbo seat. I am still so thankful to God for protecting her from any worse injury than a goose-egg on the head. Thankful, thankful, thankful.
*I didn't teach, help with, or attend a single sewing lesson at Memaw's house. For the first time in my life. I think 26 years was probably enough, but I do miss being with my precious Memaw daily.
*I got beautiful diamond earrings for my first Mother's Day. Shortly after, I got my ears double-pierced so that I could wear them always.
*God drew me closer to Him through many late-night prayers when I was up with Allie.
*I watched my little brother grow and mature in Christ, and become a true leader in the eyes of our family. So thankful for him, and the healthy relationship we have.

I have lots of "I wonder"'s about 2011. I am praying that God will keep my eyes fixed on Him as He leads me through this year, drawing me closer to His side, and working in and through all of the relationships He has placed me in. I have a few small, hopefully attainable, goals for the new year.

*Calorie Counting for all of January at least. This helps me be more attentive to what I'm eating. It's not a weight-loss plan, just a "mindfulness" plan. Doing this ever so often is always eye-opening to me.
*Being better about meal/grocery planning and spending. I know that planning ahead saves both time and money, and I need to purpose to do that.
*Seek opportunities (and TAKE the opportunities) to bless and encourage those around me, showing the Love of Christ. I want to be intentional about encouraging others - whether by cards in the mail, notes on Facebook, phone calls, or face to face time together.
*Pray with Allie more. Sounds simple enough, but this is a lifetime habit I want to root in her from a young age. I want to build more prayer into my life, too, and why not do it together? :)

I am so grateful that, whatever this year holds, God holds all of it in His careful, big-enough hands to carry it all.

Happy First Birthday, Allie

2010-12-31T23:58:00.000-06:00

I know I've said it before, but I really, truly, cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by. Everyone warned me that it would, and I didn't believe them.

Our baby girl is 1!

We had so much fun celebrating her last night! Needless to say, it was an absolutely crazy few days going from Christmas Eve, to Christmas Day, then preparing for Allie's birthday just 5 short days later. It was worth all of the exhaustion, though, and everything went so well! (And by "everything", I mean "everything except the fact that the only available toilet in our house broke about 20 minutes into the birthday party, and our house was packed to the brim with people). Those are the moments I've just learned to laugh about, because really, what else can you do?!

A few of my favorite pictures from Allie's big day..

Balloons on the mailbox = Party Time!

I got to make this fun banner for the party, and it turned out so cute and fun!

Decorating for this girly party was so much fun, and so much work! My mom was an amazing help in crafting all the fun decorations. They turned out so pretty! We used lots of tissue-paper flowers all over the house in different sizes, and they made it so festive!

Smash Cake, Cupcake-Cake, and Cake Pops!
I made the cake pops, and was so excited that they turned out (especially since I am NOT a stellar baker).

Allie wasn't too sure what to do with her cake, as is the case with most 1-year-olds, I'd think.

Becoming a mother has changed, challenged, blessed, and grown me in ways that I never could have imagined. I am constantly surprised by the new things Allie is learning, and I am so proud of every single little skill. She's amazing!

Several friends of mine write letters to their children on their birthdays. I completely love this idea (because I'm horribly sentimental), and I'm excited to begin that tradition with Allie's first birthday letter.

Allie Joy,

Happy 1st Birthday, sweet baby girl! I cannot believe a year has passed since I first laid tearful eyes on you in that hospital room. You were - and still are - the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Getting to know you this year has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Watching you grow from a tiny, helpless (and sleepless) infant into the toddling, inquisitive, smart little beauty you are today has been an amazing adventure, and I am so excited to know there are many more years, Lord willing, in store for our relationship to grow!

This year, I have watched you turn my husband into a loving, tender-hearted, gentle Daddy. His eyes light up when he sees you, just as yours do when you see him. Over the past few weeks, you have become especially attached to your 'Dada'. As soon as you hear the garage door begin to open in the afternoons, you begin to clap your hands and excitedly say, "Dada! Dada!" as you move toward the door. I love watching your love for him grow. He treats you with such tenderness, and I am amazed by his sensitivity to you. He knows you don't like the sun in your eyes when we're in the car, and he is so attentive and concerned if you're bothered by it. When he washes your face and hands after you eat a messy self-fed meal, he always uses warm water on a soft wash cloth - never cold water or paper towels. He takes care of you like every good daddy should care for his little princess.

A year ago today, I thought it wasn't possible to love you any more than I did when we finally met for the first time. Today, I know differently. Next year, I'm sure my love for you will multiply exponentially yet again. Several times this week, when I was rocking you (and your 'little blankie') at nap time, you picked your sleepy head up off of my shoulder to lean over and give me a kiss before falling asleep. I am so blessed to see this gentle, loving spirit beginning to develop in you already! I hope and pray that I am doing a good job of teaching you what it means to be a girl after God's heart, precious one. I love that any time I turn on music, you love to raise your hand in the air and praise Jesus. I pray you will learn at an early age what the significance of that praise is. This has been the most amazing, exhausting, challenging, emotional, wonderful, fun year I've ever experienced! I will never take for granted how blessed I've been to spend the first year of your life at home with you, watching all of your "firsts", and enjoying every single second.

I can't wait to see the things God has waiting for you in 2011, beautiful girl! Your Dada and I love you so very much, and are so thankful God entrusted you to us! Happy Birthday!

Fastest. Year. Ever.

2010-12-18T22:52:00.000-06:00

I must've blinked again. Christmas week is upon us, and our tiny baby girl is turning one in a little less than two weeks. Wait, what?! Seriously - how did this happen?!

Things have been so busy the past few weeks, especially with my monogramming orders. Allie, Adam and I have had dinners with friends, a few Christmas programs, my birthday to celebrate, Christmas shopping, and a million other things going on. It's all so much fun, but so busy!

I started weaning little Allie the week of Thanksgiving, so that we could be through with the weaning process by her 1st birthday on December 30th. It was much harder on me than it was on her, to say the least. I was so sad to give up our special time together! I know it's time for her to take this next "growing-up" step, but it's hard for this mama! She has done very well with the transition, and I'm so proud of her!

She's such a big girl, and is learning new skills SO fast. I love watching her observe the world around her, take it all in, and respond to it in her own, cute little ways. Today, she joined Adam and I in eating spaghetti with meat sauce for lunch. It would be an understatement to say she was a mess! She grabbed the noodles, meat, and sauce by the fist-fulls and shoveled it into her little mouth as quickly as possible. I'm not sure how much actually made it into her mouth, but she sure looked cute trying. She has seven teeth now - four top and three bottom. Just a couple of days ago, she learned to hold a graham cracker and take small bites of it at snack time! It's silly the things a first-time mom gets excited about, but I was pretty excited! It's so nice to have a snack that she can completely feed herself on her own! I managed to clean the entire kitchen while she finished off the graham cracker, which was a huge accomplishment.

Adam and I got to go shopping for Allie's first Christmas and birthday presents last weekend. So fun! We got her some fun little singing toys (one has a steering wheel and lots of fun driving noises, and the other is a singing pot/spoon where she can pretend to make soups), then went to the book store and got several fun board books for her. Allie LOVES being read to. She loves to turn the pages, open and close the books, and I love that she'll sit still and snuggle in my lap while I read to her.

I can't wait for all the fun and excitement that the next couple of weeks will hold! This is such a fun season of life!

Meal Planning: December 13-19

2010-12-13T16:15:00.000-06:00

The past couple of weeks have found our family in a big fight with a stomach bug. Yick! Thankfully, it seems to have run its course, and we are getting back to a normal, albeit busy and Christmasy, schedule.

Monday:

Lunch: Adam - out to lunch (Jury Duty!), Tori & Allie - Leftovers
Dinner: Baked Seasoned Chicken, Rice with Green Beans & Carrots

Tuesday:

Lunch: Leftover Chicken & Rice
Dinner: Rosa's for Taco Tuesday

Wednesday:

Lunch: Adam - Ham Sandwich, Chips; Tori & Allie - Turkey Sandwich / Sliced Turkey
Dinner: Breakfast for Dinner! French Toast

Thursday:

Lunch: Hot Dogs, Fruit, Chips & Salsa
Dinner: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Garlic Bread, Corn

Friday:

Lunch: Adam - Out to Lunch; Tori & Allie - Soup & Baked Potato
Taco Soup, chips & salsa

Saturday:

Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: TBD - Going to Three Kings presentation at Milestone

Sunday:

Lunch: Snack Lunch, then Late lunch with Family at 2 for an early Christmas!
Dinner: TBD - Depends on where we are at dinner time

Trip to the Park

2010-11-10T22:27:00.001-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, we took Allie on her first ride (a whopping 2 minutes away) to Castle Park here in Benbrook. Our beautiful girl seemed to enjoy being outside! She loved picking up leaves, attempting to eat grass, and sliding down the slide!

Mommy & Allie having fun on the slide :)

Beautiful girl laying in the grass.

Daddy taking Allie down the slide for the first time - so fun!

I'm hoping the weather stays nice enough for us to do this a few more times before it's too cold. I can't imagine how fun and different it will be to take her to the park by the Spring, when she's 15-16 months old! We've got lots of "first holidays" to look forward to before then, though! I can't wait!

My Little Pumpkin

2010-11-02T22:12:00.001-05:00

Last week, Allie and I went with some good friends to the Pumpkin Patch in Flower Mound. It was a long drive, so we were very excited when we discovered we hadn't wasted a trip. It was a perfect day to be outside, and the little ones even cooperated for some great pictures!

Allie & Eisley on the Choo Choo train.

Our little Allie's first trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

My beautiful girl. I love her so much!

My little punkin' with lots of pumpkins that were bigger than she is! :)

10 Months?!

2010-10-31T22:46:00.001-05:00

Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, I made Allie a cute little dress for the occasion. I love the way it turned out! :)

She really enjoys eating whatever she can get her hands on...even grass.

Our beautiful 10-month-old all dressed up for church! She is so precious!

She just turned 10-months-old yesterday, and she is doing SO many fun, new things. Her new skills include playing music on musical toys, dancing to said music, (and by "dancing", I mean "shaking her head back and forth in the most adorable way"), pulling up to stand on furniture, mom & dad, cabinets, toys, etc., saying "eh, eh, eh" if she wants us to sing 'Old MacDonald', and saying "ah, ah, ah" if she wants us to sing 'All the Raindrops', doing the peg-leg crawl when she can't get traction on the wood or tile floors, and throwing toys out of her play yard on occasion. She's a busy girl!

When we got back from vacation about a month ago, she had a very hard time re-adjusting to her normal schedule. Mommy & Allie have been doing "nap time boot camp" for the past couple of weeks, and finally seem to be back on schedule. I just wish this meant I got to take a nap now and then, too! We went with Hayley & Eisley to the Pumpkin Patch last week, and I can't wait to post some pictures from that, too.

I can't believe we are already entering the holiday season! This year is flying by!

Go Rangers!

2010-10-14T22:24:00.001-05:00

The last week of September, we took Allie Joy to her first Texas Rangers baseball game. All decked out in her Josh Hamilton Rangers shirt, she was a little trooper! She stayed up past her bed time, and looooved cheering with all of the fans! I guess she did a pretty good job since the Rangers won their first playoff series in ball club history this week!

She wasn't a huge fan of sitting still to watch the game...

We got to move down to some great seats with great friends when we realized they were at the game, too! Allie got to sit in the front row for her first game! (She didn't care, I don't think. Notice that she isn't really looking at the field, haha.)

Our little family at the ballpark before heading home to put the little one to bed. We made it through just a few innings, but were just glad to get to go! So fun!

Breakfast with Allie

2010-09-19T16:24:00.000-05:00

Our precious girl LOVES her peaches! Can you tell? She's saved some for later...all over her adorable face.

"See my two teeth, mom?" Love her messy, happy face! I can't believe she's getting so big!

8 Months

2010-09-05T22:13:00.000-05:00

I say it every month, but I can NOT believe how quickly this year is flying by! Allie Joy is now 8 months old, and is getting busier by the minute. She has been getting up on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth for a couple of weeks now, but hasn't quite made it to crawling yet. She still chooses rolling as her primary mode of transportation.

Big girl at 8 months old!

At 8 months and 2 days old, she finally said "mama"! Not only did she say it, but she hasn't stopped! Whenever I leave the room, "Mama, mama, mama", or if I don't give her another bite fast enough, "mama, mama, mama." I know every mom thinks their child is a baby genius, but it's so smart that she made that association so quickly! I'm proud of my girl!

We introduced some "puffs", Cheerios, and other finger foods this month. Allie LOVES it. Peach-Mango Puffs are her fave, but she also loves plain Cheerios, chopped up green beans, and even little bites of ground beef or chicken. She hasn't mastered picking them up and feeding herself, but that will take awhile. It sure is nice to have some easy snacks to carry around, though!

Messy Allie - learning to self-feed!

This week, she also completely fell in love with her "little blankie". I made her a blanket to match her bedding before she was born. Since she's not quite big enough to sleep in the crib with a full-sized blanket, I made her a smaller one (about 15" x 15") to snuggle with when she sleeps for the time being. One morning this week, I went in to get her when she woke up, and she cried and reached back into the crib to get the "little blankie". Looks like we officially have a blankie baby!

Things I never want to forget:
- Her little fingers tickling my face when I feed her
- Tiny hands learning to clap
- The amazing smell of her lavender bedtime bath wash
- How she searches for and holds on to my fingers while I feed her
- The sounds of her tiny voice saying "Dadadadada" and "Mamamamama"
- The peace of knowing she stays where she's placed...for now :)
- Her precious, open-mouthed, slobbery, wet kisses

Beautiful Allie Joy in her swing in the back yard.

Our precious girl! Love her so much!!

Allie's First Emergency

2010-09-01T21:08:00.000-05:00

One of the "firsts" I knew would come, but didn't look forward to, was Allie's first injury/emergency. I, myself, have never had stitches, never been in a cast, etc. The E.R. is unfamiliar territory for this mama, and I pray it stays that way.

About a week and a half ago, on Friday, August 20th, I was making some baby food for Allie Joy. Just like almost every day, she sat on the counter top in her bumbo chair to watch as I mixed, stirred, and blended her zucchini. What I didn't know, though, was how strong she'd become. While on the phone with a friend, I turned around for a split second. When I turned back around, Allie had one foot underneath her, and was catapulting herself out of the bumbo and straight down on to the kitchen tile. I was hysterical. I immediately began screaming, as guilt washed over me. Face-down on the tile, Allie started to cry. When I went to pick her up, I expected to see blood and broken bones. Evidence of God's hand of protection was already in place, as neither of those things were present. She wasn't bleeding, she didn't appear to be seriously injured. Still - I was hysterical. (Thankfully, my sweet friend Gabby talked me down for a minute before I called Adam, who immediately left work to pick Allie and I up and head to the doctor's office.) It was about this time that I noticed a big, purple goose-egg beginning to swell up on Allie's forehead. She was still crying. Frantically, I grabbed her diaper bag, loaded her in her car seat, and we met Adam in the Wells Fargo bank parking lot, where he took over as the driver. He said he'd called the pediatrician's office, and they told him to take her to Cook's Children's Hospital downtown.

He must have been driving 100+ miles per hour. While on the way to the hospital, I looked down at Allie, and she was falling asleep. This was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen. I'd alwasy heard that anyone with a head injury of any kind should be kept awake until they're examined - just in case. I was a complete basket-case in the back seat, sitting next to her little car seat. I was sobbing, singing, clapping, and doing everything I could to keep her awake until we got there. I can honestly say I have never been more afraid in my life. When we got to the E.R. at Cook's, they did a quick evaluation, and said she seemed okay, and they'd take her back in a minute.

Poor Baby Allie with her big purple bump :(

They ran a few tests, and decided to take her for a CAT scan. Poor baby. They swaddled her up tight, placed her head in between two supports so it couldn't move, and all we could do was watch. It was so heart-wrenching. All I could think of was how blessed we are that we have a healthy baby. Some parents have to do things like that on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. I can't imagine. Little Allie Joy was so calm and brave through the test. They handed Adam a light-up toy to hold up for her, so she wouldn't move too much. When she still moved too much, they asked him to feed her a small bottle of Pedialyte to keep her head still for the scan. After it was over, we went back to a room and waited for the results.

When the doctor came back in, he said there was nothing to be concerned about, and gave me a serious, "No more bumbo seats on the counter-top" speech - as if I needed it! I was ready to light the bumbo seat on fire when we got home!

We are just so thankful to God for protecting our precious girl, and for healing her body so quickly. In less than a week after the accident, you couldn't even tell she'd been hurt. God is SO good!

A Day in the Life, Vol. 1

2010-08-17T22:32:00.000-05:00

I've discovered that the life of a homemaker isn't necessarily for the faint of heart (or stomach, for that matter). I'm hoping to be diligent about jotting down some of the unexpected, laughable, and just plain crazy things that happen in the life of this grateful stay-at-home-mom.

Volume 1: The Lizard

Lizard, gecko, whatever. They're all the same to me, and might as well all be komodo dragons.

So, one day last week, I was getting ready to go have lunch with some friends of mine from college. I was pretty proud of myself for being dressed and ready to go early, not to mention having Allie well-rested, fed, and dressed in plenty of time. I got my baby girl all snuggled into her car seat, fastened her in, and we headed for the garage to get in the car. As I lifted up her car seat to put it in the car, I looked down at her, and there was a LIZARD crawling up her arm. It stopped, as if it knew I was watching, when it reached the top of her shoulder. Trying not to completely lose my cool, I sat the car seat back down on the garage floor, and began rapidly unbuckling my baby. At this point, the lizard was scurrying across the back of her neck. I seriously get the "willies" just thinking about it. Yick! Luckily, Allie thought it was a silly game (probably because of the terrified, crazy faces I was making), and she just giggled and cooed at me repeatedly. Once I got her out, I dusted her off all over. I really wanted to strip her down to make sure that nasty reptile wasn't in her clothes, but I saw it jot over to one corner of her car seat. By this point (about 2 minutes post-Lizard-spotting), I took Allie back inside and put her in her high chair, because we were both starting to get a lovely feminine glow from the 100+ temperature outside.

Allie Joy in her lizard-free car seat.

Next, I did what any reptile/insect-hating wife would do: I called my husband. I'd carried the car seat inside, so that I could conquer the lizard without suffering from heat exhaustion, and I was depending on Adam to talk me through it. "Get the fly-swatter", he said. Fly swatters are, oh, about 16" long, I'd guess. Not enough distance between me and the lizard, for sure. Adam graciously listened to me whine in fear while I fly-swatted the lizard to death in Allie's car seat.

Okay, so now, what? "What do I do now? It's dead." I feared his answer, "Grab a paper towel and get him out of the car seat. Just throw it in the trash." What?!?! Seriously. No. I don't even want to do that with a roly-poly, let alone a lizard carcass. I tried desperately to scoop it up with the fly-swatter, to avoid the paper towel at all costs. It wasn't working. I was already going to be late for my lunch, and I certainly wasn't going to let my precious girl ride in her car seat atop this icky reptile. With my husband's encouragement, I used a huge wad of paper towels, and removed the lizard. GROSS.

I never knew motherhood would make me so brave.

Summer Splash 2010

2010-08-10T20:16:00.000-05:00

I.love.my.church.

This past weekend, I attended my second annual Summer Splash at Milestone Church. It was such a sweet time of learning and fellowship! Friday night, our amazing pastors' wives put together a hilarious intro to the weekend. It seems that, at each women's event, we love to humiliate at least one man by asking that he dress up as a woman and act out something embarrassing. It definitely got everyone loosened up and excited about the weekend! (View part of the intro on the Milestone Women Facebook Page.) So funny!

Beautiful decorations in the atrium at church!

Streamers that landed all over me!

Holly Wagner (author of the God Chicks books) was our guest speaker for the weekend. She was so great! High-energy, funny, and full of truths that I definitely needed to hear. She spoke a lot about what it means to "stay at your post". I am still pondering all of the truth that these verses hold. They'll definitely be on some 3 x 5 cards on my mirror in the near future.

2 Corinthians 6: 4-10 (MSG)

Our work as God's servants gets validated - or not - in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly...in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we're beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we're telling the truth, and when God's showing His power; when we're doing our best setting things right; when we're praised, and when we're blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.

When others watch me, that's what I want them to see. That's the cry of my heart. I want them to see me living life "with a pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love;...immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy." I can't wait to see, over these next weeks and months, how God cultivates and grows the seeds of truth He planted in me this weekend!

After the amazing worship and hearing from Holly, we had a 'County Fair' after party. They had everything you could imagine! Two ice cream trucks serving yummy frozen yogurt, a corny dog stand (and yes, I say "corny" dog, not "corn" dog), all kinds of popcorn, watermelon slices, and glass-bottled Coke. It's a good thing Holly didn't speak on gluttony! This was one of my favorite parts of the weekend. I enjoyed all kinds of yummy goodies, spent time with friends, made a great new friend, and did a LOT of laughing. I didn't realize how hungry I was for this fellowship! I love that God knows what I need better than I do. On my half-hour drive home Friday night, I felt so refreshed and rejuvenated, I didn't know how I'd ever fall asleep. I am SO glad we are called to walk through this life with people! I love doing life with my precious friends!

Saturday morning, there was more fun to be had. This was just part of it. Oh! I forgot to mention the awesome flip flops they gave away to everyone Friday night! They're so cute, and they say "beautiful feet" on the straps. Love them! Saturday morning, they gave us all these amazing canvas bags with our women's ministry logo on them. They were made by women in a foreign country (I can't remember where) who used to have to earn money by selling themselves, and now, make these bags to earn a living. Pretty cool! Our amazing pastor's wife, Brandy Little, spoke Saturday morning, followed by another message from Holly before we wrapped up the weekend.

I feel so blessed to have been a part of the weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-28T14:47:00.000-05:00

Summertime

2010-07-25T14:54:00.000-05:00

It's always a bummer when you go on a trip to Target and see that they've already started putting the school supplies and uniforms out. I mean, it's still July - let the kids enjoy their break! Summer is my favorite time of year, so I always hate to see any signs that it's coming to a close. (Though, here in Texas, summer seems to last well into October most years.)

This year is going by so fast. Much faster than I'd like, in many ways. Allie will be 7 months old this coming Friday, and it will be August next week! I've been doing lots of thinking lately about what life was like in the Rieger household a year ago. A year ago, we still didn't even know that our little bundle of joy was going to be a girl. We were counting down to our gender sonogram, and waiting (quite impatiently) to find out the big news. I was sifting through dozens of websites, looking for the perfect boy or girl bedding and baby furniture. Such a fun season! It's so funny that last year at this time, Adam and I were saying, "Next year at this time, we'll have a 6-month-old baby entertaining us!" It's unbelievable that time has passed by so fast!

I'm looking so forward to these next few months of 2010: our first family vacation in October, Allie's first holiday season, first Christmas, and just 5 days later, her first birthday! So many fun things to look forward to! I'm not going to live with my bags packed, though. I'm going to unpack right here, in the middle of this wonderful summer, and enjoy my precious baby girl being a baby girl...

Allie - 4th of July - In a dress her sweet Memaw made for her.

The Rieger Family - 4th of July - all decked out in our Red, White, and Blue!

That said, I'll go join my precious husband and daughter watching the Ranger game. Is this really the life I get to live?! God is SO good to me!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-21T14:59:00.000-05:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Six Months

2010-07-14T21:33:00.000-05:00

Our Allie is SIX MONTHS OLD! I cannot believe we've already journeyed through half of her first year with us! It is flying by so much faster than I'd ever imagined.

Allie is rolling everywhere these days. Rolling toward toys, toward the dogs, and always off of the blankets we lay down for her to play on. It's almost as if she sees us put the blankets on the floor and thinks, "Nope, I'm not playin' on those. I want to be on the rug!" It drives Adam up crazy, which makes it all pretty fun for me to watch...but don't tell :).

We started her on her first veggies over the 4th of July weekend, and her favorite so far are carrots. Thus far, she has tried pureed carrots, blended green beans, pureed squash, and tonight, sweet potatoes.

She can't get enough of the carrots, pretty much hated the squash, had to get used to the texture of the green beans, and seemed to like her first taste of sweet potatoes. It seems like the orange foods are a big hit at this point. I just hope I don't feed her enough to start changing her skin color! I can't wait to introduce some fruits in the next few weeks and see the facial expressions she makes from the sweet tastes.

Adam and I got to go to the movies for the first time since before Allie was born this past weekend. I think he thought I was joking when I said it felt like a vacation, but it really did! It was so nice to get out for a few hours, just the two of us, and spend some time together. I'm excited to put our monthly date nights back on the calendar. We haven't done a great job of keeping up with those since Allie's arrival, but I guess that's to be expected with the lifestyle adjustments we have been making these past few months.

These first 6 months have been so amazing! Now, I have 6 months left to plan an awesome first birthday party for Allie Joy!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-23T14:05:00.001-05:00

Bluebonnets

2010-06-13T16:44:00.000-05:00

I have not been the best at staying on top of blogging lately, obviously...

A few weeks back, the annual clusters of bluebonnet flowers began blooming here in Texas. It's something I look forward to every year - even more this year, because I was so excited to get pictures of Allie Joy in the beautiful bluebonnets. My mom was gracious to go with Adam and I to shoot a few family pictures of us in the flowers off of Winscott Road. It will be fun to snap these pictures for the next few years and compare them year-to-year.

Holiday Weekend

2010-06-13T14:49:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we VERY much enjoyed having a 3-day weekend together as a family. Adam had Memorial Day off, and for once, we didn't make any big plans for the holiday. We stayed in and relaxed together. Adam grilled some amazing chicken, hot dogs, and burgers from our grass-fed beef. SO good! Plus, we had great left-overs for the rest of the week!

He also went out and bought Allie and I an inflatable swimming pool to play in this summer. She wasn't too sure about it, but I had fun! I can't wait to get a float so that I can lay out during Allie's summer nap times! (A friend of mine does this when her kiddos nap, and I thought it was such a fun, relaxing idea for the season!)

I can't wait to take her swimming in a real pool sometime soon. I'd rather be in the water than just about anywhere, so I'm anxious to see if she's the same.

My Ministry

2010-06-06T15:59:00.000-05:00

I have struggled much lately to discover the position(s) of ministry God has for me during this season of my life. I recently read a friend's quote saying, "Don't sacrifice your family on the altar of ministry". There are so many things I'd love to be a part of: women's Bible studies, student events, VBS, one-on-one discipleship, and the list goes on. All of those are good things, but are they BEST during this season of my life? It isn't my desire to simply do what's "good", but what's "best"! 1 Corinthians 10:23 says, "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify."I want the things I do to be profitable, to edify. I want my daily life to be pleasing to God, a sweet aroma to Him.

As I've mulled over that quote for days on end, I wondered...wouldn't it be just as easy to sacrifice ministry on the altar of your family?

After much scripture-searching and prayer, God has been faithful to affirm, over and over, that my place of ministry IS my family. This was a hard realization for me, at first. With Allie being so little, it's difficult for me to see tangible ways I am ministering to her outside of meeting her basic needs. Yes, I read her "baby" Bible stories, play and sing songs of God's love over her, pray with her, and do my very best to empty myself out so that God can love her to His fullest capacity through me. In the day-to-day, though, those things don't necessarily make me feel like I'm really making a difference. They just seem like the obvious choices.

I so desperately want God to enable me to be the wife and mommy HE desires me to be. I think this past couple of weeks of sifting through scriptures, learning that "family" and "ministry" aren't two separate things, is pushing me forward in the right direction.

Though others can't see my ministry to my family day in and day out, that doesn't discount it. That ministry isn't any less valuable just because it's not in the spotlight.

I am so blessed to have so many examples of Godly wives and moms around me to look to as examples, and continue to learn from!

Nana Meets Allie

2010-05-14T14:02:00.000-05:00

About 2 weeks ago, my Nana finally got to make the trip to Texas to meet Allie Joy. She lives in Orlando, Florida, and wanted to wait until it was warm enough for her Florida blood. :)

It was so fun to get to see her first reactions to Allie, and to see how quickly she fell in love. Though the trip was short, we so enjoyed our time together! It was the weekend before Mother's Day, so we arranged for BOTH of my grandmas, my mom & dad, Blake, and my aunt Suzi to all go to lunch together to celebrate an early Mother's Day. Nana & Memaw didn't know my mom and I had taken Allie to have her picture made the week before. We dressed her up in a dress that my Memaw made for me when I was born, and did our best to pose her just like the pictures of me in the dress near the same age. We had them printed and framed, and gave them as Mother's Day gifts! So fun!

Click here to view these pictures larger

As you can see, we had a great time! So thankful for my family!

My First Mother's Day

2010-05-09T00:06:00.002-05:00

I guess, technically, it's not my "first" Mother's Day - just my first one as a mom. Technically.

Last year, we barely knew Allie existed on Mother's Day. We had the joy of telling our moms about her upcoming arrival for their Mother's Day gift. Such a special memory! Who knew that one year later, I'd be up typing a blog only 8 minutes into Mother's Day while listening to Allie fuss on the baby monitor. (I'm sure she was just excited to be the VERY first to tell me "Happy Mother's Day", and wanted to do so RIGHT on time at midnight.)

I had hoped to have some grand insight to write about on this occasion. I'd anticipated learning an amazing new truth at church, but Allie wasn't very willing to let me pay attention last night. I was, however, reminded of where God has brought me on my seemingly short journey as a mama. Standing in church last night, now sitting at the back instead of the front of the now one-year-old Milestone Church building, hands raised alongside Adam's, I was reminded that, truly, NOTHING is impossible for God. As we sang the bridge to 'Healer' over and over, "Nothing is impossible for You, Nothing is impossible for You..." I was reminded how tightly I clung to those words when we were waiting to get pregnant. No, we didn't have great difficulty or trials in this area, but I think that the heart of any woman who desires motherhood is so anxious and ready to know that a healthy, happy, baby is finally being formed by the Creator's hands. I clung to the scriptures that claimed "nothing is impossible with God". Truly, HE IS FAITHFUL! I couldn't help but tear up tonight as I sang those words, seeing my wonderful husband next to me as he held our baby girl with one hand, and raised the other in praise to the God who has given us more than we could've ever dared to hope for (Eph. 3:20).

Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of being Allie's mom. Please grant me wisdom and knowledge, sensitivity to your Spirit's leading, patience, and gentleness to know how to mother her day in and day out. Bless my relationship with her, and let it always be healthy, fruitful, and pleasing to You above all else. Grow her to be an amazing, Spirit-filled, Godly, joyful, healthy young woman of God who runs after You with every ounce of her being. Thank you for the ways you are already growing these traits and character qualities in her, and the ways you are already beginning to draw her unto yourself, Jesus. Bless little Allie, and cause me to be a blessing to her!

Allie's First 4 Months

2010-05-03T20:08:00.001-05:00

I can't believe she's already 4 months old! Look how much she's changed and grown!

Allie has changed so much in the past 2 weeks! She's started reaching for and grabbing toys, shaking rattles, learning how to make the toys play music, and rolling over more and more. She is also learning how to scoot around on her back some, which is a talent I'm not sure I completely understand. :) Sometimes I'll lay her on her back on a blanket to play, and go grab a load of laundry or something. When I return, she will be 180 degrees in the opposite direction!

She is rolling very well from her stomach to her back (only toward the left, though), and rolls from her back to her side, but not yet all the way on to her tummy.

She is so interactive now, which is way too much fun for Adam and I. We love making her smile, and occasionally getting a laugh out of her. She's still pretty stingy with the laughter at this point. Her favorite toy is her flower rattle that Laura & Linda gave to her. She even likes to take it in the car and play with it.

We are having so much fun watching her grow! We fall a little (no, a LOT) more in love with her every day!

One Year Ago Today...

2010-04-28T19:48:00.004-05:00

I took my first home pregnancy test that resulted in a "+" sign! I can't believe a full year has passed since that day. After days on end of feeling crummy, I took the test on a whim, not really thinking anything of it. I was home alone, and sure I would just take it, it would be negative, and I wouldn't have to deal with the build-up of having to tell Adam and then let us both down.

Needless to say, that was not the case! After crying and practically jumping up and down in our little bathroom, I checked - and then checked again - and then checked again - to be sure it was still positive. Then, I called Adam. I don't think either of us really knew how to respond to this news! Little did we know that one short year later, we'd have an almost-4-month-old on our hands!

The past 12 months have been some of the craziest, most exciting of my life. I am still so unbelievably grateful to God for giving me a healthy, uneventful pregnancy, and a gorgeous, healthy, joyful baby girl!!!

Ephesians 3:20 is my favorite scripture of all: "By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we could ever dare to ask or hope."

That's what He has done for me. He's given me "infinitely more than I could've ever dared to ask or hope for." I am so humbled, and so thankful.

Busy, Busy!

2010-04-17T10:38:00.004-05:00

The past couple of weeks have been so busy! Fewf! We are ready for things to s.l.o.w. down so that we can catch our breaths. Here's a glimpse into the past couple of weeks...(in backwards order, because of how Blogger uploads pictures. Anyone have any tips or easier ways to post pictures in blogger?)

Miss Allie is finally learning to sit in her Bumbo seat! It still swallows her, but she's getting there. She loves to have her toys in the seat with her, so she can try to grab at them and put them in her mouth.

I've finally found a "tummy time" trick: Prop Allie up on the boppy pillow, and she doesn't scream the entire time she's on her tummy!

Allie was dedicated in church on Sunday, April 11th.

She dressed up in a fancy pink dress, pink bow, ruffled socks, and even pink peep-toe shoes.

This is Allie after our crazy Easter day. Poor baby, she was so tired.

All dressed up in her Easter best!

Her first "Easter Basket". It's really more of an "Easter Bucket", but I don't think she cared.

Adam's grandma finally got to meet Allie. This is a picture of 4 generations!

We took Allie, along with some friends, on her first real trip to the zoo! We made it through 3 hours, and hardly moved the rest of the day because we were so exhausted. I'm excited to take her back soon, though! We got a zoo membership this year, so it will be fun to see how she starts to enjoy it more and more the older she gets.

We also took Allie to her first birthday party for her sweet friend Eisley who turned 1. It was so fun! Another "first" was Allie's first trip to Joe T. Garcia's, our favorite restaurant. We've been keeping this kid busy!

Hopefully these next weeks won't be quite as busy, and our little family can enjoy some down-time with one another.

He is Risen!

2010-04-03T21:37:00.002-05:00

I love Easter. I believe we were meant to wake with much more excitement on Easter morning than Christmas morning, awed at the hope and freedom that Christ's resurrection brings.

When I was a kid, my parents used to listen to Sandi Patty's music often. Every Easter, this song comes back to my mind. Though the music is outdated, the lyrics are some of my favorite to hear on Easter morning:

Was it a morning like this When the Son still hid from Jerusalem? And Mary rose from her bed To tend the Lord She thought was dead  What is a morning like this, When Mary walked down from Jerusalem?  And two angels stood at the tomb, Bearers of news she would hear soon.  Did the grass sing? Did the earth rejoice To feel you again? Over and over like a  Trumpet underground, Did the earth seem to pound: “He is risen”  over and over in a never ending round “He is risen, alleluia, alleluia!”  Was it an morning like this, When Peter and John from Jerusalem? And as they raced for the tomb, Beneath their feet was there a tune?  Was it a morning like this, When my Lord looked out  On Jerusalem? He is risen, alleluia, alleluia.

What a gracious, mighty God we serve! Happy Easter, everyone!

The Next Step

2010-03-26T21:22:00.003-05:00

I don't know what to do with myself! Adam just finished putting Allie to bed in her crib for the first time! (Yes, she is older than I anticipated she would be for her first night in her crib, but we've finally made it.) I have not been outside my bedroom past 8:30 p.m. since the night we brought Allie home from the hospital. For the most part, I've followed her to sleep within an hour of her bedtime. It sounds funny to say I feel liberated to be up typing this at 9:30, but I do!

We bought Allie a fun, new swing for the back yard. She is still so tiny at around 9 lbs, so we had to put a big fluffy blanket in the swing to help support her. Though she seemed a bit confused, she enjoyed her first time playing in the backyard today. (Pictures later, I haven't had a chance to upload them from the camera yet.)

This weekend will be full and fun as we celebrate Adam's first birthday as a daddy!

Spring...Finally!

2010-03-15T21:27:00.004-05:00

After what seems like a year of winter, the sunshine has finally arrived! I have spent the majority of the past 10 weeks cooped up in this house with nothing to look out at but gray clouds and cold winds. This past week, the sun finally came out for more than just a few short hours! It is amazing the difference it makes to be able to open up the windows, let some light in, and spend some time outside!

Last week, Adam and I were able to take our first walk down the block together with miss Allie, and her furry "brothers", Scout & Jack. The 5 of us made it down to the end of the street and back without any trouble, and we can't wait to enjoy more nice walks as it warms up this season. Here in Texas, we basically have 2 seasons: Summer and Winter. We get a few very short weeks of Spring and Fall somewhere in between, so I want to enjoy the "not-too-hot, not-too-cold" weather. We made plans to take Allie to the zoo last weekend, but after finding out that the Spring Break crowd had already taken over, we decided to postpone our zoo trip.

Allie is growing and changing so much each day. She had her first round of shots last Tuesday (6 days ago). I'm not sure if it was related to the shots, but she hasn't quite been herself for the past week. She's been fussier, and had an upset stomach. Poor baby girl! Today was the first time that she seemed to be back to her cheerful self, thank goodness! She woke up this morning talking and cooing, and kept it up most of the day. I LOVE listening to her sweet little voice. It makes my eyes tear up almost daily.

This weekend, she was sitting in her little seat at the table, and I started walking toward her. When she recognized me and saw me coming, a huge smile broke out across her face, and she started waving her arms in excitement. It was the sweetest moment! She did the same thing for Adam this morning when he was getting ready for work. It is so encouraging and exciting to see her little personality developing!

Memaw

2010-03-05T05:25:00.000-06:00

Having been the one to keep me when I was Allies age, Memaw is always excited to see Allie and compare her to her memories of me. She loves to see any new things Allie is learning (lately- "standing up"- as you can see).

It is such a privilege to bring joy to my family as they watch this little one grow. I don't always view it as such when our house is riddled with visitors at all times of the week, but I should.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Two Months...Already?!

2010-02-28T16:37:00.003-06:00

Do we really have a 2-month-old already?! Eight weeks went by so quickly! I can say that now, since we are sleeping well and finally settled into a routine. Seven weeks ago it was not going by fast enough. Then, all the days and nights were running together with feedings every 2-3 hours and sleep wherever I could find it. Six weeks ago, Adam went back to work, and I began to learn what my new life was going to look like spending my days with little Allie Joy. Five weeks ago, we were still struggling for sleep, but at least I could count on one or two good naps each day since Allie was finally napping! Four weeks ago, Allie rolled over on her own for the first time, and started sleeping for about 5 hours straight at night. That doesn't sound like much, but it is when you haven't slept more than two hours at a time for a month! Three weeks ago, she slept a little longer. Two weeks ago, she started really responding to our facial expressions, smiling back at us, and "talking" a lot - especially in the early mornings. She also slept longer and longer, up to 9 hours at night! It was miraculous! One week ago, she outgrew her "size newborn" clothes, and moved up into "0-3 months". Her little torso is so long that the "newborn" clothes couldn't snap on anymore! Today, she is 2 months old. (Two months-ish, actually. She was born December 30th, and there are only 28 days in February!)

At 2 months old, she loves to stand up tall on her changing table. She's not too fond of nap time. She is learning to like bath time, since she has discovered her reflection in the mirror will entertain her while she is washed. She took her first trip to the zoo last weekend, and slept through the entire event. She loves it when her daddy gets home from work, and she gets to snuggle up to him for awhile.

We love this little girl, and we are having fun watching her grow and change!

Six Weeks and SNOW!

2010-02-15T16:13:00.005-06:00

The day after Allie turned 6 weeks old, this happened...

Allie's first snow day! Here in Fort Worth, we got 12 INCHES of snow! It was so beautiful, and soooo cold! We had to take little Allie out in it to document her first snow day.

Allie is starting to be much more attentive to her surroundings now. She loves to sit in her swing and look up at the moving animals on the mobile.

The snow covered our trees, and was so pretty! Lots of people lost power for 1-2 days. Ours was only out for a few hours, and I'm so thankful!

Jack, our terrier, sprinted every time his feet hit the snow. I don't know if it's because he was afraid of it, or because it was so cold!

Staying home with this little one for so many weeks has made me pretty stir crazy. At least the snow provided a different view when I looked out the windows! It was beautiful!

Rolling Over

2010-02-04T10:07:00.003-06:00

At only 4 weeks old, our active baby girl rolled over from her tummy to her back! I finally caught it on video yesterday.

Is she talented or what?!

1 Month Down...A Lifetime to Go

2010-01-29T14:15:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow, our baby girl will be 1 month old! I can't believe it has flown by so quickly! She is growing and changing every day, and we are having way too much fun watching.

Yesterday (at 4 weeks, 1 day old) she rolled over for the first time from her tummy to her back. I couldn't believe it! I was horribly disappointed because I'd been videoing her "tummy time" since she was doing so great holding her head up. As soon as I turned off the camera, she rolled over! I guess she'll do it a million more times, though. Hopefully I'll catch it soon!

Allie seems to be getting taller every day. She has the longest little baby torso I've ever seen, and long, skinny legs to compliment it! One of our favorite things is to watch her stretch when she wakes up from one of her many daily naps. She raises her tiny little arms above her head, leans her head as far back as it will go, stretches her legs out as long as they'll go, and makes the cutest little squeaky noises I've ever heard. I love it!

We are still adjusting to the sleepless nights, but are very thankful that God gives us at least one or two nights a week of pretty good sleep. She has slept up to 5 hours straight, but only a couple of times. It's exciting just when she sleeps 3 hours straight! Adam has been incredibly helpful in every way, and has learned a lot in these past 4 weeks about how to care for Allie. She loves her Daddy! Every day when he gets home from work, she loves to curl up in a little ball and snuggle up against his chest. I think it's her favorite place in the whole world, and I love that. At only a few weeks old, she is already fast becoming Daddy's girl.

The First 3 Weeks

2010-01-19T15:20:00.002-06:00

Fewf! These last 3 weeks have been so full to say the least! I can't believe Allie will be 3 weeks old tomorrow.
These first weeks have had lots of ups and downs, but we are learning a little more about Allie each day, and attempting to begin to settle into a routine now. Week one was spent battling some difficulties with nursing, but I am grateful to God that He heard our concerns, and resolved them. We are still learning how to live on (sometimes a LOT) less sleep, and learning our roles in caring for Allie when she refuses to sleep. This week, she's sleeping, but she's become a very noisy sleeper! She squeaks, cries out, and wiggles all over the place without waking up. It sure keeps me up, though! I may be the lightest sleeper in the world. Adam learned how to swaddle Allie while we were still in the hospital. They swaddled her at night while we were there, so we have continued that at home. It seems to help her calm down and sleep most of the time. Adam is a pro, but somehow she always wiggles out of the tightly-wrapped blanket when I attempt it!
At Allie's 4-day check-up, she lost down to 6 pounds even. By her next check-up about 10 days later, she'd already gained 10 ounces, and grown a half inch! That was a nice confirmation that we are doing something right! My mom and I took her this morning to her 2nd screening at the hospital, and they had to prick her poor little foot and collect blood. Poor baby! She did great, though!

We are trying to figure out what our daily schedule looks like now, and learning what Allie's routines are. She is sleeping up to 5 hours at a time overnight, which is great! It doesn't happen every night, but we are grateful when it does! I will feel a lot better once we can settle into a good routine, so that I can anticipate what my days will look like a little better. Hopefully we'll have that all established soon.

I am definitely approaching the "stir-crazy" state of mind, finishing out my 3rd week straight of staying in the house. We've taken Allie to her doctor's appointments, so at least I got to get out for those! Last weekend, Adam stayed with little Allie for the first time on his own, and I got a 1-hour trip to Target! I've never been so excited to go to Target! It was so nice to see some different surroundings, even for just an hour. I can't wait for the next couple of weeks to go by, so that I can start taking Allie out places, too! The doctor told us to wait around six weeks to take her out since we are smack in the middle of one of the worst cold and flu seasons we've seen in awhile.

It may be another 3 weeks until I'm able to post again, but you can be sure I'll be staying busy!

Allie Joy Rieger's Birth Day

2010-01-07T16:19:00.003-06:00

It has been 8 days since we welcomed our sweet daughter into the world. 8 days that have flown by...

We went in last Tuesday night, December 29th, so that they could begin my induction. I was scheduled to receive Pitocin sometime early Wednesday morning, December 30th. Before they were able to give me the medicine, my body took over, and little Allie was well on her way by 6:30 Wednesday morning. Things progressed much more quickly than any of us anticipated, which suddenly meant it was time for her delivery, and there was no time for me to get more medicine. I'm calling it my "accidental natural childbirth". It was, by far, the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

Now, I sit at the kitchen table, looking into these beautiful dark eyes staring back at me, and I know it was well worth all the pain and work. We are so grateful to have a happy, healthy baby girl at home!

On Thursday, December 31st, New Year's Eve, we bundled baby Allie up and made our way home in the 30 degree temps. She gripped my finger the whole ride home, and stared wide-eyed out the window at all of the bright lights we passed. It was such a relief to all be home together. I was ready to begin the recovery process, and ready to see what life was going to be like as a family of 3.

0

2009-12-29T08:43:00.002-06:00

So, today is day zero....ish. We are scheduled to be at the hospital tonight around 8 to get things started. The past 24 hours have already been so emotional and full of anticipation, I can't imagine what the next 24 hours will be like! Just about every time I even think about Allie actually being here, I tear up. Adam is equally excited, and we are both showing a fair share of nerves, too. With neither of us ever having been admitted to a hospital before, it will be a whole round of new experiences. I am praying that my perspective will be that this will be an amazing adventure to go on together, and that I can remember that the way has already been prepared before us and paved with God's gracious hand. "He hems me in behind and before..." Psalm 139

It is so amazing to try and wrap my head around the incomprehensible fact that this wiggly baby girl inside me was the same little gummy bear we saw on the sonogram screen so many months ago. How anyone could see life come from nothing and not turn to God, I'll never understand. This pregnancy has been many things: exciting, fun, stressful, exhausting, emotionally draining, challenging, uncomfortable, amazing, joyful, annoying, unpredictable, and most of all, full of God's grace and faithfulness. We have learned so much over these past 40 weeks about ourselves, about one another, about little Allie, and about our good, good God.

I could not have made it through without the amazing help-mate God gave me in Adam. He has such a servant's heart, and has really put it to use in serving me in every way possible through the pregnancy. He has fluffed pillows, brought me countless bottles of water (since I am endlessly thirsty), listened to my daily complaints, patiently waited to feel the baby move, lifted laundry baskets when I couldn't, forced me to rest when I needed to, and a zillion more things I can't even think of. It has been eye-opening for me to see, even more, the ways God chose us for one another and fit us together perfectly. I am so thankful for my Godly husband and leader!

Yesterday, we learned that we had to stop saying "this is the last...", because I'd start to cry at every one. This morning is my last morning to sit alone at my computer, alone in this house, laundry running, music playing. This is the last day that I will sit and wonder when Allie might be here, what she will look like, whether she might have hair, what color her eyes will be. It is the end of 2 years and 9 months of our family of 2. I wanted to have a baby so much sooner, but I am so thankful now for all of that time I had with just Adam. God's timing truly is perfect, though we sometimes don't want to hear that.

In many more ways than they are a "last", these next hours and days will be full of firsts! First hospital visit, first baby, first grandbaby in my family, first great-grandchild on both sides. First time to see her, first time to hold her, feed her, bathe her. First time to be parents. First time to ring in the new year with an infant. First time to put her in a cute pink hair bow, first diaper changes, first time to be awakened in the middle of the night. With all of the things we leave behind in the previous chapter of our lives, we look so forward to all that God has planned for us in the next couple of days, and for our life with miss Allie Joy!

2

2009-12-27T16:45:00.002-06:00

TWO more days!!!

I think we actually finished our baby shopping today. Just in time, right? We just needed one or two more things: play yard sheets, and a special mirror for the back seat to watch Allie since she has to be rear-facing for awhile. I'm so glad to have officially checked those last two things off of the list!

I think we've finally recovered from Christmas. Christmas day was busy, and so fun! We enjoyed our annual Christmas breakfast at Memaw's, followed by one-at-a-time gift-giving. Then, we went out to Adam's Dad's place for a late lunch and more fun presents! It was a great day! Adam and I got one another new watches, and neither of us even knew it! Mine is so fun! It's white-faced with a white band, and rhinestones all around the face. I love it! We were definitely blessed this Christmas. I think the most popular gift at our house, however, is Jack's hamburger. I bought dollar-store plush burgers for our dogs to tear apart on Christmas morning, and our youngest dog, Jack, has yet to let his out of his sight! He carries it everywhere, squeezing the squeaker inside all the while. Best dollar I ever spent!

We were actually able to get all of our Christmas decor put away this weekend, so we won't have to worry about that once we get our precious girl home. I always get a little sad throwing out the Christmas tree and putting away all of the festive ornaments and stockings, but it sure is nice to have everything cleaned up. A trip to Home Depot yesterday even brought about a new living room rug! We needed a new one so badly, and I love things like that that can bring so much change to a room. There are a lot of changes going on around here, so it only seems fitting that the house should look different, too.

I've been blessed to be able to sleep really well the past couple of nights, and I pray that continues this week. I know I probably won't be able to get much rest Tuesday night since we'll be in the hospital already, but I am trusting God to be my sustainer and helper, and to provide every ounce of energy and strength I will need to be able to get Allie here safe and healthy! He has been so abundantly faithful thus far, and I will continue to trust his unchanging faithfulness!

3

2009-12-26T13:05:00.004-06:00

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Ours was wonderful!

Blake came over and stayed with us again this year, which is always so fun. I'm so thankful to have such a great relationship with my brother, and to have a sweet husband who enjoys spending time with him, too! Our 'white Christmas' started early Christmas Eve morning with extremely high winds swirling big snowflakes all over the metroplex. Adam had to work a half day, so when Blake woke up, we took a brother/sister trip up the snowy street to the Waffle House. It was an experience to say the least. The waitress thought it would be a great idea to reach UNDER the table and rub my pregnant belly. That is NOT okay, people. Don't do that! What would you do if someone walked up and started rubbing your belly?!

We enjoyed a couple of 'All Star Specials', and then made our way over to Walgreens to grab Blake a new toothbrush, since Scout chewed his up as we were leaving for breakfast. Silly Scout...he LOVES a good toothbrush. Who knows why...

Blake and I spent the rest of the morning watching the snow fall, watching Home Alone 2, and wrapping Christmas gifts. Adam got off at noon, and finished up some last-minute shopping before heading home. Blake had to leave soon after that to go to the rehearsal for the Christmas Eve service. I enjoyed a short nap, and then Adam and I went over to his brother Erick's house to spend some time with his family before heading to church for the Candlelight service. By the time we'd made the 40 minute drive to Erick's, the roads were really getting icy!

We left Erick's (just a few miles from church), and it took us over 20 minutes to get to church because the roads were so slick! It was still snowing when we got ready to leave church! I have never seen it snow all day before like that! Adam warmed up and "de-iced" the car, and Blake followed us on the slow, slippery drive over to Dad's apartment for a yummy Turkey dinner and presents. It was so nice of Dad to host this year, so that we wouldn't have that added stress before baby Allie gets here. We enjoyed a fun time of fellowship, got great gifts, and had lots of left-overs to bring home.

We'd already had a great Christmas, and it wasn't even Christmas Day yet! I'll post about that later on...

5: Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T08:39:00.002-06:00

So now, for the 2nd night in a row, I didn't get much sleep at all. I fear this will only get worse as my anticipation grows and I wait for the induction date to get here. She will be worth it! I am trusting God as my sustainer. He can sustain and energize me better than any sleep, and I am definitely trusting Him to do just that through the next days and weeks. Hopefully, a week from today, we'll be making plans to bring Allie home from the hospital! That's a merry Christmas Eve thought!

6!!!

2009-12-23T18:09:00.002-06:00

You may notice that my countdown skipped a few days there...we are now in the single digits, with only SIX days until Allie's arrival!!!

At my weekly doctor's visit yesterday, she informed me that my body is showing no signs of wanting to cooperate and get this little baby out, so I will be induced next Tuesday/Wednesday! I say "Tuesday/Wednesday" because we will be admitted Tuesday evening, spend the night in the hospital, and they will start the induction Wednesday morning. If all goes well, which I am sure it will, we'll be holding our baby girl on the 30th, only one week from today!

Now that we have a deadline, it is becoming even more real. We have lots of loose ends to tie up before Tuesday, and Christmas in the mix, too! Tomorrow, we'll meet with Adam's mom, our niece Libby, and Adam's brother Erick to exchange gifts. After that, we'll head to church for our Christmas Eve service, then on to Dad's place for Christmas Eve dinner and presents! It will be a full evening, but lots of fun with family!

Christmas day, we are scheduled to be at Memaw's house for a blissful grandmother-cooked breakfast by 8:00 a.m., followed by presents. We open one at a time, there. I love getting to see what everyone gets! After Memaw's, we are planning to come home for a short while so I can rest a bit before journeying out to Azle to be with Adam's dad's side of the family. We will be home late Christmas afternoon, and hopefully be able to enjoy a quiet night by the fire.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas celebrating the greatest gift ever given: Jesus!

14 - Two Weeks!

2009-12-20T08:17:00.004-06:00

I am continually learning (and re-learning) to submit my emotions to God in these last weeks of my pregnancy. If I thought it was impossible to become more emotional than I already was...I was wrong! My tender-hearted husband puts up with me graciously, whether I'm crying over a broken teapot (which I dropped last night, and he promptly super-glued back together to halt my tears), or crying over the seemingly zillion phone calls I get each day just to "check in and make sure I'm not in labor yet." No, I'm not. I have to constantly remind myself that Allie's due date is still two full weeks away! She's not finished yet. Though we've thought she'd be an early arrival all this time, that doesn't have anything to do with the reality of God's time table for her birth, and He always knows best.

I was reminded this morning, laying in bed and praying for little Allie, that this timing is what my good, gracious, loving God, in His great mercy, has chosen for us. It isn't some horrible punishment or vengeful choice, it is what He sees as best, through the eyes of His grace. I am so thankful that I can know beyond all doubt that my God is sovereign and in control of this and every circumstance!

We will make the trek out to Mesquite today, about an hour's drive, to be with all of my mom's family for our annual "weekend before Christmas" lunch. I say "lunch" loosely, as it has been pushed back to 2:00 so that Blake can be there. Not a complaint, just a note. I get fairly uncomfortable in the car these days, but I am continuing to trust God for the "glory-strength" he keeps pouring out on me.

I am so, so thankful that He has changed my heart attitude. I can say that with confidence, because I know how stubborn and unwilling I was to change it myself. I pray that, as we count down the days to Christmas, and then to Allie's birth, that God will keep tight reigns on my emotions.

When I get to the end of this road, and look back at the past few weeks, I want to be able to say I walked in God's grace, by His grace, and because of His glory-strength through it all. All glory, all honor, all credit, and all praise to Him alone.

16: Glory-Strength

2009-12-18T08:47:00.005-06:00

I realized sometime during the night, or in the early morning hours, something very important. I've been so extremely focused on how to get baby Allie here over the past few days. So focused, in fact, that I've neglected to ask God about it. I've neglected to pray, to seek, to listen. I sometimes feel so emotionally led these days that I think, somehow, it's a good excuse to push Him aside. "He'll understand. He created me! He created pregnancy! He knows what I'm going through right now." Yes, He does understand, and He is in control, but that in NO way excuses me from continually submitting to His sovereign authority and grace...and from simply talking to Him about it.

This is the verse He led me to this morning:

Colossians 1:11-12 (The Message) "We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that He has for us."

That's the strength I so deeply desire to have within me, and to display, as I walk with God through these last days of my pregnancy: Glory-Strength.

This song is one that has been on repeat this morning in my house...

'While I'm Waiting' by John Waller

I'm waiting

I'm waiting on You, Lord

And I am hopeful

I'm waiting on You, Lord

Though it is painful

But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident

Takeing every step in obedience

While I'm waiting

I will serve You

While I'm waiting

I will worship

While I'm waiting

I will not faint

I'll be running the race

Even while I wait

I'm waiting

I'm waiting on You, Lord

And I am peaceful

I'm waiting on You, Lord

Though it's not easy

But faithfully, I will wait

Yes, I will wait

I will serve You while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting

17: Nesting

2009-12-17T21:36:00.003-06:00

Okay, so all through my pregnancy, I've heard about this "burst of energy" that comes at the end of your pregnancy when you're nesting. It hit today!

Today, I...

Went to the gym and completed 1.6 miles on the elliptical, along with doing leg weights and arm curls.
Got ready and went to the dermatologist. (I have a spot on my leg that Dr. Kolar was concerned about...no big deal.)
Left from there and went to Babies R Us to pick up a few things we've been putting off: 1) A first aid/grooming kit for Allie 2) Some ahh-mazing smelling Dreft detergent to wash a few of Allie's blankets and clothes in before she gets here.
From BRU, I headed to Hulen Mall to purchase a couple of last minute Christmas gifts. Yes, a week before Christmas feels "last minute" to me.
Around 1:00, I finally made it home for some much needed lunch, and enjoyed some tasty Taco Soup.
The house was in crazy disarray, and I somehow still had a good bit of energy, so I decided to get some cleaning done.
Made the bed, cleaned up all of the dogs' blankets and beds, did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen countertops, cleaned the table, put away all of the Christmas gift-wrap that has been littering the table for several days, then looked to the living room.
I cleaned up 3-4 water bottles that have been lingering on the coffee table, did some dusting, and then made my way to the computer nook.
There, I took everything off the shelves, dusted with the Swiffer duster, dusted with a rag, threw some things out, then re-arranged everything on the shelves.
Finally, I made it to Allie's room. I did a load of her laundry (some receiving blankets and clothes that were stiff and needed to be washed prior to use).
I finally cleaned off her armoire, set up the little basket with diapers and wipes ready to go, folded the laundry, and put it away.
About that time, Adam got home. I started dinner about half an hour later, then we cleaned up, and then I finally sat down.

As you can probably tell, I'm still (somehow) wide awake! It's nearly 10:00, usually my bedtime, and I'm typing away.

I'm so thankful for this energy, whether or not it's a "sign of labor" like so many say. I haven't felt this accomplished in a long while!

19

2009-12-15T16:34:00.002-06:00

Well, no progress yet. Dr. Kolar says baby Allie is ready, but she's just waiting on me. I assured her she was NOT waiting on me! I'm so ready!

I was at the doctor's office over 2 hours, which wasn't much fun either. A crazy, frustrating afternoon, but at least I know she'll be here sometime in the next 3 weeks! That seems like an eternity!

20

2009-12-14T09:12:00.002-06:00

TWENTY! Twenty days! (Please be less than 20 days, Allie!)

Yesterday, we went with Memaw to the annual 'Christmas at Birchman' production. It's a fun little tradition we have with her, and she always enjoys it so much. It is getting more and more difficult for me to sit for long periods of time like that. This baby girl stays busy and active! I'm pretty sure she's convinced that she's going to be able to exit out of my ribs, but she's going to have to find another way out!

I've got almost all of my Christmas shopping done. I haven't yet decided if that's a good or bad thing, though. Part of me wants to have everything squared away in case she does arrive before Christmas, and another part of me wants to save up some last-minute things to do to take my mind off of waiting for her to get this show on the road. I guess, in the long run, I'd really rather be prepared just in case.

Tomorrow, I go back to the doctor...praying for some progress!

22

2009-12-12T22:54:00.002-06:00

The past couple of days have been pretty busy! We went to see Shane & Shane in concert with some friends Thursday night in Keller. It was a great show! I was pretty tired afterward, but the music and fellowship was well worth it.

Friday was filled with lots of sewing, as I worked on my last order of the year. I have a little more to do, but it's a fun project, so I don't mind it! If I weren't pregnant, I'd be busying myself with lots of other deadlines, and adding in creative gifts for family and friends. Maybe next year!

Tonight was, most likely, our last regular church service at Milestone for awhile. Next weekend, we have special Christmas services. The following weekend, there is no service because everyone is taking some time off for Christmas, and then just a few short days later is little Allie's due date! I will miss being in church while we're home adjusting to life as a family of 3 for a few weeks, but it will be worth it. I also heard that they're about to begin video podcasts of our services, so that will be a huge blessing!

This morning, I awoke feeling VERY dizzy. The dizziness hung around until after lunchtime, so I pretty much spent the entire day on the couch. Adam and I played video games together, wrapped Christmas gifts, and were just plain lazy. It was blissful (aside from the dizziness). Now, here it is 11:09 p.m., and I'm wide awake after a day of rest....

In the morning, a milestone: 37 weeks! Full term! God is SO good!

24

2009-12-10T10:08:00.002-06:00

So I missed a day again. Oops!

24 days until Allie's due date! Yesterday (25 days), was a super-busy day of fun stuff. I spent the morning at Hayley's baking and decorating cute Christmas cookies. (Ok, ok, we ate a few, too.)

After almost 4 hours, we'd each completed around 10 cookies. It might not sound like much, but we worked hard on those cute cookies! After our morning of baking, Hayley was gracious enough to come with me to Target to stock up on everything left on my list for baby Allie. It's so nice to have sweet friends who impart their "motherly wisdom" to me in things I have no idea about!

I got home a little before 4:00, and I can't remember the last time I was that tired. My feet were a little swollen, so I was glad to prop them up for most of the evening. Adam built a beautiful fire in the fireplace, and we watched some TV by the light of the Christmas tree and fireplace. We even cooked hot dogs in the fire and ate them for dinner! So fun!

26: Last Sonogram Today!

2009-12-08T20:41:00.002-06:00

Adam and I got to the doctor's office this morning at about 10 minutes 'till 9. We finally went back for our sonogram after about a half-hour wait. It was quick, and pretty uneventful, but still good to see some bits and pieces of our baby girl! The technician pointed out a femur (random), kidneys, the "abdominal cavity" (random again), and even humored me by verifying that Allie's feet what's been nailing me in the ribs on my right side!

Even better, we learned that she is in position, ready to come out! So thankful not to have to worry about her being breech or transverse. According to her measurements, she's right at 5 pounds now, and will probably be around 7 pounds when she is born. Perfect! Since she's already dropped so low, we didn't get to see her sweet face on the screen, but that will just make for an even better surprise when she gets here.

The sonogram technician estimated around 2 weeks, so we'll see!

27

2009-12-07T20:16:00.003-06:00

I can't believe I already missed a day! Yesterday (day 28 in the countdown), we got up and went to Home Deopt, then Lowes, to pick out a Christmas tree. It was so very cold, but after much deliberating, we chose this tree. We came home and I basically watched Adam trim, set up, and decorate the tree. I was able to help with lights and a few ornaments, but the tree shopping alone wore me out! We watched Adam's early Christmas gift, 'A Christmas Story', while we decorated the house. Our brand new stockings are hanging over the fireplace, and they're so pretty! Initially, I put up mine, Adams, and Allie's, but I felt like it was cheating to put Allie's stocking up when she's not here yet, so I took it down for now. Tomorrow is our 36 week doctor's appointment and sonogram! So excited to learn her positioning and the estimates on her weights and measurements! (She must know I'm typing about her...she's hiccuping all over the place.)

The Christmas tree we picked out in the frrreeeeezing cold yesterday morning.

My "belly picture" at 36 weeks. Everyone keeps kindly telling me how

"tiny" I am. This picture clearly proves otherwise!

When I was a kid, we had a tradition of taking a family snapshot in front of the Christmas tree as soon as it was decorated. It's a fun way to commemorate the kick-off of Christmas for me. This picture will be fun to look back at and say we were already a family of 3, even though Allie hasn't arrived yet.

29...Hopefully Less

2009-12-05T22:09:00.004-06:00

Today has been a day in which I've had one phrase cross my mind about 50 times: "I'm so done being pregnant." Clothes don't fit quite right, Allie's growing body seems to continually roll around trying to find a comfortable position, and tonight, my back started hurting so badly during church I couldn't bear to stay seated any longer.

Thank goodness the women's Christmas event last night and Pastor Jeff's sermon tonight were both focused on an important and relevant topic for this season of my life: Joy. Not only is it our Allie's middle name, but it is an important part of what Christ has called me to as His child. One thing Pastor Jeff discussed in the service tonight was how our joy can sometimes become based on external, circumstantial things rather than being based on our walk with Christ. My joy (or lack thereof) today was definitely circumstantial. I pray that from now on, each time I think of my sweet Allie's middle name, I will remember the true source of real joy, and strive to count my blessings. One of my favorite things said last night, and repeated tonight, was this:

"The thing you magnify most in life will become bigger and bigger."

If I continue to magnify my discomfort, impatience, I will see it as growing bigger and bigger...worse and worse. However, if I magnify Christ and keep my eyes on Him, He will become greater while everything else in life becomes less.

Hayley, Mom, Me, and Kristen at the JOY event at Milestone last night.

30 Days and Counting

2009-12-04T13:53:00.003-06:00

Today is my first day off work! Yay! I'm so excited to accomplish the ever-lengthening list of things to organize and clean out before Allie gets here! Nerdy, I know, but I've been looking forward to getting these things accomplished for a long time. I suppose it's all part of "nesting". There is no way I'll accomplish everything on the list before she arrives, but that's okay. Once she's here, those things won't matter....at least for a little while.

It's the coldest day of the season so far. The wind chill this morning was 24 degrees! So cold! We were supposed to see some ice and snow this morning, but it all ended up south, for which I am very grateful. I hope it's not icy when we bring little Allie home, that would make me so nervous! That's probably just one more of those uncontrollable things that I shouldn't worry about, but I do anyway.

30 days and counting...

Let the Countdown Begin...

2009-12-03T20:25:00.003-06:00

Our precious baby Allie is due to arrive one month from today! I hope to write at least a little each day from now until she arrives, so that I can look back and remember this immeasurable feeling of anticipation.

Since it's hard to make sense of all of my thoughts, expectations, and crazy emotions right now, I'll just list a few of the things bouncing around in my heart and head as we wait for Allie's birth.

To Do:

Make some cute burp cloths. (We only have two right now!)
Buy a baby monitor, crib skirt, and other finishing touches.

Other musings...

This month will be full of lots of "lasts". Depending on Allie's birthday, this will be our last Christmas season as just a "couple".
There will only be 4 or 5 more weekends Adam and I have to laze around the house together...just the two of us.
Though she is quickly outgrowing her space, and kicking me in my broken rib often, I will strive to enjoy this season.
Allie has the hiccups 1-3 times every day. Poor baby.
Today was my last day of teaching sewing. Such a sweet season of my life, but I'm excited about what's next: mommying and monogramming!

Colossians 3:15

2009-11-26T06:59:00.003-06:00

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." - Colossians 3:15

Today feels like a beginning of sorts. Since discovering I was pregnant in early May, we've looked forward to the distant holiday season as the time baby Allie will arrive. Today is the "official" kick-off of the "distant" holiday season.

I've been going through old blog posts I wrote leading up to my wedding day. Reading them through a few tears, and remembering all of those feelings of anticipation (and maybe a little fear, too), has reminded me of why I started blogging in the first place. It's amazing how much I've learned this morning from my "former self". So thankful for the journeys God has taken me on since those days, and for a clear picture of the ways I've changed and grown!

One of my favorite quotes from my own blog, about 2.5 years ago, as I counted down the days to my wedding: "This is a season of life that everyone keeps telling me to enjoy to the utmost, and that's my goal, even if it means enjoying every little stress. Either way, I want to remember it well." What a perfect way to sum up what I'm feeling as our first precious baby's due date is 5 weeks and 3 days away. It is my heart's desire to enjoy and soak in all of these next days and weeks anticipating her arrival, and to be thankful through all of it.

Thankfulness has become slightly more challenging in these past couple of weeks with strong jabs waking me in the middle of the night, and the feeling that I should just set up camp in the bathroom. I love every movement, and every hiccup I feel from sweet Allie, dont' get me wrong. She's clearly beginning to outgrow her space, though, and that makes for some discomfort on my part (and hers, I'm sure)! I will strive to remain thankful, whether she arrives before or after Christmas; whether she's born this year or next; whether she is early or late...she'll be right on time. I am SO thankful that I can trust in my sovereign, great God, and know that He always knows what is best - not just what is good, or what "might work", but what is BEST. I can trust, on the days that I want her here so badly, that God, in His mercy, saw fit for her to get one more protected day of growth.

Today, I'm thankful for...

My sweet husband, still sleeping soundly in the next room.
Our precious baby Allie Joy, who will get to enjoy her first Thanksgiving meal a year from today at almost 1 year old.
A healthy pregnancy.
Two freshly-bathed and brushed doggies sitting at my feet in this dimly-lit living room.
My family. All of them. Those who've gone, and those I'll see today.
All the blessings that God continually pours out on my life in the form of friendships, a wonderful church family, providing for us to have a beautiful, safe home and all of the things in it.
Memaw's house on Thanksgiving day. I hope we can continue to be there on this day for many years to come.
New warm, fuzzy slippers.
Scripture. Praise music. Prayer. All the things that draw me closer to God.

Happy Thanksgiving

Bedding ... Check!

2009-11-09T20:34:00.003-06:00

After a little over a month of choosing fabrics, padding, trims, and then putting them all together....Allie's crib bedding is DONE! I am SO proud of myself, and we are

so happy with how it all came together!

I love the pretty green ties, and the colorful fabric!

It's difficult to tell here, but the interior of the bumpers is a light pink with small green dots all over it.

It took us several days just to pick out the font for the monogram. We finally went with this feminine, heirloom font, and I love the way it stitched out!

Adam has put together all of Allie's furniture, and he and his dad even built cubbies in one of her closets so that we could start organizing all of her goodies. This weekend, my dad is coming over to help us wallpaper the accent wall, and that's the last of the "big" room changes. Only 7 weeks and 6 days until Allie's due date! We're hoping she makes her debut before then!

Baby Showers

2009-11-03T19:31:00.005-06:00

I was so blessed, twice in the past month, to be given two beautiful baby showers for our Allie!

A few of my sweet friends who threw one of my showers for me. Love these girls!

Opening fun gifts for Allie at Hayley's house.

Mom, Me (& Allie), and Memaw at my Birchman shower.

My lifelong best friend, and 2 other precious lifelong friends who got to be in town for the shower! It was so fun to be together!

The beautiful beaded, smocked dress my mom did for Allie.

Most of my wonderful hostesses from the Birchman shower. So fun!

We have one more shower this week, and then we'll be ready to sift through all these fun goodies and see what else we need to get in the next 8.5 weeks before miss Allie arrives! Such an exciting time!

30 Weeks!

2009-10-27T22:10:00.002-05:00

This past month has been a very busy one! We were able to take a wonderful "babymoon" vacation with our good friends, Laura & Jordan for a week. We had a big baby shower, and have baby Allie's room well on its' way to completion. By "well on it's way" I mean "I've sewn 3/7 of the crib bumper pads, and we've ordered some things to go on the wall." A little over a week ago, Adam & his Dad worked hard all day removing our old, drafty sliding glass back door, and replacing it with a beautiful new one!

Fewf! We've had a lot going on for sure!

This past Sunday, October 25th, we reached a milestone in this pregnancy: 30 Weeks! This coming Sunday will be another milestone, when our "weekly countdown" makes its' way into the single digits.

I have been so blessed to get great reports from the doctor at all of my appointments thus far, and she told me this morning I "look perfect", which every woman loves to hear! This sweet, growing baby girl has been waking me up between 6 and 7 nearly every morning for about a week now by dancing all over the place. I love each and every movement, even when they cause me to miss sleep. Waking up early is much better than being up for hours on end in the middle of the night, after all! She likes to curl up at night into what feels like a big ball on either side of my belly. Sometimes I feel like she's trying to burst through my stomach because she's pressing so hard! I can't wait to see the movements she's in the habit of making when I can see all her little arms and legs!

I can't begin to wrap my head around the fact that baby Allie will be here in a little over 9 weeks! Her arrival is getting so close! I can't decide if the due date getting closer makes the reality of Allie's birth seem more dream-like or makes the reality really sink in. A little of both, I suppose. I have absolutely never been so excited! Adam and I are spending time every night praying for her development, her growth, her safe and healthy arrival, and lately...that she doesn't take her time in getting here!

Learning to Listen

2009-10-07T21:56:00.002-05:00

For around 5 weeks now, I have been battling a cough. It's the same cough that tends to visit me around this time every year or two, and it loves me so much, it sticks around for weeks on end. It began with an awful chest cold, developed into a cough, and then almost 3 weeks ago, led to (what we believe to be) a fractured rib because the cough is so intense.

I hated to have to take medicine, because of baby Allie, but it has been necessary for me to live on Robitussin from time to time! I am so thankful for a wise doctor who I can trust, though.

For the better part of the past 5 weeks, Adam has encouraged me not to talk. Talking seems to lead to coughing, so it just makes more sense to avoid talking altogether. Let me tell you - when every cough brings a stabbing pain in your rib, and talking leads to coughing - you think twice about whether or not you really need to speak!

Proverbs 10:19 says "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." I promise you, I am not often wise in this respect. My words are, more often than not, many. What I've learned in these past weeks is how much of my usual speech is completely unnecessary. When I'm listening to a conversation, and I have something to add, I carefully consider if it's worth it for the physical pain it might bring. It's a tough way to learn a tough lesson, but I'm thankful that the Lord is teaching me to tame my ever-busy tongue.

I've learned that my time alone in the car can be quiet and prayerful instead of being filled with end-to-end phone calls. I've learned that sitting quietly with my husband at the dinner table can be even more relaxing and enjoyable than a good conversation. I've learned that over half of the things I want to say on a whim are not deemed "worth it". I've learned how to be a better listener to those around me - without interrupting or waiting for the next lull in conversation to add my two cents.

Hopefully, I've learned just a little more about what it means to be a Titus 2 woman of God with a gentle and QUIET spirit.

Though I'm thankful to finally be feeling better, I pray I will continue to listen more than I speak, and to consider my words as wisely as I have over the past few weeks.

Allie Joy

2009-09-12T08:03:00.008-05:00

After MUCH discussion, we have finally settled on the name 'Allie Joy Rieger' for our sweet baby girl!

Allie: noble & kind

Ruth 3:11 "And now, my daughter, don't be afraid...You are a woman of noble character."

Joy: joy & happiness

Psalm 45:7 "You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy."

Adam and I decided on 'Allie' for her first name within about a week of finding out she's a girl. We had the most difficult time settling on a middle name! We didn't anticipate the middle name being the hard part, but it sure was!

Neither Adam nor I are called by our first names. Adam goes by his middle name, and I'm called by a nickname. (My first name is Victoria.) Our number one priority was to choose a first name that she could be called by that wasn't likely to be shortened into a nickname. We know that she'll pick up nicknames from friends & grandparents throughout life, but it sure will make things simpler for everything from 1st days of school to doctors appointments to have ONE name she goes by. Even today, at the doctor's office, I never know if they're going to call "Victoria", "Tori", sometimes it's even "Cory" or "Toni"!

All that to say, we are so excited to have found her name!

Surprise Baby Shower

2009-09-06T15:00:00.002-05:00

About 3 weekends ago, my Dad invited Adam and I over to his house for breakfast. This is a big deal. My dad makes breakfast like nobody else can. The menu always includes scrambled eggs, perfectly toasted cheese toast, bacon, sausage, orange juice, and sometimes boasts biscuits and gravy, too. Needless to say - we told him we'd be there bright and early!

Upon arriving at Dad's downtown apartment, we walked in to hear him say, "Welcome to your first baby shower!" As we looked around, he had gone all out in decorating everything with touches of pink for our baby girl! He even had pink paper plates and cups, pink napkins, and a pink tablecloth! In the living room, there were 4 gifts wrapped up on the coffee table. Fun!!

We ate breakfast, and then headed into the living room to open gifts! We got pretty pink hangers, a pacifier thermometer, a cute shirt, and a dishwasher basket for baby's goodies. I love all those little detail items! Then, Dad said there was "a little something else", and went into the other room to retrieve a box that was almost as tall as ME. It was our Playard! We were so surprised! THEN, Dad said there was even MORE! He said he might even need help with the next one! It was a HUGE box! When we finally got through the double-layered wrapping paper, we discovered it was the travel system (stroller, baby car seat, and car seat dock) we'd picked out for the baby!

When we left, Adam looked at me and said, "Now we're going to have to go pick out more stuff for our registry!" It was such a fun and exciting morning!

Click here to view these pictures larger

It's a GIRL!!!

2009-08-17T17:19:00.007-05:00

We are SO thrilled to announce that we will be welcoming a sweet baby GIRL to our family!

Adam and I went last Thursday, August 13th, to the "big sonogram". (August 13th, 2006 was the day Adam proposed to me - who'd have thought we'd be finding out the gender of our first baby exactly 2 years later!) The appointment was originally scheduled for the 20th, but my doctor offered to move it up a week, and I sure didn't protest!

I had vivid dreams about the technician announcing "It's a boy" or "It's a girl" for 2 nights leading up to our appointment day. In my dreams, they would always proclaim it in a bold, loud voice. Then, the night before the big day, I only remember having one dream: We were in the sonogram room, and the technician didn't say a word. She just began to type something on the screen where we were watching our little baby: "It's A Girl". I didn't think much of it at the time, until that was EXACTLY how our technician told us during the ultrasound!

Okay...now, the fun part! Pictures!!

That's the shot from when the technician typed our big news on the screen.

Neither of us can tell what's going on in the picture, but we trust the trained eye that gave us the news! :)

Our baby girl's foot. She was quite the wiggle worm during the ultrasound, and put on a good show for us.

Then, came the best part. Without warning, the technician flipped the switch to 4D. We were so thrilled to see our little girl's face!!

There she is with her little mouth wide open! A lot of the other figures are just fluid that was in the way.

Our little gymnast! At only about 9"-10" long, she is already doing some pretty amazing stunts! We loved getting to see her little foot reach up to her forehead!

My favorite: baby girl all snuggled up. We're in love already...

James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights..."

What's This?!

2009-08-04T15:38:00.004-05:00

I am 18 weeks pregnant this week. We are praising God that I'm almost halfway through this pregnancy, and things are going so well!

I guess starting about 2-3 weeks ago, I went from being able to squeeeeeeeze into my pants to having to take my first trip to the mall in search of maternity clothes. Where did this tummy come from?! It's been a little adventure learning about and watching my growing belly!

Me & Baby at 17 Weeks (Below)

Me & Baby at 16 weeks (Above)

My emotions are completely out of whack, too. I can tell, because some days I wake up and look at myself in the mirror and think, "Where did the belly go? I think it was bigger yesterday! What if something is wrong?!" Other days, my first thought when I glance at my reflection is, "Good GRIEF! Did I double in size overnight?!" Both thoughts send me into a whirlwind of emotions that ultimately always lead me back to thinking on Truth. I have to be sure that I spend time with my tall glass of OJ and my Bible every morning to walk through this season of life and keep my eyes fixed on God instead of my changing body.

It has been exciting to feel some little flutters inside, but I am even more excited for Adam to be able to feel them along with me. I can't wait for all that's to come!

Dog Days of Summer

2009-07-22T16:01:00.003-05:00

For the time being, there are two furry babies that are still requiring my attention around here...

Our noisy Jack loves to snuggle up for a nap...even if it's only 9 a.m.!

Poor little Scout got his hair buzzed last week. It was getting so long, and

we knew he was too hot. The poor guy has been shivering all over the place since

he came home from the groomer! He sure does look cute, though :)

Sometimes we have to cover him up because he shivers to the point that his teeth chatter! It's so funny! (Well, unless it's the middle of the night, it's funny.)

Stop This Train

2009-07-08T15:56:00.004-05:00

Lately, especially in the past week or so, I've felt like life is spinning out of control all around me at a rapid pace! In the past 2-3 months, I've had at least 5 friends get engaged. As if that weren't enough, the events of the past week have gotten even bigger and better!

In the past week, well actually, in the past 5 days:

A girlfriend I have known since we were in diapers welcomed her first sweet baby (a beautiful baby girl) into the world on July 4th.

I found out about not one, but two friends of mine expecting little ones just a few short weeks after our Baby Rieger arrives.
I celebrated the upcoming arrival of another baby girl with friends at a fun, frilly baby shower.
I waited, impatiently, (and Facebook stalked) to hear (read) news of a "mystery baby's" birth yesterday. It's a boy! An adorable one, I might add, and the son of a girlfriend I've known since we were 12.

In each of these milestone events, amid the crazy hype of all of it, there are moments in which I can't help but sit back and be so completely thankful to and utterly dependent upon my awesome, giving God. He truly is the giver of all good gifts! Though sometimes I do feel like I want to "stop this train...to get off and go home again", I know that God's timing is at work, and is always better than my own.

This is a season of life I've always looked forward to, so instead of looking back, I want to revel in every minute of all that God is doing in and around me.

Psalm 36:5 "Your love, O Lord, reaches to the Heavens, Your

faithfulness to the skies."

"_____________" Pants

2009-06-27T13:59:00.002-05:00

So, on Wednesday morning of this past week, I awoke to find that all of a sudden most of my pants are too tight. Even though I know this is really a good sign that our little, now 2-inch long little baby, is growing, it's still not easy to come to grips with. We started 2009 off by kicking off a much healthier lifestyle at our house, and both lost about 20 pounds by the time I found out I was pregnant. I know that my pregnancy will be a healthier one because of this weight loss, but it sure does make it difficult to see those pounds slowly creeping back on!

I tried on 2, maybe 3 pair of pants before I finally found some jeans that fit, with the help of my little "magic button". Thank goodness! I don't know quite what I would have done if that hadn't worked. Maybe gone shopping for some maternity pants in my pajamas? :) I didn't expect this to happen so soon, I guess. I thought I'd have more time before things started changing this much, but I'm quickly learning that is not the case. Now that I can see some physical evidence, though still very small, it is sinking in a little more each day that there's a real baby on the way.

Anyway, back to the pants. Needless to say at this point, I wasn't too excited about the newfound tightness of my waistbands. Honestly, I was pretty bummed about it. If I had a cute little baby bump, I don't know that I'd feel that way, but at this point, I just look like I'm putting on the pounds and wearing pants that are too snug! Thus...all day Wednesday, I wore "grumpy pants".

A few of my friends and I used to talk all the time about the "_______" pants we were wearing. Some days they were "Fancy Pants", others they were "Bored Pants" or maybe even "Crazy Pants", and on the not-so-good days, we wore our "Grumpy Pants". I am working hard to wear "Thankful Pants" and "Happy Pants" these days, even when the pants I put on in the mornings are just plain "Too-Small Pants".