Thankful

This week we had an eye opening experience that made us realize how lucky we are to have a happy, healthy baby boy.  We spent several hours at the hospital on Monday with Riley because his pediatrician thought that his head plates may have fused together too early, and that he may require head surgery.  He has a ridge that goes across the top of his head that was cause for concern, so we started the day with x-rays (which… I have to add… he was SO good for. The x-ray technicians explained that the babies always cry during the entire experience, but Riley just loved looking at the bright lights!).  Then we headed to the opposite end of the hospital campus to meet with a Caniofacial Surgeon.  The office was full of young children with clef pallets, major facial deformities, tracheotomies, ports in their heads…etc…and it just broke our hearts to see what these kids have to deal with everyday.  We could hear the doctor through the wall of our exam room talking to another family about the numerous surgeries their children (yes, they have two children with this particular disorder!) would have to endure over their lifetime.  The doctor then spent a total of 30 seconds with us, and said that Riley is perfectly fine (thank goodness!) and I felt guilty for being annoyed that our appointment was on the opposite side of the campus, not covered by insurance, and ended at rush hour.  In the scheme of things, these things are trivial and we are so incredibly blessed.  We spent the ride home talking about how lucky we are to have our healthy baby, and we both will never forget this experience or those resilient children.

The Latest "Firsts"...

Riley is literally growing up before our eyes.  He's doing new things each day, like...

...Sitting up at the table at school to eat his rice cereal & vegetables. I visited him while he was eating, and he was SO proud of himself for sitting up like a big boy! (sorry about the grainy cell phone photo!).

...Riding in the shopping cart at Costco. He loved the new view of the store!

...Chasing the puppies around in his new walker! Toby liked the new view (and kisses!), but Holly was pretty scared of the mobility and spends more time hiding on her bed these days.  We chase Riley around in the walker, unlodging him from the wall, chairs, and rugs.  Riley loves his new toy, and races around the house every night.

Daly Family Reunion at Spider Lake

After visiting with the Quincey Fam, we headed north to Traverse City for the Daly Family Reunion at Spider Lake.  It was so nice to see ALL of our family members (Grandma + 16 Aunts/Uncles + 30ish Cousins!!).  All of Riley's new cousins were so sweet with him, and he loved all of the extra attention.  We had gorgeous weather every single day (I don't think that has EVER happened in the history of our Michigan trips!), and we enjoyed ever second by the lake.

On the road again, what a seasoned traveler!

Laid back, relaxing in his "spa", with a brewski! Happy 4th!

Beni decided to join the party!! My cousin Katie had Beni 6 weeks after Riley was born, so they became fast friends.  As we were bathing the babies Matt asked us if we ever thought we'd see the day when we'd be bathing our kids together, and we both answered "uhh yeaa!" at the same time!

Early mornings on the porch were one of our favorite times of day.

Then it was time to spend the rest of the day lakeside... such a rough life :)

Cool shades, Dude.

Riley is looking forward to learning all sorts of fun activities from his cousins in the years to come! Like...

Tubing

Fishing...

Skiing

(Miss Gina got up on skis for the first time, and went around the lake three times!!)

We'd spend our evenings drinking a few beverages and eating delicious meals made by Melissa (chef).  The week flew by WAY too fast!

The new Grandmas with their babies

Beni was always so sweet and content.  Riley was constantly on the go and ready to go for a run! They both certainly kept us entertained!

The boys were trying to teach Riley how to crawl. He is SOO close! They put his favorite toy just out of reach to see if he'd crawl to it.

Riley got some special snuggle time with Grandma (his Great Grandma!) too.

Aunt Angie made him a pretty cool shirt that says "chicks dig me" on the front and "Little Prince" on the back... true and true!

More QT with Beni... working on their tummy time together!

Holding hands... 

Thank you, Grandma Daly, for another memorable trip to Spider Lake with the family! We love you!

Visiting the Quincey Fam!

Riley took his first airplane trip last week when we headed north to Michigan to visit family. The initial trip to Michigan was an absolute nightmare (cancelled flight, rebooked flight, another cancelled flight, stuck at Chicago O'Hare, no rental cars, rebooked another flight to Kalamazoo, luggage wasn't scanned in so it got lost (including infant carseat), and 16 hours of travel later...), but my Aunt Patty was nice enough to pick us up and get us to our hotel by the end of the travel day.  When we were all about to lose it in Chicago, Mr. Riley was sitting in his stroller with a giant smile on his face... he really knows how to diffuse a situation. :)

Our visit with the Quincey family (at Aunt Patty & Uncle Art's House) was wonderful. We had lots of delicious food, and spent the day relaxing and catching up. Riley was the star of the show, and loved every second with his new Aunts & Uncles. 

Riley and Aunt Patty playing on the floor

 Sitting with Aunt Mary

Snuggling with Aunt Barbara

We all enjoyed the Trelstad basement, as usual, and had some delicious wine

Sitting with Aunt Susie while Aunty Lib makes funny faces

BFF's