We were at the pediatrician last week and the doc comes in, watches Emmett running around, bouncing off of the furniture, and asks, “So, how’s he doing with Riley.” Mom and Dad tell him how Emmett is generally a good big brother but sometimes, very mischievously, looks at Mom or Dad, smiles, and then smacks me. Doc looks at the charts he has in his hands-Emmett’s chart and my chart-looks at Emmett, looks at me, and says, “Well, Emmett. I think you ought to be nice to your little brother. It looks like he’s going to be bigger than you.”

A little ball of happiness exploded in my tummy. Bigger than Emmett? Well, that’s huge! That’s like someone telling you that you just won the lottery. Or maybe an inexhaustible supply of formula. Or something. Anyway, turns out, I’m going to be big one day. Who knew?

Doc was very excited himself about my growth this past two months. I believe his own words were, “I rarely see growth like this and I can tell you that Riley will never duplicate it again in his lifetime.” Know why he said this? Guess. I bet you can’t guess.

I grew 4 inches! Four! In two months! I also put on 5 pounds! I went from the 10th percentile for my height to the 70th percentile. (Doc said he had to recheck the stats from my last visit to make sure of this because he so very rarely sees a 60 percentile jump in one visit.)

Although my head size also jumped on the chart (from 70th to 95th), doc says that I am holding it up very well and that my development is normal. He said that the 5 pounds I put on was almost all muscle mass. (Can anyone say Beefcake?) I can start planning for football, now. Before, it was kind of up in the air. With my huge head and small body and all. But now, it looks like a go.

I’m going to be big!

Check back soon…

Sincerely,
The Huge Riley

Guess what? I got  the OK to only wear my circa 19th shoes at night. So, since I am free all day long to go without shoes I have been working super hard on moving my legs around. I am already a rock start when it comes to flapping my arms, and now that I have the added component of my moving legs it looks like I am trying to swim. I;m not sure which stroke that would be. Doggy paddle, I guess.

I am also turning over onto my belly. I’ve done it a couple of times now and the first few times I was smart enough to keep one of my arms underneath me so that it made it easier to flip back over onto my back. But the last time I forgot and I ended up taking a one-way trip to belly-land. Good thing Mom and Dad were there to make the save because I’m not sure how I would have rolled back over without them.

I started talking a ton, too. Because I’ve been so content to hang out quietly up until now, when I started talking Mom thought that I wanted something. Like new pants, or a bottle, or something. But she soon figured out I was just yelling at the stuffed animals hanging from my play-gym. And I also enjoy talking to that guy I see in the mirror. I’m not sure who he is but, I tell you what, he’s one happy man.

I go to the doctor for a checkup on Tuesday, and we’ll see for sure, but I’m pretty certain that I am going to be taller than Emmett. This is only fair because he’s stronger than I am and I am going to need some sort of equalizer when I get a bit bigger and start crawling and stuff.

I’ll let you know how the visit to the doctor goes, but so far I think that I am making some great progress growing up. I can hold up my big head, I am flipping over to my tummy, I grab things and bring them to my mouth to suck on them (learned that one from Emmett). I need to put a bit of chunk into my legs and arms but other than that, Mom and Dad think I’m right on target.

Let you know next week,

Riley

I really have nothing new to report, except that I am a really happy guy. You put my super tight, extra special shoes on–and I’m happy about it. You tell me about how horrible your day way–and I’m happy about it.

The only thing that makes me unhappy is gas, and, let’s face it, that makes everyone unhappy. Oh, and being hungry is no fun either. But other than gas and hunger, I am a smiley guy.

We’ll see if that keeps up when I get a bit older and start interacting on a regular basis with Emmett. I think that it will only get better, but that’s just my take. Everyone else seems to think that Emmett will tenderize me, but I don’t believe it. I think he’s going to be my best friend.

Check back in a year-or-so and you’ll find out. Until then, I’ll post monthly and keep you updated on the saga.

Riley out.

Guess what? I am totally holding my head up! OK. Confession time: only kinda am I holding my head up. But given how large it is, I think that that any holding up being done is a very good start. I can keep it up when I’m on my tummy. But holding it up when I am on my back is a bit harder. I attribute this to the fact that the back on my head is bigger than the front of my head and when I’m laying down, it pushes my chin toward my throat. Meaning… That I am still working on that part of holding my head up.

But I am grabbing for things. I am bringing my hands to my mouth and sucking on them. I am totally engaged and looking around. I am laughing, all the time. I am a very happy baby, if I do say so myself.

I got my casts off of my legs, much earlier than the doctor said I would, and now I have special shoes to help keep my feet in place. Except for the first day, I have done extremely well given that Mom likens it to having on a pair of ski boots all day long. She doesn’t think that they would be that comfortable. And, truthfully, they aren’t. But I’m a trooper. I know they are going to help my feet, so I tough it out.

I am still eating like a champ and putting on weight. Although Mom and Dad seem to think that a lot of that weight is going straight into my big head. I think that pretty soon (once I can take these shoes off and hold my head up) they will see that the weight is going to bulking up my little body too.

I’ll get Mom to post some new pictures of Emmett and I really soon!

Thanks for checking in,
Riley

So, the other day, I was just hanging out, pretty mellow, kicking it on my floor gymnasium. Mom and Dad had just changed Emmett and were in the other room washing their hands. (Can anyone say, biohazzard?)

And that’s when Emmett struck.

He came barrelling out of nowhere on a new dump truck that he’d gotten for his birthday. He was clearly out of control. Careening off of the walls, running into the dogs, and stopping for nothing in his path. The Legos stacked high in his truck bed pinged loudly off of the coffee table, landing dangerously close to my head. But I soon discovered that flying Legos were the least of my problems…

If only Emmett had stopped to read the directions, or had experimented with how to operate the brakes, then we would have all been saved from a world of hurt. But Emmett, like Mom, doesn’t believe in directions. He says he’s more “experiential.” What does that even mean? I’ll tell you what it means: Something about his dump truck “experiencing” a collision with his little brother. That’s what it means.

Regardless, Emmett and his truck were heading right in my direction and me and my big head were too heavy to lift to safety. I knew when it was too late for him to swerve. It was when my entire life flashed before my eyes. Being born. Sleeping. Eating. Mom. Dad. The dogs. It had been a life full of contenment and love. With very little crying and almost no pain to speak of. Until then.

The truck came at me with such speed that it was just a blur of black and yellow and Lego. That’s when it’s front right tire hit a picture book laying in its path and the truck was launched like a rocket through the air. If only Emmett weighed less, he might have cleared me. But, that big pig and the truck came crashing to the ground with a sickening crunch. The crunch of plastic meeting bone.

For a second I marveled at how little it hurt. But only for a second. As soon as I took my first full breath, the pain was so great that I think the neighbors could hear my yell. Mom and Dad rushed into the room, while bubbles from their still sudsy hands floated gracefully to the ground. By this point, Emmett had moved on and was playing peek-a-boo with Cooper in his tent. (Another present for his birthday.) And Mom and Dad had trouble figuring out what was wrong.

He might have gotten away with it, had the tires on his dump truck not left an imprint on the milky white skin of my legs. But, I had literally been run over, and the evidence was there for all the world to see…

Fast forward to the emergency room. Me in Mom’s arms with two, little blue casts on my legs. Emmett, in Dad’s arms, with a twinkle in his eye. This, I’m sure, will be the first of many hospital visits, courtesy of my big brother.*

*None of this is true. OK. One part is true. I do have casts on my legs. But they aren’t from an Emmett-related accident. They were put on to get my feet to point forward. I guess before I was born, I was packed so tightly into Mom’s belly that my feet didn’t have enough space. So, I folded them in and sat that way for 9 months. Now, I have to wear these casts for around 2 weeks and after that my feet should be all good. But I’m not telling anyone that. I’ll be sticking to my Emmett-ran-me-over-with-his-dump-truck story, thank you very much.

I am almost 8 weeks old and the pediatrician said that I have a big head. Mom said that it was to hold in my big brain, but what it really means is that I can’t hold it up at all yet. I have a long neck and a body that is not sized for such a huge nogin. So, while my arms and legs are totally beefing up, and my tummy is Buddha-like, I still have a ways to go before I have developed the strength to hold up my dome.

Just to give you an idea of how big it is, my head size is in the 75th percentile but my body is in the 20th percentile. Imagine what your head would be like if it was about as wide as your shoulders and you’ll get a good picture of what I’m dealing with here. Mom says its a good thing that I’m so cute because with such an oversized head, I could look really goofy. But I don’t, which is nice.

I am awake way more now, and I smile ALL THE TIME. If it is possible, Mom and Dad think that I smile even more than Emmett did when he was my age, and he is a really happy guy. I am staring to coo, to reach my hands together, and to move my limbs around a lot. I am still a big snuggler, though, which makes Mom very happy.

I am officially 10 pounds and have outgrown my newborn outfits. They have been getting too short for a few weeks now, but they have also become too tight in the belly area. (Hey, I was told to bulk up… So It’s not my fault that I’ve become a bit round in the middle.) I watch people now, too, and I am very attentive when I am awake. All good things…

Emmett is still beating me up, though. He is getting more sneaky with it too. And he clearly knows he shouldn’t be doing it. Just wait until I get to be big enough to crawl… He’ll see.

So, in closing, I have to work on neck strength this month and next. And I need to learn some self-defense. I’m on it.

Riley

It’s hard to believe that I am already 5 weeks old! It seems like just yesterday I was meeting Mom and Dad for the first time… and now I’m almost too long for my newborn outfits and I actually fit into my car seat (before I was a bit too small to tighten the straps properly). Mom and Dad gave me a list of things to work on soon after I was born: Putting on weight, sleeping through the night, and strengthening my neck.

So far, I have chunked up nicely. I more than doubled the amount of formula that I am averaging daily. Also, I have been sleeping for 5-6 hour stretches at night, waking only for a short time to polish off a bottle. Finally, when I’m laying on my belly, I can move my head all the way from the right to the left and back. Although I don’t really like it, I have been spending time each day on my tummy to work on these muscles. (As an aside, it is generally during this tummy time that Emmett sneaks up on me and smacks me in the face.)

Right now, I’m just having a good time with Mom, Dad, Emmett, and the dogs. Cooper is really keen on keeping an eye on me. He makes sure to check on me when I’m sleeping, peaking into the crib. And when I cry, he comes right over and gives me kisses. We all take regular walks together. Mom and Dad got a double seated jogging stroller, which is a really smooth ride. Its been nice to check out the neighborhood and get to know the area. I’m looking forward to seeing what other neighborhoods look like, although I really like ours.

We’ve got a full month coming up. There’s Emmett’s birthday, Mom’s birthday, Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year’s. I am looking forward to meeting some more new people and seeing what those holidays are all about. So far I’ve experienced Halloween (I slept through the trick-or-treating) and Thanksgiving (both Emmett and I fell asleep before the turkey was done cooking). We did spend Thanksgiving morning with Auntie Ashley, Uncle Steve, and Grandpa Bob, which was fun. Emmett said that he really liked the waffles he ate that morning.

I’ll let you all know how all of the upcoming holidays go. I think that as long as I’m with Mom, Dad, and Emmett, I’ll have a good time. Hopefully, next time I write, I’ll be able to hold up my head. Keep your fingers crossed!

See you soon,
Riley

Hello Everyone!

I am happy to announce my arrival… I was a bit late (a week), but I arrived in style at 7 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches. In case it’s hard to see in my pictures, I have red fuzz and fantastically alabaster skin. Mom and Dad like to point out my long fingers and large hands and feet, but I think that my eyes are a better feature. They are blue-grey right now, and Mom is fairly certain that they are going to be blue, like Dad’s.

So far, I am a good eater, which Mom is happy about since she is determined to fatten me up. Although my big brother Emmett was the same length when he was born, he had just about 1/2 pound on me. That means in comparison, I have some skinny arms and legs. And a long neck. Mom and Dad want me to put on the pounds so that I can start to support myself a bit better. I am excited to get big enough to play with Emmett. So I am working hard on eating everything put in front of me. I take direction very well.

Something else I’ve been working on is snuggling. Mom really wanted Emmett to be a snuggler, but he moves so much that he’s never really in one place for long enough to snuggle-unless he’s asleep. And he will only fall asleep when he’s alone in his room in his crib with his stuffed bunny. So, that means that the snuggling job falls to me. And its a good thing that I am really quite a good snuggler. Even when I’m awake, I am an accomplished snuggler.

I love to be held and love to hang out in Mom’s arms while stuff goes on around us. This works out well, because Emmett is really a Daddy’s boy and they play around and wrestle while Mom and I cuddle.

Well, I’ve got to go take a nap. I sleep really well and I wouldn’t want to disappoint Mom and Dad.

See you all soon,
Riley