Coolest Mail Ever!

Yesterday we got a package in the mail from Riley's Grandma and Grandpa Jones. He and I agreed that it's the coolest mail ever.

Riley inspected the package by pushing it around the floor.

We opened it up and found a sock! And another sock! That was kinda cool, but nowhere near as cool as the next part.

Lebkuchens!!! They're Swiss-German cookies that taste of lemon and honey and are usually quite hard. They're a family recipe and I always remember having them around as a kid (and being crazy about them.) My mom carries on the tradition of making them, passed on from her dad who learned from his parents. Since they've been in the family for who-knows-how-long, there are many stories of teething babies sucking on them. Since we have a teething baby, I thought it was more than fitting to let him have his first.

Love. Lebkuchen.

Not quite as delicious, but no doubt just as fun to chew on, was the next part of the coolest package ever: Riley's very first box of Legos! LEGOS!If I had to boil my childhood down to one toy it would be Legos. I got my first set at age 6 or 7 from my grandparents and from then on I was a Legomaniac. Shopping for me at Christmas or birthday-time was a cinch. At one point I cataloged all of my sets (yeah, manic) and counted 101. Around age 12 I decided I should stop playing with them. It certainly wasn't because I was bored with them; I just figured it didn't seem age-appropriate any more. I'm quite excited for Riley to get into them so I can play with him. Plus, my mom and dad saved all of my old sets, so Riley will have quite the collection instantly. 'Til then, I'll just let him play with the box.

Thanks again for the package, Mom and Dad. It was great and enjoyed by all. We love you so much.

8 Months Ago, You.

8 months ago, you told the world "Hi." 8 months ago, you and I finally got to see each other. I got to hold you, and touch your tummy and rub my hand across your cheek and cradle your head in my hand. You were so tiny.

And now look at you! You recognize yourself in the mirror. You smile. You laugh. You like to be tossed in the air and love to bop and dance to music. You crawl. And you can pull yourself up.

Your mom and I love you so much Riley Cash, and we thank Jesus for the precious gift that is you. It's hard sometimes, of course, but when you wake up and smile at us or rest your head gently on our shoulders, those times seem like only a split second of life.

So kid, we're gonna keep you. Happy 8 month birthday.

(Almost) Bath Time.

Like any other little one his age, Riley is a huge fan of baths. Lately I've been letting him stand by the bathtub while I get the water ready. In the world of Riley, this is a major highlight (right up there with getting to splash in the water.) Here are my favorite photos from a few days ago.

Put On Your Bib, This Is Gonna Get Messy.

Just like any other kid, feeding Riley is an exercise in agility that can't help but end with a mess. We may get an entire spoonful in his mouth without any spilling out, but that doesn't mean it'll stay that way. Not. At. All. Getting his hands out so we can get the spoon in has been the latest hoop to jump through.

A second after this photo was taken I was hit in the side of the head with a food-covered hand.

All done, and not even too messy.

Waking Up On The Right Side Of The Crib.

Nowadays Riley is all about standing up in his crib. If he's in there and awake, he's standing up. Once we've listened to enough of his chatter on the monitor we open the door and are greeted with this:

He's very proud that he can pull himself up on his own. Below are two photos of when he wasn't able to do that. We were having fun playing with toys and I thought it might be cute to see if he could fit in a toy bin. You be the judge.

"Seriously? Are you seriously taking a picture? Ugh. Parents. You so don't understand. Can you unstuck me outta this now?"

The Most Rockin' Christmas Ornament.

To commemorate the Christmas tree coming down today--kudos and big thanks to my wife for taking it all down, what an ugly and un-fun job--here's a photo of our most rockin' new Christmas tree ornament. It comes from Riley's Great Aunt Joanne and Great Uncle Ken and is a black ornament with silver writing that reads Christmas 2009 on one side and Riley "The Man In Black" Cash on the other. Thanks a bunch guys.

More Sock Monkey & Sock Mon Key.

Here are some more photos of Riley in his sock monkey costume that I didn't get a chance to post. Enjoy.

This photo gives you a good explanation as to why we often hear "Oh, his eyes! Look at his eyes!"

Oh Boy! Crawling, Standing, Dancing!

More Riley Videos.

A number of days before Christmas Riley waved for the very first time! He's still fine-tuning it, but has the general idea.

In so many ways he seeks to imitate what we do. Here he is, attempting to drink from a glass.

The sippy cup works much better than a glass but still, well, he gets wet, as you'll see.

Riley Practices Walking.

Riley's latest activity is "walking" around the house with us. Not only does he get to stand, which he wants to do just about all the time, but he also gets to move, too.

I took a short video of his stroll tonight and you'll hear quite a few of his high-pitched excited noises. I can't imagine what they must sound like to the cat, who was the direct recipient of most of them.