I am

Sleeping through the night. Life is good.

Extra, Extra Read All About It...A Fryday Contest

For all of you who have not taken time to visit My Charming Kids by MckMama, please click here NOW. I know those are some big demands from a 6 month old, but you should see me now that I have started bulking up on my cereal and Sweet Potatoes (I will talk all about this exciting milestone in a later post)...I am quite intimidating and I am serious about this family so click here now. Be ready to be touched, inspired, intrigued and in awe of the family and of God's greatness. Are you ready yet? If so, click here.
If you have not clicked on one of the above links...What are you waiting on? A life-changing event...you can read about that there, so go now. Are you waiting on a site where you can help others during the upcoming holiday season...again, you can do that there through String of Pearls. Do I still not have you sold??? How about an awesome mom posting about her awesome family, with pictures that are absolutely adorable. If that doesn't get your attention...she also gives away free stuff. We all like free stuff. She posts FREE photography lessons, which Mommy and Daddy have read and learned a lot from and can't wait for more. She also has contests where you can win other things, like this Fryday contest. Now i got your attention. I am going to stop rambling so you can visit the site already, SO CLICK HERE.
And of course, I can't post without a picture, so here is me enjoying my first real food...YUMMY!

The Pumpkin Patch

Today was my first ever trip to a Pumpkin Patch. We went to the Hunt Club Farm in Virginia Beach.



On the way there, I decided I better rest up because I would need all of my energy to find my Great Pumpkin. Here I am upon arrival...obviously, I did not get enough sleep on my way there.



After a few minutes, it was time for the fun. A few minutes into our fun, I located a couple friends, Scary Jane & Scary Joe. Daddy...help me, they are going to run me over in their carriage.



Wow...that was close. After that close call, I decided they are really not so scary. I really liked Scary Jane and decided to chill out with her for a minute before searching for the Great Pumpkin.






Before continuing on with my search for the Great Pumpkin, Mommy and I were able to pose for a picture with Scary Jane and Scary Joe.



We also decided this was a great location for a few more pictures. Here we all are.









As Scary Jane & Scary Joe pulled off in their carriage, I found my pumpkin. Look, there it is, over there.



I know it is in here somewhere.




Now it is all mine.



And now I present...THE GREAT PUMPKIN



Wow...what a great time. Before leaving, Mommy and I stopped to look at the horses.

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary Mommy and Daddy.

Getting to be a big boy

check out my blog

Happy Birthday Pop Pop

click here to view my blog.

Peyton is three and a half months old

Happy Labor Day

new post

we have actually been updating Peyton's blog.
Check it out

More new posts

Check them out at www.peytonspier.blogspot.com.

I have a new post on my Blog

Visit my blog...Thanks, Peyton

I am moving

Don't you think after being around for 4 weeks, I should have my own blog address? I finally convinced Mommy & Daddy to let me create my own so soon it will be up and running. You can visit it at www.peytonspier.blogspot.com.
The Baby Riley blog will stay around so when my future brother(s) & sister(s) don't feel left out while they are in the "oven". Might I say that being in the "oven" was very nice, but being in this world with all of you has its perks as well. Stay tuned to my blog for some exiciting pictures and updates as I grow older--i should have it up and running this weekend.
Signing of of this Baby Riley Blog.
Peyton

Hello World...My Name Is PEYTON

Wow, this giant silver box with all of these letters and numbers...took me a while to learn how to type, but I am ready to go now. You may wonder how I can type if I cannot even sit up...that is just what you see. When mommy and daddy are sleeping, I sit up and get to work. Silly adults...i just want them to hold me and carry me everywhere. Isn't that part of being a baby? I have nearly perfected daddy's blackberry so very soon i will figure out how to post on this blog while on the road...imagine the possibilities.

My first three weeks of life have been pretty good. Mommy and Daddy are pretty cool people. I wish Daddy would keep his beard shaved because that thing tickles my face when he kisses me. I don't know how mommy puts up with it. I have met so many people over the past few weeks...friends, family and these other 4-legged things. I can't wait till i can get on one of them and ride around like they are one of the Clydesdales. I have seen my doctor a few times now. Her name is Dr. Karp and she is wonderful. Well on second thought, maybe I don't like her that much. Every time I see her, she makes mommy and daddy take off all of my clothes and then she starts pushing and pulling on me. She says I am looking good. As of last week, I weighed in at over 8 lbs. I had a problem with my eye a little while ago and had to get some antibiotic ointment. It was just a blocked tear duct, but it got a little infected and i had some nasty stuff coming out of it and it scared Mommy and Daddy.

I absolutely love my grandparents, Nana & Pop-Pop Riley and MawMaw & PawPaw Greenwood...I have them wrapped around my little finger already. I have also met my Aunt Meg, Aunt Kim, Cousin Emily and Cousin Cole. Cole says he has a lot to teach me...everyone just wait a couple of years because East Beach will not be the same. I really miss everyone down in North Carolina. MawMaw & PawPaw were here this weekend and we had a great time. I was a little fussy so they got to see the other side of me. Mimi & Pop are having us over tomorrow night to have dinner. I haven't seen them in about a week so I need to catch up with them. All of my other family members are great too...i could type about them for days, but this is about ME. Here are some pictures of the past few weeks. Now that i have mastered this computer, i will be sure to post more often.

My Aunt Kim holding me


My Cousin Emily


Here I am


My cousin Emily again


I am a pretty cute dude

My first bath

Until this experience, I had only been given sponge baths...I enjoyed this first bath, but the others have not been so enjoyable. It is nice being clean.

Some of my Mommy & Daddy's Favorites

Here are some of my mommy and daddy's favorite pictures.

Mommy & Daddy signing off...Here comes Peyton

What a couple of weeks. It has certainly been the most amazing weeks of our lives. Peyton is doing great. Amy & I are doing well also. We are now turning this blog over to Peyton to write about his experiences...this should be interesting. We are working on switching blogs over...anyone who can help with this, i would appreciate it. I do not want to lose everything i have on this blog, but it is time for Peyton to have his own blog. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by, brought food, brought gifts, called, etc. You are all so special and we truly appreciate everything. Get ready for Peyton.

More Pictures

More Pictures

Pictures

Peyton Kyle Riley--Labor & Delivery

Peyton Kyle Riley arrived at 10:15pm on Thursday May 15, 2008. He weighed 7 lbs 13 ozs and measured 20 1/2". He is perfect. All of our prayers have been answered and our lives have changed forever. I imagined for a long time how it would feel to be a dad...let me say that the moment he was introduced to our world, my life took on a whole different purpose and was far more than anything I could have ever have imagined. I find myself staring at him in awe.
Amy did a perfect job and was amazingly strong through labor & delivery. Her water broke around 5:30am on Thursday. We jumped out of bed and began scrambling to get everything together. We arrived at the hospital (driving time was 17 minutes, 21 seconds) at about 7am and were checked into Room #6. They hooked Amy up to the monitors to check all of her vitals. They then examined her and she had not progressed much since the previous Tuesday at our appointment. Amy's desire was to have a natural childbirth so we started walking the hallways hoping that would help the progress towards labor & delivery--according to the doctor, she was not even in labor yet, but because of other situations, we had to stay at the hospital to get IV antibiotics. We walked the halls from 8am until noon, at one time with my parents, myself and Amy. Amy was then examined again and had progressed a little, but nothing close to what the doctor wanted. Since her water broke prematurely, they wanted our baby to be delivered within 18 hours. They then discussed the option of Pitocin...not what we hoped for since we were working towards natural childbirth, but we had to realize that the health of the baby and Amy were the most important thing. At 3pm Amy starting receving Pitocin. They started with the the smallest dose and then increased it every half hour. They increased the dose 6 times and life changed. Amy's contractions became closer together and unbearable. She was dialted to 5cm and was 90% effaced...still slower progress than everyone hoped for. At about 6pm, all of our family members went to grab some dinner (they had been there all day and were absolutely wonderful). When they came back from dinner, Amy's smiles had turned into tears. She was pushed to her limit and then decided to try IV pain medicine. It worked for a little while, but then she was asking for an epidural. The Pitocin was just too strong. The epidural was administered at about 7pm. Within what seemed like just minutes, she dilated from 5cm to 9cm and was in transition, almost ready to push. At 9pm, Amy felt the urge to push and began pushing. Dr. Sadr came into the room about 15 minutes later. All of our family and friends were in the waiting room while our moms were in the room helping to hold Amy's legs while she was pushing. They were critical to Amy's success and they were as amazed as I was with Amy's strength. Amy pushed for about 45 minutes and then the head was visible. Just a few more pushes and the baby was delivered. Our baby boy was in Amy's arms and life is great. We thank God every day for how he has blessed us. It has been a long road, but we are now at home with our little Peyton Kyle Riley.

1 Week To Go

Can you believe it? We are down to the final days before welcoming our little boy into the world. We met with our pediatrician, Dr. Karp, yesterday and oh what a wonderful lady she is. We are pretty much ready for the baby, but if you would have asked us yesterday if that was the case, I am not sure what we would say. After meeting the pediatrician, Amy began having consistent contractions. She has been having contractions (Braxton Hicks) for over a month, but they have never been consistent. Yesterday she started having contractions 5-10 minutes apart. We went for a walk and they slowed down and we were able to rest for the evening. Today's contractions have been 15-20 minutes apart, with some painful ones. The pictures below are from yesterday. We will be taking daily pictures and sharing those on the blog. We are not sure how many more days that may be...we have a doctor's appointment on Friday so that may tell us a lot, IF we make it to that appointment. Kevin is still shooting for Friday, but Amy is saying Sunday night at the earliest...Mother knows best???

Packing our Bags--14 days to go

Well, we are getting the bags packed--just a few last minute things to throw in. The nursery is almost complete, the stroller, car seat, swing, etc. are all put together and have been checked and rechecked to make sure they are safe for our son.
We are now 2 weeks from our due date and it seems like time is flying by. It is all becoming so real, so fast. We can't wait to hold our son for the first time--it will be so amazing.
Today was our 38 week check up. I just got back from this appointment and everything is progressing nicely. Amy is almost 3cm (technically a "loose 2" per the doctor's report), still 50% effaced and the baby is at a -1 station. I had to ask the question today--I knew the answer, but wanted to hear it from her--...Dr. Fontanares, when you are checking this, can you feel his head. She looked at me, smiled and answered, "Yes". Wow...he is that close to entering this world. She then asked me if I wanted to cut the cord. Without hesitation, I told her "Yes". She replied that she had a couple earlier and the wife told her that there was no way her husband could do it. I am hoping I can do it. I am sure at that point, I will be so excited that cutting the cord will be magical.
What does all of this mean? It means that we are overly excited about meeting our son and that day is rapidly approaching. Our next appointment is on Friday 5/16/08. That is ten days away. My guess, as you can see from the list of guesses, is that we will not make it to that appointment. If we do, we will then be 4 days from our due date...we realized this as we stood in the parking lot this afternoon. WOW.

The Results are In...Date

5/10--Jason
5/11--Sue
5/12--Dawn
5/12--Rich
5/13--Sara
5/15--Carey
5/16--Daddy
5/17--Pop-Pop
5/17--Vicki
5/17--Katherine
5/17--Amy Po...
5/17--Roscoe
5/18--Jerry
5/18--Grandma N...
5/19--Brooks
5/19--Amy Pe....
5/20--Mommy
5/20--Sandra
5/20--Jackie
5/21--Meg
5/23--Andria & Dave
5/23--Jamie

The Results are In...Time

2:30--Dawn
2:34--Vicki
3:15--Amy Po...
5:16--Amy Pe....
6:00--Andria & Dave
6:43--Sara
8:30--Brooks
10:00--Carey
10:05--Jackie
10:35--Jerry
11:10--Jamie
12:01--Rich
13:15--Mommy
14:12--Sue
14:31--Daddy
16:00--Grandma N...
16:45--Katherine
16:45--Roscoe
19:00--Meg
19:30--Sandra
20:05--Jason
23:15--Pop-Pop

The Results are In...Weight

6 lbs, 7 oz--Vicki
6 lbs, 12 oz--Amy Po...
7 lbs, 2 oz--Brooks
7 lbs, 2 oz--Jamie
7 lbs, 2 1/2 oz--Katherine
7 lbs, 2 1/2 oz--Sue
7 lbs, 3 oz--Sara
7 lbs, 4 oz--Dawn
7 lbs, 5 oz--Andria & Dave
7 lbs, 6 oz--Jackie
7 lbs, 9 oz--Amy Pe....
7 lbs, 12 oz--Grandma N...
7 lbs, 12 oz--Meg
8 lbs, 1 oz--Sandra
8 lbs, 4 oz--Pop-Pop
8 lbs, 5 3/4 oz--Roscoe
8 lbs, 6 oz--Carey
8 lbs, 6 oz--Jason
8 lbs, 7 1/2 oz--Daddy
8 lbs, 15 oz--Rich
9 lbs, 2 oz--Mommy

The Results are In...length

19"--Sara
19"--Jamie
19 1/4"--Amy Pe....
19 7/8"--Jason
20"--Amy Po...
20 1/4"--Sue
20 1/2"--Katherine
20 1/2"--Jackie
20 3/4"--Vicki
20 3/4"--Dawn
20 3/4"--Roscoe
21"--Andria & Dave
21"--Carey
21"--Sandra
21"--Meg
21 1/4"--Rich
21 1/2"--Daddy
21 1/2"--Mommy
21 1/2"--Grandma N...
22"--Jerry
22"--Brooks
23"--Pop-Pop

The Results are In...Driving Time to Hospital

12 minutes--Sue
12 minutes--Jackie
13 minutes--Andria & Dave
13 minutes--Amy Pe....
14 minutes--Carey
14 minutes, 13 seconds--Daddy
15 minutes--Mommy
15 minutes--Grandma N...
15 minutes, 23 seconds--Jason
15 minutes, 30 seconds--Dawn
16 minutes--Katherine
17 minutes--Sara
17 minutes--Amy Po...
17 minutes, 26 seconds--Vicki
18 minutes, Pop-Pop
18 minutes, 35 seconds--Roscoe
18 minutes, 45 seconds--Jerry
19 minutes--Brooks
23 minutes, 25 seconds--Rich
25 minutes--Jamie
25 minutes--Sandra
25 minutes--Meg

The Lawrensons--Great Progress

If you have not visited the Lawrenson's blog lately, I urge you to do so. You will find some amazing progress for both Tricia & Gwyneth. The amazing journey continues.
There is a link on the side under the heading, "Links to Sites we Like".

Thoughts & Prayers for Grace

Some of our friends from birthing class gave birth last Tuesday, 4/22/08, and their precious little baby girl, Grace, is still in the hospital. She is doing better and is expected to be released tomorrow, 5/1/08, to go home with her parents. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Weekly Checkup--37 weeks

Yesterday was our weekly check up and everything is looking good. The only thing that has changed is that Amy has dilated to about 1 1/2cm...the doctor was trying to give us 2cm, but couldn't do it. Our baby boy is very active and enjoys beating up his mommy. Contractions are getting stronger and more plentiful throughout the day. Everything else is looking great. We are very excited to see our little baby boy. The countdown is here...tomorrow marks the start of the "teens"--20 days to go until the due date.

Last phase of Pictures for tonight

Amy has been experiencing swelling in her feet and legs. So Kevin's mom had the great idea to use the bucket of ice water to soak her feet. Carlee decided to join in to see if the water was really that cold...it was!