Ok, ok. So I had a few tears this morning! I am a sappy Mom! Riley and I were sitting on the couch, playing with his favorite toy (a singing yellow Lion) when he actually reached out to touch the Lion on his own. It was the smallest little gesture, but it honestly brought tears to my eyes!

As I watch Riley every day, I realize that old cliche is really true. Time DOES go by fast. He is growing up by the second and every day he seems to do something different. Some days he even looks different! It's crazy how I can get all emotional over the "little things." Riley has found his hands and is learning to use them to soothe himself. He'll find that thumb soon I'm sure! One of my favorite sounds is the sound of him sucking vigorously on those little fists! It's music to my ears.

Riley has also learned to hold a rattle. He can't grab it and hold it himself yet, but if you put it in his hand, he'll squeeze that thing so hard and hang onto it for dear life! He's got quite a grip on him...he's a strong little boy!

He's learning that there's a big world around him. This week we've noticed that his eyes are going every which way, checking out everything he can. He is very curious!

I swear he has doubled in size. He is really filling out his changing table. He'll be too long for it soon! And he's now fitting into his 3 month clothes. I've had to pack his newborn outfits away (which was very difficult to do...it means he's growing up!). He doesn't look like a newborn anymore. He looks like a little man, I swear!

My favorite time of the day is early morning, when Riley wakes up for the day (usually around 8am). He will lay in his crib until someone comes to get him...and he'll kick, coo and entertain himself (it's so fun to listen to all this on the monitor...I laugh every morning!) until you peek in over the railing and say, "Good Morning!" Then he'll give you the biggest smile you've ever seen. It melts my heart every morning and it will never get old. I look forward to waking up each day to see that little sweet, smiling little face and hear that squeaky voice. It's the highlight of my day.

He recognizes his Mama and Dada now and will smile so big when you say one of our names. He usually smiles more when you say, "Dada!" Riley loves his Dada so much! We're anxious to see which name he says first (I vote for "Mama").

Riley also has an "attitude," I swear. There are certain times of the day when he's tired and irritable and will look at you, turn his head away, roll his eyes and give the "whatever" look. And when he's REALLY mad, he will stiff-leg you! This is a little trick Kim's father used to pull when he was a kid. His parents always said he walked "stiff-legged" when he was mad...and now his Grandson is doing the same thing! Riley will get stiff as a board when he is angry. When he wants to eat RIGHT NOW or he drops that darn pacifier...LOOK OUT! The Angry Irish Beast will appear! Who knew a sweet little boy could turn into such an insane monster?

Bill and I had a conversation a week before Riley was born. I asked him, "If I was on one side of the room and was about to get hit by a bus...and the baby was on the other side of the room and was about to get eaten by a Lion...who would you save?" Bill said he would save ME because he really didn't know anything about the baby we were about to have. The day Riley was born, Bill looked at me while holding the baby in his arms and said, "Now? I'd push YOU UNDER the bus!"

I never thought I could feel THIS MUCH love for another human being. It's the most amazing feeling in the world. It's so overwhelming...I can almost feel my heart aching because it's so filled. It's a feeling you'll never know until you have your own child. I've heard parents talk about it before, but never believed how powerful that feeling really was until I experienced it myself. I'd do anything for Riley. I'd give my life for that little guy! Who would have thought this day would ever come?