Sign Language Works!

I was up and playing when Daddy got back from his run this morning. He was sitting on the couch drinking a Gatorade Propel water (grape flavored, to be specific). I reached for it, but it was way out of my reach. So I signed 'more' to Daddy and guess what? He gave me some!

I should have signed 'drink' but I think I was so cute he couldn't resist. Before, I thought he liked it becasue it was healthy and all, but now I think he drinks it because it tastes just like grape KoolAid.

From Riley Cate's Daddy...

So tonight during dinner, Riley Cate ate all the food on her tray, and perfectly signed to us that she wanted "more". She had used the sign before, but never exactly in the right context to communicate to us that she wanted more food. For those of you who had the pleasure of dining with Riley Cate during the growling phase, this is a dramatic step into civilization for her!

Also, we went today after lunch and visited with Mom's first grade class at DeQueen Elementary. Melanie taught Mom's class a song and then the kids all huddled around and got to meet Riley Cate. For those of you who are not familiar with the demographics of DeQueen, Mom's class is a little over 70% Hispanic. One of her Hispanic students asked, "Does Riley Cate speak English?"

The question was a bit tricky to answer. Techinically, she doesn't really speak much of anything... yet. But by default, her communication should be in English... more or less.

A word from Cake's Mama

Just wanted to update you guys on all of Riley Cate's new developments...

She FINALLY says "Mama"! I came in from helping Granna the other night and she shouted it at me :o)

She waves and says "ByeBye" but she waves to herself.

She stands for the longest time and we're hoping for some steps before we go to Disney World...we're thinking that would be a lot more sanitary than crawling all over the place.

She gives her babies and characters in her books nice, open-mouth sugars any time you say "Aww."

Says "Daddy" and "Uh uh uh oh" (instead of just "uh oh").

Can tell you what the sheep, cow and duck say. The sheep is a very emphatic "BAA!" and she'll only whisper "quack quack quack".

If she finds a bow, she sticks it on her head (but won't keep them on when I put them there!) And she loves to drape herself with necklaces...what a girly girl!

I'll keep you posted on our upcoming trip to see Mickey and there will be lots of pictures and commentary from his cutest fan!

Splishin' and a splashin'

Me and Mommy had been hangin' round the house too much cuz it's sooooo hot, but today we decided to go outside to COOL OFF! Here we all are at Mr. Loren's pool. Oh I am such a princess on my air mattress, but I always have time for Daddy sugars.
Daddy's gone nutso in this picture. I don't know.
And here are my feet. They are wrinkledy but cute.

Flying With Daddy...

I love flying over the pool!

Helping Daddy...

I got this cool new toy. I like to ride and ride and ride. Well, sometimes I have to take a break and fall off, but mostly I like to ride. I felt bad about just wasting time while Daddy was working so hard. He was about to replace the dishwasher. Here's me opening the cabinet to turn off the water supply for him.
Here Daddy already has some of the screws loose, so I'm starting to pull the old dishwasher out, on account of I'm so strong.
Daddy wasn't listening to my plans for the kitchen demolition, so I was trying to get his attention. Grabbing somebody's ear... works every time.

My New Hobby...

Since I got more mobile, Mommy and Daddy locked me out of the cabinets in our new house. I still try to open all of the doors, but this is the only one that still works for me. But I do love it! I love pots and pans. Big ones, little ones, white ones, red ones...
... and sometimes I like to chew on them.
Maybe I was trying to play this one like a flute. Who knows. All I know is that this keeps me out of trouble becuase pots and pans are pretty much indestructible.

The Big Party

Abbie and Rex had the coolest birthday party on Saturday. It was the first birthday for Rex, and the third for Abbie. There were lots of kids and we did all kinds of neat stuff, and the whole thing was Disney-themed. We even got these neato nametags. I love Aunt Jenn because she knows that my real name is Riley CATE! See, it's right there on my nametag. :) Here's me sharing some of my hot dog with Papa Joe.
All us kids were playing in the floor after they opened their presents. Rex was in the floor playing with his new hammer, and well, he was kinda in my way. So I just crawled over him. People thought it was kinda funny, but I thought it would be easier than asking him to move, on account of I can't talk yet.

My huge weekend!

We went to Benton & Bryant this weekend for my cousins' birthday parties. Friday night we went out to dinner with Uncle Shawn and Aunt Denise, and Shawn's parents the Hipskinds. We went to some place called Shakira or Sakura or something. All I know is that it was a Japanese place and their soup was pretty yummy. Everything was going fine until some guy in a funny hat came out and set the table on fire. I thought for a second that all was lost, but then everybody started clapping like he did it on purpose and we should be proud of him. I don't know if this was his first night on the job or not, but Daddy never sets the table on fire when HE cooks dinner... but maybe Daddy should set the table on fire when he cooks, on account of that Japanese chicken was yummy.
And here's me with Mommy and the Hipskinds. They brought me my first Disney bear, all the way from Florida. I love my bear (and Mrs. Hipskind's hair).
After dinner, I got to go swimming with my cousins Abbie and Rex. We had a huge time! I had Daddy toss me WAY up in the air and I loved it!

Hanging out with Daddy-0

Mommy had to go to Texarkana this afternoon, so I stayed home with Daddy. We had big fun. First off, I wouldn't eat the lunch he cooked. I spit some of it out and gave the rest to Cheney. She loved it, so she can eat all the pick-em-up chicken pinwheels with English peas from now on. But Daddy got it right with the ravioli and I was a happy girl. This is me playing with the new ice chest we just got. I love to push it around the kitchen. Here I am playing peek-a-boo with Daddy at the dining room doors. Daddy's getting better at watching me than he used to be. He says I'm much easier to keep, now that I can entertain myself some.

Watch me twirl!

Mommy used to be a twirler girl at OBU, so she decided that I should start getting to know my way around a baton. Of course, this one is kinda grown-up size so it's hard for me to manage very well. Mostly I like to just hit the floor with it and scare Cheney. I also drop it a lot. Mommy says that means I take after her. Daddy keeps wanting me to light the ends on fire. I'm wearing my ballerina shirt, but only because I don't have a margarine shirt yet. I mean, a majorette shirt. Whatever. You knew what I meant.

Just Another Day...

Here's me playing with a doll called Drowsy. Mommy had one just like her when she was a little girl. Drowsy has a bow in her hair and I'm trying to pull it out just like I pull mine out! Here's me checking out one of my Little Einstein DVD's.
Here's me about to throw said Little Einstein DVD across the room.
After I tried to pull the doll's hair out and destroy a DVD, I decided to just hang out on the floor with Daddy and be cute.

My first dentist appointment...

I got eight teeth and two shmushy places. The shmushy places were freaking everybody out, so I had to go see my new dentist. I do NOT like my new dentist. For the record, I also do NOT like masks that dentists wear. And I only like their gloves when they turn into balloons. As for the shmushyness, Dr. Mark says I gots a hema-sompin'. It means the shmushy is blood on top of my molars that are trying to grow. EWWW!! My other teeth are nice and good. Mom brushes them every day and I bite her finger. That's how you make your teeth strong.

Oh, and now that we live in DeQueen, Daddy got a big monster to mow the grass with. Daddy calls it Mower and he spends ALL his time with it. Mommy says he has to let the "new" wear off, whatever that means. Oh, and Mommy's not allowed to drive it until he's had it for at least six months...on account of she wrecks things.
I'd like to give a shout-out to my new peep, Gavin! Welcome to the world, friend!

Here's what I do: Eat!

We finally got the Internet at the new house, so hopefully Daddy will let me update my blog more now. I love to eat! Here's me at Granna & Papa Joe's eating smashed potatoes. I kinda missed and got some on my nose. I love mashed taters... Here's me eating my first meal at our new house. I'm soooo excited!
I'm not sure what I ate for dinner in this one, but I kinda missed again. Looking at the picture, I think I remember it was some tomato-based product. My newest trick is to put whatever I'm eating in my hair, which is a plus because I LOVE to take baths.

My first concert!

Saturday night I got to go to my first concert! And I wasn't just there... I got to meet Mr. John Swingin' Anderson himself! He was sooooo nice. Daddy and Mr. Loren from the radio introduced him before the show, so we got to back and meet him right before he went on stage. I've never seen anybody with a big black cowboy hat. I loved the lights and the music and danced my little heart out. A good time was had by all!