Riley, Riley, Riley...

Every day it seems like Riley is doing something new or at least getting better at doing something she's already learned.  She's quite the little entertainer these days, making us laugh by squealing at her toys or rolling over without the skills to get back.  Ugh, although this is funny it has posed quite the problem during the middle of the night.  Riley loves to be on her stomach but it's only on HER time, which is usually for only a minute or two.  She rolls from her back to stomach but then can't get back and so she WAILS until someone comes along to roll her over.  This is okay during the middle of the day but when she wakes up in the middle of the night and does it, it's a little irritating to be woken up by a screaming child only to see that she needs to be rolled over.  Silly girl.  She's got to learn to roll both ways soon, right?

She's also become quite fond of her big brother.  She's always been interested in him, watching his every move when he's near, but these days she's starting to interact with him which has been very fun to watch.  This morning Cale was playing with her feet...or maybe a better way to put it is that he was trying to take off her socks (more on that later), and Riley thought that was the funniest thing ever.  She giggled at him and once Cale realized she was actually paying attention to him he got extremely happy and started to laugh at her.  They giggled back and forth for probably a good five minutes, occasionally looking up at me to make sure I was watching.  It is so neat to see them act like brother and sister.  I can only imagine what it will be like when she gets a little older and they can really play together.

Okay, so Cale has an obsession with socks.  His socks, his sister's socks, my socks - everybody's socks.  He sees a sock and his mission is to get it off under any circumstance.  It doesn't matter if he has shoes on or even if we've tied quadruple knots in his shoelaces - he WILL get them off and ultimately his socks, too.  If I leave Cale alone with his sister for two minutes, he will have her socks off.  I don't know why he loves them so much because once he gets them off he doesn't do anything with them.  It's just the simple act of getting them off that brings him joy, I guess.  We have a place in our car that we refer to as the "sock graveyard".  This place rests right below his car seat since he generally likes to take his socks off in the car.  So if you're ever in the neighborhood and need a few socks, just take a peek into the back seat of our car. Sock heaven!  We've tried disciplining him for removing his socks and shoes but honestly, is it really that terrible of a thing for him to be doing?  I'm a firm believer in choosing your battles and this sock thing is a battle I choose not to fight.  What's the harm in bare feet anyway?  

It's kind of sad to know these days are almost over.  Pretty soon our kids will be all grown up - or at least out of the baby stage - and then we won't have to worry about things like them not being able to roll both ways or taking off their shoes and socks.  Everyone always says these times go by so fast and to enjoy them, and I always smile and say, "I know" without really knowing, but Cale's a toddler and Riley is nearing half a year old.  I'm starting to get a glimpse of how fast these times really do go by and it makes me a little sad.  

If they are growing so quickly does that mean I'm getting older, too?