Two Thumbs Up

We decided that today was going to be movie day and the movie to see was Ironman. We both really enjoyed it and are very glad we sat through all the end credits to see what appears to be the setup of a sequel.

Remember how I complained about how much a dozen donuts cost when we were on the way to Atlanta, well I think we beat that at the movies. Thought we were doing really well with admission only costing us $6.00 each. Then we went to the concession stand and got a small popcorn and a bottle of water, I was shocked when the total came up to $8.25. Now I know why we don't go to the movies very often.

After the movie we walked over to Disney Marketplace for lunch. It was the Earl of Sandwich, which is one of my favorite places to eat in the Marketplace. There were a lot fewer people then I thought there would be. Usually the walk from the West End to the Marketplace is so crowded that it is hard to find a place to walk.

We both enjoyed our sandwich and look forward to the next time we will be out this way so we can eat here again.

Disney always has such pretty flowers and I can never resist taking pictures of them.

When we got home, I turned on the water in the kitchen sink and the water pressure was really low. So Dan went out to check and see what was going on. Found that one of the tanks had rusted through the bottom and had a leak. He made some calls and Tom had the best idea to get us through the weekend. So he and Tammy came over. Tom and Dan worked on plumbing around the tank and Tammy and I visited.

They figured out what they needed and made a trip to Home Depot and had it fixed in no time. Will get a new tank this week and everything will be good as new, actually it will all be new.

Happy Birthday

Who would ever believe that this cute little girl...


Would become this beautiful young woman.


Happy Birthday Leesha, hope you have a wonderful day.

Friday Again

Where does the week go, I can't believe it is Friday again. Riley was up very early, way before I arrived so we were out of the house bright and early. Headed over to Wal-Mart and got the usual things but also picked Riley up a new pair of shoes. Some sandals for the summer, they are lighter and look cooler then his boots. He must really like them because after I put them on he was riding in the stroller and just held his feet up so he could admire them.

You can see them and the tie-dyed shirt from last weekend in this picture:


When we were checking out, Riley was in seventh heaven, he was flirting with the lady in front of us, the lady behind us and the cashier. He certainly isn't a shy boy.

We stopped by Sonic because I forgot to pick up a diet coke at Wal-Mart and I wanted one for after Weight Watchers. Then it was on to WW, only one more week and then we have to go to Hunter's Creek for the meetings, not really looking forward to that. Another good week, down 1.4 lbs must be doing something right.

Got back home and Riley was getting fussy way to early to take a nap so we headed out for a walk. This is what happens when you give the bag of snacks to the stroller passenger and then not really pay attention to what he is doing. Still don't know how he got this messy all the snacks are bite-sized and you just pop them in your mouth. Guess he needed to rub them around his mouth first. Oh well, it cleaned up easy enough when we got back.


He went down for his nap at about 1030 and slept just long enough for me to get my lunch made and eaten. I guess it was about noon when he got up just not a long enough nap for him. He ate a really good lunch so he got half a Popsicle for dessert and really enjoyed. Didn't make near the mess he made with snacks earlier.

Tried to put Riley down again to see if he would take more of a nap but that was a no go. So I'm sure he will want to go to bed early tonight.

Kaleigh is doing pretty good, she has some really long alert periods and looks all around and really seems to be studying everything in the room. Her eyes look much bluer then Riley's ever did but we are still waiting for the finally verdict.

Here she is taking a nap in the bouncy chair. Just as cute as can be.

Going Visiting

Riley and I were ready pretty early today so decided to go visit Tammy for a while. We got there just as GG and Jagee were leaving to go to BJ's so we saw them for a few minutes.

Spent most of the morning with Tammy. Just visiting and catching up, looked at the pictures she had gotten of their cruise. They were beautiful.

Got back to the apartment at about 1100 and Riley was ready to go down for a nap. He fought it for about 30 seconds and then he was out.

Kaleigh is doing much better today. Kept all her meals down and was hungry at her normal times. So that was a good thing. Snapped a couple of pictures of Kaleigh.


Will try to take more pictures tomorrow.

Happy Birthday

The Birthday Boy is the handsome one on the right. Can you guess who?

Here's a more up to date photo.


Here's to a very Happy Birthday Christopher. Maybe one of these days we will be able to say that to you in person.

Cheese

Riley's wake up time seems to be set at about 0700, just as I'm knocking on the door when I arrive. Now that he is feeling better he is ready to eat as soon as he gets up. After breakfast today he decided that Kaleigh would like to be read to. He grabbed his color book and climbed up on the couch next to her and started reading. It was very cute.

After this got him dressed and we were ready to go for our walk. All the big birds seem to be coming back to the pond, we saw a blue heron, white heron, and an anhinga. We ended up chasing them from on side of the pond to the other when we would walk by. Had a nice morning for a walk it was breezy and still not hot out.

After the walk I was taking Riley's picture and every time the flash would go off he would say cheese. This is the first shot that I noticed what he was really saying.

Then because I was laughing so much he decided the whole situation was pretty funny, also.

Riley went down for his nap and Kaleigh decided it was her turn to be sick, hopefully hers is just a 24 hour thing but she also has a bit of a cold to go along with everything else.

Another good nap for Riley. We spent the afternoon reading, which always keeps us occupied for a while.

Went out to check on the flowers, thought I would include a picture so you can see just how much they have grown.


Riley was acting very tired even though he had a good nap, so maybe he is still recovering from his stomach thing.

Got home and made one of our favorite dinners, diced canned tomatoes over pasta. Very quick and easy.

No Pictures

I have no pictures from today (forgot the camera at Nikki and Andy's) but this came in the mail while I was at the apartment and Kaleigh looks so cute I just had to get it scanned and on the blog. Also if you missed her birth announce in the paper just go to the Orlando Sentinel Website, go to celebration (on the left side of page) and search on Gigstead.

Had a pretty uneventful day although Andy was home sick.

Riley was feeling much better and it was so nice to just let him eat and drink without fear of it coming back up.

Nikki and Kaleigh went for Kaleigh's 2 week appointment and all is looking good. Her weight is up to 8 lbs 4 ozs and that is always good to hear.

While they were gone Riley and I went for our walk and I think he missed not going everyday we have to get back in the swing. We also check on the flowers and make sure they are doing ok. This is Riley's doing not mine I could go with just looking at them as I come in but he really likes to get down and look at them. So that is what we do. He also took one of his normal naps, from 1100 to 1400. He was really tired and needed to do this. Won't hurt my feeling if he keeps doing it.

Memorial Day

A short history lesson:

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War. While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363).

Our day was more about trying to keep Riley's food in his tummy and not on Gramma. He was a very unhappy boy until about noon and then a switch was thrown somewhere and he must have felt better. Not really sure what it was and if it was related to yesterday or just something new.

Kaleigh was a real trooper, she just slept through everything until it was time for her to eat. Then she ate, got the hiccups and went back to sleep.

I spent the afternoon getting to know our new computer better and things are looking up. I really like the new Photoshop Elements I got and with the faster computer I get stuff done so much faster.

Hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend and for those who had to work today I hope it wasn't to bad.

Annual BBQ @ Tammy's

We ate, we drank, we talked, we swam, we even made tie-dyed t-shirts (to bad we have to go back at 3 am to finish them) and I think I can say a good time was had by all. Well maybe not Riley while he was throwing up but certainly before and after.

Here is the day in pictures.






















So here is to good food and better company, until the next time. May it be soon.

It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn

Things started looking really bad last night with the new computer, I was ready to throw it in the front yard and forget having ever gotten it. At one point it looked like everything had been erased from my external drive, this is where I had moved everything from the old computer to put on the new computer.

Then I restarted the computer and everything was fine, remember I probably tried 50 things before restarting the computer so I was in a real tizzy by that point.

I had had enough and decided it was just better to go to bed.

Got up this morning and tried to download AOL again and it worked, got it installed, but there were still problems. Again, after trying many things I restarted the computer and it worked.

I have now determined the secret to Vista is, if things don't seem to be working right, just restart the computer. What a way to do business.

So I'm a Happy Camper at the moment and I almost like my new computer. Wonder what the day will bring?

Baby Burritos

This was always one of our favorite games when the kids were little and it has now been carried down to Riley and Kaleigh. Still can't believe how big Riley looks next to Kaleigh.

We had a very busy day. Started with a walk at the lake front and it was pretty nice. Then on to our normal Saturday morning errands, Wal-Mart and Publix. Went home and put everything away and then we were off to do some more errands.

Didn't have much luck with anything we wanted to get. I was looking for photo holder, one particular kind and Michael's has always had them in the past. But not today and JoAnn's didn't have them either. Sport's Authority didn't have the shoes that Dan wanted so we left there empty handed also.

We did have a good lunch at Panda Express and would like to go back sometime when they have everything cooked up. We arrived just as they were opening and half the bins were empty. They were willing to cook anything we wanted but I like to look at what they have and make up my mind that way. What we got was very good.

Home at last to work on the new computer. Let's just say if it wasn't a brand new software program I was installing it gave me lots of problems. Right now we still don't have AOL because I can't get it to download, just quits at about 97% complete. So I'm in search of a disk to do the install. Not sure if I like Vista yet. Way to many pop ups and key strokes to get to anything. I'm sure I will get use to it and get everything in working order.

Then Chris went to set up the old computer for me because I was missing a couple of things that I wanted and now that won't work. Dan has been avoiding the computer room all afternoon because I am never a happy camper when I'm trying to do stuff like this and when it doesn't go right I am a downright unhappy camper.

On to better things, see you all at the BBQ at Tammy's tomorrow. Looking forward to some good food and company. See you there.

The Day Started Out So Well

Even though we were moving slow and didn't get out of the house until about 0815, it was no big deal. We just went to Weight Watcher's first, a very good weigh-in down 2.8 pounds, love weeks like this. Didn't do anything different everything just comes together and works in my favor.

Our next stop was the Post Office and this is where it started going downhill. We waited in line for 32 minutes (yes I kept track because I was only about the sixth person in line). Riley got fussier than I have ever seen him, and then we found out they didn't have the stamps that I wanted. Very disappointing and frustrating.

On to WalMart. Riley's mood did not improve at all and I was glad to get out of there because it was hard work keeping him entertained. End of bad day things get better again.

When we got back to the apartment who should be in the front yard walking through the flower garden but Ugly and Mohawk the ducks. We have never seen them away from the pond. Guess they were just out exploring and wondering where we have been lately.


Got everything unloaded and put away. Called Chris to see if by some lucky chance FEDEX had delivered the computer. They hadn't, so Riley and I loaded up and headed to the house. Riley fell asleep on the drive and I was hoping I could get him into the house and down in the port-a-crib for his nap. I had set up the crib this morning just in case. We were doing fine, got him unbuckled, blankie all wrapped around him and then I turned around and he could see where we were and got so excited calling for Grampa and we had to check the whole house only find Chris before he would give up on the Grampa thing. Chris may not have been Grampa but he was still happy to see him.

I did luck out because he went right down in the crib after the search and fell asleep in a few minutes.

Dan called at about 1230 and he was on his way home but it would be about an hour before he would arrive. In that time Riley woke up but no FEDEX man.


So when Dan got home he and Riley played for a while and then it was time to head to the apartment.

Riley decided he really didn't want his lunch of pizza but fruit cocktail would be a good substitute. I swear if you let him, Riley would eat fruit until his belly burst.

When I got home we had received all sorts of packages. Dan's binoculars, my pictures and Hallmark Christmas ornaments and the computer. I'm going to have a busy weekend.

Took the birth announcements over to Andy and Nikki. Then we all went to Dairy Queen for a treat. Kaleigh's first time and she didn't get to taste anything.

Home of us and a quiet evening.

Shopping

Shopping was the order of the day. Tammy and I headed out to Waterford Lakes. Hit Target, Bath and Body Works, Carters, Hallmark, and JoAnn's. Found most everything we were looking for but decided to head over to the Loop.

On our way we stopped to visit Jodi for a few minutes. We got there at just the right time because she was on her lunch break. After a nice chat we were on our way again.

I can't believe how horrible the traffic is on the Greenway. I can remember driving along and being the only car as far as I could see.

At the Loop we went to Michael's and Kohl's and by this time we were ready to head home.

We made a stop at Sonic and then we were off to Tammy's. Had to check out all the new things there. Wait until you see them all this weekend.

When I got home I watched a couple of my shows. I'm not very happy with the cliff hangers. By the start of next season I will have forgotten what is going on.

Kisses

Today was really more like Riley and me days and even though it will never be just the two of us again it is nice to see a routine starting. We weren't in any rush to get anywhere so Riley had a nice leisurely breakfast. Then we went for a walk around the apartment complex. It was a beautiful morning, not to hot and a good stiff breeze that blew Riley's hat off a number of times.

Then we came back and played. Riley is doing so well being nice to Kaleigh. Although he does love to grab her arms and fingers and pull. And he doesn't mean to fall on top of her when he's giving her kisses. Or when pointing out noses, is it really his fault when his finger tries to go up her tiny little nose? But the stealing of her blanket, now that is intentional and he does it every chance he gets.

I did finally get some pictures of Riley giving Kaleigh a kiss. It was tough because I just knew he was going to lean over and fall right on top of her, but it all worked out and he gave her the sweetest kiss and stood right back up again.



He is still not going down for his nap like he use to but I'm sure we will get back to that, at least I hope so.

So here's to routine and normal and that we find out soon what that means for us.

On the Way Back to Normal

We were kind of rushed this morning, Had to be out of the apartment by 0750 to make it to Kaleigh's doctor appointment. We made it with seconds to spare and made it to the doctor's office with minutes to spare.

Riley and I went for a walk so we could cut down on the time we had to sit in the waiting room. We lucked out and the appointment went very quickly. Kaleigh is doing good, has maintained her weight and will get her blood test for the anemia done at the four week check-up.

Had to stop by the Health Department and again Riley and I just walked up and down the sidewalk while Nikki went in.

Riley went down for his nap at the usual time but took a long time falling asleep. He was just in there talking to himself and finally conked out. He slept until about 1330 and was a happy boy when he got up.

After his nap. he and I took a ride to WalMart to pick up a few things and stopped to fill the car with gas. Then it was back to the apartment to play the afternoon away. He has started to really play with his mega blocks by himself. He looks for specific ones, builds his own towers and spends lots of time doing this.

I also spent some time just watching Kaleigh while she slept in her bouncy chair. She sure maked a lot of faces while she sleeps.



Then it was home for the evening. Not much going on there.

Everyone is Doing Great

Today was doctor appointment day, the first of many in the next few weeks. We didn't have to leave the house until about 1000 and that is when the skies decided to open and it poured. I put all the stuff in the car and moved it closer to the door. Got Kaleigh loaded in, at least Nikki was able to put her in her car seat and I just snap it in the base. Then I got Riley into his car seat and we were on our way.

It was still raining when we got to the doctor's office, so I just dropped Nikki off and we parked and waited in the car. Only one catastrophe while we waited, Kaleigh lost her binkie and wasn't happy without it so I turned around in my seat and got her all settle again. Stopped by the Health Department and got appointments set up for WIC and that went very quickly. We were actually home in less than two hours.

Riley should have gone down for his nap when we got home but he was having none of that. Tried three times over the next 1.5 hours and then gave up. He finally started nodded off in my arms at about 1530 and I got him to go to sleep in his crib.

We spent the afternoon playing and watching Kaleigh lay on the floor. Riley is being so gentle with her. It's just when she is on the floor and he wants to lay his head on her chest it is to much for her to handle. Then he wanted to give her a kiss while Nikki was holding her and we thought he was going to kiss the top of her head. No he grabs her forehead and wants her to lean back so he can kiss her lips. It was pretty funny to watch and no one got hurt.

No pictures from today, I know I'm falling down on my job. So her is one from Saturday.

A Grampa's Touch.

Finally Finished

Started the day with a walk at the lake front, it was hot, it was humid, there was really nothing to see, then we turned around and the breeze was in our face and everything got better. Saw this flower just before getting back to the car.


When we got home went right to work on the pictures, I finally finished editing and uploading and now I'm done until the next time they have a sale on 4 X 6. I either hope it is soon, so I don't have so many to do. Or months away so I don't have to think about it for a long while. Tomorrow they start a sale on 12 X 12's which is what my digital scrapbook pages are but they are all upload and I just have to put them in the cart and buy them sometime tomorrow.

This afternoon we over to watch Riley for a bit while Andy, Nikki, and Kaleigh went out shopping. We took Riley to Dairy Queen for lunch and then to Home Depot. He already likes to look at everything Home Depot.

Came home and it was time for dinner, and we were welcomed by the smell of pork tenderloin teriyaki cooking in the crockpot when we walked in the door, it was delicious. Dan had his with mashed potatoes and I had rice and vegetables. There is enough for leftovers tomorrow night. Unless of course Chris gets his hands on it.

We had such a good weekend, hope everyone enjoyed the photos on the Kodak Gallery. We had a good time shooting them. Can't wait to get the prints of them.