Holidays with the Emery's!

Christmas is so much fun with a baby!  Riley probably won't remember this one but we sure will.  We were lucky to have my parents come out for the holidays and they got to see Riley open...or attempt to..open presents as well as her latest milestones!  She is crawling like a champ and can even stand up by pulling up on a table.  Plus we are holding her while she walks.  She likes to walk on her tippy toes still so I am thinking walking will not be coming really soon.  San Diego was so beautiful for the holidays.  It was sunny most every day and got up to the mid 70's as well.  We did have some marine layer come in that didn't burn off right away but, hey, I'm not complaining one bit!  Today is was 80 and sunny!  I don't miss the cold weather one bit!  Anyone need some winter jackets??  We were also lucky to have Kenny come out to visit us for a few days.  Our first non-relative visitor and I think we may have converted "Bagel" to the laid back Cali lifestyle.  So here's a few pics and vids of our holidays and such.  Enjoy!

Most "real" looking Santa ever.

She loves her rocker 'Raffe.

Christmas Eve before church

 

We also went to the San Diego Zoo for the first time and it was so awesome!  We have an annual pass and I think we will get our moneys worth for sure!  The animals are so close to you its incredible.  

Riley checking out the Polar Bear

Zebras!

Llama Llama!

We also went to the rec center right up the street from our house where Riley loves playing on the play ground.

We love it here but we miss our friends back in DC and especially around the holidays.  New Years for us was pretty low key.  We stayed downtown in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego for the night and had a great time.  We went to a speakeasy called Prohibition and had a wonderful dinner at Osetra.  We didn't take many pictures but here is one, rather blurry one. :) 

Happy New Year y'all!

On the Move!

Riley started crawling on Sunday and has not stopped!  She is a machine!  She seems to go straight for Hershey's water bowl or Hershey's ball which is so nasty.  We have to watch her constantly.  No more putting her down and walking away!  But she is super cute waddling around.

We are gearing up for Riley's first christmas.  She probably won't care too much about all the cool gifts she will get and just wants to play with the boxes and wrapping paper but it will still be super fun.  My parents are coming for Christmas and staying through New Years.  We plan on going to the Zoo and will definitely do a lot of shopping!  I can't wait!

Update on Callie our cat back in DC.  She has put on a lot of weight and went home with Matt's parents today.  We are very hopeful that she stays healthy and won't start another hunger strike.  Luckily Matt's sister is a vet and has been taking excellent care of her and the staff at the Clinic have been loving having a 'clinic cat' that hangs out.  I guess if things don't work out at the Emery's she can make a home out of the vet clinic. 

I wish everyone a merry christmas and a happy new year!!!

Hola La Jolla!

It's been a while since our latest post and well....we've been kinda busy.  First, let me just say that our move to California went surprisingly well!  We got a nonstop flight out of Dulles to San Diego and it was on time, we had all three seats in one row, and they even announced over the intercom on the plane that Hershey was on the flight!  Hershey did great.  She was waiting for us at baggage claim before our luggage arrived!  Riley was a perfect angel on the 6 hour flight.  She slept for about half of it and played with us the other half.  People around us commented that they couldn't believe how good she was.  That's our Riley Bear!  We got to our new place and settled right in.  Our stuff arrived two days later and nothing broke!  Amazing!  So all in all it couldn't have gone better! 

It didn't take long to adjust to life in Cali....especially living in La Jolla.  This place is amazing.  For those who this may relate to: I think of La Jolla as a combination of Destin, NYC and Bethesda.  I say that because its walking distance to the beach and many people retire here so everyone is in a good mood (like Destin), we can literally walk to like 20 restaurants and they are amazing places (like NYC), and we still have a neighborhood with treelined (palm trees that is) streets and a sense of community (like Bethesda).  So its the best all worlds.  Oh and you can't forget the weather!  Lordy...how could I overlook that?  It's wonderful here!  So put in your requests for the guest room now because I have a feeling we will be having many people visit us!

Her favorite "toy" is an aquafina bottle right now.

Our view from the rooftop deck!

The only thing that has not gone so well is that I had to leave behind Callie, my little calico cat that I have had since college.  I just didn't think she would take the flight and we are renting our place so we thought it would be best to leave her with Matt's parents who can love and care for her.  Well...I think she knew something was up because she started to look a bit thin.  But I thought that once she is settled in at the inlaws she will bounce back.  That did not happen.  Poor thing got down to 3.9lbs and couldn't even pick her head up or walk.  So they rushed her to Matt's sister's vet clinic about two weeks ago and she has been recovering there since.  She had to get a feeding tube put in her throat and they tested her for everything under the sun but nothing has come back!  So its not physical but mental.  They even tried acupuncture!  So finally she started eating on her own and is now up to 5.2lbs!  I am hopeful she will make a full recovery.  It was hard to leave her after ten years of always being with me (through my many moves and adventures) and to see her in such bad health, well, the guilt set in.  I must hope for the best and that she will adjust to life without me.  More to come on that.

We were lucky to have Matt's parents stay with us for Thanksgiving.  Our first guests!  It was fun showing them our new town! Riley enjoyed having them here as you can see from the pics!

Hershey loves running on the beach!

Life is great out in Sunny Cali!  XOXO

Adios East Coast

Tomorrow the movers come to pack up our stuff.  I can't believe we are moving!  It's hard to believe we will be living in La Jolla in a week.  Before moving Riley had a final photo session with Jacinta.  Riley wasn't really feeling the outside decor for some reason but she did much better in our house so here are a few of my favorites.  Riley will miss Jacinta so much.  She was so wonderful and caring; its one of the reasons this move is bittersweet. 

Riley with Jacinta...awesome picture

Look at those CHEEKS!

Before we leave, our friends planned the "Emery Fest" where we all met up one last time.  It was so great to see everyone and catch up before heading out West.  We will miss you all and thanks to Macey and Stu for planning the great event!  It was awesome!

Beth, Me and Macey

Nory and Me

Matt, Star, Rob, Leslie, Me, Wendy, Matthews, Bagel

Me, Josh and Macy...Josh is dressed up as "John Boehner"

We will miss everyone so much. We have lived here for 5 1/2 years and have made such wonderful friends.  I said good-bye to my office on Friday and all the people I have worked with and serviced for 5 years.  I will miss Bethesda Naval (I cannot call it Walter Reed at Bethesda yet).  That place does such wonderful things.  Everyday we see the effects of the war...its humbling...very humbling.  We eat lunch at the Wounded Warrior Cafe which is located in the barracks where the amputees stay.  Nothing will make you feel silly for complaining about things like getting a full fat latte instead of a nonfat latte like seeing a triple amputee getting lunch with his wife and newborn daughter.  Nothing.  I will always remember my time at Bethesda Naval and I hope I made some little difference there. 

My next post will come from California!  Like...for sure!

The Latest with Riley Elizabeth

Riley has been busy!  She has learned to roll over:

She has learned to sit up on her own:

She has learned to eat rice cereal:

We couldn't be prouder.  She is growing up so fast that every day is something new.  She loves to make a bunch of sounds and, at times, loves to scream in laughter.  We love it!  She is already in 9 month clothes and is only 5 1/2 months old!!  It's crazy!  We are loving every minute with her.  

**If the video's don't work I will try again later. :(