Teething...Not My Favorite Week.

Ryan was out of town this week for the Salesforce World Tour. He was in Houston presenting at a session. I am so proud of him for all of his hard work and what a great job he is doing!

Ry giving his presentation at the Salesforce conference.

My hottie business man. Looking goooooood. Am I right?

Something fun about Ryan going to Houston is that that is where David and Jen Paul live. We LOVE the Pauls. Ryan has known them almost his whole life! He had a great presentation for work and then afterwards he was able to spend some time with the Paul's. He said seeing Maddie was so fun because she was so excited to see him that he felt like he was her favorite uncle or something. It was also fun for him to see Taylor because she and Riley are only one day apart. I wish they could grow up playing together. Ry also got to tour their gorgeous new home (I am still drooling over the pictures of it!). Ry always loves spending time with the Paul's and the great conversations he has with them. We wish we lived closer!



I am so happy to have Ryan back home now.  I miss him so much when he is gone. It always makes me remember how much I love him and appreciate all he does for our family. He really is my bestest bestest friend in the world and I count down the minutes until he comes home whenever he is away.

While Ryan was gone I was having a pretty tough week. Of course Ryan was gone right when Riley started teething. It's just funny how things happen that way right? Man. Teething time is not a fun time. I had no idea what a toll it would take on Riley and I. Thankfully, Riley didn't get teeth until 10 months! I consider ourselves very lucky.

Riley is usually the HAPPIEST person ever. She is always so smiley and active. It's been sad to see that this week she is just not herself. She's been extra sensitive and gets her feelings hurt a lot more easily. She will randomly BURST into tears multiple times a day and I constantly need to be holding her. It's like I can't even set her down to go to the bathroom or she will scream and cry. And whenever she wakes up she will have tears all over her face from the pain and a very full and constantly runny nose.

:(

Night time has been the worst! Poor girl. (And poor me! haha I will allow myself some self-pity). The last two nights I got about three hours of sleep. And the night before that I got maybe five. I think I could handle it a lot better if I were sleeping well before all of this happened, but Riley hasn't been sleeping through the night since we moved to California. To spell it out, I haven't really had a good night's sleep for almost five months. I was so lucky that Riley slept through the night from 3-6 months. Those months were absolute heaven!! It's amazing how sleep (or lack thereof) can directly affect your mood and personality.

On Thursday morning my Mom called and I broke down and started balling to her. Sometimes you just have to let it out.

I feel homesick. Sometimes I can't help but think that if only we lived closer to family, then on days like today I could go to my moms and she would watch Riley and let me take a nap or have a break. And my mom could comfort me. I know my mother-in-law and sisters and sisters-in-law would totally help as well whenever I needed them. Family is just so wonderful to have around and I truly miss having them close by--even just for the emotional support. It's hard being so far away from all of them.

Don't get me wrong, we love it here in Walnut Creek and we've made lots of friends but nothing can replace family. This week between Ryan being out of town, doing YW in excellence (which I was in charge of with another leader), Riley's not sleeping, teething, tears, and fussiness, and just missing home...well it was just a hard week for me. When Ryan came home, it was the best feeling ever. I am so grateful to have him as my partner in life and don't know what I would do without him. He is the greatest support in every way. He gives his all for our family and I love him so much for that and a million other reasons.

On the bright side, one great thing about Riley teething is that she has been extra cuddly. It can be annoying when I'm trying to get something done, or go to the bathroom or a dozen other things, haha but it can also be the sweetest, most lovable thing in the world. I decided to just surrender my day on Thursday and we pretty much snuggled the whole day and watched animated sing along videos on you-tube (that are now super stuck in my head). I loved holding and snuggling my baby girl and kept thinking how lucky I was that I get to stay at home with her and take care of her. It would break my heart to have to go to work and leave her in someone else's care when she's having such a hard time. I love being home to give her the comfort she needs.

Even if I have to be her exhausted mom right now, I am just grateful that I get to be her mom at all. I'm so grateful for my little family.

Up with my sad baby at 2 in the a.m. But loving the cuddles.

Riley would NOT sleep so I put a Christmas movie on and watched her reach for the ornaments on the tree. She's such a cutie.

What do you know? Here we are, back on the couch again. haha

And once again. STILL on the couch for snuggles. I swear I didn't get anything done this week except hold my baby. Riley just wanted her mama for comfort all week and I'm so grateful I could be here for her.
Also, side note: I just noticed--what's funny is the progression of these pictures...I look more and more tired in each one! haha