Friday's "After School Special"

I am off to shoot a wedding today. Riley gets to hang out with GG and then Daddy today. She is so excited!! :)
But before I go I saw this little clip on Dane Sanders Blog (a photographer who is all about giving back to people) and wanted to share it with you.

In high school I received a C in photography. I like to think of the Pretty Women scene where she goes back after being rejected when trying to buy a gown with all the bags in her hands from her big shopping day. "Big mistake. Big. Huge! I have to go shopping now!" LOVE IT! Well... I have to go take photos now! :)

Don't let someone else's thoughts control you. Take your life into your own hands. The only person in charge of your life is YOU.
Thats my little "After School Special" blog post for Riley today.
Never too young to start teaching her life's little lessons.

Andrew James

Introducing my new friend ANDREW JAMES. (We used to call him Sylvester)
Liz and Jim welcomed their new baby... my friend Andrew at 7lb 12oz. He is a big boy! AND soooo cute!! Although as big as he is I am bigger then him... for now. It is funny how much 3 months makes such a differance. We are going to have so much fun together! I can't wait until we get to go to Newtown Ice Cream Shop together!

Botox

We went to talk to Dr. Baroody before your surgery. (for those of you who didn't know Riley has a little skin tag that she is getting removed) The Dr. is a plastic surgeon...you are the 1st one to get plastic surgery in the family (as far as we know! haha!). It was funny to see you in the office next to all the Botox! As we were leaving one of the ladies said to me they didn't realize it was for you... (I was going to be upset if they thought it was for me and that I needed plastic surgery!! lol) I turned to the lady and told her "it is never to young to start Botox!!" The look on her face and those listening in was priceless!

Happy Memorial Day to US

Happy Memorial Day to US!! Riley gave us a present... she slept 10:00- 5:30!!! We came home from my parents where we were playing Wii Fit (love it!!) and she was asleep in her car seat. SO... I left her. This morning I woke up on my own and she was still asleep!! This is the 2nd time... let make this a new trend!
Go Riley!!

Memorial Day Parade

This was your 2nd parade! New Milford had a nice parade on a nice day...not like Bethel's that we got rained on! We went to the parade with our Parade Buddy Anthony... the LaBets and Antonellis were there too. (well Liz wasn't she was in the ER getting ready to have baby Andrew... Jimmy still came to the parade while his poor wife was in the hospital! JIMMY!)

Grampy's Girl

This photo is going to make my Dad and the D Team happy...
We are starting her young! She is helping me edit some photos for clients and some photos for the blog. Way to go Riley.

You may have grown up with a rattle in your hand... but Riley is growing up with a mouse in her hand. :) I can't wait to see what direction technology is going for Riley's generation.

Rolling

Now she is rolling from back to front TOO!!! Only a few people have seen this trick... she does not do her tricks on command... but I was able to capture the back to tummy roll with the camera. Such talent! Riley isn't even 3 months yet! I just hope this doesn't mean we have to baby proof the house soon.

A Famous Christening

Earlier this month the 2 youngest girls of the Famous Pizza crew were Christened. Here is a slide show of the special day.

Play Group

We love play group! Finally someone else that really care about how excited we are that we found the best cream that clears up anything on our baby's (and our?!?) body!


The Two Rileys

cousins

Only 6 months apart... these 2 are going to have some fun! David has the coolest car/walker. It is one of the walkers that you sit in to play but it has wheels so you can walk around in it. You also can remove the car part and it is a tray to eat. But the best part is to watch David get around in it. He knows what he is doing... he gets a running start then lets the thing glide into people, walls and furniture. HAHA! It is sooo funny to watch... but you have to watch out for your feet!

More photos on David's site... The Lean Family.

She is on a roll...

She can roll!!! Riley rolled over!!! We watched her roll 2x from her belly to her back. Go Riley!!

*how funny that this is BIG news! lol

Taggie Lovey

She is passed out on me with her "lovies"... Riley loves her monkey "lovey" and now I made her a taggie "lovey!"

Everyone needs a lovey!!! My lovey growing up was my Teddy... ok ok he is still my lovey... I (Ryan now too!!) sleep with Teddy every night. A lovey (according to the mommy group) is a blankie, stuffed animal or something cuddly that you become attached to and helps you relax. They say this is a great way to help the baby comfort themselves. Many babies will become attached to their lovey. (my parents had to drive back many times to get Teddy...Maine?!?!) A lovey is something very special. Whats your lovey?

Babies also love to play with the tags on things. This soft blankie has little tags hanging from the sides for Riley to play with. There is a company that makes these Taggies. They have lots of great products... but I decided I wanted to make Riley one myself. I made it tonight and she already started to grab onto them!



Anyway I had fun figuring out and making the taggie lovey for Riley. What I did was...
. cut 2 pieces of fabric
. faced the front sides of the fabric together (looks inside out)
. folded ribbons inside and in-between the fabrics
. pinned the ribbon and fabric in place
. sewed the fabric together except 1 corner
. pulled the fabric through the hole turning it the correct way
. sewed the little corner that was open to close the blankie

It was that easy! If my directions are hard to understand check out this website.

Hmmm... this is going to make a great baby gift. (Liz have your baby already! The Magic 8 Ball said this week!!!)

Happy Birthday GG!

Today is my mom's birthday! It is her 1st birthday as a GRAMMY! We went out to Nick's (our favorite) to celebrate. This was Riley's 1st time at Nick's...and she was in a MOOD! (we hope it was just a mood and she isn't getting sick like her Daddy who had to stay home and rest) We ended up having to leave the restaurant early! Happy Birthday GG! But we went home and had YUMMY Varano's pastries and Riley like that! Anyway...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Local Celebrity

Riley is a local celebrity even before she turned 3 months! Riley and her Grampy were in the Danbury Newtimes last week and today they put it on the Newtimes Online. They had a special section on GRANDFATHERS. Half of the front page of the D section (D for Diminico) was a giant photo of Riley and her Grampy taken by her mommy of ORAGANO.

Now being a famous baby we are not going to let it go to our head. We are going to try and be humble... but really she is the cutest thing ever?!? :) When we were at Katerina's Confirmation Party... one of the waitresses came up to Ryan when he was holding Riley and told him she was so cute then asked her name. When he told her Riley she got all excited and asked: "Like the Riley in the newspaper?!?" Don't you love it! And it really is a TRUE STORY!

p.s. I took the photos and got no photo credit in the paper...


Section of the article from the Newstimes:
Tony Diminico's granddaughter, Riley D. Ragan, was born
March 1.

"I don't want to miss a thing," said Tony Diminico, when asked how he envisions his relationship with Riley.

Diminico, 56, wants to be around for every new stage in his granddaughter's life, just like he was for his daughter, Casey Ragan, now 27.

Casey is an only child, and both her parents took a very active role in her life as she was growing up. On the day she was born, Diminico did what many fathers couldn't or didn't want to do back then -- he was in the birthing room and saw her being born.

"In those days, the thought of 'making the catch' was unheard of. We had a very difficult time finding a doctor who was comfortable with me wanting to do that," said Diminico, a Bethel resident. While he was unsuccessful with Danbury Hospital, he was able to do it at Norwalk Hospital.

After Casey was born, Diminico did something else that was uncommon a
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generation ago. He took a year off from his job to be a stay-at-home father. "I even got involved in playgroups," he said.

These days, Diminico and his wife, Gail, are still very involved in their daughter's life, and are very happy she and her husband, Ryan, live close by, in Newtown.

Diminico even works with his daughter. He teaches computers and she teaches first grade at Rockwell Elementary School in Bethel.

For anyone who knows him, it should be no surprise he wanted to be in the delivery room to witness the birth of his first grandchild.

"I look upon my involvement in the birth as a natural continuation in the circle of life," he said. "I'm committed to the philosophy from the Old World, which is that rather than (being there) being thought of as something special, it's the kind of a thing that should be expected. "

Diminico believes the concept of family doesn't have the same significance it once did. He feels that many things in society are changing, especially the way grandparenting is viewed.

In the Old World, older people were more respected than they are today, he said. They were around children much more often, and as a result, had a much more direct impact on their lives.

Grandparents were able to instill important family values in grandchildren, which is essential to a child as he grows up and makes his way in the world, Diminico believes.

"These days, family members tend to move far away from each other and, as a result, their relationship becomes impersonal."

Whereever they live, "The bond between grandparents and grandchildren should always be treasured."

slideshows

Today Riley and I stayed in as a nice relaxing day. While she was napping I was able to catch up on some photo editing.

Last weekend we drove up to New Milford to celebrate Anthony's 2nd Birthday!! Here are some fun photos from the special day.




Also last week one of my students Molly and her sister Grace came over for a little play date with Riley. She read Riley a story and then we went outside to play and take some photos. They also brought over a ton of clothes for Riley. Molly's mom has an awesome shop that she sells really cool recycled items. I got Riley's diaper bag from Juicy Pear. Check the site out and buy something!! Support the local business and go green!!

Old Youth Groupers BBQ

Last night we had a bunch of our old school youth groupers over for a BBQ after Burn's Wedding. It was great to catch up with some of old friends that we do not get to see all the time. We pulled out a few of our old photos and videos that we made years ago. CRAZY looking back on all the old memories! (long top, pranks, the frozen underwear, trips, real world video, the beast, tic tac club)






Riley's 1st BBQ and Bocci game out in our backyard!




It really has been too long since we have been in touch with some of these friends. Hopefully we can do it again soon! (and with some the group that wasn't there)